reckless 【 the outsiders 】

twelve.

After their night together, Leigh had to go. Dally didn't want her to leave but she had to. He drove her home and she got chewed out by her dad about being gone overnight without telling him. He never really got mad at the girl but he hated when he didn't know where she was, especially because she's normally at home and he knows she's safe. Her dad tended to get a little paranoid when he didn't know if his baby girl was okay.

She apologized and just told him she stayed with Dorothy. If he'd known about Dallas, she just knew he'd make a big deal out of it and the last thing she wanted was to get lectured about boys from her dad, it always made her very uncomfortable when he started talking about "what all boys want". Instead, of further questioning, he let her get ready for work. She put on her makeup, did her hair, and put on her general outfit in record time.

"Y'all want the car then one of y'all's gonna have to drive me, so come on. I'll be late." Leigh never asked her dad to take her to work, he worked twelve hour days five and sometimes six days a week but he loved his job and always gave it his all even when it was hard that he had to spend so much time away from his kids. The time he got to rest always felt so short and Leigh wanted him to be able to make every moment count. Instead, she rushed her brothers over and over again knowing they wouldn't speed up but hoping they'd take what she was yelling about into consideration. Finally, Levi emerged ready to go. They hopped in the car and, thanks to Levi's drag-like speeds, he got her to the hotel in record time. "Nine o'clock, got it?"

"Hey, watch who you're talkin' to like that, Sawyer," Levi joked, "I might have to leave you stranded here."

"I ain't kiddin', Levi, be here on time, please." He agreed as if it weren't as important to him and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. She hurried into the dining room where all the waitress doubled as the entertainment every day.

Meanwhile, Dally went out cruisin' for trouble. He felt that he needed to break something to make up for going so soft earlier. Like he needed to be cleansed of that fragile moment to prove that he was still as tough as before.

So he was out. He spent the beginning of the day, with his main outfit which, at the time, included Two-Bit, Soda, Ponyboy, and Johnny, until Soda went to catch up with Steve somewhere.

"Where was ya' headed to, Dal?" Johnny asked Dally.

He shrugged, "I don't know, man."

"So, Dal, what's up with you and that girl? Leigh, was it? Gettin' real? Goin' steady?" Two-Bit asked. It was something most of the guys had really thought about. They don't deal with greasy girls, not seriously at least, and to them, it looked like that one was getting serious, especially for someone like Dallas. He's had girlfriends but they'd be fools if they didn't notice how differently he looked at her, the way he talked about her, he never once called her "some broad." They knew Dally too and could read his cues just as well as Leigh could.

"I don't know, kinda," he lied.

"You gotta be gettin' pretty serious, you bailed out on us a few nights ago to hang with her." Two-Bit was the most curious and observant of the group--not to mention the most audacious. It was only fitting that he'd be the one to ask about the blooming relationship.

"It ain't a big deal. We've been hangin' out." That was the end of that because, in the midst of their walk, a fight broke out in a restaurant parking lot, or more like somebody got jumped. They wanted to watch until the guy being jumped pulled out a gun and they heard the sirens of the police car coming up from the other direction.

Over the course of the day, the group got smaller. Two-Bit left to get a drink and meet up with the girl with the brother, Odalis, and Dally left Pony and Johnny at the DX, where they were staying for a while with Soda and Steve. When Dal was alone, he figured that was when he could do the most damage and that was what he did.

❁

"You've got a call, darlin'," Juliet, a fellow waitress/dancer, says to Leigh. She cocked an eyebrow and asked who from while sitting some drinks down at her nearest table. "I don't know, some guy. Just said to tell you."

"Alright. Take care of that for me, will ya'?" Juliet nodded and Leigh hurried to the back to get the phone. No one ever called her here unless it was an emergency: last time it was because her Dad was in the hospital. Needless to say, she was worried until she heard the voice on the other line. "Hello?"

"Leigh?" she heard Dally ask.

She let out a sigh of relief and replied quietly, "Winston?"

"I get one phone call."

"How did you get this number?" she wondered, making sure to keep her voice down, "I can't take personal calls here."

"I found that hotel you work at in the yellow pages."

She bit her lip and smiled a bit, jokingly commenting, "Ain't that somethin', I didn't know you could read."

"Very funny," he scoffed, a little annoyed for what seemed like no reason to him. He shook it off instantly.

"Where are you?"

"Where do you think?" he urged, almost impatiently causing her to raise an eyebrow, almost cutting in and telling him off before he continued. "The station. They got me in a holding cell."

"What the hell did you do?"

"Nothin', I'll be in the cooler a few weeks, though. Probably some months." His voice was calm like he didn't pay it any mind, which he didn't at this point. Dallas was used to this and was secretly hoping Leigh wouldn't be too mad at him or go with another guy.

"Why did you call me?" He was a little bothered by her impatience and she was bothered by his potentially getting her in trouble. He knew that he should probably avoid making her angry.

"I don't know, wanted to hear your voice, I guess."

She bit her lip and smiled, trying her hardest not to giggle at the way that sentence made her feel. That was definitely the right thing to say. "We go on in twenty, babe, you got anything for me?" Dallas heard on the other end.

Gretta, another dancer at the hotel, momentarily pulled Leigh's attention away from the phone call. "Sure, gimme a sec."

"Who's that?" Gretta asks, taking a seat in front of one of the mirrors, fixing her hair and lipstick.

"Not your business, Gretta," Leigh sighed, returning her focus to Winston.

"Drug deal?" She could practically hear him smirking as he quietly made his accusation and she rolled her eyes.

"Bug off," she replies. "Can I visit you?"

"You can. Don't have to. I never really get visitors anyway."

"Okay, I gotta go. Danny's gonna kill me if he knows I ain't talkin' to someone important."

"Tell Danny that I say mind his own damn business."

"Well this is his damn business," she chuckles, motioning to Gretta who was obviously getting antsy.

"Whatever."

She bit her lip and wished she could see him right then. Knowing that she couldn't see him as consistently really threw her off for a moment. "Bye, Winston," she says. Just before she hung up, he heard her tell Gretta to chill out and he was a little disappointed that he couldn't see her as well. It would be a long few months.

edited 12-28-21