bluebell, d. winston

𝚏𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚢-𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎

"I'm going to go look for him," Virginia sighed, impulsively standing up and rushing to the door. She wasn't sure where she was going or who she would talk to but the only person she was really looking for was Dallas.

Johnny knew—perhaps more than others— that when Virginia Curtis was busy with her thoughts so many things could slip her mind. That was why he had her white leather purse dangling from his hand. He wore a knowing smile on his face as she sighed and took it from him. Her mind had been preoccupied with a tidal wave of thoughts and she kept muttering to herself all the possible outcomes of her confrontation. Johnny just smoothed down her hair and pressed a small kiss to her cheek as a goodbye.

"Shoot, Blue, Darry's gonna be back any minute," said Ponyboy, glancing at the small clock hung up on the pale yellow wall. "Ain't you two gonna talk later?"

Virginia scoffed, fixing the tilt of the hat Johnny retrieved for her. The late July sun was a fiery beacon and she could feel the warmth linger on the top of her head. Her heart burned harder though. "Believe me, I know what it's going to be about." She fixed the white strap to her heels, pulling the skinny pieces of leather through tiny silver buckles. "And I'm gonna tell him that I am going to be so capable that boys won't choose me. I'll choose them."

They watched her storm out of the house, carrying the same passion that carried her ambitious mind through years of bigotry and sneers from the people around her. It didn't matter anymore. She was a college graduate, her reformed dreams had come true. And the jesters would stay where they were.

Ponyboy looked over at Johnny, blinking. "Five dollars says she starts shouting first?"

The boy smiled though it never reached his dark eyes. "That's a bet I'll lose for sure, man... it ain't gonna turn out well, Pony."

"Sam's gone," he mumbled, returning his attention to the papers. The distant pain never truly left his heart either and he was afraid to even bring it up to his sister. He thought of what Darry mentioned to his girlfriend. The bit of dangerous knowledge he just happened to overhear. Thinking about the weight of the news made his skin prickle.

"And Darry thinks this'll make everythin' better?" Johnny asked, his brows furrowing. He wouldn't consider himself disrespectful of Darrel Curtis— he didn't know anyone who had the courage to. Receiving silence from his best friend of nearly seven years, he nodded with worry etched on his face.

"I've got a bad feeling about tonight, Pone."

꧁꧁꧂꧂

If there was one place Dallas Winston would be, it was Buck's roadhouse. Everyone knew that. Still, times have changed since then and that was a concept many like Virginia were struggling to grasp. The Dallas Winston she knew as a girl may not have been the same one she returned to.

She raced down the sidewalk, her small little heels clicking against the concrete. The bulk of her bag swung like a pendulum and she made eye contact with several passersby. Raising her eyebrow in confusion, she watched an exchange between two boys— one was wearing a Tigers jacket. He was holding a bag that the younger one took eagerly, giving him crinkled bills he fished from the pockets of his trousers.

Virginia was no fool. She knew exactly what it was and it made a shiver run down her spine as she held her bag tighter. The cream skirt that shot out from her waist swished as she walked in the direction of the roadhouse, her soft hair set nicely down her shoulders. Her neighbors and childhood faces were reminded again of a rose that finally bloomed.

The first thing that put her off was the polished black motorcycles lined in a row at the side of the roadhouse. A count got her four bikes— four for the members she knew. P.T., their hot-tempered ring leader, Dino or "Diesel" some folks nicknamed him, was a beacon of River King hate, Jesse was orphaned at a pretty young age and Virginia was quite sure he ended up in jail with Dallas at some point. Lastly was Milo though she knew him to be a pretty decent kid. He hung around Curly Shepard and Ponyboy when they were younger—climbing telephone poles and playing chicken with cigarettes— stupid things like that. One time, he asked her out for a junior high dance and Steve chased him all the way downtown. Milo was loyal and protective but living with the Tigers for all these years must've hardened him into something awful. Still, no fifth bike, and that was a reassurance that made her soldier on.