street fights

november fifteenth

Tessa's POV

Dallas and I started our way towards Bucks and the slight breeze pressed against my skin.

"Sorry, I know I'm slowing you up. You can walk home faster if ya want. I'll be fine."

"It's alright. I'd rather be walking slow with ya now than sitting their by myself."

I grinned. We had a few small conversations on our way back and we finally made it up the stairs and into bed. It felt good to give my arms a rest.

Dallas had a bruise on his forehead that I wanted to ask about, but I figured it was best to mind my business. It was probably some street fight with Tim and his friends, anyway.

A few more months went by and it was time...

I was done with crutches!

Dallas came with me to the hospital to get a clear, but I begged him not to. I made sure he was in my sight line at all times.

I didn't really have to worry about it much, though. He seems to have been doing well. He didn't leave my side, anyway.

We went back home and I was jumping around and running like I was chasing an ice cream truck as a little kid.

Dallas laughed at my antics. "Tess, be careful." He continued. "You just got off them. Take it easy for a bit."

"Why would I do that when I can finally walk again!" I yelled in excitement. Dallas laughed. I knew he loved my enthusiasm anyway. "You know what that means, right?" I asked.

"What?" He asked playing along.

"You and I are gonna have a lot of fun on your birthday tomorrow." I said with a wink.

I saw his face get red and I laughed as I continued my skip back to Bucks.

Dallas and I promised each other we'd never go all out for our birthdays years ago. His is only a few weeks before mine and we always agreed we'd celebrate together and just have one small celebration for the both of us.

It's more than I've ever done for my birthday, to be honest. It was always just another day of the year before I met him.

I made my way inside and up the stairs, but I was already bored. "Dallas, I wanna go out. I'm ready to move. I wanna get out. Do stuff again."

"Maybe you should take it easy... I dunno, Tess." He muttered.

"Ok, well I'm going to Ponyboy's. See ya." I said with a grin.

He rolled his eyes playfully as I made my way to his house. I opened the door and I saw him doing his homework at the table.

"Hey, Ponyboy." I said, closing the door.

"Hey, Tess. What's up?" He asked, not looking up.

"Ponyboy!" I yelled.

"What? Hey! You're off crutches!" He said getting up.

"Surprise." I said with a monotone voice.

He laughed. "Sorry. Just catching up on school work.

I grinned. "I haven't been to school in God knows how long."

"School isn't half bad sometimes. Maybe you should show up sometime."

"I dunno. I haven't been since the accident. But maybe."

"I am glad you're here, though. I've got a question for ya."

"Lay it on me." I said slumping on the couch.

"So I just found out Dally's birthday is tomorrow. What did he do last year for his birthday? We didn't even celebrate it."

"Oh, when we were younger we made this promise that we'd never celebrate it." I said, quickly. "Our birthdays were so close that we just did something small together on November fifteenth."

"Oh yeah, we never did anything for yours either! So when's yours?"

"Twenty-first."

"Huh. I've never heard of something like that. But that's pretty cool."

"How did you find out it was his birthday tomorrow?"

"He told us."

I raised an eyebrow. "Did he, now?"

"Yup."

"Did he say anything about mine?" I asked with a petty tone.

"No. He didn't. Sorry, Tessa."

"It's fine. I was just wondering. I never liked my birthday, anyway."

"Oh you're one of those people." Ponyboy said playfully.

"Haha." I said dumbly. "Yeah, I guess I am. But to be fair, they weren't ever appealing to me. I mean, I grew up in a place where birthdays were just another day of the year. I couldn't afford to do anything anyway."

"That's fair, I guess. Wanna go for a walk? I just finished my homework."

"Yeah, sounds good. I'm bored of sitting down." I said with a grin.

We walked out the door and Ponyboy lit a cigarette. "What was Dallas like before you came down here?" He asked, kinda out of nowhere.

"Huh?" I asked. It took me off guard.

"I mean, I know you've mentioned before that he's changed the second he stepped foot in Tulsa. So what was he like before?"

I grinned. "I mean, he's still pretty much the same. He just changed his attitude towards me. I mean, within minutes after we met, he got me arrested. Same old Dal. But he used to treat me like a friend. We were friends for three years and we've been dating since we were thirteen."

"What do you mean he treated you like a friend?"

"I dunno. I guess it's hard to explain, but he treated me more like I was one of his friends. When we got down here, he was too cool for that so he pushed me aside. We used to do everything together. We've done it all. He's the whole reason I'm still alive, to be honest."

"Huh. I woulda never guessed by the way you guys are now." I frowned a bit without a word. "I-I didn't mean it like that. I mean, you just seem distant for dating. I mean, it's been almost four years and I'm gonna stop talking now."

I grinned a bit. "I understand. I mean, i know. And it sucks, but it is what it is, I guess."

We were about to turn the corner and Ponyboy spoke up. "Does that sound like Dallas?" He asked as we heard voices in the distance.

"It also sounds a lot like Sylvia..." I mumbled.