street fights

greasers or socs

Tessa's POV

"Really?" I asked in shock.

"Well, yeah." He said, unsure of what to say next.

"Alright. Now from your perspective. Not neutral. Should I go?"

"No." He said.

"That was quick." I mumbled.

"Well, from an aerial perspective, I can see why you'd hate it here. And I see it in my own view, too, but thinking selfishly, I think you should stay."

"What do you mean by thinking selfishly?"

"I mean for starters you're a great person and fun to be around. It would certainly be weird without you here at all. It's weird to think that just less than three years ago I had no idea who you were."

He hesitated. "And Dallas. I mean, boy was he a wreck without you. The first week after you left him, I didn't see him at all. And then he shows up outta nowhere with Sylvia to make you jealous-"

He stopped himself quickly and put his hand over his mouth. I gave him a look of confusion. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Don't tell him i said anything. He'll have my head. And Johnny's, 'cause Johnny was the one who told me."

I laughed. "Your secret's safe with me."

"I just don't know how Dal would react if you left the state. I mean, he could barely handle you moving to the other side of town."

We both laughed. "Well, thank you. For everything. I don't have anything set in stone yet, but I guess we'll see. Might as well go find Dally. See what he's up to. I'll see ya around."

"Bye, Tessa."

I went back to Bucks and Dallas was behind the counter talking to a girl.

When the door opened, they both looked my way.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know someone was here."

"Tessa! No, she was just leaving." Dallas said running around the counter and pushing her out.

"What? I just got here!"

"And now you're leaving."

"It's fine. I-I can find something else to do. I just thought-"

"Yep. She's leaving. Bye, Jannette." He said as he closed the door behind her.

"So... you're free?"

"Yep." He said looking outside to make sure she was leaving.

"Umm... I was gonna ask if you wanted to go get breakfast, but if you're busy-"

"I'm not busy. She's annoying anyway. Come on. Let's go get breakfast. On me."

I couldn't help but laugh as we walked out of Bucks. We made our way to the diner and sat down like we hadn't missed a second of each other's lives.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe we could just bounce back to the way it once was.

But I knew deep down this could only last so long.

"So do you know what you're doing for the rumble?" Dallas finally asked.

I groaned. "I dunno. If I join the Socs, I'll hate myself even more, if I join you guys, God knows what'll happen. But in reality, I don't wanna fight!"

"It's weird to see you turn down a fight anymore. Only other times I've seen it was the first one in New York or when you couldn't walk."

"I know, I know. But it's just... different. I miss the life where greasers and Socs didn't exist. Where it didn't matter. I was a kid and that was it."

"I know. But we're gonna beat those Socs again and everything can go back to normal. Or, whatever mutated normal we had before."

I grinned. "Normal doesn't exist anymore."

I meant it.

What is normal?

'Cause I'm pretty sure it's something I know nothing about.

-

Todays the day.

The day of the rumble.

It seemed to come by quicker than ever.

I debated on not showing up. Just skipping town and never looking back.

But I knew better.

I had one decision to make.

Greasers or Socs.

Both had pros and cons.

One big pro and con was Dallas Winston himself.

Greasers were more accepting. But the Socs gave me everything. I felt like I was on top of the world with them.

Where as with the greasers I was just another ordinary person. And another con with them was that they had Dallas Winston.

Dally was great when it came for fighting. Which is awesome. But it also just didn't feel right between us.

No matter how natural our conversations got or how close it seemed to be before we even started dating, it just wasn't the same.

And I think a part of me feels that way, because I loved him.

I loved him more than I could even imagine now.

I don't know if I still do, but knowing all the things we've said and done with each other, it's just a lot.

I had about four hours to make up my mind.

No matter what I did, someone wasn't gonna get what they wanted.

I join the Socs, the greasers will be upset me.

I join the greasers, Socs will hate me.

I run away, both will be mad at me.

Deep down, I knew what I had to do. I think I've just been pushing it aside and forgetting about it all. Maybe it would go away if I never thought about it.

But that's just not the case anymore. The time has come and I need to make my final decision.

I stopped pacing the floor in Dally's bedroom and took a breath. I knew this was the right answer.

I started making my way towards Daniel's house before the rumble.