Prompt: Johnny died but Dally didn't. Nope, he lived because of Johnny Cade: To get even with the Socs. Jenny O'reilly (Cherry's twin) is coming back. At 4, her and her dad moved out. She was raised in England while Cherry was raised in Tulsa but now she's back. The parents are still divorced. They eventually forgot about each other (Jenny and Cherry). Jenny is dressed more like a Soc but she doesn't act like one. Cherry acts like one. One day Cherry, Jenny, and one of their friends stop by the Dx to hang out with the gang as Cherry always went by due to helping the Greasers in trial. She became their look out but today, she just wants to hang with them and introduce the newest Soc and her twin. Tracey is Tracey Holden, Paul's sister from Wyoming. She also lived with a different set of parents and just came to Tulsa. Knew Sherri as a kid but then moved away (12) and is moving back. Dally wants Cherry, Soda wants Jenny, and Steve wants Tracey. It's about the 6 people falling in love, dealing with drama, and getting together.

*this is something like that.

Chapter One:

"Dally!"

It comes back immediately. The fear, the grief, all at once. It's all so vivid and real. He can picture it so perfectly; the sunset illuminating the billows of smoke dancing up into the atmosphere from the old rustic church that was now crisp and falling apart at the seams, Ponyboy's choking next to him as he struggles for clean air, trying to evacuate all of the school children, and he can't see Johnny through the thickness of the smoke around them, but then he hears it-

Johnny Cade's last cry before the rafter of the church ceiling fell. The last moment before they all knew Johnny Cade was going to die.

He remembers the feeling of losing his breath, not only because of the smoke clogging his nose and constricting his throat as he rushed toward the falling boy, hoisting him in his arms and busting into the hazy burning daylight-

Dallas Winston wakes with a start.

He can feel himself quivering, hand over his mouth to disguise the sobs falling from his lips, where salty tears came to rest, only wishing that this scar would fade.

It's been months. He should coping, improving. Ever since he lost Johnny, he felt as if he should've let the police kill him that night. Maybe it would end all of his misery. Johnny, albeit very young, was the most wise kid he knew, and he loved him like a brother. Losing him tore Dallas apart. It felt as if his world ended.

Johnny would never blame Dallas for his death, he knew, but he still felt like it was all of his fault.

Furiously scrubbing at the tears, he stands, pulls on a pair of jeans and stumbles out into the street. He doesn't have to think of where he's going to end up there.

If he needed to, he could make his way to the place blindfolded.

The Valance residence was dark, but in the distance, he could see the flicker of light blinking up in the bedroom on the side of the house. It's awfully familiar, he realizes as he climbs over the gate and into the side yard, fingers molding to the grip of ivy as he hoists himself up two stories to her windowsill.

He doesn't bother knocking.

Sliding the glass pane from its rest, he spills through the window, foot caught in the ivy outside and his body rolling onto her bed, then hitting the floor with a vivid thud.

"Goddamnit, Dallas."

Cherry's sitting up at the head of the bed, closing the book she'd had displayed on her lap and setting on the nightstand. Lunging forward, she pulls him up onto the plush mattress with one hand, closing the window's screen with the other.

"Are you trying to get me in trouble?" She says this every time he finds his way through her window at some ungodly hour of the morning, and as usual, she gives him a gentle smile as she comes to sit next to him on the edge of her bed.

Now, she's quiet, waiting for him to begin. It's like this every time, like a broken record, over and over. Normally, after a few minutes of comfortable silence, he'll quietly tell her about what happened in his dream, about ghosts that will haunt him until the day he dies.

Following that, he'll usually ask her about what she dreams about, and she'll tell him about how she always regretted not seeing Johnny, even though at the time she kind of hated him for killing her boyfriend. People are temporary, she'd once said, and even though he killed my boyfriend, Johnny was still a good kid.

That always made Dally smile. Even thinking about it now had a smile ready to come to his lips, but he remembered his dream, and how guilty he'd felt.

"What's wrong, Dallas?" Her voice is soft as she gently places her hand on his shoulder, watching the almost-smile fall from his lips, replacing it with tension and grief that currently ward his expression.

"Nothing." he replies gruffly, scrubbing his hand through his dark locks, remnants of styling oil sticking to his fingers, which he wipes on his jeans.

Raising her eyebrow, she lightly punches his arm, "That's always what it is, isn't it?"

Ever since Johnny's death, Dallas and Cherry always seemed to run into one another. In spite of the fact that they didn't get along before, they found solace in one another.

Dallas needed someone to be honest with, someone to see him unlike all of the shit he did in the past. Someone who could hear his actual thoughts, ones that would only get a laugh out of the Greasers, and someone who could hear him out about his relationship with Johnny and how unfair it was that he was gone.

Cherry needed someone who didn't see her as her facade. She needed someone who didn't like her because of the car she drove, or her social status. What she needed was someone who she could sit with and rant about how superficial the Socs were and how she really hated the distinguished line between the town, and how your location was all you were known for.

The Greasers knew of this alliance, but they didn't know how deep the connection was. How even though Dallas and Cherry were two very different people, that was what made them balance.

Neither would call it friendship. Far from it, actually; it was more of an unwritten addiction.

"Well, okay," Cherry states a minute later, tossing a pillow at his chest, "you're on the floor." She needed a reaction. In the months that he's been sharing the nights with her, she's never seen him this torn up.

A humorless chuckle brims from his quirked lips, when he says, "I wouldn't expect any more from a Soc."

A smirk brews at the corner of her mouth as she replies coyly, "I wouldn't give this much to any Greaser."

Just after she yanked the string on her lamp is when the whisper comes, "Thanks, Sherri."

Which was responded with a flat statement: "It's Cherry, you asshole."

"Well, I'll be!"

The voice was unfamiliar, which had Cherry snapping up, grabbing the closest thing to her -her bedside lamp- and holding it up in warning. The stranger stood by her door, bright red hair and familiar blue eyes meeting her own.

Below her, Dallas was sitting up, running a hand through his hair that was in full disarray, eyes bleary and confused. His leather jacket and shirt were both riding up his lean stomach and his jeans sagged ever so slighting, revealing a strip of tan skin that Cherry was trying very hard to avoid eye contact with.

The redhead always knew her... acquaintance was attractive, but never really played on the idea.

Surprise suddenly kicked in at the fact that Dallas was still there. He usually left really early in the morning, leaving her to wake to an open window and the faint scent of nicotine.

The Greaser, who had also taken note of Cherry's clone, flopped back onto her floor again, muttering, "It's too early for this."

"Who are you?" Cherry says, still poised with the bedside lamp, ready to pounce. She shot a glare at Dallas, who raised his hands as if to surrender as he slowly sat up again, tossing the pillow he'd borrowed back onto her bed. Sticky tear tracks marked down his face, and a feeling of concern washed over the redhead with the lamp, but she didn't comment on it. Now was not the time.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me already!" the stranger with the familiar traits whines, and then it just clicks.

"Jenny." Cherry states. The last time she saw her twin, they were still in diapers.

"Bingo, bitch." the girl grins, lipstick smudging as her smile widened. Bright pink chewing gum was mashed between her teeth, and in the next second, she blew a new bubble, and it exploded with a snap against her maroon lips.

"O'Reilly?!"

Both girls turn to find Dallas with a furrowed brow, taking in the redhead's features. She was definitely a sight to see. Her fiery hair was tied up in a bun at the top of her scalp, a black bandana outlining the crown of her head like a headband, holding it all in place. Her pale complexion, the thick kohl liner ringing her eyes, the stark maroon lipstick, and her leather jacket, dirt-faded tee shirt, blue jeans and studded combat boots.

Cherry glanced at Dallas; he was looking like he'd seen a ghost, but with a slight smile on his lips.

"Well if it isn't Winston." Jenny grins, "Always a pleasure to see a familiar face."

Familiar face? They knew each other? Cherry raises an eyebrow, but keeps her mouth pasted in a smile, "So, what are you doing here anyway, Jen?"

The sight of Dallas' joy made her want to curl back up in bed and restart the day; everything seemed off.

Slowly, Jenny pulled her eyes away from Dallas' frame and took in her sister once again, her smirk widening at Cherry's uneasy expression,"The alcoholic was arrested and plead guilty to first degree murder, which gave the court the right to send me to the next of kin."

"Mom," Cherry supplied, more to herself than anyone else, and immediately felt the unease in her body deepen. She didn't know what happened between her parents; all she knew was that they ended on bad terms and that having Jenny here was probaby killing her mother.

At that thought, footsteps pounded up the stairs, pausing outside the door; Cherry felt herself pale, "Jennifer, is Sherri awake yet?"

"Yeah, she's up," Jenny replied easily through the door, just as Cherry turns to usher Dallas out, but he was already gone, out the window, and she can hear the thud of his boots hitting the dewy dirt below her window.

Turning back, Cherry ignores the look her twin gives and adds, "I'm up, Mother."

"Oh," a pause, "good, breakfast will be ready soon."

"Okay, thanks, Mom." Jenny calls out; there's an awkward pause before they hear their mother continue down the steps to retreat to the kitchen.

"Why'd you do that?" Cherry asks once her mother is out of earshot. She doesn't look at her sister as she moves toward her closet, ready to change out of her silk nightgown; Dallas probably thought she was a huge dork-

Her train of thought pauses. Why does she care what Dallas thinks? She does not let herself elaborate on that thought, because that was dangerous. They were just mere acquaintances that consoled eachother through tough times, nothing more.

A floral peach silk shirt catches her eye at that moment, and she places it carefully on her bed before rummaging through her drawers to find a rare pair of denim jeans to add to the mix.

"Well, she's my mother as well, Valance." her twin replies matter-of-factly from her position at the vanity, where she was applying a new sheer layer of Cherry's peach lipstick. Bright red residue comes off on the stick, Cherry observes, but she doesn't reply, instead turning back to her outfit for the day.

Jenny ignores her twin's pointed look at the tube of lipstick, instead continuing to apply as she speaks, "You'll have to share more than a mother with me, Valance-" At that moment, her eyes fell to the window and she waggled her eyebrows pervertedly.

"There's nothing to share," Cherry replies casually, slipping her nightgown over her head, ignoring the puzzled glance her sister shot her, but didn't elaborate.

As she changes her outfits, Cherry ponders; Jenny is Greaser material, Dallas' type. And Cherry doesn't have any kind of emotional tether to the Greaser, so why was she so bothered with the fact that her sister was interested?

Familiar face. The words came back to her like a bullet to the heart. How did she and Dallas know each other? More importantly, what kind of history laid there? The questions weighed like a cinderblock in her stomach.

It was when she was sitting on the bed, pulling her socks onto her feet that she noticed the note.

Valance, the small scrawl read, Party tonight. Two-Bit's place. See you there.

A warmth settled in her stomach. She loved it when the Greasers invited her places. She'd grown closer to them ever since Bob's death- a lot of her Soc friends had given her distance since that spell of grief, so she never really felt close with them after her depression at his loss had dissipated.

Stealing a glance over at her twin, Cherry pauses. It would be unfair to her mother to put her in the position of basically babysitting Jenny while she "hung out with some friends" and also, it would be childish not to offer her guest- sibling along.

"Hey, Jen?" Her voice frayed slightly from the periodic silence, but if Jenny noticed, she didn't say anything, which gave Cherry the confidence to continue, "The Greasers are throwing this party tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to-"

"A 'Greaser' party?" Jenny repeats, her perfect nose wrinkling, "You actually subject yourself above them because they live on the other side of town and may not be as rich as you?" Disgust is palpable in her tone, but before Cherry can correct herself, clarifying that that's not what she meant, Jenny is shaking her head, replying, "You know what, never mind, I'm in."

When Cherry, Marcia and Jenny arrive at Two-Bit's place, it's crowded. So crowded that it was hard to see the ground with how many sets of feet were fogging it.

Scanning the room, Cherry immediately spotted the Curtis brothers, along with Steve and Two-Bit hovering against the wall, assessing the party scene. It was just as she was about to approach them that she heard his voice cut through the noise and music.

"Well if it isn't Valance-squared?" Dallas' voice is warm with greeting as he approaches them, a beer in each hand. He hands one to Cherry, but keeps the other one wrapped in his fingers.

"Actually, Valance and O'Reilly." Jenny punctuates, looking a little stung at the lack of red-solo cup in her hand, before glossing over and turning to glance back at Marcia, adding, "and that girl."

Not at all fazed at the negative comment, Marcia just rolls her eyes and heads off to find Two-Bit. Hanging out with the Greasers has steeled her up well.

"Well, I guess I'll see you both around, then," Dallas tosses them an uneasy smile at Jenny's annoyance, an unfamiliar look on him. As he turns around, he pauses, glancing back at Cherry's outfit, "Is that my shirt?"

Three sets of eyes snap to Cherry's outfit. A faded white V-neck shirt was resting upon her torso, tucked into her short black skirt. Even though she hadn't realized, it was probably his, from nights in the beginning of their.. partnership that he would sleep shirtless just to be cocky and make her uncomfortable.

"Uh, I don't know," the redhead replied, a blush creeping up the pale complexion of her neck, "I just found it on my floor?"

Cherry feels so much more uncomfortable that Jenny's there, not only because of the fact that just hours before, she'd denied any entanglements between her and the Greaser, but also because Jenny was smirking, a laugh on the edge of her lips.

Dallas paused, taking in Jenny's laugh and Cherry's discomfort for only a moment longer before he shrugs it off and lopes off into the sea of people.

"Good one, sis," Jenny giggles before following him into the mass, "Good one."

It really didn't matter, Cherry realized, Dallas didn't seem fazed at the idea of her wearing his shirt, but Jenny's attendance had just made her uneasy. Why did she seem so smug, as if she was belittling Cherry for having this bond with Dallas-

Her mind is interrupted by Sodapop, who approaches her with a grin on his face, vodka bottle in hand. Seeing the troubled expression she masked had him running to the rescue, "Cherry, m'lady, you look like you could use some vodka."

"Not just some," the redhead replied just as she caught sight of Jenny approaching Dallas and some of his buddies. Her twin was gorgeous, with her badass exterior and black-hearted interior, she was sure to steal Dallas' heart, and her sudden revelation caused her to nudge the words between her lips.

"A lot."