darlin' || the outsiders

7

dallas winston

i was laying in bed for hours, still thinking about that kiss with elsie. her lips were soft like rose petals, and she was a better kisser than any other girl i'd ever kissed. she was wearing this mint chapstick, and made my lips taste like mint. i could remember her breath on my lips and the way her hand touched me.

i ran my fingers through my hair and stopping once my fingers touched my pillow. i sighed quietly. i wondered if elsie would ever sneak out with me; not for sex, just to hang out. to talk. maybe corrupt her a little more.

i sat up and slid a white t-shirt on along with my favorite black leather jacket, then put a pair of blue jeans with a rip under the knee on. i slid my brown boots on and grabbed my blade, shoving it in my pocket opposite to my pocket that carried my cigarettes. i walked down the stairs, to see buck asleep on the recliner. there was a singular empty glass with a little bit of a whiskey shot at the bottom. buck had thrown another party tonight, but i wanted to stay in that night. i had a shot of whiskey and an electric blue slushee before going to bed. women who showed up were still throwing themselves at me, wanting to make out or even have a quick fuck. but i had to say no. not that i was being loyal to someone, just i didn't want any woman tonight- besides elsie.

there was just something about her.

••••

i approached the front door of the curtis house quietly and looked through the window. darry and soda were sitting in the living room, soda looking half asleep. darry, on the other hand, was wide awake. he was looking through a stack of envelopes, a messy pile of magazines on his lap.

i jumped off the porch and walked around the side of the house to elsie's room. i knocked on the window quietly and waited for her to open the window. it was quite humid outside, so i slid off my jacket and held it in my arms.

soon, elsie opened the window as soon as she saw me. she leaned over the ledge with a smirk on her face. i heard a record player going in the background, "stay gold" by stevie wonder playing. i giggled quietly and leaned up so i was closer to her. we were silent for a second before she leaned in, closing the distance and connected our lips once again. i was barely drunk, but i could definitely get drunk on her kiss.

once we let go of each other i whispered, "you should sneak out with me tonight.". she put her head down, a laugh barely escaping her lips.

"i can't, dally. darry checks on me before he goes to bed and he hasn't even gone to bed yet." she said. i frowned before putting my back against the house wall.

"come on, el. just try." i said, feeling her hands running through my hair and placing a kiss on my head. "put shit under your blankets and pretend it's you.".

"i know darry isn't that stupid, dally." she whispered. i felt her quickly turn. and i heard the footsteps too. luckily, her room faced the moon and it was in full bloom. i knew she had a good excuse.

"elsie?" it was darry. "what are you doing? why is your window open?". his voice was shaky and tired. almost like he was crying.

"no reason. i just wanted to smell the night and see the moon clearly." elsie with those deep philosophies.

"okay, don't stay up too late." he said, stepping out and closing the door behind him. i looked up at elsie- i hadn't noticed what she was wearing. there was a towel on the floor, and she only had a white bra on and a pair of spandex with a neon yellow waistband. i tried not to eye her, but ended up failing.

"stop staring, dally. it's weird." she said, pulling darry's t-shirt that she had worn earlier. she slipped it over her bra and slid off her shorts to reveal white underwear. she had the balls to change in front of a guy, and i adore it.

she slid a pair of bleach white jean shorts over her legs and tucked the black shirt in. it looked like a dress on her, i'm not sure how it didn't poof out at the waist.

she slid a pair of white adidas tennis shoes on that she had bought a few days before, when she first arrived. she stuffed a pack of smokes into her hand before sitting on the ledge of her window. i grabbed her by the waist and i wrapped my leather jacket around her shoulders, telling her to put it on.

she looked so cute in my oversized jacket. she leaned up on her toes and kissed my lips gently before grabbing my hand and we walked off.

an hour or so had passed and we were walking through the empty town.

"it's almost apocalyptic. there's nobody out and all the lights are off." elsie said quietly, her grasp on my hand getting tighter.

"don't worry. i'll protect you." we both laughed and she hit my chest with the back of her hand.

what was i feeling? i hadn't felt like this since i first spent time with sylvia. i don't want to gain feelings for her. she's my friend...

"hey, wanna do something illegal? i'm feeling frisky." elsie said, a few feet ahead of me, she had this confident stride in her walk.

"i don't know, man. if we get caught then darry will kill us and you'll be sent home." i said. "you're technically still a runaway.".

"well i gotta live before i get sent home." she sighed, losing that confidence. "gotta lighter?".

i flicked the match and lit the cigarette that was pressed between her lips. what have i done to her? i really did corrupt her.

"why don't we go back to your place, dally?" she turned to face me. i felt my heart speed up and almost pop out of my chest.

"okay, i mean i guess so. we have alcohol." i sighed, rubbing the back of my head. her head shot back to me.

"i'd rather not drink." was all she said.

"sorry." i whispered.

we began wondering back to buck's. the streets were winding and soon we reached a side road and we finally reached the building. i grabbed her hand and walked her upstairs to my room and we sat down on my bed together. she put her low cigarette out on my ashtray i had by my bed on my nightstand.

••••
word count: 1145