Valeria's POV
Soda and I walked up to the front of the house and went inside. Nothing on the inside has changed. It was just how I remembered it. It was crazy.
"Hey, Val! You're back!" Steve said coming up to me.
"I am." I said with a grin. "Finally." I continued.
"How was college?" Two-Bit asked standing up off the floor.
"Boring. But worth it." I said, laughing.
"Hey, Valeria! How have you been?" Darry asked coming out of the kitchen.
I grinned. "Pretty good. Thank you." I said.
"Good to hear. Whatcha doing back here?" Darry continued.
"My roommate from college and I are opening a diner downtown."
"That's gonna be yours?" Steve asked in shock.
"Yep." I said with a proud smile.
"Well, damn. That's cool. You got a house?" Two-Bit asked.
"Yep. We're gonna live in the apartment above the diner." I said sitting on the couch next to Soda.
"Congratulations. That's exciting." Darry said.
I grinned. "Thank you."
Time flew by and I wasn't even paying attention to the clock anymore. I looked at the clock and realized it was 10:30.
"Oh, shit. I told Hana I would be home two hours ago." I mumbled to myself.
"Who's Hana?" Darry asked.
"My roommate. I went to the store to get a few things for the next couple of nights and I ran into Soda and now I'm here." I said with a laugh.
"Speaking of, Soda, did you ever get the milk?" Darry asked.
His face got red. "I- uh... I got distracted." He said, out of embarrassment. I laughed. "I'll get it tomorrow." He quickly said.
"Well, thanks for having me over. It's good to see y'all again. I'll stop by again. And no more running off." I said with a laugh.
"See ya, Val." They all said collectively. I went to open the door and someone opened it before I could from the other side.
I looked at the person and I grinned. "Valeria?" He asked.
"Hey, Ponyboy. Hey, Johnny." I said with a grin.
They both smiled and hugged me. "Hey, good to see ya again." Johnny said.
"Yeah, you too." I said with a small grin.
"Oh shit..." Sodapop mumbled.
I gave him a look of confusion and turned back around.
There, walking in next to Ponyboy and Johnny, was none other than the Dallas Winston.
The room got silent. I faced away from Dallas and finally spoke up. "Umm... I'll see y'all later." I said walking out the door.
Dallas' POV
I stood there like a complete idiot as Valeria walked out the door and closed it behind her. The room was silent for a second.
"So... how's everyone doing?" Two-Bit said breaking the silence.
"I told you guys! She walks in like she owns the place!" I said.
"You knew she was here?" Steve asked.
"Her name and her roommates name are on the for hire signs at the diner."
"I invited her in. She was skeptical to come back!" Soda said, defending her.
I groaned. "He's been bitter and angry all day cause of her." Johnny said with an eye roll.
"I AM NOT BITTER AND ANGRY!" I yelled leaving and slamming the door behind me.
I heard them all laugh as I stormed out through the gate.
Valeria's POV
I drove home, my mind blank from what just happened. I felt like seeing him in that moment brought back so many memories. Too many to even process it. My mind almost just shut down from so many things.
I walked upstairs and Hana was sitting at the kitchen counter. "Oh my God! You're ok! Where have you been? Are you ok?" She asked running up to me.
"I ran into Sodapop. Y'know, my old friend. He invited me back to his house and I just got caught up. I'm sorry. I should have called or something. But towards the end of me being there, I ran into Dallas." I said quickly.
"Woah. Ok. Calm down. Like Dallas Winston?" I nodded. She groaned. "Ugh I hate him. I've never met him, but I hate him."
She managed to get me to grin. "Yeah. It was weird seeing him again. Especially since we haven't really talked since we ended things besides him coming to our college dorm and all that crap. But I can't even think right. My mind is just all over."
"Alright. I get it. Get some sleep and try and brush it off." She said.
I sighed. "Actually, I'm gonna go for a drive. I just came back to tell you, don't worry about me, I'll be ok, it's a safe city, I know where I'm going. But I'm just gonna go for a bit. I'll be back later. Get some sleep if you can." I said with a grin.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yeah. I am. I'll bring up the groceries and I'm gonna go."
I walked downstairs and brought everything up. I got in my car and sighed. Do I really wanna go here?
I turned it on and started driving. This place made the happiest I've ever been. But now, it's just another place in the world that reminds me of what I wish I had.
I drove to the park and got out of my car. I walked a few minutes down to the river. The tree was still there. I sat down and leaned against it.
The quiet still night with the river flowing was a nice way to calm down and clear my head. An entire year of my life, and the happiest year of my life, flooded my brain. Every little detail.
I waited for maybe five minutes just to calm down but it wasn't working.
I felt as if the only way I could stop this madness in my brain, was to just go through it slowly. Like going through a folder in an office building.
If I ever wanted to go home and not be so stressed about this, that was what I had to do.
I sighed as the earliest memory I had with Dallas flooded my brain.
YOU ARE READING
What We Once Were
Romance"I loved him. But it was too late." She didn't want to leave him. But they just were meant to be. And that was that. Valeria, years after they have seen each other, relives the memories they had with each other. And after all this time, she finally...
