Chapter Eighteen: Boredom

372 3 11
                                    

Those days I spent in the hospital were some of the longest of my life. I'm the kind of person who's always running around doing a thousand things at once, so sitting in bed all day was hard for me. But hey, at least I wasn't dead. I could deal with a little boredom.

Pony was able to go home the night I woke up, but Dally had to stay for a couple more days after that. So now, Johnny and I were the only ones left, since our burns were pretty bad. Darry wouldn't leave my side at first— missing several days of work— but he finally started to lay off after a few days. You know, once he was convinced I wouldn't drop dead at any second. And the rest of the gang came to see us any chance they could get. Especially Dally— he never missed a day. But once Darry and Soda went back to work and Pony, Steve, and Two-Bit went back to school, I convinced one of the nurses to let me room with Johnny. You know, so I wouldn't be nearly as bored. Once the nurse agreed with a heavy sigh, I shuffled into Johnny's hospital room— his face immediately lit up.

"Guess who has a new roommate?" I announced, grinning.

"Hey Lexie! Doc said it was alright?" He asked with a small smile.

"Yup! I've been so bored when the gang isn't around. Now I'll have someone to talk to!" I said happily, sitting down in the empty hospital bed across from him.

He nodded his head, his eyes gleaming. "So, how you been feelin?" Johnny asked.

"Not too bad— the occasional headache here and there. But otherwise, pretty good," I replied with a grin. "How've you been?" I asked.

"I've dealt with worse," he said casually with a shrug. 

I gave him a sympathetic look. Johnny's parents got on my nerves— almost more than the Socs. His mom screaming at him all the time— his dad beating him. I guess the hospital wasn't bothering him too much, because it was better than being at home. The deafening silence, the creepy sense of death in the air— it was better than going back to Johnny Cade's house.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, both deep in thought. With almost anyone else, it would've been extremely uncomfortable— but not with Johnny. We have a different kind of relationship— a different kind of bond. We can just understand each other, even if no one's saying anything. Those moments of peace and quiet with Johnny keep me sane. 

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Hey Johnnycake, can I come in?" Dally asked.

"Yeah, man, come on in," Johnny responded as Dally opened the door. 

As soon as he saw Johnny, a smile grew on his face. But when he looked over and saw me, he started smiling even more. Dallas Winston doesn't smile that much, so this caught us off guard.

"Hey Lex! What're you doin in here?" He asked in his heavy New York accent.

"I convinced the docs to let me room with Johnny. Man, this hospital is getting old. I can't wait to get out of here," I replied, shaking my head.

"Well it looks like today's your lucky day, Doll. The nurse told me when I checked in— y'all are goin home today," Dally said with a grin, lighting up a cigarette.

"Really?" I asked eagerly. Then I remembered what he'd said a few days earlier— about our date— and that thought only made me even more excited. I was probably grinning like an idiot.

"Yeah, man. I called Darry and he was able to get off work early. He's bringing his truck over right now. Hey Kid, you ready to get outta here? The gang's missed you, man," Dally said, patting Johnny's shoulder.

"Sure, man," Johnny replied with a slight grin.

The nurse came in shortly after and finally took us off all those dang machines, then Johnny and I got dressed. I stood in the bathroom, pulling on a pair of jeans that Pony had dropped off a few days earlier. He must've been thinking ahead of time— I guess he uses his head sometimes. Sometimes.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and god— I was a mess. My light brown hair was all over the place and I had a bunch of small cuts and bruises all over my face. At least it wasn't too bad, though. Johnny had been much more cut up before... by the Socs. I quickly shook that thought out of my head and started brushing my tangled hair. None of us liked to think about that day too much— the day Johnny had been jumped. We don't talk about it. We don't think about it. We just act like it never happened and fight the Socs twice as hard.

"Hey Lex!" Dally hollered, "Darry's out front in the truck— you're good to go," he smirked, catching sight of me in the mirror.

"Man, you're perfect," he said with a grin while shaking his head in disbelief.

I smiled and laughed, my face turning bright red in a matter of seconds.

"Come on— hurry up you two! The gang's waiting!" Darry yelled impatiently from the hallway, breaking up our little moment.

"I'll see you tonight, Doll. I'll pick you up at 7:00," he said with a wink. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, then left.

I quickly threw my brush into my purse, which Pony had also brought, and sprinted into the hallway.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I replied, shaking my head while smiling to myself. Darry threw his arm around my neck and squeezed my shoulder lovingly.

"It's good to have you back, little buddy," he said with a smile.

And finally, Johnny and I walked out of that hospital. Together. Unharmed. 

Gold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Authors Note:

I'M SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG— I just started school a little over a week ago and now I have almost no free time anymore. I'll get a hang of it eventually, though, and then I'll be able to write more. But currently, my top priority is making videos.

Anyways, I think this chapter is kinda cute. I absolutely love the bond Johnny and Alexis have, since it's pretty similar to Ponyboy and Johnny. Moral of the story: they're cute, Lexie and Dally are cute,  and I really need to write more 😩❤️

Hope you enjoy and stay gold 🌅

Partners In Crime | Dallas Winston FanFicWhere stories live. Discover now