honey → dallas winston

19

Dally
September 5, 1968

If you'd asked him five years ago where he'd expected to be now, Dallas Winston would've told you dead or in jail. He almost got the first one right, the second one a narrow miss a time or two in recent years. But after Johnny, the first -and what he assumed to be his only- love, his perspective shifted just slightly. Sure, he wasn't suddenly a stand-up guy, he didn't do much honest anything, he was still snarky and sort of rude. He absolutely still slept around, he definitely didn't care much for anything, but he found a new appreciation for existing, even if only a small one.

With three years past that fateful night, and a whole lot of life behind and ahead of him, Dallas spent most of his time drifting through being, just existing, sticking to his old ways, trying to be less of a dick, failing, trying again, succeeding.

He'd never expected such a simple night in early summer to send his life into a spiral. Cold, cruel, Dallas Winston was a thing of the past. The shell he wore as a kid shed off like a jacket. Just a simple name sparked something in him: Georgia.

She's only the diner girl, he thought, I'll never see her again. No need to get excited.

But fate had other plans. Dallas was never much of a believer in anything, but something about her, something about her smile and wit made him sort of uneasy. He'd later discover this was actually what a crush was, something he'd only felt once.

Time and time again she snuck her way back to him. Soda Curtis made that inevitable. Soda had that way about him that made everyone want to be his friend. So it wasn't shocking at all to find he and Georgia close from the start.

Dallas was terrible at this, he knew it. Johnny told his so all those summers ago. When they'd tried and tried and it just got too hard. Better as best friends, that was the consensus.

And then she had him make that stupid promise. It almost brought him back to reality.

Who does this girl think she is? Coming in here, making me say stupid shit? Fall in love with her? Please.

But Dallas quickly found that he preferred seeing her laughing and smiling and looking at him like he's never done a bad thing. When she disappeared those weeks Dallas felt empty. Without the bike rides, and movies, and getting lost - getting stabbed- and all the things in between, Dallas felt like his feet were off solid ground. It was stupid, and early, but he was in deep and he knew it. And Johnny knew it too.

"You like her Dal," it wasn't a question. Johnny breathed a puff of smoke into the air. It was chilly outside, strange for August.

"I just think she's cool," Dallas shrugged, flicking the ash from his cigarette onto the porch.

"You can lie to her but you can't lie to me," Johnny laughed. Bastard. He was sly. Dallas only sighed in response.

"You could just tell her," Johnny said.

"She made me make that stupid promise. And I've been on thin ice with her since day one. Don't act like Soda didn't put ideas in her head," Dallas groaned.

"Soda's Soda. He's gonna say what he wants, whether is true or not. And since when have you ever kept a promise?" Johnny looked up at Dallas now, eyes wide.

"That kinda hurts yanno," Dallas said.

"It's true. Look," Johnny turned fully toward the taller boy, "I know you, and you've got it written all over your face. I didn't need Two-Bit to tell me how you felt those years ago, I could tell when you looked at me. You look at her the same way. Stop holding yourself back. You've done it for so long that I'm sure it's easier, but you're never gonna know unless you try. And believe it or not Dal, you are a good guy, rough around the edges sure, but you are kind. There's no reason why you shouldn't get to be happy like everyone else."

Dallas felt like he'd been slapped in the face. So much so, that much to his chagrin, his eyes welled every so slightly. He opened his mouth to respond, but Johnny waved him off.

"Next time, advice is gonna cost you," Johnny flipped back to his normal demeanor. Dallas shoved him slightly. They sat in silence a moment more before Dallas did finally answer.

"I'm always gonna love you first though," it came out more as a whisper. Shutting one door to open another.

"I'm always gonna love you too."

So, sitting outside in the lot, Georgia was waiting to go inside. And Dallas was thinking about the time they danced in the rain, and how he'd never felt more free than when his arms were around her waist. And how watching her do the most insane thing he'd ever seen in his life, made him feel like he had been saved. He thought about how even in her worst moments she was always kind, and how he'd do anything to make sure she never felt that way again. He'd cup his hands and catch her tears before they were allowed to fall. He'd keep her feet on solid ground, he'd tell her she's safe, he'd keep her out of trouble, he'd be everything for her he wished someone had been for him.

He thought about the first time he kissed her and felt the entire world stop spinning. Time was an illusion and it had been waiting for him to realize it. Clocks only ticked so that they'd move him to this moment. There was nothing else that mattered than this. Than loving her.

She sat there in silence, hair messy from the wind, cheeks flushed, eyes droopy, just a bit too tired. She was a girl. She was just a girl. But for the first time in Dallas' entire life, he looked at something and saw a future. And the future looked back.

And instead of scaring him it excited him. There was more than this. There always had been. It just took a couple of years, some bad decisions, and a broken promise. But everyone's right, Dallas Winston had never been good at keeping those anyway.

"I love you Georgia," he whispered quietly, to the future. And the future smiled at him.

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thank you all for everything
stay gold <3