Stay - Dallas Winston

26

I had followed Darrel to Ponyboy's room, where he quickly shut the door behind us. 

Here we go.

I knew I was about to get scolded. 

"What the hell where you thinking?!" Darry's voice grew louder with every word he spoke, "jumping out the window?! Not telling any one where you were going?!"

His eyes were narrowed with anger. 

"I-" I began to say. 

Darry quickly cut me off. 

"Ponyboy turned white as a ghost when he came into the room and you weren't here! Do you know how long we searched for you!" Darry began yelling. 

He wasn't gonna listen to me. 

He was just gonna yell over me.  

I huffed loudly, from the bottom of my lungs. 

"You're telling me, that if I marched up to you and said, 'I'm going home.', that you would have been alright with that?! No! You would have yelled at me either way!" I hollered back. 

Before he could get anymore words out, the bedroom door flung open. 

Johnny peeked his head in. 

"Alright?" He asked me softly.  

I don't think Darry or I knew how loud we were yelling. 

I stared at him, as I blinked slowly. 

"Yeah," Darry spoke in a softer voice this time, "were ok."

He was still visibly angry. 

"I just wanted to lay in my bed for a while. My own bed. It's been such a long time since I laid in it.  I just ended up falling asleep. I'm sorry." I look at my feet as I spoke.  

I was trying to fuckkkk. 

Stop being a cock block, Darrel.

Darry took a long deep breath, and placed his hands on his hips.  

"She was sleeping.  Twobit was with me when we found her." Johnny defended me. 

Darry waved his hand in the air, to shoo Johnny away from the conversation. 

Johnny stepped away, closing the door softly behind him. 

Darry brought his finger up and pointed at me. 

"Don't do it again.  When you leave, you tell me or Soda... or someone." Darry scolded me. 

"Got it." I rolled me eyes. 

"Now, I've gotta go to bed.  I've gotta work in the morning." Darry quickly turned, and walked out of the room. 

Some times that man turns nothing into something. 

I swear he just likes to be angry sometimes. 

I walked out of Ponyboy's room, and went back into the living room. 

Soda was patiently standing in the hall, waiting to go into his room to go to bed. 

"Sorry, Soda." I told him. 

"Better you than me." He gave me a smile, before walking in. 

Twobit must have gone home, because the only people who sat in the living room, were Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dallas. 

The three of them sat on the couch, in silence. 

I plopped down in between Johnny and Ponyboy. 

I laid my head on Ponyboy's shoulder. 

"I didn't mean to upset you, Ponyboy.  I just wanted to lay in my own bed that's all.  I just ended up falling asleep for a few hours. " I spoke quietly to him. 

Ponyboy gave me a weak smile. 

"I think you aged me by ten years because of stress." He joked. 

I let out a soft laugh. 

"I'm going to bed." Ponyboy responded, before getting up and walking away. 

As soon as I heard his bedroom door shut, I laid my head on Dallas lap, and my feet on Johnny's.  

Dallas rested his forearm across my abdomen, as the three of us stayed silent for a while. 

"I don't think the three of us are gonna squeeze on this couch to sleep, man." Dallas finally announced.

"Just move all the cushions to the floor, and lay them out.  We can sleep in a pile." I smiled. 

"That requires you to get up." Johnny chuckled. 

I rolled my eyes before the three of us got up, and laid all the couch cushions on the floor. 

I grabbed a blanket, and laid down in the center of them.  

Johnny and Dallas shut the lights off, before joining me. 

One on both sides of me. 

"Man, it's fucking hot in here." Dallas took his shirt off, and threw it across the dark room.  

I turned and faced Dallas, putting my back towards Johnny. 

I think Johnny had already fell asleep. 

"Dallas?" I whispered, "you still awake?"

Dallas Winston quickly put his hand behind my head, and pulled me close to him. 

Dallas kissed me long, but softly. 

His lips moved slowly against mine. 

"Does that answer your question?" He whispered back. 

I smiled a bit. 

"What ya need?" Dallas spoke again. 

"Tell me something. Anything." I whispered. 

Dallas rested his forehead against mine. 

He moved his hand down from behind my head, to my waist. 

"I think I love you." Dallas spoke quickly, almost as if he didn't say it now.... he was never going to say it.  

It was like he waited his whole life of gathering up the courage to spit those words out. 

"I don't mean I think.... I do love you. I love everything about you." He rubbed my side softly. 

I could feel my body tingle. 

"I love you too, Dallas." My heart was beating so fast. 

"That's cute and all, but can you two please shut the hell up." Johnny groaned.  

I giggled a bit. 

I guess Johnny wasn't sleeping. 

"Alright. Good night, Johnny." I laughed.  

I cuddled up to Dallas, who had both of his arms wrapped around me now, and closer my eyes. 

In that moment, I had never felt more safe and calm in my life. 

I buried my face into Dallas’s chest, and fell asleep.