Darry's POV:
I sighed as I got into my truck after another long day at work. The past few weeks have been hell. Work has been getting extremely busy, and most days I am working 10-12 hours. Today was one of those days, and I was just leaving work at 9pm. Ponyboy has been having trouble at school, which caused stress for everyone so the house has been a little hostile lately. I couldn't remember the last time we didn't fight. Even Sodapop was getting stressed and causing arguments, which never happened.
As I drove home, the feeling of dread filled my stomach. I knew the house was a mess, we had nothing to cook for dinner and I knew I'd be coming home to a house full of loud teenagers. Sodapop, Ponyboy, Steve, Johnny, Dallas, and Y/N would all probably be sitting in the living room causing a ruckus. Y/N had only been in the group a few months after meeting Soda and Steve when she went to the DX. She was a little older than them, having just turned 18. The boys all told me about how she had a crush on me, but no matter how sweet and adorable she was I just didn't have the time to worry about dating. But even I couldn't deny that in a perfect world, I would love to be with her. But she deserved more than I could give.
When I pulled up to the house I was actually surprised I couldn't already hear the noise. I opened the front door and was at a loss for words. The house was spotless. The floors had been swept, the kitchen had been scrubbed, the whole house smelled of lemon. The living room was empty, no teenagers, not even a speck of dust.
"What the..." I questioned. I set my tools down by the door.
"Hey, Darry." I heard her voice say from the kitchen. She turned back to the stove and scooped some food onto a plate and set it down on the table. "You hungry?"
"Yes, actually. But what happened in here? Where is everybody?" She motioned for me to sit down.
"Well, I sent everyone home around 7. Soda and Pony are already in bed." She sat down beside me. "And as for the house, well, I cleaned up a little." She looked down shyly. "I just...I know you have been really busy and stressed lately. We all could see it...and I just wanted to help you out." She jumped back up and started to wipe down the counter, nervously scrubbing at a spot only she saw.
"You did all of this...?" I was at a loss for words. Even my own brothers, my group of friends I've known my whole life, nobody had taken the time and effort to make me feel so loved. Nobody since my parents.
In that moment, I knew I couldn't fight this feeling anymore. This girl was everything. She had seen the chaos that was my life and she welcomed it. She had gone out of her way to make sure I was taken care of. Since my parents died and I had to take care of my brothers, I was always the one taking care of others. I forgot how it felt to have someone take care of you.
"It really wasn't too much! I just wanted to help out, you know?" She went on, "I just know you've had a lot on your plate and you're probably so exhausted and you know, you deserve to take a break..." she rambled on but I couldn't even hear her anymore.
I stood up and grabbed the sponge from her hand to stop her scrubbing. I grabbed her chin and tilted it up and interrupted her rambling by putting my lips on hers. It caught her off guard, but after a second her hands moved up around my neck and I moved mine to her waist to pull her closer.
I pulled away and rested my forehead against hers. "You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that," I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you."
She pulled her head back and looked up at me, her eyes scanning my face. She placed her hand on my jaw and softly rubbed her thumb along my cheek. Her lips slowly turned up into a smile. "I'm sure I have some idea."
I leaned in once more, capturing her lips in another kiss. I can't fight this anymore. Y/N walked into my life and stole my heart.
