It almost worked

Chapter 5- Familar strangers

୨⎯ Chapter 5- familiar strangers ⎯୧

The morning light peeked through the blinds, casting long shadows across the small apartment. I had woken up early—earlier than I would have liked—and found myself at the window, staring at the city below.

The streets were still buzzing with their usual chaos, people moving like ants in a never-ending frenzy, but for once, I didn't feel like I was a part of it. I felt like I was stuck on the outside, like I was watching from a distance, even though I was right in the middle of it all.

It was too quiet in the apartment. Dallas was still asleep on the couch, his chest rising and falling in slow, steady breaths. He looked peaceful, which felt out of place for someone like him.

Everything about Dallas screamed trouble, but in a way that made you want to stay close to him anyway. It was like you couldn't help but be drawn in, like a moth to a flame.

I shook my head, pushing the thoughts aside. The last few days with him had been strange—comfortably strange, but strange nonetheless.

There was a part of me that felt like I knew him already.

Like we had shared something before, something more than just the nights we'd spent talking and hanging out.

As I turned back toward the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of him stirring on the couch. His face scrunched up, a low groan escaping his lips as he slowly dragged himself into an upright position.

I didn't look away, though I knew I should have. I knew it wasn't good to keep staring at him, especially not when I had no idea what he was thinking.

Dallas yawned and rubbed a hand over his face, glancing at me through half-lidded eyes. He looked at me for a second—just a second—but it felt like a lifetime.

Something in his gaze shifted, something almost familiar, but I couldn't place it. It wasn't until he turned his head away that I realized how much that brief moment had affected me.

He stood up, his movements slow, like he wasn't fully awake yet. The shirt he had worn yesterday still clung to his body, a little too tight around his shoulders. His hair was still messy, as if he'd tossed and turned all night, and his eyes were still heavy with sleep.

"You planning on doing anything today?" I asked, trying to break the silence that had stretched between us.

He shrugged, his eyes narrowing slightly as if thinking about it. "I don't know. Maybe we could go for a walk, get outta here for a while."

I nodded, not sure what else to say. Dallas wasn't the type to sit still for long, and I had learned that the hard way. He needed to be moving, doing something, anything to keep his mind from wandering too much. I couldn't blame him. I was the same way.

As I grabbed my jacket, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to change. The air felt different today, heavier somehow, like it was leading me toward something I wasn't ready for.

It wasn't until we were halfway down the street that I realized Dallas was walking beside me in complete silence, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket.

"Where do you wanna go?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Does it matter?" he replied, his voice low but not unkind. "I don't care where we end up."

We walked for a while, past the same crowded streets, the same busy people, the same chaos that seemed to never stop. But this time, something felt different. There was a tension in the air that I couldn't ignore. I kept glancing at him, unsure of what he was thinking, and he kept his eyes on the ground, his lips set in a thin line.

We passed a few familiar faces—people I'd seen around the city, but none I knew personally. At one point, I thought I saw someone I recognized,

but when I looked back, they were already gone, swallowed up by the crowd. It wasn't until we stopped in front of a liquor store that I noticed the slight change in Dallas' demeanor.

"Something wrong?" I asked, looking up at him.

He glanced at me briefly, his eyes scanning the street before he finally looked back at me, his expression unreadable. "Nah. Just thinking about some stuff."

I nodded, though I wasn't sure I believed him. Dallas wasn't the type to talk about his feelings, at least not with someone like me. He seemed to carry the weight of everything on his shoulders, and maybe that was how he liked it. But the more time I spent around him, the more I felt like there was something he wasn't saying.

As we stepped into the liquor store, the air felt even heavier. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, and the hum of the refrigerator units was almost deafening.

Dallas moved to the back of the store, grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers. I wandered toward the aisle with snacks, but my thoughts kept drifting back to him—his quietness, the way he seemed like he was always on the edge of something, like he was waiting for something to happen.

"You got a plan or something?" I asked, trying to distract myself.

Dallas turned to look at me, his lips curling into a half-smirk. "Plan for what?"

I shrugged, feeling the weight of his gaze. "I don't know. For getting out of here, maybe. Getting away from all of this."

His smirk faded slightly, and for a moment, I thought I saw something in his eyes—a glimmer of recognition. But it was gone so fast that I wasn't sure if I had imagined it.

"You really want to get away?" he asked, his voice quieter than before.

I hesitated, my mind racing. "I don't know. Maybe."

"You ever been to Tulsa?" he asked suddenly, his tone casual but still holding that hint of curiosity.

I blinked, surprised by the question. "Yeah. I used to hang around there. But not for long. My friend—Ponyboy—he was from there."

Dallas' gaze shifted slightly, his expression unreadable. "Ponyboy, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I know him pretty well. Used to see him around a lot. He talked about Tulsa a lot, too."

Dallas' lips pressed into a thin line as if something clicked in his mind. "He still talk about me?"

I looked at him, my confusion growing. "What? Talk about you?"

He just shrugged, his usual smirk returning. "Nothing. Just wondered."

As we left the store, something about the whole situation felt too familiar, like I was missing a key piece of the puzzle. There was something about Dallas, something about his presence, that seemed to connect to a part of me I couldn't fully understand.

I had seen him before, in another life, in another time. Maybe at that rumble all those weeks ago.

I didn't know for sure. But I couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, everything—Dallas, Tulsa, Ponyboy—was all connected. And maybe, just maybe, we were going back there soon.

Ponyboy mentioned?!?!😼 btw this was a filler chapter😭