The Writing on the Walls

Chapter One

My head lays in Pony's lap as he slips his fingers through my hair. The TV is playing Mickey while my eyes slowly droop into a closed state.
"You look tired, Chrissy." Pony says, making my bright blue eyes pop open.
"I'm not tired." I say while trying to rub the sleep from my eyes.
"Yes you are." Pony smiles while pushing me into a sitting position. I sigh knowing I won't win the argument.
"Fine." I say while standing up.
"Walk her home, Dally." Darry says while shooting him a nasty glare.
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because you're the only one here that's not doing something." Dallas just shakes his head and stands up.
"Let's go." He says while walking out of the house. I follow behind him and watch his walk. He stands tall, warding off anyone that comes near us. I finally catch up to him and try to copy his tough walk.
"What are you doing?" He asks while peeking down at me with an amused look. My chest is pressed out and my arms swing back and forth, clenched in fists. I feel stupid.
"Walking like you." I smile up at him. He lets out a short laugh and shakes his head.
"You're crazy kid." He says while trying to hide the smile tugging at the ends of his lips.
"Just like you." I say while nudging him.
"Oh, shut your trap." He says playfully while nudging me back. We walk in comfortable silence for awhile before he speaks up.
"Do you and Pony have something going on?" He asks while looking down at me.
"Are you serious?" I ask, my mouth hanging open slightly.
"Yeah. You two seemed pretty cozy on the couch."
"No!"
"Okay, just asking." He says while holding his hands up in defense. We walk up to my house and he stares at the door.
"Do you want to come in?" I ask while looking up at him.
"I don't know. Your mom probably doesn't want to see me with her daughter."
"I don't think she'll mind. Plus, getting into trouble has never scared you before. Unless you're too chicken." I say while smiling up at him cockily.
"Fine." He sighs and follows me inside.
"Hi momma." I say while kissing her cheek. She stands over the stove watching the water for her tea boil.
"Hi. Who's this?" She asks when she sees the tall, brooding boy in front of her.
"Dallas." He says with a curt nod.
"Winston?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.
"That's me." He says with a slight smirk.
"You taking care of my baby girl?" She asks, catching both of us off guard. I expected a nice to meet you but definitely not that.
"Excuse me?" He asks.
"Look, I know your reputation and I know people fear you. So are you at least using your reputation to protect my daughter?" She says while staring up into Dallas' suddenly soft eyes.
"I guess so. When you say choices, do you mean good or bad choices?" He asks while sitting at my kitchen table. My mom pours her tea and sits across from him. This is going to be a great start to a new friendship.
"I don't judge you because of what you've done. They're your choices and what's done is done. I can't change that." My mom shrugs.
"Thanks, Miss Rodgers. I hope you know your daughter is in good hands." The way he says it we sound like we're going steady.
"I know." My mom says while standing up.
"Goodnight, honey. You're welcome to stay the night, Dallas." She says while kissing my cheek and ruffling Dallas' hair as she walks upstairs to her room.
"Why'd you say that to my mom?" I ask him when he stands up.
"She's real nice. I don't want her worrying about you. Just don't tell the guys because I swear I'll never speak to you again."
"I won't." I laugh.
"Are you gonna stay?" I ask while heading to my room.
"I guess." He shrugs while following me to my room. We walk in and he looks around like he's never used his eyes before. My room isn't like who I am on the outside. I'm always laughing and smiling with everyone but when I'm all by my lonesome I'm artistic and well my thoughts are often depressing. Or at least that's what my mom says. No one has ever been in my room except for my mom. My walls are painted a thick black but I have a bunch of different things painted in a million different colors. I like drawing eyes. There are just a million different colors in them. I draw mostly the gangs eyes because they just fascinate me.
"Are these mine?" Dallas asks while skimming his fingers over the dark drown eyes with streaks of dark green.
"Yeah. That's what your eyes look like when you're angry." I say while standing next to him.
"Does the gang know about all of this?"
"No. I don't want them too. They'll think less of me." I say to him.
"I don't think less of you." He says while skimming his fingers along my jaw. He looks like he's about to say something but stops and takes his hand from my face.
"Thanks." I say while looking down.
"When did you write this?" He asks while clearing his throat. He's pointing to a sticky note that I have pressed against the side of my nightstand. Dallas Winston is as screwed up on the outside as me on the inside. I remember writing that. It's still true. I look around and see other thoughts that refer to him, but they don't say his name outright.
"When I was fifteen." I say slightly embarrassed.
"You're not screwed up." He says deeply while looking down at me.
"You don't understand." I say while walking over to my bed and sitting on the edge. I didn't mean for him to follow me but he does.
"Then explain it to me." He says simply while resting his head against my headboard.
"Alright, well I wrote this the night you said you wished the fuzz would do something besides jail you because you wanted to feel something besides anger. And I related. I just didn't vocalize it like you. I never do. Understand?" I ask while taking my eyes off my wall and over at him. His eyes look teary for a split second before he blinks and regains his stony expression.
"Yeah. I understand completely." We're quiet for awhile. There is a comfortable silence before I crawl over to Dallas and rest my head on his chest.
"When was the last time you slept a full night?" He asks me.
"Excuse me?"
"When do you sleep?" He asks while looking down at me.
"I slept Friday."
"That's two days ago."
"I know. I just don't like laying in my bed, waiting to fall asleep."
"Because then you think?"
"Yeah. More like overthink. So I sketch. Or do something besides sitting still."
"Sketch me." He says while looking down at me.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I want to know what I look like to you."
"Alright. But I've done you before." I sigh while getting out of bed.
"Oh have you?" He asks while sitting up, his hands laying in his lap.
"Yeah, a lot actually. You have the best expressions."
"Let me see em." He says to me.
"Okay." I sigh while pulling out one a few of the drawing I have scattered in my desk. I had them to him and he looks at them with careful eyes.
"These are really good." He says.
"Thanks, but this one is my favorite. Your smile looked real." I say while pointing to the one in the middle. His eyes were lit up, a perfect mix of golden and hazel. And his smile was wide and natural. It was nice.
"Yeah..." He says while taking his eyes of the drawing and looking up at me. A light smile pulls at the ends of his lips while he stacks them back up.
"You're a different breed, kid." He says while handing them back to me. I place them on top of my desk and look at him funny.
"Good different or bad different?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Good different. You aren't afraid of me. It's refreshing." He says with a smirk while kicking off his shoes and pulling off his shirt. I pull off my t-shirt, leaving me in my jeans and tank top and slip off my sneakers. I crawl under the covers and rest my head on the arm he has wrapped around my shoulders.
"Anytime you can't sleep come find me. I don't care when, just come find me. I won't tell no one." He says to me. I know Dallas doesn't talk about his feelings and pretends not to care but I know he's serious.
"Alright."
"But for now, just sleep." He says while closing his eyes. And at that moment I know that Dallas Winston is my best friend.