East West Sunset - A Darry Curtis Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Two

I woke up at around six o'clock, but since it was Saturday, I didn't get up right away. I was still tangled in Darry's arms; he was asleep, his breath tickling my cheek, his throat catching in a snore. My whole body ached in longing. I let myself imagine for a moment: what it would be like to wake up every morning this way, cradled in his arms. I felt his muscles around me and the warmth coming from his body, and I closed my eyes again. I felt so safe here. I wanted to stay here forever. But I knew that soon, Pony and Soda would be getting up, and it would not do for them to find us like this. It would lead to too many awkward questions. And besides, I didn't want to be here when Darry woke up, either. He hadn't really been in his right state of mind last night, and I still felt a little guilty for taking advantage of him the way I had. If he woke up and found me so close in bed with him, he would probably, no, definitely freak out.

I quietly slipped out from under his arms and tiptoed out the door. Ponyboy would expect me to be asleep on the couch, so I snagged a blanket from the back of a chair and laid down. It wasn't the most comfortable; I was slightly cold without Darry next to me and the cushions were lumpy and clumped into weird shapes.

I closed my eyes and managed to drift off to sleep for a bit longer. Before long, though, I heard someone stumble into the living room, and I snapped awake in an instant. Darry stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes blearily and yawning.

"I feel like crap," he groaned as he sank into the nearest armchair. He kind of looked like it, too. His eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by heavy bags. His hair was mussed, though I had to admit that it looked kind of cute. "What happened last night?" he asked.

"You got extremely drunk," I said. I shivered under the thin blanket and tucked my feet up under it.

"Did I ever." He rubbed his temples. "Boy, do I have a headache."

"Maybe you shouldn't drink so much, then," I suggested gently.

He shrugged. "I do, because it's not so... I didn't say anything, did I? I didn't do anything foolish?"

I hesitated for a second, but he noticed it at once and his eyes narrowed. "N-no," I said.

"What did I do?" His voice was gruff.

"Do you really not remember?"

"I'll tell you what you did, you bludgering idiot." Pony had stepped into the room, and he crossed his arms and glared at Darry. "You couldn't keep your hands off this one," he explained, nodding at me.

I blushed and tried to hide as much of myself as I could under the blanket.

Darry buried his face in his hands, obviously embarrassed. "I didn't."

"You did," Ponyboy said as Soda stumbled into the room behind him.

"It was hilarious," Soda said fervently. I shot him an annoyed look. He shrugged, as if to say, "What? You weren't exactly resisting." I shook my head and refused to look at him again.

"What's the last thing you even remember?" Ponyboy asked him, his voice full of exasperation.

"Well..." Darry frowned and rubbed his temples again. "I remember... yelling at Steve... and then I had a ... a couple beers."

"A couple? You drank more than Two-Bit and I combined!" Soda told him.

Darry waved a hand at him vaguely and winced, cradling his head. "Evidently. My head is killing me right now."

"Too bad. You're hungover. What did you expect?" Ponyboy pointed out. 

Darry glared at him.

"Well, I got work in an hour or so," Soda said as he stretched. He didn't look too worse for wear, but his usual high energy was more subdued than usual, so I assumed he was hungover as well. He was just so handsome that the physical aspects of it didn't really get to him. "I'm gonna get ready. Be out in a bit," he said.