Starboy - DarLas -The Outsiders

Chapter 10

"You're up, Dal"

I look dreadfully at my last card. It's a queen of spades. I'm supposed to play a nine. Guess I'm bluffing this round. I lay the card face-down on the stack. The stakes are high, the stack adds up to almost the entire deck. 

Play it cool, I tell myself in my head. Play it cool.

I keep a straight face, but it's hard not to smile with Darry grinning mischievously at me. I'm a pretty good BS player, but this was Darry's turf. He rocked this game. The only reason he hasn't lost all of his cards is because in the middle of the first game I got bored and started calling bullshit whenever I pleased. Not the best method on the planet, but one thing I picked up is that Darry sure likes to bluff. That and the fact that sly grin of his was starting to be a major turn-on for me. I looked back up at him, forcing myself to remain emotionless.

He leaned forward and stared intensely into my eyes, as I did his. I slowly felt my cheeks get hot and I fought the urge to smile. Darry smirked, and sat back. 

"Bullshit."

I felt my insides turn to ice and my stomach drop. I tensed up nervously as Darry reached forward and turned over my card, revealing the bluff behind it. 

Darry gave an evil laugh and shoved the deck towards me. "Take it, Dal!"

I frowned at the mess of cards. I picked it up and threw it at Darry. 

"Darry, you bastard!" I sent cards flying at him and they scattered. I tackled him to to ground and messed up his now greased hair, leaving it sticking up in every direction. He laughed and rolled around, trying to get me off of him. I kept my grip, wrapping my arms around him from behind and wrapping my legs around his shins. 

We rolled around on the ground for a while until the most despicably clever idea popped into my head. Making sure to keep myself pressed against him, I grabbed his stomach with my fingers and started tickling him. 

Fun fact about Darry: He is very ticklish. He tensed up and started laughing hysterically, squirming to get out of my grasp. I kept my grip and kept tickling him.

"Cut it out Dal!" Darry exclaimed through bursts of laughter, "Cut it out!"

I grinned devilishly and started tickling his underarms. Darry started kicking at me and rolling around on the ground, laughing his head off. 

"Get offa me!"

I finally decided I had enough fun and got off of him. I helped him up, and he punched me playfully in the shoulder.

"I hate you," he said, trying not to grin. He smoothed down his messy hair, fixing it a little.

I smirked at him. "No, you don't."

Darry rolled his eyes at me and started picking up the cards scattered all over the floor. He stood back up and put the cards back in their box, then set it on the table. He stood there, a bored expression settling in on his face.

"Now what?" He asked, looking around the room.

An idea popped into my head. I took a deep breath, gathering all my courage, and asked him. 

"Would you like to go grab a bite to eat later tonight?" I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets and looked down at the wood flooring. "It doesn't have to be a date or anything..." 

I trailed off. I looked up at Darry, who was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"I would like that," he said, then looked away, "But I..." he hesitated nervously, fiddling with his thumbs.

"What is it, Dar?" I walked towards him and rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Darry looked back up at me. Then he turned away and started walking in the other direction.

"Never mind, I'm just bein' a pussy-" That caught my attention. I blocked his way and pulled him into my arms. He tensed up and stood there awkwardly. He was kind of ruining the ambiance, but that wasn't stopping me. 

"I don't ever want to hear you talking about yourself like that, alright man?" I hugged him tighter, then let my hands rest around his waist, still not letting go. I pulled back a little and looked into those perfect eyes. "Now, what's bothering you?"

I let go of him. Darry looked around anxiously, hesitated, and then replied.

"It's kind of stupid," He started, "But I..." He trailed off, looked at me, then started again, "With what's been going on, with everybody talking about us, I just don't know how people will react."

I took that in. Then, I suddenly understood what he was getting at. I couldn't relate, but I understood.

"So you're scared," I stated.

Darry looked around, probably to make sure no one was about to walk through the door. Then, he looked at me shamefully and gave a slight nod.

"Hey, let me tell you something, man," I said quietly, pulling him close. Darry looked at me as an invitation to keep going. I ran my hand through the hair on the back of his head, letting it fall through my fingers. I gently leaned in, and whispered in his ear,

"I don't wanna pressure you to do anything you don't want to do," I said, "But know this," I hesitated, then started again, "I won't let anyone hurt you, I won't let anyone hurt Sodapop, and I won't let anyone hurt Pony." I pulled back and looked into his blue eyes, and I saw a glint of trust before they went blank again. 

"Alright?" 

Darry nodded, and then wrapped his arms around my neck and tucked his chin into the crook of my shoulder. 

"Thank you, Dal," he said softly, then returned to the embrace. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back. I welcomed the warm feeling of his strong arms around me. Whether he liked it or not, he was mine, and I was his. And I liked it that way.

Suddenly, I recalled on times when I had felt like this before. The last time I had this conversation. Without warning, all of the memories of him flooded into my mind. I felt a pang in my heart and a lump in my throat. I felt my eyes well up with tears. I swallowed the lump and hugged Darry tighter, not wanting to let go.

Darry pulled away. 

"You alright, Dal?" He asked. I wiped the tears away and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine, man," I replied. Darry gave me a skeptical look and started walking towards the kitchen.

"I'm gonna make lunch, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." He then turned around and walked off.

I gave myself a moment to get my shit together. I did that breathing thing that nice man back in New York taught me. Breath in, hold it, breath out. I did this several times until I could think clearly again. It was right then, standing in the living room of the Curtis house, that I made a silent oath to myself.

I'm not going to make the same mistake that I made with him.