Sass

Chapter 14

            Before I knew it, Dallas and I pulled up in front of an old church in Windrixville. Was this their hideout?

"Well, this is the place," Dally said, about to get out of the car. Before he could do so, I grabbed his arm and forced him to look at me. I wanted to resolve whatever conflict there was before we went in.

"Hey, look at me," I commanded gently. "Thank you for this. You are fucking fantastic..."

"Yeah, yeah, I already know that," he replied jokingly.

"I'm being serious-"

"You don't always have to be serious, you know," he said, cutting me off.

I looked away from him, frustrated and almost upset. Why did he always have to avoid confrontation? To be fair, I guess I did too...

Dallas hopped out of the car and came around to the other side, opening my door and placing a hand on my cheek.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Buck up. You dig okay, you know that?"

"So I've been told," I replied, sighing. Climbing out of the car, I wrapped my arms around Dally, taking in his warmth. I never expected this behavior from myself, but I suppose I had been craving this affection for a long time. It was intoxicating.

"Let's go," he whispered, leaving a kiss on the corner of my jaw before he released me.

Quietly, we entered the church to find Johnny sitting up awake, and a blonde boy sleeping on the dirty floor. Was that... Pony?

"Glory, he looks different with his hair like that," Dally muttered.

His eyes fluttered open, and I felt my own fill with tears. I ran as quickly as I could over to him, sliding to the ground, and pulling him in my arms.

"Sass?" he asked, still half asleep.

"Yeah, it's me," I said, unable to keep the tears from flowing. "I'm here."

Completely regaining consciousness, Pony began to utter literal word vomit. "How's Sodapop? Are the fuzz after us? Is Darry all right? Do the boys know where we are? What-"

"Hold on, kid. I can't answer everything at once," Dally interjected. "You two wanna go get something to eat first? I skipped breakfast and I'm about starved."

I rolled my eyes at his ridiculousness. "Dal, c'mon. You're not starved."

With that, Dally came over and slung an arm around me, teasingly messing up my hair.

"Cut it out," I laughed, attempting to swat his arm away.

"What's goin' on with you two?" Johnny asked suggestively.

"I don't know," I replied, turning my attention to Dally. After all, he was the one who didn't want any labels.

"I mean, we all knew this day would come," Pony said, chuckling.

"Oh, shut it, kid," I scolded, yet smiling. "Dal and I just found friends in each other, is all."

"Right," Ponyboy replied, shaking his head. "'Friends.'"

"Anyway, is it safe to go out?" Johnny then asked nervously.

"Yeah, the fuzz won't be lookin' for you around here," Dally said. "They think you've lit out for Texas. By the way, I got a letter for you Ponyboy."

He took the crumpled up letter out of his pocket, and handed it to Ponyboy. I knew it was from Sodapop, but I wondered what it said.

Ponyboy silently read the note, a melancholy expression crossing his face when he finished. I couldn't imagine how scared he must be.

I went back over to Ponyboy and put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "For what it's worth, kid, I think your hair looks tuff." I was lying, of course, but I wanted to take his mind off of whatever he read in that letter.

Ponyboy just rolled his eyes. "You don't need to rub it in," He cracked my code, I guess.

Interrupting us, Dally then said, "Do y'all want somethin' to eat or not?"

"You'd better believe it," Johnny replied enthusiastically. "It sure will be good to get in a car again."

"Johnny, I never got to say 'hello' to you," I suddenly realized, walking over and wrapping him in a warm embrace. "I've missed you."

"Don't be getting any ideas, Johnnycake," Dally interjected. "She's my girl, okay?"

"Oh, now I'm your girl?" I asked jokingly.

"Do you want to be?"

Was he asking me to be his girlfriend right then and there?

There was a lot to think about- I'd never had a boyfriend before and this was Dallas fucking Winston... but then again, maybe I didn't have to think. What if I just lived in the moment without a thought?

"Yeah, I do."

Dally smiled and nodded, "That's cool."

I couldn't help but laugh at his attempt to remain nonchalant. It seemed that everything he did at this point either made me smile or laugh. This giddy feeling bubbled up inside of my chest whenever he was around, and I craved his touch all the time.

I think I was falling for him... hard.