RED [dallas winston]

ALTERNATE ENDING

"knock! knock!" harley recognized sodapops voice from outside the door.

"come in!" she yelled as she swiped the paperwork off the desk.

"y'all doin this or what?" johnny inquired from behind sodapop in the hallway.

"we're doing this." the couple said in unison.

__________

they checked in at the courthouse and were led into a small room where they were greeted by a priest. "harley and dallas?" he asked.

"yes." dally said running his hands down the wrinkles in his shirt.

"and your witness?"

"yes sir." sodapop answered. harley and dallas each chose one witness to be with them today, however, the secret got out. so despite sodapop and johnny being the official witnesses, five other heads sat in the folding chairs in the corner of the room. darry was sporting the proudest smile harley had ever seen, and evie was just about bawling holding her camera. ponyboy was holding a cam-recorder, something he borrowed from his new journalism internship, and steve and two-bit kept raising their eyebrows and pointing at dally mouthing 'you're the man.'

dally and harley stepped up to where the priest was and joined hands. "i understand you've written your own vows?"

"that is correct." harley spoke. they had chosen to do a small courthouse wedding with just their close friends, all that mattered to them. harleys mom had tried to make it but she was called into work last minute. harley hoped that one day she could support her mom so that she didn't need to work all the time.

before she knew it it was time for them to exchange vows. dally went first.

"when i was 10 years old i went to jail for the first time. when i was in there the older boys would torment me at any chance they got, until one boy was nice to me. he told me a story about how he ended up in jail. he had fallen head over heels for a girl who told him if he ran a bag of drugs for her they would finally be together. she set him up, and yet he still talked about how he couldn't wait to see her when he got out of jail. i thought he was insane. i swore to myself id never fall for a girl, id never be that stupid. then, only a couple years later, i met you. you had just gotten your money stolen by a soc and just like that guy in jail, i committed a crime for you. shoplifting some candy bars and eating them at the playground i guess might have been a little different, but ever since that day i knew i would do anything for you. i spent our teen years beating up any guy who spoke wrongly of you, not that i ever told you that. and then you came back that summer, and i couldn't keep it to myself anymore. i remember when you got jumped, and all i wanted to do was protect you, and homecoming when you looked so pretty i almost drug myself to a school dance. i especially remember our birthday, you were so excited and watching your smile in the candle light i wished that we could spend every birthday together. and today, i get to make that dream a reality, and marry the girl i've loved since we were twelve."

harley looked into his deep brown eyes and felt her heart beat louder and louder. she loved this man with everything in her and it was killing her not to kiss him right now.

"dally, being loved by you is the biggest honor a girl could have. being loved by you means always feeling protected, being loved by you mean's always having someone to rest my head on, being loved by you means always having someone to crack jokes with, always having someone's hand to hold when you're scared, being loved by you is never feeling alone. but what i love even more is loving you. i love seeing the way you love people, the way you admire johnny, the way you respect darry, the way you're so proud of the kids you teach. i've never met someone so selfless, willing to take the blame for his friends. i love seeing you when you're passionate about something, like the glow that radiates from you when you ride horses. i remember my father telling me when i was a girl, to never settle for a man who doesn't make you feel like a princess. you make me feel like more than a princess, you make me feel like i am the sun, and the world revolves around me. and most of all, you make me feel loved, and theres no one in this world that i love more."

"dallas winston, do you take harley valentine to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"i do."

"harley valentine, do you take dallas winston to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"i do."

"i now pronounce you husband and wife. you may kiss the bride"

harley and dallas shared a kiss and their friends hollered in the crowd. it was all either of them had ever dreamed of. it was perfect.

THE END
i reread this book and realized how bogus i was with the ending so i thought i would add a bonus chapter because i refuse to believe harley and dallas aren't happily alive and married. seriously thank you for all the love on this book you're the best!