Sass

            Dally and I soon decided to go to The Dingo for a bite to eat; chasing after socs and shoplifting can sure make one work up an appetite.

Luckily for us, it was generally empty, so we were able to order and get our food right away. I couldn't help but notice the waitress giving Dally googly eyes, and I just shook my head. If only she knew what she'd get herself into with this man.

For as long as I could remember, Dal had always acted this way. He tried to keep a tough front on constantly, almost as if he had to. I guess I could pretty much understand why.

"Do you remember when we met as kids?" I asked, sipping on my milkshake.

A confused look crossed his face. "Yeah, but why are you bringing that up?"

"I don't know. Just reminiscing, is all."

"You were always kinda quiet, ya know," he said, forcing me to remember the reality of my twelve year old self.

Perhaps I was quiet, but the only reason I remained stoic was to conceal my past. Still, as a sixteen year old, no one knew.

"You were tough though," he then said. I did not expect that. "Still are."

"Yeah, well, sometimes you have to be," I replied.

"You don't have to pretend to not care about shit," he teased. "It's obvious that you do."

How ironic. "You should really take your own advice, you know."

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask for you to fucking preach to me, Sass."

"Well, neither did I."

We both remained silent, clearly annoyed with one another. Why did he have to be so difficult all the time? Even when we needed to work together, he just couldn't seem to do so.

We needed to work together...

"Why are we doing this?" I suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Why are we fighting when we should be worrying about Johnny and Ponyboy?"

"I don't like worrying, so I ain't gonna do it," he said, looking away from me.

"Neither do I, but fighting won't do any good and I think you know that," I grabbed his hands, forcing him to give me his undivided attention. "Look, we're both fucked up people. But-"

"Sass, I'm not doin' this with you," he snapped. "You don't know what you're fucking saying-"

I couldn't keep myself from exploding. "You don't know a damn thing about me, Winston!"

"Then what are you hiding, princess, huh?"

"You wanna know what I'm talking about, huh? Fine. Get off of your ass and follow me. We're going to Buck's," I got up from the booth, and began to march away.

"What, you can't tell me here?" He was really testing me.

"I said, we're going to Buck's."

He rolled his eyes and got up, trailing behind me. The walk to Buck's was silent, but perhaps it needed to be that way. Sometimes, silence is the best option.

Soon enough, I barged into Buck's with Dallas behind me, and before I could get up the stairs, I heard Buck say, "Nice goin', Winston. You're finally getting some-"

"Shut the hell up, Buck, or I'll beat your ass," I snarled, then grabbing Dallas' arm and dragging him up the stairs.

Once we entered his room, I slammed the door shut, and shoved him to sit down on his bed. Before he could make any kind of sexual comment, I began my rant:

"You wanna know where I came from? Well buddy, just like you, I'm not even from Tulsa. I was born and raised in Cheyenne, until my mother died and brother abandoned me. I fucking hitchhiked all the way down here to find my deadbeat dad without any food, water, or support system. I don't think I will ever fucking recover from that, so pardon me if I have a chip on my shoulder-"

Without any notice, Dallas took me in his arms and pressed his lips to mine, heating up my entire body.

Releasing all of my previous aggression, I moved my hands to his hair, hungrily kissing him back. I let my body give way, and we both fell back onto his bed, with me straddling him. I felt his hands run down my back, sending shivers down my spine.

As he began to trail kisses along my neck, I gasped, completely sinking into him. Wanting to regain dominance, I moved to kiss his jawline, whispering how much I wanted him, and all of him.

I then sat up and attempted to tug at his shirt, but he immediately grabbed my arms, once more pressing his lips to mine. Was he actually trying to avoid having sex? The thought of that almost made me laugh.

I was once again laying on top of him, giving into the passionate kiss. He had complete control over me.

His touch intoxicated me in ways I could never imagine; my pounding heart seemed to catch fire, and lust overtook my brain. I wanted him so, so badly.

Once more focusing on my goal, I reached for his shirt again, until he took my hands and whispered, "No. You're too good for that."

My heart stopped, overwhelmed with disappointment. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

He gave me a somewhat sad smile, something that I could not quite understand, and pulled me closer to his chest.

I never knew he could be so gentle, but the way he held me almost made me want to cry. I hadn't felt this loved in a while, even though he never even said he loved me.

My heart and brain felt as if they were drowning in a whirlpool of emotion that shook me to the core. I began to feel exhausted from it all, and let myself close my eyes while leaning into Dally.

Before falling into a deep sleep, the last thing I remember was him whispering in my ear.

"You're too good for me, baby..."