Hello all! Palanquin here. ;)
Well, here you are. The first chapter of In Spite Of The Fact.
This is a collaborative fanfiction, written by me and my good friend MissSnarkling. Be sure to check out some of her work; she's a wonderful fanfiction writer, and she has plenty of Outsiders fics on her page. ;)
The pairing is Dallas/Ponyboy... If you weren't already aware of that.
Disclaimer: MissSnarkling and I do not own, or claim to own, any part of The Outsiders, or the characters named here. All we own is the story itself.
Dallas sank back into the well worn Curtis couch and started tapping his foot in slight impatience. He was waiting for Ponyboy to arrive home from school. He didn't understand why the kid bothered on one hand, but on the other hand - which was just as important as the first hand - he knew it was because Ponyboy was going somewhere with his life.
Going somewhere and leaving the gang.
Leaving Dallas.
Dally shook his head and growled at the thoughts, causing them to cower in fear in the back of his mind. He looked at the clock again. If Ponyboy wasn't home in 15 minutes, Dallas was going to go look for him.
~.~.~.~.~
Johnny rarely ever went to school. He almost never did.
Pony didn't know why; Johnny could be real smart if he tried a little harder. But he didn't bother asking. And anyway, when he did manage to go to school, Pony made especially sure to walk him home. Johnny needed someone to do it, and it made for nice conversation, so why not?
Though most of the conversation was Pony pointing out the shape of a cloud, and Johnny acknowledging it. Something along those lines.
"Yeah, they're real pretty, Pony," the dark-haired boy had murmured, as they came to the door of the Curtis house. They had run a little late; staring at the sky and all.
"Hey Dally," Pony greeted, Johnny's greeting followed. Said blond greaser was lounging on the couch with his arms crossed. Dallas nearly smiled at the sight of his two favorite people together, but managed to keep his scowl on.
The youngest in the room broke away from his friend then, sitting himself down next to Dallas and kissing him gently on the cheek.
He nodded in acknowledgement to Johnny, and felt Ponyboy slide into the spot on the couch next to him, kissing him on the cheek.
"Man, what took y'all so long?" Dallas questioned, accusingly. Pony almost laughed at Dallas' use of "y'all". He was slowly beginning to transition from his usual New York slang to using stuff that the rest of the gang did, which was amusing at times. It was like his accent was a mix between the two; New York and Oklahoma.
Dally didn't know what could have held them up, be it a Soc or a teacher. But if someone was causing his Pony trouble, there'd be hell to pay.
"Sorry Dal, me and Johnny were just talking." Pony replied, leaning on Dallas a bit.
"Yeah, 'n Pony here was staring at the sky half the time, which slowed us down a little," Johnny added, grinning at the recollection. He was surprised that Pony hadn't run himself right into the street, walking like he had been.
Hearing both Ponyboy and Johnny's input, Dallas snorted. "What's so interesting about the sky that it takes you longer than it should to get home?"
Dallas wasn't happy, but he wasn't too mad, either. He kissed the top of Ponyboy's head gently, wishing that he had someone to be angry with instead of himself. Maybe he'd get in bar fight later... Maybe.
"I was looking at the clouds," Pony explained, as Dally planted a kiss on the top of his head, making him smile more. "The different shapes, and stuff."
Pony didn't expect Dallas to understand his fascination with clouds and flowers and sunsets and such things. It was nice to talk to Johnny about them sometimes.
"But... I'm home now," Ponyboy said, smiling. Dallas felt the over whelming urge to roll his eyes, but he ignored it.
"Next time, you think you two can hurry it up?" He asked, directing the question more at Johnny than Ponyboy. Though he wouldn't admit it, he loved both of them, and it worried him knowing he wasn't always around. He'd kill anyone who looked at the two wrong, and sometimes Dally felt like he just could not stress that enough. Johnny understood, but Ponyboy didn't. At least, he didn't act like it. Dallas wasn't sure what he expected from Ponyboy. An apology, or a promise not to ever leave his side again. He didn't know.
"Yeah, sure Dal," Johnny murmured, with a nod. He probably should've snapped Pony out of his trance. The young greaser did have a tendency to zone out at times.
"Uh-huh. Sorry we worried ya," Pony added. He could never really tell when Dally was worried; He wasn't usually, just annoyed. But he knew that the older greaser cared, he could tell. It was almost endearing. But it would be nice to have him drop his barrier now and then.
Pony could only dream.
"It's fine," Dallas mumbled, somehow finding his lips against Ponyboy's neck. Dallas let his mind trail off to God-knows-where and why before he snapped back to reality. "You going anywhere else tonight?" he asked both of them. He figured Pony would want to go to a movie or something, and in which case Dallas would have to go with them and keep an eye out for trouble. It also didn't hurt that he enjoyed spending time with them, though the drive-in wasn't his ideal setting.
Pony shrugged at Dallas' question, thinking for a moment before responding.
"We didn't plan on anything," he said, looking over at Johnny for confirmation only to see him shrug as well. Soda would be home soon, then Darry. There wasn't much they could do before dinner. He would have suggested a movie, which, would actually have been a good idea. But he would wait to see what Dally would say, see if Johnny had any suggestions. Pony always seemed to be the one suggesting a movie, and he figured that the other two must have something they wanted to do, too. Right?
Dallas didn't particularly want to do anything at the moment but have a smoke, but a quick check of his pockets revealed he was out.
"I'm heading down down to get a pack of Kools. Wanna come?"
Dallas shouldn't have had to ask. Ponyboy should have automatically hopped up, ready to go. But then again, Ponyboy wasn't like Johnny used to be; and he definitely wasn't like the girls Dally used to go with. So Dallas would ask patiently. He couldn't really say he minded.
Pony thought about the proposition. He did want to spend time with Dally, which he usually did, when he got home from school. But the idea of walking down to the DX, or some other small store so that the older greaser could swipe some cigs didn't sound so appealing.
Hm, Pony thought, maybe if I stay home I can catch the sunset.
Johnny might have wanted to go with Dallas anyway, or go to the lot. It would be just him and some colors floating in the sky.
Or he could even read, which he hadn't been doing so very often anymore, like he used to. Dallas was... Occupying.
"I think I'll stay here, if that's all right," he replied. If Dallas really wanted him to go, he would, of course. But he didn't count on hearing any objection, Dally didn't tend to show neediness...
Or any other sign of emotion other then anger, really, but that was alright. Pony didn't need a display. Usually.
Dallas eyed his boyfriend carefully, searching for something in his face that might indicate a different answer. Not finding anything out of the norm, he shrugged and pecked Ponyboy on the cheek. A smile tugged at Pony's lips when Dallas did so. He sort of wished that Dally could stay. Today was one of those days where Pony just wanted to cuddle, or spend quality time. But it was alright; Dallas had never been one to hang around just for something like that. He probably thought of it as pointless.
Standing, the older greaser ruffled Johnny's hair.
"Then I'll be back," he said, casually, as he exited the home.
Dallas decided that though he didn't want to be gone long, he really felt like walking, so he would take the long way to the store. It would give him time to think about whatever happened to pop into his head. Dallas thought about strange things when he was alone. It was weird.
~.~.~.~.
"So, what do you want to do, Johnnycake?", he inquired, already stricken with boredom. He wasn't sure whether Johnny was going to leave anytime soon. If he did, Pony would most likely just read or draw or do something of that sort. But he wanted to know whether Johnny wanted to do something or not. He was probably just as bored as Pony was.
Johnny looked at his friend for a second before responding quietly.
"I don't care. It's nice out today..."
That was as much of a suggestion as Ponyboy would be getting out of his older counterpart. Johnny didn't actually feel strongly enough to say he wanted to go outside, but it was in fact a nice day, and he figured if he mentioned it, Pony would take the hint and might take him up on the offer.
Besides, the sun would be going down soon.
"Okay then, let's go outside," Pony concluded with a small smile, lifting himself off of the couch. He wasn't sure where exactly Johnny had wanted to go outside, but figured he'd follow wherever his friend went. Anywhere would be nice enough for Pony.
"Where to?"
Johnny smiled slightly.
"We can go to the lot." he said, taking the lead as they stepped out the door, the sunlight hitting them instantly.
It occurred to Johnny that he was slightly glad that Dallas had left. Yes, he worshiped the ground Dally walked on, but the blond greaser just didn't get Pony the way Johnny did in a lot of ways. Like sunsets.
It'd be awful romantic for Dally to watch the sunset with Ponyboy, but he'd most likely just complain about how boring it was the whole time.
The sky was already growing slightly orange, and Pony would definitely be lying if he said he wasn't excited.
Of course, his train of thought was so off the rails that he conveniently forgot to grab a jacket. Which he would undoubtably regret later, when the air got nippy.
When they reached the lot, Pony followed Johnny to their usual resting spot. Pony hadn't visited this location in a while, either.
"The sun's gonna go down," the auburn-haired greaser murmured, stating the obvious as if Johnny wasn't aware that the sun went down at the end of every day.
"Is that so?" Johnny asked, smirking at his friend despite having tried his best to withhold the statement. Johnny stretched out, glancing over at his friend who was without a jacket as usual. He couldn't understand how the younger greaser always seemed to forget that extra piece of clothing when leaving the house.
Johnny guessed it could be worse, Pony could forget to wear a shirt or something. But Dallas might actually benefit by that. Or would he? Were they...? What the hell, brain?
Johnny shook away those thoughts as the sky grew into a yellow and red tint.
If he gets too cold, maybe I'll give him my jacket.
The sky was already beautiful, and Ponyboy quickly made himself comfortable before staring at the sky with wonder; the colors dripping closer to the horizon with every passing moment. It really was nice. To be watching a sunset again. And the sky's beauty distracted him from the cold that was biting his bare arms. He wished that Dally was here, it would give him an excuse to get closer to him. The cold, that is. Dally wasn't much of a snuggler unless he was absolutely needed.
But it was nice to spend some time with Johnny, too. He sure was good at listening, and watching. Pony wasn't sure if the older greaser really enjoyed sunsets as much as he did, but it was nice that he actually took the time to do these things with him.
"That's beautiful..." Ponyboy mumbled, under his breath, as the sun dropped closer to the horizon, making the sky's pinkish-reddish-orangish hues intensify. He was hugging himself now, rubbing his arms to fight off the coldness as best as he could.
Johnny didn't attempt to hide the large grin that spread over his face as he watched the colors fade and dissipate. He just knew that Pony was practically hypnotized with the colors dancing in the sky. This was the best part. When the sun was almost completely hidden by the horizon, it was like every color in the sky doubled in intensity, and flared more wildly. It was like the universe was saving the best for last.
It was no secret that Ponyboy absolutely loved sunsets, but Johnny liked them pretty well too. The colors were just so pretty. He loved colors. So it made sense that he preferred rainbows over sunsets, but to others it just appeared he was a depressed kid who loved rain. Well... He did like rain too...
A shiver from Pony made the older male look over. Rolling his eyes, the trace of a smile still touching his lips, Johnny tugged his jacket off. "Here, Pone."
Johnny spoke suddenly, which made Pony snap out of his trance. He had almost forgotten that his friend was there.
Now he was holding out his jeans jacket to him. Had his being cold really been that obvious? Noting his current position, he decided that yes, yes it was.
"Johnny, you don't have to-,"
He started to protest, though the dark-haired greaser had already tossed the jacket into his lap. Wouldn't he be cold, too?
Pony put the jacket on anyway, and though it didn't fit quite right, the increased warmth he got from it was unquestionable.
It didn't take long after that for the sun to sink completely beneath the horizon, taking all color away with it.
"Thanks Johnny," Pony said, turning to face his friend after a little while of letting the darkness soak into the sky. "I mean, for watching, and giving me your jacket," he added, a grateful grin still on his face.
Johnny gave his friend a shy smile. Pony shouldn't have to thank him, they were best friends. It was practically his duty to do things such as this. Well, he had to admit, the jacket thing might have been taking things a bit farther than necessary, but Ponyboy was cold, and Johnny didn't end up needing it after all.
"Ready to go?" he whispered softly, remembering that they'd been gone a while now. It hadn't been too long, but a considerable amount of time had passed, and Dallas might be back at the house by then.
Pony nodded, realizing that it was pretty dark out. Darry might have been home as well, though Soda might be out with Steve or someone else at that time. Who knew? His brothers could be elusive creatures at times.
"Sure, let's head back," he replied, stretching for a quick second before lifting himself up off of the grass. He waited a moment for Johnny, then started making his way back to his house.
~.~.~.~.~.
Dallas leaned against the porch, smoking his cigarette casually. Upon returning with his newly stolen cancer sticks, he had found the house empty. He didn't know where the two youngest greasers went, and he didn't want to go looking in case they were on there way back. At the moment he was just working on calming down. Ponyboy said his temper was too much. It was true, he got angry a lot. That was his fatal flaw. He was working on it, though. For Pony.
Pacing for a moment, his eyes flicked over to the right and caught sight of Johnny's black hair. Bounding off the front steps, Dallas watched the two walk slowly towards him, Ponyboy wrapped in Johnny's denim jacket.
The first thing the two of them saw when they reached the house was Dally, moving to meet them in front of the house. From the look on his face, Pony could tell that he wasn't too happy with their late return time.
"Hey Dally," he greeted, and Johnny echoed with a similar greeting. Both of them seemed to be waiting for some sort of "where were you?" or "why were you out so long?".
Pony stepped forward and took some of the older greaser's shirt fabric in his hands, tugging on it lightly for a moment as he usually did before looking up at him. His expression changed slightly, however, as he saw a tenseness in Dallas' countenance.
He wasn't mad at him, was he? Well, Dally had a tendency to be mad at everything, including Pony, at times. So the thought wasn't too shocking.
Dallas wanted to go off, to cuss up a storm a demand to know why in the hell he wasn't informed they would be leaving. But he didn't want to get too mad.
"Where did you two go?", he forced out, frustrated. His tone was heavy and laced with anger, and it made Pony step back from where he was previously standing. The older male was staring daggers into his emerald eyes, which were slowly losing their content, "sunset-watcher" sheen.
"Just to the lot, Dal," Johnny answered for Pony, who was clearly becoming upset. Johnny couldn't help but feel bad. Pony had really been enjoying himself; now it was clear that his joy was slowly evaporating. Maybe he shouldn't have suggested they watch the sunset.
Maybe Dallas shouldn't get so angry so often.
"Yeah. Just to the lot," Pony confirmed, after a short moment of silence.
After being informed of their previous whereabouts, Dallas somehow only grew angrier. He lifted his hand to latch onto Ponyboy, causing the young greaser's eyes to widen. He quickly backed away, before Dallas dropped his hand quickly and whirled around, running his other hand through his hair while directing his glare at the front door. He needed to calm down, they hadn't actually done anything wrong, and Dally didn't know why he was acting like this.
He frowned and inhaled deeply, letting out an audible, shaky breath.
If anything, Pony was flat-out frightened, and as he was turning to examine Johnny's reaction to all of this Dallas turned, stepping forward and snatching the younger greaser up in a bruising kiss.
It ended as quickly as it had started, and soon Dally was resting his own forehead against Pony's, murmuring the words "I'm sorry," against his lips.
Pony's heart had sped up in the moment of Dallas' many frightening mood swings, and his wide-eyed gaze was directed at the older greaser's chest rather then his eyes. He was getting upset. Scared and frustrated and upset.
There was a moment of lingering silence before Pony spoke up to his boyfriend's hushed apology.
"Okay," he murmured, his voice presenting itself just as quietly as Dally's had. He almost wanted to yell at the older greaser, for being so irrational, but of course Pony didn't do that. He both couldn't, and didn't want to.
All Dally did was freak out. Maybe he could go with Pony, for once. Maybe then he wouldn't have a reason to go insane, and scare the fuck out of his boyfriend.
Johnny felt extremely out of place, and though he almost wanted to watch and see what was going to happen next, he felt it would be best if he slinked away now. He'd just go back to the lot; then maybe he'd return when things calmed down. If things calmed down.
Pony could just hang onto his jacket for the night.
"Let's go inside, it's freezing out here," Dallas said, his voice a bit louder than necessary.
He wanted to feel normal again. Wanted everything to just be good. He had somehow fucked up tonight, but he'd be damned if he didn't try to fix it.
He walked ahead of Ponyboy and headed for his bedroom, flopping on his bed and stretching his limbs out. Fortunately, it wouldn't be too awkward if Soda returned home and found the two of them on the bed, what with how innocent Ponyboy was. Or... Acted, as the case could appear at times.
Dallas wasn't in the mood to do anything right then, anyway.
Ponyboy noted the fact that Johnny had vanished to who-knows-where, and though he somewhat wished he had at least went inside to keep out of the cold, he understood why the dark-haired greaser had left. He would have left too, if he were Johnny.
But... Wait. He didn't have a jacket...
He almost wanted to get the jacket back to Johnny, knowing he would be cold, but Pony could tell that Dally wasn't interested in being run-out on at that moment.
Pony slid next to him on the bed, silently. After he got settled, he took a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh.
The younger greaser turned himself to look at Dallas. He was clearly still stressed; probably over the fact that he had just made a fool out of himself. Or maybe not a fool; maybe just a man who didn't think about what he was about to do before he did it.
"You're so spazzy..." Pony murmured, softly, and with that he pressed his lips onto Dally's. The kiss wasn't violent like the one Pony had received moments earlier, nor was delicate. It was just a lingering kiss, plain and simple, because Dally wanted things to be normal and so did Pony. It was nothing more then a reminder that everything was fine.
When Pony pulled back from the kiss, Dallas sighed, feeling a heavy weight he assumed was guilt. "Spazzy? The fuck does that mean?" he didn't ask it rudely, obnoxiously, or loudly. He was far to embarrassed by his earlier display of complete idiocy to put anything into his tone other than his tiredness.
Ponyboy almost rolled his eyes, though he refrained from doing so. He almost replied with "Look it up," or something more like "To be spazz-like; a trait one carries when classified as a spazz,".
But he didn't. Just sighed and kept his mouth shut because answering wasn't going to really affect anything.
Pony tended to hold grudges, and he didn't want to do that in this case, because he knew that it would probably end badly. Dallas was irritating and impatient and angry all the time; but he loved Pony. Even if half the time he didn't show it, even if he didn't watch sunsets with him or cuddle or kiss him as much as Pony wanted. He loved him.
And Pony just had to accept that his relationship wasn't — nor would it ever be — perfect.
He had to roll with the punches and move on.
Dallas leaned up on his elbows, examining his boyfriend before him. Sweet... Innocent, intelligent... Definitely going somewhere in life.
Ponyboy was also the most attractive partner he had ever had, or could ever even think of having; and yet he somehow always seemed to do something to screw up the best thing that had ever happened to him. Dally grabbed Pony's hand, running his thumb along his knuckles, stroking them in gentle motions. Pony liked when Dallas touched him. His face, his hands, his anywhere. It was like a connection, in his eyes. It meant something.
Because when Dallas Winston, the toughest hood in Tulsa, plays with your hands... That means something.
Pony stopped Dallas' strokes, letting his fingers fit between his to even the score. He wasn't saying anything; just staring into blue eyes that were cold as ice. Ice that was slowly beginning to melt.
Dallas broke the silence, after a short moment.
"Okay... Why are you wearing Johnny's jacket?", he asked, curiously. He wasn't too terribly upset. He trusted Johnny.
He had loved Johnny - though in a much different way, mind you - before he loved Ponyboy.
And he was learning to trust Pony.
How awful was that?
He couldn't trust one of the sweetest guys on the planet. It came with the territory of being one of the toughest hoods in Tulsa... He tried, though.
His biggest problem was just acting before thinking and his damn anger issues.
"We went outside to watch the sunset... I forgot a jacket. He saw I was cold and gave me his," Pony answered, bluntly. He could get to the point when he wanted to. Most of the time, though, he didn't. He saw fun in lingering on an idea and giving an entire speech on how his walk home from school was.
Only... Maybe he didn't see it as fun. Maybe he just did it without realizing.
Dallas nodded in understanding. Yep, sounded like Johnny. Dallas knew that the gang sometimes took Johnny for granted. He was a great friend and a decent kid. Not as bright as Ponyboy, but he could be just as much of a smart-ass, no doubt.
Dallas felt a small crooked smile fall onto his lips at the thought. He knew that before he had started dating Pony, he wouldn't have given him his jacket. Johnny was just such a good buddy that he'd offer his only jacket to his absent-minded friend. It was nice knowing that Dallas wouldn't have to worry about Ponyboy; someone would always be watching on him, protecting him, however subtly it may be.
Though, Dallas would probably worry anyway...
"You and your sunsets."
Author's Note:
Well? What did you think? :)
Reviews are greatly appreciated; feel free to give us any comments or critique you have about the story thus far!
Currently, we have pre-written 2 upcoming chapters. The second chapter should be posted within a week or so. :3
Here's a little sneak-peek... Pony get's a gift in the next chapter. ;)
I hope you enjoyed!
~ Palanquin