Ch 9:
"Everyone dies, but not everyone lives."
~Nikki Manaj
Dally's POV
I reached for the door bell again, but sighed and drew my hand back before I mustered up the courage to ring it. How was I going to say I'm sorry? I had put them through so much, and now I was too wimpy to even apologize? I wrung my hands in frustration. Then I reached out and rang the bell.
I held my breath while I heard joyful shouts of 'I'm coming!' and rowdy clumping of their hurried footsteps. The door swung open, and I came face to face with Two-Bit. He froze when he saw me, the smile melting off of his face and turning to a scowl. He was the same ol' Two-Bit, except with that frown on his face he looked nothing like his usual self. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
"Dallas." His tone was bitter, and with his fists clenched like that he almost looked like a regular hood.
"I need to talk to everyone." My voice seemed small and my hands were shaking. I stuffed them into my jean's pockets. Two-Bit's eyes narrowed, his eyes taking in my expression and hopefully my regret. Just then there were footsteps, and I could hear Soda's voice asking who was at the door. Two-Bit glanced behind him as Soda appeared, his jaw bruised. When he saw me, he froze. He looked me over, as Two-Bit had done, and then his usual warm brown eyes hardened.
"Why don't you come in?" Soda's voice was guarded. They both stepped back and I followed them inside the familiar welcoming house. It was still as messy as always, with random clothes and books strewn across the floor. It smelled like cake. It surprised me how long I had gone without stopping buy, and how when my world seemed like it was turning upside down the little things stayed the same. Two-Bit stopped in the living room, where Darry and Steve where watching the news. They both looked up at me.
Darry immediately rose to his feet and advanced on me. His eyes were flaming with hatred and a thousand other emotions, but the hate was definitely the strongest. He loomed over me, and I backed away from him.
"What are you doing here?" He snarled. "You are not welcome here anymore." I hoped the others would protest, but they stayed silent. My chest tightened.
Darry probably would have beaten me up right then and there, and I wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing about it. I was still weak, and I would not do well in a fight against him under normal circumstances. But, Ponyboy walked out of his room and saw Darry cornering me. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, his eyes as wide as dinner plates, looking horrified. We had a whole conversation with our eyes. I felt guilty when I remembered that he had a small crush on Cherry, and even though he still had no idea about what happened, he was still willing to help me.
Pony sprinted over to Darry and pushed him away from me. Pony had gotten taller in the past few months, and now he could look Darry straight in the eye without having to raise his head.
"Back off of him. He came here to apologize. Right?" Pony whipped his head toward me, and I nodded quickly. Darry glared at me, but walked next to Soda as if he was trying to protect him from me. That must have driven Pony mad, seeing how Darry chose Soda over him so much. Darry was terrible with picking favorites, but whenever you tried to tell him off about it, he would get real pissed.
They were all looking at me, waiting for me to talk. My throat felt dry. The words came out before I even thought of them.
"I am sorry for everything I have put you guys through. I've been terrible these past few weeks. I was inconsiderate of what you guys were going through also, that it wasn't just me who was in pain over….. his death. I thought he would be the only thing I would ever love. But then… I realized that I still had all of you. And I do love all of you, like brothers. And I love Cherry. I'm really not alone like I thought. I'm so sorry."
The guys didn't give me time to catch my breath. They all leapt up and we all got into a giant mass hug. I could still see Darry out of the corner of my eye, and he just looked stern rather then angry. I knew it would take longer for me to repair my friendship with him then the others, but right then I was alright with that.
Pony's POV
We went out to eat at some nice barbeque restaurant. I was really glad that everyone had forgiven Dally, except for Darry. But at least he was being civil, which was a start.
Dally was back to his usual self, smart talking the waitress's and scowling when they threatened to call the fuzz. But underneath it all, I knew he had truly changed, because there was a sparkle in his eye that hadn't been there before. Even though what we had gone through was terrible, I was secretly glad it had happened. Now we were all even closer than before.
The barbeque wasn't half bad, I scarfed it down like there was no tomorrow. Dally seemed reluctant to eat at first, but we all forced him to. Once he got started, he couldn't stop.
"Let's have a toast!" A tipsy Two-Bit proclaimed, rising his third beer into the air. Everyone mimicked his actions, and I lifted my Pepsi. "To the Dallster, for going back to normal." I rolled my eyes at Two-Bit's dorky announcement but toasted to it anyways. Dally grinned and sloshed some beer on Darry, who was already sitting very straight backed with a hard expression on his face. He glared at Dally, who tossed him a napkin in obliviousness.
I struck up a conversation with Dally, who I was sitting next to.
"You talked to Cherry lately?" He froze mid-bite, looking at me. I could have sworn his face got paler at the mention of her name.
"No. Have you?" His gaze searched my face, his eyes darting around nervously. Okay. I thought. All I did was ask him about his possible girlfriend, why does he get all freaked out? And I was pretty sure that they were dating now, she visited him every day in the hospital. I mean, she wasn't allowed in but she still waited outside his door to ask the doctors how he was doing. I knew she cared about him.
"Not recently. Look…. I really don't mind that yall dig each other." I noticed how he instantly relaxed once I said that.
"Good." He said simply, turning away from me to finish his food.
Once I finished my brisket, Darry stood up and practically dragged Soda and I out of the restaurant.
"What's your hurry?" Soda asked, sprinting ahead of us and doing a joyous cartwheel. I grinned and looked at Darry.
"I don't want yall to hang around Dallas anymore." Soda stopped in front of Darry, rolling his eyes. I would have done the same, but Darry already looked pretty pissed. His fists were clenched and his eyes were brooding.
"Dar, he was just unstable. That doesn't mean he's gonna hurt us no more." Soda sighed. Darry glared at him, which surprised me because he adored Soda. He usually never even gave him a dirty look. But I guess things were changing a lot of here, so maybe even Darry and Soda are getting less close and I haven't even realized it. Darry stalked past us, pushing me aside.
"He'll get over it." I assured Soda, whose expression was one of disbelief and disappointment. I patted his shoulder awkwardly, and followed Darry's retreating form back to our house.
Dally's POV
After dinner, right when I was leaving the restaurant, I ran into Cherry. Luckily, I was by myself and so was she. I had just stayed behind to pay the bill, and I was just leaving when I literally ran straight into her. Her purse and stuff went flying and I dropped my beer. The bottle shattered, but I couldn't care less. She looked good, like always.
"Hey! Um, sorry." I said quickly, dropping to my hands and knees to pick up the contents of her purse that had spilled. Our hands bumped as we both tried to grab her checkbook. I could hear my pulse clearly.
We both stood up, and without a word to each other started walking outside.
"What are you doing here?" She asked curiously. I found myself staring at her, and looked away before she noticed.
"I was just having dinner with the guys." Cherry stopped under an overgrown willow tree. She put her slender arms around my neck and kissed me softly. The second our lips touched, I wanted more. When she pulled away I tried to kiss her again, but she rested her forehead on mine, letting our noses touch.
"I'm glad you guys made up." She whispered her breathing heavy on my lips. I leaned in and kissed her passionately, but she pulled away all too soon.
"What's wrong?" I cooed, letting my hands travel to the edge of her skirt. She pushed me away roughly, and leaned against the tree. I frowned.
"Dally." Cherry said quietly, her voice thick. She looked like she was about to cry. I rested my hands gently on her shoulders, and she didn't push me away. Her beautiful green eyes found mine, and held my gaze. "You won't leave me will you?"
"No, of course not. Why?" She blinked rapidly, her breathing shaky.
"Dally, would you want to be a father?" My thoughts went blank when she said the word father. Would I want to be a father? The thought was scary, having to care for a whole 'nother life that depended on only you and the mother. Cherry… a mother? Wait, then that would mean she's ….
"You're not pregnant are you?" I blurted. She smiled lightly through her tears and shrugged.
"I don't know, it takes weeks to find out. Would you be ready… if I was? You wouldn't leave me would you?" Cherry's voice grew thick, and another tear streamed down her cheek. I shook my head wordlessly, and pulled her to my chest. She was sobbing now, and I just held her. I wasn't sure how to comfort her, but I sure wanted to.
"Hey, don't cry. I may be a complete ass sometimes but… you're never going to be able to get rid of me." Cherry giggled shakily and looked up at me, her emerald eyes still watery.
"I'm scared Dally." Before she could say anything else, I kissed her. It was a soft lingering kiss and I could feel her smiling under my lips. As much as I hated to admit it, I was scared too. But I knew that we would make it through.
Hey guys! I know, I know I'm a jerk for not updating sooner. I have been on vacation and been really busy with summer reading assignments, ect. I am a terrible author. I also apologize for Dally being so OOC; my point is I'm trying to show that he is changing. And I'm sorry for this chapter's cheesy ending. I am truthfully just not into this story anymore, but I will still update because I don't want to upset anyone who is actually reading it. I also have never finished a story before, and I want this to be my first. Thank you SOOO much to those who have reviewed, I appreciate every single one. I am not going to even ask for reviews on this chapter, because I do NOT deserve them. I love all of you!
~Alaina