Dallas awoke the next morning with red curly locks pressed against his cheek. As he slowly opened his eyes, exposing his sight to the light that leaked through Cherry's bedroom window, he noticed her sweet smelling hair, and her soft cheeks and nose buried into his bare chest. Barely moving a muscle, he looked down at her small, closed eye lids and her slowly rising shoulders, moving up and down gently as she continued to breathe. He loved the sound of her breathing, it was so soft. I'm watching her sleep, he thought to himself, how creepy is this?

He looked back up towards her window, and then right beside the window on her wall was a clock. He tried to squint and make sense of what it was; he could not retrieve sight of it very fast due to how weak he was from the wound he got the previous night. Finally, he could make out that the clock had read 9:00 AM. Dallas looked back straight ahead of him, which in his current position, was up at the ceiling. His arms were wrapped around Cherry, and her hand was placed upon his chest right, next to her face. He began to try and remember what had happened last night. For some reason, he could not remember much at first. The more he thought, however, the more began to visualize flashes of what had happened. He remembered walking up that steep hill to see Mike, he remembered stabbing that Soc in the arm, he remembered driving furiously to Cherry's house, he remembered hearing her panting as he explored her body, he remembered her asking him if he would stay.

He then remembered something that he wasn't quite sure was real. He remembered telling her that he loved her. Dallas continued to think and ask himself repeatedly, What the hell did I tell this girl? Did I tell her I love her? The more he asked himself, the more he wondered if that was just a hallucination from the blood loss. He wondered if he had actually loved Cherry as much as he said he did, or at least thought he did.

Dallas had never fallen in love with anyone in his lifetime. In fact, it almost seemed as if Dallas had no time to love at all. Why fall in love when you have so much to fight for at this age? Dallas had too much responsibility over himself; whether it was watching over Ponyboy and the boys, or even taking care of himself, Dallas was fine on his own. He didn't want or need anybody else to take care of him or remain at his side.

But love, did Dallas really love Cherry? Or was he just immensely surprised in reaction to how Cherry was taking care of Dallas? Was it the way she patted down his bloody cheek? The way Cherry smiled at him in her doorway? Dallas became slightly upset. He knew it wasn't her fault, he had just not been used to being put in such a dilemma.

Finally, he felt Cherry move slightly in his arms. He heard a small sigh, and before he knew it, her eyes began to flutter as they slowly opened. As they opened, they looked up at Dallas. Dallas' mind froze as her sparkling brown eyes grabbed a hold of him, and pulled him in closely towards her glowing grin. Her lips were naturally a blooming, reddish color, and her cheeks were pale and freckled, but they looked amazing in her lit up room.

Yeah, he loved her alright.

His hand moved up her body and moved to her head, as he began stroking her hair lightly. "Woah," was the first word he let escape through his mouth as he stared at her.

Cherry puzzlingly looked back at him, "What?" she smiled.

"You look like this every morning, Red?" he finally responded. Cherry lightly laughed, she thought that Dallas was acting unusually cute.

"Like what?" she replied. Dallas continued to look at her face, which he had found strangely beautiful. Normally a guy like Dallas, or, in other words, Dallas Winston himself, would be attracted to the typical girl who was down to do anything before the night was over. She'd be in a short skirt or a tightly fitted dress, and she'd go home with just about anyone with charming good looks. She'd be wearing a face full of make up, and by morning, the make up would be worn off, leaving a trashed up wreck on the bed beside him.

But looking at Cherry's face, Dallas just could not understand what he had found so beautiful about it. Her face was so fresh, so clean and yet so bright. She was a natural beauty. Finally, after a long pause, Dallas responded, "You look awful. Get outta here, your makin' me sick to my stomach." Then he smiled, and Cherry knew that he was trying to be smart with her. She opened her mouth and smiled back. She gave him a short and sweet kiss on the lips, and began to sit up and make her way off the bed. Dallas pulled her in one more time for a longer kiss, and Cherry allowed it. Once they were done, Dallas finally spoke, "I gotta split real soon."

Cherry frowned, "How soon? How come?"

"Probably, like, now soon. Sodapop promised me that he and Steven would try and fix up the engine on my car this morning, I don't wanna bail out on them."

Cherry couldn't help but feel bummed that Dallas was leaving so early. She didn't want to think that Dallas wanted to leave only because he didn't care enough to stay around and talk to her. But he did stay last night, she thought. If he really only wanted action, he wouldn't have stayed. Or maybe he would have. Dallas could see that something was on her mind. He reached his hand over and placed it on the back of her neck after he had put his jacket on. "Look, if it were any day other than today, you know I'd stay. You know that, alright?" He kissed her by the ear and said, "I mean it." Cherry believed him. She knew it was wrong to go on about judging him like that. It wasn't fair to continue to not trust Dallas like this, he deserved something for all he was giving to her.

Dallas wanted to tell Cherry he loved her, but at the same time he hated saying it. Before he tempted himself too much, he smiled at Cherry and walked out of her room, and out the door. As he continued out the door, he wondered what he would tell the boys if they had asked about anything. Did he want to tell them about Cherry? How he felt about her? No, no definitely not about how he felt. Maybe he'll only tell them about his visit at her house, but nothing detailed. Or maybe he'll just tell them how the fight went down. Why was any of this even important to Dallas?

Dallas arrived at the gas station as he saw Sodapop waving him in with a towel in his hand. Dallas got out of this car, gave Sodapop a nod, and they were on their way.

"Dallas! How've you been, man? Two-Bit told me you went down with some of the Soc's last night. " Sodapop walked around the back toward Dallas' car and opened up the hood. He then looked up at Dallas and noticed the bandage on his neck. "Damn, did some shit go down last night or what?" he continued.

Dallas began to light a cigaret. He chuckled "Yeah, shit went down last night." He inserted the cigaret into his mouth. As he let a trail of smoke blow from his mouth, he said, "Kicked every one of them Socs' asses last night, man." He watched Sodapop's face light up as his eyes widened. He laughed, "Hell yeah you did! What's with your neck? You go to a hospital or something?"

Dallas laughed at the thought of this. Just thinking about Cherry taping up that bandage, it made Dallas laugh when Sodapop confused it with the work of a hospital. While laughing and shaking his head, Dallas replied, "Nah, nah. This girl Cherry, man, unbelievable. This took her like two minutes." He pointed to the side of his neck.

Sodapop opened his mouth and nodded in understanding, then replied, "Oh yeah? Cherry?" He looked back down at his engine, and began to take and pick apart its equipment. While doing so, he continued, "Yeah uh… I heard all about her, Dal…Isn't she the whole reason them Socs' wanted a fight? What's the story with you guys?"

Dallas took another drag of his cigaret and thought before replying, "Kind of along story, man. They're just pissed about seein' a girl like her, runnin' around with a guy like me, you know?"

This was how Dallas had continued to tell his story to the boys throughout the day. Nothing detailed, nothing about him and Cherry. For all they knew, Cherry could have been some street smart New Yorker like him, or a hooker he just met five minutes ago, and none of them would have known. Except for Two-Bit, however, who hadn't spoken to him yet that afternoon.

As hours flew by, Cherry stayed home, waiting for Marcia to come by and pick her up. Two-Bit had invited Marcia to a party later that night that the boys were having at some greaser's backyard, and he told her to bring Cherry, too. Cherry knew that Dallas would be there, only because she knew how close he was to those boys. She still couldn't believe that she had been hanging around these guys for this long, and she hadn't even heard a word around the school of it spreading, yet.

*LATER THAT NIGHT*

Dallas walked into the party along with Two-Bit, Ponyboy and Johnny. "Ay, look who it is!" screamed the other greasers as they walked in. Dallas was greeted by several greasers as he walked by a small bon fire, surrounded by people of all ages; adults, men, women, teenagers, greasers, girls. As he said hello to one of the greasers, he was startled by a small tap on the shoulder. He turned around, and he did not like what he saw.

It was Shelby, a girl whom Dallas had known since he had first moved to Oklahoma. Ever since she and Dallas had a one night stand, it turned into a long-time friendship. At least for her, anyway. Dallas never minded Shelby until he had figured out she had been bad-mouthing his friends to some of the other greasers; some greasers that he had never liked. He never liked people who were two-faced, especially people who would never admit to being two-faced.

"Dally," Shelby smiled as she hugged him. "You don't get out much often as you used to, huh? Where have you been hiding!" She began to flirt with him, put her hand on his shoulder, raise her eyebrows. Shelby was loved by every one of the greasers, but never Dallas. Enjoying Shelby's promiscuous flirting techniques, now that was Dallas' thing of the past. Annoyed, Dallas responded, "Hey Shelby."

"Come," she grabbed Dallas' hand, "I want you to meet some people I just met. They'd like you, a lot."

Dallas was about to protest to her, but she pulled his arm and nearly dragged him to a group of people who immediately began eyeing him. He recognized a few of their faces, but he didn't feel like meeting anyone knew. He was there to meet up with friends, and with friends only. Shelby tried to strike up a conversation that would get Dallas talking, but Dallas wouldn't budge. He just lit up a cigaret, as girls around him watched him smoke in awe. Shelby could feel the tension rising between the others and him, so she decided to move both her and Dallas out of the group. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" she asked annoyingly.

"Look, Shelby, just leave me alone, aight?"

"Fuck off, Dal!" Shelby was fed up, she turned her back towards him and walked back towards her group of eye-wandering girls, who could not stop staring at Dallas.

"Jesus Christ…" Dallas muttered to himself as he walked back towards the cooler to grab a beer. He then walked back towards Two-Bit and the boys, and then immediately felt surprised as his attention was brought to the backyard entrance. It was Cherry.

Cherry and Marcia walked in, and greasers all around began to stare. He noticed that Cherry had looks a bit different; it was her outfit. Instead of the same old skirt and sweater that he had been used to seeing her in, she wore a fitted maroon dress that fit her perfectly. Over the dress, she wore a dark denim jacket. Her hair fell over her shoulders just the way it always did, so effortlessly. He couldn't keep an eye off of her. He could, however, feel everyone else's eyes in the room practically undressing her, so he walked over to her and placed his arm around her. "Cherry," he said with a smile, "I had no idea you were coming."

"Yeah," she laughed, "Two-Bit told Marcia to come to this, and she went ahead and brought me. Where's the beer?" Dallas raised an eyebrow in shock, he would have never expected a question like this coming from a little Soc girl. But he then remembered, Cherry wasn't a Soc girl, she was his girl. And she was very unpredictable, too.

"Here, why don't you go with your friend for a minute, I'll get you one." Dallas walked over to the cooler. For some reason, he felt happier. He didn't feel odd, or strange, or afraid at all. He liked seeing Cherry being able to mingle and talk with friends of his. In fact, it sort of turned him on.

Shelby, with narrowed eyes, stared at Cherry from across the yard. She had come to notice that she was with Dallas, and that was why Dallas had seemed so uninterested in her when she had approached him earlier.

"What…..is that?" one of Shelby's friends asked as they all stared at Cherry. To them, Cherry was a no-good Soc girl who was trying to play both sides of the fence; but that was not settling with them too well. Shelby had to have Dallas back. As she saw Dallas walking to the cooler toward their general direction, Shelby walked towards him for the steal.

As she approached him, she found Dallas looking down at the empty cooler, with a blank expression written on his face.

"Aw, no more beers." she said, "Wanna come inside with me to grab some?"

Dallas looked up at her, and without responding, he walked with her inside the house to grab more beers. He moved quickly, and Shelby quickly followed behind. She quickly turned to look back, only to see that Cherry was talking with Marcia, Two-Bit, and a few more greasers.

As Dallas walked into the kitchen with Shelby following close behind, she grabbed him by the shirt, and quickly pushed him into the hallway. She then opened the bathroom door and pushed him inside. She entered the bathroom and locked the door behind her. "Shelby, what the fuck are you doing?" Dallas raised his voice, "Don't play this with me."

Shelby went straight for the gold, she pushed his back against the wall and kissed him. He pushed her back. "Stop, I mean it." he said. Shelby couldn't take it, so she kissed him again, harder. Dallas grew more upset and pushed her even harder, "I mean it, Shelby!" he raised his voice even louder.

"Who's that girl?" Shelby immediately asked him. She ran her fingers through Dallas' hair, as she waited for an answer. "Huh? Who is she, Dally?" Dallas continued to stare, annoyed, into Shelby's eyes, waiting for her to pull away. Then, unexpectedly, he felt Shelby take her hand and grab his crotch, as she whispered, "Can she give you what I can give you?"

With a tight grasp, she began to rub him gently, and after a short pause, Dallas had realized what a mistake this was, and pulled Shelby's hand off of him. "You're a real mess, you know that?" he said bluntly, unlocked the bathroom door, and walked out. Shelby took a second, standing in the bathroom, wondering if Dallas would come back. He wouldn't.

Dallas walked out of the hallway and into the doorway of the kitchen, and saw Cherry grabbing a beer out of the fridge. She turned and saw him looking at her, and smiled, "You left me waiting! What took you so long?"

Before Dallas could even answer her, his nightmare had reappeared in the doorway with him. Cherry's smile began to disappear as she watched Shelby come from behind Dallas, wrapping her arms around his waist, kissing his neck. "Thanks for the quickie, baby." she said towards his ear, loud enough for Cherry to hear. Dallas quickly nudged her off of his shoulder and backed away in disgust. "What the hell is wrong with you, man?" he asked Shelby. "Cherry, don't listen to this broad, she's out of her mind." Cherry only froze in her position, beer in hand, and began to silently nod. Then, she immediately walked out the door.

Completely ignoring Shelby, Dallas furiously chased after Cherry. He spotted her walking towards Marcia. He began to follow.

"Marcia, you're gonna need to find a ride home. I'm taking your car." Marcia nodded, slightly worried, but gave Cherry her keys anyway. She was close enough to her to trust her with anything, especially if it was urgent. Cherry took the keys and without a word said to Dallas, she exited the backyard party within seconds.

Dallas didn't even let the question run through his mind for more than a second; the question of whether or not he should run after her. He was at a party, his friends were present, some friends whom he hadn't even seen in months. Why spend a night like this over some broad? Dallas didn't let it stump him, he went for the girl. He didn't know why, though.

"Cherry!" he yelled as he ran after her. He saw her get into Marcia's car, and just as he was approaching her window, she drove off faster than ever, up the hill. Dallas had wondered why she wasn't driving down the hill, because that was where she lived. Could she be driving to another friend's house? Regardless, he knew it was unsafe for a girl like her to be driving at this hour in this area.

He swallowed his tough-guy pride, walked over to his parked car, and sat inside. As he sat down to think, he watched as Cherry angrily drove up that hill, and eventually disappeared into the dark. He then turned on his car, pressed down on the gas pedal, and sped up that hill with no thought at all; he only knew what he was after, but he did not know why.