Author's Note: Make sure to read the bold print at the bottom! Also, you might want to listen to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri while reading most of this.
For The Love of a Greaser
Chapter 50
One Little Word
A few hours later found us in a meadow, the truck parked and engine shut off. Darry had told me that this was where we would be spending the night, falling asleep underneath the stars and talking to one another. Not that I minded any, it was something I was happy to comply with. This was also the first time that I felt that I was completely alone with him, allowing for any sort of talk that might come up. I didn't have to hold myself back because of the others, it was just me and him.
"Darry, what are you doing?" I asked, noticing that he was messing with something inside of the truck, having already laid blankets out in the back of the trucks bed.
"Oh, uh, nothing," he assured me, grabbing his jacket and tying it around his waist.
I smiled at this, watching as he closed the door, making his way over to me. He had a smile on his face as he reached a hand out, taking hold of my own.
"And what's got you in such a good mood?" I smiled, looking up at him.
"Nothing in particular," he told me, pulling me closer. "I'm just happy having you by my side."
"Darry," I whispered, burying my head in the front of his shirt, his arms coming to wrap around me. "I'm not going anywhere you know," I told him, afraid that perhaps he was trying to hold on to this moment in particular, afraid that something might happen to me.
"I know that," he breathed, though by the sound of it, he didn't sound so sure about it.
"Darry," I started, slight warning in my voice.
"I'm fine, I promise," he chuckled, placing a kiss upon my forehead, the skin flaring slightly at the contact. "Look."
He pointed toward the distant sky, the sun slowly setting on the horizon. I smiled at the sight before me, leaning into Darry's enticing hold. The colors were beautiful, the wind blowing slightly as it swept against up, pushing the grass into a graceful dance. Glimmers of gold and orange shown brightly in the sky, becoming more intense as the sun continued to receding passed the horizon, slowly darkening the sky. The sight nearly took my breath away.
"It's so beautiful..." I whispered, a smile tugging at my lips.
"It is," Darry nodded, leaning down beside my ear, his hot breath making my skin tingle. "But not as beautiful as you," he whispered, making me blush lightly.
"Darry," I laughed, looking up at him, only to have him face to face with me.
For some reason unknown to me, we stood there, staring. Some strange connection.
"Let's dance," he finally said, taking my hand in his.
I found it strange, even as music played from the radio, the familiar tune of Andy Williams Moon River playing in my ears. It was something that fit so perfectly as we started to sway, the breeze bristling by, playing lightly with the hairs on our heads. Darry's swept slightly to the side as he smiled down at me, a particular fondness in his eyes, so intense as he stared.
Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossin' you in style someday
I smiled to myself as I moved around with him, letting him guide me little by little from side to side slowly finding myself going in circles.
Oh, dream maker, you hear breaker
Wherever you're goin',
I'm goin' your way
I could feel the warmth from his hand on my back, the gentle yet firm touch keeping me on my toes as we moved around, the grass tickling my bare feet. It reminded me of a dream, a dream where I was safe and warm.
Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
Darry took a few steps back as I took a few forward, gliding with practiced ease on his part.
We're after that same raindows end
Waitin' round the bend
He smiled, pulling me closer for a moment, standing there.
My huckleberry friend,
moon river and me
We stood there for a moment, listening to the chorus, a small breath escaping my lips.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're goin',
I'm goin' your way
He spun me away gently, before spinning me back to him, my back pressing against his chest as we stood there swaying back and forth.
Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
I let my eyes slide shut, taking in a soothing breath as I listened to the music, humming along to the soft entrancing melody.
We're after that same rainbows end
Waitin' round the bend
My huckleberry friend,
moon river and me
We stood there together, our eyes closed as the sun set upon us, sinking ever lower in the sky. I found myself thinking about everything as another song came on, Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World. The song made me smile as I nodded my head in agreement of the moment. It was a perfect moment, the shadows of the trees shading the ground, the remaining light seeping through the leaves. I could hear a few birds chirped, male and female cuddling together, a soft love song emitting from their throats.
The wind flew up again, causing me shiver, Darry's arms wrapping tighter around my body. His warmth enveloped me, covering me like a blanket, his chin resting upon my head.
"Abigail?" he spoke softly, arms never wavering as we stared at the setting sun.
"Hm?"
"I love being here with you," he whispered, pressing his lips to the top of my head.
"I love being here with you too, Darry," I smiled, looking up at him.
I got this strange feeling in the back of my mind though when I looked into his eyes. I saw something within them, something that told me he was holding back, like he had more to say. This proved true as he turned me around to look at me properly, gripping me lightly by the shoulders.
"Darry?" I questioned, my brows coming together faintly.
"Abigail," he breathed, staring into my eyes, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I don't think I can wait any longer," he told me, his eyes watching as confusion spread across my face.
"Darry, what are you talking about?" I asked.
"We've been through so much these last few months," he started, slowly raking a hand through the bristles that was the hair on my head, his tender touch putting me at ease. "I've come so close to losing you," he whispered, leaning down and pressing his forehead to mine. "I love you so much."
"As I love you," I replied, raising my hand and pressing my palm gently to his cheek.
A faint smile spread over his strong face as I slowly caressed his cheek. I then let my fingers comb through his hair, his muscles obviously relaxing a bit as I did this. My touch could be just as calming as his.
"I'll always love you," I told him, making a promise. "No matter what," I whispered.
It seemed like that was all he needed to hear as he pulled away, holding me at arms length for a moment. Our eyes met, seeming to check things over. What I saw next stopped me in my tracks, eyes widening, mouth going slack as he got down on one knee. His hand left mine for a second as he pulled something from his jacket pocket, said object being that of a small velvet box.
"D-Darry?" I whispered, hand shaking slightly.
"Abigail Lee Winters," he breathed, using my whole name as he looked up at me, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Will you marry me?" he asked, coming to bite his lower lip.
"Darry..."
I didn't know what to say as I stood there, my voice refusing to work as my eyes watered. It was like time stood still, the air around me causing a chill. I tried to open my mouth, tried to say something as he sat patiently, staring at me with hopeful eyes. I could also see a faint fear of rejection as he sat there, my mouth twitching.
"Darry," I managed, falling to my knees in front of him.
I shook as I sat there, staring him in the eyes as tears slowly fell. I wasn't expecting this, I really wasn't, but here it was. He was sitting here, holding a ring before me, asking for just one simple word. Just one word, one little, tiny, itty bitty word. That was all he was asking for.
"Abigail?"
He tried to put on a happy face as he sat there, heart pounding in his chest, and worry in his eyes. He was worried that I would say no, that I would reject him. That was when I leaned forward, carefully wrapping my arms around his neck. My hand found it's way into the back of his hair, my fingers curling around his soft brown locks. My lips came to rest beside his ear as I managed to breath out that simple three lettered word, hot breath meeting bare skin.
"Yes," I cried, letting out a small gasp as he threw his arms around me, holding me tightly.
"Thank you," he murmured, burying his face in the crock of my neck. "Thank you so much," he whispered, mouth twitching against the skin of my neck.
It felt so strange sitting there like that, holding onto each other after speaking one simple word, a powerful one at that. It was so simple, yet so powerful, so big. It was probably the biggest decision I'd ever made.
"Here," he said, slowly pulling me back and taking hold of my left hand.
He then pulled the ring from the box, slowly sliding it onto my ring finger, the coolness of the metal nearly making me shiver. I smiled though as I looked down at it, teary eyed to say the least. It was so beautiful, yet so simple. All it was, was a simple gold band, a small diamond sticking out in the middle. I could only imagine how long it had taken for him to save that money up, also making me wonder where he had gotten it from. I had a feeling that he'd gotten help though. I felt a bit bad though because he'd probably had it saved up for a while for something else.
"How did you manage to afford this?" I asked, looking up at him.
He gave me a nervous looking, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, I saved up for a while," he told me. "That and Dally loaned me a bit of money."
I had the urge to roll my eyes at this for some reason.
"So, Dally knows about this then?" I asked.
"Actually, no," he admitted. "The only ones that actually knew about this were Soda and Joe."
"Wait, Joe?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "I know that he was always joking about it, but I knew he was kind of serious about asking him first," he told me. "So, I asked him for permission."
I laughed when he said that, a smile pulling onto my face.
"You asked Joe's permission to marry me?" I asked.
"Yeah. I know it's silly, but-"
I cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips.
"It's not silly at all. In fact, it's kind of nice. Joe's the closest thing that I have to a real father," I told him, letting my hand fall onto his lap. "I love you," I whispered, leaning forward and pressing my lips to his.
He returned it without hesitation, placing a hand on the small of my back, pulling me closer until I fell on him knocking him backwards. Laughter escaped us as we laid there, grinning like idiots as the sun slowly blinked out of existence, the dark nights sky staring back at us from up above. It was more beautiful in this moment than any other. I say this because in this moment, I had a ring on my finger, the man I love laying beneath me.
"Darry, are you sure about this?" I asked suddenly, finding myself curious.
"I've never been more sure about anything in my life," he told me, carefully turning me over to face him, his nose close to mine.
His smile told me that he was speaking the truth, eyes glistening in with affection as he gazed down at me.
"The question is, are you?" he asked, slightly hesitant.
"Darry," I whispered, placing a hand on his cheek. "Would I have said yes if I weren't?" I asked, allowing my hand to come back down and rest on his chest.
It was painful to move that arm at times, reminding me of what would come after out trip was over, surgical reconstruction coming to mind. This made me frown slightly, catching his attention.
"Abigail, what's wrong?" he asked, placing an arm around me.
I bit my lip before speaking, not sure if I should or not.
"I was just thinking," I started. "About what's going to happen when we get back," I explained, glancing down at my arm for emphasis.
"Oh," he voiced, realizing what I was talking about. "I'm sure that everything will turn out just fine," he told me, trying to get my mind off of it. "Besides, I'll be there with you every step of the way," he promised.
"I wish we could be like this forever," I wished, curling into him, his arms holding me close as we lay there.
Above us, a shooting star shot through the sky, a brief cosmic trail on its tail.
I really hope that this chapter met everyones standards and expectations? I've got a few questions that I would like everyone to answer.
1) What was your take on this chapter?
2) What would you like to see happen in the next chapter?
3) What do you think everyone's reaction will be when the gang finds out about the proposal?
4) You do realize that you don't have to have an account to send a review, right? So please, REVIEW? That's what is going to get the next chapter out. I need reviews people because the reviews make the chapter, especially after one like this. If at least 50 of more people read this chapter like all the others, then I should at least have half of that in reviews, even if they are simple reviews.
So, REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and feelings on this chapter/story.
Thanks everyone!