thirteen

—

i put my hand on my forehead, covering my eyes as an attempt to cover my face to hide my rosiness.

i scan through the menu, as i assumed he was doing the same.

instead, i find his hand on my arm, pulling my arm down from my face.

"don't hide it, it's cute" he says, referencing to my blushing.

i laugh, "it's awfully embarrassing. you sure know how to flatter a girl" i say as i smile at him, then look back down at the menu, anxious of making eye contact for too long.

he's beautiful, really. anyone would be nervous around him. he chuckles, and from the corner of my eye i see him look at the menu too.

after a few moments of silence, he closes his. "find out what you want? it's on me."

"actually, i was eating breakfast when you called, so i'm really not that hungry," i say.

"ah, i see. do you want a drink or anything?"

"i think i'll just get a banana smoothie" i say, closing my menu and putting it on top of his at the end of the table.

the waitress then comes back and takes our order. devin got hash-browns.

as we wait, we have small talk.

"how many people do you live with?"

"3 others" i reply.

"oh, i thought you had more than one brother" he says, more of a question.

"yeah, i have 3. darrel, sodapop and ponyboy. my parents died awhile back"

i can tell he's a bit shocked, probably wasn't expecting that. i said it quite confidently too, i suppose. i'm not scared to talk about it anymore.

"damn, i'm sorry" he says, taking a sip of his water.

"oh, it's totally alright. sorry if that made it weird" i say with an awkward laugh.

he then continues to ask more about me, like how i got my scars. they've healed quite a bit.

i tell him about how they happened and how dallas saved me, which lead me into telling him about the whole gang.

our food arrived in the middle, but i continued to talk as we ate.

"dallas winston?" he asks, wiping his face.

"yeah, he actually was the one that got me to dance with you last night-"

"yeah, i'm real familiar with him" he says bluntly.

"oh..is that a bad thing?" i ask confused.

he spins his fork around his plate "nah, he used to be friends with an old buddy of mine is all. i've heard some things about him"

"oh, really? like what?" i ask.

"nothin good. but, i don't wanna have that conversation"

i sigh, he's right. nasty things about dallas get spread around all the time. if i didn't know him, i'd stay as far away as i could.

we continue to eat and talk, i get him to tell me about himself, too.

after about an hour, we finish and clean up.

he pays and then we walk out.

"you got a ride?"

"uh- i thought i did..he must be late" i say scratching my arm.

he hums. "well, maybe if you call him, i can give you a ride home. it's awfully cold."

i look up at him and smile, then walk back into the diner and ask to borrow their phone.

i call soda and tell him that devin will drive me home.

i then walk back out and devin leads me to his car. he opens the passenger door for me, then closes it and gets himself in the drivers seat.

he starts the car and turns on the radio; the beatles playing.

i gently toss the flowers in the back seat, then meet my eyes with his.

i laugh awkwardly, "what?"

"you're gorgeous." he says. my eyes widen. "can i kiss you?" he asks sweetly.

i nod slowly, feeling butterflies in my stomach. i feel like i'm gonna throw up.

he puts his hand on my face gently, then leans in.

he kisses me softly, and brushes my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ears.

suddenly, i'm pulled on top of him. "is this okay?" he asks as he pulls away, breathing heavy.

i nod again, and we continue making out. he grips my thigh, then leans his head down, kissing my neck.

i bite my lower lip as his roam, finding my sweet spot. my breath hitches when he does.

he sucks on it, and i know it'll leave a mark.

suddenly, his watch dings, notifying him he has work soon. i sit back on my seat, and we begin driving away, both of us with smiles on our faces.

i tell him how to get to my house, and when he drops me off, we say our goodbyes.

"i really enjoyed this, thank you" i say as i open the car door, hopping out.

"i did too, i'll see you again, curtis" he says as he drives off.

once i make sure he's gone, i giddy in my house with excitement. luckily, no one seems to be home.

i find a vase in the kitchen and put the flowers inside with water. i put them in the middle of the dining table.

within a few minutes, i hear yelling from outside, telling me everyone is now over.

i walk out and greet everyone. even dallas is here!

"welcome back, annalise" darry says. "how was it?"

"gosh, it was great. he's real lovely" i say, butterflies still in my stomach.

we all talk for a bit, but i could feel dallas' gaze on me the whole time.

i look up at him with furrowed eyebrows and watch as he blows smoke out of his mouth.

"what's your deal, winston?"

he brings his cigarette back up to his lips, taking another drag. "the hell is that?" he asks as he points to my neck.

my eyes widen as i remember the mark devin must have left.

i act innocent, hoping none of the other boys heard. "i don't know what you're talking about."

"yeah, right. that devin kid do that to you?" he asks with a bit of tone. this causes the rest of the boys to give their attention toward me.

i look at them, steve and sodapop start laughing. darry has his arms crossed angrily as he analyzes my neck, and two-bit and pony really couldn't care less.

i avert my eyes and look back at dal. "fuck you, dallas" i say as i walk off, knowing darry is gonna give me a lesson on this.

i slam the front door, only for it to be opened immediately after "don't slam my damn door!" darry yells behind me.

"do you know how tacky that looks? my baby sister with hickeys all over her neck? what made you think that's okay?"

"christ, darrel, it's just one, and it just happened! i couldn't do anything about it!" i shout back.

"you watch your time with me. if i hear that he lays his hands on you one more time, ill skin the kid, you hear me?" he yells.

i roll my eyes and walk in my room, slamming the door. i lock it, so that no one barges in.

i plop on my bed, taking a deep breath trying to calm down. someone knocks on my door and tries to open it, but can't, obviously.

"we're going to the dx, catch ya later" soda says then walks off, knowing i won't want to come along. i listen as his footsteps get further away, and then hear the front door shut.

i stay put in my room for a moment, looking at my ceiling. suddenly, i hear my window creaking open.

i sit up and look over my shoulder with furrowed eyebrows.

"dallas, what the fuck?"

"hey, hey, watch it. i didn't feel like going to the station right now" he says as he hops in.

i glare at him with my arms crossed. he just narrows his eyes, looking at my neck.

"that's one damn hickey" he says with his smart-ass chuckle.

"yeah, whatever" i say angrily, unlocking my door and walking out.

i walk to the bathroom to look in the mirror, he follows behind me with a smirk.

firstly, i look at my face, which is healing up really well. i then lift my dress a bit, looking at the bruises on my sides. i have shorts on underneath.

those have gone away as well. there's just one bruise left on my neck from the cut.

then, i look at the side of my neck with the hickey. "how am i supposed to hide this?" i ask, because i know the boys won't give me a break about it.

"you can't, really" he says coming behind me "maybe put some ice on it..or.." he begins playing with the straps of my dress "you can cover it up with some more."

"get off, dallas" i say as i shove him back. this is typical dallas, i'm used toit.

he laughs, then looks me up and down. "keep those dirty eyes off of me" i say as i walk out the bathroom, shoulder checking him.