twenty

—

he stares at me without saying anything. he then clears his throat and drives off again.

"you're late" he says bluntly.

i roll my eyes "hell, winston, i don't care. let's go to bucks, yeah?" i ask. he looks at me with an unsure look, but nods.

the car ride remains silent, as it has nearly every time i've been in his car with him. within a few minutes, we pull up to bucks parking lot.

i hop out, and head inside. dallas follows behind me. we go up to his room and i sit on his bed, waiting for him to close the door.

"why'd ya wanna come here?" he asks, taking out a cigarette. he tosses me one, too.

"we gotta talk," i say.

"about?" he asks impatiently, taking a drag.

"well, our feelings..or?" i say. i mean, he did admit to having feelings for me, right? what else would he had meant?

he laughs "whatever you want, kid."

"come on, dallas! do you have feelings for me or not? what else would you have meant?"

he smirks "why you wanna know so bad? you got the hots for me?" he asks, inching closer.

i roll my eyes at him. he blows cigarette smoke in my face in response.

"of course you do" he says when i stay quiet.

i don't respond, annoyed with his cockiness. one minute he's open, talking about how he feels and the next he closes up again, putting up his tough front.

i lie down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. i take a long drag, thinking about how i really feel, weighing the pros and cons.

i really like devin, but there's something about dallas that is so addicting. i feel so alive with him, like there's nothing that can stop me.

around devin, i feel like i have to act like, i dunno, a goody-two-shoes or something. i feel like he'd lose interest in me if i were to ever ask him to do something reckless.

he's real sweet, a real gentleman, dallas is stubborn and a little bitch most of the time, but for whatever reason, i'm more attracted to him. i can be myself around him.

plus, i've known dallas nearly my whole life. i mean, even the last month i've been through more with him than i have anyone.

dallas was always there for me when my parents died, even though he didn't say i could talk to him or anything, he allowed me to, and he understood.

he was real close with my mom. she kept him out of trouble. i wish i could do the same.

i look over at him, he's leaning against his wall, watching me. he narrows his eyes "what are you thinking about?"

i sit up, and rest my hands next to me, gripping the end of the bed.

"do you like me, dallas?" i ask, being serious. i don't wanna waste my time, and i don't wanna end up getting hurt.

he walks over to me, staring down. i stare up at him, waiting for a response.

he smells like a mixture of alcohol, cigarettes, leather and a hint of cologne. it's not bad, he smells quite good.

he begin leaning down, forcing me to lie on my back slowly. he has his hands on the sides of my face, his body on top of mine.

he kisses me slowly, yet passionately. he pulls away for a moment, smirking at me. "does this answer your question?" he asks. i smile, and tug him down back to me by his christopher.

we stayed for a moment, cuddled into his arms, listening to his breathing as my head lied on his chest.

we only made out, since i had to get home soon. school is over in about an hour. hopefully ponyboy didn't notice i had been gone.

i sigh and look up at him. "can you drive me to the theater? i think i should talk to devin.."

he sits up, biting the inside of his cheek. "yeah, sure" he says getting off the bed.

i follow behind him. he puts his hand on the door knob but stops himself. he turns around to me slowly, i cross my arms and put a curious look on my face.

he puts his arms over his head, taking off his st. christopher. he places it over my head slowly.

a surprised smile grows on my face "what is this?" i ask through a laugh.

he fixes it so it's visible on my chest while explaining "well, if you remember from when i has taken it off of you after i left the hospital.." he trails off.

my eyebrows raise, and my eyes gleam with excitement. i then narrow them at him with a cocky smile.

"this your way of asking me to be your girl?" i tease him. he elbows me with a chuckle and nods. "yeah, i guess so" he says as he turns away, opening his bedroom door.

we walk out and back to his car. we drive, and i talk about how i should tell him.

"just be straight up" he says. "who cares."

i bite my lip, "but i don't wanna hurt him, dal. he's a really sweet guy.."

he shrugs, not caring how i tell him. he just wants me to get it done. he doesn't want devin hanging around or thinking that i'm "available" or whatever.

he hates having anyone talk to his girls flirtatiously, he's very protective. a lot of people think he's the cheating and lying type, but he's not. sylvia hurt him enough times that he wouldn't put anyone he truly cares for in that position. he knows how it feels.

i let out a breath that i didn't know i was holding as we pull up.

"stay here" i demand as i hop out of his car and walk into the theater.

the door dings as i walk in, causing devin to look over.

"annalise!" he says excitedly.

"hey!" i greet "how are you feeling?"

as i walk closer to him, his smile fades. "i'm fine," he nearly whispers as he looks down at my chest, looking at the christopher around my neck.

he leans his hands against the glass counter, gripping it. his eyebrows furrow and he bites his lower lip.

i stand there awkwardly, not knowing how to start. "i'm sorry.." i say.

everyone in town knows dallas, and everyone knows that this necklace on a girl means she's claimed by him.

"what's this mean?" he asks, looking down at me. i look outside at dallas in the car, smoking a cigarette as he waits.

devin does the same. dallas doesn't take his eyes off of him. "i don't get it" devin says as he turns his head back to me.

i sigh, rubbing my temples "what?"

"why would you pick him?" he asks, clearly hurt. it sucks knowing i'm the one causing this.