m

i imagine dally was extremely extremely hesitant to express his true feelings for you but once he did, he expressed them in ways that were slightly unorthodox.

for example, when you first met dallas, he most likely immediately took a liking to you, whether that was due to your striking looks or fiery personality, he liked you nonetheless. it was a difficult thing for you to tell, however, because he still kept his guard up around you to uphold his tuff, greasy persona.

you first picked up that he actually had feelings for you one day when he was driving you from a short day trip in the country back to your house.

you were sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window and humming along to whatever station was playing and dallas driving buck merrill’s t-bird, one hand on the wheel and the other half out the window with a burning cigarette in his hands.

he took a big inhale of the cigarette and blew it out the window. then he turned to you briefly and looked back at the road. you didn’t notice at first until he did it again while sitting at a red light, this time staring at you for a little while longer.

“uhh, can i help you? earth to dallas,” you waved your hand in front of his face, laughing as he blinked hard. dally cleared his throat and sat up straight, facing the road once again.

“i’m good,” he paused. “you, uh… you know i took you to the country today cause i like you, right?” he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and continued to drive as the traffic light turned green.

your throat was so dry it almost hurt to swallow. your thighs began to almost tremble with nerves. surely, this had to be a joke. you heard of guys asking girls out as a prank and you always hoped that you would never fall victim. it seemed, in your mind, that today you finally did.

you turned your head to the left to face him. “what? what did you just say?” your eyes widened and you nervously played with a strand of your hair. dally readjusted himself in his seat again, a dead giveaway that he was uncomfortable.

“well, uh, i don’t usually go drivin’ outta tulsa and i’m not sure if you’ve noticed but i ain’t really friends with chicks,” dallas took a sip of the pepsi in his cup holder, briefly glancing towards you as he swallowed. “and i ain’t gonna deny that you’re one hell of a catch.”

“gee, thanks dal. i uhm, was under the impression you only were interested in sex affairs, y’know?” you spoke, looking down as you wiped your clammy hands on your navy blue miniskirt. you looked over to see his reaction to your words, to which your eyes were met with a puzzled look paired with a furrowed brow decorated dally’s face. dally shook his head and quickly glanced towards you.

“nah. well, it was. but it ain’t like that anymore. i guess. i mean,” you watched nervously as dallas stumbled over his words. you had never seen him so not nonchalant.

for a about a mile, the drive was silent. that was, until dally pulled into an empty lot. you turned your head to face him in confusion, wondering why he had randomly parked here.

dally turned his head to face you once the car was parked. then, he leaned over the center console to capture your lips in a delicate kiss that was still rough enough to have that “winston edge” to it. you smiled against his lips as you kissed him back, allowing his tongue to enter your mouth.

after a while, you pulled back to get some air. dally looked down at you and almost smiled as he tucked a few stray hairs behind your ear. you smiled back at him, your hands reaching to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

you caught the glimmer of dallas’s unusually beautiful eyes in the glow of the moon and wished nothing more but for the moment to last forever. little did you know, he was thinking the same. he’d never tell you that though, or anyone for that matter.

(y/n) (l/n). a soc. a popular one at that. you were popular partly because you were a fit cheerleader and you made good grades. and also partly because the word had gotten out about your boyfriend, the infamous dallas winston.

it happened on accident, really. dally wanted to take you out to the dingo for a milkshake and it just so happened that the nosiest, most meddlesome girl in your whole school—shirley wilson—was also there and, as luck would have it, happened to be looking in your direction as dally put his arm around you.

you walked home hand in hand that night with dally feeling as if the whole worlds eyes were on you. it seemed as if everyone in town knew immediately. including your father, a well known businessman who would not let a hood such as dallas get in the way of his reputation.

you watched as dally turned away and walked back to buck merrill’s bar after he walked you up to the porch. you opened the door and saw your father sitting in his recliner next the the telephone reading the paper. as soon as the front door clicked shut his eyes met yours. they looked to be almost fed up or irritated with you, but all you had done was come home right in time for curfew.

“hello, daddy,” you smiled softly, hoping his expression was a result of a stressful day at work and nothing to do with the greaser that you were kissing just an hour ago. “how was your day?”

“oh, save it, (y/n). what’s this i’m hearing about you and a dallas winston? a greaser, really? i don’t think you could’ve picked a more grungy fella.” you gasped. how could he have already known? there was no way shirley’s gossip could’ve gotten back to him so quick, but it seemed it had.

“well he’s my boyfriend and we’ve been goin’ steady for a bit now, but i promise you ain’t nothing happened. he’s not all bad, i swear it, daddy-” your father cut you off, raising his voice as he spoke to you from across the room.

“i don’t give a rat’s ass if he’s gentle as a lamb, he’s a damn hood and you are forbidden from seeing him again!” your father asserted firmly. he always meant what he said and you knew never to question his word or go against him but you just couldn’t handle this.

tears started to prickle in your eyes. you couldn’t stand to not see dallas anymore. you loved him, after all. even if he hated kids and made it his mission to break the law. underneath all that roughness he was really a sweet boy. neither of you could stand to even sleep one night away from each other. you couldn’t imagine how dally would take this news.

you were snapped out of your thoughts when your father spoke up again, “and i better not catch him anywhere near this estate that i worked so hard for you to grow up in, never know what it’s like to be hungry a day in your life. well, if you wanna keep it that way then you better not hang around such sleazy greasers!”

you almost couldn’t speak through the thick knot that your overflowing emotions had tied in your throat but you managed to squeak a weak proclamation in response.

“but daddy, i love him!” you cried, warm, salty tears blurring your vision as they ran down your rosy cheeks. “i’m havin’ his baby!” it wasn’t true yet, you just wanted to start shit and see if such circumstances would change your fathers opinion on your chosen partner. spoiler, it didn’t.

your father turned around, looking almost angrier than before, if that was even possible. you cowered in slight fear before dashing up the stairs and to your room.

as soon as your heated face hit the feathery pillows, sobs flew out of your mouth. how could your father do this? you were 16 years old, surely you could pick out your own boyfriend. and he shouldn’t get to have a say. you fell asleep that night wrapped in a jacket dallas had given you on a previous date and tear stains on your cheeks, makeup already cried completely off.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

the next morning was sunday and like usual, your father dragged you to the church—not caring how you felt about religion or god. you walked in the sacred building side by side with your father just about 5 minutes early and all heads turned to meet your eyes. the sounds of whispers filled the room. rumors of pregnancy, marriage, and you even heard an elderly woman mutter “what a mess” under her breath, her hand held close to her chest, clutching her authentic, best-that-money-could-buy string of pearls.

you sat in silence the whole mass, too busy in your thoughts to pray or even hear what the pastor was saying. you were thinking up solutions to your newfound problem. dally didn’t even know you weren’t allowed to see each other yet because you forgot to call him after the heated dispute and your meltdown last night.

you didn’t understand the problem your father and apparently everyone else had with your relationship. first off, it was none of their business. and secondly, nobody truly knew dallas the way you did.

sure, he was a greaser and a hood who jumped just about anyone and was getting hauled in by the fuzz at least twice a week but he was like a completely different person when it was just you two. he was softer, gentler, and much more laid back than he was with anyone else. and yes, he was still crazy dallas winston from new york but he was your crazy dallas winston and you loved him dearly, no matter how anybody else felt about you or him.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

when the sermon had finally come to an end, you darted out of there so fast, anyone would’ve thought your pew had been set on fire. you met your father at the door where you promptly requested to meet your friends at the diner, to which he agreed as long as you were back home by 6:30 sharp for sunday dinner. as the obedient daughter you were most of the time, you agreed and made your way to the nearest payphone to ring the phone at buck’s bar where dally rented a room and just about everything else, too.

buck answered the phone on the second ring and as soon as he recognized your voice, he was calling for dally from down the bar.

“hey, sweetheart, you didn’t call me last night, what’s up with that?” dally inquired, his new york city accent only getting thicker as the pet name slipped past his plump pink lips. the lips you longed to kiss again…

“yeah, about that, i’m real sorry, dal, but you gotta meet me at the diner on west milton st., it’s very important, okay?” you were speaking so fast you almost choked on your words. you were eager to see dally in person again rather than talk to him over this stupid payphone.

you heard him shuffle on the other end of the line before the deep rasp of his voice filled your ears once again.

“alright, yeah, doll. i’ll meet you there as quick as i can. i’ll try to snag buck’s thunderbird, too, just you wait.” you heard the quick snap of a match being lit and rolled your eyes. of course dally was smoking. it’s not even that you didn’t like the habit he had, you just wished you were by his side, sharing the cigarette and not about to have the conversation you knew needed to take place.

the two of you exchanged your ‘i love you’s’ and ‘goodbyes’ before hanging up the phone and starting on your way to the diner you demanded dallas make his way to.

you pushed open the glass door to the diner, your mind barely accounting for the bell above your had that rang in a loud, migraine-inducing pitch.

you wended your way to the bar, attempting to ignore the whispers that filled the air around you as you ordered your favorite flavor milkshake and a large serving of french fries.

anxiety coursed your veins as you awaited dallas’ arrival. you apprehensively munched on one particularly salty fry while you bounced your right foot against cool metal of the stool, the sound of your expensive high heels clanking against your seat ringing through your ears.

every time the bell above the door rang, signaling a new customer, your head whirled almost all the way around until dally had finally waltzed through the glass door flaunting his usual unbothered persona.

he was wearing dark blue jeans with his usual worn-in leather jacket, a maroon t-shirt underneath, and black boots with his silver st. christopher necklace dangling from his neck. when he saw your reaction to his presence his eyes lit up and a smirk appeared on his face. you watched as dallas dug in his back pocket for a cigarette that he lit using the back of his st. christopher.

“hey, doll, how’s it goin’?” dally cleared his throat as he exhaled the smoke and looked around the diner. you smiled shyly. you missed your boyfriend dearly and finally seeing him again was doing wonders to your slightly over sensitive heart.

“i’m alright, dal. just wanted to see you again. i got something to tell you, just don’t be mad-” dally’s expression quickly turned nervous and almost sour, as if he was expecting the worst.

“you ain’t knocked up or anything, right? i heard a few whispers on my way here sayin’ such.” your eyes widened. of course people would spread such rumors, you didn’t even know how people would run with a claim such as that, you had only told your father the lie. curse your thin walls.

“what?! no, of course not, we’re responsible, you know that! it’s something else, though…” your eyes met your shaky hands and you watched for a moment as your slender fingers entangled themselves as a way to distract your mind from the unfortunate truth dallas was soon to discover.

“alright, well, lay it on me, sweetheart,” gosh, you loved when dally called you sweet pet names like that, it almost made you forget how he acted towards just about everyone else, excluding little Johnny Cade, of course.

you took a deep breath before raising your head so your eyes could meet his. you stuttered at first but eventually got your point across to him.

“well, uhm, my father ain’t real fond of us goin’ out or anything like that and he sorta forbade my seeing you. but i don’t see how he thinks that would stop me, considering i do almost everything else he say i shouldn’t,” a nervous lump began to form in your throat and you felt as if you were going to cry from embarrassment.

“i just thought i should tell you so we can figure out how to go about this now, y’know?” dallas nodded. he had to hold his tongue as not to say something out of line in regards to your father’s new law of your love life.

“well, i guess i’ll just hav’ta be more sneaky when i come through your window, huh, dolly?” he smirked, clapping his hands before crossing them against his chest and leaning back in his stool, almost falling back onto the floor.

you smiled at your boyfriend’s reaction, at least he wasn’t mad, you thought. maybe getting around this would be easier than you supposed.

“yeah, something like that, dal,” you sipped your milkshake and reached forward to take his rough, larger hand in your smaller, softer, and more feminine hand. he immediately reciprocated the action and curled his finger around your dorsum.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

finally it was 6:00 and sunday dinner was in half an hour. you warned dally of the circumstances but he was insisting on walking you at least a block away from your house. you don’t know where he got the gentlemanly nerve.

anywho, you two walked hand in hand down the sidewalk, his jacket hanging off your slender feminine shoulders. once you had reached the end of the block right before yours, you turned to hug and kiss dallas goodbye.

“alright, i love you, dal. maybe i’ll see you tomorrow?” you smiled as you looked up at him. the sun was setting now and the orangey-pink light from the sky illuminated his already completely gorgeous face just enough to make a gal’s heart stop. you almost swore yours did as you were looking at him. dally nodded and kissed your cheek as you slid his jacket off your shoulders, promptly returning it to him.

you spun on your heels and walked away, lightly swaying your hips in that natural, confident way you always did. dally watched, too. he watched as you gracefully moved down the sidewalk, knowing that you’d go home to the luxury of a family dinner and a warm home. the luxury of not only an embracing family but also hot water and paid off electricity. something dallas grew up questioning, never certain if he’d have food that night or a hot bath to unwind in. you never had to worry of such things, however. that’s what made dally almost envy you. all socs, really.

dally would walk home to his rented room above buck merrill’s bar where he’d maybe shower and then fall asleep on a dingy mattress, most likely drunk or post-fight. dally knew it made you worry when he ended his nights like that, but that was his normal.

when you finally arrived on the front porch to your estate, you opened the door with your keys and met your father in the kitchen. you freshened up and finally had a fulfilling sunday meal. it was quite peaceful, actually. that surprised you, considering the events that had taken place just a mere 24 hours ago.

at the end of the supper, you said your good nights and retreated to the privacy of your bedroom, where you freshened up for bed with a shower and a bit of journaling with soft music in the background, your favorite nighttime ritual.

your father remained downstairs in his recliner, reading the paper and barely listening to whatever infomercial was playing on the tv.

you went to bed thinking that you had successfully spent a day with your forbidden boyfriend, but your father knew the real truth.

although he tarried back home after church, he did have some old friends cruising the town that afternoon, just about the same time you and dallas happened to be right in sight at the diner bar. your father heard of the news immediately but he decided to wait until daybreak to let you in on the information he knew.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

in the morning, you came downstairs in your baby blue bath robe and your curlers in. you made yourself your morning coffee and read whatever book you were reading as you waited for the kettle to reach a boil. you picked your eyes from your book once you heard your father coming down the stairs to do the same.

“mornin’, daddy. how’d you sleep?” you inquired, a bit too chirpy for a gal who had a fit just the other day over not being allowed to see her own boyfriend. your father knew exactly why.

“well, i slept fine, honey. you seemed to have slept awfully well, too,” he cleared his throat as he took down the jar of sugar from the cupboard. “say, what did you and your girlfriends do yesterday afternoon? you said you all went to the diner?”

your heart rate quickened a little bit but surely you could pull this off, you thought. you put your book down on the table and turned to face your daddy as you spoke, trying your best to keep a not-guilty expression.

“yes, just myself and some girlfriends from school at the diner for milkshakes and french fries, you know the deal,” you replied with a smile.

“oh, i know the deal alright. and i also know dallas winston, too. and what i know for damn sure is that you’re lying straight to my face!” your father almost yelled at you. your eyes widened in shock. how could he possibly know everything without even leaving the house?! you gasped at the true accusation and let your hand raise to clutch your chest.

“daddy! what on god’s green earth are you on about?” you exclaimed, feigning an astonished attitude. your father firmly placed his coffee mug on the kitchen counter and took a deep breath.

“you went behind my back and saw your little boyfriend, directly after i declared that you are forbidden to see him again! don’t you remember what i said to you? you were born into luxury, dear, you’re not meant to be hanging around trash such as him,” your eyes watered as your father spoke to you, in a lower voice but not any less strict.

“you need to come to your senses, (y/n), this is just a silly teenage affair. you’ll have many more opportunities with much more fortunate men, i promise you that.” you however were set in your heart. you were not going to ‘come to your senses’ whether you would end up married to dallas or never see him tomorrow. you just wanted to be able to make decisions for yourself as a young woman, which was fair, in your mind.

“i’m not comin’ to my senses! you’ll never understand, daddy, cause all you care about is money and your reputation in this town,” you took a deep breath before continuing, for a second wondering if you’d later regret your next words.

“well, fuck your reputation and i don’t give a rat’s ass if you have anything to say about my lovin’ dallas winston because i am old enough to make a say for myself! and thats final!” you slammed your hand on the table as you shouted and stood up, marching up the staircase and to your room to cool down. you didn’t bother looking back to see your father standing in place with wide eyes and an open jaw. you didn’t care for what he had to say next and ultimately, you were glad to have spoken your truth.

you grabbed the doorhandle to your bedroom and slammed it shut once you were inside. you took a deep breath that was quickly replaced by a loud, almost scream-ish gasp when you saw the unexpected visitor making himself at home in your room.

none other than the devil himself, dallas winston. your crazy greaser boyfriend who made it his personal life goal to break the law, sitting right on your bed with his head against the headboard and his hands resting on the nape of his neck.

“hey, doll. quite a speech you put on down there, i didn’t take you for a kinda gal to stick up for a greaser, eh?” dally smirked, bringing his hands down to dig in his pockets for a pack of cigarettes, taking one out and lighting one.

“dallas! what the hell are you doing here?!” you whisper-yelled. although you had put your father in his place just three minutes ago, you were still too frightened that he’d come up to your room to give you a piece for his mind again for about the third time in maybe 2-3 days, which you absolutely could not handle again.

“shhh, listen, sweetheart, i know what you said and i promise i’ll listen to you. after today, though. cause i came up with a plan?” dally paused, waiting to see your reaction to his sudden scheming. once he saw you standing before him with a singular cocked eyebrow and your arms crossed against your chest, he finally began to speak again.

“okay, so, as we both know, your father ain’t too fond of me, especially since i’m seein’ you. so, i’m thinkin’, we keep seeing each other privately and then maybe once school starts back up again, i’ll come see ‘em myself and politely ask if i can properly take ya out. how’s that sound?” dally replied with a raised eyebrow and raised arms, almost in a shrug-like manner.

“why in the fall?” you inquired, wondering your boyfriend’s reasoning for such a specific timeframe.

“to give him time to come around to the idea, of course. let him cool off for a bit, i think it’s a good idea, no?” okay, he had a point. your father was more likely to be used to the idea if there was a brief waiting period in between.

“and what if he says no, huh?” you smirked, looking at dally as if you had won the ‘game’.

“then i’ll just keep seein’ ya in secret, doll. y’know me, i ain’t gonna listen to your old man’s rules, i just figured it’d be a good idea to get ‘em on my side if i plan on sticking around,” dally leaned back once again, “which i do.”

“okay, tough guy, i like your little plan you got. let’s see how this plays out, shall we?” you smiled as you made your way closer to dally on the bed and leaned down, capturing his lips in a kiss.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

as autumn slowly approached, you got more and more restless. on pins and needles to see your fathers final say on the matter.

finally, the day came around. you were sitting on the couch doing some light reading and your father was changing a lightbulb when there was a knock on the door.

not expecting any visitors, you placed your book down and made your way to the door. looking through the peephole, your heart sank. dally hadn’t even given you any such warning as to when he’d stop by, that was partly what made you so jittery.

nonetheless, you opened the door and let dally inside. your father looked up and set down the lamp in his hands to stare dallas down.

“ah, mr. (l/n), please. just hear me out, ight?” dally cocked his head to a 3/4 degree angle and raised his hands in a shrug motion. he decided to continue his speech when he saw your father nod.

“i know we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but i wanted to properly explain a bit and ask you a very important question,” you watched apprehensively as your father raised one eyebrow.

“i really do love your daughter, i swear on that. i wasn’t raised like any of you social elites or nothin’ like that and i ain’t got much. but i promise if you give me a proper chance to treat your daughter right, you won’t regret it a day in your life, mr. (l/n).” you smiled as the words met your ears, knowing the truth in them.

your father crossed his arms as dallas spoke and he slightly shifted his feet. finally, after what felt like an eternity, your father nodded and began to speak.

“alright, you can see my daughter properly now, but if you ever come over here all doors stay open and i better not hear of any under-the-covers activity, ever. and if you break her little heart i swear on everything good and green that you will certainly regret it until the day you meet the soil of your grave, you understand me?” dally quickly nodded, not wanting to upset your father in any regards.

“oh absolutely, sir. crystal clear.” your father nodded and sat down again, busying himself with the lamp lightbulb once again. “now, lemme see my lady!” dally exclaimed before jumping backwards on the couch and on top of you, to which your father’s eyes narrowed.

so in the end, your father came around and dallas grew on him, that’s for sure. everyone else in town could screw themselves for all you and dally cared. you were finally together, officially, and nothing would change that.

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