The Curtis Sister

Long Morning

I slightly opened my eyes and was hit with the bright sun. I woke up scared when I realized it wasn't the view I usually had when I woke up, I was usually staring at the wall. I saw Dally's bandaged hand and realized I was laying on his chest. His arm was wrapped around my waist and he was still fast asleep. I was slightly worried about getting home, but there was no way I was leaving Dallas. He needed his sleep so I just decided to go downstairs and call Darry from the house phone. I rang the number and picked up the phone. He answered immediately.
       "Y/N, where are you?!", he yelled into the phone.
       "I'm at Dallas' I'll be back before lunch, okay?"
       "You've been there all night?!"
       "No just this morning.", I lied.
       "Be back before noon, got it?"
       "Yeah.", I said.
       I hung up the phone and I felt Dallas wrap his arms around me from behind. I smiled and turned to face him.
      "Good morning."
      "Good morning.", he lazily replied.
      "I have to get home, are you gonna come with?", I questioned.
       He quietly nodded and yawned. His hair was a mess and I laughed.
       "What?"
       "You're hair."
       I tried to fix it and it just went back to the way it was before.
        "It doesn't usually move back, I have to wet it.", he said.
        We walked back upstairs and he went into the bathroom. I went into his room and looked to see if there was any more glass. I saw a shirt on the ground with Freddie Mercury printed on the front. I picked it up and smiled. Dallas came back in the room running his hands through his wet hair.
         "Did you even take a shower?", I asked.
        "I wet it in the sink.", he said, "I'll take one when I get back."
          I held up the shirt. He laughed and dried his hair with a towel.
        "Do you want it?", he questioned.
       I gasped silently. "Can I have it?"
       "Yeah.", he responded. I folded it up and carried it in my hand.
       "Thank you, let's go before Darry cuts our heads off."
        I decided to drive since he was still a little tired. The drive was pretty quiet, but Dallas was holding my hand, and it looked like he was trying to fall back asleep.
        "Hey.", he said.
        "Yeah?"
        "...The, uh, New York Guys.", he started.
       "You don't have to say anything you don't want to.", I said.
        "It's not like that. Well. It is, but...not every one was like that."
         "Dal-"
         "Cora, Brady, and Ralph. They were my best friends back there. They all had some pretty deep shit going on. They were the only ones who really didn't force me to do things I didn't want to. We became our own gang within a gang. They remind me of you guys."
        I paused and look at him. He looked back at me and realized I was waiting for him to go on.
        "Cora was like Johnny. She was timid and didn't like talking, but she'd defend someone if she had to. Brady and Two-Bit were like the same people, joking during serious times, roughing everyone up for fun. And Ralph is so much like Darry it scares me. Ralph was stabbed a lot and got into big rumbles only because he was in love with Carl Jones."
       "And that's why you excepted Johnny when he came out to you."
       "I didn't want him to get into rumbles, but I wasn't gonna tell him he wasn't allowed to feel a certain way. And this is Tulsa, if he showed any sign of him being gay in New York, they'd kill him. It's his own mind, I can't change it. But, I want him to keep it a secret.", he explained.
      I nodded and he continued.
     "Cora reminds me of you a little, too. Only because she tries to be perfect for everyone."
        He looked at me again. "You can't be perfect for everyone, and she had to learn it the hard way."
        I looked at the road focusing on the white lines disappearing beneath the car.
        "Brady?", I asked.
        "Him and I...we went through similar situations."
         He didn't need to say anything more. I knew what he meant. Brady and him were the tough guys with a whole other side to them.
         I felt sad knowing his new friends. I wanted to go to work just to see Cora and ask her about Brady and Ralph. I parked the car in front of the house. We didn't get out for a second and Dallas was silent. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. He managed a tiny smile.
        "Are you okay?", I asked.
       "Yeah."
       I got out of the car and he followed me, the house was bright and we could already hear laughing from inside. I held his hand while we walked in. I opened the door and everyone was play fighting on the couch. I rolled my eyes and Dallas laughed at me, then walked into the fight and joined in. Someone grabbed me and pulled me into the kitchen. I turned around and saw it was Sodapop.
"Why were you and Dally holding hands?", he asked.
I forgot to tell him. Him and Steve were the only ones left who didn't know. I sighed.
"Dally and I are together."
"What do you mean together?"
"He's my boyfriend."
"Since when?", he whispered.
"A few months ago."
He scoffed. "A few months ago! Who knows?"
"Everyone except Steve now."
He put his head in his hands.
"Aren't we supposed to tell each other everything?", he asked.
"Soda it's not that big of a deal."
"It kinda is. You're my twin sister. We've always told each other everything. Why am I the last person that you're telling?"
"Steve is."
"That doesn't matter. Darry knows, Pony knows, and you couldn't bother to tell me?"
"I know we are twins and all-"
"Why aren't you as close to me as you were when we were kids? You barely even talk to me anymore.", he questioned.
"I'm just busy."
"Busy enough for a boyfriend and a job? You're different now, you used to be so close with Ponyboy, Steve, Two-Bit, and me. And now you just switched to Johnny, Dally, and Darry?"
"You're overreacting Soda. I'm just closer with them now. Maybe you changed."
"I haven't changed a damn thing about myself. You are the one that is all the sudden different. Clearly you've forgot the promise."
"That was 10 years ago Soda."
"And yet you kept it for 9."
He stormed off.