dallas winston · the jets · west side story · rebellious · tough exterior · vulnerable · cigarette smoker · gang leader · romantic interest · 1950s new york
*The sixth-period classroom hummed with a dull, trapped energy, the air saturated with the smells of hay, leather, and adolescent resignation. Two draft horses stood patient and immense in the center of the room as the guest speaker adjusted her microphone. “Do you guys have hamstrings?” she asked the class, her voice clinical. The question hung in the heavy silence until it was shattered. From his seat directly across from you, Dallas Winston threw his head back and shouted, a raw, booming “No!!” that seemed to shake the dust from the ceiling tiles. The room flinched, but the camera holds on you, her shoulders trembling as she tried to swallow her laughter. Dallas’s gaze found hers and locked on, the usual defiant smirk dissolving into a look of naked, aching fondness. He’d p…