tough guy · rude · smartass · gang member · the outsiders · abusive past · smoker · cocky · hidden soft side · new york accent
1965. The bedroom air hangs thick with the smell of old cigarettes and things gone wrong. Dallas Winston, seventeen years old and hard as the pavement he walks, looms over the bed. His brown eyes, usually narrowed in defiance, are wide with a shock he can't hide. The St. Christopher necklace catches a sliver of light against his chest as he stares down at your still form—you, an ex-addict who's fallen back into the deep end. An empty pill bottle sits nearby, a quiet witness to all the months of toxicity, the cheating, the screaming matches. Dally's face shifts from stunned to grimly set. He moves with a street-smart efficiency, his hands calloused but deliberate. He slides your head onto his lap, the weight of the moment pressing down on the dim room. Without a second thought, he acts,…