Change of Heart

The rest of the day, I hid out in my room. Pony and Sammy seemed a little confused about that, but they figured it had something to do with Dally, since they weren't stupid and noticed how I was acting around him earlier. I figured that they'd probably bombard me with questions after he left.

But, surprisingly, I had been wrong, and no one said anything when I went back downstairs later in the day. That was...until dinner.

"Sophie," Darry started at dinner, after everyone had gotten dinner. "Are you feeling okay today?"

My jaw clenched as I answered through my teeth, "I'm. Fine."

"C'mon, you can tell us. What's wrong?"

Finally, something inside me snapped. "God! What is wrong with you people? Always on each other's cases? There is nothing wrong with me, so just leave me the hell alone!"

"Sophia," Soda uttered, surprised at my outburst. "We were just asking. All of us are worried."

I shoved back my chair. "You don't even know me," I hissed. "You only know me from how I was when I was eight. Sorry to shock you all, but I've changed since then."

"Obviously," Darry retorted. "The Sophie we knew didn't yell at people who were trying to help her."

Instead of answering, I just turned and ran to my room. I knew I was acting like a kid, but I was all mixed up right now. Maybe I should just give Dally a chance, and at least I'd understand what was wrong with me. Was he even worth it? I guess I wouldn't know unless I tried.

God, what was I thinking? Johnny told me specifically not to pay attention to him because he was all about the conquest and didn't care about the girl at all.

Screw it. I was just going to go with it. Finally, I started grumbling when I realized something. I had to go downstairs and apologize to everyone...ugh...talk about awkward.

But it had to be done. So, I put on my most pathetic face and went downstairs. Supper had been cleared, and only Darry was sitting on the couch, staring off into space. Way to be productive, Dar'.

"I'm sorry," I said, breaking through the silence. "I really am. I don't know what's gotten into me."

Darry looked up, looking surprised to see me standing there. "It's okay. It happens."

I sat down next to him and put my head on his shoulder. "So are you going to tell me what's wrong now?"

My whole body went stiff. "Ummmm..."

"C'mon. It's just you and me. Soda, Pony, and Sammy went to the store to get some ice cream."

Finally, I let out a sigh. I guess the whole thing was going to get out soon enough, so why not let Darry know beforehand? "I'm just confused," I whispered.

"About what?" He leaned back and turned so he could face me. His eyes were just like ice, and it made me wonder what he was thinking that I was talking about.

"About..." I took a deep breath and said, "It'saboutDally."

"Dally?!" He looked downright shocked. "What about Dally? Did he hurt you?"

"No, no, no," I cleared up quickly. "It's just I think I might..." Not wanting to say it, I moved my head from side to side to emphasize what I meant.

"I'm not sure I get it," Darry admitted. "What?"

Even though there was no one else in the house, I whispered, "I think I like him... And it's freaking me out."

There was a thick silence, and I knew that I said something that Darry didn't like. "You...you like him?"

"I think so. And I don't know how. I mean, Johnny warned me that he was a bad guy, and to stay away from him but..." I shrugged.

"Are you gonna do anything about it?" The tone in his voice made me nervous. It was too detached, like he was working too hard not to feel something. Hopefully, that emotion wasn't anger...after all, he did ask me. I didn't want to tell anyone.

I shrugged. "Dally's come onto me enough times, so I'm kind of hoping that he'll step up. I'm not one to make first moves."

Darry nodded. "Well, good luck with that." He patted the couch once before disappearing into his room.

The more I thought about it, the more I really regretted telling him. There was also the part that he could tell anyone. More than anything, I hoped he wouldn't, but I had no idea if he would or not. After all, it was like I was meeting the whole gang again, practically. People change a lot in ten years.

Instead of spending all my time fretting and wondering if I just made a huge mistake, I turned on the TV and started to watch the news. It would take my mind off everything.

"And on crime," the announcer started, rearranging a couple papers, "the boy who has been breaking in school windows has finally been caught. The eighteen-year-old, Dallas Winston, was taken into custody only about a half hour ago."

"DARRY!" I screamed, rolling my eyes. Why was that guy so stupid?

"What?" he asked, walking out into the living room.

"Dally got arrested."

"Did he call? How do you know?" I was a little shocked at how lightly Darry was taking this. Something told me this happened a lot.

"Actually, I saw it on the news."

"Wow...okay, well, he should be calling soon. If the phone rings, answer it. We can go down and bail him out."

"Is this a normal thing for you?"

"Pretty much, yeah." He shrugged and walked away.

So, I sat down on the couch and rested my elbows on my legs, my face in my hands. This just made me feel worse that I was having any feelings at all about him. Good job, Dally. Gooooood job...