(A/N: I have been waiting for a WHILE to post this one! YOU TOTES UNDERSTAND WHY EMMA! XD I hope you Gems enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

Enjoy~)

June 14th, 2020 4:11

Hazel eyes flew open as a loud thump echoed through the bedroom, followed by a muttered string of profanities. "Dallas?" Emily narrowed her eyes into the darkness; it didn't help much considering the fact that her glasses were set on the bedside table at the present time. There was a moment of silence before the reply came. "Hi." Emily rolled her eyes. "What are you doing in here?" the ginger asked, stretching. "Just doing my rounds." Dallas replied in a slightly pained voice. From the faint light of the moon filtering through her window, Emily could make out the blurry image of the tow-head leaning against her wardrobe, hands on his right shin as he held his leg to his stomach, knee to his chest. She guessed he had rammed his shin into the wardrobe as he came in, as the door was still slightly ajar. The moonlight refelcted off of Dallas' hair, making it shine an eerie white in startling contrast to the darkness surrounding them.

Emily glanced at her watch, squinting to see the hands as the owl eyes stared back at her from it's center. "At 3 am?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Dallas didn't hesitate. "It's 4, and yep." Emily shook her head, pushing a lock of poofy hair from her face. "Dallas, why are you really in here?" "I told you. I'm-oof-" he started, wincing as he lowered his leg. "Doin' my rounds." Emily yawned. "Whatever." She sank back into her bed, too tired to try and argue with Dallas, and pulled the covers up to her ears. "Goodnight, Dallas." "Night." Emily heard her door close and assumed that Dallas had left. A sudden dip at the foot of her bed told her otherwise.

The ginger sighed, sitting up. "Dallas. What could you possibly want at this time of night. The rest of the world is asleep. Or at least trying to be."she said, slightly irritated at the man who had disturbed her sleep. Dallas said nothing, staring at her wall with his hands clasped together under his chin, elbows propped on his knees. "Dallas." "You alright, Emily?" Dallas asked suddenly, continuing to stare at the wall. Emily, realizing she was going to be up for a while, grabbed her glasses off of the nightstand, slipping them over her ears. The dark room came into focus, allowing her to see Dallas' face at least a little better; it was still too dark to see properly. "Yeah." she replied slowly, a questioning look on her face. "I'm fine. Why?" Dallas moved his hands up in front of his mouth for a moment, then back under his chin. Emily examined him intently; he had a strange look on his face. He looked as though he had a lot on his mind. "Your brother doesn't like me very much, huh." Emily's eyes widened momentarily. Was that why he had invaded her room at 4 in the morning? "Wh-" Dallas cut her off. "Look, I know you hate fightin' with him. And believe me, I appreciate you standing up for me like that. But I don't want to cause any more problems between you guys. If you're gonna survive this, you need to get along." he sighed. " Caleb's right. I've done nothin' but cause trouble since the day I got here."

"Dallas, no-" Again, Emily was cut across. "Emily, don't try to argue with me." Dallas stated, still not looking at the woman to which he spoke. "For f***'s sake, I almost got you killed yesterday! I'm a danger to the team. That's all I've ever been. I should just leave and put you guys out of harms way." "Dallas, you-" Emily tried again, pulling her covers off before being interrupted for the third time. But this time, she wasn't having it. "Stop it, for Pete's sake!" she cried. "Let me get one stinkin' word in, please! Goodness!" Dallas finally looked at her, his eyes wide with slight shock at her sudden outburst. "You've done way more than cause problems." Dallas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right." he scoffed, running a hand through his white-blonde hair. "Then tell me one thing. Just ONE good thing I've done since I got here. One thing I haven't royally f***ed up. Just one, single thing I've done that hasn't resulted in disaster or someone almost dieing."

Emily bit her lip, thinking. "Well, you got us out of that drugstore!" she stated. "Yeah, well I wouldn't have had too if I'd actually listened to you instead of being a stubborn a**hole!" Dallas countered, earning a dissaproving look from the ginger; she didn't like it when he cursed so much, but she dealt with it, knowing he'd grown up in that sort of environment. "Well, what about the time you pulled Caitlin from under that falling beam?" she tried again. Their whispers had grown to murmers by now, and both took a breath to calm themselves; they didn't want to wake anyone. It would be a little hard to explain why the tow-head was in Emily's room at 4 am; especially knowing Dallas.

"It was my own f***ing fault the d*** thing fell in the first place!" Dallas shot back. "The time you-" "Found Christian under all the rubble and got him out? Or how about the time I warned Caleb about those bandits out at the farm?" Dallas cut her off. "Yeah, Emily. Those were all because of my own d*** reckless behavior! Can't you see that? Every 'good' thing I've done is a direct result of me f***in' up in the first place!" Dallas pushed a hand through his hair in frsutration. Emily frowned. "At least you tried to fix it!" she said. "That's something!"

By this time, she had pushed herself up onto her knees, kneeling beside Dallas on her bed. "That's exactly my point! There shouldn't have been nothing for me to fix to begin with." Dallas' voice was suddenly quiet. It held something Emily had never seen nor heard from him; regret and sadness. The tow-head was usually snarky and cold, the only emotions showing being anger and boredom; even when it was just Emily, he never showed more than a simple, caring friendlyness or a quiet concern. But now, Emily watched as the hard, tough demeanor melted away from the man before her. He wasn't the tough guy he made himself out to be; and had everyone else believing he was. He was a guy with feelings, regrets, fears; just like everyone else. The look on Dallas' face tugged at Emily's heart; he looked so sad, so confused. So... vulnerable. She felt a strong urge to hug the man, but hesitated, not sure as to how he'd react. With a sigh, she made up her mind and quickly wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders before she could change it, giving him a semi-awkward side hug.

No sooner had she done this than she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to the blonde man. She felt the skin of her cheeks begin to warm up considerably, and was thankful for the darkness that obscured her obvious blush. She could feel her heart beat quicken as Dallas buried his face in her bush of fiery hair. At the same time, she could hear the steady b-bump, b-bump, b-bump of Dallas' heart beating in his chest. Her head moved in time with his chest as it rose and fell with his breathing. She remained completely still as Dallas held her, his breath tickling her scalp as he exhaled. After a few moments, Emily relaxed, giving in to the warm embrace of her companion. She slipped her arms from his shoulders to under his arms, putting them in a more comfortable position as she adjusted herself from her kneeling position to one of sitting.

Silence engulfed the room, save for the seperate heartbeats of the two who sat in each others' warm embraces. Finally, it was Dallas who broke the silence. "Emily?" he asked softly, lifting his head to rest his chin atop her head. "Yeah?" Emily replied, feeling her heart beat a little faster with each passing moment. "Give me one good reason to stay- h***, any reason actually- and I will." Dallas said, eyes closed. Emily bit her lip, thinking. "We need you." she offered. It was partially true. But, in her heart of hearts, she knew it wasn't 'we' she'd wanted to say. There was a burning sensation in her chest; butterflies seemed to spontaneously hatch everyime she was near the tow-head. She couldn't help the smile that always found it's way onto her face at the very thought of Dallas. She had the urge to hug him 24/7, but at the same time she was always fighting off the feelings of being flustered, trying to keep composed.

Emily knew this wasn't the time for relationships like this; being surrounded by Walkers left a constant feeling of uncertainty; who could say either of them would make it to the next day? In situations such as this, one should take care to not get overly attached to those you could easily lose. But something about this man drew her to him. Maybe it was the 'bad-boy' vibe he carried, the fact that he was the odd one out in their little group, or maybe it was because he had opened up to her specifically. It could've even been because he was the only guy here who wasn't her brother or like one to her. No matter the reason, one thing was certain: She had feelings for this stubborn rebel.

It was as if Dallas was a mind reader. "We?" he asked, a slight tone of suspicion in his deep voice. Emily felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter more wildly and eratically with every moment she was wrapped in Dallas' arms. "I'm pretty sure Caleb wouldn't agree." Emily didn't reply, not knowing what else she could say to convince him to stay. There was no way she'd be able to confess her feelings for him; she was too shy, and scared that it would ruin their friendship if he didn't feel the same. Though, with the way Dallas was acting right now...

Dallas sighed softly, and Emily's heart clenched as she feared for the worst: her lack of an answer had convinced him to leave. She couldn't lose him! He needed to stay, for more reasons than one. With his reckless behavior, he'd most likely get himself killed if he was on his own. There was also the fact that he was their best hunter and fighter. Though it wasn't what Emily had really wanted to say earlier, it wasn't a lie either: they needed him. Her fear was dismissed, however, as Dallas spoke. "Emily, can I be completely honest with you?" Emily immediately nodded, relief causing her to react a little too quickly, which in turn caused her to blush in embarrasment. "O-of course." she said, a little less eagerly as her head remained against the southerners firm chest. Dallas' chest rose signifigantly higher than it had been, telling Emily that he had taken a deep breath.

"I don't want to leave." Dallas said quietly. Emily noticed that the steady beating of his heart had grown a little faster, a little harder. "Then don't." the ginger stated, her voice little more than a whisper. "But I don't want to put yo-anyone in danger again." Dallas caught himself, but Emily had still heard it. A little faster. A litte harder. "If anything happened...." Dallas sighed, and Emily thought she detected the slightest quiver in his voice. He didn't finish his sentence, but the woman understood what he was saying. She suddenly felt a single drop of moisture sink through her hair to her scalp. Was Dallas... crying ? Emily moved her head to look up at her friend's face. The trail from the lone traitor tear glimmered ever so slightly as it dried and Emily felt her heart ache for Dallas. She had never seen him so vulnerable.

"Dallas..." Emily murmered, resting her head against his chest again and giving him a squeeze around his torso. Dallas returned the squeeze, holding her as close as he could without pulling her onto his lap; Dallas wasn't the cleanest man, to be sure, but with Emily.... it was different. In more ways than one. "Emily, you said I could be completely honest with you, right?" The woman nodded slowly, confused as to why he had asked again. She felt Dallas' heartbeat get faster and harder with every passing moment. "Well.. There's something else I gotta tell ya..." The man took another deep breath, as if gathering his courage. Emily looked up at him. "Hm?"

Dallas chewed lightly in his lower lip, trying to think of the right words to say. "I.. uh, what I mean is.." The tow-head sighed. "I can't really tell you with words." he finally said. She gave him a confused look as he looked down at her, and their eyes locked. Emily felt her heartbeat quicken, beating rapidly against her chest. The butterflies that had been growing steadily stronger now threatened to erupt from her stomach as Dallas slowly leaned in a little closer, blue eyes searching her face. Emily's mind went blank as she tried to register what was happening.

It seemed like hours to the ginger, but in reality, it was only moments before she came to terms with the situation. She could feel Dallas' warm breath on her face as he leaned closer, mere inches from her lips, and it clicked. Her eyes widened and she instinctively pulled back a little bit. "D-Dallas?" she breathed. He paused at this. "Yeah?" he replied softly, his breath tickling her nostrils. "I.... uh..." she struggled to find her voice. Dallas pulled back with a muttered curse, more at himself than anything else, releasing his hold on the ginger. "Should've known. Idiot..." Emily shook her head frantically, realizing how it must seem. "N-no! It's.. it's not like that!" she stuttered, her face burning profusely. Though she couldn'tsee his face clearly enough to tel, the heat radiating from the tow-head told her that he sported a heavy blush as well.

"It's not like what?" Dallas asked, not looking at her. "'Cuz it seems to me that this's pretty much a one-sided thing. Which is fine, I understand." Why'd I ever think it'd be any different. Of course she doesn't feel the same, who would? The tone of his voice told her that it was, in fact, not fine. He was obviously upset, probably at himself for being 'so d*** stupid', as he would so kindly put it. Emily bit her lip, not knowing how to respond. It was obvious that her feelings would be returned now. So why was she still so shy? "Dallas, you dummy..." she murmured, her face burning. It was the only thing she could think to say; it turned out to not be the best idea. She felt Dallas' gaze fall on her."Oh, so I'm a dummy. I already knew that, thanks." the tow-head muttered. Emily's eyes snapped up to meet Dallas'. "Yeah, well you obviously don't know why." she stated, her temper starting to get the best of her. How could he not see! It was so frustrating how clueless he was! "Alright, then why don't you tell me!" Dallas raised his voice subconsciously. "Hm, let's see. Oh, right. Because you can't see how unone-sided this is!" Emily replied, her voice raising in response; she didn't care if unone-sided was even a word. She was far to frustrated and embarrassed for that.

Dallas had no response. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but quickly shut it. Though she couldn't quite see his expression, she could tell his eyes were wide with bewilderment. "W-wait..." Now it was Dallas' turn to stutter. "Then...why...?" His voice was quiet again. Emily's anger slipped away from her, replaced again with her growing embarrassment , and she looked down at her hands, now clasped together on her lap. Dallas had his hands on either side of him, fingers splayed on the bed. "I just.. can't... ya know..." She fumbled for words. "You can't what?" Dallas asked, leaning towards her a little. "Like me back? Have a boyfriend?" he tossed out suggestions. "Decide? You can't what?!" The tow-head sighed in exasperation when he recieved no answer. Then, a look of understanding crossed his face. "Kiss me?" Something about Emily's face told him he'd hit his mark, but he was still confused. "You can't kiss me. Why?" Emily twiddled her thumbs. "I just.... I have boundaries." she finally said. "I just don't think I'm ready for... that yet." she continued looking at her hands, not really wanting to see Dallas' face at this.

An awkward silence filled the room before being broken in two by a soft chuckle, then a little louder, until finally Dallas burst out laughing, slapping a hand over his own mouth to muffle the sound. Emily looked up, befuddled at the tow-head's rection. "That's it? That's the only... Haha!" Dallas forced himself to calm down, running a hand through his hair. He smiled broadly at the ginger. "Alright, so I can't kiss you. I thought it was some big thing that was stopping you, geez! I'm fine with that. I mean, sure, it'd probably be amazing." This last part caused Emily to blush even more, if that were at all possible. It didn't help that he'd winked at her as he said it. "But I can wait. I'll live." Dallas chuckled softly. "Other than that, is there anything keeping us from being... well... us? I mean.. I like you, and you like me, right?" Emily nodded slowly. "Sooooo? Whataya say?" "Say about what?" the woman asked, slightly confused. Dallas rolled his eyes. "About goin' to Mars." he teased, grinning. This only confused Emily more. "Wh..." "About bein' my girlfriend, of course!" the tow-head said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which, if Emily was honest, it was. Her eyes widened, "R-really?" she asked, eyes wide as she looked at him. Dallas couldn't help but laugh again. "No, not really." he said sarcastically. Emily blushed, causing Dallas to laugh again. "Yes, Emily. Really."

Emily's mind raced as it came to terms with what was happening. She had just been asked out by Dallas Winston. How was one supposed to respond to this? She felt the corners of her mouth curl up into a broad smile, the butterflies finally erupting in one final fluttering frenzy as she nodded. "Y..yeah. I... I think that's ok." Dallas grinned. "H*** yes!" He threw his arms around her, pulling her close to him again. He leaned in to kiss her, but stopped at the last second, smiling sheepishly. "Heh.. sorry." He placed a kiss on the top of her head before giving her a squeeze, which she gladly returned. "Gotta work on that." Emily nodded a little. "Any other boundaries I should know about?" the tow-head asked. "Cuz I'll do-er, not do, I guess- just about anything. You name it. As long as I got you, I'll survive anything you can think of." Emily laughed, something she hadn't done much of in the last few months. "Well..." she started jokingly. Dallas chuckled. "You realize how cliche this is?" he asked, kissing the top of her head again. "Good-girl and bad-boy. Cowboy and angel." Beauty and the Beast. He added mentally; he had a feeling Emily would disagree.

The ginger giggled. "That's kinda funny, actually." Dallas laughed. "Ah, it feels good to get that off my chest." Emily nodded, her smile threatening to split her face apart. "Same here." Her excitement was almost overwhelming. She had finally found the courage to admit her feelings to the man she'd been slowly developing a crush on for months. The one that gave her butterflies all the time. The one.....Suddenly, Emily's smile disappeared. The one her brother couldn't stand. "Dallas." she stated. "What's up?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. The ginger had to say but one word.

"Caleb."

There was a long silence as the reality of the situation sank in. Then Dallas let out a short, semi-awkward laugh.

"Your brother's gonna kill me."