her way ✰ (dallas winston x reader)

chapter 52 - instinct

~your p.o.v~

The church was on fire.

"W-wait, do you hear that?" I spoke frantically. "There's kids in there, guys!"

Johnny opened the car door and ran towards the church. My eyes widened and I got out of the car too.

I didn't know if I was running after him in order to stop him or to help. At this point my actions were out of my hands.

Johnny entered the burning church and I followed close behind. Immediately I was met with overwhelming heat, the sound of wood crackling and children crying filling my ears.

Johnny grabbed kids and I followed close behind.

"I'm here!" Ponyboy called out, also grabbing people.

"You guys are idiots, you know that?" Dal's urgent and upset voice yelled. I could barely hear it over everything happening.

We worked to get children out as quickly as possible, Dallas cursing at us every once in a while during the process. In a weird way it was comforting.

Ponyboy and Dallas ran out once they thought we had removed all of the children, and I followed after them until I heard Johnny's voice.

"There's one more!"

Dread filled me and I paused turning back. I was coughing and I felt drowsy.

"Grab em! We gotta get outta here Johnny!" I cried desperately, running back to him. I heard a big crash and I knew the church was going to collapse.

"Johnny, please!"

He emerged from the smoke with a child in his arms and I ran for the opening. I jumped through the old, broken wood and turned to see if Johnny was close behind. He was there and he quickly handed me the kid. I put them on the ground and shoved them lightly, signalling for them to get away from the church.

I looked up in horror as the church began to collapse at an alarming rate. "Shit!"

I desperately gripped Johnny's shirt and yanked him out, the burning wood barely missing him.

He let out a cry of pain, his eyes looking to his ankle.

The wood had fallen on his foot and I ran over to it, trying to move the heavy beam.

"Guys, help me!" I yelled. Dallas and Ponyboy rushed over, helping me lift the wood.

Johnny moved his leg away from the wood and squeezed his eyes shut, whispering profanities to himself. I collapsed onto my knees next to Johnny, looking at him worriedly.

"Are you alright?" Ponyboy asked Johnny, hovering over the boy who was on the verge of tears.

"My ankle..." He mumbled quickly. His ankle was burned and bruised.

"You're lucky Y/n was there, man! You coulda got yourself killed running in there!" Dallas yelled, clearly angry at our actions.

"Well what were we gonna do? Let those kids die, Dally?" Ponyboy snapped. Dal ran his uninjured hand through his hair.

"You gotta be kidding me, man." He muttered. He tended to say 'man' much more when he was worried or upset.

My eyes travelled down to Dal's burnt arm. I winced. "Are you okay, Dal? Your arm looks pretty bad." My voice was weaker and felt scratchy. Probably from the smoke inhalation.

"Don't worry about it. Are you okay, you don't look too good."

"I don't feel too great, but I'll be fine." I answered. I went to stand up but everything began spinning.

"Y/n?" The voice sounded distant, but I think it was Ponyboy's.

Suddenly, the ground rushed up to meet me and everything went dark.

-

I woke up to see florescent lights. I was moving down a hallway and immediately attempted to sit up, but a hand was placed on my shoulder and pushed me down. 

"I think it's best that you lie down, miss." A nurse spoke to me, but I could barely focus on her words over my throbbing headache.

I realized I was on a stretcher and I looked at my surroundings. I saw Ponyboy sitting in a chair and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank god you're okay, you're gonna have to tell me everything that happened with Johnny!" I called as I rolled past. He smiled at me in a reassuring way and I leaned back.

"You pull a stunt like that again and I'll kill you!" I heard Dal's voice behind me. I turned to look despite the nurse trying to get me not to and saw Dallas lying on a stretcher. I snickered to myself and laid back down, relieved to know that Ponyboy and Dallas were okay.

I felt tired from the events that had played out earlier, so I allowed myself to slip into unconsciousness.

-

I woke up and was greeted by a hospital room. I heard a knock on the door and Two-bit came in. I smiled.

"Man, am I glad to see you." I sat up in bed and Two-bit walked over, giving me a hug.

"You guys sure are brave, huh? I'm impressed." Two-bit teased and I rolled my eyes, laughing.

"I was scared out of my wits. I passed out once we got out of the church!"

"Yeah, I heard you saved Johnny, though. That was really... That's real nice." Two-bit seemed more serious and I chuckled softly, staring down at my hands.

"I don't need any praise. It was on instinct, it's not like I'm a hero."

"Well, still. Without you, he could've died. I know that would've torn Dally apart."

Before I could answer the nurse came in. She looked to be in her thirties, with shorter, curly hair.

"Ms. Sheldon?" She asked. I nodded.

"Well, I have the results. You didn't get any severe burns, just a couple first degree burns. Thankfully since you don't have asthma or any heart diseases, the smoke inhalation didn't impact your lungs too much. Although you may experience coughing, some shortness of breath, and a raspy voice for the next couple of days, you should be alright." She explained. I nodded.

"Do you by any chance know how my friend Johnny's doing? His full name is Johnny Cade."

"Ah yes, Mr. Cade. He should be okay, he just needs to rest. His ankle is broken and has a second degree burn, but it should be healed up in about two months. He has a couple of other first degree burns, but he'll be alright."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. And do you know how Dallas Winston is?"

"Dallas Winston. He sure is a character isn't he?" She smiled and Two-bit snickered next to me.

"Yeah, he is. Why, did he say something to you?"

"He's not exactly the most polite patient I've had to deal with." She chuckled and I did as well.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He just has some burns too, nothing too serious." She made her way to the door and paused, turning back to me. "If you need anything, just ask for Nurse Hinton and I'll come back."

I nodded and she left the room. I turned to Two-bit and he smiled.

"Well, you've got a lot to tell me, Y/n!"