one of them

twenty-three

DJ's POV

I ran after Sodapop, but Darry and I were falling behind Sodapop. "Ponyboy, go on! We'll catch up!" Darry called out.

I struggled to keep up, but Ponyboy finally got him down to the ground near the park.

We were all out of breath as we took to the floor to catch it.

"Sodapop, what is goin' on? Is this about Sandy?" I asked.

"No! No, it's about you guys! DJ, I listened to your advice. I get it. I'll get over it. But you guys are my family. I can't stand when you fight! I can't stand it!"

He sunk down with us. Darry looked at me and I looked back at Sodapop. "Soda..." I muttered.

"We're all we've got left now! We don't have mom and dad. And we almost lost each other. You guys know that, right?"

We all stayed silent.

Soda continued. "Darry, you gotta stop bein' so hard on him. He's a kid. He's trying his best." He looked at Ponyboy. "Pony, Darry's just lookin' out for ya. He cares about you. He wants to see you succeed. We all do. He's hard on you sometimes, but it's 'cause he means well." He looked at me. "DJ," it shocked me he had something to say about me. I didn't realize something was wrong. I was oblivious. "You gotta stop holding out on us! We're your family! We care about you as well and you have been absent since mom and dad died."

I started to speak up first. "I know, Soda. I know. And I'm sorry. I'm gonna fix that. I love you guys. You're my family."

"Well, then act like it! You don't do anything with us anymore. And I'm not askin' for every detail, but you aren't home! We miss you."

Darry was next. "We'll stop fighting. We'll figure this out. I'll find new ways."

Ponyboy started to get upset. "Come on, Ponyboy. If you start cryin', you know I will, too."

"I'm sorry, Soda."

"I just can't stand it anymore. I had to get out. I couldn't take it."

Darry pulled him in and eventually we all leaned into the group hug.

"Come on, let's go home." Darry said.

The three of them all did their playful brotherly banter and Ponyboy challenged them to a race.

I laughed as I trailed behind.

For the first time, even though this was a small conversation, I had a feeling things would be different.

Maybe even back to how it was before.

-

I heard a knock.

I opened my eyes and looked at the clock on my ceiling. It was almost three in the morning.

Why would anyone be knocking on my door at three in the morning?

I got up to see who it was and there was a knock again.

It was from my window.

I turned around quickly and squealed as I saw a person pounding on my window.

I stopped.

"Dallas?" I whispered.

I walked up to the window wondering what sort of dream I was trapped in. I made it to the window and I heard a knock on my door.

Actually from my door this time. "DJ, you okay?"

It was Sodapop. He sounded tired. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm okay. Just a nightmare. Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." I said through the door.

"Alright. G'night."

I looked back at the window and pushed it opened.

"Hey, Deej."

"Dallas? Is that actually you?" I whispered.

"Yeah. You got time to talk?"

"Now? It's the middle of the night. If Darry hears you here he'll kill ya." I paused. "Actually, he'll probably be as shocked as I am."

"Come on, let's go for a walk."

I thought I was hallucinating. I looked at him hesitantly and grabbed my jacket from my closet along with some shoes.

I hopped out the window and quietly landed in the grass.

Dallas lit a cigarette as we walked for a moment in silence. "We far enough where no one would hear us?" He asked.

"How are you here? What kind of dream is this?" I asked. He pinched me. "Ow!"

"Not dreamin', doll."

I held my arm where he punched me for a moment. "But, how? I-I just saw you today. You were asleep. The nurse said you were still unresponsive. I-I don't get it."

"She lied. And I think she seemed upset you knew more about her job than she did."

"What...?" I mumbled.

"I was awake. I've been awake. The bullet hit my shoulder. Nothing fatal. I wanna talk about what you said."

My eyes widened. "Uhh..." I said awkwardly.

He stopped and looked at me. "You were off on almost every part."

"How so?" I asked stopping with him.

"Not everything. I was upset with you and I guess that whole spiel on how I always get what I want was pretty accurate."

I laughed. "Those were the two things last on my list."

"Well, put them at the top. Who said I didn't care about you?"

I laughed. "Everything you've done for the past nine months? In hindsight, it seems obvious."

"Your hindsight is wrong."

"How many times are you gonna tell me I'm wrong tonight?"

"A lot. 'Cause you are."

"Can you reiterate? Can you also explain why you didn't want anyone to see you? How long have you been awake?"

"I was gonna hop town when they let me out."

"You know you're gonna get hauled in, right?"

"Yeah, but I just wanted a getaway. And even if they did get me in, I'd leave right after that anyway."

"So you were trying to spare us?" I asked out of confusion.

"In a way."

"That makes no sense. We've all been worried about you. And why'd you let me in out of all people. Assuming you were dictating all of this."

"I wanted to hear you. I just didn't wanna talk to you. And let me tell you, the last thing I expected to hear was a monologue about how I'm a shitty person."

"Harsh."

"Accurate."

"Alright, Dallas. Enough dodging the questions. Explain to me how my 'monologue' was so wrong."