So You're Leaving?

Dally has a heart

True to his word, Dally showed up in about a half hour with a cheese burger and a half melted (and half emptied) milk shake. He gave a soft tap on Pony's window. Ponyboy opened the window and reached out eagerly for the food. Dally drew back just out of his reach. "You studyin'?" "Yeah, I'm studyin'! Told you I would! C'mon, Dal, I'm starved!" Dally handed him the food. "Thanks," Ponyboy said with a small grin. Dally stood there for a moment. He ran his hand through his hair and looked casually back at the trees in the back yard. "So, uh... you think Johnny might call tonight?" Ponyboy nodded, his mouth full of food. "Yeah, I think he probably will. He said he would." "Well, maybe I'll stick around then and talk to the kid...see how he's doing." "Yeah, stick around! Make sure Darry lets me talk to him. He probably won't even let me outta my room." "He'll let you talk to him. He'll let you because it's Johnny, man. You know he will." Ponyboy looked doubtful and took another bite of the cheeseburger. Dally lit up a cigarette and started walking around to the front of the house. "You get on back to work now, kid." "All right, Dal." Pony said and closed up his window. Dally walked up the front steps of the porch and sauntered into the livingroom, taking a seat on the sofa near Soda who was glued to the TV set. Two-Bit was seated on the floor with a beer. "Hey, Dal." Soda greeted him quietly without looking away. Two-Bit glanced up and nodded. Whoa, everybody's so bright and cheery, Dally thought sarcastically. "Dally," Darry called from the kitchen. "Come in here a minute, I want to talk to you." Dally swore to himself. How did Darry catch him bringing Ponyboy food? He slouched a little as he walked, trying to look bored. He really just felt uncomfortable. He wasn't so concerned about Darry's reaction to the fact that he had sneaked Ponyboy some food, but the fact that he had been caught doing something... out of character. "What's going on, Dar?" Dally took a long drag on his cigarette. Darry glared at him. Great, Dally thought. He's madder than I thought. But then an idea struck him and he immediately put his cigarette out in the sink. Darry's expression softened and he went back to drying dishes, Whew. That's what he was mad at, Dally thought as he remembered that Darry was not fond of cigarettes in the house. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Darry glanced into the livingroom to make sure Soda was still watching TV. "I want to talk to you about Ponyboy. He's... he's taking this whole thing really hard, you know, Johnny being gone. He's not using his head and I'm getting worried about him walking home from school by himself." "I thought Two-Bit drove him home." "Not all the time, he has track and sometimes he stays after. I've been pushing him to get extra help with math... Look, I know you got other stuff to do, but do you think you could kind of keep an eye on him once in a while when he walks home late?" "I ain't no babysitter, man," Dally scowled, leaning against the counter. "I know, Dally. I don't mean forever, just sometimes... just till he snaps out of this mood, the other guys are keeping an eye on him to, but with Soda and me working all the time..." Darry ran his hand through his hair, his brow wrinkled in frustration. "I just don't know what to do with him. He doesn't think! It takes him forever to walk home because he just starts wandering! A couple days ago Steve found him sitting outside the Dingo way past the time he was supposed to be home. And the socs cornered him the day before, but Two-Bit showed up just in time. He's not concentrating on his work... I just don't know what to do with him!" "Darry, look man, he's just messed up about... Johnny," Dally couldn't believe he was having to rationalize a situation to Darry that he himself had not even yet begun to accept. "You gotta lay off him a little." Darry sat down and put his head in his hands. He let out a weak laugh as Dally sat down across from him at the table. Darry looked sheepishly at Dally. "That kid..." he shook his head. "Johnny, I mean. Look at us! We're all falling apart." Dally didn't respond. He swallowed nervously and started at his feet. He hated to hear it, but he had been thinking that's what would happen. They were all falling apart. He had felt it as he walked in the door. He had known it when he saw Pony's eyes. Not a joke from Two-bit, barely a hello from Soda. And now even Darry was faltering. "I'll help keep an eye on him." Dally said finally. Darry looked up. "Huh?" "Ponyboy. You asked me to look out for him, I'll look out for him. Just till he... starts using his head again." Darry let out a sigh. "That would really help me out." Dally stood and headed for the door. He had to get out. But then the phone rang and it was like a bomb had gone off. Ponyboy came flying out of his room, the door making a loud bang as it hit the wall. Two-Bit and Soda came running into the kitchen, tripping over eachother, pushing past Dally, and all three of them lunged for the phone at the same time. They were intercepted by Darry who got there first. Two-Bit had fallen flat on his face, Soda was pulling at Darry's arm and Ponyboy was jumping up and down, reaching for the phone. "Hello?" Darry said and then a grin spread across his face. "Hang on." The grin disappeared as he placed the phone to his chest and glared daggers at the three boys swarming around him. He pointed towards the living room and annunciated each word very carefully. "GO WAIT YOUR TURNS!" Pony, Two-Bit and Soda stalked off to the livingroom and Dally watched as they all flopped onto the couch and moped. Darry put he phone back to his ear, smiling again. "We got a lot of people here who are anxious to talk to you, Johnnycake. How long can you be on the phone?...Really? You sure?" Dally stood off to the side of the kitchen, his stomach knotting as Darry talked. He wanted to rip the phone out of his hand. Fortunately, he had a lot more control than the 3 Stooges in the livingroom. "Listen, I'm going to hand you over to the first in line, ok? Great talking to you kid." And with that, he handed the phone to Dally and went to join the boys in the living room. Dally put the phone to his ear. "Johnny? How ya been, kid?" "Hey, Dal! I'm all right. I really miss you guys..." Dally could hear the masked sadness in his voice, just like Ponyboy had said. He felt something heavy in his chest at the sound of the small voice so far away. Dally was able to talk with Johnny for only about ten minutes before Darry could no longer hold back the other boys. Steve had shown up by this time and they all kept coming into the kitchen and standing around, waiting. Eventually, one would start whining. Then someone tried to take the phone. Dally put the phone down for a second, "Back off!" he growled angrily. But it had no effect. He wasn't used to people just ignoring his orders. Either he had lost his touch or the boys just really wanted to talk to Johnny. Finally, he couldn't take any more of the whining. "All right, look, kid, I'll talk to you again soon, ok? I gotta go 'cause if I stay here much longer I'm gonna have to KICK SOMEONE'S HEAD IN!" Dally yelled the last part away from the receiver and glared at the rest of the gang. He said his goodbyes to Johnny and shoved the phone at Ponyboy. He smacked Soda across the head and slugged Two-Bit in the arm on his way out of the kitchen. There was some swearing and yelling, but none of them dared retaliate. Besides, they were too busy trying to get the phone away from Ponyboy. Dally stalked off to the porch. He leaned on the railing and lit another cigarette. Darry suddenly appeared beside him, almost making him jump. Dally said nothing, but he could feel Darry's eyes on him. He wanted to run off the porch, go back to Buck's, anywhere, but something inside him made him stay. After what seemed like an eternity, Darry spoke. "He's all right, Dally." Dally shook his head. "No... no, man, I don't think he is." Dally started pacing. "His voice- I can hear it in his voice... you know how he gets. What if he does something..." Dally's voice trailed off, unable to finish the thought. But Darry knew what he was thinking. Johnny had been suicidal on more than one occasion. "This is different, Dally. He's just homesick. He'll adjust-" Dally turned towards him, his eyes blazing. "You don't know that! You can't tell what he's thinking! And if he's not ok, we could never get there in time!" Dally whirled around and stormed off the porch, an idea brewing in his mind, a fear welling in his chest. A thought he couldn't ignore was now driving his steps.