So You're Leaving?

reunion

Johnny rubbed his eyes tiredly. He felt a little guilty about not going to help Matt at the clinic today, but he had just been so tired. After he'd seen, or at least thought he'd seen, the "ghost", he had gotten no sleep at all. He had convinced himself for the most part that he had simply imagined it all. He had blinked and the image vanished. It had looked real enought for the brief instant he saw it, but he had been half asleep at the time and he was still under a good deal of stress over his new home, new family and especially being without the gang. How he had wished last night that he could have been curled up in the Curtis' livingroom on the couch with Two-Bit or Dally asleep in the chair and Darry just in the next room. He always felt pretty safe there. But instead, he was in a room all alone in a massive house with people he was just starting to get to know. He had been too scared to go to sleep. He absently patted Coal's head and watched the leaves scattering themselves around the yard. He had gotten out the rake and was planning to clean the place up a bit, but his head was throbbing and he had to sit down for a minute. After a little while, some of the animals that lived on the property noticed Johnny sitting quietly under the tree and cautiously approached him. Most of them were quite timid, coming from very difficult or abusive situations. And not surprisingly, several of them connected instantly with Johnny. Not that they would approach him easily, but they were visibly less afraid of him than anyone else. Dally started up the driveway at 121 Oakwood Lane. He was about to go up to the front door when he saw someone in the distance over in the side yard. Sitting on a tree stump under a massive oak tree, surrounded by a duck, three cats and a small black puppy that was chewng at his feet was Johnny Cade. Dally's heart sank into the pit of his stomach. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed the kid until that moment. He took a few steps forward, noticing as he got closer that Johnny had on new clothes and shoes. He looked healthier- not so skinny as before. His hair was shorter, not quite a much grease. His hair... Dally's heart sank even further. He was different. Was this still the same Johnny? Would Johnny even want to see him? Johnny was absently stroking the puppy's ears and looking off in the distance. His body language alone confirming what Matt had told Dally. The kid was...sad. There was no other way to say it. Then Dally stopped. He let out a long, low whistle, ending in a higher pitched note. He watched as Johnny froze for a minute, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then slowly, he turned towards Dally, his eyes wide. For a second, he just stared. "Dally?" he whispered. Dally stood motionless, a lopsided nervous grin on his face. There was a moment when niether of them moved. "DALLY!" Johhny yelped as he jumped off the stump and ran at Dallas. The animals scattered in a flurry of fur and feathers as Johnny ran up the hill and upon reaching Dally, threw his arms around him and nearly knocked him over. Dally grinned as he steadied himself. "Whoa, kiddo! I want a tour of this house before I see the local hospital." But Johnny just talked right over him. "Dally! What are you doing here? How'd you find me? Aw, Dal, I miss you, I miss all the guys , I-" "Hey, hey, take it easy, Johnnycake! One thing at a time," Dally was grinning ear to ear at Johnny's reaction. Johnny's rambling didn't stop. "Are you staying? How long are you staying? Are the guys with you? Is Pony here too-" Dally clamped his hand over Johnny's mouth, laughing in disbelief. "Kid! Stop! You haven't said that much in all the time I've known you!" Johnny finally quit talking with Dally's hand covering his mouth, but his ever expressive eyes still regarded Dally with a bewildered stare. Dally, satisfied that Johnny was finally going to be quiet for a minute, let his hand drop from Johnny's mouth and he took him by the shoulders. He studied him for a minute. He looked different, but in a good way. He looked healthy, stronger, and, best of all, there wasn't a bruise on him. And the suspicious, fearful look was completely gone from his eyes. Some of Dally's fear left him. But what had replaced the timid look in Johnny's eyes was one of saddness. He didn't show it now, but Dally had caught a slight glimpse of it a few moments earlier. He decided not to mention it."All right, now I can get a word in. You're looking good, kiddo. They treating you all right?" Johnny just nodded and continued to stare at him, his bewildered look fading into one of sheer delight. A smile spread across his face, the likes of which Dally had never seen on him before. "Man, I'm really glad to see you..." "I'm glad to see you, too, Johnnycake. " Dally threw his arm across Johnny's shoulder as they walked up towards the house. Dally studied the house and nodded. "Not bad, kiddo. Not bad!" "Huh? Oh, yeah. It's cool- oh, wait..." Johnny turned around and squatted down on the grass. He snapped his fingerd and whistled. "Coal, here boy!" Across the yard, the puppy had retreated to a cluster of bushes and was timidly watching Dally and Johnny. Slowly, it inched it's way out of the shrubbery and, quivering, made it's way over to Johnny, tail tucked, head down. "Good boy," Johnny said softly. The dog responded by licking his hand. "Is that your dog?" Dally asked. Johnny looked up at him, sheepishly. "Yeah. I know, he's not much of a watch dog, but he needed a home real bad." Dally got down beside Johnny and reached his hand out. "Oh, Dal, he won't-" Johnny's eyes widened as Coal took a hesitant step towards Dally and sniffed his hand. His little tail gave a slight thump on the ground and he looked at Dally with huge black eyes. Dally wouldn't say it, but that puppy's face about melted his heart. Dally reached out to pet him and the puppy froze. His eyes closed and he quivered, as though he were bracing himself for Dally to hit him. Dally glanced at Johnny, who stood by nervously watching. Dally hesitated. He talked quietly to the dog and very gently put his hand on the side of it's head. Then, to Johnny's complete surprise, Coal gave Dally's hand a quick little lick, stumbled over to him and sat down, letting Dally scratch his ears. "What? Why are you looking so shocked? You didn't think he'd like me, did you?" Dally teased. But Johnny looked genuiely amazed. "He doesn't like anyone, Dal. The people that had him before were..." Johnny looked saddened. "They were really mean to him. He's afraid of people. It took me from the day after I got here till about two weeks ago to get him to let me touch him. And no one else can get near him at all!" Dally looked smuggly at him and shrugged. "Guess I've got the magic touch! So, what's his name, again? Coal?" Johnny nodded. "You're a good judge of character, aren't you, Coal?" Dally said. Johnny rolled his eyes. Coal looked perfectly contented. Dally decided not to mention the uncanny resemblence of the dog and the owner. He'd heard the old saying, but never believed it till now. "So, that's quite a house," Dally commented, standing up. "You're a soc now, you know!" Johnny looked at Dally with disgust. "I am not!" Dally laughed. "You gonna show me around?" "You gonna call me a soc again?" Johnny challenged. He rarely showed this side to any of the greasers, especially not Dally, but Johnny could get sassy on occasion, if he felt confident enough. Dally put up his hands defensively. "Hey, no need to start a rumble or anything... I wouldn't want to mess up this nicely manicured lawn!" Johnny shook his head. "It's not that great, I mowed it myself." "Yeah," Dally drawled nonchalantly. "I could tell, you missed a spot." He almost wasn't able to dodge Johnny's swing because he would never have expected it. But he did and he grabbed Johnny around the neck and tousled his hair. "C'mon, " Johnny said, shaking loose from Dally's head lock. "I'll give you a tour." They headed up the stone pathway to the back of the house. "So this isn't Matt's house?" "No, Grandma is insisting that I go back to school and I can walk from here. This is Matt's parents' house- my aunt and uncle. And my other Uncle, Will, lives here too- well, over in the carriage house. I guess the house has been in the family for a while." "Grandma?" "Yeah, she found out I was coming and she came up from Florida. She's living here too, now. For a while, anyway." "Well, roll out the red carpet! It seems the Prince of Virginia has returned!" "Aww, cut it out, Dal!" The two boys walked up the driveway to the front door. Johnny opened it and they entered the foyer. Dally just stood there shaking his head, mumbling something about socs.