Too Bad to Die [The Outsiders fanfiction]

4. Dallas, Meet Gang

Johnny appears in this chapter! And from now on, is in all the chapters! Until he dies! Oh, that's sad! Okay, on with the story! Dally is back in Tulsa! :)

His father hadn't been worried about him. His father hadn't changed at all. Dallas had been missing for three years, unaccounted for in the bad side of New York, and he guessed his father's unenthusiastic greeting was a clue to why there had been no search.

Their 'house' was the same hellhole it'd always been. There was no food in the crappy refrigerator. Eyeing his father's hollow cheeks, he wondered if there ever was.

He didn't spend too much time at home.

The neighborhood became his kingdom. Soon, everyone had seen him, or at least heard his legend- Dallas Winston, the kid who'd lived on the streets of New York for three years like they were the f-ing White House and he was the president. He was different from the Tulsa hoods- meaner, colder, tougher. So caught up in the rumors that he'd kill anyone who crossed him, the neighborhood kids forgot he wasn't even fourteen yet. A kitten disguised as a tiger, his growl sent college-age kids running.

Nobody dared to talk to Dallas. And so, while he ruled, he was lonely. The only person he really knew anymore was Tim Shepard, who was now a lanky, snake-eyed fourteen-year-old living a few miles away. All the rest of his old gang was either jailed, moved away, or dead.

This changed one day a few months after his triumphant return. He was somewhere downtown, smoking and giving people the evil eye, when a voice surprised him.

"Hey!"

Dallas turned his head very slowly, his hair falling over his eyes in the most dangerous-looking way possible. He said nothing.

"You're Dallas Winston, right?" The kid didn't wait for an answer. "I'm Two-Bit Matthews. It's real tuff to meet you."

He stuck out a hand to shake. Dallas just stared at it with distaste.

'Two-Bit' laughed. Apparently he thought that stony silence and refusal to shake hands was hilarious. "You should see your own face," he said, "looks like you bit a lemon."

"Do you want me to sign your sideburns or somethin'?" Dallas said, blowing smoke in Two-Bit's face. "I ain't a celebrity."

"But you are Dallas Winston?"

"Last time I checked."

"Tuff." Two-Bi said admiringly. "Y'know, you're real famous 'round here."

Dallas shrugged.

"How'd you survive so long by your lonesome?"

"Only my friends learn my secrets." Dallas answered, placing the cigarette back in his mouth. He smiled devilishly around it. This Two-Bit guy was entertaining. And Dallas sure did like people kissing his ass.

Dallas could see the gears in Two-Bit's ginger head turning. Finally, the peasant gave offering to his king.

"You have a gang?"

"Nah." Dallas said, gauging Two-Bit's reaction.

"I know one." Two-Bit said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gang, meet Dallas Winston." Two-Bit seemed very proud of himself. "Dallas, meet Gang."

There were five of them, not including Two-Bit or Dallas himself. They didn't look very tough. But secretly, Dallas wanted to be the scariest. He didn't really care if the rest of them were wimps; all the better for them to look at him as some greaser god.