So You're Leaving?

Oh ponyboy

Dally handed the conductor his ticket and started to climb aboard. "Wait a minute, son," the man said, stopping Dally. Dally turned coolly, half expecting to be told that he didn't have the right ticket and would have to ride in the baggage car. "You'll want to keep this," the conductor said handing him a $50 bill. Dally just looked at him quizzically. "You handed it to me with your ticket," the man said smiling. Realization dawned on Dally. "Will," he said under his breath and looked past the conductor. Will was already hurrying across the station, obviously trying to get far enough away where it wouldn't be worth Dally's time to go after him. "We'll be leaving the station in about 20 mnutes," the conductor said as he turned to take the next person's ticket. "Sit anywhere you'd like." Dally seriously considered going after Will, but finally decided against it. He moved to the back of the car and found a window seat. He looked out at the station. It was still dark out, but under the lights of the station he could see a freight train pulling away on the other side of the train yard. He probably would have been riding one of those home had Will not come after him. Dally hated to admit it, but he was a little relieved. He was warm and almost dry, and he could probably get some decent sleep on the way home. And he could even eat this time, now that he had some cash. He was starting to settle in his seat when something registered in his mind... something he'd seen out of the corner of his eye when he'd looked out the window... something familiar. His eyes widened as he looked out the window again. "I don't believe this..." he said under his breath. He jumped out of his seat and ran down the aisle, pushing past the conductor and jumping off the train. Ponyboy Curtis didn't even see him coming until he was pinned up against the wall and face to face with Dally. "WHAT the hell are you doing here?" Dally growled, teeth clenched. It took Ponyboy a second before he could regain his composure. When he did, he slouched in Dally's grasp and answered, "Came to see Johnny." Dally backed up and ran his hand through his hair, trying to regain his own composure. Ponyboy braced himself for an attack. You did not want to be anywhere near Dallas Winston in the state he was in. "Do you know what kind of a mess you made? I was going home to look for you! Your brothers are scared to death! Do you have any idea what they're going through? Soda is worried sick about you! And Darry-" "I don't care about Darry!" Ponyboy snapped suddenly. Dally cuffed him across the head and grabbed him by the back of his sweatshirt. "Shut the hell up and get over here. We'll discuss this on the train." Dally was dragging him over to the ticket booth where a nervous looking man waited behind a window. "We need one more ticket to Tulsa... how much?" Dally barked. "$37.95" Dally swore and slapped the 50 down on the counter. The man printed up a ticket and Dally grabbed it out of his hand without so much as a nod. He shoved the change in his pocket. "Hey!" Ponyboy yelled. "What are you doing?" Dally glared daggers at Ponyboy. "Stupid kid...I'm takin' you home!" "What? No! I came here to see Johnny!" Dally pushed him up against a wall again and got right in his face. "You are lucky that I don't pound you into the ground right here! That train is leaving in five minutes and you can bet your ass you're gonna be on it. Now shut up and move!" Ponyboy hung his head and walked towards the train. There was no use fighting Dally. He would never back down and if Ponyboy fought him physically, Dally would beat the tar out of him and drag him on to the train anyhow. He struggled to keep back tears as he climbed aboard ahead of Dally. "Here," Dally said gruffly, handing the ticket to the conductor and guiding Ponyboy roughly to the back of the train. Ponyboy sat with his head leaning on the window and Dally sat beside him. The train pulled away from the station and niether one of them spoke. Ponyboy couldn't fight back the tears any longer and he was glad he had the window seat so he could press himself into the corner and hide his face from Dally. But Dally heard the occasional sniffle. For the first five minutes, he told himself he didn't care. The kid didn't deserve sympathy after what he did, Dally told himself. But he couldn't ignore it for long. Although not as fierce as his protectiveness of Johnny, Dally had a bit of a soft spot for Ponyboy too. Both boys were his charges, being smaller and younger than the rest of the gang. And after a while, knowing that Ponyboy was that upset began to wear him down. "What were you thinkin', Ponyboy? What the hell happened anyway?" Ponyboy sat up a little and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He was quiet for a minute. "Darry hit me." "Yeah, I know. What happened before that?" "I... I don't know... we got in a fight... 'bout my grades." "What's going on with your grades?" There was another long pause. "I been missin' a lot of class lately." Dally waited, his arms folded. "Curly Shephard and I been cuttin' out early and going to Buck's." Dally shook his head. "Man, you really don't use your head do you?" Pony stared at his shoes. Dally paused before continuing. He was fired up enough to hit Ponyboy himself. He could almost see how Darry could just lose it with him sometimes. But Darry wasn't the type to use physical violence in his family. It was one thing when Dally slugged someone in the gang, but Darry hitting one of his brothers, well... that was too much like Johnny's home life to sit well with anyone. Dally was sure that Darry hadn't meant to do it and he figured he felt pretty bad about it. "How'd you get here?" "Same as you. Hopped a train." Dally groaned inwardly. Darry would probably kill him now, too. They sat in silence for several more minutes. "He didn't mean to, kid," Dally said finally. "You don't know that. You weren't there." "No, but I know your brother. It wasn't right, what he did and all, but I know he didn't mean it." "I don't care." "You better start carin'. They're all you've got! Now listen- you've got a chance to get out of that dump of a town you live in and make something out of yourself if you stop screwing up! Darry knows that and he wants to see you get somewhere! Man, you could be living like Johnny someday! You could have it made!" Ponyboy looked at him, a hopeful light in his eyes. "Johnny's ok?" "Huh?" Then it dawned on him. Probably a lot of what had gone on back home was a result of the devastation Johnny's leaving had brought to the gang. People were still worried about him. "Johnny's fine." Dally said with conviction and a bit of a smile. "He's stil gettin' used to the place, but he's fine. Even got himself a little lady friend." Ponyboy almost smiled at that, but not quite. He turned to look out the window again. He felt a little better knowing Johnny was ok, but he would have really liked to have seen him. Now he had to worry about going home to face Darry. It was several minutes before he voiced this fear to Dally. "Darry's gonna kill me." Dally was staring straight ahead. He nodded slightly. "Yeah, we got our work cut out for us when we get back." Pony looked at him in surprise. Was Dally planning on facing Darry with him? Dally shook his head. "I got it covered, don't worry. I'll talk to him first. And listen. I'll make a deal with you, if you stop all this screwin' around... but no more cutting class, no more bad grades and NO more Curly Shephard- got it?" "What's the deal?" Dally grinned slightly and told Ponyboy his idea. "Think you can live up to your end of the bargain?" Dally asked. Ponyboy looked much happier now. "Yeah, Dal. I know I can." Dally just hoped he could live up to his.