So You're Leaving?

Twist of fate

Dally squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them again, the image was gone. He was lying down in bed and there was noise coming from downstairs. Loud music, yelling, the usual. His breathing was coming in short gasps and he was shaking. The sight of Christopher standing in front of his bed was still clear in his mind. Calm down, he told himself. It was only a stupid dream! But Dally couldn't quell the panic rising in his chest. He was convinced now that Johnny was somehow in trouble and he needed to return to Virginia. He stumbled out of bed and threw some clothes in a bag. His body was still stiff and weary with sleepiness, but slowly he began to feel the blood circulating again. As the residue of sleep began to wear off, he became more aware of what he was actually doing. "This is crazy," he said, hesitating before tossing a pair of socks in the bag. He threw the bag down on the bed and rubbed his forehead. "I need a beer." A beer. He would go downstairs, join the party for a little while and have a beer. That would settle his nerves and then he could go back to sleep. He stopped at the door and turned back suddenly, grabbing the bag just in case. Dally walked down the stairs, pushing his way through a group of greasy looking girls that all winked and waved at him as he went by. Buck was behind the bar, handing a drink to a middle aged guy who looked like he'd already had enough. Tim Shepard was there too. He noticed Dally and came over. Dally nodded to him. "Hey, Dal," Tim greeted him. "Where you headed?" He asked noting the bag Dally was carrying. "Nowhere. Came down to get a beer. Couldn't sleep." Dally sat down on a bar stool and motioned to Buck. "Sleep?" Tim snorted. "The night is still young, man!" He took a swig of his drink. "What's up with you lately? You're always goin' to bed early the past few times I seen ain't gettin' soft or nothin', are ya?" Dally glared at him and cursed. "Where you been, anyway?" "Went to see a friend for a while," Dally said after a pause. "Oh, right, that black haired kid... Cade? He left town, huh?" Dally looked at him in surprise, a feeling of fear beginning to well up in the pit of his stomach. He knows that Johnny is gone? So what, he asked himself. So what if he knows? "What's it like out there, anyhow?" Tim asked. Dally's stomach sank. "Where?" Tim looked at him like he was nuts. "Virginia! That's where he is, ain't it?" "How do you know that?" Dally's mind raced. He knows where Johnny is...If Shepard knew, how many other people knew? "Curly and the Curtis kid were hanging out for a while. Guess Curly found out from him." Tim took another swig of beer. "Darrel needs to lighten up," Tim said, bouncing to another subject, oblivious to Dally's reaction of concern. But it hadn't really been a secret. Once Johnny had gotten out of Tulsa, it wasn't a secret any more. There hadn't been any reason for Ponyboy or someone else not to have said something to a person outsde the gang. There had been no reason to think that Johnny's parents would give a hang where he had gone. And maybe they didn't, but Dally had a feeling... a really unsettling feeling. Had Two-Bit told anyone? Had the kids at school been asking about him? How many other people knew? What it really boiled down to was only one thing that Dally didn't even dare think... Did Johnny's father know? "Tim, who else knows where he is?" Dally blurted out. Tim had been rambling on about Darry and how he had forbidden Ponyboy and Curly to hang out. He stopped and looked at Dally again. "I don't know, why? What difference does it make?" "Do his parents know?" "How the hell would I know? I don't know his parents!" But something in Dally's tone made Tim pause for a minute. He was desperate and near panic. Tim's expression softened slightly. "I don't know, man." "His father was in here just yesterday," Buck drawled from behind them. He had over heard as he came to bring Dally's beer. Buck knew everyone in town. Dally turned and stared at him. "I don't know if he knows where the kid is, but he was pissed as hell and looking for you. He was bad mouthin' all your gang." Tim slammed his beer down on the counter. "What? I didn't hear about that! I'd have kicked his ass. Old Dally and I both woulda!" Dally just stared. "Cool it Shepard," Buck went on. "You wouldn't have got the chance. He was gettin' so outta control that somebody slugged him and a bunch of guys dragged him outside. Didn't take much to knock him cold. He was pretty well liquered up before he even came in." Buck set the beer down and started to walk away. Dally nearly flew over the bar and grabbed Buck's arm. "I need your keys, man!" Dally yelled, his eyes wild. Buck shook loose from his grasp. "What for? No! You ain't takin' my car." "Buck! Damn it! I need those keys!" Buck swore at him and shoved him away. Only lack of time prevented Dally from knocking a few of Buck's teeth out. He turned hastily and fled out the door. He would have to hop the train. A few moments later he heard someone calling him. "Dally! Wait!" Tim was running towards him. He was holding out his hand and shaking something. As he got closer, Dally could hear the jingle of car keys. "I swiped these for ya!" he said, grinning as he tossed Buck's keys to Dally. Dally looked gratefully at him and Tim slapped his shoulder as he took off towards the T-Bird parked behind the bar. Tim didn't know what was going on, and he really didn't care. He headed back inside to see how long it would be before Buck noticed that his car was gone.