Can't Escape Reality

"Help Him" ♡

                                     Ponyboy
                                point of view

Johnny was alive. But not for long if I didn't do something. I bursted through the door and ran full speed down the hallway to get a doctor. "Young man, you shouldn't be running in here" a male voice boomed. I turned around and faced Johnny's doctor.

I grabbed his arm and dragged him to Johnny's room. "Do something. He's not dead but his breathing is becoming slower and slower! Hurry!" I yelled eagerly. The doctor pressed a button near Johnny's bed to signal other nurses and doctors and seconds later, they flooded in. "Please, please help him" I cried.

A nurse looked at me and nodded as they all crowded around Johnny. They realized that they couldn't do anything to save him where he was so they brought him out into the hallway and rushed him to the emergency room. I tried to go in too but they told me to stay out and I was going to respect that. "Please do everything you can" I pleaded.

"We will" the nurse nodded and closed the door. I didn't think they would do absolutely everything in their power to save Johnny but all I could do was hope. I'm not big on religion much anymore but prayer was my best friend at times like this.

I folded my hands together and closed my eyes. "God, I don't know if you're there or not but the gang's going through a rough time right now. I know you have everything planned out already but please don't take Johnny away from us. I'm begging you. If he dies, the gang might just fall apart. Dally can't handle it and I doubt I can. So please, please help me out here. Thank you" I silently prayed. I opened my eyes after a while to a panicked voice and a familiar name.

"No, that's not right! Yeah he's a greaser but he deserves to live" a feminine voice shouted.

"I'm sorry ma'am but you're going to have to wait until he's able to see you. That's Dallas Winston, right?" the woman at the counter asked.

"Yes Dallas Winston but I need to see him! He needs to see me! Please" a young woman I'd never seen before cried.

"Listen ma'am, he's going into surgery and there's no telling when he'll be out. I'm sorry but you have to wait" the woman behind the counter responded.

The girl crying for Dallas sighed and sat down across the room from me. I stood up to go and meet her. She put her head in her hands and I sat next to her. "Hey" I said. She looked at me and wiped her eyes.

"What do you want" she asked but quieted down. "I'm sorry if that came out as rude, I'm just stressed" she apologized.

"No it's fine. I've dealt with worse" I chuckled.

She gave a weak smile and put her head back in her hands. "So what's a kid like you here for?" she asked.

"My buddy Johnny's in pretty bad condition. I'm just making sure he'll be alright" I sighed.

"Wait, Johnny?" she asked, sitting up to look at me. I nodded. "Do you know Dallas?" she asked.

"Dallas Winston?" I asked. She nodded eagerly. "Of course I do. He's in my gang. He saved my life y'know. Wait a minute, how do you know him?" I asked.

"That's my boyfriend! Or at least I think so, we had a bit of a setback" she sighed.

"I heard you yelling about him. He's not here anymore. He ran off about an hour or so ago" i informed.

"No they just brought him in here" she said confused.

"W-What?" I asked. "Tell me what's going on!"

"Wait a minute, he was here earlier too?" she asked. We both sat there for a minute, more confused than ever.

"I'll explain why he was here earlier later. But why is he here now? Is he okay" I asked, anxious for an answer.

She swallowed hard and began talking. "He was shot" she stated. My eyes widened?

"Shot? What? How? Who?" I began to ramble but quickly stopped myself. "What happened?" I restated.

She took a breath and began again. "I don't know what all has happened here but I'll tell my side of the story. Oh, my name's Laura by the way" she giggled.

"I'm Ponyboy" I smiled and she smiled back.

"So something happened in New York that I don't really feel like talking about right now but it made Dallas leave altogether. For months I had no idea where he was and finally I found out he ran off to here. I was driving all day and got hungry and thirsty so I decided to stop at a grocery store for something. When I got there I saw Dally but he was robbing the shop. I walked in and convinced him to stop. I don't know what he was thinking about doing but he seemed really shaken up. He was talking about how Johnny died and how he failed to protect him and stuff. Then, the store clerk held a gun to Dallas. I begged him not to shoot Dal or call the police so he put the gun down. Me and Dally hugged each other since we haven't been together in months and then a bullet went flying through his side. I don't think it hit any important organs or anything like that but long story short, now we're here" she said, obviously forcing back her shaky voice and future tears.

She seemed like a real tough girl. Perfect for Dally in my opinion. I know why Dallas was robbing that store. He thought Johnny died and it hurt him so much that he wanted to die like Dallas Winston would die-- he would die a hood. He would get the police involved and who knows what would happen after that. I wondered why Dally had left Laura back in New York. What could have possibly happened that sent Dallas to Tulsa.

Was this girl crazy? Did she get pregnant or something? Was she messing around with the wrong people. Questions rolled through my mind but a soft voice interrupted my thoughts. "Laura Pierce? Dallas Winston is out of surgery and in recovery" the counter lady informed. I looked at the clock and an hour and a half had passed since I heard Laura screaming at the woman.

Laura stood up, smiled at me, and rushed to where the lady told her Dally was. "I'm sorry for yelling earlier. I was just scared" she apologized to the lady and left. This girl was something else, no wonder Dally was in love with her. I waited about 30 more minutes before going see the lady at the counter.

"Any word on Johnny Cade?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Sorry dear but he's still in the ER" she said sympathetically.

"Okay. Um, where is Dallas Winston?" I asked.

She flipped through some papers and finally looked back at me and told me "room 213". I nodded.

"Thank you Miss..." I paused so she could tell me her name.

"Mrs. Peterson" she finished. I nodded and walked to Dally's room. I knocked on the door. No answer.

"Hello? Dal?" I asked. No answer. I looked at the room number. "Room 213" I mumbled, knowing that was where Mrs. Peterson told me to go. I opened the door quietly to see both Dallas and Laura passed out. Laura pulled a chair next to his bed and got comfortable with a pillow and blanket. They were holding hands and for the first time since I'd met him, Dallas looked at peace. He looked relaxed and somewhat happy. I backed out of the room quietly and walked back to the waiting room, knowing Dally would kill me if I woke him up.

Speaking of killing me, I still haven't gone home since before the rumble. It was super late and Darry wasn't going to be happy.