People Don't Change (Dally Winston)

Chapter 3

"Dally!" I shouted, jumping up from my seat on the couch. He looked at me, confused for a second, before a look of recognition crossed his face.

"Jenny?" he asked, shocked, as if he couldn't even believe what was happening.

I ran towards him and threw my arms around him. I had missed Dally so much. The years I spent alone were awful, but I convinced myself that it was over now.

He stiffened and didn't hug me back. After a few seconds, he even pushed me away. I stepped back with a hurt expression on my face. For a second he looked sorry, but then it was gone.

"I never thought I'd see you again, man," he said.

"Yeah. I thought you had fallen off the face of the Earth, after you never tried to stay in touch with me," I responded, trying to hide the pain behind the words. He never had tried to contact me. I hadn't gotten even one letter or phone call since he had left.

"Yeah, it's all my fault, right?" he said, angrily. This wasn't going well. I always assumed that if I was reunited with Dally he would be excited to see me. I guess I was wrong.

Two-Bit stepped in, trying to stop the fighting, "So you two know each other?"

"Yes," Dally answered. I simply nodded my head.

"We were friends back in New York, years ago," I explained.

"And then I had to move," Dally added. I wondered if he had missed me. I looked at the his cold, angry expression and decided that he didn't care. I should've stayed in New York.

He wasn't acting like the Dally I used to know. This boy was tough, cold, and angry. I wondered if the real Dally still existed, hidden by his thick armor.