This Might Hurt A Little-A Dallas Winston Fanfiction

Everybody's Crying Mercy

Hunger, revenge, to sleep are petty foes. But only death the jealous eye can close-William Wycherley

We hadn't known where Dallas went later that day until everything happened. We didn't know that he had gone to get Pony and Johnny or that they were going to turn themselves in. We didn't even know about the fire until the ambulance went whizzing past the Curtis's. Soda was the one who decided to go and investigate. The old Sodapop had completely disappeared and had been replaced by an anxious and paranoid boy who never slept and always looked at people like they were hiding something from him. I found myself partially responsible, I had to admit, but I knew most of it was from Ponyboy hiding out. He just couldn't do things the way he used to without his kid brother. I'd never seen a boy look more relieved than he did when he saw Ponyboy sitting in the hospital chair, covered in ash and smoking a cancer stick. When Darry and Soda both ran up to Ponyboy and pulled him into a bear hug I knew that they were going to be okay.

Dallas passed us shortly after, his one arm badly burned but, he was too angry at Ponyboy to notice the pain. He gave me a smile when he passed and told me to come and visit him later on in the day. I don't remember what he said exactly or what he looked like because, I was too worried about Johnny to even think about anything else. He was burned worse than anyone I had ever seen. I didn't know people could get that burned without dying. When we visited him later in the hospital he grabbed my hand and asked me if his feet were moving. They weren't.

We knew then he was pretty bad off. Separate, the burns would have been bad but, he could have lived through. But, with a broken back, things change. I think he accepted what was coming sooner than we did. I hate to say it but, we did an awful job at keeping him company. For the next week the only one who had gone and seen him was Ponyboy. He was the only one who could stand it. We all went and saw Dallas,we knew he would make it through his burns.

"How bad is he?" Dallas asked one day, staring at the bright lights on the ceiling.

"I ain't a doctor or nothin' but hell, I know he's bad." Two-Bit said from the chair.

Dallas rolled over and I had to walk around the bed to grab his eyes again. His dark eyes were wider than they'd ever been and more scared I think. I couldn't say anything to comfort him. He knew what we knew. There was no sugarcoating what was happening to Johnny. He was dying. From the stories I heard from Dallas, he'd seen boys get their throats slashed open and bleed out on the streets of New York but, he didn't bat an eye. But Johnny, he was something different.

"You still got your blade?" We all knew he was talking to Two-Bit.

Two-Bit nodded and handed it over, something I never expected to see. That blade was his pride and joy. 

"We gotta' get even with those soc's." Dallas muttered.

I knew a rumble was being planned. I didn't like it but, there was nothing I could do to stop it. I didn't see the point in rumbles. Ponyboy once told me they were just a way of letting off steam so nobody killed each other but, that didn't work too well in the long run.

"We'll do it for Johnny, man! Let's do it for Johnny!" He shouted, pressing the blade against his forehead.

For a moment I was afraid he was going to slash his wrists but, he didn't. He put the blade underneath his hospital pillow and turned onto his back. I swear there was an exact moment where I knew Dallas was going to do something crazy. He got a certain look on his face, the type that Mark gets when people are fighting. And that scared me even more than anything he could ever do with that switchblade.