A/N: S. E. Hinton owns all rights to the characters in The Outsiders and her other stories, I only own my imagination.
"C'mon, slowpoke! I can't wait all day for you to play catch-up." I don't know what exactly had Dally in a snit, but I had a feeling that it might be Sylvia. He had his ring back.
"Sorry, Dally." I mumbled, kicking a stray beer bottle into an alley.
"Like I was sayin' before, you shouldn't give a rip about your folks, Johnnycake. They don't care a dime, and you need to quit thinking that they will. It saves you a whole lotta grief in the end, ya know."
"I know." I wiped my nose on my jacket sleeve. The beginning of fall had this nasty way of making my nose itch all the time.
"I don't think you do, Johnnycake. Your folks would rather you'd died than have you back before dark. That's why your mom yells so much and your old man smacks you around. They regret havin' you."
"I know. They told me that last night." It was real hard for me to talk with a swollen cheek and black eye. Not to mention all the other cuts and bruises beneath my clothes. That's why I was walking so slow.
"I'm sure they did. Want a Coke?"
"Yeah."
We turned into the DX station and Dally bought a couple Cokes and some cigarettes. We would've stayed longer, but Steve and Soda weren't working, so we cut outta there as soon as we could. Dally didn't like hanging around the DX when our friends weren't working.
"Got a light, Johnnycake?" Dally muttered around a cigarette. I struck a match on one of my buttons, and he took a couple drags before handing it to me.
"Thanks." I whispered.
"So, what d'you and Ponyboy talk about all the time? I thought I'd never get you away from him." Dally shattered the necks of the Coke bottles and pushed one into my hand. "Watch out for glass shards."
"We don't talk about anything important, really. Sometimes we don't say a word for hours. Those are the best conversations." I said, sipping the drink carefully.
"It amazes me, you know? You two just sit there all by your lonesome, not talking at all, and yet you don't think that's strange. That's weird, man."
"What happened with Sylvia?" I chewed on a hangnail.
"Dumb bitch thinks I don't know when she's cheatin' on me." Dally's laugh was hard and icy like his eyes.
"Sorry." I said, flicking out my switch. I'd gotten a sliver of glass in my palm.
"It's fine. Here, it's easier if you do it like this," he pressed the flat of the blade just below the sliver. "That way it can come out on its own." I smiled at him and gnawed at a scab on my bottom lip.
"You still wanna go to a movie tonight, Johnnycake?"
"Sure. It'll get me outta the house."
"It'll getcha outta your head too. Might make you stop thinking about your folks for a while."
"Yeah." I knew it wouldn't, but lying to Dally was easier than telling myself the truth.