Author's Notes: Since it's the end of the year and everything, I figure I should write something for my fans. Haha. I'm kidding. Last Writer's Breakfast meeting of the year. That's why.
So this is dedicated to everyone at Writer's Breakfast, and more importantly my English teacher. If she hadn't talked about the book, I never would have been inspired to write this. So thank you for saying those words, Ms. Z!
"The only person Dally had ever loved is dead, and Dally doesn't see anything beautiful in the world anymore. That's why he died so gallantly."
-Ms. Z
There was nothing special about Johnny.
If you were to meet Johnny and talk to him, five minutes after going your separate ways you would forget his face.
Nothing made him stand out in a crowd.
Except, perhaps, that nervous look he always had.
But even then, it wasn't that big of a deal. He wasn't as handsome as Soda, or as smart as Pony. He wasn't big like Darry, or talkative like Two-Bit. He wasn't good at anything like Steve was with his mechanics.
He was different.
And that made him stand out, in his own unique way.
At least, to Dally it did.
No one needed him like Johnny did. Everyone could stand up for themselves, even Pony. And Ponyboy was the youngest of them all.
Johnny needed someone who would protect him. Ponyboy had his brothers, Steve had Soda, and Two-Bit had everyone, and maybe a little more.
But Johnny? Johnny had no one. Sure, the others said they'd stick with him. But Johnny needed someone who would always be with him. Someone who would protect him from the world.
And Dally needed someone to protect.
And so it only made sense that they would stick together. Johnny being the only one Dally could actually stand, and Johnny being the only one who could really understand Dally.
But then Johnny had to go and save those kids, breaking his back in the process. His injuries were too severe, and a part of Dally knew he wouldn't pull it through.
And yet when he heard that Johnny was dead…it still shocked him. He couldn't believe it. He refused to believe it.
The quiet, nervous boy who was afraid of his own shadow, dead? The boy who would never harm a fly, never to see another sunset that he loved so much?
Dally refused to believe it.
But it was true. He knew it was. As much as he wanted to believe it, the last beautiful thing in the world was gone. The world had truly become an ugly place.
And when Johnny died, the last of the world's beauty died with him.
And to live in such a ugly, ugly place…
Dally couldn't imagine it.