Dally considered wiring a car for transportation but shook it off. He felt like walking.

He hated walking sometimes because he knew it meant he didn't really have a particular destination in mind. And that meant he was looking for something. He could find trouble, a fistfight, some breeze to catcall but the nagging in the back of his head really bugged him. He would never find what he was looking for until he found Johnny.

He hated walking because hell, he was looking for Johnny and he didn't wire a car because Johnny didn't like it. Well, he might've liked it if Dally found a tuff car but it made him nervous. AndDally didn't need to make Johnny Cade any more nervous than he already was.

Dally walked with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and scowled. His scowl was what Darry liked to call the "fuck everything, and yes that includes you" look. He smiled. Darry was afraid of that look sometimes. Darry, the Superman of the Greasers, was afraid of little ole Dally. Dally smiled. Some things weren't about size and build.

Some things were, like getting one's ass busted by a parent.

Dally broke into a run when he caught sight of Johnny in the lot. He looked busted up worse than usual. It was too early for his old man to be tanked and if his old man started beating him sober, Johnny wouldn't last a week.

Dally sat beside Johnny on the curb and sighed. Johnny had been crying and hell, Dally couldn't blame him. He was bleeding and it looked so much worse he wondered whether it'd been that bastard father of his at all.

"You okay Johnnycake?" Dally asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah." He sniffed and Dally kept his eyes on the ground, knowing Johnny didn't like him seeing this. Dally sighed and touched Johnny's face, turning his chin so he could examine one hell of a bruise on the boy's jaw.

"Your old man?" Dally asked.

"Yeah."

"Jesus Johnny. This is worse than normal." Dally said, trying to get his voice to be soft rather than gravely. He had limited vocal control because he was usually either yelling or swearing and no one cares if your voice if gravely when you're calling them a son of a bitch.

"I know. I just, can't do nuthin about it. I'm not like you Dallas, I can't fight back or even stop it."

Dally noted that was a small price to pay to be nothing like Dallas Winston and be sweet little Johnny Cade. Dally couldn't stand it anymore. He rubbed Johnny's shoulder, noting the flinch and knowing bruises would mottle the tan flesh under his shirt.

"Go over to Darry's place, he'll fix you up." Dallas wasn't a fixer even if Darry was afraid of him.

"Where you going?"

"I dunno."

Dally had found Johnny but he wasn't sure if that was what he'd wanted to see.

Tell me what you think of the characters and such before you go to the next chapter eh? Were they pretty much in character? Did it sound like Dally's thinking?

Thanks for reading and cookies and cake for reviews!