A/N: Thank you to all the reviews I got on the last chapter. This chapter is dedicated to Crystalteen for requesting Dally's chapter next!

-Dallas's POV-

I don't like admitting this to anyone, but Johnny Cade was the only person I've ever loved. There was just somethin' about him, you know? He had so much promise and it wasn't fair that life dealt him a shitty hand. He reminded me of myself before I got so tough and hard, and I'll be damned if I let him turn out like how I was now. Johnny was like the little brother I never had. I felt an obligation to protect him, from his parents, from the Socs, from the world, from anything.

I'll never forget one of my favorite memories with Johnny. I just got into another argument with my old man (what else is new) and he kicked me out onto the streets for night. I didn't know really where to go. I've been living on the streets for as long as I could remember, so being out late at night was second nature for me. I could have picked a fight with one of Shepard's men, or get wasted at Buck's, or crash at the Curtis's for the night. Heaven knows they have the only decent household on the East Side. I decided to head over to Buck's for the night. I had sort of a bedroom over there. It wasn't really mine, but I stay there so often that everyone just assumes I live there.

I was taking a short cut when I heard a sound so faint that I almost missed it. It sounded like someone let out a breath and it was coming from behind me. I walked over to the source of the sound, only to find Johnny on the bench, using some old newspapers as a make-shift blanket. He attempted to warm himself up by popping the color on his jeans jacket, but that wasn't doing much good because his teeth were chattering so much I thought he would chip one.

"Hey, Johnny." I shook him a bit to wake him up. "You alright man?"

"I'm okay," He mumbled, not fully aware of his surroundings yet. When he saw that I was kneeling next to him, he sat up and tried to act tough. "I'm fine, really I am."

"Why are you out here in cold?" I asked. "It's freezin' out here!"

"Nowhere else to go," He said simply.

"C'mon with me," I continued through the lot and watched Johnny follow me. I lit up a cigarette and handed him one. He accepted it with trembling fingers and inhaled deeply, hoping the smoke would warm him up some.

"Where we headed to Dally?" Johnny questioned.

"Bucks." I don't think Johnny ever went to the roadhouse before, but that kid followed me around like a lost puppy. Now that I think about it, Johnny was a lost puppy.

We headed there in silence. I quickened my pace because of the dropping temperature and neither of us was wearing a decent coat. I had my leather jacket on and Johnny had that dirty jeans jacket, but that was nothin' to warm us of that cold.

Buck's Roadhouse was always rowdy, no matter the time or day. I saw Johnny's ears reddened when he saw two burly men flirtin' with a hot blonde.

"Don't look at that Johnny," I said, and motioned him over to sit with me at the bar.

"What're havin'? Two beers?" Buck asked me and Johnny.

"I'll have a beer, and a coke for Johnny."

Buck returned with our drinks and I took a gulp of my beer, while Johnny sipped his coke. "So you wanna tell me why you were sleeping in the lot?"

"You know," Johnny started. "I got kicked me out."

"Hell kid, me too," I said with a devilish grin, which made Johnny loosen up a bit. "My old man was sick of me bein' out so late, so he told me not to come back. I'm guessing the same thing happened to you?"

Johnny shrugged. "More or less."

"Listen here Johnny, and listen good," I said. I hated to be harsh with the kid after all the shit he deals with at home, but sometimes that tone was needed to penetrate that thick skull of his. "You shouldn't let anything bother you like that. I don't want you ending up like me, get that straight, but don't let stupid people get to you. You're better than that."

When I was done with my speech, I noticed how Johnny's black eyes glowed. "Thanks Dal," He said. "You're a real buddy."

That was one of my favorite nights I spent with Johnny. He took my advice, like he always did, but he never really stopped letting his parents get to him. That was just his personality and I would have to live with that, but that's okay. He was compassionate and good and he should stay that way. It wasn't his fault that he got belted every time he turned around. He didn't deserve any of the things that he had to deal with every day, but the worst thing he got was the beating from the Socs.

Damn, was I pissed when I saw him lying on the Curtis's couch in so much pain he couldn't even move. Actually, pissed was pretty mild for what I was feeling. I was furious, boiling with rage for those Socs. The rest of the gang knew it was best to leave me alone because I was unpredictable, dangerous.

I took Buck's car for a visit over to the West Side of town, keeping my eyes open for anyone with rings on their hands. They would be in a world of trouble if I managed to get them in my hands with the dangerous mood I was in.

Lucky for them, I didn't find them. But mark my words, I will hunt those bastards down and make them pay for what they did. There is no way in hell that they think they could beat Johnny and get away with it.

I still haven't gotten the chance to wring their puny necks, but I will. But for now, Johnny is here, and he hasn't been hurt any more. And as long as Johnny is here, so am I.