XXXXXX

After the football game ended they al decided to call it a day. Sodapop and Steve decided to take Carrie and Evie someplace while the rest decided to head back to the Curtis house. Cherry thanked Ponyboy for being invited, she told him she had a great time but right now all he could think about was Dally and the possibility of him being behind the fires and robberies.

"I'll meet you guys there later." Dally said. "I've got something to do first."

Pony wondered what that might be as he went with Darry, Two-Bit, Kathy, and Johnny back to his place. He knew he needed to tell someone about this and asked Johnny to stay outside for a minute while the other went in.

"What's up, Pony?" Johnny asked.

"I think Dally is the one starting these fires." Ponyboy just said it outright. He knew that Johnny looked up to Dally and admired him for reasons he would never understand so he would have a hard time even considering it, but he needed to tell someone and Johnny was the only one he could trust to tell this to.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You know the places that have caught fire, the DX, Buck's place…they were robbed first. Probably even that soc house too."

"What's the point?"

"When I went inside Dally's jacket for smokes, I saw money in the pocket. A lot of it. Maybe five hundred dollars or even more."

"Well, maybe he got it-"

"Where?" Pony interrupted. "He doesn't have a job and you get that kind of money from winning a poker game or riding horses. He stole it."

Johnny stared at his feet for a moment. He didn't want to bring up how mad Dally got at him the other day when he found out that he and Ponyboy saved Buck from the fire. He knew Dally wasn't exactly Ponyboy's favorite person, and he certainly wasn't the nicest guy in the world but still, these fires? Dally wouldn't do that.

"Dally didn't do it." Johnny said firmly. "Maybe he stole the money but come on, why would he start burning places down?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Come on, Pony. I know he does a lot but he isn't that bad. And I thought you told me that some witnesses saw two people at the DX when the fire started?"

Ponyboy shrugged.

"That doesn't mean anything. They could have just been regular people at the right place at the wrong time."

"I still think you're way off."

The younger boy sighed. He just couldn't convince Johnny that someone he looked up to could possible go that far.

"Why don't we just ask him?" Johnny suggested.

Ponyboy looked at his friend with a wide eyed expression.

"What are you, nuts?"

"Why not? He tells us about anything us he does."

"Still, this is much heavier. If he's caught he could get life in prison…maybe worse."

After he finished saying that the noise of a car going way faster that the twenty-five mile an hour speed limit given to their neighborhood street got his attention. Pony recognized it as Buck's T-Bird but unless he was out of the hospital someone else was behind the wheel. The car pulled up along the house and Dally stepped out with grin on his face.

"You waitin' for me?" He asked.

"Hey Dal." Johnny said. "Isn't that Buck's car?"

"I don't think I'll be needed it anytime soon."

"Why?"

"He's in a coma. Might stay that way for a while from what I've heard." Dally then took a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket. While he lit up he seemed to remember something and turned his attention to Pony. "Oh yeah, about Buck's place, didn't I tell you I'd bash your head in if you ever did something that stupid again?"

"Yeah." Pony responded, a little nervous now.

"Well, you're lucky I'm in a good mood right now…"

He trailed off and didn't finish like he normally would with some kind of threat. Ponyboy then cleared his throat and said;

"Speaking of fires, you know about the DX and that house."

"Of course I know, stupid. I have eyes."

"Well…have you heard anything? Like who might be doing it?"

"What am I a detective? I don't know a damn thing."

"So, it isn't…you're not doing are you?" Ponyboy finally mustered up enough guts to finally ask. He knew he was getting on Dally nerves and needed to just say it even it might get him a nice shiner in the process.

Johnny on the other hand closed his eyes as his head was down, wishing his friend hadn't brought this up. When he looked up to see Dally, to his surprise he looked amused.

"Me? You think I'm the one doing it?" Dally almost laughed. "Why do you think that?"

Why did he think that? Well let's see, Dally did pick fights, steal, jump little kids, vandalize property, drink, gamble. Would it really be that far fetched that he would suddenly add arson to that list?

"I don't know." Ponyboy responded. "It was just a thought."

"Well, I'm flattered kiddo. But it ain't me."

He then came around and gave Ponyboy a playful punch on the shoulder before heading into the house. Johnny and Pony both looked at each other for a second before following Dally in, Ponyboy still not convinced. If Dally was behind it he wouldn't have admitted it to them, it was far too serious a crime. They all hung out until it started to get late and Darry reminded Pony that he needed to get to sleep because school started up again tomorrow. Two-Bit made a joke about the 'baby greaser' having a bed time as they all filed out. Ponyboy would have went over and hit him if he wasn't actually tired and drained from today. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out for the night.

XXXXXX

"Pony? Hey Pony."

Ponyboy slowly opened one eye to see it was morning. He heard the voice and thought for a second that it was Sodapop here to wake him up for his first day of school, his first day in the eleventh grade. When he didn't respond he was suddenly poked in the ribs making jump up.

"Alright Soda-"

But when he finally looked up he saw that it was Johnny, not Sodapop standing by the bed. He also saw that he had a newspaper in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I wanted to show you something. The cops caught who was starting the fires the other day."

"They did?"

Ponyboy quickly got up as Johnny handed him the paper detailing the arrest. After reading the headline and going right into the story, he saw that two people had been arrested with the names 'Tony DeVito' and 'Ray Thomas', two members of the Brumly Gang. They were a much more organized and dangerous gang in Tulsa. They had helped out in the rumble against the socs, but other than that Pony didn't know much about them.

"The Brumley Boys?" Ponyboy questioned.

"Yep. They were behind the whole thing."

Ponyboy sat back down, feeling confused. He was wrong, he was completly wrong about the whole thing.

"Surprised?"

"Yeah." He admitted.

Johnny then gave Ponyboy a playful punch which Pony returned with a slight grin of his own. That started up a brief wrestling match on the floor which only consisted of rolling around and bumping into the desk before they seperated and Johnny got to his feet.

"I told you that Dally didn't do it. I mean he would have no reason to do something like that."

Ponyboy shrugged as he got back up and started getting his things together.

"Anyway, if you give me a minute we can head to school together-"

"Oh, I'm not going."

"What...why?"

"You really need to ask?"

"Come on, Johnny." He said in an almost pleading voice. "I know school can be hard for you but don't give up."

"I just don't want to go." Johnny then headed out. "I'll see you this afternoon."

Ponyboy frowned as he watched his friend head out the door. As he got dressed he thought about Johnny's question as to why Dally would do it, and what he didn't get was that Dally didn't need a reason other than the fact that he could.

That it was dangerous, risky, and against the law. Even if Dally wasn't behind the fires, it didn't change the fact that he was capable of doing it, he was a hood…pure and simple. And that money he had, where did he get it? Ponyboy was sure he wasn't to know. One day he would do something that crossed the line, one day he would get caught, a thrown in jail for the rest of this life, or die on the streets. It was just the kind of fate that awaited a person like Dallas Winston.

But to be honest, he really wouldn't care about that it wasn't for the fact that Johnny admired him. That is what scared Ponyboy the most. The chance that one day Johnny could start doing the things that Dally did. With him now giving up on school, on getting an education it greatly increased that risk.

That was something he didn't want to see because Johnny was better than that, he was too good to be looking up to Dally and maybe one day thinking that was the right way to be.

But there was nothing he could do about that right now.

It was going to be a lonely year. Sodapop had dropped out, Two-Bit and Johnny weren't going, Steve had graduated last May. Sure he had school friends, but they weren't buddies. After getting a quick drink of chocolate milk from the kitchen, Ponyboy finally headed out and prepared himself for another year at Will Rogers High School.

He had made it halfway down the block when he heard a car close behind him. He turned around and saw that it looked very familiar as it was the Sting Ray that belonged to Cherry Valance, who was going to be a senior this year.

"Hey Pony." She smiled.

He smiled back, needing to see a friendly face right now.

"Hey Cherry."

"Do you want a ride?"

"Really?" He asked, surprised by the offer.

"Sure."

He nodded as he came around and got inside the car. Neither one said a word as she pulled off the side and drove them both to their destination.