Take Care of Him Johnny Cake

by CaityJH

After the kind-hearted Johnny Cade died, (Dally is still alive) The gang changes, but for better, or for worse? Dally stops caring, Darry gets stern, Two-bit's no longer his jokester self, Steve is quiet, and Soda, well Sodapop does something he'll forever regret to his beloved little brother.

10. Chapter 10

And here's chapter 10! Hope you all enjoy the chapter, and let me know how you feel about Johnny! You guys know I don't own anything.

TAKE CARE OF HIM JOHNNY CAKE - CHAPTER 10

PONYBOY'S POV:

"Johnny Cake?"

The gears inside my head were spinning like crazy, and I had to squint at the boy in front of me to make sure I was seeing him correctly.

No...this couldn't be Johnny. This wasn't Johnny. Was it?

The boy wouldn't stop grinning that familiar grin. I would know that smile anywhere. It wasn't cocky, nor arrogant or sarcastic, but it was unforgettably kind and warm. It was a small smile, but if you ever got a chance to see it, it was as if the smile was as big as Texas. It was his grin. It was Johnny's grin.

Could it really be him?

He stood up gently, and continued to look me directly in the eyes; something he never could do when he was...with us.

"Hey Ponyboy," He greeted softly.

I stared at him for a second, my mouth unable to close, and I recognized the black banged hair, the big brown eyes, the collared jean jacket...I recognized him. It was Johnny. I knew it was Johnny, and I couldn't hold in the tears any longer as a sob escaped my mouth, and I bolted into his small, comforting arms.

He chuckled softly, and returned the hug that I wasn't planning on breaking anytime soon.

"Golly Johnny, I've missed you so much.." I sobbed, and I would probably feel bad for getting his jacket full of tears if I wasn't such an emotional wreck.

"I missed you too man," He started. "I missed you too."

We eventually separated, and he patted my shoulder comfortingly.

I suddenly realized the craziness of the situation. I mean, where was I? What was going on?

"But," I sniffed. "How?"

"That's a long story, Pone. Common, we gotta go somewhere, you'll get answers there."

That just made me even more confused. Shoot, my brain was already going to explode; I was here seeing Johnny Cake, but I couldn't remember a thing.

"What? Where? What about Darry? And Soda? Wh-"

Questions continuously flowed from my lips until I blinked my eyes, and the moment I reopened my eyes, we were in a familiar, personally hated place.

The hospital.

Nurses and doctors flooded the halls, speeding past me and Johnny at different speeds. Although one thing caught my eye, and that was that not one of them looked at either of us. They just stared down at the binders and papers they were holding, or they just looked ahead as they walked. It was strange to say the least; I mean, who wouldn't stare at two greaser boys who just somehow magically poofed into the halls?

"Wait, what? Where- we were just- the lot, we were- what?" I stammered.

Johnny didn't answer, he just started down the hall. I followed him down the rainbow painted walls, which obviously meant we were in pediatrics. I've been here a couple times with a nasty flu bug or something; when Johnny... died he wasn't in here. I don't know why, he was just put in the ICU. I mean, he was sixteen, technically he was still a kid, but there were no rainbows and cartoons where he died. I don't know if that made the situation worse, or better. Either way, I still hate to think about that night.

After a minute or so of walking down the colourful halls and past the oblivious staff, Johnny halted to a stop in front of a closed door with the numbers 314 on it.

He took a deep breath and glanced over at me for a second, but before I could ask him what was the hold up, the door handle was turned and door number 314 drifted open, revealing an unconscious, masked, half blonde, half auburn headed boy lying in the hospital bed.

That unconscious, masked, half blonde, half auburn headed boy was me.

I was looking at myself, lying in that hospital bed, and suddenly all the scrambled memories that scattered my mind started coming together in one overwhelming wave. I clutched at my temples and leaned against the wall as I think Johnny shut the door.

All the memories came together as one finished puzzle.

The breakdown in the lot.

The failed test.

Darry's screams and rumble of the truck's engine as he sped off to Will Roger's high school.

The birthday letter from Sandy.

The screams from Sodapop...golly, the things he said made my heart twist in and out.

The harshness and pain from his fist as it roughly collided with my face.

The crash of our mother's mirror as it slammed down onto the floor.

The pavement under my running feet.

The mesmerizing stars as they twinkled brightly in the sky.

The painful crunch and screeching tires as I flew in the air and landed violently onto the hard pavement again.

The socs, dragging me off into the alley.

Dally, speaking to me without the cold, toughness present in his face.

Then the horrible darkness that took over my body as Dally's face drifted from my vision.

When the agonizing headache was in the past, I couldn't stop the tears as they flooded down my cheeks. I started pacing, and my breaths became short and quick. I was ready to pass out, and Johnny probably knew, because he started rubbing my shoulders and shushing me comfortingly.

I slid down the wall as the tears continued, and Johnny sat down with me.

We sat there for a good ten minutes before I finally got my breathing controlled and was able to speak. I had so many questions; so many things that I was afraid to know the answers to, but one question stood out from the rest.

"Johnny," I started. "Am I... dead?"

I watched him intently as he sighed and answered quietly.

"No. You're not dead Pony."

I clamped my eyes shut in what I expected to be relief. I mean, I've never wanted to die. Golly, I've been depressed I guess but never suicidal. I couldn't stand the thought of how the rest of the gang would feel if I had killed myself, especially Darry and Soda. It'd hurt them real bad. Besides, I'm only fourteen. I ain't seen the world yet, ain't been out of Tulsa besides Windrixville and that didn't count in my mind. I haven't had a girlfriend, haven't gotten married, haven't had the chance to have kids, haven't went to college; shoot, I haven't even graduated yet. Fourteen years wasn't long enough and I thought I wasn't ready to die.

But the sprinkle of disappointment that fled through me as Johnny's words entered my ears didn't go unnoticed by me.

I was scared, worried, dreading that I'd have to face everybody again. Dreading that I'd have to face Sodapop again.

Soda's words echoed through my mind and I had to take deep breaths to stop myself from freaking out again.

"You gotta ruin everything, don't you?!" His angry voice screamed at me from my mind.

"You know what I mean, Pony. Johnny? That's on you."

"You had to run away that night, didn't you? Had to go find Johnny and kill that soc kid, had to run off, even if you knew you would kill me and Darry for it!"

"Now look what's happened to the gang. We're all broken apart. And there's always someone to blame."

"You can't stop, can you?"

"You don't care about nothin'. No wonder Sandy left."

I continued to attempt to steady my breathing, but nothing could be done as the memory of the harsh twist of my wrist, and the painful hit to the face flashed through my mind, making another tear gently glide down my face.

Johnny was aware of my silent internal struggle, but he didn't say anything. He just continued to sit by me like the times me and him would sit in the lot, and that was comfort enough.

"Johnny?" I croaked.

"Yeah Ponyboy?" He looked at me sympathetically.

"If I ain't dead, what's goin' on with me?"

Johnny sighed. "You gotta choose, Pone."

I looked at him confusingly, but deep down, I knew what he meant. I knew what the word choose meant and I sure wasn't ready to be doing it.

"You gotta chose." He said again, and I knew he was aware that I knew what he meant. "You can choose to stay here, with me, walking around where no one sees us until the time comes where we can move onto where your parents are, away from the world, away from the gang, away from your brothers, or you can go back. You can go back to watchin' sunsets and readin' books, you can go back to school, back to Sodapop's colourful cooking and Two-bit's Mickey sessions, back to your life."

My jaw dropped a little. Glory, that's the most I've ever heard Johnny talk. He stared at me for a second, and even though his way of putting it was much more detailed, I knew he was just telling me I had to choose to die, or live.

If you would have asked me that a month ago, my answer would automatically be to live. I wouldn't even have to consider death, glory I wouldn't even second guess myself after making the decision. I would have chosen life right on the dot.

But that was a month ago. Now, as much as I told myself living my life was the right decision, there was a part of me that wanted to die.

There was a part of me that remembered Johnny wouldn't be able to live; Johnny would still be dead. I thought of all the nights at the nightly double alone, Johnny missing beside me. I thought of all the nights I went to the lot when I was sad, and Johnny wasn't there to cheer me up. I thought of all the times I went to his grave and cried until there were no tears left to be cried, and trotted home.

There was a part of me that remembered all the times Dallas drunkenly passed our house, not once bothering to come and say hello. I thought of all the times Dally ignored me as I greeted him, a cigarette and a beer in his hands. I remembered all the times I saw him coming from bucks, drunk and beaten up, probably from a gang fight, and trotting angrily down the road, unlike the times he would bunk out at our place and play cards with the gang.

There was a part of me that remembered all the silent glares from Steve, and the shrinking amount of times he would come to our house with Sodapop. I thought of all the times Steve would pass me in school, not even looking at me as I said hello. I remembered all the times I saw his car bolt out of the school parking lot the minute I walked out the door, probably thinking I wanted a ride home.

There was a part of me that remembered all the pitied stares from Two-bit. I thought of all the times he wouldn't crack those annoying jokes, all the times he stopped smiling and goofing around. I thought of all the times I watched his car drive past the house, never bothering to stop anymore. I thought of all the times he'd pass me in the halls, and all he would give me was a sympathetic smile.

There was a part of me that remembered all the screams from Darry. I thought of all the times he would ground me for getting an A- on a test, and all the times he would annoyingly ignore me whenever I did something so small. I thought of all the times he would holler at me when I was five minutes passed curfew, usually coming home from Johnny's grave. I thought of all the times he would give me looks the morning after a bad nightmare I had because of waking him up.

There was a part of me that remembered losing Sodapop. I thought of all the times the stench of alcohol came from his breath. I thought of all the times he would glare at me too whenever I had a nightmare. I thought of all the mornings I woke up and Sodapop wasn't by my side, and my two brothers wouldn't tickle me awake like they used to. I thought of all the times Soda wouldn't stand up for me anymore whenever Darry yelled at me. I remembered the words he said to me and the pain of his hit. I remembered the agony of watching my big brother slip away, and be replaced with an angry, unloving seventeen year old.

There was a part of me that didn't want to live, because the thought of returning to the painful days without the gang and my brothers was hard to even think about.

I had no idea what to do.

Mostly everyone would tell me life is the only option. They would say no one should die at the age of fourteen, and that I had a full life ahead of me. Sure, there were so many things I wish I could do that I would never get the chance to if I died, but no one understood the misery I had to withstand day to day since my best buddy died. No one could understand how hard it was to keep standing all the time through it all.

So I even if I decided to live, I wondered if any of what I had to deal with would change.

I wondered if the old, tough, but soft-centered Dallas would return, coming into the house after a fight with Tim Shephard and flop down on our couch, chatting with the gang. I wondered if I'd ever see him enter our door anymore other than Buck's.

I wondered if I'd ever hear Steve and Sodapop's laughs as they entered the front door coming home from work. I wondered if Steve would ever even talk to me again, instead of giving me glares and weird looks. I wondered if I'd ever come home from school to see him and Soda arm wrestling at the table, and cheating their way through a game of poker.

I wondered if I'd ever hear another one of Two-bit's stupid jokes that I couldn't help but smile at. I wondered if I'd ever hear his rickety car coming into the driveway, and a minute later he would come through the door, a pack of beer under his arm, coming to watch Mickey Mouse. I wondered if he'd ever rough house or laugh with me like he used to instead of giving me sorry looks in the school's hallway.

I wondered if I'd ever be able to sit and talk to Darry for a day without any screaming. I wondered if he'd ever try to understand what I'd been going through instead of always getting mad at me. I wondered if Darry would ever take us down to the lake on those hotter days like he used to, always packing a lunch to barbeque there. I wondered if I'd ever feel his strong arms wrap around me in a hug instead of watching them flail in the air in anger.

I wondered if I would ever feel Soda crawl into bed and pull me close to him in the night again. I wondered if I'd ever hear his soothing voice and feel his comforting arms around me whenever I had a nightmare. I wondered if I'd ever hear his cheerful singing along to the radio, and see his room empty of beer bottles and cans. I wondered if I'd ever walk to the DX again after school to be greeted by his heartwarming smile as he would ask me about my day. I wondered if I'd ever come home to a plate of purple spaghetti or blue potatoes. I wondered if I'd ever get my big brother back.

But I wasn't sure that I would get any of what I wondered if I chose to live, and the thought of returning to the broken up gang I once would consider family was just too painful to even think about.

Johnny could probably tell I wasn't taking any of this well, so he threw his small arm over my shoulder, and hugged me to him gently.

I sighed, and clenched my eyes shut to stop from crying.

I laid my head on Johnny's shoulder, and manage to smile, despite all the emotions overflowing inside me. Because sure, I'd have to choose. One point or another, I'd have to choose to face the gang again, or leave my life for my parents and my best friend. It was a choice that wasn't one bit easy, but I'd have to make it.

I didn't know what to do. I wanted to cry, and cry, and cry and just let someone else make the decision but I knew I was the one who had to.

But despite the sorrow and despair that wrecked my insides, I smiled, because I had my head leaned on Johnny's shoulder.

I don't know how long we sat there, but I could sit there for days. Because every day for the past month, I wanted one more hug, one more word, one more smile with my best buddy.

And now I finally did, even if it might not last long.

Now I finally had the one thing I wished for since the rumble.

I had Johnny Cake.

XXXX

DALLY'S POV:

Buck kicked me out again.

I started yelling at everyone and starting fights, looking for any bit of information anyone had on what happened to Ponyboy. If that started a fuss, so be it. I wanted to know who the hell hit Pony with their damn car and I was sure as hell going to find out, even if that meant being kicked out of the only place I could spend the night in.

The Curtis's wasn't an option. Definitely not. It's been a week since Pone went into that coma and I haven't spoken to Sodapop once. We've looked at each other a few times, me doing the glaring and him doing the sad stare, but I knew if I opened my mouth, I wouldn't be able to control what would come out. Shoot, that was just talking to him. I didn't know what I could be capable of if I slept over his house. I'd rather sleep in the lot, or possibly Two-bit's. But I don't think Ms. Matthews or Two-bit's little sis like me all that well, even if Two-bit say's otherwise. I wouldn't blame them, they both know my records and habits, I'm surprised Darry lets me stay over his place.

I leaned against the brick wall of Buck's place, listening to the blaring music and loud voices coming from inside, and I started thinking of possible theories about who the hell had the right mind to hit and run Ponyboy.

I mean, sure, hitting anyone ain't no picnic for you either, nobody wants to get hauled in by the fuzz and put in jail for it. That's why people drive off, scared of the consequences, but shoot, the kid's just a kid. Greaser or not, Pony's a fourteen year old scrawny kid who could pass for twelve years old if you didn't get a good look at him. Anybody in their right mind would check on the kid, phone an ambulance as an anonymous, take the kid home, something. Nobody could hit a kid like Ponyboy and have the gut to leave him there.

But I knew some people who would.

The socs.

The no good, trashy, west-side, greaser-beating, snotty, Madras wearing socs, who I know would leave Ponyboy bleeding in the streets without a second thought. So I knew those were the ones who hit Ponyboy. I knew it.

If only there weren't so damn many of them.

I sighed, and lit another cigarette, and snapping out of my thoughts as the door to Buck's swung open, trotting over a semi-drunk, curious looking Two-bit. His eyes met mine, and he darted over to me as I took a long drag on my cigarette.

"Seen you get kicked out again." He started. "What's that, like the third time this week?"

I scoffed, and ran a hand over my chin. "What're you doin' out here?"

"Ah, parties are never the same without Dallas Winston. Figured I'd high tail it out of there and find you." He looked down at his feet. "Thinkin' of goin' to see Pony."

I nodded slightly, and puffed smoke out of my mouth.

"You wanna come?"

I shook my head, and put out my cigarette, throwing the butt on the ground and stamping on it. I've only been to the hospital to see the kid once since the accident. I didn't like it there, not one bit. The annoying beep of his heart monitor, the compression sound of that machine that breathes for him, the whiteness of the room, the stillness of him, everything about it made me want to punch someone until they're unconscious.

I already had too many bad memories from that hospital. I wasn't about to add another one to it.

Besides, why sit in that hospital room by Ponyboy's bed, waiting for him to just slip away, when I could be figuring out who put the kid in the hospital in the first place. I couldn't hurt Sodapop, no matter how much I wanted to. So I had to find out who was driving the damn car that hit Ponyboy on the road.

"They said he's gettin' worse. His stats are gettin' lower each day, and his chances of him waking up are gettin' slimmer and slimmer." He said somberly.

I took a deep breath, and clenched my eyes shut to attempt not to yell out.

"I swear, I'm goin' to find out who did this." I clenched my jaw.

He sighed, and then threw his head up, looking at me with a determined glow in his eyes.

"Let's go." He stated. "I'm done sittin' around, I want to find out who did this as much as you do."

I nodded my head, and gave him a serious look.

"Come on then, you know where we gotta go first."

He nodded his head, lit a cigarette, and we both started down the road taking the alleyways, on route to the alley behind that old burger shack on the west side of town, where we found Pony a week ago.

I clenched my fist, tightened my jaw, and trotted heavily, attempting to look meaner, and Two-bit did the same.

I didn't care if the streets were filled with hundreds of socs tonight, me and Two-bit were going to find out who the hell hurt Ponyboy.

I didn't care if I had to be kicked out of Buck's three more times, or got hauled in the police station myself.

I was going to find out who the hell hurt Ponyboy.

XXXX

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please review, and thank you for reading.

Please let me know who's POV you want featured next chapter!