"Please Don't Go!"
Ponyboy tiptoed into my room. I was guessing he wasn't allowed to be here.
"Hey, Lor, you awake?" he whispered.
"Yeah, I'm awake," I whispered back.
He came next to me and sat on the bed. He spoke, "I just visited Dal and Johnny. Dally will be alright, but Johnny… he doesn't look too good. I'm not sure he'll make it."
I started hyperventilating. I wanted to see Johnny. I needed to see Johnny. He needed to see me.
I managed to push myself out of bed and go to Johnny's room, which was right across the hall from me. Dally's was at the end of the hall, but I saw him sitting on a chair beside him. His whole arm was bandaged. He was looking down at Johnny with sad eyes.
"How are ya, Dal?" I asked. It looked like the tough Dallas Winston was gonna cry in front of a girl! I got real scared. He mumbled something. I walked over to Johnny's bed. It was a miracle I wasn't crying yet.
"Johnnycakes, you okay?" No, he wasn't okay. His whole back, shoulders and arms were burned and he had trouble breathing. (Lying on his stomach didn't help the case.) He managed to shake his head. I gently ran my fingers through his hair, just the way he likes it. He smiled and tried to laugh.
"Need water." He must have been dehydrated, the poor boy. Ponyboy gave him a glass with a straw. After drinking the water, Dally spoke up.
"Come on, kid! You can get through this! Johnny, you're like a brother to me. Please, don't bail out on me." Dally lost it. He started shaking violently.
"Aw, Dal, don't worry. I'll always be there for ya," Johnny said.
Before we left, a nurse said that Johnny's mom was in the lobby waiting to talk to him, but he obviously refused the offer. "We had sixteen years to talk," he stated, "and she wants to apologize now? Hell no." The nurse shrugged and left.
A few minutes later, Dally and I went back to our rooms. Ponyboy was allowed to go home with Darry and Sodapop, since he only had minor injuries. Dally and I could leave the hospital in an hour. There was gonna be a huge rumble that night. Darry told us when he and the rest of the gang came to visit earlier. I was sleeping at the time. This rumble was going to prove that the Greasers are as good as, if not better than, the Socs. If we won, then the Socs would have to leave the East side, our territory, and never come back. If they won, it would be vice-versa, and they'd still be aloud to kick our asses.
Dally wanted to go this rumble, but the doctor wouldn't let him. Of course, being the sneaky person Dally is, he threatened the doctor with his switchblade (God knows how he brought it in the hospital in the first place) and ran out. I eventually started to die of boredom, and then worried about Johnny again. I went back to his room and sat in a chair. I went back to his room and sat in a chair, holding his hand like the time he was jumped by Socs. Johnny slept the whole time, but I talked to him anyway. I must have cried, too, because every now and then my vision was blurred.
After an hour or so, he woke up. "Lori, that you?"
"Yeah, Johnny. It's me," I answered.
"Where's everyone else?"
"They went to a rumble. Pony and Dally should be back soon." And they were. Five minutes later, they walked in. Ponyboy looked terrible! His forehead was cut and bruised and he had a split lip. He was holding his stomach, which I guess was hurting because a bastard kicked him. Dally's jaw was bleeding, and the corner of his mouth was skinned off. (Gross!)
"How was it?" I asked with anticipation.
"We won! They're not gonna be coming back ever!" Pony said happily. I took
some clean bandages from the countertop and taped it onto his head. I'd hate for him to get an infection.
"Johnny's awake," I told him and Dally.
"Good job, guys," he said with his eyes closed.
"How you feeling, Johnnycakes?" Dally asked.
"Not too good, man. I think I'm gonna die. I mean, I'd rather die than feel this pain, you dig? I don't want to leave my friends, but you know how it is." The whole time Johnny said this; he was shaking and letting out groans. "Ponyboy, can you read the copy of Gone with the Wind that Two-Bit got earlier?"
"Sure thing, Johnny," he answered and started to read. We all kept quiet and listened for ten minutes until Ponyboy came to a scene where Scarlet looks at the sky, which is described as a blood-red and crimson color. Johnny spoke up.
"That must be awful. To look up at the sky and see the world like it's coming to an end. I'm glad there's such a thing as a sunset." He then paused. "I'm gonna miss you guys," he said sorrowfully as tears streamed down his face, as did mine. Dally looked alarmed.
"Man, what the hell are you talking about? You can get through this! Hand though!" Ponyboy sat in his chair, dumbfounded.
"The doctor came in when all or you were gone. He said I won't make it," Johnny said softly. "Dally, you're like a big brother to me," Dally kept shaking his head 'no', as if he didn't want to hear it, but Johnny kept talking. "You've protected me from lots of Socs and always kept an eye on me. Don't go beatin' yourself up for what you've done, man." Dally stayed quiet, holding his head in his hands. "Lorraine, you'll always be shining brightly. I couldn't see any girl that could be as brave and beautiful as you. You're my girl. You always will be, no matter who you're with. You've always made me happy. I love you." At this, I ruffled his hair and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled.
"I love you, too, Johnnycakes."
"Ponyboy, by far you're my best friend. I don't know what to say, man. You taught me everything there is to know about sunsets and the rest of life. You just gotta deal with it. Tell Darry I said 'thanks' for taking me in hundreds of times whenever I came to your place. Tell Soda, Steve, Two-Bit and Sarah I said 'goodbye'." He breathed and sighed. "I never though I'd die young. I'm gonna miss you guys. You'd better miss me, too. And remember: Stay gold." He closed his eyes, never to open them again.
"Please don't go, Johnny! Please don't go!" I screamed. Pony tried to comfort me. Dally was grieving. He got out of his chair.
"No! Johnny! Wake up!" Wow. The guy I thought had a rep of being tough,
was now crying from emotional pain! Dallas Winston- a JD, a hood. This made me and Pony realize how real the situation was, and that made us cry harder and longer.
A nurse soon came in and covered Johnny up with a sheet. She told us to go home and get plenty of rest. Dally ran out to his flashy car.
"Where the hell are you goin'?" I managed to ask him.
"None of your business," he replied. He still had a gloomy look on his face. "You two can walk home, remember? No more Socs on the East Side." He drove off. I took a deep breath. Pony and I had to tell everyone what happened- Johnny was gone.