37.

Part 2.

It felt useless going to school after the morning they had, but it felt even more useless to sulk at home, bearing the brunt of Mrs. Carter's glares and Sam's incessant begging for someone to play robots with him. Having just barely convinced her mother to let her go, Ellie followed Johnny down the twisting blocks in sullen silence.

"We'll figure it out." Johnny tried to reassure her just before they parted ways in the hall. "Dally won't let you go, anyhow. Even if he has to kidnap you."

She was hardly convinced, but squeezed his forearm before trudging further into the school. He wouldn't have been surprised if she was heading to a bathroom stall or in the back lot with Two-Bit instead of to class. Johnny would have been right with her if he had a choice, but one more missed attendance and he would be facing a repeat of junior year. He could always quit- really wanted to quit- but every time he mentioned it Ellie would give him her best heartbroken stare and Pony would go on long tangents about the future, and Darry threatened to give him a hard whack over the head. Johnny was too smart for that- apparently. For Soda and Steve and Dally it was fine, because there wasn't anything in a textbook that was useful to them. But around the east-side, God gives a kid half a brain and a sliver of hope to make something out of himself, and suddenly he loses the right to throw that all away. Johnny could understand that. It'd be too damn depressing. Didn't mean he enjoyed sitting on his ass and doing the same damn math problems over and over again, all for a slip of paper that told the world he was educated enough to function.

Not that I'll have much choice after tomorrow. Johnny thought blackly, sitting in physics class. He was more intent on doodling in the margins of his textbook than listening to whatever the teacher was droning on about. In the very real chance that Ellie was leaving, there was a lot for him to consider when it came to his future alone. As far as he was concerned, it was either quit school and work full time to afford his own place, or move back with his parents. Honestly, seeing his mother again didn't sound so awful right at that moment- another one of his insane thoughts he found difficult to dismiss, and even harder to pick apart.

Someone laughed in the hallway, loud and piercing in the lazy silence that weighed over the classroom. It caught Johnny off guard- but everything caught him off guard lately. He had to pry his fingers away from the edge of his desk, fixing his face to hide the terror written across it. Still, he must have gasped; to his left, Adam Richards, a pimply greaser, gave him a look that grumbled 'get a hold of yourself, man'.

He sunk low in his seat and sighed.

Johnny spent lunch hiding in the library, then bee-lined out of the building the minute the last bell rang. He should have waited for Ellie; he knew that bailing on her was the worst thing he could possibly do right now. But Dallas was likely waiting for her in the back lot anyway and honestly, he didn't have any clue how they were going to convince her mother to let her stay. The woman seemed pretty set, and in the end, Ellie was still a minor. There was very little they could do to get around it.

There wasn't any specific direction he had aimed for. He didn't have work that day, and if anything he should have gone to the library to keep on track with his homework and school projects. Instead he found himself wandering around the town, much like he had before Ellie; when he spent hours at the arcade or the Dingo, or the park, just avoiding home. Only this time he jumped whenever he heard a certain rumble of a car, or broke out into a cold sweat whenever a Soc passed by. He kept his hands tucked into his pockets, both for warmth and to keep his new switchblade in grip.

Johnny kept telling himself to calm down, but there was nothing to do. Every time he stepped outside, every stranger looked like a murderer and empty places gave him the creeps. He was beginning to regret not waiting around for Ellie- or at least Ponyboy. It seemed like he couldn't function without someone to watch his back.

It took an hour to walk into downtown Tulsa. Johnny wandered around for a bit, staring wishfully through store windows selling real tuff clothes. He could use some new jeans, and maybe a few shirts that weren't stained with grease or blood. He wasn't so big on fashion, which meant being a Greaser - really only requiring a leather jacket and a fist-sized glob of hair grease- was both easy on his mind and pocket. When window shopping for himself got boring, he started browsing for the others instead. Christmas was only a month or so away, after all, and while they hadn't ever put too much effort to buy each other gifts before, Ellie had gotten into their heads about the wonders of 'Secret Santa'.

When the biting cold became too much, he started to make his way back. He passed the arcade, but the games were all so ancient and overplayed that it didn't make sense to waste money playing them again. Maybe if someone had beat his score on Super Cobra, but he had been reigning champion in that game for two years and it was unlikely to change any time soon. He did stop to play the Crane machine, snatching up a little stuffed giraffe that he hoped would both distract Ellie and earn him some forgiveness for bailing all day.

Johnny wasn't really that surprised to find himself passing his old house- though he took care to be on the other side of the street. Nor was he surprised to find himself turn around at the end of the block to pass by it again... and again... and again. Eventually he stopped walking and stood stock still in front of the old, dilapidated thing, taking quick note of the dark, lifeless rooms inside. No one was home. His father was at the bar and his mother had taken a later shift at work- he knew this simply because there was no other place they could be. No friends, no family. Just the three of them- or, two now, he supposed.

Figuring it wouldn't hurt, Johnny crossed the street and walked up to his porch to get a better look inside. It looked the same... felt the same. The same stiff laundry hanging over the railing, the rusty lawn chair by the door, covered in cobwebs, the boarded up window panel on the left side. The same churning weight in his chest as he stepped onto the porch and dug the key out from under the frayed doormat. The floor creaked under the weight of his boots. He used to know exactly where to walk so that there was not even a whisper of sound, and still did, but there was a weird pride in being able to stomp around freely without feeling as if someone was about to crack his skull open. He even made a good round around the living room, inspecting the old, broken ottoman with a hard look of disdain. The dozen or so whiskey bottles littered around it didn't go unnoticed. His mother hadn't been cleaning them up like she usually did.

"Stupid shithole." Johnny expressed to the empty room, burrowing his hands in his pocket. He wondered what it would be like, coming back- if he could come back. He'd get a good beating first and foremost, then a long tongue-lashing from his mother that would last over a week. The thought made his resolve hardened, his fingers wrapping around his switchblade once more.

Johnny hurried out of the living room, mostly because it was making him nuts again. He thought the feeling would subside in the kitchen, or the bathroom, or upstairs in his parents room (where he stole a handful of his baby pictures found stashed in a tin can under the bed), but if anything it only intensified. Having saved his bedroom for last, it took a few moments and a deep breath to open his door. This was the one room he didn't want to enter; he was scared that some stupid, melancholy memory would pop up and he'd start getting all attached to the place again. He was almost relieved to find the room trashed- at least, worse that it was before. The mattress that made up his bed was torn up, the springs poking out like reeds in a lake. The only other piece of furniture, his dresser, had been thrown face down into the floor. There were three foot-sized holes in the back. Johnny made quick work of heaving it up again, then salvaged the few articles of clothing he found worthy enough to take. Just a few shirts and a jean jacket.

Then he sat down on the smooth corner of his mattress and laid back against the wall, asking himself if he could really go back to all of this. All the sneaking in and out, the screaming, the hunger pangs, the swollen, aching body parts. Living with two people that were supposed to love him, yet couldn't even tolerate his presence.

No. No more beatings for him. If his father, or anyone so much as thought about laying a hand on him, he'd slit their throat. That wasn't some hot-headed bluff, either. He'd do it. In his eyes there wasn't anything that could happen to him that was worse than a beating. He'd kill himself, if he had to. He wasn't going home.

Ellie wasn't, either. Not if he could help it.

Two-Bit found him walking home at dusk. Johnny wanted to yell at himself for freaking out (again) when the car pulled up to his left. When he crawled into the passenger seat, Two-Bit was trying to hide a guilty expression.

"Sorry, kiddo." He smiled sheepishly. "They really messed you up good, didn't they?"

"...Uh huh." Was all he could say, flapping the front of his shirt to let the air cool him down. Two-Bit didn't know the half of it.

He was silent as he pulled back onto the road, but Two-Bit was never silent for long.

"Today's been a real shit-show, huh?" He went on, tapping his fingers against the wheel. He glanced at him. "And where the hell have you been, anyway? Nobodys seen you all day. Thought you'd gotten into trouble again."

Johnny showed him the clothes slung over his arm. "Went home- went to my parent's house, I mean."

Two-Bit glanced at him again, neither surprised or expecting. Instead he hummed and nodded, as if he could possibly understand the dumb, crazy thoughts that had lead to Johnny going back to the one place he despised the most.

"Is this about Ellie?" The older boy questioned. "About her leavin'?"

Johnny shrugged. Yeah, it was about that. But it was about... about something else too.

Two-Bit clapped him on the shoulder. "Awe, hell, Johnnycake. You know she'll be back. We'll just go and sneak her out of whatever boarding school she gets thrown in."

"Assuming she'd want to leave." Johnny added, knowing school was one of Ellie's top priorities. Running away from boarding school meant not being able to continue her education at Will Rogers- a consequence that she would take very seriously.

"She will." Two-Bit nodded, with all the confidence in the world. "She'll miss us too much - especially Dally, if he let's her leave in the first place."

"Maybe." Johnny conceded, too tired to argue. He leaned his head against the window, finally beginning to feel the ache in his legs from walking half the city. He rubbed his face with his hand. "I really don't want her to go, Two-Bit."

He nodded. "Okay. So stop her, Johnnycake."

It was oddly gratifying to hear those words. So stop her. If there was anyone in the world that could make even the most difficult, complicated situations into something easy and simple, it was Two-Bit.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Johnny asked, feeling a fraction more hopeful. He needed to stop hiding away by himself, especially when his friends were the way out of the dark. "Kill her mother?"

"I'll help. Who needs parents, anyway?"

"Say that in front of your mom."

The jokester grinned. "Alright, alright. Maybe that's a little too dramatic. How about we kidnap her? Hide her in Darry's basement."

"They don't even have a basement."

"Attic?"

Johnny rolled his eyes. "No. Two-Bit, you've hung out in that house almost all your life and you don't even know that it's one storey?"

"Whatever, man!" The older boy scoffed, turning into the driveway of the house they were currently speaking of. "Just go and rescue our princess, will ya'? Before her evil step-mom gets a hold of her."

It was Danny that caught Johnny by the arm as he entered the house.

"Come here." He ground out, his grip tight with anger. Though it didn't seem to be sourced from Johnny. The older boy lead them into the empty dining room.

"You've gotta keep the dogs here." Danny insisted in a quick, urgent tone, keeping a close eye on the open entrance way. "The dogs and the- the bags. I can't afford to take all that shit with us right now."

Johnny shrugged. "Fine, if Ellie stays here too."

Danny honed in on him. "Keep the damn bags safe, Johnny, or else Ellie won't be goin' to a damn boarding school. She'll be going to prison."

He slid out of the room without another word, hurrying down the hall and out the front door. Johnny slid halfway out the doorframe to watch him leave, brows furrowed in confusion. Life was weird, but at least it had presented an opportunity. Maybe this was the way he'd get Ellie to stay.

He flipped into the hall, passing the living room where Sam sat alone on the couch, chattering idly to his robot while Bugs Bunny played on the t.v. As he hiked up the staircase he could hear Ellie and her mother arguing.

"-Leave!" The young girl was shouting as he followed their voices through the upper hall. "I have a life here! I have friends- people I love!"

"Life is about sacrifice, Elizabeth." Came Mrs. Carter's more steady tone, speaking as she would to a stubborn ten-year-old. "I'm your mother. I know what's best, even if it doesn't seem like the right choice by your standards."

Johnny slowed as he got to the door, choosing to hang around by the opposite wall of the door than interrupt their argument. It was becoming very clear that nothing they could say would change the woman's mind, anyway.

"What do you expect to do here?" Mrs. Carter went on, coming into view with an armful of dresses. She went to the bed where Ellie sat and placed them beside a suitcase. She began to fold them neatly before placing them inside, her daughter watching with a miserable scowl. "This isn't normal, running around Tulsa without any boundaries or supervision. Girls your age should be worrying about the newest hair trends, not bills. Can you blame me for wanting a normal, wholesome life for you?"

"It's a little too late for wholesome, mom." Ellie mumbled sourly and fell back onto her bed in frustration. "Wholesome fell out the window when half our family got thrown in jail and you sent me to Tulsa to guard a couple thousand dollars worth of guns."

Mrs. Carter straightened and faced her daughter fully. "That was not my fault. I never wanted any of this for you. I begged and begged your father to let me take you to Washington, but he refused. So if you want to point fingers it better be at him." She turned back to packing the clothes, forming a neat stack inside the suitcase. "All I'm trying to do is put your life back on track, Elizabeth. The daughter I knew would have been grateful."

"Grateful?" Her daughter let out a bitterly amused huff. "Why are you so convinced I've changed? I'm exactly who I was before, just a bit older- smarter. Is that why you're so mad? Because I'm not the same dumb, ignorant little girl?"

"Elizabeth, that's-"

"Well, I guess I'm horrible now, mom!" She continued, her voice growing as she sat back up. "You wouldn't believe all the evil, sinful things I've done! I've drank, I've stolen, I've surrounded myself with the wrong sort. And the worst of the worst, I've slept with someone without being married to him!"

In a fit of anger, Ellie got up and gathered up the clothes her mother had packed in her arm. She brought them over to the dresser, wrenched the drawer open and stuffed the clothes inside. She turned back to Mrs. Carter, glaring at the irritated, tight-lipped expression it received. She was having one of her rare moments of bravery, but Johnny could still spot the tears damming in her silvery eyes. "No matter what you do, no matter what stupid boarding school you send me to, it's not going to change that. I'm still going to be a mess and I'm still going to love him, and there's nothing in the whole world that can keep me from coming back here. So you can stay here and watch me, or you can go back to your weird new family in Washington, but I'm not going with you!"

Ellie's mother stepped towards her daughter, not hostile but firm- resolute. She reached into the open drawer and pulled the bundle of clothes back out, pressing them into her daughter's chest. "You don't have to pack anything, darling, but if you don't you'll be wearing the same dress for the whole drive home."

Both Ellie and Johnny had the same forlorn stares as Mrs. Carter stepped out of the room. He watched her glide down the hall, disappearing down the steps without so much as a glance to acknowledge him.

Ellie flung the clothes to the floor and grabbed his hand, pulling him further into the room.

"Where the hell is Dallas?" She cried in a whisper.

"You haven't seen him?" Johnny would have expected the blond to have come wandering back to Ellie by now.

She released him, running her hands through the roots of her hair and then left them perched on top her head as if it could contain her panic. "Oh God, that bastard left, didn't he?"

There was a good chance of that, he had to admit, but there was also a good chance he was out concocting some grand plan to keep her here- or just getting drunk. Instead of answering, Johnny turned to the bed and pulled the suitcase off. It clattered loudly to the floor, followed quickly by Ellie's clothes.

"Come here." He grabbed both her hands and pulled her to the bed, sitting them both down on the edge of the mattress. With his sleeve he wiped away the tears burning down her cheeks. "Dally's around... somewhere, alright? I can bet you he'll show up last minute, punch your mum in the face, and run off with you into the sunset. Everything'll be back the way it was in less than a week."

Ellie let out a tearful laugh, just for his sake. "Okay, Johnny. Sure."

"Really." He went on, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "We've been through worse, right? This is nothing."

She leaned into him, dropping her head on his shoulder and wiping the rest of her tears away with her hand. She sniffed, then replied in a more convinced tone. "Okay, Johnny."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stuffed giraffe with a crushed face. "Anyway, if that bastard doesn't show I got your replacement boyfriend right here."

Ellie woke up to a palm against her cheek, hot and clammy. Her face furrowed from the abrupt pull from sleep, a hand instinctively moving to where Johnny had laid down beside her earlier that night. The bed was empty, but leaning over her was Dally.

"Wake up, Princess." He called somewhat impatiently, "Come on, now. Wake the hell up."

"I am awake." Ellie pushing him away so she had room to sit up. She flicked the lamp on and the room burst suddenly with light. Dallas sat down as she pulled her legs up to her chest. He was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, his jaw clenched in an attempt to control his rapid breathing. When he moved an arm up to his face to wipe the perspiration away, his sleeve rose to show a long, gruesome scrape along his wrist and upwards.

"God, Dally." She gasped, reaching for his hand to get a better look. She should have been relieved to see him, the one person who wanted her to stay in Tulsa the most, yet his state only made her weary. "What happened to you? Another fight?"

"Naw." He replied, turning away so he could shed his jacket, using his shirt to mop the sweat from his chest and arms before tossing it to the ground.

She watched him wearily. "You look like you ran a mile."

"Ran more than that." He admitted, kicking off the bed to wrench open the a dresser drawer and take out another shirt, then sat back down as he threw it over his head. "Your fucking mother's still here, huh?"

"I told her I'm not going. She isn't convinced." Ellie leaned back against the headboard. "So I hope you have a plan, Winston."

Dallas sighed, immersing his fingers in his damp, white-gold hair to scratch at his scalp. He looked troubled, but for some reason Ellie was beginning to get the impression that his apprehension wasn't for her, and that something even more serious had happened in the hours between now and that morning. She was going to pry further when Dallas took her hands in his, pulling her onto his lap.

"This is my plan, Els." Dally said sedately, holding her by the hips while her arms curled around his neck. Bending down until their foreheads touched, he told her softly, "Grow a pair and tell your mother to fuck off."

"Dallas." She complained, slapping his shoulder. "I'm serious!"

He grabbed her backside and hiked her further onto him, a half-assed smirk forming. "Me too. Look, your brother doesn't want you leavin' town and neither does Johnny. If you say no, it's not like they're going to help her force ya'."

"Okay, sure, because it's that simple." Ellie scoffed, kicking her feet out behind him and sitting further on her bottom, forcing his hands up to a more respectable position for fear of being crushed underneath. "Except when it was you and your father in this same situation, you were running around like a puppy with its tail between its legs."

His jaw clenched, icy-blue eyes narrowing in slight irritation. For a second, Ellie thought she may have gone too far- but that damn smirk was still fluttering across his face. A jittery warmth pooled in her stomach at the sight of it.

This was it; this is what she wanted for the rest of her life. To be able to lounge around in bed with Dallas, happy and without a care in the world. To know she'd never have to say goodbye again- to anyone. Yet, things hardly every turned out the way she thought they would.

"I'm going to make you regret that comparison." Dallas growled, flipping her onto the mattress. He bent down to catch her squeal of laughter with a kiss, nipping playfully at her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry." Ellie teased, smiling against his mouth, "I mean't to say 'big, scary, ferocious wolf... with its tail between its legs."

"Better." Was all Dallas said, as if distracted by the taste of her lips. He kissed her again, slowly this time, savoring the way her hips curved against his hands and how soft the skin was on her stomach. Ellie responded in kind, brushing her hands through his hair and down the back of his neck, scratching tenderly with her nails in the places that sent lightning bolts down his spine. His chest rumbled with a growl- then a hiss as the lace on her nightgown caught on the scab forming over his forearm and wrenched painfully at the skin.

Ellie shoved him off to the side, but kept a firm grip on his hand and elbow to inspect the wound. "How the hell did you get yourself so roughed up, Dallas?"

"Just forget it. Doesn't hurt." He pulled the arm around her waist and burrowed his face in her side. His intentions, like usual, were either to sleep or sleep with her, but not to argue. Granted, Ellie didn't want to argue either; she just wanted to stop worrying about him. The only time he kept this clammed up was if he had done something particularly awful.

"Dallas, please."

He groaned, his breath tingly hot through her clothing. "Well, since you asked nicely."

"Dallas..." Ellie whined when Dallas didn't continue. She slid back down to be level with him, wound an arm around his upper torso, and pressed a small kiss to his shoulder. "Please, Dally?"

Dallas gave her a half-hearted glare. "No."

She grabbed hold of the hair at the base of his neck and tugged.

"Ah! Crap, woman!" He snarled, pinching her side in retaliation. "What's wrong with you?"

"Tell me what you did, Winston."

Dallas sat up and ran a hand through his hair again. "I scraped it running, alright?"

"Running from what?"

"From the cops, obviously. Ain't no body else I'll run from."

"The cops?" Ellie repeated, rising as well. She caught his chin and forced him to lock eyes with her. "Why?"

"I was shootin' the breeze with Tim, walkin' around the town. Saw this blue car parked just a little ways past the track-"

Ellie sighed. "God, Dallas, tell me you didn't."

"Of course I did!" Dallas snapped, " Don't fucking look at me like that. I busted that shit car good, and I would have done the owner the same if he'd been around! You think I would have let that go? After everything?"

He scoffed and turned away, the muscles in his arms pulsing as his hands clenched. Ellie felt a twinge of remorse. She could remember how angry he had been the day she and Johnny were jumped- how badly he had wanted to do something but never got the chance.

Ellie dropped her forehead against his shoulder, running a hand along his upper arm where it wasn't bleeding. "Lie down. It's late."

"I'm not here to sleep." Dallas admitted, slipping from her grasp. He crawled over her to get out of bed, shoving his feet into his muddy shoes. "I need to get goin'."

Ellie's brows furrowed. "Go? Where?"

"Anywhere." Dallas shrugged. "You were the closest place to lie low for a bit, but I'm better off finding someplace they're not goin' to look."

"Where?" She repeated pointedly, pulling her legs in as he stepped to the mirror to fix his hair.

Dallas shrugged.

"Great!" Ellie scoffed, loud enough to wake the whole house. "Really great. Don't expect me to be around when you get back, then, because I'll be halfway to Washington with my mother."

He glanced back at her through the mirror. "Don't be like that. You stick up to your mom, I'll lay low for a few days. Ain't the end of the world."

Ellie stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Was he serious? Was anything that ever happened to them as easy as they thought it as going to be?

She slid back down in bed, facing the wall, and threw the covers up past her ear. "Fine."

"Els." Dallas growled, and she could hear his footsteps coming closer. "Quit it."

There was no answer. He pulled the duvet from her face. "You gonna sulk or you gonna kiss me goodbye?"

"I don't want to kiss you goodbye." Ellie told him in a voice that was far too small and watery. "You're not supposed to go anywhere... not after last time."

"This isn't like last time." He tried to roll her over, but she kept squirming further away from him. "Els, seriously."

There was a creak in the hallway- the sound of a footstep on hardwood.

Dallas bent down and kissed her on the corner of her mouth, then retreated through the bedroom window. When he was gone she peaked out, but the room was cold and empty and the lamp had been flicked off.

Wow! Look at me, updating on time! Miracle! Astounding!

Anyway, some good old fashion depressed-Johnny and Ellie/Dallas in this chapter- or really, half a chapter. Hoped you guys enjoyed it. Nothing too major happened, but it needed to be written! Despite the situation playing out rn, next chapter will be a bit more fun and hopefully we'll be able to see the whole gang hanging out again. But who knows! I haven't written a whole lot of it yet. I'm working on it!

Thank you so much for the continued support and reviews! Glad to hear from some old faces and some new as well! I'm actually very surprised and grateful to see how popular this story is!

Can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts and predictions. Is Ellie really going to leave? Is Johnny going to be okay? Is Dallas going to freaking jail? Let's hope not, for Ellie's sake!

Ciao!