This is a fluff chapter with plenty to go around for everyone. Dally may be a tad AU but that's just because "the only person Dally ever loved" is being threatened. Knowing Dally that won't go to lightly as discussed in the last chapter.

I don't own the Outsiders.

Ponyboy after calming down decided to stay in his room reading until Darry came in an hour and a half later to get him.

"Pony, dinner's ready," he said/

"Okay," Ponyboy said softly closing his book. Darry gave him a confused look as he closed his book right away. Normally it took a few tries to get Ponyboy to come. Darry ignored his surprise and turned to leave when Ponyboy spoke before he left. "Darry?"

"What is it?" Darry asked but Pony didn't speak or move for a moment. Finally Ponyboy looked to the ground and spoke again.

"Nothing. Just forget it," He said and started walking out of his room with Darry following him to the kitchen where Soda was cooking. Ponyboy went to the one of the cabinets and started getting out plates and silverware for everyone. Steve had long since left so it was just the brothers and Johnny.

"You guys really don't have to do this. You've got enough to worry about with the bills and everything." Johnny said as he sat at the table and for the first time since they arrived, put his switchblade in his pocket.

"It's no problem Johnny. You're as much a part of this family as we are," Ponyboy said.

"I know. I just hate to be too much trouble."

"Who says it's too much trouble? We all have to eat and you just happen to be joining us. You'd think we'd let you go hungry while you're staying with us?" Soda asked while he set his 'green' mashed potatoes on the table.

"I guess not. Those green potatoes sure do look…edible." Johnny said showing a smile for the first time.

"Soda if those potatoes are moldy I swear. Wait, did you actually let the corn stay yellow?" Darry asked as he looked at the corn that was in a pot on the stove.

"Yeah I decided to give them a break; this time," Soda said.

"Sodapop Patrick Curtis actually cooked the corn right. Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Darry said getting the milk out. Once everything was ready, everyone grabbed a plate and started filling it with Sodapop's colorful 'creations' of food. "Okay so we need to discuss plans for tomorrow. Pony, you've got track tomorrow right?"

"Yeah," Pony responded.

"Okay, Johnny I'll see if Dally can swing by and pick you up once school lets out. If not, then I'll think of someone else. Pony, practice is until five right?" Darry asked.

"Five-thirty this time. We've got that track meet on Wednesday," Ponyboy said.

"That's right. Alright I should be off by then. If I'm late then you stay there until I get there. Understand?" Darry said again and Ponyboy nodded. That's when the front door opened and slammed shut while Dally walked in.

"There you are Dal. Did you find anything about…h-him?" Johnny asked.

"Nothing much. This guy's a complete mystery," Dally lied.

"And that's how it's going to be," Darry said.

"Darry wait a minute…" Soda said but was interrupted.

"No Soda. There's no reason we need to worry ourselves with this."

"But don't you think we should know what this guy does so we can be prepared?

"No we shouldn't Sodapop!" Darry yelled and turned to Ponyboy who was staring at his plate ignoring the shouting. Darry knew Ponyboy hated when he and Soda argued. It was him and Pony that always fought; not Soda.

"We don't need to worry about things that aren't going to happen," Darry said trying to reassure Johnny and his brothers.

"We don't have anything valuable that he would want anyway. But why does he kidnap and kill random kids?" Ponyboy asked Darry.

"I don't know Pone. There are just some sick people out there," he responded.

"Are greasers sick people Darry? Are we any different from him?" Johnny asked and no one had a straight answer right away. Darry was about to talk but it was Dally who spoke up first. He pulled up a chair and sat next to Johnny.

"Look man. I was in jail when I was ten years old and trust me; I've seen some sick people in there. Yeah it's true us greasers rob stores, get drunk, and jump socs and kids just because we can. A few of us here and there may be like that but as far as this group is concerned, we all have a fine line that we don't cross. You and Pony have hung out with me loads of times and know that I don't take crap from anyone. I'm a tuff greaser but I don't go around and kill random kids just because. Sure I'll scare them and maybe roughen them up if I'm not in a good mood but I'd never go as far as kidnap and torture kids like Lynch does. That's what makes us different from that killer and don't you ever think otherwise." He said and Johnny nodded in approval.

After dinner was through and Ponyboy and Johnny finished washing the dishes, they both went outside on the deck to watch the sunset.

"You know I've really wanted to show Dally one of these; especially after we came back and all." Johnny said watching the sunset decorate the sky with gold.

"Yeah. I got Soda and Darry to sit out here once with me. I could tell Darry didn't like it as much as I did but they both just sat with me until it was gone. I really liked that. We didn't have to worry about Socs or the state splitting us up. We were together and that's all that seemed to matter. It was like you said; there's still good in the world."

"That's why I want to show Dally this. I told you what that author of that poem meant about being gold when you're young. You've got hardly any worries to worry about when you're a kid. Dally has to worry about everything like getting hauled in and being tuff around everyone. The only people he really has are us. I think when he sees this it'll remind him that there's still hope and good in the world."

"Knowing Dally I don't think he'll really care but it's worth a shot." Ponyboy said. The two buddies continued to watch the sunset until it was gone and the stars were starting to come out. "So…I guess we better head in now." Ponyboy said and Johnny silently followed him back into the house. The group had settled down after having some chocolate cake for dessert and watching some television.

Break*Break*Break

Johnny had fallen asleep on the couch a few hours later and the brothers decided that it was time for bed. Dally had left to see if he could get any more information about Lynch or what he did from some of the other greaser gangs like the Shepards. Soda had gone to the bedroom he shared with Ponyboy and Darry went to his own room after getting one of the spare blankets to cover Johnny up with. Ponyboy just lay in bed staring at the window wondering where Lynch was and what he was thinking. The thoughts made him shiver and move closer to Soda who had thrown an arm around him in response. This made Ponyboy settle down a little and finally drift off to sleep. Unfortunately that didn't last long as a soft whimper was heard.

"Pony?" Soda asked sitting up. Ponyboy sat up and when Soda saw it wasn't him who whimpered, he jumped out of bed. He went into the living room and saw Johnny was the one whimpering and shaking on the couch.

"Hey, come on Johnny wake up now. It's just a dream," Soda said softly. The whimpering got louder and Darry came running out of his own room. Ponyboy did too and went over with Soda to try and wake up Johnny. Tears were rolling down his cheek and he was breathing short gasps. Finally Johnny's eyes shot open and he started sobbing. Soda lifted him up and held him close. "Shhh…it's alright Johnnycake it's alright. You're safe now. It was just a bad dream." Soda continued rocking him.

"H-he was here," Johnny whispered.

"Who was?" Darry asked.

"I saw Lynch. He was here. He wanted to kill me," Johnny sobbed.

"He's not here Johnny. It was a nightmare." Ponyboy said trying to consult his friend.

"No! I saw him! He has a gun he's gonna kill me!" He yelled.

"Shhh…he's gone now Johnny. No one's gonna hurt you now." Soda said rubbing his back.

"Dally…...Dally." Johnny started to moan.

After a few minutes, Soda somehow got Johnny calmed down enough to stop screaming and the door flew open. Everyone flinched until Dally walked in looking worried surprisingly. As soon as Johnny saw Dally, he jumped up and run towards him hugging all he was worth.

"Dal…I can't do this. I just know he's gonna come after me," Johnny said.

"No he ain't. I'll kill him if he does!" Dally shouted as a matter of fact. This caused his icy blue eyes to turn murderous. The gang had seen this look on Dally after Johnny had gotten jumped and it was best to stay far away from him if you didn't know him; he was very dangerous at this state. This made the radio broadcast that had played at the DX earlier echo in Ponyboy's head.

"…Lynch is considered armed and dangerous."

"…spotted near Tulsa High School…"

"…serial killer…"

"…teenagers' ages thirteen through sixteen…"

"…murderer…"

He then looked at Darry and then at Soda. The thoughts he was thinking earlier in his room were now in full swing. There was nothing stopping this man from getting what or who he wanted; not even the fuzz could stop him and Johnny knew this too. If the police wasn't able to stop Lynch from doing those horrible things…then that meant neither could Darry. Sure Dally was one of the toughest in the group but as far as Ponyboy was concerned, it was Darry and Soda who he always called for when he was in trouble. They were always there whenever he was jumped, sick, or had a nightmare. But there was no way Darry or Soda could save him if Lynch wanted him. Darry would risk his life if it meant keeping his little brothers safe. And that's exactly what Ponyboy was afraid of.

"Pony? Are you alright honey?" Soda asked snapping him out of his thinking. His face had turned pale and was starting to shake like Johnny had been.

"I…"Ponyboy said. He really wished he had a cigarette to calm him down but decided against trying to find one. He started backing away from Soda before bumping into Darry who put his hand on his shoulder once he faced him. Ponyboy knew his green eyes were full of panic but that wasn't something he'd wanted to show Darry as he had enough on his plate to worry about.After all he wasn't a potential target for a serial killer.

"Pone?" Darry asked.

"I-I'm okay. Just a little spooked." He said taking a deep breath and keeping the tears in his eyes from falling. It took a good twenty minutes for Johnny to calm down enough for Dally to lead him back to the couch. The gang's pet was exhausted but refused to go to sleep.

"Come on Johnny. I'll stay here with you tonight if you want." Dally said. This seemed to be good enough for Johnny as he at last closed his eyes and was out cold within seconds.

"Let's go back to bed Pony. Dally's got this," Soda said. Pony followed Soda back into the room with Darry close behind. Then Darry leaned on the doorframe watching Soda and Ponyboy get back into bed. Darry started to leave for his own bed when Ponyboy spoke before he left.

"Darry wait." Ponyboy said. "Can you stay for a minute? Please?"

"Alright little man," Darry said. Then he shut the door and sat on the left side of the bed next to Ponyboy.

"Pony, I know there's something going on besides this serial killer. I can't help you if you don't tell me," Darry said.

"Don't talk about him! Please." Ponyboy begged.

"I know you're scared baby. I'm scared too but I keep telling you he'll never get you." Darry continued knowing he was getting somewhere.

"But you and Soda won't be able to protect me from him!" Ponyboy said and as soon as the words were out, he covered his mouth and his eyes went wide. Soda had gasped when he heard this and was instantly petrified. Darry nearly leaped off the bed as he heard something he'd thought he'd never hear. He was as still as death as he looked at the only person that mattered right now. He had heard these words before but only in his deepest nightmares. The room was dead silent as both Soda and Darry tried to take in what they heard.

"You think that I…" Darry said but couldn't continue. That's when a few tears started to overflow and roll down Ponyboy's cheek. Ponyboy quickly swiped them away with his head down trying to avoid eye contact with his brothers.

"The fuzz can't even stop him from killing all those kids. If they can't do it, then Lynch can take whatever he wants easily; even from you." Darry and Soda looked at each other and then right back to their little brother.

"Oh baby…you don't think I can protect you from him?" Darry said gently cupping Ponyboy's cheek getting him to look at him.

"He's too good Darry. Lynch is looking for kids like me; not you. I don't wanna lose you too." Ponyboy sobbed as more tears started to roll.

"Honey you let us worry about protecting you. That's our job." Soda said starting wipe some of the tears off Ponyboy's face.

"But we're all we got left now. You said so yourself Soda," Ponyboy continued.

"You're right; we are all we got left now. But that's why we gotta stick together and stay close. And if someone tries to split us apart like Lynch or the state, then you let me deal with that. You just focus on your schoolwork. Understand?" Darry said. Ponyboy nodded and the three brothers embraced.

"We love you so much Ponyboy. That creep will have to go through us if he touches you," Soda said. Ponyboy didn't know how, but being held in the safety of his older brothers made him fall fast asleep right after giving off a small grin.

Ahh there's so much irony in this chapter. We know what's gonna happen but we're just waiting for it to happen like a predator stalking it's prey. Well sorry Ponyboy and Johnny but that'll be coming up here soon.

(Dodges punches from the gang)

Review if you enjoyed! Now excuse me while I run away from some angry brothers and a few tough greasers.

LaurenHardy13