Sarah126: thanks

yeah, kaum zu glauben aber wahr lol

4. The unthinkable's true: Johnny's away!

Two-Bit and Pony arrived at Pony's house.

Pony ran ahead, flung the door open and yelled, "Soda, Soda, hurry up! Johnny's away..."

"Pony? What's up? What 'bout Johnny?" Soda asked confused.

"Johnny... he... he is away..." Pony repeated.

Two-Bit came into the house.

"What do ya mean?" Darry asked and appeared behind Soda.

"Johnny ran away! He's away! Don't ya understand?" Pony yelled.

"Kid, ya clearly read too many books." Steve said with a shake of his head.

"Nope! Johnny really ran away. Why don't ya believe me?" Pony said desperately.

"Pony's right. Johnny's really away. He left us a note." Two-Bit said.

"What? What's up? Johnny ran away?" With these words Dally came out of the kitchen and looked at Two-Bit and Pony.
Both only nodded and Pony gave him the note. With a growl Dally crumpled up the letter when he was ready, threw it on the table and looked at the both.
"Why didn't ya search for him right after that? Damned, it's Johnny! And now he's all alone out there, where Socs could waylay and beat him up once again that bad. Have ya ever think 'bout that? I wanna search for him now..."

"Dally..."

"What?" Dally turned angry to Two-Bit.

"We shouldn't search for Johnny..." Two-Bit finally said.

"What? Did I get it wrong?" Dally replied and stared at Two-Bit with his cold ice-blue eyes.

Two-Bit shook his head. "He said it clearly. He doesn't wanna it..."

"Damn it, I give a damn shit to it, if he wants it or not! We've to find him!" Dally grumbled.

Meanwhile Darry put up the note and read it. Soda and Steve looked over his shoulders and read the letter as well.

"Well, I didn't think 'bout this... Not 'bout Johnny, not 'bout our shy and scared Johnnycake..." Soda said.

"What did ya think? That the little one wouldn't run away? Damn it, he shouldn't have done it! He simply couldn't do that. Not our Johnny..."

"We should leave Johnny his freedom. If he doesn't wanna that we search for him, then we should respect it, too. Maybe he comes back again by himself..."

"Darry, ya talk here 'bout Johnny, right? 'bout the sensitive, shy and scared Johnny... and not 'bout a self-confident reckless Dally..." Pony meant shocked. "Johnny ain't gonna make it alone, without us!"

"Ponyboy's right. And that's why I wanna go and search for him and that's right now." Dally meant furious.

"Johnny ain't the one any longer he used to be. He grew much stronger, I know it..." Darry replied.

"Stronger? For heaven's sake, Darry, did ya look at him?
He already was pretty scared, but after those damned Socs jumped at him, it became much worse and there ya mean he grew stronger?
I don't get it! Guys, what's goin' on with ya?" Dally asked.

"Don't tempt fate! Johnny probably wanna get out of the bad guys way." Steve meant.

"He wanna avoid 'em but they him? What is when the Socs get him? We've to search for him..." meant Ponyboy as well and thought with panic of what could happen to his friend all alone on the streets.

"Guys, guys..." Sodapop tried to calm his friends down. "I completely agree with ya that we've to search and find Johnny, but I think it's also all right that we should respect his will."

"Soda..." Pony interrupted him, but this one lifted his hand.

"We let him spend the night outside and gonna search him tomorrow mornin'."

"But tonight could..." Pony objected, but he couldn't make himself heard at his brother for that.

"And if we don't find him?" Two-Bit asked.

"At first we wanna search him alone and in case we don't find him, we've to inform the fuzz, whether we like it or not, right? But just let's wait 'til tomorrow..." Steve said.

"Are ya nuts? We couldn't set the fuzz on Johnny. They would throw him into a boy's home! And this would ruin him completely!" Pony said close to tears.

"Well, I'm sick of that damned shit. I wanna search for Johnny now. And I don't care if ya come along or not! I don't wanna blame myself if the Kid lies somewhere dead around and that's only 'cause of our fault, 'cause we didn't search for him." With that Dally turned away, slammed the door and walked outside.

The others looked behind him confused.
Since when did Dally take care of one of 'em like that?
Why did he suddenly show emotions?

Pony looked at his brothers, Steve and Two-Bit, turned away and yelled behind Dally, "Dally wait! I wanna come with ya!"

Then he ran behind Dally.

Dally got into the car.

"Get in, Kid." he said then to Pony, after he nodded to him.

"Have ya an idea, where Johnny could be?"

Pony shook his head. "I only hope, we're gonna find him..."

"Me too, Pony, me too..." Dally replied, while he drove.

"I mean he couldn't be so far away yet, could he?" Pony asked.

But Dally didn't answer him.