Chapter 5

The next three days had been quite pleasurable for Johnny. Every morning, he'd be awoken by the smell of breakfast, specially served on a tray. One morning, with a rose even. Dally had taken the trouble to cook the breakfast this time, and even though it tasted pretty horrible, Johnny was touched.

Ponyboy had suggested that Dally brought Johnny to an art show that was in town one day. According to him, Johnny loves them.

"But art shows are boring." Dally groaned.

"Johnny'll love them, trust me." Ponyboy handed him the tickets and with smile added, "Be sure to wear something decent."

-------

"So Whaddaya say kid?"

Johnny rubbed his chin as he looked at the tickets Dally was holding. "Ok, I'll give it a shot."

Dally's smile widened, "I'll go get the bicycle I borrowed from Tim."

"You borrowed a bike? Whatever for?"

"I thought it'd be cool, ya know? The bike's tuff," Dally pulled the bike forward, "you sit at the back."

"But… only girls sit at the back."

Dally paused. "I'm sorry Johnny… I wasn't trying to insult you or anything… if you want, I'll sit at the back."

Johnny was taken aback. Surely Dally didn't mean that. He was just trying to impress Johnny. Johnny decided to play along though, to see how far Dally was willing to go.

"Ok."

Dally gulped, as he hesitantly got comfortable at the back of the bike.

The two of them had a hard time paddling, as Johnny was smaller and weaker than Dally, and the person at the front had to do more paddling. After a few unsuccessful attempts to move the bike, Johnny gave up.

"Fine. I'll sit at the back." He grumbled.

When Dally was in the front seat however, the ride went smoothly, and the two of them had a great time talking to each other. Johnny had to hold on to Dally or else he'd fall off, and the only way he could do that was to hug Dally.

"You don't mind right?" Johnny asked, afraid he'd offend Dally in a way.

"Of course not."

"But what if the rest see us…"

"I don't care what they think. Your safety's more important."

That made Johnny smile, and he knew then that Dally was really sincere.

At the art show, Dally was getting really bored, but he tried his best to stay awake. Johnny was happily scanning through the walls, pointing out some paintings that caught his eye.

"So you like art huh, Dal?"

No, he thought. "Yeah, of course. I got an appreciation for nicer things than just fightin' and rodeos."

Johnny seemed really impressed. Dally felt like punching himself for havin' to lie to his best bud, but he wanted Johnny so bad.

Halfway through the sculptures, Dally reached out and took Johnny's hand in his own. Johnny glanced at him and smiled, and lightly squeezed, sending a thrill down Dally's back.

So this is what it meant by being in love.

He suffered through the whole show; the only thing making it bearable was Johnny's fingers laced with his own. He was happy though, as Johnny seemed happy.

When it was time to leave, Johnny gently disentangled his fingers from Dally's, with a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't think this is working out."

Dally's jaw dropped, "What? Why not?"

"I've always thought we got a lot in common, but today has proved me wrong." He turned his back away, "I'm sorry Dal, but I don't want a one night stand. I want a relationship that will last."

"But… but…" Dally spluttered.

Johnny sighed as he gave Dally a kiss on the cheek. "You take the bike, I'll walk back. See ya around."

Dally was speechless. Boy did he screw up big time.

A/N: Art show? I dunno.