Chapter 8

"What's going on here!" Darry roared, covering his eyes.

"Darry, it's not what you think…" Johnny got up quickly and rubbed the dirt of his shirt. His face was pink as he heard the rest of the gang running out of the house. Dally shook his head and took out another cigarette stick. Calmly, he lit it and puffed.

"What happened?" Ponyboy gasped, in between breaths, "Darry looked like he saw a ghost!"

"Worst," Johnny squeaked, "He saw us."

"Whaddaya mean 'us'?" Sodapop stared at Johnny, suspiciously.

"Yeah, how come me and Soda and two-bit don't know?" Steve added. Two-bit shifted uncomfortably.

"I think it's time you guys come clean," Ponyboy mumbled.

Dally turned and stared at Johnny. He looked really upset and worried, and he didn't like that. As much as he wanted to cheer him up, Dally had to keep it cool. He had a reputation to keep and he wasn't thinking of blowing it in front of everyone. He took another puff.

"What'd you think Dally?"

Before Dally could answer, Darry approached him and grabbed him hard by the shoulders. "WHAT WERE THE TWO OF YOU DOING!" he grunted.

"GET OFF ME MAN!" Dally screamed. He pushed Darry off him and fixed his hair.

"I DEMAND an explanation from the two of you!" Darry stood near the door, arms folded across his chest.

"Nothing happened man, we were just…" Dally scratched his head. He couldn't possibly tell him the truth. That wasn't cool, "Johnny needs help with his homework and I was teaching him how to do it." He said, quickly.

Johnny turned back, surprised. Why didn't he tell Darry the truth?

"Dally? I…"

"Don't worry kid," Dally stood beside Johnny and rubbed his hair, "You don't have to be embarrassed."

"ME? Embarrassed? But I…"

Darry cleared his throat. "That's it?" Dally nodded. Sodapop and Steve laughed, but two-bit and Ponyboy were clearly not amused.

"Well then, I'm off to bed!" Darry still looked a little annoyed, but he was too tired to argue, so he dragged his feet into the house. Soda and Steve followed, "Aren't you guys coming?" They asked.

"Nup, we got some stuff we wanna do first," Two-bit smiled as Steve closed the door. "Ok bub, what the hell was that!"

Dally sighed, "I couldn't tell him. I wasn't ready."

Ponyboy frowned, "You could at least lie better! Homework? Geez. Why can't you tell them anyway?"

"Look, I gotta rep okay.."

"Forget your rep for once!" Two-bit cried, a little pissed off. "Who cares if they find out, it's not like the gang would treat you guys differently!"

"I KNOW THAT. I'm just worried about what they'd think okay!"

Johnny, who was keeping silent all this while, squeaked, "What about the art show then?"

Dally turned. "Huh?"

"At the art show," Johnny sniffled, "you let me hug you and hold your hand. Many people were there but you told me you didn't care if they were staring. So why are you all secretive about it now?"

"I'm just… we don't know those people, Johnny, I don't mind. They don't know us, so they won't remember us."

"So you're saying you're embarrassed about us?"

Dally was speechless, he really didn't know how to answer. Ponyboy and Two-bit hung their heads, they'd honestly rather be in their beds right now.

"I gotta go." Before anyone could say anything, Johnny walked out of the house and disappeared into the darkness.

Ponyboy stared at Dally, "So this is what you want eh?"

Dally looked back, a little angry. "Of course not! Does this look like what I want! I just embarrassed myself in front of the whole gang," he kicked the wall, "and lost the person I want so badly. Do I look satisfied!"

Two-bit frowned, "Then go after him!"

"What?"

"You heard me- go after him! Make sure you get him back."

Ponyboy nodded, "and this time, I'm not telling you what you have to say. You tell him everything that you want to tell him, and make sure you don't screw up."

Dally's jaw opened as the two of them grinned at each other and went into the house.

"Good night Dally. And go, before it's too late."

Dally groaned as he stared into the pitch-black sky. What if he screwed up again? What if Johnny wasn't going to forgive him, and everything falls apart? He told himself he wasn't going to, and everything was still going to be fine. And before he knew it, he was running as fast as could.

A/N: i have changed the story rating to "T". Initially I thought about including some slash, but decided not to. p.s, this chapter's crap. I'm gonna take more time writing the next few chaps, so bear with me. continue to review please. Thanks, love you people! ♥