AN: Hey there, guys! So, today was pretty interesting. Bunch of drama during the last half hour at school. Snapped at a friend of mine 'cause of me having to deal with being in a class full of Socs. I'm the only 'greaser' in the class. It kinda...we only have one neutral person in the room, too, 'sides the teacher. So I wasn't too happy leaving school. My bad. Oh well. Coulda been a worse day. I need a bit of a break, I guess, too much stress is killing me. I haven't stopped stressing since the weekend, and then I got something else to stress about - freaking lines in a play. Gotta be able to go without a script on Thursday, and I can't force myself to focus on learning my lines. The words blur and crap when I try, 'cause I'm trying to force myself to study and it's killing me. I'm gonna get killed if I can't learn those lines.
Not that you guys care.
To those who reviewed:
TheStaryNight: Glad you like it! I'm planning on keeping it going for a little while longer. Least two more chapters after this one.
Guest: Glad you like it.
Enjoy.
When the two got home, it was to see that Johnny was gone, Pony was sitting out on the porch when they got there, looking worried.
"Where's Johnny?"Soda asked as him and Darry joined Pony on the porch. It was a rare day that they got off at the same time.
Pony threw a look in the general direction of the Cade house. Darry sighed. "He'll come back if things get rough 'round his place."
"Or he'll go out to the lot."Soda pointed out. "Either way, he'll be alright. If he goes to the lot and one of the guys see him, they'll drag him here."
Pony shrugged. "Maybe I just worry too much. He just looked real scared to go back."
Darry got up, disappearing inside to call the others.
Dally and Two Bit both said they'd go check on the gang's pet. The others made it to the Curtis home in record time.
When Dally and Two Bit showed up without Johnny, everyone else shared looks.
"What, the lot?"Steve asked, looking at the two. "Was he at his place?"
Two Bit, surprisingly serious, shook his head. "Nobody's there. We checked. Kid keeps his window unlocked. He ain't in the lot, either."
Darry's eyes widened in surprise. "Where would he be, then?"he asked in surprise.
"Did you check the park?"Pony asked. "He'll go there sometimes, plenty of hiding places.
"I'll go."Dally said, disappearing.
They could tell it was tearing Dally when he threw the door shut behind him.
Soda shook his head. "Man, he's real close to Johnnycake, isn't he?"
Nobody else made a comment. They were all worried.
Mickey was on the television, noise in the background.
But nobody relaxed until Dally came back with Johnny.
"What the hell happened, kid?"Darry asked. A few new bruises, nothing too bad.
Johnny shook his head.
Of course, they knew what happened. Johnny's parents had been hacked about something when he went back for a while, and he ran to the first place that came to mind that he wouldn't be found by them if they cared to look for him.
Things settled once they realized he was alright, just a bit startled.
They were used to dealing with Johnny getting scared. It was understandable.
What surprised them was the fact that Dally all but pulled Johnny into his lap to sit on the couch, making sure that he was alright in the meantime.
Darry noticed this, noticed how Johnny realized when Dally did this. He sighed. As soon as people started drifting out and Johnny went to sleep, he spoke. "Dally? We gotta talk, man."he said.
Dally looked up at him from where he was pushing Johnny's bangs out of his face. Again.
Pony and Soda had already disappeared to bed for the night as well. It'd been a long day, and they weren't keen on staying up too much longer anyway with another full day ahead of them tomorrow.
Darry gave the other male a look. "What's going on with you and Johnny, man?"he asked. "You seemed so hacked off about it all earlier, him being gone without a trace. And this is the first time you've ever been sweet on anyone around us."
Dally shrugged. "Kid deserves someone caring, don't ya think?"
"That's the thing. He's a kid. A year younger than you, sure, but still a kid. He still has that childish outlook. This world, this life hasn't corrupted him yet, don't you doing it 'fore he has to change."Darry said.
Dally raised an eyebrow. "I ain't."he said. "Is it so bad that I care for him?"
Darry sighed, thinking it over. "Nah. I guess not. But I don't want him hurt. Especially not by you. He looks up to you so much."
Dally ended up crashing there as well that night, not wanting to get up and have to wake Johnny up, since the sixteen-year-old was using him as a pillow anyway.
Darry kept a check on them again that night.
The two boys on the couch hadn't moved by the next morning, both still out cold, seeming comfortable laying on the couch, Johnny half on top of Dally.
Sodapop raised an eyebrow in surprise at the scene he discovered when he walked into the living room. "Whoah, hello there, that's a sight to wake up to."he commented.
Darry rolled his eyes, ushering the other boy on to the kitchen. Ponyboy only threw a side glance to the two sleeping boys before he grabbed some breakfast and found a seat.
Nobody asked questions about what was going on. Nobody cared to know, really. They knew Johnny was safe with Dally. And that was all that really mattered to them right now.
Here ya go. And yeah, it's a cute pairing. I got to talking with our Two Bit about it. So...if ya got an issue with it, sorry guys. Any other pairing ideas is up to you guys though. I just thought I'd add Dal and Johnny fluff. 'Cause that's what was brainstormed today during spare time in Drama class.
Stay Gold.