Chapter Eight- Randy and a Secret Told
For three days, Johnny didn't say hardly anything. He merely shrugged, nodded, or shook his head at every answer. Soda and I became really worried about him. No matter what we said, we couldn't worm whatever was worrying him out of him.
"C'mon, Johnny, you gotta crack sometime." Steve said. Johnny just stared at his shoes.
"I don't wanna talk about it, guys." Johnny said quietly and we left him alone. Everyone, that is, except Dally.
"Johnny, you're hidin' somethin'. C'mon and break. What is it?" Dallas asked and I knew Johnny wasn't going to say anything. Dally would just have to come to see the fact that Johnny wasn't going to break…at least, not any time soon.
"Johnny?" I asked. Johnny was fast asleep on the couch. He hadn't said much in the past five days. Not since we got jumped. I gently touched him on the shoulder and he jerked awake in surprise and fear.
"It's OK, Johnny, 'just me." I said. He was as jumpy as ever, literally. He wasn't even this jumpy after Bob jumped and beat him so bad almost six months ago.
"Oh, Pony, it's just you." He said.
"Why? Who'd you think it was?" I asked, sitting down on the foot of the couch.
"Nobody." Johnny answered.
"Bob's friends?" I asked. Johnny nodded.
"Yeah, Bob's friends." He said quietly.
"Look, Johnny, as long as you stick with us, you don't have to worry about them. They ain't nothin' but a pack of stupid dogs who don't ever learn nothin'." I said and I wonder vaguely if Dally had found them the other night. We hadn't heard heads or tails of him and I prayed that he didn't get himself jailed again.
"I know, Pone, it's just that…" Johnny said and I waited for him to go on. He didn't say anything else.
"C'mon, Johnny, let's go see if we can find Dally." I said. Johnny looked at me and shrugged. He grabbed his jeans jacket and we started out.
We walked for about two blocks to the intersection that would take you downtown. We turned towards downtown, thinking that Dally could be at the Dingo. A sudden blast from a car horn made us both jump. There was a blue mustang trailing us. Johnny yelped and his eyes held a fear that only a few people could see. He recognized that Mustang. And so did I. Randy Adderson climbed out.
"Hey, Ponyboy." He said in greeting.
"Hey, Randy." I said. I looked at Johnny. He had turned his back to us and had flipped up the collar of his jeans jacket. I guess he was hoping Randy wouldn't recognize him as the person he and Bob had nearly beat to death six months ago.
"Johnny?" Randy asked and Johnny's shoulders dropped. Randy had recognized him. Johnny turned around and faced Randy.
"I thought you had died!" Randy said and Johnny shrugged.
"Nearly everybody did." He grumbled. "S'not like I matter enough to anyone anyway."
"Shut up talkin' like that!" I spat. "You matter to the gang!" Johnny shrugged and looked at his shoes.
"How's it goin', Randy?" I asked.
"Pretty good. How ya'll?" Randy said.
"Good I guess." I said. I looked at Johnny, but he just kept staring at his shoes.
"Glad to see you're better, Johnny. Glad to see you walkin' again! The papers said you'd be paralyzed!"
"Yep." Johnny said, not looking up.
"Well, Randy, we gotta go. See ya 'round." I said and Randy waved goodbye as we continued our search for Dally.
"Johnny? You alright, buddy?" Soda asked in a worried voice at dinner that night. Johnny shrugged and continued to pick at his food.
"You sure?" Darry asked. Johnny shrugged again and I looked at my brothers. Johnny hadn't said anything since we had run into Randy. We had managed to find Dallas, and that was a good thing. He was still on the look for the Socs that jumped me and Johnny.
"Yeah. I think I'm goin' to bed. Night, ya'll." Johnny said and he went to his room. Soda nudged me.
"You better go talk to him." He said and I looked at Darry, who just nodded. I got up and I followed Johnny into the room.
"Alright, Johnny, what's up?" I asked. Johnny looked at me, then at the wall.
"You know when Bob and Randy and their friends jumped me?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, when they did, they threatened me. Not just me in particular, but you guys, the gang, too. They swore that we'd all get what was comin' to us, that we ain't worth nothin'. Randy and Bob both said those words. And they weren't drunk, Pony. They meant it." He said. Then I knew why he had gotten so jumpy when Randy had stopped us in town.
"Johnny, he ain't gonna hurt us. Bob's dead, you know that, and Randy's just plan tired of fightin'." I said.
"I dunno, Pone. Just watch out for him."
A/N- Well, sorry for the shorty, but I have some other stories to update!
Please review!
-Robin