A/N; Hey y'all, welcome to chapter 9 of Taking The Blame! First off, I would like to thank my beta reader, the amazing CarolynneRuth! Also, just to be clear, the character descriptions are based off the book, not the movie. For example, Dallas has white-blonde hair and ice blue eyes.
Now, without further ado...
Johnny lets the door slam behind him, leaving Ponyboy and Sodapop in the silent living room. Soda sits down on the couch beside his younger brother. He clears his throat awkwardly before breaking the silence, "What was that about Pone?"
"Nuthin, I promise."
Soda notices the newspaper, which is now sitting on the coffee table. He picks it up and scans the headlines then lets out a deep sigh. "This is about the murder." Soda says the sentence as simply as if he was asking how school was today. Pony doesn't try to deny it, "Yea."
"Johnny's takin' it pretty hard ain't he?"
"Yea."
"How do you feel about it?"
Pony looks at his brother and licks his lips nervously, "I'm not sure. I don't think he did it."
Soda looks surprised, "Why?"
"It just… it just doesn't seem like somethin' he would do."
"You don't think he would jump a soc and, maybe, accidentally kill him?"
"No, of course not!" Pony stares at his brother, "You don't think that, do you?"
Soda shrugs, "Maybe. Why shouldn't I? Everyone knows that Dally hates socs."
"But he wouldn't kill one! Even if he did jump the soc, Dal wouldn't use his blade unless one was pulled on him first. And Bob wasn't armed!"
Soda looks at his suspiciously, "How do you know that?"
"Know what?"
"That the soc wasn't armed."
"I, uh," Pony bites his lip, "I saw it in the newspaper."
Soda knows that he's lying, he just read the paper himself a little bit ago. That's what started this conversation. Pony knows something, Soda's sure of it. Soda clears his throat, "I hate to tell you this but I don't think Dally can hope for much better than life in prison. From what I've heard, all the evidence points straight to him. Everything's against him at this point." Soda watches Pony closely as he speaks. He catches Pony biting his nails, an old nervous habit of his.
"Is there any other reason you don't think he did it?"
"Yes! I mean no, I…" Pony quickly gets up and rushes to his room.
Dallas lied. He lied straight to Johnny's face.
"I got it all under control."
Ha! He wishes. Wishes he had thought this through just a little more. He's still a few steps ahead of the fuzz, metaphorically speaking. He planted evidence. Johnny's switch. The T-Bird. Buck's story. The small tells he displayed while giving his alibi.
And then he just had to fuck up. When Johnny asked why he did it, he should have just denied everything, acted like he had no idea what he was talking about. Or even just given some dumb excuse for murdering the damn soc. He shouldn't have freaked out like he did. Hopefully the cop doesn't think too much of it.
He should have known that Johnny would come to see him, jeopardizing this whole cover up. And he didn't think about the possibility of Johnny turning himself in before. Now it's all he can think about.
Johnny can't be caught. He just can't. Prison would ruin him, if he isn't sentenced to the chair. The chair. Dallas hadn't really thought of that possibility before either. The possibility that his life may end with him strapped to a chair, electricity shooting through him, causing his skin to burn, his blood to boil and ultimately stopping his heart. All for a crime he didn't commit.
Ironic. He always knew he'd die like this. Some petty crime was always going to be his downfall. But he always thought he'd go down for something he did. Not for something someone else did.
So much for not givin' a shit about anyone else.
Johnny decided against going to the Curtis house, opting to go to the lot instead. He doesn't want to explain his previous behavior towards Soda. And he has too much on his mind. He stretches out in the middle of the lot.
Johnny has no idea what to do. He's terrified of the fuzz, always has been, but he can't just let Dallas take the fall for him. If he turns himself in, he could end up in prison or being sent to the electric chair. If he doesn't then Dallas faces that fate.
"What're ya doin' out 'ere, grease?"
Johnny quickly sit up, his eyes widening and his skin instantly becomes two shades paler. Someone drops onto the ground beside him and throws their arm across his shoulders, "Calm down Johnnycake, it's just me." Johnny looks over to see the one and only Two-Bit Mathews grinning back at him.
Johnny relaxes, "Golly Two-Bit, are you tryin' to give me a heart attack?!"
"'Course not."
"Well you're succeedin'."
Two-Bit rolls his eyes and lays back in the grass, "You never answered my question."
"Question?"
"What're doin' out 'ere?"
"Just thinkin'."
"Thinkin'? You're always thinkin'. If ya think much more you'll turn into Ponyboy… What're thinkin' 'bout?"
Johnny debates whether or not to tell him. Two-Bit sighs and answers for him, "Dallas."
A long silence falls between them. Johnny is the first to speak, "Hey Two-Bit?"
"Yea Johnnycake?"
"Can I tell ya somethin'?"
"Sure buddy, anythin'."
"You won't tell no one?"
"Not a soul"
"Promise?"
Two-Bit glances at him curiously, "Johnny, what's this about?"
Johnny just repeats his previous question, "Promise?"
Two-Bit's curiosity gets the best of him, "I promise. My lips are sealed." He zips his lips, locks them and tosses an imaginary key into the distance.
Most people wouldn't tell Two-Bit Mathews anything this serious if he was the last person on Earth, but Johnny knows better. Underneath the wisecracks and the Mickey Mouse t-shirt, Two-Bit is one of the most loyal and most trustworthy people you could ever meet.
So Johnny takes a deep breath and speaks softly, "Dally didn't kill that soc, I did."
Two-Bit stares at him, dumbfounded, "W-what?"
Johnny tells him everything, starting from when he and Pony fell asleep at the lot, to Darry hitting Ponyboy, to how upset Pony was and they had decided to go to the park so he could cool off, to when the socs arrived.
Johnny is shaking from head to toe by this time. "I-I didn't mean to kill him … but … they were drowning Pony... I had to do somethin'."
Two-Bit looks stunned. "Holy shit," is all he murmurs in shock.
It is shit alright, Johnny thinks with a sick feeling in his stomach, but telling Two-Bit offers him a little relief. This is too big a deal for him and Pony to handle on their own. They need someone a bit older and wiser to help them. And that older, wiser someone just happened to be the 18-year-old junior beside him.
A special thanks goes to;
Lovetoread75
woottonshelby13
Unknown identity 90
Sara
lilramona
Megabyte22
My Achilles Heel
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