Chapter 3
Over the years, Dallas grew close to the six boys who hung around the Curtis's house. He never let them in, though, and that often worried them. He'd always be there for them, but only to a certain extent. Never on an emotional level. He was cold, and seeing the nice relationship the Curtis boys had with their parents and Two-Bit had with his mother only deepened it. When Mrs. Curtis died Dally lost it. She was like a mother to him, the type of friend-like mother. When he lost Mrs. Curtis it finally registered to him that he didn't have a mother, that he didn't have a family. It would make him even colder than he was before.
Dally liked Steve, the two just never grew incredibly close. Steve hated the way Dally treated the girls that hung around them, always trying to get in their pants. Dally always felt like he came second to Sodapop, which he did. He always liked to be the very best at whatever he did, he was extremely competitive. So naturally, it irked him that Steve could like someone more than him. However, one night Steve showed up at the Curtis's with a shiner, presumably from his asshole of a father. Dally was just about ready to go over there and teach Mr. Randle a good lesson.
"You don't have to, it'll just start more problems," Steve mumbled as Darry got him a pack of ice. Maybe Dally didn't think Steve liked him, maybe he didn't realize he did until he almost collapsed beside his bullet-ridden body, overcome with grief.
Two-Bit and Dallas had developed a really nice friendship over the years. They'd often go to Buck's and try to pick up girls, offering to be each other's wingmen. As much as his jokes annoyed him, Dally could never stay mad at Two-Bit. He had such a silly smile that one look at him and Dally couldn't help but to crack a smile. One time at Buck's, Dallas managed to chat up a real pretty broad, way out of his league. Two-Bit had convinced himself that she was only into him because of his reputation.
"So you're the famous Dallas Winston?" The girl settled her hands on the hem of Dally's shirt.
"That's not Dallas. That's Texas," Two-Bit burst into a fit of giggles over his own lame joke. He kept up the comments just enough to push Dally right at the edge of his limit. He knew where the line was and knew it'd mean trouble if he crossed it, but he never did.
"I'm going to kill you, Keith," Dally said through gritted teeth. Clearly the girl fancied a sense of humor over a bad boy reputation, because she let Two-Bit walk her home as the night ended. Dally swore he hated Two-Bit, he didn't though.
Sodapop liked Dally's recklessness, just as he liked his own. He thought he was pretty interesting, but he kept a distance. Mostly due to Darry's recommendation. Sometimes when the boys would all go out to the diner, Dally would try chatting up some chicks, he'd get real dirty with it, too. It gave Sodapop a thrill to see them blush, and 9 times out of 10, he would join in.
Ponyboy was afraid of Dallas, he'd seen him get really angry a handful of times and knew what he was capable of. He never knew if he would say something stupid that would just set him off. Dally was fun to draw though, his sharp features practically jumping off the piece of paper. Ponyboy spent most of his time with Dally and Johnny, just walking around town. Dally cared for Ponyboy in an inconspicuous way, but he was always resentful of his relationship with Johnny. Ponyboy kind of always figured that Dally just saw him as a third wheel when the three were together. He didn't think he even liked him, not until he heard Dally's last words. Pony. It haunted Ponyboy for the years to come what Dallas was trying to say.
Dally respected Darry in a sense, he admired how he'd always managed to stay out of trouble. Darry didn't mind throwing the football around with Dally or playing cards, but anything passed that he couldn't do. He had too much on the line to throw it away for one drunken night on the town. Dally respected that, Darry had goals and he didn't want to mess that up for him. He always did think he was stupid for not going off to college, though.
No bond can ever come close to the one Dally and Johnny shared. There was no immediate attraction, just a silent respect towards one another. One night Dally was walking around, hunting some action, when he passed by the Cade household. He heard screaming, and what he saw through the window made him see red. Mr. Cade was beating on Johnny, for what inconsequential thing, no one knows. Dally took it upon himself to go in there and start hitting Mr. Cade. Johnny's mom called the fuzz and Dally was arrested. Johnny never forgot that night.
Dally always had a place to stay, whether it was Buck's, the Curtis's couch, or even sometimes the Mathews's couch. Johnny never liked to inconvenience anyone when he'd run out of his house, whether his parents were mad at him or mad at each other. Johnny spent many nights in the vacant lot, trying to get away from his problems. If you ask Dally he'll say Buck kicked him out, but in reality, he spent the night there with Johnny sometimes to make sure he was okay.
Johnny was always craving acceptance from Dally, he loved him. When he ran into that burning church he was afraid that Dally would be mad at him, he was afraid he wouldn't come see him. Dally could never be mad at Johnny. When he said he was proud of him, Johnny felt like he had accomplished what he always wanted. He felt it was okay to let go. Dally was always in control, when he lost Johnny he couldn't stand it. It had taken him 17 years to learn what it's like to love someone, and that someone was Johnny. He knew that he could never feel this way for another human being again, and the years to come would be torture. So Dally did the only thing he would have wanted to do, be with Johnny.
None of the 5 remaining boys ever thought that Dally's last moments would be fulfilling a suicide mission. The death-by-cops scenario was easier to swallow. They always pictured he'd die in a botched robbery, or maybe in jail, or by getting into a fight with the wrong person. They'd always known he'd die by his own account, though.
There was a lot that the gang couldn't understand about him. They didn't know what he did at Buck's, when the music quieted down and he was all alone. They didn't know what he did while he was in jail. Sometimes Dally'd head up to Windrixville or wherever else he could hide away when life caught up to him.
There was a lot they didn't see, and maybe they'd never know the other side of Dallas that wasn't out when they were around. But two people knew Dally, just as well as the gang, maybe even better. Maybe just in a different way. Tim Shepard and Sylvia, they knew Dally.