Nearly a month had passed since the day Johnny left. Dally had come so close to hopping on a train that night he had spoken to him on the phone. Had he not made a promise to Darry to keep an eye on Ponyboy, he would have. Ever since he had taken on the role of Ponyboy's "temporary guardian", he felt tied to the kid somehow. Like he had a responsibility. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a need to protect him- his best friend had left and his brothers were working so much that he hardly ever saw them. All he did was study and every time he turned his back or tried to do something fun, the socs would go after him. Dally had done his best to look out for him and he was really good at getting after Pony when he wasn't getting his work done. Ponyboy would listen to him. Everybody listened to Dallas Winston. And after a while, Ponyboy made a visible improvement in terms of "using his head". He was more focused on his work and he came right home after school, just like Darry had wanted. Dally had even talked Two-Bit into going to watch Ponyboy run in a track meet one evening when Darry and Soda had both been working. Since that day, Pony had really perked up. Granted, Dally and Two-Bit had spent more time under the bleachers with a couple of greasy girls they had picked up, but the fact that they had been there at all had meant a lot to Ponyboy. But all along, Dally continued to worried about Johnny. Johnny would call, that scared and lonely tone hidden in his voice so that only Ponyboy and Dally noticed, and Dally would be ready to jump on the train again. He just couldn't fight off the nagging feeling that something wasn't right. Something strange was going on or something bad was going to happen, or maybe both. He had nightmares every night. He hardly slept. They got worse and worse. They were never exactly the same, but the dreams all had a connection. His world and his friends were falling apart. One night he decided he was just going to stay awake. That lasted all of half an hour. He eventually fell into a long, restless uneasy sleep, tormented with dreams of pain and death. He saw Johnny's sad eyes..."I can't take much more of this..." And in his dream, Ponyboy was dying and the gang was falling apart, and Johnny... Johnny was gone. Over and over again, Dally would grab hold of his arm and he would just be swept away- sometimes in a plume of fire or smoke and sometimes he would just fall into a black pit. Like all the dreams before, he would hear the words "Johnny's dead..." and something in him would die. His whole world was crumbling...burning... smoke... ashes... flames... BANG! "Johnny!" he sat up in bed, gasping for air. He was always jolted awake at the end of the dream. This time it was thunder. He blinked in surprise. It was light outside. He had slept through part of the day. He was drenched in sweat and shaking. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to let go of the intense despair that always followed and erase the remnants of the dream from his mind. The rain poured down outside and he watched it. It wasn't real, he kept repeating to himself. None of that happened. But he couldn't ignore that some of the dream was, in an abstract sense, actually happening all around him. It didn't matter anymore. He needed to find Ponyboy. He would borrow the T-Bird from Buck and pick him up at school. He would need a ride in this weather anyway. He had come to a decision. He had done what he'd promised. Now he had someone else who needed him. He had to go to Virginia. Ponyboy noticed the car immediately as he left the building. He brightened visibly upon seeing Dally. Dally groaned inwardly. When had he become a big brother to another lost soul? He shook his head as Pony approached, somewhat disgusted with himself for having turned a bit soft. Ponyboy opened the passenger door and climbed in the car. "Hey Dal," Dally nodded and lit up a cigarette. "Hey, you wanna go down to the Dingo before we go home?" He barely paused before continuing. "Our track team is doin' pretty well, I think we might win the championship meet. We might even make it to the State Finals." Dally kept his eyes on the road and took a drag on his cigarette. He felt a responsibility to Ponyboy, but he could be very clingy. It sometimes drove Dally nuts and he would find himself snapping at the kid without really meaning to. He knew Ponyboy was just really lonely. Dally was so used to Johnny, who, as needy as he was, hardly said a word and just followed beside him, no more obvious than his own shadow. "But I don't think Darry or Soda will get to watch it if we do," Pony was still going on, obviously testing the waters to see if he could convince Dally to come to another track meet. "They've been working way too much lately. They haven't been around much." "I think Soda's going to go to your next meet." Dally interjected. He had noticed that Soda had been somewhat edgy, almost angry around him. This had started after Dally had gone to the track meet that Soda couldn't make it to. Pony had gone on and on about Dally and Two-bit being there and what a good time they had. Dally hadn't really had much fun (at least not when he'd actually been watching the meet), but in Pony's mind, they were becoming good buddies. Soda and Pony were so close, and now Pony was starting to act like Dally was his brother. And this was bothering Soda something fierce. That had done it for Dally. That was when his decision to go to Virginia had really taken root. He wasn't going to leave for good, or anything. He was definitely going to come back. He had to. He couldn't leave the gang, not now, not after they had just lost Johnny. As strange as it seemed, the gang needed him and he knew it. They were a family. They each had roles and places within the family, but he was falling into a role that didn't belong to him. Ponyboy was Soda's little brother, not his. Leaving for a little while would be good. Ponyboy looked at Dally for a minute. Dally avoided his gaze, not really sure he liked where this conversation was headed. "Well, even if Soda comes, you wanna come watch the meet too?" Dally cringed inwardly. Just tell him, he thought to himself. "Look, kid, I would but..." Ponyboy didn't outwardly show it, but Dally could tell he was really disappointed. "Listen, I need you to keep a secret for me." Ponyboy looked up curiously. "Sure, Dal. What?" Dally paused. "I'm going to see Johnny." "What?! When? How are you-" "Shh! Don't tell anyone-" he didn't know why he wanted Ponyboy to stay quiet while they were in the car. Who would hear them? He didn't want anyone knowing he was going until he arrived in Virginia. He didn't want Johnny expecting him in case he decided to turn around and come home. He just wanted to go and he would decide what to do when he got there. "Are you coming back?" Ponyboy looked at him desperately. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm coming back!" Dally said annoyed. "I just have to check on him, you know? He doesn't sound like he's doing so good. I'm gonna drag his ass back here if they're not treating him right out there." "You're gonna bring him back?" "I don't know. Look, DON'T tell anyone! At least not till I'm gone a few days." Dally was starting to wonder if he should have even opened his mouth, but he figured it would be mean to let the gang worry about him and Johnny too. He pulled into the Curtis driveway and stopped the car, but he didn't shut it off. He turned and looked Ponyboy square in the eye. "You have to promise me something." "What?" "While I'm gone, you gotta look out for yourself somehow. I don't want to be hearing about how you got your head kicked in by some socs because you walked too close to the wrong side of town, or that you're failing classes because you're not studying." Ponyboy made a face. "Look, I'm serious, man." Dally was using his I-mean-business voice. A voice no one dared ignore. "You gotta shape up and start using your head! I'll come back in time for the meet, but you gotta make sure that you keep your head out of the clouds while I'm gone. Deal?" "Ok" "Oh, and another thing," Dally couldn't believe he was about to say this, but he really felt it needed to be said, he wasn't sure why. "Hang out with Soda once in a while. He needs you."