Author's Notes

Okay, so I've had this idea in my head for a while now and I figured it's about time to make it a story.

This is somewhat of an AU I guess. A lot of things will be different, but then a lot of things will still be the same. All characters are still alive!

Anyway, I hope you like it. Enjoy!

The Outsiders belongs to S.E. Hinton.

Chapter 1 :: Nightmares

Dally woke up with a horrified gasp. Sweat was sliding down his face and glistening in the faint moonlight peeking in the window. Another nightmare. Or more like a relived memory that he could never get rid of. He sighed and sat up on the Curtis' couch, wiping his face with his sleeve and trying to calm his fast beating heart.

He'd been having these nightmares a lot lately, and they were all about the things he tried hardest to forget. Nothing could spook him like the graphic memories hidden in the back of his mangled mind, that was for sure. He'd been losing a lot of sleep over this, and he was starting to think all the deprivation was making him sick. It was a strange thing though, he hadn't had nightmares like this since...

Well, that wasn't important.

With another exhausted sigh, he hoisted himself off the couch and made his way to the kitchen to get a quick drink, then grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. He figured if he couldn't sleep, he might as well see what's going on at Buck's. There's always something to do there.

He didn't really feel like drinking. He didn't feel like being around people. He knew anything and everything that could be going on at Buck's would be no good for him if he was coming down with something. But he didn't care. He couldn't just sit around doing nothing if he couldn't get some shut eye.

It pissed him off. It was the one thing he could use to escape the hardships of reality. The only thing. Getting drunk or high was okay too, but he'd always feel like shit the next day, and even when he was completely smashed he still could never fully take his mind off his worries. Sleep was always there to take that pain away. Now he couldn't even get in a decent catnap. It wasn't fair.

He jammed his hands in his jeans pockets and slumped a little more as he walked a little faster. He hadn't noticed how cold it was until then.

As he passed the vacant lot, he noticed a familiar little figure curled up with only a few newspapers to cover his small body.

Dally's anger quickly melted away as he slowly walked towards Johnny. 'If that goddamn drunk hurt him again, I swear...', He thought to himself.

The small boy was sleeping, not so soundly, but at least he didn't have any new cuts or bruises on him that Dally could see. He figured he didn't bother going home at all tonight. Johnny never really seemed to have a peaceful sleep anyway, unless he was sleeping at the Curtis' house. Dally was contemplating if he should wake him up and bring him there instead of going to Buck's. He figured it was probably a better idea for the both of them.

He shook his head at the kid. Why couldn't he just go to the Curtis' in the first place? He knew their door was always open to anyone who needed a place to sleep.

He already knew why though. He didn't want to be a burden. He hated the pity he always got from everyone when they saw the fear in his big eyes, and the cuts and bruises on his skin. He hated being so helpless and dependent on the gang for survival. He hated it.

They all hated it. But that's just the way things were.

He watched the sleeping boy for a moment, studying his face. He looked about as tired as Dally felt, and he felt bad for having to wake him up, but he didn't want him getting sick in this cold. He could see some patches of frost forming throughout the grass in the lot. It was mid-November, after all. He was surprised it hadn't started snowing yet with how cold it'd been.

"Hey, Johnny..." He finally spoke, shaking him by the shoulder gently. Johnny woke with a start, his eyes shooting open.

"Wha..?" He mumbled in tired confusion. When his eyes finally focused on Dally's face he relaxed and yawned a little. "Hey Dal."

"Hey kid. C'mon, you and me are crashin' at the Curtis' tonight. It's gettin' to be too cold for you to sleep out in the lot anymore."

Johnny gave him a strange look and slowly shook his head, ignoring the tempting thought of a nice warm couch to curl up on. "Nah, that's okay. I'm fine out here. Really."

Dally shook his head as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Cut the shit Johnnycake. I know you're freezin', and we both know they won't mind one bit if you stayed the night once in a while. Hell, they wouldn't mind if you practically lived with them from now on. Now come on, 'fore you catch a cold or somethin'."

Johnny sighed a bit and looked at the ground. "I dunno..."

"I ain't giving you a choice kid, now get your ass up before I sling ya over my shoulder and carry you there."

He chuckled a little and finally got up, pulling his jacket tighter around him and hugging himself for warmth. "Alright, you win. Let's go."

Dally just grinned around his cigarette and started walking back to the house, Johnny quickly catching up and following obediently beside him. He knew Johnny would listen to him. He always did.

Once they got to the house Dally let Johnny have the couch and gave him a blanket. He sat in Darry's recliner and turned on the tube to see what was on. Nothing good. There usually wasn't anything good on around 3 in the morning anyway.

He looked at Johnny, who was already fast asleep, at peace for once, and smiled a little. All thoughts of going back out left his mind.

So maybe he would just be sitting there doing nothing, like he hated so much. But at least he knew he'd gotten Johnny out of the cold and out of trouble. That was all he figured he needed to do for tonight.

End Notes

So, there's the first chapter for you. Some sweet Dally/Johnny friend love to start it all off.

What did you think? Shall I continue?

Edit: I reread this and made some quick tweaks, like South Yorkshire Brit suggested. Thank you for your review. :) I hope I caught most of what you were referring to.