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“Johnnycakes?”
Dallas’s eyes widened in horror. Johnny was slumped over on the bench, bugs surrounding him. The town was oddly quiet today. Nobody was causing trouble, and the Socs weren’t bothering anyone. That’s what Dallas thought. So why did it have to be today? The day he would see his best friend dead on a random bench.
Johnny was covered with blood, and it seemed like it would never stop, but Dallas didn’t care. He ran over to him.
“No, no! Cmon Johnny. Don’t leave me now!” Dallas gripped Johnny’s shirt in desperation. But Johnny was still limp like a ragdoll. Dallas felt his legs give out as he dropped to his knees.
Tears flowed down his face before he could stop it. He checked Johnny’s pulse. Nothing. Nothing at all. Dallas cried his heart out on the sidewalk. There was no one, no cars, no nothing. Just the sound of grief piling and forcing itself out.
“No..NO!” He yelled, staring at the corpse of his everything. It felt almost unreal, how this happened so fast. It was all too fast. Just a moment ago, Johnny was smiling and they were having fun. But now it was just Dallas, breaking down. But then, he opened his eyes.
———————————————
“Dal? Cmon Dal, you’re scarin’ me. It’s alright, man.” Johnny spoke softly, lightly shaking Dallas’s shoulder.
“Must be havin’ a nightmare or something.” Johnny thought to himself. Dallas was shaking and tears were coming out of his eyes. And that was something Johnny never expected to see in his lifetime.
Dallas shot up from the bed in a cold sweat, but Johnny was pulling him back down into a lying position before he could think. Dallas recoiled at the sight of Johnny alive and well. And Johnny seemed to notice as he pulled Dallas into his arms.
“Everything’s okay, Dal.” Johnny rubs Dallas’s back. And for the first time, Dallas didn’t look like a tuff gangster. He looked 17.
“Th-thought you were dead..” Dallas muttered, his words coming in bits and pieces. Johnny tried to ignore how utterly vulnerable Dallas was being.
“I’m right here. There’s nothing to worry about Dal.”
After a few more minutes, things seemed to die down a bit. Dallas slowly started to calm down, and the night grew quieter. After moments of silence,
Johnny spoke up.
“Just go back to sleep, Dal. I’ll be here.”