The Outsiders: Paisley Randle

Chapter 13

~~~A few months later~~~

Paisley's POV

Johnny has been acting so weird lately. He says that he's okay, but I know that something is up with him. I just don't know what. It just seems like he's pulling away from me. I need to talk to Ponyboy and see if he knows anything. Him and Johnny are best friends.

I walked into town to the library and saw Ponyboy grabbing his jacket. When he saw me, he smiled and walked up. "Hey Paise. I was just heading out for lunch. Wanna go to the Dingo with me?" he asked and I nodded.

The walk there was quiet. I didn't know how to approach this topic. Ponyboy noticed too. "So what's on your mind?" he asked as we walked. I sighed softly and spoke. "Do you know what's wrong with Johnny?" I asked and Ponyboy looked at me confused. 

"He's been acting differently, Ponyboy. He's not acting like himself. Anytime I ask him if he wants to do something, he always comes up with some excuse as to why he can't. He's always smiling when he leaves the house and hardly ever when he's at the house. He hardly ever talks to me anymore. He comes home late. Sometimes he sleeps on the couch 'to keep from waking me up'." I said, Ponyboy looked like he had gone deep in thought. 

"Do you want me to talk to him? 'Cause now that you mention it, he does seem a lot happier and different for some reason." he asked as we walked into the diner and sat down. "You would do that for me?" I asked and Ponyboy smiled and took my hand. "You're sitting at home and work, stressing about your daughter. Johnny is in a better mood and happy all of a sudden? That just doesn't sound right to me Paisley. I'll talk to him and see what I can find out. I'm buying lunch by the way." he said and I smiled and shook my head. 

Ponyboy is the type to always pay for lunch. He's just that kind hearted. 

~~~~

After lunch, Ponyboy went back to work and I walked back home. I decided to stop at Darry and Stephany's first. I didn't really wanna be at home by myself. I walked in and most of the gang was there. the only ones not there were Ponyboy, Johnny and Sam. I sat next to Dallas on the couch and sighed softly.

"What's up sis?" Steve asked and I shook my head. "I don't wanna talk about it. Have any of you seen Johnny?" I asked and they all shook their heads no. "I haven't seen him since last night when y'all were over here. Stephanie said and I groaned in frustration. 

"Are you two fighting or something?" Steve asked and I shrugged. "I have no idea. He's barely talked to me the past few months. He won't even look at me!" I said and everyone started thinking. 

"Maybe he's just worried about Beth?" Rosalie said and I shook my head. "Somehow I don't think he would be smiling every time he left the house if he was worried about Beth." I said and Dallas spoke up. 

"Where's Sam?" he asked and we all looked around and noticed that she wasn't here. "Didn't she say she was going to the store?" Darry asked. "Darry that was four hours ago." Dallas said, looking at his watch.

"I have a bad feeling." I said and Dallas nodded and stood up. "Let's go see if we can find them?" he said and held his hand out. I nodded and took his hand. He helped me stand up and we headed out of the door. We walked down the street and didn't see any sign of Sam or Johnny. 

I was starting to get frustrated and decided to just go back to the house to wait for him to come home. I needed to start dinner anyways. Dally came back to my house with me. He could tell I was stressed out about Beth being gone and Johnny acting differently.  

"Don't worry Paise, I'm sure it's nothing." he said and I placed my hands on the counter and started crying. Dallas came over and turned me to face him. He placed his hands on each side of my face and whipped the tears away. 

"Don't cry Paise. You're way too beautiful to cry. Everything is going to be okay. Bethany is going to come home. Everything with you and Johnny is going to be okay." he said and pulled me into a hug. He ran his fingers through my hair and held me close.

~~~

Bethany's POV

Gen and I have been in this abandoned house for a few months now. We're both starting to miss our families. She cried every night this week. I try not to cry but sometimes I do. 

"I think we should go home.." Gen said out of nowhere and I looked at her and nodded. "I do too. But I don't wanna go a day without talking to you. You're my best friend." I said and she nodded. "I know. You're my best friend too." 

We packed all of our clothes back into our bags and started heading to the train station. We still had some money left so we had enough to get us both back home. The train ride back to Amarillo felt like it was only a few minutes. Before the train came to a complete stop, she grabbed a piece of paper and pen. 

"Write down your address and I'll write mine down. That way we can at least write to each other." she said and I nodded. We exchanged addresses. I hugged her one last time before she got off the train. 

The whole ride back to Tulsa, I cried. I didn't even know I had fallen asleep until I felt someone shaking my arm. "Miss, this is your stop." I looked up and saw a stewardess smiling at me. "Thank you ma'am." I said as I grabbed my bag and headed off the train. 

I began my walk to my house and couldn't help but be worried about how everyone would react. my mom and dad are probably going to kill me. It's late at night. Maybe ten or eleven. I hope Gen is okay. I miss her already. 

As I approached my house, I got more and more nervous. I walked up the porch steps and tried the handle but it was locked. I knocked on the door and waited. I hope they aren't too mad at me...

A/N: Two chapters in one day. I feel accomplished. I hope you like this chapter. Let me know what you think is going on with Johnny and Sam. Let me know what you think will happen with Paisley and Dallas.

~Bella