If there's anything in this cruel, godforsaken world that Dally cares for, it's you — his little sibling. He won't let anything happen to you, and he won't let you end up like him — an outcast, a delinquent, a criminal. Dally can't let you be another washed-up hood like him. You deserve better than that.

Dally's more concerned than angry when he finds you bloodied and bruised, smoking a cigarette in the lot. "The hell are you doin', kid?" he asks, snatching the cigarette. He tosses it onto the ground, crushing it beneath his heel.

"What happened to you? I thought I told you not to get into fights, kid," he says, crouching down and taking a look at your bruised face.