Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or any of the wonderful and memorable characters in it. S.E. Hinton owns them. And she is my idol . I also do not own the song Listen To Your Heart by DHT. And I would like to give credit to always a dreamer, because it is through one of her works that I found the song and fell in love with it
Full Summary: Everyone has their breaking points. Even the strongest of people, even the most cold-hearted of people have a breaking point. But not everyone can handle the intensity of that breaking point. Four deaths occured that night; the death of a hero, the death of a hood, the half deaths of a heart and soul, and the death of a spirit. But, like a phoenix arising from the ashes, the soul and heart, and the spirit, may be reborn once again. Hints of OCxDallas (One-Shot)
Key:
"Talking"
'Thinking'
(POV Change)
Idea Created On: June 15, 2005
Chapter Started On: June 16, 2005
Chapter Ended On: June 16, 2005
Just a note; I will be using information from BOTH the movie and the book, so if I start saying Dally has brown eyes and brown hair, it's from the movie. Or I might mix the descriptions - best of both worlds. I can't exactly picture Dally with blonde hair ( I made the mistake of watching the movie before reading the book). Yep. So if anything sounds weird, it's because I'm adding both movie and book elements (like how Dally dies will be strictly movie element), and that's it. For the movie parts, it might not be totally accurate because I am pulling the scenes from memory and the last time I saw the movie was a couple of years ago, but I'm getting it for my birthday so as soon as I get it and watch it, I'll come back and fix it.
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"They're running! Look at the dirty bastards run!"
Eve looked around, watching as the Socs fled. Smiling at the victory, she glanced around to assess the damage of the Greaser outfits. Tim Shepard was swearing up and down at breaking his nose yet again and the leader of the Brumly boys was chewing out one of his members for breaking the rules by using a piece of a pipe in the rumble. Steve was doubled-up about five feet away from to her right, her twin brother Sodapop kneeling beside him. Two-Bit was a little ways away from her up ahead, blood streaming down his face and pouring out of what she assumed to be cracked knuckles. Dallas and Ponyboy were about five feet away from on her left, Pony looking pretty banged up, while Dally had a few cuts marring his handsome his face, along with the occasional bruise.
"We won," Darrel announced tiredly. From the looks of it, he walked away with a scratch on his forehead and the beginnings of a black eye.
"We beat the Socs," Eve finished.
†I know there's something in the wake of your smile,
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah.
You've built a love, but that love falls apart.
A little piece of heaven, turns to dark.†
Evelyn managed to catch Dally's eye momentarily, giving him a comforting smile and getting a half-grin of triumph in return before being lifted off her feet and swung around by Two-Bit.
"Haha! We did it! We showed 'em dirty Socs!"
"Two-Bit Mathews, put me down right now damnit! You're getting blood ova' me, ya dumb hood!" the dirty-blonde yelled, laughing. He put her down, earning a shake of the head from Darry at his antics.
"Where'd Dally and Ponyboy get off to?" Soda questioned, one of Steve's arms draped over his shoulders. Evelyn walked over to the two, placing Steve's other arm around her own shoulders and helping Soda hold him up.
"Prolly ta tell Johnny we beat the Socs," Steve managed to get out.
'Johnnycakes…' Eve thought, a feeling of foreboding growing in the pit of her stomach. Even before the rumble, she had felt a little antsy, like something terrible would happen. Despite her and Soda being twins, Evelyn and her younger brother Ponyboy had quite a few things in common; bad vibes about things just happened to be one of them.
"Steve's got a point," Eve voiced. "We should probably head back to the house an' wait for 'em there." The group nodded, and Darry went off to say "goodbye" and "thanks" to Tim Shepard's outfit, as well as the Brumly boys'. Once he was done, they all left the lot and headed back to the house. But Eve still couldn't get rid of that feeling.
†Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why,
But listen to your heart…before you tell him goodbye.†
"Where is he…" Darry muttered, pacing back and forth.
"Darrel, calm down. You gettin' all worked up ain't gonna solve nuttin'," Evelyn scolded softly, just finishing the task of taping up Two-Bit's face, as well as his hand. She had already bandaged up Steve's side - come to find out he had three busted ribs. As for Eve, she managed to get a nice cut on her lower lip -much like Soda-, a dislocated shoulder (which she oh-so-kindly put back by herself A/N: Ever done that? Hurts like a bitch) which was currently wrapped up to keep it in place, and a few of her knuckles were cut up, but no where near as bad as Two-Bit's.
Darry sighed, plopping in his arm chair. Grabbing a chair from the kitchen and placing it next to Soda, who was leaning up against the couch that was occupied by Steve, Eve faced the chair backwards and sat in it, placing her arms atop the back of it and resting her head on them. Two-Bit lit up a weed, while Soda grabbed the newspaper off the mahogany coffee table in front of him and began reading. Eve took the opportunity to reflect on the past week.
Evelyn are the older sister of Ponyboy Michael Curtis, twin younger sister of Sodapop Patrick Curtis, and younger sister of Darrel Shaynne Curtis, Jr. Your full name: Evelyn Skyler Curtis. She has dirty-blonde hair and forest green eyes. Unlike her brothers, who all seem to have their own separate personalities, she seems to be a mix of all three of them combined; Ponyboy's dreaming mind and clumsiness, Sodapop's craziness and goofiness, and Darrel's temper. Evelyn is also sarcastic, intelligent, and witty. Most of the time, the gang likes to bust hers and Darry's chops by calling Eve "Mother" and Darrel "Pa" respectively. Why? Evelyn and Darry are usually scolding everyone. Other than that, she have "Evie", "Eve", or "Sis" as nicknames, just like Darry has "Superman" or "Darry". Evelyn got along just swell with her brothers, except for the occasional fight with Darry. As for the rest of the gang…well, they all got along really well. She was like the sister they never had. She'd go partying with Two-Bit (without Darry knowing, of course), lifting hubcaps off cars for fun with Steve, going to the movies with Johnny, and even going to the rodeos with Dallas (again, without Darry's knowledge).
Dallas Winston….
Evelyn was probably closer to him than the rest of the gang, besides maybe Johnny. While Johnny could stand up to Dallas without getting the crap beat out of him (Eve could also), she was able to get through to him -most of the time- when he was in a rage. And that's saying something. To put it in the simplest terms - Eve loved him. She didn't know when it happened or where, but she did, and nothing could change that. The only ones who knew this were Ponyboy and Johnny, because they had a) found her in his room at Buck Merril's place, and b) came to some sort of conclusion in those heads of theirs. Evelyn mentally chuckled at the memory. It was the night Johnny had killed the Soc, and she had walked out of the house after Darry had accidentally hit Pony, but not before she voiced her feelings on the matter. She told them to give him time, and that she would be staying at you're her friend Jessica's house. Which, of course, was a partial lie; she were going to Buck Merril's place to see if Dally was there. She had heard that Tim Shepard had cracked Dally's ribs for slashing his tires, and it was just in her to scold him, just as she had went there to do. That is, until he had stopped her abruptly by kissing her. That didn't last long, for Buck had walked in and said that her brother and Johnny were there. When Dally brought them in the room, Eve could have died at the looks on their faces. It was then that she remembered what went on in the bedrooms at this place. She frantically convinced them it was nothing like that, and managed to change the subject before anything got out of hand. She then learned of the whole situation, and promised Ponyboy and Johnny that she wouldn't tell her brothers. After that small moment with Dally, she knew he cared for her.
Sighing, Eve realized that was the start of all this mess. It seemed like only yesterday it all happened, instead of a week ago…. She was startled out of her thoughts with the shutting of the screen door, causing her forest green eyes to look up -along with everyone else's gaze-, meeting with the bewildered greenish-gray eyes of her brother.
"Where have you been?" Darry started, getting to his feet. Eve got up as well, giving Darry a look that said she'd 'pummel-him-if-he-started-with-the-kid', which in turn made him back off momentarily.
"Ponyboy, what's the matter?" the forest-green-eyed teen asked softly, noticing him pale. He looked at all of the people in the room, frightened.
"Johnny…" he hesitated slightly, his voice hitching in his throat. Eve moved towards him slightly, her heartbeat seeming to slow down. Ponyboy didn't need to finish his sentence; no, she already knew.
"Johnny's dead. We were tellin' him how we beat the Socs, and he just…died."
The silence grew immensely uncomfortable, unlike the previous silence. Tears clouded the girl's vision, but not before seeing Two-bit close his eyes and clench his teeth, and Darry bowing his head. She heard Soda make a small sound beside her, sounding much like a choked whimper.
†Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile.
The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yeah.
They're swept away, and nothing is what it seems;
The feeling of belonging…to your dreams.†
"Dally's gone," Ponyboy said suddenly, "He couldn't take it…he's gonna blow," his voice cracked. They all looked up.
"So he finally broke. Even Dally has a breaking point," Two-Bit said quietly, voicing everyone's thoughts. Darry came over to Evelyn and Soda, telling the both of them to get Pony to sit down.
"Ponyboy, you look sick. Sit down," Soda said softly, . Ponyboy backed up slightly, shaking his head.
"I'm okay."
"Ponyboy, please," Eve pleaded softly. He shook his head once again.
" I don't want to sit down."
Darry moved towards him, which only caused Ponyboy to back up more.
"Don't touch me."
Eve was just about to say something, but was cut off by the ringing of the phone. Everyone's eyes turned to Darry, who hesitated a moment before turning away from his brother. Grabbing the receiver, he issued a "Hello" and then listened. He hung up quickly, turning to face everyone.
" It was Dally. He phoned from a booth. He's just robbed a grocery store and the cops are after him. We gotta hide him. He'll be at the lot in a minute."
It felt like all the blood drained from Evelyn's body at those words, like all her insides turned to ice and she became numb. That foreboding feeling intensified ten-fold, and she couldn't help but feel that fate wasn't done in taking away things that were important to all of the group that night. They all left the house at a dead run -even Steve- and she silently prayed.
'Please…be safe…. Don't make me say goodbye….'
†Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why,
But listen to your heart…before you tell him goodbye.†
(Evelyn's P.O.V)
We reached the vacant lot just as Dally came in, running as hard as he could from the opposite direction. The wail of sirens grew louder, drowning out the pounding of our footsteps on the concrete, and then two police cars pulled up, blocking the path from where Dally came. He pulled out something from the waistband of his jeans, waving it around at the cars. The police leapt out, doors slamming shut as they took aim.
"Don't do it, it's not loaded!" Soda yelled from behind me.
"Don't shoot, it's not loaded!" Ponyboy shouted from somewhere off to my right.
"Stoppp!" Two-Bit screamed, fear and anguish running clear through his voice. It was heart-wrenching.
"Not him!" Darry shouted from beside me, increasing his speed as I did mine.
"Not Dally too!" Ponyboy cried. I denied the fact that we weren't going to make it, convinced myself that we couldn't lose two in one night. But I knew, deep down, that it was inevitable. We watched as Dallas ran under the saffron glow of the street lamp, hearing a cope give the orders to shoot.
"Don't!" Soda screamed. I watched, horrified, as the policemen's guns spit fire into the night, hitting their target.
"He's just a kid!" Came Two-Bit's voice, cracking as Dally hit the cement.
"Dallas!" his name tore from my throat in a shrill scream, as Ponyboy's anguished cry of "No!" mixed in with my own, and of the others'. We skidded to a halt in front of Dallas, who was crawling over to us with what little strength he had left. I collapsed on my knees in front of him, Darry standing beside me, Steve stumbling behind me, issuing a small "no" followed by a sob.
†And there are voices, that want to be heard.
So much to mention, but you can't find the words.
The scent of magic, the beauty that's been;
Where love was wilder, than the wind.†
"Evie…Pony…" Dally managed out, before falling over onto his back and leaving the world of the living. A strangled sob escaped my lips, tears pouring down my face like a never-ending waterfall. I ran my hand through his soft, dark-brown hair, my mind begging, pleading for his beautiful ice blue eyes to open. But I knew that wasn't going to happen, no matter how much I wanted it, how much we all wanted it.
"Evie…easy darlin', there's nothing we can do…" Two-Bit comforted me, placing an arm around my shaking shoulders. I knew that was true, but I didn't want to believe it. I kept quiet, still running my fingers through his hair. I think at that moment, it dawned on everyone that there was something between us - a feeling that was more than just friends. And I didn't care. I placed a kiss on his forehead, before allowing Two-Bit to help me up so the police could take Dally's body away.
†Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you.
Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do.
I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why,
But listen to your heart…before you tell him goodbye.†
"Glory, look at the kid!" Steve said. I knew he was talking about my little brother, and I turned just in time to catch him before he hit the ground. I felt his head and quickly removed my hand out of reflex from the scorching heat.
"Darry, he's runnin' a high fever," I told my eldest brother, panic seeping into my voice. Darry took him from me while Two-Bit started blubbering.
"Dammit, it's my fault he's sick. He was runnin' a fever after we left the hospital. I should've told ya, Darry. I'm so sorry."
†Listen to your heart…umhmm.†
It was at that time two paramedics came over. Darry went up to one to get Ponyboy the attention he needed, while the other one came over to me.
"This is all we found on him," he said, placing a silver chain with a small silver cross and Dally's ring -the one he rolled a drunk senior to get- in my opened hand.
"Are you sure that's all ya found?" Two-Bit questioned from beside me. The paramedic shook his head.
"We found a switchblade on him, but the police are confiscating that. Sorry," he replied, then left us for Soda and Steve, of whom had waved him over - most likely about Steve's ribs. We all walked over to them after the paramedic left. Two-Bit was griping over the loss of his prized switchblade.
" Is that all that's bothering you, that damm switchblade?" Steve snapped at him, his eyes red from crying and exhaustion.
Two-Bit let out a quivering sigh. "No, but that's what I'm wishing was all that's bothering me."
I wish that was all that was bothering me too.
It was a week before Ponyboy started getting any better. I didn't think that I had ever seen Darry that worried in his life. Not only Darry, but me, Soda, damm, even the whole gang. Shortly after was the hearing, and thankfully, Ponyboy was clear on all charges. We also all got to stay together. Dallas and Johnny were buried in the local cemetery, Johnny receiving editorials in the paper for being a hero, and Dallas barely getting mentioned - just like everyone all knew they would. Everyone seemed to have come to terms with their deaths, except Ponyboy. Darry was in another fight with him again, this time over the decrease of his school work. Sodapop had run out, getting tired of them fighting and being dragged in the middle. I usually was, too, and the four of us talked and got everything off our chests. We all realized that we needed to stick together, that the four of us were a team. Upon arriving back home, I followed Ponyboy into his room, mainly to talk to him about Dallas and Johnnycakes. He sat down at his desk, grabbing his pencil and tapping it on the pad of paper in front of him.
" I dunno what to write about," he said, defeated. I kneeled behind him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and placing my head on his right shoulder.
"Well, maybe I can help. I doubt it, though," I said smiling.
"Shoot."
"Pony…you know that you can't deny the fact that they died forever, baby," I said softly.
He sighed sadly. " I know."
"And realize that they weren't the only ones to die that night. A big part of me died along with them. Part of my heart, part of my soul. You dig, Pony?" I explained quietly.
" I dig. A part of me went with them, too."
"Your spirit." He nodded.
"But in reality, they never did die," I murmured, chuckling at the startled look on my brother's face, looking at me from the mirror leaning up against the books on his desk.
" I mean, they'll never die as long as we remember them. Remembering a quiet, defeated looking sixteen-year-old whose hair needed cutting badly and who had black eyes with a frightened expression to them. Remembering…" my voice grew soft.
"Remembering a tough, tow-headed boy with a cigarette in his mouth and a bitter grin on his hard face."
I had been staring at a spot on the wall, and was surprised to feel wetness slide down my right cheek. Sighing and getting up from my position, I wiped away the stray tear from my face. Looking out the window at the setting sun, I ruffled Ponyboy's blonde hair lovingly.
" I gotta go somewhere real quick before it gets too dark. Get working on that assignment kid, or Darry'll have your head," you told him with a small grin before exiting the room. Walking down the hallway and through the parlor, I was stopped by Darry before I could open the door.
"Where are you going?"
My hand hesitated on the doorknob, my dirty-blonde hair shading my face.
"…The cemetery," I said quietly, before turning the knob and walking out the door, hearing it shut behind me. Ponyboy came out of his hiding spot in the hallway.
" I knew it," he said, shaking his head. Darry and Soda looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
"Golly you guys; couldn't you figure out that she loved Dally?"
"Now that you mention it…she hasn't taken off his chain or ring since he died," Sodapop mused.
"Evelyn's a strong girl. She'll pull through," Darry murmured quietly, earning nods of agreement from his brothers.
"Hey Johnnycakes. The rest of the gang says "hey" too. I saw the letter that you wanted my kid brother to have but I didn't read it. Though, I have a feeling that you wanted him to say something to Dally-" I choked up momentarily before continuing.
"Well, you'll be able to tell him now. God Johnny, we all miss you terribly," I cried softly, sniffling.
"Just between you, me, and Ponyboy…he died gallantly," I said with a sad smile, kissing the tips of my fingers and placing them on the top of Johnny Cade's headstone before saying goodbye and walking off to find Dally's. It wasn't too hard and when I arrived, I sat in front of his grave, hugging my knees to my chest. I sat there like that for a few moments, tears being born from my forest green eyes, only to travel down my cheeks and die on my lips.
"Dallas, you stupid hood," I whispered softly, a few sobs escaping.
"Couldn't you see how much I cared for you? Couldn't you see how much we all cared for you, how much we'd all miss you? We all loved Johnny. When he died, that was your breaking point. When you died…that was mine. A part of me died with you that night. Now I know why you acted the way you did; if you're tough, you don't get hurt. You look out for yourself and nothing can touch you…." You paused for a second before continuing.
"But that's just a total farce, ain't it? If you're tough, you get hurt just as bad, if not more, than if you were weak. If you look out for yourself, everything can touch you because you have no one to fall back on. Dally, whether you believe it or not, you're a prime example of this fact." I leaned forward, brushing your fingertips over the engraved letters that spelt out his name.
"Dammit Dally…why'd you leave me?" I cried softly, a sob escaping my lips. Lifting up his chain from around my neck, I held the cross and his ring in my fingertips, kissing them before letting them drop back down onto my chest.
†I don't know where you're going,
And I don't know why,
But listen to your heart,
Before…†
" I love you, Dallas Winston," I murmured quietly, closing my eyes. The wind blew softly, giving me the feeling of someone caressing my face. I smiled slightly before opening my eyes. I thanked Dallas silently, before taking my leave.
†You tell him Goodbye.†
'Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of whence it was born, I'll be strong and be alive once again. Not only me, but Ponyboy as well. All we needed was a little push.'
(Ponyboy's P.O.V)
I long since returned to my room, going over everything my sister said. I realized that there were plenty of Dally's and Johnny's out there in the world; there were plenty of all of us out their in the world, going through some of the same things. I thought about how Evelyn told me to remember them. One week had taken the both of them, along with a handsome, dark boy with a reckless grin and a hot temper(1); only one week to take all three. And I decided I could tell people, beginning with my English teacher. I wondered for a long time how to start that theme, how to start writing about something that was important to me. And I finally began like this: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home….
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(1) Yes, I got majority of the ending lines of the book (and other various lines throughout the fic). The ending is my favorite part, but that's not what this footnote is for. In the book, Ponyboy starts the remembering descriptions, and the one that's stated at the end of this one shot is what I believe to be the description of Bob, the Soc that Johnny killed. The only reason I come up with this conclusion is because the line before it (or after it, I can't remember for the life of me right now and I don't have the book in front of me at this moment) states something along the lines of "And one week took all three of them". Yeah. So…that's what I'm guessing.