Author's Note: Hey guys! Yeah, I know, not my usual fanfic subject! But I thought I'd try something a little different, plus I just read this book and loved it, and the movie wasn't half bad either. ;) This is also a sort of welcoming gift to my friend SingingEms7, who just got an account here and loved Outsiders as much as I did. Check out her profile if you love Outsiders, because she's the best portrayer of the story, I'm just doing this for the heck of it and the love of Darry. X) So welcome SingingEms, and stay gold everyone! ;)
A month after Johnny's death…
Darry stormed through the door of the Curtis home, snapping around and punching
the wall in complete and utter rage. He ignored the throbbing pain now blooming on
his knuckles, embracing it even. It was good to get his anger out on something other
than Two Bit's face. But one punch couldn't do it. Two Bit's mocking cracks played
over and over in his head. Man, that boy couldn't shut his mouth if his dear life
depended on it! They'd all just been taking a walk around the park, talking about
switchblades and broads and other things greasers were known for. All of a sudden,
Darry saw a girl he recognized from his graduating class walking by, and he'd smiled
at her, strictly graduate to graduate. "Heeey, Superman! You reelin' in a broad there?"
Two Bit had drawled, his cocky grin springing to life.
"Shut your mouth, Two Bit." Darry growled, but apparently the heat rising to
his face was visible.
"Aww, look! He's blushin'! Your face is 'bout as red as your cape, Superman!"
Two Bit roared, and several of the other joined in.
"She's—" Darry started, but Steve cut him off. "Pretty good-lookin'?"
"Your soulmate?" Soda joked lightly.
"Good in—" Two Bit started, but Darry had shot him a look so venomous it
could have burned right through the thick tree trunk directly behind Two Bit. For
the first time in a long time, the grin was wiped right off of Two Bit's face, and his
eyes were wide with fear. But no matter how out of line Two Bit had been, how far
he had been pushed, Darry couldn't bring himself to breaking his nose. So he'd just
turned and ran back home, ignoring Soda's shouts.
"Darry?" a cautious voice said from behind him, bringing him back. He turned to see
Pony standing there, Gone with the Wind in his hand. Despite his boiling anger, he
couldn't keep from smiling. He was so proud of Ponyboy's love for reading and
school, and he was constantly pushing him to excel, desperately hoping he would
make something out of his life. Turn out better than the rest of them. "What's
wrong?" Pony asked, brow furrowed.
"Nothing Pony, don't worry about it. Go back to your readin'." Darry replied,
turning towards the kitchen.
"C'mon Darry, just t—"
"I don't wanna talk about it!" Darry yelled, but then cursed under his breath.
He had promised himself he would never snap on Pony again. Not after he went too
far and almost lost him. He turned to apologize, but Pony was just standing there
somberly, nodding slowly. "Thanks Pony." Darry exhaled, relieved. He then walked
into his room, locking the door behind him. He backed up a few steps then jumped
and flipped in the air, plopping right onto the mattress. He needed some time to cool
down, some time to think. You'd think that Two Bit comments wouldn't have bugged
him too much, considering they were about a broad. "Darry doesn't have the time to
pick up girls." As Soda had once put it. But that was just the thing. He had gotten a
girl once, just no one else knew about it. And no one ever could. Well, no one knew
except Johnny, but he was gone now. He'd gone to visit him while he was in the
hospital, taking off of work one day. "Hey Dar'." He'd said, eyes lighting up when he
saw him. Darry had honestly been a bit surprised. He knew Johnny, had hung out
with the kid, but he'd always been more of Pony and Soda's pal. Yet here he was,
happy to see him. Johnny had always been one of his favorites in the gang, but who
didn't like Johnny? He was the gang's pet, the kid who kept all hell from breaking
loose. And now…. Well, things weren't looking so good. "Hey Johnnycake, how you
doin'?" Darry asked, fighting back tears as he looked at this poor pup of a kid lying
burned and broken in a white washed hospital room. "Not b—well, I ain't gonna
sugar coat it with you Darry. I hurt all over and can't stay awake very long. So, pretty
bad." He chuckled weakly, but Darry could see his eyes glistening.
"You just hang in there, okay Johnnycake? You'll be fine. You'll be fine." He
whispered the last part, but his voice cracked mid-sentence. Johnny changed the
subject quickly. "So, ditchin' work Darry? I never thought you'd have it inya." he
began to laugh, but it ended in a long wheezing fit.
"Man, you're gonna kill yourself kid! Take it easy. But yeah, I wanted to come
see you." Darry grinned at him. He smiled back. "Thanks man. I've seen almost
everyone else, but there was no sign of you. I'm glad you came." They'd talked for a
little while longer, and Darry was again surprised at how easy it was to talk to
Johnny. He'd always been a quieter kid, letting Two Bit or Dally do most of the
talking. But now they just carried on a casual conversation, and before long girls
came into the discussion. "So that's where they are? Tryin' to pick up some girls?"
Johnny asked when Darry told him of their gang's current activity. He nodded. "Man,
you'd think Two Bit and Dally would be tired of all these greaser girls. I think
between the two of 'em they've picked up every single one." Johnny shook his head
with an amused smile. Darry snorted. It got quiet for a minute, but then Johnny
asked, "You ever had a girl Darry?" He stiffened, memories flowing back all at once.
A silver anklet. The park in the fall. A red Mustang. He managed to nod, and Johnny
looked up at the ceiling. "It must be nice. I've never kissed a girl, I've never even had
one give me a second glance. You're lucky Darry, you got looks and muscle and
brains all rolled into one. Girls like that stuff." He didn't answer. He was still frozen
with the images flashing through his head. A kiss on the porch. A shattered picture
frame. A plane ticket stub. He didn't realize how long he'd been silent until Johnny
said, "Darry, you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine."
"Alright then… well anyway, what was your girl's name?"
He grimaced. This was exactly what he'd been hoping to avoid. But, what harm could
it do? It might be nice to tell someone. And Johnny was probably the most worthy
subject, with his quiet air and all that. There was another reason making Johnny the
most trustworthy subject… but he didn't want to think like that. "Well, this was
surprisingly after I graduated. I never liked the girls in my class much, that way
anyway. Sure, they'd all ask me to parties and movies and stuff, but I just didn't dig
them like that. Soon they figured out that I pretty much stayed alone, and they left
me be. I graduated, still uninterested in most broads, but then I met this girl, Adriana,
and… I don't even know. There was just something different about her. She had this
really pretty face, with these wide hazel eyes that lit up when she smiled, and she
had smooth skin that had got this cute little blush when she was embarrassed. Her
hair was kind of wild, with lots of waves, but for whatever reason that was the
perfect look for her; it framed her face so nicely. You know how the sky looks on a
night without stars Johnny? Yeah, that was the color of her hair exactly. She was
tough as nails when it came down to it, but otherwise she had this sweet, gentle
attitude. She was just so good lookin' and when I finally got up the nerve to talk to
her I found out she was real smart too. She always made these witty comments, but
they were just funny and maybe a bit sarcastic if anything else, but they could never
hurt anyone's feelings like Two Bit. But there was a big problem. She was also a Soc."
He heard Johnny gasp, and he looked over to see his eyes wide in surprise. "A Soc
dug you?" he asked, almost amazed. Darry laughed. "Not at first. She was pretty
resistant, with my being a greaser and all. But this was the first girl I'd ever really
dug, and I wasn't about to give up on her so easy. I persisted, and before long she
agreed to go see a movie with me. Now, I don't really like movies much, but with
such a pretty girl next to me I don't know if I would have been able to pay attention
anyway. After that we went on a walk on the park and just talked. She was a great
listener, and I think I told her just about my life's story in that short time. She told
me a lot about herself too, but mostly she just listened. I'd never really been able to
open up to anyone much besides my brothers, and even then never this thorough. I
told her about everything from my parents to my thinkin' that Pony didn't like me
much, and it was real nice, and I found myself liking her more and more as we
walked on. Even after we went back to my place, she said, ' Hey Darry, why don't we
meet up next weekend too?' really casually, and I had to try to keep the same tone.
But honestly, I was really excited. I didn't think she'd wanna hang anymore. But I
couldn't be more wrong there; we went out a lot over the next couple months. All
that time I kept it from Soda and Pony, I didn't want them worrying about me being
with a Soc. Then, one night after we'd gone to a drive in movie, she sat me down on
my front porch. 'Darry,' she started, and her voice was low and serious. 'I really like
you. But I don't know if anyone else would be real happy if they found out that a
greaser and a Soc were going steady.' I was really surprised then; I had to make her
repeat it. 'Yes stupid, I want to go steady.' I was just so happy, I kissed her, right
there on the porch without knowing whether or not Soda and Pony were home. I'd
never kissed a girl in my life before then, but it's a great feeling Johnnycake." His
eyes were glistening a bit, and Johnny was a bit shocked; he'd never seen Darry so
emotional before. Darry, hard as a rock and the strongest greaser he knew, was
about to cry. It seemed nearly impossible, but those tears were nothing but real.
"After that," Darry continued, "it was just little things I remember most; I bought her
a silver anklet for her birthday, we took a walk every day in the fall, we took a
picture together sitting on a blanket, looking happier than ever; well, than I usually
am anyway. It was just the unbelievable truth of a Soc and a greaser together, and it
seemed like the whole world was perfect. Remember Johnny? Two years ago, when
Pony had you over because he was a little spooked since I hadn't yelled at him in a
month or two? You two thought I was plannin' something. Oh, don't look at me like
that, I hear everything that goes on in my house. Well no, I wasn't planning anything,
I was just too happy to care if he slipped up on his schoolwork a bit, or smoked more
than a pack a day. I was in love with her, and it seemed she was pretty crazy about
me too." He said, eyes dazed. Johnny was confused. Why did he look… almost upset if
he loved this Adriana girl? "If you went steady with her, what happened?" he asked
cautiously. Darry closed his eye, and Johnny suddenly wished he hadn't asked. "It
was after about a year of seeing each other, Adri wanted me to meet her parents. I
told her that was a bad idea, but she wouldn't listen to me. she brought me home,
and even though I'd dressed up, washed all the grease outta my hair, and made sure
any bumps or bruises I had from fistfights were hidden, her dad knew I was a
greaser and threw me out almost right away. After that I'd come 'round to see her,
but her parents would scream at me to leave before they gun me down. After about
two weeks of that, I went over there and there was nothing. No shouts, no lights, just
an empty house. I thought they'd gone out, so I sat on their porch and waited, stupid
as I was, but after it came to be at least one in the morning and no one came back, I
went and tried to see if there was any trace of them. But when I peeked in a window
'round back, I saw all their furniture was gone too, and it finally dawned on me what
had happened. Right when I was a about to leave, raging and tearing up, I saw a little
scrap of paper shoved under one of the boards of the porch. It was a travel map of
North Dakota, and scribbled on it real small was, 'I'm sorry D. I love you.' So that was
that. She was gone because her parents didn't like what I was labeled as, and I
haven't seen her since." He'd finished, rubbing his eyes.
"I'm sorry Darry, that's terrible. It's just not fair how life treats us sometimes,
all because we're greasers." Johnny sighed, puppy dog eyes sad. Darry didn't say
anything, but Johnny knew he appreciated the gesture, if nothing else. He didn't say
it out loud, but he remembered something Pony had told him once that he admitted
he thought about often. "The only thing keeping Darry from bein' a Soc is us." He'd
said. "He's a smart guy, he's strong, and he's still got his whole life ahead of 'im. Or at
least, he did." He now saw exactly what he meant. After a few minutes of silence,
Darry broke it saying, "I hope it goes without saying that you can't tell anyone about
this Johnny." Johnny'd chuckled to himself, but a few tears spilled over his cheeks.
"Darry, you don't have to worry about that. Who's there to tell where I'm headed?"
Darry'd shaken his head at the time, still not wanting to admit that the bonds
holding the gang together were about to be severed. "No Johnnycake, you aren't goin'
anywhere. Don't talk like that." Johnny had sighed, but he cried no more. "Darry I
know I'm gonna die. No one can feel this much pain without dyin', it can't be
possible. God doesn't allow it. Plus the doctors said the medications should have
worked by now; I shouldn't be in as much pain as I am." He should have sound
scared or upset or something, but Darry only heard a hint of… defeat in his voice.
He'd left soon after that, wishing Johnny the well he knew wouldn't change anything,
and two days later he was dead. As he lay on his bed, he thought about Johnny and
the pain he'd helped him release, and soon he sat up and took a deep breath,
ignoring Soda as he knocked on his door. "C'mon Darry, Two Bit feels awful! Come
out, we didn't mean it. Golly, I hate you bein' mad at me." his muffled voice called
through the door. But Darry barely heard it. He walked over to the tiny desk he had
in the back corner of his room, opening the drawer and sifting through the papers
like he was in a trance. There, shoved to the very bottom of the drawer, was the
cracked picture frame, the road map beneath it. And staring up at him was the wide,
sparkling eyes of Adriana. He hadn't been able to look at this picture in years, and
seeing her beautiful face in a picture other than the blurry ones he had in his head
was almost shocking. He still missed her so much it hurt, but as soon as he'd found
out last month that Sandy had left Soda alone he'd tried to focus on that instead. He
saw himself in Soda's pained expression's, and he'd gone into overdrive protecting
him and trying to do whatever he could to make him forget about her. It was alright
for it to happen to him, but he couldn't believe nearly the same thing had happened
to Soda. And so much worse too. It just wasn't fair, Soda had been nothing but a
positive person his whole life, and now something so brutally horrible had left him
with a fake smile plastered over the pain, and dull eyes always threatening to tear
up. He took one last long glance at Adriana, his Adriana, then closed the door and
made a silent vow to let the past go and just focus on making his brothers' lives
better. 'I don't know if you can hear me up there, Johnnycake,' he thought, feeling a bit
strange, but also feeling the need to thank the poor boy, 'but thanks. Whether you
know it or not, talking to you really helped me. It was real tuff of you to listen like you
did. You're a good kid Johnny, a real good kid.'