Chapter 9 (Ponyboy's POV)
I sat up out of my bed to a wonderful headache. Mostly because I had a dream that reminded me that Johnny had no idea Dally was gone. I tried to play it off the first time he asked by just telling him that he was in the cooler. The good thing about Dally is that if he wasn't really dead then he WOULD be in the cooler. I had no idea how to tell him "Oh yeah, by the way Johnny while you were in a coma Dally killed himself. I lied to you about him being in jail. Sorry." "Pony you up?" I heard Soda call from down the hall. "Yeah," I answered.
"Darry needs you to write the wedding invitations. Your hand writing is better than ours." Soda finished. I was annoyed. Did I want to wake up and write? No. Then I remembered what it was for. Darry's wedding. I owed him. The least I could do was write wedding invitations. I got up and wrote them plain and simple:
You are cordially invited to celebrate
The wedding of
Darrel Patrick Curtis
And
Sasha Veronica Czap
On Tuesday afternoon
September the 10th
At four o' clock
Thirty-five east Olive Avenue
Followed by a reception
Everybody thought the invitations looked nice. Later Johnny called Darry and told him to send an invitation to Leah. I didn't mind I mean; she did know Sasha before Darry did. I decided to go over to Two-Bit's where I was pretty sure Johnny stayed the night. I knocked on the door, and to my surprise Johnny answered. Johnny's brown eyes were blood shot.
"It's my fault…" Johnny said very shaky. I never had really hugged Johnny; even though he was my best friend, but now that's really all I could to do comfort him. "Who told you?" I asked gently. Two-Bit got drunk and said 'if Dally wasn't dead then I would have gone with him to Buck's last night.' I asked him this morning how he died. He told me that when I went into a coma; he…killed him…"
Johnny voice broke up with his abrupt tears."Johnny. It's not your fault. I…I… had a really hard time with it too. Just try to remember. He probably would have ended that way anyways." I tried to make that sound like I wasn't being a jerk. "Pony, how EXACTLY did he die?" Johnny looked up at me through tears.
I explained how he robbed the grocery store and pretended to shoot the cops with his unloaded gun. Johnny looked devastated. I sat with him while he talked about Dally. I tried not to cry. I remembered just how I felt, but Johnny was going through it a million times worst. Dally was like his older brother. I honestly don't think I could handle it if Soda died; or Darry. "Did he die before you showed him the sunset?" Johnny stopped crying as I started.
"Johnny…he killed himself before I found the message." I cried trying to forget how it felt to lose everything. I've lost my mom, dad, at the time I thought I lost Johnny, and Dallas. I was depressed for days. Then I heard that Johnny wasn't dead. I had been so relieved. Johnny was my best friend. The gang all stayed the same and they just went back to normal. It was Johnny, Dally, And I that did things together. We always did things with just the three of us. It was so hard to feel that I was alone. I was the youngest, smallest and the only one who wasn't invited to go out with all the other guys. Now I had Johnny back. It would still seem empty without Dallas, but I could live. I was afraid for Johnny. "Do I look like I've been crying?" Johnny asked. I almost laughed. Yeah he did. "Um, No you don't…" I started laughing. God, how rude am I? "Johnny lets go to a movie or something. I'm so fucking bored."
Johnny looked up and wiped away his tears. Johnny and I stood up and stepped over a passed out, hung over, Two-Bit on the way out. I hoped Johnny would try to get over Dally. I finally did.
Leah's POV
"Darry and Sasha are getting married!" I smiled. "Well, are you going to go?" My aunt asked. "Can I?" I wondered. "Well yeah but what are you going to wear." I looked at my dress filled closet. "Uh… I'll find something." My aunt and I laughed.
She was so much like my mom that it hurt. She didn't look much like her but she sure as hell was personality wise. "Well are you going to say for a week?" She pressed on. "I guess." I replied. "Why don't you take Alex with you?"
I wanted to scream. I remembered that dream and I couldn't let that happen. "No. I think I'll just take some time to visit old friends." I tried to play it cool.
It was August. I had a while until the wedding. As of right then I had to go and get signed up for school here in California. I defiantly didn't want to. I had to. I had to graduate then I could go wherever I wanted. I couldn't wait. I needed to leave for a while. I was so glad my aunt was letting me go to the wedding. I was so tired of sitting on my bed and finding shapes in the wall texture. I probably have read every book I own about 100 times. Back in Oklahoma you could find something new to do every day. In California everything was just too busy. As a soc everybody is so critical. I hate trying to make friends. So every time I go out I'm just with the usual three: Jackie, Amanda, and Hannah. Even then it gets boring. Hannah took a dive and decided she didn't want to be a Pop anymore. She started hanging with the hoods. I used to not understand until I lived in Tulsa. I missed those days.
"Hey, Leah," I looked up to see Alex. I stood up and kissed him. Then I sat back down on my bed. "Hey." "You still want to go to the movies?" he inquired, seeming a little shocked. "Yep, Is Amanda going?" "No. but, Jackie and Matt are in the car."
My face got red from anger. I hated Matt, the asshole that killed Johnny in my dream. Besides, I hated him before the dreams started. "Well are you going to go?" Alex questioned."I'm too lazy to get up…" I joked.
Alex came over and threw move over his shoulder and carried me to the car. We both laughed hysterically in the car. Matt and Jackie just stared at us like we were crazy. Things might get better. I was just afraid that going back to Oklahoma would make me want to stay more….
Authors Note: I got tired of typing so I cut it short. I'll try to make it longer tomorrow! Thanks R&R Please!
~PeetaLuver98
