ACTUAL SERIOUS AUTHOR'S NOTE TIME
Alright folks. It's nearly been a whole year since I've started this story, and ages since I've updated. It's my longest work so far, and my best received one. Overall, writing it has been a journey. However, after I've drifted from this fandom quite a bit, been busy, and want to make room for other works, this will be the final chapter. It's probably going to seem a bit rushed, but I need to let this story go. You all deserve a finished work, and I deserve it too.
To everyone who's stuck with Tulsa Rains, Tulsa Pours? Stay Gold.
August blended into September, and September into October like paint on a canvas – in a whirlwind of color and adventure. Diane barely could comprehend what was happening before another thing occurred. That's the way life with Two-Bit was, unpredictable but always full of pleasant surprise. She liked it that way, without monotony in sight. They snuck out again a week later, and again a few days following. Every time ended in some roundabout, random conversation. Usually they ended in a good kiss too.
Diane finally had a taste of rebellion and romance in the best way possible. During the few she had classes with him, they'd find a way to goof off without getting caught. Life was all one big game to him; she admired that quality in a person. Life was more of a challenge, or a puzzle, or an enigma to her. That's not to say it wasn't fun. Puzzles always interested her. He certainly was one.
Keith Mathews was a man of contrasts to her. His mood could flip from his easygoing self at the drop of a hat, like that fateful night at the drive in. He was almost eighteen but acted like a child. He was the type of guy to watch cartoons and eat cake while downing a six pack. He loved the sunshine but spent every moment of the night out. She never knew how to fully describe him in just a few short words. Though, she couldn't pinpoint a way to describe herself either.
"Diane." Mrs. Carter tapped her foot impatiently. Diane shot up, having lost herself in a long train of thought, leaning on her arm at the breakfast table. She disgustedly shook a bit of butter from her elbow.
"Yes, mother?" She replied.
Mrs. Carter shook her head, muttering a few curses under her breath. "I said that I was leaving for the hospital. Are you or are you not coming with me?"
Diane shook her head. "I'll let you go. Peter and Clara need your emotional grounding more." She sighed. The birth hadn't gone well. It was severely premature, two months early to be exact. Neither of her cousins were in good shape. Peter emotionally, Clara physically. At least Mark was with his grandmother for the time being.
"And you'll be where exactly? I hope you aren't making bad choices with those hoodlum friends of yours. They had to haul one of them out of the diner just Tuesday." Her mother asked.
"Which one?" She pressed.
"Oh, I don't know." Mrs. Carter sighed. "Blond. A bit shady looking. He was flirting with the waitresses again."
She chuckled a little. "That's Dallas. He does things like that. Don't take him seriously, mom."
"That's the third time in the last two months."
"I'll tell him to lay off. He usually listens to me."
"I hope you aren't trying to get fresh with him, young lady."
Diane sighed. "No, ma'am. He has a girl. Anyways, you've already met Keith." Her memory drifted to the day that the two met. It was interesting, to say the least. The combined fact that Two-Bit was a good foot taller than her mother and that he made a very obvious effort to seem decent made it a rather tense situation. At least it wasn't a total train wreck, and it was decided that Diane was allowed to date him.
Mrs. Carter considered the facts. "Alright, I suppose you're right… Just… Please be good. I'm going to spend the night there to give Peter a break. He'll be staying with great aunt Tabitha. I'll be home around noon tomorrow. Make sure to lock the doors if you do leave."
"I will."
Diane watched her mother leave in their newly purchased 'family car' with bated breath. It was a cheap old thing, and it needed work severely, but it worked. She had half a mind to get Sodapop and Steve over to take a look at it, but the other half reminded her that her mother world throw a fit at the idea of her 'hoodlum friends' touching anything of theirs in fear that they would steal it. Once it was out of sight, she leapt up with newfound energy. She had plans, and wasn't going to waste a single moment.
She took a few moments, once she grabbed her backpack, to look herself over in the mirror. Her hair had grown out in the last few months, she realized. Her skin wasn't as pale anymore either, and had a decent tan from the difference in sun from Detroit.
Her dress sense was just subtly changed by Tulsa as well. A few inches shorter on a dress here, a couple above-the-knee skirts there, a lower neckline elsewhere. Nothing to arouse too much suspicion of her mother. She defended it with the fact that Oklahoma was much warmer than her old home. Lucky for her, the bait was taken.
Diane sighed, grinning. It took all of her not to sprint down the sidewalk towards the approaching ginger, and even more for her to not throw herself into his arms. He leaned on his car with a wide smirk, playfully sticking his tongue out.
"Ready?" He asked.
"You know I am, Two." She answered, slipping into the passenger seat through the window.
"So how long do you've got?"
"Until noon tomorrow. Though, I recommend you get me home before then."
He hopped into the driver's seat. "Heard loud and clear, Di." He started the engine with a little sputtering and protest, but it fell through eventually. They sped off, through town, then past city limits. They were way above the speed limit, but there were few people out, so it meant nothing to the duo. The windows were down, and warm air streamed in.
"You know what?" She called over the wind.
"What?" He called back.
She laughed. "You're wild!"
"I'm wild?"
"Wild!"
He cackled happily, throwing his head back. The wind ruffled his hair just the slightest; at the edges where he hadn't greased it as heavily. Diane's whipped around, not restrained by hairspray anymore. It was simply allowed to lay flat, natural. Just one more little difference that Tulsa put deep into her bones. Tulsa was her home. It always would be.
"Two-Bit?" Diane asked softly. They lay on the roof of a dingy motel, just a few miles from the Texas-Oklahoma border. The air, clean and clear, still held a warmth from the day, and rung with the sound of insects that lingered from the summertime. She turned to face him.
"Two-Bit, do you promise to never leave me?"
The rusty haired teen gave her an incredulous look. "What d'ya mean, Di?"
She sighed. "I mean, do you promise to stay loyal? Faithful? We're so young… But I never wanna see another boy but you. Whatever we have, it feels… Right. And I know that… Well… Steve, Dally, they'd go against their girls if they saw a better picking. I'm scared you might..." She explained.
He sat up, pulling her into his lap sloppily. "You're the Minnie to my Mickey." Keith said plainly. "I promise. I'm not as bad as them, you said it yourself. That's just a no-good, low life thing to do, not treat a lady right." His hands rested on her hips gently. "And I'll make your life the best it can be. I'll take on a thousand men, I'll get three jobs, I'll do anything just to make sure you're happy."
She grinned, appeased. "Only if you promise to come home at the end of the day for a nice dinner and quality time with me."
"Oh, I'll make sure it's quality, alright." He smirked, kissing her cheek from behind lightly.
She snickered. "Oh, you certain? You're so skinny, Two! I doubt there's much."
"With your cooking, we could do something."
"Who knows…" She hummed. "Unless you wanna prove your worth right now…" She challenged.
Two-Bit stood, holding her bridal style. "I may just have to take up on that offer..."
October to November. Winter to Spring. The seasons changed, but the gang didn't. Not until February, at least.
The service for the Curtis parents was short and simple, but there was not a lack of tears. Darry was able to keep Ponyboy and Sodapop, luckily. There was mixed feelings about him turning twenty. Mixed feelings about everything. A void opened.
The void grew.
The Soc's got just that little bit meaner on the younger members of the gang. They got meaner on everyone.
Two-Bit started failing more classes. Diane started caring less.
Her mother started drinking more.
Her cousins lost the baby.
Dallas stopped visiting.
Everything was crashing down.
Diane sat on the porch of the Curtis family home, watching the downpour. It was April, and she reminisced on some rhyme she remembered from her childhood. Something about April and May and flowers. The smell of chocolate cake hung in the air as thick as the frosting that would coat it. It mingled with the scent of mud and dust and slowly growing flowers lining the fenceline.
She waited. She and Two-Bit had spent the day with the gang, and when it began to rain, they all stopped at the usual place. After a bit, he offered to run and grab her one of his jackets, as it was getting cool and she had too much pride to use anything of the Curtis'. Plus, boyfriend clothes smelled so much better.
They would, at least. Unfortunately, he'd been gone two hours. She'd called his house to no avail, as well as a few of his other friend's houses. Nothing. She was deeply worried something happened. Looking over her shoulder inside, she took a breath, before standing up, swallowing her doubts, and heading out to find him. There was a few places she suspected right off the bat. Unfortunately, none of them turned anything up. His car sat in front of his house, but there was nobody home. While she was there, she picked up a sweater, just in case.
He wasn't at the lot, or any of the usual bars he hit. The hospital and police station thankfully didn't have anything to offer. She hoped he wasn't hurt or arrested. She plopped on the curb in front of the park, not caring that her dress soiled. At least the rain had subsided to a slow drizzle. Sighing, she looked back at the swings. A little less than a year previous, she'd changed everything she knew for the better in that exact spot, but now the only thing she felt was wory. Not nostalgia.
She was about to get up, when she heard a familiar laugh, one that she was well accustomed to. She turned, expecting Two-Bit to be right there, ready to surprise her, but he wasn't there. Cautiously, she stood, looking around for the source, wondering if her mind was playing tricks.
Her blood turned to ice.
Her mind wasn't playing tricks. It was Two-Bit alright.
He was leaning lazily against a tree, another girl in his arms, lazily pecking her lips between laughs. Diane recognized her instantly, being a girl she was almost friends with, by the name of Kathy. An extra sweater of Two-Bit's was strewn over her shoulders like a shawl, her fingers tangled in his reddish hair as Diane's once did. His arms tangled around the other girl's waist as they once did her's. Her heart dropped, but she didn't cry or call out.
Kathy was always much prettier than her.
Without a word, Diane left. She left the sweater she'd picked up in the mud. The record he'd given her for her birthday was smashed later that night. Anything he'd given or bought was lazily destroyed.
She left the gang without a goodbye, and broke ties with Two-Bit within a hastily passed note at lunchtime and a sour look. She didn't care. Not anymore.
Later that September, she was able to say a final goodbye to everyone. A truly final goodbye to Dallas and Johnny. There was a fleeting moment when she connected her gaze with Two-Bit. Her lips were pursed, her head held high.
She was okay. After awhile, at least.
Because when Tulsa rains, Tulsa pours.