A/N: Hello my loves! Hope you're doing well! Here's chapter 28, I really hope you enjoy it, and I hope this chapter doesn't traumatize you too much, because something's definitely coming your way! ;) Enjoy! Please leave a review! You guys know how much I love these! ;) Stay gold.
XxX
July 10, 1966
*Mary's POV*
I called Ponyboy everyday leading to Saturday. I called him back after I had the conversation with my uncle to tell him everything. We called each other everyday after that, not having to be discreet about our conversations anymore. We'd talk for hours (or at least until I heard Darry screaming in the background that he won't be able to pay the phone bill if we keep doing this). One day, when I called, Sandy was at the Curtis house with Sodapop and I got her on the line to ask her if I should be wearing a fancy or a casual dress, since Ponyboy was not the most qualified for women's fashion advice. She said to wear not my most casual one, but not my fanciest dress either.
"Who cares… It's just a dress…" I could hear Sodapop mumbling in the background.
"Hey, this is important stuff, will you shut up?" Sandy snapped at him playfully and we both laughed. I liked Sandy. I had met her a few times before and she was super sweet, a perfect match for Sodapop.
The day finally came. Saturday. Everything went fine. I didn't pass out, nor did I feel weak or sick at all. In fact, it was hard to believe the doctor, since I was feeling pretty much normal.
It was a quarter to seven. Ponyboy said him, Sodapop and Sandy would be picking me up at seven o'clock. Apparently, Two-Bit, Steve and Dally were taking different cars to get there. I had decided on a white swing dress with little silver details along the hem and silver heels. I had done my hair and my makeup, and I was looking at my reflection in the mirror when Aunt Gemma walked into my room. She was holding a dark blue box in her hands. She took one look at me and froze on the spot. Her face seemed to soften.
"You look so much like your mother when she was your age," she said, smiling at me.
Aunt Gemma was my mother's sister. She walked closer to me and stood behind me in front of the mirror.
"Do you ever miss her?" I asked, looking at her from the mirror. "She was your sister after all."
"There's not one day that goes by without me thinking of her," she answered. "We were best friends. Just like you and Jake are."
I turned around to look at her.
"Be honest with me," I said. "Is this too much? I mean, I was hesitating between my blue dress and this one, but the blue dress is a bit more casual. Maybe I should just stick to casual…"
"This dress is perfect. Your mother would've loved it, that's for sure," Aunt Gemma said firmly. That was enough to convince me. "Speaking of which."
She handed me the blue box she had been holding.
"I thought you might want to wear this."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Open it, you'll see," Aunt Gemma said.
I opened the blue box and inside I found a delicate silver chain with a little heart pendant attached to it. I gasped.
"This was the necklace Mom used to wear all the time!" I said, taking the chain in my hand.
"Not exactly. This is the necklace I used to wear all the time," Aunt Gemma answered. "Your mother and I had the same. I felt like now was a good time to give it to you."
I was moved. I remembered my mother wearing that necklace every single day.
"Here," Aunt Gemma said. She took the necklace from me and attached it at the back of my neck. The pendant fell a few inches lower than my collarbones.
"Thank you so much," I said, giving Aunt Gemma a hug and a kiss.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Prince Charming is here," Aunt Gemma winked at me. I rolled my eyes, which made her laugh. "Go on, don't keep him waiting," Aunt Gemma said.
I smiled at her before exiting my room and going down the stairs.
Jake had let Ponyboy, Sodapop and Sandy in. I was relieved to see that Sandy was wearing a dress that was only slightly more casual than mine. I had chose right. Then, I saw Ponyboy.
He was looking at me with an expression I had never seen on him before. He was looking at me up and down, with a mesmerized look on his face. For once, I didn't feel too thin, too this or too that. The way he looked at me made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the whole world.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey," he said. "You look… beautiful."
"Thanks," I said, feeling myself blushing.
"Okay, this is really cute and all, but we have a party to go to, so…" Soda started. "Shall we leave?"
I giggled lightly.
"Let's go," I said.
XxX
The dance was a blast. The barn was all cleaned up and decorated for the event, and there was music and everyone was having a blast. We met up with Dally and Sylvia, Steve and Evie and Two-Bit, who had a girl at his arm I'd never seen before (I found out later on that her name was Barbara).
Ponyboy asked me to dance and very soon, everybody was dancing, including Dally and Sylvia. Him and I made eye contact and I knew he was remembering the evening before the car crash, when I had taught him how to dance. I smiled at him and he smiled back.
Ponyboy was a way better dancer than I had expected. I pointed it out, and he explained that sometimes, when they were all bored, their parents would put music in the house and teach the three boys dancing skills. I smiled at the thought of a slightly younger Ponyboy making his mother twirl around the living room with some Elvis music playing in the background.
It was like there was only the two of us. He was the only one I saw. We danced and talked and had a great time for a few hours, appreciating each other's presence. After two hours of dancing, Ponyboy whispered in my ear.
"Can I show you something?"
I nodded, trusting him entirely as he grabbed my hand and carried me out of the barn.
XxX
"What is this place?" I asked.
"I used to come here often when Mom and Dad died, whenever I need to be alone," he answered.
We had been walking away from the barn for a good twenty minutes. We were now standing in front of another barn. An old, abandoned-looking one.
"Why'd you bring me here?" I asked.
"I wanted you to see that part of me, I guess," he answered. "Do you wanna go in?"
"Sure," I said, grabbing his hand.
We walked up to the barn and Ponyboy pushed the door open with his free hand. The interior was so dark I couldn't see anything. I was starting to get creeped out, but Ponyboy seemed confident about where he was going. He grabbed my hand more firmly and guided me to the middle of the room. The only sound that could be heard was our footsteps, mine being louder because of my heels.
We reached a point where he stopped and bended down in front of him. I heard him fumble with something and a few minutes later, a lantern lit up, illuminating the room with a dim glow.
The barn was vast, with a wooden floor and a big pile of hay bales right in the middle of the room. At our feet, next to the lantern and the hay bales, there was a red, old-looking blanket on the ground.
"I used to come here and read sometimes. It's not that far away from home, so…" Ponyboy didn't finish his sentence.
I was looking at him. This was the first time we were really alone together, as in far away from others. He seemed to realize that.
"Ponyboy…" I started.
"Yeah, I know, maybe coming here was a bad idea. Maybe we should just go back," he started.
"Pony," I stopped him by grabbing his arm and I kissed him. This wasn't our usual soft, sweet kisses. Something about that kiss was different. More passionate, more urgent. I felt something in the pit of my stomach. A sort of warmth, something I had never felt before. Ponyboy seemed to feel what was coming too because he pulled away.
"Mary, please," he started, panting.
"What is it?" I asked, a smile growing onto my face.
"I just… we should go back," he said, seemingly very nervous, his voice coming out more strained than usual.
"Why? I like it here," I said innocently. One look at his crotch and I understood his discomfort.
"Mary, please, we're gonna do something we'll regret," he said, grabbing my hand and attempting to pull me towards the door.
"Why would we regret it? Because it makes us feel good? Because it makes us feel something?" I asked.
"Mary-" he started.
"Pony. I love you," I said.
He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. I had never told him I loved him before. I wasn't doing it in hopes of getting what I wanted. I knew he wanted it just as much. I was saying it because I meant it. I loved him. With all my heart.
"I love you too," he said, and that was it.
He laid me down on the blanket, which was surprisingly soft. The dim glow of the lantern casted a beautiful, romantic glow into the barn. It was just me and him.
"Just relax," I said, raising one of my hand to brush his cheek with the back of my fingers. The gesture seemed comforting for him.
Nothing could stop us now. Everything the church had told us didn't seem to matter anymore. The moment was short-lived, it being our first time, but at the same time passionate, tender and romantic. Our mouths locked, our hands explored every inch of each other's skin, our bodies connected. It wasn't particularly pleasurable, nor was it particularly painful, but every move, every gesture was attentive, soft and filled with love, and only then did I know that nothing could break us apart.
I didn't know back then that this was my Last Good Day. Each terminally ill person has one, and you can only know it's your Last Good Day after you've lived it. A day when everything just gets better, and you feel almost normal again, like the illness is not even there. Then, the next day or a few days later, your health condition plummets and it's only then that you know this was your Last Good Day. But as Ponyboy and I loved each other, I couldn't bring myself to even think about the past, or the future. All that mattered for us was each other, right now, in this moment.
