A/N: Hello it's been a long time and I have been sitting on this chapter for a long time! In all honesty I've been writing for other fandoms and it's really caught my attention. But I am determined to finish this story and I'm already contemplating a rewrite of this one. I'll let you get on with this chapter, but there will be more at the bottom.
This is more than likely the last chapter. Please enjoy.
The rumble came and went. It rained that whole night and it was like the earth breathed a sigh of relief. The Socs were beat soundly and when Ben limped in to sitting room, black and blue, I felt the grin curl up on my lip. Served him right, in my opinion. Trying to beat down others for the sake of it was wrong. Eli had been supporting him, suitable disheveled but otherwise untouched. Tim had listened carefully to what I had said. If Eli had come in with a scratch, I would've killed him.
Eli was quick to fill me in on all the details of the rumble. Even Darry had been there, which turned out to have been a good thing. "They really pounded on him Nikki," Eli mumbled as he told me about Pony's beatdown. "He's only just come out of the hospital. I thought Soda was gonna kill 'em. It's only 'cause Curly got there first that Soda got away with a serious assault charge."
"Then it's a good thing he was there," I told him gently, before sending him upstairs to bed. The chances were, even if Soda hadn't touched the boy, he would've been arrested, simply for being there. Lights filled the room and I blinked, turning. A horn blasted twice, and I ran to the door. Tim was hanging out of the window, Curly was halfway to the door.
"I'm laying low here," he mumbled, and I nodded. "Dally stole Tim's gun and he ran off. They just came back from the hospital. I think something happened to Johnny." My heart dropped but it was jolted into beating again when the phone rang. It was Rosie, yelling about restarting hearts and that Johnny was fine. To find Dallas. Quickly.
I jumped in the car and Tim swerved out. Geoff barely managed to pull in and simply blinked at us from the car opposite. We gained air across the tracks and I grabbed on to the door handle.
"The drugstore," I told Tim. We hit up Merchant's first and when we clear there, we headed to the fancy supermarket. I barely saw the blonde hair disappear through the door. I opened the door before Tim had fully stopped, hissing when my ankle rolled. I crashed through the door and jumped on Dallas, both of us crashing painfully to the ground.
"What the fuck!" he sputtered and jammed the barrel of the gun under my chin. "Get out Nikki."
"Fuck you Winston," I growled and didn't move. He dug it in into my jaw and I winced but didn't move. I wouldn't. "Mr. Watson I know you're thinking of calling the cops, but could I ask you not to? The gun isn't loaded, and this idiot just had some of the worst news." Owl eyes blinked at us from over the counter. Mr. Watson nodded and turned on the kettle behind him. He lived down the road from us. He was used to the dramatics of Nikki Reed and her dirty Greaser friends. He tottered off and I breathed a sigh of relief. Dally's hand whipped back but I ducked and then stared at him. "Did you just try to pistol whip me?"
Dallas opened his mouth but didn't get to reply. I was already punching him in his stupid fucking face. He yelled as his nose broke and I heard the tell-tale rattle of a bucket and mop. The door swung open and Dallas used the distraction to throw me off. He stood and made to run but Tim tackled him. The two started to scrap and Tim managed to toss the gun behind the meat counter, where a soc was looking like he was about to faint. Dallas threw him off and I did the only thing that came into my head.
I kissed him.
We both froze but it gave Tim enough time to get up. Dallas tried to pull away, but I bit his lip and pulled him closer, much to both of our surprise. Tim sighed and took out his wallet. I pulled away from Dallas who stared at me a little dazed. I grinned sheepishly at him and tugged his hand, following Tim out the door, calling a farewell to Mr. Watson. Tim opened the back door and I pushed Dallas in.
"Get in there with him," Tim murmured. "I'll kill you later but right now I'm of the mind to strangle you both but to be honest, if it stops Dallas from running, kiss him again Nikki."
"Jesus Christ," I muttered and slid in beside Dallas. He slumped into my side. He started sniffling and tears silently trickled down his cheeks. My heart broke. Tim looked at me and nodded. "Dallas, you ran from the hospital?"
"He's dead." Dallas let out a loud sob and completely curled into a ball. My eyes stung and I hugged him closer to me.
"He's not Dal," I whispered. Dallas stiffened and looked up, his eyes getting fiery. "They resuscitated him. He's not completely out of the blue but he- "
"Don't lie to me Nikki," Dallas cut me off. I opened my mouth, but his hand curled around my jaw. I flinched and Dallas froze. He softened his grip and trailed his fingers along my jaw, his eyes glazing over. "Don't give me hope."
"DALLAS!" I jumped and looked out the window. Two-Bit was already in the back with us, pulling the blond close, wrapping his limbs around the blond. Hands dragged them out and I watched as Dallas was covered in a pile of Curtis gang. I smiled at Darry who handed me out of the car like a real gentleman. I smiled up at him. He grinned back his eyes bright. Pony was standing with Tim, muttering. My boyfriend looked slightly confused. Then Pony threw his arms around Tim.
Everyone froze. Except Tim. Gently, he wrapped his arms around the other boy, smiling despite himself. When he caught my eye, he rolled his eyes, but I could see right through it. Pony pulled away and said something else, too low to hear underneath the noise of the other boys. Then he turned and I instantly felt sorry for Dallas.
"Just leave me there yes, a very smart move," he muttered. Dallas had frozen, pale. "Where did you go? What were you going to do?" The blonde didn't answer. Tim did for him.
"He tried to shoot up a shop with an unloaded gun," he said cheerfully. I glared hard at Tim. He shrugged back at me and I resolved myself to the fact that my boyfriend was an absolute bastard. I stuck up my middle finger at him, which he cheerfully waved off. I sighed and rubbed my forehead before looking at Pony. I winced and decided that I wasn't sticking around for this. It was late. As Pony cursed and raged, I grabbed Tim's hand and we peeled out.
Johnny came home to little affair. We had a cake and all the Curtis boys had been over to decorate my old room. Geoff had wanted to splash the cash but we all ended up listening to Pony. The room was simple and light, with a sturdy wood frame bed that the boys made. Tim had stopped by with nice pine dressing tables and Brandy brought a desk. It was obvious that the desk had been salvaged and reworked. Brandy was a great carpenter.
The dressing tables however... I knew that Tim had stolen it. He was far too proud of it and Tim wasn't good at making things. He was much better at math and calculations. I said nothing as he helped Darry carry it into the room but shooed the boys away as they started to ball up Johnny's new clothes and shove them into the drawer.
"It's no wonder your clothes are as wrinkly as an old man's bollocks," I muttered primly. Dallas snorted and I studiously ignored him. Since we kissed when he had gone full blown idiot, it had been slightly awkward between us. Tim had gone on business as usual and I was grateful for that.
There was loads of food and a cake. Eli sat on one side of Johnny, Pony on the other. Johnny was in a wheelchair until the swelling in his back went down enough to x-ray. He was on strict bed-rest orders but for now, he was up and sitting. Curly was boxing with Ben, which seemed much more dangerous than anyone seemed to care. I flinched as flesh met flesh and Tim curled his arm around me. Peter was here, speaking bashfully to Soda and Steve who were examining his Stingray. Darry had been cornered by Geoff and they were talking business. Amusingly, Dallas had been cornered by my mother and Rosie, who were speaking to him. It looked serious.
"This kind of worked out," I muttered and Tim snorted. He pulled me close and pressed a kiss to the top of my head and I smiled as Two-Bit booed and hissed, after Steve threw a paper cup at us.
I sighed and settled in to watching everyone. Things had worked out well. Hopefully it would stay that way. When Tim gently turned his hand into mine and pressed a ring into the center of it, I didn't cry or scream. I slid the ring onto my finger and leaned closer to Tim. I could feel his smile as he pressed a kiss into my shoulder. It wasn't for a couple of hours until Pony noticed the ring and everyone started whooped. My mom and Rosie cried, while Geoff swore cheerfully. Two-Bit threw me over his shoulder and declared a party at Bucks. Everyone dispersed to spread the word. Johnny waved us on, looking tired and Dallas stayed with him, both disappearing into the house.
I let Two Bit haul me into Darry's truck.
Everything had worked out.
A/N: And there we have it. I feel like this is finished and that this has ended in a way that I'm satisfied with both as a reader and as a writer.
I want to take this moment to thank you for reading and I hope you are all safe. In these times when everything is so up in the air due to COVID and so unjust with what is happening in America, it's important to really examine ourselves and our society. Systematic racism cannot be allowed to go on any more. My thoughts are with those who are affected and I urge any of you to look up Danez Smith's "Dear White America" on Button Poetry. It's great and poignant and expressive.
As for COVID, I just want to say, don't be a pillock and wear a face mask and limit your outside interactions. You may not feel that it is a threat but there are many people who are frightened of this and can be seriously affected by the virus. It's very simple. Wash your hands, wear a mask and keep up social distancing. The more compliant you are with this, the faster it will be over.
Stay safe and again, thank you for reading, especially after so long.
So for the last time, thanks and don't forget to R&R.