AUTHORS NOTE

Hey guys! What's going on? I'm back with the 3rd (and possibly final) chapter of Too Late. I would've posted it yesterday, but I had to go out of town with my mom and brother. I had a bit of trouble writing this one. I hope it's as good as the previous two.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Have a fun read!

- spacedreamerz

TWO-BIT POV

Two-Bit's marble gray eyes flickered over to Johnny. He was still unconscious. He's been like that for almost twenty minutes now. Two-Bit tried to get him up. He flicked some cold water in his face, pinched him, and even slapped him a few good times. Nothing worked. It was like he was dead to the world.

Two-Bit's face creased with worry as he reached for another cigarette. He had already smoked about 5 in there. Darry was probably going to be pissed.

Two-Bit sighed and picked up his lighter. He had no clue what Darry was even doing and there was no sign of Soda anywhere. Everything in the house was real quiet. Two-Bit hated being left alone. It bored him and the silence gave him the creeps.

He was debating if he should leave for a second and go get Steve. Maybe his old man was drunk again and didn't care if he left. Even if he did, Steve would probably go still. Though three things were stopping him from doing just that. Darry's orders, Johnny, and the fact that Steve hated being woken up from his sleep. One time Two-Bit did it, and Steve was ultra pissed. He said some real nasty stuff. Darry kicked him out of the house for it too. Two-Bit smiled as he remembered. Even though he was getting called every cuss word under the sun, it was hilarious to see Steve mad.

Two-Bit flicked the lighter on and brung it to his cigarette. Just then, two-Bit heard something outside. It sounded like a wailing siren. Two-Bit stood up from the couch and walked over to the window. He could see the flashing of red and blue lights.

The police. Looks like someone's in trouble.

Suddenly, he saw Darry's car come into view and pull into the driveway.

"Finally!" Two-Bit beamed. He ran to the front door and swung it open.

Though he was rudely greeted by a cop car burling into the driveway right behind Darry. He paled. Two-Bit quickly shut the door and ran back into the living room. He was confused and a bit panicked. Why were the police coming here? His eyes shifted to Johnny's figure. He was still lying on the couch unconscious. His face locked in a state of discomfort.

Was it Johnny?

Two-Bit moved closer to look at Johnny. He didn't have any major bruises or scars other than that one those socs gave him. While he did have some blood on him, it didn't look like it came from any injury. In fact, it couldn't have come from any injury. The bleeding would've stained his clothes way worse if that was the case. So, what in the world happened?

Two-Bit heard the front door creak open. He saw Darry and Soda walk in. Two-Bit's heart fell. They both looked awful. Like they've been crying. Darry looked to be dog-tired while Soda's eyes were wide and alert. Like he was on the lookout for something trying to attack him.

"Darry…what happened?" Two-Bit asked. His voice shrill and shaky.

Darry's eyes met with Two-Bit's. Darry just looked at him tears and heartbreak in his once steely, strong brown eyes, and shook his head. Two-Bit didn't know why, but he could feel tears begging to fill his eyes. Why was he crying? He didn't even know what happened. Why was he assuming the worst? He never did that before. Why is he doing it now?

A policeman walked through the door. A graven look on his face. As soon as that cop walked in, Two-Bit felt something go off in him. Fear. Something bad had happened.

The officer walked straight into the living room. He glanced at Two-Bit, making him panic a little. Then he glanced at Johnny.

"This is Johnny, right?" the officer asked, turning back to Darry.

"...Yes.." Darry responded.

Two-Bit's gaze just shifted back and forth between Darry, Soda, Johnny, and the cop. He'd never been so confused in his life. Not even when in math class. Nothing was making sense. Why was this cop here to see Johnny? Did…Johnny do something?

Two-Bit's marble-colored orbs locked on Johnny's blood-splattered shirt. Johnny didn't…hurt anyone…right? Two-Bit shook his head. This was Johnny he was talking about! Johnny wouldn't hurt a fly. Never mind a person. He'd only do something like that in self-defense…

Two-Bit's thoughts were cut off by the sound of movement. He looked up and saw Johnny beginning to stir. He was waking up! A spark of relief went off in Two-Bit. He gave a small smile. Finally! Johnny was waking up! Maybe he'd get some answers now…

JOHNNY POV

Black. Everything was black. He couldn't see nor feel anything. He could hear distant voices saying something.

Was…he dead…?

No.

He couldn't be. How'd he die?

Johnny tried to think back, but everything seemed fuzzy. It was like couldn't remember anything at all.

"Johnnycake…get up…"

Johnny heard a voice. He could just barely make out what it was saying. He think it was calling his name. The voice sounded terribly familiar. Like he's heard it a million times before, but he couldn't recall.

"...Johnny….get up, bud…."

The voice was louder this time. It sounded so very familiar. He knew who it belonged to. It was on the tip of his tongue. Why was it so hard to remember?

"Johnnycake! Get up!"

Johnny's dark eye's snapped open. They were met with a bright light that pained his eyes to look at. He flung his arm over his face to shield his eyes. His head was pounding. It felt like he'd been hit over the head with a brick.

"Johnny? You okay, kid?" a voice asked.

Johnny moved his arm down and shifted his eyes toward the voice. It was Two-Bit. That voice he was hearing…Two-Bit was telling him to get up. Johnny groaned and slowly sat up. His dark eyes veered around the room. He was at…the Curtises? When did he get here…? The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in the lot with Pony. Who moved him here…? He looked around some more. It wasn't just him and Two-Bit in the room. It was Darry and Soda too. They looked… miserable. What happened while he was asleep? Was this some sort of dream? Everything felt so real though…

"Johnny Cade."

Johnny jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar deep voice. His head swirled around in the direction of it.

Johnny's eyes met with a tall man's. His mouth was etched in a deep frown. He was staring Johnny down. His gaze steely and questioning. Johnny immediately noticed his uniform. He was a cop. Johnny began to feel uneasy. He wanted to run away. He didn't like this. Why was a cop here? Why did he know his name?

"What can you tell me about the incident at the park?" the cop asked. His eyes were still fixated on Johnny.

Incident…? Park…? What was he talking about? Johnny didn't remember any "incident." He only remembered being in the lot with Pony. He couldn't remember anything before that. Nothing.

"W-What incident?" Johnny stammered. His voice sounded rough and small. His throat was really dry. He could sure use some water or something.

"The drowning incident with Ponyboy Curtis. Can you tell me what happened?"

Johnny's brows furrowed in confusion. What happened with Ponyboy? He must've hit his head real hard. He couldn't remember a thing. The only thing he remembered was the lot…and socs…

And a fountain…

Johnny felt terror override him. His heart sank.

Pony…the fountain…those socs….

They drowned him…

They killed him…

Johnny began shaking. His chocolate-colored eyes grew as wide as saucers. He remembered everything.

His mind was rushing with thoughts. Some of them replaying what happened in his mind. Like a movie on rewind.

Some of them were screaming at him. Pointing the blame in his direction. Crying out that it was his fault. Telling him that he should've been the one to drown.

Johnny listened to them all. Each thought was tearing him apart. He believed them. He believed the voices. He accepted everything as the truth. It was his fault. He let Pony drown. He killed him.

Tears ran down Johnny's face like a waterfall. His throat and lungs felt as if they were closing up. He could barely catch a single breath. It was like something was restraining him from breathing. It was killing him.

Was he dying?

Part of him hoped so. He wouldn't have to deal with this tormenting him for the rest of his "life."

Johnny began mournfully sobbing.

He wished he was dead.

TWO-BIT POV

Two-Bit stared ahead. He watched as Johnny sobbed and Soda wept. Darry looked as if he was going to break down any second. He didn't know what he was hearing.

Drowned…?

It couldn't be. There was no way. It just wasn't possible. How was someone going to drown at the park?

"W-What are you talking a-about, officer? Who drowned?" Two-Bit whimpered. Man, he sounded small.

The policeman turned around to face Two-Bit with a sympathetic look in his eye.

"Ponyboy Curtis drowned. Presumably in the fountain of Silverwood Park," he explained.

Two-Bit instantly paled. His stomach lurched as his head began to spin.

"W-W-What? H-How did…? T-That can't be r-right.." he whispered to himself.

He just saw Pony a couple of hours ago. They were at that drive-in. He was sitting right next to him. There was no way he was dead. He was right beside him hours ago. He couldn't be.

Until he saw Pony for himself…he wasn't dead. He was just out somewhere looking at the sunrise like he loved to do whenever he was up early enough.

Yeah. That was it.

He wasn't dead.

Though Two-Bit kept telling himself that, he began crying. He didn't understand. Pony wasn't dead..so why was he…

Two-Bit's stomach lurched again. He had to leave.

Without saying a word, Two-Bit stumbled past Darry and Soda to the door. He left.

The cold wind embraced his face. Two-Bit didn't pay it any mind. He had to get home. He couldn't stay in that house a second longer. He was going to hurl if he did. He stepped off the porch and started walking across the street. His eyes were locked on his home. He wanted to run home, but he knew his nausea wasn't going to allow him to. He didn't want to throw up in the middle of the damned street.

Two-Bit eventually reached the steps of his porch. He sat down on the middle step and stared ahead. He tried to clear his mind and forget what that officer told him. He didn't want to think about it. He refused to. What that cop said was either a lie or he misunderstood the situation. No one would drown a 14-year-old.

No one was that evil. Not the socs. Not even Johnny's parents.

Two-Bit sighed and shook his head. He didn't want to think right now. He just wanted to forget that anything even happened. He peered up at the sky. He could see a bit of sun peeking out from the horizon. It was almost daylight. Two-Bit stood up from the steps and began walking towards his front door. He was going to bed. He had to sleep on this. Even though he didn't feel tired anymore, he was going to force himself to sleep. When you're asleep, you can't think.

That sounded perfect to him right about now.

JOHNNY POV

His head was throbbing tirelessly. It nauseated him. He could barely breathe from all his sobbing. He knew he had to answer the officer. Though he had no idea how he was going to. He knew he wasn't going to be able to talk without breaking down and crying. Johnny had never felt worse in his life.

This was hell...

"Johnny…please just take some deep breaths. We need some answers…" Darry said. His voice was uncharacteristically quiet and wavered.

Deep breaths. How was that going to work? He could barely take a breath as it was. How was he going to take deep ones? Despite this, Johnny nodded. He had to try something. He had to speak.

Johnny slowly took a shuddering breath as he tried to calm himself. He tried to think of something good. There wasn't much he could think about though. Not anymore. Most of his good memories involved Pony. Any thought of Pony sent him further into a sobbing fit.

So, Johnny just thought snow.

It had snowed a lot last year. Even though it was really cold and a hassle to walk in, it made Tulsa look gorgeous. How it perfectly laid on the ground, sparkling as the sun hit it. Tulsa looked like a giant snow globe. Johnny remembered how he'd just sit in the lot or on his porch and look at it. It was as if he was hypnotized.

As Johnny's thoughts were concentrated on last year's snowfall, his breathing steadied. While tears were still flowing, they stopped just enough so that he could speak. If only a few words.

"W-We were i-in t-the park…w-we were just w-w-wandering a-around…" Johnny stuttered, "t-then…t-the s-s-socs…c-c-came."

"Socs? Who are they? Some type of gang?" Officer Walls questioned

Johnny slowly shook his head. "N-No…t-they're…j-just some r-rich k-kids who d-d-don't like us g-greasers very m-much…"

He kind of forgot that the term was only used by greasers. People outside of their circle wouldn't know what it meant.

"Can you identify any of these socs?" questioned officer walls.

Johnny quickly tapped his finger on the couch.

He remembered all of their faces. He didn't want to. He wanted them erased from his mind. He didn't want to think about those evil people again. They'd break him if he kept ruminating about them. He'd turn into nothing but a rage-driven nobody that only kept living because of the deep-seated hatred in his heart. Johnny didn't want to be miserable like that for the rest of his life…but he might not have a choice.

Johnny nodded, clenching his hands into fists. "O-One..of t-them n-names was B-Bob Sheldon…I t-think,"

Officer Walls's brown eyes went a bit wide. The frown on his face got even deeper. He nodded.

"I see…can you recall what they were doing?" he questioned, folding his arms.

Johnny nodded. Though he didn't want to remember what happened, he had to.

For Darry and Soda.

For Pony.

Johnny sniffled and closed his eyes. "T-T-They c-came u-up to u-us. T-They w-were d-drunk. B-Bob said s-s-something to P-Pony and P-Pony got m-m-mad and m-mouthed off…t-then…t-t-the other s-socs….B-B-Bob told t-t-them to h-h-h-hold P-Pony in t-the f-f-fountain."

Johnny felt even more hot tears arising. All he could think about was how he stood there and watched everything happen. He was so worthless.

"They then proceeded to…drown Ponyboy, is that correct?"

Johnny stifled a sob and just nodded.

"Okay. That's all I needed to know. I'll be going to the Sheldon residence. Thank you for your cooperation, Johnny." Officer Walls said as he walked towards the front door.

"I'm very sorry for your loss." he sympathized, "we're going to get everyone involved with this. I promise."

"...Thank you, Officer Walls." Darry croaked.

Officer Walls then left. Deafening silence filled the room. The only thing that was present was the crying and sniffling of Johnny and Soda.

Johnny took another deep breath in an attempt to control himself.

There. It was over. Those socs would get brought to justice. Hopefully, they'd be locked away for the rest of their lives. They'd never hurt anyone again. But…even if they were locked up, it wouldn't bring Pony back. Nothing would. He'd still be dead and gone.

Johnny would never be able to talk to him again.

They wouldn't be able to look at sunsets anymore.

He'd never hear Pony's voice ramble on about books and movies anymore.

Never again would he hear from Ponyboy.

"Are…you guys alright…?" Darry asked.

What kind of question was that? "Are you alright?" They weren't alright. What type of person would be alright after this? Johnny didn't say any of what he was thinking though. He just shook his head. That's all he could do.

"...I'm…going to go to the hospital…are you guys coming?" Darry uttered.

"Why would we Darry?" Johnny snapped, "Pony's already dead!"

Johnny didn't know what he was saying. Something in him just went off.

"He's dead! He's not gonna come back just because he's at some lousy hospital!" he screamed, "they're probably already doing an autopsy on his damn body!"

Johnny regretted what he said as soon as it left his mouth. Soda let an agonizing sob. Darry stared at Johnny. Shock and hurt were written all over his face. Instant guilt rose in Johnny as he watched Darry walk over and hug his little brother.

He did that. He made Soda cry. He hurt Darry. What the hell was wrong with him? He let their little brother die and then yelled horrible things at them…he deserved this. He deserved to go through all this pain.

Johnny gazed at the brothers then looked away. He felt so ashamed of himself.

He had to leave.

Johnny shakily pushed himself off the couch and walked towards the door. Without looking back, he left.

The chilly morning air blew against Johnny's bronze skin causing him to shiver. He wrapped his arms around himself. His dark brown eyes glanced up at the sunrise. It was beautiful. The pink and blue-hued sky and the fluffy white clouds almost took his mind off everything for a minute. Johnny wished he could do nothing but look at the sunrise and sunset forever with Pony. The rising and setting of the sun masked the world's cruelty and made everything seem lovely. If not only for a few hours. Those few hours were always the best moments of his day.

But not even the sunrise could completely clear Johnny's broken mind. The only thing on his mind was Pony and the rest of the gang. Guilt was gnawing away at him. He wasn't going to be able to face them ever again. Not after letting Pony die. He practically murdered him. Not to mention the stuff he said to Darry and Soda. They probably hate him now. He wouldn't blame them. He hated himself too.

Johnny watched his shoes as he walked down the street. He didn't have any place in particular he was walking to.

He just had to leave.

He didn't want to go back home. This…stuff on top of his father's relentless abuse would drive him insane. He didn't think he could face Darry or Soda ever again. He just wanted to leave. Besides the gang, nothing good ever happened in Tulsa. With Pony gone…Johnny knew he couldn't go back to living life how it used to be. If he stayed here, he'd be miserable forever. Part of him knew he deserved that outcome, but the other wasn't willing to.

He was going to leave everything.

He had to.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It might just be the last because I have an idea about another story. It's centered around Dally and Sylvia. No one's really explored their relationship before, so I thought it'd be cool to do so.

Let me know what you guys think in the reviews.

Thanks for reading!

- spacedreamerz