Disclaimer: The only things I own are Jessie and the plot, to some extent.
A/N: This is the last chapter. Huzzah! So, don't bug me to write more about this because this is THE LAST CHAPTER!!! *rejoices*
And by the way, the letter that Johnny wrote to Pony and I put in here is a direct quote. It ain't mine. It belongs to S. E. Hinton all the way. And certain quotes that I've taken directly from the book. Stuff that Johnny says. You'll see.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A soft knock on the door jolted Jessie and Dally out of there world and they quickly pulled apart.
"Who is it?" Dally called.
"Pony. Can I come in?" Pony asked.
"Yeah," Dally replied. He glanced over at Jessie and noted that she wasn't blushing at all, unlike himself; he was positive that he was bright red.
Pony opened the door and then closed it behind him. Upon seeing Jessie, he said, "Jessie, I think you should leave."
"Lemme know when yer done," Jessie said and left, closing the door behind her.
"What is it, Pony?" Dally asked impatiently.
"Well, when Johnny was dieing, Two-Bit bought him a copy of Gone With the Wind so I could finish reading it to him. We were reading it in the church to pass time. After Johnny died, I got the book back. Inside it was a letter. There's a bunch of stuff to you in it," Pony said quickly and handed the letter to Dally and quickly left the room, almost slamming the door behind him.
Dally stared at the piece of paper in his hands. Part of him, a large part of him, didn't want to open it. However, a stronger, if smaller, part of him wanted to read it very much. Eyes blurred with unshed tears, he opened the letter and started reading.
"Ponyboy, I asked the nurse to give you this book so you could finish it. The doctor came in a while ago but I knew anyway. I keep getting tireder and tireder. Listen, I don't mind dying now. It's worth it. It's worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Some of their parents came by to thank me and I know it was worth it. Tell Dally it's worth it. I'm just going to miss you guys. I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy who wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid, everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep it that way, it's a good way to be. I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He'll probably think you're crazy, but ask for me. I don't think he's ever really seen a sunset. And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want There's still lots of good in the world. Tell dally. I don't think he knows. You're buddy, Johnny."
When Dally finished reading the letter, he stared at it and then through it across the room as hard as he could. He could feel everything that he had told himself since he had woken up after being shot disappearing, even Jessie. Especially Jessie. All he could think about is that the only person who he had ever loved was dead. Dally threw the blankets off of himself and got out of bed. He walked as quickly as he could without making a lot of noise to the door and opened it quietly. Nobody was there. He walked silently down the hall and out the back door. He was free again.
Dally started running as fast as he could. Not anywhere in particular, just running. His legs took him to the cemetery and then over to Johnny's grave. Dally screamed and enjoyed the pain that flared through his chest from his bullet wounds. He thought about trying to get himself killed again, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. All of the sudden he felt tired, so tired. He sat down, his back against Johnny's grave and stared at the ground, watching the blackness that was coming from the corners of his eyes and quickly clouding his vision entirely. He slumped down, unconscious.
~*~*~*~
"Dally . . . Dally, wake up."
~*~*~*~
"Leave her alone, Dally."
~*~*~*~
"Is he dead?"
"No, not quite."
~*~*~*~
"We're goin' back to turn ourselves in."
~*~*~*~
"I swear, if he tries something like this again, I'm going to kill him!"
"Jessie, calm down."
~*~*~*~
"Useless . . . fighting's no good . . ."
~*~*~*~
Dally was in a pool of black light. He tried to break through the surface, and he got pretty close a couple of times, but he kept on falling back down again, driven by pain. Each time he came up, he heard fragments of conversations, but he didn't know if they were real or not; a couple of times he swore he had heard Johnny's voice. But he knew that Johnny was dead; he was even halfway towards accepting it. Not wanting to give in after he was finally beginning to get that Johnny was dead, he wasn't coming back and it wasn't the end of the world, Dally took one last effort to break through the black and finally made it through.
"Dally!" Jessie gasped quietly when she saw that he was awake. "Yer awake."
Dally smiled weakly. "For now."
Jessie's brow contorted in worry. "What happened?"
Dally closed his eyes and took a shaky breath.
"Dally?" Jessie asked softly.
"Pony-" Dally started, but choked on yet more unshed tears and couldn't continue.
"Nevermind. You can tell me later," Jessie said quickly, not wanting dally to hurt himself more.
Dally shook his head, indicating that he wanted to go on. "He brought a letter from Johnny-" his voice broke again.
Jessie reached out and gently stroked Dally's forehead. She didn't say anything because she didn't want to make him stop talking.
"It said that there was some good in this world. Johnny wanted me to know that," Dally said quietly.
Jessie smiled. "It's a good thing to know."
"There isn't."
"Yes there is, Dally."
"Like what?" Dally said sharply.
"Us," Jessie replied quietly.
Dally stared at her. "One thing isn't worth living for."
Jessie sighed. She could feel tears building up behind her eyes but refused to let them fall. She knew that Dally needed her now. "Can I see the letter?"
"I don't know where it is. I threw it," Dally said shortly.
Jessie got up and quickly found it. She skimmed it and felt the tears come closer to falling. Johnny wasn't her best friend, but they were close. "Sunsets," she whispered, more to herself than Dally.
"What?" Dally snapped.
Jessie's face lit up. "How're ya feeling?"
Dally stared quizzically at her. "Horrible. How else?"
Jessie sighed impatiently. "Well hurry up and get better. By about six tomorrow."
Dally rolled his eyes. "Why?"
Jessie brightened again. "I have to show you something. Rest. I'll be back tomorrow," Jessie said and walked out of the room where Dally was and back to her own.
~*~*~*~
Dally glanced at the clock again. It was five thirty. Jessie wouldn't be coming for another half hour. Apparently she had forbidden anyone to come and see him except for bringing him food and medicine since nobody had come by, whereas before he had had a steady stream of visitors. Many times Dally had wanted to get out of bed, but he knew that if Jessie found out she wouldn't take him to wherever they were going. A soft knock on his door jolted Dally out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?" he called.
Jessie came in and went over to him. "How're ya feeling?" she asked.
"Fine," Dally replied. He was, in fact, feeling better than he had thought, but not fine. He wanted to see what Jessie had to show him more though. Plus, he thought, I'll be ok for a little bit.
Jessie smiled. "Good. Now get up," she said and reached out her hand. Dally took it, even though he didn't really need to, and squeezed it gently before he let go.
"Where're we goin'?" Dally asked, following Jessie out of the room, then the house, and then into her car. Well, her parents car.
Jessie's smile widened. "You'll see. Now buckle up," she commanded and started driving. After a couple of minutes, when they were on top a hill, she stopped the car. "Get out," she said softly.
Dally did so; like he needed to be told.
"Follow me," Jessie said and started walking over to the edge of the hill. Dally followed and smiled when he saw what he had shown her.
"The sunset," he whispered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There it is! I'm done! No more! And don't ask for more! You're not going to get it!
A/N: This is the last chapter. Huzzah! So, don't bug me to write more about this because this is THE LAST CHAPTER!!! *rejoices*
And by the way, the letter that Johnny wrote to Pony and I put in here is a direct quote. It ain't mine. It belongs to S. E. Hinton all the way. And certain quotes that I've taken directly from the book. Stuff that Johnny says. You'll see.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A soft knock on the door jolted Jessie and Dally out of there world and they quickly pulled apart.
"Who is it?" Dally called.
"Pony. Can I come in?" Pony asked.
"Yeah," Dally replied. He glanced over at Jessie and noted that she wasn't blushing at all, unlike himself; he was positive that he was bright red.
Pony opened the door and then closed it behind him. Upon seeing Jessie, he said, "Jessie, I think you should leave."
"Lemme know when yer done," Jessie said and left, closing the door behind her.
"What is it, Pony?" Dally asked impatiently.
"Well, when Johnny was dieing, Two-Bit bought him a copy of Gone With the Wind so I could finish reading it to him. We were reading it in the church to pass time. After Johnny died, I got the book back. Inside it was a letter. There's a bunch of stuff to you in it," Pony said quickly and handed the letter to Dally and quickly left the room, almost slamming the door behind him.
Dally stared at the piece of paper in his hands. Part of him, a large part of him, didn't want to open it. However, a stronger, if smaller, part of him wanted to read it very much. Eyes blurred with unshed tears, he opened the letter and started reading.
"Ponyboy, I asked the nurse to give you this book so you could finish it. The doctor came in a while ago but I knew anyway. I keep getting tireder and tireder. Listen, I don't mind dying now. It's worth it. It's worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Some of their parents came by to thank me and I know it was worth it. Tell Dally it's worth it. I'm just going to miss you guys. I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy who wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid, everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep it that way, it's a good way to be. I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He'll probably think you're crazy, but ask for me. I don't think he's ever really seen a sunset. And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want There's still lots of good in the world. Tell dally. I don't think he knows. You're buddy, Johnny."
When Dally finished reading the letter, he stared at it and then through it across the room as hard as he could. He could feel everything that he had told himself since he had woken up after being shot disappearing, even Jessie. Especially Jessie. All he could think about is that the only person who he had ever loved was dead. Dally threw the blankets off of himself and got out of bed. He walked as quickly as he could without making a lot of noise to the door and opened it quietly. Nobody was there. He walked silently down the hall and out the back door. He was free again.
Dally started running as fast as he could. Not anywhere in particular, just running. His legs took him to the cemetery and then over to Johnny's grave. Dally screamed and enjoyed the pain that flared through his chest from his bullet wounds. He thought about trying to get himself killed again, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. All of the sudden he felt tired, so tired. He sat down, his back against Johnny's grave and stared at the ground, watching the blackness that was coming from the corners of his eyes and quickly clouding his vision entirely. He slumped down, unconscious.
~*~*~*~
"Dally . . . Dally, wake up."
~*~*~*~
"Leave her alone, Dally."
~*~*~*~
"Is he dead?"
"No, not quite."
~*~*~*~
"We're goin' back to turn ourselves in."
~*~*~*~
"I swear, if he tries something like this again, I'm going to kill him!"
"Jessie, calm down."
~*~*~*~
"Useless . . . fighting's no good . . ."
~*~*~*~
Dally was in a pool of black light. He tried to break through the surface, and he got pretty close a couple of times, but he kept on falling back down again, driven by pain. Each time he came up, he heard fragments of conversations, but he didn't know if they were real or not; a couple of times he swore he had heard Johnny's voice. But he knew that Johnny was dead; he was even halfway towards accepting it. Not wanting to give in after he was finally beginning to get that Johnny was dead, he wasn't coming back and it wasn't the end of the world, Dally took one last effort to break through the black and finally made it through.
"Dally!" Jessie gasped quietly when she saw that he was awake. "Yer awake."
Dally smiled weakly. "For now."
Jessie's brow contorted in worry. "What happened?"
Dally closed his eyes and took a shaky breath.
"Dally?" Jessie asked softly.
"Pony-" Dally started, but choked on yet more unshed tears and couldn't continue.
"Nevermind. You can tell me later," Jessie said quickly, not wanting dally to hurt himself more.
Dally shook his head, indicating that he wanted to go on. "He brought a letter from Johnny-" his voice broke again.
Jessie reached out and gently stroked Dally's forehead. She didn't say anything because she didn't want to make him stop talking.
"It said that there was some good in this world. Johnny wanted me to know that," Dally said quietly.
Jessie smiled. "It's a good thing to know."
"There isn't."
"Yes there is, Dally."
"Like what?" Dally said sharply.
"Us," Jessie replied quietly.
Dally stared at her. "One thing isn't worth living for."
Jessie sighed. She could feel tears building up behind her eyes but refused to let them fall. She knew that Dally needed her now. "Can I see the letter?"
"I don't know where it is. I threw it," Dally said shortly.
Jessie got up and quickly found it. She skimmed it and felt the tears come closer to falling. Johnny wasn't her best friend, but they were close. "Sunsets," she whispered, more to herself than Dally.
"What?" Dally snapped.
Jessie's face lit up. "How're ya feeling?"
Dally stared quizzically at her. "Horrible. How else?"
Jessie sighed impatiently. "Well hurry up and get better. By about six tomorrow."
Dally rolled his eyes. "Why?"
Jessie brightened again. "I have to show you something. Rest. I'll be back tomorrow," Jessie said and walked out of the room where Dally was and back to her own.
~*~*~*~
Dally glanced at the clock again. It was five thirty. Jessie wouldn't be coming for another half hour. Apparently she had forbidden anyone to come and see him except for bringing him food and medicine since nobody had come by, whereas before he had had a steady stream of visitors. Many times Dally had wanted to get out of bed, but he knew that if Jessie found out she wouldn't take him to wherever they were going. A soft knock on his door jolted Dally out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?" he called.
Jessie came in and went over to him. "How're ya feeling?" she asked.
"Fine," Dally replied. He was, in fact, feeling better than he had thought, but not fine. He wanted to see what Jessie had to show him more though. Plus, he thought, I'll be ok for a little bit.
Jessie smiled. "Good. Now get up," she said and reached out her hand. Dally took it, even though he didn't really need to, and squeezed it gently before he let go.
"Where're we goin'?" Dally asked, following Jessie out of the room, then the house, and then into her car. Well, her parents car.
Jessie's smile widened. "You'll see. Now buckle up," she commanded and started driving. After a couple of minutes, when they were on top a hill, she stopped the car. "Get out," she said softly.
Dally did so; like he needed to be told.
"Follow me," Jessie said and started walking over to the edge of the hill. Dally followed and smiled when he saw what he had shown her.
"The sunset," he whispered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There it is! I'm done! No more! And don't ask for more! You're not going to get it!