A/N: So that's Dal, huh? I've had the ending planned from the beginning. Remember this: Sometimes a death makes a story.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders, but I do own Rowan and John Bishop.
Rowan's POV
I felt drowsy as my eyes finally spread apart. I was in that hospital Johnny was in. The last place he saw in his short life. The hospital Dal was in, before….before he died. Died. I still couldn't believe Dally died. A flashback raced across my mind of last night. "You're never gonna get me alive!" I could hear Dally's last words ring out into the piercing night sky. Dally died running, like he has his whole life. A criminal. Unfortunately, he never found the finish line. I clawed the mattress below me. It was me who failed. Inches away, but he died right under my nose. "Hey, look who is up," hummed a gentle voice.
I propped myself up, and rubbed my eyes. It was Sodapop! I glanced around me, and the rest of the gang was there too. Darry asleep on an armchair, with Ponyboy snoozing on his lap. Steve and Two-Bit sharing soda and cigarettes. I even saw Dally in the doorway, but he slowly faded along with my smile. Only a hallucination. Soda slapped the cigarette out of Steve's fingers. "Quit burning here, Randle!" he warned. "She's just waking up, and you'll be filled with lung cancer faster than you and me can learn how to spell it!" That is why I loved Soda, he didn't need alcohol or cigarettes to be cool. Same with me, I didn't drink or some. We just got drunk on life itself.
Steve stepped on the ruined cigarette and he joined Soda, standing around me. Two-Bit smiled and came over too, prodding Dare. He smelled heavily of beer. Go figure, it's Two-Bit. Darry picked Ponyboy up over his shoulder, and the kid woke up, rubbing his eyes. His hair was returning to that reddish-brown color it originated in when I first met him. "Hey, Rowan!" he said to me, looking astonished to see I was up. Even Darry was showing off one of those infrequent smiles. I felt my leg, and discovered a large bandage over it. Looked like I was gonna be alright. Wish I could say that for others.
I sighed and closed my eyes for a second, going off into a world of privacy. After a minute, I refocused them on the gang. Soda stroked my hair and I was the sun in the universe of the gang. All eyes were on me. I knew the guys had a billion questions stored in their thick heads for me, but incredulously, it was silent. Until Darry broke the silence. "How did it feel like to-to get shot?" I had no idea he would be the one to ask me this question. It's Darry, for crying out loud! I ran the pain through my mind once more. "It hurt, so much. I've never imagined any pain in the world compared to it. But, I wouldn't be the one to ask. Ask Dallas, he was shot twice." Silence. Even Soda stood up a little taller.
They looked at each other, and looked at me. Soda was the one to speak. "Rowan, Dallas is…Dallas is dead." My body turned cold. Pure ice. I knew that in my heart, but I didn't want to accept it. I loved Dallas, he couldn't be dead. It was supposed to be a happy ending, like in movies. Where the guy and the girl get together. "W-what?" was all I could manage to mumble. The guys nodded, dropping their heads.
"One of the ambulances took him to a hospital for people who are screwed up real bad with injuries," Steve answered. "We've never known one person to come outta there with a heartbeat. Just freezing, rotting corpses." Soda slugged him. "Hey, shut up man, you're talking about Dallas to Rowan." Steve stopped, and bit his tongue, and continued. "They only tell the family if someone dies, and Mr. Winston down right hates us. He wouldn't tell us. Not even ten years after. Dally was dying when the ambulance came, he didn't have much time…" Darrel stepped in. "The police confiscated the stolen money, and the guy at the store ain't pressin' any charges. Pretty hard to press charges on a dead kid with a deadbeat dad…"
Two-Bit sighed. "They never even found my switchblade…" My jaw plummeted and I eyed him suspiciously. "Is that all you care about, Mathews? Your fucking knife!" I couldn't believe him, whining about a dumbass switchblade when two of our closest friends are pushing daisies. "No!" he protested, "I wish it was, Rowan. I wish." Darry put his hand on Two-Bit's shoulder. "Your Pop dropped by, girl." I gulped. Oh no, he'll banish me from the gang. I'll rebel, though. "He was mad, but we calmed him down when we told him Dally is dead. He did like Dal, you know. Talking about how he would support you with him. Looks like he turned a new leaf."
I let a tear roll down my face. It was too late. "They also found Dal's unloaded heater. Guess he fired one of them bullets. I shook my head. "No, he didn't," Ponyboy said. "He showed me and Johnny the unloaded heater at Dairy Queen. You too, Rowan." I nodded. "Dally wanted to die. He wanted to die now that Johnny has gone to Heaven. He loved Johnny like his own brother, he wanted to be like Johnny. He told me so, we talked every night. He wanted to be young and innocent, not young and a hoodlum. It was too soon for Dal to meet God, too soon." Two-Bit snickered. "Dally meet God? More like the Devil." This time, Darry struck him and he fell. "Hey, Two-Bit lay off. We all loved Dally, especially Rowan." I sighed, as the doctor came in.
"Okay, Ms. Bishop here's your boot, and your crutches," she said. She was Asian with chin-length hair and pointed glasses. She gently applied the boot to my injured leg, and gave me a tutorial on how to use crutches, even when I already knew. I broke my leg when I was eleven. "You all are free to go, you're one tough little girl." Ponyboy and Steve helped me up together, it looks like those two have been getting along better now. Good for them. Life is too short for grudges within friendships.
My mustang was in the parking lot, and I figured Darry, Steve, Soda or Two-Bit moved it here for me. I headed towards the driver's seat and Darry lifted me up. Damn, his strength could be annoying sometimes. "Oh no, girl. You can't drive until that there boot's gone. I'll take the wheel." Pfft. That was stupid. I had control over my feet. "You better come pick me up tomorrow, then. I wanna go to Dairy Queen with you guys. All of us, together." Darry looked skeptical, and I made a puppy-dog face. "Pwease, Dawwel," I pleaded. He folded. "Fine, I'll be there at two o'clock, Rowie." That was my nickname now in the gang-Rowie. Darry pulled into my driveway, and I limped inside my house, waving goodbye to the gang. Smaller, the gang was smaller. Eight quickly turned to six, and I hated it. Despised it. But I had to keep going, for Dallas, for Johnny. Nobody was home, work and shopping- the usual, so I crashed on the couch and dreamed. And of course, it started on Sunday- the day I had my first encounter with Dallas Cody Winston.
A/N: So there might be a few more chapters on life without Dal. Stay tuned for the grand finale!