Hello everyone. First I want to thank you all for reading my story. I appreciate it so much. The Outsiders was the first book I ever thought of fanfiction for, and getting to actually write some of it down was so much fun. I have more planned, though I might be taking a little break for a week or so, since work is going to be crazy. Thank you all so much for reading, especially everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoyed the last chapter.

Just Fine

It was almost three when we got back to the city, and Dally started to pull into Dairy Queen's parking lot, but jerked the wheel back over to the middle of the road, shaking his head and swearing aloud. Beside me, Johnny glanced up at the Dairy Queen sign and paling a little. I rubbed a hand down my face, leaning against the door and wishing I had those pain meds. We'd all been quiet on the drive back, me especially. It didn't make sense…none of it. I was ready to die…I had been ready. But now…I got to live? Somehow? And after everything, I was free to go? I got to live, and Johnny and Dally too? Of course, I wasn't about to say anything else about it out loud. I'd tried, as we'd pulled away from the church. Dally had told me in no uncertain terms to shut my trap or he'd come back there and shut it for me. I didn't doubt him.

Beside me, Johnny kept his head against the window, the wind blowing between us and making it almost impossible to really hear one another until Dally slowed down, pulling onto a side road, then into a burger joint parking lot where he pulled to a stop in front of the front door, spinning around in his seat. "You two, sit here and keep your traps shut." He pointed a finger at me. "You especially."

I leaned in, incredulous but trying to keep my voice down. "All I said…"

"Keep. It. Shut." He snapped, glancing over at Johnny, then jumping out of the car. I looked over at Johnny again, and he fought a grin as he stared down at his feet.

"I don't know what he's pissed about." I mumbled, keeping my head down so he couldn't read my lips. He snorted.

"He's just freaked. Heck, so am I, Pone." He leaned back against the door, crossing his arms and watching me closely. Between us on the seat sat Gone With the Wind. A few people were going in and out of the diner, but most of them seemed alright, taking little interest in the two greaser kids. We were closer to Tim's side of town than our own, so it was mostly greaser girls and guys running around, and on the other side of the parking lot, two guys with slick hair and switchblades faced off, edging toward the other side of the building. I hoped they kept their fight away from us. I couldn't deal with any more conflict. "I mean…neither of us has any idea what's going on, and we thought you were going to die…"

"I don't know what's going on either." I reminded him. "And I thought I was gonna die too."

"Because you made a deal with someone and you agreed to it." He reminded me dryly, pulling out a cigarette. Hesitating, he started to put it away, but I waved a hand.

"Go ahead."

"You want one?" He offered, glancing around again like Darry might pop up if I started to smoke one. I shook my head.

"No thanks. I think I'd better quit." He nodded.

"I probably should too." He lit the smoke anyway, breathing in deep, and I fought the urge to take it away from him and take a drag on it. Still, Darry would probably smell it on me and I'd get in trouble, and I really did need to quit, especially if I ever wanted to get back to running track. I didn't know anything about kidneys, or if having one less would matter when it came to smoking, but either way, I was gonna try and give it up. "Do you think they meant it?" I mumbled, staring down at my hands in my lap. I wanted to believe it. I wanted to believe that everything would be okay, and that I wouldn't have to die. I mean, it would be worth it, but I didn't want to die. More than that, I didn't want Darry and Soda to wake up one morning and find me dead. Bad enough we'd lost our parents…it would be hard for them to lose me like that too.

"Yeah. I think they did." He told me, his voice quiet, then he put the cigarette to his lips again and took a long drag, exhaling away from me. "I mean…why else would they say it?"

"I just thought…I thought I'd have to do something, you know?"

"You did. You were willing to die for us." He punched me in the arm, smiling a little, but then turned serious. "You could have survived without us, you know? Just…gone on with your life."

"I couldn't have, though." I told him quietly, picking at my nails and remembering. Remembering how he'd died…laying there in that bed looking up at me…telling me to stay gold. "Not after seeing you die. It was my fault."

"Pone, it wasn't…"

"It was! I fought with Darry and ran off…it was my fault. I was the one that wanted to go to the park. If I'd have just stayed home…or stayed in the lot…" I shook my head. "It didn't happen. None of it did. Everything that's happened since I went back…it was all worth it." I gave him a half smile. "So now we all get to live…sounds good to me." For the first time, I started to believe it, chuckling a little. "We all get to live."

"Yeah. We all get to live." He grinned right back, and then a bag of food landed on the seat between us, making us both jump.

"You both suck at keeping an eye out, you know that." Dallas grumbled. "What's so funny, anyway?" He wondered, glancing at us in the rearview mirror.

"We all get to live." Johnny said it again, the smile almost blinding, and Dally snorted a little, his face softening.

"Yeah, looks like it. Now let's get Pony home before one of his brothers comes looking."

"You don't think they've tried calling?" I leaned in, ignoring how much it hurt my back to do so…I hadn't had a pain pill for two long. I must have gone pale, or he'd seen it on my face somehow, because he turned in his seat.

"Sit back, kid. We should have brought you those pills." He shook his head, muttering a curse under his breath. "And I don't know. Probably. We'll make something up."

"Why'd you take us to that church, Dal?" Johnny wondered.

"Just had to." He told us, turning onto my road, and I was relieved to see that our driveway was empty. "Been having that stupid dream all week…figured if we went to where it happened, it might make the things go away." He shrugged. "Guess we'll see if it worked." Pulling into our driveway, he jumped out of the car and was on my side before I could even unlock the door. He pulled it open, reaching down and pulling me slowly to my feet.

Johnny trailed behind as we moved as quickly as we could into the house, Dal slamming the screen door behind us, and pushing me toward the couch. I lay back, hand pressed against my back, and in another second, he was handing me a pain pill and a glass of water. I swallowed the pill, and Johnny dropped down beside me right as the phone was ringing.

Dally lifted a hand, signaling for us to be quiet, then grabbed the phone from the table. "Yeah?" He asked, and I could hear someone yelling on the other line. "The hell's wrong with you? Yeah, I'm with the kid!" There was more yelling and Johnny glanced at me, apparently fighting a laugh as he clenched his jaw tight. I'd been right, it seemed. "I went to get burgers…Johnny too. The kid fell asleep before we left." He sighed. "Shit, Sodapop, I was only gone for a few minutes. Kid was still asleep when we got back…no, he's fine. Yeah, he's awake." Dallas rolled his eyes and I snorted, ignoring the look he shot me. "Yeah, you can talk to him. Here." He held out the phone to me and I grabbed it.

"Hey, Soda. What are you yelling at Dally for?" I heard him sigh on the other line.

"Just freaked out when no one answered. He left you alone there?" He sounded mad and I rolled my eyes.

"For a few minutes." I told him, snorting a little. "I was asleep. Didn't even miss him." Going along with Dally's story was no stretch…heck, I felt like I might fall asleep any minute after that trip we'd taken. But it was best if Sodapop and Darry never found out what we did. Darry would kill him. "Sorry I freaked you out." I tacked on at the end.

"Wasn't your fault." He grumbled. "You feel alright?" He wanted to know.

"Tired and sore…nothing new." I yawned, dropping my head back.

He hummed. "Yeah…alright. Get some rest, okay? You need it. You had anything to eat?"

"Not yet."

"Try to eat something." So he'd noticed I wasn't really eating…or sleeping. I hated worrying him and Darry…but it looked like I wouldn't have to anymore. No more nightmares about dying. No more feeling sick every time I got tired…it was over. I smiled.

"I will. See you tonight, Soda."

"Alright, kiddo. Can you give the phone back to Dal?"

"Sure." I mumbled, holding it out and hoping he wasn't about to start yelling at Dal again. Dally was the reason I might actually survive this. He grabbed the phone, pressing it to his ear and rolling his eyes a little when my brother started to talk again.

"Yeah, I will." He mumbled. "Yeah, he did." He was silent for a minute, then sighed. "Yeah, Soda. I am. Alright. See ya." He put the phone down on the receiver and dropped into Darry's recliner, taking the bag of food from Johnny and pulling out a burger. "Pony, you hungry?" I shrugged, but he didn't seem to care, holding out the burger that I took, peeling back the foil and nibbling at it.

I managed to fall asleep after I ate some of the burger, waking only when I heard Darry's voice in the room. "How long's he been out?" My brother asked, and I felt someone push my hair back.

"Since about four." Dal told him. "He took a pain pill right before he fell asleep. Ate a burger too. Well…some of one."

"Good…he hasn't been sleeping much. Eating either."

"Yeah. Said he's been having nightmares." I wondered where Johnny was…hadn't he been there earlier? Or maybe he'd gone home after we'd gotten back from the church. I'd been pretty exhausted, so I couldn't really remember. Or maybe he was around…he wasn't too talkative. I wondered if that would ever change. I'd get to find out.

"He told you that?" Darry sounded incredulous.

"Yeah. I asked him why he looked so tired." He snorted a little, but when he spoke, he didn't sound very amused. "Kid said he'd been having some gawdawful nightmares…said he kept dying. In his dreams. But he's been pretty quiet so far."

"Yeah?" Darry was running his hand through my hair, but he paused. "He told me the same thing…he dreamed that he died." He sighed softly. "I ain't gonna let anything else happen to him."

"I know." Dal didn't sound concerned…of course he didn't. He knew that I was gonna live now. He knew that I was gonna be okay, now that whoever it was I'd made a deal with was going to let me live. I didn't have to be scared all the time anymore. Heck, maybe I'd even stop having those nightmares. "I don't think you need to worry about the kid…he's gonna be just fine." It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest and I took a deep breath.

"You awake, Pony?" Darry asked, ruffling my hair once before dropping his hand to my shoulder. I smiled a little, blinking up at him and starting to sit up. He helped me, the hand gripping my arm and another supporting my back. He always helped me. He was my big brother, and from the earliest I could remember, he'd always been there to help me. "How you feeling?"

"I'm alright." I told him, meaning it for the first time in a while. "How was work?" He grinned, dropping the hand and heading over to the kitchen.

"Fine. You guys heard from Sodapop?" He called over his shoulder, and Dal smirked.

"Yeah. We heard from him. He said he's coming home after work…should be here any minute." It didn't feel real…none of it. I still couldn't quite believe it…I got to live. I got to live, and so did Dally and Johnny…speaking of Johnny…I looked around but didn't find him.

"Where'd Johnny go?" I wondered, rubbing my eyes.

"He headed home about an hour ago. Said he had something to do…I didn't really ask." He shrugged. "Maybe homework or something."

"Guess at least one of us ought to pass this year." He nodded, gesturing toward the kitchen.

"Think your brother will let you do your homework any time soon?"

"Probably not. After everything…who knows if I can even catch up. I'll just repeat the grade, I guess. Compared to everything else, it's not really a big deal." He laughed, shaking his head.

"You got that right." He jumped up out of Darry's chair when my brother came back in, dropping onto the couch beside me and messing up my hair. Darry gave him a funny look but didn't comment. I mean, Dally usually wasn't mean to me or anything, but we hadn't exactly been buddies. I'd been kind of scared of him actually, and he'd let me tag along with him. I guess we were friends now, real ones, considering all that had happened. I shrugged him off, laughing a little and pushing my hair back into place.

"What did you guys do today?" Darry wondered, picking up the newspaper but not reading it. I glanced over at Dal, trying not to look guilty. He just shrugged, a master of not looking guilty.

"Just sat around." He told my brother. "Played cards. I ran out and got burgers." He shrugged, looking over at the clock. "I guess I'd better head out. I'll see you around, kid." I nodded, pushing his hand away when he went to mess with my hair again. "When you're feeling better, we'll see if you can come down to the races, alright?"

"Sounds good, Dal." He nodded, waving to Darry and ignoring my brother when he went to thank him. As he was leaving, Steve and Soda were coming in, and once more it was me and both of my brothers. My brothers who wouldn't have to live without me. My brothers who wouldn't have to find my body in the morning. In a while, I'd be able to go back to school, and so would Johnny, and Dally would live a real life, and we'd all be fine. It was all going to be fine, and I didn't have to die. It felt so good…like I could breathe again, despite the ever present pain in my ribs that, hopefully, would be gone soon.

Steve nodded as he walked by, lifting an eyebrow at Soda when my brother dropped onto the sofa in Dally's place. "Hey kid. You sure had your brother scared today."

"I didn't mean to fall asleep." I told him, fighting the desire to smile in relief. I didn't have to die. Neither did Johnny or Dally. We all got to live. And I knew he had been worried, but I really couldn't bring myself to care, not now.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo." He waved my apology away, but Darry leaned in, brow furrowed.

"What happened?" And while Soda explained, I exchanged a glance with Steve who was smirking a little. Of course he thought my brothers were overprotective. So did I, honestly, but I didn't much blame them, especially not after everything that had happened this month. Still, it felt good to agree with Steve on something. Maybe we'd even be friends some day…real friends, like me and Johnny. Now we'd get the chance. We'd get to grow up and keep in touch and maybe I'd even get to go to college like Darry wanted, and Soda could find another girl, and maybe Darry could even go back to school. Johnny and I would finish that book, now that I had my own copy thanks to Two-Bit. We'd never go back to that church, though…we'd finish it in the lot, or in my bedroom. We were all gonna be just fine.

The End

Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed my story.