darlin' || the outsiders

13

trigger warning: violence, guns
it was dark out. the sky had turned empty, like the stars were turned off. like a light in a small room being shut off. i was face to face with the end of my father's gun. he didn't realize it was me, as he said;
"the next person to walk out that isn't my daughter will be shot."

i gripped my hands together just under my chest. he couldn't see me clearly, i knew he was drunk. almost as drunk as two-bit on a friday night.

"dad, it's me." i whimpered. he looked at me, nodding but still holding the gun to my face. my heart was still beating outside my chest. i bet if everything fell silent, you could hear it beating. i wanted to run. i wanted to run back into dally's arms, or to darry's; but i felt like my feet were glued to the earth. like there were weights tied to my feet and i was thrown into the ocean. i felt so heavy.

"you're coming with me." was all he said, walking behind me. he wrapped his arm around my neck, holding the pistol to my temple. why was he doing this? i'm his own daughter.

"dad, please, put the gun down." i whispered between deep breaths- or what i hoped were deep breaths. i felt my head getting heavier but lighter at the same time. he was strangling me. i couldn't breathe.

"you'll run if i do." he said in my ear.

"no, i won't." i whimpered. "please, just put the gun away.".

i felt him push the gun closer to my temple. it was over if i moved at all, but it would be over if i did anything.

"fine." he muttered, letting go of my neck. i fell to my knees, finally catching my breath. i held my shirt in my fists, making sure i was still alive and wasn't dreaming. once he reached the car, he quickly turned and held the gun facing me and pulled the trigger.
••••

dallas winston

i heard a gun shot, and my heart fell out of my ass.

"elsie?" i whispered, looking out the window. the man who she called 'dad' was carrying her limp body to his car, and my eyes began to heat with tears. i stood up, throwing my jacket on over my black t-shirt and ran out the door. i wasn't paying attention to anything around me; i just kept running. following the little red car for as long as i could. i looked at the license plate and memorized the number on it. i knew i wouldn't be able to run for long, and i couldn't catch up to them. but elsie was knocked out in the back seat of that car, all alone.

i reached a phone as the sun started coming up. the way the sun would hit over the horizon, the gold and pink mixed together without an effort. i sound like ponyboy now.

i picked up the pay phone and placed it against my ear, dialing darry's number. i was completely out of breath and felt like i would throw up or faint from running for so long.

"hello?" i felt a wave of relief over my bones when i heard darry's voice.

"darry, it's dally. he shot her." was all i managed to get out.

"he- what?" he hesitated. i whimpered and started feeling the pounding in my heart again. "AN35J8".

"meet the boys at the park, i'm going to call the police." darry said, hanging up the phone. i put the phone down, wanting to pass out right there on the spot.

••••
sodapop curtis

steve and i were running to the park. it was quiet between all of us. darry had told us that elsie was shot by her own dad. anger was building up inside of us, and it started radiating off us. you could cut the tension with a knife.

"we're here, where's dally?" pony asked, his hands dug into his jacket pockets. i couldn't think of much in that moment. it was just static inside my head, and there wasn't anything i could do.

just then, we saw dally approach us. his eyes were dark and red with bags underneath, his knuckles were red while the rest of his skin were a ghostly white. he did in fact look like he'd seen a ghost. normally, two-bit would make a joke right about now, but he didn't make a peep. he was silent for once.

i guess that's how you know something's bad.

"dally?" johnny ran into his arms. i'd never seen dallas wrap his arms around someone faster than he did then, though i would see him wrapping them around elsie when- or if we see her again.

"he straight up shot her!" dallas yelled, kicking rocks and punching the tree next to us. steve wrapped his arm around dallas in an awkward side hug, trying to be a little bit of comfort for him.

"you saw too?" two-bit asked, shocked. dally looked at him and nodded, no words ever escaping his lips.

"okay. darry called the police and they're after him." i said, rubbing my shirt down and looking up into dally's eyes. "so, that means she may come back.".

i had to go to work that day, but i truly wanted to stay home and sleep. elsie and i weren't the closest out of everyone in the group, but i had no choice. i couldn't lose the revenue to help darry paying the bills.

"come on steve, we need to get ready for work. but we will be back with you guys later." i grabbed steve's arm and we walked off the grass and into the black street. i frowned to myself, and steve and i were quiet the whole walk to my house. i still couldn't think of anything to say. i felt like nothing was right to say, especially right now. steve couldn't think of anything to say either.

••••
more preferences bc this chapter was sad lol

gang as my spotify playlists (linked on my profile;))

darry: dad (playlist for my dad)
pigeon forge, tn
>:(

soda: songs we blast in the car
hiraeth
my lost loves

pony: walking home alone @ 3 am
holly (playlist for me lol)
driving at night in the pouring rain

dally: kelliann (playlist for my friend)
hell's nightclub
break my heart

steve: california
3 am drives
jersie (playlist for other friend)

two-bit: songs i listen to religiously
love songs
i'm ab to break

johnny: the happy ending
everywhere at the end of time
love ig lol

word count: 1114