My Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter XIX

Someone was trying to shake me awake from a bad dream, and I gladly gave in. "Alright, alright, I'm up. What is it?" When I opened my eyes and saw Wendy and Wanda, I realized I hadn't been dreaming. "Did they find the boys?"

Wendy shook her head. "The police station just called, and they want us there. They're trying to gather information so they can find them."

My heart fell. "I'll be ready in ten."

A few minutes later, we were at the police station with a couple of officers. "I'm Officer Robert. I just need to ask y'all a few questions to help us find your friends," one said. "When did you last see them?"

"Us three and three of the boys had a group date a couple of nights ago. They dropped us off at Penny's house, and that's the last we saw of them," Wendy said.

The officer nodded, writing notes on a clipboard. "Are any of you three in a relationship with any of the boys?"

I nodded. "Dallas is my boyfriend."

"Soda just asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Steve asked me the same thing."

Officer Robert nodded slowly. "Do you have any ideas where they may have gone?"

I sighed. "It's probably all my fault. Yesterday was my birthday, and the boys said they had something special planned for me."

Wendy and Wanda looked at each other. "This was going to be a surprise..." Wanda started. "When the six of us were at the movies, Penelope left to go to the restroom. The boys let us in on a secret..."

"Dallas was going to propose to Penny on her birthday," Wendy finished, a solemn look on her face. "Although, they said they didn't have the ring yet."

I buried my face in my hands. "It's all my fault!" I cried. "It's all my fault."

Wendy and Wanda—who sat on either side of me—put their arms around me. I felt bad that I wasn't comforting them—their boyfriends were missing, too. They were holding themselves together a lot better than I was, though.

Officer Robert stood up. "That's all I need. We'll send a search team out momentarily. Which house should I contact if we find anything?"

I shrugged. "We'll probably be together at either my house or theirs." I gave him our telephone numbers, and we left.

"Where are we going, girls?" Wanda asked.

Wendy and I thought for a moment, and I couldn't decide. Wendy spoke up. "We should go back to my place. I forgot about a band meeting I scheduled today."

I smiled. "Some music could do me good."

We went to their house, and opened the garage, so people could come in when they arrived. It was a small band, but a band, nonetheless.

"What songs do they play?" I asked Wanda, who sat next to me in a camping chair.

"They do some covers—Elvis, the Beatles. They even tried some Buddy Holly once. I write some of their songs, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I enjoy doing it."

The band started to play She Loves You by the Beatles. They had a couple of singers, a percussionist, a pianist, an electric guitarist, and of course, Wendy, the bassist—or as she was called in the band, Willow.

The played real well, and I knew they'd go big if they made a record. I brought it up when the song was finished. "You guys should get your songs on record sometime. My parents own the most popular record store in the state, and we could sell it and advertise it for you. Y'all could even do live events there if you wanted."

"No way!" one of the singers said, high fiving the other.

We spent the afternoon in the garage. Wanda and I relaxed while Wendy rocked. The girls' parents were real nice—they bought us cookies. One of them poked their head in the door. "The police are on the line," their father mouthed.

The three of us—Wendy set her bass down in the middle of a song—rushed to the phone. Wanda beat us to it.

"Hello, this is Wanda Bush...mmmm...yes...oh...alright..." We watched as Wanda's eyes filled with tears, and our hearts started to race faster. "Okay. Thanks...bye."

Wanda hung up the phone slowly. "Is everything alright?" I asked anxiously.

She sighed. "The boys were all found. They were in a car accident on a long stretch with no phones or houses. Well, of course they're all malnourished and severely dehydrated—it's been a couple days—and a couple of them got mild hypothermia. Most of 'em will be alright though."

"Most of them?"

"Some of them 'sustained injuries.' From what I heard Darry got a concussion—which puts him out of work—Two-Bit broke a couple of ribs and dislocated his knee. Steve, Ponyboy, and Dallas have only minor bumps and bruises."

"What about Soda?"

"He's worse off than the others. The officer said he's in critical condition." With that, Wanda started to cry again.

Through her sobs, we learned that most of the boys would be home that night. That made it even harder to wait—we wanted to see them terribly. We almost thought about going to the hospital to see them, but decided by the time we got there, they'd probably be gone—we would have to send the band home, arranged a ride, and drive there.

I wrapped my arms around Wanda, and Wendy did the same. "He'll be alright. They all will," I whispered.

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Author's note
Please don't be mad at me. I blame renegade_readerA5 for that little plot there. She did it. Anyway, I'll leave you hanging on that cliff for a few days.

Your friendly neighborhood greaser, signing off...
Stay gold y'all ⭐️