The Outsiders - Slow Down, Darrel (Darry Curtis)

EIGHT: They Were Just Kids

Madeline waited alone in the living room. Antsy and nervous, she'd never seen the house this quiet, this empty. Even during a fight the house was full of life and abuzz with energy.

Not tonight.

Tonight, Madeline was on the couch waiting for her boys. Her little brothers by blood were asleep, but another set of her little brothers, were out fighting a bloody, aggressive, dangerous rumble. And her boyfriend, her handsome, strong, caring boyfriend was out there with them.

She had no way to know which of them were ok, and which were being beaten out of consciousness. Madeline hugged her knees to her chest, and tried to ignore the thoughts chewing at her. She tried to fall asleep, to remember a story, to hum a song, nothing worked.

Thankfully, the door burst open and Darry bounded in, Sodapop, Steve and Two-Bit jumping happily behind him. Madeline ran to Darry shut wrapped him in a tight hug, "Are you ok? You're bleeding, everyone take a seat," she ordered.

Steve smiled, "Aww come on Mad, we won, and we're all upright, let us have some fun!"

"Shut up and sit your asses down, now." She gave them each a look that could hurt more than any of the hits they'd taken, "Where's Pony?"

Darry looked around, panicked, he'd been so caught up in the run home, he didn't notice that Dally, who'd showed up with his broken arm and fought anyway, and Ponyboy, had run off.

"Ah Dal had him," Two-Bit shrugged, "going to see Johnnycake or somethin', said they'd be back."

Darry nodded, relieved, and Madeline started cleaning the boys up, sending Steve into the shower with a set of Soda's clean clothes to change into. And started bandaging and handing out ice to cuts and bruises on each boy. When Steve got out the shower, she sent Soda in, and worked on Steve's cuts. The boys rotated in and out of the bathroom, and Madeline's makeshift nurse's office. Once they were all bandaged up, she started scrubbing the blood and the dirt off of the clothes they'd left in the bathroom sink.

"Hey honey, you don't need to do that," Darry said softly, smiling at her.

Madeline splashed him, "I'm glad to, but if you really wanna thank me, a late dinner sounds real good," she grinned at him.

"You got it sweetheart."

He walked off, as she finished washing and hanging the last fo the clothes, Ponyboy walked in.

"Hey Pony, where ya been kid?" Darry asked from the kitchen.

"Johnny," Pony mumbled, "Johnny's dead."

Darry pulled him in and hugged him to his chest. Running his hand through the boys blonde hair, holding it together for him. Sodapop stood up, and Darry pulled him into the hug. Madeline felt a tear fall down her face, but walked into the kitchen where smoke was starting to form from the stove. She shut off the burners and the oven, and walked to Steve, whose face was usually bright and playful, looked dark. She just sat next to him, Two-Bit walking over to them and sitting with them.

And then the phone started to ring.

Darry picked it up, "Curtis house," he waited, "Dal, yeah Pony told us, why don't you head our way?" He paused again, nodding and growing more and more concerned, "We're on the way Dallas alright? Just wait for us, ok man?"

They all ran to the lot, and saw Dallas. He was standing in between the gang, and the cops. He was holding a gun.

It wasn't loaded. But the cops didn't know that. So they shot. And Dallas Winston was dead.

They were terrified. They were destroyed. Two kids. They were just kids. All of them were. Pony looked terrible, gaunt and pale. He looked sickly.

They needed to get home. Besides, there was nothing for them in that lot, not anymore. Besides a dead body. Dallas Winston's. Darry picked Pony up and they walked home somberly.

Ponyboy slept and slept and slept. He woke up only to tell them he didn't want any bologna, though they never offered him any bologna. He would thrash and scream in his sleep. Sobbing for Johnny and Dallas. Asking for Sodapop and Darrel.

The first morning after the rumble, the twins questioned why they couldn't go to Ponyboy. Where Dallas was (he never cared much for the twins, at least not outwardly, but they loved him anyhow, thought he was the coolest guy in the world), why they couldn't visit Johnny anymore. Madeline knew she had to answer their questions sometime, so, with Sodapop and Steve carrying them, she broke the news.

"Hey guys, you remember how Johnny was really hurt, how he looked awful sad?" The twins both nodded, "Well, um," her voice cracked a little, "well, sometimes, when someone hurts that bad, they have to go," she took a deep breath, grateful Sodapop and Steve were holding the boys, providing them some comfort, "Johnny, he really needed to go, so he passed away, and he loved you guys a whole lot, ok?" Jack wailed, and Graham just looked to Soda with his big, sad eyes, and then nuzzled into him, prompting Sodapop to hug him tighter, shutting his eyes and trying to absorb all the little boys hurt. Steve held Jack and wrapped his arm around Soda, bringing Madeline in too.

"Maddie?" Jack peeped, "what about Dallas?"

Her heart felt like it shattered all over again, "Well, Dallas loved Johnny so much, and so he didn't know what he would do without Johnny, so he decided he had to go with him," she wiped her nose.

Graham peeked out from between Soda, Steve and Jack, "But I love Johnny a whole bunch, just like Dally, do I go with them too?"

Madeline sighed into a sob, "No, no no no, you'll stay right here with me, with us. You can love Johnny from right here, Dally just didn't know that he had that option," she sniffled and saw tears running down Soda and Steve's faces too.

"What about Ponyboy?" Jack asked.

"He's feelin' real sick right about now, he just needs a little time to rest, and then he'll be back to hang around with you guys," she told them, smiling through her tears, "Johnny and Dally loved you boys a whole lot, and they're in the sunset, just like Johnny told us. Remember that?"The boys nodded, "Good, how about we go sit with Darry, maybe if you guys ask nice, him and Soda and Steve and Two-Bit can even tell some stories about Johnny and Dally," the boys agreed happily, and that's what they did. Far past their bedtime, the twins begged for 'one more story', and no one told them no.

The older kids were enjoying the storytelling just as much as the littles were enjoying hearing them. It brought more comfort to everyone, bringing Johnny and Dally back into the house happily.

Ponyboy slowly gained more consciousness, day by day. He was still awful confused and lost about everything. Randy stopped by, Bob's buddy, and he really seemed to realize how harmful the Tulsa divide was. But after Randy brought up Johnny, Pony really got scared. Randy apologized profusely to Darry, but Darry shook his hand and thanked him for stopping.

"God Madeline, I killed 'em," Darry had told her one night in bed.

Maddie looked at him, shocked and concerned, "Who Darrel?"

"Johnny and Dallas," he said, letting a tear fall.

"Oh, Darry. Honey you didn't kill them, alright?"

"Yeah I did, I ran Pony outta the house and that's why he and Johnny had to run away. And then that stupid fire, it killed Johnny, if I'd never have run Pony out they wouldn't have been anywhere near that damn church. And Dallas, Dallas went and got himself killed for what I did."

"Slow Down, Darrel, Tulsa killed those boys. Not you. You woulda never worried about Pony the way you were worrying that night if it weren't for the socs jumpin' him and Johnny before. And Johnny never woulda had to pull that blade if they just woulda left them alone. And Dallas, he was dead before the bullet ever struck him. Saying goodbye to Johnny destroyed him. He didn't think there was nothin' else to live for and that ain't you either. Do you hear me Darrel?" She waited for him to nod, "The only thing you coulda ever done, was change the way this town works. To change everyone and everything in it. But that would mean changin' the things we love about it too, and that ain't right either."

"Maddie, what if Pony never forgives me?"

"He already has honey, that I can promise you," she kissed his forehead, "that boy does everything he can to make you and Sodapop proud, y'all are his everythin'."