~Ponyboy~
Everything had happened so fast. I got some directions from some random farmer looking man to where Jay Mountain is. We climbed up there and found the church, entered through a back window, and then all fell fast asleep.
When I awoke, it was late afternoon. By the looks of it, the sun was going to set soon.
I realized I was alone in the church. Before I could panic, I saw a note written in dust on the floor.
Went to go get supplies. Be back soon. -J+A
That still doesn't explain where Emily was. I heard someone outside and guessed it was her.
~Emily~
I woke up confused, until the events of last night re-entered my brain.
Falling asleep in the lot. Waking up and Pony leaving. Pony coming back and yelling saying we were running away. Sitting on the swings. The bright headlights of the blue mustang burning my eyes...
Pony getting drowned, me running over, seeing Johnny stab Bob... the light leaving his eyes, the breath leaving his lips. His final scream. All the blood pouring out of his body, and that stench, the horrible rusty smell...
I ran out of the church before I knew what was happening. Just thinking about seeing Bob die made me sick to my stomach. I threw up everything I had in me.
~Ponyboy~
Emily was outside throwing up into the bushes. Poor thing. I walked over and pulled her hair away from her face, and rubbed her back. At first I felt her tense up, then relax when she realized it was just me.
"Are you good?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "No, and I'm never gonna be. We took someone's life, Pony. That's unforgivable."
I shrugged. "Well, technically Johnny did..."
"But it's all my fault!" She wailed. "If I had never needed help with math we would have never went outside and..."
"Emily, stop." I cut her off. "It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. Everything happens for a reason, ok? Look, I'm not gonna sit here and say it's all going to be ok, because it probably won't be... but God has a plan for us, you know? Everything will work itself out. That I can promise."
She smiled. "Thanks Pony." The way she looked at me made me blush a little bit, not going to lie.
We sat in silence for a little while until she spoke.
"Remember that day you told me that you think evenings are the best part of the day? And I asked what you meant? You said 'Maybe one day I'll tell you', or something like that. Can someday be today?" Emily asked.
I smiled. I can't believe she remembered. "Yeah. The sun sets in the evening. I love watching the sun set." I replied.
"Why?" She asked, staring up at the sky. The colors began to change from blue to orange to yellow to pink.
"Because," I replied, "it shows that we're all the same, the common humanity of all people."
She looked confused. She didn't understand.
"We all see the same sunset. Yeah, we might be poor dirty greasers, but we see the same sunset as the Socs. Even though there's this huge wedge between all people, we are still brought together by the sunset. Not all Socs are snobs and not all greasers are bad."
She nodded. "I love that you think of it that way."
I felt her hand get closer to mine. Her warm fingers wrapped around mine, I didn't mind.
She didn't speak after that, and neither did I. But the silence was comfortable. For the moment, I forgot where we were and what we'd done. There were only three things that mattered: me, Emily, and the beautiful scene in front of us. I gave her all of me and I had all of her.
