Stay By Me

Chapter 22

"Where're you going?" Diana asked Dallas sleepily. They hadn't spent the night sleeping, she was too tired to put together why Dally was getting up so early, like he was going somewhere important.

"Going to get the kids," he grunted.

She laughed a bit.

"What?" He asked.

"It sounds like you're a dad about to get your kids from school, it sounds so weird from you."

"Are you coming along or not?"

"Oh, yeah," she said, getting out of bed. She threw on the closest clothes, which happened to be her pants and shirt, and one of Dally's denim jackets. She went and brushed her teeth quick as possible and combed her messy hair out of her face, and joined Dallas outside by Buck's T-Bird after carefully making her way through the downstairs.

"Why're we taking Buck's?" she asked, as they started their drive.

"It's got more gas," he replied, taking a turn much faster than he needed to.

"Slow down, dammit!" She snapped. "They're never gonna get home if we die before we get there!"

"Oh, calm down. I know what I'm doing," he replied, running a red light.

"Yeah, that's what scares me."

_____
They made it to the abandoned church mostly in one piece, Diana had lost her sunglasses, and Dallas had lost his driving privileges whenever she was in the car.

"Can we grab em' quick? I'm hungry as hell," Diana grumbled.

They trudged up the hill to the church, where they found Ponyboy and Johnny, both asleep. They looked thinner and paler, and they'd changed their hair.

"Glory, he looks different with his hair like that," Dally said, nudging Ponyboy in the ribs with his foot.

Ponyboy yawned and rolled over, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hey Dally!" He said brightly. He looked like he'd never been so grateful to see him.

"Hey, Ponyboy. Or should I say sleeping beauty?" He said with a smirk.

"How's Sodapop? Are the fuzz after us? Is Darry all right? Do the boys know where we are?"

Diana winced, there wasn't a happy answer to any of those questions.

"Hold on kid, I can't answer everything at once.  Y'all want to go get something to eat first? I skipped breakfast and I'm about starved."

"Amen to that," Diana muttered.

Ponyboy seemed to notice her for the first time, he'd been so focused on Dally.

"Hey Diana!" He said. "Is-"

"Don't start on me," she replied. "I wanna eat, too."

"Got a cancer stick?" Dally asked Johnny, who threw him an entire package. "The fuzz won't be looking for y'all out here, they think y'all lit out for Texas. I've got Buck's T-Bird parked down the road a little. Goshalmighty, boys, ain't you been eating anything?"

"Just baloney, I bet," Diana snickered. By the way Ponyboy and Johnny's expressions darkened, she knew she was right. "Didn't spend the cash I gave you on something better?"

"Nope, I was trying to be fast," Johnny replied.

"That makes sense. Hey Ponyboy, I've got a letter for you," she said, digging it out of her pocket and tossing it to him. "Your brother told me to give you that. Half his paycheck, too. Not sure what you'd do with it, but it's there."