East West Sunset - A Darry Curtis Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty-One

WARNING: This chapter contains scenes of violence. Please skip if necessary <3

There wasn't much we could do for the rest of the day besides sit, wait, and worry. I, of course, did all three, but the gang didn't seem too worry much. Darry stayed at my side the whole day, never more than an arm's length from me. This wasn't lost on anyone, but instead of looking annoyed or amused, they looked relieved. I had to touch him every so often just to be sure that he was really there and he wasn't just a figment of my imagination. As the morning carmelized to afternoon and the sun began to dive towards the horizon, I felt my veins and nerves begin to tremble in anticipation and fear. There wasn't a lot of conversation as the boys began to mentally prepare themselves for the rumble, and once Steve, Two-Bit, and Bryon arrived long before the decided time of 9:30, the whole house was thrumming with unseen energy.

"You doing alright?" Steve asked me in a low voice when I was caught alone. I gave him a quick nod and a smile. He squeezed my arm and left me standing there. 

At quarter after nine, the sun was hanging very low in the sky like an overripe peach. Darry's jaw was clenched as he stared at it from the kitchen window; I could tell he didn't want to fight in the dark. 

"Let's all get in here," he called, sliding into a chair. I leaned against the counter at his shoulder as the rest of the gang trooped into the kitchen. On their faces were varying looks of excitement and anxiety. 

"This is going to be a tough one, and not just because we'll be fighting in the dark," Darry said bracingly. "We can't exactly light a fire on that bridge. I need all of you to stay alert and keep your eye out for blades. The second you see one, we're leaving. We don't fight with or against blades."

The gang nodded and gave each other looks.

"I want you to remember." His voice was as sharp as steel and yet gentle, too. "This isn't a fight for our pride. It's a fight for Diana's. So I want you to fight hard and well, and keep yourselves safe."

"Got it, Superman," Two-Bit said, clapping him on the shoulder and grinning.

"Hey!" Darry growled at him and took a swipe at the hand resting on his shoulder.

Two-Bit crowed as he dived away from Darry's blow and bounded out the back door. The rest of the gang followed, their voices rising in a ruckus like a war cry. Steve hoisted himself up to the top of the fence and did a spectacular flip off of it, which was very confusing but nevertheless pretty impressive. Bryon did a handstand and was able to walk a couple paces with his feet over his head. Darry gave Pony a piggyback ride to the car and dumped him unceremoniously into the backseat. I was entirely nonplussed, but I realized that it was probably their tradition to act so crazy right before a big rumble.

I sat in the front seat again, tucked between Darry and Two-Bit by the stick shift. Darry rolled all the windows down, and Bryon and Pony hung halfway out the windows on their respective sides. Steve and Soda were playing rock-paper-scissors between them. With all of their excitement, it almost felt like we were heading downtown to the movies instead of going to a rumble.

As we reached the river, though, everyone became silent at once, and the energy sobered up. The sun was almost completely gone now; everything was bathed in that grey, dusky light that doesn't feel quite real. Darry pulled into an empty parking lot a few streets down from the bridge and parked the car. The streetlights were just popping on, illuminating little golden bubbles of soft light, but the street was still very dark. I kept close to Darry's side as we made our way to the bridge.

Along the way, other greasers joined our group. I recognized the Shepard boys and a few of the greasers we had seen in their bar the night before. Darry shook their hands, and a look of hard understanding passed between them.