East West Sunset - A Darry Curtis Fanfiction

Chapter Forty-Three

Since then, there were no more rumbles. The gang still met regularly, it's schedule for the most part unchanged, but we didn't walk the streets in fear of getting jumped anymore. The last few months had been peaceful at last.

"Hey, Diana!" Steve waved his arms at me. "Can you bring over some water for me?"

"Me too!" the rest of them chorused at once.

"Okay," I replied, somewhat bewildered by their enthusiasm.

"I can help you," Darry offered at once.

I felt the familiar warm glow around my heart as he jogged over to help me serve up the water glasses. We had brought a plastic jug of water with us, and some styrofoam cups. I poured out six cups of water, and then Darry scooped up four of them in his large hands to carry over to the rest of the boys. I took the other two over and handed them off to Soda and Pony, who gulped them down almost instantaneously.

"Thanks, Diana," Soda panted, handing me back the empty cup.

"No problem." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"How was your call with Ma?" he asked.

"She's doing good. She found a few of my things in my room still, so she's sending them through the mail. She sends her love."

"She coming to visit soon?" Pony piped up.

"She was just here for graduation, so probably not until the end of summer," I explained. "She said she can't swing any more vacation days, so it'll probably be just for a weekend."

"She musta been happy to hear about the truce."

"Yeah." I smiled to myself, remembering how I could hear her excitement even through the long-distance phone call. "She was glad you all would be safe."

"Sure do love Ma," Two-Bit said, and they all shouted their agreement.

"All right, break's over," Soda said, clapping his hands. "Let's get back to the game."

"I'm gonna sit this round out. I'm getting a little tired," Darry said.

"Aw, come on, then it's two against three!"

"Two against two. Does Pony really count?"

"Hey!" Pony protested, wounded.

"You're right," Soda said. "You can go sit with your girl, then."

I grinned at Darry and looped my arm through his, and the two of us made our way back to the picnic blanket. It was late in the day, that soft hour in the summer when the sun should be down already but because of the time of year it's still hanging on. Darry smelled like chocolate and cigarettes, and I buried my face in his shoulder to surround myself with the sweet scent.

"We sure are the lucky ones," Darry murmured as we walked, almost to himself.

"We sure are," I repeated, smiling up at him.

"I'm gonna miss you when you're off at college."

"Don't be silly. I'm not going too far away."

"Still and all, I'll miss having you around the house." He lowered his voice, and his words vibrated through my whole body, sending pleasant shivers racing down my spine.

"I can come over tonight if you want," I offered, tightening my grip on his arm.

"Don't tempt me. I'm gonna have to get used to sleeping alone, since you're going to have to be focusing on your studies when you're a college girl."

"What if I don't want to sleep alone?"

"You just want to steal another one of my shirts!"

"I do not!" I protested. "I just want to lay next to you all night, and be the first thing you see in the morning..."

"Those words won't work with me, honey. I'm missing three of my shirts and they keep disappearing after you spend the night."

"Alright, alright, you grumpy old codger."

"Hey, now," he growled, intensifying the chill that kissed my bare neck.

We sat down on the flannel blanket, and he laid with his head in my lap. I absently played with his hair while we watched the dying sun dance on the water of the river. I felt him sigh in contentment; he closed his eyes and let every one of his tight muscles relax into me.

"I sure do love you, Darrel Curtis," I murmured.

"Diana Jean, I love you too, you know that?"

"I know," I whispered back, a small smile of pure joy curving my lips upwards.

The sun had begun to fully set, and the world was awash in a hue of pink and orange. Maybe it was the last sunset we would ever see. Maybe it was the first one we ever had. Maybe it was a different one than the Socs saw in the west, and maybe it was the one that all the Greasers saw in the east. Maybe the two were one and the same.

I didn't care; all I wanted was to keep on looking at it, caught in this moment for sweet eternity. I loved that flaming, dying, breathing, glowing, burning East West sunset.