~second person's p.o.v~
You were nervous to say the least. Where was Dallas going? What mental state was he in?
You began speed walking down the hall. Then, you were jogging quicker. You were a couple minutes behind him, so the moment you got outside you broke into a full on sprint.
You ran in a random direction, hoping you could figure out where he went. Where would he go at a time like this?
-
Meanwhile, Ponyboy had made it back to the Curtis house. He told the gang the news and they didn't say anything. They just sat there, overcome by grief.
"Y/n went after Dally. He can't take it, he's gonna blow!" Ponyboy cried.
-
It was pitch black out, the only light coming from streetlights and nearby stores.
You felt like giving up hope and going to the Curtis house. You couldn't find Dallas and you had been looking for a bit. Besides, you promised Ponyboy you'd go back to his house.
But you made a promise to myself. You were gonna find Dally, and you weren't gonna leave him at a time like this. You'd go to jail if you had to, you just can't up and leave Dallas now.
He might've been off causing trouble. Who knows how he copes with things?
Your hand travelled to the waistband of your pants and you felt the cold metal of the gun.
Just in case, you thought.
You stood there for a moment, feeling clueless.
Suddenly, gunshots pierced the silence in the air. Your heart sped up, you felt more alive than ever before. More alert.
You ran in the direction of the gunshots. You had more energy than you'd ever had before, the adrenaline coursing through your veins made it so you were able to keep going.
You thought, no you knew that those gunshots had to do with Dallas.
"Come on, Y/n!" You spoke under your breath, encouraging yourself to keep going. Your ponytail had fallen out a while ago, and you unbuttoned your brother's old jacket so you could get some air, still leaving it on though. Your legs ached, your head was pounding as hard as your heart.
You couldn't keep up. You had to stop a moment, taking a breather.
After around fifteen seconds, you took off again. You ran by a store and saw a payphone. There was cloth bags sitting next to it, and you saw something that surprised you.
Blood.
"Fuck!" You yelled, sprinting harder. You were so close to getting to him, you knew it.
You ran by the train, the sound of it right next to you practically deafening. Your hair was whipping behind you, but your only focus was on keeping your breath even and putting one foot in front of the other.
You made it to a field and saw Dallas sprinting. You heard sirens and you knew what was happening.
He was running from the cops.
You ran harder, you ran faster. You ran faster than Dallas and began gaining on him.
You were now only a couple feet away, but Dallas still hadn't noticed you.
"You'll never take me alive!" He yelled, pulling his heater out of the waistband of his jeans.
"DALLAS, NO!" You screamed. He turned to you, eyes wide as you shoved him violently down.
You heard desperate screams of protest. You didn't even have to look, you knew it was the gang.
"NOT Y/N, TOO!"
"Y/N LOOK OUT!"
"IT'S NOT LOADED!"
"THEY'RE JUST KIDS!"
The bullets hit you, a strangled scream passing your lips. Dallas had been shot too, a pained cry erupting from him.
You know that if it weren't for you blocking some of the shots, Dallas would've died instantly.
Dallas fell next to you since you dragged him down. Your breathing was shallow and your sight was blurry.
"Dallas..." You breathed in a panic, taking shallow breaths. You couldn't catch your breath as you stared up into the night sky.
"Y/n, you idiot..." He croaked, shakily crawling next to you. You glanced at him, your eyes half lidded. You knew you were losing blood, and you were losing it fast.
"Did you get hit...?" You whispered. It took all of your power to ask, to reach over and lace your hand with his.
"I'm hit bad, Y/n." He groaned. You blinked for a long moment.
"I really fucked this up for us, didn't I? I thought I could save you." You spoke between gasps for air. You felt blood leaking from your mouth as you coughed.
"W-we're dying aren't we?" You tried to laugh despite the pain.
"We ain't dying, please keep your eyes open." Dal said, despite the fact that his eyelids were heavy too.
"S-shit, I can't take it." You cried weakly.
"I wish our stories could've been different. I-I'm so sorry, Dally."
Dallas had used all of his energy to prop himself up, his hand on the side of your face. You coughed violently again, choking on blood.
"No, don't apologise. W-we're fine, see? We're still awake, we're still b-breathing." He denied the inevitable. Both of you were on the brink of death. Dallas was better at hiding his pain, all that mattered to him right now was you.
"I love you, Dal." It came out softly, followed with one last desperate cry. He wouldn't have been able to hear it if he wasn't as close to you as he was.
You knew it was happening. You weren't scared anymore.
You decided to trap yourself in your thoughts instead. You didn't want your last thought to be about you laying in the cold grass, desperately gasping for air.
You remembered the sleeping silhouettes of Johnny and Ponyboy, the sunrise shining into the motel room you had all been in together.
You remembered slow dancing with Thomas in your living room.
You remembered late nights, staying up to help Two-bit study. You remember early mornings when little Blondie would hug you goodbye before you left the house.
You remembered the gang, all of them laughing and messing around as you head to the first rumble.
And you remembered Dallas. The man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.
I guess the universe granted your wish in a dark, twisted way. You had gotten your way.
Your eyes shut for the last time. The Sheldon family had now officially been erased from existence. There was a sad irony to it. You had died in your brother's jacket, and it was even labelled on your back that you were the last Sheldon.
Now, all of them were gone.
Dallas shook your shoulder.
"No, Y/n. Y/n, wake up!" He whispered desperately. Your body had gone limp.
"I love you, Y/n, please just wake up..." In one last desperate attempt to wake you up, he used his last burst of energy to smash his lips against yours.
He parted from you, his eyes falling shut. He collapsed back next to you. His last thought was how he never got to tell you that he loved you. He was too late.
His breathing ceased.
The gang had made it over to you finally. They had been too far away to make it to you quicker.
"Y/n..." Two-bit sobbed, falling onto the ground next to you. Steve stared in horror at the sight in front of him, his hands up in the air as to make it so the cops wouldn't shoot him too.
Sodapop stared at his two friends, now dead on the ground, their hands interlocked weakly. He silently cried to himself.
Darry screamed at the cops, but none of the gang heard them. They were all just in a daze, staring at their friends.
Ponyboy passed out, his body hitting the ground.
-
Ponyboy was sat as his desk, staring blankly in front of him as he thought of what had happened to his friends.
He slowly reached out for his book, Gone with the Wind. He opened it and his fingers brushed against a note.
He slowly unfolded the note, beginning to read it.
Ponyboy, I asked the nurse to give you this book so you could finish it. The doctor came in a while ago but I knew anyway. I know my wound is infected pretty bad and I keep getting tireder and tireder. Listen, I don't mind dying now. It’s worth it. It’s worth standing up for myself and not hiding anymore. Tell Dally it’s worth it, and tell Y/n not to blame herself for what happened to me. I'm just going to miss you guys. I've been thinking about it, and that poem. I know it's been a while since we even talked about it. But that guy that wrote it, he meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it’s a good way to be. I want you to tell Dally to look at one, maybe have Y/n ask with you. He’ll probably think you two are crazy but ask for me. I don't think he's ever really seen a sunset, even if he's been around us when we've seen one. He spent most of his time looking at Y/n. I bet they'll spend the rest of their lives together, don't you? And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There's still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally and Y/n. I don't think they know.
Your buddy,
Johnny
Ponyboy could practically hear Johnny's voice as he read the letter.
He reminisced about Dallas, the way he'd run a match across his necklace when he lit a cigarette. The way he laughed when he thought something was funny or ridiculous. He remembered how Dallas would look at you when you didn't notice, a certain tenderness to his secret glance.
He reminisced about you. The way you smiled at him when you gave him his camera. The way you looked at sunsets with the same admiration he did. He remembered the way you looked at Dallas, clearly in love.
He didn't want to feel sad anymore. Johnny had passed away surrounded by the people who loved him most. Dallas finally told him how proud he was of him, and Y/n made it clear how loved he was.
Dallas and Y/n died together. They stuck together until the end, despite how hard it got. They fought to stay together.
None of them had to die alone. Johnny had passed away knowing he was loved, and Y/n and Dallas had comforted each other until the inevitable happened that night.
It was bittersweet, really.
Ponyboy had never thought much about religion. But now, he hoped there was a heaven. He hoped that maybe all of you were up there somewhere, happy together.
He ached for there to be something better waiting for all of you.
THIS IS NOT THE END. THERE'S ONE MORE CHAPTER.