Work Text:
“Ya know, Dar, one would think I’d be old enough to walk to school by myself.”
“Pony, I was a senior once before. I know how it is.”
Ponyboy Curtis grasped at his heart, feigning hurt. “You wound me, Darrel.”
With a deadpan expression, Darry replied, “Darrel was my father.”
The truck erupted with laughter. After so many years of treading lightly, it felt good to just be able to laugh. God knew they all needed it.
“He was both our fathers, smartass,” Pony choked out, hardly containing his giggles. Without taking his eyes off of the road, Darry slugged him in the shoulder, causing the boy to howl with laughter once more.
It was the last day before the start of Thanksgiving break, and with Darry having the entire week off (courtesy of his promotion last year), he had decided to take it upon himself to drive Pony to school, just in case he decided to skip.
As the noise in the truck died down, Ponyboy could hear the beginnings of a new song play on the radio.
A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me
smile
Darry reached over to the controls and raised the volume, singing softly with the music.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
Ponyboy sighed to himself. There was no way this was going to be a happy song. And why Darry wanted to be depressed at 7:30 in the morning was beyond him.
And he was right.
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
Jumbled images flashed across Pony’s mind:
Johnny’s body burnt to a crisp in a hospital bed.
Dally’s blood splashed across the pavement.
The wreckage of the family car on the side of the road.
So bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
Ponyboy felt a small tear attempting to escape the pooling in his eyes.
“Hey Darry,” he whispered, hoping the thickness in his voice didn’t betray him. But his brother made no acknowledgment over the din of the radio, and a part of him appreciated that. As much as he wanted to turn it off, Darry seemed to be enjoying himself, and Pony didn’t want to disrupt that.
And it was a good thing he didn’t.
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
It was almost like Darry forgot that Pony was in the truck with him. One moment he was just murmuring the words, the next he was singing like his life depended on it. It was scarily impressive. Ponyboy wanted to ask him about that later.
But if he was being honest, Pony was content with Darry forgetting he was present.
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
These lyrics hit him like a truck, for all he could think about was Dallas Winston. Dallas Winston, who thought he was James Dean. Dallas Winston, who thought he was above the rest. Dallas Winston, who couldn’t handle the death of his best friend.
Dallas Winston.
Dallas.
Dally.
Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
Three boys were dead and Pony was on the brink of exhaustion.
He always wondered how the hearing would have gone if Dally or Johnny were there. Would he have gotten off as easily as he did? Would Dally have made a scene if Johnny was sentenced?
God, it was rough.
And while Lennin read a book on Marx…
Ponyboy gasped for air. At this point, he was more than sad and angry. He was annoyed that this stupid song was still playing. Why did someone need to be sad for so long?
And why did Darry know all of the lyrics, when Pony hadn’t even heard the song before?
He had no idea how long he was in his head before the chorus came back once more.
We started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Pony felt his brother shift next to him.
“Are you getting into it yet?” Darry joked. “There’s still three minutes left.”
Pony was about to answer when it hit him.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He could hear the screaming. The kids outside, surrounded by their teachers. Johnny inside, surrounded by the unforgiving flames.
He could smell the smoke that was drying out his lungs.
He could feel the heat licking at the back of Dally’s jacket.
And the dam finally broke.
~~~~
Darry swerved.
The sound was so piercing and heartbreaking that it startled him. It took Darry a couple of seconds to regain composure before he realized that it was his brother. He took a chance and glanced over to Ponyboy, who was curled up awkwardly in his seat, sobbing uncontrollably.
Shit.
Up ahead, there was an empty gravel lot attached to an empty church. Silently, Darry prayed a silent thank you to whatever saint or angel or god was looking out for them. He whipped into the lot, not worrying about his parking job.
Thankful for the bench seating, Darry pulled Ponyboy into his lap with little protest from the younger boy. It made no sense. One moment he was fine, the next he was a blubbering, terrified mess.
Darry wracked his brain through the entirety of the drive before he landed on the lyrics of the song playing, American Pie.
The fucking lyrics. Of course it was the song.
Fire.
Courtroom.
James Dean.
Widowed bride.
Even though it had been almost four years, trauma like Ponyboy’s didn’t just go away. Johnny died in his arms. Dallas was killed right in front of him. That would leave a nasty scar on any person with even an ounce of empathy.
As the pair sat in silence, Darry allowed a tear to escape his normally dry eyes. He could take it. Just this once.
Almost as quickly as it began, the silence broke.
“I miss them.”
And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
Darry couldn’t quite tell who Ponyboy was talking about. Their parents? Johnny Cade? Dallas Winton? All of them?
And the three men I admire most
Well, it didn’t matter.
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
Whoever it was.
They caught the last train for the coast
Darry missed them too.
The day the music died
“Me too kid. Me too.”
Unfortunately, Darry had to untangle himself from his brother. It was getting late, and they needed to be… somewhere?
Next to him, Ponyboy sniffled
Scratch it.
Nowhere.
They were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
“Let’s get you back home, Ponykid. It doesn’t matter if you’re only out for a day.”
With their hands glued together, the final lines of the song played softly from the old speakers.
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that
I
Die