The day had finally come. Dallas and the others were to be sent home.

Alex's great-aunt planned to meet up with us in the afternoon, in an outdoor location that was as secluded as possible. Until then, we had one last day together. Dallas chose to spend a lot of that time with me, but that didn't stop me from getting to spend some time with the others, too.

Thankfully it was a Saturday, which meant that none of us had to sacrifice any of our remaining hours with our friends to things like school.

We all met up at our usual spot in the park early in the morning, with Alex, Jessie and I being the first ones to arrive. While we were waiting for the guys, Jessie suggested something brilliant. "Since it's their last day with us," she began, "Why don't we spend the day doing things they haven't gotten the opportunity to do yet since they've been in our time? You know, things they've wanted to do for awhile?"

"Yeah, good thinking. Hey, maybe we could walk over to Nicole and Kate's work at some point, too," added Alex, nodding in enthusiastic agreement with Jessie's idea, "Not all of them have been there yet and it's a really nice place."

"Plus, it'll give Nicole and Kate a chance to say goodbye one more time," I realized. Even if they didn't know any of the specifics, our other friends did at least know that the guys were going back home. Scott and Two-Bit had made sure to hang out quite a bit during the festival yesterday, and our whole group of friends had made sure to say goodbye after the festival was over.

As we were throwing ideas around, I noticed Dallas, Johnny and Ponyboy making their way toward us. "Hey, guys,' I waved them over.

"How's it goin'?" asked Dallas.

"Alright. We had some ideas for stuff to do today."

"Like what?" asked Ponyboy, just as Soda, Steve, Darry and Two-Bit arrived as well.

"Well, what are the main things you guys have wanted to do or try out since you got here but haven't gotten the chance?" asked Alex.

"Things that are within the law," Jessie quickly added, though everyone probably saw that coming anyway. If Jessie hadn't said it, Darry surely would have. "D'you guys wanna head over to Kate and Nicole's coffee shop while we talk about it?" She added, remembering Alex's suggestion from before they'd arrived.

"Sounds good,' said Soda, "Two-bit mentioned it was a real nice place."

"As far as stuff to do," Steve interjected as we all began walking, "There ain't much that could top how awesome yesterday was, if you ask me."

Personally, I agreed with him. And I think Alex, Jessie and the rest of us did, too. However, I said, "I think no matter what we end up doing, it'll be worth it in the end. We all know what day this is, after all, and..." I couldn't bring myself to finish. Dallas, who had his arm around me, gave my shoulder a light, reassuring squeeze. Only I noticed, of course, but it was comforting nonetheless.

Nicole and Kate were thrilled too see all of us when we arrived at the shop. "Hey, everyone, come on in!" Kate exclaimed, her grin rivalling the one Two-bit usually wore.

"Hi, Kate," said Ponyboy.

"How're you girls doin'?" added Two-bit.

"Pretty good, all things considered," replied Kate, "It sucks you guys are leaving today, though. Is there any way we can keep in touch?"

Johnny and Ponyboy glanced at each other, obviously trying to find an appropriate answer, before Darry responded for all of them with, "Sadly, not really."

"Oh. Well...either way, it was really awesome, spending these last few months with all of you," Kate said, trying to stay positive.

"Right back at ya," grinned two-Bit, as Nicole began leading all of us to a table – or rather, two tables that she'd shoved together to create one large one. We all took a seat and began flipping through our menus, Alex and I choosing what we wanted fairly quickly.

"Just so you guys know," Nicole spoke up, "Whatever you guys order today, it's on the house."

"Seriously?" Jessie asked.

"Yup," Nicole smiled. Just then, we heard the café door open and when I looked over, Bridgette was walking through it.

I nudged Dallas. "I think I know what's coming," I muttered to him.

"'Bout time, too," he agreed.

"hey, Nicole, can I talk to you?" she asked.

Nicole turned to her. "Yeah, what's up?"

Bridgette led her to a less crowded area, and based on what happened next I could only assume she was confessing how she felt, because Nicole broke out into a huge grin, said something in reply and was immediately pulled into a passionate kiss by Bridgette.

Kate, who had returned to our table to ask what we were ordering, had seen the whole thing, too. "Finally!" she exclaimed, and since she brought their attention to us anyway, a bunch of us started cheering for them, Kate included.

I smiled as they came back over to us. "Sorry about that," I said, "We were all waiting to see you guys finally get together, y'know?"

"It's all good," Nicole replied, as she and Bridgette were both smiling and blushing. "So, uh...have you guys decided what you want yet?"

"I'll have my usual," Alex told her.

"Get me a 7Up and a chocolate chip muffin,' Jessie added.

Darry and Steve ordered the same thing as Jessie, only with Steve opting for Pepsi instead of 7Up.

"What about the rest of you?"

Everyone else ordered either Pepsi or different kinds of coffee, since it was still morning. As for food choices, I went with a red velvet cupcake since it had been ages since I last had one, while Two-bit, Soda and Ponyboy all got chocolate cake. Dallas and Johnny, on the other hand, decided to try white chocolate cheesecake after Alex highly recommended it to them.

About halfway through, Bridgette ended up leaving to go help her mom with something, while Kate and Nicole continued working as more customers came in. That left the rest of us, and by the time we'd all finished our food the guys had all agreed that this place was the best.

"It's a real shame we never came in here before now," Johnny commented.

"Yeah, no kidding. The food's real good," agreed Ponyboy, "How come you never mentioned comin' in here before, Alex?"

"Don't know. Just didn't cross my mind, I guess," admitted Alex.

"Fair enough."

We were having such a good time at the café that we didn't even realize how much time was going by. When one of us finally got around to glancing at a clock, it was already almost time to meet up with Abigail and Annabelle.

My heart sank when I realized that but even so, I said, "We should...we should probably get going."

"Yeah," Alex agreed sadly.

"Okay, well...thanks for hanging out, you guys," Kate told the group, hugging each one of them for the last time, "It's gonna be weird not having you all around."

"It's gonna be weird not bein' here, believe me," Two-Bit told her.

Once everyone had said their goodbyes, the ten of us made our way to where we were supposed to meet the other two. The walk there was quieter than it normally would have been, because we all knew what was coming and none of us were happy about it.

As expected, Abi and Annabelle were already there when we arrived. "Are we all ready, then?" asked Annabelle, "Alex, do you have the book?"

"Yeah," Alex took it from her bag and handed it to her great-aunt, "right here. And before you ask, no one has anything on them that they shouldn't, we already made sure of that. And...you guys all have whatever you had on you when you got here, right?"

"Yeah, we're all good," said Darry, "I made sure before we even left the apartment building."

"Not all of us," corrected Dallas, and I knew what he meant. I lifted the hand that contained his ring, and I knew I would have to give it back to him. By this point, I was trying desperately not to cry and the knowledge that I wouldn't even have this ring to remember him by was just truly hitting me for the first time.

I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had lodged itself in my throat, and slid the ring off my finger. "Here," I said, my voice cracking slightly.

"Sorry, doll," he told me, before putting it back on his own finger.

Annabelle took a breath. "Okay, then," she said, "if we're all prepared, then I'm going to open the portal now. Jessie, Lana – step back. Alex and Abigail, I need your help."

Then, the three of them began to chant, similar to how they had when they'd bound Vanessa before, only this time it caused what looked like a white-and-blue portal to appear from within the book. As each one of the boys made their way through it, they gave us one last goodbye.

Dallas was the only one who didn't go through right away. Instead, he stayed behind long enough to give me one final kiss. "Been nice knowin' you, Lana," he told me.

I couldn't hold my tears back anymore. "I'll always love you, Dallas," I said, "Even if you don't remember me."

"Wait a minute!"

We both suddenly turned at that moment, to see Alex rushing forward. "Alex, what--?"

"There's something I have to do before you go,' she told Dallas, and placed both hands over the ring on his finger. There was a soft glow for a moment, before an exact copy of his ring appeared in her hand.

She handed the copy to me. "Now you have something to remember him by," she smiled at me, and I wanted nothing more than to hug her in that moment.

"And it's permanent?" I asked.

Alex nodded. "For sure this time."

"Thank you, Alex," I said, and she stepped back to allow me to say one final goodbye to Dallas. "I love you, Dallas."

"I love you too," he said, before finally following the others through the portal and allowing it to close behind him. As it did so, I fell to my knees and wept, as Alex and Jessie wrapped me in a comforting hug, knowing I would never see him or any of the others again.

And...knowing of the fate that awaited him at the end of their story.