<Skyler's POV>

I stand up with assistance from Steve and hobble behind him as I go as fast as I can towards the door. Steve throws it open and I hold my breath nervously. All I see is Pony standing in front of Johnny's father. Pony's eyes look so different. They are wild and dark. His hands are in two tight fists. I have never seen Pony like this. So rabid. I hide behind Steve a bit. He takes my hand and squeezes it. "Where is he? Where's Johnny?" Pony snarls loudly, spit flying from his mouth. Johnny's father squares his shoulders and points his chin towards the ceiling.

"You're the ones that took my son from my home," he mutters angrily.

"Home hardly," I mutter. Mr. Cade points an accusing finger at me.

"Watch it girl, I don't care if you're knocked up, I'll rip your throat out," he says carelessly.

"You threaten Johnny like that?" Steve asks accusingly. Mr. Cade looks to him angrily. It's now I notice the split knuckles on his hand. Wherever Johnny is, he's hurt. Mr. Cade swings a fist and tries to slam it into Steve's face. I grasp his knuckles with my fingers and push him back angrily. Steve then pulls me back behind him.

"Just tell me where he is!" Pony yells wildly.

"You should know, you took him from my care," he yells. Pony takes a step towards Johnny's father.

"Your care? You beat him to a pulp and whip him with your belt! You don't care for him! You are hardly a father hell you're hardly a human being!" Pony screams at the top of his lungs. The tendons pull in his neck, testing how far they can stretch until they snap. His veins poke out of his skin which is now a cherry red. A few tendrils of hair sway in front of his eyes, adding to the wild appeal. I know he has made a mistake now. Unfortunately, neither Steve or I move fast enough.

Johnny's father balls his giant hand into a fist. With skin pulling tightly over his bones, he strikes Pony right across the face. The sound of bone cracking against bone could be heard from a mile away. Pony's head whips to the left dangerously fast, his neck twisting much to far. His whole body is thrown into the coffee table. An empty beer bottle shatters beneath him. I see a few shards of brown glass embed themselves in the skin on his arms. Tiny droplets of blood peak out of minuscule cuts. The right side of Pony's face is already swollen and a cut runs along his jaw. Blood pours slowly out in an oddly straight line. Tiny drops of red spill down his flushed face. All of Pony's slippery hair is flipped to one side of his head from the impact.

Steve jumps forward and brings his knee into the mans chest. Mr. Cade is pushed down to the floor. Steve flicks out the blade from his pocket and holds it at the ready. He leans over Mr. Cade with dark threatening eyes. "Touch him again and I slice your eyes out of your fucking head." I walk tentatively over to Pony. He is out cold. Pressing my fingers to his wrist I feel a slow pulse. A breath of relief escapes my mouth. When I shake Pony's shoulder he doesn't wake up.
"Skyler!" Steve yells alarmed. I see him leaning over the couch looking at something in surprise. I pace over to him and see what he is looking at.

What is left of Johnny Cade is stuck to the ground unconscious and bloody behind the couch. His eyes are swollen shut and black. Every inch of his skin is red or black and blue. His arm is twisted at an odd angle at his side. His shirt is blood covered and ripped in spots revealing slits of bruised skin. Small pieces of glass are wedged into his neck with blood spurting from them just like the ones in Pony's arm. Alone these injuries are not abnormally harmful. Together they are more than enough to be lethal. If it weren't for his clothes(or what's left of them) and his distinctive hair I wouldn't know who he is. "I'm going to get Pony, you get John," I demand. Steve nods and tries to find the best way to pick up Johnny.

I go over to Pony and shake his shoulder. My fingers slide through his brown hair gently. "Ponyboy, Pony," I whisper. His eyes flutter a bit, causing his dark eyelashes to flail slightly. His eyes open into a squint like he is waking up from the deepest sleep he has ever experienced. As if the sun were blasting into his eyes after years of eternal darkness. A small grunt escapes from his mouth. I force a slight smile, hoping that it lifts his spirit in the slightest. His pale hand shakes as he brings it up to his jaw. The bruise is clear now, the cut still bleeding. Dry red liquid crusts in the edge of the skin. The skin is swollen and red like a bad sunburn after a day at the beach. His fingertips merely brush against the split skin and his face contorts. His hand drops.
"Oh god," he mumbles, barely audible. I run my hand through his hair again and smile sweetly. Pony half smiles at me slightly. His squinted eyes open wide and his pupils dilate. His words form quick and loud. I jump in surprise at he volume of his voice. "Skyler LOOK OUT!" I whip my head around, my short black hair creating a dark wave in the self created breeze. I catch a glance of Mr. Cade standing in front of me and then the feeling of his ring clad fist smashing into my temple. I am thrown onto my back from the impact. My head makes a loud smashing sound against the hard wood floor. My vision becomes blurry and the voices are muffled. I see Pony throw himself over me but I don't react. The next thing I hear is a slightly noticeable New York accent. A single sentence rings through my mind. "I'll see you soon." I told Dallas a lie.

I blink slow enough to see my eyelashes clash in slow motion and then separate. Soon all of the exhaustion of the past few days, weeks, months catch up to me and my eyes close with a sense of finale.

<Steve's POV>

I quickly take my switchblade and push it into the mans abdomen. It's a miraculous action that I may regret later, but in the moment it doesn't matter. Skyler is out on the floor and she needs my help. After the man is impaled I retract my knife and turn around to see the front door bust open. A young man with long hair, pale skin, and a thick accent looks around anxiously. His eyes skim over Skyler's body on the floor. They widen and glisten with moisture. His bright irises darken with the rest of his disdainful expression. Dallas quickly goes to Skyler's side as I stay frozen in shock. My limbs paralyzed in fear and disbelief. Dallas kneels at her side and leans over her motionless body. His hands cup her cheeks passionately. He rubs a stray ink black piece of hair from her face and tucks it behind her cold white ear. "Skyler," he says kindly. His fingers run up through her hair and back to her pale and fragile skin. My breath hitches in my throat when she doesn't respond. "Skyler come on wake up," Dallas pleads. Pony and I watch in complete horror as the scene plays out. "Skyler come on open your eyes," Dallas begs a little louder, "Please Skyler, just show me your eyes, okay." I actually have to turn away from what's happening. After everything we have gone through, it's all just going to be lost here. My whole state of mind is stuck in utter disbelief. "Come on Skyler, wake up, open your eyes," Dallas says even louder, but still in the same kind voice, the voice that longs to see the silver eyes he has always been so fascinated with. I look back at my friends mortified with a tear beginning to roll down my cheek. Her chest isn't moving up and down. Her steel silver eyes aren't shining in the moonlight. Her black hair isn't reflecting the dim lighting of the living room. Her pregnant belly holding the unborn twins stays rounded but still.

Dallas once again takes his hands and rubs her pale face. Pony continues to sob over the table as he watches what's happening. His face a bright red. His eyes are as dark as his greasy hair. Pony's small body is shaking profusely, racked by the sobbing. I fall back into a wall and just lean against it, utterly weak. My knees wobble, but somehow I manage to keep standing. With one last useless plead Dallas begs in between sobs to his lover, "Skyler Elizabeth, please don't leave me." But her eyes don't open.

In the end it wasn't the cancer that killed her or the self harm or the smoking or the recklessness. It was her will to protect the ones she loved.

A/N :( I'm sorry but I've always had plans... some of them good some of them bad. R.I.P Skyler Elizabeth Hills, mother, life partner, and friend. I hope her parents are welcoming her in heaven along with the two unborn twins who if you remember were going to be named Aiden and Shai. Skyler was the reason I started writing this story, and I love her. As a way to remember Skyler and Dally's love here is a snippet of chapter one where their relationship began.

(<Skyler's POV>)

"Why am I here?" The words come out harsh, exactly how I meant them to.

"Because I saved you from the Socs," he says looking dead serious.

"I didn't ask for your help."

"But you needed it," he shoots back.

"I don't need anybody," I say standing up, but my leg screams in pain and I begin to fall, but the guy catches me.

"Looks like you need me," he says smirking.

And another...

They had me pinned to the ground punching my face, ripping my clothes, pulling my hair. My leg starts to hurt, so I'm assuming that they had a blade and they cut me. I passed out after a direct shot to the temple, but before the world went black I could of sworn I heard a yell. The voice had a thick New York accent.

63 chapters later...

The next thing I hear is a slightly noticeable New York accent. A single sentence rings through my mind. "I'll see you soon." I told Dallas a lie.

I blink slow enough to see my eyelashes clash in slow motion and then separate. Soon all of the exhaustion of the past few days, weeks, months catch up to me and my eyes close with a sense of finale.

It started with her hearing a boy with a New York accent and ended with her hearing a young man with a New York accent.

The playlist of Skyler's death:

Aqualung- feat. Kinda Grannis
Where's My Love- SYML
Compass- Zella Day
My Own- Whittaker
Ghosts- Banners
To Build A Home- The Cinematic Orchestra
Fresh Pair Of Eyes- Jill Waggoner
Ruby Blue- Sleeping At Last

I apologize once again...

Stay gold💛

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"Each time you see me I'll tell you something more, but you won't see me a lot, goodbye Dallas Winston."   -Skyler Elizabeth Hills