Come What May

Chapter 1: Soda POV

Hello, everyone! Thanks for reading one of my latest fanfics (I am currently in the middle of 4!). This one has been fun to write so far, and I would like to thank my friend BellaVision for giving me the plot idea :)

I awoke to the sound of fists pounding on the door. At first, it sounded like only one set, but, the more I came to, the more the realization dawned on me that there was, in fact, many. I didn't hear any voices, but didn't have to listen twice to know that whoever was pounding on the door like that meant business, and wasn't going to leave until they got what they wanted. Another set of knocking made me jump.

Great, I thought to myself, those punks are going to wake up Pony! My little brother was already a light sleeper to begin with. The last thing he needed was to be woken up by Two-Bit and his accomplices. By then, this was who I presumed was responsible for the disturbance, as this wouldn't have been the first time Two-Bit had showed up at our house late at night, drunk as a pig. Sometimes, he even brought a friend or two along. I glanced at the clock, which informed me that it was just past 2 a.m. Sighing, I dragged myself off of the chair I had fallen asleep on, pressed the 'mute' button to silence the show I had been watching prior to falling asleep, and was about to walk to the door, when I heard a voice coming from the bedroom.

"Soda?"

I sighed. No sense in being quiet now. My little brother was already awake. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he walked over to me, still clumsy from sleeping.

"What's going on?" Ponyboy squinted when I turned on the hallway light. We both made our way to our front door.

"Nothin'," I told him, yawning, "Probably just Two-Bit or something." Ponyboy laughed. I managed a smile too. However, little did we both know that we were very wrong. Unlocking it, I opened it to find a middle-aged man staring solemnly back at us. A second man stood next to him, looking equally as glum.

"Are you Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis?" He asked us in a gruff voice.

"Yeah," I responded, cautiously.

"Duh," Ponyboy said softly. I elbowed him lightly in the ribs. I expected him to say something, or at least hiss an "ow!" at me, but instead, he said nothing, which, for him, was very odd. I looked over, and saw he wasn't paying attention to me, but to the men. He was staring at them, eyes wide. He looked pale. At first, I had no clue as to what would make him act like this, and thought maybe that he was just tired. I was about to suggest he go back to bed, when my eyes wandered to the two men as well. My heart fell down to my feet. The two men wore the navy uniforms of the Tulsa police officers.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. Now that I figured out they were the fuzz, the sad looks they wore began to creep me out. To my dismay, the two men shook their heads.

"I'm afraid we have some very bad news for you boys," the one who wore a gold star bearing the word "chief" said. He looked both me and Pony in the eyes before he went on, "It is to both of our great regret, that on this night, at precisely 1:30 a.m., your brother, Darrel, was involved in a three-way crash that took place just Northeast of Tulsa. He was killed on impact, and was far from our help by the time we got there. I'm very, very sorry."

Ponyboy made a sound halfway between a gasp and a choke. I said nothing, and instead stared at the chief, waiting for a sign on his face that indicated that this was all just a cruel joke and that Darry was actually just on his way home from that movie he went to see with some old friends of his. But, nothing but sympathy and sorrow were present on the man's face, so, slowly, reality kicked in, and I felt my knees turn to jelly beneath me. I kept my face as straight as possible, not wanting to cry in front of the fuzz, but Ponyboy broke down immediately, and I felt my heart break a little more with each sob that wracked its way through his body.

"We'll take you to the scene, if you boys want," one of the officers told us, "That way, you'll be able to collect any personal belongings that may have been in the car." I has hit with the realization that I had left my leather jacket in the backseat, but couldn't bring myself to care. Not when my older brother was gone, never to come back. I looked at Ponyboy, who was still crying, just not as hard as before. He nodded slightly. I looked at the chief.

"Okay," I told him, in a voice that threatened to break down, "We'll go."

"Right this way, then." He gestured to his police car, which sat, idling in front of our house. I motioned for Ponyboy to follow. He came timidly out the door, and walked beside me.

"Did it have to be a car crash?" he asked me through tear-filled eyes. I understood exactly what he meant by this. It seemed like just yesterday that two police officers showed up at our door, announcing the death of our parents—by car crash. Only this time was different. Last time, Pony and I didn't have to go through it alone. Last time, we had Darry. Darry. I stifled a sob. Yes, this time, and from this day on, things were going to be very different.

Well? Are you all liking it so far? I know it's not much, but I just needed an intro to the plotline. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review!