"Ask me what I hated the most about him."
"What?"
It was four a.m. on a Saturday. Soda had just climbed into bed after hitting a party with Steve.
"Ask me what I hated most about him"
Ponyboy had to admit, it was an odd request.
"Screw that, what are you doing awake?" Soda mumbled. "Hell, even I'm tired."
"I couldn't sleep. Ask me what I hated the most about him."
"About who?"
"Dally."
Soda gave in. "What did you hate the most about Dally?"
"Well..." Ponyboy began, taking in a deep breath.
Soda groaned to himself. It was going to be long, he knew it. He wanted to listen to Ponyboy, but at the same time, sleep was calling, and it was very persuasive...
"Hey, did you just say you hated Dally?"
"No, I don't hate him." Ponyboy felt slightly irritated. Soda hadn't been listening to him. Usually he could deal with being ignored, but it rarely came from Soda. "But there's something I didn't like about him. You know what it was?"
"What was it?"
"It was those eyes. Remember what colour they were?"
"I don't know."
"You don't?"
Soda probably knew, but he was too exhausted to think or even process the question. "No, sorry. I don't remember."
"They were blue. I used to think of them as angry. Vindictive. Blazing with spite."
"You don't say." Soda's eyes slipped closed.
"Yeah. But...But Beneath that fiery blue...I never saw it before...But I think there might have been a nice blue. Like, the ocean kind of blue, you know?"
Ponyboy sighed and continued. "It was my art teacher, see? She...well, she asked us what colour was pain...Everyone said black, but I said blue. Light blue. I told her that light blue was about pain and anger and venom. She told me that nothing was really venomous. I think that's true, you know? Even black...remember Johnny had the blackest eyes in the whole wide world?"
When he received no answer, he tilted his head to look at his brother.
Soda was asleep.