Just to wan you, I am being constantly told that I write OOC, so if that bugs you, my writing may not be for you. If you want to give me a chance, that would be great, but if not, better that than you don't a have a good time reading this because of the OOC writing. And, I make a lot of minor spelling and grammar mistakes that spell check doesn't pick up on, so you have been forewarned. Without further ado, here it is.
Ponyboy Michael Curtis stared out of the car window silently. Steve Randle, Pony's brother Sodapop's best friend was driving, and glancing at Pony. I few years ago, Pony and Steve disliked each other to the point where it was near hatred. Steve thought Pony was a tag-along and a kid, and Pony didn't like him for that reason. Back then it seemed that Soda was the link between those two gang members; Soda would never allow Steve to be too mean to his younger brother, and Pony didn't want to be mean to his older brother's best friend. But now, Soda was gone. He was shot down in the Vietnam War, where he had been drafted a year prior. Pony had gathered his life savings and went to college in Windrixville where he got into a creative writing program.
Every weekend Pony would visit the old burned down church where Johnny had run through the fire with a smile on his face. There was still a heap of burnt wood there, like a memorial, and was treated as such. Technically, Johnny died at the hospital, but Pony thought he had died at the church, where he became a hero for the first, and last time. Where Johnny Cade had stepped up from being a poor dark puppy, and had joined on the wings of hero's. Pony could never remember if he believed in Heaven and Hell after that, but if there was anybody who deserved to go to Heaven it was Johnny. Somewhere, in the back of Pony's mind nagging at him, he knew that Johnny had killed a person. But wouldn't God understand that it wasn't his fault? Pony didn't know anything at that point.
While Pony was at college, Darry had been roofing houses still, working overtime still, even though he didn't have to any more, his mouth being the only one to feed. But Darry didn't want to face the reality. Life had always been easy for Darry. Yes, he worked hard, he lost faith sometimes, but he always had Pony and Soda to think about. They were always there for him, as much as he was there for them. But with Soda dead and Pony at college, he had no one to care for, no who needed him. But he would rather pretend otherwise than face the facts. Which was maybe why he always cooked extra food and could be seen walking around the lot late at night, as though looking for Pony or Soda.
Pony had never wanted to go back to Tulsa. There were too many memories, too many things holding him back there. In Windrixville he could try to start again, while having the churches a memorial of what Johnny did. And how Dally did. Pony could never decide how had died a hero and who had died a hoodlum that night years ago. People would leap to the conclusion that Johnny was the hero, and he was one of them, but people tended to overlook the fact that it had been Dally Johnny looked up to the most, it was Dally who had gotten Pony and Johnny to safety. It was Dally who saved Johnny from the church after the timber struck him. And it was Dally who crumpled under the street lights because he couldn't stand to live in a world without Johnny, the one person he had ever loved.
But though all this was holding Pony back from Tulsa, he had to go back to the city where he grew up. Darrel Shaynne Curtis Jr. had died, haven broken his neck falling off a roof. Pony had to go back for Darry. And for Soda, though his body lay buried far away, in an unmarked grave in Vietnam. Soda would want them to be together one last time. The gang had fallen apart, if you could even call the four surviving members a gang, each handling Johnny and Dally, then later Soda's death differently. Darry had worked to keep his mind off of it. Steve worked on cars, though he was never the same person after that. Two-Bit got drunk every night, and sometimes played poker with Steve, though he was a poor substitute for Soda. And Pony escaped to college.
But the gang had decided to get together one last time for Darry's funeral, also remembering the years back then when they were all together, when they were the gang. It was a long road home, but Pony had to be there. He couldn't escape any monger.
I hope you liked it, but please tell me what you thought. I apologize for the ending, which was quite rushed. I'm not quite sure what happened to the story, it was entirely different than what I had planned. Please review. Thanks for your time!
~Cozy