"Hey hon, do you know where the keys are?" I shouted impatiently- my voice seemed to echo throughout the house, and it was pretty early, but I didn't have time to worry about the parts of my family that weren't already awake. I had already looked through all the dresser drawers by the door and it wasn't there.

"No, did you look in the white dresser?" she called back. I could hear faint popping and sizzling from the kitchen, though the kitchen was closed off from the front door. Whoever created this house must've been an exceptionally weird person, I thought randomly. I got a little frustrated knowing I had already checked it over and over again. I balled my hands into fists to keep my head right where it was.

"What about your jacket pockets?" she shouted again. I ran my hands through my jacket pockets, my eyes going a little wide in the hopes that maybe I'd find them and I wouldn't be late to work and I would get New Years Eve off this year. Finding them all empty, save it be crumbs and old bubble gum wrappers that were twisted into abstract shapes, I sighed, feeling that spark of fake hope I had created for myself drift away, and started searching through all the coats hanging on the wooden rack by the window.

"Didya find anything yet?" I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes on the openings of each pocket I searched through, knowing that in a surety seeing was trusted more than feeling- Darry told me that everytime I had lost the bills we had to pay off and he had forgotten what the amount was... But that was before... I bit my lip, suppressing the second most saddest memory in my entire lifetime. My face lit up as my hands came into contact with shockingly cold metal that had jagged edges on one side and was smooth and straight on the other.

"Found 'em!" I cried out happily, praising myself internally for my small win. I took my hand out and grinned mischiveously at the rusted keys that clinked against each other in my hand. I turned around to see Cherry coming out of the kitchen door wiping her hands on her dark-blue cuffed jeans; she gave me a relieved look and smiled. Her hair was swept up in a neat bun, shaping her fragile gorgeous face- she was still so beautifully thin, and that snug yellow t-shirt didn't help push down my raging feelings for her. Gosh, she was still so pretty. When she walked up we shared a small kiss and she looked up at me with her bright green eyes.

"Have a good day at work, babe," she whispered. I could feel her warm breath hit my face in the most comforting way, and I helplessly lost myself in her once more... Don't know how she does it, but she always manages to capture me with her most youthful and soft essence of beauty. I pressed my lips against her head softly, feeling more than satisfied with the fact that she was all mine and she would forever be mine...

"Make sure that Steven does his homework when he gets home," I said firmly, holding her in my arms a little while longer, squeezing a bit harder, little by little. Steven really needs to know that school comes first- then friends. Why do I have to go to work today? Why couldn't I stay home with my lovely wife and family and just relax...?

"What makes you think I don't do my homework?" I heard Steven yell out in defense as he walked straightway around the corner, pulling on a blue and white plaid shirt with a little complication. I gave him a stern look but had to smile. Man, had Steven grew- he was so tall now, almost as tall as I was when I was sixteen. I laughed and shook my head. I remembered when he was still a playful little red-headed tot still learning how to work the toilet... Enjoying himself with figuring it all out.

"I happen to get very good grades at school, dad- I even have a B in Algebra!" he sounded almost sure of himself. Cocksure, in fact. I checked- he only got a B-; he can't keep everything from his parents. No, no, he was too young to be able to do that.

Steven walked up to me while rolling his sleeves up, revealing those proud muscles he spent all of freshman year getting in football, and for a second, he flexed them for me and Cherry just to get us to smile- it didn't take that long for us to do so. He could make just about everyone smile with just a straw and a piece of paper. I observed that he had actually taken the time to shave, which isn't very often since everyone says he looks like some god-like leprechaun who brings good luck and gets all the girls in class (at least that's how he says it) when he doesn't - he prized that feeling; he has Cherry's fiery red hair(that curled around his ears and kept to itself in a very boyish shape around his head), and my amazingly good looks(that stood out to about everyone he met), with the most gentle of green eyes. I guess he was lovin' the fact that he had two fantastic looking parents, and he just happened to get the good part of the both of us. He gave me a big hug and I rubbed his back gently.

"bye dad..." he said softly. Something in his voice reminded me of Ponyboy...

"Bye Steven... Make good choices today..." I heard him snicker and let go of him for a second and looked at him seriously. He rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, okay... whatever dad..." I patted his shoulder, feeling a somewhat satisfied feeling. Teenagers these days just don't do what they're supposed to be doing... I suddenly started remembering back when I was a rambuctious and reckless teen... But I had a reason to be! ADHD only has so many limits- though I guess, it wasn't that good of a reason, I still did a lot of things that I stand not to be proud of today. I was glad Steven didn't get that from me though- the ADHD part; he got his mother's reasonable and patient brain, and it showed quite visibly.

"Bye!" I cried out before pulling the creaky door shut. I breathed in the cold fresh air through my nostrils and let out a foggy sigh. It was a beautiful fall morning. The gloomy grey skies could've been done without, but I couldn't control that. Besides, the crisp autumn leaves were covered with a beautifully thin layer of frost which took away from the rusty colored clouds in the sky. I exhaled again, purposefully this time, just to see the fog form, dance, then rapidly dissapear in the air once more. I loved the fog...

"You know, not many people like the fog, but they don't take the time to look at its many beauties... it can soften the edges of beautiful scenery and only makes the snow look even more brilliant when it comes..."

I smiled. Ponyboy had told me that the christmas after Steve's 18th birthday. I always admired Ponyboy's perspective on the world. I don't think he knew, nor knows now, that the whole world longed to see itself the way he sees it.

I opened the door to the forest green VW fastback sitting in our driveway and quickly hopped in. It felt like it was ten times colder than outside, but after I had turned the heater on I knew I was going to be okay- I just needed to wait a few minutes befores pulling out. Driving on the way to work, which wasn't that far away, but still pretty far, my thoughts drifted back to my old life.

"Did you know that if you look closely to a cloud, you can see it's silver-lining?" Pony said in a soft, detached voice. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"You're weird, Ponyboy..." Steve spoke my thoughts, stuffing his face with chocolate and downing a bottle of Coke. What a pig...

"That's nice Pony... Where'd you learn that?" I asked, a little interested in why Pony chose now to talk about such a light-hearted subject. He smiled.

"I found out by myself..."

"You lie... Clouds don't have silver-lining..." Steve smirked, crumpling up his trash and throwing it to a nearby bin sitting at the edge of the parking lot, missing it, and undoubtedly, not bothering to pick it up and throw it away properly.

"Not if you don't believe that they do..." hmmmm...I had to think about that for a second.

I always thought Ponyboy was crazy for wondering about such silly things. Greasers don't think about things... They thought about a lot of things, but clouds and colors and stuff wasn't one of them; it never was one of them- not even on the waiting list to BE one of them. But now that I'm older, I feel as if I didn't listen to him like I should've. I promised mom and dad I'd do whatever it was necessary to take care of Ponyboy... but one of those things was to listen to him and acknowledge him in his thoughts-

All of a sudden I felt the car jerk forward and come to a sudden halt that seemed a little lower than the ground had been before;a roaring sound bellowed beneath me followed by the scattered clicking noises that seemed spread throughtout the whole car. I could see blackish-greyish smoke from the hood of the car mixing in with the misty air of the cold around it, rushing up towards the heavens, as if it was a race or something. There was an unbearable pain in my side and I quickly reached to open the car door- which was jammed halfway through its entirety- but thank goodness I was able to get out. I felt like my breath was slowly getting more and more restricted- and I needed that excess air badly. I started to get coughing fits and tried to call out for someone to call help, not being able to get anything past a small sound that faltered in the heavy darkness that started to form around my head.

That was when I saw a bright white light coming out of the hole my car had abruptly fallen down through; time seemed to slow down to what felt like almost 77% slower than it was- the second hand on my watch no longer moved rythmically in a circle like it should be. I was starting to get confused and crawled to the small light to get a closer look- don't think I was forgetting about the fact that without a doubt I was dying. But my curious mind had to be put to rest. So as soon as I got to the ditch there he was...

Ponyboy was standing underneath a small tree still in bloom with white buds forming spontaneously on each branch; small beams of a summer sun were softly lighting up his complexion- was that the lot I saw in the background? He was looking up toward the sky with a thoughtful look on his face. He seemed so peaceful...

My lungs seemed to cave in, within every second I knelt there staring at my fondest baby brother- my only YOUNGER brother. I gasped, somewhere in the back of my mind I was begging to be relieved of it all... But I couldn't stop staring at my baby brother as he made notes in a small composition by his side of something...

He seemed to be interrupted by something and then looked at me, not having the slightest clue as to why I would be watching him and smiled, giving me a small wave of the hand- he looked so young, could that really be him? His eyes were so soft and he couldn't have been older than fourteen! I felt my eyes flutter closed and reluctantly slipped into unconsciousness.