Author's note: Hi everyone! Well this is my first fanfiction, so please criticize! Also, I'm not an English speaker, so tell me if you find any grammar mistakes or if you feel there is any trouble with my syntax. Ta and I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: Wow, even the plot is S.E. Hinton's!

I put down the glass of water I was holding. Even though I knew for a fact that I was alone, Mom and Dad being at a diner, Darry playing a football game and Soda with Mickey Mouse, I could hear muffled sobs coming from upstairs. Following the cries, I went out of the kitchen and climbed the stairs.

Looking around, I noticed that the door leading to Soda's room was ajar. I stopped there, unsure whether to knock or not. As the sobs made no signs of stopping, I decided to go for it. I opened the door slowly, only to stop at the sight before me.

"Soda?"

Sodapop Curtis, the guy who always smiled and who could cheer you up in a minute, was lying in his bed, curled up on his side. His shoulders shook as he sobbed, his eyes rimmed with red and glistening with tears. Either he hadn't heard me, or he was ignoring me. I ran up to his side and hugged him. I wasn't sure if I was doing it right. As far as I could remember, Soda had always been the one who hugged me and whispered soothing words after Socs at school had bullied me. It seemed like it was my turn to help.

I tried to seem calm, like he always did when I was sad. To be sincere, I wanted to cry myself at seeing him so vulnerable and forlorn.

"Soda, what happened?"

Ever so slowly, he turned his face in my direction. His dark brown eyes were the saddest I'd ever seen them, and there was no sign of mirth in them. He looked like he just realized something, too. It really was hard to believe he was twelve. His shaking voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"M-mickey, he-he's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean gone? He ran away? He'll come back, you know that horse loves you!"

"N-no, his masters, they sold him!" he choked out before breaking down a second time.

"I'll never see him again. He was my horse, but they took him away." he kept repeating over and over.

I couldn't keep the tears at bay this time. I held my brother tight whilst he cried.

He was such a happy person; it wasn't normal seeing him cry. Out of all the people I knew, Soda was the nicest. Why couldn't he get what he wanted? I looked at my sobbing brother again and thought that if Mickey had been sold, well, I could buy him back. That thought in mind, I told Sodapop that everything was going to be okay.

As the night passed, we both cried and held on to each other. Sometimes, life really wasn't fair.