*I don't own The Outsiders.
Ponyboy's journey to manhood isn't turning out the way anyone expected.
(Third Person Point of View)
Prologue
The three teenagers sat staring at one another in disbelief.
The last year had been spent fighting to stay together; the past week had been the final battle between the Curtis brothers and the State.
The State won.
The youngest brother, Ponyboy Curtis, would pack his bags tonight and leave tomorrow morning. His train would be leaving Tulsa at ten in the morning.
Tonight would be their last night together.
The middle brother, Sodapop Curtis, would stay home with Darrel Curtis. Just turning seventeen a month ago saved him from Foster care services. Services the three brothers agreed were unnecessary.
Darry was perfectly capable of taking care of his younger brothers. The past year was spent struggling to be the perfect parent, even though he was still far from that, he tried. He brought home food, took care of them when they were sick, and worked his ass off for his family.
The situation wasn't fair.
The worst part for the receiving end of the deal, was the fate of Ponyboy. Darry, now considered unable to take care of Pony, was going to have to say goodbye and send him to God knows where.
"For all they knew he could end up in Hawaii," Sodapop thought. Soda smiled a little through his tears, he would be on white beaches with all them girls. That would be lucky. However optimistic the middle Curtis may be, he knew this would not be the case.
Pony would be lucky if he made it into a decent boy's home or foster home.
Both of Soda's other brothers were still in shock over the situation. They didn't understand how something like his was happening to them; they couldn't shed tears when so jumbled up about the situation.
Either way Ponyboy was leaving tomorrow.
All three brothers sat on the couch in the living room that looked the same as their Mother had left it. The youngest brother was shoved in the middle of his older brothers. They hadn't bothered to do anything other than turn on the light when they got home. It was silent otherwise, except for Soda's sniffles, the sounds of Tulsa moving around them, and the tick tock of the clock.
Time wasn't in their favor.
The case all started from a hole in the wall. A fight between Soda and Steve got carried away. Steve shoved Soda, causing Soda's elbow to makes a hole in the wall. The state official for the younger brothers came before it was fixed.
The official claimed the youngest one was being abused. Soda was too old to go into the system now, but Pony was only fourteen. They could still steal him away from the world he loved. The family he loved. The people who loved him back.
The only reason Pony was allowed one last night was because he begged for it. There had been no physical evidence of abuse on the teen, therefore he was granted one last night with his brothers, must to the disappointment of the social worker.
Ponyboy always knew the old women, his social worker, had never liked his older brother. Darry always treated her with respect, but she looked down on him and their home. Now he was getting sent off, like a puppy or something. Moving from home to home was probably his path for the next few years.
The gang came trampling onto the steps. In order for it to seem a little better and not such a big deal to Pony, he switched the television on. He was determined not to loose it in front of his buddies, Two-Bit Matthews (a.k.a Keith Matthew by few), Johnny Cade, Dallas Winston, and Steve Randle.
Steve immediately saw his best buddy's face and knew the news was not good. As he heard that it was Ponyboy who was getting sent away tomorrow, he couldn't help the little bubble of relief that it wasn't Soda who was going. He felt guilty for thinking that, but that's how he felt.
He was surprised when he realized he'd miss the kid.
The silence was heavy has the boys sat around, Pony in the middle. The grief and stress was tangible in the room, almost suffocating.
Little Johnny Cade didn't know what he was going to do without his best buddy.
Two-Bit always thought himself as another older brother for Ponyboy. He couldn't understand how the official could ever think that Darry or Soda would hurt their younger brother. The two of them were more protective than any mother with a newborn baby.
They loved one another, anyone could see that. Anger ran through him, the state was a bitch and the Curtis' social worker was the Devil in disguise. He couldn't find it in his heart to crack a joke, for once his gray eyes didn't dance, but clouded over with hurt.
He was after all, losing his little brother.
It wasn't unheard of around these parts of town, to hear of kids being taken from their homes and placed into the system.
Just the big difference was, most of those kids wouldn't be missed. Their parents either too drunk or drugged to care, or the parents were missing entirely. Worst of all were the abusive parents; those kids were lucky to get away.
They got a free ticket out. It didn't matter so much to them.
However, that wasn't the case with Ponyboy Curtis. He had a loving family surrounding him right now. Not all blood related, but might as well be.
They didn't know where the youngest Curtis would end up. They didn't know where he would be tomorrow, six months from now, or if he would be in the same place a year from now. How would they find him? The state wasn't giving them any answers, that much was for sure. They didn't know what was going to happen to him.
As the night grew older, they dropped off one by one.
Tomorrow would start a whole new chapter in Ponyboy's life. No one saw this coming.
Continue? REVIEW THEN!
Pardon typos.
Point of view will change. Mostly from Pony's POV, but I may touch in on what's going on with the gang.
