A short oneshot I made in loving memory of Patrick Swayze. It's rough,little edited, and pretty much I was letting myself try and write from Darry's POV. So instead of doing my homework, I've been writing this, and crying. This one's for Patrick.
Disclaimer: Susie owns the characters.
To the world, you're one person, but to one person, you're the world. I never really knew what that quote meant until it happened to me. My brothers always counted on me, sure, but they never really needed me until that night.
The night went our lives went to chaos.
It was late, and Mom and Dad went out for a getaway they've been wanting since Christmas. I was told to look after my brothers, and that I was in charge. I loved hearing those words from my parents, what older sibling wouldn't? They told me the usual information and that Ponyboy should be in bed no later than ten.
We all waved to them one goodbye, and then the normal night time ritual progressed. Soda went out to see this girl he's been dating since October, and Ponyboy got tired and at quarter 'till ten and went to sleep.
Soda came home near eleven, and when the clock's was close to eleven thirty, I didn't know what to think. Mom and Dad never stayed out past midnight, and I figured it was traffic that was keeping them out so long.
Twelve came around and they still weren't back. At twelve thirty there was a knock on the door and I knew something was wrong. None ever knocked at our house, unless it was business men, or something was wrong.
When I opened the door to find a cop, I knew something was wrong. He had his hat held in his hands and started to say, "Are you the son of Margaret and Darrel Curtis?"
Something was not right.
I called my brothers into the living room, and they trudged in. Both were half asleep, wiping at the sleep in their eyes to stay awake. The cop put on his face of sorrow and bowed his head. "I'm sorry to say that your parents have been in an accident. Their car collided with a train when the crossbars failed to work; they both died on impact."
Soda's face was pale, looking as if he wanted to blink back tears and Ponyboy was trembling like a leaf in a storm. In a matter of seconds both were crying and I desperately wanted to join them.
But I couldn't. I was the older brother, the role model. I had too much to do to break down and cry. I left Soda and Pony to cling to each other and took a seat in the exact same chair my dad sat in this morning, the same mug of coffee sitting on the table next to the unfinished crossword puzzle.
My parents were gone, and my brothers were orphans. Mom and Dad once told me I could be their guardian if something happened, but they never really talked about it much. I guess they assumed they were going to be around forever.
I woke up to the sound of the telephone ringing and grumbled. Dad always got the phone in the mornings, him or Mom, and they weren't going to be able to do that anymore.
"Hello?" I said into the phone, m y voice all groggy.
"Hello, is this Darrel Curtis Junior?"
"Yes, this is he."
"I'm Barbara Scott, from the head of the child services department. I hear your parents were killed recently in an automobile accident, and no set guardian for the minors."
"No ma'am," I stated with my firm voice. "I'm the guardian."
I heard a sigh and some papers shuffle. "No sir, no set guardian is registered. I'll be by tomorrow to pick up the minors."
"My dad appointed me as guardian," I stated as firmly as I could. I couldn't lose this battle, they're all I've got left. I'm all they've got left.
She sighed again. "If you want to fight for a custody battle, you'll have to do it through court. Otherwise, we'll be by tomorrow to pick up the children." I told her I would file for a custody battle and she clicked her teeth.
"Why would a young man your age want to raise two teenage boys?" She must not have any siblings, and if she did, she didn't care about them.
I blinked; glad she wasn't in front of me. "I'm all they've got left."
She hung up the phone after I said that, and in came Ponyboy and Soda. They must have heard part the conversation because Pony asked me a question that broke my heart.
"Darry," he asked, in his smallest voice. "Are they gonna send us away?" I forgot how young he sounded, how he reminded me of a little kid before I realized, he was a kid. He was thirteen, and already was going through something most didn't go through until adulthood.
"No," I stated firm and clear. "No one's going anywhere."
Ponyboy's eyes were full of hope, and I realized to the world I was one person, but to my brothers, I was the world.
Review...if Fanfiction will let you... Now off to the world of math.