Definitely
I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :D
The three Curtis brothers were all at the table eating dinner, when their parents came in with excited looks plastered over their faces. Ponyboy smiled at his father who smiled back at him.
"Darry, can we have a word please?" Shannon, their mother, asked.
Darry nodded and stood up from his seat at the dining table, leaving his unfinished plate of food behind.
As soon as Shannon, Darrell and Darry had left the kitchen, Ponyboy and Sodapop sprang up and ran to the door, trying to listen to what their parents were saying to Darry.
In the other room, Darrell and Shannon stood in front of their eldest son as he stared at them, tapping his foot.
"Darry, do you remember a few nights ago when I asked you if you could babysit your brothers for the night and the next day while me and your father went out?" Shannon questioned Darry. Darry nodded.
"Yeah, you asked if I could babysit them on Sunday. Today's Friday." Darry answered, his forehead starting to sweat; he and a girl he had met in the grocery store had arranged to go out tonight, and he didn't want to miss it.
"I know, honey, but me and your father decided that tonight was better since there's supposed to be a storm on Sunday, and the weather's going to be rainy on Monday, so we thought if we went tonight then the weather will be nice tomorrow. We've already arranged it all." Shannon beamed, and a big smile spread across her face.
Darry however, was beyond annoyed. Why did his parents always have to change their minds last minute? Why could they never think of him – for once?
"Why can't you just go on Sunday? I already have plans." Darry huffed, crossing his arms.
"Darrell, we're sorry if this ruins your plans, but we've been looking forward to this trip all week. I'm sorry that we didn't tell you sooner." Darrell stated, looking at Darry.
Darry was angry now…very angry. His parents still didn't care; they only wanted to do what they wanted.
"I don't care if you've been looking forward to it all week! You could have at least told me!" Darry shouted.
Ponyboy and Sodapop, who were still in the kitchen, both gasped and looked at each other. Nobody ever raised their voice to their father, except for their mother.
"Please don't yell, dear. I promise we'll make it up to you!" Shannon pleaded.
"Why can't you just go tomorrow?" he asked, still angry.
"It's going to be raining tomorrow night, and even if it doesn't, there'll still be the storm the next day, so there's no point. Please Darrell! We can't leave your brothers on their own; they're not adults yet. You're the only one of them who is!" Shannon tried, putting a hand on Darry's shoulder.
Darry jerked away and stepped away from his parents.
"I wish I wasn't the adult! I don't wanna babysit them; I hate them, and I hate the both of you too!" Darry yelled, and then stormed out of the living room. He made sure he slammed his bedroom door shut, making both of his parents flinch.
Darrell sighed and rubbed his temples, while Shannon just put her head in her hands.
In the kitchen, Sodapop was laughing from the argument that his family had, not noticing a trembling Ponyboy who was beginning to cry.
The young boy quickly got up and ran to his bedroom and shut the door, then threw himself on his bed and buried his face into his pillow.
"I'll need to have words with that boy when I get back." Darrell said, picking up a suitcase and lugging it outside.
Shannon smiled sadly and strolled into the kitchen, where she found Sodapop in the kitchen finishing all of the unfinished dinners. The woman smiled and kissed her son on his forehead, but then frowned.
"Soda, where's Ponyboy?" she asked Soda, who was busy shoving some mashed potatoes in his mouth.
Soda gulped and wiped his mouth, then looked up at his mom.
"I think he went to his room; he looked upset." The boy answered, and then went back to eating.
Shannon sighed and made her way to her youngest boy's room. Ponyboy was wrapped up in his blankets with his head buried in his pillow, his teddy bear clutched in his hands. This was strange; Ponyboy never held his teddy unless he was extremely upset about something.
"Hey baby boy, you okay?" Shannon said gently, sitting beside her youngest son.
"I have a headache." Ponyboy mumbled, trying to hide the fact that he had been crying.
"All of that shouting that your brother did must have caused it." Shannon chuckled, though she was secretly trying to hide her emotions; Darry's words had wounded her.
Ponyboy winced, echoes of Darry's words coming back to him:
"I don't wanna babysit them; I hate them!"
Soda wasn't affected by the words, however Ponyboy was deeply hurt. Since Darry was always yelling at him whenever he was in his way, Ponyboy thought that Darry actually meant what he said. He didn't even contemplate the fact that Darry was just angry.
"Do you need some medicine, sweetheart?" Shannon asked, snapping Pony out of his daze.
"No." he replied, burying himself deeper beneath the covers.
"Alright dear. Me and your dad will be back tomorrow evening." Shannon stated, and kissed her son's hair. "I love you so much, baby."
"I love you too, mommy." Ponyboy whimpered, and pushed his covers away and kissed Shannon on her cheek.
Shannon smiled and hugged Ponyboy, who returned the hug.
"See you tomorrow." Ponyboy said, and Shannon gave him one more kiss before leaving his bedroom and going to find Sodapop, who had now finished all three plates of dinner.
After Darrell had finished packing all of his and his wife's luggage into the car, he walked into his youngest son's room, who was still sitting up.
"Hey, little man, what's wrong?" Darrell asked, noticing the tear tracks on Pony's face.
"Nothin', I just don't feel well." Ponyboy insisted, scooting closer to his father who had sat down next to him.
Darrell smiled and pulled Pony into his lap and began rocking him; he knew that his youngest boy didn't want to admit that he was upset about something, however he wasn't about to interrogate him.
"So you're comin' back tomorrow? Definitely?" Ponyboy asked, just to be sure. Darrell chuckled before nodding and kissing his son on his nose.
"I promise, baby." He promised, then laid Ponyboy down and tucked him into bed. "But just in case I can't keep that promise, I promise that we'll definitely be home very soon."
Ponyboy nodded and snuggled down into the covers. Darrell gave his son one last kiss before going to the kitchen.
Shannon, who had already bid her farewells to her two youngest sons, made her way to her oldest son's room.
Darry was sitting on his bed, however he had knocked his lamp off his desk and threw all of his books off his shelf. His trophies remained untouched.
"I'm really sorry that we didn't tell you sooner, honey. It was my mistake; I told your father that we should surprise you. I really thought that you'd be excited to look after your brothers." Shannon stated sadly.
Darry glared at her, something he rarely did to his mother.
"Why would I be? I'd rather be out, thank you." Darry muttered coldly, and Shannon tried to hide the pain that he was causing her.
"I'm sorry, honey." She apologized again, then stood up. "I love you." She smiled as tears brimmed in her eyes.
Darry didn't say anything; he just kept the cold expression on his face.
Shannon gave up and left his room and shouted goodbye to all of her boys before going outside where the car was.
Darrell, who had just said goodbye to Sodapop and had given him a hug and a kiss, sauntered into Darry's room.
"Son, we need to talk about this when we get home. You're acting like a little kid who isn't allowed to get the toy that he wants, and I know you're not like that. Soda maybe, but not you." Darrell said, folding his arms.
Darry just narrowed his eyes but kept staring at the ground. Darrell, realizing that he was getting nowhere, just shook his head sadly.
"Well, look after Pony and Soda for us. We'll be home soon; we don't want to anger you any further." Darrell sighed and walked out of Darry's room, but before he did, he called to Darry.
"I love you." And then he left.
Darry snickered before getting up and stomping out of his room. Soda was sitting on the sofa watching TV, however Pony was nowhere to be seen.
The oldest Curtis strolled into his little brother's room, where Ponyboy was bundled in blankets. The young boy gasped when he saw Darry.
"What? Why are you in here? Playing the baby again, huh Pony?" Darry chuckled, though his tone wasn't playful. "You need to stop begging for attention, Pony. Mom and dad are starting to get annoyed with it." Darry lied, trying not to laugh at Pony's horrified expression.
"T-they are?" Pony stuttered, trying to hold back tears.
"Yup. I mean, I couldn't blame them. I'm sick of it, Soda's sick of it, but mom and dad are the ones who mostly hate it. They only put up with you because you're the baby, but as soon as you're not here, they're always talking about how annoying you are. I bet you that the whole car journey will just be them complaining about you." Darry snickered.
Ponyboy whimpered; he thought what Darry was saying was actually true.
"Won't be long before they kick you out. We'll probably have a big party to celebrate the fact that you're finally gone!" Darry laughed. "We'll invite everyone: Steve, Two-Bit, Dally, Johnny! Everyone!"
"No, mommy and daddy wouldn't do that. Shut up!" Pony scowled.
"Really? I would. Soda would. Anyone would!" Darry responded, and Ponyboy couldn't take it anymore. He began sobbing; his brother's words had hurt him more than any punch that had ever been thrown at him.
Darry was taken aback; he knew that he was upsetting Pony, but he didn't know that he had upset him this much.
"Hey, Pony come on, I was only joking!" Darry pleaded, but Ponyboy wouldn't stop crying.
"I'm sorry, okay! I don't mean to annoy everyone! Everyone thinks I'm annoying, even the teachers!" Ponyboy cried, and Darry felt awful. He knew that Pony had been getting picked on for the past year, but he didn't think it was that bad. "A-and now! Now mom and dad and you and Soda think I'm annoying! Well, I'm sorry!" Pony shouted, and curled up on his bed.
Darry wanted to cry also; he'd hurt his little brother so much without meaning it. He wanted his little brother to know that he loved him, but he wasn't sure if that was possible now.
"I mean, you even said that you hate me and Soda! You all probably hate me!" Pony sobbed, clutching his teddy bear.
Darry covered his mouth, remembering what he had said before. He said that he hated all of his family, when none of them had actually done anything wrong.
"I'm sorry, Pony. I'm so sorry." Darry said softly, pulling Ponyboy to him.
Ponyboy didn't even try to get away from Darry, he just cried into his older brother's chest while Darry rubbed his back.
"Listen, I didn't mean any of what I said before. I really didn't." Darry vowed, rocking Pony back and forth with him. "I swear on my heart, I don't hate any of you. And nobody finds you annoying, I mean it. You understand?"
Ponyboy nodded into his brother's chest, but he still didn't stop crying, though his cries were beginning to subside.
Sodapop, who had heard everything, stumbled into Pony's room where he found his two brothers hugging.
"Pony, nobody finds you annoying." Soda repeated Darry's words, and sat down next to Darry, and all three brothers hugged each other.
Eventually, Pony's cries stopped altogether, though he didn't want his oldest brother to stop holding him. And Darry didn't; he wasn't about to leave Pony when his baby brother felt so vulnerable.
"Dar, are you gonna say sorry to mom and dad when they get home from their trip?" Soda asked, scooting over so Darry could fix his grip on Pony.
"Damn, I completely forgot about mom and dad. Of course I'm gonna say sorry to them." Darry claimed. He kissed Pony on his head and lay down with his baby brother still in his arms. Soda, satisfied with Darry's answer, lay beside his older and younger brother and quickly fell asleep. Pony fell asleep too, but Darry stayed awake.
After half an hour of tossing and turning, the oldest Curtis gently eased Pony out of his arms and got out of the bed. He tiptoed into the living room and sat down on his dad's recliner, looking out of the window where the stars were starting to come out.
Darry spotted a picture of his parents from many years ago at their wedding. The boy smiled sadly and looked up at the ceiling; he was definitely going to apologize tomorrow, and if not tomorrow then he would definitely apologize very soon.
He looked out of the window once again, already waiting for his parents to come home.
But they never did.
AN: Well, that was sad. I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating these past few days; I went to my brother's house on Friday evening, then travelled to a different city yesterday, and then today I've been catching up on homework. One Marvellous Adventure will be updated tomorrow, however I'm back in school now so I won't be able to update until the afternoon.
I did get my brother and sister-in-law to watch The Outsiders, however they constantly made jokes throughout the entire thing and we didn't even get to see the rumble or the ending because the movie kept freezing. I'm glad that I watched it with their oldest daughter a couple of months ago; she tells her parents how good it is :) I'm trying to get them to read the book, but I don't think it's working :(