Mediator, an outsiders fanfic

"Stay out of my life!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

*slam*

Well, this was new territory for me. Within seconds, I turned my head to see Sodapop angrily barge into the living room, pick up an old box of cigarettes and a lighter that sat on the mantle and then without a word, proceed to storm out of the house, making sure to let the screen door slam shut.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Sodapop and Ponyboy for the first time in their lives, were fighting with each other. I knew it was going to come eventually, especially with Ponyboy being in high school and all. He just wasn't that adorable, wide eyed kid who looked up to his older brother and wanted to be like him anymore.

Instead, he now was a hormonal teenager with mood swings, ready to lash out at anyone at any given second.

And I think Sodapop was havin' a hard time accepting that.

I sat on the recliner, debating on who to go talk to first. I eventually decided to go seek out Soda because knowing Ponyboy, he needed some time for himself to cool down.

With a heave, I got off my beloved recliner and headed out the front door. Immediately I was met with a cloud of smoke, that I had to wave my hand back and forth to clear the air. Soda looked at me momentarily with his soft brown eyes and took another puff of smoke, except this time, he looked away as he blew it, letting the wind take it instead.

It amazed me how graceful he looked while doing something simple, such as smoking.

Soda definitely hit the jackpot in the genes department.

He was leaned on our porch railing, staring off into the distance, his brown eyes full of anger and hurt. I know Soda means well, especially when it comes to Pony. But I don't think he wants to let go of his baby brother yet. The baby brother who would follow him around, who wanted to be just like him, and the one who in his eyes, could do no wrong. I knew the feeling all too well. Before Ponyboy came along, Soda did the exact same thing with me. It did get annoying for me because I liked being on my own, but secretly, I loved that Sodapop wanted to be like me. As a kid, I was prideful of the fact that I played a big part in Sodapop's life.

Though, in a way, I was happy Ponyboy was born because then Soda switched over from being obsessed with me, to obsessing over being a good big brother to Pony. It was a relief to be able to go out and play with my friends without Sodapop poutin' and whinin' that he wanted in too. But I will admit that at times, I did miss the feeling of being a hero in his life. It was nice being idolized sometimes.

It just made you feel good.

I walked over to the other side of the railing to face Soda. He still didn't speak or look at me. I tried to meet his gaze, so I could begin talking to him, but he wouldn't budge.

Being a mediator was little tougher than I imagined.

Luckily for me though, Soda sensed the awkward tension as he finally met my gaze.

"I'm just tryin' to look out for him Dar," he said softly, casually flicking his cigarette over the railing, to get rid of the excessive ash. I nodded, indicating that I was listening. "That girl was up to no good and he couldn't see it. I had to step in," he explained to me, letting his gaze fall back down on the cigarette.

Tonight, Ponyboy had gone on a date with a girl from his class. He was so excited about this date that he spent an hour in the bathroom, trying to make sure his hair was greased to perfection. The gang and I all teased him about it, but secretly I was proud my little brother scored his first date.

It was his first step into becoming a man.

Sodapop had given him pointers, such as knowing when to hold hands, when to give her his jacket and when to lean in to kiss. The latter part of the conversation left him redder than a tomato that I had to chuckle to myself as I did the dishes.

As much as he wanted to be grown up, he still had a big road ahead of him.

The rest of the night went fine as Pony was growing anxious and excited. Just as the clock struck seven, he ecstatically left the house with Johnny and Dal in tow, ready to meet her at the Drive In. Soon after they left, Soda and Steve left to go pick up Sandy and Evie for their own date night.

Before they left, I warned Soda not to bother Pony on his date and Soda promised me that he'd try his hardest not to interrupt.

But this was Soda we were talking about. I just knew that he would somehow try to catch a glimpse of Ponyboy and his date. Not because he wanted to embarrass our kid brother, but because he was proud of him and unfortunately, he didn't know what boundaries were.

So as a precaution, I made Steve promise me to not let Soda ruin Pony's night. He, like Soda, gave his word that he'd try to divert Soda's attention away from his brother as much as he could. Knowing Steve, he'd try everything under the sun to convince Soda to stay away from where Ponyboy was. Not because he cared about Ponyboy, but because he couldn't stand ruining his own date night by having to watch Ponyboy's with Soda.

So with that in mind, imagine my surprise when I woke up an hour ago to heavy arguing and the front door slamming shut. As I shook off my grogginess, I thought it was Two-Bit and Steve arguing over something stupid, but once I made the voices out to be Soda and Pony's, I immediately woke up.

They had made their way into the kitchen, the screaming match escalating. I hopped off the couch and went in to investigate.

Ponyboy stood on one side of the kitchen, face as red as a beet, as he was yelling at Sodapop for ruining his night. Soda was on the other side, his eyes narrowed, shaking his head at his little brother's accusations.

Pony had told me (or more like yelled), that Sodapop had come waltzing over to where he and his girl were sitting and began threatening her that she better leave his kid brother alone. Sodapop defended himself and said that Sandy had told him that she knew his date and that she was apparently the biggest slut in Pony's grade. So of course, in Sodapop fashion, he had to go save Pony.

And while Sodapop was angrily explaining his side of the story to me, that's when Ponyboy proceeded to call Sandy a big tramp with a no-good dropout as a boyfriend before he stormed out of the kitchen and into their bedroom.

In that moment, I swore you could've heard a pin drop. I bit my lip. That was definitely a low blow to Sodapop.

I looked over at my brother and truthfully, I've never seen Soda look that angry and defeated in his life. Pony's words had stung him deeply. I approached him to try and calm him down, but he pushed past me and went into their bedroom, yelling about how unappreciative Ponyboy was.

They spent a good thirty minutes arguin' back and forth with each other. And as much as I wanted to tell them how stupid they were acting, I stayed in the living room, tryin' to see if they could work their issues out themselves before I had to get involved.

However lucky me, the screaming match ended with Pony screamin' that Soda needed to stay out of his life and then slamming the door in his face.

So now we were here.

I studied Sodapop's expression. I could tell the anger was subsiding from his face. Let's face it, no matter what Ponyboy did, he couldn't stay mad at him.

But Pony could leave him hurt better than any weapon.

The wind was dying down as the night air was getting mighty muggy. And it didn't help that the porch light was attracting all sorts of insects, the worst of them being mosquitos. Soda, with his cigarette hanging gracefully from his mouth, calmly flicked a moth away from his arm. I swatted a gnat away from my forehead. Damn bugs.

Looking back at my kid brother, I sighed, trying to find the correct words to explain to him that he shouldn't have screwed up Pony's date like that. In Soda's mind, he was just doin' what he had to do, which was make sure Pony was okay.

"Soda, I know you want the best for him, but what did I tell you before you left? You shouldn't have intruded on his night like that." I told him carefully. Soda met my gaze as he took ahold of the cigarette and inhaled the smoke harder.

"Oh, so you wouldn't tell him his date was a whore who was probably usin' him?" he gave me attitude as he exhaled, the smoke momentarily hiding his face. I cringed at the smoke. I was never a big smoker anyway and the smell made me want to gag.

Once the smoke finally cleared, I began talking. "Yes, I would tell him," I admitted. However, before he could say 'I told you so', I clarified it by adding, "But I'd tell him once he got home, not while he was with her Sodapop."

Sodapop looked down at his feet. That gesture indicated to me that he knew he was in the wrong for that stunt he pulled. I understood Soda and that he just wanted to protect Ponyboy. But sometimes you have to let go and trust that Ponyboy knew what he was doing.

Atleast that's something I've had to learn to do.

Suddenly my brother sniffed. My attention turned to him as he tried to discreetly wipe a tear away from his cheek. Soda was sensitive, everyone knew that. But I hated seeing him upset regardless.

I reached over and patted his back reassuringly. That action made him start tearing up even more and before I knew it, our bawl baby in the family was living up to his nickname.

I moved over next to him and slung my arm over his shoulder as I gave his head a loving rub.

"I really did it this time, huh Dar?" he asked me through his tears. I gave a small laugh and shook my head.

"Nah kid, you were just looking out for him, he knows that. He'll cool off before you know it," I reassured him. Just as much as I knew that Soda couldn't stay mad at Pony, Pony equally couldn't stand not talking to Sodapop either. He might be more stubborn than him, but the sensitivity was still all the same.

"He hates me now," he sulked as he finished off his cigarette and let it drop to the floor, before he softly put it out with his foot.

"I'll go talk to him," I got up from the railing and before I entered the house, Sodapop said,

"I ain't a no-good droupout, am I Darry?" he asked me in a soft voice. I turned to face him. In that moment he was looking in my eyes, trying to find some evidence that he wasn't a failure. I realized that he needed my approval, just like he used to do when we were younger.

I gave him a small smile and shook my head no.

"No Sodapop you're not," I told him sincerely. "You're just no-good at cookin'," I winked at him as he grinned, flashing me his movie star smile.

I hoped he would never lose it.

With that, I left my kid brother on the porch as I went inside the house to find my other kid brother who was probably still steaming mad from the fight. As I passed the living room, I stole a look at the clock and was surprised to realize it was nearing midnight.

It'll be a miracle if I get to sleep by 1 tonight.

I made my way down the hallway and stopped in front of Soda and Pony's room. I gave a small knock before opening it. Ponyboy was laying on his bed, his history book in front of him, as he was angrily scribbling something in his notebook.

I raised my eyebrow in amusement at the scene as I silently closed the door. Without looking up he said,

"I'm not apologizing, and you can't force me," Pony told me angrily before I had a chance to say anything. Ignoring the comment, I made my way over to his desk chair and sat down on it. Knowing I was making him uncomfortable by my presence, his head snapped up from his book.

"Are you done acting childish?" I asked him calmly, giving him a stern look. We locked eyed before he gave an exasperated sigh as he rolled over on his bed to lay on his back. He put his hands over his eyes.

"Sorry," he grumbled out and I almost smiled. Atleast he was becoming more aware of his attitude. That's always a good sign.

"Pone, I ain't here to lecture you. Believe it or not, I do give you a pass on getting mad at Soda," I told him and immediately he turned his head to look at me, in surprise.

"Really?" he asked. I gave him a small nod.

"Yup. I would've been livid if someone did the same to me. But that still doesn't give you the right to act nasty towards him. He loves you Ponyboy. He was just trying to look out for you."

Ponyboy narrowed his eyes as he let his gaze fall on his notebook. "He could've gone about it in a different way," he replied bitterly.

I nodded. "He could've," I agreed with him. "But he only did it because he didn't want to see you get hurt in the long run."

Ponyboy stayed silent for a while. Hopefully my words were marinating in that imaginative brain of his. Finally, he looked at me with a guilty expression.

"Think he hates me?" he asked me softly and I chuckled. I shook my head no.

"Nah, he's just a little hurt by the choice of words you spewed at him," I told him as I stood up. Ponyboy looked down, ashamed. Despite him trying to be cold towards Soda, I knew that wouldn't last long. I gave him a small nudge.

"Try apologizin' kiddo, it'll do you a world of wonders," I said as I exited his room.

Lord hopin' he was going to actually listen to me this time.

I found Sodapop in the living room, sitting on the couch, bouncing his leg up and down like crazy. Once he saw me, he raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

"Is he okay?" he asked me softly. Before I could answer, Pony emerged right behind me. I looked down at him as Ponyboy shifted uncomfortably. Sodapop looked at him with hopeful eyes as he stood up.

"I'm okay Soda," Pony finally said, meeting Soda's eyes. His face then turned dark as he added, "Sorry for what I said earlier, I didn't mean it, I was just angry at you. You're actually the best dropout I've ever encountered and a great big brother." Pony said sheepishly to Sodapop. I gave a small snort at his apology. Soda though gave him a smile as he approached him and gave him a hug.

"And I'm sorry for interrupting your night," Soda apologized back as they let go of the hug. "I should've known better than to gang up on y'all like that. It won't happen again, I swear on my life."

"So, we're good?" Pony asked Soda quietly. Sodapop grinned and nodded as he slung his arm on his shoulder and brought Ponyboy towards himself.

"Of course we're good, you can't get rid of me that easily, kiddo." he answered and Ponyboy beamed at that.

I smiled at the sight as I rubbed both of their heads. Soda laughed as Pony groaned about his hair. "Now see what happens when you listen to your big brother," I praised myself. I was impressed with myself. I think I handled being mediator well.

Just one down, and hundreds of more fights to go.

I looked at the clock and realized I had to go to bed or else I was going to fall off the roof tomorrow from exhaustion. I gave their shoulders one last squeeze as I bid my farewell.

"Well I'm going to bed, I have to be up early. Good night, see y'all in the morning." I headed down the hallway to my room. As I shut the door to my room, Ponyboy and Sodapop decided to stay in the living room, and talk about Pony's night. I couldn't help but overhear them.

"Overall you had fun?" Soda asked him.

"Oh yeah, it was actually a blast," Pony exclaimed, and I smiled to myself as I sat down on my bed to take off my socks. At least he was able to enjoy himself some.

"I'm glad," I heard Soda say. I was taking off my other sock when Pony suddenly said,

"And Soda?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you know that you can kiss a girl with your tongue?"

*shatter*

"WHAT?!"

I groaned and put my face in my hands. Here we go again…

Authors Note: I had this one-shot idea last night and just decided to write it out and see where it took me. Well, it definitely took me on a journey, haha. Thank you so much for reading!