Soda had been searching for Ponyboy for about three hours. Then he saw someone who was walking ahead of him. Soda knew immediately that it was his lost brother.

"Ponyboy!" He screamed. Pony stopped and turned around.

"Soda?"

Soda ran up and said, "Pony, I know Darry made you upset, but you can't just run off again."

"So, you're taking Darry's side?"

"No, but I still don't want you to run off. I'm mad at him too, but don't you remember hiding in that church and eating nothing but bologna the whole time? Life is harder when you run away." Pony made a sick face at the mention of bologna.

"Don't remind me. Fine, I'll come back with you." They walked home, and when they opened the door and went in, Darry was in the kitchen. He got up from his chair to go see who it was, and when he saw his brothers, he stopped.

"Ponyboy…" He wanted to apologize, but before he could say anything else, Pony shot him a glare and walked to his room. "Soda…" Darry tried, but Soda did the same as Pony, leaving Darry standing there all alone. He sighed and sat back down, rubbing his temples. What was he going to have to do to get his brothers to forgive him?

The next day, when Ponyboy was done with school and his brothers got off work, Soda walked over to Pony and said, "Hey, I'm goin' for a walk. You wanna come?"

"Sure." They started towards the door when Darry stopped them.

"Where are you two goin'?"

"Just for a walk," Ponyboy said. The tone of his voice made Darry flinch a little.

"I was just wondering."

They left, and Darry sighed and went into his room. It seemed like he was always the bad guy. That night when Soda ran out and Darry and Pony promised not to fight anymore, Soda explained that he felt like he was getting pulled apart and he couldn't take sides, and Darry knew that he should try to listen to Pony more, but he didn't like to yell at his brother and it was hurting him too. And though Soda said that he doesn't take sides, he was taking Pony's side right now, but Darry didn't blame him. What he said to Pony was pretty harsh. He hadn't meant any of what he said, though. He'd been meaning to apologize, but every time he tried, Pony wouldn't even give him the chance to. He would just glare at him, which made Darry feel worse. Every time he tried to tell Soda that he was sorry, Darry couldn't even walk up to him. Soda would see him coming and walk away without saying a word. Darry glanced over at his dresser and picked up the photograph of himself and his brothers with their parents from a year ago.

'What happened?' Darry thought, 'One second I'm just the oldest brother, and the next second I'm the guardian with two jobs that is trying desperately to keep himself and his brothers together. It's all happened way too fast. I want Mom and Dad back. They'd know what to do. Heck, we wouldn't even be in this mess if they hadn't been in that wreck. Pony thinks that I think he's a screw up and a pain. If anyone in this house is a pain or a screw up, that would be me. I can't do anything right. I've certainly made enough mistakes, and I'm sure that Pony and Soda would be so much happier without me. Especially Pony. No older brother to nag at him for every tiny flaw. If I'd just left well enough alone, everything would've been okay.'

Darry sniffed a little and thought of what Soda had said when he told him about his fight with Pony. "Well, if I were him, I'd be in Texas by now!" Darry once again felt the sting of that comment, and he fought back the tears that threatened to escape. Soda hated him now, and that was a very bad thing. If Soda hates you, you've done something terribly wrong, because Soda doesn't hate too many people. He hates Socs, and now he hates Darry too. The thought of his own brothers hating him hurt tremendously, and his hands started shaking. Then he thought of what Johnny had said, and though it made him feel slightly better, it didn't change the fact that his brothers were still mad. Johnny said that he wished that he was Darry's kid brother, and Darry wished the same. He never thought that anyone understood what he was going through. The thought that came to him next made him feel like a five year old, but it was his true feelings. He wanted someone that understood him, and to comfort him and tell him that they loved him. The last time he'd heard those words were when his parents left them that fateful night…

~Flashback~

"Alright, Darry. You're in charge until we get back. Make sure your brothers get to bed on time…" His mother was going to say more, but Darry already knew what to do. He'd been in charge before.

"I know. Everything'll be fine."

"I know it will. We'll be back by midnight. Take care."

"I will."

'Yeah, no throwing parties or anything," his father said jokingly. Darry laughed.

"I'll try not to," Darry said with a grin. Then he heard the sound of his brothers fighting over the remote for the TV in the other room.

"Soda, that's show's boring," Pony complained.

"Is not!" Soda yelled.

"Is too! Let me pick something to watch."

"No! Go read a book or something."

Darry rolled his eyes and yelled, "Hey! Mom and Dad are leaving!" That shut them up, and they came running in.

"Bye!" They said at the same time.

"Jinx! You owe me a soda, Soda!" Pony laughed.

Soda ruffled his hair and said, "Yeah, whatever."

"Bye, guys. Try not to kill each other," their father laughed.

"We'll do our best," Darry said.

"You two better listen to Darry, okay?" Their mother asked.

"Aw, Dar's in charge again? He's always in charge," Soda whined.

"He's the oldest, Pepsi-Cola. Sorry," Mr. Curtis said.

"He's only four years older than me." Mr. and Mrs. Curtis shook their heads. Soda pouted, and everybody laughed. Then, all of a sudden, Darry had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't understand why. He tried to ignore it, but the feeling wouldn't go away, and he wondered why he would feel like this. He felt that something terrible was going to happen, and even though he thought that he was just worrying too much, he couldn't shake the feeling off. His parents must have seen the look on his face, because they both looked at him with concern.

"Are you okay, Junior?" His father asked. He called him Junior sometimes because of the fact that they had the same name. Darry shook his head.

"Just fine," he lied. The lie didn't fool them.

"We love you, Darry," his mom said.

"I love you too," Darry replied.

"Well, are you guys goin' or not?" Soda asked.

"Yeah, we're going. Goodnight, boys," Mrs. Curtis said.

"Goodnight," all three brothers said.

~End of flashback~

Darry looked down. He missed his parents. They were so much better at taking care of them than he ever was. But of course, they were parents and that was different than being a twenty year old kid trying to take care of his younger brothers. What Johnny said was right. Taking care of them wasn't easy. Even though Soda said that he didn't take sides, it sure felt like he was leaning more towards Pony's side than Darry's. 'If only things could just go back to the way they were, when Mom and Dad were here and my brothers were just my brothers,' Darry thought. There had to be something that he could do that would make his brothers forgive him. There just had to be something. His brothers couldn't stay mad at him forever, could they? Darry shook his head. Maybe he should take a walk and clear his mind. Maybe that would make him feel better.

A/N: So, how was that? I would've updated sooner, but I got writer's block. :P REVIEW! I'll give you a cookie…