A Note From the Author: Hey, everyone, sorry I'm late! Everything just got extremely busy and overwhelming! I finally got some downtime over Memorial Weekend to spend with my family. Anyway, I am back and terribly sorry to keep you waiting! This chapter aid a bit of a fluffer, I warn you now. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: S. E Hinton will forever be the owner of The Outsiders.

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"Mail call, Curtis'!" Two-Bit sauntered into our home, bellowing out the message. It made Soda, who sat on the couch watching some mind numbing cartoon, jump a bit and wince. Two murmured his apology and gave a sheepishly grin. The entrance made my stomach flip, reminding me of the day Soda got his draft letter all too much.

"What've you got?" Asking anyways, I stood up and grabbed the small stack from him. As May rolled around, I was looking to hear from some colleges. Darry made the arrangement with the coach, and a "good word" was going to be put in for me. And maybe, just maybe, I could run the last race of the season. I guess that was better than nothing.

Looking through the stack, I wasn't surprised to find a fair share of bills. Setting those aside on the coffee table, I could see Soda take a sideways glanced at them from the corner of my eye. Turning up blank on any mail for myself, I lost interest pretty quickly. That was until an envelope caught my eye.

It was an off white kind of color, standing out from the formal postage ones from the billing companies. I flipped the letter over in my hand, reading the messy hand writing.

Sodapop P. Curtis.

"Pone, what do you got there?" Soda piped up, head swiveling in my direction. As usual, his tough gaze met mine. He was searching for answers written on my face, and I wasn't surprised when he stiffened. I'm sure I looked a little nervous. "Well?"

"Is that from one of those schools? I hope it's the Cali university. The number of blondes in that place!" Two-Bit grinned crookedly, rubbing a thumb down one of his rusty-red sideburns as he eyed the letter.

I shifted, giving my head a shake. "It ain't from a school. It's for you, Soda." His expression relaxed a little. Maybe he thought it was a notice for me, or Darry. Whatever he had in mind, he was just relieved that it wasn't. Sitting up a bit straighter, he reached out his hand.

"Let's see it." He murmured, grasping it once I handed it over. Soda's dark eyes studied the envelope, twisting it all around. "City Hall." He almost laughed, tearing the seal. "This oughta be good."

Two-Bit and I exchanged puzzled glances. It was clear that neither of us knew what this could be about. Soda's relaxed and almost bored fashion had me filled with anxiety. Though the situation wasn't exact, this felt like two years ago all over again. I just didn't want anymore bad news. Weren't we all out of poor luck yet?

"Dear Mr. Curtis," Soda began, a hand absent-mindedly scratching the back of his head, "We, at Tulsa City Hall, are proud to invite you to take part in the city's first ever Decoration Day, on May 22." He stopped reading aloud, holding the letter stiffly in his hand. I watched silently as his eyes flicked over the paper.

Decoration Day was a catching holiday. It wasn't anything official, but word of celebrating the ones who swerved our country was spreading fast. The holiday idea was nothing more than paying our respects. I guess Tulsa decided this was a perfect year to jump on board the bandwagon.

Soda folded the letter back up, tossing it down on the coffee table. His face was blank, avoiding expression. Unreadable. After a moment, Two-Bit shifted and pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"You planning on goin', hotshot?" He asked, usually goofy grin in place. I could tell that he was slightest bit hesitate to ask. The subject of anything war related was never brought up on purpose. And when it was, everyone treaded carefully. Soda seemed to weigh in his mind what his answer would be.

"I don't know yet." Answering quite vaguely, I could tell he was really thinking about it. In all honesty, I was surprised he didn't tear the letter to shreds yet. Being a solider wasn't anything Soda was proud of, and I didn't think he'd be into attending a ceremony in his honor. But, maybe things were changing around here. I was eager to figure out what as on his mind.

"I think it sounds kind of cool." Quietly putting out my opinion, I watched Soda. His eyes swept over the floor, slowly making their way up to me. He understood my motives perfectly. "I mean, grandpa was in a war too. Might as well pay everyone some respect..." Adding that in, i dropped my vision down to my lap. The way Soda was watching, so knowingly, I couldn't meet I his gaze.

"It's downtown. Right at city hall. We'll have to see if Dar has the afternoon off, Ponyboy. And it's so last-minute; only a few weeks away."

"Yeah, I guess we'll just have to see."

The twenty-second approached rapidly. I think it came on way quicker than Sodapop wanted it to. I could see him tense up when anyone mentioned it. When Soda read the letter to Darry, well, he thought it was a pretty damn good idea. He said it was the right think to do, and wouldn't look to good on Soda's behalf if we skipped it.

So, Soda was standing in front of the cracked, old mirror in our bathroom. There was an hour until we had to be there. The old military uniform, the one I haven't laid eyes on since the day Soda came home, was laying atop of our mattress. He was avoiding our room, trying to delay it as long as possible. Finally, when Darry gave his final warning, Soda caved.

I was buttoning up my shirt when he walked in. Darry was making everyone dress up. Even Steve and Two-Bit. When Soda let the door shut behind him, he didn't move from the doorway for a while. His eyes were just glued on that stupid uniform. Clearing my throat, I watched as he flinched slightly.

"It ain't so bad, Soda. Just for a couple of hours." Mumbling, I did my best to give some reassurance. The thing was, no one could really understand or relate. Hell, I didn't really even want Soda back in the uniform. It was all seem way too real again. Now, it wasn't just some nightmare he woke up to screaming. The uniform was real, and so were the memories it held. There just wasn't too much to tell him.

"Yeah, I know." Speaking quietly, Sodapop rounded the corner of the bed, his index finger brushing over the crisp fabric. "It's just been a while." He excused in a distracted voice. "Tell Dar I'll be ready in five minutes." Darry was growing increasingly inpatient. He didn't want to be late and was aggravated that we were "taking our sweet time." Since Soda started getting a little better, Darry was slowly treating him less like a loaded gun and more like a little brother.

"Yeah. I'll tell him." Tone light, I offered Soda a tight grin before slipping outside the bedroom. He needed a minute, and we'd just have to give him all the time in the world. But, of course, Sodapop was emerging from the room after five minutes, just like he said. Two-Bit, who was perched on the couch's arm, whistled lowly.

"Lookin' good, Mr. Cordially Invited." He commented, receiving a quick nod from Soda. Steve gave a small chuckle, just coming from the kitchen with a bottle of beer in his hands. Darry gave a disapproving look and shook his head tiredly.

"I swear, you're like herding a bunch of cats. Everyone ready?" There were a few mutters confirming our readiness as each one of us stood up to leave. And since we were all dressed so nicely for the occasion, ratty sneakers were out of the question.

Darry had nothing more to complain about as we all filed outside. Everyone followed his directions, trying to avoid being scolded for the rest of the evening. Though everyone was grown up now, nothing really changed too much. Most things were almost the same thing, excluding the new habits Soda's homecoming brought forth.

The drive there was short and quiet. Soda was so tense, I was almost positive he would burst. He, Darry, and Steve sat up front in the old truck, Two-Bit and I in the back. Arriving at City Hall in a decent amount of time, I knew Darry was glad made it.

"The letter says to stop by a check in desk, Soda." Steve said, unfolding the letter that was one tucked away in his pocket. He read it over again. "Just to sign in or something like that?" Giving it his best guess, he shrugged and clasped my brother gently on the back.

"Okay, we'll meet you outback then." Darry suggested, pointing his index finger out towards small window on the other side of the room. There was a short line there, stocky men in uniforms waiting very patiently. I saw Soda suck in a breath and nod stiffly.

"Yeah, okay." He murmured, leaving us for the line. Only a few moments later, Darry ushered us all in the direction to find our seats.

When we stepped outside, I was honestly surprised with the size of the crowd. A lot of people were milling around. Some sat at the large amount of lawn chairs set up, all facing a gazebo type structure with a podium, others chatted quietly. Darry patted my arm before whisking us all towards a row of empty seats.

"Christ, I hope Sodapop manages okay." Steve muttered softly, taking a seat to the right of me. Two-Bit and I both nodded softly. This was a pretty big crowd, and he wasn't too keen on close quarters again, yet.

"Yeah, me too."

Not too long after I got the words out, a squat man waddled across the stage. He cleared his throat, hands reaching out to the old microphone in front of him. Being rather short, we could barely see him over the podium.

"Excuse me, Ladies and Gentlemen. If all could take a seat, we'd like to begin the Decoration Day ceremony." He paused, waiting until everyone was seated before speaking once more. "Today we'd like to take the time to celebrate all who have previously served the country, or are now doing so."

"It take a special kind of brave to do this, and each and every citizen should be thankful for their actions. Please, Ladies and Gentlemen, give a warm hand to a few of Tulsa's finest men."

As the man stepped back, applause started throughout the audience. We all watched as men wearing military uniforms stepped out on the gazebo. Each of them bore no expression, standing stone still as they lined up next to one another. Sodapop was among the first few to be in the line up. He fit it perfectly. That was a little nerve wrecking.

The ceremony really began after that point. Several people made speeches, including the mayor and very old war veterans. A few years back, I wouldn't have thought twice about anything they were saying. Soldiers and war would mean nothing to me. We all had plenty of other troubles to worry about. Things were sure different now.

Finally, after nearly two hours, Tulsa's first Decoration Day came to an end. The man from earlier made another appearance, this time closing things up. He thanked everyone for coming out, dismissed the soldiers and left. Soon after, the crowd began to follow in suit.

Once we were back inside the building, it wasn't too hard to spot Soda. He was still with all the other service men, being badgered from some woman with a local newspaper badge. Grinning wryly, I headed off over in his direction. Soda was trying his best to stay poised and polite, I could see that as I elbowed through the crowd. I finally reached him just as she was casting him what sounded like the last question.

"So, Mr. Curtis, what does it feel like to be a hero?" She questioned, snapping gum in her mouth as she raised her pen up to write. Soda's ghostly smile crossed his face, looking up just in time to catch my eye.

"Sorry Ma'am," he began easily, giving his head a shake, "but I ain't no hero." The answer didn't surprise me in the least. Soda was always saying things like that. I watched as he side-stepped the woman, scratching the back of his neck. "Now you'll have to excuse me, Miss. I'd like to go home to spend Tulsa's first Decoration Day with my family."

I couldn't help but to chuckle at that point, rolling my eyes. The old Soda was finally coming out to play. At least for a moment.

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A Note From the Author: Okay, so I've had this idea for quite a while now, and finally decided to type it up. It just so happened to fall around Memorial Day Weekend. Anyway, I hope you didn't mind its fluffiness too much. Thanks again!