It was after ten-thirty at night, and Pony was just getting home from work for the day. Leslie had found out that it was his birthday, and then she, Tom, and Charlie had insisted on dragging him up and down the ribbon a few times and taking him to see a movie after work. It had been fun, sure, but he was exhausted and the only thing he wanted was to go to sleep.
He opened the gate and started up the walkway. It seemed like it was a million miles long, and for a second he thought about sleeping in the yard for the night. It wasn't until he was on the steps that he noticed the figure sitting in the chair on the far side of the porch.
"Forgot ya'll lock your door now," it said.
Pony sighed and sat down on the steps. He motioned for the person to come over. "What's goin' on, Two-Bit?"
Two-Bit sat down next to Pony. "You're comin' in awful late."
"People I work with found out it's my birthday and basically made me go out," Pony said.
"You have fun?" Two-Bit asked.
Pony's mind drifted back to the movie. There was almost no one in the theater with them to begin with, and when Tom and Charlie left to get more popcorn, Pony and Leslie were as good as alone.
She'd been drinking; he'd give her that. She had a flask in her purse, and she'd been hitting it pretty hard all night. He didn't think she seemed that drunk though. He'd seen Two-Bit worse. So he was stunned when Leslie leaned over to him, whispered "happy birthday" in his ear, and then kissed him long and hard on the lips.
Pony turned to Two-Bit, "yeah. It was fun."
"Well good," Two-Bit said.
It was quiet for a few minutes as the two of them sat on the front porch and watched the lightning bugs. It was a nice night for July. It was cool and not too humid, and Pony normally wouldn't have minded sitting out in it. But he was tired, and the thought of going to bed was more appealing than the thought of sitting outside and enjoying the weather.
"Somethin' wrong, Two-Bit?" Pony asked.
Two-Bit shook his head. "Nope. Not with me, anyway."
"Then why ain't you home with Kathy and Amy?" Pony asked.
"Had to come tell you some gossip," he replied. "But you weren't here and Darry was already asleep, so I decided I'd wait up."
"So what is this urgent gossip?" Pony asked.
Two-Bit took his cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one. He offered one to Pony, and he gladly accepted it.
"Looks like Steve got kicked out of his house," Two-Bit said after a few puffs on his cigarette.
Pony raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"
"I had to pick Kathy up from work 'cause her car is in the shop. We drove by Steve's on the way home, and all his stuff was in the front yard and he and his dad were having some real heated argument. I swear, it looked like something from a crazy movie."
"You think his dad found out about the heroin?" Pony asked.
Two-Bit shrugged. "Don't know what else it would be. His dad's been trying to kick him out for as long as I can remember. The heroin would be a reason for him to finally go through with it."
Pony nodded. He didn't know what to say.
"You never talked to him again after you ran into him that time, did you?"
Pony shook his head. "Haven't seen him. Wouldn't have anything to say to him even if I did."
Two-Bit sighed. "Had a feelin' you'd say somethin' like that."
"Well, what else would you expect me to do? My brother is dead and it's all his fault."
Two-Bit slowly shook his head. "I just don't know how to get this into your head. Steve didn't do nothin'. It was all Sodapop. You know how much he loved all his friends, and Steve had been his best buddy for forever. What else was he supposed to do, huh? Stand there and let both of them die?"
"Dunno," Pony said softly.
"Look, kid, I know you never liked Steve, and I know you thought he didn't like you, but he's one of the only parts of the old gang that we got left."
Pony sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was tired, and the conversation was too much for him to handle. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
"I don't even know," Two-Bit said. "Nothing, I guess. I didn't expect you to do anything. I was just hoping you'd had a change of heart. I think if any of us can bring Steve around, it's you."
Two-Bit turned and started down the walkway. "See you later."
"Bye," Pony said.
He watched Two-Bit until he disappeared around a corner. Pony sighed and took his house key out of his pocket. He knew it was late, and he knew he had to be at work in the morning, but something told him he'd be up all night thinking about Steve.
Pony started to lock the door, but then stopped himself. He decided to leave the door open that night; just in case. Someone might need a safe place to crash.
I know this chapter is short, but it says everything I needed it too. I felt like adding anything more would just make it too long. But I hope the chapter was worth the wait!
Reviews of any sort are greatly appreciated! :)
