Hey! thank you guys so much! I love your reviews, especially the constructive ones...Although the complimentary ones do give me a warm fuzzy feeling also. Alot of you have been asking how Pony will react...here it goes! I hope it lives up to your expectations.
I don't own the Outsiders.
Ponyboy Curtis looked shocked, but no tears brimmed from his eyes. No screaming or denial as an already pissed off Soda had expected.
There was a long silence, longer and more impenetrable than any silence Soda had ever witnessed.
"Uhh...Pony, please say something."
"Ok." Soda barely finished his plea, before Pony responded.
"Ummm...By "Ok" do you mean...what exactly do you mean by "ok?"'
"I mean ok. Two-Bit is dead." Soda stared incredulously at Pony.
"OK! HE'S FRICKIN' DEAD PONY! THAT'S IT. HE'LL NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN!" Pony's voice was cool in response to Soda's outburst.
"Soda, I am ok. I've gotten used to death. I don't want it...or at least not anymore, but you have to admit that death is just part of life."
Soda, who hadn't even noticed that he was on his feet started to scream again, but Pony silenced him, holding up one index finger.
Pony patted the bed beside him, and reluctantly, Soda sat next to him again. Soda kept his arms crossed over his chest so tight, they looked like they would never be able to uncross.
Pony, taking great care with the tubes plugged into his arm, wrapped a comforting hand around Soda's shoulders.
"You don't have to be strong with me Soda." He whispered, and the glass that had covered Sodas distant eyes broke, and the flood behind it was unleashed.
Sobbing into Pony's white hospital gown, he looked no older than 13 or 14, while Pony looked as old as 20.
"You know, the first time I met Two-Bit, I didn't like him. I didn't think he was tough. or tuff." His words, although almost nonsensical, seemed to ease Soda's sobs slightly.
"The first time he saw me. Let's see. I must have been...maybe 7 or 8. That would make him about 12. But the first time he saw me, he burst into tears. I had never seen a boy cry at that age. Except you and myself."
Something inside of Soda's head clicked. Bunny. Two-Bit's little brother that he had said pony reminded him of.
"I avoided him for almost a week before I realized he was cool. And when we became friends, he was always so funny without a care in the world. I never saw him cry since then. Well, I think he might have been tearing up when he last saw me. So my first memory and my last memory are of Two-Bit crying. But I feel special because of this. He didn't cry often, and he shared that vulnerability with me-twice."
Soda nodded, than kissed Pony on the forehead and grinned a shattered grin.
"Here." He handed Pony his letter, then turned around, without a glance on the expression on Pony's face. He had to see his best buddy. He needed to have some fun and forget about this terrible ordeal.
The second the door slammed behind Soda, Pony teared ferociously at the letter. He didn't know how he had managed to keep it together for those 5 minutes.
He felt an odd mixture of sympathy and envy as he thought of Darry, how strong he was, how he could keep it together no matter what the brothers underwent.
He was relieved at how long the letter was, wanting to spend as much remaining time as possible with his friend.
The first page was hastily written on the back of patients chart-Pony's chart.
Dear Ponyboy,
I dont really have much time till midnight. That's when I told Darry to meet me in room 607. If your reading this, that means your a life. If Darry found this, and your dead, I hope to hell he feels bad for letting you die.
But I wanted to make sure you don't bury me with my ring on. I know it would be your first instinct, but I don't want it. I want you to have it.
When you die in AT LEAST 100 years from now, I will take it back. Don't worry-I wont charge interest for it.
Wow. that was a lame joke. Sorry about that Ponyboy.
Two-Bit
The next page was a little more carefully written, and was longer, filling both sides of a yellow legal pad paper in Two-Bits scrawling handwriting.
Pony,
I just want to tell you (although I'm sure you've heard it all before) that I was once where you are. Or were.
I was on the brink of death. I had been abused, moved from my home, and I had suffer a loss you can't even imagine.
But you might as well try. Imagine that Soda and Darry both died suddenly and the last thing you ever said to them was "I hate you." Take that pain, multiply it by 100, and you might be close to how I felt.
The person who I lost was the only person I ever really loved. That's why I can't blame Dally for what he did for Johnny. I've been there.
But the first time I met you (literally running into you on the playground) it was not accident. No, it wasn't fate or crap. I had seen you there the day before.
I saw you fall off the monkey bars that day, and I saw Soda running towards you, immediately comforting you.
I saw my Bunny in you. That doesn't make any sense to you, but the next day, I had to see you again, You had saved me (I am really Ponying...I mean...messing this up.)
But the day I first saw you, I had been on my way to kill myself. I had a gun all ready to go. I was going to die how Dally died. (He stole my suicide method! can you believe him? I'll have to punch him when I next see him...)
But anyway, the next day, I saw you with your first sketch book sitting in the shade of a tree, so I walked over, and much to my embarrassment, I bawled like a little bitch dog.
I think you were creeped out by me (who wouldn't be?) but you comforted me just the same. You showed me a drawing of Mickey Mouse and when I asked you to sing that ridiculous song, you did, causing everyone to stare at you, and your family to walk over.
Our family.
So in a way, It's a life for a life. You save me, so I saved you. And you'd better use it, just like I did.
But really, I saved Bunny's life. That's what I would have done for him. What I did do for you.
I'm not sure if you figured out the metaphor. You told me the Poem, nothing gold can stay, and I had it engraved on a platinum ring.
You said it was silver, but its actually platinum, which is better and more expensive than gold. Although, I suppose, "Nothing Platinum can Stay," doesn't have the same ring to it (ha! bad pun..)
But I figured, sure, nothing gold can stay, like autumn or a golden period in someones life.
But maybe something platinum can stay.
After Autumn come winter, and that sucks, but then spring comes again, and its not gold, cuz at that point your not scared you'll lose it. Its platinum, more precious than gold.
Same with life Pony. When it sucks, it's just cuz the gold can't stay. The platinum can. And I have a feeling you're going to need all the platinum in the world to make up for your lack of gold.
I love you Bunny
This name was crossed out, and written in instead was "Pony."
Two-Bit
Be brave for Darry, Steve and Soda. you know how batman was replaced by robin in that goddamn awful movie? You have to replace superman. or at least fill in for him. He'll be back.
Gotta go donate to a good cause!
Pony stared blankly at the paper, than looked down at his hand, where the silver- no platinum- ring resided.
"Get tough. Stay Gold. Stay Platinum"
The last words Pony's friends had said to him. Not a terrible way to remember them.
And for what felt like the first time in forever, Pony cracked a real grin, clutching the letter to his chest.