A/N: Hey guys! Hope you're doing well. Here's chapter 25! Hope you enjoy it!

Please leave a review and let me know what you think! :D Stay gold.

XxX

July 5, 1966

*Mary's POV*

I woke up the next morning earlier than usual. I looked at Jake's alarm clock. Six o'clock. I could see from the corner of my eye that Jake was still fast asleep. I decided I should go check on the Curtises to make sure they're awake. I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Jake, put on my robe and my slippers and tip-toed out of the room. The soft light of dawn peeking through the windows provided me with just enough light to see where I was going. There was a crack in my bedroom door, so I peeked through it and saw Darry, huddled next to Ponyboy, both of them sleeping peacefully.

Soda wasn't there.

I walked into the bedroom, careful not to wake the two greasers as I tiptoed to my dresser and picked up riding pants and a shirt. I slipped back out of the bedroom and changed into the hallway bathroom, not wanting to risk waking up Darry and Ponyboy by changing in my own bathroom. I left my nightgown and slippers on the bathroom floor, promised myself to pick them up and headed downstairs, looking for Sodapop.

I found him sat at the kitchen table, looking at his hands, seemingly deep in thoughts.

"You're up early," I commented, walking into the room. He jumped and turned around.

"Look who's talking," he said. "Are you the only one awake?"

I nodded.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, making my way towards the kitchen.

"A bit, yeah," he answered.

"Do you want a muffin? My aunt made 'em," I called from the kitchen.

"Sure," he said. I grabbed two muffins and tossed one at him, which he caught.

"Thanks," he said before taking a bite.

I sat down in front of him at the table.

"Now, why don't you tell me why you're up so early?" I asked him.

"Darry snores too loudly. I couldn't sleep," he shrugged.

"Darry doesn't snore," I pointed out.

He sighed, looking down at the table.

"What's wrong, Sodapop?" I asked, putting a hand on his arm in an attempt to catch his attention.

"Sorry, it's just… so much to take in, you know? I hate to see Ponyboy like that, and you're… you know… dying…" he cleared his throat roughly, the way boys do when they're about to cry.

I felt my heart breaking. Sodapop never cried. He seemed to always be this happy-go-lucky person.

"Can I show you something?" I asked him in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Um… Sure…" Soda answered, kind of reluctantly.

"Let's go to the stables," I said, getting up.

Soda's entire face lit up at the mention of the stables. He had told me once how much he loved horses, and how he had torn a ligament and his father had forced him to stop. I was grateful for my memory of the event at this moment. I stopped at the front door to slip my riding boots on and we both walked out through the front door and started down the path that led to the stables, a little further away from the house.

"Most of our horses are in Oklahoma City for the competition, but Jake's horse and my horse are still here," I told him as we walked in.

"Theres Zayn, he's my horse," I pointed towards Zayn's stall. "And that's Jake's horse, Mickey Mouse."

Sodapop suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Mickey Mouse?" he asked.

"Yeah, well, that wasn't his name originally, but turns out it's the only name he answers to, so Mickey Mouse it is," I explained.

Sodapop walked right past me towards the horse's stall.

"Oh my God," he said, walking right up to the door. "Mickey Mouse? Is that you?"

Mickey Mouse was facing away from the stall door, but he immediately turned around at the sound of Sodapop's voice. I had never seen that horse so excited to see someone. Usually, he wasn't approachable, but to my surprise, he walked up straight to the door, poking his head through the opening.

"Hey, buddy, how've you been?" Soda said, his voice heavy with emotions as he stroke the horse's neck. Mickey Mouse leaned over and nibbled Soda's shoulder affectionately.

"He seems to like you. Do you know him?" I asked.

Soda could only nod, too moved to say anything.

"You wanna go for a ride?" I offered.

He looked at me in disbelief.

"Really?" he asked, getting excited.

"Yeah, sure. I'll take Zayn and you can take Mickey Mouse," I answered.

"It's been so long since I've been on a horse… Almost a year and a half now..." he laughed nervously.

"You'll be fine," I reassured him.

He looked at me, a smile creeping onto his face, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Okay," he finally said.

XxX

"So tell me, how do you know that guy?" I asked him, nodding towards Mickey Mouse.

The sun was getting higher and higher in the sky. We were riding across the field behind the house, both of us on horseback.

"Well, I was thirteen and I was working at a barn, since I loved horses so much," he explained. " Mickey Mouse was there, and for some reason, he wouldn't listen to anyone but me. I was the one who called him Mickey Mouse, actually. He was mean and stubborn with everyone but he was really nice with me. Then, one day, I went to the barn and they had sold him. I never saw him again until today. I never thought I would."

I told Soda about the trouble Jake had with Mickey Mouse at first which made him laugh.

"That sounds like him," he said, patting the horse's neck with a fond look on his face. We walked around talking for a while longer before we raced back to the stables (He won) and unsaddled the horses, Sodapop saying goodbye to Mickey Mouse before heading back into the house to check on the others.

XxX

When we walked in, no one was downstairs. The clock on the wall read seven. It was still pretty early. We both went upstairs and peeked into my bedroom door to find that Pony and Darry were both awake. Darry was sitting on the side of the bed, and Ponyboy was sat up, drinking water from the glass cup. They both looked up when they heard us walk in and Ponyboy smiled at me.

"Hey," I greeted, smiling back at him.

"Hey," he greeted back. He still looked tired, but he looked much better than he did last night.

"Where've you guys been?" asked Darry as we both sat on the bed.

"We went riding," Sodapop answered simply.

Darry nodded.

"We should probably call Two-Bit, now," he said, taking the empty cup from Pony's hands. I expected Pony to lie back down, but he stayed sat up.

"I'll go with you," Soda said. He had no reason to, but I knew from the look he gave me he just wanted me and Pony to be alone. I pretended to be annoyed, but I was secretly grateful.

"We'll be right back, then," Darry said, getting up from the bed. He had definitely caught on with what Sodapop was doing.

When they both had left the room, I took one good look at my boyfriend. He didn't seem to have any apparent bruises, except for a few ones on his arms that were starting to fade. I knew the biggest damage could not be seen. His head and his ribs.

"Mary, I'm so sorry…" he started.

"No, I'm sorry," I interrupted. "I'm sorry on behalf of my uncle, and I'm sorry for everything he's put you through. All I'm asking you right now is for one thing."

He looked at me, waiting for me to go on.

"No matter what happens, no matter how long it takes, I want you to be in my life until the very end," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. It was the first time I'd been emotional about my illness since the moment I found out in the hospital. "And when the time is right, I want you to let me go, and I want you to carry on with your life, do you understand me?" I was crying by then. "You have so much potential to become someone wonderful, and don't you ever forget it, is that clear?"

We were both crying when he pulled me into a hug. I had no idea if hugging was painful for him or not, but he didn't make it show if it did. We hugged for what seemed like hours and he kissed the top of my head before he whispered into my ear:

"I promise."