Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.
A/N. You guys seem to like this story so I'm going to continue it.
Sorry about any typos.
* Darry's POV*
*Two days later*
I raised my left arm and winced at the pain that shot up my back.
" Soda?" I called.
He appeared in the kitchen doorway with an apple in his hand.
" Yeah, Darry?"
I pointed to my aching back and looked at Soda.
" What? Ohhh, ok yeah just come in here."
I went into the kitchen and sat down at a table. Soda started to rub
the kinks out of my muscles. He's really good at it too.
" Thanks little man", I said.
" Hey, its all part of my job description," he joked.
I must've been kinda quiet because then he asked
" Something wrong, Darry?"
" No, I was just thinking about Ponyboy."
"What about him?"
" He just seems different lately. Have you noticed anything?"
" He does seem to have a lot less energy than usual, but I thought
it was because he was so sick."
" You're probably right."
There was a short silence, then Soda said
" He must still be pretty upset about what happened on the night of
the rumble."
" He's getting pretty absentminded," he said.
" What do you mean?" I asked him.
" Haven't you noticed how he's always getting cuts and scratches?"
I didn't say anything. Of course I had noticed. I had taken a court
oath to notice things like this. I just wasn't sure if I wanted to notice.
Soda stopped rubbing my shoulder and sat down in the chair next to
me.
" Darry?" he asked gently.
I sighed.
"Yeah, I've noticed the scratches. I guess I'll have to tell him to
be more careful," I said
Soda nodded and said, " Pony's a smart kid but sometimes he doesn't
really think."
" I know exactly what you mean."
Soda laughed and then we heard the door open. A minute later Pony walked
into the kitchen. He looked tired and pale. He also looked kind
of sad. Almost as if he were told that his best friend was moving tomorrow.
Soda must've noticed because he shot a concerned look in my
direction.
" Hey Pony, how are you?" Soda asked.
Pony came over to the table and sat down in one of the remaining chairs.
" I'm fine" he said.
Then Pony put his head on the table and wrapped his arms around his
head. He just sat there, not moving or saying anything. I motioned
for Soda to follow me into the living room, then we walked outside.
" I see what you mean," Soda said.
" He looked sad to me," I said.
" I hope he doesn't feel sick again."
" What?" I asked
" Maybe if he feels sick he feels guilty about it because he was so
sick last time."
" Yeah, but Pony's not the type to keep stuff like that from us," I
said
Soda just looked at me for a moment and then looked away.
"What is it Sodapop?"
" Well, it's just that you're not around Pony a lot with just the two
of you, he can be kinda secretive when he wants to be."
" I know, I want to spend more time with Pony, but I can never find
the right moment."
"Its ok Darry, I know you want to spend more time with Pony."
Just then Dally came up to the house.
" Hey Dal," Soda greeted.
" Hey, so what are you two up to?"
" We were just talking about Ponyboy," I said.
Dally lit a cigarette and asked
" Why, is he in trouble."
" We're not really sure, he won't tell us anything,"I said
Dally nodded and took and a drag of the cigarette.
" Yeah, the kid has seemed kind of down lately,"
" I just wish he would talk to me," Soda said.
Dally looked at Soda in surprise.
" You mean he won't even talk to you?"
Soda shook his head glumly.
" Something isn't right," Dally said.
" What do you mean?" we asked him.
" I know you and Pony are close, and if he won't tell you even a tiny
bit about what's bothering him, then something's wrong."
" I never thought of it that way," I said slowly.
Dally just shrugged.
"Well, when you're a hood, you've got a lot of time to think."
" Guess so," Soda said and looked at the house.
He looked at Dally.
" Have you noticed his scratches?"
" I think we've all noticed them," he said
" What do you think?" Soda asked.
" Hmm, I think the kid's upset about something and he's not paying
attention to what he's doing."
" That's what Darry and I thought,"
Dally took the cigarette out of his mouth and stamped it into the ground.
" I'll see you guys later, I'm gonna go talk to Tim Shepard,"
"Ok, see you later Dally," Soda said.
We watched Dally leave and then I said
" When did he become so interceptive?"
" I guess he does have a lot of time on his hands,"
Soda started fidgeting and I asked him what was wrong.
" Pony had a nightmare last night,"
" What!" For a while after Mom and Dad's death, Pony had really bad
nightmares.
" No, not that kind of nightmare,"
I sighed with relief.
" How do you know it was a nightmare then?"
" I woke up in the middle of the night and he was whimpering and shaking
a little."
Soda looked a little scared
" I'm getting kind of worried about him Darry,"
"Me too," I admitted.
" He just seems so sad and tired lately,"
" That can't be a good thing," I said.
" You don't think it drugs or something?"
" Lord, I hope not. Pony doesn't always use his head but he doesn't
make those kind of choices," I said
" At least I hope he doesn't," I added quietly.
Soda nodded and said
"Hey, there's Two Bit.
"Good, I could use some comic relief right now,"
" Hey guys." Two Bit said.
"Ohh hey Two Bit," I said
" Hey have you noticed anything about Pony lately?" I asked him.
He looked thoughtful for a minute.
" He doesn't seem as happy as he used to be."
" Yeah, I remember when Pony would laugh and smile a lot. He didn't
even stop after Mom and Dad's accident," Soda said softly.
I could see this was upsetting him so I put my arm around his shoulder.
" Don't worry Soda, I'm sure Pony will talk to us eventually,"
I told him.
" Yeah, but when is eventually?" he asked.
" I bet he's just waiting for the right moment," Two Bit offered.
" He knows he can always come to me if he needs to talk,"Soda said.
That kind of hurt a little. That Pony would always go to Soda first.
I guess it's cause they're so close. Soda was always the happy one, this
whole thing with Ponyboy was tearing him up inside. I hated seeing
him like this.
" Maybe he wants to work things out on his own," suggested Two Bit.
" Maybe, hey do you guys want to go inside?" I asked.
"Sure," they said.
We went inside and there was Pony sitting on the couch looking bored.
" Where were you all?" he asked.
" Just talking, we thought you were asleep,"Soda said.
" Ok," Pony said and nodded.
I couldn't help but notice that when he said "ok" he almost sounded
like he was going to cry. What was wrong with my little brother?
A/N. That was chapter two, and I'm glad you guys like this
story.
Fyre
