Cathryn: thanks for your advice :)
I tried to break the paragraphs into smaller ones.
MyHubbyIsOB: oh, I'm really sorry because of the thing with your skin cancer :'(
I hope, you're all right now!
I didn't know how to test this kind of cancer so I guessed it would be this way, but thanks for your information :)
I changed these parts. But I didn't know what to do with the rest (Pony without a guardian) that's why I left it that way. Sorry...
I hope that this isn't that bad...
6. The truth hurts!
He didn't look up where he walked along, but something led him to a particular place: the lot.
This place where his best friend Johnny spent countless nights, because he was beaten by his father and wasn't welcome in his house in any case.
That's why he'd like to stay at the lot. Pony and he were very often there.
They were laying there silently for hours, stared in the sky and followed their own thoughts.
They shared everything here, if joy or sorrow.
Here was Johnny's real home.
Pony settled down on this place where Johnny usually always slept, pulled his legs on his body, laid his head between his knees and began quietly to sob, until he cried sometime completely.
He didn't notice anything around him at all. Only when a hand laid on his shoulder and a voice said "Pony…" he winced scared and looked up.
With red eyes he saw into the worried face of his brother Soda.
"Oh my god, Pony. Where've you been? We're worried about ya!" Soda said.
"Hey, guys, I've found him. He's here!" he shouted over his shoulders and shortly after that Darry, Two-Bit and Steve came to the lot.
"This lad really needs a good hiding..." Steve murmured mad.
He failed to do his great poker-evening with Soda because of the search for Pony and that's why he was even more bad responding to Pony, than anyway.
"Oh Soda..." Pony sobbed and flung crying his arms around the neck of his brother.
"Hey, it's all right." Soda comforted his kid brother.
Meanwhile the others arrived at them. Darry would start so say something when Soda looked at him begging. After that he closed his mouth again and confined himself only to a growl.
"Hey Pony. There you are." Two-Bit greeted.
"Shh, Pony, it's all right. What's the matter?" Soda said and swung Pony back and forth.
He already could imagine that the problem was called 'Johnny' as usual.
But he wanted Pony to tell it by himself.
He hoped that it would help a bit.
He didn't have any idea that his brother was in a much worse way, than only the mourning for the loss of his best friend and his imposed guilt on himself for that reason.
"What wanna be the matter? I'll tell you! It's about Johnny and Dally, as usual! Kid, we also mourn for them, not only you! Not only you miss them!" Steve said.
Pony looked up with a jerk, stared at Steve full of hate and yelled, "You have no idea at all! That's also none of your business at all!"
"Oh, of course that's one of my business! I get how you harm Soda and Darry with your bad mood! Did ya notice that actually? You get on our nerves with your constantly rotten mood!" Steve replied.
Pony trembled, freed himself from Soda's embrace, rose with a jerk, threw a deadly glance to Steve, turned around and ran away swearing and crying.
"Hey, Pony, don't run away again now!" Two-Bit shouted behind him.
"Pony, wait!" Soda shouted, rose and ran after his brother.
"Great, you really seem to know something about a good education, huh?" Darry meant bitter to Steve.
This one only shrugged and meant disparaging, "It ain't my fault when the little 'pain in the neck' is too sentimental and takes every little thing as cause for cryin'! I mean, we all must cope with the death of Dally and Johnny. It's not only hard for him. We also mourn for them. He really behaves like a little child."
Darry whirled around to Steve, grasped him at the collar of his shirt and said threatening to him, "Hey, I know, that you don't like Pony particularly, but it's still my brother after all you ran down, okay? That's why you better should look out what ya say, otherwise..."
"Otherwise, what? You wanna beat me up, huh? Soda never would allow it and you know that!" Steve replied cool.
Darry let him go with a growl.
"Come on! Let's go behind the both and look, what's up with Pony." Two-Bit suggested and followed Soda.
"Yeah, go on and spoil him. So he'll never grow up..." Steve nagged and kicked a stone away.
After Darry threw a last punished glance at Steve, he walked behind Two-Bit.
Steve shrugged, put his hands into his pockets and ambled in the direction of the Curtis' house, where Pony ran.
Pony ran into the house, slammed the door of his room and threw on the bed. There he cried into his pillows.
Short time later Soda came into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked over Pony's back.
"Oh Pony..." he murmured, when he watched his kid brother.
"Don't ya wanna tell me what worried you?" he asked.
Pony shook his head heavily.
In this moment Two-Bit and Darry came back. Darry leaned against the door and looked at Ponyboy worried.
"Everything's gonna be all right again, believe me!" Soda tried to comfort him.
"That's a lie! Nothing's gonna be all right again! Never more!" Pony said between sobs. "And now leave me alone! Beat it! I wanna be alone!"
Soda sighed and rose up slowly. Then he went out of the room disappointed. Darry followed him.
"I don't know any more, what we should do with him! You can't make him talk!" Soda groaned.
Darry put a hand on his shoulder and meant optimistic, "That's gonna be all right again! I guess he still needs time to cope with the situation. His best friend lost his life after all..."
"Yeah, I know, but... Steve's right. Johnny and Dally were also our friends and we cope well with their death, more or less."
"You said it: more or less. And Pony gets less than we over it. Let's give him time."
"Ok. And I wanna get the dinner ready or else we'll starve." Soda grinned again and went into the kitchen.
When the meal was ready, they wanted to call Pony. But this one fell asleep with exhaustion. So they left him alone.
At night, Ponyboy woke up soaked in sweat from one of his nightmares again. Besides, he had heavy aches in his stomach. That was why he got up, walked to his trousers, which lay on the chair and searched for the medicine. When he found it, he took 2 of them.
"Pony? What ya doing there? What's up?" Soda asked sleepily.
Pony frightened and answered, "Nothin'. I only woke up. Keep on sleepin', Soda."
"Ok. Good night." And Soda fell asleep again.