Steve's POV

Two-Bit and I arrived at the Curtis house Saturday morning. It was quiet, except for the sound of the shower running. Soon, the sound of the television followed, thanks to Two-Bit. I sat down on the couch and watched Mickey Mouse while I waited for Darry and Soda so I could go to work.

It wasn't long before the shower stopped and Soda emerged from the bathroom. He yelled out to Darry, "Have you seen my DX shirt?"

I went up to him. "You need pants, too. I hear there's a law or something."

Darry came up behind us and said, "I ironed. They're in my closet." Before heading to the kitchen to fix breakfast.

I followed Soda to Darry's room, then, to his room. As he got dressed, I talked about that night's rumble with the socs. "We're going to win! I just know it. Hey, we should throw a party after we win. You know, really celebrate!"

"I'm not fighting in the rumble." Soda mumbled.

"What?" I gasped. "You've been looking forward to this all week. You wanted to get back at the socs for attacking Pony and Johnny."

Soda just turned away from me. It was then that I saw that his shoulders were shaking. He was crying.

I laid my hand on his shoulder. "Soda? What's wrong?"

"He's gone, Steve." Soda cried. "They're all gone."

"Well, yeah. They ran off. We already know that." I told him.

"No Steve, they're gone. As in dead." Soda said.

"What?" I asked. I wasn't sure I had heard him right.

"There was a fire at some church. They ran in and got some kids out. But, the roof collapsed before they could get out themselves." Soda explained.

"Are you sure?" I asked him. "Dally said that Pony and Johnny went to Texas."

"Darry went to the hospital to identify Pony's body. He said it was him." Soda said, his voice breaking as he broke into uncontrollable sobs.

I thought about Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally. I couldn't believe what Soda had just told me. But, Soda wasn't one to lie to me. Not about something like that. Soon, I was crying, too. Usually, greasers don't cry. But this was an exception to the rule. It was going to be hard getting along without the three of them. I could feel the emptiness in the gang already, even though it was just me and Soda in the room.

Two-Bit's POV

I helped myself to a slice of chocolate cake as I watched Darry fix breakfast for him and Soda. Things had been rough that week for them. Both were worried sick about Ponyboy and I wanted to go to Texas to search for the kid and Johnny. But, the others wouldn't let me.

"Still no word on Pony and Johnny?" I asked.

Darry looked at me. A sad look on his face.

"Sorry Darry." I mumbled.

Darry sighed. "No, it's okay. We did get news on them."

"Really!" I exclaimed. "That's great!"

"No, it's not." Darry said softly as he filled a plate with scrambled eggs for Soda and set a jar of grape jelly next to it.

"What are you talking about?" I asked with my mouth full of cake.

"Two-Bit, a cop came over last night with bad news. Pony, Johnny, and Dally were all killed in a church fire yesterday while rescuing some kids." Darry told me.

I nearly choked on my cake. "What?"

"I went to the hospital to identify Pony's body. It was him. It was really him." Darry went on, tears streaming down his face.

"Glory, he's just a kid!" I whispered. "He's not old enough to die."

Darry just gave me a sad look.

"I guess you heard too?" Steve asked as he and Soda came into the kitchen. They had their arms around each other's shoulders and I could tell that both had been crying.

"Yeah." I said as I felt tears come to my own eyes. I pounded my fist on the counter. "Darn it! Why did it have to be them? Why did they have to die?"

Then, I crumpled to the floor and cried for the first time in ages. Most people assumed that I had forgotten how to cry. But at that moment, I remembered how.

Steve joined me while Soda went over to Darry. All of us were bawling. Suddenly, that night's rumble didn't seem so important. Not with Pony, Johnny and Dally being dead.

"I'm not fighting in the rumble." I choked as soon as my tears had subsided.

"Neither am I." Soda admitted.

Darry looked over at Steve. "What about you, Steve?"

"Darry, it's up to you. They attacked Pony and Johnny. If they hadn't, Pony and Johnny would still be here. If you still want to fight, I'll go with you." Steve answered quietly.

Darry grinned sadly. "Thanks Steve. I'll let you know what I decide tonight."

Steve nodded as he stood up. I stood up too and watched as Darry, Soda, and Steve all left for work.Then, I went to the room that Soda had shared with Ponyboy, sat down on the bed, buried my head in my hands and cried again.