Darry's POV

Somehow, I managed to get through work with out breaking down in tears. During my lunch break, I started to make the funeral arrangements and called Soda at the DX station.

"Hey Soda, how are you holding up little buddy?" I asked as soon as he answered the phone.

"Darry, I miss Pony so much!" Soda answered. I could tell he was trying not to cry.

"I know. I miss him, too." I told him.

"Steve thinks I should go home." Soda said. "But, we can't afford it."

"Soda, if you want, you can go home. Just make sure it's okay with your boss, okay?" I replied. "There's no sense in you working if you're too upset to concentrate."

"Okay." Soda sighed.

"If you do go home, could you lay out some of Pony's clothes so I can take them to the funeral home?" I asked.

"Darry, I don't think I can!" Soda cried.

"Well, okay. I'll see you later." I said looking at my watch. My lunch break was almost over.

"Bye Darry." Soda sniffled as he hung up. I felt a few tears roll down my own face, but brushed them away. There was no way I was going to cry on the job. Besides as the day went on, my sadness turned to anger. All I could think about was if the socs had left Ponyboy and Johnny alone, then they would still be here. The more I thought about it, the more angry I got. By the time I got off work, I had made my decision concerning the rumble. I was still going to fight and I hoped Steve was still willing to fight with me because I needed the support.

Steve's POV

I went to the Curtis's after work to find Soda staring at Pony's book collection. The kid had read constantly. Even read some of Darry's book which had been beyond his age level.

"Hey." I said as I sat down on the bed.

"Pony loved reading." Soda said softly.

"I know." I told him.

"Darry went to the funeral home with some of Pony's clothes." Soda whispered. "I had him bring some hair grease, too. Pony would want his hair greased. He was proud of being a greaser and he'd want people to know it."

The last few words were tearful as Soda began to cry. He was really taking this hard. I had managed to help him get our boss's permission to go home early. Usually, we can't go home early on Saturdays, but after explaining the situation, our boss let him go home and said Soda didn't have to come back to work until after the funeral.

"Is this what you have been doing since you left work?" I asked. "Stared at Pony's books?"

"No, I looked through some of his drawings, too. He drew one of you. You can have it if you want. I also watched Darry pick out the clothes for the funeral home." Soda said as he turned to look at me. His eyes were red and puffy from crying. The smile that was usually plastered across his face was replaced with the saddest frown I have ever seen. The Soda I was used to was now a Soda full of grief and it hurt me to see him like that.

"Soda!" Both of us turned to the sound of Darry's voice. Soda slowly walked out of the bedroom and I followed him, wondering if Darry had decided to stay in the rumble or not.

Darry's POV

When Soda came out of the bedroom, I almost gasped. I knew he was upset but being so used to him smiling all the time, I wasn't prepared for the frown on his face. And I had only been gone an hour. As soon as I saw him, I threw my arms around him.

"Hey, we'll get through this!" I told him.

Soda just sobbed.

I noticed Steve as he walked to the couch and sat down. He looked slightly uncomfortable. Like he wasn't sure of what he was supposed to do.

"Hey Steve?" I glanced over at him as I continued to hold Soda who was getting my shirt wet with his tears.

"Yeah?" Steve looked up at me.

"I decided to still fight in the rumble." I told him. "Do you still want to go?"

Steve grinned a little. "I was hoping you'd say that."

I nodded slightly. It would be another hour and a half before Steve and I had to be at the rumble. I managed to get Soda to the kitchen to eat some dinner while I got ready for the rumble. I was looking forward to releasing my frustration at the rumble by getting my hands on the socs. After all, if they had left Pony alone, he wouldn't have died in that fire."