"You know they are going to be investigating you a lot, and very deeply."

"I know, I get it," Darry desperately said. He held the phone tight against his ear, his lawyer on the other end. Darry had been panicking ever since he heard the news that Soda and Pony ran away. At first he didn't believe it. He thought it was all a mistake. They were mistaken which boys ran away.

It was all true though. It was Soda and Pony who left. Darry's heart was sinking as each minute went by. How did he know they were safe and okay? What if something happened to them?

"Just answer the questions, and cooperate. This is already going to put our motion in jeopardy, so if you don't cooperate or get on edge too easily, the judge may just dismiss everything, and then automatically extend the order for another year without the original hearing already scheduled."

"They can't do that, not when I haven't done anything! I didn't make them leave!"

"Well, them running away isn't going to help your case. Just stay put, let the authorities handle everything, and I'll do my best with the courts."

"Yeah," Darry slammed the phone down. He turned and paced back into the living room.

"What did he say?" Steve asked.

"Just cooperate and stay put," Darry groaned, "Like hell. I can't just stay put. Soda and Pony are out there somewhere. Who knows if they are getting closer to home or getting further away."

"Well we have to find them," Two-Bit said, "We can't just sit and wait."

"I want nothing more than to go out and find them," Darry said, "The boy's home is so far though. I have no idea where to even try to look."

"Well there's five of us to..."

Before Two-Bit could finish his sentence, there was a knock on the door.

"Soda," Pony groaned as he took a seat on the hard ground, "Do you know where we are even going?"

"I think so," Soda sighed, "Let's take a break here for the rest of the day."

"My feet are sore. We walked all night in the dark."

"I know, but I had to get us away from the streets. Far away. We can't get caught."

"Soda, what about when we do get home? We'll have to just hide at home too you know, because no one can know we're there. Our lives won't just go back to normal."

"I don't care. Anything is better than being at the boy's home," Soda groaned as he took out a cigarette.

"Oh yeah, he hid two teenagers in the cupboard," Steve grunted.

"Steve," Two-Bit harshly whispered, "Cool it man." The greasers watched as two policemen searched the Curtis property. They were searching everywhere for any clues that could hint Darry had something to do with his brother's disappearance. Steve was annoyed with it and making comments every now and then. Two-Bit was just as annoyed, but didn't want to mess with Darry's chances of anything, so he kept his mouth shut and tried to keep Steve calm. Johnny was slowly rocking himself on the couch, scared of what the cops were going to do. It made him angry that the cops should be questioning his parents for how they treat him more than how Darry raises his little brothers.

Darry stayed put in his spot in the living room. He knew he had nothing to hide, so he simply waited until the police were done. He didn't know what he was going to do next, but he didn't need the cops wasting his time.

One of the officers halted his search and took out a small notepad and a pen. "Mr. Curtis, the last time you visited your brothers, was them leaving part of discussion? Did you talk to them about leaving?"

"No," Darry simply replied.

"Did either of them talk about wanting to run away?"

"No."

The officer motioned towards the three greasers around the house, "Have any of your friends here talked about a plan?"

"What kind of question is that?" Steve demanded, "We ain't allowed to see them, so how the hell..."

"Steve," Darry put a hand up to stop him, "Go outside and relax a minute."

Steve stared down the officer as he exited the house.

"No one here has anything to do with this," Darry responded looking down to the floor, "They did this on their own."

"Unfortunately it does happen from time to time," the officer admitted, "It doesn't ever help them though. If we find them we have to bring them right back, and then the judge has to take it into account depending on what their personal case is."

Darry nodded.

"And you should know, Mr. Curtis, if they do come home as I assume they would, you have to turn them into the state. They have to go back. They aren't under your care anymore. They belong to the state," the officer explained, "If you don't bring them in, well you could get yourself into a lot of trouble. Depending on who runs the home or depending on the judge, you could be accused of kidnapping. I know the term isn't exactly accurate, but they can charge you with it if they want to. If you want your brothers to come home soon, I suggest you avoid trouble as much as possible. Are we understanding each other?"

Darry avoided eye contact as he nodded, getting on edge with the officer's words. Did he really think Darry didn't already know all of that? "Yes sir. So should I be expecting a visit everyday until they're found?"

"Not necessarily. If we suspect they could be here, then we'll be back to search. As of right now, we really have no need to return."

"What about if," Darry choked, wanting to kick himself at his poor choice of words, "...when they're found? Won't I get told?"

"That's not my department to answer," the officer replied as he headed towards the front door, "If we find them, we'll turn them in and the home will report back to the state. If I were to guess, your lawyer would get a hold of you to let you know if they're found safe."

Darry sighed. He couldn't believe how much he wasn't involved anymore in his brother's lives just because they went from being under his care to the state's. "So, they could be found right now and back at the home right this minute, but I may not hear about it for a couple days? So I get to worry even more if they could be found but no one thinks I deserve to be told as soon as possible?"

"I am sorry Mr. Curtis," the officer said. He clearly didn't know how else to answer that question. He didn't want to continue on with Darry's frustration.

"Unbelievable," Darry muttered as he ran a hand down his face.

"Have a good day Mr. Curtis," the officer said as he let himself and his partner out. As soon as the door closed, it reopened with Steve walking back in.

"Well what did they say?" Steve asked.

"If they show up here, I have to turn them back in," Darry answered.

"That's bullshit," Steve argued, "This is their home. They belong here!"

"That's not my decision to make anymore," Darry turned and walked out of the living room, through the kitchen and out the backdoor, letting it slam close.

Two-Bit walked over to Steve, placing a hand on his back, "Steve..."

"What? What do you want Two-Bit?" Steve barked.

"Steve, chill it down. Darry is freaking out for God's sake. He's scared to death. Soda and Pony are God knows where doing God knows what. He's frustrated with the cops and the state, he doesn't need you adding onto it. Just take it down a notch, at least while we're here. Please."

As difficult as it was to relax, Steve knew Two-Bit was right. He wasn't helping any matters. He had a headache that was putting him in a bad mood, and the cops doing this while Darry was worried wasn't helping any. He did have to try and do better for Darry though. He walked away from Two-Bit and went out the backdoor. Darry was sitting on the porch swing, head hanging low, hands folded in his lap, and his shoulders trembling. Walking over, Steve took a seat next to Darry. He knew Darry was silently crying, silently praying to himself.

"I'm sorry Darry. I know it's no excuse, but I'm just mad. I haven't stopped being mad about all of this since it started. I guess hearing that Soda and Pony could come home was a light in everything, even if it was them running away, but then it got taken away when the fuzz said they won't be able to stay home anyway."

Darry looked up at Steve with tear-stained cheeks, "I know. I'm so scared for them though. I don't know...I have no idea where they could be. Are they okay? Are they cold? Are they hungry? Are they hurt? God Steve what if something happens to them?"

"We can't think like that Darry. They are tough. As much as I want them to just be out of that place, I hope they're found quick so they don't get hurt or sick."

"Me too."

Soda and Pony were resting more than walking during the day. They didn't want to risk being seen or caught, so traveling in the dark made more sense. It would be riskier of getting lost, but Soda was willing to take it. He didn't care how long it took to find home as long as that's where they ended up instead of back at the boy's home.

"The state won't let us stay home if they found out we were there," Soda said breaking some sticks.

"I'd feel like Dally when he hides from the cops," Pony said.

"Except we have to hide forever. Or until we're of age where it don't make a difference anyway."

Pony looked at Soda, "Do you think Darry would turn us in? I mean, if he didn't and we were found with him, he could get in a lot more trouble than us. I don't know if it's fair for us to put him in this position."

"Do you really want to turn back?" Soda asked in a demanding tone.

"No of course not," Pony looked down, "But I don't think we realized what we are doing, or could end up causing."

Soda scooted closer and pulled Pony into a hug, "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to yell. I just don't want to think about those things. I know we belong home. I know we should be home with Darry. I feel like everything else will work out in our favor. It just has to."

"I hope so," Pony laid his head against Soda's chest, feeling a tear roll down his cheek.

"Have you thought about what you'd do if they did show up?" Steve asked.

"Huh?" Darry asked, coming out of his trance from the long silence.

"What if they do make it home before the fuzz finds them?" Steve repeated.

"What about it?"

"Well, you're not really going to give them back to the state, are you?"

"What choice do you think I have Steve?" Darry asked, "Just hide them the rest of their lives?"

"Once they're adults they could go out again. Maybe even before then, the fuzz will forget about them eventually," Steve argued.

"Steve, I can't do that. We'd be living in fear and anxiety. That'd be horrible of me to do to them. If I turn them in, they have a chance of coming home in five months and everything can go back to the way it was."

"Darry be real. You know now that they ran away, there's no way they're coming home in five months. They just sentenced themselves to another year."