"Darry, they're going with you."

Darry sighed and looked over his shoulder at his mother.

"Do they have to? Why can't they stay here?"

His mom, Katie Curtis, put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. The 11 year old boy had asked to go to the park. Some of his buddies had called to ask if he could come and play football with them. When his mom said yes he was overjoyed and had immediately run back to his room to put on his shoes. Then he grabbed his football and sprinted for the door. He couldn't wait to get there! Darry didn't think there was anything he loved more than that sport. He was really good at it too! His dad, Darrel Curtis Sr., had taught him to play and said that if he kept it up he could make the highschool team when he was older. Even better, he could use it to get a scholarship in college! Darry may be young but he was passionate about this and he believed he could do it.

It wasn't until he was turning the knob to the front door that his mom called out to him. "Wait! Darry!"

When he turned around he was surprised to find his mother helping put shoes on three year old Ponyboy, along with a five year old Sodapop smiling at him from his mother's side.

Darry felt some of his excitement crumble away as he realized what this meant. Still, he couldn't help but hope that he was wrong. "Yes?" He answered as his mom finished tying Pony's shoes.

"Take your brothers with you," She said as she stood Ponyboy up next to Sodapop. "they can play together while you play with your friends. Just be sure to watch them, okay?"

Darry didn't understand how he was supposed to do that. He had started to argue saying he couldn't keep an eye on them if he was playing and then turned to the door once again. That is how they got to where they are now.

"Please, honey, don't argue. They've been really energetic all day and I'm hoping if they get the chance to play outside then they'll calm down." His mom had her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail and she had deep dark circles under her eyes. Her skin was pale and quite honestly she looked like she was ready to fall off her feet.

Darry felt bad. He knew how hard his mom and dad

worked. They didn't have a lot of money and they were raising three kids. Not to mention the friends they had over so often. Steve, Two-bit, and Johnny might as well live with them at this point. He also knew it had been really tough for them recebtly. Soda had been sick last week so they had to work more to pay for medicine.

Darry begrudgingly nodded his head in defeat. His mother gave him a thankful smile and shoo'd her youngest two boys forward towards him.

"Thank you, Darry. Just be sure to keep an eye on them please?"

Darry shook his head. He understood why his mom would be worried. She never liked sending them out alone but his dad always assured her that it was fine. They didn't live in a great area so she wanted to make sure they were safe. "I will."

Finally, Darry with his two kid brothers in tow marched out of the house and towards the park.

It wasn't a long walk. It could only be around ten minutes at most. Even so, in that short amount of time he understood why his mom was so desperate to relieve Sodapop and Ponyboy's energy. He already had a headache from hanging out with them. Granted, it really was mostly Soda. Ponyboy was never bad about being loud. In fact, he had a problem not speaking up. However, he was much more vocal around his friends and family, especially Sodapop. So when you put an overly hyper Soda with Ponyboy, he'll become much harder to handle.

When they got to the park Darry just wanted to get away from them. He quickly spotted his group of friends from school and turned to his brothers.

"You see that over there?" Darry gestured to the empty playground a little ways away.

"Yeah." Soda nodded.

"You and Pony go over there and play. I'll be over here playing football with some friends. Don't leave the playground, okay? If you need anything just come get me." The playground was perfect for this. It was far enough away from Darry and his friends that they could play without them interrupting but close enough that he could still see them.

Sodapop smiled and grabbed Ponyboy's little hand before dragging the small boy away. Darry laughed a little at them before going to greet his buddies.

——————

Ponyboy was almost always stuck to Soda's side. He looked up to his brother and loved being around him. It annoyed Steve and he always called him a, "tagalong". Ponyboy didn't think Steve was all that fun to be around either.

That's why Pony enjoyed times like these. It was just him and his brother. There was no Steve around to insult and make fun of him. He could just play with his brother in peace.

Ponyboy and Sodapop were currently swinging on the swing set. They were trying to see who could go higher. Obviously, Soda ended up winning. Ponyboy wasn't much competition. He wasn't as big as his brother yet so his little legs couldn't get him as high.

Sodapop laughed at the clear frustration on his face before jumping of his swing. Ponyboy glanced over at his brother as he headed towards him.

"What are you doing, Soda?" He asked.

The older boy just grinned as he went behind him. Before Pony could comprehend what he was doing he was flying upwards.

Ponyboy gripped the chains of the swing tighter and squealed. Sodapop guffawed at his brothers reaction and kept pushing him. Once Pony got out of his shock he grinned. "Higher!"

This kept on for a little while before Soda stopped. Pony looked back at his brother wondering what happened.

"Sorry Pone, I gotta go to the bathroom real quick. Stay here okay? I'll be right back!" He said as he sprinted off.

Ponyboy just turned back around and kept swinging. The bathrooms weren't far away and he could still see Darry playing with his friends so he was fine.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, expecting to see Soda. "You're back already-"

He stopped as he made eye contact with the man in front of him. He didn't know this man. He was tall and skinny with dark hair. He had brown eyes and was more on the tan side. The man smiled down at Pony before greeting him.

"Hey there kid. I'm sorry to bother you, but could you help me?"

Ponyboy looked up at the man quizzically before he continued.

"I've lost my dog. She's a small white dog with short curly hair. She has a bright red collar on too. I was wondering if you'd seen her?" The man looked hopefully down at him.

Ponyboy felt bad for him. The poor man was missing his dog! Pony loved dogs. He had asked his parents if they could have one but they always told him no.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen her."

The man visibly deflated and Pony felt worse. He hated when people were sad.

"Oh... that's okay. I'll just have to keep looking, I'm sure she's around here somewhere! Say, could you help me? I'm sure with the both of us looking we'll find her even faster!" The man smiled.

Ponyboy gave him a wary look. He wanted to help but he didn't know this guy. He looked over to Darry. He didn't seem to be paying attention. He looked like he was trying to get someone to throw him the ball. Pony turned back to the man who's eyes hadn't left him.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to talk with strangers."

The man's smile tightened for a second before he relaxed again. "I understand. What if we weren't strangers?"

Ponyboy cocked his head in confusion. The man laughed before kneeling down in front of him. He was now eye to eye with Ponyboy and he held out his hand.

"Hi there, my names Jack, what's your name?"

Ponyboy looked from his hand to Jack's face before slowly reaching out and placing his hand in his. Jack's hand easily fit around his tiny one and he gently shook it.

"My names Ponyboy."

Jack let go of his hand and smiled kindly at him. "What a nice name. Very unique."

Pony's eyes lit up at the compliment. People usually made fun of his name or gave him weird looks when he introduced himself.

"Thanks! My dad came up with it! It's weird but I like it!"

Jack chuckled before speaking again. "Well, now we know eachother, don't we? Can you help me now? I promise it won't take long."

Ponyboy thought about it for a second. He guessed he was right. They weren't really strangers anymore. Jack actually seemed really nice! He just wanted help finding his dog. His parents were always helping people in need. It was the right thing to do.

Pony looked up at Jack and smiled before hopping off his swing. "Okay! I guess I can help."

Jack beamed at him. "Great! Thank you so much! I'm sure with your help I'll find Trixie in no time!" He held out his hand again for Pony to take. Ponyboy placed his small hand in Jack's once more as they walked off.

"Trixie? Is that your dogs name?"

"Yes! Do you like it? My daughter came up with it."

Ponyboy and Jack continued walking and chatting while looking for the missing dog. Ponyboy failed to notice when Jack glanced back at the center of the park that they were quickly leaving behind.

——————

Sodapop pushed the door to the local restroom open and glanced around. The park was pretty empty today. There were only two or three other people out here besides Darry's group. He guessed it was because of the cold. It was nearing winter time so less people were going out when they didn't have to. However, it was still warm enough for their parents to let them go. They'd probably have to stop soon though.

As Soda headed back to the playground he stopped. He couldn't see Ponyboy. Quickly he ran over and looked around. He had hoped Pony was just sitting on the slide where he couldn't see him but upon looking up there he still didn't see his brother.

Soda, who was growing increasingly worried, looked over to Darry's group of friends. May be Darry would know where he went. Soda sprinted over to them and flagged Darry down by waving his arms. Everyone stopped to look at him. Darry's face visibly flushed from the attention but he turned to look at Soda. "What do you want?" He scowled.

Sodapop couldn't care less about embarrassing Darry right now. "Where did Ponyboy go?" He questioned.

Darry's face visibly paled. "What do you mean? I thought he was with you?"

"I went to the bathroom. I told him to stay there but when I got back he was gone. I figured you had seen where he went. Mom told you to watch us!"

Darry's eyes flicked around the parked. He didn't see his youngest brother anywhere. He could feel the dread pooling in his stomach.

"Let's go get mom."

——————

The next few weeks were madness for the Curtis family. A missing person's report had been filed and with no turn up of any possible leads the people of Tulsa got a search party together. People went out for hours on end looking for five year old Ponyboy Michael Curtis but nothing came up.

There were about five or six search parties all together before people started giving up. It became a general consensus that the poor boy had probably been kidnapped and murdered.

The police did everything they could but they couldn't even find evidence of a kidnapping other than the boy disappearing. It seemed he had just vanished. They interviewed people in the park that day. All claimed to not notice anything strange. They never saw what happened to the boy.

The Curtis family was grief stricken.

Katie Curtis was heart broken. She wanted her baby boy back. She wanted to hold him again. She wanted to see those big green eyes again and comfort him when he had a bad dream. It was never easy being a mother of three with their income but she had always pushed herself because she loved her husband and her children. She wouldn't have changed anything for the world. She didn't want to be the mother of just two. She wanted her third child back. Her youngest. Her baby. She'd never give up hope that he was out there somewhere. He would find her again, she knew he would.

Darrel Curtis Sr. was trying to stay strong. His child was gone. His wife and children were heartbroken and terrified. They all wanted him back. They all wanted answers as to where he went and if he was okay. He wanted to cry but he didn't. He had to be strong. His wife and remaining children needed him now more than ever.

The two Curtis brothers were trying not to blame themselves. No matter how many times their parents told them it wasn't their fault they didn't believe it. They even told eachother. Sodapop didn't blame Darry and Darry insisted Sodapop had no reason to blame himself either. They both just really wanted their brother back. It was too quiet in the house without him. Their family didn't feel whole. They hoped he would turn up soon. They needed him and they knew that wherever he was he needed them too.

It would remain a mystery what happened to Ponyboy Curtis that cold day in 1976. With no leads to go off of the police had to close the case. The Curtis' never gave up hope though. Until they saw the body of their missing little boy, they'd never give up hope that he could still be alive and out there. They hoped that one day, he would come home.

——————

If there is any grammar mistakes in this please forgive me. I checked and think it looks fine but it's late so I might have kissed something. This is something I've been thinking about ever since I rewatched the first season Stranger Things last night and decided to write this. Since we're in quarantine now I might as well do something with my spare time.

Anyways, any and all constructive criticism is welcome! I hope you enjoyed this and it's almost 2 am so I'm going to go to bed. Baiii

-Merce