Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders

Note: Another chapter done. Currently I only have one idea to write but hoping inspiration hits soon so I can get more written. The hardest part is trying not to adapt t much current stuff with the ways back then. I know in the 60s and 70s they were not jamming to Let It Go or I have this feeling inside my bones!

"Fine Soda! I'll watch him," Steve agreed to the worst thing ever for his best friend. He really could not stand the kid! The kid was so damn annoying. Why in hell was he even agreeing to this? Damn it! One look at Soda reminded Steve why he was such a sucker. Steve could hardly refuse anything that his happy go lucky friends asked of him, even when it was something he would hate.

"Thanks Steve! I knew I could count on you! Can you be there by 9? "Soda questions his friend shooting him one of his famous grins before throwing the rag he was using to clean his hands at him.

"I'll be there. "Steve grumbles rolling his eyes. Yay for him he had to watch the kid for 8 whole hours. He wanted to scream HELL NO! He considered just not showing up. Maybe he can pretend to be sick? Steve ran all the scenarios through his head on how to get out of babysitting the brat.

"I really appreciate it Steve. He is easy to watch. Then tomorrow night you still down for taking the girls out?" Soda questions cocking his eye brow like they learned from Two-Bit. Steve felt guilty at his thought of ditching out on his friend.

"Hell ya! Maybe they will want a good time," Steve tells his best friend with a mischievous smile spread on his face. His anxiety about tomorrow temporarily covered up by thoughts of girl. Steve could not get one girl out of his mind.

"If the babes are frisky you better make sure you wrap it before you tap it," Soda teases his best friend.

'' Damn straight! I don't want to chance a little shit of my own,' Steve tells Soda honestly. Ponyboy was more than enough kid for him and the kid is not even his responsibility.

"Come on now Don't you want a cute baby Stevie running around," Soda cooed pinching at Steve's cheek as though he was a baby. Steve smacked Soda's hand away.

"Sure. Just what I need. He will be running around calling you uncle Pepsi. "Steve joked.

"That would be awesome,'' Soda retorted.

"Hell no! If you want a baby around then you better hook up with your girl. You are not getting one from me. No! No! and again no!" Steve tells him.

"So that is almost a guarantee that you will be the next one," Soda teases. Steve took his DX hat and used it to whack Sodapop in the arm for daring to even mention a curse like that. Steve was almost sure that he never wanted kids.

"Hey, you are coming over tonight?" Soda questions his friend.

"I don't know. I have nothing better to do," Steve decides.

"Great. I'll see you at the house. I must run and get the kid from school. "Soda tells his friend heading to the truck and jumping in and heading towards the school.

"Hey Baby. How was school? How would you like to go out for ice cream?" Soda greets Ponyboy as he hops in the truck. Soda was trying to soften Pony up before letting it be known that Steve was the babysitter tomorrow. Soda knew Ponyboy never has cared much for Steven. Soda has never been able to figure out the reason and he could not get answers from Steve or Ponyboy.

Pony glared at Soda. "What is the bad news?" He demanded. Ponyboy already knew his brothers trick. He had a gut feeling it had to do with tomorrow and he was almost positive that he would not like it.

"What do you mean? Can I not take my baby brother out for a treat?" Soda tries playing innocent. Soda's clue confirmed that he was about to hear something that was going to make him unhappy.

"Who is watching me tomorrow?" Ponyboy ask getting straight to the point. If looks could kill then Soda would dead by now.

"Well Steve is going to come play with you tomorrow, won't that be fun?" Soda asks in a very upbeat voice.

"Yeah it sounds just as fun as being eaten but a tiger," Pony tells him crossing his arms and looking out the window.

"It's not bad. You and Steve will have bunches of fun," Soda tried.

"Don't be stupid Soda. You know it's not going to be fun," Pony said in a very aggressive tone.

Soda pulled into the side street he was about to pass and pulled his truck to a sudden stop. Ponyboy got nervous when he brought the truck to a sudden stop. Soda grabs Pony's chin and makes him look at his brother. "You will not speak to me like that. I am your brother and you will show me some respect. You may not like tomorrows arrangements but it's the best we can do. You will not always get what you want but it is no excuse to speak to me that way. When we get home, you will go lay in your bed for a while," Sodapop reprimands his brother.

Soda sounded harsher than he normally does and Ponyboy did not like it. Tears escaped from Ponyboys eyes. He was not use to Soda getting on to him so sternly. Soda was the gentler of the two older brothers. You know your being rude if Soda reprimands you.

"Yes sir," Pony whispers allowing his gaze to fall to his shoes once Soda let his chin go. Ponyboy sat sulking at the idea that he was rude and now had upset his brother.

Soda started his drive back towards the house. He wanted to tell his brother sorry for sounding harsh. He decided it was best not too. His brother needed to learn what was acceptable and not even if it broke his heart upsetting his brother like that. So, the rest of the ride home was silent.

When they got home Ponyboy went straight to his room like he was told. Ponyboy clutched the pillow. He felt horrible for speaking badly to Soda. Soda was his favorite person in the whole world and he does not want to ever make him mad again. He had not meant to take his frustration out on his brother. It was Steve he did not like not Soda.

Soda paced the front room waiting the dreaded ten minutes until his brother could get out of time out. He hated having to punish his brother. HE would gently correct his brother on most things and left the real discipline mainly to Darry. He hated being the bad guy but sadly he had to sometimes.

Soda was nearly jumping up and down at the ten-minute mark. He ran to the room. "Hey baby is there anything you want to say to me?" Soda prompts his brother.

"I'm sorry for talking to you in a mean tone. I love you Soda. Please don't be mad no more," Ponyboy pleads with his brother. Soda wraps his arms around his brother and hugs him tight.

"Kid I could never stay mad at you. "Soda reassures him.

"Hey Steve," Ponyboy hears his brother greet his best friend the next morning. Pony groaned from the bedroom. Pony was hoping today would pass by fast. Pony slipped a clean shirt over his head and headed towards the living room. Pony jumped as he felt a hand grab his arm. Ponyboy turned around to see Darry standing beside him.

Darry knelt to Ponyboys level. "Kiddo I want you to be on your best behavior today. I know you don't like Steve but he is in charge today. I expect you to be respectful. If you are not behaved you're not going to want to sit down tonight. Is that understood?" Darry questions his brother sternly.

Darry knew about his attitude yesterday and about his attitude towards Steve in general. He wanted to put it all on the line for his brother so he knew what to expect if he screwed up today. Darry was hoping his threat was a deterrent for the behavior he feared.

"I will try my best. "Pony tells his brother honestly not holding his annoyance back well. He hated being bossed around by everyone. "I don't like it when you talk to me that way!" PonyboY said pouting. He hated when his brother talked in his daddy bossy voice especially when he had not done anything yet.

"Well kiddo I want to make sure you take what I say seriously, but if you try and be nice to Steve then I will work on speaking nicer," Darry tells his baby brother. Darry knew he was not a perfect parent but he was thrown into over night and s working his hardest to do it right.

"Thank you! And don't worry I forgive you for talking rude to me," Pony tells his brother matter of fact like.

Darry chuckles. "If you have a good report today we can invite Soda to join and have a pallet sleep over with a movie in the living room,'' Darry tells him. This excited Pony. The last campout was before his parents passed away.

"Deal! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Pony screeches giving his oldest brother a big hug before running off to the front room,

"Good morning Steve," Ponyboy greets the older greaser. He was determined to make this a good day so he can have his sleep over.

"Morning kid," Steve muttered to Ponyboy slightly surprised by the boys energetic and friendly demeanor.

"Bye Soda! Have a good day at work. " Ponyboy tells his brother hugging him bye and earning a smile. Ponyboy walked over to Darry next to say his good byes.

"Up? Ponybou asked much like a toddler would holding his arms up for his oldest brother to hold him. Darry smiled at moments like this. Ponyboy was small for his age and he was already on the young end of his grade. He turned 5 a few days before the school cut off.

Darry picks the boy up and Ponyboy instantly wraps his arms around. "Bye Darry. I'll be super good I promise," Ponyboy whispers into his ear. Darry ruffled the boys hair.

"I know you will. See you later. Love you," Darry tells him setting him back on the ground before walking towards the door.

"Bye Pony," his brothers call walking out the door leaving Ponyboy and Steve behind.

When the two left Steve and Ponyboy was left with awkward silence staring at each other. Ponyboy did not know what to say or do. He did not want any trouble that's for sure. He studied Steve and could tell he was just as nervous.

"What do you want to do?" Steve asks Ponyboy breaking the silence.

"Want to go to the car show that is in town?" Ponyboy asks knowing Steve loves cars. Steve stared at Ponyboy surprised by his suggestion.

"All right kid. Just make sure you stay close to me," Steve instructs opening the door for them to leave. Steve was relieved to be out of the house for a while. Maybe walking will tire the kid out. Ponyboy followed right behind Steve the three miles they walked. Steve kept glancing over to make sure the kid was close by. Steve was surprised how well the kid kept up. The whole trip Pony was in arms reach and silent' but Steve remembered who the kids brothers were and knew he would not be raised as a no good hood. Ponyboy was the most loved kid he has ever met. He had his parents, brothers. and the whole gang.

When they arrived, it was still before 10 so the place was not very busy. Steve walked over to a red car. Ponyboy did not see anything special about it but Steve sure seemed excited. "This here Ponyboy is Ford Fairlane," Steve tells Ponyboy. "To be exact this is 1958 ford Fairlane 500 skyline. It is a convertible. Oh boy! Isn't it a sexy beast," Steve went on. Steve loved the car. He wished he owned something like this. Steve walked around the car looking at details closely. Steve could spend hours admiring the car. He could spend days tearing one apart and rebuilding it.

"See Ponyboy this car has a big block V8 engine and everything," Steve continued. Ponyboy paid close attention as Steve pointed at various parts and what they did. Ponyboy was surprised how much he enjoyed hearing about the tuff looking car.

"How did you learn so much about cars?" Ponyboy asks Steve as he moved on to the next car.

"Well honestly I learned some from different people I was around. I studied car manuals and fiddled around on them. Once you know what you're doing it is not to awful difficult to do. It can be hard work and time consuming. You never want to rush through any job. "Steve tells him.

"Can you teach me some stuff?" Ponyboy ask.

"Sure, how about next weekend we can change the oil in the truck," Steve suggests. Steve was silently kicking himself for setting up more hang out time with the kid. Why did he do that to himself. Steve was shocked that he was enjoying himself.

"Hey Steve! Look at that car! Its very pretty," Ponyboy sad pointing to a corvette that was cherry red.

"Ok Kid! One thing you have to learn is we are men! A car is not 'Pretty', They are tough, tuff, or sexy! Got it?" Steve schooled the youngster.

"Got it. We are men!" Ponyboy declared proudly.

The two of them spent three hours walking around the car show. Steve had pointed out different cars to Ponyboy describing special features on each one and sometimes even sharing stories of times Sodapop and him had worked on similar cars. By time they finished it had gotten crowded and Steve decided three hours was long enough.

"Hi Steve," a voice greeted them from behind. Steve and Ponyboy turned around to see Tim Shepard and Curly standing behind them.

"Hey Tim., Curly," Steve greeted the greasers.

"What's going on?" Shepard questions.

"Just looking around. We are about to head out. "Steve answers. Steve was not a fan of Tim and tries to keep all interactions as short as possible. Trouble always seems to follow Tim where ever he goes.

"Just looking for some action. Thinking about trashing a few houses and maybe having a drink. "Tim tells him smirking. Tim was always ready to start trouble.

"Be careful and I'll catch you later." Steve tells him turning to leave. Ponyboy trails right behind him.

"Steve why are they going to trash houses? Do they like having to spend all day cleaning up?" Pony asks.

"No Ponyboy they don't. Those boys are bad news. They plan to make a mess at someone else's house and make them clean it up," Steve answers trying to wisely choose his words.

"That's not very nice. I hope they never come over to play with me and do that," Pony tells Steve. Ponyboy imagined them taking toys out and scattering them all over the house and then getting up and leaving. Ponyboy could not help but think those boys are very rude.

"Walk! Walk! Walk your feet gently down the street. Walking walking walking life is but a dream," Ponyboy sings as they trail down the road towards his house. Steve tuned out the song as best he could. After the thirtieth time hearing it he was over it.

"Ok I'm going to go heat up the lunch your brothers left for us,' Steve tells Ponyboy going into the kitchen to find them some grub. He found two bowls of spaghetti. He popped them in the microwave and waited close by until it dinged.

"Come eat," Steve calls sitting both bowls out on the table. Ponyboy climbs into a chair and starts chowing down.

"Thank you for lunch," Ponyboy tells Steve after he finished his food. Pony puts his bowl in the sink and heads off to his room to find some toys to play with. Ponyboy looked through his box of toys and nothing seemed fun. Ponyboy don't play with toys that often.

When finding a toy failed he started going through the books. Pony smiled when his hand landed on Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham book. It was one of his favorite books. He took the book and went in search of Steve.

"Steve will you please read me this book?" Pony asked.

Steve really hated reading. He knew the story as he had heard both older Curtis brothers reading it on multiple occasions. Before them it was the boy's parents. Ponyboy was so much like his mom calm and sweet but he had a touch of his dads wild and free spirit in him.

"Ok," Steve agreed reluctantly. The kid had not been a problem what so ever, so he deserved a story. Pony sat next to Steve as he began reading the story.

"Do you like green eggs and ham?" Ponyboy questions the older boy after the story was over.

"I reckon I do. I'm pretty sure that crazy brother of yours made it just a few months ago," Steve responded remembering the breakfast that consisted of green eggs, green ham, and even green chocolate milk. Soda really had gone to town on the green food coloring that meal.

"He did! It was really yummy. Maybe one day he can make it again and we can try eating it in a box. Would you eat it in a box or with a fox?" Pony questions Steve.

"If it was a big enough box then yes. Probably not with a fox. Came think of it I would eat it in the dark and on a train. I would eat here it there. I would eat them anywhere," Steve exclaims making Ponyboy laugh.

"Steve can you draw Sam? "Pony probed. "Or can you draw a train? Or eating with a fox? What is the foxes name anyway? Think its foxy? Was it a boy or girl?" he fires at Steve.

"I cannot draw but how about you draw Sam for Soda and Darry when they get home?" Steve tries to distract Ponyboy from 20 questions. The questions nonstop wore Steve out.

"I can do that," Pony exclaims taking off to get his paper and pen. Pony spent the next two hours sprawled out drawing various pictures from his book. Steve occupied himself with the tv while the little one was drawing.

"I'm going to draw a picture of Darry. How long until her gets home?" asked Ponyboy.

Steve glanced at the clock. "Around an hour," he answered. Ponyboy turned back to drawing his picture. First, he drew the rough draft of his face and body. After the rough draft, he started going through detailing his photo. He started with the face. He made sure his eyes were evenly space by helping lines in his rough draft.

After his face, he did the details on his body. Lastly, he gave Darry hair and drew a superman cape off his back. Ponyboy smiled satisfied with his picture of Superman. Just as Ponyboy was putting his drawing stuff away the door opened and in walked Darry.

"Hi kiddo. Hi Steve," Darry greets shutting the door behind him. Pony ran over giving is brother a hug before running back for his picture, he made his brother.

"Here Darry. I drew this picture for you." Ponyboy said handing it over. Darry examined his picture. Darry was truly amazed by the talent and detail his brother has at such a young age. He could draw better than his brothers or the gang.

"Thank you Ponyboy. The picture looks amazing. I think it deserves a spot up on the fridge for everyone to see," Darry says carrying It to the fridge where he hangs it up with the use of a magnet. Ponyboy gazed at his picture hanging proudly for everyone to see.

"Want to come cuddle with me?" Darry asks Ponyboy as he makes his way to the recliner. Of course, Pony wanted to. He loved being cuddled up in his brothers lap just hanging out. When Darry was seated Ponyboy climbed on into his lap.

"Did you have a good day? Were you a good boy for Steve?" Darry quizzed his brother.

"I was god and we had fun. We went to the car show and did you know the ford Fairlane has a v8 engine? We saw a sexy red one right Steve? And Darry Steve knew what every part on the car was and how they worked. He even said he will do an oil change next weekend to teach me how. "Pony tells him excitedly. "I can't wait to have Steve as my babysitter again. "

Darry could not believe what he was hearing. He had expected a bad day. He knew Pony's feelings towards Steve and knew they were mutual, but here was his brother ranting all about his day.

"Thank You Steve for watching him today," Darry tells Steve. They were truly grateful for the friends that they have. They always have each other's back no matter the task.

"Don't mention it. The kid was no problem. Though he likes to ask 900 questions about everything," Steve explained.

"That isn't no lie. I really appreciate you taking good care of him. He is a pretty good kid," Darry brags on his brother a little.

Pony was happy that his brother was home but now he liked Steve. He was not always mean. Ponyboy knew he would never be snuggle close with Steve but that was more than ok. He needed some more adult like friends to hang out with.

"Darry do we get to hqve our sleep over?" Ponyboy questions his brother.

"You earned it baby. I'm very proud of you for being so good. It makes me super happy! " Darry praises his brother. Ponyboy smiles big at being praised. Nothing better then making his brothers happy.