Not—Part 6

Sodapop's POV

Ponyboy was hurt and angry. More than I'd ever seen him before, and he wasn't really listening to me. Oh sure, he heard what I was saying, but he wasn't willing to really listen and come around. And neither of us even knew where the train was taking us.

"Where are we going anyway?" Ponyboy muttered gruffly, voicing my exact thoughts. How could we not be related when we share thoughts like that sometimes? The shadow of doubt kept creeping back into my mind, insisting this whole thing was some cruel joke. I forced myself to try and accept the truth every time. It wasn't working very well.

"Don't ask me, I just jumped on," I answered with a shrug that I wasn't sure he saw anyway. I wasn't sure he was really seeing anything clearly at the moment. When I watched his face carefully I think he almost had to fight back the smallest of smiles, but it was dark so I couldn't tell for sure. "I guess at the next stop we can get off and head back home."

Ponyboy hesitated. Then, in a quiet, sad voice he asked, "Did you really never know, Soda?"

I was surprised, to say the least, that he was finally opening up to me. But glad too. "No," I answered honestly. "Nobody ever told me, and I was too little to remember when you were born. Not much, anyway."

"Do you think Darry knew?" Pony questioned in a voice smaller still. It was my turn to hesitate. What was I supposed to say? I opened my mouth to reassure him with a lie, and then—

Don't. He's been lied to enough already. It's time for him to hear some truth. You lie to him now and he might never trust you again.

"Where did that come from?" I exclaimed suddenly. Ponyboy looked confused. Well, either that or just very sad. It was hard to tell in the dark. Probably both, come to think of it.

"What?" his voice was tired, exhausted even.

"Nothing. Uh…" I faltered, wavering between my two possible answers. "Yeah. Pony, I think Darry did know about it. I'm real sorry. And I know he is too. He loves you a lot." I remembered saying those words to him the night before he ran away with Johnny. As though he too was thinking of that night, he answered me,

"Sure." The sarcasm was plain, even to me. I winced and wondered if things would ever be the same between the three of us—even the two of us!—again. I could only hope so.

Two-Bit's POV

"Hey Steve, have you seen Soda and Ponyboy around?" I asked my buddy Steve Randle as he turned the corner and strolled onto our yard. He flicked his cigarette away ever so coolly.

"Not since work. And I haven't seen that kid all day," Steve answered. "It's my lucky day, I guess." I couldn't help but grin and cock an eyebrow. We all knew how he felt about Pony—well, everyone except Soda I guess—and even though I didn't mind the kid at all, it was sorta funny.

I was about to offer to get Steve a cold one—I'd finished my first beer—when the Curtis' truck came flying around the curb and skidded to a stop in front of the house. I was fully expecting Soda to hop out of the front seat and scream, "Ready for the weekend, boys?!" but much to my surprise, Darry jumped out and ran over, looking nearly crazy with worry. And even though I just shot him a saucy grin, I got a sinking feeling inside. Because there was only one other time I'd seen Darry like this. And that was when Pony and Johnny disappeared. Shit.

Darry's POV

Two-Bit and Steve were right where I figured they would be—hanging around the Mathews house. I wondered vaguely if he was supposed to be taking care of his younger sister but pushed the thought away. I had my own family to worry about right now.

"Have you seen Soda?" I practically shouted in Steve's face. My voice was frantic. I needed to take some deep breaths and rethink things. But it was getting harder and harder not to panic.

"Not since work, why?" Steve answered with a question of his own. I ignored him and turned to Two-Bit.

"What about you? Did Ponyboy come by and ask you to drive him somewhere, or did Soda come looking for him?" I demanded. He shook his head wordlessly, his eyes widening. I knew what he was thinking. I was thinking it myself. Not only was Pony missing, but Sodapop was gone too this time. I didn't have a clue where either was, if they were together or alone, and how I was going to find them, especially as the light grew dimmer and dimmer and darkness loomed closer.

"What happened?" Steve asked tonelessly. He got like that when he was worried. He became detached, devoid of emotion until he got what he wanted—in this case, until he found his best friend.

"Pony ran away. I don't know where Soda is either," I said hurriedly.

"Why did he run away?" Two-Bit wanted to know, but he stood up straighter now.

I sighed. It was the time to tell them. "He's adopted," I said simply. "And today he found out." Steve's eyes got huge. I could see the wheels turning in his head. Pony wasn't really Soda's kid brother after all…

I snapped back to the situation at hand. Like in a football game, I tossed orders at them. "Steve, check anywhere Pony might go. Or Soda. Two-Bit, grab your car and check the train station, the bus stops, anywhere you can think of. I'm going to do the same things."

Two-Bit nodded and went into their garage. After a few seconds he came back out, with raised eyebrows and looking uncharacteristically grim. "Uh, Darry?"

I braced myself for whatever was coming.

"My car is gone." And I swear I turned three shades paler at those words. Because with Two-Bit's car, my brothers could be anywhere. Anywhere at all.

AN: Sorry for the slow update. I was lacking inspiration on what to write. Hope this one came out good and was worth the wait. Oh, and please review! The more feedback and constructive criticism I get, the faster and better the updates! Thanks.