.::I do not own The Outsiders::.

"One more time I'm left broken,
one more time words unspoken,
one more time emptiness inside,
one more time I'm living a lie.
You - will never fade away."

Darry sat in his recliner his eyes closed. His boss had given him 2 weeks off knowing how broken he must be. Soda was given some time too, he laid curled up in his bedroom hugging a pillow his eyes red. It was just one day after the burial, it was very hard not to think about him. Steve and Twobit weren't around as much, the house was too depressing as it was. Dally was nowhere to be seen, he practically disappeared after he heard Ponyboy had died. It around noon, none of the brothers had eaten anything, this concerned Darry though. People who have an empty stomach for days usually get sick quickly. There was a knock on the door, Darry knew it couldn't be a Social Worker, he yelled at them blaming everything that had happened for his brother's death, Soda almost beat the lady when she showed up at the hospital but his friends held him back. The newspaper would get the story out soon, it wouldn't be long before reporters started chasing them for interviews or photos.

Darry sighed as he opened the door revealing a man in his forties. He seemed a little off, like he was disturbed. His head snapped up when the door opened. The man cleared his throat, "Afternoon, son. Name's Richard. Richard Hollis."

"Do-do I know you?"

"No, not really, may I come in?" Richard fidgeted with something in his hands. Darry thought for a second but let him in anyways.

"Come in, my name is Darrel Jr. Curtis. Sorry for being so blunt but who are you?"

"It's all right son, first of all I'm real sorry about Michael's death."

"Michael? ...You knew Ponyboy?" Darry asked wanting to know more. Sodapop appeared from the hallway walking into the living room where the man and Darry were.

"What's going on Dar? Who is this?"

"This is Richard Hollis and he, well-"

"I was Ponyboy Michael's foster parent."

Sodapop frowned deeply, "And what are you doing here?"

"Soda..."

The man stood up from where he was sitting extending his hand with a worn out notebook. Darry stared at it confused, "What's this?"

"As you know, Ponyboy was a very talented child and although I wasn't really-really there with him all day, Charlie told me all the things he was capable of doing. The cops handed me this notebook, it has all of Pony's drawings, I thought maybe you would want it."

Soda took it with trembling hands realizing that in that notebook held all of Pony's last thoughts. He shuddered also remembering that last week he had read the masked man's diaryas well though this wasn't the same. Darry noticed his distressed look so he grabbed it from him, "Charlie's father?"

"He wasn't exactly our son. He was a foster child at the beginning but we adopted him afterwards. Charlie was buried next to Marie, my wife. He was a good kid. Cops told me that Charlie died trying to save your brother. Always cared for others rather than himself." Richard told them sadly.

"Ponyboy always talked about how great he was...I'm real...really sorry for your loss Mr. Hollis." Darry said.

"Me too...Anyways, just came by to drop that off. It was a real pleasure meeting such an extraordinary kid," he placed his hand on Darry's shoulder, "Time heals all wounds Darrel, just don't give up."

With that said Richard left the Curtis home. Sodapop gazed at Darry who was holding on to the notebook. He didn't know why but he felt some type of nervousness when he imagined himself going through the pages of the notebook. Like it was some sort of weapon that had to be hidden. His brother chewed on the inside of his cheek trying to think of what to do next. This surprise visit lifted some weight off of him, only a little. He also was thinking of the boy Charlie, the day when they hurried off to Pony's foster home. There was someone laying on the floor, he remembered now. A body sprawled on the floor. Charlie...

Sodapop let out a sigh then walked into his room again shutting it close. Darry shook his head slowly not approving of his depression. He himself was in a grieving state but Soda was spiraling out of control. His emotions were getting the better of his life, his last meal was three days ago. Even Steve couldn't get him to get out of bed. Twobit's humor was long gone and Johnny stayed home most of the time. The gang was falling apart. The door opened again, this time it was Twobit.

"Hey."

"Hey Twobit."

Twobit plopped himself on the couch, "Just came by to say hi."

"Ok."

"Soda ain't coming out of his room any time soon, huh?"

Darry glanced down the hallway at Soda's bedroom door, "Don't think so."

"Haven't heard anything 'bout Dally?"

"No, nothing at all. Not even Tim has seen him. I'm starting to think he moved back to New York."

"Nah, he'll come around."

Twobit left hours later.

A couple of days passed, days turned into weeks and weeks into months. From July to September. Darry had gotten back to work getting full shifts even though he didn't need to anymore. So did Soda, at work, his depression continued. Steve tried cheering him up in any way possible but it was useless. Soda had become numb. His cheerful personality was gone, the glimmering sparkle in his eyes faded. Ponyboy's absence took a toll on him. Steve was getting very frustrated. Twobit had gotten used to getting drunk very often now. Three times a week he crashed in the Curtis house, the next day he'd wake up with a bad hangover. Johnny's presence was scarce, most of the time he stayed at his place. And Dally...Well, he finally showed up.

Soda was in the kitchen table playing with his bowl of soup, Steve was on the couch flipping through the channels of the television. Darry was in the kitchen cleaning up, Twobit was at Buck's drinking. The door swung open with Dally walking inside with a smoke in his mouth. Everyone turned to see him, "Heh, missed me?"

"Where have you been?" Johnny asked.

"Oh you know, here and there."

"Great" Darry said.

Steve shrugged, "Thought you moved or something. I was actually gonna go to jail to look for you."

Dally grinned, "You know me too well."

Soda sipped some water then left mumbling a 'hello' to Dally on his way to bed. Steve scowled, his look on the floor, Darry sat down rubbing his temple worried that his brother hadn't barely eaten a bite of his dinner. Johnny made his way to the living room taking a seat on the couch folding his arms.

"What's up with Soda?" Dally asked scratching his cheek.

"Well what do you think? He's sad about Pony being gone. What did you expect?" Johnny snapped.

Everybody was stunned by his attitude, Johnny never acted that way. Never saw him upset or angry. He knew how to hide his feelings very well. This was the first time they ever saw him show any strong emotion. Dally narrowed his eyes at him, "When did you get so smart ass, huh Johnny?"

"Me? Look at you. You left when we were in rough times, where were you when it was Pony's funeral? His burial? Where were you?" Dally didn't respond so Johnny continued, "Yeah, I thought so...So if you want to know what's going on just think about what you missed. G'night guys." The tanned greaser ran out of the house very pissed off at his once closest friend Dallas.

Dally didn't know how to react, those words were like a blow to the face. It was all true, where was he? The gang is supposed to be a family, stick together through bad times. He had, in a way, abandoned them. Darry stood up getting the dirty plates to the sink ready to wash the, dishes, Steve played with a cigarette that was in his hands ignoring Dally's cold expression.

"See you tomorrow." The door slammed closed.

The house fell silent, the only sounds was the water splashing in the kitchen. Steve went into the living room turning on the television trying to divert his thoughts on Soda's new behavior. It's been some stressful months, his friends were supposed to be healing but it just seemed they were breaking more. Which scared him a lot, that meant that they'd never be the same. Hell, if I knew better, Soda died along with Pony.

Dallas Winston fell down on his knees, one arm wiped away some tears that didn't get to make all its way down. The sky was getting darker, the wind blew a cold gust of wind. Between his grinded teeth the greaser managed to hold back a sob. It was true, he was a bad friend. 'Where were you?' Those words echoed in his mind. Ah damn it...Ah damn, Pony...I-I... One of his hands reached out to the gravestone with the young deceased Curtis's name on it.

"I'm sorry pipsquick...Real fucking sorry...I-I didn't know...I just...A hell...Why-why did ya hafta to go? Look what's this is doing to me? To everybody?" Snif "If-If there was a chance...You know I would have traded places with you, kid. No doubt about it."

On his feet, Dally covered his mouth with his hand, eyes closed, "I'd give you a million cookies if I thought they'd make you better. Heh, Christ what am I saying..."*

He let out a deep breath as he walked out of the cemetery, Dally was a tough guy but even this made him fall apart.

(Sorry for any grammar mistakes)

*The comment Dally made about the cookie was a memory he had on There is no end, there is no goodbye ch.2

PS: Thank you for your support :)