A/N: Requested by lydraine44! This is set soon after the Curtis parents' death, when Ponyboy was having nightmares every night but before he and Soda shared a room. This isn't technically Darry's childhood but it's part of Soda's and Ponyboy's, so it counts!
I wrote this chapter in first person because it made more sense, so just ignore how literally every other chapter is in third person except this one.
January 1965
Darry: 20
Sodapop: 16
Ponyboy: 13
[Ponyboy's POV]
Their car was driving fast, too fast. And this time I was in the backseat.
"Slow down, Dad!" I shouted, but he ignored me.
"Mom, we need to stop!" I yelled, but she simply turned around to smile at me.
The car sped faster and faster, quickly approaching the train tracks. I could hear the whistle of the train growing louder, the vibrations growing stronger.
imgoingtodieimgoingtodieimgoingtodieimgoingtodie
"Ponyboy! Wake up, it's just a dream."
The vibrations from the train started to feel an awful lot like someone was shaking me, and the whistling sound was long gone. Just like my parents.
I opened my eyes to find Sodapop at my bedside, shaking me. Darry stood in my doorway, the yellow light from the hallway highlighting his worried expression.
I took several deep breaths, trying not to cry. Soda pushed back my sweat-soaked hair and Darry quickly disappeared from the doorway.
"You okay Pone?" Soda asked.
I nodded, lying.
"Was I screaming again?" I asked.
Soda smiled, sheepishly. "Yeah, but I think I got you up before you woke the neighbors," he said, winking.
I tried to smile but found my face quickly crumbling into sobs. Soda embraced me, laying my head on his shoulder and gently rocking me. Darry reappeared, carrying a glass of water.
"You alright Ponyboy?" he asked.
I once again nodded, despite the fact that I was clearly sobbing like a bawl-baby. I was too old to be having nightmares and crying like this, much less in front of my older brother.
Darry held out the glass and I took it, gratefully taking gulps of water.
"Do you remember what you were dreaming?" asked Soda.
I simply shook my head, not wanting to get into the details.
Soda continued to stroke my hair and calm me down, while Darry stood awkwardly off to the side. He never really knew what to do in these situations, they were more Soda's specialty. Even though I was still scared out of my mind, I knew my brothers had work in the morning.
"You guys don't gotta stay, I'll be fine on my own," I insisted.
"You sure Pony? I can stay until you fall back asleep," countered Soda.
"No, you've got work tomorrow, I don't want you to be tired all day," I said.
We sat in silence for a few moments before Darry spoke up. "What if Soda just slept in here with you? Would that help you sleep better?" he suggested.
Soda and I turned to look at each other, then back at Darry. I think we were just both surprised we didn't think of that before.
"Only if you want to Soda," I said sheepishly. I knew it wasn't necessarily considered "cool" to share a bed with your little brother at 16, but secretly I hoped he would stay.
"Sure Pone, I don't mind," replied Soda.
We got as comfortable as we could with two of us in a twin bed as Darry turned to go back to his own bed. Soda began rubbing circles on my back and I heard a soft, "Goodnight guys, love you," from Darry before falling asleep.
I slept better the rest of that night than I had in the past few weeks, leading Soda to start sharing the big queen bed with me and Darry to get his own room again. My nightmares didn't stop completely, but I felt safer knowing both my brothers were there to defend me.
A/N: If anyone has a slime tutorial for the Outsiders musical they could point me in the direction of I would be forever grateful 🙏