Chapter Text
It's almost impossible to believe it, but today, Ponyboy is graduating from high school. Paul always knew the kid was smart, even from the time he was born, but Paul didn't know if Pony would be able to get through all of school and make it to this day. Paul hates thinking about the fact that Pony almost didn't make it through his freshman year because of what he and his friends did. Paul tries not to think about that.
Pony is already at school, getting ready for the ceremony, but the gang is still at the house, all wearing their nice clothes as they get in the car. Paul knows how much Darry has been freaking out about this for weeks. His baby brother is getting out of Tulsa, he's getting to go to college with his academic scholarship. Darry’s hands are shaking a bit on the steering wheel, so Paul gently reaches over and takes one, and Darry relaxes a little.
They get to the school and take the familiar halls to the gym. They find somewhere to sit where Paul can be on the aisle, so they are only a few rows back from the stage. The gym fills up pretty quickly, and Paul thinks about how he felt when he walked up on that stage six years ago. He thought he had everything in front of him. If only he could see himself now. He's happy, and he wouldn't trade the life he has for the world, but he still hates Tulsa.
Eventually, the ceremony starts, and it's pretty boring. The principal gives a speech, then some other teacher Paul doesn't recognize gives one too, before they start calling names and people walk. It isn't long before Ponyboy's name is called, and they are all cheering like idiots as Ponyboy beams and grabs his diploma, looking down at them and smiling even bigger.
The rest of the ceremony doesn't last too long before Ponyboys class is throwing their caps in the air and coming to greet their families. Pony comes right over, still smiling like an idiot as he does right into Darry's strong arms before Soda joins in. “You did it kid, you fucking did it,” Darry says in Ponys ear, and Paul can see all three brothers are crying. Pony mumbles something into Darry's chest, and Darry just nods his head and says, “I know, me too.” Pony pulls away from his brothers and gets a similar hug from Two-bit and Steve. Pony comes over to him and hugs him too. Paul holds him close and tells him how proud he is of him, how far he's come. Ponyboy laughs a little as he pulls away, wiping his eyes and still smiling.
They head back to the house for Ponyboy's graduation party. It's small, by request. It's just them, a couple of family friends, and some of Ponys friends, including Cherry Valance. She doesn’t talk to Paul much, not after everything went down, but she doesn't hate him like she used too. The party is really just them all sitting around and telling stories to embarrass Ponyboy.
As they sit around and laugh, Paul realizes that things are gonna be okay. He watches Ponyboy sit there and laugh with his friends, and he thinks about how much Pony went through 4 years ago, when he lost two of his best friends, and nearly died twice. It took a while for Pony to be okay after that, so Paul thinks that maybe it's alright that he doesn't feel like he's okay yet. Maybe it's normal that he still has all these emotions swirling through his head all the time; Maybe he just needs to be patient with himself, and he'll get there. He knows he has people to support him, which is more than he could ever ask for. So Paul will be okay, he has the gang, —and maybe he has his old friends too— so he will survive.