Chapter Text
Chapter 1
(January 5, 1965)
Pony’s POV
It was a brisk Tuesday afternoon in Tulsa and it was Darry’s 20th birthday. Mom was going to make her famous chocolate tonight for Darry’s big day and she asked me to pick up some icing on my way home from the library. Darry was home from Oklahoma University where he got a football scholarship for winter break, so we got to celebrate with him. Soda and I were on winter break from Will Rogers High, where I was a freshman and Soda was a sophomore. While I was at the library, Darry was probably out with Paul Holden and his old high school football buddies. No one in our gang really liked them, but Darry thought we were being childish. Soda was probably working his afternoon shift at the DX with Steve while Dad was at work at the roofing company, and Mom was picking up a shift at the local diner.
The day was starting to go by in a blink at the library. I was getting lost in the book I was reading, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carré. That’s when I realized it was starting to get dark outside and I knew my parents would kill me if I didn’t get to the store on time to get the icing and back home in time for dinner and before it got too dark outside. I returned the book, which I had finished, and checked out Herzog by Saul Bellow, A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, and The Deep Blue Good-Bye by John D. MacDonald. My favorite librarian, Mrs. Hunt was at the circulation desk. When she saw me she gave me a big smile. “Well isn’t it my favorite Patreon,” Mrs. Hunt said with a chuckle. “Well isn’t it my favorite librarian,” I said with a smile. Mrs. Hunt gave me a wry smile. “You humor me, Ponyboy Curtis,” Mrs. Hunt said as she took my books from me. “You did pick some good ones didn’t you.” I blushed. “You think so?” I asked nervously. Mrs. Hunt gave me a warm smile. “You did so,” Mrs. Hunt said. Mrs. Hunt checked me out and returned the books so I could put them in my bookbag. “Stay safe sweetheart,” Mrs. Hunt said. “And tell your big brother happy birthday for me.” I smiled and nodded. “Will do, Mrs. Hunt,” I said as I headed out to hop onto my bike.
When I stepped outside a cool gust of wind whipped through me causing me to shiver and pulled my coat tighter around me. I’m sure glad that Mom reminded me to grab my coat this morning before I left. On the way to the store closest to the library, I constantly looked over my shoulder. It was just over the line on the West Side of Tulsa and I was sure hoping that I didn’t run into any Socs while I was at the store. I didn’t need any trouble. I just wanted to be in and out and go home to celebrate with my family and the gang. I couldn’t wait to see what kind of prank that Two-Bit was going to pull on Darry. Luckily, when I got to the store there didn’t seem to be any familiar cars in the parking lot, so I let out a relieved sigh.
I hopped off my bike and put it in the bike rack outside the store. I found the extra chocolaty icing for the cake and a pack of birthday candles for the cake. I had already made Darry a homemade birthday card. I had drawn my favorite picture of me and Darry on the front of the card, which was me on Darry’s shoulders when we went to the zoo when I was 6. For his birthday present, I had gotten a white football on clearance at the sports store and drew on it, so Darry had a custom football. After checking out I put the icing and candles in my backpack with my books, Darry’s card, and Darry’s present. I started biking home, but I didn’t get very far until I heard the rumble of a car behind me and my blood ran cold. I started to pedal harder, but I could hear the car behind me pick up speed. I quickly looked behind me and saw a blue Mustang. I knew whose car that was. It was Bob Sheldon’s car. I knew I was done for if Bob and his goonies caught me.
I tried to take a turn into an ally, but the car t-boned me hard on my bike sending me flying off my bike, skidding on my side on the hard pavement, and hitting my head. Pain seared down my right side. I was most likely going to have severe road rash and a concussion. I also probably dislocated my right shoulder and broke my right elbow because they were both throbbing to high heaven. But I couldn’t focus because my head was spinning and my vision was hazy. Then before I knew it, someone picked me up under my armpits and slammed me up against a brick wall. “Well, well, well,” A familiar voice said. “Isn’t it a little Greaser. A Curtsi one at that.” My blood ran cold when I recognized that voice. It was Bob Sheldon. “Let me go,” I slurred. I tried to struggle free, but it was useless. Bob slammed me harder against the wall causing my head to spin harder and stars to erupt in my field of vision. “I can’t let you go, Greaser,” Bob growled. “My friends and I have to put you back in your place because you were on the West Side where you shouldn’t be.” I whimpered against my better judgment. Then it occurred to me, that I needed to fight back. I kneed Bob in the crotch, which led him to loosen his grip on me. I was able to try and scramble back to my bike, but I was tripped, sending me spiraling to the ground.
The next thing I knew I was being kicked hard in the ribcage, which led me to lose all my bearings as all the breath was knocked out of me. But I could never regain it because I was continuously being kicked in the ribs, head, back, and stomach. My vision started to tunnel and then I faded into darkness. The last thing that I remember thinking was, I’m so sorry Darry I ruined your big day.
Mrs. Curtis’s POV:
Today I had picked up an extra shift at the diner. I didn’t want to, because it was my oldest son's 20th birthday, but we could use the extra money. I reminded Pony to pick up the icing that I had forgotten to grab at the store this weekend on his way home from the library. I was crossing my fingers that he didn’t forget. That kid had his head in the clouds too much and tended to forget things, but I wouldn’t change that for the world. He was my smart, beautiful, big-brained baby. I just hoped that I was able to get out of the diner before the big evening rush so I could get home cook dinner and bake Darry’s cake. I couldn’t believe my first baby was turning 20. But, Darry was always making me proud. I could tell Darry was making Darrel proud as well and would continue to. Tina Matthews, Two-Bit’s mother, was also working at the diner tonight which was a relief. She would be coming over tonight with Two-Bit to help celebrate Darry’s birthday. “You ready for the big night tonight?” Tina asked me with giddiness. I smiled at her. “I’m so ready,” I said. “I’m just going to be sad to see him go back to school in a week.” Tina gave me a sad smile. “You’ll make it Maggie,” Tina said reassuringly. “He’s only half an hour away.” I nodded. “I know,” I said softly. “I just don’t like being away from my baby.” Tina chuckled. “I can’t wait to get Keith out of the house and graduate,” Tina moaned. “If he can graduate.” I laughed at that. “He’ll graduate in due time,” I said. Tina shot me a look that said she didn’t quite believe me.
Luckily, Tina helped make sure that I got out on time so I could get home and start cooking dinner. Luckily when I got home none of the kids or Darrel were home yet. I let out a sigh of relief. I could get a few minutes of peace and quiet before the usual chaos erupted in our house. I know it would start with Soda. That boy had more energy than I knew what to do with. He and Two-Bit both. I started to make Darry’s favorite food, lasagna. Just as I was pulling out the lasagna and putting the cake in the oven, Darrel, Soda, Darry, Two-Bit, Dallas, Johnny, and Steve all piled into the house laughing up a storm. “What’s so funny?” I called from the kitchen. Darrel came into the kitchen and kissed me on the cheek. “Two-Bit just cracked a joke like usual,” Darrel whispered into my ear. I smiled up at him and chuckled. “Doesn’t he always,” I quipped. Darrel smiled at me. “That he does,” Darrel said. “I’m going to go get cleaned up and then I’ll be ready for dinner. The kids all piled into the living room to watch something on television. When Darrel was done getting ready I was just pulling the cake out of the oven to cool. “Everyone gets their butts in their chairs,” I called. Then there was a stampede of feet into the kitchen.
When everyone was in their seats I noticed one empty chair and alarm bells started ringing in my head. “Where is Pony?” I asked cautiously. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. “I thought he was here and just in his room,” Johnny said with his eyebrows furrowed together. Soda shook his head. “I went in there to grab a sweatshirt that he stole from me, but he wasn’t in there,” Soda said grimly. My hands started to shake in fear. I knew something had happened to my baby. I just knew it. Darrel took my hand and squeezed it. “He’s probably fine Maggie,” Darrel said reassuringly. “He probably just lost track of time like he normally does and forgot the time.” I wished I could believe him. Then all of a sudden we all jumped when we heard a knock at the door.
Darrel got up from the table with a puzzled look on his face. I was confused as well. Most people knew that our door was always open and just walked in. “Maggie,” Darrel called in alarm. I scooted my chair back and walked over to the open front door and stood next to Darrel. My heart dropped when I saw who was at the door. There were two cops there. That was never good when they were at the door. “Dallas?” I called. “What did you do?” I heard Dallas curse up a storm. “I didn’t do anything, I swear!” Dallas called back. I started to protest when one of the officers cleared his throat. “This isn’t about Dallas Winston, ma’am.” The office said. “This is about your youngest son Ponyboy Curtis.” My heart plummeted. “What happened?” I asked in alarm. Darrel put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. The other officer sighed and spoke up. “Your son was brutally attacked tonight not far from a convenience store on the West Side and he is in the ICU at St. Francis Hospital. We’re looking into it and we’ll keep you updated. We found his backpack at the scene and his bike by the way” The officers gave Darrel their card and handed him Pony’s battered backpack and the other pointed to a dented-up bike they had dropped onto our front lawn. My blood ran cold. If the bike was any indicator of what had happened, I couldn’t imagine what my baby looked like. Then the cops walked away. I stood there in shock, and then I felt my legs give out as I let out a scream.
Soda’s POV
Today was Darry’s 20th birthday and the whole gang couldn’t wait to celebrate it with just the family and the gang. We all detested Darry’s high school football friends but Darry didn’t listen to us about that. He just told us that he was always cautious, but they weren’t all bad. I didn’t buy that for a moment. Steve and I were picking up an extra long shift today at the DX. I wanted to save up some money to buy Sandy a special gift. Steve just wanted the excuse to get out of the house and away from his Dad. I was out in the shop working on a car while Steve was inside the store to help out customers when I heard raised voices coming from inside the store. I recognized Steve’s voice and the dreaded voice of the one and only Bob Sheldon. Bile rose in my throat. I hated Bob. He was a self-righteous snob. I knew that Steve would need some backup because it was most likely that Bob wasn’t alone. Randy Adderson, Brill, Trip, Chet, and sometimes Paul were with Bob. But I knew Paul wasn’t going to be with him because he was with Darry today. I hurried inside with my trusty wrench at my side. Steve was at a standoff with Bob, while the rest of his group was standing in the background waiting to come to his aid. “What’s going on here?” I asked. Steve snarled at Bob. “This douchebag that he could come in here and trash the store,” Steve said. I raised an eyebrow and looked around. Sure enough half of the store was trashed. I took a step forward twirling my wrench. “That wasn’t really nice,” I said hotly. “Why don’t you clean it up,” I suggested with a smirk. Bob smirked. “What did you just say Grease?” Bob asked taking a step forward. I leaned into his face. “I said, clean it up,” I snarled. Bob grabbed onto my shirt and started to raise his fist as I raised the wrench when my boss walked in. “What the hell is going on here?” My boss yelled. Bob let me go and shot my boss a classic smile. “Nothing sir,” Bob said. “We just had a misunderstanding.” My boss just glowered at him not buying it. “It doesn’t just look like a misunderstanding,” my boss sneered. “Just get out you hoodlums.” Bob sneered at him but didn’t protest. As Bob and his gang headed out he made sure to kick over a display. My boss looked at the mess while shaking his head. “Why don’t you two start picking this up?” my boss said. Steve cursed under his breath, we didn’t complain.
The rest of the day seemed to drone on after that. I was just glad that Bob and his goons didn’t come back after my boss chased them away. My mouth was just drooling when I thought of the cake that we would have tonight. But as much as I was craving it, I knew Steve was craving it more. He was a chocolate cake fiend. He could eat a whole chocolate cake by himself if he was left alone with it. That being said, my mom made sure to never leave Steve alone with her chocolate cake. After Steve and I’s shift we started the walk home. We were soon joined by a slightly drunk Two-Bit who stumbled out of a row of bushes. “Drunk already Two?” Steve said jabbing Two in the ribs. “Don’t know what you're talking about,” Two said with a slight slur. “I just wanted to start celebrating Superman's birthday.” Soon enough, Johnny and Dally joined us as we passed by the lot. When we got to the house, Dad had just pulled up to the house and was getting out of his truck and it looked like he had picked up Darry too. “Hey Dad!” I called. Dad looked up at us wearily as we walked up the driveway and gave us his classic smile that matched mine. “Hey Pepsi,” Dad said giving my hair a ruffle. “How’s it going?” I chuckled as I swatted his hand away. “Better now that you’re here,” I said. “Hey Mr. C,” Two-Bit said. “I’ve got a joke for you.” Dad raised an eyebrow at Two-Bit. “What is it, Keith?” Dad asked. “Why did the scarecrow win an award?” Two-Bit drawled. “I don’t know, why?” Dad asked as he opened the front door. “Because he was outstanding in his field!” Two-Bit said. We all groaned but laughed.
As we entered the house, the mouth-watering scent of lasagna hit my nose. “What’s so funny?” Mom called from the kitchen. Dad went into the kitchen to talk to Mom. I went to clean up for dinner while the rest of the guys sat down in the living room to watch some television. The sweatshirt that I wanted to grab wasn’t anywhere I could find in my room, and then it hit me that Pony probably borrowed it so I went into his room, which was surprisingly empty, but he was probably on his way home now and would be back soon. Sure enough, my sweatshirt was draped over his desk chair. I picked it up and put it over a clean shirt I had put on. I went back out to join the gang in the living room to watch TV. I looked over at Darry and grinned. “Happy birthday old man,” I said with a shit-eating smile. Darry smacked me on the head. “Thank you, little shithead,” Darry chuckled. Soon enough Mom called us to the table after she pulled the cake out of the oven to cool.
“Where is Pony?” Mom asked cautiously with her eyebrows knotting in concern. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. I hadn’t noticed that Pony never entered the house. Sometimes he did so quietly. “I thought he was here and just in his room,” Johnny said with his eyebrows furrowed together. I shook my head. “I went in there to grab a sweatshirt that he stole from me, but he wasn’t in there,” I said grimly. My heart started to race. This couldn’t be good. Mom must have thought so too because Dad took her hand and squeezed it. “He’s probably fine Maggie,” Dad said reassuringly. “He probably just lost track of time like he normally does and forgot the time.” Then all of a sudden we all jumped when we heard a knock at the door.
We all looked at each other in confusion while Dad went to answer the door. “Maggie,” Dad called in alarm. Mom scooted her chair back and walked over to the open front door and stood next to Dad. Then a moment later. “Dallas?” Mom called. “What did you do?” Dallas groaned. “Shit, damn it, what did I do now?” Dallas grumbled. “I didn’t do anything, I swear!” Dallas didn’t even bother getting up, but to my surprise, Mom didn’t force him to either. Then as Dad shut the door Mom let out an Earth-shattering scream as my Dad caught her. We all jumped up from our chairs frightened. Darry rushed forward to our parents first. “What’s the matter, Mom?” Darry asked uncertainly. “What happened?” Dad took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair and he guided Mom to the couch. We all looked at them in alarm. “That was the police,” Dad said grimly. Dad looked uncharacteristically shaken. My heart started to race. This wasn’t good. “What did they want?” Steve asked. Dad took a deep breath again. “Pony was brutally attacked tonight,” Dad said. “He is in the ICU at St. Francis, so everyone gets your shoes on and hop into the truck and we’re heading over there.” Dad didn’t have to tell us twice. We all scrambled to get our shoes on and were out the door.