Chapter Text
If you were to ask Ponyboy how he felt about his brother he’d probably talk about how much he loved Sodapop, and how he’s always been there.
If you asked him about his oldest brother he’d probably say “Darrel stopped being my brother the day he decided he was staying in Oklahoma City.” You see when their parents died, Darrel was off at college and was living in OKC and once he got the call asking him to come home and become the primary guardian of Pony and Soda, his response was just short of hell no. The two were never too close with their brother, but no one expected him to just leave them to the system.
That decision alone got Darry on the bad side of just about every greaser in Tulsa, being an enemy to the Shepard and Curtis gangs alike. The gang was put in control of Dallas after he left, though they all decided to keep the name, for the sake of Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. The two were practically parents to all 7 of the boys, even Dallas loved them, though he would never let anyone know that.
Pony, being only 13, was destroyed when Darrel abandoned them, waiting for a call saying “Hey guess what! I’m coming back for you!” But as you can guess that call never came. He brushed it off and found a group of friends, after being on the run for murder a month after turning 14. So, here he is out with his friends celebrating his 16th birthday, all of them none the wiser to the situation about to unfold.
“So anyway I was just minding my business, y'know as one does,” Curly started, as they began the walk to Pony’s house, “and my business just so happens to be knowing everyone else's business.” he smirked.
“You’re starting to sound like Angel, Curls,” Pony interrupted. “Hey-“ Curly began to protest, quickly cut off by an engine revving from behind, “Hey, Grease!” A voice in the car yelled. The two turned, quickly spotting a red Stingray occupied by Cherry, Mark, and Scout.
“Get in, bitches, it’s party time!” Scout shouted from the passenger seat, waving her hands wildly.
“Sweet. Thanks for picking us up, Cherry.” Pony said, jumping into the backseat followed by Curly. They fall into a comfortable silence, where Pony gets lost in his thoughts. Mark’s telling a story everyone has definitely heard before, but he just keeps talking.
They drive for about a block before Scout suddenly gasps, “Oh Oh! Cherry the gift!” Her yelling jolts Pony back to reality, “What? Guys you didn’t have to do this.” He says, taking the bag from the girls.
“Of course we did, now open it,” Cherry responds, pulling into the Curtis’ driveway. He quickly opens the bag pulling out a beautiful, black handled, expensive looking, switchblade, “Jesus Christmas, Cherry, how much was this?” Pony exclaims.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s your special day, Pony,” Cherry responds, getting out of the car, the rest of the group in tow.
The first thing they smell when they get inside is Sodapop’s chocolate cake, a recipe he perfected from spending all that time at his mother’s side while she made it. “Hey Pony, girls,” he smiled, “Shepard, Jennings.” His greeting for the last two was less than enthusiastic. Soda’s never really been a fan of the kids Pony decides to hang out with, but after seeing some of life return to his kid brother, he’s started warming up to them.
“Hey hey, Sodacan,” Curly said, “What’s cookin’,”
“Nothing for you, Shepard.”
“What! Baby Curtis help me out here.”
“Absolutely not Curls, you brought this upon yourself,” Pony jumps in, “Can I have some cake now, Soda?” He asks, reaching for a knife to cut the cake with.
“Not until the rest of the gang gets here Pone. They should be here soon.” As soon as Soda finished his sentence the door abruptly swung open, all 5 boys letting themselves in.
“Where’s the birthday kid?” Two-bit slurred, already buzzed.
“Right here,” Pony responded offhandedly. “Anyway! Soda, cake?”
“After dinner, Little buddy.”
“What! You said when the guys got here!”
“Pony, you have to eat dinner.”
“Uhh…guys?” The boys stopped their argument to turn and look at Scout, who was looking out the window.
“There’s some guy in a purple and gold madras shirt loitering outside your house…” She said worriedly. The whole gang was confused at that statement, all for different reasons.
“The hell does loitering mean?” Dally snarked
“Wait purple and gold?!” Pony exclaimed, at the same time as Dally. Realization dawning on everyone’s faces as they ran to look out the windows.
“Holy shit,” Two-bit gasped, “Who the fuck does he think he is?”
“It’s a wonder no one's jumped ‘im yet.” Steve said as a Mustang pulled up to the house. “Who the fuck is that? Red, do you know whose car that is?”
“That’s Paul Holden’s car. I need to call Marcia,” she turned away from the window, “Can I use your phone?” She was halfway to the kitchen before she got any kind of confirmation, she didn’t need it, she knew the guys didn’t care.
“Why is he back?” Ponyboy gasped out, hyperventilating. Curly noticed and ran over, pulling the boy into a hug, rubbing his back and telling him that everything would be ok.
“Once Tim gets word of this, that idiot won’t even dream of showing his face in Tulsa again.
Scout and Mark just stood there, twin looks of confusion on their faces. They didn’t know what was going on, but they knew their friend was hurting. They’d sooner go to the west side with greasy hair and a leather jacket than not help him out.
Cherry came back in by then; seeing the two standing there.
“Cher, what the hell is happening?” Scout questioned, gesturing to the other people in the room. Some were freaking out while others were trying to calm down Pony’s panic attack.
Cherry started explaining, the other two going through every emotion possible throughout the whole thing. “…and that brings us here. Nobody has seen or heard from Darrel in 3 years and he’s just back now,” she ended.
“What did Marcia say?” Mark implored.
Cherry was about to answer, when the door slammed open revealing a very angry Tim Shepard.
“Why the fuck did I just see Darrel fucking Curtis in a car with Paul Holden on the west side?!” He demanded, his face immediately softened when he saw the scene in front of him.
“Nobody knows. Red here is trying to get us some answers,” Steve supplied. The whole group turned their attention to the girl, eager to know what she found out.
“Marcia said that Paul is just supposed to be home for the weekend, it’s her mom’s birthday,” she explained, a bit flustered from being put on the spot. She might be a friend now, but a room of the toughest greasers in Tulsa staring you down would make anyone feel uneasy.
“Then we can just avoid him, right?” Scout said, a hint of confusion still lingering in her voice. “I mean he’s probably going to be on the west side the whole time, right?”
“We’re gonna have to try,” Soda told her, “Cake anyone?” That brought the mood up.
“I thought we had to wait until after dinner?” Pony teased; making the group laugh. “Tim you wanna stay?”
“Sure kid, but just know, if I see that dickhead in my territory he won’t make it back to OKC alive.”