Y'all ever think about how scared Sodapop must have been watching Darry constantly stress about the bills and keeping Ponyboy safe?
Do you ever think about how Sodapop probably watched his older brother, the weight of the world on Darry's shoulders, and thought I couldn't do that.
Imagine Sodapop watching Ponyboy sleep and worrying, the fear of losing Darry and having to be the one to take care of their kid brother keeping him awake. Sodapop being so afraid of having to be the one in charge of things, of having to be the one paying all the bills and keeping Ponyboy safe. Imagine Sodapop staring at his checks from the DX and all he can think is it isn't enough, not now and certainly not if they lost Darry. Sure he helps but doing it alone? The thought is terrifying.
Imagine him watching Ponyboy and Darry fight and wondering if Ponyboy would fight with him like that if they lost Darry the way they did their mom and dad.
Imagine Sodapop being so terrified of losing his big brother because he knows he just couldn't do it alone.
Darry Curtis has a secret stash of candy, well technically he found his parents stash of old Halloween candy but his brothers and the gang eat literally anything they find in the house so Darry makes the stash his own. It's what their parents would've wanted.
Sodapop and Steve once dragged the Curtis couch and every mattress in the house outside so they could try to do backflips off of the roof without dying. Darry gets home from work just in time to stop them but when he starts yelling Soda thinks he's upset about the couch and mattresses getting dirty.
Darry: "You could've died!"
Sodapop: "There's not even that much dirt, it's fine!"
Darry: If he's around other people it's black coffee or an Americano but when he's on his own he gets a black and white mocha. If the barista recognizes him when he's with others they'll ring him up for a coffee and make him the black and white mocha.
Sodapop: tries something new everytime he orders. Man is pure chaos. Will drink anything the Barista's make he really doesn't care. The Barista's gave him a drink with every syrup once and he chugged the entire thing before getting sick. The Barista's will charge him for a coffee and then just make whatever they want.
Ponyboy: Tries to be mature and fancy and gets a tea, and always ends up hating it. Never finishes the tea unless he's put 10 honey packets in it. Genuinely wants a refresher but doesn't want to be made fun of.
Johnny: Gets a tea too but actually likes it. If anything Ponyboy orders a tea and Johnny gets a refresher and then they end up switching drinks. Johnny doesn't mind his tea plain or with honey but he cringes a little at the amount of honey Ponyboy adds.
Dally: Steals a mobile order or another order that's already done. Preferably a hot drink but Dally isn't picky. If it's free he'll take it.
Two-bit: A frappuccino with extra everything. Like Sodapop he likes to try new things. Honestly he just wants pure sugar. Sometimes he gets a big cup of whipped cream with caramel drizzle and eats it with a spoon.
Steve: An iced latte. Probably with toffeenut or hazelnut and mocha. Gets extra whipped cream and an extra shot of espresso.
Darry:🖤"The world has changed, don't you find it strange that you just went ahead and carried on?"🖤
Sodapop:🩶"Now you're tire tracks and one pair of shoes And I'm split in half, but that'll have to do"🩶
Ponyboy: 🖤"Got a paper and pen and a page with no space"🖤"Someday I'm gonna be somebody people want"🖤
Dallas:🩶"But it made you a stranger and filled you with anger"🩶
Johnny:🖤"So, when they mention the sad kid in a sad house on Balch Street you won't have to guess who they're speaking about"🖤
Two-bit:🩶"The last time I drank I was face down, passed out, there on your lawn"🩶
Steve:🖤"So I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad that I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad"🖤
Honorable mentions that sum up the Outsiders in general: 🤍"Stare at a drive-in screen. We didn't know that the sun was collapsing."🤍"Light a cigarette, I'll watch as it burns."🤍
Feel free to leave a request for a part two or for a different artist :)
Summary: Darry's only sixteen when his parents die, and after two years in the foster care system he makes it his goal in life to bring both of his brother's home. But what happens when Sodapop has spent his time in the system on the west side? And what happens when Ponyboy spent his time in the system in New York?
Chapter 4: Don't Call Me "Kid"
Masterlist
TWs stealing, hunger, bruises/cuts/being in pain
You can also find this on AO3
At this point maybe Darry should be expecting it when Miss.Cowel shows up on Thursday instead of Friday night and maybe he should be expecting the lack of his littlest brother in her car. Maybe he should have expected the way she looks uncomfortable, like she always does when she’s delivering bad news. But was it really too much to ask for the world to give him a break? Just this one time.
“Darrell” She greets “Should we go inside to talk?”
Darry shakes his head, shutting his front door gently. “Soda’s inside with a few friends” He says as half an explanation and sits on the stairs. Darry doesn’t know what she’s going to say but to tell the truth… he thinks it’s that Ponyboy doesn’t want to come home, that the state is giving the kid a choice and he’s saying no and really that’s the last thing Soda needs to hear from someone who is practically a stranger.
“Okay” Miss.Cowell sighs, standing at the bottom of the stairs. “I’m not going to sugar coat this, Ponyboy was picked up last night for shop lifting.” Darry freezes, entire body tense, mind racing. Shop lifting? What the hell was he thinking? Miss.Cowell continues. “He stole a pack of cigarettes and a candy bar, the owner of the shop has already decided not to press charges but with Ponyboy’s history the state has decided it’s best to move him to a group home outside of the area for now.”
Darry is silent mind spinning, he runs a hand through his hair. “His history?”
Miss.Cowell hands over a binder full of paper, Darry doesn’t want to take it, his hands shake as he does. “Theft, running away, violence, skipping school… honestly it’s surprising he made it this long without being sent to the group home… I thought you were aware of all of this when you made the request to take over custody.”
Darry’s grip around the binder tightens. “So what are you telling me? He can’t come home?”
Miss.Cowell shakes her head. “Not this weekend but after that it’s up to you. It’s best if Ponyboy isn’t moved back and forth too much so if you want him here then here he’ll stay and if you don’t then the suggestion is no contact”
Darrell stands, turning away from her, because god he needs a minute. “Is that it?”
“For now” she says “I’ll call next week, Wednesday, for your decision”
She leaves and Darry doesn’t move, because he turns around and there’s the world and if he goes inside then there’s his brother. His brother who has been making plans for how to break down Ponyboy's walls, Sodapop who has fallen asleep with boots every night this week…. Soda who is absolutely about to lose it when Darry says he’s not sure bringing Ponyboy home is the right thing. Because… god maybe he’s being selfish but he’s already so stressed and so tired and the binder in his hands is so heavy. Pony hadn’t seemed violent, hadn’t seemed like he’d run around stealing, Darry had looked and saw a hurt kid with walls so fuckin high that really Soda is the only one on earth with a chance to break them down. But looks are deceiving and Darry doesn’t think he’ll be able to afford bail if Pony gets into real trouble…. And if he does will the state blame Darry? Would they take Soda back to the west side?
Darry flinches when the door opens and Soda is frowning at him. “What are you doin’?”
Darry ushers him back inside, shutting the door with a soft click. “Let’s go talk in my room okay Pepsi-cola?”
Soda pauses, not moving, Darry can feel the eyes of the gang on them, for once silent. “What’s wrong? Is it Ponyboy? Did somethin’ happen?”
Darry moves past Soda, setting the binder down on the coffee table and decides ‘fuck it’, the gang will find out either way he might as well say it. “He got picked up yesterday for stealing-”
Soda cuts in “Maybe he needed to! Maybe he’s with some dumb foster parents who ain’t feeding him!"
Darry huffs “He needed cigarettes and a candy bar?” There’s a pause, Darry tries to keep his voice gentle for Soda’s sake “He’s in a group home, he ain’t comin’ home this weekend”
Soda sits on the couch next to Steve who places a hand on his arm, silent support. “He ain’t comin’ home this weekend or he ain’t comin’ home at all?”
Darry tenses, locks eyes with Twobit who had been staring at the binder and Darry knows somehow that Twobit knows. “I don’t know kiddo”
Soda sits up straighter “Well tell the state he’ll do better if he’s with us! He won’t be stealing or nothin’ we’ll keep an eye on him and-”
Darry has known literally nothing since his parents died, but he knows he hates it when Soda is upset “The state isn’t the reason I don’t know honey… it’s- Pony is.. He’s real different. It ain’t just stealing, Cowell said it’s running away and violence and-”
“Social workers lie all the time!” Soda snaps back “And so do foster parents!”
“I know. I know but if they ain’t lying he’s a risk I don’t know if I can take” Darry admits, and tries to ignore the way Johnny flinches. “We know he at least stole something and-”
“We don’t know why” Soda says, he’s getting desperate, Steve wraps his hand a bit tighter around his arm.
“If he does that here it isn’t just his ass he’s risking Soda. It’s-”
“I don’t care! I don’t- I want him home! Don’t you? Darry-”
“Don’t I?” Darry huffs “I didn’t give up my entire life for no reason Soda of course I want him home”
“Then why are you-” Soda starts and Darry cuts him off
“I don’t want you back on the west side Sodapop!” Soda flinches but Darry doesn’t stop. “If Ponyboy does something stupid and they blame me then you get taken too. Is that what you want? I love you both but you’re the one under my custody right now Soda! I have to do what’s best for you!”
There’s a moment of silence, Soda’s eyes fill with tears and then he’s bolting and Steve is following and Darry is grateful when Steve pauses to grab Soda’s shoes and a jacket. Darry stands and looks down at Johnny. “You should stay here tonight okay? It’s gonna be cold” He says and doesn’t stop Twobit when he opens the binder, one of them should know what they're getting into and Darry knows it can’t be himself.
Ponyboy flinches as a pebble hits the top of his head from where he’s laying in possibly the worst bed in this stupid group home. Top bunk next to the only window, a very open window, with bars. Ponyboy is freezing but if he gets up- he looks out of the window and glares when he sees Dally looking right back at him.
“Don’t be like that” Dallas says. “Shit kid they really did a number on you”
Ponyboy sits up and every inch of his body protests, he’s covered from head to toe in bruises and cuts. “No thanks to you” he bites back
“You ain’t stayin’ in New York” Dallas says, he shoves something through the bars and Ponyboy thinks about biting him until he realizes it’s his leather jacket. Pony snatches it out of his hands, putting it on slowly, trying not to whimper at the pain. “You’ve got a home and a family kid. You’re living with them even if I gotta drag you there myself”
Ponyboy sits back, curled up in the warmth of the oversized jacket. “They ain’t gonna want me now. Nobody wants a thief in their house Dal”
Dally shrugs, hands him a prepackaged sandwich, a water bottle and three pills, when Ponyboy glares he rolls his eyes. “Advil you baby. This place ain’t gonna feed you and you still owe me a pack of cigs”
Pony snatches the food and water, downs the pills and eats as slowly as he can manage. “Can’t pay you back from Tulsa”
Dallas smirks, tossing Ponyboy a black switch blade “Sure you can kid. Now try not to get beat up anymore, yeah?”
Pony runs his fingers over the cold metal. “Yeah” he mumbles, and when he looks up Dally is gone.
I LOVEEE your playlist for 'They See Right Through Me' but could I say that Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call by Bleachers would fit PERFECTLYYYYY
I'll have to add it! I'm going chapter by chapter so each Taylor song is a new chapter and then the next three songs are the songs that I feel like go with the vibes of that chapter!
So I'll listen to it and figure out what chapter it'll go good with in the future :)
If you're interested in the playlist I posted it in the comments on ao3 chapter 7 of They See Right Through Me
Summary: Darry's only sixteen when his parents die, and after two years in the foster care system he makes it his goal in life to bring both of his brother's home. But what happens when Sodapop has spent his time in the system on the west side? And what happens when Ponyboy spent his time in the system in New York?
Chapter Three: Everything You Lose is a Step You Take
Masterlist
Warnings: Hunger/being starving, stealing, if I forgot anything please let me know
You can also find this on AO3
Ponyboy is tired. He's so tired he feels as though he's going to pass out and he's hungry, his stomach won't stop growling. His feet drag against the cold tile of the small shop he’d found on a street he doesn’t know and won’t remember, he's only been in New York for four months but it feels like an eternity. He misses his brothers, misses his parents and his friends and Tulsa. He misses warm hugs and a belly full of food, misses playing in the lot, misses Sodapops gentle voice calming him down after a nightmare and Darry protecting him from any danger that would dare to come near him, from monster in his closet to soc in the street he had always been safe.
Ponyboy's eyes scan the rows of food, candy and soup, chips and pops. He doesn't have any money. His parents, hell, even his brothers would be disappointed if they knew what he was doing in this shop. But it’s not his fault and he swears he’ll beg god for forgiveness later. He just- he can't take the hunger anymore. He watches the cashier, some old man who looks so upset, Pony wonders if he was born that way, angry, maybe that's just who some people are. Lord knows Pony has seen enough anger these past four months to last a lifetime.
Pony waits until the old man looks away before he grabs one of the chocolate bars from the shelf. He wants real food, something better than candy, but the bags of chips would be too loud to steal, the cans too bulky and everything else is just too high to reach. Ponyboy's only got a thin sweater and jeans on, he can't hide anything bigger than the candy bar in his sleeve and get away with it.
His small fingers grip the candy bar, eyes trained on the shop clerk when suddenly someone runs straight into his back, he falls to the ground losing his grip on the candy bar, he watches disappointed tears gathering in his eyes as the bar lands on the floor, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He looks up to the shop clerk, praying that the man hadn't seen him stealing, when his vision is blocked by a wall of leather.
“Sorry kid, didn't see ya there.” A hand ruffles his hair and Ponyboy is tempted to bite it, but the hand in his hair isn't his problem, it's the guys other hand, picking the candy bar up and shoving it into the pocket of his jacket. Ponyboy can't find it in himself to care about the shop clerk, instead he follows the leather jacket guy as he swiftly makes an exit.
It's only once they're back in the cold and down the street that Ponyboy starts yelling. “That was mine! Ain't there supposed to be some sort of honor among thieves?”
The older kid stops, turns to look at Ponyboy and laughs. “Kid it's a dog eat dog world. If you're gonna survive you gotta be willin’ to do what it takes. You gotta be tuff.”
“I'm not a kid! You're a kid!” Ponyboy huffs, stomping closer. “Ain't tuff stealing from someone hungry! It's just-it's just mean! You're mean! And rude!”
The older kid is laughing, like Ponyboy is being funny, but it's not funny. He's never been so mad in his entire life. He's exhausted, he's hungry- and God help his parents souls he just wanted to steal one candy bar, that's all he was asking. One stupid candy bar.
He doesn't even realize he's kicked the older boy in the shin until the laughter stops and cold blue eyes are staring straight into his soul. He expects to get hit, the second the boys hand leaves the pocket of his leather jacket Pony flinches, but instead of pain there's a candy bar sitting in front of his face, the older kid opens it and Pony is sure he’s about to eat it in front of him, just to watch him suffer. Instead the guy breaks it in half, dropping the other half into Ponyboy’s shaking hands.
“Maybe you are tuff. Come on kid.” The guy says and doesn’t bother with waiting for a response, taking a bite from his half of the bar as he walks away.
Ponyboy has to run to keep up, he eats his entire half before he says. “Who are you?”
The guy rolls his shoulders “Who are you ?”
“Ponyboy” He says and doesn’t even flinch when the other guy laughs. “Ponyboy Curtis”
“That real? Shit kid- that’s a stupid name.” The laughter dies off and he says “I’m Dally, Dallas whatever’ Dallas Winston if your being all formal” Dallas Winston’s piercing blue eyes lock onto Ponyboys, the older boy smirks and then says “And you, Ponyboy Curtis are going to be my sidekick”
Ponyboy wakes up alone, the smell of bacon filling his senses and he wonders not for the first time why he’s home. Sure at first he’d hoped, begged, prayed that the social workers would one day take him back to Tulsa but after a few years it was only natural that he’d give up. So maybe one day when he was 18 he’d come home and see if anyone wanted him around, it’s not like he wanted to spend the rest of his life in New York. But he never thought he’d see Tulsa again before he was a legal adult.
And sure, it’s a good thing. Maybe. If Pony can manage to be good enough to stay. But, and Ponyboy never thought he’d think this, he misses New York. At least in New York Ponyboy knows the rules, knows where he can and can’t go, knows how long he can be gone from his foster family before it becomes a problem, knows where to find Dally and how to distract shop clerks and which bakeries he can go to to get free food. Ponyboy knows the streets there like the back of his hand, where to run, where to hide, which gangs run which parts and how to avoid them if Dally isn’t around. And fuck Dallas would kill him for saying it but he misses Dally, Dallas Winston who became his big brother, who taught him how to survive. If he stays in Tulsa will he ever see Dally again? Sure he can call but it’s not the same and Dallas doesn’t stay at the same place every night…
There’s a knock on the bedroom door and Pony huffs, getting out of bed. His brothers look the same, a little older but still themselves, maybe a bit more tired and yet in a way they are strangers. Pony throws on his same jeans, ruffling through his trash bag of stuff to grab a tshirt and then throws on his leather jacket, Dallas’s old jacket he’d only been given because Dal managed to win a new one in a bet.
There’s another knock at the door, Soda’s voice carries through the wood. “Ponyboy? You awake? Darry made breakfast-” Ponyboy opens the door and doesn’t bother to speak as he slips past Soda into the kitchen, three plates sit out and Pony picks the one with the least amount of food.
Breakfast is awkward to say the least. The entire weekend is awkward. Ponyboy hardly speaks and Darry doesn’t know how to get him talking, Soda rambles and Darry tries to at least indulge him. They decide not to have the gang around this weekend, not wanting to overwhelm Ponyboy anymore than he already is. Soda tells him about the phone call and Darry debates on asking but decides against it. Ponyboy can have his secrets, at least for now, at least until he’s home permanently. They don’t go out the first day, mostly because Soda looks close to tears with every unanswered or shrugged off question and really Darry doesn’t want to deal with the public looking in on their life, lord knows how gossip spreads in this town. So they stay home and Soda brings out old scrapbooks their mother made and Ponyboy listens to his rambling about only three pictures before he gets up without a word and locks himself in his room. Darry makes lunch and tries not to laugh at the very dramatic way Sodapop lays over the table like a child and then tries not to be hurt when Ponyboy doesn’t come out to eat. By dinner Soda is rambling again and really Darry has no clue what he’s been saying all day but now he really has no clue. Pony doesn’t bother with saying goodnight and Soda doesn’t even attempt to sleep in the same room as him, instead he curls up in Darry’s bed and doesn’t bother to hide the tears in his eyes. Darry wants desperately to say that everything will be better tomorrow but he knows better than to lie when they both see the truth so clearly.
Sunday Darry forces them all into the car and takes them out for breakfast, ignoring the way people stare.
“So” Darry says, because he absolutely cannot take another rant from Soda, no matter how much he loves him. “Do you do well in school?” Ponyboy shrugs, not bothering to look up from the menu. Darry sighs “Gonna need more than that kid”
Ponyboy sighs, grip tightening on the menu. Darry doesn’t think he’ll ever get over his brother having a New York accent- “Don’t go often, I get good grades.”
“You don’t go and you get good grades? Those two things don’t really go together kiddo.”
Pony sets the menu down, glaring. “Not a kid”
Darry sighs “Sure”
Soda chimes in, trying to ease the tension. “So tell us something about you, what do you like to do? Do you have hobbies or-”
Ponyboy is saved by their waitress coming over to take their orders and never does answer is brothers question. It’s not long after that that Miss.Cowel shows up to take Ponyboy back to New York. Darry gives him one of his old backpacks to put his stuff in and is surprised when Ponyboy mumbles a soft thank you in return. As Ponyboy walks out on the porch Soda says
“We'll see you next weekend alright?” He’s nervously shifting from foot to foot. “Can I- I know you- can I hug you? Please?”
Ponyboy freezes, backpack half falling off of her shoulder, greased hair covering his eyes and Darry is so sure he’s going to say no or just walk away that he’d probably have bet on it. But Ponyboy surprises him yet again when he shrugs and takes half a step closer to Sodapop. Soda surges forward, pulling the 13-year-old into his arms and for a long moment everything is right in the world, both of his brothers are exactly where they belong and then it’s over and Ponyboy is back in a car pulling him away from Tulsa and the house is silent. But Sodapop is smiling and Darry supposes that for now that has to be enough.
