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Darry and Paul stood side by side in their teams photo, Paul had his arm draped around Darry's shoulders and they both had the same grin spread across their faces. All thirty of the players, two coaches, and one team manager were standing on bleachers and facing the cameraman.
Little did they know, this photo would hang on the school walls forever, the only photo with the full team in it to ever exist. The last photo Paul and Darry would be seen side by side.
A time just before everything in the world seemed to crumble to the ground.
Sodapop stood in the long hallway just outside the gym, eyes scanning the framed photos on the wall—a different section for each sport. His eyes briefly scanned the titles. 'Soccer', 'basketball', 'volleyball', 'cheerleading'. His eyes stopped on one section. The big bold letters hung on a gold sign above the photos, trophies, and metals. 'Football'.
He took a step forward and examined the framed photo, the newest one that hung on the wall. All the team members stood shoulder to shoulder, tuff looks on their faces. It was clear thar every single one of them were socs. Every single kid but one. Darrel Curtis, Soda's older brother.
Soda knew that at this point his older brother could technically be classified as a soc.
He acted like them, hung around them, and sometimes he even dressed like them.
Soda and the gang never hung around Darry at school and he didn't hang around them. Soda knew it was neutral rule they made without discussing, to not interfere with his brothers life no matter how much he wanted to see him. Soda let out a sigh and turned away from the photo, shoving his hands into his pockets and continuing to wander through the cold hallway.
The windows on his right were completely fogged up from the chilly morning breeze that he had felt on his walk to school. It was especially cold this morning. He usually woke up a bit earlier to walk with his younger brother to school, he didn't want him to get hurt by any soc and he knew his parents were both way to busy with work to ever have time to drive him. He took a right turn and walked up the staircase, a couple of soc kids rushed past him, skipping steps as the walked down them.
He went down the hallway that held the science classrooms, listening to the loud conversations kids had inside as they did their work, the sound of teachers getting frustrated in the background. The yellow lights above him flickered every couple seconds, the lockers casting shadows upon the gray and beige flooring. He looked down at his feet as he walked, kicking a piece of balled up paper that sat a few feet away from the recycling bin.
He only glanced up when he heard a familiar voice. His eyes slightly widened and he ducked back around the corner, not wanting to be seen. He poked his head around the wall, trying his best to be hidden by the lockers as he watched three boys come in his direction. All three were dressed in a madras shirt and football jackets, two boys wore khaki pants and one wore jeans that were slightly worn out in the knees.
Soda immediately recognized his older brother who walked in between the two boys, laughing with his hands shoved into his pockets. Soda knew they were skipping class, he just couldn't put his finger on why they were making it so obvious. Suddenly a teacher stepped out from a nearby classroom and faced the three boys.
"You boys shouldn't be walking around here right now. Get back to class, okay?" The teacher asked in a calm voice. Soda looked at him in shock when he didn't even scold the boys about skipping class. If a greaser was caught skipping class they'd get an earful from half the teachers in the school. Soda felt his body tense as the teacher quickly turned around and faced him.
"Hey! You! Young man get back to class!" He yelled at Soda who clutched the side of the locker like a lifeline. He glanced at the teacher before shifting his gaze to Darry, who now had an irritated expression on his face as he watched Soda get yelled at. "Whatever." Soda muttered as he walked past the three boys and teacher, leaving them standing there in the hallways.
He knew he wasn't going to go back to class. Hell, he didn't even know what class he was supposed to be in right now.
Soda turned the corner and entered the small hallway that led to the theater and starewell at the back of the school, he thought that maybe he could sneak out through the back parking lot and hang out at home for the rest of the day. He stopped at the top of the staircase when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned his head back slightly to see who was behind him. He tightened the fists he made with his hands in his pockets when he saw who was behind him, Darrel Curtis, his older brother. "What." Soda said in a small voice as he avoided meeting his brothers eyes.
"Don't skip class m'kay? Mom and Dad won't be too happy when they find out." Darry said with a blank expression plastered across his face, no emotion shown in his tone of voice. "Sure." Soda nodded before turning back around and walking down the stairs, leaning his side against the railing for support.
He let out a sigh as he watched his older brother walk away to get back to his friends. 'Why should he care anyway,' Soda thought to himself as he furrowed his eyebrows. 'He skips way more than me and the teachers never bat an eye.' Soda bit his cheek and the faint taste of blood entered his mouth.
'At this point Darrel should just become a soc.'
Darry shoved his hands into the pockets of his varsity jacket as he walked back to Paul and Matt, something about how closed off his younger was to him at school made his heart pang. He still knew there was nothing he could do about it. After all, he sort of drove them away. He knew that he acted more like a soc than a greaser, that's what would get him out of Tulsa.
"Hey Darry! Don't walk so slow I want to head to the cafeteria soon, I hate the lines!" Paul shouted as he waved his hand at Darry, motioning for him to catch up. Darry sped up his walking pace as he made his way over to the boys. "Sorry, sorry. Just thought I dropped something." Darry flashed Paul a grin as he walked up beside him. "You need to keep an eye on your stuff then." Paul laughed as he threw an arm around Darry's shoulder, patting him on the arm.
"Yeah, yeah. Says the guy who lost the shoes he was wearing." Darry playfully rolled his eyes and Paul and stuck out his tounge to mock the boy. "Your never going to let that go? Oh my god, your terrible." Paul gasped and jokingly put a hand on his heart when Matt snickered at Darry's statement.
"I'm not terrible, I've just never seen someone do that before. I remember how pissed coach was at you, it was an amazing sight." Darry lifted his arm up and smacked Paul on his right shoulder, Paul trying to duck out of the way but not being fast enough. Paul swatted Darry's hand as they continued down the hallway, heading towards the cafeteria.
The three boys walked down the staircase and wandered through the empty hallways, the faint sound of lectures from the classrooms filled in the silence along with the faint buzz of the air conditioners that were placed on the ceiling above them. The boys walked in silence as they turned the corner to enter the hallway that had an entrance to the cafeteria.
Paul still had an arm thrown across Darry's shoulders as they walked to the double glass doors. Darry felt Paul slightly jump when the loud bell rung loudly, echoing throughout the hallways and signaling the start of the lunch period. "Quick, let's get in line!" Matt pointed his finger at the door towards the line that had already started forming infront of the kitchen. Paul quickly pulled the door—dropping his arm from Darry's shoulders—and the three boys rushed inside, hurrying to get spots in the line.
As the boys stood in line, Matt shifted his hands around in his pockets trying to find his wallet. "What are you guys going to get?" Matt asked as he pulled the small, black leather wallet from his left pocket, a gum wrapper falling to the floor. "I'll probably get my usual, can't go wrong with that!" Paul exclaimed with a grin and a chuckle. "Of course, why'd I even ask you?" Mark jokingly rolled his eyes, taking a step to the left as Paul tried to smack him.
"Are you getting anything?" Matt raised an eyebrow at Darry who was rocking back and fourth on his heels. "Hm? Oh, probably not." Darry said with a smile as he nodded his head slowly. "No, you have to eat something!" Paul placed a hand on Darry's shoulder. Matt turned around when he felt a shorter girl tap his shoulder—a cheerleader he was talking to.
Paul looked back at Darry when he saw Matt turn around, slipping him a five dollar bill. "Just get something." Paul whispered under his breath as he shot Darry a grin. Darry mirrored the grin he saw on Paul's face. "Thanks." He took the bill from Paul and shoved it into his pocket, taking a step forward to move up in the line alongside his friends.
Darry had told Paul about how he really lived. Well, Paul had found out on his own when Paul had mindlessly walked with Darry back to his house after a later football practice. Darry made Paul swear that he wouldn't tell anyone, even if sometimes it was sort of clear that he was a greaser. If anyone found out just how poorly he lived he was sure that would be the death of him.
It was already bad enough that he acted like a soc, played sports like the socs, and sometimes dressed like a soc. He couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if they found out how poor of a greaser he was. Darry was pretty sure they already knew he was a greaser of some sort, just not sure of how he lived. Darry did have nicer clothes—mostly given to him from Paul—and was on the football team. Greasers didn't wear nice clothes and play sports.
Darry didn't want to be seen as a greaser whom people thought would drop out of school and go nowhere, he needed to have a big career and actually get somewhere in life, somewhere outside of Tulsa.
He blinked when he saw Paul wave a hand infront of his face. "Man, you sure do zone out sometimes." Paul gave a chuckle as he shifted his weight to one side, making him and Darry's height difference even more noticeable than before. The three boys continued to move up in the line until they were finally at the front, they all ordered and shifted to the left where the food trays were set down.
"Hey, how about we eat outside! It's quite loud in here!" Paul softly yelled at his friends as he bent down and picked up the red plastic tray from the metal rack it sat on. "Sure, that sounds good!" Darry said back as him and Matt picked up their trays aswell. "I'm fine with anything." Matt nodded along. The three boys walked out of the cafeteria, Darry and Paul's shoulders brushed up against eachother as they walked through the crowds of people.
They pushed open the glass doors and exited the lius cafeteria, Darry's eyes fell on two people who were sitting beside some rusted old lockers, sharing a small bag of chips, one boy had his knees tucked under his chin and his arms wrapped around his legs. He quickly turned his gaze away when one of the boys looked up—it was Steve, Soda's closest friend. Darry knew that Soda was obviously sitting next to him, he just couldn't see his younger brothers face as it was hung low in between his knees.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Steve look at him and do a double take, almost like he was judging him. "Hey Darry." Steve called to him with a small nod. Both Paul and Matt turned around at the sound of a greaser calling their friend's nickname. Darry turned his head around and looked at Steve, narrowed his gaze and gave him a small nod before heading down the hallway with his friends.
Steve rolled his eyes at Soda's older brother and layed his head against the brick wall behind him. "Your brother is a real asshole sometimes, ya know that?" Steve said as he reached back into the bag of chips. "Yeah, he doesn't want anything to do with us at school. He's like a different person." Soda mumbled softly and slowly brought his head up from in-between his knees to look at Steve.
"Don't worry 'bout that. You have the gang, and you have me." Steve flashed Soda a toothy grin. "I know, thanks Stevie." Soda said with a smile as he looked at Steve who made a disgusted face at him. "Hey, don't call me that!" Steve said in a jokingly irritated tone.
"Alright Stevie." Soda said with a laugh, his smile disappearing as he turned his head to watch his older brother move further away from them and down the hall, living the life that Soda and Ponyboy wished they could have.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The wind whipped past the car as Matt sped down the road, Darry and Paul sitting in the backseat and laughing as the wind blew through their hair. Matt had a cigarette presed in-between his lips, the smoke trailing behind them as they drove, the faint rumble of the engine creating a faint background noise to the Beatles blaring on the radio.
The car was a mustang, a light red and orange one, it was way nicer than most cars Darry had seen. He chose not to comment on it though, no need to start a scene. The gray buildings blurred past them as they cruised through the city, the road free of cars as it was getting late. Darry's eyes shifted to the nice watch that Paul had on his left arm–the arm that was wrapped tightly around Darry's waist.
The time read '11:23'. Darry knew he would get an earful when he got home, his parents telling him not to be out so late, that he should spend time with his brothers and neighbors. His parents thought they were friends–Soda and Ponyboy were friends with all of them–but Darry thought of them like acquaintances, people he could go to when he needed something he couldn't ask of his friends.
Darry felt Paul scoot closer to him and tighten his arm around his waist, the smell of smoke lingered the air despite the car not having a roof. Paul had a cigarette sitting on the end of his lips, Darry thought for sure it would fall off and burn a hole in the ground. Paul brought his right hand to the cig and took a long drag before flicking it onto the street. "How about we go to my place, I've got some beers around there I think."
He let go of Darry's waist and spread his arms out on the back of the car, leaning his back against the beige leather and tilting his head up to look at the sky. "Paul, you know the coach will kill us if we're hungover for practice. How about we drink tomorrow, that way it's a weekend and we won't get yelled at." Matt laughed and turned his head around to look at Paul and Darry, one hand still on the wheel and driving the car with slight ease.
"Or how about we make Paul do all the drinking? I think it would be entertaining to see him get yelled at by the coach!" Darry loudly said as he laughed, earning a genuine chuckle from Matt and a playful jab in the side of his ribs from Paul. "You guys are so boring, you need to learn to live a little!" Paul dramatically rolled his eyes and sat up straight, shuffling to ever so slightly lean on Darry's right shoulder.
"We can live a little tomorrow, alright?" Darry said as he flashed Paul a toothy grin. "Fine, fine!" Paul said as he leaned the other way and slightly placed his head outside of the car. "We should get going, don't wanna be sleep deprived!" Matt laughed from the front seat of the car, the wind slightly silencing his voice. "Where do you guys want to be dropped off?" Matt turned back and raised an eyebrow when they stopped at a red light, heading into the neighborhoods on the west side of town.
"I'll get dropped off at my place, Darry you can be dropped off there too if you want." Paul placed his arm on the side of the car and leaned his chin on the palm of his hand. "Yeah, sounds good to me. Thanks Paul." Darry gave him a smile when Paul nodded, knowing the real reason why Darry would be dropped off there. "Alright, where do you live again?" Matt asked as he pulled through the green light, entering a richer neighborhood. Paul gave Matt his address, Matt giving him a nod in return to show that he was indeed listening.
Darry stared out the side of the car, watching the nice houses and trees blur by in a big blob, blinking to refocus his vision when Matt pulled into Paul's driveway. "Here we are!" Matt whisper yelled, knowing Paul's parents were most likely asleep right now. "Thanks Matt, let's go Darry." Paul opened the door and motioned for Darry to follow him, which he did. The two boys walked up the wooden steps to the front door, waving at Matt when he pulled out of the driveway and sped off through the neighborhood.
Paul stopped at the door, not opening it. "Now that Matt is gone, want me to drive you to your place?" Paul asked with a slight smile as he turned back to face Darry. "Yeah, thanks Paul, Really." Darry gave a smile and shoved his hands into his pockets. Paul walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, quickly removing it and hurrying down the steps. Darry followed and Paul led him to the light blue mustang that was parked to the left of the neatly paved driveway that lead to an even nicer garage.
Paul hurried to the passengers side of the front seat, quickly opening the door. "After you!" Paul gave a cheeky grin as he bowed his head to Darry. "Wow, your such a romantic. Im flattered!" Darry responded in a sarcastic tone as he smacked Paul on the shoulder, hopping into the car. Paul closed the door behind Darry and quickly headed to the drivers side, hopping in and starting up the car. Paul turned the radio all the way off as he pulled out of the driveway, silence hung in the air above the two boys.
They drove out of the neighborhood and down the dimly lit streets of the west side, the town almost looked deserted due to the lack of people on the streets. There was the occasional car every now and then, coming home from work or a party. The headlights of the mustang were the only lights on the road at some point.
"Do you like football Darry?" Paul asked in a blank tone, breaking the silence with his odd question. "Sure I do. Why do you ask?" Darry looked at Paul confused and slightly raised up his left eyebrow. "Hm." Paul nodded, his eyes only focused on the road ahead. "Don't you wish football wasn't the only thing?" Paul's eyes narrowed, still focused on the road. "I don't really know what you mean by that. You sure you aren't drunk already?" Darry let out a slight laugh, cutting off when Paul didn't join in.
Darry gave him a worried expression when Paul stared blankly at the road. "One day, I'm going to work in the movies." Paul said as he looked over at Darry, giving him a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Oh really? I didn't know you liked that stuff." Darry still gave him a worried expression, his friend was acting out of character. "Yeah, no one cares about who you really want to be." Paul nodded and turned his head away from Darry.
It was Darry's turn to not respond this time, he wasn't even sure what to respond. Paul was one of the best football players Darry had ever seen, his grades were amazing–if not perfect. Darry had known Paul for so long, yet now only Paul told him what he really wanted to do with life. "I want to act, wouldn't that be fun Darrel?" Darry mentally cringed at Paul using his full name–only teachers called him that, and the exception of his parents when they were mad.
He had always classified that name as his dad's, not his. "Sure, I guess?" Darry asked, his tone answering like it was a question. "Being someone else would be so cool, even for a short amount of time." Paul smiled, this time it reached his eyes, even though they had a sort of sad look to them. Darry looked away and leaned his head against the headrest, looking up at the clouds that covered any moonlight that tried to shine over the skies of Tulsa.
He immediately noticed when Paul had pulled into the east side of town, the houses and buildings started to show the decrease in class. Paul payed no mind to any of it though, focused on his steady driving. He turned down Darry's street, stopping infront of the house and not pulling into the driveway. Darry shot his head up and hurried out of the car, not wanting Paul to start another odd conversation.
"Thanks for driving me." Darry said with a nod. Paul's eyes suddenly lit up to how they always were, how they shined when he scored a touchdown or got a perfect mark on a test. "Yeah, anytime Darry! See you at practice and school tomorrow!" Paul gave him a grin and a small wave. Darry gave a small smile back, confused at the switch in Paul's mood.
Darry walked up to the old rusted gate that lined his house and opened it, the screeching of Paul's tires echoing through the neighborhood as he pressed on the gas a sped off. Darry walked through his yard, heading towards the dark house with no lights on. He stepped up onto the porch and slowly turned open the doorknob, faltering when he heard a voice and a light switch quickly flick on, lighting up the whole house.
He sighed and brought his hand down from the doorknob, dropping his arm to his side. Maybe Paul was right, maybe it would be nice to be a different person, even if it was for a short time like a play.
It would still be a good break from how life really was.