Mean Socs ||Darry Curtis||

Chapter 19

Darry's POV:

Days have been passing slower than ever since Elizabeth and I got married.

There's just been so much extra stress lately between money and working and parenting all at once. But somehow between all of that I'd managed to get Pony and Soda's adoption papers signed. They're now officially, by law, in my custody. I thought that today, Sodapop's 16th birthday would be the perfect time to tell them.

"Come on out, guys! I want both of you to see Soda's birthday present," I call to them. Elizabeth, who's become kind of a mother to them lately, sits next to me on the couch, squeezing my hand.

"So how do you think they're going to react?" She whispers to me.

"Gosh, I don't know. Good, I hope... At least now we know for sure they can't be sent to a boys home," I tell her. I want them to react well, more than anything, so that they can finally take it easy. Like I said, there's been a lot of stress lately, even on the boys. They know how bad it would be if they got in trouble, so they haven't been acting out at all and it's hard for them. Suddenly, I look up to see Soda walk in.

"So what is it, Dar? What's my present going to be?" He asks excitedly. I hand him a little wrapped gift bag, which he excitedly opens.

"Papers? What are these?" He asks.

"Read them," Is my response. He scans through them quickly before saying, "I don't get it." I chuckle.

"I didn't either, but they really just mean that I've legally adopted you and Pony. Isn't that great?" I ask. Soda smiles, but Ponyboy looks at me tearfully, like I've done something horribly wrong.

"Dar, that's awesome! So like, no more of that perfect behavior crap now? Does this mean I can go to a party tonight at 8?" He asks. I run my hands through my hair, thinking. They've been perfect up until right now, can I really risk telling them they don't have to be all the time?

I sigh before saying, "Yeah, I guess so, little buddy." He smiles at me.

"Thanks, Dar! I'm goin' to go get dressed for school! And remember, I'm at the DX this afternoon!" He calls to me. I nod and he walks away. A few weeks ago, Soda started working at the DX after school. I'm not sure how ok I am with it, but it helps pay the bills, and he seems to like it fine. After Soda leaves, I notice Ponyboy standing there, staring at us, looking the most upset I've ever seen him. Elizabeth gives him a warm smile and scoots over so he can sit in between us.

"What's the matter, little guy?" She asks, patting the seat so he'll come. He wipes his tears and starts walking into his room.

"Nothing," He whispers.

"Ponyboy!" I exclaim. He turns back to me.

"You're not dad! You're never gonna be dad, anyways so maybe you should just stop trying now!" He yells at me before walking away. And all I can do is sit there helplessly. I give Elizabeth a look, and she hugs me.

"Just give him some time, sweetie. He'll get used to it," She whispers in my ear. I nod.

"Hey, since Soda's gonna be out all night do you wanna go out to dinner? Two-Bit'll stay with Pony no problem and I think we need a date night, honey," Elizabeth says. Then she kisses my neck. I put my arms around her, but suddenly, Soda's back in the living room. My wife pulls away, blushing.

"I-I was just leaving," Soda stutters. Elizabeth gives him a warm smile.

"It's ok sweetie. Have a good day, and happy birthday!" He smiles at her and waves before walking out.

"Wait, Soda!" I call. He turns around. "Be home by midnight," I tell him. It may be his birthday, but midnight is late enough. If I don't give that kid a curfew he'll never come home. As soon as he walks out again, Elizabeth gives me that beautiful smile again.

"So back to us?" She asks, laying her head on my shoulder.

"Back to us," I say, playing with her hair. But that's when Ponyboy comes out.

"I'm going to school. Bye!" He says, running out. I wave to him, and take a glance at the clock. 7:15. I should be heading to work soon. I stand up.

"Well, I gotta get going, too." Elizabeth gives me a pouty face, and I go to get ready for work.

•••

"We're here," I say, helping Elizabeth out of the car. She smiles at me as I lead her into the restaurant.

"Hi. I made reservations for two under Curtis." I tell the maitre'd. He nods and leads us to a small table by the window.

"Will you be ordering champagne?" A waiter asks, coming over to take our order.

"Oh, none for me, please," Elizabeth says, although I disregard that and order their finest bottle for my Mrs. Curtis and I to share. The waiter walks away and Elizabeth smiles at me.

"Are you sure it's not too expensive?" She asks. Of course it is.

I know that, but for some reason I hear myself saying, "Nothing's too much for you, beautiful." She blushes. That's when someone runs up to us.

"Are you Mr. Darrel Curtis?" The man asks. I nod.

"Yes... Why?"

"Follow me," the man says. Elizabeth and I immediately get up.

"Is something wrong?" She asks, grabbing my hand.

"Well, there's someone on the phone for you. A horse rider guy maybe? He says it's an emergency." I laugh, but then realize that this could be a serious situation.

"Ponyboy?" I ask. The man nods, and finally we get to the phone, which he hands to me.

"Hello?" I say into the phone. Elizabeth stands next to me and I put the phone in between us so she can hear.

"Darry!" The voice yells, sounding terrified.

"Pony? Is everything alright?" I ask him, ready to leave at a moments notice if something is.

"Well, ya know how after work, Soda always comes home to change and take a shower? Well he didn't. And I called Steve to see if he knew where Soda is, but he doesn't, so I called Two-Bit and he said that he wasn't even in school today!" Pony panics to me. I don't even know how to respond. I stand there quietly, trying to process what my little brother just said to us.

Elizabeth gasps in shock before saying, "Stay put, Ponyboy. We'll be right home." Then, we run out of the restaurant. We get home quickly to find Ponyboy on the couch, crying.

"Pony, what's wrong?" Elizabeth asks, giving him a hug. He sniffles and wipes his tears before answering.

"I'm just worried I guess. I've already lost my parents. I can't lose a brother too! And I already called everyone we know. Nobody's seen him. What if he's gone for good?" He sobs. Again, I'm completely speechless. I don't have a clue what to say. But again, my wife does.

"I think we should file a police report," She says. I agree, and just as I'm reaching for the phone, it rings.

•••Cutting off there I'm sorry••••

A/N: I was rushing towards the end, I know. And I'm sorry. But at least it's an update! So, since I left you on a cliffhanger, it won't be another month until I update again! So what do you think is going to happen next? Let me know in the comments!