Hello once again, this is Kylelover101 with another heart-filled one-shot so let's see how this plays out! :)

Title: Ashes And Embers

Summary: "Warning, if you read this then you've just realized by violating my personal business that you have no life and are forever cursed if you read the next page." "Oh, I'm so scared, read on, Soda." Darry and Soda, just innocently checking on Ponyboy wind up ram shacking his old room.

Rating: T

"I don't think we should be doing this, Darry." Soda bit his bottom lip as Darry pushed open Pony's old bedroom door open. "Darry, this is an invasion of Pony's privacy."

"I don't care, I'm just making sure he's not on LSD or other drugs besides cigarettes." Darry wandered through out the room. Pony's bed was still made from when their mother was alive, which just happened to be one of the reasons why Ponyboy didn't want to sleep in his room after their parent's funeral. Soda didn't look comfortable looking threw Pony's old closet which held extra blankets and boxes of other items. Soda wasn't searching long before he smiled, pulling out a stuffed bear.

"Oh, Darry. Look it's Bo-Bo." Soda smiled.

Darry turned to smirk. "Man, the kid slept with this till he was eleven."

Soda smiled softly, Bo-Bo was Pony's first toy, a bear Darry and Soda each bought for Ponyboy on the day of his birth. Darry and Soda never felt so proud than to combine their money together to get something for their new baby brother. Ponyboy treasured that bear all of his life till he turned twelve and stuffed it in his closet, slightly upsetting Darry and Soda (although they did a good job of not showing it)

"Well, I think I'll take this with me when we leave for him, meaning now. We shouldn't be in here." Soda sighed.

"I'm gonna' find out what's eating my kid-brother, Soda. He's been quiet lately, he's not sick, so I'm getting rid of the problem." Darry continued to look through Pony's dusty dresser, only pulling out old, too-small socks and old packs of cigarettes.

"Ah, ha! I think I found our problem." Darry cheered.

"What is it?" Soda asked.

Darry held up a circular blue case, similar to that of birth control. "Pony's got a love life, a girl he snuck past us."

Soda covered his mouth, surprised.

"Imagine that Soda, our baby brother with a-" Darry paused, opening the small kit only to see a sewing spindle. "A sewing. . . kit."

What the brothers thought was a birth control case was actually a case for one of the child-toys for sewing. Soda smiled, remembering Ponyboy having to take home-economics and health class in middle school. One of the requirements was to sew up a patch on a shirt or pair of pants. For a whole week the gang, especially Steve Randle who never let him live it down, gave Ponyboy a lot of comments on him sewing. Pony ignored their remarks but later found it useful and sometimes spent afternoons with his mother making quilts.

"Mom made him stop after he kept poking his fingers." Soda laughed.

Darry kept rummaging. "Look for pill bottles or even smelly bags. That kid is dead if I find anything Illegal."

Soda rolled his eyes. "Darry, if you think Pony's gonna' be doing drugs, you're out of-"

Soda stopped. Darry turned around seeing Soda pull something from behind a pillow on the bed. Soda sat down and began flipping through the pages.

"What is that?"

Soda smiled. "It's Pony's first journal." Darry rushed to the bed.

"Well? What does it say?"

Soda clutched Bo-Bo and the Journal. "I'm not reading this, Darry! It's wrong, we've been in here long enough, it's almost three, he's gonna' be home soon." Darry groaned.

"I don't care, Sodapop. This is for Ponyboy, now read or give it to me."

"no, I'll read." Soda sighed, flipping the cover of the black and white composition notebook. The first date was Pony's birthday on September, 1965. Soda smiled, that was the year Ponyboy turned fourteen. Soda narrowed his eyes as in black, bold marker was a written warning on the first page of the journal.

Warning, if you read this then you've just realized that by violating my personal business

you have no life and are forever cursed if you read the next page

"Oh, I'm so scared. Read on!" Darry rolled his eyes.

Soda sighed, "I-I. . . I don't know, Darry. It's wrong."

Darry yanked the book out of Soda's hands and flipped to the next page.

"Today is my birthday, Mom bought me this journal so I could express my feelings now that I'm a teenager." Darry read. "What I think she meant was: you better write instead of reading those filthy Playboy magazines."

Soda laughed.

Darry glared. "We had cake, Dad took us to play football, Darry was on my team and Steve fell off the porch, face first into Lassie's leavings." Soda laughed even harder remembering that fateful day when Steve was showing off on Pony's birthday as to take away attention from his baby brother. Well, he fell off of the porch and the landing wasn't too pretty.

Soda smiled, remembering Lassie, Pony's Yellow Cur dog. Ponyboy loved that dog ever since he was a puppy. When Mr. Curtis first brought it home, Mrs. Curtis was afraid it would nip at Ponyboy since he was only a puppy. But when Ponyboy first laid his big green eyes on the dog, he fell in love. Soda sadly sighed also remembering the bittersweet goodbye Ponyboy had to say to Lassie.

It wasn't even a goodbye. Mr. Curtis couldn't afford the dog anymore and had to take it back to the pound. Ponyboy had ran away as far as three blocks straight before Darry caught up to him. Poor Ponyboy cried for days.

"It's all about school and how he wants to be a greaser. . . here's where he skipped a grade." Darry muttered.

"Hi again, Journal. You'll never guess what happened. Today in class I was told to go to the principal's. I thought I was in trouble at first, even thought I couldn't think of doing anything wrong. They gave me a test and some books to read. When I was finished a nice lady called my parents. I thought I was in for it then. When Mom and Dad came she just smiled and asked me if I'd like to skip eighth grade and go straight to High School. "

Soda smiled with pride.

"Mom and Dad were so happy, and Soda couldn't believe that while he was in tenth, I would be in ninth grade. He's starting to call himself stupid, but I don't see how. He's Soda. He knows everything."

Soda felt himself swell up with happiness. He couldn't believe how much Ponyboy looked up to him, admired him. Soda snuggled Bo-Bo. Darry read on about how much Pony sort-of liked High school. He hated the Socs he had to put up with. He read how Ponyboy couldn't wait to grow up, how he started to notice girls (which both pleased and frightened Soda) Darry wanted to read on.

"Dear Journal, today isn't a good day." Darry read. "Today, I got caught smoking. Dad sure gave me a hollar"

Soda shook his head, he remembered that night. Ponyboy was having a stressful week in High school and would complain about it a lot. One day he dind't complain, which didn't bother Soda, but apparently went noticed by his parents. Well, when Ponyboy was in his room" studying" he was caught smoking in bed. Soda didn't see the problem, everyone else besides Darry and Soda smoked. Mr. Curtis gave Ponyboy an earful of how disgusting and displeased he was with Ponyboy smoking.

"You can see the finger prints." Soda pointed out. Ponyboy must have finished smoking when he wrote this. The grey and black fingerprints were on the side of the page.

"Well, that's weird. . . "Darry softly spoke.

"What?" Soda asked.

"Look," Darry continued to flip the pages, but they were blank. Soda looked confused until he turned to the last page Ponyboy wrote in the journal.

"Oh, Darry." He softly sighed. The date was May 1st, The Curtis' Anniversary.

"Darry, we should stop-"

"No, Soda. This might have our answers." Darry started to read.

"Hey Journal, guess what? Darry got accepted to Tulsa Community Collage" Darry smirked, rolling his eyes. Soda could see the pain.

"Darry told everyone today and Dad insisted on staying home to celebrate, but Darry said that he and Mom booked the reservations for the country home we used to go to as kids months ago, it would be a waste if they stayed home. Mom got all gushy with us, and she kissed my cheek infront of Steve. Man he's giving me Hell, Two-Bit is too-."

Soda tried to yank the journal away from Darry, but Darry kept it out of reach.

"Mom and Dad said goodbye-"

"I'm warning you, Darry." Soda was mad now.

"And then they drove off. I wish they would stay away longer than a weekend-."

Soda went to grab the book, but it was already yanked from Darry's hands. Darry and Soda looked up to see Ponyboy angrily looked at his older brothers.

"What are you doing?!" He growled. Darry and Soda gave each other a guilty look and Darry patted Pony's bed, motioning to sit between him and Soda. Ponyboy glared at Soda, yanking Bo-Bo from him along with the sewing kit.

"What are you guys doing in my room, touching my stuff, and reading my journal?!" He was so mad, his ears turned red.

"Ponyboy, you have every right to be mad at us. . . .Er, me. Soda didn't want to do it, I made him do this." Darry explained. "Ponyboy, you've been acting so strange around us and you haven't told us what was wrong."

"Pony, we were worried." Soda chimed in.

Ponyboy sighed, feeling a bit guilty. "I'm sorry, guys. There's nothing wrong, I promise. And if there was, I'd tell you guys."

Soda felt Pony's forehead. "You sure, baby?"

"Yeah, I'm promise."

Darry sighed, patting Pony's knee. "Well, best get out of here if we're done-"

"Actually, Darry." Ponyboy asked.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Well, if it's alright with you and Soda, I'd like to move back in here." Ponyboy was really quiet. Darry looked over at Soda who was unsure of Pony's decision. After being reunited with the bear and everything, Soda wasn't sure that he saw Ponyboy as a teenager anymore. Ponyboy actually looked kind of adorable holding his bear.

"Well, I dunno, baby-"

"Soda, I haven't had a nightmare in over a month. I'm sure I deserve, at least, a trial basis." Ponyboy practically begged.

Soda looked around the room. Four tiny walls, one window. A closet. A small twin size bed Ponyboy could probably still fit in. Soda sighed, then smiled.

"Well, we'll have to dust and vacuum in here-"

Ponyboy smiled, hugging Soda. "I'll get my desk and my clothes!"

Darry smiled watching over Ponyboy before he saw Soda sitting sadly, reading the first page of Pony's Journal.

"Cursed, eh? Dar' Bear I think it's starting to work." Soda softly smiled.

"No, Soda, Ponyboy's just growing up." Darry smirked, rolling his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better you have room to throw all of your dirty clothes all over the floor in your own room."

Soda smirked, hitting Darry's arm. "Hey, I'm not that messy."

"When you want to be."

"I guess all of these small reminders help me realize that Ponyboy's still so young, Darry."

"I know what ya' mean."

Soda smirked. "And you're old."

Darry frowned and Ponyboy was startled when Darry chased after a giggling Sodapop with a murderous glare on his face.

"TAKE THAT BACK, SODAPOP!"

He sighed, "It'll be nice and quiet in my room."

There is a guaranteed Pie, cookies and chocolate cake for each Greaser if you review :)

I hoped you like it, Raven.

-Kylelover101