ponyboy turns 14

"Happy Birthday, Pony" Soda had clapped him on the shoulder, shaking him up a bit and ruffling his hair with the bare of his knuckles. 

Ponyboy had sat himself in a chair at the dining table, shoeing his brother away with his hands to get him to leave his hair alone. It was his pride and joy, and he wasn't about to let Sodapop ruin it for him on his big day. "Oh, cut it out. Darry probably doesn't even care that it's my Birthday. Forget it, he treats me like I'm not here at all, to begin with."

Sodapop looked crossed when he said that: His eyebrows drew creases into his forehead and his eyes were full with concern. "What are you on about, Pony? Darry cares about you so much-" Soda had to actually break his speech with laughter, squatting down to be on the level with Pony's face. "-In fact, he cares about you so much, he planned out this huge thing for you."

Ponyboy lifted his head up and squinted his face together. "But, I thought we weren't doing anything big for today. I told you, I just wanted to read and be alone."

His big brother stood up, slapping the back of his hand lightly on Pony's face before he walked to the edge of the room to peak down the hallway. He walked down it for a second, before walking back to Ponyboy looking excited. "Okay, are you ready? Darry's got a big surprise."

Ponyboy didn't get much time to even think before Darry was walking into the kitchen with his hands behind his back. Darry didn't look dressed for work, he hardly looked like he had been working at all before. Had he really just been hiding out at home while Ponyboy went to school, cleaned up, and prepared for this? "Hey, Pony." Darry gave an awkward smile, one that didn't match his hardened face.

"Hi? What do you got there?" Ponyboy used a finger to point at his older brother, wildly confused to what this whole show was for. Sodapop smiled widely and stood back, combing back his hair using his hands.

"Ponyboy, you're fourteen..." Darry started, moving his hands from being behind his back to his front. He was holding a platter, a plate, that had a double chocolate cake on it. Ponyboy laughed out of the stupidity of the moment; they had a cake every morning. "Happy Birthday, bub. Make it a good one."

It was actually sweet. Darry and Sodapop had taken the time to make an as-perfect-as-it-gets cake for him, and now, here was Darry, who never gave the time of day to do anything fun for himself, doing something for his birthday. 

Sodapop stepped in, using a fork to cut into the cake as it was in Darry's hand, revealing the fact that the inside wasn't a dark chocolate, but a green color. Ponyboy barked out a laugh, rocking a little in his seat as he laughed wildly. Of course, having a brother as wild as Sodapop, that was what made this birthday cake different than all the other ones.

"Hey, Darry, while I get the kid his slice, could you let the other guys in?" Sodapop had turned to speak to the older brother of them all, as if Pony wasn't even there. Ponyboy picked up the fork to poke at his cake, grinning so hard his cheeks hurt. Then, his brain caught up to him.

"The guys? The gang's here?" Ponyboy looked up, his eyes wide and darting as he looked from Darry to Sodapop. Darry quickly pulled him into a half-hug, from having seen his face, and then turned away quickly to head for the screen door.

"Here, honey, this is for you. You protect that slice like it's a baby, Steve's going to give you hell for not giving it to him." Soda had cut him off an extraordinarily big slice of cake, cut sloppy since he used a fork, and put his cap onto his head as a replacement of a party hat. When you live in a neighborhood that makes the cuts it does, you make do with what you had. Ponyboy couldn't be happier.

Dally was the first one to walk in, just because Steve was the first one waiting at the door. Then Steve, who was protesting and running into the kitchen to go see Sodapop, and then Two-bit walked in with Johnny, who was holding a wrapped object. It was wrapped in newspaper and twine.

"Hey, kid, share the cake." Dally pulled out a pack of Kools, taking one cigarette before shoving the rest over the table to Ponyboy. That was his present to him, in exchange for cake, that Soda set him up with.

The whole room was full of talk, of friends roughhousing and laughing, Two-Bit was cracking a joke about the cake and what it was made of. Johnny was the one to make the room, at least around Ponyboy, quieter. 

"Ponyboy, I saved up and got you something... I think I remember you saying something about him in a movie, I thought you'd like it." His voice was quiet under the sounds surrounding them, but Ponyboy had talked enough to Johnny to be able to hear him clearly. He had leaned down on his legs with his elbows to get close to Johnny, holding out his hands to take the long object into his hands. The paper made a delicate sound in his palms, and he rolled over the tube. He shook it a little, to which Johnny laughed a little because it was ridiculous to think you could hear what the present was by shaking a paper tube. 

Ponyboy slowly pulled the twine by one end, undoing it and dropping it to the ground. Pulling off the paper and unrolling it; it was a poster of Paul Newman. Ponyboy stared for a second, thinking that it was funny that Johnny would get him anything like this, especially considering how long it would take for him to save up for any kind of thoughtful gift. It made him appreciate it more, the fact that so much thought and diligence went into getting this into his hands at this very moment.

"Johnny..."

"Happy Birthday, Ponyboy. Thanks for being born today."