You're Dead To Me || ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴜᴛꜱɪᴅᴇʀꜱ

Nuh-Uh

Ponyboy Curtis...

I love spring. I love the breeze and the sunsets. But I think the best part about sunsets is that they last year-round, you can see them every day. But I love spring sunsets the most. I feel myself detached from reality, I get lost in the mist.

Soda and Mal come out of the store. Dang, I haven't seen Mal since I was a baby. eir expressions are blank, but I smile. Soda gives a half smile, he tells Malkovich something and then he approaches me.

"Hey, Pony. It's been a while, you've grown so much, heck I probably can't even toss you 'round no more!" He wraps his arms around me and before I know it I'm lied about 3 feet above ground.

Towering over Mal, I grab onto his shoulders, trying not to fall and he recklessly spins me around. I gile, "cut it out!" He tossed me onto the truck and rued my hair. I've seen this coming. Darry came along, he immediately ran up to Malkovich and hued him as soon as he saw him, like a child.
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Sodapop Curtis...

We're at the table, Malkovich stayed over for dinner. It's nice having him around, he does most of the talking. For the rst time (in what seems like forever) Ponyboy is verbal, smiling and laughing.

Malko goes on, "it's like living in a simulation! Everyday I wake up and I have a choice to make. You know those impulsive thoughts you get? Like when you're shaving with your razor, you just stare at it and think: 'what if I drag this along my tongue?' but you never go through with it because of those common sense barriers in your mind! Just imagine if those barriers collapsed. I wouldn't even be here!"

I exhale, still smiling, just not so brightly. More bittersweetly. I glance over to Mal for help. Help, how do I say it? Can I even do it? Now wouldn't be the right time. Help. His eyes soften and he nudges my ankle with his foot under the table as a signal.

I'm on my own.

He simply looks at me, which grabs Darry and Ponyboy's attention. I inhale sharply, steeling myself.

"I have an announcement to make," I start, letting it sink in. I don't wanna make the atmosphere uneasy as I say it, so before it's too long, I speak. "I'm gonna be in the military for some time."

The sound of Darry and Ponyboy's silverware makes a 'clash!' noise as they hit the table.

"Now???? You think now is the time you're gonna--" Darry starts but he isn't able to nish since Pony interrupts him by slamming his st down and tackling me down to the ground like he scored a touchdown.

I tumble down with the wooden chair as I fall onto the floor and Pony falls on me. Darry gets up, I glance over to Malko's direction. I could really use his help right about now. I'm almost surprised at the fact that he looks amused. I don't know, I thought he'd maybe be a bit concerned?

Didn't expect my one and only little brother to be so hostile toward me.

"Nope, you aren't going anywhere." Ponyboy states, I thrash as I try to get his hands o from keeping me down. "You aren't going to leave!" His voice is hoarse as Darry drags him away, carrying him from under his armpits like he's a stray cat.

It hits me that Ponyboy isn't trying to hurt me, or that he just did that as a spontaneous response to overstimulation. Well, part of him did. But mainly because he's trying to put me in place, forcing me to stay where I am so that I can't leave.

"OK, Pones, lay off. Relax." Darry tells him as Pony is still shaking like a leaf. "Soda, let's talk about this. How long do you even plan to serve?" Darry asks. "I'm gonna train for months, then I'm gonna go for the real thing." I vaguely explain. Truth known, I don't really know. A year or so at most . . . maybe. I'll be out before Pony gets to college.