All rights and credit go to the lovely S.E Hinton. I own nothing.

TAKE CARE OF HIM JOHNNY CAKE

PONYBOY'S POV:

Things have been rough going since Johnny died. None of us are the same, not really. Sure, it's been about a month since our loved Johnny Cade died in the hospital, but the whole gang just isn't...whole anymore.

Dally doesn't hang around as much anymore; you'd mostly always see him hanging out at Buck's or with Tim Shephard. Dal took poor Johnny's death pretty hard. If I hadn't found him in that grocery store, banging up everything, who knows what he would have done. Johnny and Dallas were real close, in their own little way. Dally looked out for Johnny, and Johnny practically saw Dally as a hero. After Johnnycake died, right there in front of me and Dal, you could practically hear the life draining from Dally; you would've thought he was the one dying. Dallas Winston isn't the same, and I doubt he ever will be.

Two-bit drinks more too. He doesn't sleeps over and hang out with the rest of us as often as he used to, it's just...he's not Two-bit, you dig? He doesn't crack those sarcastic jokes as much anymore, doesn't give any of his "two-bits" like he would have before a month ago. He'll attempt at one every now and again, once a jokester always a jokester I guess, but it's not the same. None of us joke around as much as we used to, not just Two-bit. Shoot, I'm surprised we haven't gone back to calling him Keith. He probably wouldn't be too fond of that though, sad or not.

Steve is...strange. He's quiet. Always quiet. Maybe it's just when I'm around, but what do I know, Steve was never quiet, especially around me, he couldn't go five minutes without teasing me or calling me a tag-along. He'll throw strange glares or glances my way sometimes, and he'll huff at me too, but he doesn't tease or be mean to me anymore, he's just quiet. A quiet Steve...never thought I'd see that one before.

Darry is still Darry, hounding on me every time I bring home a bad grade, or stay out too long and forget to call, same as before. Too bad our promise to Soda didn't last long. I tried, I tried real hard not to argue with Dar, but it's mighty hard not to when you come home after a long day and you're greeted by an angry, yelling big brother wondering about the C I got in math and the D in history. I know, I've done way better, and i'm not exactly happy with my grades lately either, but shoot, can you blame me? I lost my best buddy a month ago; I can't exactly focus much anymore. Darry just doesn't understand. Even less than he used to. I guess he's just shook up over what happened in Windrixville and Johnny and all that, and maybe he's just mighty worried, but gosh, it's hard to handle. I thought we were past all this fighting.

Soda, I think, has changed the most. It breaks my heart, real bad too. Soda rarely ever jokes anymore, ever. He doesn't dance around in his towel anymore, doesn't randomly start singing songs around the house, doesn't tickle me awake anymore, doesn't tease Darry, he doesn't even colour his food those whacky colours anymore when he made it. And just a few days ago, he told me to move back into my old room. I did as he asked but it really took a lot for me not to start bawling right there. I held it in until I crawled into the cold, unslept in bed I used to call mine that night, and wept silently in my pillow. Soda drinks more, and he smokes more. It bugs me. Sodapop hardly ever smokes, only when somethings really bugging him. And he only drinks on those special occasions, and he never gets drunk when that happens either, he knows Darry doesn't like him at it. But now he smokes almost a pack a day, and drinks until he passes out at least once every 3 days. Darry's tried talking to him, and there were arguments about his behaviour, but Soda didn't listen, I know he didn't. He just threw back "What Darry? You want to start yellin' at me like you and Pony do to each other now? No thanks, there's enough of that in this house," and he would stomp into his room, or out the front door. It's real hard to watch. Soda's had to deal with a lot, I know that. Johnny died, Sandy, the girl he planned to marry, cheated on him and left for Florida, and me and Darry broke an important promise to him. He's dealing with it all, I know, but I wish there was something I could do to help. I've tried to talk to him, to apologize, but he never listens. I miss the old Sodapop. I miss my brother.

Lately I feel like there's nobody to talk to. Johnny's gone, Sodapop probably hates me, Darry is always angry with me, and the rest of the gang got their own problems. They shouldn't deal with mine on top of that. So I started writing in a journal. Found an empty, tattered one in the lot just waiting to be filled, so I took it home. Since I don't sleep with Sodapop anymore, I don't have to worry about him finding it, so I just keep it under my bed, and write an entry in it daily. At least there's something that will listen to my problems, even if it can't speak back or it can't exactly listen.

I'm not doing too well at is it. I'm pretty sure both my brothers hate me, and the gang isn't even a gang anymore. My best buddy Johnny is dead, and I miss him like crazy. My grades are so bad I'm not even sure I'm fit to be in the grade I skipped to get to anymore. I'm not holding things together as well as I had hoped.

XXXX

I was walking home from school since Two-bit and Steve skipped for the day, so I didn't have a ride home. The chilly October air made me shiver, despite my sweater I had remembered to wear this morning. I wrapped my arms around myself tighter, and continued to walk down my street, dreading what was waiting for me at home. I got another F today, this ones from English. We had to write this stupid essay about something fun you've done in your life, and how it compares to others. I kept putting it off all the time, I wasn't in the mood to write anything in my journal, let alone an essay. So, I just scribbled some stuff down about my birthday in last July, most of it not even true, right before class started. I wasn't surprised about my mark, but that doesn't mean I wasn't scared to tell Darry. Shoot, the principle probably already called him before I left. He called a mighty lot since I started failing everything, wondering if Darry knew what was wrong with me. I wonder. I thought sarcastically. My best friend and pretty much the only guy I could talk to right now is dead, and my friends and brothers are gone too.

I sighed, and a wave of grief and sadness swept over me, making my knees buckle. I walked off to the side of the rode where the lot was, and sat down, knowing if I didn't I would probably fall over.

Golly, do I miss you Johnny. I miss you real lot. I spoke in my head, but found myself saying it out loud as a tear found it's way down my face.

I didn't stay there for long, Darry had enough to be angry about, I didn't want to add being late to the list either.

I wiped my eyes, took a deep breath, and started on my way back home.

XXXX

TWO-BIT'S POV:

I skipped school to get my mind off things. School was at the bottom of my list of interests at the moment, unlike it used to be. I used to go for kicks, prank the teachers, hang out with Steve, Ponyboy, and ...Johnny. But now, even that don't make me happy. Steve goes so little he practically dropped out, Ponyboy is all mopey and don't talk to anyone no more, and Johnny, well, he won't be going back to school anytime soon.

For the day I basically drove around town, stopped to have a few beers, a few cancer sticks, and then went off again. Went to Buck's to see Dal earlier too, but he sighed and told me to hang out at the Curtis's instead. Like hell. I probably wouldn't be going over there anytime soon to hang out. Sure, I talked to the brothers every now and again when I spotted them, but after the incident with Darry, I doubt he wants me back anytime soon either.

I had caught Ponyboy crying and sobbing in the bathroom in school, and like a buddy would do, I went over to see what was bothering him. He wouldn't speak much, but I had a feeling it didn't just have to do with Johnny's death. I knew that hit him as hard as it hit poor old Dallas.

I had finally got it out of him that he thought Darry and Sodapop hated him. It was kind of a shocker. I mean, I've heard him say things about Darry, but never Sodapop. No, Soda loved the guy more than he loved anyone; he would do anything for his kid brother. Anything.

But then he told me what was going on between the three. Soda's recent liking of Kools and Beer, Darry's screams and fist-slamming on the table, him not being able to talk to them, and Soda kicking him out to his old room.

That was an even bigger shocker. I knew Soda and Pone had slept in the same room, because of Ponyboy's nightmares or something, but then I figured out they just kept it up because of how close they were. Both of them probably couldn't sleep without the other one there with them, so Pone stayed in Soda's room, with probably no intention of returning to his own. But Soda kicked him out? No way. And the drinking and smoking? And Darry? What was happening to the gang?

I had helped Pony up and brought him home, knowing he probably didn't want to stay in school any longer. Besides, I needed to have a chat with the two oldest Curtis brothers.

I brought Pone home and he immediately made a bee line for his room, not the one he used to share with Sodapop. He ignored all the angry yells from Darry who was surprised to see his brother home from school so early. Sodapop was working, but I was fine with just talking with Darry. I'd talk to Soda later.

Let's just say the whole conversation got out of hand. Real out of hand. I said somethings about Windrixville happening all over again, and how he's being a bad brother, and he's failing his brothers. Yeah I know, bad call, but I wasn't exactly in a good mood, so I said some things I didn't mean. Oh yeah, and I might of told him his parents wouldn't approve of the way Sodapop and him was treating Pony. Such a horrible thing to say, trust me, if I hadn't been so angry and upset, I would never have said such a thing. But I did, and the next thing I know Darry's fist is meeting my face in a hard blow, hard enough to make me fall. I was pretty scared then, I could already feel my eye swelling from Darry's swing, and I wasn't hoping for round two. I got up, and looked him in the eye, about to apologize in a way that he would still understand what he was doing to Pony wasn't good, but before I could open my mouth, he opened his, and told me to get out.

So I did, and I haven't been back there since.

So, point stated, the Curtis's house wasn't an option. Even if I still felt bad for Ponyboy, and was worried about Sodapop, I wasn't looking forward to another black eye, and some not-so-kind words from Darrel.

I headed out of Bucks, kind of disappointed that old Dally didn't want me around, and decided to head home, check up on mom and little sis.

I was on my way back to my place when I seen a shaking figure sitting in the lot. I didn't have my radio on, so the quiet sobs coming from the figure was easily heard. I stopped, and jumped out of my old car, and began to walk up behind the figure, which I now realized was a boy. What's wrong with this kid?

I was almost ready to touch the kid and see what was making him so upset, when I noticed the reddish-brown hair and the familiar ragged, navy backpack.

Ponyboy.

I sighed, remembering the last time I seen him cry like this in the guys bathroom in school. I figured it was something about Darry and Sodapop again, knowing how much they effected him. I felt real bad for him.

He was saying something, and I was almost sure he was talking to me, but I heard Johnny's name. "Golly do I miss you Johnny. I miss you a real lot."

My heart shattered. I wanted to go and hug him so badly, let him know it's okay. But I knew it wasn't. I missed Johnny so much it hurt, it was taking all of me not to just sit down and start bawling too. But as much as I wanted to help the kid, Darry's stern face and his hard face kept coming through my head.

So as much as it killed me to, I walked back to my car, and headed home.

"Take care of him Johnnycake. Take good care of him, he needs it. Real bad."

XXXX

First Chapter, huh? Thanks so much for reading, review if you can, it means more than you think.

-Caitlyn :)