Darry's Seventh Birthday!

Chapter One – The Day Before.

"Sodapop Curtis, put him down!"

"No! We're having fun, Mommy!"

Six-year-old Darrel Curtis rolled his eyes as he watched his three-year-old brother, Sodapop, give their one-year-old brother, Ponyboy, a piggy-back around the room. Normally, he wouldn't be able to wait for his birthday – which was the next day – but Ponyboy had been getting all the attention, and only Sodapop had asked him what he wanted for his birthday. Darry watched Sodapop run around the room, chased by their Mom. For a three-year-old, Sodapop sure was fast, even with a quite heavy one-year-old on his back. Soda was a good kid. Even though he did have a few mad ideas that – more often than not – landed the whole gang in trouble. Darry looked over at his best friends. Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews was playing poker with Dallas Winston – nicknamed "Dally" by Steve, Sodapop and Two-Bit – as Johnny Cade drank chocolate milk on the sofa with Steve Randle, who was pretending to be drunk.

"So, Darry," Two-Bit called over. "Looking forward to tomorrow?"

Darry's POV.

"Yeah," I replied, strolling over to where Dally and Two-Bit were sat. "Who's winnin'?"

Two-Bit shook a finger at me. "Not until you tell us what cake you've got."

Across the room, Sodapop dropped Ponyboy onto the couch with a soft plop. "Oo! Cake! I love cake!"

"Yeah," Steve teased as Soda wandered over to us. "We kinda noticed at Two-Bit's last party… When you dived head first into his cake."

Soda aimed a playful whack at his head before dropping down beside him. "Shut up."

Steve laughed and handed Soda his glass of chocolate milk as Ponyboy crawled over to them. They had a lot in common. They're more like brothers than me and Soda.

"Darry?" Two-Bit's voice interrupted my thoughts. "What cake have you got?"

"Oh," I said, looking back at Two-Bit. "Chocolate cake."

"It's got Smarties on it!" Sodapop added, sounding really… weird. I looked over at him. He had his tongue shoved as far out as it could go, sticking it down Steve's glass, trying to reach the milk as Steve shoved him back, trying to get the glass off him.

"Boys," Mom said in a tired voice. "Be careful. If that milk-"

Too late. Steve yanked the glass out of Soda's hand, but pulled it so the milk shot over his shoulder and splattered all over Ponyboy, who had crawled over to just below Soda's feet.

Steve grinned sheepishly at Mom. "Oops."

After that, I guess you could say that all hell broke loose. Ponyboy started bawling, Two-Bit, Sodapop and Dally burst out laughing, Mom started yelling at Steve and Sodapop and Dad started singing to Ponyboy. Scary.