Okay, so just in case some of you are slow and don't get why I named it "Kryptonite", they called Darry Superman in the book, maybe on;y once, but whatever, and I figured, it's a good name...hope nobody used it before, besides in the actual Superman fanfics.. and sorry if the characters seem OOC, I really tried, and I made up their mom's name...she never had one in the book.

Disclaimer: I would love to own Sodapop, Ponyboy, Darry, Two-Bit, etc, but they belong tp S. E. Hinton...to whom I am very jealous of...

Dedication: This story is to my Mom, Dad, and two brothers.

After so maany years, the house was actually quiet. There was no running around, nothing was being broken, no TV on, no petty fights. No Soda or Pony.

Thinking this made Darrel Curtis' legs weak. He had failed. He promised he would always look out for them, his brothers, his family, and he failed. In a blink of an eye he had lost everything he had ever lived for.

Millions of memories flooded over Darry, if the gang, his parents, his brothers...

Flashback

Soda ran into the living roon where his mother was sitting on the floor playing with a very young Ponyboy. She looked up to greet her middle son, but saw the tears in his eyes.

"M-Mom," Sodapop whimpered, "Darry g-g-gotted beat up!" He sniffed and attempted to wipe aaway the tears that were falling freely from his own face, but failed.

"Oh dear," Linda Curtis stood up with her youngest son in her arms. "Sodapop, where is Darrel?" she asked, concealing her own concern.

She walked over to Soda and gently gave him a hug.

Linda Curtis was kind and beautiful, but could be very strict at times. She had light blonde hair and thoughtful grey eyes that could see through everything anyone said.

Pony, who was 5, had no idea what was going on, but Soda was unhappy, so the youngest Curtis began to cry.

"He's i-in the field where we p-play soccer at school," the middle boy of the family answered his mother. "They throwed rocks at me and- and Darry came and-" Soda cried harder.

"It's okay, honey." Linda rubbed her son's back soothingly. "Let's go get your brother."

It took 10 minutes for Linda, Sodapop, and Ponyboy to get to the soccer field. Darry looked up as his mother and brothers ran over to him.

"Baby?" his mother asked. She was well aware of his pride, even at age 11. She placed aa hand on his face.

He turned away. He didn't want his brothers see him cry. "I'm okay," he managed to say. The fact was the other kids had hit him with rocks and sticks. The eldest of the Curtis brothers was badly bruised and cut.

"Let's go home, alright, Darry?" She moved her hand to the top of her son's head. "What happened?"

Darry finally looked at her, his tears threatened to fall, and possibly never stop. "They were gunna hurt Soda. They already hit him with some rocks and he ran to the soccer field. I saw and chased after them. They wouldn't hurt him if I could help it! So I hit one of them and hollered at Soda to run." Darry's eyes were full of anger and his hands shook a little. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to hit him, but they made me so mad, they kept hitting Soda and they w-" There was no hope in stopping the tears now. Darry didn't even turn away from his brothers.

"Darry, baby,"Linda hushed her oldest son, "I'm proud of you. You stood up for your brother. Although, you could have handled it differently."

With that, the four headed back to the truck.

"I'm sorry, Darry," Soda apologized and liiked aat the ground.

Darry smiled and gave his brother a hug. "I'd do it again for you, little buddy." He pulled Ponyboy into the hug. "I'll always do it if it means you guys don't get hurt, I promise."

End Flashback

He promised. He promised his brothers and now he was in this house by himself.

He was still fit as their guardian, Pony got good grades, Soda never got in any real trouble, why were they taken away from him?

Because you hit Pony, because Soda got put in jail once for disrupting the public, because you were an unfit guardian... Darry thought this and was instantly furious with himself.

"They don't deserve this," he whispered angrily.

Flashback

The Curtis brothers pulled in the driveway and noticed a black Cavalier parked beside the house. The appearance of the vehicle was all too familliar, but this time something seemed different.

Ponyboy looked a little frightened. "What are they doing here?" he whispered. By now, he had gone as pale as a ghost.

Sodapop wrapped an arm around the youngest Curtis. "Come on, Pony. We ain't done nothing wrong. They can't do anything, it's just one of those check-ups," Soda coaxed.

Darry noticed that Soda had become a lot more figety after saying that.

Why was the state there? They only cane around once or twice a month and had checked up on the Curtis brothers already this month. Unless...

"Mr. Curtis?"

Darry looked in the direction of a man with short brown hair. He had bags under his eyes and his eyes themselves were cold and stern.

"Yes?" Darry complied, getting out of the Ford truck. Pony and Soda followed the same trend. "Can I help you?"

The man shook the eldest Curtis' hand and nidded at the younger two. "Mr. Curtis, I am Tom Brown, I'm with the state. May I come in?"

"Of course." Darry tried hard to remain calm. He's just here to check up on us, that's all, Darry chanted in his head. He opened the door and walked in.

Tom stood there, as if in shock. "You don't lock your door?" he asked, recovering his composure. "In this neighborhood?"

The boys mentally slapped themselves.

"Th-There's no real need to, ugh, sir," Pony said nervously. He scratched the back of his light brown head, trying to come out of his stupor.

Tom raised an eyebrow. "I've heard many things about this neighborhood, and none of them were good," he informed them. "Who is to say someone isn't in your house right now?"

Soda rolled his eyes. "No one is stupid enough to do break into our home!" His face was set and his eyes were blazing.

"Yeah," Pony cut in, equally as angry as his brother. "We've got nothing that is worth much to other people and besides, we've got Darry."

Tom was skeptical. "I know your brother is strong, but what if he is working?"

Soda and Pony remained silent.

"Exactly," Tom said. "Shall we go in?"

Darry ushered everyone into the house. "Can we get you anything?"

"A water will be fine, thank you," Tom nodded. "Now, Mr. Curtis. It has come to the state's attention Sodaboy and Ponypop are-"

"Sodapop and Ponyboy," Darry corrected.

"Right. Like I was saying," he continued, without taking real notice to darry's words. "It has come to our attention that you have physically abused the boys and have allowed them to take part in illegal activity. Because of these mishaps, the boys will be placed in St. John's All Boys House." He let the news sink in.

Pony made a half-sobbing, half-gasping sound. He was on the verge of tears and looked so young and innocent that he appeared to be 11. Soda stood perfectly still, like if he moved, all Hell would break loose. He was wide-eyed and unbelieving, the truth always set in a little longer with him. The eldest's eyes were set on the suit that had strut into his life and demolished everything and anything they had ever worked for.

Tom cleared his throat. "Better pack up, boys. You're going to the finest boy's home in Oklahoma," he said almost like he didn't care that he was ripping their family apart. Or, what was left of it...

Pony looked at Darry as though his brother could stop it. darry just looked away. "Go," he commanded quietly.

Darry locked eyes with the social worker. "When are they coming back?" he asked coldly, hiding his confusion and sadness.

"They can return back here when they are 18 and by their own will," Tom informed him. "Or when you provide a better environment ofr them." The man looked highly doubtful that that would actually occur.

Darry would possibly have to wait for four years until they were back together agian? He didn't think he could handle that. "Do I get to visit them?"

"Once a month, excluding the first month, just to let them settle in," Tom complied.

Sodapop and Ponyboy returned with their suitcases before anymore questions are comments could be exchanged between the two men. Which was a good thing, darry was losing his cool and was about to tell this guy where to go.

"Ready?" Tom asked, almost smiling.

Pony had had half a mind to go over there and knock it off of him, but instead, chose to walk over to Darry. The oldest Curtis brother looked down into Pony's red, puffy eyes.

He's been crying, Darry though. He looked up at Soda. It was evident that he was too. "I'm so sorry, guys," he whispered.

The youngest broke down and Darry embraced him, Sodapop soon followed. They stood there for a short second then darry apologized again.

"I should have never hit you, baby, I'm really sorry. And, lil buddy," -his voice was beginning to crack -"You too, I'm sorry. Take care of Pony, okay? I'll visit everytime I can," he promised. He pushed Soda's hair back. "You still look tuff," Darry chuckled sadly. He looked at Pony's partly bleached hair. "So do you."

To cleared his throat. "We have to go now, Mr. Curtis. Come along, boys."

Pony looked at his brother. "Please," he begged. "Please wake me up. This is just a nightmare. One of those stupid nightmares."

Darry pulled Ponyboy close. "It's not a nightmare, baby."

"You're right. This is a lot worse," Pomyboy voiced hollowly.

Tom placed a hand on Pony's and Soda's shoulders and steered them towards the door.

"I-I love you," Soda finally choked out.

"You too, Pepsi-Cola,"Darry said. "You'll be out before you know it." As those words left Darry's mouth, he knew them only as lies.

It wasn't until the black Cavalier drove off, kicking up dust, did darry break down and cry.

End Flashback

Darry sat down in his father's arm chair, looking at the mess of broken plates and other assorted dishes that he had broken.

The tears had finally seemed to stop, after twenty minutes of non-stop tears, anger had finally consumed him. He considered cleaning it up until he realized that it didn't matter, it was only him now.

Darry walked throughout the house. Literally hundreds of memories flooded every corner, from Pony's first Christmas to Soda first A, and possibly his only.

Everything was beginning to come together. Despite their parent's deaths, the Curtis brothers were happy, well-functioned family. Nothing was supposed to pull them apart.

Nothing will, Darry thought forcefully. Pony, Soda, I promised, and I'm not about to break it."

Darry stepped inside Soda and Pony's, now empty, room. There was only a few books that Pony never really liked and empty drawers. All the tickle wars they had to get Pony out of bed, when Steve and Soda had pillow fights and broke a lamp. Things like those wouldn't happen for another few months, at the very least...

A new batch of tears surfaced.

"Damnit," Darry cursed. "I don't know what I'm going to do without them..."

Everything was quiet at the Curtis household, but faint crying could be heard from the younger Curtis brothers' bedroom.

People! I have a question for all who review! Do you want me to make this multi-chaptered? I will warn you, I suck at updating and chances are, I won't write good chapters, plus if you want to give me ideas on how it should end, if you want it to be more than a one-shot, let me know! BTW, to my favorite cousin, a HUGE thanks to you andyour wonderful steps! Lol, I may just dedicate my next story to you! XD

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