Title: When the World Comes Crashing Down

Author: LovelyxIrony

Rating: T [language]

Summary: Darry always thought his life was going to be normal. He was going to go to college, get a good job, a wife, maybe even start a family of his own. Then everything came crashing down around him in one single, horrible night. Note: Pony's age is switched in here - he's around five.

Chapter One

"Ponyboy, quit jumpin' on the bed."

That was the first thing to slide in a grumble passed Darrel Curtis's mouth before he sat up on his elbows and turned slightly to look at his baby brother. They stared at each other for a moment, a big grin on the kid's lips and a small scowl on Darry's before he sighed and shifted himself more into a sitting position. There was a headache growing already on the left side of his head - a combination of the rude awakening and a starting hangover from the party the previous night. With another rough sigh, Darry's eyes slid over to look at the clock. Fucking seven in the morning on a Saturday. "Ain't it a bit early for you to be up, kiddo?"

It was quiet for a moment before the five year old shook his head. "Nu uh. Nightmare - couldn't go back to sleep, so Mama said to get you up."

"She tell you why?"

"Mama told me dad and her were going somewhere special today."

"Somew -" Darry stopped, frowning before he remembered suddenly and felt like smacking himself. Now that he thought about it, his mom had mentioned that her and dad were going up to the country, just a day to themselves. She'd wanted him to watch Soda and Pony (mainly Pony, considering Soda was plenty old enough to take care of himself, in Darry's opinion). Which would have explained the disappointed look on her face when Darry had stumbled into the house early in the morning.

With a grimace, Darry stood and stretched, rubbing a hand through his hair with a shake of his head. As he was finally straightening back up, his mom entered the room, one hand on her hip. That was usually a bad sign - it meant she was about to rip into one of them - but Darry was suprised when she gave him a soft smile. It was tired, strained, and he felt guilty for a moment. She had stayed up the previous night waiting for him to come home. "Morning, Darry."

"Mornin', mom." He watched as she walked into the room, bending down to press a kiss to Ponyboy's forehead before gathering him into her arms. "I, uh. I'm sorry about, you know, last night. I forgot."

"It's alright, baby, don't worry." She reached up to ruffle her son's hair, ignoring the way Darry pulled a face and made an effort to flatten his hair a second later. "Your dad and I were just heading out, I checked in just to make sure Pony got you up." Their mother gave the baby of the family an affectionate smile before turning back to Darry. "Sure you can handle this?"

A laugh escaped Darry's lips and he grinned. "I've taken care of Soda and Pony before, mom. We'll be fine. Anyway, it ain't like we'll be alone. The rest of the gang will swing by a few hours after dad and you leave."

"Mm. True." She'd smiled at the mention of the gang. It always had surprised Darry how much his mother loved the boys he and Soda hung out with. Especially Dally, who had to be one of the hardest people to get along with. "Now," Pony was set in his arms and Darry shifted him for a moment as their mother leaned over to press a kiss to both their cheeks. "Be good for your brother, Ponyboy. And make sure you get Sodapop up soon - I tried earlier, but you know how he is to get up."

"Yeah. I'll get 'em up soon." They started to walk toward the front door, their mother rambling off a list of things that needed to be done, as if Darry was some stranger who had never taken care of the younger boys before. He smiled, nodded, and then set Pony down in order to hug her before watching their parents leave, both waving with grins from inside the car.

If he had known what was going to happen, Darry would have held on a little longer.

He wouldn't have ever let go.

So! My first "The Outsiders" story, a bit AU-ish. "The Outsiders" is one of my all-time favorite books/movies (because both the book and movie (the complete novel edition) are amazing). So I figured I'd try it.

Hope it's not too horrible!

R&R please and thank you!