Chapter Text
Darry stands mixing the noodles on the stove. Soda requested the meal and he's been working so much that Darry couldn't say no at this point. He was trying to figure out what they could eat tomorrow when the phone rang. He sighs, turns the stove down, and goes to answer. He's assuming that it's Two-Bit asking for another ride home. Two-Bit’s been drinking way too much these last few years. Mrs. Matthews had kicked him out a couple of years after Pony left, hoping that'll teach him to grow up but Two-Bit just moved into a shitty run-down apartment. Not like he uses it anyhow, he's either at the bar or at their house.
When he answers the phone, instead of Two-Bit slurring his words, he hears an unfamiliar voice.
“Is this Darrel Curtis?” The voice asks.
“Yes,” Darrel says cautiously, “Who is this?”
“My name is Jim Hopper. I'm a police chief in a town called Hawkins.”
Darry’s eyes narrow. The gang has all been nervous around cops (more than the average Greaser) since they shot Dally and stole Ponyboy. Why would a random officer in a random town want to talk to Darry anyway?
“What do ya want, Officer?”
“Well, I know someone that you may want to see. A Ponyboy Curtis.”
Darry freezes. The pot is still bubbling but his hand is frozen in place. His other fingers are stuck, curling around the phone. Usually, he can hear the faint buzz of it but not now. Not when he can hear his own heartbeat thudding in his ears.
But Darry straightens up a moment later. “Ponyboy?” He asks, knowing he sounds choked up. “You know where he is?”
“Yeah,” the officer says simply like Darry and the gang haven't been looking for Ponyboy since he got taken. "I'm guessing you and your brother would like to see him?”
“Yes! We would, where is he?! We've been trying to track ‘im but no luck.”
“That's because he got his name changed when he was adopted.”
Darry scoffs at the word adopted. He’s never used the word adopted. Ponyboy was stolen, plain as that, and that’s what he says anytime someone asks. Even when Cherry Valance came a-knockin’, looking oh so hopeful that she might find Ponyboy.
The Chief continues, “He goes by the name Steve Harrington. And I know that he would be very happy to see you.”
“How do you know that?”
“We're…close.”
He spits out, “What does that mean?”
And look, Darry’s not going around accusing no one but this Chief sounds at least fifty. What business does he have being “close” with his barely legal brother?
The Chief paused. “We’ve been through some tough times together. I'm sure he'll tell you about it when you see each other.”
Darry was skeptical but for now, he couldn't care less. For all he knew, the cop was lying but it was well worth the shot for just the chance he could find Pony.
“‘kay, I guess you know where I am. How far away is y'all's town?”
“Around 14 hours.”
Running through things in his head, Darryl responds with, “I think we can scrounge up some money to make the trip. I don't know how soon though..”
He trails off. He wants to just get going to see Ponyboy as soon as possible, assuming this cop is telling the truth, but it just won't be possible. They can barely make ends meet as is.
“It's all taken care of, don't worry. Just use your card during the trip and you'll be fine.”
“What, you saying you paying for this?”
This has to be too good to be true.
“No, let's just say I have some…investors.”
Darry is sick of these non-answers and he's highly doubting this is true and that he won't get arrested for fraud as soon as he uses that money. But he needs to find Ponyboy, he needs to see his little brother and this is the only lead the gang has had in years.
“Not sayin’ I believe you but okay. We'll all get going in the morning.”
“Bright in the morning, huh? Must be eager to see him.”
“Of course I am, Officer.” He says with sass. And he immediately regrets it, not because of guilt or nothing like that, but because he has no business acting like a moody teenager.
“Alright, alright, I just wanted to make sure this wasn't a mistake.”
Darry frowns but this, he decides not to investigate further.
“Does Pony or Steve, I guess, know we're coming?”
God, the name Steve sounds so strange when thinking about Ponyboy. Their Steve is gonna hate this.
“No. No, kid, he doesn't.” Darry hates being called a kid. “I didn't want to get his hopes in case it didn't work out. That boy has been through enough.”
Darry doesn't know what happened to Ponyboy after he left but he knows his kid brother had already been through enough by the time he was taken. He hopes, and he would pray if he were religious, that Pony hasn't suffered too much in the following years.
“He has,” Darry says, agreeing. He's about to say something else when he hears the sounds of the screen door opening and Sodapop putting in his keys. “Look, my other kid brother is here. I gotta tell ‘im what's going on.”
“I get it. I’ll see you all soon.”
Darry doesn't respond, he just hangs up and then tries to watch Sodapop stumble tiredly inside.
“Hey, Darry,” he says putting away his work jacket. “That smells good.”
He turns to Darry then, smiling only to drop that smile after seeing the serious look on Darry’s face. He shifts uneasily. “What? Dar, what is it?”
Darry can't stop the tears as he moves across the living room to embrace his brother. Sodapop doesn't hesitate to hug him back.
“C’mon, Darrel. You're scaring me. Did something happen?”
“I-I think we found him, Soda.”
Soda doesn't need to ask questions, he instinctively knows who his older brother is talking about.
“We did? Darry!” He exclaims, hugging his brother tighter and starting to sob himself.
After years, they finally have hope.
“So, some random cop called you and we're just going to trust him?” Steve asks. He's sitting on the couch, legs spread and touching knees with Soda-Pop.
“It's the only lead we've had in years, Steve,” Darry says, leaving no room for argument. “Look,” Darry continues, “it might not even be Ponyboy. So, no, I don’t trust ‘im, Steve, but we can’t pass up this chance.”
Steve just nods at that, knowing Darry won't back down. (And Darry knows Steve misses Ponyboy too, no matter how much they disliked each other. He wouldn’t pass up the chance to find Ponyboy either.) Darry watches Sodapop squeeze a hand on Steve’s shoulder in appreciation.
Two-Bit, who's still reasonably tipsy but has sobered up instantly upon hearing about the news, says, “Y’all think Ponyboy still got that blond hair?”
Steve snorts. “God, I hope not. He looked fuckin’ ridiculous.”
Soda glares. “He did not!” He pauses, looking at their faces, and continues, “Okay, he kinda did. But don't y'all go telling him I said that.”
“Nothing you could say would that kid stop idolizing you,” Steve tells him.
Soda chuckles and nods. Then a frown overtakes his face and Darry knows exactly what he's thinking: they don't know this version of Ponyboy, they don't know “Steve”. The chief mentioned not wanting to get Pony’s hopes up, implying Pony misses them but what if that's not the case? For all he knows, Pony hates them. Darry already hates himself for never being able to find his brother.
Darry sighs then slaps Soda on the knee and stands up. “We better get packin’, we're getting on the road real early,” he announces.
Two-Bit groans. “Can't you pack for me, Darry?”
Darry just walks off to his bedroom. Two-Bit grumbles, muttering insults under his breath. Darry shakes his head and yells back at him, “And take a shower before we go! You reek.”
Darry smirks afterward, hearing Soda and Steve start jibing at him.
3 hours later they're finally ready to go. Steve had just gone down the street to his house, and came back within 10 minutes to watch the others scramble to pack. Soda was pretty fast at it but Darry thinks that because he just threw whatever would fit in there. Two-Bit took a shower and then refused to go to his apartment after, claiming what little clothes he had stashed in the Curtis house were enough. Darry ended up just letting him win this one. Darry himself had packed his clothes and some snacks in an old suitcase Mom and Dad used to own.
They would've gone earlier but Darry thought he might as well wait for it to be a little light out so he wouldn't end up crashing.
They all hop in his Camaro, Two-Bit and Steve taking the back seat. Two-Bit goes in first, feet flying behind him and narrowly hitting Steve in the face.
“Hey, watch it!”
“Chill out,” Two-Bit responds simply, settling down in his seat.
“Man, where am I supposed to stick this bag?” Steve complains.
“How about you shove it up your big fat nose?” Two-Bit jokes, falling into laughter. Yeah, he's definitely still drunk.
“Remember when Ponyboy made that comment about your big nose?” Sodapop says, reminiscing.
Darry just smiles and starts the engine.
“Yeah, I wanted to punch that kid.” Steve shoves the bag underneath his feet.
Darry did not appreciate it at the time but now, he misses Ponyboy’s little sassy remarks. Especially when it's about Steve's big nose, he thinks while smirking to himself.
He starts pulling out of the gravel driveway and onto the road, and as Two-Bit and Steve start to argue, again, he knows this is going to be one chaotic road trip.