{Post-Deaths}

"Darry, can you help me with my homework?" Ponyboy Curtis asked his older brother Darry on Wednesday afternoon. Darry looked over.

"Can you wait a few minutes? I'm making dinner." He responded. Ponyboy shrugged in response, then went into the living room.

"Soda, what do you know about Trigonometry?" He asked. Soda looked taken aback, but shook his head.

"Nothin'. I failed that one in high school," he admitted, giving Ponyboy an embarrassed smile.

"That's fine," Pony said, then went over to Two-Bit.

"What about you, Two-Bit?  Can you help me with my trig?" He asked. Two-Bit took the worksheet out of his hand, quickly trying to read it over.

"Aw, shoot Pony. I'd love to help, but I've never even seen this. Sorry," he said. Ponyboy frowned.

"How is that possible? You're a Junior, you should have done this last year!" He exclaimed, aggravated. Two-Bit just shrugged. Ponyboy stared at the paper for a few more minutes before shoving it back into his backpack.

The rest of the night, he tried to figure out how it worked. How that number went with that one and made that one and how there was even a different word for it! It just didn't make sense. When Darry asked his younger brother is he'd figured out the homework, he lied and said yes, planning to stay after school tomorrow and ask his teacher about it. Then, although it was only 8:30 P.M., he decided to go to bed, thinking that things would be better tomorrow.

When Thursday came around, Pony was still uneasy about his unfinished work, but he didn't know what to do. He could fake sick, but that would just create more problems... So in school that morning, he went to math class and turned in his half done homework. And it was just his luck that there was a pop quiz that day.

"B-but, I still don't understand the topic," he whispered to himself, writing his name on the paper. He filled in as much as he knew how to, working until the end of the class. But it still wasn't enough, for when the end of the day rolled around, the math teacher called Ponyboy into his office.

"Ponyboy, I was very displeased with your work on this quiz," he said, holding up the test paper. On it, in red ink was a big fat F.

"I'm sorry, sir. I was planning to stay after for help today, but then you gave us the quiz," he explained. The teacher, Mr. Jackson nodded.

"Why didn't you ask your older brother? You know, Darry did very well in this class. He got the highest grade of my students that year. I'm sure he would have been happy to help." Ponyboy shrugged. He had asked, but he was too upset by the time Darry had gotten time to help.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said again.

"Don't beat yourself up about it son," Mr. Jackson said, trying to make him feel better.

"It's just one grade. You'll do better next time." Ponyboy thanked him, then walked out, holding the failed test in his hand. On the walk home, he crumpled it up and put it in his pocket.

When Darry got home that night, Ponyboy was sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Hey, Pone. How was school?" He asked his younger brother. Ponyboy frowned, the memories of math coming back.

"Fine," Ponyboy answered. Darry smiled.

"Good... That's good. I'm gonna go make dinner now," Darry told him, not asking any more questions. During dinner, the three brothers sat at the table, not talking.

"So... We had a test today," Ponyboy said, knowing that he'd have to tell his brothers eventually.

"How'd that go?" Darry asked. Ponyboy blushed.

"Well, it was math. The stuff I asked you about last night," he explained. Darry nodded.

"I didn't do so well." Darry raised an eyebrow.

"How bad did you do?" The older brother asked. Ponyboy took the crumpled paper out of his pocket and handed it over.

"An F, Ponyboy?" Darry yelled, not even looking his work over.

"C'mon, Dar. I tried, I just didn't get it," Ponyboy argued. Darry sighed.

"Ponyboy, you told me you were fine last night. You said you understood!" Darry said. Pony shrugged, not saying anything.

"You just don't get it, do you? Ponyboy, you've gotta keep your grades up," Darry raised his voice.

"Why?" Ponyboy yelled back. Darry looked angry.

"You just don't use your head, do you, kid? If you ever want to get into a good college, you have to study!" Ponyboy sighed.

"Can I be excused? I'm not very hungry," Ponyboy said quietly. When Darry didn't respond, Pony took that as his que to leave. He could hear whispers from Darry and Soda coming from the kitchen, but he didn't even try to listen. All he could think about were the words playing in his head.

"You just don't use your head, do you, kid?" Ponyboy wished Johnny were still alive. One talk with Johnny and neither Ponyboy nor Darry would be angry anymore. He fell asleep thinking about his old friend.

Strangely enough, a few hours later, Darry did too. As soon as he fell asleep, there he was, sitting on the couch next to Johnny Cade.

"You gotta lay off of him, Dar. It's not fair. Ponyboy's just as stressed as you are man. You gotta let him know that you care, that you love him," he said. Darry felt heartbroken. Hadn't he been showing that he cared by caring about his brothers grades? How did Ponyboy not know that his brother loved him?

The conversation went on for what seemed like all night, for when Darry woke up at 6:00 that morning, it was still fresh in his mind. He got dressed, then went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Mornin', Pone. How'd you sleep?" He asked his younger brother when he woke up. Pony shrugged.

"Fine."

"Just fine, eh? Any nightmares?" Darry asked, concerned. Ponyboy shook his head.

"That's good..." He said. After a pause, he started talking again. "Hey, I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have yelled at you," he told his brother.

Ponyboy gave him a shocked look and mumbled something like, "S'okay." Darry gave him a sad smile.

"It's not okay... I shouldn't have been so hard on you, Pony. It was just one grade. You'll do better next time," he said. Ponyboy stood there, frozen, and Darry momentarily turned away to serve the eggs to his brother. When finished, he handed them to Ponyboy. Gratefully, Pony took them, thanked Darry, and set them down on the table. He walked over to his brother.

"Darry?" He asked. Darry looked over.

"I... I'm sorry too. I should have told you that I didn't finish my homework and I was still confused... I'm sorry. You're right, I do have to work harder. I guess I should listen more." Darry smiled at him. It wasn't a sad smile, like he was glad his brother finally understood, but a happy smile, like he finally got through to him.

"I love you, Dar," Ponyboy said, walking over to his eldest brother. Darry hugged him.

"You too, kiddo."

A/N: I love Curtis Brother moments 🤗❤️
Thoughts?