The Outsiders Headcanons/Short Stories [COMPLETED]

Short Story: Safe In My Arms

A/N: Two short stories in one week?!? How can that be? Well I had this story saved onto my Notes since summer so I decided to post it. Enjoy!

Rain pounded against the windows. Thunder shook the neighborhood. Lightning illuminated the bedrooms. This is what a typical thunderstorm is like in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For some, thunderstorms are calming or even satisfying. However, for Ponyboy Curtis, thunderstorms are terrifying.

The sound of the thunder woke Ponyboy up. He never liked thunder, it scared him pretty bad. Pony wrapped his arms around his legs,  hid his face in his arms, and started to cry.

Sodapop Curtis woke up from hearing his younger brother's cries. He hurried over to Ponyboy's room. Soda tried to comfort his brother, but once he heard the thunder and saw the lightning, Sodapop remembered how scared he is of storms, too. Ponyboy hugged Soda tightly and cried loud enough to wake their oldest brother.

And that's how Darry Curtis found himself sleeping in between his two kid brothers.

Ponyboy was laying on his stomach. His head was resting against Darry's chest and said brother had his arm around Pony. Sodapop was laying on his back and his head was resting on Darry's shoulder. Darry, of course, had his other arm around Soda.

About an hour or so later, Darry felt light kicking. He opened his eyes and looked down. It was Ponyboy. He was now kicking hard, like his usually does in his nightmares. Darry could also hear him whimpering.

"Shh, Colt. It's alright, it's just a dream, I'm here, Darry's here. You're okay." He cooed while rubbing Ponyboy's arms.

Suddenly, Darry felt shaking come from his other side. He swiftly turned around and saw Sodapop curled up in the fetal position, shaking and whimpering. Darry ruffled Soda's hair. "Hey, shh, you're alright little buddy." Darry whispered.

He pulled his two kid brothers closer to him and planted small kisses on their foreheads, hoping it would calm them down. Ponyboy winced in pain and cried out, "Darry!" Darry squeezed Pony tightly. "Shh, I'm here now. You're safe in my arms, honey."

Sodapop continued to shake and cry. He gripped onto Darry's undershirt and belted out, "DARRY HELP ME! PLEASE HELP ME!" Darry looked and saw that Soda's knuckles were turning white from gripping so hard. He hugged Sodapop tighter. "Shh, Sodapop. You're safe in my arms little buddy. Darry's got ya, Darry's got ya.."

Eventually, Sodapop stopped crying and breathed deeply. Darry gave one last kiss to Soda's forehead and then Soda fell back asleep and even smiled a little.

Ponyboy, on the other hand, was still crying. Darry unwrapped his arm from Sodapop and hugged Pony tightly. "Baby, shh, please wake up for me. I'm right here, come on, Pone, wake up please."

Finally, Pony's eyes shot open. He was staring at Darry with big greenish grey eyes. Darry ruffled his kid brother's hair. "You okay, Ponyboy?" Darry asked. Pony's eyes grew wide and filled with tears. He quivered in fear and started bawling.

Darry picked up Ponyboy and hugged the life out of him. "Shh, honey I'm here now. It's alright now. I got ya, Pony. Darry's got ya. Calm down, baby. You're safe in my arms now. Wanna tell me what you dreamt about?"

The fourteen year old wiped his eyes. Darry could feel Pony trembling in his arms. "We were walking and then a Soc stabbed you with a blade and you died. It was so bad, Darry. It felt so real..." Ponyboy trailed off and bawled into Darry's chest.

"Shh, Pony please don't cry any more. I'm not dead, honey. Shh, I'm okay, we're alright." Darry let Ponyboy cry some more into his chest before calming down for good.

"Ready to go back to bed, baby?" Darry asked. Pony nodded and lay back down. He was out cold in less than a minute.

The oldest Curtis pulled his two kid brother closer to him. He kissed both of them on the forehead once again and whispered into their ears, "You're safe in my arms. Darry's arms."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Stay gold!

~TJ