All That Smoke

Ponyboy stopped breathing one month after Johnny and Dallas died.Darry had thought he was getting better. Pony had been awfully sick after the rumble, even in the hospital for a few days, but he came home, rested for another week, then was okay once the hearing. The concussion had healed by then.Of course, there was still the grief. They were all grieving. But Darry hadn’t realized there was something wrong with Pony beyond that.Shortly after the hearing, almost three weeks after the night of the rumble, Darry heard Ponyboy coughing. Or Ponyboy stops breathing when long-term effects of inhaling the fire's smoke catch up to him.