Darry stretched, groaning as the taunt muscles in his back loosened. He couldn't wait to get home; he was looking forward to one of Soda's massages. He climbed down the ladder and leaned against the building, resting before he had to go and push through the abominable crowd he was sure would be surrounding the office.

He pushed off of the wall and jogged to the office. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

The crowd wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, and he had no trouble pushing his way to the front of the line. He was just starting the truck when Raymond knocked on his window.

He opened the door. "Hey," he muttered, barely concealing his irritation. He didn't feel like dealing with Ray today.

"My wife's doing a pork roast today. She wanted me to invite you over for dinner." Ray grinned.

Darry sighed and managed to not roll his eyes. He'd gone to Raymond's house once, and now he had an invitation every night.

"Sure," he forced out. Maybe if he went Ray would leave him alone.

"Great." Ray beamed. "Just follow me if you don't remember the way."

Darry slammed the door shut and turned the truck on. He followed Raymond to his house, which was in a considerably nicer neighborhood than his, although it wasn't a Soc neighborhood.

He felt dirty and smelly as he looked around Ray's house. It was spotless, not a drop of dirt anywhere. He looked down at his work boots, which were covered in mud. He hoped he hadn't ruined the white floor.

"Hi, honey. How was your day?" Mrs. Ausley walked in from the kitchen and kissed Raymond on the cheek.

"Fine," Raymond said. "Darry came for dinner. I told him you were making pork roast and he couldn't resist."

Mrs. Ausley smiled at him and took his arm. "I want you to meet my daughter, Joann. She was at her friend's house the last time you came." She led him into the kitchen. "Joann? This is Darrel Curtis. He works with your father."

Darry smiled at the girl politely. Her hair was a bit frizzy, he noted, most likely from the heat in the kitchen. Her eyes were very light brown, almost honey-colored, and her cheeks were flushed. He noticed with satisfaction that her skirt was a decent length. He hated girls that wore short skirts; it made them look trashy.

He held out his hand. "Call me Darry."

She smiled and shook his hand. "Joann."

They stood there awkwardly for a minute until Mrs. Ausley ushered Darry out of the kitchen. He sat down at the dining room table beside Ray. He remembered that Soda and Pony were probably waiting for him. He turned to Ray and asked, "Could I use your phone to call my brothers, please?"

"Sure, sure. Right down the hallway." Ray pointed to the phone.

"Thanks." Darry walked to it and dialed the number. He drummed his fingers on the spindly table while he waited for somebody to answer.

"Hello," Ponyboy said.

"Hey, Pony. I'm eating at Ray's house tonight."

"Alright. You want to talk to Soda?"

"No. I'll see ya'll when I get home. Bye." He hung up and went back to the dining room.

It seemed like it was taking forever for the food to be done. Darry passed the time by thinking about Joann. It had been so long since he'd seen an even remotely pretty girl, and he couldn't help it.

Then the food came out, and he broke out of his thoughts. He helped himself to the food, not really paying attention to the conversation between Raymond and Joann.

"But, Daddy! It's not fair!"

Darry dropped a forkful of rice at the screechy yell. He looked at Joann, whose face was turning red.

"All the other girls can go to Buck's."

Darry raised his eyebrows. He had to agree with Ray on this one. A nice girl like Joann certainly didn't belong at Buck's.

"What kind of girls are you hanging out with?" Ray pursed his lips.

"Cool girls, Daddy. And they invited me!"

"Well, you're going to tell them no. There's no way you're going to that … place." Raymond closed his eyes for a second.

"But …"

Ray help up a hand. "That's enough."

Joann narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she muttered.

Darry looked at his lap, not sure what to do now that he was finished eating. He didn't exactly want to stay, but it would be rude to just leave.

"Daddy, my window won't open," Joann muttered. She was obviously still mad.

Raymond sighed and leaned back, stretching his arms. "Ask Darry if he'll do it. I'm tired tonight."

Joann turned to him. "Could you please fix my window?"

Darry almost groaned. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep, but he couldn't refuse. He didn't want them to think he was rude. "Sure," he muttered.

Joann stood up and motioned for him to follow her. "Here it is." She pointed to the window.

Darry immediately noticed what the problem was. He went over and turned the latch, then opened the window easily. "You had to unlock it," he told her.

Joann grimaced and blushed. "Oh. I'm sorry for bothering you," she murmured.

"It's alright." He smiled at her. He hoped she wasn't about to cry, like a lot of girls he knew did when they were embarrassed.

She grinned. "Okay."

Darry wondered what somebody would think if they walked in right now. Him and Joann were standing less than a foot from each other in a darkened room. Raymond would probably have a fit if he saw them; he was most likely very overprotective of Joann.

"We'd better go back," he said, and left the room.

"Did you fix it?" Raymond asked as Darry walked in the dining room.

"Yes," Darry said. "It wasn't that difficult."

Raymond nodded. "Good, good."

Darry stood in the doorway. "I'd better be getting back … my brothers my get worried."

Ray stood up. "I'll walk you to your truck."

"Bye, Mrs. Ausley. It was really good." He nodded at Joann, who grinned at him and waved a little.

Darry almost laughed with relief when he pulled up in front of his house. He knew it was probably going to smell like burnt eggs when he went inside (it was Soda's turn to cook), but right now it was perfect.

A/N Con-crit, please? ) I'm not sure when I'm going to be updating again. I have a habit of giving up on stories. But I am going to try and finish this one. )