Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders...kinda wish I owned Two Bit, though...

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I heard Darry on the phone in the living room,while I was making breakfast in the kitchen. He came in after he hung up. He didn't say anything. He was just kind of staring at me. Glaring at me, probably... I didn't turn around to look at him.

"Congratulations." He said all of the sudden. There was a cold sarcasm in his voice that made me think I was in trouble.

"Huh?" Was my articulate answer at 7:45 on a Saturday morning.

" I gather you are to be congratulated." I heard him sit down at the table, and the crinkled of the newspaper, but I had the feeling he wasn't reading it..

"Nothing I like more than to be congratulated." I said, I mean, I was already in trouble for something, why not be a smart ass, too?" I find the pleasure immeasurably increased by knowing what for."

"Haven't you heard?" He was mocking me now. "That was Tim on the phone." He told me. " Says some girl nearly got raped last night."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah...she said that the boy that saved her started yelling something about billygoats and yarbles."

I tensed slightly.

"Sound familiar, Pone?"

"Yeah...well...uh..Hey, I'm not the only kid in this town who reads, you know..."

"She also said that he carried a straight razor instead of a regular blade."

"Oh, like I'm the only kid in this town who carries a razor?"

" - and had auburn hair-"

"Oh, like I'm the only kid with -"

"Ponyboy." He cut me off and finally looked over at him. That crinkling noise I heard was Darry rolling up the newspaper. I got the feeling he was going to hit me with it.

I was about say something, but Soda came in. He could tell the second he stepped foot into the kitchen that he was interrupting something. He looked at me, then at Darry, then smiled, " I hope I aint interruptin a feel good family moment, here," He joked. I grinned. Darry almost grinned. Almost.

"Can't you ever be serious?" Darry asked him.

I could of let Soda answer, but apparently, I was not yet done being a smart ass, so I said," Darry, please don't say such dreadful things to Soda. Seriousness would be very unbecoming. Good morning. Please, be as trivial as you can."

"Alright, that's it..." Darry got up and started toward me.

Soda said, " I ain't gettin' in the middle of this," and made a dash for the bathroom.

His hit me in the side of the head with the rolled up newspaper. I knew he'd hit me. " What the hell were you thinking?" He asked me.

Well, gee, " Why I'm I in trouble for this?" I knew that answering a question with a question was not a good defense when arguing with Darry. But I thought it was a far question, " I mean, I saved the girl, didn't I? You should be proud of me!"

"I am proud of you, Pone." He sounded like he meant it, but he then hit me with the newspaper again.

"If you're so pound of me, why'dja hit me again?"

He hit me again.

"What the hell?"

He hit me again. I'm guessing that last time was 'cause I cussed.

He sighed, and leaned against the counter, " Ponyboy, you could have gotten killed last night."

"But I didn't"

"But you could have. It would have been 6 against 1."

"But I didn't. Honestly, Dare, the second the girls was outta harms way, I was gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah, yeah. Gone. I beat it outta there."

"You ran?"

"Yeah, I ran. Man, those guys were big, dumb and real slow. And I'm like The Flash, you know? I can react, think, and move faster than anybody. I was gone. They were left eating my dust, Darry, really."

Darry seemed to think about that for a moment. "Huh," was all he said. Then he hit me again with the newspaper.

"What was that for?" I asked him.

"That was for being cocky. Now watch the eggs. They're gunna burn." He went and sat down.

By the time I finished making breakfast, Soda came out the bathroom, his hair wet and wearing nothing but a towel.

"You two work out...what ever you needed to have worked out?" He asked us, getting his eggs and some jam.

I said yes, Darry said, " Um Hm."

"Good," He smiled the way only Soda could smile, and sat on the counter, " 'Cause ya'll know I don't like it when you fight." He started to eat his breakfast and then it was oddly quiet in the normally noisy house.

After Darry finished his breakfast, he cut us all a piece of chocolate cake. Soda had gotten up and put on a Lloyd Price record.

Darry helped me with the dishes when we all finished eating, then he hurried off to work. Soda left for work 10 minutes later, when Steve showed up.

Then I was alone in the house. I figured Two-Bit was hung over somewhere, probably in some blonds bedroom. I managed to keep myself entertain for about an hour with Saturday morning cartoons before I decided to leave the house.

--

Ok, main dialouge at the beginning between Darry and Ponyboy about the congatulations is from Wilde's An Ideal Husband. As is the part of being serious. Darry knew how Pony would reply when he said ' I gather you are to be congulated' but he kinda stepped into the serious one. Hence Ponyboy being a smart ass on Soda's behalf...

And Soda said he doesn't like being in the middle of an argument, so It seemed logical to me that he would leave the room.