I was getting bored. I sat in front of the TV trying to see if anything interesting was on. I don't like reading books or watching movies or anything like that, and TV was no exception. I sighed and turned it off. I was about to ask my brothers if they wanted to round up the gang and play some football when Two-Bit poked his head in.

"Hey, Superman. Fancy meeting you here!" He laughed loudly and walked in, slamming the door looking around. "Where's Soft Drink and Horseman?' I rolled my eyes. I was about to tell him what my brothers were doing when they both came running in.

"Hey, Two-Bit!"

"So, how'd the state visit go? Was everything perfect enough?" He said, half-jokingly.

"Actually, Mr. Richards quit. Ms. Jensen is checking up on us now," I said.

Then Soda piped up with: "More like she's checking Darry out!" Two-Bit looked at me and grinned.

"Whoa, Superman has a girlfriend!" I shook my head.

"We just met…"

"Love at first sight!" Two-Bit interrupted. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"She's a social worker."

"Come on, Darry. You met a social worker that actually has a heart. You should take advantage of it. Is she good-lookin'?" I didn't answer. She is pretty, though. "C'mon, man. You could use a girlfriend." Maybe he's right, but I'm almost afraid to have a girlfriend again. Last time I did, it didn't go over well.

Flashback

"Okay, see you at seven, Darry," Rebecca said, kissing my cheek. I was going to meet her at her house later. What she didn't know, was that I was planning on proposing to her. I couldn't wait to get married any longer. It was time, I knew it. Mom and Dad knew about it, and they were happy for me. Dad was smiling and Mom was wiping her eyes.

"Oh, my little boy is a man, now!" She was hugging me. I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Tell me all about what happened when you get back, okay?" I nodded as she let go of me.

"Good luck, Darry," Dad said, putting a hand on my shoulder. Then Soda came running in.

"Bye, Darry. Have a good 'date!'" He said, wiggling his eyebrows. I shook my head and laughed. Pony walked in from his bedroom.

"See ya later, Dar." He waved at me. I waved back, walked out the door, and headed to Rebecca's house.

I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I opened the door and saw her sitting on the couch with some other guy.

"Darry!" She exclaimed. She'd forgotten I was coming?

I raised an eyebrow. Confusion and anger in my voice, I asked, "Who is he?"

"Who are you?" The guy asked me. Rebecca looked uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" I said, even though I had a bad feeling I knew what it was. She walked up to me and tried to tell me what happened, but I didn't even let her finish.

"I thought you loved me," I said, hurt.

"I'm sorry…"

"You sure are," I snapped, giving her no time to explain any more. With that, I turned and walked out, going back to my house. How could she cheat on me? How? I really loved her, and she just completely ignored my feelings. I thought we were in love! We were supposed to get married! How could this happen? We've been dating for months!

I walked in the door and saw Mom. She was smiling, waiting to see how it went. Of course, she didn't expect that it would be a complete disaster. Her smile disappeared.

"What's wrong? She didn't turn you down, did she?"

"She did more than that," I said miserably as a tear rolled down my cheek.

"Oh, Darry..." She hugged me and my brothers and Dad came in. They saw how miserable I looked and were immediately confused.

"What happened?" Dad asked, looking at me with concern. I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to cry in front of my brothers. I walked to my room and sat on the bed, pulling out the ring I was going to give to Rebecca. I felt my heart shatter, and I pulled my knees to my chest as I cried.

End of Flashback

I guess Soda knew what I was thinking, and he said, "Give it a try, Dar. Not all of them are like that, I'm sure." I sighed. How could he be so sure? Sandy did it to him, too. Sylvia did it to Dallas. It seems they're all like that to me. I only hope it doesn't happen to Ponyboy. But Evie hasn't done it to Steve. Yet.

On the other hand, maybe Soda's right. I mean, she's a social worker, and she actually likes me. Who knows, maybe she's different.

Then again, I don't want a repeat of what happened last time.

"No, Sodapop. I'm not risking it. She's just our social worker and that's all she'll ever be." Soda shrugged and whispered something to Pony. I was curious as to what he said, but I didn't question my brothers. Just then, Dally burst in, flopping down on the couch and swearing.

"What's goin' on, Dal?" Ponyboy asked. Dally scowled.

"I'm just so bored. There just ain't nothin' to do today, man."

'Join the club,' I thought. Well, there's five of us here.

"Hey, does anybody know where Johnny and Steve are? I was thinkin' that we could play some football," I said.

"I think Johnny was down at the bowling alley, but who knows where Steve is," Two-Bit answered. All of a sudden, Steve stomped in, slamming the door hard. He was really mad. That door is going to fall off its hinges one of these days from being slammed so much. Everything was happening so suddenly today. 'A flying ice cream truck is gonna fall on one of us next,' I thought.

"What happened, Steve?" Soda asked.

"My old man kicked me out again," he growled. Soda patted his back.

"Well, we're all bored and Superman here thought that we should play some football. What do you think?"

Steve nodded and I said, "All right, who's gonna get Johnny?" Dally jumped up off the couch.

"I'll get him." He slammed the door on the way out. I sighed.

"Can you guys at least try to quit slamming that door?" Two-Bit laughed.

"That's a good one, Muscles. I can't believe I haven't come up with that one yet! I never knew you to be the joking type anymore. 'You must slam the door' is one of the most important rules of this house." I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?"

"Of course. You don't know about it? Here, see for yourself." He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. He can't be serious… but he was. I unfolded it, and at the top, it said: Rules of the Curtis House. All I could think was, 'Wow, Two-Bit. Really?' I rolled my eyes and started to read it.

Rules of the Curtis House

1. Thou shalt not forget to slam the door.

2. Come in anytime.

3. Thou shalt not tease Darry about not going to college.

4. The food Sodapop makes shall be multicolored.

5. It shalt always we noisy and loud with the radio turned up all the way.

6. Thou shalt eat chocolate cake at least once a day.

7. Thou shalt not mess with Dally when he is here.

8. He who wakes up first must make breakfast.

9. Ponyboy shalt not smoke more than one pack of cigarettes a day.

10. Thou shalt laugh at all of Two-Bit's jokes.

I looked up from the paper at Two-Bit. "Why did you use old English?" He shrugged.

"It's fun!"

"Hey, show them those 'Darry imitations' you started working on!" Steve exclaimed. Darry imitations? Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Two-Bit cleared his throat. Here we go.

"Thou shalt not forget to do thy homework!" He said, pointing at Ponyboy. I shook my head.

"What are you doing? I don't say it like that." Pony pointed at me.

"So you admit that you say it!"

"Yeah, but not like that! What do you think this is, the Middle Ages?" Two-Bit curled his lip.

"All right, fine." He was about to try again when Dally and Johnny came in.

"Hey, you guys comin'?" Dally asked. I grabbed a football and we went outside.