"You sure you you'll be okay taking a cab?" Darry asked in a whisper.

"Yes, so go back to bed mother hen, it's five in the morning." I was on my way to Austin for a concert that I had to attend for my job. Darry sighed and tramped back to bed. I sat down at the table it would be a nice trip but I would have liked to know who was accompanying me on it. I checked my watch; the cab would be getting here soon. I walked into the boy's room studying for a minute. They had kicked off their blanket on the ground, it rather scared me how Soda had flung his arm around Pony's neck. I picked up the blanket and threw it back over them. Then gently brushed the UN greased hair away from Pony's face and kissed his forehead and Soda's. He stirred tossing over on to his back and looked up at me.

"You leaving now?" He asked.

"Yeah" I replied.

"You are coming back?" Soda questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah; what would make you ask that?"

Soda shrugged. "Might get mighty attached to the Beatles and decide to go on tour with them."

I shook my head. "Take care of those other two okay? Don't cause trouble."

I heard a loud blast of a horn. "Asshole." I muttered underneath my breath. He had to know people were sleeping.

"It's early yet, get back to sleep. I love you."

"I love you too." Soda rolled over again and threw his arm around Pony's neck.

I took my cab to the airport looking around for a photographer or even another reporter. I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"We should be going." I'd know that voice anywhere. It was delicate and had an Irish accent mixed it with the Tulsa southern drawl, god save me. I turned around and stared Grace Collins in the face.

I let her have the window seat and read a book the entire plane ride. While she sat there doing something. She was stuck up, ignorant and loud.

"Do you need help carrying anything?" I asked as we were getting our luggage.

"I can carry it. Do you think just because I'm a woman I'm incapable?"

I rolled my eyes, stuck a cigarette in my mouth and flagged a cab down, listening to her bitch about how smoking was such a filthy habit.

"Will you shut up?" I bellowed as we walked into the check in place at the hotel.

"My boss notified you everything should be paid for. His name his John Jackson." I told the guy behind the counter. He shuffled through a couple of things.

"Yes, Collins and Curtis. We were told to give you both these and here is the key to you're room enjoy the stay." He mumbled.

"Wait a second sir, we should have separate rooms." I said in desperation.

"No, I'm sorry you're boss only reserved one for the both of you." He said. "302"

I looked over at Grace and gestured her to follow. I was pleased at the fact that at least there were two beds. I sat at the window watching the people below me pass having no clue that I was ashing my cigarette on them. I reached for the phone; I might as well call home. Pony answered the phone.

"Hey, kid Darry there?" I asked.

"No," It was a sullen reply.

"Well cheer up a little kid, I'm only going to be gone a couple of days." I joked.

"What?" He asked

"Nothing, what's going on with you?"

"Darry went back too work. Soda want's to know if he can borrow you're car today since its raining and Steve's is being weird."

"He knows the drill."

"You can borrow it but if you get any tickets, wreck it or put any scratches on it, it's going to be your ass!" Pony shouted. The kid had every phrase I said down to the tee. I began laughing.

I had forgotten about the cigarette and dropped it on me. "Shit." I smothered the thing in the ashtray and said bye to Pony.

"You shouldn't cuss in front of children." Grace scolded almost immediately. "It set's a horrible example, so does smoking."

I lit up another smoke. "Mind your own business, the kid was smoking before I met him."

She gave me a disgusted look. "When did you meet you're child? How old is he?"

I laughed. "He's not my kid, he's my baby brother and he's thirteen, then I have another one that is Seventeen. Then there is Darry who is twenty going on fifty-nine. Here." I threw my wallet at her."

She picked it up and her green eyes nearly burned a hole in the wallet. "You and you're father look very much a like same with Darry. You could be twins."

"Why are you with these people?" She said holding up a three year old family portrait of me; my sister and parents back in L.A."

"That's my Mom and Step Dad and sister. I lived in L.A with them, that's why I just now met Soda and Pony."

"You're father thinks of some different names. You're parents didn't get a divorce did they?" She looked alarmed.

"Never married."

"Jesus help them." She muttered.

"What hell is that supposed to mean? My parents were good people not sinners. You're catholic ways aren't what's real."

"No but they are what's moral!" She nearly screamed.

"Maybe to you, do you know there are other religions and people?"

"I don't care about them. I choose to talk to well rounded people not bastards!" She shoved her red hair out of her face.

"Yeah, well I choose to talk to cultured people. Not judgmental, narrow-minded little girls. Take you're head out of you're ass. My fourteen year old brother knows more about this world than you ever will." I blew my smoke out hard in her face. "Fire crotch."

"How dare you"

"How dare you call me a bastard?"

(Soda's P.O.V)

I threw my head down in my hands and groaned. "He's going to kill me!"

"Easy buddy, you're lucky that cop didn't take your license away!"

"Steve, I got a speeding ticket!" I cried aloud. "Darry told me I would be in my room all day. If I got another one and Sunny is going to murder me!"

"He isn't here! Look we'll go down and pay it tomorrow before work because when we close today it won't be open. Sunny won't ever know! Besides, he just went to the Beatles concert in Austin. I'm sure he's in a great mood."

"I hope you're right!"

We manage to carry through on our plan but Sunny came home anything but happy.

He was sitting on the couch staring at the TV but he wasn't watching it. He was doing anything but watching it. I walked over and sat down next to him putting my head down on his shoulder. Sunny wrapped his arm around me.

"Who's stronger you or Darry?" I asked.

Sunny lifted his left eyebrow. Darry's newspaper came crashing down.

"I am." They both answered.

Sunny shook his head. "It won't matter something tells me Pony is going to have us all beat by the time he hits eighteen."

"I'll be in charge then." Pony grinned.

Darry glanced at the clock. "You aren't now, go get ready for bed."

"I better go too." I followed Pony down the hall into our bed. It wasn't that late except Darry wanted us both in bed when we had to get up real early for work and school so it was eleven. I feel asleep quickly only to be woken up by Pony. He was shaking me.

"mmm?" I rolled over to face him. "What Pony?"

"Shh, listen."

I obeyed, You could hear Darry and Sunny in the other room they were playing something by the way they were talking it sounded like chess.

"I haven't heard Darry laugh like that in a long time."

"I know not since before Mom and Dad died." I agreed.

"His other family keeps calling here. They called like eight times that one day."

I hit the quilts. "Damn it." I guess I was starting to pick up Sunny's habits now.

"Think he'll ever go back?" Pony asked.

"I don't know. There's always that chance." I said. We heard footsteps and both down back into our pillows. The door opened light from the hallway came flooding.

"We didn't wake them up." Sunny said. "You're hearing things."

I jogged home from work the next day. It was a good because we were slow and it was Thursday Sunny would be home when Pony and I got home. Darry however would be at work until seven. I walked in the house eerie quite. I saw Pony's shoes in the corner. Sunny was talking in a low voice on the phone to someone. I knew it was someone from L.A. He always talked different when it was someone from there.

"Hey Pony." I said. He was on his stomach with books sprawled everywhere.

"Sunny said you needed to change and I needed to get my homework done and we could meet Darry for Pizza at seven." He said not looking up from his math problems.

"Fair deal." I smiled.

"Ponyboy." Sunny appeared in the doorframe. "Go take a break for a minute."

Pony sort of rolled off the bed grabbing his cigarettes. Sunny waited looking down at his feet, when the screen door slammed he looked up at me.

"I got a really interesting phone call today."

"Oh yeah?" I said; Sunny rarely raised his voice at us so you could hardly tell if he was mad or not. "From who?"

"Down town; my car seems to have a speeding ticket on it and it wasn't paid in full."

I bit down. "I paid it off."

"No you owe two dollars more. When did you have plans on telling me about this Soda?"

"I didn't"

"That's what I thought. Damn it boy!"