Brigitte's POV

Soda drove the rest of the way home in silence. I don't know how he was able to ignore Pony's begging to just take him to Two-Bit's, and let him sleep it off. When we reached the Curtis' house, Soda took the keys out of the ignition and paused for a moment before getting out. Just as he was jerking Pony out of the back seat, Darry came out to meet us. I swallowed and slowly stepped out of the car, waiting for hell to break loose.

"Pony," Darry spoke calmly as he walked down the stairs, "where have you been, kiddo?" Soda was still holding Pony's arm, and the younger boy shook it off. His eyes darted toward me and then down to his feet.

"Pony," Darry spoke again, "Where were you?"

"I wasss at the Shepard's houssse." Pony was speaking in a low voice. I knew he was trying to cover his slurring, but Darry caught it anyway.

"Ponyboy, come here," Darry said firmly. Although his voice was calm, his eyes showed stirring anger. Slowly, Pony shuffled his way towards Darry, and we watched as he stumbled up the stairs. Darry caught him and held Pony by the shoulders. "I know you're upset, Pony, but that is no excuse for this kind of behavior. We're going to discuss this tomorrow. You're smart enough to know better." I could not believe how calm he was.

"Come on, Dar. You're never going to be Dad, ssso you're little talkssss are just pointlessss. And let go of me, I feel-" Ponyboy turned his head and threw up into the grass.

"Head to the bathroom, Pony!" Darry spoke loudly and practically pulled the kid up the stairs. Soda and I followed behind at a quick pace.

"Darry, I need to talk to you," Soda whispered after shutting the door. I knew it was about Angela, and I didn't want to be in the conversation so I snuck off to call Alex.

"Bri? Hey!" She answered the phone sounding groggy and disoriented. "Did you find him?" I told her yes that we had found him, and he was fine. However, I spared her of the other details. Alex thanked me for calling and hung up. When I walked back into the kitchen Darry and Soda were talking softly. Clearing my throat softly, I made my presence known.

"Hey, Bri, can you go check on Ponyboy?" Darry asked. He looked upsed, and I knew why. Soda's head was resting in his hand, but he looked up to mouth a "Thank you" before continuing his discussion with Darry. I was thankful to get out of there. I really couldn't stand seeing them so upset.

I tiptoed down the hall and stood outside the bathroom door before I went in. I could hear Pony moaning from where I stood.

"Pony," I knocked softly on the door, "Can I come in?" He let out a low groan and I took that to mean "yes." Ponyboy was sitting on the tile floor with an arm bent on the toilet and his head resting on his arm. His face looked pale, and his eyes were bloodshot. Slowly, I knelt down beside him and brushed his hair back. His skin was clammy, a little sticky. He was looking at me with tired eyes.

"It felt good, ya know?" he started. His voice was weak, but he was almost laughing. "I mean I just wanted to forget about her for one night. And after a couple rounds I did. So I thought it was cool and I thought 'Hey, this is great. I feel really good.' And I don't know. I don't know how Angela came in the picture. She was just there, telling me how perfect I was and all." He was rambling and I didn't want to hear the rest of what he was going to say.

"Pony, just stop, okay? I don't want to hear the rest." I knew I was being a lousy friend, but I couldn't stand to hear about him and Angela Shepard.

"Sorry, Bri. She made me feel really good about myself. Maybe it was just the booze, but man I felt good. On top of the world good. And now I just feel…I just feel-" He was throwing up again, and I moved behind him to rub his back. His body shook violently, and I knew he was miserable. When he finally stopped, I went to go get him a glass of water from the kitchen. He guzzled the whole thing before laying down on the bathroom floor. He pulled his legs toward his chest and closed his eyes.

"Hey, Pony, why don't you go get into bed?" I asked shaking his knee.

"Eh, I'm just going to stay here incase I get sick again." I went to his room and got a pillow and blanket to bring to him. After checking on Pony one more time, I went to join Darry and Soda in the kitchen.

"Well, I think he's finally asleep. What's the verdict?"

"Oh, I'm just going to talk to him in the morning." Darry sighed loudly and rose from the table. Soda followed and started to walk toward me.

"Darry, I'm sorry," I told him.

"Not you're fault at all, little bit. I'll take care of it tomorrow."

"You wanna stay here tonight?" Soda asked slinging an arm around my waist and pulling me into a hug.

"Nah, thanks though. Alex is at my house still, and I don't want to leave her alone. Call me in the morning, okay?" Soda nodded. "Goodnight, Dar."

"Night, Bee." Soda walked me to my car and told me to drive safely. The roads were slick after a little rain, but no one was on them. I liked to drive home when it was quiet outside, and I was the only one on the road. I turned my radio up loudly and sang along, trying to forget the nights' events.

When I got home, I made sure all the doors were locked before going to my room. Alex was awake and sitting on my bed with the table lamp on.

"How is he? I'm sorry. After you called I couldn't go back to sleep. I just keep thinking that I made a huge mistake. I'm going to talk to Dally tomorrow. I want to work things out with Ponyboy. I love him, and I know Dallas will understand. I mean I hope he will. Is Pony okay?" She was hugging a pillow and looking at me with worried eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, he's fine. Tired, but okay." My mind was turning, and I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick.

"Oh good! Where was he? I was worried he got jumped or something." She was smiling now. My heart ached, and I couldn't bear to tell her.

"He was out with Two-Bit, but he's home now." Atleast that was partly true. We talked for a few more minutes about what she would say to Dally before going to sleep. I laid awake even after Alex was asleep. I could not stop thinking about the smirk on Angela Shepard's face when she saw me earlier. I knew she'd be trouble. What was Pony going to do? He couldn't possibly have feelings for Angela, could he? Oh, poor Alex. She was going to be heartbroken. Finally, I fell into a restless sleep.