The sound of crickets chirping was the only sound that he could here as Sodapop sat quietly outside on the porch. His eyes focused on the fireflies that shot through the darkness, their flickering lights appearing on and off with each breath that he took. It was amazing how many things he could notice in the evenings when he wasn't focused on deceiving his family and his friends. It had been awhile since he had even been able to sit on the porch without worrying who would walk by and overhear his conversations with Cindy. Yet now that she was back in school and the holidays had ended things would be different. They wouldn't have as much time together. They wouldn't have as many late night conversations or midnight adventures. Instead, they'd most likely not see much of each other unless it was in response to car troubles or something of the sort.

The idea of having to resort to such things had originally put a damper on his spirit; after all he had gone through such lengths to make certain that they could be happy together as a married couple. Yet now he was somewhat relieved that he wouldn't have to see her tonight. There was no way he could lie to his brothers in a few moments and then lie again to her in regards to the drag racing. It would have been impossible.

Almost as if his brothers knew he had been thinking about them, Sodapop heard the sound of Darry's truck driving towards the house before the engine was shut off. He could hear both of them arguing about something that had happened earlier in the day but he had no interest in finding out just what it was. All he knew was that he didn't want them both in this mood when he had to say what he had to say.

Rising from the porch, he laughed some, watching them both as they stopped at the bottom of the steps, their arguing preventing them from seeing that they had a spectator.

"You two gettin' along still I see," Soda called, a smile on his face as he jumped from the top of the porch and landed in front of them. The sound of his footsteps hitting the concrete made enough noise to silence his brothers for a moment before they both turned to glare at him in annoyance and disapproval.

Forcing a smile to remain on his lips as he looked at them both, Sodapop reminded himself that he needed them on their best behavior before he could talk to them about the drag racing. It wasn't as if they minded drag racing as a sport but they had both expressed their dislike in him drag racing since the incident with his car during the last race.

Ignoring the glares that they both continued to send in his direction, Sodapop continued to urge himself on mentally as he took a few steps back towards the porch. Stepping onto the bottom step, he smirked, nodding towards the house. "I made dinner, its normal," he stated, watching as his brothers exchanged a glance before following him into the house.

As they all entered into the building, Soda was thankful for the silence. He knew that both of them had to be mulling over what possible motive he could have in making dinner and interrupting their fight, but he didn't care. As long as they were cooling off then nothing would be a problem. Deciding to keep his thoughts on this positive aspect, he headed towards the kitchen and returned, putting the dinner on the table before sitting back in his spot between his brothers.

The silence continued through the majority of dinner before Darry dropped his fork on his plate, his eyes flashing towards his younger brother as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "What you plannin'?" he asked, his tone explicitly stating to Soda that he wouldn't be able to avoid the topic any longer. When Darry wanted to know something then Darry wanted to know then.

Glancing between his brothers, for Pony had put down his fork as well, Soda grinned good-naturedly at them, hoping it'd ease the impact. "Steve and I are drag racin next weekend," he stated, letting it all come out instead of steadily working up to it. As he let the statement sink in, he prepared himself for the remarks that would come from his brothers. Instead, he heard a statement that took he by surprise.

"Why?"

Turning to his gaze to Darry he shrugged slightly. "Socs was messin' with Steve and they challenged us to a race so we goin'," he replied casually. "It ain't gonna be nothin' big."

Darry nodded slowly, studying his younger brother's face. "You and Steve versus the Soc only?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Cops come you run," Darry stated, pushing his chair away from the table. Grabbing his dishes he headed towards the kitchen and a few moments later Soda and Pony could hear the sound of glass falling into the sink. Turning his gaze to Ponyboy, Sodapop waited to hear what his younger brother had to say; instead, he only received a slight shrug from his brother before he too got up and brought his dishes into the kitchen.

As the room fell silent once more, Sodapop sighed in relief as he slumped back in his chair. Somehow he had gotten lucky that evening with his brothers. Now all he had to do was hope Cindy would understand when he told her.

The light from the street lamp outside drifted in through her window as Cindy sat quietly on her bed. The whispering voices from earlier filled her mind as she sighed, her teeth digging into her lower lip. How was she supposed to go through another day of gossiping tomorrow? How was she supposed to pretend that everything was okay?

Feeling as if she was never going to be able to understand the answers, she laid back on her bed, her eyes flickering towards the phone as she debated on calling Sodapop. True, she knew she couldn't tell him about everything that had happened, but at least she'd be able to hear his soothing voice. As this positive aspect of the situation took root in her mind, she reached over, picking up the phone before the door to her room opened.

Dropping the phone quickly back down, she sighed in relief as she spotted Cherry coming into the room. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she smiled some as she watched her cousin sit on the bed beside her.

"What were you doing?" she asked, her gaze shifting between Cindy and the phone before back to her cousin.

Cindy shrugged slightly, "Thinking about calling Sodapop."

"It's late."

"I know," she replied, sighing as she laid back on her bed once more. As she allowed the silence to grow between them, her mind moved to other thoughts that had been bothering her for a few hours. "Sherri, do you think Soda's one of the Greasers in the drag race?" she asked after a few moments, her eyes turning to look at her cousin.

Shaking her head, Cherry smiled softly at her. "He wouldn't do something like that again. His brothers wouldn't let him," she replied reassuringly as she laid down beside her cousin. "Besides, he wouldn't do anything that'd cause you to worry," she continued, hoping that her voice was more comforting than she felt.

Nodding slowly, Cindy smiled softly as she closed her eyes, listening to her cousin's response. "Your right, Sherri…" she replied quietly, her mind slowly changing to other topics as she allowed herself to drift off into a light slumber.

Next to her, Cherry watched as her cousin fell asleep, her breathing becoming shallower by the minute. As she watched her, she made a mental note to talk to Ponyboy the next day to find out if Soda was truly a part of the drag race and if he was, what it would take to make him drop the race.