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Chapter 7

The next morning, Darry was dropping Soda off at the DX every morning. The beginning of the ride was mostly silent, with Darry keeping his eyes on the road and Sodapop looking at the events going on outside of the vehicle. To lighten up the mood, Soda turned to his older brother and exclaimed,

"So what are you doing for me and Steve?"

Darry grinned, but still kept his eyes on the road.

"You'll see."

"C'mon, Darry!"

"Nope. Sorry Pepsi-Cola."

"Aw man!"

With that, Sodapop imitated a small toddler pouting, complete with crossing his arms. This resulted Darry releasing a slight laugh, but his serious tone was still noticeable. Soda decided that he would get right to the point.

"So what are you so quiet for?"

Darry kept his eyes on the road, as usual.

"Just thinking about this girl Pony's talking to."

"Darry…C'mon. Pony's got a good head on his shoulders. And I don't see anything wrong with her."

As soon as Soda said that, it reminded him of a quote that his mother once told him about girls. She was telling him about practicing abstinence and said to keep himself away from sex no matter how the girls looked. She ended the lecture with "Looks can be deceiving."

Meanwhile at school, Ponyboy noticed Two-Bit in the hallway. Remembering how Sodapop and Steve were trying to get in contact with him last night, he literally ran to catch up with his best friend.

"Hey, Two-Bit. Where were you last night?"

Two-Bit turned around to him, still with the same attitude. Ever since the night where he informed the whole gang that his mother might go back to his father, he seemed less hyper, which didn't surprise any of his friends at all.

But people outside of the gang were being very spectacle. And Two-Bit knew it. They always saw him as this happy guy. Constantly cracking jokes and just acting crazy. But his friends knew better. Two-Bit was a normal guy who just happened to love life more than anyone.

"Yeah. Something really, really big came up-"

"And let me guess, you want everyone to meet at my house so you can tell them the news," joked Pony.

Two-Bit smiled and slapped his hand on Ponyboy's back.

"What the hey. I can tell you now. Well…my Mom told me and Sis last night that she's getting back together with my pops."

"Really! That's great….but then you'll have to move."

"Yeah, well that isn't all that bothering me."

With that Two-Bit just walked off and left Ponyboy there. But what was even more strange, was that Two-Bit walked through the doors of the school and into the world. Two-Bit would never leave school. Pony wanted to run up to him, but the bell rang. He made the quick decision that Two-Bit wasn't going to commit suicide and went to class. Besides after that class he would get to see Crystal…

Two-Bit continued to walk off campus and kept going for a while. Just thinking about how his life would change now. He spent his entire life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now he'll be heading to a brand new place.

As he walked on, he heard someone call his name. He turned the right to see Darry walking towards him, with his worker shirt hanging over his shoulder. He waved to the guardian as he walked towards him.

"Hey, Darry. On break?"

"Yeah. Actually, we're done for the day. The next houses won't be ready until tomorrow. So I've got until four o' clock to be free."

"That's good."

There was a slight silence between the two young adults until Darry spoke again.

"So what are you doing from school? I thought you liked it?"

"I do…It's just…well…"

Darry noticed that there was a problem and told Two-Bit to have a seat with him in his truck. As they got seated, Darry spoke again.

"Okay. What's bothering you?"

Two-Bit stared outside for a second and then started with,

"My moms getting back together with my dad."

"Oh really? That's good for her….Are you upset because you'll have to move?"

"No. Not really. I mean, when I do. I'll miss you guys. I truly will. But…I'm just worried about my mom."

Now it was Darry's turn to stare, Two-Bit continued.

"Besides your mom, my mom is the best woman I have ever met. She's taken care of me no matter how many times I've screwed up I've come home drunk, high, been jailed, held back in school, got in fights and stolen stuff. And I've yet to get kicked out of the house and or even be threatened by it."

"She could have easily been just like any one else's mom. She could have been an abuser like Johnny's, or walked out like Steve's. She could have even been some woman that I would never meet like Dally's. But she's none of those. I know that when Dad just left, she had to go through a lot. She could have even given me and my sis away. But she didn't. And if my dad does that to her….I can't see her going through all that again."

Darry just nodded. He knew how his friend felt. He knew exactly how his friend felt.

"Two-Bit…I know that you may be worried about your mom's well being when she goes back. Well, just remember this. If your dad doesn't want to be the man of the house, then she had another man to take his place."

Two-Bit looked at Darry and smiled. That really did light up Two-Bit's day. It also reminded him that his mother was a strong woman, with two strong children by her side.

"C'mon," said Darry as he turned on the ignition. "I'll let you hang out at the house. Soda cooked last night so there are plenty of leftovers."