Hinton owns.


"His poor brother…"

I had to laugh too. Despite Soda loving the kid like nobody's business, he was always teasing him.


His lips wandered down my jawline and neck. His hands pulled at my blouse, un-tucking it from my skirt, and found their way underneath. "Soda…" I mumbled. "You're brother is home."

His hands found each other and locked together as he pulled away and looked me in the eyes, grinning. "He's in the shower," he whispered.

I listened as the water turned off and smirked. "Not anymore…"

He cocked an eyebrow and pulled me against him anyway, kissing me a few more times and letting his lips linger a little bit longer than the kiss before it. He pulled away and let his hands rest on the tops of my thighs, his thumbs dangerously close to somewhere they shouldn't have been. I smiled at his touch. "Sandy?" he whispered, tucking a piece of strand of hair behind my ear.

I bit my lip. "Yeah?"

"I-I think… I think," he started, stumbling over his words. Gosh, he was cute when he was nervous.

Ponyboy walked in. "You got a stutterin' problem or somethin'?"

Sodapop shot him a glare and shoved him lightly in the shoulder. "Shut up…" He grinned. "At least I got a girl to stutter to," he told Pony, who gave him a look and opened a few cabinets.

I giggled, kissed Soda's cheek, and slid off the counter.

"You stayin' for dinner, Sandy?" Ponyboy asked, looking for something to make dinner with. He pulled out a container of breadcrumbs.

I looked at Soda who smiled back, nodding his head yes. I shrugged and smiled as well. "Sure, why not."

Soda grinned. "Cool beans." He took the container from his brother's hands and opened the lid, peaking inside.

Ponyboy scoffed, receiving a hair ruffle from Soda. "You been hangin' out with Two-Bit too much during school, I think."


"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Who in the world is Two-Bit?"

I laughed. "I forget you don't know these people… Two-Bit was a friend of theirs. He was a part of their gang."

Jamie shook her head in disbelief. "Did you just say gang?"

I nodded. Sodapop looked good on paper, yes, but that didn't mean he was perfect. Of course, having a boyfriend in a gang when you lived on our side of town wasn't anything special.

"Sodapop was in a gang?" Again, I nodded. "No, he's too good." She shook her head, refusing to believe it.

"Actually, he could have quite a temper when he wanted to. He loved fights."

She smiled, shaking her head. "I don't believe you."


Soda was in the kitchen cooking, and Pony and I were in the living room doing our homework. I really wanted to be in the kitchen with Soda but he kept dragging me back out into the living room so I could finish my work. Said he wanted me free this weekend and he didn't want to be the reason I wasn't allowed out. He said he couldn't beat himself up if he was to blame for me not being allowed out to see him.

Darry walked in the door, took off his shoes, and shrugged off his jacket. He nodded a greeting at me and nudged Ponyboy with his foot. "Hey."

"Hey Darry," Pony mumbled, not looking up.

I smiled at him and closed my book. "Finished," I announced to no one in particular and got up, going to the kitchen to join Soda. He was standing in front of the counter, his hands resting against it, holding him up. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his middle. "I finished," I whispered, standing on my tippy toes so that he could hear me.

He turned and wrapped his arms around me. "Good thing too. I was getting worried I'd have to help you or somethin'."

"What smells so good?" Darry asked as he walked into the kitchen. He stopped and looked at us. "Am I interruptin' something?"

Soda squeezed my sides and let go of me, making me laugh. "We were just celebratin' Sandy's finishin' up of her homework, Dar."

Darry raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Soda swallowed hard and leaned against the counter. "Yeah, Dar, she just finished."

Darry looked around. "What about you, little buddy? I don't see any of your books. You do your homework?"

"I didn't bring any home with me…" I started to walk out of the kitchen, suddenly wanting to join Ponyboy. Soda looked at me and I could see the light bulb turn on over his head. He was going to change the topic. "Sandy's stayin' for dinner if that's okay."

Darry rubbed his face, and looked at me. "You called your parents?"

I nodded.

He sighed and looked back at Sodapop. "We'll talk about this later. Set the table."


Jamie cracked her gum and raised an eyebrow, smirking. "What's that all about?"

"You're about to see some of Sodapop's anger…"


Dinner was eaten in relative silence. I could feel the tension between the three brothers and I wished I hadn't agreed to eat over. I was kind of mad at Soda for thinking he could use me as a shield. I pushed it to the back of my mind though as the two of us sat on the couch watching TV. I still had some time left before my parents would flip their lids about me not being home.

Darry walked through the living room to get something out of his jacket, shooting pointed looks at Soda the entire time. On his way back, he tripped over some of Pony's books that were still lying on the floor. "Pony!" he yelled. "Get your butt in here right now and pick up these books!"

Ponyboy scrambled in and picked them up, placing them into a neat pile on the coffee table. "Sorry," he muttered.

"You can't just leave your stuff all over the place, kid. There are other people that live here."

Soda tensed and shifted in his seat. "Aw c'mon, Darry… you're mad at me, not him." Darry shot him a look. "What?" Soda questioned, his eyes narrowing. "Just say it, Darry. We all know you got somethin' to say."

Darry let out a frustrated breath. "How could you just not bring your books home, Soda? You're failing as it is!"

Soda shot up. "Exactly, Darry… I'm failing! What's the point in doing my homework if I ain't gonna pass anythin' anyway, huh?"

Darry straightened, showing off his muscles, and looking ready to strangle him. "Kitchen. Now."

Soda put his foot down and gritted his teeth. "No, say it to me here."

"Sodapop. Kitchen. Now."

"No!"

Ponyboy got up and walked outside, cigarette already in his mouth.

Darry rubbed at his eyes, frustrated. "You can't just drop out, Soda. I refuse to let you do it!"

"Dammit, Darry!" Soda punched the wall, placing a small dent in it and rattling the pictures on it. "I can dropout if I wanna!"

Darry crossed the room in two strides and grabbed Soda's arm, gripping it tightly. "Hey!"

Some words were exchanged and I finally decided it was time to join Ponyboy outside. I walked out, closed the door quietly behind me, and sat down next to Ponyboy. "This is an old fight, huh?" I greeted quietly.

Ponyboy puffed on his cigarette and nodded. "How long's he been thinkin' 'bout this, Sandy?"

I shrugged. "It's the first time I'm hearing about it, actually."

"Really?" I nodded. "I would've thought he would've told you by now with the way he talks about you an' all."

I blushed and shook my head. "Nope, it's really the first time."

We fell into an awkward silence, listening to Darry and Soda fight. Words were exchanged and things were bumped into. "I'm not gonna pass, Darry! We need the fuckin' money anyhow, so let me!" we heard Soda yell and something dull hit the floor—books most likely.

"We're fine, Soda! Stop worryin' and let me deal with it!" Darry yelled back. "You're gonna graduate and that's final!"

"We're not fine!" Soda yelled back and everything quieted down for a few moments. Pony laid down on his back and looked at the stars in an awkward angle, still smoking a cigarette. His brow was furrowed and I could see him thinking about it all.

The door swung open and out stepped Sodapop, all of my things in his hands. "Fuck off, Darry," he yelled.

"Soda, get back in here! We're not done with this!"

Sodapop ignored him and stalked off in the direction of Darry's truck. I mumbled a good-bye to Ponyboy and followed him to the truck, getting in beside him.

"Soda?" I questioned, placing a hand on his arm. He turned to me and I was shocked to see his normally smiling eyes flaring with anger. "I… I still have time. Let's go cool off at the park or something, okay?"

"Sandy?"

"Yeah?"

"I really fuckin' hate this…"


"I see you don't scold him for cussin'," Jamie stated.

I laughed and swatted her arm, shaking a finger at her. "You watch it, Missy."


I'm sick and reviews will make me feel better. :) Seriously.