"Hungry, Mathews?" Dally asked, raising his eyebrows, as the middle-aged waitress continued to put down all the food Two-Bit had ordered. He'd gotten scrambled eggs, and toast, and pancakes, and sausage, and bacon, and even a hamburger for later.

"Hey, I'm a growin' boy," Two-Bit said defensively. "I gotta take advantage of being able to eat whatever the hell I want for as long as I can."

They were at Denny's. Two-Bit's favorite place to go for breakfast. And it just so happened to be en route to Buck's.

The waitress set down the bowl of oatmeal that Dally had ordered. "You sure that's all you want to eat?" she asked him. "This other kiddo's putting you to shame."

"If I wanted more, I would've ordered it," Dally said coarsely. "Get lost, sweetheart."

The waitress looked more shocked than offended, but she still stormed off in a huff.

"Oh come on, Dally, did you have to be so rude?" Two-Bit complained. "Now I can't order a milkshake because she'd probably spit in it."

Dally grinned sheepishly. "'Course I had to be rude. Don't you know me at all?"

Two-Bit rolled his eyes. "Just eat your oatmeal, Winston," he said. He picked up his fork and started making a dent in his stack of pancakes.

In the time it took Two-Bit to finish his feast, it took the same amount of time for Dally to eat just half of his bowl of oatmeal. Two-Bit watched him carefully throughout the meal. Dally was really struggling to eat. Each bite he took seemed like it was in slow motion, and he had to rest and take deep breaths between each spoonful.

But Two-Bit didn't say anything. He knew Dally would just insist he was fine. Frankly, as long as he was eating (albeit just barely), Two-Bit was happy.

Buck Merril's place sure was deserted when Two-Bit and Dally walked in. Two-Bit didn't really expect any different. The place could get pretty rowdy at night, but on a Sunday morning, nobody had any business being there.

"Well, look who it is," Buck drawled, as he looked up to see who had walked in the door. He was standing at the bar, putting away the glasses from last night. Hank Williams was playing in the background. "If it ain't Dallas Winston and Two-Bit Mathews. Finally made it out of the cooler, eh Winston?"

"Don't I always?" Dally said smugly as he took a seat at the bar. Two-Bit joined him.

"We've missed you around here, man," Buck told Dally. "You ready to jockey next week?" He and Dally were rodeo partners. They jockeyed down at the Slash J. every so often. It's how Buck got his money – by fixing races.

Dally shook his head. "Nah, I'm out of practice, Merril. Give me a couple of weeks."

"Shoulda known," Buck said flatly. "I can always count on you to be a pussy."

Two-Bit had to laugh at that. Not many people could get away with calling Dallas Winston a pussy, but Buck was one that could. "He got you there, Winston," Two-Bit said.

"Yeah, yeah," Dally said, not caring. "You got any rooms available, Buck? I need a place to layover."

"Yeah, I think there's a couple still open," Buck answered as he returned to cleaning up the bar.

"Good," Dally said stood up. "I'm gonna go crash. Mathews, I'll catch you later." He nodded to Two-Bit and started to make his way to the stairs.

"Dal, wait," Two-Bit said. He hopped off his stool and pulled Dally over to the side so Buck couldn't hear. "You sure you're okay?" he asked lowly.

"Yeah, Two-Bit," Dally answered, sounding bored. "For the last time, you ain't got to worry about me."

Two-Bit looked at him uncertainly. "Okay," he said timidly. "Just take it easy, alright?"

Dally let out a genuine laugh. "I think you're forgettin' who you're talkin' to," he said. "Takin' it easy's in my blood." With that, Dally cordially punched Two-Bit in the shoulder and then trudged up the stairs.

Two-Bit booked it out of Buck's place once Dally had disappeared up the stairs. There was only so much of Hank Williams he could stand while he was sober.

As he got back into his car, Two-Bit wondered what he should do with the rest of his day. He went over his options. He could do his homework (he made himself laugh at that one). He could swing by the DX. Steve and Soda would be working today. Or he could go see what Ponyboy and Johnny were up to. He knew Darry would be a bump on a log. He was always so tired from his roofing job and Sunday's were his only day off. Maybe Two-Bit could offer to take Pony and Johnny to the movies and give Darry some peace and quiet for a change.

Two-Bit decided to swing by the Curtis's and see if Pony and Johnny would be up for a movie. He'd been wanting to see Thunderball, and he knew Ponyboy was really into the James Bond films. Hell, most people were. Sean Connery as Bond was just about all anyone could talk about. He just hoped Ponyboy hadn't already seen it on his own.