Author's Note: This chapter was originally published as the one-shot Something Inside (That Was Always Denied) as sort of a preview of this story. It's still up because it went through quite a few edits to fit this work. So if you recognize parts of it in this chapter, that's why!

Happy reading :)

XXXXX

Darry had to excuse himself from jury duty, but he honestly didn't seem that upset about it – now he could get back to work roofing. He told me and Sodapop that with everything that had happened in our neighborhood, he was too close to it and too biased to make a fair decision, especially since I'd found one of the girls. But the thing was, with all this new evidence, the whole thing had kinda been put on hold. I really didn't understand the justice system, was what I was learning.

"I wouldn't be completely surprised if they asked you to testify," Darry told me one night at dinner. I sighed; I'd been to court once before – I didn't want to go again.

"What would I even have to say?" I grumbled. "You know my story as well as I do – it'd take me thirty seconds. It'd be pointless."

"I'm just sayin' to not be surprised if it happens. If. 'Kay?"

I nodded, but I still wasn't happy he'd even suggested it.

XXXXX

I really only saw my family anymore when we ate.

(We needed to pick a weekend and…and just go do something.)

Weekday breakfast was still just as rushed as it was during the school year, the table covered in plates and glasses and buttered toast and a plate of bacon on top of oily paper towels and the milk and the coffee and the ketchup and the butter and the jelly and discarded napkins. We were really a messy bunch, and I always got left to clean it up, which made me feel sorta sour. At least the radio was playing some good stuff.

"Man, I don't know what's in the water out there," Soda shook his head, referring to San Francisco, "but man, did The Doors really come through for me this year."

"The Doors ain't that good, Soda," Darry grumbled, sitting down at the kitchen table with his trademark egg-'n'-bacon-'n'-tomato sandwich and a cup of coffee. "The closest I think I've ever come to bein' in Hell was when I was standin' in line at the grocery store last week and that song came on – which one is it? It's seven minutes, or somethin'. It's shit."

"It's called 'Light My Fire', and I'll have you know, Darrel Curtis," Soda waved his spatula at him, bits of egg getting flung all over the place, "that it ain't shit."

"You're right," Darry shot back cheerfully. "It ain't shit. That's for damn sure."

Soda squinted at him and shook his head like he was crazy. If you ask me, I'm kinda indifferent towards The Doors, but my opinion on The Beatles is sure changed after Sergeant Pepper's came out. I know the guys don't agree with me, but they're all crazy cuz The Beatles are amazing. Bridget owns the record, and I ask her to play it for me every time I go over to her house to read, and she's more than happy to do so. She'll sit in the library with me and stare out the window, just listening, while I lay sprawled out on the floor and read. I must have heard it at least a dozen times now.

(Fourteen-year-old Ponyboy would probably hardly recognize fifteen-year-old Ponyboy!)

"You workin' tonight?" I asked Darry, who sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, as if to ask God for help. He was in a hurry this morning, but that wasn't unusual. He didn't have long to get a move on. This case was taking longer than any of had expected, and the fact that he still couldn't say anything about it – even though we had our suspicions – was driving us insane.

"Yeah, I've got a shift at the warehouse. Just for a few hours."

"I'm workin' to five, same as always," Soda chimed in, even though no one asked and we already knew what hours he kept, and he sat at the table with his jelly-covered eggs, licking some off his thumb. Darry grimaced. "Guess yer on your own again today, Pone."

"Great," I grumbled. Same as always. "Guess I'll go see Casino Royale again. Alone. Again."

"Aw, Pony, don't be like that," Soda said. "You know we ain't tryin' to avoid ya."

"I am," Darry said, smirking. I rolled my eyes. You can always rely on Darry for a dig like that. And I wasn't so sure Sodapop was right. It sure felt like everybody had been avoiding me. I sighed and fed TD some bacon under the table.

"Mornin', Curtises!"

Two-Bit and Steve came in from the back, the screen door slamming so hard behind them that our plates shook. Steve pulled up a chair between Darry and Soda and Two-Bit pulled up between me and Darry, sitting backwards and leaning on the back of his chair. "It's hotter 'n shit out there," Steve sighed, pulling a piece of bacon from the plate in the center of the table, the paper towel they were resting on wet with oil and grease. "You almost ready, Soda?" Soda nodded. "Shoes?"

"By the door."

"You're still gonna forget."

"Shut up."

"What're y'all doin' here?" Darry asked. "Surely you didn't come over just to ruin my breakfast."

"Aw, Darrel," Two-Bit sighed, a grin tugging at his lips, "don't be like that! I'm the light of your life, and you know it."

Two-Bit batted his eyes at my oldest brother, who just shot him a wry look. "Sure," Darry drawled, shaking his head at our buddy. "Don't you got a girl to bug with that shit?" He asked, and Two-Bit tilted his head in his direction – touché.

I couldn't help but think, while the four of them were jabbering on, that I was getting real tired of the usual routine. This summer needed to get a shake-up, but I wasn't sure what. I mean, yes, there was the whole serial killer thing, but I meant for us. We'd all fallen into patterns, were all just stuck in a rut, and I wanted out of it. I wanted out! "Ya know what we should do?" I suddenly blurted out, and four pairs of eyes all turned to look at me, torn away from their separate conversations. They all looked a bit annoyed with me, too, but I forged ahead. "We should all go somewhere."

They all just stared at me for a little longer, silent, exchanging little looks. Darry looked back at me. "Yeah? Like where?"

Anywhere! I wanted to scream. The goddang moon for all I cared. We could take a field trip to Cape Kennedy and ask them to shoot us into space. Wouldn't that be something. But then I had to think more realistically. "San Francisco," I said quietly, and then sat back as the realization of what I'd said sunk in. Because they all started laughing like that was just the funniest damn thing they'd ever heard in all their lives. Maybe that wasn't as realistic as I thought it was. I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well, well," Steve sighed, wiping his eyes, "I knew it, ya dirty hippie."

"Yeah, Pony," Two-Bit jeered, "you been listenin' to too much Jefferson Airplane?"

"Shuddup, Two-Bit," I grumbled. "You too, Steve. And who's Jefferson Airplane?"

"They're a band…?" Two-Bit said like I was an idiot.

I felt my face just get hotter. "Look, just cuz y'all are boring as shit –"

"Alright, alright," Darry said, trying to shut me up and get everyone else to stop laughing. "Pony, even if we could afford to go somewhere, I wouldn't wanna spend my summer with a bunch of pot-smokin' hippies."

I rolled my eyes. Darry was such a square. And such a contradiction. He didn't support Vietnam, but he grumbled every time he saw a guy who kept his hair loose and long. I don't know how he could stand to look at Two-Bit these days because that's the only way he wore his hair now. Come to think of it, as I really looked at them, he and Steve and even Soda looked a little different. It was something with their hair.

"It wouldn't be so bad, I don't think," Soda said. "It'd prolly be real laid-back, ya know? And just cuz everyone else is smokin' pot don't mean you have to."

"Well, we ain't goin' anyways! So that's that," Darry said pointedly. He looked at his watch. "I'm gonna be late. I gotta get goin'."

"That's our cue," Steve sighed. "Thanks for the laugh, Pony. You're a real riot." And he and Soda got up, too, and sure enough, Steve had to remind Sodapop to grab his shoes. In a matter of just a couple minutes, the three of them had left, and it was just me and Two-Bit. Again. That was the norm, though, wasn't it? He sketched a wave at them as they left and then turned on me, smiling. I scowled again. He was clearly cookin' something up in his brain – I could see the gears start to turn, the cobwebs falling off – and I had to put a stop to that.

"Don't start in on me again," I spat. Two-Bit held up his hands. I felt a little bad that it seems that he's the one who always has to put up with my moods, but I guess he's the one who's here.

"I wasn't gonna. I get it kid – you're bored. We've been ditchin' ya all summer. Ya spend so much time alone you start gettin' into all those hippie-dippy ideas. It's bound to happen!" He smiled like he'd cracked it, but I just shook my head and pushed my now-cold eggs around on my plate. Two-Bit's smile fell and he sighed. "Really, kid. I'm sorry you've been kinda alone this summer."

Two-Bit sounded so sincere that I couldn't really stay mad, even though I wanted to. "It's okay."

"No it ain't. I mean, your brothers gotta work. And Steve…well, he's Steve, we'll leave it at that." He laughed a little. "But that means that leaves me, I guess. So I really am sorry. Cuz I know I ain't the best company in the world, but at least I'm better than Mr. Curly Shepard." He cocked an eyebrow at me and I felt my cheeks get hot. "Guess so."

That's the last time I tell Two-Bit anything. Though, to be fair, I sorta told everybody about my encounter with Curly the other day, and they'd all said I should keep my distance. They were probably right, but I still felt like I should stick up for him a little since he wasn't even here to defend himself. It's not like I knew the whole story. "He ain't all bad."

"Yeah," he drawled. "But he ain't all good, either."

No. No, I guess he wasn't.

"Is there anything you've been wantin' to do lately?" He asked, continuing on without waiting for me to say anything, which is fine because I don't know if I really had anything to add to that. "I mean – besides runnin' off and joinin' a hippie commune," he laughed. I just rolled my eyes.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I feel like I've done everything this town has to offer."

Two-Bit stuck out his bottom lip. "Well, I guess that means you gotta start makin' yer own fun. Know what I mean? You can't just sit around in that kiddie pool all day readin' the same books over and over while you pet That Damn Dog. Well, ya could, but. Ya know. We need to make sure you stay socialized so you people don't think you're some sorta retard when you get back to school in the fall."

"Well, you got any bright ideas then?"

That's always a dangerous question to ask Two-Bit because he's pretty much a master of mischief and getting anybody with a five-hundred-foot radius of him into trouble. He may only just now be getting to is senior year, but he's not a complete idiot, especially when it comes to making a scene. But all he said was, "C'mon – we're takin' a drive."

He had a little trouble getting the truck started up at first, and I told him he needed to find a new ride. He emphatically agreed, but the old girl started up eventually and off we roared, headed towards the west side. I didn't know what to expect at first, but then I started to recognize our route – it was the way to Bridget Stevens' house. I took a deep breath and told myself to act as normal as possible because I didn't want Two-Bit finding out that I've been using her father's library. It just felt like something I should keep to myself, so I zipped my lips shut and kept 'em shut as we parked and went up the front walk, and Two-Bit pounded on the blue front door.

"If her old man comes to the door, we tell 'im we got the wrong place," he told me. I narrowed my eyebrows.

"How come?"

He bit his lip. "Cuz he don't know yet, that's how come."

"Oh."

There was a moment where I think we both held our breath as the door was unlocked and was thrown open, but it was just Bridget. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the both of us standing on her front porch. Two-Bit went the suave route; I went the Boo Radley direction. "Well, hey, guys…what're you two getting up to?"

"Or, hi, Two-Bit, how wonderful to see you after so, so, so long!"

She scowled at him. "Come off it. Hi, Ponyboy," she greeted, probably just to include me, and I looked up and smiled at her. She was smiling back at me in that conspiratorial way that definitely said we were sharing a secret, and it made me feel sort of cool, ya know? That I'd been doing this thing that nobody but the two of us knew about it. Two-Bit didn't notice the looks, just jumped right in.

"Honey, I have a question."

"Well, gee, Two-Bit," she drawled, leaning against the door jamb all cool in a way I'd never seen her, "you could've just called, ya know?"

He waved her off. "We were already out. Listen, that record store, the one you dragged me to a while back? Ya know, the one that reeked of reefer? What's it called?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Um. Good Vibrations, I think. It's on fifth."

"Good Vibrations?" Two-Bit repeated, and she nodded. "Jesus Christ. Alright then! C'mon, Pony."

"Wait – is that where you're headed?"

"Yeah, that's where we're goin'."

Bridget looked hopeful. "Mind if I tag along?"

"You just had to let her tag along, huh?" I whispered to my buddy once we got there, looking around, keeping up a façade so he wouldn't catch on to anything. I don't know why I didn't want him to know exactly, I just knew it felt good to have a secret that for once wasn't hurting anyone.

Good Vibrations had beads hanging in every doorway and psychedelic posters hanging on the walls. I had to keep from laughing when I heard "Light My Fire" playing, imagining Darry standing in the middle of this store with that sour expression on his face that he gets. Yeah, he really wouldn't like it here. And it really did smell like reefer, like Two-Bit had said. Well…I mean, I think that's the smell of reefer. It sure didn't smell like nicotine and Sen-Sen breath mints.

"Quit yer whinin'," Two-Bit said. He was stood between me and Bridget, us in our torn-up jeans and T-shirts and her in her pedal pushers. We sure didn't look like the clientele that this store would usually attract, that's for sure. And any plain observer could see that I was their third wheel. Great.

"The guy at the counter, see him?" Bridget asked. "He's been to Haight-Ashbury."

Two-Bit looked at her. "That so?" He asked, then looked back at me. "You should ask him about it, kid."

I raised my eyebrows. "Is that why you brought me here? So I could talk to some stranger about San Francisco?"

Two-Bit smiled. He'd played me. "Ya got me. You were curious, though. Might as well talk to 'im, right? Get the low-down?"

The guy at the counter looked to be about their age, probably a little older. He had longer hair than I'd ever seen on a guy, wore tie-dye and a necklace. Two-Bit and Bridget had wandered away from me, off in their own little world. I approached the guy at the counter and he smiled when he saw me.

"Hey there!" He greeted happily. "I'm Matt. Welcome to Good Vibrations. Can I help you find something?"

Matt sure didn't sound like he was from around here. He had a dreamy voice and a smile on his face the entire time he talked to me.

"Oh, I'm not really lookin' for anything in particular. My friends over there said you've been to San Francisco?"

Matt lit up, as if he wasn't lit already. "Yeah, man. You thinkin' of going?"

I shook my head, but I wished I'd lied and said yes. "Nah. Curious though. What's it like? It's different from here, right?"

Matt laughed. "Sure is, man. It's great. Real different. Everyone here is so straight-laced. Bunch of cowboys and Republicans. It's just…it's so different out there it's crazy. Say, what's your name, kid?"

"Ponyboy Curtis."

Matt laughed again. "Well, hey, Ponyboy Curtis. That's quite the name."

"Well, my dad was quite the original person," I said, feeling myself start to smile. "My brother's name is Sodapop, ya know."

"Wow, no kiddin'?"

"No kiddin'. And we call my friend over there Two-Bit."

"Aw, I know Two-Bit. He an' Bee come in here all the time. I think she drags 'im here, but he's a hoot, ain't he?" Well, well, well. Whaddya know. So maybe I wasn't the only flower child in the gang. And I could see why the lifestyle would appeal to do it – he would just get to bum around. (And now I sound like Darry.)

I snorted. "Guess you could say that."

"That chick he's with is always askin' me 'bout California, too," Matt said, stroking his chin. "How old are you, Ponyboy Curtis?"

"Fifteen," I said, and then instantly realized that was probably a mistake. There was no way he'd encourage a kid like me to go out there. "Why's that matter? I just wanna know about San Francisco."

"Well, it's real great," he said vaguely. "Ya know, if ya really wanted to go, there's a bunch of folks I know headed out there tonight. You could tag along if you really wanted to. See it for yourself." Matt made it sound so simple. He didn't know me. He didn't know my life. There was this whole great big world out there that I wanted to see, and I was so worried I would never get to see it. And here was Matt, telling me that if I really wanted to, I could just drop everything and go. I wish it were that simple for me. "But, I mean, for a kid like yourself, I dunno if it's the best idea. A lotta kids have gone out there and gotten hurt, ya know. And you don't go there and come back the same, Ponyboy Curtis," Matt went on. "You'll be a new person. It's a whole new way."

"A whole new way of what?"

He leaned in. "Of living."

But that did scare me. Would going change me forever? And how? And what did he mean when he said kids were getting hurt out there?

"Hey, Matt." Two-Bit and Bridget had reappeared, and she put the new Rolling Stones album on the counter. Now that I thought about it, they definitely seemed familiar with him. "Just this," she said pleasantly.

"Ya know," Matt said as he rang her up, "I was just telling your friend Ponyboy Curtis here that if you guys want, some of my buddies are riding out to California tonight. Meet back here around seven and you could go. Know you're dyin' to."

"We like it just fine here in Oklahoma, Matt," Two-Bit drawled, lighting up. Bridget looked a little upset that he'd answered for her. "Ain't that why you came back?"

"Aw, I came back cuz my mom needed help with the bills." Pretty unspectacular, huh? "But I can sure spread the word from here. And it ain't like you gotta spend the rest of your life there, ya know. You just go experience it. Too bad you missed the Monterey Pop Fest – those were some good times, man."

"I bet," Bridget said dreamily, then added quietly "I would like to go."

The more you know about a person, ya know? Matt seemed to be mostly talking to Two-Bit and I, treating her more like she was just a customer than someone who was wanting some of the same things I wanted. I wondered if maybe she didn't look like someone he could take seriously. Too pretty for a place he told me could get dangerous, could fundamentally change you. But she clearly wanted it – wanted the change. Two-Bit eyed her warily, like this was the first time he'd been hearing about any of this, but I'd bet money she'd mentioned it to him before. Matt handed her the record album in a paper bag. "Just think about it, yeah? See you guys around!"

The sky had clouded over as we walked around downtown, looking in store windows. I walked a few paces behind the two of them, as they talked about things only they knew about that I knew I would get lost in. I watched their hands – my point of focus, for a few minutes – and they reached for each other at the same time. I'd never seen that. Not between the two of them, Steve and Evie do it. But at the same time they grabbed for each other's hands, and it was odd – but nice – to me to see my friend do that. I didn't even really feel like I was third-wheeling anymore or anything. I was too busy thinking. Matt said going out there changed you – but how? I just wanted to be with people who liked the same new music that I did. Who wouldn't make fun of me for liking Sergeant Peppers like my buddies did. Who didn't laugh when I said I wanted to go out there without a real solid reason. Did I need a reason for everything?

"Where'd ya go, Ponyboy Curtis?"

Two-Bit and Bridget were watching me as we stood in front of a store selling televisions. The TV in the middle was set to a news program showing something about Vietnam. I cocked my head to the side and looked at them closely. "You two should go," I said all of a sudden. Two-Bit and Bridget looked at each other.

"Go where?" Two-Bit asked. But I knew he knew.

"To San Francisco."

Two-Bit looked unsure. Bridget looked back and forth between us with wide eyes. I didn't know her that well, not yet, but she looked to me like she was sorta scared at the suggestion – but excited, too. "I dunno, kid," Two-Bit drawled. "I mean, we've got things to do here, ya know."

"I know," I said. "But I still think you should go."

"I don't know, either," Bridget mused. "I mean…my parents, they'd hit the roof if I just up and disappeared like that!"

I shrugged. "Then don't disappear. Tell 'em where you're goin'."

Two-Bit frowned. "It ain't always that easy, Ponykid."

"Matt sure seemed to think so. And I get why I maybe wouldn't go. But that doesn't mean the two of you shouldn't. Matt said you're askin' 'bout it all the time," I said to Bridget, and she turned pink. "You know you wanna go. And you shouldn't go alone. So Two-Bit should go with you." I shrugged. It all seemed so simple to me.

"Kid, that's crazy. They leave tonight. I need more time to think about this!"

"Two-Bit –"

"I do want to go," Bridget said, and Two-Bit looked at her like she'd betrayed him. "I do. But don't you want to go too, Ponyboy?"

"Maybe." I turned to Two-Bit. "I don't know what I was sayin' this morning. But I think you should go, Two-Bit. I really do." Two-Bit stared at me. He stared at his new girl. She cocked an eyebrow, and I was jealous of her ability, and attempted it while they weren't looking. He looked back at me and I shrugged again. "I just think you'd like it," is all I said.

Two-Bit took a deep breath. "You better be right about that, Ponyboy Curtis, or I'm gonna kick your ass."

XXXXX

That night, I saw them off. Bridget looked like she was gonna fit right in with these people, with her crazy hair and the peasant dress she'd shown up in. Two-Bit had looked at her funny when he saw her, but hadn't said anything. Something told me he was about to see a whole new side of her. Another something told me they were both about to learn things about each other.

"You sure about this, kid?"

"I'm not the one you should be asking. It's you who's goin'."

Two-Bit shook his head. "That ain't what I mean. I mean, this is your idea. You're the one who wanted to go. Why ain't you?"

I shrugged. "Like you said – there's things here for me. 'Sides – Darry would hit the roof at the thought of me heading out there, even with you tagging along. And Steve would never stop makin' fun of me."

Two-Bit snorted. "You mean he's never gonna stop makin' fun of me." He leaned up against the Volkswagen van they were about to take off in, painted bright yellow and covered in stickers and decals of flowers and swirls and these amoeba-looking things. I liked it, though. I liked how colorful it was. "I'm never gonna hear the end of this."

"Yeah, well, it was my idea. So I'm sure we're both gonna have to take it."

"But maybe it ain't the worst idea, to get away from here for a couple weeks," he added thoughtfully. "Get her away from here."

I knew what he was getting at, why he was worried. It's funny, loving someone enough to want to protect them at any cost. I don't know if I've ever quite felt that way, maybe I have and I just don't know it, but I think I'm realizing that there are people out there that would do the same for me. "Yeah," I said quietly. "So, uh, your mom…"

"Knows she can't stop me," he said, shrugging. "You know her. Lets me get away with too damn much." Two-Bit smirked. "Aw, kid. This is crazy. This is crazy! I hate to leave you like this. Wasn't I just sayin' earlier that I should hang around more with ya? Now I won't get to!"

I shook my head. "It's okay. Go do this. You deserve to get outta here, too. You don't wanna hang around me the whole summer."

"Oh, but I do, Ponyboy Curtis," he whispered, like it was a big secret. He clapped me on the shoulder. "Shit. I'mma miss you. Everybody."

"Aw, go on," I laughed, cuz if we're being honest, this was making me feel all sappy and weepy and I didn't want Two-Bit to see me cry, even though he's been putting up with my tears since I was born – literally. I heard him chuckle somewhere beside me.

"Two-Bit?"

Bridget was standing by the back hatch. She really was a cute girl, and she looked right, all backlit by the setting sun and surrounded by all this color. Everyone else had already gotten in the van, except the driver. I'd met him – he was a nice guy. There was also a black girl with a big afro; she was wearing a leather jacket with a cool patch of a panther on it over her sundress (which was sort of an odd combo, but it suited her, I thought.) She let me get a closer look at it. I wanted to draw it. Her name was Cynthia, and I decided I liked her.

"Ready?" He asked, and if you didn't know him you probably wouldn't have heard the little crack in his voice. She nodded. "'Kay…be there in a minute." Bridget nodded again, and I wondered if maybe she'd heard it, too, because she looked at him with maybe just a little bit of worry. But she didn't say anything else to us, just got in the van with Cynthia. Two-Bit sighed and grinned at me one last time.

"Be good, Ponyboy Curtis," he said, and he walked away, and I couldn't help but think as I waved to them that in a way, the Two-Bit Mathews we all knew was walking away for good. Because from what I'd heard, nobody goes to San Francisco and comes back the same.

XXXXX

I waltzed into the house before curfew but later than I've been staying out this summer. When the door slammed behind me, both Soda and Darry looked over at me. They were just sitting on the couch together, in the dark, TV on and glowing across their faces. I was surprised to see Darry home – this was a bit early for him since jury duty started.

"Where've you been?" Darry asked.

"Place called Good Vibrations. What're you doin' here so early?"

"Shift got cancelled. What's Good Vibrations?"

Soda said something about it being a Beach Boys song. I said, "It's a record store."

Darry rolled his eyes. "What'd you find there?"

"I was just seein' Two-Bit and his girl off. They're headed to San Francisco."

Darry and Soda both sat up and looked at me like I was nuts. "They're what?" They asked, at the exact same time, in perfect unison. They were looking at me like I'd just grown a second head. I nodded.

"Yep. They're in a VW bus headed for California." I flopped down between them. Darry and Soda shared a look over my head.

"They just…up and went," Soda said, still confused.

"Yep."

"Damn," Darry breathed. "Ol' Two-Bit hangin' around with a bunch of hippies."

I shrugged and leaned back into the old sofa's cushions. "Didn't take much to convince him."

"That girl he hangs around with sure seems the type," Soda said, a smile in his voice, and he laughed a little. I wondered how he knew that. "So, why didn't you go?"

"Soda!" Darry burst, but Soda held up a hand to stop him.

"Seriously. With all that talk this mornin', I'm surprised you didn't just hop in and go with 'em. I mean, it'd be one'a the dumbest things you'd ever done" – Darry mumbled an amen under his breath – "but I woulda got it. Why you'd go. So why didn't you?"

"Jesus, Sodapop, it's like you're encouraging him –"

"No, he's right," I jumped in. I looked between my brothers. "But, I dunno. Something just told me not to go."

Darry scoffed. "Maybe it was common sense."

"Or maybe the smell of patchouli turned ya off," Soda joked.

"Maybe," I sighed, leaning against Darry's shoulder. I could feel his muscles move as he turned his head to look down at me, and I'm sure he looked at Soda in a way that said Jesus, what's with him? "Maybe it was both."

I know why I stayed.

XXXXX

"So ol' Two-Bit's in San Francisco." Steve looked baffled, hands on his hips and shaking his head ever so slightly. "Imagine that."

"I am," Darry shot back moodily. "And I don't know if I like it."

"Aw, c'mon, Darry." Soda came into the kitchen and clapped him on the shoulder. "If you had the chance to get outta here, wouldn't ya?"

Darry rolled his eyes. "Yes, but that's not the point. The point…the point is that who knows what the hell it's like out there. You've heard them talk about it on TV. Seems nuts."

"Seems neat to me," I said. I'd been poking my tongue in-and-out of my Pepsi bottle until that point.

"Oh, we know," Steve laughed. "Darry, all they do is sit around and smoke pot and shit on Johnson. Who cares? They're too high to jump each other."

"I dunno," Darry shrugged. "The news said – "

"That's just Haight-Ashbury. Two-Bit's got a good head on his shoulders." Steve mumbled 'surprisingly.' "He's not gonna let anything happen to 'em. Whole city for them to see, not just one street."

"Good thing you didn't go, like all those other kids who run away from home just to step on a needle and get hospitalized," Darry said to me, shaking his head. I shrugged happily.

"I ain't got anything to run away from!"

XXXXX

A week later, we got a package and a postcard in the mail with a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge on the front and Two-Bit's all-cap scrawl on the back. Steve just shook his head when he saw it. Darry muttered something about "damn hippies." Soda smiled as he dumped a multitude of beads and tie-dye from the parcel, pulling a shirt on over his grease-stained one.

"I think they're good colors on me," Soda said, checking himself out in the mirror. "Yeah. Darry Curtis, I demand you try one of these on!"

I just read the postcard over and over.

I've heard Sgt. Peppers more times than I think is healthy for one lifetime. Hope y'all like the new duds – seems to be all you can get around here. Everything and everyone smells like pot, including me, I'm pretty sure. But hey – you can't beat the view.

So I guess this is a thanks for making me do this, Ponyboy Curtis.

Two-Bit

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AN: Thanks for reading!