Chapter Fourteen

"Hi Two-Bit, Pixie." Kate said with a smile as we both came home a few hours later with Steve and Sodapop on our tail. "Hello Sodapop, hey Steve."

"Why hello, Katherine," Sodapop said cheerfully, they'd met the night before, it turns out he'd only actually heard about her before. "And how are you this fine evening?"

"Okay I guess," she giggled slightly. "How are you?"

"Fantastic! Brilliant! Marvellous!"

"He's had way too much sugar," Steve advised her. "Or he's taken drugs."

"Who took drugs?" Two-Bit asked with interest. "I didn't know you lot were druggies."

"I didn't know you were one," I said wryly at his sudden curiosity. "By your fascination evidently you are one."

"Stay away from my sister you drug taking hippie fairy thing!" Sodapop cried out grabbing me as he swung me out of the way and into Ponyboy. "Or you'll curse us all!"

I giggled. "Yeah you'll ruin us all!" I said pointed an accusing finger at him. "We'll all be at the station by nightfall, I can see it now," I informed them rubbing my temples mystically. "And you'll cast an evil spell and we'll all be domed!" I announced dramatically.

"It'll be all your fault!" Sodapop said loudly with a grin.

"Darry, I think they have both had too much sugar," Kate said sounding slightly worried as she looked at us. "It's like babysitting," she wailed suddenly. "Now I'm worried you've taken something!"

"Nah, don't worry, Kate." Ponyboy told her with a smile. "Those two were born on natural sugar highs so don't worry about them. They wouldn't touch drugs with a stick."

I smirked. "No, poking things with sticks is fun, didn't you know, Ponyboy? That's why I wake you and Soda up with the broom handle." I beamed. "It's just fascinating to see your reactions."

"You poke us with a broom handle?" Ponyboy said with an odd look. "Really? I've never noticed!"

I nodded eagerly. "Mmm, you're both normally half dead though. When Sodapop realized what I was doing he lunged at me."

"Did -" Sodapop begun then he spotted me winking at him and he nodded to confirm it. "Yeah, she's a loon, Pixie is. You gotta watch out for her Ponyboy, she's a kook."

"Kook?" Two-Bit asked.

"You know, nut job."

"Head case," Steve suggested. "Gonna be taken away by the men in white coats."

"Tuff, with the padded cells?" I asked eagerly sitting down on the floor as Kate giggled at me. "That I can like, run into?"

"And the stark white floors, and shoes, and jackets and food," Kate supplied taunting me slightly with a smile. "Every single thing is white, your hair turns white, your skin turns white. Even your eyes turn white!" I looked at her eagerly, now this was unexpected but Sodapop was looking at her with rapt attention. "Soon you can't even tell left from right or up from down. It all looks the same. That's why they go insane, they can't tell anything anymore. It's like being invisible, like they don't exist but they do. In their heads," she whispers tapping her forehead eerily.

I blinked and then broke into a grin and started applauding her. "You are so cool! Not even I would have that big of an imagination! Or Pony here," I added ruffling his hair, I do it on instinct now, the hair ruffling I mean.

"It is true though," Kate grinned.

Sodapop laughed. "You are a loon too. Where is your family from then? The loony bin?"

"Nah, just Oklahoma City." She said with a grin, "Where's your family from? The soda pop factory?" she smiled innocently.

I beamed and saw the challenge immediately. "See we have a really interesting family history," I told her confidently and I saw Two-Bit grin at me. "Our dad was a farm boy you see, always dreamed of having his own pony, never got one but he wanted boys you see. So he marries this girl, she worked at the coke factory."

"Did they have these boys then, Pixie?" Kate asked me sitting down on the floor opposite me and smiling politely. "Were they fortunate?"

"Very," I nodded. "They had their first boy and the girl wasn't for any silly names so they call him after the farm boy. Darrel," I say and Darry poked his head in and smirks at me, just having heard what I just said. "But they both decide one boy isn't enough for them, so they end up with twins, another boy and this time a girl. Now this time they decide to go with the girl's background. They call the son after their favourite drink, Sodapop and then they call the girl-"

"Pixie," Sodapop interrupted. "After their little pets that lived in their yard."

"But three kids weren't enough," I explained smiling at Soda. "They wanted another. So they waited awhile and they had another boy, a little boy."

"This time they go for the dad again. He always wanted a pony and a boy, so he puts them together and kapow! He gets Ponyboy!" Sodapop said cheerfully leaning on the wall. "And there you have it, our family history."

"Mines boring compared to you lots, Keith and Emily." He said rolling his eyes obviously. "I wish my mom was more interesting like your parents,"

For a minute I was going to say 'What about your dad?' and then I realized what I had to do, what Evie had said. I had entirely forgotten. I could have hit myself almost. I had spent nearly three hours at the DX with constant harassment of 'Can you tell us yet?' as well as being poked, yes poked, for three hours straight I don't know how I forgot but I can assure you I did. I do have a bit of an attention span problem, but that's most likely due to the sugar high we were born on as Ponyboy says.

"Kate, can I talk to you for a moment?" I said suddenly once the room had settled down a bit and Steve and Sodapop were wrestling on the floor as Two-Bit and Ponyboy started an impromptu sort of war dance. "Outside, or something?"

Kate glanced at me curiously and looked up at Darry who looked equally puzzled but shrugged so Kate turned and gave me a smile. "Uh, sure, let's go take a walk, okay?"

"Great," I said with relief, in truth if we stayed inside there's a 99 chance they would try spy on us. "We'll be back soon, Darry." I assured him as I hurried out the door with the nineteen-year-old on my tail.

"Slow down, Pixie!" she laughed as she hurried up to me as our screen door banged to a close and she pushed open our gate after me. "You walk awful fast!"

I managed to force a smile on my face but it sort of died after a few seconds. "I know I may sound insane asking you this but you're the only girl I really know after Emily and I obviously can't tell her about this."

Kate paused slightly and walked down the street slightly and stooped and turned to look at me. "Pixie, is this about her new boyfriend?" she asked me slowly.

My brows furrowed and I nodded. "Yes, why?"

"Alice told me," Kate said in a rushed voice as she walked over to me and grabbed my arm looking worried. "I honestly didn't know what to do, neither did Ali, that's why she told me. She said she told Ponyboy too but we weren't sure if you guys knew and I wasn't game to tell four boys who might try maul this kid." She laughed shakily, but it was full of worry if anything.

I could have sighed in relief that I didn't have to explain it to her. "Good. Well, we need to stop it. And I need your help,"

"How?" she asked softly linking arms with me and then she said in a low voice. "And they are all so obviously staring out the window."

"Well damn them," I said airily clutching onto her arm and then I frowned deeply. "Alice will help us, right?"

"Of course," Kate said immediately. "They're best friends, we will tell the boys right?"

I shook my head instantly. "I'm not even telling Ponyboy. If we get the boys involved they'll kill him and it'll solve nothing, we need to get to Emily first, she needs to break it off and if he clings to her I am telling Darry."

"Just him?"

"I would die if someone told my brothers if I was her, if we told Two-Bit she'd never be let out, Steve would be on her case all the time. No, just Darry." I nodded determinedly.

Kate nodded and pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. "This involves cornering her and talking to her, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, and she doesn't know we know, or have figured it out." I said seriously as I groaned loudly and ran my hands through my hair in frustration. "I just can't believe this is happening! I mean, the kid is such a broken up girl as it is, and I just can't believe she's doesn't know that she should get out of this! I mean, is she nuts or something?"

"She's fourteen and thinks she's in love." Kate told me calmly as if on impulse she then hugged me. "Just calm, don't blame yourself at all. It's not your fault and she's just a little blind at the moment, that's all."

I nodded and closed my eyes for a moment. "Yeah, I know. We're all a little stupid at times. Like with Jason."

"I've heard." I opened my eyes and looked at her as she flushed and whispered. "Your brother told me.'

"Typical."

"He was just sort of venting, he wished you'd told him." Kate said with a tiny smile.

I rolled my eyes. "That would be resulting in murder. I'm not that mean. That's exactly why we're not telling the boys. Instead, tomorrow we're all going to her house to talk to her. I'm gonna forbid her from seeing him."

Kate raised her brows and stepped back and leaned against the icy fence and stared at me. Her blue eyes were studying me curiously, it was as if she was trying to figure out what I was thinking, which was a jumbled mess so even if she could read minds it would be senseless words not even strung into a normal sentence I can tell you that. But Kate just looked at me calmly and nodded. She said fine and she said that a few times before she stopped and gave me this smile. It was so natural I couldn't help but smile back as she spoke to me.

"I know how serious this is right now but I love how much you care," said Kate softly as she stepped off the fence. "So few people in this world give a damn about their so called friends and would let them die alone, but you want to stop it. You're a right hero." She whispered looking like she was gonna cry. "I can see it now, you're gonna make a difference, Pixie Curtis."

"Thank you," I flushed feeling warm all over. "Can I hug you?' I asked softly as I smiled.

Kate laughed and grinned, "Of course," she said hugging me tightly, and as she let go and looked at me she smiled so warmly. This girl was something special all right; Darry really did chose a good one. "I mean it, Pixie. You are a real life hero, maybe not everyone can see it but one day you'll make a difference. Just wait and see that I was right."