Sodapop

I dropped Aurora off the next day, mid afternoon. I chatted with her parents quickly, letting them know if the offer still stood I would love to join them for supper and meet Aurora's sister. Aurora walked me back out to my truck and I kissed her,

"Last night was fantastic… I can't wait until we can do that every night for the rest of our lives." I whispered, pulling her into my arms. She hugged me back tightly and nodded,

"Elise will love you, I just know it."

I grinned and kissed her head, "I'm going to go home for a bit, I promised Pony I'd go out with him today. But I'll see you later tonight sweetheart." She nodded and I got in the truck and waited for her to get to her door and open it before driving home. Darry's truck wasn't there, but I could see Pony on the couch reading when I walked up the front porch.

"Hey Ponyboy, where's Darry at?"

"He's on a date actually." I grinned and laughed,

"There's no way!" Pony grinned back at me,

"I'm serious Soda! He told me he was going on a date and he wouldn't be back until later."

"Where'd he go?"

"I'm not telling you."

"What? Pone come on! We could go and torment him! Think of how fun that would be!"

He thought about it, I watched as he fought his conscience and I grinned when he sighed,

"Okay fine, but we can't ruin his date. I think he really likes her Soda."

"Yeah yeah, where is he?" I asked, walking into my bedroom and changing from yesterday's clothes. While I had remembered to pack Aurora clothes, the only clothes I brought besides what I wore to the dance were the clothes I wore to work the day before (I was running late and hardly had time to change).

"They went to the Dingo." I grinned and went out to the truck with him, driving to the Dingo. Seeing as it were busy (as usual) I parked down the street and Pony and I walked up the road.

"We should have just walked." Pony noted and I rolled my eyes, holding the door for him and an elderly couple following us. The teenage waitress snapping her gum gave us a table in the middle of the restaurant and I looked around before sitting,

"I don't see him,"

"He's over there by the window." Pony said, nodding his head in the direction,

And when I looked behind me I saw him sitting there, I realized I hadn't seen Darry that happy in a long time. I could see a contagious grin on his face and when the girl he was with must have said something funny he genuinely laughed. Although I really wanted to know who his date was I decided I couldn't bring myself to embarrass him.

The waitress made her way over and we ordered burgers with fries and Pepsi without even looking at the menu. The Dingo had the best burgers and best portion size in town. Hell for what we pay we have enough food that we couldn't even finish- that says a lot coming from a Curtis boy. My Mom used to say we could eat her out of house and home. Pony and I talked about his school, the books he was reading and the girls he thought were cute. Pony kicked my shin when the girl Darry was with stood up, I watched as she walked by and when I saw Maya I quickly hid my face so that she wouldn't recognize me. H

+however when she slipped into the washroom Darry walked over to us, pulling a chair up and sitting on it backwards.

"So are you two here to snoop on me?" He questioned and I scoffed,

"What? No!"

"Yeah yeah. You'd better start with the judging Sodapop."

"It's not judging, it's just his opinion." Pony said, watching with an amused smile on his face.

"I just think... Maybe she's a little young for you is all."

"Oh?" Darry said, raising his eyebrow while Ponyboy snickering, "You do, do you?"

I sighed, "Love is love. Mom and Dad had a huge age gap and they were in love until they moment they died."

"It's only a five year difference. I know her parents and Maya and I have already spoke to them about us dating. They didn't see a problem and neither should you."

"Jesus Darry, I'm happy for you okay? You seem to like her a lot and that's all that matters."

He smiled and went back to his table just as Maya was coming out of the washroom. She smiled at me, "Hi Sodapop, Ponyboy." She went back and sat down with Darry, I could see that they had a milkshake to share and Pony chuckled when the two of them started to fight over the bill, until it seemed like Maya won and she put money down for the bill. He kissed her and we grinned when we saw her blushing, following their steamy kiss they both left.

Pony and I ate in silence mostly, I knew coming to the Dingo sometimes made him uncomfortable because it was one of his favourite hang out's with Johnny and Dallas last year.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, finishing off my fries,

Ponyboy shrugged, "I'm doing better... Two-bit and I are going out tonight to the Drive-In. You said you're meeting Aurora's sister tonight?"

"Yeah," I nodded, sipping my Pepsi, "I'm kinda nervous even though it doesn't make any sense."

"Well if she doesn't like you there will always been an awkward barrier there, but to be honest I haven't met one person that didn't like you."

"Well what can I say? I'm fantastic." He laughed and rolled his eyes,

"Come on, let's get going." I fished some money out of my jeans and put it on the table, waving at the waitress and a few buddies I knew before walking out towards the truck. We got home and expected to find Darry there but he wasn't home yet,

"I bet he's getting laid." Ponyboy said with a wicked grin, and I gasped obnoxiously,

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis!" We laughed and I went into my bedroom to change into nicer clothes. When I came out I noticed that the dishes had yet to be done so I decided to do those while Pony was in his room with the door closed. I called a good bye and took the truck to Aurora's house and when I got there Aurora was sitting on the porch with the entire family. I parked in front of her house and I saw her face light up when I got out.

She walked over to me and hugged me tightly and I kissed her head, "I missed you so much baby,"

"We just saw each other like four hours ago." She said but I didn't have a doubt she felt the same way.

"Well, come meet Elise."

She took my hand and I followed her over, holding her hand tightly. I walked up on the porch and smiled when I saw they had set aside a chair for me.

"It's wonderful to meet you Elise, I've heard so much about you." I said reaching to shake Elise's hand while she stood up and hugged me instead,

"It's great to finally meet you Sodapop, I've heard so many good things about you." I grinned and sat beside Aurora and I took her hand while Elise went back to talking to her parents, while Aurora leaned over to whisper, "We'll talk to her more at dinner, okay?" I nodded and kissed her head softly.

So this chapter was kind of a filler, hopefully I'm gonna get back in the groove to continue writing this, sorry for the wait! I really wanted to get more chapters done but I got two new Great Dane puppies for Christmas and they've been a handful! I hope everyone had a good holiday!