Well, I tried to say a lot without saying it in this chapter, so any confusion can be blamed on me.

Disclaimer: The usual.

On with the shoe!

Mike's POV

"Mike!"

I sighed, looking up from my Saturday morning cartoons, wondering what a guy had to do to get some peace and quiet for once. Believe me, getting shot didn't do it. I guess I was going to have to lose a limb next time.

"What?" I hollered back, wincing and rubbing my chest.

It seemed like as long as I was quiet, didn't move, and avoided deep breathing, I could almost pretend I was healed up. If I did any of the above, there was pain lancing through my chest to remind me that there was a hole through it that was still knitting together. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't stick my finger in my chest or anything. The doctors had stitched me back together, but everything was still stretched tight trying to make up for the flesh the bullet took. It sucked out loud that the pain was worse after weeks of healing than the actual hit. Work aggravated it – and I'd really overdone it yesterday – but damn if I could stand being stuck in the house all day long with someone yelling at me or around me almost constantly. Finn, for all her preaching, was no better than anyone else.

"Where did we put that box of patches?"

I frowned. "What do you need the box of patches for?"

"Darry and I made a bargain last night," she replied coming down the stairs so we weren't hollering at each other.

"You give him a box of scrap cloth and he makes sure we're financially secure for the rest of our days?" I asked and she sent me a strange look. "Because that is the only fair trade I can think up for those patches."

"No, even better," she assured me. "Darry is going to come over here and look at the stove and in exchange, I'm going to do their mending."

"You?"

Finn looked over at me with a look that was inviting me to continue.

"You have something to say about my sewing skills?"

"Only that mine are better," I replied. "And weren't you the brat who loudly complained about learning how to sew? You know, the one who said she would never need it?"

"Thank you, Mike, I get your point." Finn frowned. "But, you're forgetting something very important."

"And that would be?"

"Darry doesn't know that. All he knows is that for some maintenance on the stove, all those articles of clothing he's been thinking he'll have to replace are going to be taken care of."

"You know, you should fix your own stove and then you will never have to rely on anyone again," I told her.

"See, the problem is lack of knowledge," she replied as the front door opened and Darry walked in with a tool box in one hand. "So Darry's going to attempt to teach me and fix it at the same time."

"And she's going to show me the same with the sewing," Darry said with a small smirk.

"You didn't have to bring tools." Finn smiled at him. "Mike and I have a collection."

"Well, you know what they say about an old pro and his tools." Darry shrugged.

"What do they say?" Finn asked, looking like she really didn't know.

"Will you two just go dick around with the stove already? All this sweetie talk over damn tools is making me nauseous," I grumbled. "That and you're in the way of Donald Duck."

Darry glanced over at Finn who rolled her eyes.

"You heard the man. Donald Duck and all," Finn sighed.

And for the next hour, both of them laid on the floor in the kitchen clanking around, cursing and laughing. It was just annoying the way they played so cutesy. I finally got out of my chair to put a stop to this waste of time and disturbance of my peace on my day off. When I walked in, Darry had the stove pulled out and was crouched behind it. Finn was sitting on the counter, looking over at what he was doing with tools spread out beside her.

"Found the problem yet?" I asked, leaning in the doorway.

"No, not yet," Darry called from behind the stove.

"Hey, I'm going to get the laundry together. Can you help Darry for a few minutes, Mike?" Finn asked and I shrugged. What else did I have to do? "Play nice."

"I always play nice," I told her.

"If you say so," Finn replied, patting my shoulder as she headed past me and up the stairs.

"You know what you're doing?" I asked and Darry clanked something loudly.

"I have a fairly good idea."

"But no idea what's wrong," I put in.

"You're doing the opposite of helping right now," Darry pointed out. Wasn't he smart?

"Well, let's make a list. It's not the wall because the ice box is still going strong," I stated. "So it's either electrical or component based."

"The wiring looks alright," Darry declared.

"And since when are you an electrician?" I asked.

Darry popped his head around the stove and gave me a frown. "And you are?"

"I've done a few projects," I told him, pulling a chair over so I could sit and have this conversation. "How about you, Curtis?"

Darry let out a low chuckle that didn't sound like it was any way humorous. He straightened up over the stove and rested his arms on the back of it. I waited, wondering what he wanted.

"Mike, I understand that you don't like me."

That was an understatement…

"But I thought we were getting along alright for Layne," Darry sighed.

It was one of those unsaid things between us. We didn't like each other, but she was my friend, my responsibility, and she loved him for reasons I couldn't fathom. And damned if things didn't go smoother around here when we were all getting along like nice little children.

"But since you got out of the hospital, you've been trying to push my buttons constantly," he added the constantly after a pause for effect, I assumed.

"And you have a point in there somewhere?"

"My point is that something is bugging you about me recently. I don't know what it is. So why don't you just come out and say what you want to say?"

"And what would I have to say?" I asked a challenge clear in my voice.

Right then Finn came down the stairs and offered us a smile on her way to the laundry room. I watched her go and looked back over at Darry. He was watching me with an intent look I would have expected Aries or Pony to have worn over Darry. It pissed me off.

"If it's the wiring, you'll have to strip the casings to see if the fibers are burnt and replace them. I doubt that's the case and I don't think you should go fuckin' around with them incase you sever something. Check out the oven elements. It wouldn't surprise me if they were going," I told him, leaving the room.

I flopped back down in my chair with a wince. What the hell did Darry Curtis know about anything? He was just a moron with a big mouth.

I stayed out of the kitchen after that and Darry confirmed that one of the elements was cracked when they finally gave up the project half an hour later. Finn, always the housekeeper, was fairly mad she'd missed it. And all she did was whine about it until they headed next door to work on Darry's lack of mending skills.

Thus I finally got my wish for the day. The house was quiet and relaxed with just the TV playing. Well, at least for a little while.

"Do you always have to tromp down the stairs like that?" I growled.

Aries paused mid-step and blinked at me. The kid wasn't even dressed yet and it was after noon for Pete's sake. See, there was another point of contention I had with the kid. Finn would let him get away with whatever he wanted while I had to chip in and had freaking responsibilities. The only thing she ever seemed to bug him about was his hair. Personally, if the kid wanted to look like a chick, I say let him. He'd figure it out by the time he got interested in girls.

"Sorry, I didn't know I was tromping," he said softly.

"Now you do," I pointed out.

He didn't reply, just disappeared into the kitchen and came back out fully dressed. I assume that meant he found the laundry Finn said she was doing earlier.

"Going somewhere?"

"Well, I was planning on meeting up with Curly," he told me, looking wary.

"To do what?"

"Just…something," he answered with a shrug.

"If you had your hopes set on a bag of weed, I think you should know I made Curly flush it yesterday."

"What makes you think he'd share that with me anyway?" he asked with a guarded look.

"Don't play stupid with me. A fifteen-year-old kid you have plans with just happens to get caught with a bag of weed the day before you get together and you expect me to believe you weren't going to smoke it?" I shook my head. "I've done enough of that shit in my time to know that's a laugh."

Aries studied me for a minute before shrugging. "We'll have to find something else to do, then."

I glared at him and he blinked at me, again. I was starting to think he was a damn owl or something. I stood up and kept the wince at bay.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you're really as smart as they say you are, kid."

Aries frowned at me and his posture became more defensive. "You know, I always wonder if you could be a bigger jerk."

"Excuse me?"

"Half the time you treat me like you hate me and the other half you ignore the fact I exist," the kid pointed out. "So I really don't know why we're even having this conversation."

"You listen up, kid. If you get in trouble, it's going to bring down a whole bunch of trouble on the rest of us."

"It's an afternoon with Curly!" he pointed out, arms flung out to make his point.

"An afternoon you planned to never even remember anyways," I countered. "Who says you have to screw up the rest of your life like that?"

"As I said, it is one afternoon. And as you pointed out, you've done it before, too!"

"And you think I have anything to throw away?" I asked him and he clenched his jaw. "Trouble follows Curly. Hell, I have a hole in my chest to prove it. So when he jumps off the stupid bridge, you shouldn't be anywhere near where his guts are going to splatter."

"Analogies from Mike Garren." He shook his head.

"It's good advice," I pointed out.

"Why do you even care?" he asked.

"Because right now, none of us can handle you getting into trouble," I answered. "Go to the movies with Dallas or weasel your way in with Soda and Steve. Hell, go cuddle with Darry and Layne for all I care."

"You're a hypocrite," he said with a shake of his head. "A little 'Do as I say, not as I do' wisdom?"

"Yeah, I'm a fuck up. It runs in the family," I snapped. "I threw my life away when I was thirteen and now I'm six years older telling you not to start doing dumb shit with your life. Ironic, huh?"

"Highly."

"You know what? Forget it. Do what you want. But when you get in trouble, don't try and blame anyone else but yourself – not even Curly."

"Fine," Aries agreed, starting towards the door.

I grabbed the cocky little shit's arm and tugged him back. "What? You thought I was giving you a choice? It's called sarcasm, kid. You're not going anywhere."

"You don't have any authority over me," he pointed out, tugging his arm from my grasp. "I'm going next door to see Layne."

"What? You're not going out with Curly now?"

"I didn't say that," he assured me with a cool glare.

And with that, he walked out the door. I sighed and sat back down in my chair wondering why the hell the universe was making things difficult for me today. I snorted to myself, knowing why. I'd had weird dreams while I was in a coma. They were highly detailed and specific, though, following a timeline of events that led to one fucked up future. And if I was right, keeping Aries out of trouble today could be the deciding factor for all of that. Or it was going to make things much worse. That's if it all wasn't a dream after all and the only thing I accomplished was keeping Finn from strangling the kid for being a moron.

I sighed to the empty room and decided a nap was the only way I was going to get through the rest of the day.

Aries' POV

I stood outside on the front porch for a minute taking a couple breaths and wondering what the hell just happened. Mike always either ignored me or made it clear I was not one of his favorite people. Words of wisdom from him just made my life all the more complicated and confusing. It had been confusing for months now. Andcoming to Tulsa wasn't even the start of it. My life hadn't had a definite purpose since I ran away from home. Every conversation and action since was an effort to try and use what I had been taught in a world it wasn't meant for. It felt like ever move was a struggle and I was tired. It was not a pleasant way to feel.

I finally sighed headed next door, hoping Layne would have something to say that might help. Layne and Darry were sitting in the living room when I walked in. Darry had a stack of bills spread out on the coffee table and Layne had a couple piles of clothes that she was working on sewing. They both looked up when I came in.

"What's the matter?" Layne asked right off the bat and I wondered if I liked that lost.

Soda and Ponyboy both popped their heads out of the kitchen and Darry frowned. I didn't bother answering; I just sat down beside my sister.

"Hey, talk to me," she urged and I glanced at her.

"How do you do it?"

"Sewing?" she asked with a frown.

"No. Surviving here," I clarified.

"Alright, I think this is something that you need to give me a little bit of background on," Layne said, setting the shirt in her hands down.

"Nothing I do here is ever the right thing. No matter what I do, it's bound to get someone upset with me," I explained.

If I asked questions, I didn't fit in. If I didn't ask questions, I had no idea what I was doing. If I got perfect marks, I was cheating. If I didn't get perfect marks, I was cheating myself. If I made friends on my own, they weren't good friends. If everyone else made friends for me, were they really my friends?

She blinked at me and tucked an arm around my shoulders, running a hand through my hair.

"No one's asking you to be anyone but Aries," she told me.

I let out a humorless laugh and my sister hugged me closer.

"I've been here months and I still don't have the hang of this place," I told her. "I wasn't trained for this."

"No one is," she told me. "I want you to be how you're most comfortable. Either people will accept you or they'll be missing out on someone they really should know."

"Is that how you do it?" I asked and she sighed a little.

"You know how I manage here?" she asked me, playing with a lock of my hair. "I don't try to. I like to think of life as a river and you can't always swim upstream. I just go with the flow when I know tiring myself out is going to get me nowhere."

"Yeah? And how's that?" I asked.

"I go to the movies with my friends," she told me and I frowned. "What's playing tonight, Ponyboy?"

I glanced up at where Pony was still standing in the kitchen doorway with Soda. He blinked and looked like was on the spot.

"I'm looking forward to being surprised," Pony answered with a smirk. "We're going to hang out with Dally first, if you want to come."

"Sounds like a 'going with the flow' plan if I ever heard one," Soda put in and I nodded.

"Alright."

Maybe they had something with this 'go with the flow' idea. Trying it out wasn't going to kill me at least.

Never say never, young one...Sorry, couldn't resist ;) I'm not killing off Aries. He has a long sordid life ahead of him. Still...

Any comments are welcome and flames accepted.

See ya in the funny papers!!!

Tens & Zickachik