"Nora come on, you have to go…" Soda said to me, his big brown eyes pleading with me "please?" he threw his arm around my shoulders and leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Come on, do it for your only twin brother" I couldn't help but laugh at him; he was really kissing up to me. He had begun to ask me to go with him to a party Friday night at Bucks a couple of days ago. Everybody else had plans, Two bit and Pony were going to the movies and Steve and Darry were both working late, so that left me. He had told me that Bonnie, that girl from Shepard's party might be there and that's why he wanted to go.

"Fine" I answered sighing, pretending like I was making a big sacrifice for him. I wasn't, I had been meaning to go with him all along, I just liked watching him beg for a while. I didn't feel like partying this Friday any more then I had last Friday but since Soda wanted to go so badly I felt like I had to do it for him. Besides that girl seemed like a nice enough girl, she seemed to have spirit and an opinion of her own, from what Soda had told me about her. The thing I had found most lacking in Sandy was the fact that she was a hopeless follower; she could never stand alone in anything.

"You're the greatest!" Soda bounced up and down hugging me, his eyes sparkling with happiness.

That Friday I found myself in Two bits car with Soda going to Bucks. I knew Darry wasn't too happy about us going there but he had never really been able to tell neither of us what to do like he did Pony. Besides I think he trusted us to be careful, with Pony it was different, he was the youngest, still a kid in Darry's eyes. Probably always would be just a kid to him.

"So" I turned to Soda with a curios grin on my face "you nervous about seeing her?"

"Nah, not really nervous more exited" he answered grinning happily while he kept his eyes on the road.

Of course he wasn't nervous, Soda never were, he was this perfect wonderful person who I loved more than life, and I knew him inside and out but I was nothing like him. I was more like a mix between Darry and Pony, serious and older than my age like Darry and analyzing and thoughtful like Pony. Mostly I was like Pony though, I understood that kid as if he were a part of me, Soda I understood because he was always closest to my heart, he was my twin, my Soda.

"You gonna sit there all night Nora?" Soda called to me from outside the car, he was standing leaning in trough the open door. I hadn't even noticed that the car had stopped moving.

As we walked in the door to Bucks, I inhaled the smell of cigarettes and alcohol with a hint of horses that was always hanging in the air in this place.

We walked up to the bar and Soda ordered a coke, I didn't order anything, not because I didn't want to drink but because Soda never drank alcohol and when I was alone with him it didn't feel right to drink. I knew he wouldn't have minded if I did, but around him I was always a bit more careful then I usually was because he had the sharpest eyes, he would see if I was the least bit tipsy from miles away. It was ok when the gang was around or when we were more people, but not when it was just the two of us.

"Hi Soda" a girl walked up to us saying. Soda turned around to face her, and when he saw her his whole face lit up, his eyes dancing merrily.

"Hi Bonnie" he met her halfway and greeted her with a warm hug. Then he turned to me again saying;

"Nora, this is Bonnie"

"Hi" I said facing her. She looked at me smiling, she was quite pretty, a bit shorter than me, with long brown hair and dark brown eyes. She looked natural, her skirt was longer then what the normal greaser girls wore, hers was as long as mine, just below the knees. I never wore shorter skirts; Darry would have killed me before he let me out of the house if I did, and besides I would have felt like a hooker. I didn't mind that other girls wore short skirts, I didn't think of them as easier than me, I just didn't want to wear that short skirts myself.

"So, you're twins?" she smiled looking between Soda and me "One can tell, you're very like each other"

I had never thought about it like that, I mean I knew we had some similar features like our hair and eye colour, but that we were that alike I had never realised. As I looked up at Soda I felt like that wasn't a bad thing, he was the most beautiful guy I had ever seen; both his looks and person were absolutely breathtaking.

"Wanna dance" Soda asked Bonnie smiling flirtatiously at her. She nodded and they walked of.

I stood at the bar watching them dance, knowing already that I liked her. She was natural and nice, she even talked properly.

"Hi there Nora" I heard from behind me and as I turned around I saw Mark standing there, he was smiling widely, his yellowish eyes sparkling.

"Mark" I nodded at him and moved a little for him to stand beside me, he walked up to me and leaned against the bar.

"That good for nothing brother of yours not here?" he asked letting his eyes wander over the crowd.

"No, he and Two bit are at the movies" I answered watching his handsome face nodding slowly as he registered what I had said. He was beautiful too, not as perfectly handsome as Soda but beautiful in a special way; he gave you this feeling like he was more alive than any other human was. His whole being radiated liveliness.

"You're not drinking?" Mark asked me searching the counter for a glass that could belong to me.

"No, not yet" I said to him, smirking.

Mark waved the bartender over and ordered two beers; he passed one of the bottles over to me flashing me a charming smile. He looked exactly like a lion when he smiled like that, his lips curved upwards showing of his slightly pointed teeth. Dallas teeth had also been sharp like that; his cold smiles making him look like a wild animal. There was something wild and almost desperate in Marks looks as well, maybe that's was what I had seen in his eyes before that I couldn't grasp.

I thanked him for the beer and when he looked at me that desperate look was gone, his face soft, his eyes laughing. I took a swig from my beer, savouring the bitter taste as it ran down my throat.

Mark turned his face away from me as he said;

"You know, Angela Shepard is such a manipulating bitch! You should really be careful with her when it comes to Ponyboy" he looked me in the eyes his yellow ones glimmering dangerously. I wondered in my mind what she had ever done to him and his foster brother to make him dislike her so much.

"And her fucking brothers are assholes!" he continued looking away from me, his voice angry and mean but his face was still smiling softly.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked him curiously thinking about my dream some nights ago, I still couldn't get that look of surprise on Shepard's face out of my mind. It didn't scare me anymore to think about it, but it gave me an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"They're bastards" he said taking a swig of his beer "I mean there ain't too much wrong with Tim, at least he's got a brain, but Curly, that mother fucking ditz, he's a stupid son of a bitch!" He continued to curse about Curly who apparently wasn't his favourite person.

I had never thought that much about Curly, I mean he might not be the smartest guy around, but he wasn't dumb, he just talked a bit too much. Of course I had heard about things he had done and they weren't nice but they weren't any worse than what I had heard Mark had done. The reason Mark disliked them must be personal I thought, maybe it had something to do with Bryon, his foster brother.

Mark was smiling at me now pointing at Soda and Bonnie who were dancing closely together.

"That's a nice looking broad your brother has got himself" he said all anger gone from his voice.

"Yeah, she seems nice" I answered watching Soda put his arms around her waist hugging her closer to him. He looked really happy, his eyes shining brightly in the dark.

I couldn't help but smile widely as I watched him, wanting nothing more then for him to be happy.

Thank you for reviewing my story! It's nice to know that somebody's reading it! There will be more Tim in the next chapter!