I was walking home from school, practically dragging my legs behind me. My hangover was almost gone and as I was able to make my brain think again fear of Darry made me not want to go home. I knew I had no choice of course, but I really wasn't looking forward to meeting my brothers, especially not Darry. I had managed not to meet neither Pony nor Steve at school, Two bit I had seen, he waved to me from across the hallway when I was on my way to class, his face grinning as usual. I carefully avoided looking at him not wanting him to say anything about Tim to me, as my hangover decreased I started to think about what I had done with him. I couldn't say that I really regretted it, but I felt stupid somehow, I mean it wasn't like I was in love with him, I didn't even really know him. Sure, I wasn't the chastest girl in town but I normally didn't go home with just anyone. Then again Tim wasn't just anyone; he was Tim Shepard, the coldest most badassed hood in Tulsa. I mentally slapped myself for being so stupid, all he had have to do was look at me and give the faintest resemblance of a smile and I was drooling all over him.

I sighed as I heard Two bit and Pony laughing in the living room when I walked in. As soon as I had closed the door Darry was standing in the kitchen door, a kitchen towel in on hand the other on his hip. I didn't want to meet his eyes; I could feel his stare piercing straight trough me, his fury bouncing of the walls.

"So you know your way home after all" he stated, his voice cold as ice. I flinched inside but stood still as he kept staring at me.

"Look Darry" I said trying to sound more confident then I felt "I told Soda where I was, so you really have no right…" Darry took one threatening step towards me as he dropped the towel on the floor and I backed up against the wall not able to continue.

"I have every right" he shouted, his face only inches from mine, I heard Two bit and Pony fall silent in the living room. I looked up at Darry reluctantly, his eyes meeting mine. In them I could see a mix of anger, worry, an unnerving calm and even scorn. He stared at me for a short moment as if he were measuring me then he backed away, his arms flying in the air.

"Tim Shepard!" he hissed at me "Nora for heavens sakes, it's Tim Shepard!" his eyes were boring holes into my skull. Somehow I felt myself get pissed at that, a while ago I had wondered myself what I had been doing with him but now I felt like I needed to defend him to my brother.

"So?" I asked fixing my eyes firmly on Darry's "Isn't he good enough for you Darrel?" I spat out taking a step towards him. He glared at me and stood his ground, his fist clenched at his sides.

"He's a criminal Nora!" I felt the words on my tongue melt away and I stood mouth gaping, still as a statue, feeling my heart turn to stone. I knew Darry was right, he was a criminal and not just a thief like Two bit, he was a real criminal, God knows what he had done in the past.

"So was Dallas" I said slowly as I glared at my older brother coldly. His shoulders heaved as he sighed loudly. He didn't answer me as he bent down to pick the towel up and walked away from me in to the kitchen.

I stayed in my room the rest of the night, listening to my brothers and Steve and Two bit as they were playing poker and laughing. I felt disappointed that none of them had come into my room to talk to me; they hadn't even called me out to dinner. I heard Soda laugh loudly and I felt a pang of loneliness in my heart when I thought about him being mad at me. He had never been mad at me for as long as I could remember, he was almost never mad at anyone.

When the house was silent and everyone had gone to bed or gone home I walked out on the porch to smoke. I stood leaning against the rail, looking out at our small yard. It was a cold night and I shivered as the wind caught my hair. Suddenly I heard the door open and I felt someone walk up to me, I didn't turn to see who it was, it wasn't necessary.

"Look Nora, I ain't mad at you" I heard Soda sigh as he leaned over his hands gripping the rail "I mean you can't help the way you feel" I exhaled relieved that he was even talking to me and thrilled that he wasn't mad. "It's just that you could have told me where you went, instead of sending Two bit" He turned to me and smiled slightly.

"I know" I said wanting desperately to be ok with him again "I wasn't thinking" I thought about all the times Darry had said exactly those words to Pony and now it seemed that it was me who always was on his bad side.

"Look just think about it in the future" Soda sighed as he walked back to the door "We were worried you know" I nodded silently as I heard him open the door and walk in. As the door closed I felt I tear run down my cheek, I didn't know if it was from being happy about Soda not being mad at me or if it was from being tiered of this whole situation.

"Tim Shepard!" The scorn in Darry's voice as he said that was ringing in my head. He was right about Tim being a criminal and all but still he was just a boy. He wasn't that different from any other greaser, wasn't that different from my brothers and friends. I thought about Dally's coldness and Steve's anger knowing enough about their lives to know why they were like that. Maybe there was a reason why Tim was the way he was too, maybe he was that cold and hard for a reason resembling theirs. He never had any older siblings to take care of him like me, Pony and Soda and apparently he didn't have a very good relationship with his parents either. I thought about the cut in his eyebrow and wondered whether it was his mother or father that had hit him, I couldn't help wondering why he hadn't fought back. I thought about Darry and realized that maybe his life wasn't the perfect one but at least our parents had never hit us, they never came home in the middle of the night screaming and shouting. It really wasn't fair to compare them; they were nothing alike, both hard as nails but for very different reasons and in very different ways. I sighed not wanting to think about Tim anymore. I was so confused about the whole thing, so sick of feeling that way, sick of that throbbing sensation in my stomach whenever I though of him. I tossed my cigarette away and walked in the house again.

I'm glad you guys like this story, this chapter is a bit short but I hope you get the picture! Tack