A big thank you to Tonyboy (You really make me feel like I'm a great writer, I will never thank you enough!), Degrassichick (yeah, I thought the Holder in the Field bit was kinda funny!) and Babygurl33 (I was very mad too when took my story down…) for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, except for Sybil's character.

4 – Dinner at the Curtis place

"Don't mind the chaos…Pony always leaves his books and drawings everywhere…" Sodapop said, waving with his hands, as we entered the living room.

"What? It's you the one who throws his clothes all around!"

"Well, it's not me who usually does the laundry! And it's the one who does the laundry that picks up clothes!"

"If Darry heard you…"

I laughed. I didn't understand much, but Ponyboy and Sodapop seemed to get along greatly.

"As soon as Darry comes home, we'll have dinner…which should be anytime…" Soda added.

"You don't wait for your parents?"

"They're dead." Ponyboy softly said.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked…" I bit my tongue. I was so stupid at times.

"That's okay!" Sodapop cheered. "It's been a while…almost two years really…thanks to our older brother Darrel, we managed to stay under the same roof. He's our legal guardian…"

I nodded. "You know, my mom died two years ago, too…but I still have my dad, so…" I shrugged. I didn't feel like talking about my brother.

Ponyboy and Sodapop nodded. "We know how it feels like. From the way he acts, Darry could very well be our father, if he wasn't so young!"

"You're hilarious, guys." A deep, firm voice stated.

"Darry! Welcome back! Let me help you with your jacket!" Sodapop reached his older brother and started goofing around, pretending to be Darrel's personal assistant or something. Everyone, even Darrel, couldn't help but laugh. The scene was so comical.

I observed him: he was a tall, well-built guy, with dark, shorter hair than Soda's and Ponyboy's, and I could bet he had been a football player when he was in high school. Or maybe he still played football. But I didn't think he was in college: it looked like the Curtis' brothers needed every single dollar they could earn and I was sure Darrel worked hard. He just looked like a hard worker and I could tell he was very tired, that night.

"Darry, this is Sybil Forrester! I've known her since forever!" Sodapop exclaimed, grinning.

Darry raised his eyebrows at him. Sodapop gave up. "Okay, I was only kidding!" He told his brother the truth, and once he was finished talking, Darry gave me a big smile and said he hoped his brothers hadn't scarred me for life, with their crazy behavior. Sodapop stuck his tongue out at him, but Darry pretended not to see.

Ten minutes later, we were eating dinner, and I couldn't help but notice Darry didn't look one bit like Soda or Ponyboy. The three of them were all pretty handsome (even if Soda was simply gorgeous), but Darrel was different somehow. He looked more serious than his brothers, but I thought it was because of the huge responsibilities he had. He was pretty quiet during the whole dinner, while Sodapop was fooling around and making jokes. I think I stared at him the whole time. I was almost sure one of the guys had noticed that, but they were probably used to girls gazing at their brother: he was one of a kind…even if he were a Greaser…

How strange. These boys were Greasers, but they weren't different from any other boys I knew, except maybe for their clothes and longer hair…they weren't hoodlums, I could tell: when I had 'rescued' Ponyboy, I had noticed those guys that I believed to be hoods, were all people I knew from school, people who, like me, weren't Socials…just in the middle. And Seth…he had scared me. I had seen a part of him I didn't know. At school, he looked caring, smart, a good guy; maybe a bit self-centred sometimes, but still, a nice person. But in that parking lot, his friends and him, were up to no good…I could bet they had stopped Ponyboy who was walking by just because they didn't like Greasers and he was one, alone, and they were four…

"Still hungry, Sybil?"

Sodapop's cheerful voice put an end to my considerations. I looked at him: "No, I'm perfectly fine, thank you…"

"Good! I guess Ponyboy and I can wash the dishes, then!" he exclaimed, getting up and putting some plates in the sink.

"No way, I'll wash the dishes!" I said, getting up. "It's the least I can do."

"You don't need to do that…" Ponyboy muttered, even if he sounded glad someone else was cleaning up instead of him.

"I want to. It's fair and square, after you offered me dinner." I protested.

"Okay, but I'll help you." Soda insisted. I smiled and he smiled back. I almost fainted.

"Pony, have you finished your homework yet?" Darry asked, changing topic.
Ponyboy hesitated. "Well…almost…"

Darry forced him to sit at the kitchen table studying, even if I didn't understand how Ponyboy could concentrate hearing me and Sodapop washing and chatting. He suddenly remembered something. "How did you guys like that book, then?"

"What? You care about a book?" Ponyboy joked.

"Yeah, well, since you both seem to like it so much, I thought it had to be a good book…" he sounded weird. Or maybe it was just me.

"It is a good book, but I didn't like the ending much." I spoke softly. "It is really sad."

"I don't know…I liked the ending…I think it fits well…Holden clearly needed some help and just because he ended up like that, it doesn't mean he was a psycho..."

"You're right…it could have ended much worse." I agreed with him. "Still, it is sad!"

"Just think one day Holden will come out of there."

"Yeah…"

"I'm totally confused." Sodapop piped up. "And what kind of name is Holden!" he made a face.

"It's an unusual name. Like yours, little buddy." Ponyboy made fun of him. "You can't really criticize other people's names."

"Well, in my opinion, every name is better than Holden!" Soda insisted.

"If you say so."

We had finished washing and putting away the dishes and Soda glanced at the clock: "It's getting late, maybe I should drive you back."

I nodded. "Thanks…what about my car?"

"I'll change the tire tomorrow, with my buddy, and then you can come and pick it up…you need a ride?"

"I'll ask a ride to some friend of mine." I thought about Sophie: she'd love to come and see Sodapop.

"Okay. We can go, then!"

I said goodbye to Ponyboy and Darrel and thanked them for the dinner, before getting into the Curtis's truck with Sodapop. I told him where I lived and he headed there.

"How old is each of you guys?" I had been wondering for a while, mostly because I wanted to know how old Soda was, and if I asked the age of his brothers, too, it wouldn't look like I worshipped him.

"Pony is fifteen…Darry is twenty-one…and I'll be eighteen next week." He answered, smiling.

"Really? Okay, let me guess…Your birthday is…October 7th!"

"No…but you're pretty close."

"October 9th?" I suggested.

He grinned. I loved the way he grinned. "You're almost there…"

"October 8th!" I exclaimed, and, by the way he grinned once again, I could tell I was right. So he was a Libra. Cool. My mom was a Libra too. And Sophie…tons of great people I knew were Libras.

"Did I take the wrong lane?" Soda asked, looking around confused.

"No, it's alright…just turn on the left here…"

We were already home. Well, I was home. I pointed the building at Soda and he parked in front of it.

"You've got a nice house!" he stated, whistling.

"Thanks…also for driving me home."

"Anytime."

I stared at him. His eyes were breath-taking. His grin was breath-taking. Every part of him was breath taking. And his lips…I wished I could kiss him…

"So, hum, I guess I'll see you tomorrow? To pick your car?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah…tomorrow." I nodded.

"Okay…bye, Sybil!"

"Bye, Soda…"

I got off the car and watched him drive away. I couldn't wait till tomorrow. Man, I was definitely losing my mind.