Chapter 1

Emily walked into the house, and pushed her brown hair out of her eyes sighing as she dropped her bag on the table, looked around for her brother, she then called out "Two Bit? I'm home…" she frowned when there was no answer and walked into the living room groaning at all the empty beer bottles. She had known that Two Bit would take this hard, but this was a lot to drink, even for him. Picking her way through the bottles that laid everywhere, she walked over to the kitchen and sighed when she saw him slumped on the floor and knelt next to him, "Two Bit?" she said softly shaking him, "come on, wake up…"

Two Bit groaned and shifted, his eyes slowly opening and he groaned, "Em?"

"Yeah, it's me," She said frowning at him, he smelled like beer, "Come on, let's get you up and into bed, you're trashed." Emily laughed lightly and started to help him up.

"They're dead Em," he said his words slurred as she helped him up.

"I know TB, I know," she said softly and helped him up, and he suddenly bolted into the bathroom, throwing up in the toilet, and just barely making it.

Emily sighed and knelt down beside him with a glass of water rubbing his back, "I can't believe you drank that much. Mom is going to kill you. I should kill you…if the alcohol doesn't first."

Two Bit groaned as he leaned back against the wall, his eyes shut, "Hell, she won't kill me, she likes me too much…" he said softly with an attempt at a smile.

Emily held out the glass of water. "Drink slowly." she said and rubbed his shoulder gently as she held it up to his mouth. "Careful…you're getting it everywhere."

He sighed and drank slowly, "thanks kid," He murmured.

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed, "I'm used to helping your sorry butt up after you pass out from too much to drink."

"I know, and I love ya for it," he smirked, "Help me to bed?" He groaned his head spinning.

"Yeah," She said and helped him up, "Come on…easy does it…"

Two Bit got up and slumped against his younger sister, and Emily helped him back to his room, "Sit," she said as they got to the bed and she slowly helped him sit down. "What were you thinking?" She pulled off his shoes and his shirt, which smelled of beer, and laid him back in the bed.

"Johnny had sad eyes you know," Two Bit slurred, "And Dally…Dally was tough."

"I know," Emily said softly, "Just get some sleep okay?" She kissed his forehead gently. "You'll have one hell of a hangover in the morning."

"Stay with me for a while?" He asked sleepily.

Emily nodded, sitting down in a chair next to her brother's bed. "Emily?" Two Bit mumbled.

"Yeah?"

"Don't die on me kid," he said sleepily.

"I won't," she whispered and kissed his cheek again before he drifted off to sleep. Once he was asleep she slipped out of the room and walked into the living room, and grabbed a big garbage bag picking up the beer bottles and throwing them inside. She emptied the ash trays, and cleaned up after him, her mom had enough problems she didn't need to come home and find the house in shambles. Emily sighed and flopped down on the couch hugging a pillow to her stomach, and she felt something sharp hit her leg, she shifted and pulled out Two Bit's switchblade that he'd gotten back. Running her fingers over it, she sighed softly and slid it into the pocket of Two Bit's leather jacket when she knew he'd find it. As she got up to go back in and lay down, a picture caught her eye and she picked it up. It had been taken a few months ago, the whole gang down at the lot, when Two Bit had swiped a camera and decided it was time to try it out.

Steve Randle was leaning up against the car, his arms folded across his chest, a cocky smile playing at his lips, and Emily remembered how Two Bit had to keep telling him jokes just to keep it there. His hair was falling into his eyes, and covering up his brown eyes. Emily paused at his face for a moment and then her eyes moved to the person standing next to him, his arm slung around Steve's shoulders, a boy named Sodapop Curtis with a reckless grin, and a face handsome enough to be from a magazine, his light hair pushed back from his face so that his large expressive eyes could be seen. Soda's other arm was around a younger boy, who had a somewhat dreamy smile on his face as he looked towards the camera. The younger boy was Ponyboy Curtis, and kneeling on the ground in front of him, cigarettes in the fold of his sleeve, with a tough determined look about him, was his older brother Darry. Emily's eyes paused at them for a minute and then moved over to two figures that were standing slightly off to the side. A tall boy with dark hair, dark eyes, and a hard expression on his face was leaning up against the middle of the car, his arms leaning on the window sill where the window would normally been had it been rolled up, his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. Emily felt herself choke up as she stared down at the familiar face, and she ran her fingers lightly over his face. "Dally…" she said softly, and then her fingers grazed over another familiar face: Johnny Cade. The "baby" of the group, with dark hair and eyes that showed fear and hurt looked back up at her. He was smiling, but for some reason he didn't look as happy or as free as the other boys. Emily tore her gaze away from the picture and set it down, face down on the table, when the door opened.

"Hello Emily," Mrs. Mathews said a tired worn out look on her face. "Is Two Bit asleep?"

Emily nodded, "yeah, he had a hard day." She failed to mention the fact that he was probably passed out the whole time; she knew her mother could pretty much guess that on her own, so she left it unsaid.

"Is he taking Dally and Johnny's deaths pretty hard?" She asked as she opened the refrigerator door and pulled out the milk, and then grabbed a glass.

Emily looked away "everyone is," she said softly and then cleared her throat, trying not to cry, "I'm going to head in, I think I'll sleep in Two Bit's room tonight."

Her mother nodded and pulled out a cigarette, grabbed the milk and walked into her room. Emily walked back into Two Bit's room and curled up in the chair, and listened to his breathing, unable to fall asleep herself.