It wasn't as though she set out to cause trouble. Things just sorta ended up that way. Really, Adelle hadn't had any intentions at all when everything began, except maybe to get some gas and find out what that funny noise was underneath her hood. She'd never meant to be the cause of disgrace, or the burden in a house that was already filled with enough of them.

Adelle knew that coming to the Curtis house had been completely and irrevocably selfish. She should have just gone to a hotel and made phone calls from there. She was sure that there was some place downtown that, if she threw enough money their way, would let a minor rent a room for the night. That would have been the decent, selfless thing to do. Too bad she wasn't in a particularly selfless mood after being thrown out of her home.

With her parents yelling at her and the image in her mind of everyone laughing at her from their gilded cages, Adelle just wanted to see someone who would tell her that she hadn't done anything wrong. For some reason, that person was, in her mind, Darry Curtis. He'd always been nice enough and even when Soda or Pony screwed up, he didn't go to extremes. She'd never personally even seen them argue, though listening to how Soda talked, it happened a lot. But, all she saw was a nice person who, at the least, would go and rent the room for her if she really needed an adult to do it.

Now, she laid curled up in Pony's bed, feeling like the biggest heel in all the world. She was putting people out, and if there was any breeding left in her, it was that she shouldn't do that to people who'd already shown her hospitality. If she could force herself out of the little ball that she'd curled into when Emma left the room, she would have wiped away her tears and after politely thanking Darry for his hospitality, gotten in her car and driven off. Pony would have his room, the house could go back to normal, and she'd have the memory of someone being nice to her after the worst day she could imagine.

"Why ain't you tell me, Adelle?" She was still facing the door, but her eyes had been closed. She wouldn't have been able to look at Steve when he spoke if she weren't already facing that direction. "You should've told me."

Adelle bit her bottom lip, then her jaw trembled. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry because Steve sounded so upset or if it were because she hadn't expected him to come. She had been there when Darry sent Two-Bit to the DX, but so much time had passed, she'd wondered if he were even going to come. "There was nothing you could have done."

"I could've let ya walk away, Adelle." Steve leaned against the doorframe as a dark shadow. His shirt was open and spread languidly on either side of him. His arms were crossed over his chest, and in the darkness, Adelle couldn't tell just how dirty he was. His jeans were tight, and there were shadows over certain parts that led her to believe that the dark spots were grease. "I told ya before… I ain't no good and this proves it."

"It's not your fault, Steve." Slowly, she pushed her legs down straight. She pulled herself upright, then slouched her body forward. Her hair fell into her face and she tried to shove it back.

"Not my fault…" He spat out a harsh bark that was a mix between a laugh and a snort. "Ya know, Darry was right. I ain't no good, and the only reason I don't get Soda into trouble is 'cause he got more sense'n I do. Go on home, Adelle, and leave me be."

"Steve…" Her head rose and she looked up at him. She tried to see him in the darkness, but there were only shadows. She wanted to see his lopsided smile and crooked teeth. She wanted to see the face that was surely covered in grease smudges and specks of dirt. "I can't do that. If I couldn't do it then, I really can't do it now."

"Yeah, ya can. Go on home and tell 'em it was a mistake. Tell 'em you was stupid to even think about leavin'. Go on back home, Adelle, and don't come back to this side o' town, ya hear me?"

Steve turned quickly and walked out of the room, leaving Adelle to stare at his back. This was no time for him to be selfless. If anything, she wanted him to be selfish. She wanted him to tell her that she was right for leaving because she was her own person, she was more than just another Soc. Instead, he told her to be a Soc. He didn't say that directly, but as far as she was concerned, that's what he meant. Turn her back on him and go back to the glittering throng that she'd previously been a part of.

This was exactly why she didn't tell him in the first place. She knew that, for all of his talk and insistence that he was no good, he'd show just how good he could really be. He'd send her away and leave them both with pouts and her with a lot of tears if it meant that she wasn't lost in the world that he'd been born into. It wasn't fair to either of them, and she wanted him… She wanted him to do something other than show he cared by pushing her away. In some deep recess, beneath her pain and aching, she was angry, and would have loved nothing more than to hear him say he was going to do bad, painful things to her father. To think that her father could hurt as much as she did… It was a mean thing to think, but she was angry, and she only wanted others to feel her pain.

"Steve!" She leapt off of the bed, and it was the most she'd moved since arriving at the Curtis house. Adelle stopped at the door, holding onto the frame, and stared out. The lights in the hallway weren't overly bright, but she'd been in the dark long enough for the light to hurt her eyes. She squinted and started to move forward, then stopped at the arguing coming from the living room.

"I did it, alright?" It was obviously Steve's voice. "I told her to go on back there, 'cause bein' with me ain't doin' her no good. I told her to go!"

"You really think she's gonna do that, Steve? You really think she can just go back home like that?"

"They're her parents! They gotta take her back!"

"Or they can throw her right back out!" This was Darry's voice, and he took in a sharp breath. "Jesus, Steve, do you ever think about anything? Do ya think about what you're doin' or do ya just go and do what you want? You and Soda both…"

"Hey! Don't bring me into this!" Soda sighed. "I don't have anything to do with this."

"Oh, no? What happens when this girl's parents find out how much she's here? Another one's gonna get tossed out 'cause you and Steve don't think." Darry paused, then sighed. "Dammit, Steve, you gotta quit playin' with the Soc girls! You and Soda need to stop this!"

"I ain't playin' with her, Darry! You ain't see 'em… they made her cry..."

"Because of you! This is because you wanted to play with the Soc girls and now…"

"Stop it!" Adelle ran into the room and cut him off. She had a moment to see that Steve's entire stomach was streaked with grease and dirt before she wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's not Steve's fault, Darry! It's my fault!"

"Adelle…"

"No!" She shook her head and her hair brushed back and forth against Steve's chest. Any other day, she'd have been worried about the dirt that would be in her hair. Right then, she didn't care. His hands tentatively touched her back and she didn't care that his hands were probably filthy and no amount of soap in the world would get the black from underneath his fingernails. "It's my fault, Darry! I… I wanted to do somethin', ya know? Something… Something that would make me happy. I was just like Emma, but I hid it better. I cheered and I played society games, but it was just… it was all a game. It wasn't real. They all said that they were better, but they're not. This is better. I don't know for how long or why, but it is. No matter what Soda or Pony did, you wouldn't treat them like they treat us. You accept people here and they accept nobody but their own. If you want me to go, I will, 'cause I shouldn't have come here in the first place. You have enough trouble without me, but… Just don't yell at Steve, 'cause it's not his fault."

Darry's face fell into a mask of confusion and concern. Adelle watched as his eyes rose to Steve. From his disapproving scowl, it was obvious that he still thought this was Steve's fault, but he had to know that right then, nothing he said could change the way Adelle thought. He took in a deep breath and let it fall slowly from his lips. "For tonight, you can stay here," he said in defeat. "It's late, ya'll are still goin' to school in the mornin' and this is something that needs to be talked about with clear heads."

"I'll never think it's Steve's fault," Adelle said in a soft voice.

"Yeah, well… One day, you might change your mind." He shook his head. "In the meantime, you can sleep in Ponyboy's room and he can bunk with Soda." Neither boy seemed to like the idea, but neither of them really appeared to be in the mood to argue. "We'll talk about anything else tomorrow."

"I'll take your car and drive it to my house tonight." Adelle looked up. In the drama, she'd forgotten that Emma was still there until she spoke. She was sitting next to Soda, closer than Adelle had ever seen her. "I'll put your things in my house, then bring you something back tomorrow. I still say you should come live with me…"

"Emma…"

"Yeah, I know, my parents." She sighed. "I'll just take the stuff and come back with your car in the morning."

Adelle looked around the room and nobody seemed to know exactly what to do. For a girl that never meant to cause anybody any trouble, that's all she seemed to bring with her. She wondered if it would be a good idea for her to just leave Tulsa altogether. Not like her parents would send the police after her. They'd already thrown her out and had to know where she would go. She could just leave, start somewhere else and rid everybody of the trouble. She was sixteen, after all, and that was old enough to do almost anything with the amount of money that she had at her disposal.

Sighing and still holding onto Steve, Adelle looked at everybody, then nobody as she looked down to the floor. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She closed her eyes and squeezed Steve's waist tighter. "I'm sorrier than I can say, and Pony does words better than I do but… I just… I'm really, really sorry and I'll do what I can not to cause you anymore trouble."