Author's Note: I know, this story hasn't been written on in forever, but inspiration goes like that. Anyway, here's a new chapter. I can't promise when the next chapter will be, but apparently, it's not ready to just be retired yet. So, here ya go.

Soda was staring again. Emma could feel the weight of his azure gaze, even without looking up from the textbook she was attempting to read. Coming to the Curtis house to study was beginning to be a really stupid move. No, she amended silently, it had always been a stupid move. She was just now realizing how stupid it was.

There hadn't been one moment when trips to the North Side were a good idea, but they'd been easier to take. For one, and probably the biggest thing, she wasn't driving herself back then. She could make an excuse that she was being dragged over there, or she was just being a good friend. She couldn't possibly let Adelle go over there all by herself, so she had to chaperone. She wasn't going there for her own reasons. She was there because of someone else.

Now, she really was there just for herself. Emma didn't exactly want to believe what was quickly becoming truth, but Adelle Landry's room rental at the Curtis house wasn't the real reason she kept going back there. Or, at least, it wasn't the only reason. Sure, she had to be there for Adelle. The girl was slowly getting past her hidden despair, but she still needed a friend around. Hell, she needed a girl around because she damn sure wasn't getting any of those hanging around that crowd of thugs. But still…

Emma knew that she was there because she wanted to see Soda. And though she would never admit it, she wanted him to stare at her. He'd managed to get his date to the drive-in, but that was it. She even made sure that he knew they were not going to do any dirty things in the lot. She was going to see if she could actually handle the pressure of being seen in public beside a greaser. The experience hadn't been as bad as she had thought it would be, but it hadn't been fun, either. And the fight had been completely unnecessary. But still…

Emma shook her head, then whipped around to glare at Soda. "Stop it," she said harshly. "I hate it when you do that."

"Liar."

She glared at him and turned back around. So what if she were lying. He didn't have to say it so bluntly, or with a grin curving his lips. If Steve weren't actually trying to graduate, or at least pretending to do so that night, Soda wouldn't have had to be there, anyway. If he and Steve were both without anything to do, Darry would have told them to go somewhere and leave them alone. As it were, he'd already told Soda to find something to do or go to his room. Apparently, the something to do that Soda had found was to stare at Emma.

The whole situation was seriously screwed, anyway. Emma spent half the time flirting with him and the other half trying to pretend that he didn't exist. She sat on a fine line between wanting and having, and she didn't know if she wanted to cross all the way over. Mostly because she knew as well as her parents did that it would come to an end eventually.

Sure, she had another two years before she graduated, but a lot could happen in that time. She could actually get attached to Soda, and that would just make what could only be called an inevitable break up all the more hard. She wouldn't admit it to her parents, but Emma knew they were right. She was getting the hell out of Tulsa, Oklahoma eventually, and more than likely, she wouldn't be coming back. Which meant that she would never see Sodapop Curtis again. Somewhere down the line, if she ever were forced to return, she would see him with whatever woman he'd decided to marry (probably that whore, Sandy) and he'd still be working at the DX. And she would just be biding her time before she was, once again, the hell out of Tulsa.

If she just stuck with a casual flirtation, the whole thing would be easier to deal with. If she didn't stick with it, if she let it go any further than that, either her plans would be screwed all to hell, or she'd still do them, but it would weigh on her and break her down emotionally. It was either leave Soda somewhat friendly, or leave him the way that she knew Adelle would eventually be leaving Steve.

That was almost sad to think about, and Adelle refused to talk about it at all. As far as she were concerned, she had two whole years before that happened, so there was no point in thinking about it. But, Emma knew that the Adelle/Steve story would pretty much end the way her own fated story would end with Soda. When she graduated, Adelle would leave Tulsa, probably going to the same college that Emma chose. Adelle had no reason to stay there. She had no family left, and she had a future in front of her. Sure, she'd probably promise to write. Emma probably would, too, but really… Did anyone expect them to really do that for long once they were gone? Once they were in a group that was more middle ground? Were they really expected to remember Greasers versus Socs when they were somewhere that didn't have those characterizations?

Emma felt like shit for thinking about it, but it was all the truth. She held onto the truth tighter than a glass of ice cold lemonade on a hot summer day. The truth was all there was left in her topsy-turvy world. The truth was brutal and ugly and sometimes, downright despicable, but it was still the truth. And the truth of the matter was that she knew that whatever was going on with them now wouldn't last forever. They were in high school, for crying out loud. Nothing from high school stayed forever. And Emma thought that she knew just how well aware of that Adelle was, too.

When next her head rose, it wasn't because of Soda's staring, but because Steve had stood up from the table, bumping it to the side and making her pen jump. "What…" Emma looked around in confusion, only to meet Adelle's equally confused eyes. They both turned to look at Ponyboy, and he just shrugged. "Don't you know what's going on?"

"I never know what's going on until it's already went on."

"Yeah, that made a bunch of sense." Emma rolled her eyes, then turned to stare behind them. Soda, Steve, Two-Bit and Darry were in a half-circle, almost a huddle without the bending over part. They were whispering, which made Emma all the more curious, and more than a little nervous. There was a lot that went on in the Curtis house, but whispering wasn't one of those things. Yelling, yes. Fighting, of course. Even some muttering. But whispering… That was rude, and Darry didn't seem the type to let too much offense like that go on.

And yet, there he was, right in the middle of it. He didn't seem to care that there were three other people there that didn't have a clue what was happening, two of which who were staring at them, boring holes into their sides. Ponyboy didn't seem to care all that much. At least not enough to stare. He probably figured that, whatever it was, Soda would tell him later.

Groaning, Emma turned back to Ponyboy and said, "Go find out what's going on." He looked up at her with wide eyes. "What? It's your house, your brothers, all that. Go find out what's going on."

"I don't wanna know what's going on."

"But, we do," she told him, "and besides, it's rude to whisper. And… whatever it is, it took Steve away from the only studying he's done all term long."

"That's right!" Adelle's first words in over half an hour. She would probably claim that she had been engrossed in A Tale of Two Cities, but honestly, she was more engrossed in watching Steve. In particular, the patch of grease that clung to the side of his face. She was probably itching to clean it off. The girl was going way past cute and very far into insane when it came to cleanliness. "Steve's gotta get back over here, so go find out what it is so we can get back to studying."

Ponyboy stood up, muttering that he was getting bossed around in his own house and how much crap it was having girls there all the time. Emma and Adelle watched him go, neither all that interested in the muttering. They'd make it up to Ponyboy later. It was something they were used to doing. You can take a girl out of the South side, but it's going to be hard as hell to take all of the South side out of the girl. Sometimes, Adelle and Emma just wanted to get things right then, and considering that they still had the means, they saw no reason that they couldn't have whatever it had been. It usually seemed to somehow involve Ponyboy and they always made it up to him. This time would be no different. But at the moment, there were other things to worry about.

"What do you think they're whispering about?" Adelle asked. "I looked up when Steve got up, and Soda was waving him over."

"Well, I don't think it's about us. Soda would be looking over here every two seconds if it were, and this has to be the first time all night that he hasn't looked at me at all."

"And are ya jealous?" Adelle winked at her. "You complain, but you know you like it when he looks at you."

"Yeah, well…" She shrugged. "Just don't tell him that." Emma let out a heavy sigh and leaned her chin against the back of her chair. "Don't tell him anything, because that's just going to make things complicated, and I have enough complication without the addition of Sodapop."

"Ooh, you called him Sodapop." Adelle winked again. "And, if you'll remember, I'm the one with the complications, not you. Soda's… He's a good guy, and you know it. You went out with him, and except for the fight, you had a good time. So, just stop it and have a little fun. You deserve it, for putting up with me."

Emma turned around and her mouth was open to hand out a long-winded retort about Soda, complication, what she deserved, and why. However, she was stopped as a shadow moved past her. She looked to the side and watched Ponyboy as he moved back around the table and sat down. He didn't say anything, just looked down at his book.

Emma tapped her foot impatiently. Then she wrapped her nails against the table. Adelle met her rhythm, and they both tried to annoy some information out of him. When it was evident that he wasn't talking on his own, Emma said, "Well?"

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered. Emma shook her head and groaned. "Well… what were they whispering about?"

"Oh that." He shrugged. "Nothing major. Dally's coming back to town this weekend. Now, stop botherin' me, alright? I got homework to do, and so do you."