Thank you for the kind reviews, favourites and follows! They mean so much to me.

I forgot to thank Simona for letting me ramble about the plot and possible titles. You've been a big help.

Thanks!

Jem

The heat of the sun was sweltering already and it wasn't even 9 o'clock. Sweat burned as it dripped into my eyes and down my back, soaking my shirt and sticking it to my skin.

I'd decided to try to get an early start on stripping the shingles off the roof. I had been the only one working for the past hour but I didn't mind. The earlier I got to work the faster we'd get it done and I could get out of the sun. Plus I liked the quiet, we didn't get too much quiet at home, not with the gang of knuckleheads.

"Curtis!" My boss, Mr. Franklin called up to me. I peered down at him over the edge of the roof. "Climb down here a minute."

"Sure thing, sir." I called back and made my way to the ladder.

By the time I reached the ground the rest of the guys had shown up and were all scattered near Mr. Franklin's car.

"Alright fellows," Mr. Franklin started. "Y'all know that Crawford quit on us last week and I've been looking for a replacement foreman." A small spark of hope flared in me. I'd been working for Mr. Franklin for a few years now. I'd pulled more muscles lifting bundles of shingles than I could count. All the guys knew that no one worked harder than me. I don't think any of them needed this job as much as I did.

"So I'd like to introduce y'all to my nephew Bill, he'll be coming on board as your new foreman." I tried to hold back my disappointment, as a tall man with dark shaggy hair wearing flannel shirt stepped forward.

Ponyboy has told me before that he's cursed with bad luck but right now I wondered what voodoo doctor I'd pissed off.

The hippie cowboy, Bill was shaking hands with his uncle who happened to be my boss. The hippie cowboy that I had decked and left lying on the beer soaked carpet was my new foreman.

Great, just great.

I stayed where I was near the back hoping that he wouldn't notice me. Maybe, he wouldn't remember me. He'd been focused on Soda during the fight and it had been pretty dark at Buck's. I prayed to anyone listening to give me a break.

"You got quite a bruise on your jaw, boy." Mr. Franklin was squinting at his nephew's face. "How'd you get that?"

"Just some trash at the bar last night." Bill quipped and all hope vanished as his cold eyes found me.

Shit.

"Curtis!"

I clenched my jaw and forced myself not to bark back at him as Bill hollered at me for the tenth time today.

Since the damned hippie cowboy had been hired on 5 days ago, he had been riding me. There was nothing that I could do right. No matter how fast or hard I worked it just wasn't good enough and even if there was nothing wrong, he made things up.

Just this morning, he'd reemed into me for ten minutes for being late. When I told him that the truck's clock said that I still had 5 minutes to spare, he'd said that I'd better get it fixed then continued his tirade.

"Geeze Darry, what's his problem now?" Pat muttered to me from farther up the roof. Bill got on just fine with all the other guys. It was just me and they were starting to notice.

I could only shrug because if I opened my mouth I was gonna explode. I made my way to the ladder, careful not to lose my balance.

"Curtis! Now!"

Glory, I obviously hadn't hit the man hard enough.

"You needed me?" I asked as I made my way to his side.

He was still wearing those stupid cowboy boots, but he'd changed his flannel for a tshirt. He looked cool as he stood in the shade of a tree and I was again drenched in sweat barely feeling human.

"Curtis, we need to have a discussion about your work effort." Bill's face was completely calm but his eyes gleamed at me. I froze and was filled with dread.

The radio was blasting as I finished off the last of the dishes. Two-Bit and Steve had headed home after dinner. Steve hadn't been impressed by my purple pasta sauce which didn't bother me none. Pony had quipped that he could always eat at his own house and that had set the two of them off. I was just happy that Two-Bit was around because it wasn't long after that he'd flung a noodle at Steve's forehead causing him to forget about Pony all together.

I chuckled to myself and hummed along to the King. Ponyboy looked up from his homework spread out on the table. I grinned at him and then swatted him in the face with the dishcloth.

"Soda!" He squawked, jumping up and driving towards me.

I howled with laughter as he chased me around the table.

Suddenly the front door slammed and we both froze.

"Hey." Darry called out to us, his voice sounded odd.

Ponyboy's wide eyes met mine and I shrugged in return. Darry hated when anyone slammed the door, it was one thing that we could always depend upon.

I reached over and turned off the radio, before making my way into the living room.

Darry was sitting in the armchair, hunched over with his head in his hands. I stopped short and blinked at him. Pony gasped as he stepped up behind me and I felt him inch closer to me.

"Hey Darry," I said softly as if not to startle him. "Where ya been? We thought you'd be home an hour ago."

Darry didn't lift his head but mumbled. "I just drove around a bit."

Pony and I shared a glance, neither understanding what was going on. I moved across the room and sat myself on the arm of the chair, resting my hand on his back.

He was shuttering and I squeezed his shoulder tightly. "What's wrong? Did ya pull somethin'?"

"I got fired." His voice was flat.

My heart stopped and my head shot up to look at Pony. He was standing in the doorway with his jaw on the floor. Green eyes wide and bright as pools of cool water.

"I don't understand. You're the best worker that they have." Pony moved forward to sit at Darry's feet.

Darry lifted his head and rubbed his hand over his face tiredly in a vain attempt at trying to pull himself together. "Soda, you remember the guy that we fought at Buck's the other night?"

"Yeah?"

"He's Mr. Franklin's nephew and the new foreman."

I stilled and guilt settled in my stomach. I'd started a fight just for the hell of it and Darry had lost his job. The job that we relied on to put food on the table and to keep the state off our back. I wanted to throw up.

My eyes must have shown how I was feeling because Darry squared his shoulders. "No little buddy, it ain't your fault. It's that goddamned hippie cowboy who fired me for no good reason."

"Hippie cowboy? That sounds about right." I huffed out a hollow chuckle. "So he just fired you on the spot?"

"He's been nagging me about every little thing since he started." Darry's voice got cold and his hands balled up into fists. "I just thought he was just trying to make my life hell, but I guess he was building his case against me."

I scoffed. "But the other guys know you Darry, they know how hard you work." I could feel my anger boiling and I wanted nothing more than to go hunt him down. How could he treat my brother like this over a measly fifty bucks? "How could Mr. Franklin believe that….? You've worked for him for years." I was sputtering and could feel my anger building. I tried to regain some calm. "It doesn't make sense."

Darry leaned back and crossed his arms. The muscle in his jaw jumped. "I'm not sure what to believe. All I know is I'm out of a job."

Pony was watching us with large eyes. "What are we gonna do?"

Darry ran a hand through his hair and I could see him pull himself together for Pony's sake. Nothing gave Darry more strength than Pony needing him. "It's gonna be alright Pone. I'll start looking for something first thing tomorrow." He reached out and patted Ponyboy's back. "We're just gonna have to pinch our pennies a bit more now."

Pony's expression showed that he wasn't convinced but he didn't want to hurt Darry by saying so. I smiled sadly, my brothers had come a long way to understanding each other better.

"I'll ask the boss to work some overtime." I offered and Darry nodded gratefully.

"I can get a job." Pony bounced on his heels like a puppy and I huffed out a laugh. I knew where this would go. Darry was a rock when it came to Pony's schooling.

"That's alright, kiddo." Darry answered, patting Pony's shoulder again to soften the blow. "Let me worry about this. You just focus on school, okay?"

My kid brother pressed his lips into a straight line and tucked his head. My shoulders tensed, waiting. Then he melted.

"Alright Darry." He gave him a small smile and I felt Darry's shoulders relax under my hand.

Darry looked over at me, his eyes begging me for absolution. Darry had shouldered a lot when our parents died. It had taken him a long time to quiet his pride and accept help from us and our friends. He'd always been able to provide for us though, so this was a real blow.

"We'll get through this." I said, reaching out so that my other hand could brush Pony's hair back and watched him as he leaned into Darry's leg. Connected to my brothers, I knew that we would be okay as long as we were together.