Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders. Oh, how it hurts to admit defeat!

Sorry for the wait again guys! I didn't realize just how much time making/shopping/wrapping gifts takes! I seem to be just as busy as I was before I went on break-only now I'm doing things that I actually like. :)

Thank you for all of your lovely reviews! You guys are amazing, I am so grateful for your support and encouragement. I'm glad I've inspired some of you to read That was Then, This is Now. It really is a fabulous book.

On to the chapter!

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Chapter Five: Darry-Ignorance is Bliss.

Mood ring, oh mood ring, oh tell me will you bring the key? To unlock this mystery of girls and their emotions, play it back in slow motion, so I may understand the complex infrastructure known as the female mind . -Relient K

I got home from work even before Ponyboy got home from school. * It was refreshing to have an easy work day for once. I threw my keys on the counter and headed for the bathroom, intent on taking a nice, long shower.

I was all lathered up, shampoo running down my face, when I heard a loud knocking at the door. If someone was knocking that meant it wasn't one of the gang. What if it was the state?

Oh darn.

I stuck my head under the shower, scrubbing furiously until I was basically suds-free. Slipping and sliding, I jumped out of the shower and ran a towel over my body.

The knocking was growing more impatient.

I ran across the hall to my room, yelling. "I'll be there in a minute!"

The knocking stopped and I pulled on a pair of boxers and jeans. I grabbed a random shirt off of the floor, hoping it was clean. There was no more time to clean up the house. If the state took away my brothers because of a dirty house, I would sue them.

Was that possible?

I shrugged in response to my unspoken question and walked to the door. I gave one last cursory glance around the living room before opening the door. I blinked in surprise. "Angela?"

The brunette looked every bit as caught off guard as I did. She stared at me for a moment, her eyes trailing over my somewhat rumpled form. Her facial expression seemed to be torn between amused and intimidated. "Darry, right?"

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "Yes."

Now she started fidgeting. "I just...I wanted...um..."

"Yes?"

"Is Ponyboy home?" She blurted out.

"Uh, no. He's still at school." I frowned. What does she want with my brother? My tone came out harsher than I intended. "Why do you want to talk to him?"

She jumped a little and wrung her hands nervously. "I didn't necessarily want to talk to him. I just, um...well...could you tell him that I..." She seemed to reach a decision of some sort as she squared her shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. "Tell him that nobody messes with me and gets away with it. If he doesn't want me to break his nose like I broke Two-Bit's, then he'd better steer clear of me."

I honestly had no idea what to say to that. I had the feeling that I missed something important. Pony had done something to Angela? Angela had broken Two-Bit's nose? Come to think of it, Two-Bit's nose had looked funny the yesterday. There was a lot of explaining that needed to be done, but at the moment, Angela was waiting for a reply. "I, uh, yeah. I'll let him know."

She smiled a smile that looked far too sweet to be real. "Thanks Darry." She turned to go, but right before she walked off the porch, she looked back at me. Giggling and pointing at my head, she said, "And Darry? You might want to do something about that."

I frowned again as she left. After shutting the door, I walked over to the hall mirror to see what she meant. My eyes widened when I saw my hair sticking up in every direction with shampoo suds sprinkled generously in between. It was probably a very good thing that a social worker hadn't been the one at the door. They probably would have taken my brothers away from me just because I looked like a rabid human.

I started stripping off my clothes again, determined to take a real shower this time.

And when Ponyboy got home, he would have a lot of explaining to do.

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I was sitting in my chair reading my paper when the door flew open with a bang. Two-Bit came flying into the room, hands in front of him in a Superman pose.

"And the Mighty Ith zooms into the kitchen, poised for action!" He rambled on in an announcer's voice. I heard him rummaging around in the refrigerator, before he cried. "Kapow! Evil Dr. Cocoa Cake stands no chance against my amazing mouth cavity powers! Prepare to meet thy doom!"

"Do you always threaten and attack your food?" I asked as I turned the page of my newspaper.

"Ah!" Two-Bit screamed and I heard a clatter as he dropped his cake plate on the kitchen counter. "D-Darry?"

I turned with an amused smile. "What? You didn't see me sitting here?"

"Uh, no." He grinned sheepishly.

"You're unbelievable. I thought you only did goofy stuff when the gang was around."

He pretended to be insulted. "What? You think I do this just for show? Thou hast insulted me! I was born with an impeccable sense of good humor and wit."

"And stupidity?" I cocked an eyebrow.

He turned his nose up at me. "Just for that, I won't acknowledge your presence anymore."

"What a relief." I shifted my gaze back to my paper. I knew Two-Bit would not be able to ignore me for long, so I decided to relish the momentary silence.

Unfortunately for me, Two-Bit's resolve lasted even shorter than it usually did. He made a noise like he was about to burst and came trotting into the room with his cake in hand. "Okay, I give up. Why are you here so early?"

"Roofing's been slow lately. We finished putting tar on one house and have to wait for that to dry before we can do anything further. No more houses were available today, so my boss sent me home early." I explained without once removing my gaze from the Sports' section.

"So now you're going to waste your free time reading a paper instead of delving into my magnificent mind?"

Frankly, I didn't think that statement was worthy of a response.

"You are absolutely no fun. Ponyboy must be taking lessons from you." Two-Bit plopped down on the couch and grabbed the TV remote off the table. A few seconds later, all pretences of having a relaxing couple of hours at home vanished when Mickey Mouse started whistling his theme song.

I don't know why I bother to try to have a quiet house. It ceased to be my house a long time ago. I glanced at the clock.

4:30.

Well, might as well watch TV with Two-Bit because the rest of my family was due home in about thirty minutes. Ponyboy had taken to going over to the DX station after school and he would come home with Soda and Steve when they got off of work.

Sure enough, a few minutes after Mickey had whistled his last tune, I could hear Soda and Steve cackling up a storm. They came bursting through the front door with Ponyboy trailing behind them.

"Two-Bit!" Soda squealed when he spotted our couch-warmer. "The Operation worked!"

Two-Bit sat up so fast, he could have achieved whip-lash. He grinned at Ponyboy. "Really?! It worked?!"

A slow, satisfied smile crawled over my youngest brother's face. "Yeah."

"What operation? How did it work? What is going on around here?" I hated being left out of matters that concerned my brothers.

"Nothing Darry!" Soda chortled.

"No!" I slapped my paper down on the coffee table and stood up, hands on my hips. "First, Two-Bit shows up with a broken nose. Second, Angela comes here and tells me to tell Pony that he can't mess with her and get away with it. Then you guys show up talking about some operation and somehow it all leads back to Ponyboy! I want an explanation and I want it now." I stuck my finger in Pony's face, warning, "And you'd better not be trying to date Angela Shepherd. You've got more sense than that. I know she's pretty, but-"

I got no further in my reprimand because all of them started laughing. Every single one of the hooligans were laughing, even Pony. I frowned. "This is not funny. Tell me what's going on here or so help me, I will-"

"No, no!" Soda chuckled as he clapped a hand on my shoulder good-naturedly. "You don't understand, Darry."

"Well then, help me understand."

And for the next few minutes, that's exactly what they did. I kept quiet through the whole explanation, highly amused when Ponyboy's ears turned red with embarrassment at some points in the story. When they finally concluded, I sat there for a minute just staring at them all long enough to make them shift nervously. Then I cracked a smile. "Good for you, Pony."

He looked startled. "Really?"

"Yeah. Just watch your back. I think Angela is out to get you." I told them about her untimely arrival and the subsequent exchange we had.

"I don't care." Ponyboy waved a hand dismissively. "At least I can concentrate in Algebra 2 again."

I couldn't help but tease. "I don't know, kid brother. Girls may get wind of what you did to Angela and they might start lining up to see which one can break you first."

Ponyboy gulped. "Darry, we're moving to Antarctica."

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*I know it may seem strange for Darry to get off early, but roofing is a weird job. My uncle is a roofer and sometimes he's done for the day at noon and other times he's working until dark.

And there you have it folks! Only one more chapter after this. :)

Thank you for reading and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!