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As Saturday dawned on the Curtis household it was scarily deadly silent when I woke up, in fact my heart started to beat faster when I realized the TV wasn't on and I couldn't hear the expected laughter I'd grown used to. My eyes wide I reached forward and grabbed my watch and read that it was nine o'clock in the morning. I raised my brows, that still didn't explain the silence that filled the house.

I threw my sheets off of me and my bare feet touched the cool wood of my bedroom floor as I grabbed a pair of socks from my bottom drawer of my bedside table and quickly pulled them on. As fast as I could I changed silently into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt pulling my jacket over the top and wrapping a colorfully striped scarf around my neck I pulled on a pair of gloves and slipped into the nearest pair of shoes. Pushing my hair from my face I slipped the letter into my pocket and crept to my door and pulled it open without a creak as I snuck downstairs and looked around the empty house.

I resisted giggling at Darry's sleeping form in the arm chair as well as Steve's own figure which was draped across the couch as if he'd literally dropped there and fallen asleep at the same instant. Smirking slightly I quickly got outside and hurried down the street, the frostiness of the morning was even more evident as you felt warmth coming off of the houses on the street as I walked by.

Shoving my gloved hands into the pockets of my coat I kept my head low as I walked along the empty streets through a couple of blocks until I entered downtown Tulsa. I bypassed all of the inviting looking cafes and hamburger bars and kept on walking until I came onto a deserted looking street on the outskirts of Tulsa. The street was nearly empty of any signs of buildings except for the long black fence that seemed to go on forever along the road and the sign that hung off it reading 'Tulsa Cemetery'.

I shivered as soon as I read it and I crossed the road instantly and pushed open the gate and stepped inside not bothering to close it behind me. My hand clutched around the letter as I discarded walking along the dirt path and made my way through some crumbling looking grave stones as I spotted a familiar old tree and two fresh looking graves. My body got chills as I stopped for a second and read them before I bit my lip and quickly hurried past them and stopped near enough to two graves, which were set by two separate plaques side by side.

Sinking to my knees in between them I brushed off the wilted flowers on the one to my right and hastily ripped out the weeds growing around it. So as you could read it properly, and I tossed them to the side without asecond thought and looked down to it lovingly.

"Hi, Daddy," I breathed sadly, my fingers tracing over the letters in his name. "I hope you've been well, it's your favorite time of the year too. You always said you loved Christmas when we were kids, and New Year." I said softly pushing my hair from my eyes, as it fell into my face. "You said it was the one time of the year where everyone gets to have their own second chance and fix up something they didn't like, only you never really obeyed that resolution of 'I'll stop smoking' did you, Dad?" I said with a shaky laugh, "But I'll hand it to you, you gave it a good go for a week or so before claiming it was never meant to be."

Smiling at it again I ran my fingers over the coolness of the metal before I averted my gaze to the one on the right of me. It bore the same date and last name as the one on the right, underneath the dead flowers that lay on top of it as well. Brushing them to the side I tidied it up quickly and glanced at the half buried letter in the soil and grass around it, the blue words that read 'Mom and Dad' were now faded to a light purple and it looked brown, as if decomposing, well it probably was.

"Hello, Mommy," I whispered taking the letter out of my pocket and resting it in my hands. "We haven't talked in a while I know, I hope you don't mind. I know you won't but I feel so guilty all the same, I should get my priorities straight and I know you'll say that it doesn't matter but, Mom, you'd be a liar if you said that, really." I said with a small smile. "I see you and Dad have taken to the new place well," I laughed nervously as I took out a weed growing right inbetween the plaques, just in front of my knees. "I wrote you another letter, it's right here in my hands, I feel like a right fool giving it to you too." I whispered staring down at the familiar writing which was my own.

Reaching forward I traced the letters of my mothers names, my eyes lingering over the date of their death, only a year previous, give a month or so. I choked back a sob; I had to stop crying, they weren't coming back. They're gone. They left in '65, didn't even make it to see this year. I shook my head and hastily wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Pixie, stop being stupid," I scolded myself. "You're turning into such a crybaby!"

"You're not being stupid, Pixie," Sodapop said suddenly out of no where.

I jumped out of my skin and my head spun around to glance up at him. "How long have you been here?"

"Oh, five minutes or so," Sodapop said casually with a soft smile. "I wasn't listening, I swear,"

I opened my mouth to tell him off but that didn't come out. "I wouldn't have minded."

"I talk to them too sometimes," Sodapop said softly kneeling down besides me. "You're not being stupid, it's just hard to forget sometimes, and you feel guilty when you're really happy because they can't be."

I nodded. "Yeah,"

"I saw that letter when you put that one down," Sodapop said, his gaze running over to its faded writing, which was blurring from rain most likely. "Half tempted I was to read it, I didn't even know you were still coming here."

"I didn't know you were either." I told him with a slight smile. "Guess we think alike,"

"I think Darry comes here too," said Sodapop, "Don't know if Ponyboy does, he isn't daring enough like us to go somewhere alone anymore in case Darry gets mad I suppose, he ain't stupid like us either," he said grinning sheepishly and I felt myself smile too. "Smart I suppose, doesn't exactly break up like we do then."

I nodded and gave Sodapop a smile. "You've never said I was daring before, Sodapop,"

Sodapop, strangely, flushed. "Yeah well, I think you're a lot of things I don't tell you,"

"Really?" I teased.

"Are you giving that to Mom then?"

I glanced down to the letter in my hands and nodded stiffly. "Yeah. About well, you know," I said, this time it was my turn to flush as I placed it in the grass in front of Mom's plaque. "Are you going to say goodbye too then, Sodapop?"

"I'll talk to you two soon, maybe next time you'll get another twin special," Sodapop said with a slight smile as he stood up slowly.

I smiled happily and glanced to their two names, beaming up at me on the shining metal. "I'll see you then, sooner maybe," I whispered as I too stood up and brushed off my knees. "Come on, Sodapop, and I don't want to talk." I added as I briskly began to walk away, weaving through the graves yet again, him tailing me almost as fast as I was walking myself.

Within a good five minutes we were both back out on open road as I crossed my arms over my chest and made for home again with Sodapop by my side, silent as I had told him to be. I don't think we really needed to talk at that moment. I mean I was so shocked he'd found me, he had to be a little overwhelmed I thought, whether or not he is was another story. But I had never imagined in my wildest dreams one of my brothers might visit them too. Not that they weren't allowed, it's just I didn't think they still thought about it that much, but I suppose hearing Darry came here was weirder than Sodapop, Darry is so held together, it's hard to picture him so somber visiting them like I do. But well he must, I imagine there would be more weeds there if it was just me visiting them, since Sodapop has that problem, like my dad, of telling the differences between weeds and actual plants.

I took adeep breath as Sodapop glanced over at me. "Do they know where we are?" I asked him.

"Well, no," Sodapop said with a slight grin. "No need to worry though, Ponyboy won't give it a second thought, I imagine Steve has a massive hangover and Darry will be giving him a stern lecture on the sins of drinking."

I grinned. "So that's why he looked like he'd…flopped." I said thinking of the word.

"Yeah, he did, we sort of dumped him there," Sodapop laughed, "Seeing as all he ever says is he's just with Evie 'cause she's a looker he's taking this pretty hard." Sodapop added seriously, "I dunno if she even did cheat this time, I mean all she was doing was talking to a guy,"

Even I had to roll my eyes, despite the fact I knew of Steve's and Evie's on again off again relationship. "He'll be from school I bet,"

"Probably," Sodapop shrugged. "I doubt even she'd sink so low to do that again, but really Evie isn't that bad. She's quite nice, you know, fun when she's not sucking Steve's face off."

I giggled slightly. "Yeah she can be a bit of a laugh at times, her and, well, you know who, were always good fun together."

"You can say her name, I really don't mind, I mean I'm over Sandy,"

"Well, Sandy and Evie were always a bit of a laugh," I informed him with a smile. "Evie, just, well got a bit irritating at times, it was always annoying when I got stuck with her you know,"

"I always thought you didn't like her because you liked Steve," Sodapop said mildly as I thumped his arm. "I did! I mean now I know it's not true, but that's what I thought!"

I made a tutting noise and shook my head. "No, she just wasn't my type, she's like into popularity and that, the thing I hate the most."

"So's Emily," Sodapop pointed out.

"She's different," I said with a wave of my hand as Sodapop put his arm around my shoulders steering me onto the footpath. "I mean Emily is Emily, she's a little sister, you know? I look past all those faults entirely. Like a best friend I suppose,"

Sodapop laughed. "You two are sisters,"

"What?" I asked him looking amused.

"Well, think of it, you both don't see each other all the time but you try your best to, you never agree on anything except all of our idiocy. I mean, the two of you even sort of look alike," Sodapop said not making any sense. "Put it this way, you've known her as long as you've known Ponyboy and no one will deny the fact you mother Ponyboy but you mother her too, in that same sisterly way."

I laughed at him. "So, she is my sister, then?"

"Yeah, but how can anyone not think of her like a little sister?" Sodapop said looking thoughtful. "What's not to like about Emily Matthews!"

A/N: Well there you go another chapter! I know right now it appears there's not a plot, and I apologize for that if it appears that way to you but it'll all be unfolding before your eyes shortly, so just wait it out first. As all this will contribute to things in later chapters. I promise, and a lot of it is scene setting. Anywho thanks for all your reviews and I can't wait to read your new ones!

Rach