Chapter 2

I walked to the Curtis house, anyway. I decided that Darry needed his friends with him, so I got Steve Randle, Sodapop's best buddy and part of the gang to come along. He'd also been hit hard by Soda's death, but both he and I both knew that none of us could get on with our lives until we got over this.

As we neared the house, though, I saw Darry talking to a guy out on the porch. I stopped and made Steve halt, too, as their conversation floated over to us.

"... you'll be comin' then?" the guy asked. I didn't recognize them. He was a tall, burly guy, probably Darry's age, with short blonde hair and hard blue eyes, much like Dally Winston's had been like. He was standing there in the grass, beside the porch.

"Hell, yeah," I heard Darry reply. A hard grin. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Paul." Paul? Shocked, I looked at Steve and he looked at me, mouth open in surprise.

"Paul?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I know," I muttered back I looked over at the porch again. "Paul Holden's a Soc. Why would a Soc be talkin' to a greaser?"

"I don't know and I don't like it," Steve murmured angrily, frowning. We both looked up as Paul's voice floated over to us again.

"Be at my house at seven. Then we'll head down. Maybe get rip-roarin' drunk. I know a gal who'd be real fond of you... I can introduce her if you want."

"Go ahead and do that," Darry replied, that grin still on his lips. I felt uneasy. I had never seen Darry act like this... not once. Paul left and Darry disappeared back into the house. Steve and me got up after a couple minutes and walked up the steps and into the kitchen, letting the door slam.

"Hey, Darry?" I called, not finding him in the kitchen or living room. There were footsteps and he appeared at the doorway of the kitchen.

"Hey Two-Bit. Steve." He sounded tired, saying our names in a monotone. I looked him over. He looked tired; he was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. I knew Darry hadn't slept well for the past month, ever since Pony and Soda died. He was hit hard, even harder than I thought he would be.

Of course, that was pretty much an illusion. Darry was human, after all-- he just had a harder time showing his feelings... which made you think he couldn't be affected by anything. Shoot, he'd lost his brothers, for heaven's sake! He was the only Curtis, the only person still alive in his immediate family. No wonder he was acting so strange. Heck, I would too.

Sitting on the table, I looked at Steve, who took a seat on one of the kitchen chairs. "So... what're you doin'?" I asked Darry as he poured a cup of coffee. He shrugged and leaned against the counter.

"Nothing much," he answered. "You and Steve?" Steve and I shrugged as I wracked my brain for something funny to say.

"You know, I might want to cut back on the beer," I said, trying a conversation that always made him grin. "I might break the table one of these days." Sure enough, the tips of his mouth quirked at a grin-- well, it was better than nothing. Steve must have agreed because he looked at me.

"Hey, Two-Bit, scoot over," he said quickly. "Let's see if two of us will break it."

"You do and I'll break your butts," Darry warned, fully grinning now. I congratulated myself. Slipping on his jacket, he put his cup in the sink. "I've gotta get to work," he said. "I won't be back until late tonight."

"Where you goin'?" I asked.

"I'm just goin' somewhere with a friend of mine," he answered as he headed out. "I don't know how long I'll be, and that's all you need to know. All right?" I sighed and looked over at Steve who shrugged, a smirk on his face.

"You were the one who insisted on trying to cheer 'im up. Guess it didn't work to well."

"You saw him grin!" I protested.

"I didn't not, brainless."

"Blondie!"

"Show-off!"

"Big-nose!"

He froze, mouth open and his hand went self-consciously to his nose. "You went tot far that time."

"Sorry!" I yelled as he tackled me.