"I can't believe you scored two touch downs!" Darry said he kept glancing in rearview mirror. He was driving Sunny's truck, since he had drank a too much.

"I can't believe you recovered from that first hit." Sunny slurred.

I rolled my eyes. I had a date tonight with Two-Bit's sisters friend. She was a blonde, and had pretty green eyes. She was also a cheerleader. I had to say she looked good in her uniform. The second the truck parked I headed for the bathroom. Two-Bit and Steve told me I couldn't take too long.

"So where is he going?" Darry asked.

"He has a date with Becky, the tiny little blonde cheerleader. She's a freshman." Steve answered.

I had just slipped into a new pair of jeans, when Darry knocked on the bathroom door. "Ponyboy?"

"I'll be out in a second." I hollered

"Are you dressed?"

"I have pants on." I answered. I didn't have to wonder what Darry wanted much longer. He barged into the bathroom as I was putting the finishing touches up on my hair. He just sort of stared at me. "What?" I asked.

"Umm." Darry shifted around uncomfortably. It was the first time he looked just purely uncomfortable around me. Seeing how half the time Soda would walk out the door without pants on I couldn't figure out what the issue was. Darry shook his head like he was trying to shake his thought out. "I would have killed for a six pack at your age." He punched lightly me lightly on my stomach.

"Shoot, I'm just skinny. I ain't built like you or Sunny."

"You ain't going to be a skinny boy for long. Is this your first date?"

I pulled my shirt on and started buttoning out. "I'm just taking her out for ice crème, Darry. She has a nine thirty curfew. I need to meet her Dad first."

Darry raised his eyebrows. "Look just don't do anything like what you hear the guys doing okay?"

I wasn't sure if he was trying to give me some sort of talk, or what. He was extremely uncomfortable. "Don't worry Darry. It's just a first date." I said.

He just nodded. "Have fun kiddo."

Two-Bit banged on the door. "What are you ladies doing shaving your legs?"

Darry rolled his eyes. I grinned. "I'm coming!"

Soda didn't even go with us that night. I picked Becky up and met her father, who didn't seem to be so pleased with my greased hair. He let her go out anyway. The guys ran over to Buck's.

"I've never seen eye color like yours. It's like they are grey. Hi." She said kind of bashfully.

I turned around to see Bryon standing there. "Look, I know you and Mark were buddies but."

I jumped up before he could finish. "But what? With how you and Mark were, heck you should have helped him, instead you put him in jail. You ratted him out. I'm sorry but I don't rat my friends or brothers out, and I sure as heck don't take excuses from rats. It's just not what people do."

"I did the right thing." He said. He was starting to look nervous for some reason.

"No, the right thing is standing by your family. Not turning them in. I should kick your ass." I said. Dally tried to hide Johnny and I from being charged for murder, I wasn't happy about what Mark had done, but it didn't give Bryon the right.

"Stop it!" Becky demanded. She looked scared. It was the first time since the rumble where I actually felt like a greaser. "Ponyboy, walk me home. I can't be late."

She tugged at my sleeve. I felt bad for her. I turned and started the walk back to her house. "I'm sorry about that."

"I don't know what happened, but you are right, family needs to stick together no matter what. It's like cheerleading, and the football team. If one goes down, they all do." She smiled as we walked up to her porch. Her Dad was sitting there cleaning a riffle.

He glanced down at his watch. "You got her home early." He said it in a very pleasing mannor. I could tell his riffle wasn't really dirty. He was cleaning it to scare me. In all honesty it almost worked.

"Yes sir." I said. "I was wondering if it would be okay, if I walked her home from practice on Monday."

Becky grinned. "Please Daddy, we'll come straight home."

"Come straight home."

I said good night to both her and her Dad and headed home. I kinda delayed going home. I still had a while before curfew. I just stopped to look up at the sky. It was a clear night. You could see all the stars.

Sunny was still passed out on the couch. I guess Darry had thrown a blanket over him. He looked up immediately when he heard the door open. "How was your date?" He asked.

"It was alright." I answered. "I guess, he didn't move all night." I pointed to Sunny.

There were times when Darry looked way older than his twenty one years. His face always showed how much he worry he actually carried. "No, we got back from the hospital. Sodapop and his friends did some stupid peace rally. A bunch of Brumley's came, and they didn't fight back." He had paused between the words came an and.

"Soda didn't finght back? Why wouldn't he defend himself?" I asked.

"Apperently defending yourself isn't peaceful." Darry sounded almost more annoyed with Soda, than he did with any of the stunts I pulled. "I think he's shaken up about it. He ain't used to letting someone pound on him."

"That's just stupid." I said as I walked back to the bedroom. Soda didn't turn to look at me when I opened the door. He didn't even look away from the ceiling when I sat next to him on his bed. He just layed there. His middle was taped up.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I was still in disbelief that he would allow himself to get jumped. Soda only nodded. "Why didn't you fight back?"

"Fighting doesn't do anything." He answered. I could tell by his tone that he didn't believe his own words.

"That doesn't make any sense not to defend yourself."

"It's hard to explain Pony. Just go to bed." He said.

"Don't do anything that stupid again. I'll skin you, do you hear me? You could have gotten killed by those guys." I sounded more like Darry than I ever thought was possible.

I guess Soda thought so too because he actually grinned. He didn't look at me but he grinned. "Do you know how many times I heard that tonight?"

"I laughed. " I think I can kind of imagine."

"Hey, I heard about Mark. That has to really stink." Soda said.

"Yeah, it does. Bryon is a traitor. I can't believe he would turn him in like that. He says he made the right decision too." I pulled off my shoes as I sat on the bed.

Soda finally turned his head to look at me. "What would you do if your brother did drugs? I mean he was dealing LSD."

I laid back on my bed trying to imagine any of my friends or brothers smoking pot or doing things like LSD. "All I know is that if Dally was willing to help Johnny and I avoid the pen when we had murder linked to us. Bryon shouldn't have done it."

"Yeah, I don't think I would rat my brothers out either." Soda said. "Hey, tell me about your date in the morning. I'm going to sleep."

I laid awake. My body was sore from the game. I thought about Becky, Mark, Soda. Everything was changing. I knew it was late, because I had heard Darry go to bed a while ago. All the sudden I head the sound of vomiting. It was strange, I guess Darry had developed the parent ears, because anytime Soda and I threw up during the night he was next to us before we could even blink. Just like Mom and Dad were. However, I didn't hear Darry take off running down the hall. I looked over at Soda; he was snoring. I got up to make sure Sunny wasn't puking on himself, or choking on his vomit.

The light from the bathroom illuminated the hallway. I grabbed a glass of water and took it to him. He was on his knees with his entire face stuck in the toilet. I could see his body heaving. Sunny lifted his head out.

"Here." I handed the glass of water to him. I hated it when he got this drunk. It just wasn't right. The only upside was that he slept heavier and didn't dream about the war.

"Thanks baby." He said as he took the water out of my hand. He took a few sips. "You played a good game today." That was another thing that annoyed me. He pretended like I didn't know he was drunk or hung over.

"I'm surprise you can remember it." I said bitterly. I didn't care if he was sick; it was his own fault.

"Don't be like that. Besides, I think it's the hotdogs Darry and Soda have been stalking in the fridge."

"I think it's what you drank." I said. I was stepping on thin ice now.

"Calm down. It wasn't that much."

"Says, the guy who passed out, and is now puking his lights out."

"Stop mouthing off Ponyboy Michael, or you won't sit for a week." He threatened.

With Sunny looked he didn't have the strength too. "Good night." I turned just in time to hear him start vomiting again.