Saturday night was typically a loud night in our house, spent playing cards, watching TV, and listening to music. This particular week, Ben had come over and Two-Bit graced us with his presence, opting to drink his beers at our house instead of going out. Ben and I were playing poker with Soda and Two-Bit, Two-Bit having one bad hand after another, and finally quitting. I'm out, he said, just as Steve came in.

"Deal me in, Soda," he said, taking Two-Bit's seat, and I felt a chill rising up my back. I looked up at him, and, for that one second, I saw that look in his eyes, that absence of emotion, that inhuman combination of anger and violence.

I looked away immediately, feeling my heart rate quicken. I hadn't imagined it, then. What I saw in his eyes, then, was exactly what I had seen that night. Seeing him looking at me in the car mirror, it had been gone. It had just been…well, Steve. But these eyes were something else altogether. Nobody else seemed to notice.

I managed to spend the entire night completely ignoring him. He made it easy enough, since he never directly addressed me or even, from what I could tell, looked at me. I stared at my cards or down at the table, and, even at the end, with Soda and Ben out and just the two of us still playing, I never met his eye. I beat him, with a full house over his three queens, and he seemed none too happy, though I never opened my mouth to rub it in. I even thought I did a pretty good job of trying to act normal, though I made absolutely sure that I was always within reach of Ben or Soda.

It didn't matter, though, because the boys gave him enough crap for all of us.

"Stevie lost to a girl!" Two-Bit egged him on, while Soda played along.

"Don't worry, Steve, we'll keep on practicing, you'll get 'er next time!" Soda said. "I can work in some private lessons for you down at the DX."

Oh, come on, it ain't that bad, Steve, I mean, she's only-what, five years younger than you? And Soda just taught her five-card stud last week, so she does have a lot of experience!" Steve hated it when Ponyboy sassed him lake that. I could see him getting more and more angry and, had I not wanted to be alone, I would have gotten out of there.

I honestly just wished they would stop. The last thing I wanted was for Steve to have reason to be mad at me, even if I really hadn't done anything. The ignorance thing worked okay for me, if I had to be around him at all. They didn't let up, however, and by the time he left, he was so pissed off that he kicked over the coffee table on the way out.

"Fuck y'all anyway," he yelled, "I got better places to be!" And with a good slam of the door, he was gone.

"What the hell's his problem, anyway?" Two-Bit asked. Darry stared at the door, with a look that I knew meant he was thinking about saying something, but might not. He didn't.

"Must be his time of the month," Soda joked, and I am sure I turned red. That still hadn't happened for me, but I had stopped even thinking about it. I had enough to worry about already.

Everyone had a good laugh at his expense, but I had a bad feeling about it all. I had seen Steve's anger at its very worst. I was more than happy to accept Darry's insistence to sleep in my room with me that night.

I even asked him to sleep in my regular bed, near the door, and I took the one farthest from the door and window, against the wall. While he was out brushing his teeth, I pulled the other bed over closer to mine. He walked in and caught me in the act.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," I lied, knowing that he knew exactly what I was doing.

"It's that bad, huh?"

"It's pretty bad."

"I have an idea," he said, and pushed his twin bed flush up against mine. We both looked down to see the huge collection of dust he had revealed by moving the bed and laughed.

"I don't sweep in here, so much…" I admitted, and went into the kitchen closet to grab the broom. I swept up the pile and returned to find Darry lying back on his bed.

"Slumber party time," he said. He reached over and pulled back the covers on my bed.

"You really don't have to do this, Darry."

"I want to. Payback for last time you stayed with me." I remembered after Mom and Dad had died and I had climbed into his bed to comfort him. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Darry had become so solid in his position as our guardian since then. I couldn't believe he had ever doubted himself like that. I was surprised he still remembered it.

I shut out the light and climbed in against the wall. It did feel so safe, again, to have Darry between me and anything bad that might be out there.

We didn't fall asleep right away. I could hear Pony and Soda talking next door.

"Can you always hear them?" Darry asked.

"Pretty much."

"Can you hear what they're talking about?"

"Not usually, unless they're fighting."

"They fight?"

"Sometimes."

"About what?"

"Stupid stuff. Shutting out the light, stuff like that." For some reason Darry found that funny.

As if on cue, we heard Soda yelling at Pony to "shut the goddamn window Pony, it's like Canada in here for Chrissakes!"

Darry and I both giggled. "Canada?" Darry asked. "That's the best he could come up with?" We both laughed even harder.

"What the hell are you two doing in there?" Soda called. It had never occurred to me that they could hear what was going on in my room, too. I never had anyone to talk to, so they must not have realized either. They probably never even knew I could hear them. I had never talked back through the wall.

"Canada, Soda? Seriously?" Darry was still laughing.

"It's goddamned cold in Canada," he said. I could hear Pony smacking him on the head with a pillow, followed by the general ruckus of a pillow fight.

"It's no wonder Scout gets no sleep, she has to listen to the two of you and your nonsense all night."

"Seriously, you guys can hear us?" Pony was surprised.

"Clear as day." Darry.

"Scout, you never told us you listen in on our conversations." Soda.

"I don't listen," I said. "I try to shut it out. I'm trying to sleep in here and it's annoying. I can only tell what you're saying when you fight. Or now, when you're actually talking to me."

"Good to know." That was Pony. "'Night guys," he said.

"'Night," Darry and I both said.

Pony and Soda must have switched to whispering, so Darry and I did too.

"So I guess I'm the only one who can't hear anybody else's conversations at night, huh?"

"You're lucky." I said. "Sometimes it just makes me feel lonely. That's partly why I came in your room that night, after mom and dad died. I heard them talking and felt alone and scared because I was alone. I was kinda surprised that you even remembered that, it seems like so long ago."

"Actually, when you and Pony were gone, I thought about that night a lot. I was afraid I wouldn't get to return the favor. I worried you were alone and scared wherever you were. That's part of why I wanted to stay in here with you. I really held on to that memory while you were gone."

I was stunned.

"Darry, when I was lost, in the woods, and I was alone, and scared, and sick- I dreamed about that night. I dreamed I was back there that night, with you."

We both were quiet. I guess we both realized we might have been thinking the same thing, at the same time. I would have never thought that about Darry and me.

"Well, thanks for staying in here with me. I do feel safer." I did.

"Well, no knife for you tonight. I don't want to roll over and accidentally touch you and find a knife at my throat."

I reached over and smacked him on the chest.

"See, you do pick fights like Angela Shepard."

"That's right. Be nice or I'll kick your butt. I highly doubt that Angela's afraid to sleep in her room alone at night, though," I added.

Darry laughed quietly.

"'Night, Scout. Sleep tight tonight, you got your own personal bodyguard."

I smacked him softly again.

"'Night. Darry."

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All in good time, my friends. The truth will come out. Thanks for reviewing, as always, it makes my day!