Some hints in this about what's happening with Ponyboy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Soda tripped over about half a dozen things on his way to the phone, and he managed to make it there without seriously injuring himself. He snatched the phone from his girlfriend, and a grin stretched across his face.

"Ponyboy?" he whispered, almost not daring to believe that he was speaking to his little brother for the first time in almost a month.

"Hey, Soda. It's nice to hear your voice again."

"You, too," Soda replied. "What made you wait so long to call?"

Ponyboy hesitated, and Soda swallowed, almost afraid of the answer or more accurately, the truth.

"My foster parents don't have a phone, so I had to find a pay phone, which was actually easier said than done. This town barely has any of them."

Soda raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of your foster parents, are they treating you right?"

Hesitation came around again, and Soda's heart rate picked up as he thought about what the hesitation could imply.

"Yeah. Of course, I still miss you and Darry, but they're not bad or mean to me…"

Soda could hear Ponyboy swallow harshly, a nervous habit of his.

"I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Pony," Soda said, quietly. "You'll be home soon. I know it."

"I'll stay out of trouble," Ponyboy promised. "I won't cause any problems from my foster parents or the state. Hopefully, they'll send me home sooner if I'm on my best behavior."

"We're trying, too," Soda responded. "Darry's working more to bring in some more income and make our bank accounts look less pitiful to the state. Aimee and I were just about to clean the house."

"Sodapop Curtis… cleaning? Don't make me laugh!"

Soda chuckled. "I'm serious! Aimee said our house always looks like a one star hotel because we're all guys, but now that she's here to help, we're going to make it look like a five star hotel."

"I wish I could see that!"

"I'll ask your social worker if you're allowed to visit next time I see her," Soda said.

"Can you also ask her when her next visit with me is? I thought she was supposed to visit once a month."

Soda's eyes widened. "She hasn't visited yet? I think she was scheduled to visit your foster home last week. She didn't?"

"No, she didn't."

Ponyboy's tone was strange, like he was hiding something bigger than a missed visit. Was there a reason he needed her to visit? Soda was too afraid to ask.

"I'll talk to her. She's supposed to come here towards the end of the week to check out the house and ask some routine questions. I'll go ahead and call her and ask if you can come visit us," Soda said. "It hasn't been the same around here without you."

"It hasn't been the same without you guys either. Mr. and Mrs. Worth are nice, but they're not my family. I want to go home, but at least I'll be in good hands until then."

There was another strange tone to Ponyboy's voice. It reminded Soda of when he and his high school friends would talk about random stuff in class, like cars, lunch, and weekend plans, but change their conversation as soon as the teacher was within ear shot. Their voices had adopted the same tone- flat, fake.

Somebody was listening in on Ponyboy's conversation…

But why?

"That's good to hear," Soda said.

"I have to go. Tell the gang and Darry I said hello and that I miss them, and I'll call again soon. Love you, Soda. Bye."

"I love you, too, Pony," Soda said. "Bye."

Soda hung up the phone.

"How was it?" Aimee asked. "Talking to him, I mean."

Soda didn't answer. His thoughts were racing a hundred miles per hour.

"Soda?" Aimee muttered.

Soda was not the brightest crayon in the box; even he would admit that. He didn't know much about the nonverbal language humans use, even unknowingly, such as their body language or their tone. But he did know Ponyboy. He knew his little brother like the back of his hand.

Hesitating, gulping, the strange hidden tones in his voice, like he was hiding something. His voice even shifted, like he was biting his lip, another habit of Ponyboy's, but he only used it when he wasn't telling the truth.

One of these things wouldn't make Soda very suspicious, but when they all happened at the same time… it could only mean one thing.

"Soda, what is it?" Aimee asked, shaking his shoulder to get him to come back to Earth.

Soda turned to face her, and she frowned at the apprehension and anxiety in his eyes as he thought of what it all could mean. Ponyboy told him everything. What was big enough that Ponyboy felt the need to hide it from him?

"Soda?" Aimee pressed.

Soda swallowed before blurting out the horrible, fear inducing thing he had realized.

"Ponyboy lied to me."

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