Hello, everyone. The visit with Ponyboy continues.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

WARNINGS: IMPLIED ABUSE

Soda sat on the couch beside Aimee, and Ponyboy soon joined them. His foster parents sat across from them in arm chairs, and for several moments, no one spoke. Or moved. Or breathed.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Mrs. Worth asked.

Mrs. Worth was short, barely taller than Ponyboy, and she had blonde hair that fell in perfect ringlets around her shoulders. Her eyes were blue, as well, and her skin was porcelain: pale, smooth, and fragile-looking. She wore a blue dress with pink polk a dots, and her smile was seemingly kind, but Soda didn't trust her one bit.

Aimee smiled. "That would be lovely. Thank you. I'll just take some water."

"Me, too," Soda told her.

The woman looked at Ponyboy, sternly, and jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen. Ponyboy nodded and stood, going to fetch the drinks.

Soda frowned, but before he could say anything, Mr. Worth asked them a question.

"Are you two in high school?" he asked.

Aimee nodded. "I am, but my winter break started on Friday."

"I actually don't you to high school. I work at a gas station," Soda told them.

And here came the look: the one Soda got when he told people he was a drop out who worked at a gas station. The judgmental look, the raised eyebrows, the turned up nose… He was used to it, but it didn't make it any easier to hide the glare he wanted to send at Mr. Worth.

Ponyboy returned and handed both of them water bottles, which Soda gratefully took a drink from and offered to Ponyboy. Ponyboy glanced at Mr. Worth, who gave him a firm glance, before turning down the water.

Soda frowned. Ponyboy had just silently asked his foster father for permission to have a drink of water… that his brother was offering to him. Before Ponyboy had been taken away and put in a boys home, he'd snatch Soda's Pepsi and take multiple sips of it before laughing and handing it back to an offended Soda, who would then initiate a game of Holler Uncle. Now, he was asking permission to take one sip of water from a bottle that was being offered to him.

He needed to get his little brother out of here.

"So Ponyboy, how is school for you?" Soda asked.

"We home school him," Mrs. Worth told Soda.

Soda had a hard time keeping the smile on his face. He didn't trust these people at all, and he had been hoping that Ponyboy would be out of their reach for seven hours a day, but now, he knew that his little brother was here with these people twenty four/seven.

It scared him more than he wanted to admit.

"That's cool. The guys and Darry really miss you," Soda told Ponyboy. "Johnny must've read Gone With The Wind a hundred times since you left."

"Probably closer to two hundred," Aimee joked.

"Tell them I miss them, too," Ponyboy said.

"Will do," Soda told him. "Anyway, have you written anything lately?"

Ponyboy pursed his lips. "Not really. Writer's block, I guess. It's not like I was very good at it anyways."

Soda's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? You're amazing! I expect at least one short story by the time you get back, Mister."

"Yes, sir," Ponyboy laughed.

Soda glanced at Aimee and nodded.

"So Mr. and Mrs. Worth, what do you two do for a living?" Aimee asked.

As the Worths began explanations about their careers, Soda leaned over to whisper in Ponyboy's ear:

"Are you having any nightmares?"

Ponyboy nodded. "Sometimes, but I try to wear myself out before bed, so I don't have them as often as you might think."

"So who told you you weren't any good at writing?" Soda murmured.

Ponyboy opened and closed his mouth a few times, and for a moment, Soda thought he was going to blurt out the whole truth, but Mr. Worth interrupted.

"Well, I'm afraid I'll have to cut this meeting short," he said. "I have to head into work for a few hours, but it was nice meeting you two."

"You, too," Aimee said, hugging Ponyboy.

After Aimee released Ponyboy, Soda embraced his little brother.

"Call me if you need anything," he murmured in Ponyboy's ear. "I mean it. Anything. I love you."

"I love you, too," Ponyboy replied.

"Even though we're apart, I'll always be here for you. Remember that," Soda mumbled.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! Bye!