A/N

Ugh, it took forever to type this up... Do you have any idea how much time I wasted doing this instead of my math homework? This is the reason why I am failing Algebra II. Meh. I honestly wouldn't do that even if it was the only way to connect to WiFi, so I guess I shouldn't blame it on writing...

Anyway! This chapter includes Karen and Two-Bit bonding and Karen and Ponyboy bonding, as per request by two viewers, Pony'sgirlfriend and edgeof4teeners (respectively, of course). Both were things I wanted to get to, anyway, so I'm sorry if it seems a bit rushed!

By the way, there's a mention of Oklahoman weather in this chapter. It's definitely true. Weather in OK changes fast because of the humid air coming from the Gulf of Mexico and the cool, northern air coming from the Rocky Mountains & Canada. Its why they've got so many tornadoes and stuff. They've got weird weather.

Oh, and before anyone freaks out over the contents of this chapter, there are no set pairings between anyone, besides a few canon ships. Just a few hints at a couple of things.

The word count is 2,019.

Hopefully the sibling bonding sort of deal is fluffy enough! I'm not really good at that sort of deal, but I can write tragedy quite well... I am a horrible person in that sense. Moving on, I plan to put in more Gang/Two-Bit interaction next chapter.

Enjoy!

The sun shone through his shutters stubbornly, orange light of sunrise peeking through the blinds. With a groan, Two-Bit rose from the bed, having had another restless night of the sounds of screams and metal clashing. His feet touched the ruthlessly cold floor, reminding him that it was late July, and that it should be summer, not early spring like how it felt.

He stretched, scratching his back in a true teenaged boy fashion, holding back a yawn as he did so. It was now Saturday, the funeral having been yesterday.

He walked to his dresser and pulled out a random pair of jeans and T-shirt, throwing them on carefully and then pulling on his jacket slowly, mindful of his broken right arm. The cast would be taken off in another two weeks, as it had been only a minor fracture, but it was a major inconvenience.

Two-Bit slowly made his way down the hall, his head feeling fuzzy as if stuffed with cotton. Surely, it was exhaustion that was making him feel this way. Many sleepless nights were beginning to catch up to him, haunting him throughout the day as a reminder. He shook his head when he caught a whiff of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and a sweet twinge of maple syrup. He couldn't remember the last time he ate breakfast at his house, as his mom was usually too tired from her shifts to get up in the morning, so who...?

"Good morning!" His answer came to him in a too-cheerful voice for so early in the morning, for so close to a tragedy. It was his father's.

"I made you pancakes and scrambled eggs, just the way you like!" Keith then shoved a plate full of said food products, a grin on his face that closely resembled Two-Bit's own when he looked into the mirror. He looked down at the plate, a stack of four pancakes with in syrup, butter, and whipped cream decorating the top and scrambled eggs on the side. He really remembered that from six years ago? he wondered to himself.

"And I'm not sure if you still don't like bacon-" That too? Two-Bit thought, surprised, "-so I just gave you an extra pancake." His father continued on, but Two-Bit was in too much a state of shock to care or notice until his sister came down.

Instantly, Two-Bit sat down and began to eat slowly, surprised by how the taste of the pancakes was perfectly fluffy and sweet. An eyebrow raised at that, not really believing that his father could accomplish such a feat, but lowered when he realized his sister was silent, even as their father showered her with breakfast foods galore. He turned to look at her, and saw her glaring at him.

He flinched and looked back at his food, suddenly not hungry. The pancakes and eggs were abruptly immensely unappetizing, but then he thought of how he hadn't eaten in days, and he forced the food in with sudden distaste. He kept the dislike off his face, not in the mood to get in a fight or even a conversation with Keith.

Keith continued happily talking to the both of them, either completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere or just ignoring it to hourly calm things down.

Once done eating, Two-Bit mumbles something about going to the Curtis's and jumps into his piece of shit truck (and Keith said something about getting him a better one. Two-Bit thinks he's trying to buy his affections. It'll never work.) He drives his rickety truck over to the Curtis household, fully planning on just staring at their TV for a couple of mindless hours, but then he passes the house. He keeps on driving, passing by many possible stops, but never bothering to do so. He was careful to stay within greaser territory, of course, but other than that, he was in a daze.

Every turn he made, he just did mechanically. Every stop sign or speed limit sign, he regarded with care, remembering the mistake-she didn't see the sign...He suddenly stopped and pulled over, recognizing where he was. The houses all across both sides of the street were generally the same, all having peeling paint and nearly out of control lawns. There was nothing significant about it. But it was the where the crash happened.

Closing his eyes, Two-Bit slammed his head on the steering wheel and screamed.

He didn't leave from the street for a while. He just sat there and sobbed, crying for the first time since getting the news of his mother's death. He knew it was his fault, he had told himself, so he shouldn't cry. Murderers don't get to cry.

(Secretly, he was sickened by the fact that he couldn't bring himself to conjure up a few tears. He just couldn't cry. What monster doesn't cry over his mom's death?)

And because of this, it was all coming out now. Every tear shed was for every second he didn't allow himself to mourn. Every sob that escaped was for every sleepless night. And the single scream he cried was for the loss of his mom.

Eventually, he stopped crying. His cheeks dried and his eyes could no longer provide tears that he could use to lament with. Something inside remained beyond repair, however, and no amount of tears, sobs, or screams could ever fix it.

With his little... episode, Two-Bit decided to call it, over, he drove to the DX to fill up his truck's tank. Luckily, Steve wasn't working there today, so Two-Bit knew it'd be okay to go there without any questions of his red eyes. While there, he walked into the public bathroom and washed his face, successfully removing any evidence of his episode. Afterwards, he decided to check in on the Curtis's.

He drove on silently, not wanting to have another episode like he just did. (He wouldn't admit it, but he felt sort of frightened by it.)

Karen let out a frustrated sigh, seeing her idiot brother left behind his wallet and driver's license on the table. She shook her head, bringing her hand to her face in exasperation. It was like he wanted to get arrested, like that Dallas Winston fellow that he hangs out with. As much as she wanted to let him land himself in jail for driving without a license, she didn't want to stay alone in this house with a man she could barely remember. (And even the few memories she could recall were fuzzy and more of just a face and a few sounds.) She picked up the lazy bum's wallet and made her way to the Curtis's (that was where he said he was going, right?).

She stopped at their house, torn between knocking and just walking in, but then she took a deep breath and just opened the door. She gently shut it, not wanting to wake anyone who might still be asleep, and tiptoed her way into the living room. In there, she saw the placid forms of Johnny and Dally, both asleep. She rolled her eyes at the awkward position Dally was in (he had his feet propped up on the couch, the rest of his body on the floor, while Johnny was taking up the majority of the couch). Her brother had weird friends.

She heard the sound of sizzling bacon coming from the kitchen, so she began to move on from the living room. She was just about to exit when she ran straight into someone's chest.

"Ponyboy?" she questioned, a bit shocked and embarrassed. She was such a klutz! And… Was Ponyboy shirtless?

….Why, yes, yes he was. He was in nothing but jeans.

She really hoped he didn't notice her blush.

Luckily for her, Ponyboy was blushing as well, humiliated to be seen by his friend's kid sister bare-chested.

"Karen," he whispered, not wanting to wake up Johnny or Dally, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," she said, instantly defensive, "So I can't visit my brother's friends without having a reason?"

"No!" Ponyboy said, "But I really doubt you came over to say 'Hi.'"

"Right," Karen sighed, "Keith forgot his wallet and license, and he said he was driving over here, so I brought them over. But I didn't see his car in the driveway…?"

Keith? Ponyboy questioned himself, Since when has she referred to Two-Bit as Keith? Aloud, he said, "No, he's not here. He probably went to get gas or something on the way."

Karen rolled her eyes at this information and pulled out Two-Bit's wallet and license, handing them to Ponyboy. "Okay, sure. Here's his crap, I'm going out. Bye." She began to walk away, but Ponyboy grabbed her shoulder and said, "Wait!"

She turned back around, an eyebrow raised (taught to her by Two-Bit, of course). "Yes?"

Ponyboy blushed, not knowing why exactly he asked her to wait. He quickly improvised, "My Mom said that you told Two-Bit that it was his fault that… you know. That's not true, is it?" He mentally cursed his bluntness. Stupid, he called himself; I really don't use my head.

"Only because it is true!" Karen hissed out, anger flaring that Ponyboy was taking sides. This was family business, private business, not something he should be sticking his nose in. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

"Karry," Ponyboy sighed, using an old nickname for her. "Then you aren't who I thought you were." He looked at her, shook his head, and asked, "Are you staying for breakfast?"

"No," she said softly, her eyes hurt, "I ate at home. Speaking of which, I'm going back. Bye, Pony."

"Goodbye, Karry."

That night showed what a true Oklahoma day was like, the skies changing from bright and clear to dark and windy in a matter of hours. The clouds were swirling above the Tulsans, dancing to the beat of thunder and screaming with the lightning.

Two-Bit did much tossing and turning as he slept, the thunder resembling something much darker in his mind, and finally, his eyes shot open. He stayed still; gray orbs open to the darkness, his lungs trying to keep up with his heart. The clashing was back, echoing with every strike.

Crrrreeeeeeeaaaaaaak…. His door slowly opened, and he tensed, his mind wandering back to tales of monsters and bad guys that he heard about when he was a child.

"Two-Bit?"

He jumped up at his name, and he saw his sister standing in the doorway, a blanket wrapped around her small shoulders. He couldn't see much more than that in the dark.

"Can I sleep in here? I can't sleep." Her voice wavered as she spoke, and her eyes were surely filling with tears from the sound of things.

Two-Bit swallowed, not expecting this. Nevertheless, he nodded and motioned in the darkness, hoping she saw. She did, and she climbed in bed with her brother. They laid down in silence for a bit, and then she said, "I didn't mean it, Two-Bit. I don't think it was your fault."

He stayed silent for a second, a pain in his throat building up that he couldn't seem to swallow. Karen began to think he fell asleep when he talked for the first time that day, "But it is."

Karen sat up sharply, "What? Two-Bit, that's not true! It wasn't your fault." She felt him shrug in response, and she was suddenly devastated. ("Then you aren't who I thought you were.") "Please, brother! It isn't your fault!" Tears began to fall from her eyes. "It's not your fault, it's not your fault…."

Two-Bit sat up to hug her, to comfort her. He tried to get her to calm down, but she just kept repeating that it wasn't his fault.

"Okay, I believe you!" he finally said, not really meaning it. "It wasn't my fault. I believe you."

"Good," Karen said tiredly. "I love you, Two-Bit." For some reason, he felt oddly relieved by that.

"I love you, too, Karry."