Let Me Guess

Hi! So you know that Outsiders AU I was talking about? Well, here's the first chapter! Hope you enjoy! Expect mostly shenanigans with the gang in the 1920s! Who is crazier, Two Bit or Dally? Tell me, I want to know!

I own nothing. Really. You should have guessed that by now.

"I'm baaaaaaacckkkkk!" Soda sang. He shut the door and splayed himself on the chair. He fluffed out his hair, golden and fluffy.

"So, Darry, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?"

Darry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Good. It's been a long day."

Soda began to whistle. "Well, Johnny just turned over five thousand dollars in profit from The Old Church. A week's worth of profit. That's good, right?"

There was a short silence. Darry sighed again, it was a depressingly familiar sound to Soda. "Please tell me that's not all."

"Uh…I helped an old lady across the street today?"

"Soda. Just tell me."

Soda huffed. "Fine! Dally's in jail again, that's all."

"Come on! That's the third time in a two month span! Doesn't he know how much it costs to bribe judges? Sometimes I think we should just let justice take its course! Maybe that would teach him a lesson!"

Soda countered with "It won't. And you know it. Dal's a good man, and we can't afford to lose him. The Curtis's take care of their own, you know that, no matter how much they annoy you."

Soda chuckled. "Besides, think of how sad Johnny would be if we let Winston rot in the cooler. It would break my heart."

Darry kept up his complaining, but he scribbled quite a tidy sum on a check. "Here. Have Steve get on it first thing tomorrow."

"I could do it Darry."

Darry looked up at Pony, standing in the doorway. "Ponyboy? I thought I told you to go to bed! It's late!" Ponyboy pushed his reading glasses further up his head. "I just wanted to wait up for Soda. C'mon Darry, it won't kill me."

Even though he was only fourteen, Pony already needed reading glasses. The fool kid read all the time, not just when he was doing the books. It was a wonder he wasn't blind as a bat already.

Pony repeated himself. "I can do it Darry. It's not hard."

"No. You're too young to get mixed up with the cops. We don't need you in their sights." Pony looked immensely offended (a look the older Curtis's were experts on). "I'm not that young! Gosh, you treat me like a kid! I can look older when I want to!"

"Pony the answer is no! Now go to bed!"

"Fine!" Pony slammed the door as he left.

Soda sighed. "You can be a little hard on him sometimes, Dar." "It's for his own good. Don't gang up on me too, Soda."

"I won't. You should probably hit the sack too, Darry, leave your troubles behind, etcetera etc."

Darry stood and locked the books in the safe, and Soda put out the lights.

"By the way, how're things with Sandy?" "Fine. Really." Soda did not appear to want to divulge more, and Darry didn't press him. He was too busy worrying about Ponyboy. But that was fine with Soda.

He was here to keep his brothers together, and as long as he could do that, he was happy.

Mostly.

Well? How did you like it? I feel like it has potential!

As always, review, suggest and comment!