A/N: Sorry for the missed chapter on the 5th, I'm back now and there will be another chapter on the 10th as usual. I realized as I was writing this that Sodapop's birthday is October 8, so I figured that it was too great of a coincidence not to publish this chapter today. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts!

TW: vomiting

"Happy birthday!"

I groaned, moving my hands to try and shield my sides from what I knew would inevitably come. My efforts were in vain, though, as Darry simply pinned my arms down and let Ponyboy do all the tickling for him.

I screamed and begged for them to stop before eventually launching a counter-attack on Ponyboy, with Darry jumping in as reinforcements. Soon enough it was my youngest brother begging for mercy before we finally let up and moved to get ready for the day. Despite it being my 18th birthday I still had to work, which was what being an adult was all about, I suppose.

I managed to make it out of the shower and get a towel around me before the house erupted in an off-tune chorus of what I assumed was a rendition of "Happy Birthday" by Steve and Two-Bit. I couldn't help but smile despite my ears' protest. I finished getting ready and found the two of them in the kitchen attempting to scarf down the breakfast that Darry had set out for me. I felt a pang of sadness as I saw it was just my usual eggs and jelly. Not that my brother was a bad cook, but my mom used to make me French toast every year for my birthday. I think I would've felt worse if he made it, though. It wouldn't be the same.

"Soda, plug your ears."

I groaned, pausing from eating my breakfast and sticking my fingers in my ears. I didn't understand why Steve and Two-Bit felt the need to be so secretive about something I already knew was happening, but I complied anyway. The party was at my house for god's sake. The amount of secrecy made me nervous, though. I was planning on a small get-together, maybe some card games and a couple of beers, but it seemed like they had something bigger planned.

"You'd better get going Soda, don't wanna be late for your first day of work as an adult!"

I rolled my eyes at Darry's warning. He was sure to hold me to a higher standard now that I was 18, but I knew his nagging would never stop. Didn't matter how old I got, he was always going to be older than me.

"I'm hurrying!" I remembered to put my shoes on without being asked (very adult of me) and called out a goodbye as Steve and I headed out. "By the way, I invited Michael to the party tonight!" I said, not missing the way Darry's jaw dropped before shutting the front door.

— — — — — — — — —

Ponyboy had been the one tasked to keep me busy between the end of my shift and the party, so of course we spent the time at the movies. I knew he had been wanting to see the latest Paul Newman flick and I promised him that I would be fine to sit through it. There weren't a lot of other options to pass the time, anyway.

The movie was tuff enough, but I was sure antsy to get to the party. Ponyboy was walking at a speed slower than molasses, though, so I figured he was trying to stall as much as possible.

"Darry was real mad this morning, you know," he said suddenly, looking concerned.

"For what?"

"You inviting Michael, or you not telling him about it, I guess."

I threw an arm around my little brother's shoulder and messed up his hair. "He'll be okay, it sounds like there might be enough people there that he won't even notice him. Don't worry about it," I reassured. Ponyboy hated it when we fought.

The sheer amount of cars parked on our street betrayed the silence that was coming from our house. I took a deep breath as Pony opened the door for me, trying to prepare myself for whatever extravaganza my friends had planned. I stepped in and was met with a very dark, and very silent, living room.

"Surprise!"

Someone flipped the lights on and revealed a kitchen and living room that was filled with people. Among them were Two-Bit, Steve, Michael, friends from the neighborhood, and a decent amount of people I didn't know. I guess Steve and Two-Bit had told everyone to bring their friends.

I put on my best surprised face, despite knowing about the party, before moving to greet everyone. Someone cranked the radio as loud as it could go and music filled the house. Food and snacks were brought out, along with a large assortment of drinks. I wasn't sure how Darry was going to handle all of this, he usually did everything he could to keep the state off our backs. I'd have to ask Steve or Two-Bit later how they managed to get him to agree to this.

More people began filtering in as the night went on, some of them friends of mine, most of them not. Steve suddenly appeared behind me, clasping a hand on my shoulder. "So what do you think?"

"Y'all certainly invited a lot of people. I don't think I know 80% of the people here."

"Maybe not, but you will by the end of the night. Especially the girls," he smirked.

— — — — — — — — — —

The party was in full swing, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more than a little tipsy. Ponyboy seemed to be under the impression that I never drank, but that was sure to change after seeing me tonight. At least Darry was staying sober.

I was deeply invested in a game of poker, betting money I didn't have when I noticed Michael standing by himself in the corner of the room. This clearly wasn't his scene, and he was at least a decade older than everyone here.

"I fold, I'm gonna go talk to Michael."

"You sure you don't wanna keep going?" asked Two-Bit, waggling his eyebrows and clearly hinting that he had a better hand than me.

"Let him go, he's gonna be knee-deep in the dough soon anyway," smirked Steve.

I elbowed him, my eyes darting around to make sure Darry and Pony hadn't heard. I abandoned my cards on the coffee table and approached Michael, who was glancing at his watch. It was barely ten, but it was obvious he was ready to leave.

Michael held out an arm for me to steady me as I approached him, chuckling at me. "Doin' okay there birthday boy?"

I laughed drunkenly. "Doin' just fine. More than fine, actually. I feel great."

"I can see that," Michael said, slowly supporting more of my weight as I began tipping toward him. My head felt heavy as I rested it on his shoulder, and he began absentmindedly stroking my hair.

"My mom used to do this, you know," I blurted out, not sure why I said it. Michael stopped immediately, pulling his hand away as if he had touched a hot stove. He stood silently as the party continued to rage around us.

"Let's go out on the porch, get some air," he suggested, letting me lean on him and guiding me outside.

I collapsed onto the porch swing, feeling giddy as I watched the porch awning sway above me with each swing. Michael sat near my head, his hand hesitating for a moment before once again carding through my hair.

"How are you really doing, Soda? Ponyboy mentioned that you don't drink."

"Ha, that's just what Pony thinks. I don't drink very much, though, at least not when I have work tomorrow. Oh god, I hope I don't have work tomorrow. But I've gotta drink on my birthday."

"You know, you don't have to drink to have a good time. No one would judge you if you didn't want to."

"No, I need to. It's too hard if I don't."
"What's too hard, Soda?"

I giggled as though he had just asked the most obvious question in the world. "My birthday, dummy. You try turning 18 when your parents and half your friends are dead, you'd be drinking too."

Michael's hand went tense on my head, and for a few moments he said nothing.

"Does Darry know how hard today is for you?" he finally asked.

"Pshhh probably. He has birthdays without them too, you know."

"Yes, but have you talked to him about it?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, no. I'm an adult now, though, no sense bothering him about it."

Michael sighed and resumed stroking his hand through my hair. I closed my eyes for a moment and allowed myself, despite the large size of his hand, to pretend it was my mother.

"Turning 18 doesn't mean you have to do everything on your own. You've got your friends, your brothers, heck, even me—"

"But I'm an ADULT now," I exclaimed, using my hands to gesture for emphasis so he would get my point.

"Soda, I think you've been an adult for a long time now."

I sat up suddenly, the effort making me dizzy. If I were sober I might be able to understand what he was getting at, but right now all I wanted to do was have another drink. I began stumbling back into the house, Michael hot on my heels. I spotted Darry across the room, talking to a girl of all people.

"Hey, who's that girl Darry's with?" I slurred.

Michael laughed. "That's my coworker, Rebecca, the one who made the casserole. I hope you don't mind that I invited her, she's younger and mentioned that she doesn't get out enough. She and Darry seem to be hitting it off, though."

I could hardly believe my eyes. My brother, Darry Curtis, for the first time in years, flirting. Rebecca was pretty, that's for sure, and for once Darry didn't look like he was carrying the weight of the world. I decided that I should congratulate him, and in my drunken state, I figured now was as good a time as any.

"Yeah Darry! You get 'em!" I shouted from across the room, loud enough to elicit the stares of many. Rebecca looked over and began laughing at me, while Darry's face turned beet red as he buried his head in his hands.

Ponyboy, who I assume had spent the night buddying around with Two-Bit, suddenly appeared at my side to steady me. "Have you been drinking, Soda?"

"Well yeah," I said, swiping a bear from Two-Bit's hand as he walked by and took a swig.

I frowned as the beer was taken from my hand by my little brother. "I think you've had enough, Soda. Let's go get Darry," he said, leading me by the arm to my older brother, Michael not far behind us.

Darry's eyes widened as he caught sight of the beer in Ponyboy's hand, but relaxed as Pony gestured to show him the drink was mine. "He's drunk," declared Pony, as if I didn't already know that.

"I can see that," Darry said, rolling his eyes. For once he wasn't glaring at Michael, though. Bringing that coworker of his might not have been a bad idea after all.

"Hey y'all," I smiled, offering my hand out for Rebecca to shake and stumbling as I did so. Multiple arms reached out to catch me and she laughed at my effort.

"Hi Sodapop, I'm Rebecca, Michael's coworker. Looks like you're having fun," she laughed.

"Just call me the life of the party," I smirked, eyeing the beer Ponyboy was still holding in his hand.

"Don't tell me y'all started the party without me!"

All heads turned to face the front door and spotted none other than my coworker, DX Michael. Steve was on his feet in a second, abandoning the poker game he was losing and making a beeline across the room to me.

"Why'd you invite him?" he growled.

"I didn't think I did," I slurred.

Michael sauntered over and took the beer right out of Pony's hand that I had been eyeing. "How are y'all doing?"

"Wasn't expecting to see you here," grumbled Steve.

"Why not? When Soda here said 'you're welcome to join us' to my friend Michael I figured that meant he knew I was coming," he shrugged. "Plus Soda and I are practically brothers, which means I'm almost related to y'all."

An awkward silence descended on the group, which was eventually broken by a brawl breaking out in the front yard that Darry rushed to break up. Pony rushed out to watch, followed by Michael, hopefully to supervise, and eventually Rebecca too. I thought vaguely that I should maybe follow them, but the distance from here to the door looked so far. Plus, Two-Bit had made himself a make-shit "dance floor" and was dancing all by himself. I figured it would make me a bad friend to make him dance alone so, much to the chagrin of Steve, I joined in, and soon enough the two of us were no longer dancing alone. Steve was right, I got to know a lot of the girls real well that night.

— — — — — — — — — —

I woke feeling as though I had slept on the ground, which, by the looks of my surroundings, I did. The quilt that usually lay on mine and Pony's bed was on top of me, my pillow somehow having made it to the living room as well. Ponyboy was stretched out on the couch, fast asleep, and the house was a mess of plastic cups and beer bottles. I began to wonder where Darry was when I heard the coffeemaker going and he stepped out of the kitchen, laughing at me.

"What?"

"Your hair is crazy, and the look on your face is priceless. I take it you've got a killer headache?"

I nodded. "What happened?"

"After you decided to down a few too many beers the party got a little wild. Fights broke out, you danced with god knows how many girls, and eventually started picking fights yourself. Steve helped me get everyone out, he and Two-Bit are coming by today to help you clean this mess up. It will be cleaned up by the time I get off work, right?"

"Yeah," I groaned, glancing over at Ponyboy who was still fast asleep. "He fall asleep on the couch?"

Darry chuckled. "Yep, the party was still going, too. You fell asleep on the floor not long after. Figured it was better just to leave you both. You want breakfast?"

The thought of food made my stomach lurch and I raced to the bathroom before puking my guts out in the toilet.

"I'll take that as a no, then," Darry said, helping me to the bathroom and rubbing circles on my back.

"When did Michael end up leaving?" I asked. I cringed at the thought of our conversation, or at least what I could remember of it. How much had I shared?

"I'm honestly not sure when he left…probably not long after Rebecca said goodbye."

"You get her number?"

Darry rolled his eyes before producing a piece of paper from his pocket, telling me that he had. I couldn't remember the last time Darry had even shown interest in a girl, let alone gotten her number.

"You gonna call her?"

"I don't know, maybe. I don't really have a lot of time for dating these days."

"Well, I think you should. It'd be good for you to get out once in a while, maybe you'll be less uptight," I smirked.

"Just for that I think I'll start frying some bacon, or maybe even some juicy burger meat. How's that sound, Soda? You want a nice, fat, juicy, cheeseburger?"

I groaned as my stomach lurched again, causing me to resume puking. Darry rubbed my back again but laughed this time, his revenge having been exacted. I finished puking and spit into the toilet before glancing up to see Ponyboy, newly awake and standing in the doorway.

"If this is what drinking is like I don't think I ever wanna do it," he said.

"Amen, brother," a voice agreed from down the hallway. I tensed up as Darry rushed to the doorway of the bathroom and pushed Ponyboy behind him, shielding him from whatever intruder had made their way into our house. His expression softened, though, once he realized who it was. He stepped aside and craned my neck and saw a very drunk, very disoriented DX Michael standing in our hallway.

"Michael? Did you not leave last night?" I asked.

"What? No, I thought this was a 'spend the night' kinda thing. There was a free bed, so…"

I cut off the rest of his sentence by heaving in the toilet again. It was Ponyboy's turn to sit with me this time while Darry busied himself with getting DX Michael out of our house.

"This is why you should never drink, Ponyboy," I lectured, "you might end up with crazies like that spending the night."

He rolled his eyes at me in a typical Ponyboy-like fashion. "Yeah yeah Soda, I hear you. But I don't drink and I still have to share my bed with a crazy person every night."

I flipped him the bird as I resumed heaving what little was left in my stomach into the toilet, resolving to hopefully never spend a morning like this again.

A/N: I'm going to write like crazy this week to get some chapters prepped so hopefully I can stay on schedule from here on out. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!