Chapter 2 Brotherly Love

Later that night, back at the Curtis siblings house, Ponyboy was looking out the window and saw how late it was outside.

Nobody seemed to be out that late at night and not a sound could be heard, only the sound of crickets chirping and the other Curtis siblings getting ready for bed.

Back when the Curtis siblings were younger and their parents were still alive, Ponyboy used to share a bedroom with Opal.

The small home only had three bedrooms, and one bathroom, which made life difficult with four people living in it, even worse when there were six, and not to mention the gang coming in and out all time.

It was a cute and quaint home, but it had definitely seen better days.

Because of getting older, Ponyboy now slept with Soda, and Darry and Opal now slept in their own rooms by themselves.

Darry took over the parents' old room since he was the oldest, and Opal took over what used to be her and Ponyboy's room.

The main reason why she took it over and Ponyboy left was because Opal had some sleep problems, and Ponyboy figured it would be better if he let her deal with those problems herself, even if they could be extreme at times.

Another reason Ponyboy left was because Opal could be on "her time of the month", and didn't want to deal with his sister's bad attitude or aggressiveness, which could also become extreme at times.

So Ponyboy decided his best way would be sharing a bed with Soda, since besides Opal, Ponyboy was quite close to his older brother.

"Turn off the lamps and get to bed," Soda told Ponyboy as he turned around to see his brother already in bed. He then got into bed as well, and made sure to get into a comfortable position before turning out the lamp above him.

"You cold, Pony?" Soda asked Ponyboy as he turned around and lied on the other side of his brother.

"A little," he responded.

Soda then turned around from the side he was facing and turned to the side where Ponyboy was. He then took his arms and wrapped them around his brother's neck to keep him warm, and hugged him close while cuddling together in bed.

"You know something, kiddo?" Soda asked Ponyboy while huddling close to him. "When Darry yells at you like that, he don't mean nothing."

Ponyboy didn't believe a single thing Soda had to tell him about Darry not really meaning it when he got mad at him, and Opal didn't believe it either.

The two knew Soda only told them that to make them feel better and they both knew Darry had something against them, they just didn't understand why.

"He's just, you know, he's got a lot of responsibilities after mom and dad died. He just ain't who he used to be. He loves you a lot, and he loves Opal, too." Soda said before getting close to Ponyboy's head to rest his own head against it.

"Soda, how come you dropped out of school?" Ponyboy asked.

"Somethin', I think 'cause I was passing, I own mechanics with my gf."

"No you don't," Ponyboy told him.

"Yeah I am," Soda responded. "Hey, shut up and let me tell ya something."

Ponyboy turned around to the other side where Soda was.

"You gotta promise me you're not gonna tell Darry." Soda warned him.

"I'm not," Ponyboy promised.

"I'm gonna marry Sandy." Soda told him. "I'll probably wait till you're out of school though, so I can help Darry with bills and stuff."

Soda turned around to the other side, where he lied down and shut his eyes.

But Ponyboy then turned to his side and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Soda, are you in love with Sandy?" Ponyboy asked as his brother gave a smile with his eyes closed.

"Mmm-hmm." he responded.

"What's it like?" Ponyboy asked, wondering what a relationship is like since he never dated anyone before.

Soda then lifted himself up a bit and turned to Ponyboy. "It takes time, it's nice."

He then lied back down to fall asleep and Ponyboy did the same. He turned to the opposite direction to lie down and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

But just as he was about ready to fall asleep, Soda began to hear footsteps coming from the bedroom.

"Huh?" he turned around.

Ponyboy sat up as well. "What?"

The two then saw Opal standing right in front of their bed.

"Opal, what's wrong?" Soda asked.

"Can I sleep with you two tonight?"

Opal's face was beat red. She hated the feeling of softness and acting like she was soft.

But dammit, soft or not, she was still scared of the Socs jumping on her and Ponyboy earlier, and she just wanted Sodapop's comforting hold. He made her and Ponyboy feel safe with just a one-armed hug.

"Yeah, come on in here," Soda gave off his signature lazy smile as Opal crammed herself on the double sized mattress.

Soda squashed in the middle and threw an arm around each of his younger siblings.

"I'll never let no dirty Soc hurt y'all, so don't sweat it." Soda mumbled to them, finally falling asleep right after.

Ponyboy tried to fall asleep as well, but still wanted to make sure his sister was alright.

"You sure you're alright, Opal?" Ponyboy whispered to his sister.

"Yeah, just a little shook up, that's all. I'll be alright though."

That night, Opal had the same dream she could always remember. Both Ponyboy and her almost had it every night ever since their parents died.

The dreams slowed down after a while, especially with the help of Soda and Darry comforting them.

But Opal had screamed and thrashed in her sleep, only calming when Soda rolled to his side and grabbed her in a tight hug, whispering over and over to her, "It's okay. I'm here. You're safe."

Her screams and kicks stopped then, but she was left whimpering in fear for quite awhile.

Hey Guys! Sorry it took me a little while to get back to this story, mainly because I was kind of depressed last week and didn't feel like continuing it. But I won't stop continuing it as long as you guys like it, and this scene was nice to write since I liked showing Opal's soft side and her brothers' love for her, which you'll see even more in later chapters. Please Review!