In this chapter: Pony calls Kate to pick him up from a party.

A loud ringing noise woke me from my slumber. Even before my eyes opened, I knew it was the middle of the night given how tired I was and how dark everything was. The ringing continued, and I forced myself to get out of bed and stagger to the telephone in my apartment. I almost tripped over one of my shoes, but I happened to stumble forward just gracefully enough for my hand to land on the phone.

"Hello?" I asked, my voice gravelly from being so tired and woken up abruptly. I glanced at my clock, which read 1:04 in the morning. This better not be Two-Bit prank-calling me again. I usually don't mind the jokester's antics, but waking me up in the middle of the night just to mess with me was not something I'd laugh about. At least not until the morning.

"Kate?" a young voice said, although I barely heard him with all the noise in the background. Still, I would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Pony?" I asked, immediately waking up completely. "What's going on? Are you okay?" It wasn't like Ponyboy to call me sounding so worried, let alone in the middle of the night.

I heard him sigh into the receiver, and I wondered if it was a sigh of relief or irritation. Did I say something to upset him?

"I'm real sorry about callin' so late, but uh… could you maybe come pick me up?" Pony sounded nervous, and it made me even more on-edge than before.

"Sure thing, kiddo. I need to know where you are though." I couldn't help but notice he didn't say he was okay or give me any indication about his situation, but I knew it was some type of an emergency. All the guys had my number, and I knew Ponyboy well enough to know the only reason he'd call me instead of his brothers, especially so late at night, was if something was wrong and he was in some kind of trouble.

"You know the grocery store on fifth?" Pony asked.

"Yeah," I said as I started to slip on my sneakers while keeping the phone pressed against my ear.

"I'm at a party, about four houses down the street from it."

I felt my eyebrows rise, then furrow. What on Earth is Pony doing at a party? As far as I know, the kid doesn't even drink. Despite my surprise, I forced myself to sound steady and nonchalant when I replied. "Got it. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks Kate," he said earnestly before hanging up the phone.

As quickly as I could, I threw on one of Darry's sweatshirts that I "borrowed" from him and a pair of sweatpants over my pajamas, grabbed my keys, and rushed out the door. The entire way to my car, I tried to figure out what Ponyboy got himself into, but I decided to forget about it until I had the kid safely in my car.

Coincidentally, I had to drive past the Curtis house to get Ponyboy, and I was surprised to see that the lights in the house were still on. Not only that, but someone was outside on the porch, smoking a cigarette. I didn't look for too long as I drove by, but I knew it was Soda, which meant he must've been waiting for Pony to get home, and since he was smoking, I knew he was worried.

Oh Pony, what did you get yourself into?

I thought about picking Soda up to come with me, but I decided against it. It would just take more time before Pony could leave the party, and Soda could potentially cause a scene when we found Pony, which the kid definitely didn't need. Also, Pony called me instead of his brothers, so he obviously didn't want them to know what was going on. Deciding to leave Soda behind, I pressed on the gas pedal a little harder so I could get to Pony even faster. Something was going on, and I needed to know what it was.

About ten minutes later, I spotted the house that was hosting the party. The closest parking spot I could get was three houses away, and as soon as I got out of my car, I realized how big of a greaser party it was. There were greasers walking up and down the road, entering and exiting the house, and practically all of them were stumbling around. Ponyboy doesn't belong here.

Even though it had been a while since I went to a party, I wasn't exactly unfamiliar with them, so I walked up to the house confidently. Luckily for me, just outside a group of people hanging out on the porch in front of the house, I spotted Ponyboy leaning on the porch railing. He seemed okay, albeit a little irritated since Angela Shepard was next to him, leaning into his shoulder as she talked to him.

The whole Shepard family was a magnet for trouble, and Angela was no exception; she just caused a different kind of trouble. She created her own reputation due to all of her "relationships," which only added to the reputation she automatically had since she was related to Tim and Curly. The gang buddied with the Shepard boys once in a while, but none of them wanted to spend time around Angela. Angela acted like she was the queen of Tulsa, and she practically left a wake of drama and destruction wherever she went.

I didn't like the fact Angela was practically attached to Pony, and it seemed like he didn't like it either.

"Hey Ponyboy," I said in a friendly voice as I walked up the steps and towards him. "Fancy seeing you here. How's it going?"

I figured Pony wouldn't want anyone to know he called me, so my plan was to act like I was just running into him and have him come with me. It seemed like a good plan, but of course, Angela Shepard had to make things difficult.

"What are you doin' here?" Angela asked in a spiteful tone, her breath reeking of alcohol. I noticed she was still leaning against Ponyboy, even though he looked really uncomfortable about her proximity.

I quirked my eyebrow. "Isn't this a party? I didn't see a sign that said 'invitation only' so I figured I could stop by."

She glared at me. "Wearing that?" she asked, motioning towards my outfit.

I had forgotten that I only threw on sweats, not bothering to do anything with my hair or makeup, since I was in a rush to get to Ponyboy. But really, who cares what I wear to a party? "I didn't know there was a dress code. There obviously isn't an age requirement," I shot back with just a little heat. I didn't necessarily hate Angela or want to start anything with her, but I didn't have to be too nice to her either, especially since the gang had a mutual understanding to keep her away from Pony.

Angela looked mad, which made her face morph into something that resembled like an angry cat. "I'm plenty old enough," she said, sounding so pretentious that I almost laughed. Then an evil grin appeared on her face. "You know what? I don't think you came here for the party."

"Yeah? Well what do you think I'm doing here?" I asked, fighting to keep a smile off my face. I wasn't sure why I felt like entertaining Angela Shepard, but I figured whatever she was going to say would make me laugh. Immature teenage girls always thought they were so clever, and it was hilarious.

"I think you were at some other house, probably two-timing Darry, and you decided to stop by here to look less suspicious." The grin never left her face as she made her snide comment.

I was expecting to laugh at whatever Angela had imagined, but instead, she left me completely speechless. What did she just say?

It took a moment for the anger to set in, and judging by the look on Pony's face, he felt just as furious as I did. "Angela-" he was cut off when a hand wrapped around Angela's elbow and yanked her away from Pony.

"What was that bullshit I just heard come out of your mouth?" Tim asked angrily as he suddenly appeared, gripping his kid sister's arm.

To her credit, Angela looked only slightly intimidated by Tim's presence. "Why else would she be here dressed like that?" she asked, staring up at Tim, almost like she was daring him to do something. She has guts, that's for sure.

"Not all girls dress with the least amount of clothing possible like you, Ang," Tim shot back viciously. Then he pushed her in the direction opposite of me and Pony. "Got get your brother. We're leaving."

She looked pissed, then she muttered something about Curly being Tim's brother too before turning to walk away.

With his kid sister gone, Tim looked back at me. "Sorry 'bout her. Anyone with half a brain would know what she said ain't true."

"Thanks," I said lamely. I guess it's a good thing nobody would really think I'd cheat on Darry.

Tim nodded his head in Pony's direction, but still spoke to me. "You takin' him home?"

I originally didn't want anyone to know why I was really at the party, but it seemed stupid to lie to Tim, especially since he knew the gang well enough to know Pony doesn't go to parties. Plus, nobody else seemed to be paying attention to us. "Yeah."

"Good," he said with a nod. "If his brothers found out I was at a party that their kid brother went to, they'd tan my hide for not callin' them or gettin' him outta there."

I smirked at Tim. Even the legendary Tim Shepard doesn't want to mess with an angry Darry and Sodapop Curtis.

"I can handle myself," Pony said in frustration.

"Sure you can," Tim said to him. It was hard to tell if he was really being sarcastic or not; his tone was kind of flat. "But your brothers made it very clear that you ain't supposed to get in trouble, and news flash kid, parties attract trouble, especially when greasers throw 'em."

Pony looked irritated, but he didn't say anything.

"Alright Pony, let's go," I said as I put my arm across his shoulders. Then I looked back at Tim. "See you around, Tim."

"See ya, Kate," Tim said before probably searching for his siblings.

Pony and I walked down the steps, and as soon as we were out of earshot from those attending the party, I glanced sideways at him. "You okay, Ponyboy?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Anything happen back there?" I asked gently as we reached my car.

He shook his head. "No, nothing happened. Just Angela being Angela, I guess."

We both sat in my car, and I waited a moment for him to settle into the seat before I continued to politely question him. "Did you have anything to drink? Did anyone make you take anything back there?" He seemed surprised that I was asking, and I wanted him to be sure he could tell me anything. "It's okay if you did, I just need to know to make sure you're okay. I don't even have to tell your brothers."

He gave me a small smile, and I already knew the truth. "No, I didn't do anything. I don't even like beer, and I stayed out of the house so I wasn't around any of the worst stuff."

I grinned at him. He's such a good kid.

"I'm real sorry about calling you so late," Pony said suddenly. "I just didn't know what to do. I didn't want to call the house, but if you didn't answer, I probably would've."

"Don't be, I'm glad you called," I said as I put my keys into the ignition. "That's why you have my number, right?"

Pony gave me a single nod, but then he suddenly looked really bothered about something. "I'm sorry for what Angela said. If she wasn't a girl, I would've socked her for sayin' that."

I gave him a smirk. "And I can handle Angela Shepard."

He laughed a little at that. "You proved that all right."

I turned my car on and tried to nonchalantly continue a more serious conversation in the softest tone I could. "So if you didn't drink or anything, why did you end up at a party in this part of town?" Then I pulled out of my parking spot and began driving down the street.

He let out a long sigh, and it wasn't until I was at the stop sign by the grocery store that he explained. "I went to a drag race with some friends from school."

I was surprised by that statement, especially since he rarely hung out with his friends from school instead of the gang, and he usually only went to drag races when Soda and Steve were there. In order to keep him talking, I stayed quiet while he kept explaining.

"I was supposed to go home after, but we ran into Curly at the race," Pony continued. "He was talking about this party, and all of my friends wanted to go, so they dragged me with… said something about my house not being on the way, so instead of dropping me off at home or something, they forced me to tag along."

That explains how a kid like Pony ended up at a greaser house party. "And where do your brothers think you are?" I asked.

"Soda worked late tonight, so I only had to deal with Darry." The way he said it made it obvious that he had to figure out some kind of lie to tell his oldest brother. "I told him I was going to the drive-in with some friends, and I mentioned something about Two-Bit maybe meeting me there, so if we were out real late, I'd spend the night at his house so I wouldn't wake anyone up at our place."

I wasn't thrilled that Pony lied to Darry, but as far as lies go, his wasn't the worst. He had come up with a reason to be out, and he even had a contingency plan in case he was out later than he planned. The problem was, it wasn't foolproof, which was obvious since the lie didn't work.

"Well, I don't know how it happened, but your brothers figured out that you lied," I said.

Even though I was focusing on the road, I saw Pony's head snap in my direction. "What?"

I glanced at him, and after seeing the panicked expression on his face, I turned back to look at the road ahead of me. "I drove by the house on the way to pick you up. The lights were on, and Soda was smoking out on the porch. They're waiting up for you, probably worried sick."

Pony swore under his breath. "Darry's gonna kill me."

"He's going to be mad about you lying to him, but he's going to be more relieved than anything," I assured him. "I know he comes across as angry a lot of the time, but it's just because he loves you and gets worried."

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled. It had taken a while with Darry being Pony's guardian, but the two of them really started to understand each other well enough that their arguing had decreased quite a bit. Even so, I knew my boyfriend wasn't going to be happy when he finds out that his kid brother lied and not only went to a drag race, but to a party too.

I put my hand on his knee and squeezed it. "It'll be okay, Pony. You're safe, and that's all anybody really cares about."

He replied softly. "Thanks, Kate."

We drove in silence the rest of the way to his house, and even though he didn't say it, I could feel the tension radiating from him as we got closer. When we arrived, I parked my car on the other side of the street and down a house so I wouldn't alarm anyone of a car's presence. Last thing they need is to think a cop car parked outside their house in the middle of the night. The lights were still on, but nobody was outside on the porch, which meant Darry and Soda were likely panicking inside the house.

I glanced over at Pony. He was staring at his house with wide eyes, unmoving. I wondered if he was remembering what happened the last time we came home in the middle of the night. Nobody really spoke of that night anymore, but I knew we all were aware of what happened. Darry vowed to never let it happen again, but I knew it wasn't something that could be forgotten.

"Want me to go in first?" I suggested.

Pony's eyes moved from the house to me. "You're coming inside?"

"Of course. I wasn't planning on just dropping you off and leaving you to the wolves." That got him to smile a little. Then I put a hand on his shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring look. "I'll talk to them first, try to get them to go easy on you, alright? You can wait outside for a little bit if you want."

Pony let out a long sigh. "Glory, you're a lifesaver."

We both exited my car, shutting the doors quietly, and walked towards the house.

"I don't want Darry to yell at you," he said softly as we cross the street.

"Don't worry about me, I can handle your big brother. I've been doing that for a while, haven't I?" I joked.

"You have," he said genuinely with a grin. "You're good for each other, you know. He's happier and more relaxed these days because of you."

I felt myself blush. "He's been good for me too. He's a good guy."

"Yeah, but that good guy is about to strangle me," Pony quipped, although I could see the stress and fear in his eyes.

We reached the Curtis property, and we expertly opened the gate without letting it squeak or make a single sound.

"Wait out here, I'll go talk to them," I whispered as we reached the porch steps. I turned to look at him. "And for the love of everything holy, don't leave. They aren't going to hurt you; they're just worried." He nodded and sat down on the first step. I knew he wouldn't run off before his brothers saw him, so I made my way to the door.

As soon as I opened the door, I was met with a living room full of stressed out greasers. Steve and Soda were sitting on the couch, both still wearing their DX uniforms. Two-Bit was standing next to Darry, who was sitting in his recliner. If Two-Bit's here, that explains how they know Pony isn't where he said he'd be. As soon as I walked in, everyone was up on their feet.

"Where the hell- Kate?" Darry started off by shouting, but after noticing it was his girlfriend instead of his kid brother, his tone shifted from angry to worried. "What are you doing here, babe? Are you okay?" he asked as he rushed towards me. Before I knew it, his hands were holding my face as he apparently checked me for injuries or any sign of distress.

"I'm fine, Darry. I promise," I replied calmly. "And so is Ponyboy."

He froze for a second, then he took a step back as he blinked rapidly. "How did you-"

"What's goin' on?" Soda interrupted, his voice thick with emotion. "Where's Pony?"

I looked at Soda, and his red-rimmed eyes showed how scared he was for his little brother. "Soda, can you and the guys give us a minute?" I asked politely, motioning my head towards the door leading to the porch. I hoped he could understand what I was trying to silently say. He's outside.

Thankfully, Soda seemed to understand because he immediately rushed outside, with Steve and Two-Bit following close behind. I could hear Soda say something, then Pony's quiet voice, and I knew they'd be okay to stay outside for a bit while I tried to calm my stressed-out boyfriend.

"Kate, what's going on?" Darry asked, drawing my attention back to him. He no longer looked as worried, but rather, he looked confused and borderline angry.

"I'll tell you what happened, but please try to stay calm and keep your voice down," I said sweetly. "Pony's okay. He's outside with the guys right now."

Darry glanced at the door. It seemed like he was debating whether or not to leave me to go see Pony, but after a beat, he looked back at me. "Alright. What happened?"

I explained everything as quickly and calmly as I could, but I tried to spare any details that he didn't absolutely need to know. I made sure to let Darry know that I believed Pony when he said he didn't drink or do anything at the party. He didn't smell like alcohol at all, and he wasn't even smoking when I spotted him at the party; he was just eagerly waiting for me to pick him up.

Darry didn't look happy, in fact, he looked pretty mad. I was anticipating his reaction, and even though I figured most of it was towards Ponyboy, I couldn't help but feel like some of it was directed at me. "I'm sorry Darry."

My boyfriend suddenly looked confused. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because I went to get him without telling you. I didn't even get you or Soda to come with me," I said.

"I'm not mad at you," he said tiredly as he wiped a hand down his face. "I'm mad that he keeps finding himself in situations like this." Then, to my surprise, he let out a sigh. "And I'm upset that he decided to call you instead of us, but I'm not upset with you."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through his hair. It was a gesture that always calmed him down, and honestly, I just loved playing with his hair. It was so soft. "He doesn't want to disappoint you. I told him to call me if he ever needed me, and I meant it. I was more than happy to pick him up."

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine. "Thank you for getting him, Kate. I owe you."

I gave him a quick peck on the lips. "You don't owe me anything. Just try to listen to him when he tells you his side of the story, okay? He's a good kid."

"A good kid that doesn't use his head," Darry grumbled.

"He used his head when he called me," I replied sternly. "He chose not to walk around in the middle of the night by himself. Wasn't that responsible of him?"

His lips pressed into a thin line, and it took a moment for him to reply. "I guess you're right."

I pressed my lips against his again, then moved my hands to rest on his shoulders. "I'm going to go home. Go easy on him tonight. You can always say more tomorrow after the excitement dies down and everyone's slept a little."

He wrapped his arms around my waist. "It's the middle of the night. Why don't you stay here? No sense in driving if you don't have to." I was about to tell him I can drive just fine at night, but he had that a look in his eyes that's impossible to say no to. "It's the least I could do for getting my brother. Please?"

Damn Darry and his handsome looks and pleading eyes. "Alright. But I'm going to sleep, so don't yell too loud," I said with a smirk. He pulled me in close for another kiss before he let his arms drop from around me.

As I walked towards Darry's room, I heard a door open. I turned to see Pony walking in the house, with Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit following right behind him. Pony looked nervous, Soda had tears of happiness and relief falling down his cheeks, Two-Bit looked like his typical self, and even though he looked irritated, I knew Steve was relieved. Pony's eyes landed on me for a second, and I gave him a reassuring smile before Darry started his lecture.

"Alright kiddo, tell me exactly what happened tonight."

As soon as I settled into Darry's bed, I felt myself quickly drift off. I could recognize several voices speaking from the living room, but thankfully, Darry wasn't yelling too loud for me to fall asleep.

I was roused awake when the bed was shifting underneath me. I had no way to know how much time had passed, but it was still dark, so at least Darry hadn't yelled until the morning.

I turned to face him. "Everything okay?"

Darry sighed. "Yeah, we had a good talk."

I raised my eyebrows. "Was it mostly talking or yelling?"

"Talking, I promise. Otherwise you probably wouldn't have been sleeping when I came in here," he said with a grin on his face. "I can't say I didn't raise my voice a little, but only a little."

"That's fair," I said, believing him. It wasn't realistic to assume Darry wouldn't yell at Pony at all for lying, going to a drag race and party without one of the guys, and being out past curfew. Honestly, I was proud of Darry for only yelling a little.

"He told me everything," he continued, seeming a little surprised. "I'm not happy about him lying or anything, but he promised he'd ask before going to more races or anything from now on. And you know what? I believe him."

A huge smile crossed my face. "Good, I'm glad. He really doesn't mean for things like this to happen."

"I know, he's just lucky like that I guess," Darry said with a sigh. Then he wrapped his arms around me and looked more serious. "He said Angela Shepard was there."

Honestly, I had forgotten about her until that moment. "Yeah, I think we need to keep an eye on her. She was trying to get a little too close to Pony. He wasn't having it, of course, but you know how she is."

He nodded a little. "Oh I definitely know how she is. Pony told me everything that happened between you two."

I raised my eyebrows. "He did?"

"Yeah. He said you were tuff, and you could take her in a fight if ever starts one," he said with a grin.

I looked at him seriously, making sure he knew I meant every word I was about to say. "So you know she was running her mouth, saying ridiculous things? Even Tim called her out on it." I leaned into Darry's chest, wanting nothing more than to be close to him and for him to know how much I love him. "What she said… it'd never happen. Never in a million years. I love you, Darry."

His arms got tighter around me and he kissed the top of my head. "I know, Kate. I love you too. Thanks for making sure my brother was safe."

"Of course. Anything for you and the boys," I said before drifting off again.