Later on that night, the Curtis family was settling down for the night after they had dinner. Bexley had taken a shower after she finished eating, wearing a black tank top with The Beatles on the front with blue plaid sweatpants. She put her light colored hair up in a ponytail that was low with some bangs framing her freckled face.

Darry was sitting restlessly in their dad's old recliner, rubbing his tired eyes. He was trying so hard to stay awake so he had Sodapop give him a shoulder massage. That would always help him feel better after a long day after work. Darry was only 20-years-old, way too young to be working as hard as he does. It wasn't fair on him.

He had to give up his scholarship to go to college, becoming both a parent and a big brother. He was a popular guy in high school, working out in the gym and he'd go skiing with his friends whenever he got the chance to. Ponyboy was looking at himself in the mirror, checking out his bruises and the cuts on his neck.

Bexley was curled on the couch, watching the tv. The show was clearly boring to her because she had this deadpanned look on her face. She had her head resting in her fist, dozing off. "Bex?" Darry said, making her jump a bit. "Huh?" she said, rubbing her eyes. "Why don't you go to bed? You look tired," he told her.

She sat up and stretched her back and arms. "Yeah, I am a little. This show is putting me to sleep," she said, getting up from the couch. Her legs were aching because of how long she was on the couch for. She walked down to the bedroom that she shared with Sodapop and Ponyboy, though she did have her own bed in the bedroom.

After their parents died, Ponyboy had been having terrible nightmares, ones where he couldn't remember them, but it always scared him whenever he woke up. Bexley and Soda moved into his room so they could be there in case he did have one. She passed the bathroom, where Ponyboy was still looking in the mirror. "You feeling okay, Pone?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just a bit sore," he admitted. She smiled at her little brother and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "That's gonna be a tuff scar," she told him, seeing the cut on his neck already starting to heal. The 14-year-old boy smiled at her. "You think so?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Looks like one we get from a rumble," she nodded at him. In terms of tuff and tough, it had two different meanings. Tuff meant cool while tough meant rough, if not the same as it. The rumbles were always between the greasers and the socs. It was a huge fight that always had a reason behind it. Even Bexley was allowed in them since she was one the best fighters of the gang.

*X*

Bexley got into her bed, keeping the light off so she could easily get to sleep. She slept for a few hours before being woken up when one of her brothers turned on the light, making her groan in annoyance. "Guys… I'm trying to sleep…" she complained, pulling the covers over her head. "Whoops, sorry, Bex," Soda bashfully apologized as he got into bed while Ponyboy looked outside of the window.

They were both wearing white t-shirts and plaid pants like Bexley was. "Why don't you turn off that light and get into bed. I got work in the morning," Soda told Ponyboy, turning over to face him. Ponyboy turned around when he heard Soda singing. "Please… I'm tired," Bexley grumbled, wanting to go back to sleep.

"They oughta leave us alone," Pony said as he turned off the light, making the room dark again. "Yeah. Who could figure?" Sodapop said with a sigh. Things were quiet for a minute before Bexley gave up on trying to get back to sleep and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Soda noticed this and he looked over at his twin sister. "You can't sleep, Bex?" he asked her. "No," she said, leaning back against her headboard.

He made a head motion towards the other side of the room, offering her to get into bed with them. Whenever he offered that, she would always take it. Being between her twin brother and younger brother made her feel safer. "You guys cold?" Soda whispered to them.

"A little," Ponyboy replied, facing away from him. "Yeah," Bexley said, curling into a small ball. Soda turned over to face them and he covered them up before putting an arm over them protectively. "Listen to me, Pone. When he hollers at you… Don't believe it. He don't mean it," Soda told his younger brother softly. "Yeah, you know he loves you," Bexley said, agreeing with him.

Ponyboy didn't believe that though. Ever since their parents died, he thought that Darry saw him as nothing more than just a liability. "Sure…" he said blandly. There was another moment of silence. "Soda? Why'd you drop outta school?" Bexley asked him. "It's cuz I'm dumb," Soda replied, laying his head on his pillow.

"Why do you say that?" Ponyboy asked without turning to look at him. "All I was passing was automatics and gym," Soda replied with a grin. "You're not dumb. You're being too hard on yourself," Bexley said to him, knowing how smart he actually was. "You guys know I am," he said with a smile.

"Well… you think I should too? I don't feel smart either," Bexley suggested, her head aching from thinking too much. "Don't do that, Bex. You're smarter than me. Both you and Pony are much smarter than I ever will be," he told her, not wanting that for them. Just because that he and Bexley were twins didn't mean she needed to follow in his footsteps.

"Look, if you two will stay quiet, I'll tell you guys something," he told them, getting them to face him, "You guys promise me that you're not gonna tell Darry," "We won't," Ponyboy told him. "What's going on, Soda?" Bexley asked him. Sodapop smiled his movie star smile at them before he said, "I'm gonna ask Sandy to marry me,"

Bexley and Ponyboy couldn't help but smile back at him. "That's pretty tuff, Soda," the youngest boy said, reciprocating his smile. "When are you gonna ask her?" Bexley asked with interest. "Maybe when you guys get out of school so I can help Darry with the bills," he said as he turned over to face the other direction.

A question rang in their heads about how Soda felt about Sandy. "Soda? Soda, do you love Sandy?" Ponyboy asked as he put a hand on Soda's shoulder. "Mm-hm…" he muttered, half awake. "What does it feel like?" Bexley asked curiously. She wanted to know because she had suspicions of Johnny having a crush on her.

Soda raised his head up a bit but he kept his eyes shut. "Sometimes… it's real nice," he said, dozing back off with a sigh. Bexley laid back down on her back, her hands behind her head as she looked up at the ceiling. "Bex?" Ponyboy said, getting the girl to look over at him. "Yeah?" she softly said.

"You think that Johnny has a thing for you?" he asked her. That made the color in her cheeks become red. It was hard to hide in the dark. "It was just really hot today. Th-That's it," she said, trying to not let her feelings for Johnny out. "Are you sure? Your face is red," he said with a teasing smile. "Yeah, yeah," she said, covering her face.

"I'll believe it when I see it," he said with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, we'll see," Bexley chuckled before she laid back down to sleep. They couldn't wait until what tomorrow would bring. Especially since tomorrow was a Saturday so they had the whole day to hang out with Dally and Johnny.