(Kate's POV)

In the days and weeks following the rumble, I was surprised and thankful that I didn't see Peter or his two friends around town. Connie had banned the three boys from the diner, telling all of her employees to kick them out if they ever stepped foot in the building again. I was so used to the constant badgering from Peter and his friends that it was a pleasant change when I never had to deal with them again.

There was even a rumor that Peter left town after nearly being beaten unconscious by Darry at the rumble. My boyfriend never told me any details about what happened during the rumble, but he didn't deny anything I heard from the others either. Just from the few things the guys had told me, Peter would've had a death wish if he dared to even look at me after Darry was done pummeling him.

Johnny's back was slowly getting better after being thrown into the wall behind the diner, but his physical therapist wasn't happy once he found out Johnny took a big step backwards in his recovery. During his first physical therapy session after fighting with Peter's friends, the teen was apparently able to walk around with just his crutches for some of the time, but the physical therapist warned him and Darry about how fragile his back still was.

"Johnny's anything but fragile," Dally spat once Darry and Johnny came back from the physical therapy appointment and told us how it went.

"He didn't call Johnny fragile, Dallas," Darry said tiredly. "He said Johnny's back was fragile. There's a difference."

I could tell my boyfriend was trying to be patient and not fight with Dally, but his usual stress and fatigue seemed to be plaguing him even more than normal. The bags under his eyes had gotten darker, and every time he moved, it was slow and painful looking. After Johnny sat on the couch next to Dally and Ponyboy, Darry moved the empty wheelchair to the side of the room before collapsing into his recliner. Once he was settled, Darry tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a sigh.

"You alright there, Muscles?" Two-Bit asked from his spot on the floor, looking at Darry with raised eyebrows. Even though there was an open chair since Soda and Steve were both working, the jokester still chose to remain on the floor to sit close to the tv, but that didn't stop him from noticing Darry's fatigue.

"I'm fine," Darry said with a wave of his hand. He didn't bother to open his eyes, let alone look at anyone, so he wasn't too convincing.

From where I stood on the side of the room, I saw all of the guys look at each other, having silent conversations with just their facial expressions. It was apparent they were worried about Darry too.

I wordlessly moved to stand behind Darry's chair, then I gently put my hands on his shoulders, careful not to startle him. He opened his eyes and immediately locked onto mine. "I'm alright, Kate. You don't need-"

"Hush up," I scolded kindly, letting my hands completely rest on his shoulders. "We all know you're tired and sore. Just let me help."

I could tell he wanted to argue– he was too stubborn not to– but once I started massaging my fingers into his muscles, he let out a breath and closed his eyes.

"Looks like Soda's not the only one who can calm the beast," Dally muttered. His joke was met with chuckles from the other three greasers, but Darry opened his eyes and started straightening his neck, probably to chew Dallas out. I didn't let him.

"Nuh uh," I said as I firmly held one of Darry's shoulders in place while I used my other hand to press down on his forehead and tilt his head back again. He still looked angry, but when I resumed massaging his shoulders, Darry's eyes closed again. With Darry no longer looking, I gave Dally a scowl, and he silently put his hands up in surrender.

I continued massaging my boyfriend's tight muscles while the others continued to talk amongst themselves. When one of them offhandedly mentioned dinner, Darry groaned.

"I'll get started on it in a minute," Darry said tiredly. He didn't seem happy about needing to make dinner, and he didn't even bother to open his eyes when he spoke either.

My boyfriend was exhausted, and sorting out dinner for the boys was the least I could do.

"I have an idea. Why don't you guys get some pizza and bring it back here?" I suggested. As I looked at the guys across the room, I saw Darry open his eyes in my peripheral vision. Then, before Darry could argue or have another reason to worry, I kept talking to the others. "It'll be my treat."

They all looked excited, especially Ponyboy. "Gee Kate, you mean it?"

I nodded at the youngest greaser. "Of course. Go ahead and take some money from my purse, Ponyboy. It's in the kitchen." Then, to lighten things up while simultaneously being serious, I gave them all a look. "But I only want Ponyboy or Johnny handling my money, you hear?"

The two younger boys grinned, and as Johnny eased into his wheelchair, Pony left to get some money. While Dally just rolled his eyes at my comment, Two-Bit faked offense as he slapped his hand onto his chest. "I can understand not trustin' Dally here, but you don't trust me?!"

Dally slapped the back of Two-Bit's head, but Two-Bit barely seemed to notice.

"With most things, of course I do," I said sincerely. "But when it comes to money, I trust those two more."

It looked like Two-Bit was attempting to appear appalled, but Dally grabbed his arm and pulled him up to his feet. "Aw can it, Two-Bit. Let's go before she changes her mind about buying us pizza."

In under a minute, the boys left to get enough pizza for the whole gang, leaving just Darry and me in the suddenly quiet house. With the rest of the guys gone, Darry's rough and quiet voice seemed louder than normal.

"You didn't need to do that, Kate," he said sternly, looking up at me while I continued working my fingers into his muscles.

"I know, but you look beat. You don't need to worry about dinner right now," I said just as firmly. Then I moved my hands so one was working on his tight neck while the other scratched his scalp, causing him to close his eyes again and practically purr. "Let me help you out once in a while, okay?"

"Hmmm… fine," he relented, his stress started to melt off of him.

Knowing that I was the one making him relax and melt like that, I smirked. Dally's right; I can calm the beast that is Darry Curtis.

We were quiet for a couple of minutes, with Darry being lost in pleasure while I was perfectly content on providing it for him. I moved both of my hands to where Darry's neck met his shoulders, and my mind went back to the thought of helping Darry more. After pondering it for a bit, I came up with an idea.

I spoke softly, just in case Darry had drifted off. "Hey Darry?"

"Hmm?" he hummed, sounding awfully close to falling asleep.

"I have an idea I want to run by you," I said, still trying to keep my voice quiet. He opened one eye to lazily look up at me. "Instead of you doing everything all of the time, why don't you let me help you out? I can drive Johnny to work and back home, or make dinner for you guys. I could even-"

"Kate," he said, instantly sounding completely awake. Both of his eyes were suddenly open, and he turned in his chair to face me, causing my hands to fall to the back of the recliner. "You already do all of that. You don't need to worry about me or the guys."

It was true, I tried to help out with meals whenever I could, whether it was by cooking them myself or by bringing something over from the diner. I also drove Johnny to or from work in the rare instance that one of the guys couldn't. Still, judging by the cloud of exhaustion that was hanging over Darry, he was having a rough time, and I knew I could do more to help.

"But I want to do more," I said. I reached forward and ran my fingers through his hair, causing him to let out a sigh and close his eyes. When I rested my hands on his shoulders, he opened his eyes again and looked into mine as I spoke. "You do so much for everyone else. Let me help you for once."

It took some convincing, and we went back and forth for a while, but Darry and I eventually came up with a compromise. Since he tended to work later than normal on Fridays, that would be when I'd drive Johnny home and then take care of dinner at the house. It was hard enough to get Darry to agree with just one scheduled day of the week I'd do those things, so I didn't bother on telling him I was planning on doing more than that.

After we came up with the plan, I wanted to get that tired and frustrated look off of Darry's face, so I moved around his recliner and sat on his lap in the way that had become so natural for us. I wrapped my arms around his neck and played with the hair at the nape of his neck while his arms wrapped around me. I looked into his icy blues and smiled at him, but before I could say or do anything else, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. All of his previous fatigue and frustration seemed to dissolve.

With nobody else around, I let myself get entranced by Darry. The way his lips moved, his seducing cologne, and the feeling of his hands resting on my back, it all made me feel like I was floating in a dream. I put my hand on the back of his head to deepen the kiss, and in response, our tongues started dancing. I felt his fingers directly touch the skin on my back, and it took a moment for me to realize his hands had moved underneath my shirt.

He must've realized it at the same time, because Darry suddenly froze and pulled his lips away from mine, causing me to pry my eyes open. He was obviously concerned since he was studying me carefully, and while he didn't seem to want to pull apart from me completely, he was allowing me to have some space.

"Is this okay?" Darry asked softly. He stroked my back with his fingertips a little, as if he was indicating what he was talking about.

I gave myself a few seconds to think about it before I replied. I didn't even realize his hands moved under my shirt right away, and I haven't freaked out yet. That's a good sign, right? I took a breath and focused on the warmth radiating off of his hands, and when his fingers moved again, I shuddered from how wonderful it felt to have them touch my bare skin. Yeah, this is more than okay.

I smiled at him, then I answered his question by closing the distance between our lips. I felt him smile as we kissed, and he ran his hands up and down my back, causing me to moan into his mouth.

Our make out session was starting to get more heated, but when we heard a few familiar voices outside the house, we forced ourselves to part. Darry moved his hands so they were resting on my hips, on the outside of my clothing again. With his skin no longer touching mine, I suddenly felt cold, so I leaned into his chest for the warmth that could only come from him. I could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

Darry wrapped his arms tightly around me and kissed the top of my head. "Did they really have to come back so soon?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, it's too bad." Then I tilted my head so I could look at him. "But we can do this any time we want. Right now, you need dinner."

He rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face.

"We have returned!" Two-Bit shouted as he led the guys back into the house.

Ponyboy pushed Johnny inside and towards us, and the dark-haired teen handed me my change. "Thanks Kate," Johnny said.

"It's my pleasure," I said with a smile before putting the money in the pocket of my jeans.

Then Dally walked into the house, carrying several large pizza boxes stacked in his arms. Instead of feeding the gang, it looked like we were feeding a small army. "Is anyone gonna help me out here?"

As the four boys moved to assist Dally in bringing the pizza into the kitchen, I climbed off of Darry's lap and stood up. When I heard the others start digging in right away, I hollered a quick reminder. "Make sure you save enough for Soda and Steve too!"

Our Friday routine began immediately. When my shift was over, I'd drive Johnny back to the Curtis house, where Dally would be if he wasn't already at the diner with us. Steve usually worked after school on Fridays, and he'd drive himself and Sodapop to the house when they were done. The track season was in full-swing, so Two-Bit drove Ponyboy home after the adult was done serving detention, but even if he didn't have detention, Two-Bit still stuck around school and waited for the youngest greaser to be done with practice so he wouldn't have to walk home.

Even with everyone's busy schedules and extra-curriculars, Darry was still always the last one home on Fridays. He always looked exhausted after another long day of work, so I was even happier that he agreed to let me help out more on Fridays. Half the time I made dinner, Johnny would come into the kitchen and help me too, and when he did, I let him take charge of the meal.

I noticed that someone else seemed to have a Friday routine that I hadn't noticed before. When Steve would bring Sodapop home, Steve would hang out in the living room with whoever else was home by then, while Soda would immediately go into Darry's room. After a couple minutes of quiet rummaging sounds, Soda would leave Darry's room and shut the door behind him before going to the living room to join the others. After seeing it happen a couple times, I decided to ask him about it.

"Hey Soda," I said loudly when I heard the click of Darry's bedroom door close. It wasn't a large house, so I knew he could hear me, even if he didn't see me in the kitchen. "Can you come in here?"

"Sure thing!" Soda responded. A few seconds later, the middle Curtis was standing in the doorway, looking innocent and curious. "What's up?"

I moved the spaghetti sauce off the hot burner and turned the stove off before turning to face the teenager. "Why do you sneak into Darry's room every Friday? I know it's your house and everything, but is there something going on?"

Thankfully, he didn't look upset at my query. Instead, Soda gave me a small grin. "Who said I was sneakin'?" he asked, quirking his eyebrow like a certain rusty-haired greaser we all knew.

"You sound like Two-Bit," I replied with a smirk. That got him to laugh a little. "But really, what's going on?"

Seeing that I wasn't going to let it go, Soda dropped his joking façade. He glanced towards the living room, apparently making sure the coast was clear, before taking a step towards me and speaking quietly. "Alright, but you can't say anything about it around Pony."

That instantly made me more confused and concerned than before. I nodded my head in agreement, but I knew my worry was shown on my face. "What's going on, Soda? Is something wrong?"

Soda gave me a slight grin and shook his head. "No, it ain't nothin' like that. It's just…" he trailed off, looking behind him briefly before looking back at me. "Darry and I set aside part of our paychecks for Pony's college fund. We keep it in a safe in his room. It ain't much, just a few bucks a month if we're lucky, but it's the best we can do."

The way Soda said it made it obvious how much Darry and Soda loved and looked out for Ponyboy, and I could tell they'd put more money in the college fund if they could afford it. In fact, Soda sounded upset that they could only save a few dollars every month for their kid brother's education. That's something to be proud of, not ashamed of.

"That's a really great thing you two are doing," I said earnestly while making sure I kept my voice down like Soda had been doing. "Pony doesn't know?"

Soda shook his head. "We haven't told him about it because, well, you know how he is… he'd freak out and say we shouldn't be savin' money for him, especially since the bills are already so tight. He'd probably be tellin' us to dip into it right now since Darry's pickin' up extra hours because we're behind on some things." That explains why Darry's been more stressed than normal recently. I knew better than to offer to help them pay for bills because neither Darry nor Soda would allow it, but I still wished I could help somehow. "But we'd never touch that money for our bills. It's for Pony, and nothin' else. We ain't gonna tell him about it until he signs the papers for whichever school he chooses."

I nodded in understanding. I only knew Ponyboy for a few months, but I had a feeling Soda was right; Pony wouldn't want his big brothers struggling on his behalf, so in a way, it was probably a good thing he didn't know about them saving money for his college education.

"Does the rest of the gang know?" I asked. I wasn't planning on talking about it in front of people, but I figured it would be helpful to know who else was aware of the secret being kept from Ponyboy.

Soda nodded. "Yeah, the whole gang knows about it, except Pony of course. Darry don't like it none, but the guys add to it too. Dally and Two-Bit will give me a couple bucks here and there to throw in, and ever since Johnny's been workin' at the diner, he's been asking Darry to help out too, but Dar won't go for it. Dal's been giving me more recently, so I'm pretty sure some of it's from Johnny." Then, after Soda glanced behind him again, a fond look crossed his face when he turned to look at me again. "And he'd never admit it, but I know some of the tip money Steve gets from workin' on Socy cars ends up in the pocket of my wallet I use specifically for Pony's college fund."

I raised my eyebrows at that. Not because the guys were helping out with the secret college fund, but because apparently Darry would be upset about it. "Darry doesn't want them helping?"

Sodapop shook his head. "No, he's too proud for it. He argues with them every time they give him the money. Once, Darry said since Ponyboy isn't their kid brother, the guys shouldn't feel responsible for providing for him." Then a strange look crossed Soda's face, and he was shaking his head again. He continued even before I could say anything. "Glory, Dally sure was mad about that. I thought he was gonna sock Darry in the mouth for sayin' that, but he just hollered something about Pony being everyone's kid brother before he stormed off. Steve and Two-Bit said their pieces too, but Darry wasn't in the mood to deal with it, so they dropped it. Now the guys usually just give the money to me so they don't have to fight Darry about it."

From what I could tell, Dally was right: Ponyboy was the little brother to everyone in the gang, blood-related or not. Sure, nobody would ever be as protective of Pony as his two older brothers, but I wasn't surprised that the rest of the guys wanted to help, whether or not Darry wanted them to.

"So Darry doesn't like it, but you're okay with it?" I asked, wanting some clarification.

In response, Sodapop shrugged. "I wish we didn't need so much help to get him to college, but Pony deserves it, so I'm okay with whatever it takes to get him there. And it ain't like we're asking the guys to do it, they're doin' it because they love him too. Plus, it's just a few extra bucks once in a while, we're still as poor as ever."

I found myself nodding my head. The gang is working together to help get Ponyboy to college, even though Pony doesn't know it and Darry doesn't like it.

"Do you think I could contribute too?" I asked quietly. It wasn't even something I had to think about before asking.

A confused look crossed Soda's face. "What? But… why?"

I gave him a smirk and crossed my arms. "You guys already say I'm part of the gang, right? And if the entire gang is contributing, I should too."

He chuckled at that, but then he looked conflicted. Sure, Soda had just told me he'd do anything it took to get his kid brother to college, but it was apparent that me adding to Pony's college fund would be different than the rest of the guys doing the same thing.

"I don't know, Kate…" Soda started, sounding so unsure of himself. "Darry already doesn't like getting help-"

"Don't I know it," I mumbled with a roll of my eyes, making Soda laugh.

"Exactly," he said. "Darry never likes getting help, least of all when it involves money. He's already weird about the guys helping with this, but if his girlfriend started throwing money in too, I don't think he'd like it, and I don't want it to cause a problem between you two."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Then don't tell him. I can give you a few bucks to add to what you put in, just like the others do."

Again, I could tell Soda was internally debating his options. After a long bout of silence, his voice was quiet and strained. "What if something happens between the two of you?"

Without saying it exactly, I felt as though I could decipher his real question. 'What if you and Darry break up?'

"As long as I'm with Darry, his brothers and the rest of the guys are important to me too. I want to help, if not for my boyfriend, for his family," I replied sincerely. Then, I continued steadily, looking directly into Soda's eyes so he knew I was being serious. "And if something happens between me and Darry, then I could still be glad that I helped get a brilliant and deserving kid to college, because I would hope none of you would ever dream of trying to give me that money back."

Soda opened his mouth like he was about to argue with me, but I gave him a pointed look, and he refrained. After a moment, he nodded his head. "Okay… if you wanted to give me a dollar here and there to add to the safe, I won't fight you on it. And I won't mention it to Darry."

I smiled. "Thanks Soda."

Darry might not like me helping out too much, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him.