Darrel's POV:
When I came home, Ponyboy was sitting on the couch watching TV. He quickly looked at me.
"How's Sodapop doing?" he asked.
"Good," I responded, "He told me a few things." I went to sit down in the armchair.
"Like what?" Ponyboy asked.
"Well, the good news for us is that he broke up with Marty," I said.
"Really?" Ponyboy asked. "How did that go?"
"That's the bad news," I replied. "It didn't go so well." He looked down to the floor. I explained to him everything Sodapop told me, from the threats to the stealing, everything.
"Darry, I didn't know it was that bad either," Ponyboy said, reaching up to wipe a tear rolling down his cheek when I finished.
"I know," I said. "But it's nothing for you to have to worry about, okay?" Ponyboy nods.
"You focus on the things you have to. If anything comes up that's new and important, I'll let you know. I don't want you to worry about unnecessary things if you don't have to," I explain to him.
"Okay, I won't," Ponyboy says.
"Did you finish all of your homework?" I ask. Ponyboy nods.
"Alright, I'll fix us up some dinner. Go take a shower before we eat," I say.
"Okay," Ponyboy responds, standing up from the couch. I get up from the armchair and give him a hug.
"I love you, don't ever forget that. Just because Soda has a little bit more of my attention now, it doesn't mean I've forgotten about you, okay?" I tell him. He nods.
I pull away from him, "Go take a shower." I give him a small grin. I watch him walk away to the bathroom and head to the kitchen to get started.
~~~
Last night, Ponyboy and I went to sleep early. Today he's going to school, but I'm staying home in case anything new arises with Sodapop. I also have to clean the house. The place has been a mess and the refrigerator is getting much more empty than usual. Therefore, I might make a run to the store.
After Ponyboy left for school, I began looking through the refrigerator to write down all of the things we need on a piece of paper. I then heard a knock on the door.
Without looking up, I called, "Come in!" Dallas came strolling in. He leaned on the archway to the kitchen.
"Hey, Darry," he says. I turned around and notice it was him.
" 'Morning, Dally. What's up?" I say.
"Nothing much, only your brother got me into some problems at the bar," Dally says, annoyed.
"How come? You had nothing to do with anything that happened the other night," I say confused, closing the refrigerator.
"Yeah, but Marty did. We've hung out before and now she's pissed at me because I wasn't there," he says, walking to the refrigerator to grab the second to last Coke bottle. I write down to buy some Cokes on my list.
"Why would she be pissed at you?" I ask him, putting the list into my pocket and cleaning up some dishes on the counter.
"She thinks if I would've been there, none of this would've happened, especially with Sodapop breaking up with her," Dally explains, popping off the cap on the Coke.
"Yeah, but either way, Sodapop would've had to come to a point of breaking up with her, don't you think? You've heard him talk about her a few times, haven't you? I'm sure you've seen his whole change in demeanor," I say.
