𝐢 𝐝𝐨 ; s.c.

𝚜𝚎𝚒𝚜

"dal came over to our house," two-bit shrugged, "got kicked out of bucks or somethin'. we ain't had nothin' better to do, so we came on over here."

sodapop looked over at his best friend. "steve? how bout you?"

steve looked at soda with a fake look of hurt. "can't a guy see his best bud? why's there always gotta be a reason?"

"i dunno, steve," ponyboy butt in, "maybe cause it's summer and nobody wants to wake up at eight in the mornin' with no good reason," he said sarcastically, causing steve to scowl at him.

"bye, darry," ellie called out softly as darry waved goodbye to whoever was paying attention and walked out the door. she turned her attention back to the discussion at the table. "you were up at like six a few days ago," she pointed out quietly.

"i had a good reason, so you can shut your trap, echo," he snapped at her. not wanting to argue, she simply looked down at her lap, deciding to stay out of the heated conversation.

"don't yell at my kid sister, ponyboy," two-bit scolded, smacking the side of his head.

"well, don't you go on hollerin' at my kid brother," soda interrupted crossly.

"i dunno, buddy, i agree with two. your kid brother here needs to ditch the attitude," steve said, shooting a mean glance at ponyboy before cutting himself a slice of cake, earning a glare from soda.

dally looked to be amused with the entire situation, and johnny just looked out of place. the other four boys, however, were bickering shamelessly, not caring about the fact that they were making the situation uncomfortable for everybody else.

"well, steve, it's not very mature of you to be arguin' with a twelve year old. ain't you fifteen years old? why don't you find yourself a hobby that doesn't include pickin' on little kids," ponyboy quipped, sending an equally distasteful stare at his brother's best friend.

"just cause you're younger don't give you an excuse to be such a gingersnap with everybody else," two-bit's stormy eyes were narrowed at the young boy.

ellie began to pick at the skin around her fingers, still staring at her lap. she was growing quite irritated with their dispute that revolves around absolutely nothing, and to be frank, it was giving her a headache. "guys, we don't gotta argue—"

"well, at least i don't act ten years younger than my age, keith," ponyboy spat bitterly, ignoring ellie entirely.

by this point, dally was laughing, entertaining the whole feud. soda, however, looked very downcast by the whole thing. he was never a fan of arguments, and here he was, caught in the middle of one between his brother and his best friend.

"guys, cut it out."

a hush fell over the table. nobody expected johnny cade to be the voice that quiet them. he looked down at his shoes, the heavy silence in the air was deafening.

the silence is deafening.

for some reason, this small action really had an effect on ellie, who just wanted everybody to get along. she thought about how everybody listened to johnny just then, and whether that was because he never really spoke out or because dally was right there, she couldn't tell you.

"sorry, johnnycake," ponyboy mumbled sheepishly, "you too, echo, and two-bit. and," he sighed dramatically, "i guess steve."

"it's alright, kid," two-bit grinned, ruffling pony's hair affectionately.

funny how four words caused a sense of peace that the world so desperately needed. while what johnny had said didn't mend the broken society led by humankind, it sure did repair the crumbling harmony within the curtis household.