Change of Heart

"So how about going out to dinner tonight?" Darry asked the next morning. Why I was up so early, I wasn't sure. I had tried to go back to sleep after waking up at six thirty, but it didn't work out too well.

"Sure," I answered, throwing my hair up into a ponytail quickly. As I smoothed my hand over the top, I could feel all the bumps, but I didn't even care. I just didn't want any of my hair to fall into the food that Darry was cooking, 'cause that'd be gross. I kind of have a shedding problem...

"Where do you want to go?" he questioned further, cracking eggs into the frying pan.

"Um...I have no idea." I grinned at him. At making decisions, I was probably the worst person to turn to. I hated making any decision, even if it was as minor as where to eat dinner.

"Thanks for the help," he replied sarcastically.

"Awww..." Soda's voice chorused from behind us. "Aren't y'all soooooo freakin' cuuuuuute?"

"I'm going to punch you," I told him. "Just to warn you."

He made kissy noises, so I picked up a cup on the side of the counter and threw it at his head. It bounced off his forehead and clanged to the ground.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his head dramatically. "That was not a punch."

"Nope, but I just didn't feel like moving."

"Okay, okay," Darry intervened. "Quiet down."

I turned and pouted at him with wide eyes, but he just smirked and shook his head. "Loser," I mumbled about Darry.

He raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything.

"Is breakfast almost ready?" Soda whined as he sat down at the table.

"Yeah, but if you keep whining, then you're not going to get any," Darry teased.

"I'm not going to get any, am I?" Soda joked, winking at me when I turned around to shoot him a look.

"Ha, very funny." I rolled my eyes, and soon enough, the floorboard at the end of the hallway squeaked again.

"Will you guys shut up?" Pony mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

"Why don't you go back to sleep?" I replied.

"Because I can't. You guys are so friggin' loud." With that, he turned back down the hallway and shuffled back to the bedroom that he and Soda shared.

"Someone's grumpy," I teased before laughing lightly. "So shouldn't you guys be getting to work?"

Darry looked at the clock on the wall quickly as he took a sip of his coffee. Then, as he realized what time it was, he almost did a spit-take, choking a little bit. "Okay, yeah...we're really late."

"You're late?" Dally questioned jokingly from behind me. I hadn't even heard him come into the house. "Congratulations." When he said the last part, he was staring right at me.

"Ha. Very funny, Dal'." Darry rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'll talk to you later," he then said to me before pecking me on the lips and hurrying out the door.

Soda followed behind him, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth as he pulled on his DX work shirt over his white undershirt.

"So you and Darry are finally together, huh?" Dally started, lying down on the couch and crossing his legs at the ankle.

"Yeah, kinda," I mumbled. Just then, Two-Bit burst into the house and saved me from anymore awkwardness. What were they all doing up at seven thirty in the morning anyway?

"HEY!" he screamed.

I heard Pony's bedroom door open, some shuffling and angry muttering, following by the slamming of the bathroom door. Oh, happy Pony.

"Bring it down a notch," I told Two-Bit, starting to clean up the kitchen.

I heard some whispering from the other room, followed by Two-Bit yelling, "REALLY?! THAT'S GREAT!"

"Oh my God, shut up," Dally snapped. "I have a hangover, and you're not helping."

"Maybe this will help," Two-Bit offered. There was a loud screaming, followed by sounds of strain and some scuffling. I peeked around the wall to see what was going on.

Dally and Two-Bit were fighting and cussing on the floor, and Dally landed a hard punch across Two-Bit's face. I rolled my eyes and walked back into the kitchen. Hopefully they didn't break any furniture.

"I hate you guys so much," Ponyboy announced as he saw Two-Bit sitting on Dally, shaking his butt around.

"Stop whining," I smirked at him. He didn't look too happy about that.

"Oh, congrats about you and Darry," Two-Bit winked. I blushed and walked back into the kitchen so no one could see.

Only seconds later, there was a crash, followed by a muttered, "Shit..."

"What did you break?!" I exclaimed, running into the living room.

The lamp that was next to the couch was smashed on the floor in a million pieces. "Good job!" I snapped, stepping around the glass to get a closer look at the damage. "How are you going to tell Darry? He's gonna flip."

Two-Bit and Dally shared a look before darting out the door. Great, now I was going to have to deal with it.