𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 , 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

eleven.

PONYBOY CURTIS

i'm sitting passengers as soda drives and madeline is in the backseat. i turn my body to face her but as soon as i do, soda quickly shakes his head "no".

"pony, don't. just let her be."

i ignore him, "you know mad, dally gets into fights all the time and he always makes it out with very little cuts and bruises."

mad's elbow is resting on the window as she stares out at the other cars passing us by.

"he's just stupid." she groans, "he can hate everything as much as he wants but he doesn't have to show it. going to jail and hurting other people is a dumb way to show it."

soda pulls the car up to our house and madeline quickly gets out, briskly walking ahead of us to get inside.

"where have you two been?" darry asks soda and i but his attention is on madeline as she storms up the stairs and to her room.

"what's wrong with her?"

"dally got into a fight with tim and she got mad at him." soda explains as he takes a seat on the couch.

"i told her it's really not a big deal for dally to get into fights." i shrug, "he does it all the time."

i'm about to head up the steps but darry stops me.

"you sit down. i'll go talk to her."

i sigh, plopping down next to soda on the couch, "it's gonna be tough living with a teenage girl, isn't it?"

"uh-huh." he agrees.

•

MADELINE WINSTON

"mad?" darry's voice comes through the other side of my door.

"yeah?" i call out, hopping into my bed.

the door opens, his tall frame steps inside.

"what happened, kid?"

i let out a sigh as i watch him close the door behind him, "we were at the DX and some guy, tim shepard, you guys know him?"

"yeah, shepard's gang." darry nods.

"well, he started beating up dally outside 'cause he slashed his tires. i wanted to stop him, but soda and pony wouldn't let me. they said it was a fair fight and we couldn't help him out of it."

darry walks over, taking a seat on the edge of my bed, "it's hard watching your siblings fight, trust me i know. or even just someone in the gang fight all alone. it's hard and you wanna help them. but tomorrow dally and tim will be all good again. that's how it works."

"that makes no sense to me." i say. "he looked like he wanted to kill him."

"i'm sure he did," darry smiles softly. "but we're good with shepard's gang. if there's something we need help with in a few days, they'd all be there. that's just how it is around here." he explains.

"it's a weird place out here. back in new york you pick and choose who you like and don't like. and if you fight someone, they become your enemy for the next decade."

darry chuckles, "yeah, it is weird here. but, you learn to live with it. how's it been with dally? does he like having you back?"

i shrug, "hard to tell. sometimes he makes it seem like he really missed me and other times he hates me."

"ponyboy always thinks that about me too, but i always love him. no matter what stupid shit he does."

i smile for the first time in a few hours, "thanks, darry."

"of course, kid. if you ever wanna talk or need help with somethin', come to me. pony and soda barely know how to handle girls." he whispers the last part of his sentence.

i giggle, "okay, i've got it."

darry smiles, standing up from my bed, "get some sleep, kid."

•

"madeline get up!" pony yells as he pokes me multiple times through the bedsheets.

i groan, shoving my face into the pillows, "pony, it's saturday morning. what do you want?"

"you gotta come downstairs, we're having a family discussion."

"family?" i finally raise my head.

"yes, family! let's go!" he exclaims, and then runs out of my room and back down the stairs.

i sigh, getting myself out of bed to follow pony. i make sure to adjust my hair and clothes as i walk down the steps so i don't look too rough as i greet soda and darry.

pony joins soda and darry at the kitchen table so i do the same.

"what's a family discussion?" i ask sleepily as i take a seat next to soda.

"morning, kid." darry smiles.

i smile back before noticing the notepad and pen on the table.

"we're thinking of all the groceries we need, but we also need to get you school supplies today." soda fills me in.

"oh." i nod my head.

"so far we have milk, eggs, butter, bread, chicken, ham, asparagus, carrots, crackers, chips, spaghetti, cake mix, toothpaste, toilet paper, and shampoo." darry reads off the already very long list.

"any suggestions?" soda asks.

i shrug my shoulders, "i like pop tarts."

"pop tarts." darry says slowly as he writes it down.

"oh, and pineapple!"

pony suddenly chokes on the water he's drinking, causing soda and i to look at him alarmingly.

"pineapple." darry ignores his little brother and writes my request down.

"great! anything else?"

"i don't think so." i say.

"anything else besides foods that you want? like a new toothbrush, deodorant, hair brush? anything?"

"oh, uh- yeah. kinda." i mumble awkwardly.

soda and darry look at me as pony cleans himself up from the water incident.

i don't say anything but i make a face, a face for them to catch on on to what i'm implying.

"ohhh!" soda and darry realize at the same time.

"lady stuff." darry says, adding it to the list.

"you know, i can always go pick that stuff up on my own-"

"nonsense." soda cuts me off, "you live with the curtis', you let the curtis' do the ... stuff for you." he unsurely ends his sentence.

i laugh at his adorable, social-awkwardness, "well, i can already tell it's gonna be great living with all boys."

"you don't got nothin' to worry about!" soda pulls me into his chest for a hug.

___

guys, i'm conflicted.

how i originally wrote this story, is that madeline's love interest is SOMEONE ... but now i'm thinking it should be SOMEONE ELSE ...

ugh what to do, what to do