Brigitte's POV

"OUT!" Dallas yelled, grabbing his sister by the shirt and pushing her through the Curtis' front door. It had been only seconds before that we had walked in on Ponyboy and Dally's younger sister engaged in a heavy make out session. "Alexandra Winston, wait right there for me and don't you go anywhere." The girl turned her head, whipping her long, dark hair with it.

I'm sorry, she mouthed to Ponyboy, whose cheeks had turned a crimson color. She walked with her head hung and tears brimming her eyes, from the house.

"Dal, don't," I started, but he pushed my arm back and threw Ponyboy against the wall.

"What in the hell were you thinking?" he shouted before slugging Pony in the jaw. The younger boy looked down at his feet and rubbed the spot where Dallas had hit. Dallas continued ranting and pulled his hand backward to strike Pony once more.

"Stop it, Dal!" Soda said, grabbing at his arm. "I know you're pissed, but he's still my brother, and I'm not goin' to sit here and watch you beat the tar out of him." Soda's voice was pleading more than anything. We all knew what Dal's anger could turn into.

Steve and I exchanged glances, and he smirked before strolling out the front door. Two-Bit, who for once understood that he shouldn't be involved in the discussion, motioned for his blonde-headed sister to leave with him. When he caught the terrified expressions on her face and Johnny's, he instantly knew what had been going on. Remaining calm, he put an arm around each of them.

"Alright Riles, how about you, me, and Johnnycake go talk outside." The two followed reluctantly, but I stayed put for the time being.

"Dallas, just go. I'll take care of Ponyboy." Dallas ripped his arms from Darry's grip and stormed out of the house, eyeing Pony as he did so. I followed behind at a quick pace until we reached Alex. She was a few inches taller than me at 5'5 and was leaning against the side of my car, arms folded across her waist.

"Dally, I'm sorry," she whispered. Her face was tilted downward, but her eyes were cast up towards him. Pulling a lighter from his back pocket, he took the cigarette from behind his ear, lit it and inhaled deeply. I bent down and awkwardly pretended to tie my shoe.

"Look Al, I just don't want you getting' into trouble, and that's what dating some greasy hood'll do to you." The girl's head shot up.

"Ponyboy Curtis is not a hood, Dallas Winston, and you of all people should know that. Curly Shepard is a hood. Besides would your rather me date a soc? Would that be better than Ponyboy?" I looked up and saw her trying to swallow a lump in her throat. She wouldn't cry in front of her brother.

"No, I don't want you dating a soc, but I sure as hell don't want you dating Ponyboy!" Dallas threw his cigarette on the ground and began walking away.

"Lex," I said cautiously, "Why don't you come stay with me for a while?" She nodded as I began to unlock my car. When I pulled away from the Curtis' house, she burst into tears. All of the emotions she had been keeping inside were suddenly released. "Hey, hey Lexi, everything is going to be fine. You'll see. Dal and Pony'll work things out." I tried to reassure her with what I hoped would be the truth. I pushed my sunglasses up onto my head and dug through my dash for a tissue. Finding one, I handed it to her.

"I-think-that-I-should-break-it-off-with-Pony," she spoke hoarsely between hiccups. "Dallas is the only family I have left, and if I don't have him, I don't know what I'll do."

"Alex, the whole gang loves you."

"But it isn't the same. I don't want to disappoint him."

"Well, I know but give it a few days, it might all blow over." As we pulled up to my house and got out of the car, Alex took a deep breath.

"Pony's sweet. I'm sure he'll understand." When she said that, I felt my jaw drop a little and my eyes widen.

"I hope so," I muttered.

We stepped into my large stone house and walked upstairs to my room. I live with my mother and stepfather, they've been married since I was fourteen, but are rarely home. He owns his own company, and after they were married they bought this house. I'll admit, I was overwhelmed at first, but I'm used to it now. Usually I have the whole place to myself, and today was no different.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" Alex asked when we got in my room.

"Nope, I'll get you clothes."

"Alright," she responded, plopping down on my bed. I tossed her a t-shirt and sweats, and she rose to go to the bathroom.

"I'll make us some dinner," I called after her.

After throwing in a pizza, I made sure there were clean sheets in the guest room. When Alex got out of the shower, the oven timer was going off. I took out the pizza while Alex got out plates.

"Will you go see how Pony is doing?" she asked suddenly.

"Um, sure," I said reluctantly. "I'll go after I eat this slice. Will you be okay here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I'm just going to watch some TV and go to bed."

"Alright then, I'll go over." When I left my house twenty minutes later, I was fearful of what might be going on at the Curtis'. I cautiously approached the door and knocked. When Soda answered, a look of relief washed over his face.

"It's a mess in here," he whispered. "Pony won't talk to Darry and they're both venting to me." I smiled sympathetically. Poor Soda, I knew how he hated tension. I looked past him and saw Ponyboy sitting on the couch, holding his head in his hands. I raised an eyebrow and Soda shrugged.

"Pony?" I spoke softly as I made my way to the sofa. He looked up at me, and I saw the dark spot on his cheek where Dallas had hit him. I took a seat beside him while Soda hovered over us.

"What?" he groaned, avoiding eye contact.

"Jeez, kid, you should really put some ice on that. I'll get you some, alright?" I couldn't stand the hurt look in eyes and would have done anything to escape him right then.

"I'm fine," he answered as I got up. There wasn't any ice, so I grabbed a frozen bag of peas and wrapped it in a towel. Soda had taken a seat on Pony's other side when I returned. I handed Pony the bundle, and he reluctantly covered his face with it. I put a hand on his shoulder, and Pony sighed loudly throwing the weight of his body backward into the couch.

"She's breaking up with me, isn't she?"