The next day was Thursday. I was in my room. I woke up, stretching out my arms. As I did so, I heard a loud "Ow!" beside me. I turned to look at the person. It was Ponyboy.

"Ponyboy?" I asked. "What are you doing in my room?"

He opened his eyes and started blushing a little. "I couldn't sleep last night. So, I came in here with you."

I smiled and put my arm around him, closing my eyes.

I began to drift off when Pony asked, "Ashley, are ya gonna leave us?"

I opened my eyes, taken aback. "What?"

"Are ya gonna leave Sodapop, Darry, and I one day?" he asked. "Like, after you and Dally... Have kids?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What brought this on?" I asked.

He frowned. "I don't know. I was just wonderin' what I'd do if you was someones mom and didn't have time for us anymore."

I smiled. "Pony, even if I was someones mom, I wouldn't not have time for you. Now, who put this stuff in your head?"

He looked down. "I told you. I was jus-"

"-Pony?" I asked sternly, lifting his chin so he was looking at me.

He frowned. "Okay. Darry was worried that you 2 were thinkin' of eloping or somethin'. Said somethin' 'bout how he thinks you been talkin' 'bout havin' kids."

I frowned. "Pony, if I were thinkin' of havin' kids, you'd be the first one I'd consult 'bout it since I trust your opinion. Okay? And I ain't elopin'. When I get married, I want the whole gang to be there."

He smiled, letting out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank god." he said, making me chuckle. Then, he sorta cleared his throat. "Sis, I feel the need to inform you that Darry... Well, he thought you been doin' more than thinkin'."

I narrowed my eyes a little. "What?" I said in a deep, almost sorta calm voice.

Pony nodded. I got outta bed and screamed, "DARREL! Get your butt in here!"

Pony bit his lip and hide under the covers. Darry walked in. "Ashley, what's wrong?" he asked, nervous that something bad happened.

I narrowed my eyes and jerked a thumb at Pony. "Darrel? What you been tellin' Pony?" I asked in a stern voice.

Darry bit his lip. "Um... What do you mean?"

I put my hand on my hip. "Oh, you know what I mean. Spill!"

His lip was turning red from biting it so hard. He scratched the back of his head. "Um... Well,... What exactly do you wanna know?... I mean, I say a lotta things."

I raised an eyebrow. "Darrel?" I asked once more, sternly.

He looked down at his worker boots, still scratching his head. "W-well... I might told him... Just once... That I... I was worried... That... Um... You and... And Dal would..." He gave a guilty grin and a nervous laugh, touching his index fingers together.

I punched him in the arm. "Darrel!!!"

He frowned and shrugged. "What? I was worried."

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you so worried 'bout me an' Dal?!" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"'Cause," he said, his eyes going wide. "I'm nervous that... You'll make some wrong decisions... And then, I have to fix the mistakes... And, in some cases, I can't!"

I tilted my head to the side the slightest bit. "Decisions? Like what?"

"Like runnin' away and gettin' married." he said, his eyes wider than before. "Or worse!"

"Look." I said, narrowing my eyes to the point of no return. "There's only one thing that is more of a bad decision than eloping and I'm ashamed that you think I'd do that without thinkin' it through first!"

He put a hand on my shoulder, his eyes still wide. "Ashley, it's not that I don't trust you, but... I'm just scared, okay? Teens always make stupid decisions and I don't want you to go that far..." He hugged me. "I want my little sister to stay little." he whispered.

I stood there, letting him hug me, but not hugging back. "Darry,... If teens always end up makin' bad decisions,... Why wouldn't that eventually happen to me. It seems unavoidable."

He pulled away to look at me, frowning. "I... I know, Ashley... But I want to keep you this way for as long as possible."

Pony stood up. He had said,
"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay. "

Darry and I grinned. "Pony?" I asked. "What was that?"

Pony smiled. "Nothing gold can stay. By Robert Frost... An amazing poem, but I don't quite understand it..."

Darry smiled. "It's beautiful, Ponyboy... Guess you been usin' your head for somethin' after all."

Darry engulfed Pony and I in a group hug.

After the hug, Darry, Pony, and I went to get ready for work and school.

After getting dressed, I went downstairs to start making breakfast, but when I got there, I saw that Sodapop beat me to it. He was almost done makin' a cake. I snuck up behind him and put my hands over his eyes, then said, "Hey, greaser." In my best Soc boy voice.

He jumped, turning around to look at me. I chuckled when he realized that it wasn't a Soc.

He smirked as I helped him up off the floor. "And I thought you were scary as a greaser girl."

We walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, ready to watch some Mickey Mouse, when Soda asked, "Should Darry be worried?" In a timid voice.

I frowned. "No. He shouldn't. And... Why are y'all so worried 'bout me."

Soda frowned, too, and it kinda hurt. He took my hand. "We're just lookin' out for ya, sis... We don't want ya gettin' hurt..."

I put an arm around him, grinnin' slightly. "Soda, if you were so worried, why did you let me go to college?"

His eyes widened. "Did...did you-"

"No, Soda. I didn't. Calm down."

He gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god!"

I chuckled, going back upstairs to get ready for work.