Two Bit came over later with a Santa hat and some gifts, that somehow were more sloppily wrapped than Steve's.

"Merry Christmas!" He bellowed, with the door slamming on his way inside.

"Christmas is tomorrow genius," Steve said with an eye roll.

Two Bit waved his hand in the air, "details, details."

Ponyboy chuckled. We were all sitting around the TV, watching old Christmas movies. Mrs. Curtis had made hot chocolate for us too. I wasn't paying any attention to the film in front of me, I was too busy thinking about what I had become. Here I was. Drinking hot chocolate and watching movies. The strange thing was, I enjoyed it. I took another sip, maybe things could actually change.

I set my mug down. No. No, the world is a shitty place, things don't change. I was an idiot, a coward even. What the hell was I thinking? Running away wasn't going to make anything easier. Too much had happened, everything I'd seen would still be there.

"You've barely drank your hot chocolate Dally," Darry said. He was sitting on the couch and I was on the floor in front of him. Darry nudged my back with his foot and I turned to face him. He nodded toward my mug that I had set down.

"Why don't you pay attention to the movie and not me," I shot back. He stared at me for a bit, then shrugged and looked back to the TV.

I faced forward again and popped a few knuckles, it was a habit.

The movie finished shortly and Mrs. Curtis stood up with a content sigh, "Well that was lovely. I'm going back into the kitchen to bake the chocolate cake and get a start on dinner."

"But it's not even one o'clock yet," Ponyboy said gesturing toward an old clock hanging to the left of the television.

Mrs. Curtis grinned slyly and pointed a finger at her son "Perfection takes time, dear." Then she turned and headed back into the kitchen.

"We're eating good tonight, boys," Mr. Curtis said with a wink.

"I heard that Darrel. You know darn well you eat good every night."

Mr. Curtis laughed and stood up, "can't keep anything past her." He went into the hallway and told us that he had to check some things for work.

Two Bit stood up, clapping his hands together. "I think we need some music in here," he said. He bounded over to the radio on the side table, and turned the knob, cranking up the music loud.

Elvis began blaring throughout the house and Two Bit sang along, grinning widely. I could hear Mrs. Curtis laughing  from the kitchen. Sodapop bounced up, and slung an arm around Two Bit's shoulder going along with him. I couldn't imagine what these two would be like if they were drunk.

Darry, Pony and Johnny began laughing when they started an impersonation of Elvis. Steve shook is head with a hint of a smile, "oh God make it stop," he pleaded.

"I'm with ya," I said.

Steve grinned and then turned to me, "ya got any cash on you?"

I crossed my arms and raised a brow, "none that you can have."

"We'll see about that," he said. Steve then pulled out a deck of cards from under the coffee table.

Poker. I kicked his sorry ass the last time.

"Alright," I said. "You're on."

Steve smirked and then yelled over the music, "anyone interested in another game of poker?"

Two Bit and Soda turned around, in mid hip swivel, and ran over to us. "Yeah deal us in!" Soda said.

Darry joined us also, and took a seat around the table.

"Ponyboy? Johnnycake? Y'all wanna play?" Two Bit asked.

Pony shook his head, "nah that's fine I'm just gonna watch."

Johnny nodded, "me too."

"Alright let's get started then," Steve said. He shuffled the cards and dealed them out.

Steve rolled his eyes, and kicked Soda's foot.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Ya got an Ace in your sock."

Soda scoffed, "what? No I don't, I was just tryin' to tie my shoe."

Darry reached down and quickly pulled the card from Soda's sock before he could reach it. He grinned and flicked it onto the table, "Right, you aren't even wearing shoes."

Soda raised his eyebrows and scratched the back of his neck, "well gee how'd that get there?"

I shook my head and Two Bit laughed, "no cheatin'. You're out pretty boy."

Soda set his cards down with a huff, and we continued the game.

Two Bit was an awful player, it was easy to tell when he had good cards or not since his facial expressions easily gave it away. He would raise his eyebrows and nod, or frown and stare hard at the cards. Amateur.

Steve and Darry however, were a little more tough. We had about $10 in the pile, but they didn't seem like they were going to crack soon.

Steve looked around, "okay boys," he drawled. "I'll make things a little more interesting." He added 3 bucks to the table.

Two Bit put his cards down, "I fold, ain't worth it."

Steve, Darry and I exchanged glances. "You had an awful hand anyway," I said with smirk.

Two Bit gaped, "how'd ya know?"

We all looked at each other again, and began laughing. Two Bit shook his head and flopped on the coach next to Johnny to watch the rest of the game.

Steve tapped his cards on the table, "so what's it gonna be?"

I scratched my chin and pretended to survey the cards in front of me. Then I shrugged, pulling out 5 dollars and placing it in the center of the table. "Alright Randle, I raise."

Darry frowned and put down his cards. "Okay, okay I fold. This is too much."

Steve and I grinned and then stared hard at each other. I yawned as he set down his cards. He grinned with pride, revealing a straight. "Ha, looks like I gotcha this time."

I frowned, "damn that's a good hand." He nodded and began to reach for the pile of cash, but I placed down my cards. I had the legendary royal flush. "Read em' and weep Randle," I said grabbing the money from him.

Steve's eyes widened and he gaped. "I can't believe it," he mumbled.

"Well ya better believe it," I stuffed the cash into my wallet and then placed it into my back pocket.

Two Bit laughed, "ha! He sucked ya dry Steve!"

"Yeah, yeah," Steve grumbled and the others hooted and laughed too.

I smirked and took a position on the coach. Looking at the guys around me, my thoughts from earlier seemed to vanish. It felt nice being here, with people that it seemed I could trust. I crossed my arms contently, knowing I found a place that was as close as I could get to an actual home.

A/N
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Wow, it's been a really long since I updated. I've been pretty busy lately and kept adding a bit more to this chapter, but I finally got around to finishing it. The last couple of times I've said "two more chapters," or "it's almost done," but now I am 100% sure. TWO MORE CHAPTERS AFTER THIS.

Oh and Happy Outsiders day!!! I made sure to where my Outsiders T-shirt, Stay Gold necklace, jeans, and a leather jacket 😂😂

Also, I'm thinking of making story with a bunch of one shots on Steve and Soda's friendship, so keep an eye out for that.

Lol ok I'm done now. Stay gold my loves!!

GoldGreaser83