"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

My heart hammered away in my chest. If I said no, Two-Bit would catch my lie straight away-- yeah, I'm just that bad at lying. And if I said yes, he'd start jumping up and down and hollering and he'd have everyone's attention.

I heaved a big sigh and I looked him straight in the eyes. "Two, I'm gonna tell ya, but you can't make a scene, okay?" He gave me a confused look, but he nodded. "Yes, I'm pregnant, but Sodapop and I wanted to keep it a secret until I got to my second trimester."

Two looked crossed between wanting to jump up and down and just continue to stand there with that bewildered look on his face.

"W-why?" I darted my eyes around, trying to look at anything but Keith Mathews. "Candice, doll, what happened?"

"It's hard to talk about... I've only told a few people. Soda knows. And Hannah knows. And my dad knew, but..."

"Do Greg and Claire know?"

"They sort of know the gist of it, but not all the gruesome details."

"Are you okay with telling me?"

"To tell you the truth, no. But it's not you at all, Two, okay? It's just painful to think about, let alone talk about, you know?"

"I can respect that."

"So, I can kind of give you an idea, but I don't wanna go into it all. Basically what happened... The man I was with before Sodapop... He and I were expecting a baby. Then, something happened and the doctors all told me the same thing. 'You'll never get pregnant again and if you do, you won't carry the child to full term.'

"So when we-- Soda and I-- found out I was pregnant, we decided to keep it quiet so we wouldn't get anyone's hopes up just to disappoint if I were to..." I trailed off, afraid to meet Two-Bit's gaze.

"Ah, shit, Candy. Doll, I'm so sorry." Two-Bit pulled me into him. Two-Bit was probably the best hugger I'd ever met. He had these huge bear arms and could wrap himself clear around you. It was comforting. To those that didn't know Two, they'd think he's just this dumb goofball that can't take anything seriously. But when it came to his friends and family, Two-Bit was always there, prepared to fight for you. Thinking about this made me feel bad I had spent eight years not going around the Curtises. Then I thought about how if Two-Bit knew how badly Andy had hurt me, he probably would have killed him. And as much as I didn't love or even like Andrew, I didn't want him to be hurt.

"It's okay, Two. Thanks to Soda, I've healed and I'm ready to go on this journey again. I just hope it works out. And, I promise, the day I enter my second trimester, I'm telling everyone."

Two smiled brightly at me. "I'll practice acting surprised."

He gave a mock look of surprise, followed by an overly dramatic gasp. "Oh, glory!" He even clapped his hand over his mouth for added dramatic effect.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks, Two."

"No problem, Candy Cane." He pulled me into him once more and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's get back to the party. I saw those chocolate cupcakes on the snack table and they were calling my name."

Two-Bit and I returned outside. I saw Hannah over on the other side of the yard. She was dancing with Mikey in her arms.

"Oh, my girl is so beautiful," Two-Bit grinned. "Can't wait to marry that one."

"You propose yet?" I asked him, my mood instantly brightening.

"No. I haven't even bought a ring. I've looked in every jewelry store this side of Tulsa and none of them scream Hannah Fisher to me, you know?"

"What does scream Hannah Fisher?" I knew Hannah well, considering we shared everything about each other. I knew what kind of ring she'd like.

"Thin, gold band. No diamonds or jewels or anything. She doesn't care for that kind of thing. I hardly think she'd even care about a ring, anyway, you know? But if she were to have one, it'd just be plain and simple. That's just the way she is."

I nodded, totally agreeing. Then I thought of something. "What if you got that thin, gold band and it had something engraved on the inside of it. Like, something you say a lot to each other."

Two-Bit thought for a moment. "'Get out of my ass'? Or maybe 'I don't know where all the potato chips went'. Or-- or maybe 'give me back the friggin' blanket!'."

I laughed. "'Get out of my ass' is kinda cute," I told him, making him grin widely.

'''

For the next few hours, up until dusk, the gang spent our time dancing around like fools and laughing at each other while most of Cathy's family watched on in either interest or disgust. She came from a middle-class family-- not quite socs, but still too good to be called greasers. It was the most fun we'd all had together in a while and we didn't care who saw or what anyone thought of us.

At one point, Tasha and I started dancing in a very clumsy manner, both of us absolutely useless at it. I was a natural-born klutz and, on top of that, Tasha had two left feet herself.

"I try to get Darry to dance around the kitchen, but he'll only do it if he's got his steel-toed boots on," Tasha joked, making me throw my head back and laugh.

"At one of our homecomings, Steve, Two, Soda, and I crashed the place. We all showed up drunk and ruined everyone's time. I think I ended up dancing around with some senior. We all got kicked out and two Saturday detentions but it was the most fun we've ever had. Darry had a cow. Darry's Dad just laughed, but he tried to get mad at us."

"What were they like? Darry's parents, I mean. I've tried to get Darry to talk about them, but he hardly does."

"I--" I tried to put into words just what the Curtises were like. And all I could think about was how amazing and supportive they were. It's hard to think clearly about something like that when you're waltzing around like an idiot. "They're probably some of the best people I've ever met. I remember growing up always wishing they'd been my parents. Darry looks just like his dad and Soda looks like his mom. Ponyboy looks like a good mix of the two, but there are times when I look at him and all I can see is Mrs. Curtis."

Tasha looked behind me, then grinned. "Look at 'im."

I turned to see Darry was with Robin. He was holding her hand, helping her get a plate of food. Robin was so shy and Darry didn't much care. Darry always stepped up to help, no matter who it was. The closer I watched them, the more I realized that Darry didn't seem bothered by Robin's sudden appearance in our lives. Family is family and that's how it's always been. Darry said something to her that made her happy because I finally saw her smile and I swear to God it looked just like Soda's.

"She's so sweet," Tasha said. "And Darry's gonna be such a good dad."

I turned to her, smiling. "You guys talking about a family?"

Tasha must have realized what she said because her eyes widened in shock. "I didn't mean to say that."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"Never mind. It's not a huge deal. I just feel awkward sometimes, you know? Talking about kids, I mean. Like I know Darry and I haven't been together all that long, just over a year and a half. But every time I look at him, I just feel so at home. He's changed me in more ways than anyone realizes."

My heart melted. I knew exactly how she felt because that's exactly how I felt about Sodapop. I dropped my arms from where they were resting on her shoulders and I led her over to one of the tables. As we sat, I watched her. I watched how she absentmindedly hid her stomach with her hands, but not in a way that it was obvious she was hiding. I decided not to say anything to her about it because then I would maybe be hypocritical for not saying anything about me.

We both went silent, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Tasha was one of the few people I knew where you could be totally silent and it was never uncomfortable.

Eventually, Evie and Claire both made their way over, both of them looking exhausted.

"Weddings are so tiring," Evie commented. "I've only ever been to a couple, but each time I've gotten so worn out. And it doesn't help that Steve just wants to dance around."

I chuckled, looking over to where Steve, Two-Bit, and Sodapop were all dancing around with Mikey while Ponyboy and a few others laughed at them. Hannah came walking over with a plate of food and she sat down on the other side of Tasha.

"Our guys are insane," she muttered. "There's some homemade cheese dip of some kind over there. It's delicious. You guys tried it?"

"Yeah, I think Cathy's aunt made it," said Evie.

My stomach grumbled. I hadn't had much to eat besides the pretzels. I was trying to eat light so I didn't end up throwing everything up again. It would ruin my fun and it would raise suspicion among the others.

"We need to have wedding more often," said a drunk Steve as he finally came stumbling over and fell into Evie, who made an annoyed face at him. Soda had had a few to drink, but he remained mostly sober. Ponyboy had never been much of a drinker-- which I'd only known from Darry-- but even he was a bit tipsy. He'd probably only had a small glass of champagne and the poor kid was so lightweight that it only took that much to get him drunk.

It finally came time to give toasts. Sodapop wasted no time in walking to the front of the crowd to make his speech for his younger brother and now sister-in-law.

"Well," said Sodapop. "I just wanted to say how incredibly proud I am of my little brother of everything he's done so far in life. He's got a good job, a nice little house, and now he's got a beautiful wife and I'm so excited to see where you guys go on your little journey called life. Congratulations, Ponyboy and Cathy. I couldn't be happier for you guys."

Everyone, including me, clapped for him. It was totally heartfelt; even slightly tipsy, Sodapop always seemed to know what to say. Soda started to walk off, then thought of something else to add and he ran back up. "Also, if you guys ever get a dog, I'll dog sit for free."

We all laughed and I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. He moved to sit back down and all the others took their turns making toasts.

Much to my dismay, the others began shoving me up toward the front to give a speech, too.

"So, I apologize in advance, as I'm not good at public speaking," I said, laughing nervously.

"You're doing great, sweetie!" Steve shouted from the back, making the rest of us laugh.

"So, Ponyboy. I've known you since you were this tiny little kid and I always thought how you were always gonna be like my little brother. But now, you're all grown up and you're starting your life and I guess I can't really call you little. Anyway, I just wanted to say how proud of you I am and how great of a friend you are and have always been. And Cathy, you've grown to be one of my closest friends over this past year and I'm so happy and so blessed to have such a great friend like you. Pony, you'd better treat Cathy right and, Cathy, I hope you keep our little brother Ponyboy in check. I'm so happy for you guys and I hope you have the best life together, building your home and your family and everything else. Congratulations. Love you, both."

The others clapped and I went to find my seat next to Greg and Soda.

For the rest of the night, we all settled down a decent amount. The guys quit drinking about eight and, slowly but surely, most of the guests began leaving. It was about a quarter to nine when Curly Shepard came strolling up.

At first, I didn't know him. I was caught up in a conversation with Cathy, Robin nearly asleep with her head on my shoulder, when I heard him yelling.

"Nice of you to invite me to the wedding, Curtis." By the tone of his voice, he was clearly drunk. And he was looking for trouble. He was rounding on Ponyboy and the guys were all quick to flank him.

"Oh no," Cathy grumbled.

"What's going on?" I asked Cathy.

"We didn't invite Curly because something went down a few months ago and it really upset Pony. So much so Pony completely refused to send him an invitation."

"What happened? It usually takes a lot to piss Ponyboy off that bad." This was true. Out of the whole gang, Pony was the mellowest. The kid could fight, but he was the type to resort to fighting if he absolutely had to. If this was the case. Something terrible had to have happened.

The look on Cathy's face made me angry. She looked genuinely terrified. Not of the situation, but of Curly. She was trying to make herself as small as possible, but she also looked as though she wanted to go and stand by her husband.

I grabbed her hand in mine and we watched as the guys argued back and forth. The other girls and Greg came to stand by us.

Ponyboy had this sort of scary calm to him. He was trying to keep the situation under control, but he was ready to start throwing punches if it resorted to that.

"Should I do something?" I asked.

"No, Candice. Let the guys handle it," said Evie.

Curly threw the first punch, his fist colliding with Ponyboy's eye. Two-Bit and Darry were quick to grab Curly and drag him away from the place. All the guys were yelling and the remainder of Cathy's family were staring on in shock. Allen ran over to see if he could help with Ponyboy. It took only one look at him to see his nose was broken.

It wasn't long after that that the party started breaking up and people started going home, the mood ruined by needless drama. I had no idea what had happened between Curly and Ponyboy, other than the small tidbit of information Cathy had told me.

Darry, Tasha, Sodapop, Greg, Claire, Robin, and I were the last ones there, besides Ponyboy, Cathy, and Cathy's parents and grandmother.

"I'll be fine, really," Ponyboy said as he held a rag to his nose. He had a nice little shiner and he had blood stains on the collar of his shirt.

"What happened?" I asked him as I took a look at his nose. Blood was still easing its way out, but it wasn't as bad as it had been initially.

"Curly... Curly was trying to hit on Cathy not too long ago and I told him to knock it off. Then he kept doing it and I ended the friendship. Well, I guess he didn't understand why because he was pissed we didn't send him a wedding invite. We kinda went back and forth. It was mostly me telling him he needed to leave because he was drunk and had no business here. It's friends and family only. And I'm not willing to be friends with anybody who tries to hit on my girl."

Ponyboy clenched and unclenched his fist as I pressed the rag back to his face. I didn't know if it was out of pain or out of anger, but it was probably a combination of the two.

I wished they'd have said something, but I guess it really wasn't any of my business or anyone else's for that matter.

"I'm sorry this all happened," he said.

"Nothing you could have done. It was no one's fault. He just has a lot of problems he has yet to work out and I wish the best for him, I really do, but I don't wanna be caught up in the middle of it. I'm an adult and I'm doing okay and I know Cathy especially doesn't need that." It amazed me how mature Ponyboy was for his age. The kid was barely twenty-one and acted like he was thirty. He'd taken after Darry, after all. It made me think about how immature and irresponsible I was at his age. I'd really gotten a reality check after getting pregnant the first time. Had I been a bit more level-headed like Pony, I probably wouldn't be where I am today-- and that's definitely not a bad thing. Some things you just gotta learn on your own.

I'd heard about Cathy's younger brother, Nick-- who everyone called M&M for some reason-- getting involved in hard drugs after he had gotten involved with a bunch of hippies and Cathy's boyfriend at the time was hanging around the guy who had sold him the drugs in the first place. Cathy was a good girl, but it seemed a lot of drama liked to follow her when she was younger.

I knew the feeling of that. No matter how hard you try to be a decent person, sometimes shit just happens.

Sodapop came sauntering over, Greg in tow. They both looked ready to crash. Claire and Robin sat beside me in silence, both of them exhausted and ready to go home. After the fight had unfolded, everyone sobered up pretty quick and now it was all anyone could do to stay awake.

"Darry and I took Curly over to Tim's. He was pissed and said he was sorry, like, a million times. Which is weird for Tim considering how he is about shit like this. But, anyway, Darry and I talked to him. We weren't violent or anything, but we did scare him a bit, I think."

"The thing is, even if he does straighten up, I don't know that I wanna hang around him much, you know? Because what if this had been in a public place? I could have gotten in trouble, too, and we can't afford that right now. Cathy and I are doing great with just the gang."

"No one blames you, Pony. You've really grown up, kid," I said, making him blush slightly.

"Don't tell Darry. He won't have anyone to order around anymore."

"Well, I'm sure he'll still find ways to get under your skin."

Pony smiled. "Sorry about this whole thing, you guys."

"Hey, you shouldn't be saying sorry," said Greg. "This wasn't planned."

Ponyboy nodded slowly.

"Hey, since you're a man now, do we gotta start calling you Ponyman?" Sodapop asked randomly after a moment of silence and all we could do was laugh.

hi wow, I'm actual garbage lmao this was supposed to go up the other day but I've been kinda busy with work so I'm really sorry but I hope this lengthy chapter kinda made up for it? I honestly don't know what this was but I was too excited to write funny drunk bits. Anyway, hope you liked it because I actually enjoyed writing it xJ