Young Blood ⏤ Ponyboy Curtis | ✓

27 | moving forward

"I'm going over to the Curtis' tonight, so you'll have to sort yourselves out for dinner," Billie tells Tim as she slips on her denim jacket, heading towards the front door.

Tim, who is lying on the sofa, scowls and sits up. "What?"

"You'll need to sort yourself out for dinner," Billie repeats. "You can make yourself meatloaf, I bought groceries yesterday."

Tim's scowl deepens. "I dunno how to make meatloaf."

"Now you can learn," Billie replies with one hand on the door handle to exit.

"Why can't you make it for me?"

"Because I'm going to be late," Billie answers, fighting to urge to not huff at Tim's laziness.

"So? You're only goin' to the Curtis'," Tim says.

"It's rude to be late," Billie responds, biting her tongue to not snap at Tim. "And, unlike you, I don't like to be late."

Tim's head pops up from the back of the sofa. "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into you?" Billie shoots back. "I'm not your mother. You can do things around here as well. It's the 60's ⏤ women and men can be equal you know."

Tim flops back down onto the sofa. "But I don't know how to do them."

"Then learn." Billie is starting to become increasingly frustrated with Tim. For somebody who doesn't care about religion, engages in drugs and alcohol, and sleeps around, she'd thought he wouldn't hold these traditional views. Especially since their family is far from traditional, with two absent parents.

"You know," Billie continues, fired up, "I'm really sick of everything being left to me. If you could, you'd probably make me dress you."

Tim's eyebrows are raised and his mouth agape in shock. Who would've thought the placid and timid Billie Shepard would grow a spine? His little sister isn't little anymore and isn't the person she once was.

"What ⏤"

"I'm not finished," Billie interrupts Tim. "It's time I got some help around here. I'm not going to be doing this forever. There's going to be times when I can't do everything. I can't be everywhere at once."

A car horn beeps outside the Shepard house, interrupting Billie. "I need to go now. We'll finish this tomorrow. Maybe you'll have made yourself dinner by then," she tells Tim scathingly.

"Billie ⏤" Tim begins.

"Goodbye." Billie slams the front door shut behind her and stomps down the porch steps.

Darry Curtis is waiting for her in his beat-up truck, window down with one hand resting casually on the wheel. He gives Billie a tight smile when he sees her as she walks over and slides into the passenger's seat.

"Thanks for picking me up," Billie tells Darry as he starts to drive.

"Can't have you walking around by yourself at night," Darry answers, which Billie has come to realise is Darry's way of saying you're welcome. The first time she'd gone over to Ponyboy's house had been daunting. Sodapop invited her in, flashing her a warm, kind smile and Billie felt instantly at ease. Sodapop had this charm, this ability to attract people, like a planet in orbit.

Darry, on the other hand, was frosty like a winter's morning. Ponyboy said their parents' deaths affected Darry the hardest, as he was forced to become a parent on top of being a brother. Darry reminded Billie of Tim: stoic like Atlas ⏤ damned to rest the weight of the world on their shoulders for eternity.