A/N: Alright guys, I'm going to begin posting this story, because it feels like the right time to. However, I have multiple plot-ways that this could go, and I have no clue which route I'm going to take. So, I am very open to anyone who wants to review this story and put in their own two-cents on where they could see this going (based on the first few chapters and the summary). Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Ponyboy Curtis was listening in on the phone call from the stairs. His older brothers, Darry Curtis and Sodapop Curtis, were going back and forth on the phone. Pony couldn't put together exactly what was going on, but he was getting the idea that his brothers were going away. Not quite a vacation, it was for something more serious it seemed, but not emergency-type of serious. What the hell, Pony had no idea what it was. He could tell it was family that had called, but he wasn't sure why. They don't hear from family a whole lot, mainly because there wasn't a lot of them. Grandparents from both sides were long gone, their mom had a sister who lived in Montana, and their dad had a sister who wasn't much closer. Having some details, but still not sure what was going on was making Ponyboy nervous. Darry didn't sound like he was in distress, but Ponyboy did overhear that Darry needed Soda's help with whatever he had to go do. So their question was...who was going to stay with Pony?

"I'll give him a call," Soda commented, his turn on the phone.

Pony could hear Darry sigh, "Oh I hope you can convince him. He'd be doing us a huge favor."

Pony couldn't really hear Soda's phone call, but it lasted about 20 minutes. He felt himself slowly getting distracted since he couldn't hear a thing Soda was saying. He began counting the stair steps, tracing his hand along the wall, thinking about the current book he was reading. As usual, he lost himself in his own head. Deep in thought, he jumped as he was called down by Darry. Pony hurried down, anxiously wanting to hear what was about to happen. He made his way through the living room into the kitchen where his older brothers waited.

"What's going on?" Pony asked taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Darry joined him while Soda brought a couple glasses of chocolate milk. "Well, we got a phone call from Aunt Julie," Darry began. Aunt Julie was their dad's sister.

"Okay?" Pony asked waiting for more, "What did she want?"

"Well, we know it took a while, but she was finally able to go through all her things and their parents things from their farm house, and she found a lot of dad's things. She wants us to go there and go through the things and help her kind of sort what's worth keeping and what might be worth getting rid of," Darry explained, "She was going through the list a bit with me, and it's not something I can do alone. Nor do I want to, so I'm going to bring Soda with me to make some of these decisions. She is quite overwhelmed."

Pony waited for the answer of who was going to stay with him. He understood why Darry didn't want to bring him. It wasn't anything that exciting for Pony to be a part of, and Aunt Julie was about 8 hours away. Not a simple trip to take, and not one you want to go back and forth on. Pony surely didn't want to waste any summer vacation doing all of that in the middle of nowhere.

"So," Soda chimed in, "We're thinking of going to spend a week with Aunt Julie. We can really go through those things and get her organized. She's spent the past year going through it all, so the least we can do is help her organize."

"Yeah, yeah, I get you. That all makes sense," Ponyboy agreed, "So what's going to happen with me?"

Darry looked at Soda, obviously wanting him to continue. Pony followed suit and looked at Soda as well. He scratched the back of his neck as he sighed, "Steve is going to stay here with you."

Pony rolled his eyes in response. He couldn't help but think, no one else could do it? Really? Pony would rather Dallas Winston stayed with him for a week. "We are not going to get along," Pony simply stated.

"Look," Darry jumped in, "We know it's not the perfect scenario, but Steve is all we have. All we have that we're comfortable with anyway. Johnny isn't exactly capable of that responsibility, Dally is not happening, and...quite frankly I trust Steve more than Two-Bit."

"Why?"

"I know you don't see this side of him Pony, but he has more responsibility when it's needed," Darry answered.

"Steve knows what is happening. He's not going to be that bad, he just needs to keep an eye on you and run the house. That's all," Soda added.

"We just want the security of knowing you are being taken care of. If something happened, we can't just rush back here, we'll be too far away," Darry explained, "It's just something to make me feel better."

Ponyboy groaned, "I guess."

"Just deal with each other for a week," Darry said, "Then we'll be home. It will be fine."

"He'll have to work some anyway, so he might not even be here a whole lot. We just can't leave you alone for 7 straight days," Soda said.

Pony nodded, still not thrilled about it, "Alright. When do you guys leave?"

"In a couple days," Darry said, "The sooner we can go, the better."

A couple days flew by and Pony was watching Darry and Soda bring their suitcases down. They didn't have to bring too much, which was good since the back of Darry's truck could be full of other things. Pony figured it wouldn't be too bad Darry being gone. He wouldn't have to deal with him or listen to his nagging. He'd miss Soda though, especially with Steve being around. Ponyboy couldn't think of any time he had ever been alone with Steve. He wished he hadn't tried to think of that though, because the lack of evidence was making him think it was going to be a very awkward week.

Soda got on his knees to get down to Pony's level on the couch. He pulled Pony's head towards his, "Look, Darry put the phone number on the fridge. If things are just going a little nuts and you just need to vent, you can call me. I know Steve is my best friend, but I know how he can be, so don't worry, okay?"

Pony nodded as he heard a car pull into their driveway. Steve Randle parked his car, turned the ignition, and made his way into the Curtis household. "Good morning y'all," Steve greeted.

"Morning," Soda greeted back.

"Why in the world does Darry want to leave so early?" Steve asked as he stretched.

Soda chuckled as he stood up, "Beats me."

"Are you ready to hit the road?" Steve asked.

Soda sighed, "It will be a long drive. Hell, I'll just go back to sleep."

Darry walked on downstairs with the last of things and greeted Steve as he headed out the door.

"How's it going, kid?" Steve asked.

"Good," Pony replied.

Darry got back inside and started telling Steve what was expected while they were gone. "I'm sure you understand Pony can't just stay by himself a whole week. I left plenty of extra cash if you need to get groceries or whatever. We really appreciate this Steve."

"Oh sure, it's not like I hate leaving my house for a week," Steve smirked.

"Do you have to work a lot?" Darry asked.

Steve shook his head, "Just a couple days. Other people took Soda's shifts, so I didn't really have to pick up anything."

"Good, good," Darry looked around the living room, "Well, I think that's everything. Soda, are you ready?"

"Yes," Soda took a step towards the door when both Steve and Darry grabbed one of his arms.

"Shoes," they both said in unison. Soda rolled his eyes as he turned back to grab his shoes.

"Well you guys just have a relaxing week, alright? Stay out of trouble," Darry put in. He gave Pony one last hug, thanked Steve again, and headed for the door. Soda gave Pony a tight hug, told Steve bye, and followed Darry. Ponyboy watched as his two older brothers left the house and left him alone with Steve Randle for the next 7 days.