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It was a late Saturday night. All of the gang members besides Ponyboy were sitting around the table, cards in their hands as they put on their best poker faces. Sweat trickled down their temples as hidden cards were slipped into their hands from their hiding places.
"I'll fold," Two-Bit announced, placing down his cards in disappointment.
"I'll fold," Darry said next, copying his movements.
Steve grinned cockily as he threw in his makeshift chips which consisted of some coins, cigarettes, and small trinkets that Two-Bit had swiped from a store. "All in," Steve stated.
Dally was next, throwing in his makeshift chips as well. "All in," he copied. The two greasers stared daggers at each other, trying to figure out how good their cards really were. Maybe the other person was bluffing. Maybe not.
"I'll fold," Soda sighed although he was one of the people who had tried to cheat in the game.
"All in," Johnny finally muttered, putting in his chips.
Flipping over his cards, Steve showed off his three of a kind. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Three of a kind!" he announced. "Beat that!"
Smirking, Dally placed down his cards which consisted completely of hearts. "Flush," he declared, watching in amusement when Steve threw up his cards with a curse.
"I was sure I was going to win!"
"Well, you didn't."
"I guess Dally wins this round," Darry muttered, starting to clean up the cards. "A flush is a hand that's hard to beat."
"I haven't gone yet," Johnny spoke up, startling the gang. Through the conflict between Steve and Dally, they had forgotten that he still had a hand to show. He flipped it over, and, instantly, everyone gasped. "Full house."
"A full house?" Soda gaped with wide eyes. In what chance could that have happened?
All of a sudden, a wicked grin spread across Two-Bit's face as he swatted his hand on Johnny's back. "Yeah, Johnny!" he cheered as the younger greaser collected his winnings.
At that moment, the door swung open and Ponyboy sauntered inside, laughing. For a moment, they could hear some people outside laugh as well. That was before the door shut behind the youngest of their gang.
"Hey, who were you talking to?" Soda asked curiously, stretching his neck to see his younger brother better from the kitchen.
Ponyboy turned to them, placing his bag down. The smile was still plastered on his face. "Just some friends."
"Do we know them?" Darry questioned. Even though he knew that Ponyboy had friends outside the gang, it still felt off to him. After all, he practically spent his entire time with them or doing something by himself like reading.
"I don't think so."
"What are their names?" Steve asked, not fully giving him his full attention. Without thinking too much about it, Ponyboy listed off the names of his friends. If he knew that Steve recognized their names, he wouldn't have answered him. However, he knew that he was exposed when he was asked another question. "Aren't those the names of some of those Socs and middle classed people at school?"
At that, Darry and Soda shot their full attention to Ponyboy and he knew that he was going to hear it.
"You're hanging around those types of people?" Darry interrogated, eyes narrowing to slits.
Those types of people? Ponyboy couldn't help but grit his teeth in irritation at his brother's words. "They're my buddies. They're good people," he hissed, clenching his hands into fists.
"The middle-classed, maybe. But a Soc? Ponyboy, you know better than to be around them."
"I see him hang around a lot of Socs," Johnny informed them causing Ponyboy to stare at him incredulously. His eyes went wide, face looking strained as he pressed his lips together into a thin line. He shot him a not-helping-at-all look to which Johnny responded by looking down at the table once he realized that he only just added fuel to the fire that was growing.
"What does he mean by that, Ponyboy Michael Curtis?" Darry looked about seconds away from exploding, something that was noted by the gang. They all understood where Darry was coming from and they even all agreed with him. But they knew that he would take it too far because they've witnessed the two brothers fight a plethora of times. None of them wanted to hear the two of them fight.
Nervously, Two-Bit stepped in, trying to change the topic to something else. "Hey, want to play with us?" he proposed, gesturing to the cards in front of him.
Thankful for the diversion, Ponyboy asked, "What are you playing?"
"Poker," Dally answered, and Pony nodded in reply.
Steve made a sound of annoyance, throwing his head back. "The kid's joining in?" he groaned. "Why?"
Soda elbowed him in the side. "Hey, don't be like that. It'll be fun," he chirped.
"Too bad that he's no good at playing poker."
He was right. Even though Ponyboy didn't like to admit it, he was lousy at the game. He never seemed to be able to win. "I don't play that badly," Ponyboy pointed out, trying to feel better about himself.
"You do."
"Just sit down and start playing," Dally cut in, pointing to an empty chair that was across from Darry who was still fuming. Without another word, Ponyboy sat down in the chair, avoiding all eye contact with his eldest brother. It was much harder than it sounds since he could just feel his eyes on him the entire time.
Dally swiftly dealt everyone their cards and Ponyboy tentatively picked his hand up. The poker game went smoothly for quite some time after that. Eventually, Darry started to focus more on the game. For a long moment, Pony thought that Darry had forgotten about his friends that were Socs. But, of course, that had to come to an end.
"Why Socs?" Darry suddenly asked. From beside him, Dally groaned.
"Why not?" Ponyboy challenged, placing his cards on the table facedown.
A hand touched his shoulder. "He's worried that you're going to be jumped by them. Socs hate greasers," Soda informed him calmly, although worry was clearly shone in his eyes.
"They're not going to jump me!" He couldn't believe that they were all acting like he was five where everyone that wasn't them was practically stranger danger.
"Darry and Soda are right, kid," Steve joined in. "They hate us. That won't ever change."
Ponyboy stared at him before he looked at all of them. They all held similar expressions and it became apparent that they all felt the same about Socs. He gaped. "Do all of you think that?"
Everyone became quiet all of a sudden, exchanging looks that confirmed Ponyboy's question. Two-Bit was the first to talk. "We do," he answered, fiddling with his cards.
"You're all wrong then… They don't all hate us…"
"Look at the facts, Pony!" Dally growled, causing Ponyboy to cringe. "They've been jumping us which proves that they don't like us. I mean, look at Johnny! After what they did to him?! How could you be friends with them?"
Johnny flinched, a bit pale, making his bruises seem more prominent on his skin. "We're just worried for you, Ponyboy," Johnny spoke. "Soc's haven't treated us any good. Our feud won't end."
"No, you're all wrong," Ponyboy argued, jaw stiff from how hard he had been clenching it. "We might have a feud now, but that will end one day."
"How could you be sure? Will it really end?"
"It will. You're all forgetting one thing. Everything changes. Nothing can stay the same. And, besides, you're all categorizing Socs as one person. Everybody's different. Just look at me. Even though I'm categorized as a greaser, I don't act like any of you."
"I'll say," Steve cut in, causing Ponyboy to roll his eyes.
"You all have your own opinions on Socs but that doesn't give you the right to generalize people like that. How would it feel if it were you? People are people. Socs are people. Greasers are people. But personality-wise, we are all different." Ponyboy looked down at his hand again, pushing his chips in. He wasn't in the mood to play poker anymore. "All in."
The gang startled back into reality, looking down at their cards in a hurry. While Ponyboy was going off on them, they had forgotten about the poker game. His lecture caused them to temporarily forget about the game. They all knew that Ponyboy sometimes talked back, but they have never seen him scold anybody let alone them. It caught them all by surprise.
"I'll fold," Soda continued, voice cracking a bit.
"All in," Darry said, putting his chips in.
"I'll fold," Johnny declared.
"I'll fold," Dally copied.
"All in," Steve said, pushing in his chips.
"All in," Two-Bit declared, mirroring Steve and Darry.
Without skipping a beat, Ponyboy instantly flipped his cards over, standing up from his chair so fast that it almost toppled over. "Royal flush."
"Royal flush?!" Two-Bit screamed, leaning forward to get a better look. "How? You weren't even cheating!"
Ponyboy shrugged. "I win. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go back out to meet up with my friends where they understand that social standards aren't what defines them."
With that Ponyboy spun around on his heels, storming out of the door leaving the gang with their mouths wide open.
"Damn…" Two-Bit muttered as the door slammed shut.
"He's right though," Johnny pointed out, ashamed that he thought otherwise. He should have known better.
Two-Bit numbly nodded. "Yeah… sure… but… a royal flush… Damn…"