Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story that were originally mentioned by S.E. Hinton, the book, movie, or TV show.

All rights go to her, for creating such an amazing book. :)

My idiot father told me to get the hell out again, I thought laughing in spite of myself. What's new?

It was pretty chilly out, thats for sure, and I didn't have my jacket. I shoved my hands deep into my jean pockets hoping to gather a little warmth, then attempted to shrug it off because I was already half way to Soda's.

I was pondering whether or not I was going to sneak back inside later that night when my dad was too drunk to notice, or just stay at Soda's.

Sodas been my best friend since grade school, I usually go to his house after a falling-out with my frequently drunken father. you could say I'm not wanted at home as much as your average Joe, and I'm not quite sure I want to be there myself. My dad don't give a hang and we never stop fighting.

I'm sort of fortunate though at least I have the gang, there pretty much the only family I have. Did I mention I'm a grease? Yeah, I've got long hair that I comb into complicated swirls just behind the ears, and it's always got hair grease in it, always. I'm quite proud of it, but heck hair is usually a greasers most prize possession. We really ain't got the money to afford nothin nice anyhow, heh that is unless we steal it.

But then theres the Soc's, the rich kids, always lookin for a fight. I'll tell yah they will jump just about any greaser for no reason. Hell if they can't get ahold of a greaser they'll just jump another soc. Thats how they get their kicks, man do i hate them.

I gripped the gate handle and forced it open, trotted up the porch and as natural let myself in. Everyone in the gang does it, its a habit.

I spotted Soda on the couch and I instantly leapt towards him roughing him up a little.

Soda was lean, but he had a good build. He was sixteen-going-on-seventeen, and quite the ladies man, he had a smile that I swear by all means was contagious. I just don't think there was anyone who didn't love sodapop, he could make anyone smile, no matter how down they were feeling.

The door slammed shut and I looked up, Darry was back from work. "hey there superdope!" I patted him on the back grinning wildly.

Everyone calls him superman, because hes huge, hes been building roofs for a long time now, it tears him up pretty bad, but he does it anyway, and besides when Im not in school I like to come down and help him out a bit. I call him 'superdope' to mess with him, man he hates being called dumb. He never got over not going to college.

Darry was Soda's older brother, Ponyboy's too. He was pretty much the 'unofficial' leader of our gang as well since he was oldest and most level headed. We don't really have a leader like most gangs around here do, we just kinda meshed together I guess. I'm kinda glad anyway, there's alot more you gotta worry about when your tied into something big like the Shepherd's gang.

Darry, Soda, and Ponyboy's parents died about eight months back. The state let Darry keep custody as long as the three of them promised to stay reasonably behaved. He was 21, and sadly getting too old too fast. He got hit with a lot of responsibilities when their parents died, and I guess it's about time it all finally started catching up to him.

"You know superman, if you get any bigger you'll rip right through them shirts of yours, and then what will we do?" I asked, Sheepishly. Inviting myself into their already burdened financial burdens. "It's either going to be food for the week or shirts for Darry, food for the week or-"

He stopped me by not so nicely, whacking me in the back of the head. Turning around I leaned over his shoulder and peered at the mail in his hands.

"You know superdope, I will make you pay for that one." I said coolly into his ear.

"I'd like to see you try crock-tooth, now quit breathing down my neck, theres no mail here for you. Even though you might think you live here, you don't." Darry hissed and I gave him a sour look.

"Anyone seen Ponyboy today?" He cracked a grin and shook me vigorously. "I was just messing around buddy, you know the old saying, 'me casa su casa'."

"Nah Darry, I ain't seen the kid all day." I told him, I hadn't been outside at all today anyway, except for the walk here that is.

"I don't know either, he wasn't here when I got home." soda explained falling to the couch, not so gently.

"Hey little man you watch it, you bust that couch and it's coming out of your paycheck." Darry scolded, fixing himself a turkey sandwich.

About an hour or so of lazing around and sincere nothingness had passed, and it was really time for me to stretch my legs. I stood up, stretched, and as if perfectly on que, Two-bit swung through the door in a frantic rush.

"Ponyboy, car, soc's, lets go!" He shouted through the door and slammed it on the way out.

I started to follow and heard Soda call for Darry. Two-bit led us around the corner and some what in the distance I had spotted the car. Picking up pace I raced past Two-bit and as I closed in they seen me coming.

In a split second I leapt towards the car, and they had already managed to get into it. Quickly and forcefully I sent a jab through the open window and managed to hit the guy pretty good near his jaw. Fighting back he pawed me in the nose and before I knew it the car sped away.

I trotted over to the kid and carefully looked him up and down. He was alright, there was a cut below his neck, but he wasnt showing much else. With some given time he might bare a few bruises but nothing real serious.

Soda leaned down and pulled out one of our rags from the DX, then carefully wiped away the blood that trickled from Pony's neck, Darry forcefully brought him up to his feet.

"God dammit Ponyboy, what the hell is wrong with you?" Darry shouted. "You don't ever think, it ain't safe walking around here by your lonesome and you know that. You could of at least carried a blade-"

"I was just walking home from the movies Darry," Pony cut in.

I swear I'd heard this argument at least fifteen times before, so I tried turning my attention somewhere else.

Of course that was kind of hard to do with Soda continuously poking Ponyboys bloody rag at my face.

"Come on Soda, what the hell are you doing that's gross." I complained.

"You have a little something, right there." He said in a sing-song voice, pointing at his own nose then tossing me the red stained rag.

I caught it out of instinct and looked at it hesitantly, very hesitantly. Then quickly wiped the blood coming from my nose and threw the rag to the ground.

Walking back toward Soda's house, I began eyeing Dally, who was supposed to be in jail.

"Hey Dall, what are you doin out of the cooler, I thought you were supposed to be in for about 90 days?" I questioned.

"They let me out early man, good behavior." he smiled somethin ugly, and I knew there was no way they let him out for good behavior, that just wasn't dally, but I figured it was best to just let it go.

It was usually best to drop things when it came to Dallas Winston.

Pony approached us coyly rubbing his hands through his greased hair, then returned them to the pockets of his jeans.

"What the hell were you thinking, walking the streets all by your lonesome?" I asked sarcastically.

"None of your buisness smarty," Ponyboy snapped.

Sometimes I just want to punch that kids lights out, but I won't, because he's sodas kid brother. Which sort of makes him my brother to be honest. I consider this gang family, because I ain't one of my own. Well, I do, but thats only figuratively, I got a dad, but as far as I'm concerned he's a piece of shit.

Darry says sometimes Ponyboy just needs to learn to use his head, which is true, he could tell you anything from a book but he didn't have the attention span or street smarts that most of us had, and around here that stuff was important.

Ponyboy was different and I probably would never admit it, at least not out loud, but I envied him for that. He was going somewhere, unlike the rest of us, I mean not all of us, but the majority of greasers.

Dally for example, who would die on these streets a hood, just like his mother always told him, and I didn't doubt it either. I just wish things didn't have to be that way, but they are what they are, and I ain't got much say in anything anyhow.

Dally was the spitting image of what you might call a no good hood. He grew up on the wild side of New York, and you could say his permanent record started when he was about ten years old. Dallas was rougher, meaner, and more dangerous then anyone else I knew. He didn't understand the concept of love, he was loyal, but he didn't even love himself, much less anybody else.

I couldn't blaim him though, not with his past, and not with his parents either, I know my dad is something awful, but Dally's parents were just something else.

Dallas threw a welcoming arm around Johnny's shoulders as they continued walking along.

"Hey Johnny, how you doing man?" He asked with a more gentle voice than usual.

We all used a more gentle voice when it came to Johnny.

"Oh, Im good. I'd be better though if them dang soc's would just stay on their side of town." Johnnny explained.

Johnny was 16, and still shown a smaller figure then Ponyboy who had only turned 14 last month. Johnny usually kept alone or quiet about anything even in front of the gang. Although he doesn't like to show it, Johnny's dangerously frightful, thanks to a real bad jumping from the soc's not to far back. In fact, he had a rather large scar across his cheekbone that he would carry for the rest of his life, as a result of it.

Personally I liked Johnny, he was good people, he didn't talk a whole lot, but thats alright because he didn't have to. Johnny knew the score, thats for sure. He probably had the worst home life of us all, but he wasn't complaining. In fact he still loves his parents, thats why he doesn't talk about it much, and we don't make him.

Johnny is an easy opposite of Dallas, if you could imagine a sad lost puppy that has been kicked too many times you'd have Johnny, and then if you looked a little higher you'd see Dallas, the idiot kicking the puppy.

That's whats strange about it, Dallas was capeable of anything, but he didn't have the guts to do something like that to Johnny.

Their basic differences make them sort of the same, it's hard to explain. Heck everything about Johnny is hard to explain, but it's just always been that way, we all needed Johnny even though I wasn't sure why, maybe he was a reminder to us all that not everyone gets mean, and maybe there was still hope for the rest of us who haven't.

Dallas and Johnny. They were quite the item, I'd thought about it a lot actually, I guess no one could ever understand that bond, no one could break it either. Johnny kept Dallas sane and Dallas kept Johnny from killing himself. It's just one of them things no one needs to question, either you get it, or you dont, depends on how you look at things I guess.

"So Dally, you and Sylvia wanna come over to the game with me and Soda Friday night?" I offered. "Were taking Evie and Sandy."

"I want to go." Ponyboy added.

"Were taking girls, which means no kids aloud." I teased.

"Eh sorry man," Dallas tried to hide a smile while lighting up a cigarette, "I think I'll just catch a movie, kids are aloud." Dally said teasingly motioning to Ponyboy and Johnny.

"Sure we'll go," Johnny confirmed.

"Well I'm gonna pick up on a few buds, but if I don't get too drunk I'll join y'all." Two-bit announced.

I was surprised he said something, I think I had forgotten he was there. Being quiet was an unusual thing for a guy like Two-bit, an he ain't said two words since we ran them soc's off.

Two-bit, is the last of our gang. He always has to get his two bits in, hence the name. His real name is Keith, I'm kind of surprised I remember that, no one calls him Keith, not even his mother, unless he makes her really mad anyhow.

Surprisingly Two-bit has one of the more put together families of us all. His dad left him when he was young, but his mom is a nice lady, and he has a younger sister too, I don't know much about her, except she has a crush on Ponyboy. He is to old for her though, besides he's not into chicks yet.

Two-bit could be described as witty, but thats only witty with remarks. He's otherwise pretty dumb. Which makes it hard to believe when he tells me school is his favorite place to be. I think he just goes for the kicks though, he needs constant interaction. I mean he is 18 and a half and still a junior in high school, I'm sure glad he digs it.

"Well I need to get on out of here now, I'm supposed to watch the kid tonight while my mother works." Two-bit sighed. "Ponyboy you and Johnny want to give me a push start?"

"Not really but we will," Ponyboy moaned.

"That's the spirit!" Two-bit cheered, opening his car door then plopping inside. "I'll catch y'all later."

Ponyboy and Johnny pushed from the back as Two-bit struggled to start the engine. Just as he got to the foot of the drive way his car sputtered followed by the roar of an engine, and he took off.

Two-bit's car was a piece of shit. No other way I can put it.

I decided there was going to be a lot of tension around Soda's house that night, a lot more then at my own, but that's only if the old man doesn't realize I'm there. I figured I'd take my chances, because it was getting late and I had a pretty good walk home considering I needed to stop at the store and grab a few things first, mainly cigarettes, so I left shortly after.

Usually I got my car, but it hasn't been doing too good lately. I figured I'd go home and vegetate in my garage a while, perhaps fix her up a bit.

Yeap, thats what I would do, I would hide from my problems again, the same way I always did.