PONYBOYS POV

All I could think of was how much I didn't want to be there. I sat staring at my new sneakers, not looking at the guy behind the desk and not answering his stupid questions. The social services had me going to about a hundred psychoanalysts, and all of them wanted me to talk about Johnny and Dally and how it made me feel, which I thought was pretty insensitive and stupid, because obviously I was real down about and re-living those few days just got me even more blue.

I kicked off my sneakers in the doorway and sneaked into the house quietly. I wasn't feeling too hot and I didn't really want to have to face Two-Bit and Steve. I mean, Two-bit's nice and all and he means well, but I just wasn't up for woofin around with them. I felt down. I'd been talking to the councillor about Johnny and to be honest, I was so exhausted from it all I just wanted to go to bed or watch the tube for a bit.

It had been about five months since it all kicked off and I still wasn't in very good shape. I kept having nightmares and screaming in the night, just about waking the whole neighbourhood up. Poor Sodapop hadn't slept properly for ages either, since I usually woke him up with my thrashing around and yelling.

"Hey honey, calm down." He'd mutter, stroking back my hair like a kid. My hair had grown back to it's usual colour, the stupid bleach finally gone, the last reminder of my time in Windrixville, obliterated. Now all I had was memories, and I sure had a lot of them.

I crept into the front room and looked around, the lights were off and I figured Darry and Soda were still at work…but I still thought I could sense someone in the room. I took up the nearest thing to hand, an old broken broom handle that Darry kept by the door…just in case.

"Soda?" I called, edging along the room, my back to the wall. "Darry? You there?"

My eyes sort of adjusted to the dim light of the room and I swear I saw a figure, hunched in the new lazy boy Darry had got from some guy at work. I could hear the slow intake of breath and could see the orange light of a cigarette but the smoke smelt like bonfires and scorched grass, not tobacco.

"Hey!" I yelled, reaching for the light switch and flicking it on, praying this guy wasn't a nut job or a burglar. Maybe it was one of the gang come to lie low after a scrap. Hell, maybe it was Curly Shepherd come to hide from the fuzz after he'd robbed another drug store, it wouldn't be the first time. But when the bulb fizzed into life and flooded the room with light, there wasn't anybody there.

"Hello?" I called again. Boy I was scared, I could have sworn somebody had been there. I had smelt the smoke for Christ's sake. I sniffed the air tentatively and realised with a start that the smell had gone along with the mystery figure.

I bolted to the kitchen and got myself a pepsi from the fridge, my hands shaking as I lit up a cigarette, trying to calm myself down. I tried to think rationally as a puffed at my cigarette, reducing it down to a stub in record time. I fiddled with the packet, about to light up another when I heard the front door rattle. I grabbed up the stick again and peered out the of the kitchen door, relieved to see Sodapop yawning in the front room.

"Hiya Pony!" he grinned, always in highspirits.

"Geez Soda, ya scared the hell outta me." I replied, exhaling shakily.

"Glory Ponyboy, your white." He muttered, reaching out a hand and touching my forehead. His familiar scent of car oil and pepsi calmed me down as he hugged me tight. "What's up?" he asked, pushing my long fringe out of my eyes so he could get a good look at me.

"Nothin'." I lied, pulling away from him reluctantly and grabbing my pepsi. He and Darry had been fussing over me something terrible just recently, I kind wondered if maybe they think the whole Windrixville thing had unhinged me, I even had the social services sending me to a shrink!

I figured Soda must have given up questioning me and gone to watch the tube 'cause I heard the T.V start up and some kinda quiz show come blaring out. But when I turned around to see, he was still stood right next to me.

"What the….?" I heard him mutter, his deep eyes looking at the TV in confusion. "Must be a faulty connection…." He muttered, rolling his eyes at me and our poor run down house and walking over, cool as you like to see why it had just turned itself on. I felt myself shaking, I guess I'd just read too many horror stories.

"There we go." Soda grinned waving some sort of wire at me. "Cable'd come loose, that's all." He bent back over the Tv and I watched him until he pulled away. "There, good as new."

"Yeah, meant to tell you about that."

I whipped round to find out who'd spoken, only to be confronted by a huge grin and side-burns just as big.

"Two-bit! Glory, what're you doing here?"

"I was in the bathroom kidd-o, I was on my way to come and pick you up from the shrink. It go okay? You don't look so good…." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck worriedly.

"I'm fine, a little tired…what time is it? I might hit the hay early." I didn't wait for an answer before high-tailing it into the bedroom. I caught sight of myself in the mirror, and heck, I did look rough. I guess I was a little shook up…I'd been so certain someone had been in the lounge….It was like a ghost or spirit or something.

Or maybe I was just crazy, like everyone else seemed to think.