Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.

A/N: This takes place about a year after Tip Toe Through the Dark.

And I believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well
Don't you see, I'm the narrator, and this is just the prologue?

Occasionally I wonder what my life would be like if I didn't have older brothers. Suppose I was an only child or maybe I was the eldest child and had ayounger brother or two. Maybe I still had an older brother, just one or two, but I also had another sibling, a little sister. What if Ponyboy was a girl and then I would have a twin sister as opposed to a brother.

"Ma'am we would like to order now." The lady across the diner waved at me, her eyes cold.

"I'll be there in a minute ma'am," I told her as I hurried by with a pie in my hands.

Money was real tight at home, even though Darry will tell you everything's fine. Everything wasn't fine. I had taken it upon myself a few months ago to check out what was really going on with the bills. Darry and Soda both had already taken extra shifts at work but that still wasn't cutting it. After seeing them work their brains out for a few weeks, I decided it was time for me to get a job. I mean after all, Darry was always complaining that I didn't work for anything.

"Here you go ma'am," I said laying down the pie in front of her fat face.

Bills were starting to pile up and getting a job just seemed like the best thing for me to do. Darry worked down at the roofing company and worked as much as he could and on weekends. He worked at a bar for some more cash. Soda didn't make much at the station and feeding four kids wasn't easy. I'd started working at The Dingo a few weeks ago despite Darry's wishes. Darry was stubborn. He wouldn't have me or Ponyboy working but once winter hit and his business was starting to die, we were really struggling. Darry doesn't know I have this job. Soda, Ponyboy and I keep that secret all to ourselves.

"What can I get you?" I asked, going over to my next table.

When my parents died, Darry picked up the pieces. The state wasn't real happy about a twenty year old watching after teenagers but Darry convinced them it was the best option and they gave him custody under a few conditions like monthly checkups. Darry picked up the responsibilities that Mom and Dad left behind. He was good at that. The comforting stuff…..wasn't his forte. He left that part to Soda.

I liked living with Darry. I liked Darry…most of the time. He was a different man now. He wasn't much fun and was stressed out all the time. Soda and Darry are closer than Ponyboy and I are to Darry, but not even Sodapop can calm him down sometimes. The stress was starting to really get to Darry and we were getting the blow from his rants, mainly Ponyboy and me than anyone else. Darry and Ponyboy were like oil and water. They didn't mix well. Darry and I on the other hand, we were the same and that typically bit both of us in the butt.

"How's it going, honey?" Mrs. Adderson, my boss, asked me.

I shook my head. "Just peachy."

I didn't like to work. In fact, I hated it. It was a dirty job and dealing with whinny people wasn't really something I handled well. I wasn't as social as Ponyboy and Soda. Mrs. Adderson says it's just my attitude but I just think it was the people. The Dingo was located near the Soc side. They weren't too keen on being sweet and friendly to people like me - people who lived in the slumps of the town on the other side. They saw my clothes and the way I wore my hair and they automatically listed me in the slump group. They washed their hands good every time they left.

"It gets better," she assured me before heading into the back.

Mrs. Adderson was nice. She was an exception to the Soc rule. Mrs. Adderson really cared. She was different than most and I knew she was all I had in hopes of making a few dollars.

"Danni!"

I wiped around to Angela Shepard standing in the door way. "Angel!"

Her long black hair blew as we ran smack into each other. She squeezed me in a tight hug, wrapping her arms all the way around me. Angela was one of the few friends I had. I met her when I was five and Tommy Henson stole my doll and she gave him a bloody nose and made him eat sand. Angela was a tough broad. She always had been.

"I see you have recovered," I said, looking her over.

Angela had her baby over the summer. Angel, like many girls in our part of town, wasn't shy when it came to boys. She had been hitting Buck's hard ever since she was thirteen and lost her virginity. It didn't surprise anyone after she ended up pregnant. She had a pretty big reputation in town. Tim and Curly though, they weren't too happy with the thought although, they themselves had a pretty big reputation as well.

She grinned from ear to ear and strutted over to the counter and spun around in the seat. "You know me, Danni; nothing's going to tie me down."

"Not even a baby?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

She shook her head and slid a finger over the icing of the cake sitting behind the counter. "He's with my brothers." She licked her finger.

"I bet they enjoy that."

Tim and Curly, obviously, hated the fact that she was pregnant. In fact they even went up to New Jersey to hunt down the guy who knocked her up. Of course they didn't find him. No one but Ang was really sure what his name was and she was going to take that secret to her grave. She stuck her brothers with babysitting a lot. They hated every minute. They loved the kid like nothing else, but they still weren't Mary Poppins by any means and they had a rep to uphold.

"Bets me staying home," the typical party girl's saying. She swore up and down while she was pregnant that she was going to be a different mom than hers. She swore she'd stay home all the time and raise him. That failed just three weeks after she gave birth. Angela Shepard was a party girl and that wasn't going to change for anything.

The baby looked like her and nothing like the so-called dad. He was a pretty little baby. He had thick dark black hair like hers and had the biggest brown eyes I have ever seen. Everyone was talking about how beautiful he turned out, but what did they expect? Angela was a doll after all. Sure with all her make-up you wouldn't know what she really looked like, but she has always been the pretty one.

"So how is he doing?" I asked.

"Fine," she said stuffing her face with some pie she didn't pay for. "I'm introducing him to Jeff tomorrow." She smiled big.

Jeff was her new beau. She met him at a party a few weeks ago and she fell hard for him. He was a rough looking boy. Not the type you would want to introduce to your new born baby, that's for sure but that was Angel for you. Jeff moved here from Texas about a month ago. He was wanted in Texas for some stupid crime and he hopped into a car and drove up here and got arrested a few months ago and just got out last week. This boy was trouble and I mean big trouble. He was dangerous; really dangerous. But try explaining that to her. She 'loved' him.

I shook my head and continued on working. "You know him better than me."

She nodded and took another bite of pie. "I mean he ain't that much different than Dally."

He was different than Dally.

Time ticked on and I was starting to break out in a sweat. I felt somewhat proud of myself. Most women couldn't work a few hours at a job. Most women in our town didn't work at all. I was mighty proud of myself.

"You can clock out if you want," Mrs. Adderson told me as she flipped the closed sign over. "It won't kill people if we lock up a few minutes early."

I didn't tell her about my ride not being here for another half an hour and just hung up my apron and stood outside and smoked and watched the snow fall.

It was dark tonight. The moon was hidden behind clouds and the street light I was under was going on and off. I huddled against the wall, hoping not to be seen. It was a rule in the house that Ponyboy and I weren't allowed out alone after dark. Things tended to happen in the dark that the Socs didn't like to talk about.

"Little girls shouldn't be out at this hour," a voice down the street whispered.

I peered around to see a dark figure standing down the block. I pressed my lips together and put my cigarette out quickly on the brick wall behind me. I backed up against the wall again and held my breath and hoped they'd go away.

Footsteps came soon after and my hands began to sweat as it spoke again, "I can see you."

My mouth grew dry. I balled my fists up and I rested my hand in my pocket on the switch blade Soda had given me when I got this job. "Ju-just go away! My brother is going to be here any minute!"

The footsteps didn't stop. They were coming closer. I held my breath again and pulled out the knife I'd never used before. I flipped it back so the blade came out.

"I'm warning you!" I shouted in its direction. "Don't come any closer!"

There was laughter that followed. "What are you going to do about it?"

I wrapped both of my hands around the blade and held it tight. The footsteps came to a stop and I could hear breathing and soon, I could smell it. My heart pounded through my head and I hung on tightly to my blade.

There was a whisper in my ear so close I could feel the warmth from their breath. "Are you going to answer me?"

I jumped out from the wall just as the street light flickered back on. I held the blade out from my body and then saw the deep dark brown eyes staring back at me. My heart skipped a beat as I narrowed my eyes at the figure moving closer towards me. His dark brown hair was perfectly slicked back and he walked with so much swag Elvis himself would be jealous.

The blade fell from my hand and landed on the hard ground. My mouth hung open and he came to a complete stop. He sneered. "Well are you just going to stand there with your mouth open Curtis or are you going to say hey?"

My mouth fell opened. "Dally?"

His lips curled. "The one and only, sweets."