A/N: Hello everyone! As I stated before, this will NOT be an OC romance. Nothing of the sort. But I do have an original character, and her and Ponyboy will have a friendship pairing. Nothing more. Now that that's said, I'd like to thank you for clicking on my story! I hope you did it because it sparked your interest, and you weren't just doing it to see if it was a Mary-Sue or not so you could flame me. A lot of people do that, you know. But anywayz, on with the story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

Summary: Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

Ages: Ponyboy, 14
Jimmie Lee, 15

Runnin' Barefoot

Chapter: One

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My eyes widened when I saw her. She was incredible.

"Hey, Two-Bit!" I yelled after the bell had let us out. School was over, and I was almost sure he wasn't planning on doing anything today besides getting boozed up and girl hunting. He turned and grinned at me as I caught up to him.

"Whaddaya want, kid?" He said slinging his arm heavily on my shoulder. I almost winced.

"You doin' anything after school today?" I asked. I already knew his answer, but it just seemed pretty rude to verbally assume that he had no plans. Plus it wouldn't hurt to be sure. He looked off, as if he were really thinking, then shrugged.

"Nothin'. Why, you got somethin' planned?" He said, slapping me on the back which, again, probably hurt me more than he meant it to.

"Yeah," I answered. "I was gonna go watch the kids practice for try-outs at the football field. I ain't seen the highschool track team yet."

"Ahh, I see." Two-Bit grinned again. "Wanna see what you're up against, right? Tryin' to check out your competition? Gettin' a little nervous now that you're with the big dogs, 'ey Pony?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah right, Two-Bit. You coming or not?" I said, stopping at the doors of the school. He fished in his pockets and grabbed a pack of Kools from his jacket.

"Ain't got nothin' else to do." He stated, lighting up and taking a drag on the Kool. I took that as a yes, and we went around to the back of the school to the football field.

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There was a group of kids in the middle of the field that caught my eye as we made our way up the bleachers. I glanced at them through side vision and we sat four rows back to silently observe them.

As I looked closely, I came to realize. There were no white kids on the field or the track. It was all black kids. Ok I'll admit it; it made me a little nervous. Not that I had a problem with black people or anything. It's just that, they had a HUGE problem with me, or white people in general for that matter. I knew there were some nasty racist people around, but that didn't automatically mean that all white people were like that. I didn't blame them though. I'd probably be the same way if I was black. Only hanging around other black kids and what not, sitting only with other black kids, eating only with other black kids, you know. But since I'm not black, I get a little squirmy when there's a group of them around.

I looked over at Two-Bit, who was reacting in almost the exact opposite manner. He just leaned back and smoked. Completely calm and collected, watching them practice. They stretched for a while and then the boys decided to race. That's when I leaned forward, with my elbows on my legs for a better look. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. In all three years I'd been on the middle school track team I had never witness anyone run so fast. I mean I was the best on the middle school team, not to brag, but I probably couldn't even keep up with them. And some of those kids were the same age, if not younger than, me. It was as if it was nature for them to be quick. Running was a natural talent. It was amazing.

They did a few relays and did whole laps for a while, and I was still in awe. We had been there for almost an hour and I stood to tell Two-Bit to come on so we could leave, but just then the girls got into position and were about to race. I sat back down and my eyebrows furrowed. They crouched down and waited for someone to give the signal.

"You ready?" A voice came somewhere from one of them. "Go!" All but one took off. She still stood there, crouching as if she hadn't heard them. I almost wanted to shout 'He said go!', but knowing better, I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on her. It was a full 5 seconds before she took off. My eyes widened. She was unimaginable. It wasn't 2 seconds before she caught up with them, then she was in the cluster of them, looking at them individually and almost laughing, out of nowhere she sped up again and not 3 seconds after that she was in the lead. She smoked them mercilessly; and they were pretty fast girls. She even had time to turn around and smile as they came to the finish mark. I'm not sure if my mouth was hanging open or not, but it had every right to. I had never seen anyone sprint like that. Not ever.

"She's pretty good." Two-Bit spoke out of nowhere. I looked at him, then back to the field.

"She's unreal." I said with more than a hint of jealousy. I guess Two-Bit caught that. "Who is she?" I asked, turning to him.

"That would be Jemima Leeanne Walker." He answered.

"Jemima? Like the pancake lady Jemima?" Two-Bit shrugged.

"I guess." He said in an 'I-dont-really-care' kind of tone.

"Well." He said, tossing his cigarette somewhere. "I guess you know what you're up against now. You got some real competition, Pon." He said standing and stretching. "You'd better get to training." I stepped down the cement stairs until I was in the first row of bleachers. I hung one of my arms over the bar and rested my chin on my other fist, sighing.

"How." I said flatly. "There's no way I could ever run like her unless she trains me herself." I finished hopelessly, not even bothering to look back at him. Two-Bit laughed. Maybe he hadn't realized that I was being sarcastic.

"Well I'll be!" He said. "Are you just gonna admit and except that a girl is better than you?" He howled again, and I felt heat rush to my face.

"Well what am I supposed to do!" I hollered sourly, spinning around. "Ain't no way I could ever beat her. Those other boys couldn't even beat her!"

"How are you so sure, Ponyboy?" He asked. "Go down there and race her." I looked at him, not believing that he would even think something like that. I stared at him for a while, waiting for him to burst out laughing again. But surprisingly, it didn't happen. He was serious. I couldn't even think of something to say. He might as well have been trying throw me in a lion's den to fetch a steak. I couldn't believe it.

"You're insane." Was all I could say, shaking my head. Normally I would've happily raced her. But in this case I was intimidated. I mean, how would it look if I, me, a white boy just came up to her; a black girl, and challenged her in front of all of her black friends? Oh yeah, I think petrified is the word to describe how I felt.

"You're gonna have to do it sooner or later, Ponyboy." Two-Bit stated matter-of-factly. "How do you think the coach will feel if you let a girl beat you."

I didn't really think he would care. Just because I wasn't as fast as her didn't mean that I wasn't a good runner. But on the other hand, if somehow I did get her to teach me, I would be that much better. That much closer to being a track star and maybe to catching the eye of a scout and getting a scholarship. Ok, yeah, I was letting my imagination run away with me again. But it would really help if I could see first-hand and up close, what I was really up against. Quickly I did a short series of stretches, to see how far my jeans would stretch, and tried to get myself together. I convinced myself that it would be over before I knew it, and made my way down the bleachers. Besides, I knew Two-Bit would never shut his trap if I didn't.

"Don't sweat it kid." I heard Two-Bit behind me. "You're with the big dogs now." I rolled my eyes. I made a mental note to pound the snot out of him later, and made my way out onto the field. They saw me and all smiles vanished. I wasn't surprised when I heard the insults start as I made my way over to them.

'What're you doin' here, cracker.' I heard one say.

'Well look here, honky. He turnin' red. I guess he's scared o' us colored folk.' Another one said. I kept my gaze on Jemima, even though their words were piercing into me like I've never experienced before. I knew I was blushing. But I shoved my fists into my pockets and made my way through them. I think I was slouching...I probably was, it's just a natural thing I do when I'm outnumbered or intimidated. I can't really remember though. I was too scared. I kept a stone face, even though the insults just kept coming, so I tried my best to ignore them. Still silent, I made my way up to her. She was barely an inch shorter than me. Which meant she was probably around 5' 8" or 5' 9". She had big brown eyes, and a round face. And her hair was short. It couldn't have been 2 inches long and it was in curls all around her head, with thick bangs in her face. She was lean and muscular. But when it came to...umm...girly parts, I couldn't really tell. No curves that I could see were visible through her track suit, but that's just how they were designed. She stood there, with a hand on her hip, looking at me like I was a disease.

"You lose something, white boy?" She asked. That stung me the worst. I had heard them all before. Honky, hick, redneck, cracker, pecker wood. But surprisingly, that one hit me right in the heart. White boy. I swallowed and looked around, seconds inched by like hours. I could feel the perspiration on my neck, and my throat tightening. Finally, with my eyes closed I took a breath. Opening them again, I tried to look cool. I looked off and shrugged. as if I wasn't really interested in anything at the moment.

"I'll race you." I said all casual-like. I think I was pretty convincing, considering that I was terrified. In fact, looking back on that, I must have been convincing because one or two of them began to loudly curse me out while the others looked at me in disbelief.

I knew I looked like an idiot. But I had never needed someone more in my life. I needed her...

...To TRAIN me.

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Hello there everyone! Right now I'd like to personally thank you for reading. I really appreciate it. Even if you didn't like it. The fact that you took time out to read it makes me feel all warm inside! Please review. Even if you hated it, because I need to know what I need to work on, and what you would like me to fix or what you would like to see. I would be forever grateful if you review. Thanks again!