A/N: S. E. Hinton owns all rights to the characters in The Outsiders and her other stories, I only own my imagination.

"Man, Darry's gonna kill me when I go home tonight." Pony slurred, laughing in little hiccups. He'd slumped against my shoulder, holding a half-empty beer can loosely in one hand and my last cigarette in the other. "It could be worse, you know. At least your family loves you and wants to know you're okay." I said, draping my arm around his neck and extending my fingers for the cigarette.

"Leave it to Johnny Cade to bring a cruel dose of reality to an otherwise idyllic evening." Pony's giggles were infectious, and I almost couldn't take a proper drag.

"Now you know why I don't talk much, man."

"No, you don't talk 'cause no one but me will listen to you."

"Dally does too."

"He scares me." Pony took a swig of beer before handing it to me.

"So did Tim Shepard, at first."

"I thought we agreed to not talk 'bout that. Here, take a drink, would ya? I don't like drinkin' alone." He pushed the can into my hand.

So, I took a drink. And then another, and another till I'd drained the can. "Finished it for ya." I mumbled. The world was starting to spin, and I felt kinda sick and warm. "I hate drinking."

"I know, but I didn't wanna drink it all by myself. Maybe we can stay here, or go to Two-Bit's house, or something. I really don't wanna go home and get chewed out."

"I kept tellin' you to let it alone, Pony."

"Lordy, look at all those stars! Look at 'em, Johnny, they're so pretty. D'you think they're really as big as the sun?" Pony was real good at changing the subject when he didn't feel like talking about something anymore.

"I dunno." I sat back and tried to keep myself from getting sick. I shouldn't have drank all that beer so fast.

"I heard that some stars that we see are actually gone now. They burned themselves out, and all we've seen is their afterglow for as long as anyone can remember."

"How do they do that?" I asked.

"They explode. We just can't always see it 'cause they're too far away." His breath smelled like cheap alcohol and cigarettes. I guess mine did too, but his was real soft against my neck.

I pulled him a little closer, since he was shivering, but I kept my eyes on the sky. "D'you think that humans can do that too?"

"Do what, Johnnycake?" He sounded sleepy.

"Burn out like stars. I mean, why else would people be so messed up inside and look all right on the outside?"

"Yeah, I guess they can. Why? Did you have somebody in mind?"

"Not really. I'm just curious and drunk is all."

"You come up with the most interesting questions, I swear." Pony remarked, yawning. I kinda combed my fingers through his hair to keep him awake.

"I wonder if that's what'll happen to Dally eventually." I mused.

"He's certainly in the fast lane to burn out. I wonder if he knows. Can I borrow your jacket?"

"Yeah, here. Just get it back to me tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing. Johnny?"

"Hmm?"

"I hope you don't burn out too."

"I promise I won't." And I always made it a habit to keep my promises.