A/N This is my first fic, so it might be rough. Hopefully it will get better as the story goes on. Please read, review, follow and favorite-it would mean alot to me! I got this idea while sitting in my can't imagine how long I looked for the perfect name for the main character.

She was 11 years old when they found her. She was wandering on the streets, carrying a backpack that held a few outfits, a small pink teddy bear, and a fifty dollar bill. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a very messy ponytail, and her ebony eyes had tears flowing onto her already tearstained face. She was humming a tune to herself very quietly, a tune her mother had used to help the girl fall asleep.

The Curtis family was walking home from the park. It was a sunny day without a cloud to be seen in the sky. Mrs. Curtis was lagging behind her three sons- Ponyboy, Soda, and Darry. Suddenly, Soda stopped walking and turned around to face his mother. "Mom", he began, "should we go help her? She looks lost." Mrs. Curtis's eyes followed to where her middle son was pointing. She saw the girl there, and she looked very lost. "We should go ask if she needs help," out loud. She began crossing the street to where the girl was. Her children followed.

"Excuse me sweetie, are you lost?" The voice startled the girl, making her jump. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you. We saw you and want to make sure that you're fine," 's soothing voice reassured. The girl shook her head, "I'm not lost," she looked to her feet and mumbled,"I'm running away." She attempted to move, but Darry,hearing what she had said,stopped her and asked, "Why?" The girl looked up into his eyes. The then began sobbing, "My mom was killed. My aunt was going to take me to her home to live withher but she's so cruel. "She blames me that mom died. She yells at me and hits me all the time. I can't live with her!" Sobs wracked her body again and she sat on the curb, crying into her hands. When the tears slowed and her breathing became even, asked her a question."What's your name, honey?" The girl looked up, brushing stray strands of hair out of her face. Her dark eyes were still watery. She took a deep breath before answering. "Nydia. My name is Nydia." Mrs. Curtis was about to open her mouth to speak when her youngest son piped up, "I'm Ponyboy. Do you want to come with us?" Soda turned to his 9-year-old brother,"Slow down, little buddy. She don't even know us yet."

Nydia looked at Mrs. Curtis with hopeful eyes. "Could I? I don't want to be caught and put in a girls' home. Or be handed over to Aunt Louise."Nydia's eyes ggrew watery once more as she finished talking. Mrs. Curtis was torn. She didn't want to leave this little girl,who couldn't be much older than her youngest son,out on the streets. However, she wasn't sure if they could afford to take care of her. She looked at the young girl once more. Her dark hair and black eyes reminded her of her sons' friend, Johnny Cade. He suffered at home with parents who beat him and didn't care for him. She didn't want Nydia to experience what he did. "You can come and stay with us for a while. I'm sure my husband wouldn't mind." Nydia's eyes lit up the smallest bit. As the corners of her mouth were turning up, spoke once more,"I'm , these are my sons. Darry is my oldest, then Sodapop, then Ponyboy." Each of the boys waved in turn. Darry offered his hand to Nydia and helped her stand up. Since he was the oldest of three brothers, he had a natural caring instinct. She began following the family as they headed to the Curtis house.

Ponyboy stood on one side of Nydia,Darry on the other. Mrs. Curtis was in front, and Soda was behind them. Ponyboy was talking her ear off the whole way, "So,Nydia, I guess you're my sister now. I've always wanted a sister. I can't wait to introduce you to our friends. There's Dally; Two-Bit; Steve,he's Soda's best buddy; and Johnny. He and I are good friends. You'll be friends with him, too. I hope you can meet them tomorrow. Or today. I'm really excited! It's gonna be so much fun having a sister! What school do you go to? I hope we go to the same school. Well, we probably will have to. That way dad can drop us off together. You, me, and Soda. I can't believe I'm gonna have a sister! Do you like..."He went on and on like that. Darry rolled his eyes at his youngest brother's silliness and excitement. Nydia even smiled a little.

As the Curtis house came into view Ponyboy stopped talking. Behind Nydia, Soda said "there it is. Home sweet home." Nydia looked at the house. It wasn't anything special. Just a small, one story house with an old gate around it. All the same, Nydia got a happy feeling just looking at it. She could envision herself spending a lifetime here. Mrs. Curtis unlocked the door and let the four in. "We're home!" called Ponyboy. A man came to them and gave his wife a quick peck on the lips before turning to his boys. Nydia looked him up and down. He looked just like the oldest of the brothers-his name was Darry,right? She thought so. The only difference was their eyes. Darry's were a pale sort of blue-green. His father had Soda's warm brown eyes. He had just embraced his youngest son and his eyes fell on the girl. She caught his gaze,and looked down quickly,suddenly feeling like an intruder. "Who is this?" he asked. Nydia looked up shyly and whispered,"I'm Nydia." Ponyboy spoke for her "We found her running away. Mom said she could stay with us." looked at his wife with question in his eyes. She briefly explained the events leading up to bringing Nydia home with them. After a few moments of silence he asked of his wife,"Are you sure we should take in. Won't her aunt be mad?"

His wife responded, "I thought about that, too. But, based on what Nydia told me of her aunt she doesn't care for Nydia at all. Besides," she dropped her voice," I don't want her to live as Johnny Cade does." Mr. Curtis considered this. "In that case I can't think of any other objection of her. She can sleep in the guest room, I'll drive her to school with Ponyboy and Pepsi-Cola here,wait." He turned towards Nydia,"How old are you dear?" She responded with her age and added the name of her school. "Cool," said Ponyboy,"we go to the same school!"(No, I did not mean to rhyme.) Nydia was relieved. She didn't have any close friends, but she didn't want to start all over again in a new school. "Alright then,would you like me to drive you to your old home so you can get the rest of your things?" Nydia eagerly shook her head from side to side, "I'd rather not go back there. I have the key with me. Would you mind if I gave you the adress and have you go to the house for me?"Nydia's voice was soft and timid as she made her request. When answered that she would, she gave him her old address and her key. As an afterthought she wrote a note to her Aunt. It read:

Dearest Aunt Louise,

Don't expect to bring me home with you tonight. I decided that without Mom, I can't go on living like this. I told all I know, so don't bother. Don't expect to see me again. Go home to Texas

Love,

N.

Nydia looked over the note. It wasn't a complete lie,but gave her Aunt the impression it was meant to. She folded it and handed the note to Mr. Curtis. " My suitcase will be in the hall," she told him. He left soon afterwards.

After he left, Nydia decided that she wanted to learn more about her new brothers. Ponyboy,was incredibly smart for his age. Nydia was sure he would skip a grade eventually, and told him so. He was dreamy and would sometimes steal to the backyard at night and watch the sunset. Nydia was glad that at least one other person would be there to watch the sunset with her. Soda's full name was Sodapop. He was average in school, nothing extraordinary about his grade. He was athletic and likes helping his dad with cars. He had a horse named Mickey Mouse, but recently lost him. Darry was extremely caring and would do anything for his brothers, and now, sister. They also learned a bit about learned that she was an avid reader,and that had sharpened her mind and gave her an amazing imagination. They also learned about her fears-the dark,not belonging, spiders, and her worst fear-never being loved. She recounted stories of her mother and cried. The events of the day came crashing down on her and the excitement of her past few days crashed down on her. Those cries turned to sobs and she drew her knees to her chest. Darry moved to sit next to her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. He puled her close to him, remembering how he had held his brothers after Soda lost Mickey. Nydia didn't resist, the way Darry was holding her made her feels safe. Ponyboy reached out from where he was and placed a hand over Nydia's. Her sobs slowed and she wiped the last of her tears away. She still didn't attempt to remove Darry's arms from her. In fact, she leaned into him more. Nydia felt that despite the fact she had only known them a few days, these three boys were her family.

Soon, Mr. Curtis had returned with Nydia's suitcase that held her belongings. They ate dinner and afterwards she and Pony boy sat on the front step, looking at the sun sink lower and lower into the sky. " I think you're gonna meet the gang tomorrow," he said, breaking the silence," I think you'll get along with them real good. Do you have any friends?"

Nydia thought about that. She did have a neighbor who was a year older than her, but they hung out sometimes. "I guess that I have one friend. She was my neighbor. Her name's Sherri." Ponyboy was silent once more. Nydia stood and walked inside the house, mumbling a quiet " good night". She went into the room shown to her previously that was to be hers. She changed into her pajamas and retrieved the pink teddy bear from her bag. The room was a good size, not the size of her room at home, but still a good size. There was a full size bed in the middle of the room and next to it was a nightstand with a drawer and lamp on top of it. There was also a small dresser pushed against the wall. Nydia walked to the bedside lamp and turned it on. She tucked herself into bed and looked at the small bear she held.

It was the first thing her mother gave her, and Nydia never slept without it. It was wearing a small gold locket. On one side there was a picture of Nydia and her mom on her birthday, hugging really each other. Nydia was holding up the locket that was now wrapped around the bear's neck. The other side held nothing. Nydia closed the locket and lowered it over her own head. She shut off the light before going to sleep, with her mother next to her heart.

I know it's reaalyshort, but I'll update soon. I wasn't sure how long it would be after I published it. The next updates will be longer. I'mgoing to try and get the next update up by next week.