Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize and everything you don't.

Ponyboy 'Pony' Curtis- 15yrs; 5"5' Youngest Curtis and a true dreamer. (Appearance like the book)

Johnny Cade-15yrs; 5"3', Pony's good friend, quiet, the pet, basically typical 'Johnny.' (Appearance like the book)

Kathleen 'Kat' Randle- 16 yrs; 5"7', 100pounds, short black hair that flips at the end w/ emo bangs. Dark brown eyes.

Steve Randle- 17yrs; 6"0, 150pounds, short black hair w/ complicated swirls. Hazel eyes.

Sodapop 'Soda' Curtis- 16yrs; 6"0, short dark brown hair, blue eyes and sort of tanned. A real goof. Works Part-time at the DX. (Appearance like the movie)

Two-Bit Matthews- 17yrs; 6"2', short dirty blonde hair, brown eyes. He's part of the Curtis Outfit. (Appearance like the movie)

Dominic Mosby- 17 years-old; 6'0, muscular and bald and brown eyes.

Tim Shepard- 18 yrs; 6'2, washboard abs, strong build. Black hair that is greased and emerald green eyes.

Dallas Winston-18yrs; 6"1, blonde with 'Legolas elf' appearances. A real player and tough-guy. Always in and out of the Curtis' house and gets into fights regularly with Socs who have it out for him. (Appearance like the book)

Darrel 'Darry' Curtis- 21yrs; Oldest Curtis, dark brown hair and brown-blue eyes. (Appearance like the movie)

Chapter 1: Solitaire is My Game

Dally's POV

"That's it!" Steve proclaimed as he slammed the Curtis' front door. "I'm moving out, I can't stand the man anymore"

"Who?" Soda walked over to his best friend with some medical junk to clean his fight bite across his knuckles.

"My father that's who." His voice rose.

"What happened?" Darry was full of concern.

"I don't know, I got off my shift at the DX and when I got home he was beating on my sister."

"Is Kat okay?" I've always had a weak spot for the kid.

"I don't know...she ran out while I was hammering on the guy."

"Should we go look for her?" Two-Bit asked.

"She barley knows us man." I told him

Steve's' younger sister, Kathleen, was the epitome of a punk chick, she had the emo hair, the punk-rocker clothes; she drag races, skate boards, drinks and does drugs. The gang aren't too keen on her but I hung out with her at some of Bucks parties. She was tuff.

If you were to ask me it was Steve's fault that she was as fucked up as she was. He never cared two licks about the girl until their mum died. After that she tried to be the 'Big Bro,' but she wouldn't have it. She was already grown up and hard just like me. She never hard time like me; she came close though. She almost got two years in Juvie for boosting a Nissan Skyline, but somehow the charges were dropped. I didn't ever think that Steve could convince the girl to slow down and stop her antics and if he'd ever try, she'd probably beat his ass with her numchucks.

"Come 'on Dal, we're going to go look for her," Johnny knocked me out of my reverie.

Kat's POV

After I left the house I wandered over to Dominic's house. He was a Brumly boy. I met Dominic the day my mum died; I was eleven years old and wandering aimlessly through the park trying to clear my head when some Socs jumped me. He saved me; from then on we were inseparable.

When I got there a party was roaring. It was a typical Brumly party with booze, drugs and sex. My kind of place. I wasn't as bad as some people, namely Dallas Winston and Tim Shepard, but then again I was no angel. On look at my army Dickies' pants, black bikini top, covered with my black leather jacket, black Chucks and many piercings you could tell that I was a forced not to be reckoned with.

I'd gone through a lot of shit in my short sixteen years; most of the stuff I wouldn't even admit to. My addictions were my copings mechanisms and that's the way I liked it; I'd never had anyone to lean on and trust so it was the only thing I could turn to.

Dominic was my sole friend, sure I had a bunch of buddies, but Dominic was the closest I got to trusting someone.

"Hey sweetie," Dominic greeted me from his drunk demeanour on the couch. One look at my cheek, which I could feel was battered something awful, he dropped the slut that was on his lap and walked over to me sobering up slightly. "Did he…"

I nodded, Dominic always knew what happened; I didn't need to tell him and if I could avoid going into detail then I would.

"It's nothing," I brushed his hand off my face. I was never a person to feel uncomfortable when some one was near me or touched me, but right now I needed some solitude. "Can I crash in your room?"

"Yeah, no worries," He kissed the top of my head and hugged me briefly. I pushed past the horny crowd and went upstairs. Dominic always kept the door to his bedroom locked so that he could use it later on for whatever girl threw herself at him. He had given me a key when I was thirteen and told me I could crash whenever I wanted at whatever wanted; it was the night my dad broke my arm for getting my tongue pierced. Since then I got my belly button pierced, my cartilage pierced and a snake bite which consists of two metal 'cone' piercings under my lower lip…during that time I also got another broken arm, four fractured ribs, two cracked and a broken collar bone.

I lay down on Dominic bed after locking the door behind me. I didn't want to think of the fight my dad had with me, I didn't want to think about my brother or anything else. I just needed some time where I could let everything pass me by; the best way to do that, I found, was to fly high. I pulled a joint out of my pocket and lit it up. I was so use to cannabis by now that it took me threw the entire fag before I felt anything. I often sit and wish that I could be a kite up in the sky and ride upon the wind and go whichever way I chanced to blow. It felt like that for a few minutes until I came crashing down with the sound of thunder.

Wait, that's someone banging on the door not thunder, I thought to myself. I must have been more baked than I realized.

"…know you're in there." I caught the end of someone's ramble on the other side.

"HUH?" I asked loudly.

"Kat! Would you open the door already?" It was Dallas. I got up and unlocked the door.

Big Mistake.

It was a trap. Two-Bit, my brother Steve, Darry, Soda, Pony, Johnny and Dally walked in.

"Gas all here."Opps, I must have missed a couple of consonants because they were looking at me funny.

"Gas?"

"Oh, heh, gang," I tried to cover up my current state of mind with my usual dyslexic one.

"Told you she'd open for me," Dally said smugly as he sat on the bed where I had intended to fall back down. I grumbled and fell next to him.

"You okay?" Steve sat on the other side of my and instinctively stroked my hair.

"Peachy," I turned my head in Dally's direction and the room of boy's cringed at the sight of my cheek. "Didn't think I was that Fugly." Dally chortled.

"Hair ball?" Two-Bit asked and Dally glared at him. "maybe if you tried slicking back that wild mane once in a while…" Two-Bit said quickly while running out of the room. I closed my eyes and felt the pressure on the bed to my right, lift suddenly. Dally had gone after him.

"Kat, do you need a place to stay?" Darry asked.

"Noooope." I laughed at my extended, loopy, tone.

"What's so funny?" Soda asked no one in particular.

"Darry, can you take your brothers and Johnny home. I need to talk to my sister." Two guesses who said that, I asked myself sarcastically, too bad the laugh didn't stay in my head.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Curtis boys and Johnny give me a funny look as they left.

Steve pulled me onto my back and held my head between his hands. Close your eyes stupid, if he sees your eyes are dilated he's going to know your baked.

"Who cares?" Damn me and my stupid outside voice, oh yea sure you can say that in your head. I winced at my stupidity.

"You on something?" Steve asked seriously.

"Two guesses," I sniffed the air hard indicating for him to do the same.

"Weed? Should I be thankful it's not something else."

"Nooope, I finished all the other stuff yesterday!" I laughed.

"Kat you seriously need to stop all this." He said way to serious for my liking

So I mocked him.

"Steve, you seriously need to stop all this…all this fake bullshit about you caring!" I could be a mean and angry stoner, but I could also be very horny and funny so I guess it doesn't matter much.

"Goddamnit Kat! What happened to you?" He got off the bed and looked at me.

"You left me to fend for myself," I told him my voice full of rare truth.

He said nothing; but a picture says a thousand words. The way he was looking at me I could tell he felt crushed, guilty, and angry at the same time. I could even sense a bit of 'who gives a damn' that Steve radiates so well.

He left. He left me alone in the room where I was seven minutes ago. Only this time I didn't want to be alone.

I was suddenly very aware of the rain that had started and how cold it was making the room. I got up and closed the window which was apparently open.

I turned back around to slump around in misery when I saw Dally at the door.

"What do you want?" I asked calmly.

"Left my jacket." I looked at the bed and there was no jacket.

"Not here you didn't," he ignored me.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" I chided.

"It's a question, no need to be such a stupid bitch about it."

That hurt. I didn't mind being called a bitch, hell I joked around with everyone about that. But being called a stupid bitch just struck a target I didn't know existed. The next think I know Dallas is pulling me into a hug and his shirt is wet and cold.

I don't know weather it was the weed that was slowing my reaction time but it took me a while to realize that I was crying. To bad for Dally that Dominic came in and noticed too.

"Kat! Are you okay? Did this punk hurt you?" He pulled me away from Dally and started to shove him.

"Dominic," he started to punch Dally, "DOMINIC!" No reply

I jumped on his back and that got his attention.

"Geez Kat what is wrong with you?"

"He didn't do anything, its okay really."

"Alright," he glared at Dally, then at the doorway. I noticed he had a cute blonde out in the hall looking uncomfortable.

"I'll be out of your way in a minute." I pulled on my black Chucks and kissed him on the cheek with a wink. I grabbed Dally's wrist and left Dominic to his 'business.'

I noticed the party was over so I continued, with Dally in tow, outside.

I forgot it was raining and was shivering a mile a minute.

"You got a place to stay?" He asked.

Usually I'd stay with Dominic but I was not in the mood he hear moans and groans from the next room.

"No"

"Follow me," he started to walk in a direction I knew too familiarly, Bucks.