I do not own anything. All rights go to S. E. Hinton.

Chapter one

I lay in bed feigning sleep. He was on the floor. He fell out of the bed during the night. When I was sure he was out, I got out of bed and silently crept around him to my closet. I put on jeans, a grey Elvis shirt, and my favorite jean jacket with a red star across the back. I got my backpack and started filling it with everything I could think of: clothes, pads, my toothbrush, some money I had hid in my jewelry box for safe keeping. I slid out the door and looked down at him with utter hatred, a pool of drool had collected under his mouth. I made my way to the kitchen and packed some food, enough to sustain me for a few days or so. I also packed a few kitchen knives. I then went to the safe in the garage. I opened it as silently as I could. There was a clang when the door unlocked and I stood there for a second listening if anyone had stirred. Nothing. From it, I retrieved a pistol and a box of ammo. They wouldn't be missed. I closed the safe softly and made my way out of the garage door to the outside.

I was used to being hit, but this time he went too far. Once I was out, I started running. I didn't know where I was going, but anywhere was better than there.

I ended up in a small alley on the other side of town. I had been around here before, but I was just passing through. I was out of breath and decided to stop. I set my stuff down and sat against the wall, crossed my arms, and got a little sleep.

The sun was barely peering over the horizon when I woke. I lay there for a while as I think about what to do now. I eventually get up, grab my bag, and start walking. I walked all town, getting a feel for it. There were a lot of small shops and cool cars. I never really got out of the house much, just for school. I didn't have any friends. I didn't mind the company of other people, but I got along fine by myself.

It was approaching noon. I was walking along the sidewalk towards a movie house. There was kid coming out of it. He couldn't have been older than about 15, and he wasn't too bad looking. I guess he thought the same, 'cause he stopped and looked at himself in the reflection of a movie poster. A blue mustang came up alongside him a shouted something. He started to walk real fast away from them. By now, I had stopped walking and just watched what was unfolding. The mustang kept following him. Eventually, about five guys jumped out and chased the kid into an alley. I didn't know what to do. The grabbed him and pinned him against the ground.

By now, I had had enough. I unzipped my bag and grabbed two small pearing knives, one in each hand. I ran over there. They had a switchblade against his neck. And he was yelling out names. They tried shoving a cloth in his mouth to shut him up. I came up behind the guy with the blade and put the knives to each side of his neck. He stopped what he was doing and the other guys jumped back.

I pulled back slightly on the knives, motioning for him to back off the kid. He complied. I looked at the other and waved my head the side to their car. They stepped back slowly and nodded. I took my knives away and pushed the guy towards his buddies. They all ran to their car, cursing.

I stuck the knives back in my bag and looked at the kid. He had a small cut on his neck. He looked up at me, still surprised. "Um, thanks." He was shaken up. I heard a stampede of feet coming our way. A bunch of guys appeared from around the corner. One picked the boy up his armpits and started shaking him.

"You all right, Ponyboy?" He asked. I looked at him. He was tall, and very well built. His dark-brown hair suited him.

"I'm okay. Quit shaking me, Darry, I'm okay." He said shakily, but with haste.

The tall guy, Darry, stopped shaking him. "I'm sorry."

Ponyboy, still on shaky legs, sat down again and rubbed his cheek. I assumed that's where he got hit. Darry stood back with his hands in his pockets. "They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?"

The boy looked down. They had. "I'm okay….thanks to you." He looked up at me. I had forgotten that I was even there. Now all the guys were turned towards me.

"Who are you?" One of the boys asked me. I turned to him. He was tall-ish and lean. His curly hair was lathered in grease. "Well?" He pushed.

I stepped back, turned, and ran. "Hey, wait!" he yelled out, but didn't follow. I just kept running. I don't know why I was running. I didn't think they would hurt me, I just….didn't do well meeting new people.

I ended up in a park. I was small. I went and sat on the jungle gym thing. I sighed to catch my breath, and thought about the guys. There were seven of then I think. The muscle guy, Darry, and the young one, Ponyboy. What an odd name. Then there was the one who asked me my name. There was another tall one. He looked awful tough, and had a dangerous look in his eyes. But he didn't look as muscular as Darry. There was a small one next to him. He was slightly dark-skinned and had a bad scar on his cheek. I wondered if he got that scar from the same type of jumping I saved Ponyboy from. Then there was a really cute one. He wasn't as tall or as built as Darry, but there was something about his face. It was soft, but still somehow reckless. Gosh, he was cute. There was one last one. He was wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt. I chuckled a little thinking about it. He was pretty tall and stocky, and had quite the sideburns. They, along the events of today, went through my mind.

I must have fallen asleep, cause when I opened my eyes, the sky was dark and I was shivering. I grabbed my bag and started walking, looking for a decent place to sleep. I walked on the sidewalk, passing from streetlight to streetlight. I was getting kind of nervous. Suddenly a light came from behind me. I turned around to see headlights. A blue mustang slowly drove up by me. It was the same mustang from before, with Ponyboy. I kept my eyes forward, sinking my head into my hood. The mustang drove up further and stopped. Five guys stepped out, and sauntered toward me. They were obviously drunk.

"Well, well, well. Looky here, boys. Looks like we got a little greaser all alone in the middle of the night. Maybe we should take care of it." One of the guys said as he smiled dangerously. They circled me and started closing in.