Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to S.E Hinton.

*Falling In Love With You*

It's been almost a year and a half since Johnny and Dally died and nothing has been the same. Every book is dull and predictable, and I haven't been able to read even half of Gone With The Wind.

I look at my self in the mirror, my reflection staring back at me. I put some pomade in my hair and slick it back. The blond is completely gone now and for that I am glad. It's only another thing that reminds me of that night, and Johnny.

I put on a white T-shirt and jeans and head to the kitchen.

"Good morning pony. You slept long enough?" Darry asks with a raised eyebrow.

I glance at the clock and sure enough it's one in the afternoon.

"Yeah, yeah." I say, trying unsuccessfully to suppress an eye-roll, "What's for breakfast?"

"Eggs."

I eat my piping hot eggs quickly, burning my tongue in the process.

"Where's Soda?" I ask between mouthfuls.

Darry shoots me a disapproving look, but answers my question without a fuss, "He went to work already. He'll be back by six."

"Okay, I'm going out. You need anything?"

"No, be back by six ok?" I know he isn't crazy about me runnin' around by myself, but he'd never say anything about it. That's just how Darry is.

"Alright."

I grab my leather jacket and head out the door. I think about Johnny and Dally and what my brothers have taught me about fighting. I don't know where I'm headed, but after a while I find myself on the west side.

Soc territory.

The houses that line the street are big and all of them have white picket fences protecting their perfectly trimmed lawns.

"Uh oh." I mutter under my breath as I see two socs heading straight toward me.

Before I can run, one of them grabs the back of my jacket.

"You goin' somewhere grease?" Taunts the bigger of the two.

"Yeah you going somewhere?" Chimes in the other before he gets a good look at me. "Hey, isn't this the punk who killed Bob?" He blurts out as recognition seeps into his light blue eyes.

"Yeah I think he is!" The bigger soc says as he shoves me to the ground.

The first one punches my face three times in quick succession, before landing a sharp kick to my ribs. I feel the blood trickling down my cheek before I taste it in my mouth. I manage to grab the collar of his shirt and flip him over, but just as I land one punch the smaller one grabs me and pulls me to my feet.

He socks me in the stomach and I topple over, gasping for breath. I quickly get back up and remember what Soda told me. "The easiest way to get a guy down is to smash his nose with the heel of your hand." I do exactly that and feel the sickening crunch of his nose beneath my palm. He grabs his nose, but I see blood flow freely through his fingers as he runs away.

I start to smile but am pulled from my internal celebration when I feel cold steel against my cheek.

"Hey grease, let me give you a haircut."

I feel when the adrenalin kicks in and I elbow him in the stomach. I manage to knock the air out of him and he luckily drops his knife. After recovering quickly, he tackles me to the ground and we wrestle around until I remember that I still have Johnny's switchblade. I grab it and, in a show of strength, push the guy off of me. As soon as he sees the knife he backs off, giving me enough time to run.

I run until my legs and lungs burn. I put my knife away and head to Marvin's soda shop, which is only a few minutes away. I enter the shop swiftly and immediately go into the bathroom. It's thankfully empty, so I take a moment to look at myself in the mirror. I look so different than I did only an hour before. I now have what's going to be a black eye and my lip is swollen and bloody. I noticed a medium sized gash on my cheek, but it ain't deep so it don't concern me.

"I guess they did some damage." I say to myself as I splash my face with cold water and dry it off with a paper towel from the dispenser. My hair is also messed up so I pull out my comb and comb it back into place. I stare at myself for a minute before deciding to stay and get a soda. Just as I sit down, I see something I thought I would never see again.

A flash of red hair so deep it could only belong to the one and only Cherry Valance.

Suddenly all I can think about is cherries. Cherries with their sweet smell and even sweeter flavor. I watch her for a few minutes just thinking about pretty she is and how she would never go for a greaser like me.

She's with her friends, a group of three soc girls whose names I don't know. She's wearing a light blue dress from what I can tell, with a white sweater around her shoulders. She's laughing and I find myself smiling along with her although I have no idea why.

I'm so preoccupied with watching her that I fail to notice that the guy behind the counter has asked for my order. "Kid, I said what would you like." The soda jerk asks again with irritation coloring his tone.

"Cherry. A cherry soda." I see cherry's head jerk up as she hears my voice and our eyes lock. Her hazel green eyes, still sparkling from laughing, widen in surprise when she sees me sitting there. My heart stutters when see that they are just as beautiful as I remember.

"Ponyboy!" she says barley audible, barley a whisper an yet I can here her. I

feel her shock and I shiver.

She walks towards me.

"Ponyboy, what are you doing here?" She says, pulling me to the door.

I grab my soda and throw a dollar fifty on the counter, before following her outside.

She reaches up to trace my face with her slender fingers, and everywhere she touches feels like it's on fire .

"What happened?" She asks as she touches my lip. The concern in her voice is obvious, bringing that fluttering feeling back to my chest.

"I got in a fight."

I don't know why but I'm suddenly embarrassed to tell her what happened.

"With who?" she demands. Furrowing her brow. I can tell she's trying to cover up the concern now.

"Two socs. I didn't know who they were." I try to shrug it off like it's no big deal, but I can tell she's not buying it.

"Ponyboy, what are you doing on the west side anyway?" Exasperation is clear in her tone.

"I don't know. I was just walkin'." I know I sound defensive but I cant help but feel like I'm getting nagged by Darry.

She suddenly hugs me and the annoyance I felt before melts away. I take a deep breath before putting my arms around her waist. She smelled so sweet and it feels so good to hold her in my arms.

"I'm so glad your alright, Pony."

Those simple words mean more to me than she'll ever know.

"Me too." I say, I push the doubts I have about her being a soc and me being a greaser away before melting into the hug.

She let's go, and reluctantly, so do I.

"We need to talk."

"We are talking." I respond, nervous to hear what she has to say.

"I mean alone." She says, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Come with me, I know a place." I say, quietly chuckling. I grab her hand but quickly realize what I'm doing and drop it like it's on fire.

"Sorry." I say in a low voice. Momentarily thinking of how soft her skin is and how I wish I didn't have to let go. But let's be honest, someone as beautiful as Cherry Valance wouldn't wanna hold a greasers hand.

"No." she says quietly before slipping hear hand back into mine, "It's alright." Her voice is gentle and her smile is shy.

I smile brightly in return.

"Ok," I say and I start to lead her through a park.

"Where are you taking me pony?" She asks trying to suppress a giggle.

"You'll see." I say, again trying to appear casual but really I wonder if she can tell how nervous I am to be alone with her.

We enter the abandoned lot with a bed under a tree and a few chairs.

"We're here!" I say excitedly.

"What's this?" she questions as she looks around.

"We can talk here, it's where me and Johnny used to talk." I say, sadness

Seeping into my tone.

"I like it."

I don't know why her approval matters to me, but it does.

"Really?" I question, "cause if you don't like it we can go somewhere else, somewhere nicer."

"No, it's perfect." She breathes, "I promise."

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