Have you ever wondered what it was like when Angela Shepherd liked Pony? (Bryon, in That was Then, This is Now, mentions that she dumped him for Pony). Here's my take on it.

Disclaimer: Ok, I forgot to do this on my last two fics-I'm sorry! I'm new to fanfiction writing and I forgot. So I hereby solemnly swear that I do not own the Outsiders. The book and its characters belong to S.E. Hinton-much to my disappointment.

On with the story!

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Slam!

Ponyboy stomped into the house, muttering as he went.

Steve and I looked up from where we were playing a card game. I glanced at my friend, who just shrugged as if to say, He's your brother, you deal with him.

I scowled, but faced my brother. "Hey Pony, how was school?"

He shot me a venomous look. I swear I would have keeled over then and there if I hadn't been wearing Pony-glare repellant. A nervous laugh escaped me. "That bad, huh?"

"I-" he began, then his eyes widened as we all heard a loud, obnoxious whistle coming towards our house. Two-Bit, in other words. My brother lost all color and ran to his room. A few seconds later, we heard the door slam.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Two-Bit musta given him a wet-willy or somethin' in front of a teacher."

Steve grunted.

Two-Bit waltzed through the front door, whistling Mickey Mouse's theme song. He pretended to tip his invisible hat. "Afternoon, gents."

"Afternoon, " I jerked my thumb in the general direction of the bedrooms. "Any idea why Pony's barricading himself in our room? He fled when he heard you comin'."

I knew something must have happened when a Chesire-cat-like grin crept up my friend's face. He gave a low whistle. "Hoo-ee, would I love to have your brother's problem!"

I frowned. "What problem?"

Steve snorted. "As if you didn't know. That runt has practically every available broad eyein' him."

Now I could feel a grin coming to my face. "So this is about a chick?"

"Oh yeah! And not just any chick either, " Two-Bit stood there with his hands in his pockets, just gloating over the fact that he knew something that I didn't.

Steve continued to play his cards, unconcerned. He nudged me to go and I threw some random card into the mix.

"Well?" I asked. "Who is it?"

"Angela Shepherd....and you owe me five bucks, " Steve murmured as he laid down his winning hand. I threw my cards at him in frustration.

Two-Bit pouted. "Man, why'd you have to go and ruin the surprise?"

"It ain't a surprise-I've been seein' the way she looks at him. Besides, Evie told me what Angela was cookin' in that cracked head of hers."

"Aw man! Why-" Two-Bit began.

"Now wait a second!" I held up my hands. Looking back and forth between the two of them, I asked. "Both of you knew that Angela Shepherd was after Pony and neither of you bothered to tell me until now?!?!"

"Shoot, Soda" Steve eyed me with disdain. "You're gettin' to be as clueless as Pony if you didn't see that comin'."

I threw my hands into the air. "Pony doesn't like girls yet! And even if he did, he certainly wouldn't go after Angela! He's smarter than that."

"Of course he is," Two-Bit chimed. "Ain't you been listening to what ol' Stevie-boy here was saying? Angela went after Pony, not vice versa."

I flopped onto my back, covering my face with my hands. "Good heavens! Of all the women to go after my little brother, it had to be Angela!"

Granted, Pony was a little behind the times. He was nearly seventeen and hadn't been on a single date yet, but still. Couldn't one of the nicer girls have had the courage to throw herself at him before Shepherd got to him?

One question puzzled me though. I sat up and stared at my friends, who were both grinning at me. "How'd this happen anyway?"

"Well," Two-Bit began patiently, "You see, when a girl likes a guy, she decides to drop hints at him and if that doesn't work, she gets a little bolder and a little bolder until she finally outright strangles him with her declarations of love. It's one of those unexplained mysteries of life."

I glared. "That is not what I meant."

"She dropped her book and I returned it to her." Pony quipped sourly as he slunk into the room.

Two-Bit and Steve snickered.

I couldn't help but chuckle too.

Pony's glare deepened.

I tried to put on a more serious face-which was no easy task. "You returned her book?"

"Yes! And then she was all over me, telling me how courteous I am, and what a gentleman I am, and-"

To my amusement, Pony turned an interesting shade of red.

"And what?" I prodded.

"OwqIm" he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Steve and Two-Bit were outright cackling now.

"What was that?" I asked, even though I had a pretty good idea what he had said. I couldn't help the mischievousness that crept into my tone.

Pony's lips pressed together and he shoved his hands into his pockets, blushing even more. "She said....how cute I am."

I couldn't help but join the other two in their laughter.

"It's not funny!" Ponyboy protested.

We couldn't stop laughing.

"Hmph!" Pony stomped off into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of milk. He looked out the window just for a moment and jumped so high, his milk sloshed all over the place. He ran back into the den, looking panicked. "She's coming up the walkway! Don't let her know I am here!"

He dove into the hall closet and got the door closed as a sharp rap sounded on the door.

I did my best to contain my giggles and walk to the door. Steve and Two-Bit pretended to be immersed in the card game that we had just finished. I gave them one last warning glance and then opened the door.

There stood Angela Shepherd in all her wavy-haired, dark-eyed, beautiful, demon-possessed glory. I tried to look surprised. "Oh hi, Angela. What do you want?"

Ok, so I could have been more gracious. Oh well.

She pursed her lips. Her eyes studied me for a second or two, before the lights came on. "You're Sodapop, right?"

"Yep, that's me," I cracked a smile that was totally fake-even by my standards. "What can I do for you?"

At least I asked her better this time.

She flipped a few curly locks over her shoulder. Her gaze darted past me into the house, looking for something.....or rather, someone. "There's nothing you can do for me, but I was wondering, is Ponyboy home?"

"Uh, nope. You, uh, just missed him." Darn! I was a horrible liar on short notice.

She looked suspicious. "Oh really?"

"Yep," Steve called. "He went for a walk."

Good ol' Steve. At least he can come up with a plausible story.

"A walk?" She still didn't look convinced.

Two-Bit decided to join in. "Yes, walk. W-A-L-K, as in 'Angela took a walk off of the Curtis's property.' Also known as using two legs and putting them one in front of the other to form a rapid succession of movement. Walk."

Angela's pretty little face turned real nasty. "Listen, Half-Wit, you-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" I broke in before things could get out of hand. "You can't come here and insult my friends."

"And it's Two-Bit, got that? Two-Bit." Two-Bit called.

I shot him a glare. "You are not helping."

Angela rolled her eyes. She pulled her jean coat tighter around herself and turned to go. "Well when Ponyboy gets back from his walk, could let him know that I dropped by and I want to talk to him?"

"Sure thing"

She huffed and sauntered off the porch. I watched her walk away until she became a small speck on the street, then closed the front door. I shook my head as I turned back to my friends. I can't believe she's interested in Pony."

"Neither can I, " Pony spoke up as he emerged from the closet. He looked almost desperate as he came over to us. "You have to help me get rid of her!"

"No can do, Squirt," Steve leaned back and put his hands on the back of his head. He seemed rather pleased at this turn of events. "You got her, you dump her."

"But I didn't get her. She got me!" Pony sank down miserably onto the couch. "Now I know how vampire victims feel."

The poor kid looked so despondent that I decided I would help him just this once. After all, Angela was scary. "Alright, Pone, I'll help."

"Really?"

"Yep"

"Me too!" Two-Bit eagerly joined in.

My eyes slid to Steve, who sighed. "Ok, ok! I'll help."

Pony slumped in relief. "Thanks."

"Sure. Operation Dump-Angela-Shepherd now commencing!" I rubbed my hands together with a devilish grin.

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Uh-oh. This sounds like trouble. *grins* I have discovered that fanfiction is really addicting. Is it bad to want to write this instead of a school paper? *thinks for a moment* No, I don't think so because this story will bug me until I get it out on paper and I won't be able to think of anything else. That's my philosophy. x ). Okey dokey, thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!