Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters featured in The Outsiders. I only own my original characters.

My life drastically changed the day I found out that my parents were dead. They had gone out for a drive one Sunday afternoon and were killed by a train when the car stalled on the tracks. I was at home finishing some homework before school the next day when my eldest brother answered the phone. I had turned around and saw that his face lost all color before hanging up. The look my brother gave me has been sketched in my brain. It was the face of someone who realized that his whole world shattered in front of him.

"Nina?" I was shaken from my thoughts by my brother entering the room. I figure that I should introduce myself. My name is Athena Marie Curtis or Nina for short. I am a 17 year old senior in high school and I live with my three brothers. My eldest brother and my custodial guardian name is Darry who is 21. He was awarded custody of me and my brothers after my parents were killed last year. He works full time for a construction company and mainly spends his days roofing houses. Darry and I have always been close growing up. He's the one that taught me how to throw a punch and patch up a bloody nose all on the same day.

Next, there's Sodapop, my twin brother. He was technically my older brother by five minutes which he never lets me forget. We share the same dark golden hair and dark brown eyes. However, he stands at a whopping 6'1 where I, being the smaller twin, stood at 5'2. My brothers like to joke that the reason I'm so small is because there wasn't enough room for me and Soda's personality. Being twins, we have a deep understanding of one another. We share the same personality traits such as being able to make people laugh and being high on life. He dropped out of school a few months ago to work full time claiming that he was too dumb but I know that he wanted to help Darry out with the bills. They both insisted on me staying in school even though I offered to drop out and work more shifts at the hospital. I skipped a grade when I was 15 which allowed me to take a class that was only offered as a junior or senior at 16. I was able to take a certified nursing assistant as one of my electives and was able to get a job at the hospital on the weekends. I wanted to go to nursing school when I graduated and in order for me to afford it, I have to keep my grades up and get a scholarship. I spend most of my days at the kitchen table doing homework with my youngest brother Ponyboy.

Ponyboy just turned 14 a little over a month ago. He was a freshman in high school and a track star. He enjoyed running track, reading books, watching movies, and hanging out with his best friends Johnny. He's usually soft spoken and prefers not to have conflicts with people. He can be extremely stubborn; especially when he fights with Darry. Darry is probably the hardest on him because of his age. Soda and I were able to go through puberty when our mother and father were around but Pony doesn't have that luxury. Darry tries his best but communication and understanding are severely lacking between the two of them. They usually don't' see eye to eye which can cause a lot of fights.

Pony and I have a strained relationship because of the role I assumed when our parents died. I was forced into the main female figure role for all of my brothers but it seemed that Pony was the one that had the hardest time adjusting. I try to be understanding and help him but he's at that age where he doesn't want to be mothered always telling me he's not a kid.

Darry sitting in front of me pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked at him through my glasses that I use when I'm doing homework. I have a tendency to get migraines and am forced to use glasses that are less straining on my eyes when I'm trying to read or complete assignments. My shoulder length dark golden hair was pulled up in a messy bun with chunks falling out. I was sitting crisscross on the chair wearing one of Darry's sweatshirt and a pair of Pony's old track shorts. I looked down at my notes for my history class that I was working at before looking up at Darry.

"Hey Dar, how was work?" Today was Sunday which meant that Darry only worked a half day and was home by 4. I wasn't scheduled to work a shift in the hospital because of a French test I had that week. Every month Darry and I would sit down and work up a schedule around school and exams that I turned into my supervisor the last day of that month. Darry made sure that I knew that school came first and was able to work it out with my supervisor.

"It was fine, pretty warm out there." I looked outside the window that was in the kitchen and saw that the sun was shining and there were no clouds in the sky. It was March in Tulsa which meant that temperatures were rising the closer we drew to summer. He was still in his work clothes and I could see the sweat marks on his shirt and the sweat on his face. "Where are your brothers?"

"Soda hasn't come home from work yet and Pony said something about going to a movie earlier. " I answered laying my pen on the table and taking off my glasses.

"Do you know if he went alone?" Darry asked. He was always worried when one of us by ourselves.

"I don't know Darry. I thought he said he was going to find Johnny but I'm not sure. "I apologized and ran a hand over my face before yawning.

"It's fine Nina. He knows that he shouldn't go out alone. How's homework coming?"

"Good I have to finish this chapter and go over some practice exam questions. Can you quiz me later with my flashcards?" I pulled a stack of cards bundled together with a rubber band. We were having an exam over furniture you can find in a house. I had to be able to identify each item and pronounce them correctly in order to pass.

"Sure we can work on it after dinner. Speaking of dinner, what you would like tonight?" he looked around the kitchen trying to decide.

"Don't worry Darry I have dinner taken care of. I pulled the ingredients out for strew when I got up this morning and it should be done in about an hour or two depending on the potatoes. Why don't you take a shower and relax for a while. The boys should start arriving here soon and we can have dinner. "I saw the relief in his eyes that I was taking care of dinner. He definitely didn't inherit our mother's cooking skills and I always enjoyed it and usually made dinner with one of the boys help.

"You are an angel." He praised before standing up and walking over to me. He kissed me on my head and ruffled my hair. "Thank you Nina. I really appreciate it. Can I use your shower?"

"No problem Dar and of course." He walked down the hall to his room and shut the door. I used to share a room with Soda before our parents died while Pony and Darry had their own rooms. After they passed, Soda started sharing with Pony because of the nightmares he would get and they decided that I was to take my parents room because it had its own bathroom. My brothers decided that I shouldn't have to share a bathroom with all of the boys so I can have my privacy. I know that Darry likes to use the shower in my room because it is a lot cleaner than the other and it left the other bathroom open if someone comes over. We moved my twin bed into my room and Darry got my parents king bed while Soda and Pony got the queen that Darry was using. The other twin bed is in the guest room that anyone is allowed to use. I heard Darry open his door before going into my room and starting the shower. I figured it was a good time to take a break and went to check on dinner.

I pulled the stew out of the oven and checked the potatoes with a fork. I noticed that they were still pretty hard and put it back into the oven. I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room and out onto the front porch. I walked to the end of the porch and looked down the street. It was pretty quiet for a Sunday afternoon. There wasn't anyone around but I could hear kids playing at the park that was about a block away. I stayed out on the porch until I heard Darry rummaging around in the kitchen. I walked back inside and saw that Darry had grabbed a glass of water and was sitting at the table. His hair was wet and he had changed into a tee shirt and jeans. He looked up when I entered the room and smiled at me. I could see that he was tired, there were bags and worry lines underneath his eyes. I didn't envy how many responsibilities he has and I know that I try to make sure that he remembers that he is still young too. I make sure that the house is taken care of and that Ponyboy gets his homework done. I knew that Darry appreciated it but we never talked about it. It was an unspoken rule between us.

"Soda! … Darry! … Help!" I heard screaming coming through the screen door and Darry shot out of his chair. It was Ponyboy and he sounded like he was in trouble. I followed Darry out the door and down the street where we can hear the sound of fighting. I didn't even notice that I didn't have shoes while I was running. I was only thinking about my brother. I came to a standstill when the scene unfolded before me. Ponyboy was lying on the ground and Darry had skidded to a stop at his side. I notice that there was a red mustang in the road with Socs running towards it. I also noticed the presence of the rest of our 'gang'. I could see Soda, Steve, Two-Bit and surprisingly Dally going after the Socs and Johnny was standing by Darry shifting on his feet. I hated calling us a gang but it was what we are known around the neighborhood. There were a couple of gangs on the North side including the Shepherds, the Brumly's and then us. Darry was considered the leader because he was the oldest then Two-Bit and Dally at 18, Steve, Soda and I at 17, Johnny at 16 and Ponyboy at 14. I never think of us as a gang because to me we aren't. We are family. I consider every one of those boys family whether we were blood related or not.

I ran over to Darry and Ponyboy in time to hear, "I'm okay. Quit shaking me, Darry, I'm okay." Darry was shaking Ponyboy and immediately stopped once he heard. I noticed that Ponyboy was bleeding. There was a cut just under his chin; the Socs must've pulled a blade.

"They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?" Darry asked. I caught his eye and noticed that he looked worried.

Pony was as white as a sheet and I noticed that his hands were shaking. He had tears collected in his eyes that didn't fall. He swallowed before saying, "I'm okay."

By this time the Socs were run off and the guys were walking back towards us. I knelt at Pony's side and Soda dropped next to me. He pulled out a rag from his back pocket and gave it to me. I placed the rag against his cut and Soda started talking to him.

"Did they pull a blade on you?"

"Yeah." He mumbled and turned away.

I pulled his chin towards me and looked him in the eye. "You're okay Pony. They're gone. No one's going to hurt you no more."

"I know. I'm just a little spooked is all." I wiped the rest of the blood off his neck before giving him a hug.

I pulled away from him and stood up. I looked around to the others that were standing around us. I noticed that Johnny was a little pale and kept looking at Ponyboy before looking around to make sure the Socs were gone. Johnny was jumped a couple of months ago really bad. It left his face scarred and even more mental trauma. He walks around town always jumping at every little noise. I know that it didn't help that his parents were abusive alcoholics which added to his jumpiness. We all made sure to look out for Johnny more and many of my nights were spent patching him up after a bad night with his parents. I walked over to him and placed my arm around him.

Darry and Soda had gotten Ponyboy up from the ground and I heard Darry say "You're both nuts."

"You're all nuts." I muttered but it seemed that they all heard it.

"We're nuts? At least we have shoes on Thena." Soda pointed out laughing. Soda has always taking to calling me Thena where everyone usually calls me Nina. Ponyboy had problems with T's when he was little and would call me Nina and it suck.

"Hey it's not my fault! I was doing homework when we left." I pouted. I looked at my feet and noticed that they were covered it dirt and there was some blood coming from a cut on the bottom of my left foot. I must've stepped on a rock on the way over.

"Athena why didn't you put any shoes on?" Darry shook his head at me.

"I didn't have time!" I protested.

"Yeah well what were you doing walking by your lonesome?" Steve asked Pony. Steve Randall was Soda's best friend since the second grade. I know that Steve and Pony don't really like each other because of the fact that he hated when Pony tagged along. Steve was an only child and never had to worry about a younger sibling but Soda was always good about making sure that Pony felt included. I didn't get along with Steve all that much either because I viewed him as a brother which meant that I voiced my opinion about his poor taste in women. This time around it was about his girlfriend Evie.

"I was just walking home from the movies. I didn't think…" Pony started.

"You don't ever think. Not at home or anywhere when it counts. You must think at school with all those good grades you bring home, and you've always got your nose in a book, but do you ever use your head for common sense? No. And if you did have to go by yourself, you should have carried a blade." Darry exclaimed. I sighed knowing that this was a battle that wasn't going to be solved today.

"Oh yeah that would give the Socs a better reason to cut his neck a little more there." Soda defended.

"When I want my kid brother to tell me what to do with my other kid brother I will ask. Okay kid brother?" Darry glared and started walking back to the house.

The tension between us all was rising until Two-Bit pointed out that Dally was there. "I thought you were in the cooler for 90 days Dal."

"Got out for good behavior." I rolled my eyes knowing that Dally probably didn't know the definition of good behavior. "How's the kid?"

"I'm fine. " Pony mumbled.

"Next time you want to go to a movie Pony asks one of us, any of us will." Two-Bit said.

They were starting to move towards the house and I tried to follow making sure I didn't step on anything else. Soda seemed to notice that I was falling behind and decided to take pity on me. He walked over and turned around motioning me to jump on his back. I climbed on and pressed a kiss to his cheek as thanks.

"Speaking of movies, I was thinking about going to the Nightly Double tomorrow night. Anyone want to come?" Dally asked.

Soda and Steve commented that they were taking Evie and Sandy to the game. Two-Bit said that he was going to get drunk but might stop by. Johnny and Pony agreed to go and they looked at me expectantly. "I don't know. I have a test to study for."

"You always study. You never come out with us anymore Nina. Don't you like us?" Two-Bit cried.

"You? No way!" I laughed. "I'll think about it okay?" That seemed to appease everyone and we got back to the house. "Dinner should be ready. Who's staying?" I asked. Dally said he was going to Buck's, Two-Bit said his mom needed him home and Steve was going out with Evie. That left Pony, Soda, Johnny, and I walking into the house where Soda dropped me on the couch.

Darry walked into the room with a bowl of water and a rag and walked over to me. He set the bowl on the coffee table and sat down next to it. He grabbed my foot and placed it in his lap.

"Darry I can clean this up on my own." I protested, hissing when he wiped the rag on my foot.

"How are you going to clean out this cut if you can't see it?"

"Good point." I conceded. I let him finish cleaning my foot and set it down on the ground. The cut didn't look very deep and was already stopped bleeding. Darry cleaned up the supplies and went to pull dinner out of the oven. I noticed that Johnny was sat next to me and Soda was in the kitchen. Pony must've been in his room because I didn't see him. "Hey Johnny."

"Hey Athena" Johnny tended to be pretty quiet but I found that I could usually get him to talk to me. Pony walked from out of his room and noticed that he changed his shirt. The other had blood on it. He walked over to the couch and sat on the other side.

"Did you finish your homework Pony?" I asked him.

"I just have math left." He replied. "I could use some help on a couple of problems."

"Sure. I'll help you after dinner."

"Athena come and clean up your school stuff!" Darry called.

I got up from my spot on the couch and walked well more like hobbled into the kitchen. That cut sure did sting. I grabbed my stuff from the table and put them in my room. I walked back out to see everyone sitting at the table waiting for me.

Dinner was a quiet affair with small talk about what was going on during the week and what needed to be done. I knew that it was my turn for laundry and said that I would start it after dinner. Pony and Soda had dishes because I cooked dinner and Darry was going to pay bills. Later that evening, Pony and I were sitting at the table with Johnny doing homework before Darry told us to go to bed.

I walked towards my room and noticed that Johnny was headed towards the spare. I gave him a hug goodnight when he passed me and he went into the room. I said goodnight to Pony and Soda when I passed their door and I heard Darry call my name. I turned around to look at him and he was standing in the hall.

"I'm sorry that I didn't get to help you study." He said.

"It's okay Darry. We can always do it tomorrow. My test isn't until Wednesday."

"Sounds like a plan. Good night Nina. Love you."

"Love you too Darry." I walked into my room and closed the door. I didn't bother changing my clothes before climbing under the covers and falling asleep.