Hello all! This is my first ever fanfiction. Like, the first one I've ever written. It's a big step for me, taking the initiative to publish something online, so criticism of any kind is always welcome! I would love to know what I need to be doing or what I'm already doing well. Thank you for clicking on the link :)

This story takes place before the events of the actual Outsiders book, so the arrival of the character changes the course of events that would have taken place.

Disclaimer: The Outsiders novel and characters are property of S.E. Hinton. I wish they were mine, though...

Chapter 1: There's No Going Back

There was a bright flash. Uhhhh…go away. Another flash. And another.

"Hey,ookay?"

"Jeez, if you don't get up soon…"

"Hey! You lost, little lady?"

The fu- where a- "em I?"

A sharp pain in my side jolted me awake. The light flickered rapidly, I was blinking. Things started to come into focus. All I could see was a clear blue sky. You know, I'll never be able to forget the blue sky. How crazy vivid it was.

"Damn, say something! What's your name, broad?"

I make some sort of groaning sound and roll over on my side. Did someone really just call me broad? Is that supposed to be offensive? The hot pavement grains cut into my cheek. Moaning again, I propped myself up on one elbow and blink some more. Someone's crouching down next to me. He seems worried, even a little annoyed. He's prodding my shoulder. Ah, yes. I need to say something.

"Where am I?" I finally manage. I did already try to say that.

There is a strong smell of summer, hot and humid. I can also smell the heavy (and displeasing) cigarette smoke that I remember from the 'bad' kids at my high school. My hands grope blindly for something to pull myself up and fasten on a cottony material. I'm too out of it to care what it is. My vision is clearing up, and I can see houses. Lots of houses. Really old-style houses, ones that look pretty shabby. A part of the neighborhood my dad would probably never let me take a walk in. Even though it's beat down, everything seems so fresh. The air is like the stuff you get at the hospital. Pure.

"This is Oakley Street, in the east side of town." The boy said 'east' like it was supposed to mean something else. I narrowed my eyes skeptically.

"My name's…Alice," I lie, using the first name that came to my mind. I wasn't sure if I could trust him, considering the pretty bad first impression. And if I couldn't, I certainly didn't want him to know who I was.

The boy looked around 17, but he could have been older. Or younger. The way he dressed reminded me of the guys in Grease, like Danny Zuko? Black cut-off t-shirt and jeans. I guess if we were in 1960 he would have looked pretty cool, smoking a cigarette and giving me a lofty gaze. I studied my surroundings again, remembering my hand and ripping it off of his shirt. I pushed myself off the ground and brushed off gravel from my bare legs and arms.

Without saying more, I pulled out my cell phone and tried to call my mom. Nothing worked, and after ten minutes of calling every person I knew, I sighed and slipped the phone back into my pocket. My stupid phone didn't get service anywhere.

"Okay, I don't know who you are, but it's very nice to meet you. Can I borrow your cell?" I ask him, gesturing to a rectangular block in his front pocket. "My carrier is a piece of crap." I smile at him jokingly and try to fill the silence. That sounded pretty good. My speech was comprehensible.

He looked at me and his eyes flickered for a moment. "Look, I don't want no trouble. So keep that thing away from me." He nodded at my pocket where my phone was and lifted his hands, displaying that he wasn't holding anything.

The corner of my mouth twitched in amusement. I decide to keep the phone away, so I can figure things out. "Alright then…? What's your name?"

The boy smiles at this, back to being confident and cool. He took a long drag from his cigarette.

"Well," he says, pausing and blowing the smoke off to the side, "the name's Keith. But everyone just call me Two-Bit. Not sure where they got that from." He finished sarcastically and rapped his knuckles on his head.

I wrinkle my nose. "Are you old enough to be smoking?" I challenge.

"Hm? Uh…yes? What do I look, five years old?" He laughed at me and slung an arm around my shoulders, continuing to smoke. He began walking me down the sidewalk, staring down my shirt ever so obviously.

"Aha, excuse me? What do you think you're doing?" I protest, shrugging out from under his arm and frowning again. What kind of guy does that? Do I look like a slut today, or something?

Of course, I decided to stay with him. He hadn't tried anything too strange and seemed to be mostly sane. "So, can you help me get home? I live in New Pines. On Honning Lane. How far are we?" I ask, not wanting to be taken anywhere I didn't want to go.

"New Pines? Where's that? Might have to go visit, if the rest of the girls are as cute as you." He gives me a cheesy grin and continues walking.

I felt my cheeks warm up and looked away, smiling slightly. "So you don't know how to get to New Pines? What city are we in now?"

I'm interrupted when we arrive at his destination. There are five other boys there, playing with a weathered football. The youngest looked my age and the oldest couldn't have been older than 25. But his face…he had the air of someone who had been alive much longer. There was a chorus of whistles when they noticed us.

"Glory, Two-Bit found some poor girl to like him?"

"If Two-Bit can get a girl, I wonder why our little man here can't!"

Two-Bit laughed and did a cartwheel over to the door of the house that sat behind the boys, returning with a Coke. I panicked a little when he left, because the only person I knew had just walked (or wheeled?) away. Fine, I have attachment problems! I stood in the grass awkwardly until Two-Bit spoke up.

"Her name's Alice. I found her lyin' flat on 'er face down the street on my way over. She's pretty loopy and don't got a clue how she got here."

I was annoyed by this description of me, although it was pretty accurate. I'd have to get him for that. "Oh yes, I'm Alice. And in case you weren't aware, that bumbling idiot is Keith."

The boys laughed at that and the one closest to me gave me a friendly slap on the back. "For someone Two-Bit picked up, you ain't half-bad," he said, swinging around and taking my hand. "Steve Randall, at your majesty's service." He bent down and kissed my hand, earning louder guffaws from the other guys. I was shocked and whipped my hand away from him.

"Is everyone insane?" I thought out loud. I didn't like Steve anymore. He seemed like a prick. I gave him a cold, hollow glare, as mean looking as I could manage.

"Looks like Dal," a quiet voice muttered. The one that looked my age had spoken up. This set off a round of agreeing comments amongst them. Two-Bit returned to my side and I (embarrassingly) latched onto his arm like a leech, trembling and beginning to worry. "Listen, I really need to get back home. My mom is probably freaking out. Are we even in Nebraska?" I whispered to Keith, glancing nervously at the other boys. Two-Bit looked at me strangely.

"We're not in Nebraska, little miss. This is good old Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you're lost, you could try the Fuzz."