Chapter 1

Andy POV

We were silent as we walked down the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We had been traveling for a while and were pretty hungry. We had come here from New York in hopes of finding who we were looking for. Now, New York is a pretty rough place. A lot of crime, a lot of murder. We had run from home in search of a lost friend. His name was Dallas Winston. I guess I should tell you how this all began huh? Well, first of all, my name is Andromeda Hartwell (Andy for short, I hate my first name) and my best friend is Lori Bell. We had both grown up on the rough side of New York. That fact alone made us tougher than most girls. We had been friends with Dallas since we were 9. We decided to look out for each other. None of us had good parents, or a good home for that matter, so we thought that if no one else would care for us, we'd take care of each other. A few years later, Dallas moved to Tulsa. That was hard. After he left it was just me and Lori. Things eventually got so bad at home that we ended up living on the streets, surviving however we could. Now, at the age of 16, we decided to go find the person who left us on our own with nothing but the clothes on our back and a switchblade. Life got too hard in New York and we needed help…we needed out. So here we are, on the poor side of Tulsa, roaming around looking for someone who may or may not still be here.

We walked slowly down the sidewalk, each wrapped in our own thoughts when something hit me in the head and knocked me onto the concrete.

"Ow, what the hell?" I asked from the ground. Lori laughed and picked up a football from beside me. Just as I was wondering who hit me with a football, I heard a group of feet running towards us. Lori helped me up and I looked at the people in front of me. Seven teenage boys stood there staring at us.

"Are you okay?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, I'll live." I answered slowly.

"That's good." He said, flashing a grin. "By the way, I'm Sodapop Curtis, these are my brothers, Ponyboy and Darry and this is Two-Bit, Johnny, Steve, and Dallas."

My heart stopped. 'Dallas? As in Dallas Winston?' I thought in shock. Then I realized it must be. I would recognize those cold blue eyes anywhere. Finally I regained my voice.

"Dallas. You grew a lot since the last time I saw you." I said with a grin.

Everyone stopped and looked from me to Dallas waiting for him to say something. Then he spoke.

"Andy?" He choked out.

"The one and only." I replied with a smile. "And I brought Bells too."

His jaw dropped and he stared at us. I don't think he believed we were actually standing in front of him. 'I barely believe that we're standing in front of him.' I thought. Apparently this was too much for him because he could barely spit out a sentence.

"I-wow…you grew." He stuttered.

"So did you." I replied. "And I have something to say to you."

At first he looked confused. "Oh yeah?" he asked after a couple of seconds.

"This" I started "Is for leaving when we needed you." I said and I swung back my arm and slapped him across the face.

He stood there shocked as everyone gasped and waited to see what he would do. Apparently, they had never seen Dallas Winston hit by a girl without her getting beaten in return. But I knew Dallas, and he would never hit me, or Bells. (Bells is the nickname we gave Lori) He just stood there, watching me.

"And this" I began again "Is because I missed you." I said as I wrapped my arms around his waist in a hug. He hugged me right back, and I was surprised.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into my ear.

"It's alright." I said as I pulled away.

Now, by this point everyone was looking extremely confused. I knew they would be. I mean, can you imagine what just happened? I didn't blame them. I would be confused too. That's when Sodapop stepped forward again.

"Um, I hate to break this up, but we're all extremely confused." He stated. I sighed. I drew in a deep breath and began explaining everything from our names to why we were there and how we knew Dallas.

"You've had it pretty rough." Sodapop said casually.

'Tell me about it' I thought to myself. I couldn't believe I was here. For the past couple of years, Lori and I had only dreamed of seeing Dallas again. We had spent countless days thinking of him and hoping he was okay. For a while after he left we barely even talked to each other. But now we had found him and he promised never to leave us again. I just hoped he meant it.

Just then Two-Bit stepped forward for the first time.

"So how old are you guys?" he asked.

"I'm 16 and Lori is15." I answered.

"Alright well I doubt you guys have a place to stay so we better find something. I can get you a room at Buck's." Dallas spoke up. "But you're gonna need somewhere to stay 'til then 'cause I think he's shut down 'till sometime next week."

"They could always stay at our house, if they don't mind." Soda offered.

"Well, I don't know, I mean I don't wanna just walk in to your house to sleep. We can always find somewhere else." I said quietly.

"Nonsense." said Darry "You're always welcome at our house. Do you guys mind sharing a room?" He asked looking at me and Lori.

"No, that's great, thank you." Lori said, equally as quiet as me.

"No problem." He said with a small smile.

He was tall, big and looked very strong. He reminded me of my father. My father had the same build. Darry was almost the exact same size, and that scared me. But I smiled back anyways and thanked him for letting us in his home.

"Now, I bet you girls haven't eaten in a while. Am I right?" Asked Two-Bit. He had a huge grin on his face and stared at us almost amusedly.

"No, we haven't actually." Said Lori. I was surprised that she had even said one sentence. She's usually very quiet around new people.

"Alright, then who wants to go to the Dingo for some lunch?" asked Two-Bit loudly.

Everybody shouted "ME!" at the same time and I thought I would go deaf.

"Then to the Dingo we go!" Shouted Two-Bit happily and we set off.

Dally POV

I still couldn't believe who we were walking with. The two people I thought I would never see again. Not that I didn't want to see them, actually I wanted to see them more than anything. But New York didn't agree with me. I was constantly in trouble. Not just with the cops, but with everybody.

Still, it shocked me to see them standing on the sidewalk. I almost didn't recognize them at first. They had grown so much. Last time I saw them they had been little kids. Andy had shiny Chestnut coloured hair down to her shoulder blades with a small braid at the front. She was about 5'4 with caramel coloured eyes and thin lips. She wore jeans with a white tank top and flip-flops. She was nothing short of beautiful. But Lori, wow. She had long waist length raspberry coloured hair in high pigtails on her head. She was roughly 5'2, a little short for her age but that fact took nothing away from her. She had dark brown eyes that sparkled and full lips with a slight natural rosy blush touching her cheeks. I would bet everything I own they get bugged by creeps non-stop. At least they could put up a fight. Honestly, I don't think I've ever met girl who punched harder. She was wearing a light purple T-shirt with low-cut jeans and a pair of worn out converse. I couldn't stop thinking about how much they had changed as we walked one by one into the Dingo.

Lori POV

We all walked into the Dingo and sat down. The gang had already explained about the Greasers and Socs. This was definitely a place for Greasers, but it was good enough. I was starving. All I could think of was food. We waited for the waitress to ask us our orders. We all got a burger, fries and a milkshake. After we had paid we left to go back to the Curtis' place. According to Dally, we were to stay there for about a week. I was usually shy around new people, so I was definitely quiet. The gang seemed to have no problem with it so I just stayed as quiet as possible and kept on walking.

Their house was small, white and needed a paint job. It had a metal gate around the front, and a small porch. It wasn't new or big, but it was the most beautiful house I had ever seen. It was probably more of a home than I'll ever see…maybe that's why I liked it so much, it reminded me of what a home should be. We walked inside and everyone found somewhere to sit. Andy and I sat on the couch with Dally.

"Oh I almost forgot about the party tonight. You comin' Dal?" Two-Bit asked from the floor.

"Yeah, I'm going." He said "We should get going though."

"Alright well we'll see you guys later I guess." Two-bit said as he got up off the floor. After everyone had said goodbye Darry got mine and Andy's room ready.

"This used to be Soda's room but now him and Ponyboy share." Darry said as he showed us the room. "Will it be okay?" he asked.

"It's perfect." Andy replied. "Thanks again for letting us stay here."

"It's no problem." He smiled.

Soon after, we all went to bed. Tomorrow was a Sunday so no one had work. I just lay there for a while thinking about the events of the day as I slowly drifted off to sleep with Andy breathing slowly beside me.

I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in cold sweat and shaking. My hair was plastered to my face and tears were streaming down my face. I was wearing a pair of P.J. pants and one of Sodapop's old T-shirts. I figured nobody would be up, seeing as the clock read 4:04 AM. I slowly got out of bed, being careful not to wake Andy, and walked quietly into the living room.

I sat down on the couch and curled up, my head resting on my knees. I sat there for a while, thinking, wondering if life was ever going to get better. I hated these nightmares ever since I started having them. I sat there on the couch, and began to cry. I cried for Andy, I cried for Dallas, I cried for me and anyone else who grew up on the rough side of town. I cried for anyone without parents or anyone with parents that had abused them. I just sat there and let out what I had been holding in for years. You see, when you grow up on the rough side of New York, you can't cry. People think you're weak if you cry. But I couldn't help it. It all came out, the anger, the sadness, the hurt. Every emotion I had ever bottled up came out in a tidal wave of tears…and it felt good. It felt good to cry, to let it all out when it had been trapped inside me for so long.

In the middle of my cry fest I suddenly heard footsteps coming down the hall way. 'Oh great.' I thought sarcastically. 'That's what I need, someone coming down and thinking I'm a total loser for crying. Just perfect.' I thought bitterly. But, to my surprise, it was Ponyboy who walked in.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." I replied quietly. "I just had a nightmare that's all."

He just sat there for a moment. "I know what you mean."

I stared at him. What was he talking about? He sat down on the couch beside me.

"I have nightmares too." He said, looking down at his feet.

"Oh" I muttered, not knowing what to say. I guess he sensed I was uncomfortable because he asked "Is there anything that helps?"

"Not really." I said honestly. "I just have to calm down. I should be okay soon."

"Okay. Ummm…Lori?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Is that the only thing bothering you or is there something else going on?"

That question shocked me. I wondered how people I had only know for less than a day could care so much. I mean, heck, my own parents didn't care enough to ask if I was okay. Then again, I had known these people were different from the very beginning. But I never thought they would actually care. I mean, no one else ever has.

"No." I said flatly, even though it was a lie.

"Are you sure?" he pressed. Something in the way he looked at me told me that he truly did care. I knew that he would never tell my secrets.

"No." I said again. My eyes started to tear up as I looked down at my feet. 'Stupid emotions!' I thought bitterly. But I couldn't help it and the tears started falling again.

"It's just that, I've never had anyone care before. My parents never did and neither has anyone else. But then I came here and I met you guys. You didn't even know me and you offered to let me sleep in your house for a week. Nobody has ever done something that nice for me. Nobody thinks I'm worth a dime…and I'm starting to believe it myself. I mean, if my parents were that horrible to me there must be something wrong with me." I choked.

"What?" he asked shocked. "That's what you think? Do you truly believe you're not worth it?"

"Maybe." I said quietly.

He gaped at me in shock. "Lori you are worth it. You are worth much more than you think. And it's not your fault your parents were jerks. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Your drop-dead gorgeous and from what I've heard your pretty smart too. Lori you are beyond perfect just the way you are. It's just too bad that you got the short end of the stick in life. That's just the way our lives go, and there's nothing we can do about it."

That shocked me. No one had ever said anything nice about me before, never mind telling me I was beyond perfect. No one I knew had ever told me anything like that; they just thought I was a waste of their time.

"Wow." I said quietly. "No one has ever said anything like that to me. They're usually just telling me to get out of their way."

"I would never tell you to get out of my way; neither would any of the gang. You're special and don't forget that. Got it?" he said with a small smile.

"Thank you." I said quietly.

"For what? Telling the truth?" he smiled

"For everything, you're a good person Ponyboy."

"Thanks." He said blushing slightly.

I moved in closer and wrapped my arms around his neck while I buried my face in his shoulder. After all the emotion tonight I just needed one good hug. He seemed shocked at first, and then he put his arms around my waist and gave me a tight squeeze. After a minute I pulled away. I gave him a small smile.

"I think it's time for bed." I said with a yawn.

"Me too." He said standing up. "I'll see you in the morning."

I got up off the couch and started heading down the hall. He just stood in the living room.

"Goodnight" I said.

"Goodnight" he replied, still not moving.

I crept slowly down the hall and silently crept into our room and slid the door shut. I crawled back into bed and buried my face in the pillow. It had been a long night and I was tired. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Ponyboy POV

Wow. I could barely believe what just happened. 'How could she think she was worthless?' She was anything but worthless. I had told her that she was gorgeous, smart and beyond perfect. And I meant every word of it. I had never seen someone so…amazing. Beautiful didn't even begin to describe her. She had a rough life but you could tell she had a good head on her shoulders. There was something different about her. She wasn't like the rest of the hoods that most greasers grew up to be. She was gonna go somewhere, she was gonna make something of herself. She amazed me. And I knew right then and there, I'd keep her safe.