I rewrote this one so I could do the sequel and besides, I like the new ending better.

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own The Outsiders

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1. Illegal in Fifty States

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Dallas was muttering angrily under his breath.

The three of them were sprawled out on the couch and floor of the Curtis house. It was a Friday afternoon…

Okay it was five forty-two, which means it was technically Friday evening. But only if you wanted to get technical. Which he didn't.

They were crowded around the TV killing time. They'd been doing that a lot more often. That is if killing time meant convenientlymisplaced remotes, and the 'lucky coincidence'thata certain cartoon mouse was already on the TV.

Then yes, time had been killed.

The whole time Dallas had been muttering about how he'd repay Two-Bit for wasting another hour of his life on childish cartoons. When Two-Bit finally heard him he just laughed and said to stop acting like a crazy old man.

"Stop acting like a child."

Two-Bit faked hurt. "I'm an adult…"

He snorted. "You don't act like it."

Two-bit put on the puppy-dog eyes and Dallas rolled his.

Dallas tore his eyes away and looked up at the clock on the wall.

Which brings us back to five forty-two.

He sighed, knowing he'd put it off for as long as he could. He stood up and started to move toward the kitchen watching as Two-Bit and Pony sat staring at the box like a pair of mindless zombies.

He shut the backdoor quietly behind him and waited there for a second before walking toward the main part of town.

He'd gotten better at silent getaways.

Heck, even when he was injured he could be stealthy.

He was sneaky.

He was invisible.

He was…

"So Dal, how long have you been planning on skipping town?"

Caught red-handed.

He didn't reply.

He didn't even give him the satisfaction of letting him know he'd caught him doing something secret. He just stared straight ahead and kept walking.

"Where do ya think yer going Dally?"

He mentally cursed his friend.

No matter what was said now he'd drag it on, and he wasn't going to be able to sneak away unnoticed now that his cartoon wasn't there to distract him. Sadly after many, many years of knowing Matthews Dallas was already well aware anything he said would just encourage him.

Two-Bit didn't need anymore encouragement right then.

He needed to get lost.

"So who's this mystery woman Dal? We're dying to know."

Unconsciously he shuddered.

That was wrong on so many different levels.

He gritted his teeth and mumbled, "I'm here to pick up my cousin."

Two-Bit caught it and didn't miss the opportunity. The second he realized Dal acknowledged him a smirk was plastered all over his face.

"Dallas that's gross! Not to mention illegal in most states…"

Dallas spun around a gave him a look that could kill.

"What's your cousin's name Dal?"

Dallas turned to Ponyboy and Two-Bit took it as an opportunity to step out of his reach.

"Sam."

Dallas took a deep breath.

There was no time to waste kicking Two-Bit's annoying ass when he was already running late. He rubbed his temples trying to think clearly and figure out how he was going to deal with the annoying tag-alongs.

"You two," He said motioning at Two-Bit and Pony, "Are going to wait right here."

"While I," This time he pointed at himself, "Am going to go retrieve my favorite cousin and we come back you will still be here."

He started to leave. Then something else came to mind.

"And you better be nice… Yes Two-Bit, I am talking specifically to you." He glared as he caught Two-Bit mid eye-roll.

Feeling he'd finally made himself clear he left the two rats out front and headed inside.

Just as he went in the door he heard Pony whisper to Two-Bit.

"Since when does The Dallas Winston have a cousin let alone a favorite one?"

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Two-Bit was bored out of his mind.

So bored that he had challenged Ponyboy to a non-optional arm wrestling match. Which mostly included Ponyboy allowing Two-Bit to win two seconds after he said 'go' and Two-Bit whining about him being a spoil-sport.

So bored that he was scanning the crowd for 'fun'.

Ponyboy stood next to him watching the crowd; knowing full well Two-Bit's idea of 'fun' would involve a girl, some girl, any girl, but preferably a blonde.

That was when he saw her.

She couldn't have been much older than he was. She was obviously alone, which wasn't always the best thing to be. He took a good look at her and couldn't help but think she was seriously out of place.

Two-Bit stopped scanning for a second and looked down at Pony. He was almost surprised to find him staring off somewhere.

He followed Pony's eyes and smiled.

"Good eye Pony." Two-Bit said while he ruffled his 'wingman's' hair.

He hopped off the bench and started walking over to the girl.

He could ignore the fact that she didn't have the blonde locks he normally went for, simply because of how she was standing there. Something about it was too familiar for comfort. He couldn't dismiss the feeling. He couldn't explain it.

It felt… right.

She was still staring into the building when he tapped her shoulder.

She turned around looking as if she wasn't even slightly surprised to see him standing there. She tilted her head up to look the taller boy in the eyes.

"Hello."

She raised an eyebrow cautiously but still replied. "Hi."

"What's your name?"

"Samantha."

"So what brings you to Tulsa?"

Pony sighed.

He knew not listening to Dallas never ended well… for Two-Bit.

But he knew from past experiences that once Two-Bit started he couldn't stop. He'd keep feeding the girl lines until she got sick of him and then it never ended well… for Two-Bit.

He figured it never hurt to try.

She was about to answer him when the younger boy stepped in front of her and cut in.

"We're supposed to wait over there."

The older one shook his head. "Ponyboy come 'ere…"

He started whispering something to Ponyboy and she looked at the two for a second going over a thought in her head. She studied them as they argued second guessing herself.

"But Dallas said--"

She perked up suddenly. "You know where Dallas went?"

Two-Bit turned his attention away from Pony and back to her.

"Yeah, but why waste your time with him when you could waste it with me?"

She looked at him. For a second she couldn't believe he had actually said that. She shook her head.

There was no way…

This couldn't be him…

He and Pony started having a heated rock, paper, scissors battle to see whether they should listen to Dallas or not.

She groaned knowingly.

It was him.

"You know Keith,"

He looked surprised as she said his name. He couldn't even remember telling her to call him Two-Bit.

She smiled coyly. "I don't think I'm your type."

"You don't?" He asked curious where this was going.

"I hear you have a thing for blondes."

He hadn't told her that.

"And?"

"I've got a cousin. Blonde and blue-eyed, just like you like 'em."

He looked at her carefully. She didn't look insane but he'd been fooled before.

But then again, he thought, you cant go wrong with blonde and blue eyed.

She had to hold back a laugh.

Ponyboy looked at her curiously before he saw she was trying hard not to laugh.

She looked over at saw his expression and smiled.

Then Dallas walked out of the building.

She looked over at her cousin then back at Pony and winked.

Then the light turned on in his head. He knew then what was about to happen.

He just hoped he could get out of the danger zone quick enough.