(For those people who are very picky about grammar: If you haven't read The Outsiders, or seen the movie, you might be bothered by the grammar in this story. I intend to show a slightly Southern accent, or what ever accent they have in it, because it is how S.E Hinton wrote some things in hers. So I don't want to be getting any grammar flames! LoL)

When I saw her, she was standing by the fresh grave, wiping a tear off her cheek…

Ponyboy Curtis wiped at the tears running down his face furiously. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't cry…but seeing Johnny and Dally, lying motionless in the flimsy coffins had just brought back the painful memories.

"Pony…" Darry's voice sounded from behind his shoulder and Ponyboy sniffled, wiping off the tears with his coat sleeve. He didn't like Darry to see him cry…even in a situation like this.

"Yeah?" Ponyboy asked, turning around. People that had gathered around the grave…more people than he'd thought would show up…were now heading inside the church, or heading home.

"Me and Soda are going to be inside the church, alright? I know you wanted to stay out here, so just give us a holler when you want to leave." Darry said and Ponyboy noticed that Darry's eyes were slightly swollen. He would be slightly surprised if Darry had cried. He hadn't even cried at their parents' funeral, and the only time Ponyboy had even seen Darry cry was at the hospital only a few weeks ago…

"Alright." Ponyboy answered, slouching down and staring at the ground. "I will."

"Okay." Darry said, patting his shoulder firmly. "Take your time." Ponyboy nodded, watching Darry's retreating back after he nodded and left in silence. It was only when Darry had gone into the church that Ponyboy turned around and stared at the gray slates again.

Dallas Winston…Jonathon Cade…Dally and Johnny had both been gone in a split second. Johnny had died as a hero, saving more than a few kids from a fire along with Ponyboy. Dally had died because the one thing, the one person that had mattered in his life had slipped away and everything had gone wrong. And he, who had been caught up in the middle of it all, had been the only one that survived. It felt wrong…and he felt guilty they had left instead of him.

He looked up, wiping away more hot tears. He'd just finished his English report, a recount of what had happened. Darry, Sodapop and Steve had all read it over, and they'd given him good replies. But he didn't feel convinced enough. A small shuddering gasp filled his ears and he looked up to see someone standing by Johnny's grave. Someone he recognized…

"Cassie?" He said quietly and the girl looked up. His frown broke into a strained smiled and he strode over to her.

"Pony!" When they'd reached each other, she threw her arms around him tightly in a hug. Cassie Evans was the unofficial member of their group of Greasers. Girls weren't usually allowed in gangs, but Cassie was an exception.

"Hey there, Ladybug." Her official nickname had been given to her a year after she'd met Ponyboy. The year they had moved from the country and into their home. Cassie Evans was a sweet, kind, but strong willed girl, which was what made her stick inevitably to them. She wasn't going to be the first one to let down a fight…orally.

"I'm so sorry." Her voice was muffled seeing as she was talking into his shirt, but he could hear her. "I should've come…but I had no idea until I read the paper…" She trailed off, stifling a sob. He rubbed her back soothingly, trying to bite back tears himself. Cassie felt guilty for not being there while her family had dragged her on a trip. She'd left the day before he got jumped…the day before it all happened.

"Cassie, you didn't know. It's okay." Ponyboy said, trying to be calming, but Cassie stepped back from him and he got a good look at her face for the first time. She was pale, just like she had always been, but it was a fair pale that made her glow. Her bright green eyes were exaggerated by her long dark chocolate brown waves and her face was splashed with soft freckles.

"I went to see them." She whispered, looking fearfully at the two graves. Ponyboy turned so that he was facing the graves again and sighed. "Before they died."

"You did?" he asked. Cassie was dressed in a small black dress, something that she hardly wore. But her move to the Soc's side of town had been unexpected…she had spent most of her time since she moved their at the Curtis house, hanging with the guys. That was something she didn't mind at all.

"Yeah." She paused, smiling at Johnny's grave. "Johnny's hair was so short…and Dally, Dally just kept on talking about what a stunt you'd pulled on him." He laughed softly, remembering one of the first things Dallas had said to him.

"If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I swear you'll be a dead man."

"I heard about how he died." Ponyboy was ripped away from the memory only to remember a horrible one. How Dally had died. He'd robbed a store after Johnny had died in the hospital and phoned Darry, telling him to meet him in the park. The whole gang had run there, all of them still beat up from the rumble…and they'd all watched him get ripped down to the ground by bullets.

"Yeah." He looked up to try and crack a grin, but it came out as a lopsided frown. "Not so gallant, eh?" Cassie laughed tearfully, nodding her head.

"But Dallas wouldn't have had it any other way Pony, and you know it." She said, nudging him. "Johnny would've driven him mad."

"Yeah." Ponyboy said, finally feeling ready to let go of them. They were gone and there was nothing he could do about it… "Why don't we go get a bite to eat? There was some pretty good looking stuff in there."

"Aww, come on Steve. Hand it over." Two-Bit Matthews whined from across the TV room. It was a typical Saturday morning at the Curtis house. Two-Bit, Steve and Soda were all sprawled out on the couches in the TV room, waiting for breakfast, which was being made by Darry and Ponyboy.

"Why? All you want to do is watch some kid show." Steve Randle said, clutching the remote control for the TV. Ponyboy sniggered, knowing that Two-Bit was wanting to watch his favorite cartoon, a definite sign that he had still to mature.

"Hey! Mickey Mouse is not some kid show." Two-Bit said back defensively as Darry carried in the chocolate cake with frosting. Sodapop, who was paying very little attention to their fight, grabbed the first thick slice of cake eagerly. Most people ate eggs and toast for breakfast…the Curtis house made chocolate cake for breakfast.

"Yeah, it is! My kid sister would beg to have…" A fight broke out and Darry set the cake down on the table, standing up and licking the icing off his finger. Darry was the unofficial leader of their group…someone that you did not want to bother with. And mornings weren't the best times for him.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Darry reached forward and easily grabbed the remote out of Steve's clutch. "Now Steve, you know that Two-Bit here likes Mickey, so just let him watch it." Soon enough, the joyful sounds of Mickey Mouse could be heard from the living room, and Ponyboy decided it best to eat breakfast in the kitchen, seeing as the couches were probably all full.

"You eating in there Ponyboy?" Soda's voice called from the living room. He sighed, digging his fork deeply into the moist chocolate cake.

"Yeah." He called back and he hoped that no one would join him. "But I'm fine." Darry had decided to settle down in there. Ponyboy could hear him flipping through the newspaper, probably scanning the football scores.

"You sure?" Sodapop called as the backdoor opened quietly and Pony nodded.

"Yeah, positive." He finished half of his cake as he strained his neck to see who had entered. Seconds later, Cassie's head popped out from the small separator in front of the door. "Hey Cass…" She held up a hand and shook her head, jabbing her thumb towards the door.

"Wanna go for a walk Pony?" she whispered and he downed the rest of his cake and glass of chocolate milk before standing up and setting his dishes by the sink.

"Darry? I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back for lunch alright?" Ponyboy said, nodding to Cassie, who smiled and walked back behind the separator.

"Alright. You going with anyone?" Darry called and Ponyboy shrugged, coming into the living room view. He had been right…there wasn't any room for him anywhere.

"I dunno. I might me up with someone, but I just want to roam for a while, get some stuff off my mind." He said, turning around. "I'll be back before lunch or come looking for me."

After he'd gone into the back yard, he found Cassie waiting for him, something clutched in her hands.

"Hey Ladybug." Ponyboy said, smiling and walking up to her. A pretty Greaser girl was very rare, and even though she was now technically a Soc, Cassie was a Greaser at heart and was one of the prettiest girls Pony had ever seen. "Why'd you want just me?"

"Well, seeing as we're the only two that are the same age, I thought catching up with my best bud wouldn't hurt any, would it?" she asked, smiling. "I may be a Soc by relation, but I'm a Greaser at heart, and I don't care who cares." He laughed, walking quickly over to the fence.

"Come on, we better go. If they hear me talking, they'll think I've gone mad." Ponyboy said, opening the gate for her. She thanked him quietly, and he pulled out a cigarette as they began to walk. "My smoking still bother you?" He'd seen the slightly irritated looked she'd worn when he'd lit the cigarette. It was a habit by now…he'd been smoking since he was young.

"Aww, Pony you know I don't like you smoking those cancer sticks. But that doesn't mean that I don't like you." Cassie said, poking his shoulder teasingly. He nodded, puffing the smoke out of his mouth. He'd consider quitting if things ever became serious between the two of them, which was unlikely.

"Okay, enough stalling," he said, after they'd walked and talked for a bit. "Tell me why you invited me and not Soda or someone." Cassie sighed, taking what she'd been clutching in her hands out of her pocket. She'd put it there after she'd almost tugged it to shreds, and Ponyboy had seen that it was a piece of the newspaper.

"You wanna stop at the General Store?" Cassie asked, crossing her arms and staring ahead of her. Ponyboy threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped on it, running shortly to catch up to her.

"Alright." Ponyboy accepted the sweet sound of silence and knew there was something Cassie was biting her tongue about. And he was going to find out what it was. "What do you want? I'm buying."

"No, Pony, I'm buying…" Cassie started but he cut her off.

"No you ain't Cassie. I'm buying something for you." Ponyboy said, opening the door. Cassie would choose something incredibly inexpensive just for his sake. She hated people buying things for her.

"You won't let me win this fight will you Pony?" she asked him when he held the door open for her. He barked out a laugh and shook his head.

"Not a chance Ladybug." He said, looking around. "So, what did you want?"

"Thanks again Pony. This is really nice." Cassie and Ponyboy were walking out of the General Store, holding two ice cream cones, Cassie's being strawberry and Ponyboy's being chocolate. "But I'm buying next time." Her soft Southern accent was filled with humor and he laughed, holding out his free hand.

"Deal." She shook his hand, nodding and licking her ice cream as she did.

"Alright." She said, her voice taking a high dip of amusement. They licked their ice cream in silence as they continued wandering around, waving to friends of theirs and occasionally talking about something.

"So," Ponyboy began, once they'd finished their ice cream. He'd checked his watch and decided it was best to start to head home. Lunchtime would be coming soon at the Curtis house. "What are you trying to hide from me?" Cassie wrung her hands together and laughed nervously as they turned the corner of the street.

"What do you mean Pony?" she asked, her voice a bit too shaky to try and hide it. He sent her an obvious glance and sighed again.

"Cassie…"

"Alright, I'll tell you. But you better not go gabbing to Soda or Darry. I don't need any trouble." She said, shifting uncomfortably again.

"I swear I won't." Ponyboy said, holding up his right hand. "If I do, you can knock me clean off my feet." Cassie laughed at his promise and she nodded.

"Fine." She stopped, making him stop in mid step again. "Well, when I went to visit Johnny, I went to go see Dallas as well."

"Yeah? What about Dally?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Dally had always mentioned what a 'pretty little thing' Cassie was. Hopefully it wasn't anything bad.

"Well, he…he tried to make a move on me." Cassie said and Ponyboy understood right then why Cassie didn't want him telling Sodapop or Darry. They'd get protective, and it would no longer matter if Dally was dead or not. He also felt a twinge of jealousy when she said it, something he knew was coming.

"Why, that blasted little son of a…" Ponyboy muttered, cursing. "How bad was it?"

"It wasn't that bad…he just…kissed me that's all." She started walking quickly again, rubbing her arms. Ponyboy took a minute to realize what she'd just said before running to catch up to her.

"He kissed you?" He repeated and Cassie nodded.

"See, now you know why I don't want you telling Soda or Darry, and it wouldn't matter a damn thing to them that Dallas is dead." Cassie said forcefully soft, not looking him in the eye.

"Well, Dallas was always trying to pull things on any girl, Cassie." Ponyboy said, nudging her arm. She had seemed to fume over this and it was up to him to calm her down. "And he was always talking about what a pretty thing you are." She blushed at this and he wasn't sure if it was because he had in a way called her pretty.

"Yeah, I guess you're right Pony." She said, stopping when he pulled her into a hug. "Thanks."

"Ah, I just don't want you thinking that Dallas was all that bad. He was a good guy." Ponyboy said and she pulled away from the hug, beaming tiredly.

"I know. It's not like I didn't know Dally or anything. I mean, I knew he was like that." Cassie said and Pony nodded, still blushing from the hug. She was shorter than him, so she hadn't noticed that he was turning red from actually being bold enough to hug her. He'd never tell anyone, but he did have a thing for Cassie. A slight thing.

"Yeah." Ponyboy said, digging his hands deeper into his pockets. Suddenly, as they passed the park to his house, a series of whoops could be heard and Cassie and Ponyboy turned around.

"Well, well, well. If it ain't Miss Cassie Evans." Two-Bit's voice came out suddenly and he jumped out from behind the large oak tree in the park. Cassie smirked playfully and sighed.

"Cassie!" Soda ran out from behind the tree as well and jumped on her in a hug. "Well you're a sight for sore eyes!" Cassie laughed, hugging Sodapop in return.

"Hey Soda." She said simply and soon enough, the rest of the gang had joined them. Steve had simply hugged her, but Two-Bit had attacked her, practically strangled her. Cassie tried hitting him, trying to make him let go, but he just laughed and continued hurting her. "Two-Bit Matthews, if you don't let go of me right now, I swear you'll be a dead man walking."

"Fine, fine." Two-Bit said, letting her go. She replied by punching him in the arm, hard, making him wince. "Ouch! What's wrong with being glad to have you back?"

"Nothing, but when you're trying to strangle me…" Cassie said, smirking. Last but not least to greet Cassie was Darry, who pulled her into a hug like an older brother would and lifted her off her feet.

"Hey Ladybug." He said, not letting her go. Ponyboy felt another twang of jealousy…for the second time. "How's life as a Soc?"

"Horrible." She replied ruefully scowling and they all laughed. "Honestly, guys, it really isn't any fun."

"We believe you Cassie." Two-Bit said, winking at her. She scowled at him, breaking free from Darry and starting to walk quickly down the street. They all laughed before running after her, Ponyboy following with a cold look on his face.

"Come on Cassie, we really do believe you." Steve said, trying to put his arm around her, but she swatted it away, breaking quickly into a run. "Hey!" Soda, Steve and Two-Bit tried chasing her, while Darry laughed, running after her and Ponyboy jogged slowly after them.

"You guys leave her alone!" he tried yelling at them, but it was a bit too late. Soda had run up behind Cassie and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. Ponyboy couldn't help but smile at what she did next.

"Sodapop Curtis, put me down this instant!" she yelled, but they could all not mistake the definite laugh in her voice. "Well, at least I don't have to walk now." Ponyboy had caught up with all of them and heard the murmured words come from her mouth.

"Ah, but you can run!" Soda yelled joyfully, beginning to run. Cassie's scream could be heard all around the block and Darry slowed down to Pony's pace.

"Soda! Put her down!" He laughed, but Sodapop had already carried her inside the house. "Poor Cassie. What a welcome she's got."