A/N: I promise I'll update my other stories as soon as I can… -squeaks-

Disclaimer: Yeah, these Outsiders aren't mine……..pity.

CHAPTER ONE

"MARIGOLD CURTIS, YOU BETTER GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED!" Darryl Curtis shouted from the kitchen one chilly Monday morning. With a groan and a muttered curse meant for no one to hear, sixteen year old Goldie Curtis pulled herself from the tangles of blankets on her bed and fell as her foot got caught. With another curse and a loud CRASH to alert the boys to her clumsiness yet again, Goldie tried to catch herself from falling.

I hate Mondays, she thought to herself as she heard laughter coming from the doorway to her tiny bedroom. With a look to kill, an icy blue glare greeted Sodapop Curtis. He stood in the doorway, hair still wet from his shower, dressed only in boxers.

"Glory, you need pants too, Soda!" Steve's voice called out from the living room. Goldie groaned. Already, her brothers' delinquent friends were laying siege on the living room.

They had better left me some cake! She thought grumpily as she quickly pulled on an old faded pair of blue jeans, a yellow sweater pale from wear, and an old pair of tan boots. She brushed the tangles out of her long blonde hair and pulled on a small gold chain that carried a little angel. For my little angel, her momma had told her when she had given it to her. Too tired to fool with makeup, she stopped to raise an eyebrow at herself in the mirror. She then stealthily slipped into the bathroom before her younger brother, Ponyboy, had the chance.

"Hey, Goldie, hurry up! It was my turn!" She laughed softly as her baby brother whined. She heard someone mutter something but couldn't make out the words through the door. Two-Bit, she thought as she heard her brothers laughing in response. Keith Matthews, known as Two-Bit, had become part of the band of boys that hung around her brothers when she was twelve. He was two years older than her, but still in her class. He had a goofy sense of humor and did his best to never take anything seriously. Sometimes he was the only one who could make her smile when things got too tough. While she wasn't exactly a quiet or weak girl, she often took things too seriously for someone at the "precious" age of sixteen.

After quickly brushing her teeth, she escaped from the bathroom and was nearly barreled over by Ponyboy. As she made her way to the kitchen, she saw Two-Bit sitting on the floor watching the TV, Steve sitting on the sofa staring at the ceiling, no doubt anxious to get to work, and Dallas Winston sitting in the armchair with a can of beer. Dallas Winston was the scariest of her brothers' friends. He was an okay guy, as long as you weren't pissing him off, but he was too hard after the stuff he had seen on the streets. He didn't bother Goldie though, since she was a Curtis.

"Isn't it a little early for beer, Dally?" Goldie asked him as she went on her search for food. Of course, there was no chocolate cake left, Damn it, Two-Bit, but she kept a stash of bagels in the fridge. She quickly toasted a bagel and spread on some apple butter before taking a bite. With an mmm of satisfaction, Goldie went to sit on the sofa next to Steve.

"EW, what is that crap?" He asked, disturbed by the dark brown glop on her bagel. The girl just glared at him and continued to eat. Even though she always put apple butter on bagels when she overslept, Steve always had to ask what it was. She was pretty sure he did it just to get on her nerves.

"Hey Honey-bunny, don't forget you have to help out Pony after school today." Darry said as he grabbed the keys for the truck. After their parents were killed in a car accident two years ago, Darry and Sodapop had started working full time to provide for Goldie and Ponyboy. They didn't have much, but they had managed to keep the small house their parents had owned, the family pickup truck the color of old candy apples, and food on the table. Sometimes the other boys spent as much time in the house as the Curtis' did, purely due to the fact that it was more like home than theirs.

Goldie rolled her eyes and tried not to show Darry how "thrilled" she was that she had to tutor her baby brother in math. Numbers came easily to her, and most times, math was the only subject she cared to work on when doing homework. Of course, Darry didn't really approve, but at least her tutoring Pony often got her off the hook. Pony would then help her out by giving her answers to her History and English homework. For this little arrangement to work, the two often worked on homework right after school. Besides, Darry liked them to have homework done before dinner, or there'd be an argument to raise the dead.

Steve saw her rolling her eyes and grinned at her.

"Yeah, Honey-bunny – and iron my shirts, too!" He laughed, ruffling her hair. She frowned and went to slap him away at the same time she arched her leg out to trip him, but he knew her too well. He slipped away, laughing, running to the door as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Once again, too fast for the Marigold!" he bellowed as Sodapop ran into the living room, carrying his work shirt.

"Bye Goldie, have a good day!" Soda said as he kissed her on the forehead and hopped out after Steve. Darry, Soda and Steve piled into the old pickup truck before driving off to work, tires spinning.

"Stay outta trouble!" She called out after them before giving up and moving into the kitchen to clean the dishes that were piling up on the counter. As she toweled off the last glass, Goldie heard the porch door swing open and knew to grab her books.

"Goldie, Johnny's here, time to get a move on!" Ponyboy called out to her.

"I'm comin', keep your pantyhose on." She mumbled as she came into the room.

"Hi Goldie," Johnny Cade quietly said. She smiled at the boy and reached down to switch off the TV, even while Two-Bit was still watching it.

Johnny was the quietest of the boys to hang with her brothers, and the one that Goldie looked after the most. He came from a broken home and it was no surprise if he wound up staying the night at their house to avoid getting beat on at home. He had dark hair and dark eyes that seemed to drown anyone that got caught in their gaze. Johnny was the kid that Goldie often went out of her way for, taking care of him like some lost forgotten teddy bear. He was the same age as her, but that didn't matter. If Johnny wasn't smiling, Goldie took it upon herself to make him laugh – which even Two-Bit congratulated her on.

"I hate Mondays." She confided in the quiet boy as she pulled the front door closed behind her. Together, the five began the walk to school – hard as nails Dallas Winston, scared and quiet Johnny Cade, burly and ridiculous Two-Bit Matthews, wiry and dreamy Ponyboy Curtis, and small and serious Marigold Curtis. In their eyes, it was just another school day.

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