I don't own the Outsiders. This is a lot shorter than the first - I guess I didn't have as much to say as I did for the first one. Sorry for the long wait too, by the way - discovered a new TV show, totally fried my brain, went back to school, totally fried my brain, went into hospital, totally fried my brain. So I'm sorry if this seems a little brain-fried. It is! I'm rambling.

Onward!


Day Two

~ Monday ~

~ Steve ~

I rubbed sleep from my eyes as I stumbled into the classroom, keeping my head down. Not one wink of sleep last night. I would have liked to know who did get any sleep last night. I'd say something if it was me, or Dally or Two-Bit, or even Sodapop - but Johnny and Ponyboy? I didn't have a clue who to be more worried about. I didn't give a rat's ass how they'd ended up involved in all this trouble - I couldn't have cared less if they did kill that Soc. A part of me hoped that they did.

It was just so weird to think of either of them taking a blade to someone, anybody. I had never reckoned that Ponyboy knew how to use a blade proper. I knew that Johnny had one, and while I had never doubted that he would use it if he had to ... I guess I never dreamed he'd be pushed to that point. He did so well at keeping out of trouble. They must have been in real deep.

I slumped in my seat, my eyes shut. My brain was aching from exhaustion. I had only come to school because I needed some sort of distraction. I couldn't stand to be sitting around all day, worries spiralling around all of us. I had to be doing something, even if it was school.

The mood in the class was subdued. Twice, some lousy hood had sauntered over and asked me did I have anything to do with it. They looked about ready to congratulate me, and I was too tired to win an argument.

I didn't realize how bad things were about to get until the girl I sat beside bustled into the room. She was a middle classer, and she wasn't too bright, but she'd never been nasty. In fact, she never said much.

And the moment she saw me, the expression on her face changed to nothing but disgust. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Your pals were the ones that killed Bob Sheldon, ain't that right?" she said coldly.

I swallowed hard. It sounded alien to my own ears - but if she thought I was going to lie, or try to start a war, she had another thing coming. Yeah - they were my pals. And I was hard pressed to think of something that would change that. "Yeah," I replied. "They were. Got somethin' to say?"

She didn't sit down beside me and offer a meek smile like she usually did. She stood with her feet rooted firmly to the ground, frowning down at me. "I suppose you and your buddies are real proud of yourselves," she said spitefully.

"Yeah," I retorted sarcastically. "Real proud. We've been plotting this for months."

She scowled. "You think you're getting away with this, you're wrong," she said.

"Really, you're making me shake," I replied coolly.

Her mouth fell open. "Aren't you even sorry?"

"I had nothin' to do with it," I replied heatedly. "You'd swear this happened on purpose."

She opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off by another girl - a girl I knew to be a Soc, and really, exceptionally dim.

"Shelley, don't bother!" she yapped, stomping over and grabbing her friend's arm. "They'll get what's coming to them, don't even talk to those greasers."

I sat upright, and was half-turned around to yell at the girl - this wasn't my fault, it wasn't anybody's fault - when I fully processed what she'd say. They'll get what's coming to them. It wasn't like I was surprised or anything, I knew that the Socs were going to be pissed, and that they wouldn't let it lie. But not until right then had I considered out and out warfare. And now that I did think about it, it seemed like a probability.

I turned back around sharply, swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth. I gritted my teeth and kept my head down - I was worried as hell about Johnny and Ponyboy, and I was starting to miss them both like crazy - but I half-wished that they wouldn't come home.

xxx

Two-Bit, white-faced and wide-eyed, gratefully took the cigarette I was offering him and leaned back on his car's fenders. "You alright?" I asked, nodding at his hand.

Two-Bit nodded, waving it dismissively, flicking tiny spurts of blood all over the place. Usually Socs kept to the cafeteria and left greasers well enough alone - but this, this was havoc. A Soc and a greaser had started fighting in the parking lot of the school. In fact, two Socs tried to corner a greaser just outside the principal's office. And even at lunch, when we went down to the grocery store to buy ourselves some food, we were just in time to pull two greasers and two Socs away from each other. One of the greasers had pulled a blade, and Two-Bit got his hand nicked in the process, and blood beaded along the shallow mark.

Those Socs weren't kidding - this was outright warfare. Two-Bit shook his head, watching tendrils of smoke unfurl and twist as it left his mouth. "This is crazy," he muttered, glancing around him.

The mood was already pretty crummy. Usually we would have had Ponyboy and Johnny with us, and if Soda was on his lunch break, he'd come down for a few minutes to keep himself busy. He hated being alone. If I could tell you one thing about my best friend, it was that he would put on a brave face no matter what; but I could tell that this would kill him. It was one thing to lose Sandy - their relationship was far from perfect - but to lose his kid brother. There was nothing Soda cared more about than that kid, and it was eating him up.

I was glad that Soda wasn't around today - I didn't want to have to deal with seeing the hurt in his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to pretend that things were normal. Things weren't normal, and sometimes, it was hard not to get tired of Soda trying to pretend it was. I could never see the world like Soda could.

I sighed. I didn't expect to feel so alone. Without saying a word, Two-Bit and I both knew what was missing. I kept turning around, expecting Johnny to grin at me and ask me for a cigarette - he ran out pretty fast.

"You think they're okay?" Two-Bit asked me.

I glanced up at him, taking a drag on my cigarette. "I think they're fuckin' stupid," I replied spitefully. I couldn't admit that I was crumbling - I wasn't going to. Socs everywhere, starting fights for no reason, and two of my best friends gone missing - running away, because that was all they could do - I wasn't about to melt and cry like a little girl. I guess it wasn't my style.

"What makes you say that?" Two-Bit asked me, in an oddly calm voice.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't keep this up. "'Cause I'm just going to end up killing them anyway for doin' this to us," I retorted, and watched Two-Bit sigh. He picked at the half-dry blood that was crusting along his cut; I pulled a face.

He managed a weak laugh. "You know, I know Johnny doesn't say a lot," he muttered. "But that don't mean you wouldn't miss him when he ain't around."

"Yeah, you ain't a-woofin'," I said tiredly, raking my fingers through my hair. "This is insane."

Two-Bit didn't reply - I didn't think he was able to. I asked him if he'd slept a wink last night - he shook his head and puffed away on his cigarette, and I did the same, grateful for any sort of distraction. After about five minutes of silence - it seemed exacerbated by the fact that Johnny and Ponyboy weren't here to fill it - a couple of Socs got out of their car, and were eyeing us.

I glanced at Two-Bit, who jerked his chin up in a nod. I was angry, and I wasn't scared of four or five guys, even if I was by myself - but I was in no mood to fight. And I didn't have to ask Two-Bit to know that he felt the same way. Wordlessly, we got back in my car and headed back to school. I wondered whether we'd be the ones better off staying in the cafeteria, for a change.

xxx

The day that I expected to be one of the longest of my life actually turned out to be quite short - I guess I was dreading what would happen after school enough to make the time fly by without me noticing.

I could sense it - wherever it was. I felt like I couldn't walk down the hallway without glancing over my shoulder; I had myself convinced that the Socs were going to jump me - right there, in the school and all. This is different - it felt like the explosion. The one I'd been waiting for.

I had said it to Johnny - not three days ago. Don't you worry about it. The Socs keep coming over to our side of town, and we'd take care of it. We'd have to.

Don't think about it, I told myself. It hurt to think about Johnny. I couldn't think that he'd never hurt anybody - after what had happened to him, I knew damn well that he'd hurt anybody who tried to do that to him again, without a second's doubt. But this mess - this would hurt Johnny more than anything else could.

And Ponyboy - well, where the hell was I supposed to start with Ponyboy. The kid was young, and idealistic. His nose was buried in a book so often, he barely knew what went on in the real world. It was like his head lived in a different reality. And God help me - I didn't want to see the poor kid change. You didn't see that a lot in this neighbourhood - if he could hold onto it for as long as possible, I would have paid anything to see that.

No wonder I felt sick to my stomach all day.

Two-Bit was waiting for me after school, sitting on the wall opposite the place with a cigarette dangling from his lips and dark, heavy circles under his eyes.

"We gotta go meet Dal," he said when I reached him.

"Where is he?"

Two-Bit shrugged. "Said he was headin' to my place. The cops hauled him in," he added, jumping off the wall.

"For what?" I nearly yelped, yanking my car door open.

Two-Bit shook his head. "Beats me. And you know what else, them Socs tried to jump Montgomery - you know, the guy in Shepard's gang?"

I nodded. "Kathy's brother?"

Two-Bit nodded sagely, swinging himself into the passenger seat. "Dumb Socs. Don't know what's good for 'em."

I shook my head. "Did Dally say what the cops wanted? Was it about Ponyboy and Johnny?"

"Naw man, he didn't say nothin'," Two-Bit said uncertainly, scratching the back of his head.

So I high-tailed it over to Two-Bit's house, and all the while, strangely enough, I thought about Evie.

I needed to see her; I couldn't explain it, and I had tried - but there was something about Evie, and the way she could talk to me. She just seemed to get through to me, and she always knew exactly what to say. I wanted to talk to her more than I did anybody, even if it meant putting up with Holly Mathews' crap all the time.

But neither were at Two-Bit's - which was pretty strange for the two of them. They practically lived in Holly and Two-Bit's house.

Dally was just at the end of the street by the time we got to Two-Bit's; he grinned when he saw us, looking as unperturbed and untouchable as ever. In fact, he looked sort of pleased with himself.

Two-Bit sighed in relief and jumped out of my car, and I followed suit. "What the cops want?" I asked Dally, the moment he could hear me.

Dally eyed me. I wasn't always on the best of terms - sure, he was part of the gang and that was as good as family, but we just had different opinions. And I don't care what he said, he wasn't really in a position to call me too hot-headed. His temper was just as bad on mine, and worse to be on the receiving end of. Just because he was too cold to care...

It didn't really matter right now though. I could see it in his steely expression - what mattered was Ponyboy and Johnny.

He chuckled. "The boys down at the station ... They think everything that goes on around here has got my name written all over it."

"Whatcha tell 'em?" Two-Bit asked. Dally shoved his hands into his pocket - his jeans jacket, I noticed. He almost never wore that thing. I glanced at Two-Bit, who was staring right back at me. I didn't know whether Dallas knew something about something, but it seemed to me like he would.

I couldn't say for sure, but if ever Johnny got himself into trouble, I would have put my money on him running to Dallas for help. Hero-worship didn't even begin to cover it. I watched Dallas carefully for an answer, but he was already headed inside.

We followed. "You think he knows somethin'?" Two-Bit muttered.

I shrugged. "You think he'd tell us if he did?"

Two-Bit frowned, keeping his voice low. "No. Dal knows when to keep his trap shut."

"Then, either way," I replied. "I don't think we're about to hear all about it."

It wasn't until Two-Bit had settled three beers from the refrigerator down on Mrs. Mathews' coffee table that Dallas answered his question.

"Kept my trap shut," he said nonchalantly, frowning. "They sort of . . . forced it out me that Ponyboy and Johnny were headed for Texas."

"And are they?" Two-Bit said sharply.

"How the hell would I know?" Dallas shot back, the retort ready off his tongue. I raised my eyebrows.

"You don't know where they are?" I said. Dallas was a damn good liar; I knew I wasn't going to get anything.

"Okay," said Two-Bit, jumping up again. He ran out of the room and was back in a few seconds, brandishing a rolled up map of America, from God knows where. "So how are we getting to Texas?"

Dally just started laughing, and I let out a groan. "C'mon man, we ain't going to Texas."

Two-Bit didn't even look at me. "Ponyboy and Johnny are headed to Texas, we're goin' to Texas," he said simply. He made everything sound so simple.

"We can't just up and dust," I said loudly.

"How far away is Texas anyway?" Two-Bit asked, blinking up at me. Dally grinned again, taking a swig of beer and in reply, I hit Two-Bit over the back of his head.


Updates are promised... sometime. Whatever you have to say, I'm all ears. Just ... don't be cruel.