Something New: The Ponyboy Edition, Chapter 3

Note: Thanks alot to the reviewers so far! If anyone else reads, don't hesitate to review! It's nice to know people are reading your story, and hopefully, enjoy it!

Disclaimer: For the time thrice, I do not own "The Outsiders". S.E. Hinton does.

The end of the school day (see chapters 1&2)...

(Pony's POV): I gotta say...this day has gone from boring to good to great! That beautiful chick Ashleigh actually wants to see me again! This afternoon, in fact, after school! I just sat almost impatiently in my two classes after lunch, waiting for the end of the day. Didn't have Johnny and Two Bit in those classes, but Jeremy was in the last one with me. Both classes were filled with Socs, though. And word about Ashleigh and I must have already spread around the Socs from those ones that we ran into earlier. A couple of Socs were sitting behind me and were fake coughing remarks like "blackie greaser" and whispering things like "the black trash bag with the white trash" and such. I was getting so angry, but I just focused on my sheet in each class, which were, as you can possibly guess, more sheets with questions like "what is your name" and "how old are you" and...you get the picture. But even with the Soc's remarks, nothing was diminishing my excitement about seeing Ashleigh again.

And finally, the day was over! I was outta that classroom in a heartbeat. I just practically scooped my backpack up and ran for the door. I got outside and started looking for Ashleigh, but first I saw Two Bit and Johnny. Oh man, I had forgotten all about them! What was I gonna say? What was I gonna tell Two Bit? I tried to duck outta sight among the other students around the front of the school, but Johnny saw me and nodded towards me, and then Two Bit saw me. Dagnabbit! I mean, I love my friends, but not right now!

Two Bit and Johnny walked over. I tried to hide my frown and put a fake smile on my face. "Hey, Pony! Let's get outta here and go meet the guys, maybe see what Dally is doing tonight," Two Bit said. He sure didn't waste any time. I think Johnny was ready to go, too. I stood there in silence for a second. I couldn't leave with them; I wanted to see Ashleigh! Two Bit waited for me to answer. Even Johnny was looking at me with this weird expression on his face. Two Bit waved his hand in front of my eyes, which was stupid since I didn't looked dazed or anything. "Ah...heyloooo? Is Ponyboy there or on Mars?" Two Bit asked. Johnny started laughing. I finally just told the truth...mainly.

"I'm...just waiting for someone right now..er...," I stammered. I know I sounded stupid, but hey, I told the truth. I was waiting for someone. "Oh yeah, for who?" Two Bit asked. Well, shoulda seen that coming. I finally decided the truth...more, if you want to say that. "Look, I'm..uh, waiting for a girl," I said. Two Bit raised his eyebrows. Johnny even looked at me. "Well, geesh, Pony, you sure don't wait long!" He said with a laugh. Johnny started laughing too. "Let me guess, you don't want us to hang around, huh?" Johnny asked. "Well, uh, yeah...if that's ok with you guys," I said quickly. Two Bit just nodded. "I understand. Just bring her by the neighborhood sometime so we can meet her," he said. I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. "I don't know about that," I said quietly. I don't think Two Bit heard me say that, but Johnny seemed to. He kinda cocked his eyebrow for a second. "Guess Johnnycake and I better split then. See ya!" Two Bit said. They walked off the school yard and started down the road. That took care of that...now I had to find Ashleigh! I looked around all the student that were walking around to see if she was in the crowd. I started to dispair when I saw her standing next to our school's sign on the lawn!

I ran over to her, but slowed down when I got near, before she could see me. I had to act cool and tuff. I walked the rest of the way over. "Hey Ashleigh," I said. She saw me and smiled (don't get me started on that smile again!). "Hey Ponyboy," she said sweetly. I looked around for just a second. "You ready to get outta here?" I asked. She got closer. "You bet," she said. She didn't sound too happy when she said that. I bet anything she got some classes with some Socs. We started down the street and left school. She showed me down a sidewalk that she told me ran to her house. We actually walked in silence for a minute or so. I was still trying to think of something to say. I decided to ask her about school. "So...how were your classes?" I asked. Ashleigh actually frowned for the first time since I've seen her. "Not too good. I got a class with two of the people we ran into earlier during lunch...a guy and a girl," she said. I shook my head. "Just some Socs," I said. She looked at me quizically. "Socs?" She asked. I told her all about the Socs and us Greasers...how Socs are the rich Social kids, us Greasers are the poorer kids with...well, greasy hair. The grease is all our fault, though. We, I included, use hair grease all the time. She shook her head again. "Well, I guess you can say I'm a middle person, if you have a name for us," she said. I usually just called them middle classers, but Dallas and Two Bit came up with "Midd-el-ers", saying each syllable seperatley. I don't think Ashleigh would want me to think of her as a "midd-el-er", though, so I didn't tell her about that name. Then she told me that the Socs in her class were already messing with her. "Look, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If I hadn't come up..." I didn't get to finish. She interrupted me. "If you didn't come up, who knows what they would have done to me," she said with a smile. I smiled too. Guess she was right. But still, now she's even in more "trouble" with the Socs, all thanks to me.

We kept walking and talking about stuff like what we were interested in, what other books we like besides "Gone with the Wind" and all that, until I heard a car driving up behind us. By the sound, I could tell it was coming up fast. I turned around while Ashleigh was saying something. Oooh boy...just our luck. Socs. They were coming up fast in a red Cadillac. Ashleigh turned around, too. "Trouble?" She asked. Boy, she sure caught on quick! I just nodded and swung my head to the left. There was a another road, and I could see some yard we could run across to get away. "Yeah, they are trouble, all right! Come on!" I said. I grabbed her hand and we started running. We ran down the street and we ran for the yards. If we could cut across the yards, we could hide behind some houses or something until the Socs lost us. While we were running, I could hear the Socs yelling in the car. They were loosing us since we were running so fast. Man, I tell you, she sure did go pretty fast! Anyway, we got across all these yards and hid behind some houses. A few other cars drownded out the noise the Socs were making, but I could tell they had lost us. I didn't see them anywhere when I peeked out from around the wall of the house we were behind. I smiled for a second, but then I felt pretty pathetic. What a way to impress a girl! Running away from a bunch of Socs! But, to my amazement, when I looked at her, she was smiling, too.

"That was exciting, to say the least," she said. She started giggling. I laughed for a second. "Welcome to Tulsa!" I said in a funny, sarcastic manner. I looked down a road. "My house isn't too far away, but...I don't know if you wanna go there," I said. She nodded. We got back on the street and started for her house again. It took about ten mintues, but we got there...and without any Soc trouble. We stopped at this house that she pointed at. "Well, here we are," she said. It was a pretty nice house. Nicer than mine, I tell ya that for sure. It was just a small, white painted house. We stood in silence for a few seconds. I didn't want to stop talking OR walking with her. She looked at me, and smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I hope," she said. I smiled. "Maybe we will have some classes together," I said hopefully. I sure hope we did. We stood there another few seconds, and, I didn't realize it totally, but she and I were getting our faces closer and closer together until...I kissed her! Wow, was that great! It lasted for about six seconds or so, but it felt alot longer...and I wish it was alot longer! She squeezed my hand, and walked up the three steps to her front door. She opened it and turned around to look at me, and she smiled. All I could do was smile back. Ashleigh walked inside, and I just stood there on the sidewalk for an entire minute with a huge smile plastered on my face. I started walking home, that huge grin still on my face. Man, even if those Socs would have driven back up and gotten out and beaten the tar out of me, or worse ran over me with the Cadillac, they wouldn't have erased that grin off my face! It took a short walk, but I got to the neighborhood, and to the house. Soda was already there. He must have gotten off early. I walked inside and just sat down on the chair. That huge grin was still on my face! Soda looked at me weirdly. He was eating some chocolate cake, like always. Steve was on the couch, too, and he even looked at me.

"What on earth are you so happy about?" Soda asked. I wrapped my hands behind my head. "Nothing," I said. I leaned back, Soda and Steve still looking at me weirdly. "You are a strange one, Pony," Steve said. Soda popped him in the arm in a playful manner. "Hey, don't call my little buddy strange," Soda said. Steve popped him back, and before you know it, Soda had put down his cake down and him and Steve were exchanging blows on the arm, a little harder each time. They always do stuff like this, seeing who can hold out the longest. I got up and went to the bedroom and lied across the bed, that goofy huge grin still on my face.