Pony sighed and shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette. He lit it and mumbled something or the other about meeting a friend and exited the house before the gang could stop him.

"Should we go after him?" Johnny asked, looking out the door. "No... Let 'im go... This is a shock." Soda said, sitting on the floor. He read over the letter continuously.

Pony sighed and stomped out his cigarette as he stepped up to the door. The old house was condemned, but that didn't matter to the group Pony knew he'd find inside. Since last year, Pony had met some interesting people. They called themselves hippies, and their motto had always been 'Make Love, Not War.' He'd been asked to join numerous times, like it was some big gang or something, but Pony had always thought they were crazy, even though he befriended one in particular. Now he knew what they meant. Hundreds of boys just like Sodapop were getting sent off to war for no reason, and it was up to these guys.. The hippies, the flower children, to stop it.

Pony rapped on the door in the manner he'd learned. Two quick raps, three slow ones, two more quick ones. The door opened and Pony was almost choked by the smell of pot. That was something else he'd never gotten into, he considered it something that only the hippies did. A wide eyed boy with long hair opened the door. "Get me Blackie." Pony said. "He's breedin', man."

"I don't care." Pony said, pushing his way in. "Back room, kid." The boy answered. Pony nodded and waded through the many bodies into the back room. Sure enough, Blackie was in there, along with a girl. Blackie was Pony's only real friend among the hippies. His real name was Marcus, but he'd gotten the nickname Blackie when he joined up with the local hippie group. They called him such because, to put it frankly, if Blackie laid down naked in the snow and shut his eyes, you'd never be able to see him, and no amount of sun he got could darken his skin.

Blackie jumped up and away from the girl when he saw Ponyboy standing in the door. "Uncool, man! I was breedin'!"

"I don't care, I need to talk to you." Pony said, giving the girl a look. He motioned for her to get out of the room. She glared and walked out, not bothering to gather her clothing. Blackie pulled on his briefs. "Whatcha need, kid?" Pony shut the door. "You don't never call me kid, Blackie, I'm the same age as you and you know it." Blackie remained quiet. Pony sighed and sat on the bed. "Look, you said you was gonna have an anti-war rally two weeks from now, right?"

"Yep."

"And you said it was gonna be at the induction center, right?"

"Course."

"All day?"

"All day and all night, brother. Why?" Pony sighed. "I wanna join." Blackie stared at him. "I thought you hated us, Ponyboy."

"I did, but my brother just got a draft notice, and I ain't gonna sit around and do nothin' while he gets sent off to die!" Blackie nodded. "Alright, man... Alright. You're sure about this? You know you can't just go back. We may not have rumbles and gangs no more, but we definitely got our hippie gangs." Blackie was a notorious fighter with Tim Shepard's gang, when the gang thing was still in style. "Yeah, I know, Blackie. I want in. It ain't right that they're over there killin' our boys for nothin'." Blackie nodded. "Lemme get the head." Pony sat back and nodded as Blackie walked into the living room. "The head" was the so called leader of the house they gathered in. There was one major group of hippies or flower children in each town, and the head usually ran that group, so kind of like a gang leader. He 'inducted' newer hippies, if they were serious about it. Blackie and the head walked in. Pony stood up. The head shook his hand. "I'm Snickers."

"Ponyboy." Snickers looked him over. "Ain't you the one that hates us?"

"Not no more. I guess I saw the light. They ain't gonna kill my brother without hearin' somethin' from me." Snickers nodded. "You know what you gotta do, right? If you wanna be a high up friend of ours." Pony's jaw clenched but he nodded. "Yep... Blackie explained it to me."

"Blackie's my best friend, course he did... Do it." Pony shut his eyes and nodded. Being added to what the hippies in Tulsa called a connections list took a lot of embarrassment, but Pony had to do it if he wanted to solidify his place in the front of that rally.

Pony sighed took off his shoes and socks, then unzipped his jeans, dropping them and his briefs. He yanked off his shirt. The hippies were all very nature loving people, so being unashamed of your naked self was a badge of honor. Snickers nodded and stepped up to him. "Blackie, take him to the bathroom and get that grease out of his hair... It's disgustin'." Pony blushed. Blackie led him out of the bedroom and through the crowd of people. Everyone's eyes were on him, and Pony felt his face redden. Blackie pushed him into the bathroom and turned on the water. "Get to it." He said. "I'm glad you're finally agreein' to this, Ponyboy, trust me, life is so much better this way. We ain't got none of those problems." Pony nodded, washing the pomade out of his hair. Blackie grabbed a towel and dried his hair, tossing him a brush. "Straight down... Damn, Ponyboy." He said when Pony didn't brush it right. He grabbed the brush and ran it straight down Pony's hair. Though he wasn't a hippie, Pony had allowed his hair to grow to his mid-back. Blackie grinned. "You fit right in." He said, looking Ponyboy over. He grabbed Pony's wrist and pulled him back through the crowd. This time, people whistled and cheered. Blackie pushed him back into the bedroom. Snickers nodded. "Much better. "Here." He handed Pony a staple of all the hippies in Tulsa, a pair of bell-bottoms. Pony couldn't help but grin. "They gonna fit?" He asked. Snickers nodded. "You and Blackie wear the same size." Pony nodded and yanked them on. Blackie whooped, slapping him on his bare back. "Come on." He pulled Pony into the living room. As if on cue, everyone stood back, making a clear space in the center of the room, big enough for Blackie, Pony, and Snickers. They sat down and Pony tucked his hair behind his ears, mostly because he saw Blackie doing it. "You've smoked before, right?"

"Only cigarettes." Pony answered. The room fell into an uproar. "Well this ain't tobacco, Ponyboy. This here's marijuana." Pony felt his heart leap as he watched first Snickers, then Blackie take the joint. Blackie grinned and handed it to him. Pony took it and grinned. "Darry's gonna kill me for this." He said before taking a drag. It burned, but not bad. They continued to pass the joint around until it was gone. Snickers called over one of the other hippies, a girl about Pony's age. He said something to her, but Pony didn't hear. She came back with a baggie and a pipe. Snickers filled the pipe and showed Pony how to use it. Pony nodded. They passed it around a few times, until Pony was as high as they thought he'd ever be. The sixteen year old laid back on the dirty rug, staring at the white ceiling. Well, it wasn't really white. It was a strange yellow, from all the smoking people did in the house. He could hear people laughing, and got to laughing himself.

Finally, Blackie and Snickers pulled him up to his feet and dragged him into the bedroom. They laid him on the bed. Pony sat up and yawned. "I'm hungry." He muttered. Blackie laughed. "Later, man. Look, you got one more thing to do... But, and we don't do this with everyone, man, we usually choose for 'em, but you got a choice. You can breed, or you can pop somethin'." Pony thought for a second. His choices weren't the best. But, if he chose to pop something, there was a chance they'd give him any number of pills, and he had to take them. Darry would yell at him for the pot, he didn't need to be killed for taking something like LSD. "Breed." He said, rubbing his eyes. Blackie nodded. He walked out. Snickers sat on the bed. "This is real honest of you to do. Alot of these guys become one of us just to have an excuse to get high. You're doin' it for a really good reason."

"Thanks, Snickers." Pony answered, smiling. Snickers returned it. "I'll letcha be... You two can come out whenever you're done." Pony nodded. Snickers exited. Blackie came back into the room a few minutes later with six different girls. "These are the candidates." Pony couldn't help but smile. He looked at the girls. There was two blondes, three black haired beauties, one with brown hair, and one with red hair. Pony stood up and walked up to the girls. He smiled softly at one of the black haired girls. She was a pretty girl, with a small face and blue eyes. "Come here..." He said quietly, taking her hand. Blackie grinned. "See ya later, bro." Pony nodded to him. Blackie rushed the other girls out and shut the door. Pony looked her over. "What's your name?"

"Doll." Pony grinned. "Your real name?"

"Cristal." Pony nodded. He pulled her onto the bed. "You do this alot?"

"This is my first time with a new kid... I'm usually with one of the guys that we know really well, that way we know they're clean."

"Well I'm clean, I promise."

"I know... Blackie wouldn't have allowed me in here if you weren't. I'm his pet." Pony smiled and leaned forward a bit, kissing her gently. She smiled and laid back, allowing him to get over her. He kissed her passionately, sliding up her shirt slowly.

A cheer rose from the group in the living room when the two exited, hand in hand. Pony grinned but Doll blushed. Blackie smacked him hard on the back. "Good goin', bro!" He shouted. Pony smirked. He was offered a joint and he gladly took it. Doll slid it from his fingers after he'd had it for a bit and grinned at him. When she was finished she handed it back to the boy that had given it to them. Snickers stood up. "Hey... I expect to see you in the front of the crowd... Right along with me and Blackie, and your doll of course." Doll grinned at him and squeezed his hand. "You will." He said. Blackie walked into the bedroom and tossed him his clothes. "Hey, here." Blackie easily tied back his hair. Pony slid his shirt back on. "That outfit is perfect for the rally, just so you know." Pony nodded. "I gotta get home before Darry kills me." They nodded. He kissed Doll once more and walked out, waving. The group inside shouted good-byes. Pony grinned and walked down the street, proud of the stand he was able to take for his brother.

Everyone was still up when Pony walked in. Darry looked up, more worried looking than angry.