A/N I'm really thinking about some of this story and yikes. I know it's kind of an eyeroller that Ponyboy immediately goes out and walks around with Sodapop and that this chapter comes to close after being found and all that. I guess it just works more for my plot. Also, these chapters are a lot longer than the chapters of the original. I put in a bunch more detail and stuff because the original seems very amateur. I hope the addition of words isn't a let down for those of you who read the original first. And I know that Ponyboy was talking in the first one - I wanted to change that up a bit for this.

Have you ever looked at a person and decided mentally that they were going to be your best friend? That's how I felt when I looked at Johnny for the first time. I saw that look he had in his eyes that probably matched the look in mine, even though he couldn't see because of my sunglasses. He was scared of the world and I didn't blame him. I had a very general, non-specific background knowledge of Johnny, knowing that he had lived a life of abuse by his parents and that he found solace in the 'gang' as Sodapop had called themselves.

Sodapop had been able to find Two-Bit and Johnny without really looking for them. We had left The Dingo maybe three minutes before, walking in the direction of our house, and he had saw them in the distance. Sodapop shouted their names, they turned around, and then the bigger one, who I learned was Two-Bit, came running towards us while the smaller one came jogging after him. "This is my brother, Ponyboy," Sodapop said, gesturing to me without touching me. "Pony, this is Two-Bit and Johnny. Steve is probably at work right now and Lord knows where Dally is."

"So," Two-Bit started saying, looking me up and down, "you're the famous Mr. Curtis." I only nodded, keeping just behind Sodapop without making it obvious I was trying to hide behind him. Two-Bit was bigger than Sodapop which was intimidating. "Finally," he said, ignoring the way I took a smaller step backwards, "another Curtis I can drive crazy." I had to remember that he was loved to joke around because the word 'crazy' almost made me flinch. I was told everyday for nine years that I was crazy and I always wondered if it was true. It probably was, I reasoned.

Two-Bit and Sodapop started joking and laughing with each other and I could tell Soda was trying to avoid changing his behavior around me because of the looks he kept sending over. I was jealous, slightly, that Two-Bit could be so carefree with my brother when my brother was more careful with me. I knew it was only because they were friends and had known each other for however many years, but I couldn't help but almost take it personally. Johnny had come over to stand beside me, and I was grateful for that. I was grateful that I wasn't standing off to the side all alone, even though Sodapop was within five or six feet of me at all time. I was also grateful because Johnny was smaller. He was bigger than me, of course, but was smaller than Sodapop and definitely smaller than Darry and Two-Bit. Johnny seemed to be around my age, if I had to guess. I would have guessed maybe fourteen for Johnny and eighteen for Two-Bit. I learned that Johnny was fifteen and Two-Bit was seventeen, but my guesses weren't far off at all.

"Ain't you cold, man?" Johnny asked, breaking the silence between us. I shook my head no because I honestly wasn't. It was cold in the basement. Even though it was the beginning of January, it didn't feel too cold to me. "If you do get cold, just say somethin'." It was silent again for a long time, maybe ten minutes, as Sodapop and Two-Bit continued to talk and attempt to include me or Johnny in the conversation, but I was learning that Johnny was almost as quiet as me and he didn't hop in the conversation, either. "I feel like we know you with how often Soda talks about you." I didn't know how much Soda had to say about me that would pertain to who I was rather than a child who didn't yet have much personality. I still didn't.

That one sentence ended all conversation because Sodapop came over to us, messed up Johnny's hair, and smiled at me. "Aw, c'mon," Johnny whined, fixing his hair, only for Sodapop to mess it up again. I noticed that Johnny's hair was greased pretty heavily. Two-Bit wasn't as heavy at all. I understood what Sodapop meant when he said 'greasers' earlier.

"I guess we should be headin' out, Ponyboy," Sodapop announced, raising his arm as if he was going to reach out or touch me before lowering back quickly and casually. "You must be tired from all the walkin'." I was grateful he understood because I sure was tired. My legs ached and I felt like I needed water and a place to sit. I didn't want him to know any of that because I didn't want him to be extra careful with me, but I couldn't help but be thankful we were about to be on our way home where I could rest for a bit. "Catch ya later, Two-Bit. See ya, Johnnycake." We received waves from both of his friends and a wink from Two-Bit as we turned around to head back home.

Sodapop proved, not for the first time that day, that he was able to read my mind because he answered the question I was wondering about. "Our nickname for Johnny is Johnnycake. His last name is Cade. Johnnycake, Johnny Cade. It started when we was all little and we found out about his parents. Awful people. We started callin' 'im 'Johnnycake' whenever he'd show up late at night cryin', and it sorta just stuck," he explained, smiling sadly at me. "He's always reminded me of you, or at least how I'd imagined you'd be if we grew up together. He's quiet, very shy, but always thinkin'. Johnnycake don't say much, but we all know whatever he says is gonna be important and probably change our lives, if that makes any sense." He paused. "Once, me and Darry were angry at mom and dad. It was over somethin' really dumb. Two-Bit was goin' out of town and asked us to join him, but we were told know and it really ticked us off. We went out to The Dingo with the rest of the gang and we had complained about how protective mom and dad was over us. Johnny ain't say a word until we stopped, and you know what he said? He said, 'Maybe your folks are just scared you won't come back.' It was obvious that's what they were thinkin', but in our selfishness all we thought was that they didn't care about us and they were just tryin' to be jerks because they could. Johnnycake shut us right up that night, and I don't think we've ever been angry at them since."

Once Sodapop went quiet after finishing his story, I tried to imagine what I would be like if I never was taken away from them. Maybe I'd be a lot like Johnny, but maybe I wouldn't. Maybe I would have ended up like Two-Bit, laughing and telling jokes without a care in the world, as Soda described him. I could have ended up more like Sodapop, or Darry, or maybe another one of their friends. Maybe I would have ended up so much different from all of them, leaving them to wonder where I got my personality from if it wasn't any of them. I also thought a lot about what Soda said about Johnny. Johnny probably knew first-hand what it was like to have parents who didn't care about them, so maybe he was offended that Soda and Darry tried to act like they were, or maybe he just wanted to save them the mental torture of feeling unwanted when thinking about their family.

I didn't know how I felt with my family or with my kidnappers. The kidnappers really had become more like family than I ever imagined they would have. They were cruel, torturing and punishing me everyday I was there with little break, but they were a constant in my life. The two men who took me saw me almost every day that entire time I was with them. Sometimes they'd talk to me as an equal as opposed to a captive, and they did do a lot of things that were nice, like bringing me books to read or occasionally letting me watch television. Once they even brought down a chess set and taught me how to play, although I still couldn't remember the rules exactly. A lot of times they drugged me so I wouldn't remember the pain I had endured, and I never found out if that was intentional or not. Sometimes they were nice, sitting down there with me and telling me stories of their childhood and cracking jokes. I got to know those two pretty well during the nine years I was held in their basement. There were other people throughout the years, too, but I never had any moments with them that weren't pain-filled. They'd bring in many people who they called clients to hurt me, but they never stuck around too long. Occasionally I'd see a familiar face, but mostly the people only stayed for a few weeks or maybe a couple of months. One man was unlucky enough to be caught with my two captors, and he was sitting in jail with them. It was unfortunate for him.

My real family, on the other hand, was always filled with laughter. We'd spend hours playing together, watching television, and just spending time with one another. Even Darry, being so much older than me, would sit down and play games and help me complete puzzles. We'd fight sometimes, but since I was four it was never really serious. I never got angry at them the way Darry would get mad at his friends or Soda and Steve would get mad at each other. I didn't understand enough to get too angry, so most of my early life was filled with nothing but happiness. It was mostly all good memories, though the number of memories were very slight in comparison to the memories I had of the basement. I couldn't help but wonder who I would choose if I was faced with the choice of staying with my family or going back to the basement.

"How much do you remember about me?" Sodapop asked, breaking me from my thoughts so suddenly I nearly jumped. I looked up at him, almost missing his question completely, and he repeated it. "Really, how much? Do you remember a lot about me?" I didn't know how to answer his question, and I didn't know if I even wanted to speak. I remembered that Sodapop was always laughing, smiling, and generally being as carefree as a child his age. I remembered he could cheer almost anybody up no matter what they were suffering with, like a child who fell at the playground. He always looked for the good in people, trying to befriend the playground bullies and whatnot. That's what I remembered about Sodapop, but I didn't say any of that. Instead, I remained silent and hoped I didn't disappoint him too much by refusing to speak.

Part of me wished I never new Sodapop. He was the only person I felt I had a connection with in my family. Maybe not the only connection I had, but it definitely was the strongest. That type of connection could only grow and I knew nothing could surpass it. Even after all those years, he still remained the closest in my heart, and that made it difficult for me to decide which life I wanted, the one with him or the one in the basement. I wondered how I'd 'bounce back.' I wondered if I would ever know without a doubt where I wanted to belong, and I wish I knew which one I wanted to belong to. Perhaps my inner turmoil wouldn't have even existed if I hadn't known Sodapop, as horrible as that thought is. I didn't want to be in the basement, but I did. I didn't want to be home with my family, but I did. It was confusing, and the neverending thoughts only caused my heartrate to speed back up. The battle of my inner-self was pointless, seeing as how I was stuck with my family. That should have been the end of it, but I had a feeling it was far from over.