I wiped my eyes finding myself crying. Ponyboy took back the letter as he started talking again. "It hurt me so bad when I read this because the only thing he asked me to do is tell Dally all this stuff. I guess Johnny can tell him now but I think he wanted me to more." A car rolled by and they all slowly hid there faces and I wondered why, was it because they where crying? We were to far away for them to see them crying. "Why are the socs here?" Ponyboy asked as the car went away. "That was them wasn't it?" All Darry and Sodapop did was nod there heads up and down. Socs. The name rang in my head as bullies and fighters. I never really went to school, always was home-schooled because my parents wanted to spend more "time" with me but I've seen socs once. Socs is short for socials and there the ones that have everything handed to them and are rich as the president. They drive mercedes and I've heard Ponyboy call them white trash and Darry swears when he sees them. The car drove passed us again now knowing they where watching us. "We better get home before anything happens in front of Susie." Darry said as he got up and wiped the dirt and grass off his jeans. "I think they know Johnny and Dally died exactly a year ago." We all started walking but the car kept on following us. We tried running but the car only got faster as it slowly drove in front of us so we had no where to go and a boy came out of the drivers seat and a girl with bright red hair from the passenger seat. I must have been hearing things but I think I heard Ponyboy sigh of... relief? "Ponyboy!" the girl with the red hair cried as she ran to him and hugged him. Why did this soc hug Ponyboy? I guess I looked really confused because Sodapop whispered to me, "I'll explain when we get home." "I'm so sorry about, you know" redhead said as she pulled away a bit to look at his face. "Hey Randy." Ponyboy said almost... happy to see him? "Hey" the man that came out of the car, Randy said. "I tried to tell Cherry that today would be a bad day to come see you but once she saw the news thing she forced me into it." So I guess the girl with the red hair was named Cherry. "It's okay we where just-" Ponyboy began but got cut off by Cherry. "Who's that pretty kid?" She came walking towards me with a big smile on her face. "Oh that's our cousin, Susie. She's going to be staying with us for, well, a long time." Ponyboy answered. "Oh Pony not to be mean but this neighborhood isn't really great for kids... my neighborhood isn't even good for kids. With all the fights that go around with the socs and greasers." "It's okay where not going to put her in the fights. Besides I don't like fighting and you know that. I'll probably stay home with her." Cherry sighed before saying "I know Ponyboy, I know." I looked at Randy and he looked at me before giving a quick almost invisable smile but I saw it. "We better get going we have to make it for dinner." Randy said getting into the car and turned the key. "He's right I'll see you on Monday Ponyboy!" Cherry yelled over the sound of the car. After they left we all started walking back to the house. "Who where they?" I asked before Sodapop answered grinning. "The girl with the red hair, Cherry is Ponyboy's girlfriend." Ponyboy blushed. "And the guy, Randy, well... you see Randy doesn't really want to be a soc so Ponyboy and him sort of became friends." "So he wants to be a greaser?" I asked curious. "Well not exactly... how do you explain it Ponyboy?" Sodapop said as he glanced at Ponyboy waiting for an answer. "He doesn't really like the whole greaser and soc thing. I think he just wishes that there was just people, not certain kinds of people you would be judged by if you hung out with them." Sodapop says because Ponyboy was daydreaming and didn't hear him and I guess Sodapop didn't want to repeat what he asked. "Hey Pony snap out of it." Darry says as he snaps his fingers in front of his face. "Huh? What did you say?" Ponyboy asks coming back to real life. "What you dreaming about huh?" Darry asks. Ponyboy looks at him and then looks at me before starting. "Well what if Cherry was right? What if something does happen to Susie like what happened to Johnny when-" Ponyboy gulped. "When we found him at the park, how he got his scar. The reason that happened was because he was to weak and small to defened himself." "No." Darry begins. "That happened to him because no one was with him, he was all alone. I never let you guys out alone much and I won't for Susie." "You know what I'm sick and tired of all this negative stuff. Come on all race all you guys home." says Sodapop as he takes off running down the street. We three left glance at one another and then shrug and take off running after him. We all had smiles on our faces and again I thought to myself that I never want this to end. When we finished eating dinner (peanut butter jelly sandwiches) we all sat down and flipped through the channels and especially quickly for the news about Johnny and Dally but there was nothing on but that. We all looked at Ponyboy thinking the same thing wondering if we could watch that without Ponyboy getting upset. "I'll watch it if you want me too. I swear I won't cry." Ponyboy said grinning. We turned up the volume on the remote and watched as the news reporter talked. "It has been exactly one year since the deaths of the two teenage boys by the names of Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston. It all started when Johnny and and his friend by the name of Ponyboy Curtis and a group of other boys broke into a fight." the T.V showed a picture of Ponyboy. "Hey look it's you! What's with the blond hair?" I exclaimed. All of the boys started laughing but before I got an answer the news reporter began again. "During the fight the group of boys where drowning Ponyboy and Johnny had to act fast. Without thinking he quickly through a blade out and stabbed it in one of the boys while the rest ran off." Did that really happen?" I asked frightened. Who was this Johnny guy really like? Was Ponyboy friends with a murderer? All Ponyboy did was nod and the news reporter started talking again. "It was simply self-defense, they where going to kill Ponyboy otherwise said Johnny. Johnny worried he would be sent to jail and Ponyboy worried about being put in a boys home because of him only living with his two older brothers, Sodapop and Darrel Curtis. The both hopped on a train to the city Winderixville and stayed in an old abandon church for hiding. Soon there friend Dallas came to come and say it was free to come back home. On the way back they spotted the church on fire. Both Johnny and Ponyboy jumped into the burning church to save the younger kids trapped in there. All of the kids survived but Johnny had a piece of timber fall on his back and broke it and was burned survirally. Of course people found out they where the ones who killed the man but their judge let it slide by self-defense. Johnny died a few days after and Dallas got shot." Suddenly a video came up of Ponyboy. "I just wish I could talk to them one more time." That was the end of the news and I slowly looked at Ponyboy not understanding how I didn't realize it was that bad. "Did that really happen?" I asked tears rolling down my cheek. "Yeah but gosh I wish it didn't." Ponyboy answered wiping away my tears. "I'm sorry I don't mean to cry." I said shedding even more tears. "It's okay, cry all you want it's not doing anything bad." Ponyboy said. "It's not doing anything good either." I muttered to myself as softly as I could so no one could hear me. "How would you like it if I showed you something." Ponyboy asked as I nodded my head. "Is that okay Darry?" he asked looking over my head towards where Darry sat and Sodapop laid on the couch asleep. "Yeah that's fine just don't stay up to late." he whispered as he got up and tried not to wake up Sodapop. "Boy, I'm not surprised he fell asleep he hasn't slept for days ever since Sandy sent a letter back to him." he began. "Well we might as well leave him on the couch, it would be impossible to carry him. Ponyboy, Susie? Can you put this blanket on him it's gonna get real cold and I got to get some sleep." he said as he handed Ponyboy and I the blanket and headed off to bed.