I am SO sorry for taking so long with this chapter! So many things happened. The last chapter was a month before spring break so teachers were trying to cram and then I went to Florida and my dad doesn't like me going on my laptop all the time so I couldn't update then. Then after spring break teachers were rushing to finish things before finals. Then my Grandpa died. Then we had finals. Then summer started and I just forgot to update. Then I fractured my ankle. 2014 really sucks so far.

But an amazing Living-Life-To-It's Fullest PMed me and asked me to continue so I knew it was time to write another chapter!

But all of you guys are amazing! Thank you for sticking with me! I love you all!

I have taken all of your ideas into consideration and I love them all! I will definitely be using them! I couldn't fit any in this chapter because the gang and Pony are still on stranger terms, but I will in the future!

And here it is!

The chapter you've all been waiting for (until the next chapter)!

I hope you enjoy!

I don't have a beta so I apologize for any mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders

'Cause tonight I'm feeling like an astronaut
Sending SOS from this tiny box
And I lost all signal when I lifted up
Now I'm stuck out here and the world forgot
Can I please come down? (come down)
'Cause I'm tired of drifting around and round (and round)
Can I please come down?

Simple Plan- "Astronaut"

A minute passed. And then two. Then five.

Absolutely nothing was said.

Did they really think he was that easy? That he would give in after the big guy demanded him to talk?

Well they better think again because Pony has spent way too much time on the streets to be that much of a pushover.

A frustrated sigh comes from the muscles man in front of him and when Pony looks up he can visibly see a vein popping out of his forehead.

Now that he thinks about it, wasn't that there before? Must be a stress thing.

The man uncrosses his arms and clenches his fists by his side. As he goes to open his mouth again he takes one step making Pony give a violent jerk as a cringe of protest.

Ponyboy couldn't help his reaction. In his past when a big angry man comes closer to you it was usually followed by pain.

The handsome one next to him seemed to have noticed the cringe because in the next moment he was up and placing a hand on the stronger one's shoulder.

"Hey now," the movie star said with his regular cheery voice but it seemed to be laced with something much more soothing that was directed towards him, "how 'bout we introduce ourselves first? Mom used to say that was the polite thing to do, right Darry?"

The big one, Darry, gave a huff and backed off a bit.

"Ok so I'm Sodapop Curtis but you can call me Soda! It's my real name, it's on my birth certificate and everything!" he puffed out his chest in a proud fashion making the swirly hair one at the coffee table snort in amusement.

"And this here," Soda patted the shoulder of the giant man next to him, "is my big brother Darry Curtis! He may be big but on the inside he's all soft!"

The statement made Darry push Soda onto a nearby recliner chair causing him to laugh in glee.

However, Mickey Mouse seemed to have the loudest laugh as he said "Yeah just like Dally! All scary and horrifying to look at on the outside but a teddy bear on the inside!"

This elected a growl from the one by the door and the swirly haired to smack the upside of his hand off the back of Mickey's head but that didn't stop the marathon of giggles that followed.

Soda sat up on the chair and brushed himself off.

"Yeah, that guy over there," he casually threw his hand in the direction of the one at the door, "Is Dallas Winston, but we sometimes call him Dally! And that goof ball over there is Two-Bit Mathews! That's not his real name but we call him that because-"

"Because I always have to get my two bits in!" the ones with the sideburns shouted with joy. A little drunken joy.

The one next to him smacked him in the head again followed by a "Shut up Two-Bit."

Sodapop cackled at the sight. "They one next to Two-Bit is my best buddy Steve Randle! And the one next to you is Johnny Cade." he looked at the two of them in confusion while recalling the night's events, "But I guess you already knew that, huh?"

Soda leaned forward in his chair closer to Pony and put a bigger smile on his face that showed off his perfect white teeth.

"So now that you know our names, what's yours?"

Ponyboy squirmed in his seat, now feeling an uneasy feeling settle in his stomach.

"Look," he strained out, "thanks for saving me and all, I really appreciate it, but I think it'd be a better idea if I just go now."

Slowly, Pony began the process of getting up, which unfortunately made him remember the beating he got the other day while his bones and muscles screamed in protest.

He didn't even make it halfway before a hand came up and pushed his body back onto the couch.

With a huff of annoyance, Pony looked up at his assailant which surprisingly turned out to be the one with a gallon of grease in his hair, Steve.

"Kid we saved your sorry ass not once but twice. I think we deserve answers."

Ponyboy put his best glare on his face and made to get up again only to be pushed down by his same attacker.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Pony cried out with a sense of urgency.

Steve stood taller for what Pony guessed as a way to look down at him even more than he already was. His scowl seemed to intensify when a snaggle tooth peaked from his upper lip.

"Our problem?! You're acting like an ungrateful little brat!"

Ponyboy was actually able to jump up this time to try and get eye level with Steve, although that didn't work out so well since he was a head or two smaller than the teen.

"Why does it matter what my name is?! This is going to be the last time you ever see of me!"

His sudden outburst caused just the right amount of distraction for him to slip past Steve and bolt towards the door.

The towheaded one, Dallas, grabbed his arm in haste but he was able to maneuver his body in a way for the man to lose his grip.

As he ran into the night he looked back to see Soda and Johnny at the door, both wearing distressed looks on their faces.

A new feeling spread throughout his body. He didn't know what it was or what to do with it but it felt fuzzy and warm. Quickly he pushed it down and kept running until the house and the people inside were no longer in view.

At the house, Soda is ready to run after the kid until Darry pulls him back into the house while Dally brings Johnny in.

"What the hell are you going, Dar?! We have to go after him!" Soda objected with the thrash of his body before Darry throws him onto the couch.

"Soda calm down he obviously didn't want to be here! I bet he wouldn't even open his mouth if we dragged him back here again!"

However, Sodapop tried to protest, "It doesn't matter if he doesn't want to be here, what matters is where he's headed now! And he would still be here if you guys didn't scare him off!"

Steve snorted and laid a hand on his best friend's shoulder, "Shoot Soda, you and I both know he was planning on running no matter what we said to him."

"Yeah but-"

"Besides," Steve continued, "it's no use now, we have absolutely no idea where he went off to and it's the middle of the night."

Soda calms down a little bit but still looks at the door anxiously.

A loud bang causes heads to turn towards Two-Bit, the noise being a beer bottle (when the hell did he get that?) he smacked onto the table.

"Don't worry about nothing Soda, ya dig? A mouse could run around the town in less than an hour, it's so small. Do you know how many times I've run into the same broad I left in bed the night before no matter how hard I try to avoid her? But on the other hand when you see the black eye you gave a Soc the other day, worth it for me!" Two-Bit took another swig of his drink while chuckling over the thought.

Dally, who's been silent most of the time the chaos was happening, looked at Johnny and asked what's been on his mind all night, "Hey, Johnny, how'd the kid know your name?"

The sudden question peaked Soda's interest as he too turned to Johnny for the answer, "Yeah Johnnycakes, do you two know each other or something?"

Johnny, feeling slightly awkward with all the eyes on him, muttered, "I just met him the other night, he was sitting where I usually hang out in the lot."

Everyone knew "hanging out" meant "where I sleep" but no one pointed it out.

Dally casually lit a cigarette, forgetting that he was in the Curtis house for a moment.

"Is he the one who told you to spend the night here instead?" Dallas said casually as he flicked the cigarette out the open window after Darry's grumble of "Put the damn thing out or smoke outside."

Johnny, forgetting momentarily that he tells Dally everything, nodded his head without looking up from the carpet.

"Well I guess I wasn't the only one then."

The gang's attention was then turned to Dally as he took a seat in Darry's chair.

"You've seen him too, Dal?" Johnny murmured, afraid of saying something his idol wouldn't like.

"Yeah at Buck's a couple nights ago."

"I think I might've caught a glimpse of him at The Dingo once or twice." added Two-Bit.

"Me and Sodapop saw him at the DX some time ago. He went to the bathroom and the lifted a bag of chips or something from the store. Soda paid for it though." Steve casually threw out.

Darry eyes narrowed, "So he's a punk?"

"NO!" was Soda's sudden outburst, "No," he said calmer this time, "you didn't see him Darry. No he's not a punk."

His sudden exclamation gained him many strange looks from the gang, but he ignored all of them.

"Welp," Two-Bit said while getting up, "I'll look out for him tomorrow! I'll drive around town with my truck!"

"Two-Bit you have school tomorrow." Darry reminded off hand.

"Doesn't mean I have to go, Superman!" said man threw a pillow which hit him in the face.

"Steve and I will keep an eye out at the DX to see if he passes by again!" Soda shouted and threw his arm around Steve's shoulders while the teen reluctantly agreed under his breath even though he himself was curious about the mystery kid too.

Johnny quickly added, "I'll look for him too."

Dally gave a side glance at Johnny before promising to look around for the kid sometime tomorrow.

Everyone stared at him in surprise before he gave his own 'stare' that caused all eyes to look away.

Darry gave sigh, "I'll keep an eye out too." because he too was curious and worried for the kid.

"So," he continued, "is anyone staying the night?"

"Sorry Dar, my mom is going to kill me for being this late already!"

"My dad should be asleep by now, I'll snooze in my own bed tonight."

"I haven't been home in a while…."

"I'll walk you home, Johnny."

One by one everybody left until Soda and Darry were left in the living room.

"Do you think we'll see him again Darry?"

Darry gave a glance at his little brother "Most likely. Like Two-Bit said it's a small town." Darry hesitated with his next question before adding, "Why do you care so much anyways?"

"I just….I just think he needs help."

Darry is silent for a minute, "We'll see him tomorrow," he finally says, "how can we not with how much trouble he gets into."

Soda laughs at this, "Yeah you're right. Well I don't know about you but I think it's been a long night! I'm hitting the hay!" while heading for the stairs he yells, "Good night!" which is followed by the same response.

Once Soda's in his room he picks up a letter that he's been rereading for a while and then throws it into the trash.

He didn't care if Sandy didn't love him or that the baby wasn't his. For the longest time he's felt like he's been missing something in his life or someone. He thought it was Sandy and was so happy when he finally met her.

But now, thinking back on it, it was never Sandy. There is someone else out there that belongs with him, no, them. And he was going to find that person.

That's a wrap! So there's another chapter! Again so sorry this took so long!

But I hoped you liked it none the less!

So some characters may seem mean at this point but as they get to know Pony more there will be a lot more fluffy times!

Also if there's any grammar problems when people are talking, I wrote it like that on purpose because they're teens and they say stuff wrong.

Now my brother is spraying me with a bottle every time I do something he doesn't like so I got to go.

Please review/favorite/follow! Seriously makes my day and my life! You guys are the best reviewers ever!

PM me if you have any questions!

Until next time lovelies!