Saturday morning came earlier that Cindy had expected. Like every other night, she had fallen asleep doing her homework and awoke to the sound of her cousin knocking on her bedroom door. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Cherry was in a hurry, yet just to spite her, Cindy moved extremely slowly while getting ready.

She was still annoyed at her cousin for setting her up with Mark and she wasn't going to forgive her over night. Sighing softly as she finally finished getting ready, Cindy observed herself in the mirror briefly before heading downstairs and sitting opposite of her uncle at the dinner table. The conversation at breakfast was scarce as she ate her food quietly and her uncle read the morning newspaper. Cherry, who had been in such a hurry, was nowhere to be found and didn't reappear until Bob honked the car horn, indicating it was time for them to leave.

As Cindy grabbed a sweater from the coat rack, she glanced in annoyance at her cousin before exiting into the morning sunlight. Cherry, who had caught on by now that Cindy was annoyed with her, remained silent as she climbed into the passenger seat. Glancing over the back of it, she looked at her cousin who rested behind her.

"Come on, Cindy, smile…" she said quietly, glancing toward Mark who appeared to be deep within his own thoughts. "It won't be that bad. Just a few hours and then we'll be home and you can scream and fuss at me as much as you want over this.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sherri…"

"Oh come on, Cindy, it's obvious you don't want to be here…" Cherry whispered as Bob glanced in her direction.

Cindy merely shook her head in denial before she glanced out the window. How was she supposed to act nicely toward someone that she didn't even know or have any sort of interest in? In all honesty, she had a feeling Mark was a slob and wouldn't be too caring towards her anyways. Sighing softly to herself, though, she realized there was no escape from the situation now and resigned herself to the events coming up.

As this resolution occurred, she could feel Mark taking her hand in his and a slight glance in his direction gave away his thoughts almost instantly. A forced smile appeared on Cindy's lips and as the car came to a halt she almost jumped out and headed in the direction of all the people.

"Where are we?" she questioned suddenly as she stopped. Observing the area before her, she felt her heart sink slowly.

"The rodeo. It's the place to be right now," Bob replied to her question as his arm wrapped around Cherry's shoulders. Feeling Mark do the same to her, Cindy glanced toward her cousin who merely shrugged in reply.

"Do we have to come to the rodeo, Bob?"

"What do you mean? You love the rodeo…"

"Yeah, but Cindy might not."

Bob glanced toward Cindy, who was looking around her carefully. "She looks content enough to me."

Cherry sighed softly as she nodded slowly. Allowing Bob to lead her in the direction of the food court, it didn't take her long to spot the group of friends he usually hung out with.

"Eh, excuse me for a minute, Cherry…" he said before pulling Mark in the direction of the other guys.

Cherry, who could only nod, was soon listening to her cousin's whispers.

"Let's get out of here, Cherry."

"Why?"

"Because…" she whispered, glancing over her shoulder. "Ponyboy said he was coming to the rodeo today…"

A small look of alarm passed through Cherry's eyes as she glanced at her cousin swiftly. "Are you sure?"

"Positive…"

"Well, maybe they've already left…" Cherry muttered, sounding like she was attempting to convince herself more than she was her cousin.

Cindy shrugged slightly as she looked around. Not spotting Ponyboy, though, she figured that her cousin was actually correct for once and finally let the situation drift from her mind. "Come on, let's walk around. I'm tired of just standing around waiting for them…" she muttered, glancing in the direction of Bob and his friends.

Cherry, who also glanced in their direction, nodded slowly as a small smile appeared on her face. "Let's go…" she decided as she took hold of her cousin's arm and led her toward the practice ring. Leaning against the fence, Cindy watched as a guy rode the back of a rather wild-looking horse. A small smile came to her face as she recalled the few times in her past she had watched her friends saddle bronc, but these thoughts were dashed from her mind as she heard her cousin's sharp intake of breath.

"What?" Cindy asked, glancing toward her cousin in concern. However, Cherry's eyes were on the guy that had hopped onto the back of the horse after the other guy had fallen off. Glancing in the direction her cousin was, Cindy quickly recognized the guy as the same one she had met the night her cousin had snuck out. The name, for the moment, escaped her, but the looks he had weren't common and so he was easily recognized.

"Is that…"

"Yeah, a Greaser…" Cherry whispered, her eyes wide. "That means the others are around here somewhere close."

"How do you…" Cindy began, but felt an arm slide around her waist. Glancing to the side of her, she spotted Mark who was grinning at her.

"Hey…"

"Hi…" she replied, smelling the alcohol on his breath. Now realizing what he and Bob had been doing with the other group, Cindy glanced toward her cousin who had a cold expression in her eyes.

"What're you two watchin'?" Mark questioned, ignoring the glance that Cindy had thrown in her cousin's direction. Shaking her head, Cindy turned back toward the Greaser riding the horse.

"Just watching them practice…"

"Ah…" Mark replied, taking another sip from his drink before he glanced to the side of him. A glare quickly appeared on his face. "Hey Bob…" he growled, hitting his friend slightly. "Look whose here."

Bob, along with Cherry and Cindy, glanced in the direction that Mark was looking. A dangerous look appeared in Bob's eyes as Cindy glanced toward her cousin quickly. It didn't take much to figure out that both Socs had spotted Ponyboy looking in their direction and Cindy had a feeling it wouldn't stop with just the glares.

"Bob, don't…" Cherry whispered, grabbing onto his arm. Bob, however, had other things on his mind and after ripping his arm out of her grasp he headed in the direction of Ponyboy and his friend.

"What're you lookin' at Greaser?" Bob growled, his already bloodshot eyes radiating with anger.

Ponyboy, whose eyes had been focused on Cindy and her cousin, glanced back toward Bob. A cold look passed over Ponyboy's face as he slouched slightly, taking on the defensive reflex he and the rest of his friends apparently had.

"Nothin.."

Bob shook his head slightly as he took a step closer to Ponyboy, "I asked you what you're lookin' at…"

"Nothin…" Ponyboy repeated, glancing in the direction of his friend. His friend, however, remained motionless until he heard approaching footsteps.

Glancing up, Ponyboy caught sight of Steve and Sodapop, who had just come away from the horses.

"What's goin' on here?" Steve questioned, his eyes flashing between Bob and Ponyboy. "You gotta problem?"

"Yeah. Gotta problem with you Greasers eyeing people you shouldn't be."

"What're you talkin' about?"

Bob, however, ignored Sodapop's question as his eyes flashed back towards Ponyboy. "Keep yourself far away from them, alright? They don't want nothing to do with trash."

Ponyboy's eyes flashed slightly before he felt himself being pushed backwards. A look of confusion passed over his face briefly as Steve swung at the Soc, who had backed away just in time. Laughing slightly, Bob shook his head, draining his drink. "Come on, Grease. You want a fight?"

"Yeah, I want a fight."

"Come on…" Bob challenged, dropping the drink he was holding.

Mark, however, stepped between the two of them as Sodapop grabbed onto his best friend. "Let's get outta here, Bob, they aren't worth it…" Mark muttered, glancing around at a few people who had stopped to watch the fight.

Steve, who was struggling to get out of Soda's grasp, lunged at Mark. "Scared, Soc?"

"Not at all," Mark replied coldly as he glanced toward Ponyboy and then over his shoulder. "Just keep away from the girls on our side of town. If you can't, we might have to make something of it," he remarked, a smirk appearing on his face.

For the first time, Steve and Soda caught sight of Cherry and Cindy standing at the edge of the fence where the saddle bronc riding was still going on. A look of brief confusion passed through both their eyes before Soda glanced toward Ponyboy with a slight smile. "Eh, get lost…" he muttered, glancing back toward Mark who merely shrugged.

As Mark and Bob reapproached them and took their hands, Cindy glanced over her shoulder at the Greasers. Something about them was just too interesting for her to ignore and that wasn't something she was going to deny.

*****************

As the Socs walked away, Soda turned to look at his brother with a grin on his face.

Looking at him, Ponyboy let a small look of confusion pass over his face. "What?"

"Nothing…"

"It ain't nothin'. What're you giving me that look for?"

Sodapop merely shrugged as he glanced off in the direction of the Socs. "Not a bad choice in girls, Pony. You've got good taste…"

Ponyboy looked at his brother before looking at the ground, a bit uncertain of what to say to his brother's remark. Yet, as he drifted into his thoughts, he smiled slightly to himself. If Soda approved then that must mean something.

However, it never occurred to Ponyboy that his brother was still watching the retreating backs and the tone he had used in his compliment wasn't one that Pony should overlook too quickly. Sodapop, although impressed with his younger brother, was having similar thoughts as Ponyboy for a brief moment.