A/N: Hello there! So, summer's here, prom's over, life's good, and I've got time to update! Here's a long chapter to compensate for my absence!

Please review and let me know what you think! Stay gold.

XxX

*Mary's POV*

I got worried when I reached my driveway. I left Ponyboy's house around three in the afternoon, even before we were fully finished with our project, by fear that my uncle and my aunt would notice my absence. I let him do the finishing touches. We had a nice chat, and he didn't seem like such a bad guy, but he was a greaser. Maybe he was just pretending to be kind so I would let my guard down, and he could steal something from my purse when I had my back turned. He couldn't be trusted.

I had checked my purse on my way home, and nothing had been stolen. I was only worried when I walked into my driveway, and no car or van was in sight. The competition had ended a while ago. My stomach twisted in knots. My uncle and my aunt were home, and they surely had noticed my absence by now.

As I was making my way towards the house, I encountered Jake, on his way back to the stables with Mickey Mouse.

"Mary, where have you been?" he asked.

"They haven't noticed I'm gone have they?" I asked, jerking my head towards the house.

"Well, what did you expect? You've been gone all afternoon, they were bound to notice. Where have you been, anyway?"

I sighed. He was my brother. He was going to find out sooner or later anyway.

"I was on the east side," I mumbled.

Jake's eyes widened.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he hissed furiously.

"I had a project to finish for school, or else I'd have zero, I didn't have a choice," I protested.

"I can't believe you would do that!"

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Whatever, you're on your own for that one," Jake shrugged, leading his horse back to the stables.

I stepped on the front porch, and I could hear Aunt Gemma cooking in the kitchen through the open window, with radio playing in the background. Uncle Frank was probably in the living room. I took a deep breath and gathered the courage to step through the front door.

"Mary Jane, is that you?" Aunt Gemma asked.

I gulped hard.

"Yeah, it's me!" I called back through the house.

I walked through the dining room and into the living room where, as expected, Uncle Frank was reading a newspaper. As soon as he saw me, he slammed his newspaper on the living room table, making me cringe, and stood up. Aunt Gemma, alarmed by the sound, emerged from the kitchen.

"Where the hell were you, Mary Jane?" Uncle Frank growled.

"I, I…"

There was no point in lying. Uncle Frank would know, since I asked him about it yesterday.

"I was at Ponyboy's place," I muttered, looking down at my shoes.

There was a moment of silence. Both my uncle and my aunt just stared back, their expression hard to read. I was dreading what would come.

"I have given you a warning against greasers, but clearly you don't understand, do you?" Uncle Frank said on an even, controlled tone.

I didn't say anything. I would've preferred if he would've screamed. The thought of him being disappointed was simply unbearable.

"I am forbidding you from speaking to greasers ever again," Uncle Frank spoke in a soft, dangerous voice. "These people are filthy, and dangerous, and they are a terrible influence on you. I am expecting you to make friends with Socs just like someone of your class should."

"But…" I was about to protest. "I didn't have any friends that are Socs. I didn't have any friends period."

"No buts," snapped Uncle Frank. "We have given you a roof over your head and the food of our table. Gambling your life by going around hanging out with greasers seems like a pretty poor way to repay us. Now, go on to your room, we'll call you down for dinner later. I'm very disappointed in you. Look at Jacob, he's adapting quickly, that's a fine example for you."

I immediately exited the room towards the second floor, fighting back tears. I was shocked. Uncle Frank had never spoken to me that way. I wasn't harmed, now was it? Just because I wasn't adapting as quickly as my brother around here wasn't a reason for me to be expected to be like him. I'm not him. But then again, we're Socs. Aren't we always expected to be perfect?

XxX

May 9, 1966

The bell rung, marking the end of my Science class. Ponyboy and I had handed in our project on the animal cell to the teacher and he seemed pleased about it. Ponyboy hadn't spoken to me all period and I was glad. I didn't really want to speak to him either to be honest. I didn't quite know what I would've said if he had. Answered him, or ignored him, like my uncle ordered me to do?

"Mary Jane, can I speak to you for a moment before you leave?" Mr. Smith asked as all the students were scuttling towards the hallway.

I approached the desk as Mr. Smith was signing a document. He looked up and asked.

"So, how was working with Ponyboy?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly torture, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either," I answered honestly. "We just don't belong to the same world, I think."

Mr. Smith looked at me from over his spectacles.

"Grab a chair and sit down please, Mary Jane," he said.

"Sir, I'd love to, but I really have to go to my next class and…"

"I'll write a note to your teacher, not to worry," he smiled reassuringly.

I grabbed a chair from the nearest desk and sat down in front of Mr. Smith's desk. He cleared his throat and rested his back on his own chair, arms folded.

"I was wondering how you were doing since you arrived in Tulsa?"

I hesitated. Should I tell him the truth? That I didn't have any friends and my ex-boyfriend had scared me to death, that my uncle and my aunt never really did understand anything, that the expectations that came from living in the upper class were too much to handle, that I missed my family and I missed everything about Canada? Or should I tell him that everything's fine?

I looked at Mr. Smith. He had a kind smile, he was soft. I could trust him.

"Not really well, actually."

"What do you mean by that?" Mr. Smith asked.

"Well, the only people who seem to want to talk to me are greasers, and God knows I won't be the one to fraternize with them."

"Who told you about greasers, out of curiosity?" Mr. Smith carried on.

"My uncle and my aunt, and my ex-boyfriend," I answered.

"You know, Mary Jane, what you've heard about greasers is only partly true," he said, taking off his glasses and putting them on his desk. "Yes, most of the rough stuff happening around town happens on the east side, and most of the street gangs live on the east side. That doesn't mean greasers are all bad. In all my years of teaching, I've seen incredible students, willing to learn, hard-working and fun to be with who were greasers. Most of them are just victims of their reputation."

"Victims?" Now I was confused. "How could predators be victims?"

"Are they really predators, though? They have no money and some of them don't even have parents to take care of them. All they have is each other, so they stick together, which can sometimes make them seem intimidating, don't you think? However, their strength and resilience is admirable. They're not all bad, they just have all the rough breaks. It depends on how you look into their situation."

I stared back at Mr. Smith, mouth agape. I had never thought about it that way. As I finished up with Mr. Smith and made my way to my next class, I couldn't help but imagine what my life in Tulsa would be like if I could talk to Ponyboy. If I could speak to him about my struggles, and he could tell me about his. I suddenly longed to see him, but my classes with him were over for that day.

XxX

May 14, 1966

*Pony's POV*

I was staying by my lonesome tonight. Darry had to pick an extra shift at work if we wanted to make ends meet and Soda and the gang are out to a drag race. I wanted to come along, but Darry didn't allow it because I had homework to do. So here I was, sitting at my desk in my bedroom, boring myself out of my wits with my algebra homework. My mind kept drifting to the fun the rest of the gang must be having right now, and I silently cursed Darry for making me stay. The bedroom window was open, letting a cool spring breeze enter the room as the sun was starting to set.

My thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on our front door. I frowned. Most people who came knew us well enough to just come in. Our door was always unlocked. It must be someone from the state.

The thought of that made my stomach twist in nerves. I got up from my desk and anxiously walked to the door to open it. The sight behind it made me even more confused than I was before.

Mary Jane Evans. The Soc I had done a project with last weekend. She hadn't spoken to me all week, and I figured she never would again. Yet here she was, standing on my front porch. That wasn't nearly as startling as the fact that she was crying. Sobbing, even.

"Mary…? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I don't really know to be honest," she said through tears, looking down at her shoes.

"What's the matter?" Boy, I was awkward when it came to situations like these.

"I don't know…" she let out a frustrated sigh. "I miss my family, and I miss everything, and my ex-boyfriend's dating this red-headed cheerleader, and I don't have friends, and my aunt and uncle just don't get it and… anyways, I needed to talk, and I didn't have anywhere else to go. I'm sorry for throwing all of this on you, I just…"

She stopped to catch her breath. Her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Well that's kind of surprising, to be honest," I said, trying not to smile at the irony of the situation. "Do you wanna come in?"

She only nodded, and I let her in. The sun was setting outside. I was kind of happy, okay, flattered, okay, thrilled that she had thought of me, but now that she was inside, I had no idea what would make her feel better. I felt like the piano was too sensitive for this type of thing. She was in no state of playing. Suddenly, an idea spiked up in my head.

"Come on, I'll show you something," I said.

She followed me to the kitchen and out the back door. As I had predicted, it was sunset. I helped Mary sit down next to me on the back steps. She was still crying, but she wasn't as hysterical as a few minutes ago.

"Do you come here often?" she asked.

"Whenever I have the chance," I answered. "I like watching sunsets."

"What do you like so much about them?"

I sighed.

"I don't know. The colors, I guess. The comfort it brings me. When I'm really missing my parents, I like to come out here and it seems to make everything better."

"Too bad it can't stay like that forever," she sighed, watching the sun fading away on the horizon.

"Nothing gold can stay," I blurted out, remembering the poem I read recently from Robert Frost.

Mary turned to look at me. She had a small smile, he eyes still red. She began reciting even before I could.

"Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower,

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day,

Nothing gold can stay."

I stared at her, fighting a smile edging onto my face. Fighting the excitement.

"You know Robert Frost?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was Mom's favorite poem, she used to recite it all the time," she answered, looking back at where the sun used to be, which had now disappeared.

For a moment, nobody spoke. I looked at her from the corner of my eye to see that she was crying again.

"H-how do you it?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Do what?" I asked, incredulous.

"You know… live. Live after you've lost everything," she swallowed back a lump in her throat, which didn't make the tears go away.

I never actually stopped to think about that. The simple thought of Mom and Dad sent a painful stab to my stomach. I was used to keeping busy, and when the nightmares came, so did Sodapop and Darry.

"I don't know, really..." I answered. "I guess you just keep on going. Life goes on, just, without them."

That wasn't the answer she was looking for. She probably wanted a piece of advice or something but I wasn't gonna be able to give it to her. I don't even know how to deal with it myself. Mary thinks I do. She doesn't know about my nightmares.

"Come on," I said, getting up. "It's getting chilly. Let's go back inside."

I helped her get up and walked back into the living room.

"Can I stay here for a little while?" she asked, sitting on the couch next to me.

"Um… Sure. Won't your uncle and your aunt worry?"

"Nah," she suddenly smiled. "They think I'm at The Nightly Double. They're not expecting me home until midnight. I don't want them to know I don't have friends."

"Alright, well, um… I'll go get a blanket in my room and we could watch TV or something?" I suggested.

"Sounds swell," she answered.

I left, feeling my heart well up in my chest. I slipped into my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Okay, so this really fine Socy girl despised me since the day we met, yet here she is, two weeks later, crying on my doorstep. There is nothing normal about this. I quickly closed the books I had left open on my desk, along with the table lamp, and fumbled through my closet to find the extra blanket we kept there for the winter time.

I was making my way back in the living room, and it's only when I got in the hallway that I froze. Mary was still there, but she was now lying on the couch, fast asleep. I smiled at how peaceful she looked, carefully approached her and draped the blanket over her small body. I silently sat on the edge of the couch and I watched her sleeping form for a moment.

She was a really, really fine-looking girl. She was very small, and skinny, but that didn't stop her from being beautiful. I suddenly found myself wondering about her. A part of me felt that someone of her social class shouldn't be speaking to me, and another part of me wanted to know her deepest and darkest secrets. I knew she couldn't hear me, but the words slipped out before I could stop myself.

"I could be your friend, you know?"