Author's Notes: Yes, you can believe it, I'm back! I've been on a bit of a break, but I'm here once again, determined to finish these stories. I'm going to try and update at least twice a week, so bear with me, all right?

His lips are dripping honey

But he'll sting you like a bee

Better lock up all your loving

Go on and throw away the key

Hey good girl

Too good for him

You better back away, honey

You don't know where he's been

-Carrie Underwood

Marnie was nervous. She wasn't quite sure how she hadn't gotten herself into this mess, but here she was, riding shotgun in the front seat of Tim Shepard's car.

The radio was playing on low and Tim had the window slightly cracked, smoking a cigarette. This was the only thing that really bugged Marnie about her new group of friends. She'd never smoked in her life, and suddenly she was surrounded by people who chain-puffed all day long.

And now, there was this thing with Tim. He was a good looking guy, probably the best looking guy she'd ever had pay any attention to her…but he wasn't the one she wanted.

No, that honor belonged to Ponyboy and Ponyboy alone, but he'd been acting really strange over the last week. Things had been going fine between them and then, suddenly, he was flirting with every girl they came into contact with and acting like she, Marnie, didn't exist. It was baffling, to say the least, and that's why, when Tim had asked her for her number, she had given it. And when he called her up to ask if she wanted to go get a soda at The Dingo, she'd jumped all over it and of course, she proceeded to trumpet the news around, making double sure that Ponyboy knew about it.

Now that she was alone with Tim though, she wasn't quite sure what to say.

It wasn't like they had anything in common.

"So…how long have you lived in Tulsa exactly?" He asked.

"Two and a half months." She answered. He grinned.

"I bet it's a helluva change from California, huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah…it's so cold here."

Tim waved his hand and chuckled. "Shit, honey, this winter is mild compared to some of the others we've had. You should've been here last year; we got over forty-eight inches of snow all together."

Marnie shivered. "I'm glad I wasn't here. I don't like snow."

He laughed again, a low deep laugh that Marnie found sexy in spite of herself. "You're plannin' on staying in Tulsa, you better get used to it."

She smiled. "Yeah…I guess."

"Aside from the snow, you like it here all right?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, I miss San Diego, you know the sunshine and stuff. And I miss my Dad and my brother, but I like it here."

"How come your Dad and your brother didn't move here too?"

"Uh…my parents just got divorced." She said, ducking her head a little bit. "My Mom's from Tulsa, so that's why we came back here, but my Dad stayed in California and Chris wanted to stay with him."

"Chris is your brother?" Tim asked and she nodded again.

"Yeah…he's seventeen and I never thought I'd say this, but I miss him."

"My parents have been divorced for years." Tim told her. "My Dad took off when I was eight."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Marnie replied. He shrugged.

"It's no big deal." He assured her. "It's been twelve years."

"Do you ever hear from him?" she asked. He nodded.

"He's tried to come around a couple of times, saying he's stopped drinking or some bullshit. He even had his AA sponsor call our house. Guy fed us some line about how the old man's been sober for five years and has every right to see his kids." Tim paused and Marnie nodded. It made sense to her.

"I just tell him they ain't his kid's anymore." he continued. "They stopped being his kids when he walked out."

Marnie was quiet, not sure what to say to this. She liked Tim, sure, but he was kind of…intense. And he was the true meaning of the word greaser; everything about him screamed hood. Perhaps that was part of the reason she liked him, though. He was dangerous and everyone knew it.

That's what she told herself, that being with Tim was exciting, but deep down; she knew that she had only accepted his invitation because she was angry at Ponyboy. She was angry at him for leading her on, for making her think that he liked her and then changing his mind.

When they arrived at The Dingo, she was surprised when Tim held the door open for her and it must have shown on her face, because he chuckled a little.

"Hey, I might be a hood, but I know how to treat a girl." He said. She smiled at him, and tried to relax.

A few blocks away, AJ sat at her kitchen table looking through some older photo's and letters. Steve sat across from her, drinking a root beer.

"Look at these," She said, handing him a stack of yellowed letters, tied with a faded green ribbon.

"What are they?" He asked, taking them.

"Its love letters that my Granddad wrote to my Grandma when he was in France during the First World War" She replied. She pointed at the top of the letter.

Steve squinted enough to make out an ink faded date of April 4th, 1917. He read the first few lines of the letter, but its mushy content quickly made him feel embarrassed. "Er…how old would your grandparents have been?"

"Uh…in 1917, Granddad was twenty and Grandma was sixteen. They got married when he came home the next year." She answered. She pulled out an old wedding photo and showed it to him.

Her grandfather was dressed in his military uniform, standing proud and upright. Her grandmother was a pretty young woman, the same age as AJ was now, her face lit up with happiness. Steve remembered having met her grandparents a few times. He noticed that everything she was looking at were things from her mother's side, nothing from her Dad's.

"Have…have you started going through your father's family yet?" He asked hesitantly.

AJ sighed. "No…I know, I know. I just…can't bring myself to do it yet." She said. "I will…I have to. Just not yet."

Steve shrugged. He knew it was hard for her to even talk about her Dad, let alone to dig through his family's past. "Well, when you're ready to do it, let me know, okay? I'll help you."

AJ smiled at him. Sometimes she knew she had the best boyfriend in the world.

Marnie was secretly starting to regret having agreed to go out with Tim. AJ had been right; he was polite enough, but he was a hood to the core. She could tell just by the way people looked at him. Adults gave him looks of mistrust, Soc's gave him looks a disdain, and other Greasers, depending on where there allegiances lay, gave him looks of camaraderie or hatred.

Now they were in his car headed back towards her house and his hand was creeping slowly across the seat towards her leg. Marnie pressed herself closer to the car door. She was thankful when he pulled to a stop in front of her house.

"Well…" He said slowly. "I'd like to see you again."

"Uh…" She shrugged, not sure what to say. He was leaning towards her and she knew he was coming in for a kiss.

Marnie didn't want to hurt his feelings, so she closed her eyes and let it happen. And when it was over, she just happened to glance over Tim's shoulder to see Ponyboy standing in the growing darkness on the sidewalk. From the look on his face, she could tell he'd seen the kiss.

"I've gotta go." She said to Tim, jumping out of his car.

"Pony!" She said, running down the sidewalk after him. "Wait! It's not what you think!"

"I know what it is, Marnie." He said hotly. "I came over to tell you…that I…I…"

"What?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Go home, Marnie." He told her. "Just go home."

She stopped, standing in the cold on the sidewalk. She turned around to see Tim's car roaring away from the curb. She sighed and began to trudge back towards her house. What a fine mess she'd made of things.