A/N: Alright, guys, so I'm going down to Missouri on Thursday to see my wonderful boyfriend, who is in Tec school for the Air Force. Anyways, I don't know if I'll be able to update, but I will try and write while I'm down there. I'll be gone from Thursday to Sunday.

Chapter Eleven:

"Okay, so that scar on your face is from helping Ponyboy and Johnny," Kayla said, trying her best to recap the story I told her. She and I sat on the couch, and the boys were scattered around the room. "And the short hair is from that, as is the bruise. The cut on your side is because the guy you fought was upset and he slashed you, and the red mark is from your dad slapping you. Why did he slap you again?"

I shrugged. "I talked back to him. Well, actually, I blamed him for our situation."

"It is his fault, though," Kayla said. "Well, according to my dad, at least."

She was getting excited, and even though I wasn't entirely in the mood for a whole session of "What Kayla Knows", I was curios as to what she knew. "Oh, yeah?" I asked, and that was all that was needed for her to dive head first into her story.

"Well, according to my dad, your dad had been gambling a lot," she said. "Every time he said he was staying late to work, he was going to the casinos."

"Every time?" I asked.

"Okay, well, maybe not every time," Kayla said. Then, taking a deep breath, she lunged into the full story, and I knew I wouldn't get another word in for a while. "But my dad followed him a couple times, and every time he followed him, it was straight to the casino. Actually, a few times, my dad caught him going to the bar after. But, seriously, as the company's accountant, my dad started noticing some of the money disappearing from the company's funds. Your dad's problem was effecting the company. Like, he was totally using company money to gamble. That's when my dad quit, and a few weeks later, your dad's company went bankrupt. You guys are lucky you got out of there when you did. Rumors have been flying about your dad. And school would have been hell for you. Oh my, God. Speaking of school…"

That was when I decided to zone out. I felt bad, but even Kayla's best friend could only handle so much of Kayla Babble. I paid enough attention to know when to nod, or otherwise react to what she was saying, but my eyes ended up drifting around the room. As they drifted, they made their way over to Dally, who was also looking at me. Our eyes met, and he raised an eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes, and looked away.

I focused on Kayla. "I mean, can you believe her? Sarah is such a… well, I can't say the word."

"A hoe?" I supplied for her.

"Katherine Jane Anderson!" Kayla said in semi-mock horror. She didn't like bad words, and she only put up with me saying them because I was her best friend. She'd grown accustomed to me swearing.

"It's just a word, jeez, Kayla," I said, rolling my eyes. "Hey, how about I show you around downtown? One of the guys could come with us, too."

"Sure, that sounds fun!" Kayla exclaimed, jumping up.

"I'll go, too," Soda said, getting up.

"Same," Dally said. I looked at him in shock. "That a problem, Princess?"

I shrugged. "Whatever."

Soda and Dally followed me and Kayla out of the house, and I started pointing things out. "There's my parents house. Did I tell you I got kicked out?"

"Um, no," Kayla said, stopping and turning on me. "When and why did this happen?"

"Oh, um, it happened after the slap," I said with a shrug. "Let's-"

"So, what, he kicked you out because you were right?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah, he told me to get a better attitude, and I don't want to," I explained. "Look, can we-"

"So where are you staying, then?" She asked.

"Here, with Soda, Pony, and Darry," I said. "For now."

"With a bunch of boys?" Kayla asked incredulously.

"They're my friends, Kayla." I was starting to get annoyed. "And I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Well," Kayla started, but, after glancing at the boys behind us, she sighed. "I guess that's true."

"Come on, let's go," I said, grabbing her arm an dragging her along behind me. I pointed out the lot, and the park, where Pony and Johnny had gotten jumped, and we began heading towards town.

Once we got to the DX, though, Soda found his way up with me and Kayla, and, as he began to tell her about stuff, I slipped quietly back to walk with Dally. I wasn't really ready to tell her that I worked here yet.

"She's…" Dally paused.

"Bubbly? Energetic? Tiring? All of the above?" I supplied for him.

"Well, I was gonna say crazy, but, sure, anything of what you said works, too," Dally said with a chuckle.

"She is quite the handful," I admitted. "It takes a special person to be friends with her. Of course, she's only like this with a few people. She's a little more reserved at school. Well, when we went to the same school."

"Would you go back?" I looked up at him in confusion. "Back to New York. If you had the chance, that is."

"Maybe to visit," I said.

"What about to move back there?"

"I don't know. Maybe. What's it to ya, Dally?" I asked, grinning up at him. "Woulda miss me?"

"Like hell," Dally said, but I could see something behind his façade. Was he upset about the idea of me leaving? Angry, maybe? But it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. He looked forward. "They seem to be getting along pretty well."

"Doesn't Soda have a girlfriend?" I asked.

"Her parents made her move when they found out Soda wanted to marry her," Dally explained.

"Oh," I said. I looked at Soda and Kayla again. They would make a cute couple. Too bad Kayla had a tendency to play with boys. I'd have to talk to her later.

We walked around for a while, Kayla doing a lot of window shopping, before we finally made our way back to the Curtis'. When we got there, everyone was in the yard. Soda went over to chat with Steve, and Dally went over to Johnny. Kayla and I stood by the outskirts, and I saw that her eyes kept drifting over to Soda.

"How long you gonna stay, now that I told you everything?" I asked.

"Oh, probably a couple days," she said, staring at Soda.

Kyle came over before I could talk to her about Soda.

"So, what do you think of my surprise?" He asked.

"I think," I paused, acting like I was thinking real hard about it. "That it's pretty damn awesome."

"Good to hear, kiddo," Kyle said, grinning. "'Cause I've got another one for you, and you will most certainly hate me for it." I looked at him as he walked over to his car, with Kayla close behind, giggling.

The giggles were what drew everyone's attention over to us.

Kyle walked over to his car, opened the door, and pulled out…

Oh no he didn't. "Kyle… Why?" I asked.

"Because, it's time for you to start sharing who you are with people," he said. He held the object out to me, but I just stared at it. It looked brand new, with polished wood and shining strings.

Kayla stood next to him grinning, a notebook in her hands. "It was my idea, actually."

I stared in horror, not daring to look back at my friends. What would they think?

A/N: Okay, yeah, this is mean, leaving you with a cliff hanger, but I'd like y'all to guess what the other surprise was (you only need to guess Kyle's, bonus points if you can guess what Kayla has). Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger and no promise of when I'll update again, but I will try and update soon. Review please! Hope you liked it!