Author's Note: Two chapters in one day? Look at me! Okay, I was probably only able to finish the last chapter this morning because my cat, Sookie, woke me up. She has this thing where she repeatedly attacks my butt at 5 in the AM. It sucks. Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy! Oh, and this will be a real treat for all you Dally and Johnny girls out there, they're in this chapter A LOT.

Maybe I was naïve

Got lost in your eyes

And never really had a chance

My mistake

I didn't know how to be in love

You had to fight to have the upper hand

I had so many dreams about you and me

Stupid girl, I should've known

I'm not a princess

This ain't a fairytale

I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet

Lead her up the stairwell

This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town

I was a dreamer till you went and let me down

Now it's too late for you and your white horse

To come around

-Taylor Swift

Dally was skulking the streets of Tulsa. Okay, so maybe he wasn't actually skulking, but he liked the way it sounded. If you have to be technical (and Dally didn't) he was walking the streets of Tulsa, looking for one Jesse Danvers. Stevie had gotten the first shot at him, but Brandon had pulled him off before Dallas got his turn, and he so desperately wanted one. Dally may have been a no good hoodlum in most people's books, but one thing he didn't abide by was hurting women or children. Only a lowlife scum would hurt a woman or a kid.

So Dally had made some excuse to slip away from the Curtis house to go looking for Jesse. It hadn't been hard to get away; everyone's attention had been focused on AJ. Ms. Nora, Darry, and Alice had all taken their turns jumping her ass, wanting to know why she didn't say something about this.

Dallas thought they should cut the kid a little slack. She was completely green. Okay, so he thought even a moron would know that a real man didn't show his love by using his fist, but AJ was young and her Dad had split years ago, before Dally had even come back from New York, so how was she to know how a girl is supposed to be treated?

He was outside The Dingo now; he leaned against the bricks and lit a cigarette, waiting for that little bastard to come along.

He didn't have to wait long. Dallas had just finished his smoke and was preparing to start another one when he saw Jesse pull up in his green GTO. Dally scoffed. The kid thought he was real hot shit in that car, claiming that he had stolen it off the streets in Oklahoma City, when Dally knew for a fact that his grandmother had bought it for him for his sixteenth birthday.

Jesse was alone as he stepped from his car. Dally was glad to see that Steve had done a real number on his face as he stepped from the shadows. He was sporting the beginnings of a spectacular black eye

"Hey Danvers!" He called out. Jesse paled slightly, but turned to face him. "You wanna hit somebody, why don't you hit me?"

Jesse sneered. "She brought it on herself. I told her to stop hanging around with you guys and she wouldn't listen."

The fact that he and the others were the source of Jesse's violence momentarily stunned Dallas. "Afraid one of us might've told her what a fucking, coward douchebag you really are?"

Jesse bristled at this, but Dally wasn't done. He wasn't stupid enough to make the first move, but he knew if he pissed Danvers of enough, he get his chance. "Come on, coward." He kept taunting. By now as fairly large crowd had drawn around them. "What, are you scared to take me on? Can't handle it because I'm not a girl?"

"I'll take you anytime, anywhere." Jesse told him. Dally grinned.

"Come on, then. I ain't got all goddamned night."

Jesse ran at him, but Dally was ready for him. He hit him with a swift uppercut to the jaw, but Jesse was back on his feet in no time. The fight went on for several minutes before Jesse flipped out his blade. Dally wasn't worried as he pulled out his own; he knew the cops would be there to arrest them both soon.

And he was right.

Back at the Adare household, AJ was laying on the floor with her head in Alice's lap. Brandon was holding the baby beside them. Johnny was on the couch, a little miffed that he had slept through all the excitement.

AJ was feeling drowsy. Now that her mother, sister, and Darry had all stopped yelling at her, she felt that deep down she always kinda knew that what Jesse was doing wasn't really love. Brandon loved Alice more than anything, and he never laid a finger on her.

She was just starting to drift off when Ponyboy walked in.

"Dally just called; he's been arrested again." He announced.

Nora rolled her eyes. "What did he do now?"

"He and Danvers got picked up at The Dingo for pulling blades on each other." Pony said. AJ was wide awake now. She sat up.

"Is Dally okay?" She asked.

Ponyboy waved his hand. "They're both fine. Dally'll probably only get sixty days since his was just in self defense. Everyone who saw it swears that Jesse pulled his blade first."

Brandon shook his head. "Its like I didn't know the kid at all. How can you hang around with someone for a year and not know them?"

Alice laid her hand on his leg. "None of us knew, baby."

A little while later, everyone decided to go on to bed. Brandon took Alice and Kimmy home, and Pony headed back to his house. Johnny made up his bed on the Adare's couch, but only after Nora insisted he stay the night.

AJ lay in her bed, unable to sleep, wondering how she had gotten herself into this mess. Jesse had seemed like such a nice guy; a great way to get over Steve. Steve…she let her mind wonder to the way he had defended her today. No guy had ever done that for her before. Well, now Dally had too, she thought. Not many girls could say that two good looking guys had defended her honor in one day.

She lay awake in her bed for a few more minutes, before deciding to go make herself a cup of cocoa. Okay, so it was ninety degrees outside, but cocoa always calmed her down.

When she got in the kitchen, she was a little surprised to see Johnny still awake. He was reading a Superman comic of Amy's by the light of the small table lamp beside the couch.

"Hey," He looked up at her in surprise. "I thought you were asleep."

"Nah," She said. "I'm too wired to sleep. I was gonna make myself some hot chocolate. You want some?"

"AJ, it's like ninety-five degrees outside."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you want some or not, smart ass?" Johnny grinned.

"Yeah."

He got up off the couch as she got the ingredients together. Johnny sat down at the table and plucked a banana out of the fruit bowl in the center of it.

"AJ, y'all know that I'm gonna have to go back to my house soon." He said, peeling it slowly. AJ sighed.

"Dammit, Johnny. I wish you would just stay here with us for good." She said, stirring their drink in the pot.

"Ms. Nora has enough on her plate already without me adding to it." Johnny said. He watched as AJ poured some cocoa into a mug and handed it to him.

"Oh yeah, like you're a real big problem." AJ rolled her eyes and sat down beside him.

"I'm an extra mouth to feed." He argued. "And besides…I mean, I gotta go home."

AJ bit her lip. She knew that Johnny harbored this hope that deep down his parents really cared for him and worried about him. She didn't understand why they didn't; how could anyone not love Johnny? He was the sweetest boy she knew. If he wasn't like an older brother to her, she might even set her sights for him. Well, that and her slight crush on Steve.

It was almost as if Johnny had read her mind. "So…now that you're done with Jesse, you gonna make a play for Steve?" He asked, sipping his chocolate.

She blushed and bit her lip. "Am I that transparent?" She asked and he laughed softly.

"No…I just know you is all." He said. "It was pretty gallant of him to defend you like that, though." He said thoughtfully. "And you know he was nine shades of jealous when you and Jesse were together."

"He was not." AJ protested, but Johnny held up his hand.

"He was! Scout's honor."

AJ rolled her eyes. "You were never a Scout." She told him, playfully shoving his shoulder. He laughed again and AJ marveled at it. Two laughs from Johnny Cade in one night was nothing short of a miracle.

She stretched and yawned, realizing that she was sleepy now. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay." She told him. He nodded. He was getting tired himself.

Once AJ was back in bed, she was able to drift off easily. She dreamed, not for the first time, of Steve.