A/N: Well, it's been a while. Sorry loves. But hey, I have a real nice long update for ya'll. :D

Disclaimer: Hinton owns; I borrow; you read.

"That's all you have to say? Aw?"

Jamie nodded. "That's all I have to say." Well, that was new—the girl could talk anyone's ears off.

I was leaning against the locker next to Soda's. It was his last day and we only had two more classes left. "I won't be able to do this anymore after today," I told him. "Ain't you gonna miss that?"

He sighed, grabbed a textbook, and closed his locker. "I wish you'd stop talkin' like that, Sandy." He let himself fall against the locker, and grabbed my books out of my hands. "It's not like you'll never see me, ya know."

I shrugged, and moved closer to him. "I know…"

He moved our books to one hand, letting them rest against his leg, and used his free hand to finger the bottom of my blouse. "But …?"

I bit my lip and grabbed his hand, noticing how his fingernails were dirty from working with cars in the previous period and how his knuckles were scarred from fighting. He pulled his hand out of mine, and placed it behind my neck gently before quickly kissing my forehead.

"It'll all be fine, Sandy," he said and placed his palm against my cheek.

I kept my eyes glued to my hands, and fiddled with the ends of the ribbon that I'd tied around my waist. I was bummed like you wouldn't believe. It was hard to see Soda after school on a school night. My parents didn't think I should be spending that much time with him. They didn't think it was good that we'd been going out as long as we had at our age.

"We won't see each other near as much," I told him finally. "You know my parents only like me seeing you on weekends."

The warning bell rang. "It's gonna be fine, darlin'."

Jamie straightened up a bit. "Was it fine?" she asked

"You'll see."

I think I might have enjoyed French class more that day had it not been Soda's last day. Madame was sick, or was taking a break from us, or was out of town, or something like that, and we had a substitute teacher who couldn't care less. Paper balls were being thrown around in an impromptu game of catch, gum was being chewed like nobody's business, and people were sitting on desks, chatting up their neighbors.

Soda had walked me to French class—something he didn't normally do—and I almost wished he hadn't because I knew he couldn't do it anymore. Patty was sitting on her desk, her feet resting on her seat, and she had a huge smile on her face. Michael was sitting on his desk as well, his feet resting on either side of hers, and he was grinning. It sickened me in a way … knowing I wouldn't get the choice to do that with Sodapop. We didn't have classes together this year, but we'd talked about taking the same classes next year, and I'd been looking forward to it, even if Sodapop had forgotten about it.

Michael said something in French to Patty, and she giggled. I still didn't get it. The three of us had had conversations in English all week, actually getting along, and they decided suddenly that they were going to become French. I'm sure if I understood even a little bit of French like Patty did, I'd be giggling about it too, but as everyone and their dog knew, I couldn't speak a second language to save my life.

"Oh?" Patty questioned.

Michael nodded. "I'm tellin' the truth."

They turned to me. "You think he's tellin' the truth, Sandy?" Patty asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about, honestly." I could also really care less as to what they were talking about and didn't care to find out. "I don't speak French, remember?"

Patty smiled. "Oh, right."

I nodded absently and started playing with the bottom of my skirt. The two of them were hitting it off just fine, and any other day I would have joined Patty in the conversation with a cute boy right away—especially one that I had gotten to know the tiniest but like I had with Michael—but I just wasn't feeling it today. Not when they were talking in a language I didn't speak, and I was in a weird mood.

Patty leaned in and whispered something in Michael's ear. He swung his legs around to rest on his own chair and looked at me for a moment, grinning slightly. He looked back a Patty. "You sure she won't hit me?"

Patty giggled and gave his arm a playful shove. "Just do it."

Michael shrugged and slid into his seat before scooting the desk closer to mine. He nudged my knee with his own and made me look into his eyes. "Hey, Sandy?"

"What?"

He grinned, rubbed his knuckles over his bottom lip, and stole a glance back at Patty. "Two questions."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Will you smile for me?"

I shook my head. "Not for you."

He chuckled and looked at Patty again. She was giggling into her hands. "Will you smile for Patty?"

I shook my head again. I hated smiling when I was asked to which is why picture day used to be so horrible for me when I was a kid. I never smiled in any pictures and everyone I knew loved to tease me about it. When Evie showed Sodapop a few months ago, he poked my sides, making me laugh somethin' awful, and told me he had come up with a solution to my problem. He told me: "I'll just have to tickle you every time someone takes a picture of you."

Michael nudged my knee again. "One more question."

I tucked a loose curl behind my ear. "Alright, shoot."

"Êtes-vous chatouilleux?" he whispered

"What?"

"I said: Êtes-vous chatouilleux?" He grinned, and looked back at Patty who gave him a nod.

"Michael, you know I don't spe-" Suddenly his hands were at my sides, tickling me, and I let out an involuntary squeal of laughter. "Stop," I begged between laughs. I was trying to keep my laughter to a minimum, or at least quiet. We were quickly becoming a spectacle, and it probably didn't help that I had stood up in an attempt to get away from him.

He kept at it, and despite my laughter, I was starting to get mad. Soda waited until the third date to give me a peck on the lips whereas we'd only known each other for about two weeks and I only talked to him when Patty talked to him. Granted, it'd been a lot in the past week, but I still didn't consider us friendly enough for that.

"Stop!" I slapped his cheek, pushed him away, and huffed as I walked away. The whole class had gone silent and I didn't even care. Two-Bit was coming in as I was storming out and I didn't even think to ask why; I just kept on my path to the bathroom.

No one was in it when I went to the bathroom and I was glad for that. Girls ratting their hair and smoking wasn't my idea of a good break from the monotony of classes. I probably could have gone for a cigarette though; it was one of the things Soda and I had in common—smoking when something was bothering us. Though, he was usually upset, and I was usually mad, like now.

I leaned against a stall and took a few calming breaths. Michael was just joking around, and it got a little out of hand for my taste. Evie or Patty would have been fine with that sort of attention, but not me. Never me. I was conservative compared to the almighty Evie and the darling Patty.

I looked down and smoothed out my skirt automatically. It was what you'd call a nervous tick, I guess. I was always smoothing my skirt when I didn't know what to do. I had actually tried to look my best today. I mean, call me crazy but I wanted Soda to remember how good I looked the last day he was in school.

Rubbing my hand against my forehead and sighing, I took a look at my reflection in the mirror and headed back to class. Two-Bit had been walking in as I was walking out and I was starting to get curious as to why he was walking in. He wasn't exactly studious enough for a teacher to trust with a note.

So I made my way back slowly, letting my fingers slide against the lockers and go numb with the vibration. Patty was looking out of the classroom, biting her lip.

"You'll split your lip if you bite any harder," I told her and walked towards the door.

"Um, Sandy?" She looked a little nervous. "We were just joking around back there. I told him it was a surefire way to get you to smile. I didn't think you'd react like that."

I shrugged and started to walk past her. "Why are you waiting out here anyway?"

"Well …" she started, but didn't finish. Sodapop was leaning against my desk, looking dangerous, and Two-Bit was sitting in my seat, looking slightly amused as he flipped through my notebook. Michael was sitting on his desk, sucking air through his teeth, staring back at Soda.

Two-Bit looked up and grinned. "Well, howdy, Sandy," he greeted and held up my notebook. "Mighty interestin' notes you got here."

I grinned slightly. "Thanks …" I wasn't really paying attention to him; I was looking at Soda. Two-Bit was always skipping, and although Sodapop had been known to do it a few times in his day, he wasn't known for doing it all the time. And he especially wasn't known for dropping in on other people's classes. "Hey, Soda," I greeted and squeezed his hand.

Two-Bit chuckled and nodded his head at Michael. "Michael was just enlightenin' us on how his cheek got so red, weren't you, Michael?" My eyes shot to Michael's cheek, and Two-Bit was right—it was red.

Michael glared at him. "I told you I was just messin' around."

Soda straightened up. "Yeah, with my girlfriend."

Michael held his hands up in surrender. "I told you it didn't mean anything, buddy."

Soda narrowed his eyes. "Make sure it stays that way," he told him, his voice low. He squeezed my hand back and looked at me. "Me an' Two-Bit are skippin' last period. You wanna come?"

I looked from Soda, who still looked mad, to Two-Bit, who was grinning, to Michael, who had an indifferent expression, to Patty, who was still biting her lip raw. "Sure," I finally said, and shrugged.

Two-Bit hit Michael on the head with my notebook, and grinned, following Soda and I out into the hall.

I waited until we had successfully made it to Two-Bit's car and were driving out of the parking lot before I broke the silence. "How'd you know what happened? It's not like I was gone that long."

I was sitting between the two boys, both of them grinning. "You didn't see me," Sodapop explained. "I was behind the door when you stormed off. I was gonna follow you, but then I remembered who was in your class, and went to, uh, talk to him."

Two-Bit chuckled. "You sure slapped him good, huh, Sandy? Geez, remind me to never tickle you when you're in a bad mood."

Soda reached past me and smacked him upside the head. "Man, you better not tickle her anytime if you know what's good for you."

Jamie leaned her elbow on the counter and placed her head against her hand. I wish she wouldn't. It was very unflattering considering the distance of the stool from the counter. "So where'd ya'll end up skipping to?" she asked

"We ended up at Soda's house for a while."

"All three of you, huh?"

"For a little bit, yes."

Two-Bit stood up suddenly, grabbing his jacket and putting it on. "Shit. I forgot I offered Kathy a ride home," he said and paused at the door. He grinned and looked back at us. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do now." And with that, he winked and let the door slam behind him.

I shook my head and laughed. Only Two-Bit. Actually, only Sodapop. He kissed my jawline, giving me butterflies. "Soda …"

He grinned and kissed me on the lips. "What?" he whispered. "Two-Bit wouldn't just sit next to a pretty girl without putting the moves on her." He kissed my lips again, and I gave in slightly, kissing him back. I could feel him grinning against my lips and I pulled away.

"So you're only doing this because Two-Bit said what he said, huh?"

Soda shook his head and leaned into me, kissing me again. We shifted so that my back was against the armrest and he was essentially on top of me. "Me? Listen to Two-Bit? You're crazy."

He kissed me again and we continued to make out until the phone rang a little while later. Soda rolled off of me and hopped up, grabbing the phone. I sat there and fixed my blouse as he talked—Soda tended to have roaming hands.

Soda hung up the phone and headed for the kitchen. "Hey, Sandy, you want somethin' to drink?"

"Sure," I replied and fixed the bow I had tied around my waist.

I heard the fridge open and close, the sound of glasses clinking together, and sound of a spoon being pulled out of a drawer. "Chocolate milk okay? It's all we have right now."

I laughed. The way he and his brothers consumed food, I was surprised there was even milk in the fridge. "Yeah, that's fine."

He laughed. "Good, because I already started making it."

I shook my head and stood up, heading for the kitchen. I walked in, and Soda turned and knocked a glass over, making the milk in it spill all over the place. "Shit!" he muttered. I laughed. He had chocolate milk dripping down his shirt and his pants.

I put a hand to my mouth, trying to cover my laughter. "Darry is going to kill you …"

He grinned and took the glass that hadn't spilled, taking a gulp. "Shuddup," he told me, still grinning.

"Aw, but you love me." I took the glass from him and drank some as well.

He took a step forward, avoiding the milk on the floor.

I took a step back, and took another sip. "Darry's not going to be happy with you if you get any of that in the living room …" I teased. "Chocolate milk doesn't come out of carpets, you know."

Soda stopped short and looked down. He wasn't dripping it anymore, but he was still wet. "Aw, c'mon, Sandy, you can share, can't you?"

I shook my head and took another sip. "I really, honestly can't," I told him, and giggled.

He grinned and said, "That's it," before chasing after me.

I let out a playful shriek and ran down the hall, ending up in his and Pony's room. Soda came rushing in afterwards and I held out the glass in surrender. "Don't you dare come near me with those chocolate milk soaked clothes."

He smirked and peeled off his shirt, tossing it into the hall behind him. "Fine. Shirt gone. Can I come near you now?"

I shook my head, giggling. "Nope. I like this outfit way too much for you to get it dirty."

He walked closer to me, grinning, and I backed up until the backs of my knees hit the bed. "You know, Sandy," he said, "you look real good in red." He took the glass out of my hands and placed it on his nightstand.

I stopped him from moving any closer and shook my head. "Uh uh, you're not getting any closer when your pants are the way they are."

He grinned devilishly, and unbuttoned his pants. "Fine," he said and pulled them down, exposing his boxers and socks, "pants are no longer an issue."

I put a hand to my mouth, and looked him up and down. I'd never seen him with so little clothing. His fine muscles were even more apparent without fabric, and Sodapop was even more attractive than he usually was. My stomach was suddenly full of butterflies. "Nope," I said, "it would seem that they aren't."

He took a step closer to me, placing his hands on my hips. "And that means getting your nice red skirt, and your nice white blouse with the red ribbon around the waist dirty is no longer an issue."

I placed my hands on his bare chest and leaned against him, rising on my tippy toes to kiss him. He in turn slid his hands to the small of my back and pressed me closer against him as he returned the kiss.

We kissed a few more times before deepening it, and letting our tongues explore each other's. He held me tight and placed a knee on his bed before lowering me down onto it, and lowering himself half on top of me. His hands began to wander, and I let them—it wasn't like it was the first time he'd done it. But when he started unbuttoning my blouse, I felt a surge of nervousness and butterflies. It wasn't the first time, but I knew we were heading for something I'd never experienced before.

Still I let him, and I enjoyed it—the way he held me, the way he kissed me, the way his body felt pressed up against me, and the way I could feel his adrenaline rushing by the fast beat of his heart. My skirt was bunched up, and his right hand was making it's way down my waist to my hip and finally underneath my skirt. His fingers tugged at my underwear, sliding them down ever so slightly, and my mind started racing. Was I ready for this? We were in love, but was I ready for this? He knew what he was doing, but what if —?

The sound of the front door being opened pried us apart in the matter of a second. Soda rolled off the bed, grabbed clean pants and a clean shirt from a drawer and started shoving them on. I sat up and buttoned my blouse quickly, retying the ribbon around my waist. I started fixing my hair—it was sure to be messed up—and took a look a Soda. He was buttoning his pants, and as Evie liked to say, was slightly, uh, happy.

He held out his hand, pulled me off the bed, and together we walked down the hall, towards the living room.

No one was there, so I leaned up against the wall, still feeling butterflies. Sodapop put a finger under my chin and raised it so that he could kiss me again.

"Jesus, Soda," we heard Ponyboy say, and we broke apart. He came out of the kitchen with a few old rags, sopping wet with chocolate milk. "You couldn't clean up?"

Soda and I smiled sheepishly. We had gotten a bit distracted, and even though I'm positive I was blushing, Ponyboy seemed to be a bit too distracted himself to notice. He walked past us and dumped the rags in the bathroom sink, soaking them with water. Soda and I watched as he washed them out, rung them out, and then dropped them in with the rest of the laundry. He looked … upset. His brow was furrowed, and he was irritable—it was pretty obvious even to me.

"You okay, Pone?" Soda asked, finally. "The school called and said you'd skipped last period." I guessed that he was talking about the phone that had first interrupted us.

Johnny slipped inside the door, bringing in the scent of smoke with him. Soda nodded an acknowledgement at him. "Hey, Johnnycakes."

"Johnnycakes? Who's Johnnycakes?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Johnny was a friend of theirs'. He was Pony's best friend."

Jamie laughed. "You can't just forget to explain these things Sandy."

Ponyboy looked away, and threw his jacket off.

"Pone…?" Soda inquired, and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Where ya been?"

"Why do you care, Soda?" He looked over at my spot against the hall wall. I stopped fixing my skirt and froze. I knew what that look meant, and I didn't appreciate it.

Soda turned Ponyboy around and made him look up. "What's that supposed to mean, kid? I was just asking."

"It means that you probably don't want me home right now. It's pretty obvious you two skipped as well." Ponyboy jerked out of his grip, gave me one last look, and headed outside quickly.

Soda narrowed his eyes and stormed after him. "Hey! You know better than to talk like that!" He disappeared out the door and let the screen slam shut behind him. Shouting could be heard between them as Soda followed after him, but it wasn't necessarily fighting. I suppose there was too much distance between them to talk normally, and after about a minute, it faded out.

I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Johnny, crossing my legs underneath me. He smirked the slightest bit, and I knew what he was thinking. Was it that obvious? "Nothing like what you're thinking happened, just so you know." And it was mostly the truth. We hadn't gone all the way, and that's what he was probably thinking.

"Okay," he said, and that was the end of the conversation. The guy didn't talk much in my experience, and we ended up watching TV in a somewhat comfortable silence.

"I can't believe Ponyboy said that. He seemed like a sweet kid."

I gave Jamie a knowing look. "I'm sure you've said things without thinking before."

She smiled sheepishly. "I apologized to Bobby…"

"And Ponyboy apologized to me later that night."

Sodapop walked back into the house a little while later, his expression void of any real emotion. He ran a hand over his face, and stopped, resting his hands on his hips and looking at the two of us on the couch. He grinned slightly. "Johnny … she don't bite."

I looked over at Johnny. He was sitting as far away from me as possible without being pressed up against the armrest uncomfortably, and was grinning ever so slightly. "Aw, shuddup, Soda. If I were any closer you'd be tellin' me to back away."

Soda laughed and sat next to me, placing his arm around my shoulders. "What're ya'll watching?"

Johnny and I shrugged. Honestly, I didn't even know. I never watched TV afterschool on a Friday. Johnny stood up. "What happened to Pony?"

"He's outside, smoking."

Johnny nodded and walked outside, and I took the opportunity to snuggle closer against Soda, adjusting my legs. "So what was that all about, Soda?" I asked quietly.

He cleared his throat and stared straight at the TV. "He hates that I dropped out. And, uh, today is three months. He was at the cemetery with Johnny."

"Soda …"

Soda cleared his throat again. "He didn't mean anything by the look or comment either, Sandy. He's awful sorry about that. He's just … I mean … it's a bad day, ain't it?"

"Soda, I'd understand if you want to spend time with your brothers."

He didn't say anything for a while. He just rubbed the thumb of one hand in tiny circles against my arm, and drummed the fingers of his other on the couch.

After a few minutes, I spoke up. "Soda?"

He shrugged. "I don't want to visit their graves. I hate the cemetery."

"But they're your parents," I reasoned.

"Drop it, Sandy," he told me.

"Bu-"

He pulled his arm away and placed his hands on his lap, cracking his knuckles in a nervous fashion. "Sandy. Just drop it, okay?"

So I dropped the matter, and together we mindlessly watched TV.

Review? Let's see if we can break 100 with this update, yeah? :D