Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed! I hope you enjoy this new chapter. It's one I've been looking forward to for a long time, with a character I've really wanted to write more for.

Old Friends

When Ponyboy opened his eyes, it was because the light above him was shining so brightly that it hurt even with them closed. The first thing he saw was the sky, bright blue with fluffy clouds floating lazily by, and he frowned, pushing himself up onto his elbows. He was…outside. But he didn't remember going outside. Actually, come to think of it, he didn't remember much of anything. He was laying by the road, he realized, which didn't really make sense. Sometimes he went out to the backyard and sat on the porch, or even read under the tree when it was warm enough, but surely one of his brothers would wake him up if he fell asleep outside beside the street. They'd get real freaked out if they saw him just laying by the road like this. Besides, he didn't see their fence.

The only other place he might fall asleep outside was behind the bar, but that didn't make sense either. He wasn't in Richard's house anymore. He was with his family…he was home. So he wouldn't be out beside the bar. There wasn't a street out there, anyway…just trees.

So where was he?

Blinking in confusion, he started to stand, then froze when he caught sight of his arms.

There were no scars on his arms. He ran a finger over his skin, to just make sure, and sure enough, his skin was smooth. Unblemished. No raised cigarette burns. Giving a disbelieving little laugh, he climbed to his feet. At first, he worried that he was hurt. His stomach hurt a little, and he pressed a hand to it, but that didn't make it any worse. Maybe he just had a stomach ache. Or maybe he'd eaten something bad. It didn't seem particularly important.

"Look who finally showed up."

Pony spun around, heart stuttering to a stop for a second when he realized where he was. The porch he'd spent so much time on. The old run down house with the sagging roof and the railing with the peeling paint.

Richard's house.

And leaning on that railing, a cigarette in hand, was Lianne.

Just like his dreams.

She grinned at him, taking a long drag of her cigarette like this was just a normal day. Like she was fine. "Hey, Ponyboy," she greeted, voice warm.

"Li," he whispered, his hands starting to shake like Ricahrd was there. "You…you shouldn't smoke on the porch. If he sees you…"

"He ain't here, don't worry."

She looked just the same…her hair pulled back, her glittering eyes reminding him of Dal, and he felt a tear run down his face, then another. They couldn't be here…they couldn't be at this house. He was home with his brothers, right? He'd gone to New York and then he'd gone home! He remembered all that! It had been real! He'd hugged his brothers in that park when he'd gotten back, and he'd yelled at Soda and he'd talked to that therapist.

He'd gone to the movies with the guys and had hung out with Rita and…

And Li…

The hand over her mouth.

The knife.

The hole behind the bar, already dug.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice refusing to come out as more than a whisper, and she dropped the cigarette onto the porch, stomping it out with her old tennis shoe. "Li…you…that night behind the bar…"

"I know," she assured him, apparently bitter at the reminder. "I remember. He almost got you too, huh?" When he just stared at her, she touched her own face in the place where his scar should have been, tapping her fingers against her own unblemished skin.

"I'm sorry," he blurted, more tears falling that he couldn't stop. How many times had he wished for the chance to speak to her again? To apologize? So he did, not caring that he was sobbing. "Li…God…Li I'm so sorry. I should have…I should have stopped him. I…"

"You couldn't have stopped him, Ponyboy," she told him, shaking her head and scoffing a little, seemingly unbothered by his tears. "Shit, there were what, six of them? Seven? That cop he used to bring to dinner sometimes too. He would have killed you."

"Then I should have let him! I should have at least tried! I didn't even try!"

"Don't be stupid," she ordered, voice kind of hard like it got when she was ready to fight. She'd been stubborn from the start, but he couldn't stop the words pouring out of him anymore than he'd been able to stop them in the living room with his brothers…how long ago had that been?

"It should have been me! Li…I should have protected you!"

"You did protect me."

He shook his head and she clenched her hands into fists, looking mad all of a sudden as she dropped her cigarette and stomped it out under her shoe.

"You did! More than anyone else ever did! So don't you say you didn't!" she ordered, pointing a finger at him. "You did everything you could! Hell, you saved Rita's life! She's happy now! Her and that friend of yours. She's never been happy like this."

"I should have done more," he whispered, wiping uselessly at his face.

"He would have killed you, and that would have killed your brothers and you know it." Li jerked her head for her to join her and he obeyed, climbing the steps to the old porch and standing in front of her. Her eyes were softer than her words, her lips curved up in a smile that was older than her thirteen years. "I've kept tabs on you, you know? You and your brothers. They're pretty cool. Your friends too." He just stood there, looking down at her and crying, not able to stop, so she reached out, her hands slipping into his.

She was here. How was she here? How was he at this house? Darry and Soda would never let him come back here, especially not alone.

"You're doing good, you know? School and running…and the way you helped Rita with her asshole ex-boyfriend."

When he still didn't respond, she surged forward, wrapping her arms around him and making him notice for the first time how much worse his stomach hurt. Still, he hugged her, something he'd never done when she'd been alive.

"You were the closest thing I ever had to family. You were like my big brother."

He had known…he'd known that he was like her family because that's what she'd been to him! And he'd known that big brothers protected their little siblings, no matter what. It was what Soda and Darry had always done…the example they'd always set. "I think I was your big brother. Legally," he whispered, and she laughed, squeezing him and making his stomach hurt worse. He didn't care though…not when he was finally getting this chance.

They stood there on that crumbling porch where they'd both had cigarettes put out on their arms for what felt like hours, holding each other close. He didn't hear anyone in the house, and Richard's truck wasn't in the driveway, so he figured they were safe. Surely Richard couldn't get them here…right? That wouldn't make sense. Then again, nothing about this made sense. She was dead. And he was home.

Wasn't he?

"Why are we here?" he finally asked. "What is this place?"

She hesitated, then shrugged. "It's where I live. You've gotta stay here for a little while. But then you can go home."

He looked at the house then, stomach flipping at just the sight of the front door. "I don't want to go inside."

"You don't have to. I didn't mean here here. Come on," she ordered, and he followed, taking the hand she offered, and together, they started down the familiar road they'd walked so many times on their way to school.

The edges of this place were blurry, and if he looked too long at anything, the details started to get fuzzy, but he found he didn't care all that much. He just walked, hand in hand with Li, like they were little kids scared to get separated. Hansel and Gretel, he thought, then shuddered when he remembered what had happened to them in the story.

In less time than it should have taken them, they were standing in front of the bar that was burned into his memories, and he shook his head. "Li…I don't want to go back there."

She squeezed his hand. "It's okay," she assured him gently, not stopping as she pulled him along like a toddler, his dread curling up in his stomach like a lead weight. It was like it was all happening again…that night…and he felt like he might throw up.

"No…they…they're back there! They've already dug the hole! They're waiting for us!"

"No they aren't. They can't come here."

"How come?"

"Because they aren't dead."

Her words stopped him in his tracks, jaw dropping open, and she turned to look up at him, pity in her eyes. He'd known, of course, that she was dead. He'd watched her die, after all. But…was he? How? How could he be dead? Pony searched his memory, trying to bring back the last thing he remembered, but his mind drew a blank.

"What?" he settled on asking, and she squeezed his hand in comfort, pulling him along again. This time, he went dumbly, the two of them stepping around the bar to the back, following the same worn dirt path he'd taken so many times. How many hours had he spent out here, reading or huddling against the wall, trying to keep warm and wishing one of his brothers would appear. Sometimes he had closed his eyes and wished so hard that it had almost felt real.

If I keep my eyes closed long enough, Darry will show up. Or Soda. Hell, I'll take Steve. Anyone…please…anyone.

The field behind the bar had been a safe place until that night…a place where Richard never came to find him, and where no one bothered him. But that was before. Now when he thought of that bar, he thought of Lianne screaming…of the men crowded around her. Of the knife…

But when he stepped around the last corner and past the trash cans, there was no hole. No makeshift grave. No Richard or his friends.

It was just a field, filled with wildflowers and bees and butterflies that fluttered around. The field backed up to the forest where he'd spent those long cold nights, but now it was warm. The sun shone down on them as she led him to the middle of it all and sat down, then lay on her back and smiled up at him.

"Sit down. You're going to be here for a while."

Even the beauty of the scene couldn't distract him for long, but he sat, crossing his legs and staring down at her. "Am I dead?"

She hesitated. "Not…really. You're just hurt."

"But…how…how can you be here?"

Lianne was unconcerned. "Don't worry about it. You won't be able to leave for a while anyway…not until you're better."

"What happened?"

"I didn't catch all the details," she told him with a little shrug. "You got into it with some guy…you all sure get into a lot of fights, huh?"

"It ain't our fault. Those socs are always after us."

She rolled over, unconcerned, and together they watched a frog hop through the grass. Figuring he might as well be comfortable while he waited, he lay on his stomach beside her to get a better look. It wasn't like any frog he'd ever seen…it was an electric blue with black spots, and it was smaller than the frogs he'd seen before. He wondered if it was something she'd made up…could she do that? Was this place even real? Could it be a dream?

"How long do I have to stay?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Not forever…time's different here." He gave her a disbelieving look and she snorted. "I know…it took a while to get used to. But it's alright. You're gonna get to go back."

"But not you?"

"Nope." She grinned up at him. "But I don't mind. This place ain't so bad…I kind of like it. It's a lot better than that place ever was."

"Can you…can you make this place look like…anywhere?"

"Anywhere I've been. Usually it's the house I grew up in. There were lots of squirrels there, and I used to try to catch one. Now I can." She grinned at that, proud. "I watch you guys too. And Rita. I can only get glimpses, but I can see people I've met."

"What about your family?" he asked, voice low, and her eyes darkened a little.

"There aren't many of them left, and I don't care what they're doing. I could watch Richard if I wanted…"

"He's in prison," Pony told her.

"Did you have to testify?"

"I just told the cop what happened. Rita did too. There was enough evidence that we didn't have to go to the trial. I don't think my brothers would have wanted me to have to see him."

The frog finally hopped out of sight and she rolled back over to look at the clouds again, and he followed suit. He'd thought he'd be bored, but he was suddenly real tired, and he flinched when his stomach gave an awful stab of pain. She glanced over at him, watching as he pressed a hand to where it felt like someone was stabbing him.

"I wasn't watching, but that guy with you was real upset. I could sort of see him since he was with you. Rita's been crying a lot…so have your brothers. They're all together. The one who's dating Rita wanted to go drink, but he didn't."

"He doesn't drink much anymore."

She nodded, and he wondered if she knew why. He was tired though, his eyes heavy despite the sun shining down on them.

"You can sleep if you want. No one can bug us here."

He wanted to ask her so many things…if she ever got lonely here. If she could ever visit anyone else.

If he was going to die.

But before he could, he drifted off, the warm sun beating down on him, and his stomach throbbing with pain.

"You can't do this, you hear me, Ponyboy?"

Pony flinched at the raw anger in that voice, eyes flying open, and for a second, he worried that Richard was around…but that wasn't Richard talking. Hell, Richard never said his name. Not ever. And…and Richard was in prison, right? That's what he'd told Lianne.

At the memory of her, he turned his head to find her beside him, the two of them still in that field, so pretty it might be a painting. He wondered if he could ever draw something like this…if he'd ever be able to get it on paper.

For a second, he listened for that voice again…the one that sounded so familiar. But the field was quiet.

"How long was I asleep?" he wondered, rubbing his eyes. She just shrugged. "Right," he muttered. "Time works different here."

She grinned. "Now you get it."

"Not after everything…not now, kid." The voice came back then, and sat upright, realizing he hadn't dreamed it…or maybe…maybe this was the dream? He closed his eyes, listening hard and feeling his stomach give another throb of pain. "We whooped those socs, you know? We had to rumble without you…and Soda wouldn't leave your side. Hell, me and Muscles just about had to force him to go to work today. You've been asleep long enough, man. Now…wake up, alright?"

Dally. That was Dally. And he sounded…he sounded almost like he was crying. But that was dumb. No way Dally was crying.

When he opened his eyes and looked around, he couldn't see Dally anywhere.

He didn't ask Li about it…for some reason, it didn't seem important. It was almost like the only real thing was this field, and Lianne beside him. It was like a dream, when weird stuff was happening, but you didn't care for some reason. That's how he felt. She started talking when he lay back down beside her, talking about the animals she'd seen and the ones she'd never got to, and the places she wished he could go so she could see them too.

"I got to see some of the places you went in New York. If you go to Australia, maybe I can watch too."

"Do you watch me a lot?" he asked, teasing a little, but also kind of embarrassed, and she laughed.

"Not really. I just check in sometimes…see how you're doing. It's only you and Rita that I can really see. Oh, Mark and Tyler too, if I pay really close attention. They're out in California."

"What are they doing?"

"Mark works at a filling station like your brother. He's learning to fix cars. Tyler works at a record store."

He didn't ask if they liked it. He was still mad at them. Still remembered everything they'd chosen to ignore.

For a while, but what also might just have been a few minutes, he listened to her talk some more, like when they'd been walking to school, but it wasn't long before another voice interrupted, though, pulling him away from her and back to a place where his stomach hurt so bad he couldn't hardly stand it. He closed his eyes, screwing them up in pain, breath catching at the sharpness of it.

"Come on, honey. You gonna let me talk all night? Ain't you sick of my voice yet?"

That was Soda…he'd know Soda's voice anywhere. But when he looked around that field, he couldn't find his brother…or anyone really. Just Li, who lay with her head pillowed on her hands, smiling up at the sky and looking more content than he'd ever seen her.

"You hear that?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah…they want you to come back."

They wanted him to come back…but he didn't know how…didn't even know how long he'd been there now. It felt like just a few hours, but he didn't think that was right, because Dally had said they'd rumbled. So…so it must have been longer, right? When had he gotten hurt? Had he hurt Bob again, he wondered, shuddering at the thought. He hoped not.

The voice of his brother faded away along with the pain and he blinked dizzily up at the sky. His head felt weird…fuzzy, and he closed his eyes again.

Time must have passed, because when he opened his eyes again, someone was holding his hand. But when he looked at her, she had her arms folded behind her head, so it couldn't have been her…and there was no one else in the field with him. But someone was holding his hand, squeezing almost too tightly.

"Pony? Can you wake up for me, little buddy? Please?"

Ponyboy frowned, his heart speeding up in his chest. Darry…that was Darry. And Darry was crying! Why would Darry be crying?

"Darry?" he called, sitting up. "Darry!"

"You ought to stay here a little longer," Li warned him, looking up at him from where she was resting in the grass.

"How long have I been here?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But if you go back now, it's going to hurt."

"But Darry…something's wrong with him! He wants me to wake up!"

She tilted her head, regarding him with a sad little smile. "It's always about other people with you, huh?"

"What?"

"If you go back now, it's going to hurt," she warned him, sitting up. "You sure you want to do that?"

He hesitated, looking down at her and wishing, suddenly, that he didn't have to leave her alone here. She was happy…he'd never seen her happy like this before. But he'd missed her, and he had a feeling that he was only going to miss her more now. "Are you going to be okay here?"

"Of course," she told him with a little laugh. "I live here, remember? And it's way better than any place I've ever lived before."

"Do you think I can come back? See you again?"

This time, her smile was sad. "I don't think so, Ponyboy. Not unless you want to stay here for good. I mean, it's not bad or anything, but I don't think it's time for that yet. Besides, your brothers would miss you too much. You sure are lucky, you know? Nobody's ever loved me as much as they love you."

"Li?"

"If you apologize again…"

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," he blurted, not caring if she got upset at him for saying it. If this was the last time he got to see her, then he had to say it. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you. If I could go back…"

"Then you'd be living here with me," she interrupted him, but her smile softened her words. "I know. I've been keeping tabs on you, remember." She shook her head, looking back at the bar, her eyes older than her thirteen years. "I hated that you were so sad. It wasn't right, you blaming yourself for something Richard did. I know you would have protected me if you could. You always did, Ponyboy. You were the best brother I ever could have asked for, and I'm glad I got you for a brother, even if it was just for a little while." She smiled at him then. "You can stick around for a little longer, you know? If you want. You don't have to go just yet."

"I should, though. My brothers…they want me to come back, right?"

"Of course. They always want you to come back."

"So…I ought to go."

"If you say so." She shrugged, cool like Dally. She'd always been real tough…tougher than him, for sure. "It was good to see you, Ponyboy. I'm glad we got to hang out again."

He had to laugh a little at calling this 'hanging out,' but he nodded anyway. "You too," he whispered, meaning it more than he could ever say. "You don't know what happened to me?"

"I'm sure you'll remember when you go back. Something about a guy named Bob." She shrugged. "That one that pretends not to like you was there…he can tell you all about it."

"Steve?"

"Yeah. Him."

"I thought you said talking to him would help!" The shout made him jump a little, and he looked around the field, eyes going over the trees and the wildflowers before he was looking back at the bar, but he couldn't see Sodaop anywhere, even if he could hear his voice as clear as day. "It's been four fucking days, and he's still not waking up!"

"Soda," another voice, Darry's, filled the field or maybe just his own head, soft and reprimanding. It was filled with the kind of warning Pony always listened to.

"Sir, if you can't…"

"What? You think you're gonna kick me out?"

"Soda, stop!" Darry ordered again, and Pony looked back at Lianne who was smiling a little.

"They're just scared," she told him. "They don't want you to stay here forever."

"It's been four days?" he asked, and she shrugged, unconcerned.

"I guess."

"If you can't keep your voice down, then we're going to have to ask you to leave."

Pony didn't recognize that voice, but it sure set Soda off.

"I ain't leaving him!" Soda all but screamed, and Pony knew that tone…that reckless edge to his voice that told him that his brother was about to do something stupid.

"Look, he's just upset. Cut him some slack. Please," Darry said then, and they were louder, somehow. Soda and Darry and someone he didn't recognize. "Soda, you need to sit down, you hear me? Sit down and zip it," he hissed, just loud enough for Pony to hear. "You ain't gonna be able to help him if they make you leave!"

"You sure about this?" Li asked, and he nodded. Soda obviously needed him. Darry too. Something was wrong…they were real upset, and he wanted to find out why…see if he could fix it.

"Yeah."

She nodded, gripping his shirt when he surged forward to hug her.

"Go to Australia for me one day, okay?" she asked, her voice just barely a whisper, and she sounded just like she had when she'd been alive…uncertainty hidden under all that bravado. "You and your brothers."

"Yeah," he whispered, nodding and choking on the words. "Yeah, I will. I promise. Maybe Rita too, if she wants to come" He swallowed hard, shutting his eyes real tight as the pain in his stomach got worse and she laughed a little, arms tightening around him. "Love you, Li."

"Yeah, I know."

He would have laughed at the smile in her voice, but his stomach gave an impossible throb of pain and he had to grit his teeth.

As if making the decision had been enough, the field was suddenly gone. There was no warm sun beating down on him…no soft buzzing of bees or swishing of the wind in the tall grass. His head was digging into a pillow as he arched his back a little, trying to escape the pain that wasn't escapable. A tear ran down his cheek, somehow cool against his skin that felt too hot, and he took in a ragged breath that made it all hurt worse.

Lianne had been right, he realized suddenly. It hurt.

Maybe he should have stayed with her.

Thank you for reading!