I hadn't seen Curly Shepherd since our conversation at the Dingo, almost a month ago. Would that even really count as a conversation? I wasn't quite sure. When I told Charlotte about how Evie had told me to make more friends, she was less than impressed.

"I don't think Curly Shepherd is who she had in mind, El," Charlotte warned me as we stood in the lunch line. "I mean, he's a hood."

I shrugged my shoulders. "He ain't so bad." That was something I kept trying to tell myself, anyway. I mean, he had always been nice to me so he couldn't be all bad. Right?

Charlotte crinkled her freckled nose in disgust. "He's in a gang! His brother is the leader for Christ's sake."

I rolled my eyes."Both of your brothers are in a gang," I reminded her.

I wasn't sure why I was so defensive; it wasn't like Curly and I were actually friends. It was one measly conversation. Besides, I'm sure he had other girls he was interested in; even Charlotte had pointed out that much.

"Do you want to be my partner?"

I snap my head up to look at Ponyboy Curtis, who was standing in front of my desk. His auburn hair swept back with grease, green eyes looking at me quizzically. I smile at him, hoping I didn't seem too off my rocker for not noticing him sooner. I hadn't realized I had zoned out that much.

"Sure."

I liked the kid. He was sweet, real smart. Cute, too, just like his older brother, Sodapop. He was usually pretty quiet in class, but we had partnered up a few times. We were in a class full of Socs— rich kids who thought they were better than everyone. He was very mature for his age; I often managed to forget that he was a year younger than I was, skipping the 9th grade entirely.

We were working on the reading assignment when he asked, "Evie's your sister, ain't she?"

I nod my head. I figured he might've pieced that together, now that her and Steve Randle were going steady. Glory was Evie crazy about Steve.

"You two sure do look alike."

I had to disagree. Sure, we shared the same features but we looked different in a lot of ways. She was tall and thin and had nice curves, whereas I was more on the short, stubby side. Her curls managed to fall just right; my curls were just downright awkward.

I smiled at him though, told him that I thought he looked a lot like Sodapop too. And it was true. They had different colored hair, sure, but there was no denying the relation. It was especially evident when Ponyboy put on a genuine smile.

He shrugs, ears turning a shade of red at the top. "Thanks, but I don't think so."

I guess we had that in common; not seeing the similarities between ourselves and our siblings.

I asked him how he and his brothers were getting along. "I'm not sure I could have Evie bossing me around all the time," I admit. "She's in my ear enough as it is."

Ponyboy rolls his eyes. "Yeah, Darry's always on my case about something or other."

I pitied him. I don't remember what my parents were like, so the fact they weren't around any longer didn't bother me so much; I couldn't imagine losing them at this stage in life; things were tough enough.

The bell signals that it's time to leave and as we start collecting our things, our teacher informs us that our project is due by the end of class tomorrow. Sounds of protest ring throughout the room.

"Man, that blows," I say as we walk out the door. "How are we supposed to finish this by tomorrow?"

"You could come to my house after school if you want," he suggests. "I can't promise it'll be all that quiet, but it'd give us more time to work on it," he adds.

I hesitate for a small moment, nervous. I had never been to a boy's house before. I had to remind myself that it was only a homework assignment, nothing more. I mean, it would only benefit the both of us. So, I decided to go on with it.

"Sounds like a plan."

He smiles back at me. "Great," he says as he walks backwards, "Meet me by the back door to the parking lot. My buddy Two-Bit'll ride us." I give him a nod before he stalks off to his next class.

xXx

As it turned out, the Curtis boys lived only a block over from where I lived. I briefly wondered about why I was unaware of this information. I guess it wouldn't have mattered to me when I was a kid, seeing as how I thought boys were gross.

I felt kind of bad for Ponyboy. The poor kid had been razzed nonstop from the moment he was seen walking with me in the parking lot.

"Since when do you bring girls home?" Two-Bit wisecracked when we had reached the car.

Ponyboy fed a glare in his direction, cussed him out some. This had only made Two-Bit laugh some more. I had to admit, it was kind of funny to see Ponyboy so worked up.

I had been introduced to Darry, who I'd only known about through the stories that Ponyboy had told me. He was a big guy; muscular and tall. So tall, that I had to stretch my neck to look up at him. His hair wasn't long like the rest of the guys', I noticed; it was more clean cut than theirs was.

"It's nice to meet you, Elaine," he greets real polite-like. I could see that Ponyboy hadn't lied when he said Darry was serious. I shook his hand, feeling smaller than usual.

"Hello, Darry," I somehow managed to get out. He was kind of intimidating.

I shouldn't have been surprised when Sodapop and Steve came barreling through the door, Sandy and Evie in tow. I apparently hadn't considered that I might run into them somewhere along the line; which was stupid on my end for the fact that Soda lived here. They don't see me from where I sit at the kitchen table, across from Ponyboy.

Sodapop comes in to retrieve drinks from the icebox. "Hey Pone, who's this?" He motions to me while opening a bottle of Coke. Glory, was he handsome. I feel myself blush a little when he smiles in my direction.

Ponyboy looks up from his notebook. "Hey Soda. This is Evie's sister, Elaine."

Sodapop's smile grows wider."I didn't know you had a sister, Evie," he yells towards the living room.

"Yeah, she don't go out much. She's a bit of a square that way." Square?

My cheeks start to burn and I refuse to look at Ponyboy out of sheer embarrassment.

Sandy's laugh radiates through the house. "Ain't that the truth. That girl is weird." Weird?

Soda grimaces in the direction of the living room, like he hadn't been expecting that response. I hear, who I imagine to be Darry, say something in a hushed tone. Then I hear footsteps towards the kitchen.

"El?"

I don't look up at her. Instead, I start packing away my books. I try to swallow the lump forming in my throat. I wasn't about to let a house full of people see me cry; that'd make me look even worse. Evie takes a couple of steps towards me but I back away from her.

"Aw, El. I didn't mean it. I just worry about you sometimes." She had a funny way of showing it.

I look at Ponyboy, who has a face full of empathy.

"I'll see you at school, Ponyboy." I shove my way past Evie and into the living room. Everyone had their eyes on the floor except Darry, who looked to be almost as empathetic as Ponyboy.

"It was nice to meet you, Darry."

I push out the door and start the walk home. I allow some tears to fall. I was beyond frustrated. Square? I can't believe Evie would say that about me.

It was Sandy's fault. I remember the days when Evie and I were close, then Sandy came strutting along and stole her away from me. I wasn't jealous; not at first, anyway. No, where Sandy hanging around so often became a problem to me is when she started picking me apart at the seams. Calling me weird? Yeah, I should've expected that one.

I doubt Ponyboy would ever want to talk to me again. He would probably think I was weird too. Make friends. Kind of hard to do that when your own sister thinks you're a loser.

"Do you make it a habit to be alone in places you shouldn't be, or what?"

I nearly jump out of my skin. When I look up, I'm surprised at who I find.

Curly Shepherd stood a few feet away from me, arms crossed and looking tuff as usual; a weed tucked in behind his ear, collar of his leather jacket popped and his notorious curly, black hair slicked back into a perfect ducktail.

I feel a smile appear on my face ever so slightly. "I'm just on my way home, Curly."

He takes a few steps towards me. "Home? A bit early for that, don't you think?"

I shrug. "I guess so."

He comes even closer to me. He looks at me from head to toe before he pushes back a curl behind my ear. "How about you and I go to the Dingo for a Coke then?"

Did I know better? Yeah, I did; I ignored every alarm going off in my head. I was going to show them, Evie and Sandy. They weren't going to walk on me anymore. A square I wasn't, and I'd make damn-sure everyone knew that. So I smile up at him, bat my eyelashes and reply with, "Yeah, I'd dig that."