A/N: Thanx you guys for those reviews. Keep 'em comin'! This is a long part but bear with me. It gets better!

Disclaimer: Dnt own any of s.e hintons characters.

We got to Terry's place and found Williamson sitting on the front step.

"Where's Terry?" Mark asked as we approached him.

"He went to get the booze. He'll be back soon"

Just then Terry pulled up in front of the house and we all jumped in the car. He had six six-packs in the back seat. He started driving.

"Shoot, how'd you manage that?" Mark asked admiringly

"I pulled up in front of the liquor store and sat there trying to think of a way to get the booze. Then I see Two-Bit Mathews outside the liquor store with some blonde and I says to him, I says 'hey, care to do your old pal a favour?' he says 'what's in it for me?'. I got him to get the booze and bought him a six-pack in return for his services" he began to laugh. It was just like Two-Bit to go along something like that.

We made it to the party in less than 15 minutes with Terry's driving. It wasn't a big party. Just a small one at the school gym. When we got there, there weren't that many people. There was a cop standing outside looking tough trying to keep things under control.

"He looks like he could use some booze" Mark said.

Terry drove his car round the back of the gym and got started with the booze.

He handed me one but I knew I wasn't going to drink it. I just held it and sat there listening to Mark ramble on about a kid he met at hospital when he went to visit Bryon's mother.

"I've never met someone so stupid" he said "he doesn't even hate the girl or anything and look what the bitch did to him."

The kid he was talking about, Mike Chambers, drove a black girl home after some white boys were harassing her and when he got her to her house she let all the black guys beat him up, almost killing him.

"Sometimes I just don't understand people" Mark said. By that time he was on his 4th can and Terry had passed out in the front seat. The music in the gym was getting loud. I figured the party must be starting up finally.

"Lets go inside" I said to Mark and we got out of the car. Inside it was packed. Everyone from school was there.

"Hey, hey look" Mark whispered to me. I looked. There was a group of girls eyeing us up and down. They looked like Socs girls from the way they were wearing their make up. It didn't mattered anymore though. Nowadays with all that love and peace and all that, all the fighting between Socs and greasers just stopped. And it was hard to tell a greaser from a Soc anyway. Looking poor is the fashion and Socs love to follow the fashion. Long greasy hair was no longer our trademark. They all wear their hair long and buy designer jeans and shirts that look old. I thought they were out of their mind.

Mark smiled mischievously. "The brunette cant take her eyes off you man" he said "come on don't be scared"

"yeah, yeah" I said shoving him over.

"There's Bryon" he said looking over.

"Hey Bryon" he yelled and waved him over. Bryon and his date came over to us and as soon as he saw me his smile faded.

"Hi Cathy" Mark said to the girl, "I haven't seen you in a long time"

"I haven't been here to see" she answered and then she looked at me.

"I don't think you know Ponyboy Curtis- this is Cathy Carlson" Mark introduced us.

"Hi" I said. I didn't really get a good look at her face because of the lighting but from what I saw she looked like a decent girl, a really nice one and I wondered what she'd be doing with a guy like Bryon. He was known for being a ladies man among other things and she looked like she was a good girl. What did she see in him? He wasn't all that good looking. He reminded me of a Saint Bernard puppy but I guess chicks dig that.

I wondered if Cathy thought Bryon was better than the crowd like Cherry thought of Dally.

Bryon moved closer to Mark and said "where's the booze?" when he knew Cathy couldn't hear. Mark laughed and put his arm around Bryon's shoulders. I couldn't help but feel a ping of jealously. That's what I had with Johnny but he's gone.

Mark told Bryon that it was all out in Terry's car. "Go help yourself" he said "Terry won't mind, he's already passed out in the front seat"

Then Mark moved over to me "have fun you too" he said and we walked over to the group of girls. The brunette with the scarlet dress came closer to me. She was nice looking but as soon as she opened her mouth I knew I had to get out of there. "you wanna dance, honey?" she said. She sounded like a screeching monkey.

Mark was laughing so hard that he almost choked. I pushed past everyone and went out to the back with the brunette calling after me.

Mark came out after a couple of minutes still laughing.

"What the hell kinda chick was that?" he said, sitting beside me on the bonnet of Terry's car.

"You can pick out the good ones huh?" I said sarcastically.

"That was a one off thing. That girl was totally scary. Did you hear her?" he moved closer to me "you wanna dance, honey?" then he laughed again. He got so weird when he was drunk.

A kid came up to us and said to me "hey are you Ponyboy Curtis?"

"Yeah, who are you?". He didn't look familiar. I thought maybe he knew me from school or something.

"You got something with me kid" he said. He took off his jacket, threw it on the ground and gestured for me to come. "Come on"

"What's with this idiot?" Mark said loudly

"I dono" I said. I really didn't.

"What are you? Chicken? Let's go"

I shrugged. He wants a fight, he's got one.

We started circling each other. By then there was a crowd coming together to watch. The kid took a swing at me and that set me off. I had him of the ground, punching him, then he kicked me off. When I got up, the kid was coming at me with a beer bottle. Mark stepped in.

"Come on, man, fight fair" he said but instead, the kid cracked Mark across the side of the head with the bottle.

I looked at the kid as though I was going to kill him and he ran off.

"Mark? Mark?" I said shaking him but he was out cold. I ran to the cop and told him to call an ambulance and told him who the kid was.

I decided to get Bryon. Mark would've wanted that. I pushed through the crowd and when I saw him I yelled "Bryon! Come quick! Mark's hurt"

His expression changed from annoyance to concern as he ran, pushing through the crowd to get to Mark.

He got to Mark and knelt down beside him. "Mark?" but he still didn't answer. Bryon took the end of his shirttail and wiped Mark's bloody face. I knelt down beside him.

"Is he alright?"

Bryon shook his head. "Did you call the ambulance?"

I told him about the cop and he looked around for him. The cop had the kid who attacked us in handcuffs.

Bryon looked at me "is that the guy who did this?"

"yeah" I said

Bryon looked at the kid. The anger in his eyes was more than enough to scare the kid.

"Buddy boy, you are dead. You had better make up your mind to that. When I get through with you, you are going to be dead" Bryon said through clenched teeth.

"He meant to get me, if that makes any difference" I said simply.

"If he'd gotten you, he'd be doing me a favour."

Ouch

I gave him a wry grin. All this over a girl, I thought, this guys not worth worrying about. I would've been ready to crack him in the skull if he hadn't been Mark's brother. He wasn't Mark's real brother. Mark went to live with Bryon and his mother when his parents died when he was just nine years old. It was sad to think about. He didn't really have anyone at least I had Darry and Soda. In looks, Mark and Bryon were complete opposites. Mark had blonde hair and light eyes and Bryon had dark hair and eyes. But Mark always told me that they knew each other so well they could read each others mind.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

I told him in detail about the fight and how the kid got Mark with the bottle.

He looked away for a while.

"Do you know Angela Shepard?"

I knew what he meant. "No. I know her brothers pretty well, but I've never been around her much". It was true. I didn't know her personally. "What does Angela have to do with this?"

"I'll tell you later" he said, almost friendly.

Mark began to groan. Bryon moved closer to him, "listen, don't move just lie still. We're going to get you to the hospital" he said softly.

Mark opened his eyes. His pupils were dilated and I could tell Bryon was spooked when he saw that. I thought for a minute that he was going to cry.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked me.

"Shock" I said and I took off my jacket and put it around Mark.

When the ambulance came, Bryon jumped in with Mark leaving me behind at the party.