Hey all, I decided to write a good long chapter today, since the last two were crappy and not so long, and I have been promising people that the next chapter would be good, so here's chapter 16, nice and long..

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Ok, I'm writing this after I've already started the chapter. I realize that I have serious wb. I just cant get this chapter out as easily as I wrote the others. I guess I either don't like where this story is going and might start a whole new one, or else my mind is just mixed up from all the tests that I had this week. It has been so hard. My teachers are the cruelest teachers ever, and they gave out one test after another this week. I just feel so numb from typing all those essays too! Anyways, I don't know what to do, I would really appreciate suggestions. Thanx.on with this chapter...Oh, and sorry that this chapter's going to be kinda short, I promised (up there) that it would be long, but when I started writing this (3 days ago) I didn't know I would have such a bad case of wb. So HELP ME!!!!!!!

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I snapped out of my thoughts. I musta stared at that picture for a long time. It was starting to get dark. I went into the living room and looked around for Rain or Jake. No one was around. I looked all over the house, but I guess they had gone somewhere, cuz there was no one in sight. I decided to go check up on Pony, see if he was fine. I took my keys and left. I knocked on the Curtis' door. When I heard a 'come in' I opened the door. Pony was lying on the couch, watching tv. I looked around but couldn't see Soda or Darry or even Two-bit or Steve who basically lived here more than Pony, Soda and Darry did.

"Hey Pon" I said, smiling warmly.

He suddenly smiled. It was a huge smile. Aw.he's happy to see me, I thought.

"Hey Summer. Thanks for stopping by. Take a seat" he kindly offered.

I walked towards the couch as Pony sat up. I sat on his lap.

"How ya been, soldier?" Wow, did I just call him soldier? That was kinda stupid but I didn't really care, when you love someone, you don't really care whether you are stupid around them or not.

He just simply laughed. "I'm good. My back just hurts a little bit."

"Oh, poor baby." I said as I slowly rubbed his back.

He smiled but clinched as I reached his neck.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"Um, nothing." Pony replied quickly.

"No, really." I lifted up his shirt; there was a huge cut from his neck down his back.

"OH MY GOD" I gasped. "I can't believe those bloody socs. They're such idiots." I guess I looked really upset at what they did to Pon, cuz he kissed me lightly on the lips and told me to calm down.

"How can I calm down Pon?" I stopped.

He kissed me once again. I pulled away. I was so worried. I mean, that cut was huge! I decided not to let my worries take over me, and just to enjoy the moment. I mean no one was home...and we were on the couch..you get the idea. He pulled away a couple minutes later. His face had a hurt look to it.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly. Getting up from the couch, thinking I hurt him.

"Nothing, sit back down. Everything's fine. I just..my back hurt a little bit."

I sat back down on his lap. "You sure?" I asked. I didn't want to hurt him in anyway, even during making out. He nodded. I smiled and went back to kissing him. We musta kissed for a while...maybe a little bit more than that, but what do ya expect, the boy's still hurt. We couldn't have done much. We were interrupted when Darry and Soda walked in. I immediately got up from Pony's lap and fell to the ground while trying to untangle my foot from all the blankets.

"Whatya guys doing?" Soda asked, winking at Pony.

I couldn't believe him. Pony was still hurt. I shrugged it off and stood up.

"Nothing I was just leaving" I said nervously.

"What, but you just got here!" Pony yelled. He actually sounded kinda mad, that I would feel the need to leave, just because Darry and Soda got home.

"I'm sorry Pon, but I really have to go. I kinda left without saying anything, and Rain will get worried." I said quietly.

Pony just looked away. I didn't know why he was so mad. I mean, I had to leave sometime.

"Oh, come on Pon." I said pleadingly.

"Fine, go if you don't want to spend time with me"

I smiled. "Ok, Pon, I'll stay, but I gotta use you're phone."

He smiled. "Alright, go ahead, but hurry."

I laughed and walked towards the kitchen. "Hey Dar, can I use the phone?" I asked.

"Sure go ahead, Summer." Wow, he was acting nice today.ok fine he's nice most of all the time. Hmmm..I wonder what's going on between him and Rain.

I picked up the phone and dialed out number. I hear a hello coming from the other end of the line.

"Hello...Hi Jake..Can I talk to Rain..."

"Hello?" Rain picked up the phone.

"Hi Rain.hey, I'm at Pony's, can I stay for a little bit....sure, thanx Rain....ok, bye."

I hung up and walked back to the living room.

Pony smiled at me hopefully.

"I can stay" I said, as I sat next to Pony on the couch.

"I'm glad" Pony said as he kissed me on the lips. It was a very small kiss though. Very, very small. Soda looked at us and laughed.

I felt very awkward right then. I dunno but lately I felt like I didn't want anybody to see me and Pony kiss, or hold hands, or be together. It was the socs fault. They did this to me. They scared me; threaten me so bad that I feel like being with Pony is harming the both of us. I don't really know how to deal this but I gotta talk to Pony soon.

"So you guys getting close, huh?" Soda asked, smirking.

I blushed and quickly tried to change the subject.

"Um, yeah, so how about you? Got a new girl in ur life yet? Or should I say girls?" I asked laughing. Pony laughed too but I could see it even hurt him to laugh. If I ever got a hold of those socs, there's no telling what I might do.

"Actually yes I do have a new girl. Well we only went out once, but I really like her, and I think she likes me too."

Darry was suddenly interested in our conversation.

"Who is this girl?" he asked. "Is it the one you went out with the other day?"

"Um, yah" Sodapop answered, while stuffing chocolate cake into his mouth. "Her name is Karlei. She has silky honey blond hair that comes down to her shoulders and dark blue eyes. Just my kind."

"They're all you're kind Soda" Pony interrupted. Even Darry laughed. It was true. The little I knew about Sodapop was that he was sweet, good looking, had a killer smile, and was a lady's man.

Sodapop even laughed. "Yeah, true, but I really like this girl." He said it like he really meant it. Maybe it was really true. He just sounded so sincere. "She is just right, ya know." He said cocking one eyebrow. "She is the right size, the right blonde, hell she even smells right!"

"Seems like you're really into this girl Soda" I said in amazement. Knowing all the girls he's gone out with ever since we moved, which wasn't so long ago.

"Yeah, she's just something different you know? She's not all fakey fakey like all those other girls. We're going out again tomorrow. I would like you guys to meet her."

"Even me?" I asked.

"Even you. You're basically family know, so yes you too" Soda said.

I suddenly perked up. I love any of them to refer to me as family. And I had only been here for such little time. But I guess if you really belong somewhere, it doesn't take you long to adapt. I knew it then. I did belong here. I was happy here. So yeah, I do miss Tara and Kevin still, but I don't think about them most of the time. Tara was my best friend and Kevin was my boyfriend, but did they call once since I came here? No! Why should I call them? I am the one that moved they should call. But I wouldn't answer their call anyway; I'm too busy with my new friends, not to mention my boyfriend. I turned to Pony.

"You need anything sweetie?"

He smiled. "Even if I did, I wouldn't want you to get up from my side, so I'm gonna say no, anyway." Gosh, he's a sweet boy.

"Hey guys, what do you want for dinner? Got any suggestions Summer? I think my baked chicken and mash potatoes is getting old"

I smiled, but felt bad for Darry inside. He had to work all day, and then come home to cook and serve people. I wanted to do something about it.

"Hey Dar, why don't I cook you guys dinner tonight?" I had helped my mom cook dinner so much, that I was basically as good a chef as she was, now. Rain and I both mastered in the kitchen.

Darry came into the living room with a shocked expression on his face.

"No I couldn't let you do that!" he said in his Oklahoma accent.

"Sure you can!" I said in my New-York accent.

I was just noticing how different we were. I mean, I didn't really notice it before but my way of talking was very different than Darry's, Soda's and Pony's was. I shrugged that thought away. I swear my mind drifts off to the weirdest thoughts.

"I'm a master in the kitchen. And you don't have to worry about anything. I'll take care of everything, cooking, serving, and cleaning." I just wanted to do something good for them. They have had me over almost everyday, and Darry was the one always stuck in the kitchen or in his shop in the garage, always cooking or fixing something. He never had time to relax. I wanted to give him that and since I am horrible at fixing stuff, I can give Darry a day off from the kitchen.

Darry had a puzzled look on his face; I guess he couldn't figure out why I was being so kind.

"Oh, come on Darry, you're always stuck in the kitchen or somewhere, always working, working and working, I just wanted to give you some change to relax, and have time to chat with you're brothers." I put my puppy eyes on.

"Ok, but I don't want to make it seem like, we're working you."

I sighed. "Don't worry about it." I took the oven mitts from him, and headed towards the kitchen.

"I'll help" Pony offered, but I told him to just sit down and relax. He didn't resist.

I cooked my mom's famous lasagna, green beans, and my favorite desert, lemon pie. This didn't take me long, since Darry had already start cooking the beans, so all I had to do was the lasagna and the pie. The filling for the pie, they already had, and thank god, they had the stuff that matched the ingredients for the lasagna, which I knew by hearth. Darry constantly came into the kitchen asking to help, but every time, I would tell him to cuz RELAX! I was done cooking everything in about two hours and we could finally eat. Sodapop was happy about that.

I served everything. They all ate 3 pieces of lasagna because I made them wait so much, and a lot of peas, and 2 pieces of pie each. I only had half a piece of lasagna, a little bit of pie, and no peas. I didn't really feel like eating. I hope the boys didn't notice.then Darry would bug me about being anorexic and stuff. Besides they were too busy burying their faces into the food. I laughed a little bit at this.

Hey all looked up at me. I sighed.

"What are you laughing at?" Soda asked with a piece of lasagna dangling from his chin. I laughed even harder. I couldn't even tell him that he had a huge piece of lasagna on his face.

"Soda, lasagna, chin..." Pony explained.

I breathed deeply and stopped laughing. They all just shrugged and went back to eating except Darry. He stared at me for a while. I stared back.

"You haven't been eating much, Summer." He said slowly. "Come to think of it you haven't been eating at all when you're over."

I froze. I gave him such a cold look that he decided to drop the subject, but I knew this wasn't the end of it.

When we...they were all done eating, I cleaned up and washed the dishes. I stepped into the living room. All three brothers were spread around the living room just sitting there watching tv, laughing occasionally at Soda's comments. They all looked like such a family! I miss that. Being with family, you know. Rain started her job, so it's mostly me and Jake now. Thinking about that made me sad; I had been abandoning Jake a lot, to be with Pony and Soda and Darry, I thought it was time I went back to my own family.

"Hey, guys, I'm gonna leave. Rain took a second job at some café, and Jake's with a baby-sitter, and it just doesn't fell right, leaving my own brother with a baby-sitter and all." I said as I grabbed my coat.

"Rain got a second job? How come?" Soda asked.

"Hmm, I dunno, I guess she wants to have some extra money to save so I can go to collage." I guessed. I really didn't know. She didn't need a second job. Bloomingdale's was paying enough....

"Is she starting collage, this fall?" Darry asked. I could see the pain in his eyes, just for mentioning collage. It was too sad....

"Um, yah." I said putting on my scarf and hat.

Pony smiled at me.

"What?" I asked as I put on my mittens.

"Nothing, you look cute." I blushed. Darry and Soda gave each other a look.

I smiled. "Thanx Pon, hey walk me home?" I asked.

"Sure, Darry can I?" Pony asked hopefully.

"Sure, but put a coat on, it's cold." I know it was still summer, well fall I guess, and I was wearing mittens and a hat and a scarf, but it's like I'm always cold, and I have no idea why.

I said bye to Soda and Darry. They thanked me a millions times for dinner. I was glad they liked it. It always made me feel good to know that I made people happy. We walked to my house, and before I opened the door, Pony gave me a quick kiss, and he went back home. I opened the door. I was shocked at what I was faced with....... *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Dun dun dun... TBC...

That's all for chapter 16, I hoped you guys liked it. As for the reviews....

Ponyboysgirl1: lol, that's a great suggestion. Sorry I didn't update for a while, but you know why.. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Karlei Shaynner: thank you so much! I hope I described you(her, w/e ugh!) well enough.

Jen: lol, YOU'RE NOT GUNNO DIE, lmao, it was so funny... And yeah, thanx.

Shannon: thanx for the review. I don't think I'll have pony get hurt by socs anymore, I just can't write it, it's too sad! OMG! I love shopping. Lol, keep on reading.

Naria4: I'm glad ur not grounded anymore, so now you can read and review faster, lol, thanx.

Laura: lol thank, when I said that Summer's cold all the time, it reminded me of you, lol. Thanx so much for reading it, I appreciate it.

Dollwithouteyes: yeah I was thinking about having people think she's a soc. Thanx for reviewing.

Lisa: I love shopping! And besides it was the only that I could think of which would state that summer was almost over and that school was going to start soon. Keep on reviewing.

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Alright, well that's all for the reviews. I got a lot for the last chapter, and I hope I get just as much for this chapter. Just knowing that you people review, it keeps me writing. Plz keep on reviewing!!! And also, in the next chapter, plz don't hate Rain for what she will do. I will explain about that more, later. Thanx again.and yeah, sorry for any grammar or spelling errors. I'm a fast typer, so I'm usually not aware of my mistakes.