Disclaimer/Author's Note:
I do not own the Outsiders or anything related to them, with the exception of Scarlet Rose. They belong to S.E. Hinton, who is a wonderful author. I don't even own Audrey McCleary. She belongs to my friend Megan.
Sorry for all the character/town description but somehow I feel that these things belong and must put them in there. Okay, there reason for the rating is that there is swearing, mention of sex and brief nudity (shower scene!).
Remember, that all flames will be harnessed and used for World Domination. Cheers!

Chapter One

The night air felt cool against my face as I stormed out of The Dingo.

"Come on back here Scarlet Rose. Look, I don't know where Tim and Dal got that idea, but I swear it wasn't from me." Curly Shepard, my current boyfriend, called. I swung around and glared at him.

"Bullshit, Curly Shepard!"

He broke into laughter. I felt my face flush red as I kept walking. He caught up to me and grabbed my arm to pull me back.

"Okay, so maybe I told 'em a little lie. Who're they going to tell?"

"Everybody? Maybe my brother?" I shivered and watched all the laughter drain from his eyes.

My brother, Steve Randle, is possibly one of the biggest assholes you'll ever meet. He's also 17 and he doesn't own his own car. Although he could get enough parts to build his own. Steve works at the DX gas station with his best friend (and my secret crush) Sodapop Curtis. He likes his black hair extra greasy and he's got this pretty cool way of styling it in little swirls. His eyes are what really get me though because they're dark brown and they always look like they're judging you. He's a greaser though, so he has to act tough.

See, our town is divided into two groups, greasers and Socials. You can just picture the Socs with a capital S. They're the rich West side kids who get into trouble for being a menace to society, but don't get it as bad 'cause they're rich. Greasers, on the other hand, are the poor East side kids. We get into trouble too but, lucky us, we're actually thrown in the cooler if we're caught. A picturesque Greaser boy wears his hair long and greases it back and they're always wearing blue jeans with denim or leather jackets.

I'm Scarlet Rose Randle, I'm just turning sixteen, and I'm a greaser too. Not the kind of greaser girl who sleeps with everybody or shows herself off too much. My two best friends, Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade, told me once that sometimes I could pass for a Soc. That made me mad, but not as mad as I was right now.

"Look, we'll just go back in there and finish our Cokes. Then I'll walk you home. No trying anything tonight. Promise." Curly said and I sighed.

Curly was pretty cute for a hood. He had blue eyes that could have mean look one minute and then be shining with laughter the next. He had long brown hair, greased back of course, except for the tiny bit that fell just above his eye. He had a Cheshire cat smile, but the cutest dimples.

"Alright. You better tell them the truth though. Otherwise Steve'll be laying for both of us."

Curly put his arm around my shoulders and led me back inside.

The Dingo is a smoky little joint with a bunch of booths, a bar (where you could only order pop), and jukebox in the corner. Usually they have a drive-in movie outside and you can buy popcorn too, but Curly didn't have a car and I didn't feel like sitting in the freezing cold.

"Hey, they're back." Sylvia said from Dally's lap. I rolled my eyes. Now that was a greasy girl.

"Back to our booth." I said, steering Curly away from them.

We sat down next to each other, Curly's arm slipping from my shoulder to my waist as I laid my head on his shoulder.

"See, told ya we should've come back in here."

"Don't go rubbin' it in." I mumbled, closing my eyes. It had been a long day at school and I was looking forward to a long weekend.

He took a long drink from his tall glass of Coke. If it had been beer, he would have finished it in nothing flat. That was just Curly.

I finished my Coke off about the same time he did. But we sat there for a few more minutes, just taking it all in.

"Alright, let's get you home." Curly said finally. I nodded.

We left, back into the dark, which was cold rather than cool. I rubbed my bare arms and pressed myself closer to him.

"Just drop me off at the Curtis's house tonight. Dad kicked us out again." I said and knew he understood.

Jake Randle, as Steve and I affectionately called him when it was just the two of us, kicked us out of the house about once a week. He always tried to make up for all the yelling and, on occasion, a smack or two, with five or six bucks the next day. Please.

"Alright, you be careful though. Should I walk you to the door?" Curly piped up after fifteen minutes of walking.

"Naw, wouldn't want Steve to see us. I mean he knows we're going together and everything, but he might get upset. You know how he is."

Curly laughed again and nodded. That had been part of the reason. I just wanted five minutes to myself. It seemed there was no way to be alone these days and now seemed the perfect time.

"Okay, be good. I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Probably. Goodnight."

We both leaned in for the kiss that was the end to every date. When I kissed him though I never saw fireworks, like Steve told me he swore he saw when he kissed Evie. Curly pulled away first and waved at me before walking back up the street. I sighed and walked towards the Curtis house.

"Anybody awake?" I whispered, quietly pulling open the front door. It was never locked in case one of us needs a place to stay.

"In the kitchen."

I smiled and walked past a snoring Steve, into the half lighted kitchen where Soda was making himself a glass of chocolate milk. Usually one of them was up getting a midnight snack.

"Hey Sodapop." I waved. He set down the glass to give me a hug.

I was madly in love with him, but it was a secret. The only person in on it was Johnny, but that was totally by accident. He never told anybody though and I was thankful for that.

Sodapop Curtis was handsome, and that was putting it mildly. He had this long, silky reddish brown hair that he kept slicked back and his eyes were always dancing with laughter or whatever emotion he was feeling at the time. He was an awesome listener and could always get you feeling better when you were in the dumps. He dropped out of school at sixteen going on seventeen and worked full time at the DX.

"Hey, how was the date?"

"Boring. We went for Cokes at The Dingo and ran into Dally and Tim. That little weasel Curly told them that he had…" I paused, thinking of how to say it. "Had taken me."

Soda nearly spit out the chocolate milk all over the table and I couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Did you…?"

"Are you crazy? With a Shepard? There are so many better people out there."

Soda gave me that goofy grin and I smiled for the billionth time. He took another drink and stared at me as I collapsed in a chair.

"How was the date with Sandy?" I asked. He shrugged and chugged the rest of the milk. I stuck my tongue out; slightly disgusted that he could drink it so fast.

"It was a date I guess. No nightly conquests or anything. She was kind of quiet and fidgety, but that's normal Sandy for you."

"Hey, Soda."

"Huh?" He mumbled, tipping the cup in the sink.

"Uh… thanks for listening to me ramble. Goodnight Sodapop." I stood up and stretched my back. He nodded.

"Anytime. 'Night Scarlet."

I tiptoed quietly into the living room and took the pillow and blanket from the end of the couch Steve was snoring away on. I set the pillow at one end and laid down, pulling the blue and silver starred blanket over myself. I had almost told Soda. I felt like kicking myself. Somewhere between the shock of opening my yap and wondering about his reaction I fell asleep.