Author's Note/Disclaimer:
Do not own Outsiders. I own Scarlet Rose.
Uhm, I realize that this may not be how the book says it is exactly, but because I do not own it and remember the general idea, it comes out however I type it. If it sucks, my bad. I feel like I'm doing something wrong by not pairing Johnny and Scarlet together, but if I did then it wouldn't be drama would it? Next chapter is the decision about Johnny! Sorry that it's so like/not like the book. Now I know how Volleyballlover feels. This should be the last chapter like the book, promise.
OTHlover04- I like you. You tell me good update or I love it. You make me happy.
Volleyballlover- I loff you and wish I could pair Johnny and Scarlet, but I can't. It makes Megan want to run me over, which is not good. Meanwhile I have sorta come up with a way around this so be prepared for warm fuzzies.
Rainyaviel1- Yeah, Scarlet's going. Whoo! Updated.
HazleSilver- Thanks for letting me a char. in your story. I really appreciate it. Also, I want you to know that you did the right thing hun. Remember that. Ah, Tia should be here soon, I'm just waiting for the opportune moment. And you're right she does sound girly in this chapter. She'll be back to her old ways in no time.
Duckie- There, this chappy is mucho longer. Hope you like it!
Dreamer4lyf718- Wait no more lovie!
Degrassichick92- Oh yeah, who doesn't Rob Lowe? Ah! And yeah, I realize it sounds a lot like the book but this should be the last chapter that does, I hope.
Not-that-kinda-girl- Thanks. I'm hoping to get off the track of the book though.
Stayingold88- He'll have a mouthful, trust me. Mwhahaha.
Blackroseashes- I'm glad you like it.

Chapter Seven

Johnny shook us awake when the train stopped. I stared at our surroundings, feeling completely out of place. I wanted to be back in Tulsa, I wanted my bedroom, but mostly I wanted to be with everybody else again. And I was missing Audrey pretty badly. I hoped she would talk to Dally and find out we were okay.

"Damnit Pony, you put my legs to sleep!" Johnny exclaimed softly when Pony took his head off of Johnny's legs.

"Sorry Johnny." Pony apologized sheepishly.

"Nah, it's okay. I was awake all night anyway, I could've made you move."

I was silent, just watching the two of them as we climbed out of the car and casually walked into town. A one-horse town if I ever saw one. There was a General Store where I figured we could stock up on food. There were a few other stores that didn't seem to carry much of anything. Farms and houses scattered here and there, all of them looked run down.

"Ponyboy, pretend you're a farm boy and go ask for directions." Johnny directed. Pony looked scandalized and I almost laughed.

"I don't even look like a farm boy." Pony pointed out. I realized he had a point. His hair was a dead give away.

"Here," I said as I took my brush from my backpack. "Run this through your hair."

When he took off in the direction of a tractor I sat down and buried my head in my hands. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. Johnny sat down next to me and hugged me close.

"It'll be okay Scarlet Rose." Johnny reassured me. "Dally will take care of us."

"It's not that Johnny. I wish it was." I brought my head up so I could wipe the tears away from my eyes. "I miss everybody already. And you know something else? I'm sick of crying!" I must have said this part a little loudly because Johnny pulled his head back to stare at me. I hugged him to make up for it and stood up, dusting off my jeans.

"Hey, I'm back!" Pony exclaimed. "The mountain is supposed to be up there. The farmer told me no one's used that church in forever and to be careful because who knows what is up there."

"Good job." Johnny said, nodding his head as Ponyboy relayed the exact location.

The walk was a good fifteen minutes from the rest of the town and I was surprised at how old the church really looked.

"This is it?" Pony asked, not believing it at all. I ruffled his hair and stepped inside first. It was dusty and dark inside. Every wall was covered with intricate spider webs and most of the windows were boarded up. I yawned and sat down on the floor by what looked like a stage.

"Might as well get a little more sleep." Johnny decided, laying his jacket on the stage and laying his head on it. Pony took a spot next to me. I threw one arm around his neck and closed my eyes, falling back into a deep sleep.

When I woke up the next morning I was shocked that I had slept so long.

I looked over at the stage only to see that Johnny wasn't there. I wondered if I should wake Ponyboy, who was snoring away, when I found a note scrawled in the dirt.

Getting supplies. Be back soon.

J.C.

Just then I heard the creak of floorboards and before I had time to jump, Johnny appeared.

"I got supplies." He whispered, not wanting to wake Pony. It didn't matter much anyway because Ponyboy was already awake.

"Whadja get, Johnnycake?"

We unloaded the crate. I was happy to see peanut butter, three chocolate bars, three cokes, soap, bread, two packs of cigarettes, mustard, and a copy of Gone With the Wind. I was slightly disgusted to see bologna, but I kept my mouth shut.

"What do we need peroxide for?" Pony wondered, turning the bottle over in his hands. He looked at Johnny and backed away, his eyes wide. "No, you're not bleaching my hair!"

"Come on Pony, they're going to have our descriptions in the paper. My skin is too dark for my hair to be blond. I'm washing all the grease out and cutting mine too. And if they catch us you know the first thing the judge does is make you cut your hair." Johnny tried reasoning. Pony crossed his arms as I gently fingered my own dishwater blond locks.

"If it makes you feel better Ponyboy, I'm bleaching my hair too."

Johnny and Pony gaped at me. I took the peroxide out of Pony's hand and made my way to the pump.

…

"I want to see you two now!" I called to the outside where Pony and Johnny were finishing up. I was brushing out my newly colored hair and I couldn't say I was sorry to see the old color gone, but I had yet to see how the new one looked.

"Alright." Johnny called back. I grinned and tossed my brush on the floor, wondering how different they would look.

I covered my mouth with both hands so I wouldn't laugh out loud. Pony's once tuff hair was now blonde and it was so short! Johnny had washed all the grease out of his hair and it stood out in funny tufts.

"Well," I giggled. "It's different looking, that's for sure."

"You just look more like a Soc." Pony shot back. I glared at him.

Johnny brought out an old, cracked mirror for us to look at ourselves in. Pony was right. I did look more like a Soc.

We waited until dark, letting Pony read to us from Gone With the Wind and playing a few games of Go Fish. I let them teach me poker and in return I taught them golf, the card game that keeps you guessing.

Days went by and there was still no sign of Dally. I was worried that maybe he wouldn't show up and I was beginning to grow bored playing cards, reading, watching the boys chase rabbits and listening them talk about every subject on earth. I was also missing a warm shower and Audrey. I needed another girl to talk to.

One night, after Pony fell asleep, Johnny and I stayed up talking. We were lying on the floor, looking up at the ceiling where you could see the sky through a hole in the roof.

"Scarlet," Johnny said, rolling over. "Do you ever think about us?"

I felt myself stop and think a minute before answering.

"Sometimes. Why?"

"I dunno. It just seems so… weird. Thinking about it now, I mean."

I yawned and rolled over, letting myself fall into Johnny. He put his arm around my waist and we lay like that for a long time. Neither of us said anything. We just let ourselves wander down memory lane.

At the beginning of high school I had felt more alone and confused than I had ever been in my life. Not only did I have to keep my grades up because I was a straight A student, but there was the division between Socs and greasers. That was one line I was balancing on carefully and people noticed.

Lucky for me I had Johnny to help me along. We clung to each other, because Audrey had dropped out and Soda and Steve were in their own world, one year ahead of us. We dated for a long time, but towards the middle of the year we stopped. It was going nowhere fast and we saw that. I couldn't help him get out of his house and he couldn't get me out of Tulsa.

"It's getting late, huh Johnny?" I asked, closing my eyes and breathing heavily.

"Yeah, we should probably get to sleep." Johnny yawned.

…

"Hey blondie."

I opened one eye and looked at where Dally was hanging over Ponyboy. I sat up and shook Johnny awake.

"Hey kid, look at your hair." Dally grinned. I shook my head, yawning a little.

"I know it looks lousy," Pony groaned, "but don't go rubbin' it in."

"Hey Dal." Johnny grinned, running a hand through his hair. Dally just shook his head.

"Hey Pony, I've got a letter for you."

"A letter?" Pony asked. "From who?"

"The President of course, stupid- it's from Soda."

I felt a twinge of jealousy. Steve hadn't written me a letter. Did he even miss me?

"Hey, Dal, have you talked to Steve?" I asked casually.

"Yeah, I thought he was going to be the snot out of me when I told him you were in Texas. I told the cops the same thing when they hauled me into the station. Are you guy's hungry? Wanna get something to eat? I'm starvin'."

"Try livin' on bologna for five days." Johnny sighed. Dally laughed.

We loaded in Buck's T-Bird and headed down to Dairy Queen. Instead of actually eating anything I dozed off listening to them talk. I hadn't been feeling good for a couple of days and staying up late hadn't helped.

"Hey, Scarlet, I talked to Audrey." Dally said, arousing me from my sleep. He sounded a little angry, but I didn't want to know why.

"Really? What did she say?" I asked sitting up fast. This was what I was waiting to hear.

"She knew that I knew where you were. So I told her I did and she wanted me to tell you she's going to kill you for running off. She's been worried sick too. Hey, you want something to eat kid?"

"No thanks Dal."

"I'm turning myself in." Johnny said suddenly. We all stared at him and he blushed a little.

"What?" Dally asked. I'm pretty sure he didn't believe what he was hearing at all. I hoped he didn't hurt Johnny. Dallas Winston is not a person to tangle with when he's angry and this was turning into one of those situations.

"I said I'm turning myself in. Cherry said she'd testify it was in self-defense and it's not fair for everyone else to be worrying about us…" Johnny trailed off, biting his lower lip.

"Damnit Johnny! You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you kid. It can turn you mean and I don't want to see you like that."

I wanted so bad to join their conversation, but I just grabbed Pony's hand and gave it a squeeze. He squeezed mine in return.

We were driving again, back to the church to get our stuff. Johnny and Dally were talking quietly now. Meanwhile, Pony filled me in on the rumble and Cherry, our spy. He also told me about Dally blowing up about Johnny's question of his parents.

When we got to the church, it was only to see the place in flames.

"Hey what happened?" Pony called.

"The church just went up in flames." Said a rather fat man. A few children who looked no older than second grade surrounded him.

"Jerry! There are children trapped in the building!" A frantic woman said, tugging on Jerry's sleeve.

"They're probably around here somewhere, probably up a tree. You know how kids are."

"They've been missing for half an hour." Jerry went white and the woman buried herself in his embrace.

Pony went white too and I knew what he was thinking because it was the same thing I was thinking. It was us with all those damn cigarettes. We did it!

Johnny and Pony jumped out of the car. I looked at Dally for a minute who was using every swear word under the sun before jumping out and following them in.

It was smoky and hard to see, but I grabbed onto Pony's jacket.

"Hey there's kids over there." I said, inhaling smoke. I choked and coughed, tears blurring my vision. I grabbed the nearest kid while Johnny opened a hole in a boarded window for us to put them through.

As scared as I was being in there, but I knew we had to get those kids out. They made it really hard though; none of them trusted us and they didn't like being scared. I couldn't blame them for that.

Pony had just received a bite from the last kid and he was out the window with me following behind him. Johnny was still in. That's when I noticed Pony's shoulder was on fire. Dally put it out, whacking him hard, and Pony fell on the ground. I thought he was dead.

"Come on kid the roof's gone give!!" Dally called. There was urgency in his voice. I glanced at Pony's figure and then I jumped back in the window, grabbing Johnny's jacket and pulling hard. That was when the roof collapsed.