Disclaimer: And, as always, I don't own any of this.

Hey, y'all. Just got back from vacation, and I'm ready to write! A big thank you to Hahukum Konn for beta-ing this chapter and giving me permission to use his character.

Chapter Ten
Stunts and Stories

Nate woke me up early the next morning. "You," said sternly, "are gonna clean up this mess that you and your wonderful friends made."

I shrugged, nonchalant. I figured that I owed it to these guys to let them tear up my house at least once. After all, they had saved my ass on more than one occasion, and without them, I'd be lookin' over my shoulder all the time, fearing more wrath from my old gang.

Nate, noticing that his punishment had no effect on me whatsoever, started yelling at me again. "I can't believe you let them do this. Look," he opened up one of the cabinets. "They ate most of our food, Matt! You know how hard money is to come by!"

This started to make me mad. Not the fact that he was complaining about money, but the fact that he was yelling at me. "You never used to yell at me when Mom and Dad were around," I accused.

"Well, sorry to break this to ya, but Mom and Dad aren't here anymore, so you had better fuckin' get used to it!"

"I can't believe you!" I yelled back. "Don't you know what day it is?"

"Enlighten me," he said sarcastically.

I pointed to the calendar. "It's been one month now." I said quietly, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice.

"So what!" he yelled. I couldn't believe how hard and cold he had become. "Missing them isn't going to make them come back."

I couldn't stay here with my heartless older brother. I ran out the door. There was no way I could stay. And I wasn't going to school either.

I wandered aimlessly around the town, careful to stay out of both soc and greaser territory. If I landed in a place with socs, I would get killed, since I didn't have the sense enough to bring a switchblade with me. Greasers could be just as dangerous, especially if Steve had told someone else about my past. Even worse, one of the gang might find me and convince me to go back to school.

I hung around the middle class area, the neutral zone, for hours, just wandering, thinking. Thinking about how cruel reality was, taking my parents from me. Thinking about how different things could be. Thinking about the rivalry against socs and greasers.

Thinking about how I would ever be able to face Nate again.

I glanced around. Even though I was still in neutral territory, I was still wary. Nothin' harmful, thank god. Only other living being out was some kid mowin' a lawn.

Nothin' harmful, at least until a couple of streets down. Then, I heard those fatal words.

"Hey guys, look over there. It's that greaser who led a parade into Rusty's! Let's teach him a lesson!"

With no blade and five to one odds, I had no chance. I just lay there, a half dead boy in an ally.

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"Holy shit!" I heard someone call out. Though my eyes were blurred, I could just barely make out the kid I had passed by who had been mowin' the lawn. He cursed the socs, knowing that they were the only people who could beat someone up that bad.

I couldn't even lift any of my leaden limbs, much less tell him who I was and where I came from. Knowing how bad off I was, he dug through my wallet and pulled out my ID.

"Don't worry, man," he said. "I'll go ask Jerry if I can borrow his car, then I'll take you home."

Relieved, I passed out.

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"What the heck were you doin'?" asked Ponyboy, "Skippin' school and walkin' all alone without even a blade to protect ya. I'm sorry, Matt, but that was just plan DUMB. What's wrong with you?"

"It's been a month, okay! One whole fuckin' month since my parent's died! Doesn't anyone understand that!"

Ponyboy nodded. "Come on. I got somethin' to show you." He took me to his room and handed me a folder, thick with handwritten papers. "This year, I've lost a lot of things. This was how I dealt with it."

I opened the folder and quietly began to read.

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That evening, everyone sat around the kitchen table, eating green macaroni and cheese. Green.

"So," I asked. "Who was that guy who found me in the alley and how did he know to bring me here."

"He tried to drop you off at your house, but since Nate was at work, no one was home. He knew we lived on the same street, so he just dropped you off here," said Darry, glancing skeptically at our deformed dinner. "He's an old friend of ours; his name's Shawn."

"That Shawn is one weird guy," Two-bit commented seriously. "Claims he's from the future or somethin'."

I laughed. Two-Bit Mathews had to be the "weirdest guy" I had ever met.

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Sodapop approached me later that night.

"Hey," he said. "I learned about your little scrap with Nate at work today. And I think you should apologize."

"WHAT?" I asked. How could Soda possibly side with Nate?

"He's lost just as much as you have," he said. "They were his parents too. He lost his future too, Matt. I can tell, he woulda made it far in college, but everything was taken away from him. You still have that chance. His is gone. Matt, we greasers, we don't have money, or fancy clothes, or Mustangs, but what we do have, it's worth a lot more than that.

"Matt, you have a brother who loves you. Family and friend is all we greasers have. Without that, man, we have nothin'. You're welcome to the couch for tonight," he said. "But tomorrow, I want you to go home and make up with your brother."

I saw the truth in his words. " 'Kay."

"Good."

I curled up on the couch, my bed for the night, and picked up Ponyboy's folder again. I was nearly finished now…

I read the final paragraph.

"I sat down and picked up my pen and thought for a minute. Remembering. Remembering a handsome, dark boy with a reckless grin and a hot temper. A tough, tow-headed boy with a cigarette in his mouth and a bitter grin on his face. Remembering—and this time it didn't hurt—a quiet, defeated-looking sixteen year old whose hair needed cutting badly and who had black eyes with a frightened expression to them. One week had taken all three of them…"

Quietly, I wept into my pillow. It was true. Never before had the greasers I had beaten up seemed so real to me. And it was my fault that they were gone. After all Pony had done for me, I had taken away these guys, these humans, with thoughts, feelings, and souls. They were his friends. And now, they just weren't there.

Four words rang through my head.

It's all my fault.

- - - - -

If y'all are interested to see where Shawn came from and what his story is, check out the Outsiders ff.n story Unplanned Journey by Hahukum Konn. It's a must read.

Now for the reviews….

Sungirl- Any reviewer is a good reviewer…

Hahukum Konn- yep, it's Johnny's house. Thanks again for letting me use Shawn, and thanks for beta-ing my novels as well! Reading what I write has to be a very tedious task.

Babygurl33- Thanks! Yeah, ffn does seem to do funny things like that. Oh well…

Steves-girl- Sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad! I just wanted reviews. Thanks for reviewing chapter seven too, that made me feel better about my meager amount.

Darkdestiny2000- Ya, steve is probably my least favorite character too. You don't get to know much about him, and he's always givin' Ponyboy a hard time. I love Two Bit; he's just so much fun to write.

Bookworm

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