Author's Note: Hey, everybody. Well, this is an update of course. Just felt like adding on to this story. Don't know when I'll be updating next after this. Probably this weekend because I've got some work and school to continue with because my spring break is just about finished.Andthere'salways myjobat the video rental store. So, you see my lack of time. But, here's a nice little chappie. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Okay, I never put these things up. I think I did once on my first fan fic. Yessh but ill try hard with this. Anyway, I don't own the outsiders, the characters, blah blah. So you if you sue me well, why would you? I'm so loveable and adorable. Lol Anywho just don't bring me to court and everything will be peachy.

Great big thanks goes out to those angelic people who reviewed:

Hollistergurl: LOL, I know I feel bad for leaving a bit of time between the first chappie and now, but i'll be trying my best to update as much as possible. Probably have time on the weekends or during the week once in a while. But i'll update as much as i can. Glad you enjoyed the first chappie, hope the second one turns out good too. Enjoy. And thanks for the review.

Scarlett7: Awe, thanks for the kind words. I hope i can keep this story going and not have it start to get boring or get lame. I've got a lot of ideas, so hold onto your seats. THanks again for the review and i hope you enjoy this chappie.

Not-that-kinda-gurl: LOL, seven words. I LOVE IT. lol Straight to the point. :D Hope your enjoying this story. I'm going to try my best and make it real good, but meh who knows what'll happen. As always thanks for the wonderful review and keep reading.

JamesDeanismygod: Awe, that's sweet of you to add me to your favorites. I guess your liking the story so far.I'm glad. I wasn't sure what people would think about the adding of a new character but it will be real different. :D Glad you'reenjoying the story thanks for the review.

NittanyLizard: Such nice comments, it makes me feel so good. I hope none of the other characters come off different, i'm doing my best to keep them the way they were in the book. Glad you always like the description, i tend to do that and i feel bad for the readers because it must be boring to read lol. Anyway enjoy the next chappie.

Darkdestiny2000: LOL, i changed the summary of the story after you said you thought it was a slash. I reread the thing and i'm like eww does sound kinda slashy. Oh, well though. Glad this raised your spirits. And i loved that part too when Dallas says that to Johnny cause i can just picture him saying it. I thought it was cute. Thanks for the review. Enjoy the next chapter.

Blame it on the government: LMAO, lets not get into attention spands. I've got one the size of a gnat, so my mind wanders constantly. Even when i'm writing. LOL, at least your tried to read the other, and i'm happy you like this one. Hope your attention span doesn't get in the way too much. But if it does just remember about mine and being the size of a gnat. lol. Thanks bunches for the review.

Parixs: Thanks for your review. Yeah, in this story Johnny is around the same age as he was in the book which was i think 16. This takes place about 4 months after the Curtis parents die and the events in the book never happened. Except one i might include later .Besides that everything is the same age. Hope that helps :D.

Reviewer: I hope you haven't been awake since you read this story because i think that was a couple of days ago and you must be exhausted by now. I'm happy your really liking this story, i hope your not too tired to read this next chappie. Enjoy! And thanks for the review.

Well now that that's done; let's continue with the chapter shall we? Yes, I think we shall. Sorry if a lot of the thank you's sound the same or i just start to ramble. I'm kinda lacking originality in how to thank . lol. BUt thats cool. Enjoy

Chapter 2:

Dallas was curled into a tight ball of hair grease and flesh in the back of Buck Merrill's old t-bird. Jacket wrapped snug against his chest, he relaxed his eyes, preparing himself for a deep sleep. Although the car was parked halfway down the driveway, the sounds from the party continued to be heard from inside the rusty vehicle. Normally, Dallas would be sound asleep in his own bed inside Merrill's place; warm beneath the sheets, musty pillow suffocating his face. That was how he liked it. Even with all the racket he could still get a sound sleep, but not like this. The car reeked of cheap booze and cigars. Dallas wondered aimlessly about how many times Buck had dragged underage girls into his car for some fun probably too many for the bastard to count.

Tossing on his side, Dally sighed in anger. He needed to sleep, so why wouldn't his brain just let him? Johnny. His thoughts returned to the sixteen year old greaser lying upstairs in Buck's. The kid must think he abandoned him. Well, it was true, but how could he take another minute listening to that idol worshiping. Leon, he wasn't even someone Johnny should have his mind on. The guy was a no good hood, and not in the good way like Dallas was. He was just plain out dirty; wasn't even good enough to spit on. And there was Johnny, drooling over the guy like he was some golden god or something. The hood never even stuck up for the kid when his ol man beat him red and raw, yet Johnny still loved the guy. How was that possible? Dallas had left his ol man the minute he laid a hand on him and rarely went home since. Johnny, he understood why he stayed, but why Leon did nothing? Got drunk instead of helping, it wasn't right. And Dally would be damned if he ever showed the guy any courtesy.

A few early morning rays of sunlight peeked through the caked bedroom window. Johnny moaned his back aching after having spent a night on nothing but box springs. The bed creaked dangerously beneath his body weight as he brought his legs over the side. At the moment the house stood silent. Alcoholic fumes and cigarette smoke had wafted through the hall and into his room, sending him into a slight cough. The eerie calm in Buck's didn't seem to comfort Johnny as it should have. It meant that everyone had left or past out on floors and couches. This was good because he wouldn't have to deal with anyone on his way out. However, it seemed unnatural for the house to be that quiet for so long.

Johnny, cautiously made his way into the empty hall, slipping quietly down the stairs and stepping over any unconscious body that where in his path. He stopped, head peeking around the kitchen corner in hopes of catching sight of Leon. The room was filled with some of Tim- Shepard's gang, bubbles forming on their lips childishly. But there wasn't any Leon. Dallas wasn't anywhere to be seen either. Something tore at his heart, bringing on a sudden queasy feeling inside his stomach. Had he upset Dally that bad?

Johnny rubbed at his sore eyes, hopping that tears didn't start to fall. He never cried unless it was something serious, so he wouldn't right then. With little effort, Johnny pushed open the door and at a slight jog, descended the steep gravel drive. Buck Merrill's rusty car no longer sat where Dallas had last parked it. Instead, a series of tires tracks had scared up the loose dirt, disappearing once the t-bird had turned onto the road. It must have Dally, Johnny thought with a forced grin. Only he would drive that recklessly.

Dallas walked through the Curtis' house at quarter past six, kicking off his dirty sneakers in a corner before stepping past the kitchen. The house wasn't as loud as usual. It was actually quiet and a bit peaceful. Darry was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs a pile of marked white envelopes in front of him and a black coffee at his side. Dally grimaced pityingly. It was strange how only four months earlier Darry had been like any other greaser in Tulsa. Not a care in the world really, now he was just a worn down man raising two younger brothers and a gang a juvenile delinquents.

"Hey Dallas" Darry called from the table. Dally grumbled a hello back, before searching the fridge for something to eat. A half eaten cake sat on the middle shelf while containers filled with greasy leftovers filled the rest.

"This all the food you have?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact it is. Sorry we don't have your usual sausage and eggs already prepared for you Dally."

"Hey, I was just asking" Dallas snapped. He decided to have a glass of chocolate milk instead of eating and filled a tall mug up to the rims. "So, we sending out our Christmas card early this year Darrel?"

Darry laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I'm sending one out to the electric company, the cable company, the water…"

"Jeez, that's enough. I was just asking."

"You're always just asking."

Dallas just shrugged and seated himself at the far end of the table, not wanting to talk to Darry if he was just going to bring him down. Not a minute later, Steve and Two-bit came tumbling through the front door. Steve was dressed in a plaid sweater with a white shirt underneath instead of his pale blue DX uniform for a change.

"Mornin Dar' the kids up yet?" Two- bit shouted, not bothering to take off his leather cowboy boots as he ran through the kitchen. He ended up tossing himself onto the torn brown couch before turning on the TV. "News, cartoons, news, news, weather, more cartoons, news…" the channels flickered one by one across the screen, each only staying on for a mere second before disappearing. Two-bit continued to switch channels like a mad man, while Steve hovered over him with a twisted grin.

"Two- bit you fool, the hell are you doing?"

"Guess."

"Shoot, you can't even see what's on if you're going that fast."

"You can't, but I can." He replied smugly, fingers flicking past each channel.

"Two-bit you can't…"

"Hey, Mickey's on." Two-bit relaxed and sunk deep into the couch, completely ignoring any conversation he'd had with Steve. "Dally!"

"What is it Matthews?"

"Mind grabbing me a beer?"

"Get it yourself you lazy bum."

"Okay, thanks."

Soda, tuff hair tangled from a long night's sleep, tiredly stepped through the kitchen and fell in a heap next to Two-bit. He moaned and buried his head between the couch cushions. Two-bit grinned, placing a meaty hand behind Soda's head and began rubbing.

"Mornin' sunshine." Steve coughed disgustedly and slapped the hand away as Soda's head lifted about an inch of the cushion. Soda laughed, and shifted around on the couch in a sleeping position.

"Pony still not up?" Darry called to him from the kitchen. The ruffling of papers could be heard as he undoubtedly began to stack the envelopes of bills into a neat pile and hid them away back into the cupboards.

"Awe, let him sleep Darry. It's Saturday."

"Too late" Steve muttered as he watched the youngest Curtis slip into the bathroom.

Pony stood under the shower, letting the water wash him clean and relax any sore muscles he'd accumulated from track the night before. After ten minutes, he turned off the taps and climbed out of the tub, towel wrapped about his waist, he left wet foot prints on the cool linoleum as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey," he waved to the scattered bunch of youths. Two-bit coughed out a good morning through a mouth full of cake. Pony leaned in the kitchen doorway, taking in the new day. It was going to be a hot one, he just knew it. Steve, was sitting with Darry and Dallas in the kitchen, while his other brother and Two-bit wrestled and ate breakfast in the living room. It was then, after summing up everything that Pony realized something he hadn't before. "Where's Johnny?"

Walking at a brisk pace, Johnny shuffled down the cracked sidewalk. It was early afternoon, the sun was high above him, sending out waves of heat that brought a feeling of lightheadedness on him. There was no wind to break the thick humid air that had created a wall around him. Struggling against the sweltering day, Johnny stopped at one of the few parks on the North side.

He leaned back carelessly on a bench, eyes shutting tiredly. The peaceful calm of the traffic noises mingling with the shouts of wild teens, sent him into a euphoric state. A state he never thought could end, at least not until the reving of an engine sounded just a few feet in front of him.

Johnny squinted against the bright sun to find a black pickup truck a pulled over on the side of the road. Leon was sliding out of the passenger side, followed by Tim and Curly Shepard. Tim was an intimidating guy, a dirty hood that didn't fight fair all the time and always seemed to make Johnny sick to his stomach. Curly, well he was almost the same except he never backed up half the stuff he said. That was Tim's job. How his brother ever fit with them was beyond him. Leon was different than the Shepards though. He wasn't as coldhearted and uncaring as they were.

"Hey, Johnboy."

"Hi" Johnny squeaked, unsure of what to do. Tim's icy glare cut through him, sending ripples of fear through his thin body.

"You were at Buck's last night huh" Leon began, abit awkwardly. Johnny nodded. "Why didn't you come find me afterwards."

Johnny suddenly remembered the fight between Tim and his brother. The two of them both shared matching shiners and Tim's lip was sticking out awkwardly. Leon's left fist hung at his sides, swollen and red. There hadn't been too much damage done, but of course that was only what Johnny could see.

"I was going to, but you were busy."

Tim laughed. "Yeah, that was some party. I got your big brother damn good too." Leon made a growling sound in the back of his throat, before looking back at his younger brother.

"We thought we'd take a drive out to Bixbie, you know have some fun. Tulsa's just too quiet for a bunch of hoods like us."

"You wanna come?" Curly spoke up.

Johnny shrugged. He did want to spend time with Leon, show his brother he wasn't the coward he might think he was. Course, spending a day with Tim and Curly Shepard out of town wasn't what he had in mind. "I guess so."

"Good. Hop in the box with Curly" Leon said before walking back into the truck with Tim.

Johnny spenta twenty minute drive, listening to Curly Shepard curse and whine about almost everything there is to complain about. He rolled his eyes, watching the yellow dashes smear across the black asphalt as the truck broke the speed limit. They stopped at the far end of Bixie, near the outskirts of town at this little run down tavern called "Rex's".

The group of four sat at a small table inside, Johnny doing his best not to choke to death on the fumes. Tim and Leon were only sitting for a minute before they began to wander around the tavern, talking to strangers and trying to pick fights for no reason. After five minutes Leon came lopping back to him and Curly.

"You guys want a beer or somethin?"

"Yeah," Curly was already up and heading for the pool table he'd just noticed. Probably getting ready to hustle someone out of their money, but knowing the size of Curly's IQ he most definately wouldn't succeed.

"John?"

"It's only two in the afternoon." Leon laughed harshly at his younger brother.

"Shit, loosen up kid. You act like this all the time I wont take you nowhere with me."

Johnny's heart sunk, and tears rose up in his eyes. He was glad Leon had gone back to Tim and some other guys, he didn't recognize. If his brother saw him trying to fight back tears, he would for sure leave him back in Tulsa next time. Getting up himself, Johnny went to the bathroom, locking the door shut behind him and staring at his relfection in the mirror. Dark circles enveloped his brown eyes, greasy hair combed back in choppy strands, he wasn't a nice sight. He was thin, arms not thick like Darry's or Leon's. There was a scared look in his glassy eyes, one that had always been there, that he had never cared for. It made him look weak, and he couldn't be weak. He was a greaser, a hood like his brother and Dallas.

"Pull yourself together" Johnny coaxed the mirror image of himself. "You ain't gonna cry. You never have before you ain't gonna start. Come on."

Johnny washed his face of any dirt and walked back into the tavern. Tim and Leon were nowhere to be seen and the group of guys they'd been talking to had now disappeared too. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Johnny noticed Curly Shepard running through the front doors of the Tavern, blood trailing down his face and heading straight for him.

"There ya are Cade. Come on, some heavy shit isabout to godown."

Johnny's stomach churned uneasily as the younger Shepard dragged him outside. In the parking lot, Johnny could see his older brother and Tim standing no more than five feet from several mean looking guys. Johnny prayed they weren't going that way, although in the back of his head he knew that's where Curly was taking him.

"What's going on?" Johnny mumbled, hands shaking at his sides. Tim shot him a dirty look and Leon hissed a 'Shut your trap' before they both turned their attention back on the men in front of them. They weren't hoods or nothing like Johnny had been up against before. They were men. Older guys in their late twenties with broad shoulders and hard chests; some standing well over six feet.

"You think you punks can just come in ere and bad mouth me? Huh? This is my place you little shits."

"What a dive" Curly muttered a little too loudly. Tim smiled at his younger brother while Johnny just cringed.

"You fuckin hood. I oughta kick your head in."

"I'd be surprised if you could even move that fat ass over here and do it" Leon snapped.

The man's jaw muscles tightened, while a look of animilastic rage washed over him. He took a fighting stance, while the four others behind him did the same. Johnny watched in fear as his brother and the Shepards were beginning to pull out their switchblades.

"Well were going to see how fast you can move" the man hissed, a sadistic smile curling on his lips.

The men advanced, running at them with surprising speed. Johnny flashed a worried glance towards Leon, hoping to get some reassurance but the older Cade brother wasn't even watching him. Something slammed into Johnny, knocking him of his feet, and all the while Johnny wondered if his brother would help him. Would he save him from getting killed right here outsidethis hick tavern?

Fists dugged into Johnny's face, and someone else kicked his left side. There'd been five guys in total and two were after him. They were the smaller of the five but still, outnumbering him wasn't what he wanted. He reached with bruised hands into his back jeans pocket for his knife, but stopped midway when something slapped his right temple. The sky slid around above him, while the ground tilted dangerously. Johnny tried to cry out, to plead for help from someone but he knew it would never come. Leon was too busy to care about saving him.

A metal blade flashed in front of his eyes for a split second. Adrenaline pulsating in his veins seemed to give him a new kind of courage. Struggling, Johnny moved wildly on the sandy ground. Legs and arms flailing about, the dark greaser knocked one of the men over and went to stand up when something came down on his left leg. Pain, that's all he felt. Falling back onto the earth, he looked down and saw the small blade sticking out of the side of his leg, dug deep within his muscle. He cringed, holding back tears of agony.

"Stupid punk" one of the men shouted and yanked the knife out.

The metal crept along the insides of his leg as it came loose. Johnny shook, his trotured body curling into a meaty ball in the dirt. Another blow struck him, this time between his ribs. Voices above him meshed together as one and Johnny felt his world turning to black. His grip on conciousness was faltering and as he felt the world around him spin once more for the last time he muttered the only thing that came to mind.

"Dallas."

AUthor's Note: Sorry to leave it like that, i was going to add a bit more than end it but i can't. Besides it about10:15 and i still didnt start on homework. Hope this was exciting enough. And not too unrealistic or anything. Next chappie be up between friday and sunday i think. So hold on till then. Also hope the spelling wasn't too awful i did the last bit on here . So yuck. Oh and bixbie i think thats how its spelt, look i no it was mentioned in the movie Tex so i no its near tulsa i think but not sure how far. It was all guesstimating so sorry. Anyway hope you enjoyed.