Title- Dealing with It

Chapter Title- M, moving?

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders, I own a paper clip, two dimes, and a bit of string. (No, I did not steal that from darkravenx0, she stole it from me...)

Reviewers-

Tikagem- I'd rather have you wait in agony…

RangerDan- Okay, I didn't see the J/K… I'm not mad, and you must know, I tend to have a temper sometimes and I jump to conclusions (mostly about people being stupid)

XAmberX- The whole story is cheesy! I hope you like cheesy stuff because it's so cheesy I am swimming in cheese!

Note- Tomorrow is my daddy's birthday… Happy Birthday Daddy! We had a cake today; it said "Happy Birthday, Can I have a car?" It was my sister's stroke of genius.

Why was he leaving? I just didn't understand. If he was leaving to be with me, how come he was leaving me? I was going to go to his house and find out. There was a tiny problem: dad's job. I had to go to work with him.

I tried to beg dad to let me go off. I could protect myself, I hit kids. (Not that I am proud of that.) Well, whatever mom bribed or threatened dad with, must've worked good. He was not going to let me go off and I tried everyway I could. If I told him I wanted to go to the store to get some soda, he'd buy me one at the gas station. If I said I wanted to get some air, he came outside with me.

I had a plan to get out of the smelly, germy as station. It was very simple, wait for dad to go to the bathroom. Uncle Steve took off today because Winnie was feeling sick, so he wasn't here to keep an eye on me. After lunch dadwentto use the toilet. I quickly ran out so he couldn't catch me.

I headed towards the West-side. I was going to march right up to the Holden's door and demand to know why Josh couldn't hang around us. As I walked there, I got nervous. I almost turned back before I realized dad would be pissed.

That's when I saw it. A post in the ground with a piece of sturdy plastic swinging from it. For Sale it read. There was a for sale sign on their property. Josh wasn't running away so he could be with me. He was moving. That's why he didn't know how long or where. I was furious now. I ran up the steps and pounded on the door.

"May I help you?" It was Mrs. Holden. Maybe she wasn't into that whole money thing. Money always kept me away from what I wanted. In the end, I got it. I couldn't get a dog because we couldn't afford it. I couldn't be with Josh because he was rich and I wasn't.

"Is Josh home?" I asked. I was being as polite as I could be. I didn't want to upset her.

"Yes, let me go get him." I thanked her and she turned into the house. A few minutes later Josh came out.

"Ronnie?" he asked. He was a little startled. "Mom, I'm going to go out for an hour." She said okay and Josh and I went to the park.

"You're running away for me? Are you really? No, you're just moving! Did your dad not want to risk you seeing us ever again?" I stared at him. I was trying to keep calm.

"Ronnie, you don't understand," he began.

"No, I never understand. I understand this! I don't want to be with somebody who lies to me! So, you better not talk to me ever again, not even to apologize and you can forget about ever being my boyfriend again," I shouted at him.

"Ronnie calm down," he said getting closer to me. I froze, he was going to try to kiss me or hug me. Germs, all over him, all I could think about were those germs. I pushed him back and ran to the East-side. "Ronnie," I heard him calling. I didn't look back.

I ran back to the gas station. I saw my dad standing at the register. I opened the door and hugged him. I cried, hanging on to him, as he worked. I told Josh I had loved him, I kissed him. I don't think I love him now.

"Ronnie, baby, what's wrong?" dad asked, the first free minute he got. I sniffled and looked at him.

"Josh," I said in between breaths. I rested my head back on his chest and closed my eyes. He was stroking my hair, trying to keep me calm. "I wanna go home," I told him.

"I need to work late tonight, because Steve isn't here and there's a car that needs to be done. Want me to call mom?" he asked. I looked at the clock. It was around 4:30, mom was going to be home in a half an hour. I nodded. He called the restaurant and talked to her. She agreed. I knew once I got home she was going to want to talk about this. "Ronnie, as much as I love you, I need to work. Could you sit in the chair?" he asked me. I kept crying but I squeezed his waist tighter.

Around 5 o'clock, mom came in. I knew she saw me clinging to dad as if my life depended on it. She grabbed my waist and pulled me away from dad.

"C'mon, baby, we're going home," she said. I nodded and brushed away my tears. I got in the car while mom asked dad what was wrong. Mom got in the car and didn't say anything. I walked home and went into the bedroom. I sat on my bed, holding my pillow close to my stomach. I rested my chin on my pillow. Tears streamed down my face.

"Ronnie, what's wrong?" Nate asked. He sounded like we were seven again. His voice was quiet, like he only spoke to me. I didn't answer; I only buried my face deeper into the pillow. I heard him leave. Later that night, somebody else came in. They wrapped their arms around me and slid me onto their lap. The person rocked me back and forth, I knew it was mom.

"Ronnie, there's always going to be a few bad guys," she told me. She was speaking softly. I hadn't heard this tone of voice since Jonathan's death. I rested my head against her and nodded. "I know you liked Josh a lot, but things happen for a reason. If my mom hadn't died, I wouldn't have met your dad. I was very upset when my mom died, but when I met your dad things were different. I really liked him. Even though it didn't make things about my mom better, I was happier." I listened to her, carefully. I sort of understood what she was saying. "I love you," she told me. She pulled me off of her lap and pulled the covers over me. She kissed my forehead and left.

"I love you too," I whispered to her. I saw dad peek in and say good-night. Nate came in later. He looked at me, maybe he was mad. Maybe he had spoken to Josh. Maybe he hated me now. I didn't know. I never know.

Keep those reviews coming because I have finished the story and there is a small four chapter follow-up I have. Let me tell you, two people die in this story. Something else; it's very, very CHEESY!

"I'm not goin' to school today, I don't feel good," I told him. I didn't feel good, honestly. My stomach felt bad. I hadn't eaten a lot yesterday.

"Well, you'd feel better if you didn't cry about an ass all night." He was being really mean to Josh. I thought Josh was his best friend.

"I thought Josh was your friend," I said.

"He was until I found out what he did to you. I could never be friends with a jerk like that." I smiled. Nate was way too nice. I wished he wasn't my brother. I wished he was my boyfriend, he was sweet.

"Call mom, I wanna stay home," I told him. He sighed and walked out of the room.

I stayed home, eating ice cream and watching television all day. Around 2, the telephone rang. I got up and went into the kitchen.

My story is so cheesy, I like that word. It shall be my new word. Have fun reading my cheesy story!