A/n: I'm thinking it's time for me to apologize for the long wait. I had a hard time with this chapter. I would sit down and try and write, and I couldn't. So I'd try again the next day and t wouldn't work. Then I'd do that for a few days and I kinda stopped... Then this morning I decided to open it back up and see what I could do, and what do ya know? I pumped it out and here it is! Be grateful! Jk.

Disclaimer: Don't know nada except the plot, Libby, Mrs. Thickens, Rob, Mrs. C, and whatever other people or things that are not in either The Outsiders or That Was Then, This is Now.

Dedication? Myself. Jk. I'm gonna go in on this with Alli and dedicate it to David, my strange uncle who had the perfect Hollywood wedding, with the Scientologist prophet/minister, the perfect guests, and perfect house, wife, and everything else that literally makes me sick to my stomach to think about. And yet at the same time I have to laugh because it was SO Hollywood. Man, the things you and your family experience when your uncle is famous amongst those of the Catholic religion. He gave us many wonderful ideas from his wedding (or rather the guests he invited) that will appear here in there in disguise.

Chapter Six

"Well, now..." Mrs. Campbell, the Vice Principle, sat down in her seat, returning from making phone calls. "Robert, your mother is on her way to pick you two up." She looked at me. "Your brother got a message at work, but he can't come right now. Mrs. Thickens has agreed to drop you off at home." She shook her head. "But we'll have to have a meeting with both you and Darrel on Monday. He's going to come in on his lunch break and you'll come along. There's no reason to pass this by. Fighting with ninth graders... with anyone!... is completely unacceptable. We hold no such tolerance for that type of behavior."

Suspended. Could you believe it? For a fight we didn't even start. Sure, the little pea-brains got suspended too. But man. Who's stupid enough to fight on school grounds? Well, a Crystal obviously, but it takes the stupidest of them all to even think of starting one. The little shits ruined my perfect record with a permanent red S.

I looked at Rob who was paling. It wasn't so bad for him to be kicked out as it was to face his mom. She wasn't cruel or cold like Johnny's mom was – if anything she was sweet and gentle, but for how much longer was still to be determined. I would much rather face her than Darry any day. I wasn't too terrified of Darry at the point, but he had a way of making you pay for everything you did wrong.

Until Rob's mom got there, we sat in silence. Mrs. Campbell worked on filling out our papers to verify our suspension for school records. Rob bit on his nails in nervous anticipation, and I stared at the clock on my right. Surprisingly, time didn't seem to have slowed down any. Everything was right on track. I didn't have the nervous jitters yet – I still had a few hours before I had to face Darry – but the tension in the room was so taut, you could slice it with a knife.

"Letty?" the secretary poked her head in the semi-open door. "Mrs. Thicken's is here."

"Send her on in." Mrs. Campbell straightened the papers. "Mr. Curtis, would you please go and take a seat in the foyer for a few minutes? I'd like to talk to Robert and his mother alone."

I nodded and got up right as Rob's mom came in. I had seen her before, many times. But I had never seen her with that glimmer of anger in her eyes. She was a young woman in her early to mid thirties, but she looked even younger. She had thick, sleek, dark brown hair that went a few inches below her shoulders, and clear blue eyes that could see right through you. She was good looking for a mom, but I would never look at her in that way. For one, I wasn't like that – it was just weird, and for another reason, a few years ago some of the boys down in Rob's neighborhood made a few noises about wanting to get it on with her and he took them on single handedly. Needless to say, they beat the living daylights out of him, and when she got wind of who had done it, she had a real nasty chat with them. They didn't look at her the same after that, and now the immature gits wouldn't let him live it down. Could you even imagine?

She didn't glance in my direction until I spoke up to her. "Mrs. Thickens?"

"Hi, Ponyboy." She managed a weak smile.

"This wasn't Rob's fault. He was only defending me." I had to let her know before too much of the wrong idea settled in on her.

"Mr. Curtis, please go wait outside," Mrs. Campbell repeated herself. You could tell she didn't think it was my place to say anything. I left after that.

Luckily, no one else was in the foyer. Jett and his goons were being "taken care of" by Chip the guidance counselor. His office was in a completely different area of the school. They did that for a reason. That was a good thing, seeing as I didn't care to lay eyes on any more Crystals or anyone associated with them. I was beginning to think the whole lot of them were crapbags not worth my time. Shoot, I was even starting to question Libby altogether. I still didn't understand her in the least. She couldn't be the person I thought she was.

Finally, after what felt like a decade, Robbie's meeting was finished and he, his mom, and Mrs. C came out to meet me. Rob's hands were stuffed in his pockets and his black eye was starting to show up. But you could hardly see it with his head hung and his mom hurrying him along. I got the feeling she blamed him just as much as she blamed me and that's saying something. She knew enough of my history to not trust me enough. But that was fine by me.

"Ponyboy, I want you to give this to Darrel." Mrs. C handed me a crisp white envelop with the words 'To the guardian of Ponyboy Curtis' written in near calligraphic cursive. I wondered sometimes what Darry though of those – if he liked being called that and if he even plain cared what was inside. Obviously, he cared, but to what extent? I don't think they persuaded him in any direction. He sets his mind according to what he thinks, not the school's administration, or whoever it is at the time, opinion.

"Yes'm," I answered and carefully put it in my backpack. You had to at least show some respect to her.

"Now, Pony," she started up again. "I want you to think long and hard this weekend about what you have to say for yourself. You need some valid starter points to explain this. We need to get to the bottom of it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"All right. I'll see you at 11:30 sharp on Monday." She turned her attention back to Mrs. Thickens. "Take care of these two. I don't want to hear about any more fights involving your son." She shook hands with her.

After exchanging a few more words and lecturing tidbits in our general direction, we were off.

The car ride was quick and silent. The two of us didn't dare talk and Mrs. Thickens was saving herself for home. She was ticked, that's for sure. It made me wonder how angry Darry would be. I had been feeling fairly confident, up until this point, that nothing that happened or was said would flare up his anger against me, but I was starting to doubt that now. This was a different scenario from what I imagined happening.

Robbie's mother pulled up in front of my house and I quickly clambered out. "Thanks, Mrs. Thickens. Sorry for all the trouble."

She nodded and kept her mouth shut. I didn't expect her to say anything back, but I couldn't go without expressing some sort of regret towards her. Look where Rob was because of me. I wouldn't ever voice that, because he wouldn't want any glory taken from him, but all the same... As soon as I closed the door they took off back in the same direction we had come in.

It didn't take very long before I grew bored of the empty house. Two-Bit never came around to eat, and Soda and Steve were at work, along with Darry. I had half a mind to go to The DX and hangout with them, but I figured that would be the last thing Steve would want and Soda couldn't really do much when he was working. So, I decided that staying home and watching TV until my eyes were ready to fall out, was satisfactory enough.

"Hey, anyone home?" Soda called as the door slammed. I was taking more refuge in my room. "Pony? You here?"

"Yeah, back here," I hollered back.

A minute later he came into my room and gave me a real queer look, but he was just joking. "Where were you? I waited outside your school for a half an hour before I found the coach."

"Oh, I didn't go today." I clean forgot to tell him. Maybe going to The DX or at least calling there wouldn't have hurt, huh?

"That's what he said." He flopped down on my bed and stretched out. "Also said you were suspended?"

My bed. My room. It was nice to have my own room again. Of course I didn't mind sharing with Soda. In fact, I missed it in a way. Like how I always had company and there were two of us to make sure it was clean, or two of us to blame if it was messy. But, it was good to have it all to myself again. Soda moved back into his room around a year and a half ago and it's been that way ever since. We both figured once he turned nineteen that it was time for him to move on and I was just fine on my own. Actually, I had been just fine for a while before that. Those nightmares didn't ever come anymore and if they were to... I'm seventeen. I'm sure I can take care of them.

"Yeah." I didn't try and soften my voice any or try to sound ashamed. I didn't feel bad in the least, except for Rob, and there was no use in softening the blow with Soda. He'd only laugh about it all.

"What for?"

"Fight."

"Damn." You could tell he was unsure of what to think. I just wasn't the type to wind up in fights unless the rest of the gang was involved or one of them was around. He thought that me fighting in school was strange – and it was. "Who with?"

"Jett Crystal."

"Isn't he like thirteen or somethin'?" He almost laughed.

"Somethin' like that. I dunno. He's a frosh though."

"He must be mad, eh?"

"Or thought the fact that he outnumbered us was good enough."

"Was it?"

"Nope."

He cracked a small grin then stopped real fast. "Well, have fun with that one. Good luck."

I thought he'd say more than that. But, instead he got back up and left, going straight to his room and changing. I followed him, curious to see what he meant by that.

"Good luck?" I stood in his doorway. "Soda, he started it. It wasn't my fault."

"I know, did I say it was?" He slipped off his shirt and started to look through the closet for another. "I'm just wondering what Darry has to say."

"You and me both...."

A short while later, Darry came home with a bunch of groceries and he wouldn't even look at me for the first five or so minutes. I was fine with it, but I didn't know if he was doing that because he was too mad or because he wasn't all that mad. I wished he'd hurry up and say something so that I knew.

When I couldn't take the silence anymore, I decided to take the approach and cornered him in the kitchen where he was stacking cans in the cupboard above the counter.

"Hey, Pony." He dug into the bag and pulled out the last of the cans. "I hear you, uh, got yourself into some trouble today."

I blinked. He didn't seem too angry. All I could think was...what?

"Um, yeah."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? The kid was being a dick. What else was I supposed to do?"

He just shrugged.

"But it wasn't my fault –"

"Nothing's ever your fault, is it, kid?" He shoved a pack of Pepsi in the fridge and pulled out an empty milk carton that someone had left in there.

What do you say to that? "No... I didn't say that. But, can I help it if some punk gets all up in my face? You'd do the same thing."

"Never said I wouldn't." He still somehow managed to not look at me. I bet he went shopping so he'd have something to do during this little talk of ours.

"Then what are you saying?"

He paused for a moment, then turned around. "Pony... you realize that none of this is going to get any better right now, right?" I nodded. "And you also realize that you can't blame every fight or every run in on the other person, right?"

"Dar, he came to me. I didn't go looking for him."

"I know, I know." He stopped me quickly. "I know that. But when are you going to learn to walk away? What is it going to take for you to avoid the situation altogether?"

"How the hell was I supposed to stop him? He would've done whatever he wanted, and I couldn't have said boo to it." He knew that. He was still in on gang fights himself, every once in a while. Sure, he only joined when it was for the sake of the boys and me, but he grew up grease. He couldn't preach. And if he wanted to, he was preaching to the wrong person.

"Okay, that's true. Then you need to change your attitude about it." Was he saying I had a bad attitude? "For example: did you want to fight him?"

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question, Pony. Did you want to fight him?" He now walked out of the kitchen to go change himself. He hated to stay in his work clothes for any longer than he had to. I guess they weren't all that comfortable, and they smelled like roof shingles.

He couldn't just assume that I wanted to fight the kid. Maybe I did. I know I did. There was something about the thought that made it justified to me. At least it was at the time. But how was he to know that? He didn't have to face bullshit lies like I did. He didn't have people itching to fight him. He was respected well enough. "Darry –"

"I'm taking that as a yes?"

I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't refute it, but I didn't have anything I could tell him that would make it justified to him, right? Knowing him, he'd probably laugh off my attempts and then ignore they were ever there.

"Pon, there ain't nothing wrong with wanting to fight someone. I've been there. I've done that. But there comes a time when you just can't. You have to pick and choose your battles with this. Is it worth being suspended to prove your strength to Jett? Shoot, I'm willing to guarantee he's being worked over himself. You don't go fighting other gang members unless there's a real legitimate reason."

"We ain't in a gang."

"No, but he is and we might as well be one."

He didn't say anymore, and I didn't push it any further. He didn't seem like he was going to take any steps to punish me, and I wasn't going to give him a reason to. So, I went and fetched the letter that Mrs. Campbell had made for him and I found myself once again watching TV in the living room.

"Ponyboy Curtis!" Two-Bit crooned and slammed the door as he came in the house. It was about time he showed up. I never knew that I could want him around as much as I found myself wishing it now. There was something about Two-Bit's presence that lightened the mood considerably.

"Hey, man. How you doin'?"

"Like a kid on Christmas morning, man. I'm great." He was grinning from ear to ear and literally almost bouncing around.

"Yeah? What's got you so excited?" Darry and Soda made their way into the front room to see what was going on. Darry picked off the news paper off the coffee table and threw it in the paper bin on the other side of the doorway. There was nothing that bothered him more than having a day old paper lying around.

"I just got myself a date with that chick down at Jay's. Man, she is fine!" He smiled wide.

"The blond?" Soda asked, grinning as well. It was well known that not just anyone could get her to go out with them. She was a good looking broad, and she knew it. She also took that as an opportunity to play hard to get.

"You know it!"

"Good goin', man. That's awesome." Soda clapped him on the back and went into the kitchen to find something to snack on.

"What about you, kid?" Two-Bit flopped down next to me. "What's goin' on with your chick?"

"If you're meaning Libby, she's way out of the picture." I shook my head. I knew he was kidding, but that didn't mean much to me at this point. I wasn't in the best of moods to kid around.

"No more trouble, huh?"

I snorted. "Yeah, I wish." I reached over and changed the channel on the TV. "Her kid brother tried to fight me and Rob today."

"No, shit?"

"Nope." I was keeping myself on the down low with how much I was saying. Darry was still in the room. "But you know us. He didn't get far. Neither did those friends of his."

"You get him good?"

I cracked a small smile. "Not good, but we got him."

"Dude!" Two-Bit double punched my shoulder. "Two brawls in like less than a day! That's a record for you, man!"

"Two what?" Darry piped in. "Brawls?"

"Ah, shit," Two-Bit grumbled. "What I meant to say was –"

"Pony, you got in another fight?" Darry ignored him.

"Just with one of Tim's newbies. Dax or something like that. It wasn't a big deal. He was being a prick and wouldn't leave us alone. It was just at Milo's. We didn't hurt him none." Damn, Two-Bit, slipping up like that. I didn't really blame him any, but now I was stuck trying to come up with a good cover story.

Darry sighed loudly. And started to lecture once again.

A/n: Thanks guys! Please review. I love them and they make me feel good, lol.

Review Responses:

Rock: rockout man!: Yeah, Pony needs friends. I always wondered what he did after he lost Johnny... and I guess this is my vision. I'm not sure, but apparently, huh? HAHA, Sk and Rb...nice, hehe. I'm sorry, but Rb just makes me wanna die. I love him to pieces and beyond. Yeah, I can see how you'd do that. I've done stuff like that before. Ice cream doesn't seem to mix well with you. Remember Jill and Corey's? And then his sister came and you couldn't stop laughing because of what she was saying? No more ice cream for you. See ya.

Tensleep: I'm so glad you guys are back! Can I tell you that that week was really long? Haha. Actually, I was kept very busy. But every day I'd sit there and think to myself, "I wish I could take a break and go and talk to Tens or Jhon if they were on...." But I surivived. My family got used to me not being on so much, but that's all changed again. Lol. Have fun with your billets and be nice (especially for Jhon)!

yUSUKElUVER 5544332211: Yeah, Switchfoot does rock, huh? Glad to know you like them. I'd be even nicer to know if you read the story or not...lol. Jk.

Hastings-tiger26: I tried to pump this out as quickly as I could. Thanks for being patient. I hope you like it.

Chibi Tatiana: Thanks. If you had cared to read the authors note, even the one of the next chapter, you would be informed of where you went wrong. Dude, chill out and open your mind. Obviously you've never encountered things like this and have no clue what a spaz is, because I can guarantee you that Darry was no spaz.

fyre: Is that your sn for AOL? If so, I added you and you ain't coming on! lol. Thanks for reading and liking this. I think you're one of my new favorites, haha.

Two-BitGortez: Thanks babe. Outta curiosity? Where does the Gortez bit come in? Not mocking it or anything, I really genuinely am curious about that.

Oblivious Misconception: Sigh I love you, lol. I was so afraid that people wouldn't like Robbie, but now that I see that people do, that makes me very happy. He is a bit of a goof with his friends, isn't he? I like that. Thanks for the compliments.

pirategirl143: Hehe! Someone else who likes Rob! I'm so happy :D Libby doesn't have that many brothers. There's Jimmy who is the leader of the gang Rave and Jett who you just saw. She has a younger sister in middle school, but she doesn't come in until much later (well, that's actually still undecided, but I think she'll work herself into it somehow). Of course there are the Shepards, but they don't count. I'll tell you this now... Tim and Curly couldn't care LESS about her. Thanks for reading!

steves-girl: Thanks! I'm glad you don't like Libby. Those who do... or still do... I fear for them, lol. Thanks for being so supportive of this. I really appreciate your input.

Sodapop02: No frickin' kidding! It's hard to dish out long chapters, but I really can't stand it any other way. When people write a one-two page chapter, it drives me insane, lol. I'm really glad you like Rob. He's fun isn't he?

shyXshortieXbabe: Do you have trouble getting guys to share their food? Man, that sucks. I must be lucky or something, I haven't run into that problem all that often, but I know what you mean. He is a cutie. I love him, but then again, I created him, haha. Pony's a bad boy in this one, but I love that too.

Again, thanks everyone and please review!