A/N: ::Creepy little girl voice:: I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! After a month and who knows how long? Man, I feel bad for not updating this sooner, but believe it or not it's HARD to write what is contained in this chapter. But over the last couple of weeks, particularly over the last couple of days, I've had a huge breakthrough and I'm so happy that I can finally post this chapter. It's been coming down to this for a long time for me, and I'm so absolutely ecstatic that I wrote it. I mean, if not for you guys, for me personally. Anyway, I'll get you get on with reading now, since that's the reason you're here, isn't it?

Well, um... for some reason this chapter was taken down by ffn, not too long after I put it up. I think I understand why, although it's an incredibly stupid couple of reasons. So, just in case I do know what the reason was, I took down my plug and now I'm asking you all to go check out my profile page for an important reason, and I changed the rating of the story. I personally believe that it still should be PG-13, but I know why it should be R. And that is due mostly to the content of this chapter alone.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone that S.E. Hinton does. I do own everything else. Isn't this kinda a stupid thing to have to point out? You all know it...

Warning: Before I forget, Ponyboy is NOT racist in here. He isn't at all. If it seems like he is, there's a very simple explanation. During this era of the 1900's prejudice was still going on. Those of you who have read That Was Then, This is Now, will know that. Now, I'm just pointing this out for you. Don't bite. And another thing, there is some bad language in here. Maybe that's another reason this was taken down.Who knows? So, sorry to everyone who tried to read this chapter and couldn't.

Dedication: This is for both Tens and Jhon who are dealing with some personal issues at this time and who I hope can find comfort in each other and their family during these coming months. I love you guys.

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Chapter Twelve

"How's this?"

Rob demonstrated a quick, sloppy, double punch and an uppercut to the air, bouncing from foot to foot. He was playing around, grinning and hyper with excitement of being in his first rumble, but he could've taken it a little more seriously. He was going to get pummeled, and it was like he didn't even care. That is, if he knew of the severe possibility in the first place. I knew, and everyone else knew it, but there's never a certainty where his head was.

"You're such a pansy," Steve grumbled from the couch. He was lying on his stomach, trying to finish sleeping off a hangover, but not really getting the chance. He was doing okay, and he wouldn't back out of the rumble this far into it. I just couldn't fathom that he was daft enough to go out and get drunk the night before. I expected it of Two-Bit, but for anyone else it took sheer stupidity.

"No one asked your opinion, man." Rob moved out of his sight range, acting offended to pull at Steve's leg, but Steve just grinned at his 'accomplishment' and moaned again.

"Can I get any fuckin' Aspirin yet?" He sat up and rubbed his head.

"No," Darry answered him. "You just took a whole bunch no more than two hours ago. You ain't gonna overdose and pin it on me."

"I won't."

"No!" And that was that.

Soda was in the kitchen, scrubbing at dishes he was washing, like no one's business. They were shining, squeaky clean, but his mind was somewhere else and he wasn't paying any attention to what he was doing.

"You get that any cleaner and you'll go blind," I thoughtfully remarked. "What's on your mind?"

He just stared at me with a deadpan expression and I immediately felt guilty. It had been only a day since that devastating blow from Karli. He never said another word about it, and neither did we. But he didn't have to speak up for us to know when it was on his mind – I guess I just had a stupid moment or something. I knew he felt discouraged with the whole girlfriend thing, and that killed me. Though the chick magnet he is, he can't seem to keep anyone and that had to hurt. He picked and chose his girls carefully, because he didn't want to end up with someone who was going to break his heart. He wasn't superficial, although most of them turned out to be.

"Ready to cream Rave?" I asked.

"Hell yeah!" He smiled a little. "Jimmy Crystal is mine."

I laughed, "I don't think so, bro. I get my fair share of him first...dirty bastard..."

"Sure, but so do I." He started to drop the dishes into the drying rack. "The sucker is dead."

He did really mean that, but I knew where he was coming from. He was dropping into his protective older brother mode, which he never seemed to actually leave. It didn't make me mad or anything, like it did some people, but I could've easily done without it. Even though he treated me like an equal, I knew he still thought of me as a kid. Seventeen was no adult in his eyes. And even if it were, I was still the younger brother and the baby in the family.

"Ponyboy!" Darry hollered from the other room.

All afternoon he had been so concerned and worried over the whole rumble deal. I half expected him to jump up and announce that he was going to fight, or that none of us were, but instead he kept double and triple checking for everything we might possibly need when we got home. He kept on surprising me by unearthing things that I didn't know we owned, let alone existed period.

"What, Darry?" I left Soda in the kitchen.

"You getting ready to go?" he asked while he packed up a few towels and ice packs in a duffel bag he planned to bring along.

I looked at the clock that sat on top of the piano. It was nearing six forty-five, and the rumble began at seven. I knew it was nearly time, but even just ten minutes ago the reality hadn't yet hit me. But it was now. Boy was it ever.

"We're leaving in two minutes," he continued when I didn't answer.

"Okay."

Rob was now sitting on the floor in front of the couch, getting a Two-Bit-famous back rub. Two-Bit was muttering something about him not being loose enough, but Rob was merely basking in relaxation and was clearly tuning out everything everyone was saying.

Steve was now sitting on the edge of the couch. He suddenly sat up straight and darted to the kitchen, grinning like a maniac and caused a clatter of pots and pans falling as he tackled Soda who yelped out of surprise. Steve was definitely one of a kind. I wished I knew what he was thinking, at times like this. It would make it a hell of a lot easier to read him.

It was definitely right before the rumble. Excitement was prominent, moods were contagious, and my heart was pounding so loud I could hear it's vibrations over Steve and Soda's hollering. We had no set way to prepare ourselves for a rumble except that we got together, as usual, and bounced our thrill of the night off of each other. There was no real way to describe the feel of the atmosphere. It's a feeling you can only experience at a time like this.

"Jealous, Pony?" Rob crooned from the floor. I hadn't realized that I was staring until now.

"Nah," I said. "Ain't there nothin' you could do with Two-Bit that would make me jealous." I winked at Two-Bit while Rob's eyes flew open and he started to protest.

"Sick! Fuckin' bastard!" he laughed in disgust. "I don't swing that way, bro."

"Could've fooled me," Two-Bit played along, slowing down the shoulder rubs.

"Ewww!" He jumped up and backed away, shaking off Two-Bit's laughable touchy-feely 'intentions', while we both cracked up and nearly fell over laughing.

Soda and Steve came in the room laughing at something only they found amusing. Darry picked up his bag and keys, rounding on everyone.

"Ready?"

"Hell yeah!" Steve exclaimed.

"Let's go then."

The boys and I ran out to the truck excitedly. I was putting on a show for the others, because that was better than shaking in my boots, and I wanted to be part of the fun too. But they were genuinely pumped to go. There's nothing worse than fear before a rumble, and I was going to eliminate as much of it as was humanly possible. So, for now I was doing what I could to ignore the knotting in my stomach and the full-fledged terror that might take over if I let it.

Everyone jumped in the truck bed while Darry climbed up front. Darry was the getaway driver. Could you believe that? He wasn't willing to fight, but he had insisted on being our chauffeur. That could land him in jail just as easily as participating in the action. Maybe it was sense of justification to him, or something, but I thought he might as well fight. But no, he planned to park half a block up the street and sit in the dark until we came running, then we'd take off before the fuzz showed. That was the plan.

We arrived in Rave's territory at the same time as Shepards' gang. Rave's territory was marked by the river bottoms near the power plants, south of the Shepards' territory. So Tim, Curly, and their boys were coming down the street in slow strides.

The air was muggy from the power plants and I found my breath harder to catch. It wasn't anything I wasn't used to; just another reminder that I needed to quit smoking and of why I avoided this area of town so much.

"Shepard!" Soda called from the truck bed. He jumped out and made his way to their gang before Darry had even stopped. They both automatically slouched and began to talk like allies instead of distant buddies.

"Ponyboy!" Darry hollered from up front. I got out with the others and went to see what he wanted.

"Yeah?" My heart was pounding so hard now, I wondered if I would hear a word he said.

"I'm serious... Stick close to the boys." The glimmer in his eyes said it all. This was no joking matter to him. My hide was his if he heard I was doing anything otherwise. The motivation to listen to him was definitely there. But whether or not I did was still to be determined. "You hear me?"

"Duh." I slowly, and carefully, trudged off, not really wanting to leave the security of Darry and his truck, but wanting nothing more than to grind Jimmy Crystal's skull into silky-fine powder.

I joined our gang and the Shepards' behind the fence guarding the river, which resembled more of a dirty canal than anything else, and a mossy patch of field. Rave was on the other side of the small river, shadowed in the dusk, tall and lean, on edge and tense.

They were about the same size as our two gangs together, give or take a few men. They were hardcore hoods with nothing more on their minds than to maintain and keep up their reputations, no matter what it took. They were already ranked high, but never would they surpass the reputation of the Shepards's gang.

"Who ya waitin' on?" Jimmy's voice boomed across the way.

"No one." Soda stepped forward. "Let's get goin'."

I've never before seen Soda so enraged and brave. Of course he always possessed those qualities when it came down to it, but to see them at such a fiery degree was really very different. He was as pissed as a hornet and just as ready to strike. Rage was ricocheting off the night air.

It was now that I took the time to notice that Darry was out of sight. It didn't matter too much, in the scheme of things, but now even more of his security was gone, back waiting where he was. A rumble without Darry was going to be different than anything we had ever experienced before, and we ALL knew it.

Our opposing sides were now lining up on the sides of the water. No one moved after that or said a word. Metal machinery could be heard several blocks away, it was so quite. Neither side was making any advances. I took it all to mean that the first to charge would start the show. Now it was a matter of who and when. Crystal and all his boys seemed set in their places. I knew before anything happened that we would begin it. They expected it, and so did we.

I turned and met Soda's eye. Two-Bit had placed himself snuggly in between us, but it wasn't hard to see each other, especially when we were both putting forth the effort. Like Darry, Soda's eyes said it all. We were in agreement. There was no turning back from it now. Silent agreements speak the loudest amongst the Curtis brothers...

At the exact same time, we both took off in hot pursuit of the one man we hated above all the rest. It took no more than a split second for the start to resister with everyone else.

In no time the game was on and I bull-ran Jimmy down with Soda soaring, aiming to knock him down from the top. Because he ad met us half way, we all three, among others, were emerged in the mucky, algae filled water. Jimmy had landed hard on his ass and was now working at ridding himself of Soda's overbearing presence.

Soaked and freezing to the bone, I threw myself on Crystal, sliding in the mud. I slammed him across the face while he laid into Soda, who was putting up a spectacular fight, upper cutting him to the eye a few quick times. But Jimmy ignored me and continued his attempt to throw of Soda. He wasn't going to hurt him worse than he already had if I had anything to do with it. They were wrestling it out good, completely thrashing each other, neither having more power than the other. Soda was battling it out for me, and I hadn't been touched once.

Just as I was working to strangle the life out of Crystal, one of his men grabbed me from behind and threw me away from his leader. Now he was hot on my hide. I immediately recognized him as Wes Jackson, Libby's black friend. I have nothing against blacks, but of all people, I thought she'd be the most racist person I knew. Yet, there she was being buddies with one of them. And the fact that he was in Rave was an anomaly unto itself. The Crystal's must've had some moral to them. And it was just my luck for him to find me too, being her friend and all. I couldn't get away from any guy who had to do with her.

Taking him on as if he were the devil himself, I bull-ran him the same way I did Crystal, having significant success this time. He went completely under the water, and must've cracked his head on a rock or something, because I dragged him up by the shirt and his head began to leak unethical amounts of warm, crimson blood.

Before I had to realize what I had done, he was right back on top of me, ready to kill. Fortunately, though, he looked stronger than he was and I had the advantage. I started to use my tactics that I had meant for Crystal, and I worked on his face and gut. The damage he was doing on me was nothing in comparison to the pain I was inflicting on him. For the first time, in a long time, I felt great. Someone else was suffering – not me. I didn't care that I was being cruel. It felt good regardless. And I had won.

When Jackson ran, I took the opportunity to look around me. People were going at it as if their lover's life was depending on it. I have never seen so much hatred in one place. Ever.

Two-Bit had found himself a good fight, teaming up with Curly Shepard, and taking on several guys together. They were both smiling dangerously, Two-Bit now missing a side tooth and Curly with blood on his teeth. They were definitely having fun.

Steve and Soda were standing on the sidelines, ready and waiting to pounce on the first person whom crossed their paths. Apparently Soda had lost Jimmy in the mix. They both came off being exhausted, but adrenaline was pumping fast and furiously, and only the idiots out here would take them on. Steve's bloody mouth bore teeth like a dog's while he tried to catch his breath and remain intimidating. Red blotches were appearing, scattered on his wet face. Soda, on the other hand, had a long gash along his hairline, running from his temple to his jaw. Blood oozed out like he was wringing it out of his hair. I didn't slow him down any, though, as Jackson came up from behind and belted him upside the head again. I averted my eyes. Not wanting to watch anymore.

Then there was Rob. He was getting worked over just feet away from me. Two of Crystal's men were pulverizing him and blood was pouring down his face, into his eyes and mouth, but he wasn't about to give up.

I lunged forward to go help Rob when something short and hollow, cold and hard, was slammed across my back. Collapsing to my knees, I felt a foot lodge hard into my side and a fist slam across my face, and the rest of me hit the ground.

Jimmy Crystal was back on my tail.

He flipped me over and before I sank down into the water, he grabbed me by the shirt and threw me against the bank. I saw, in his hand, a long, steel pipe. I found my senses again and rolled out of the way before he could strike my chest. If he wanted to break the rules, so be it, but I wasn't going to sit back and not follow suit. I found my switch and flashed it's bade, letting Jimmy know that I had never been more ready to take him on.

I strode up higher on the ground, hunched over and throbbing with unbelievable, excruciating pain, daring him to follow me.

His face lit up, the moonbeams shone of his dark eyes and reflected off his pipe. There was nothing to stop him from accepting my challenge. And, as terrified as I was, I didn't show it nor did it matter. It was my turn for revenge. I wanted him to take me on again. Now was my chance to prove myself to him.

He charged, tossing his weapon, and as he did so I threw mine out of sight. Bare hands would feel good to cream him with. The fight or flight reaction was kicking in and I was never more read to fight.

Jimmy collided with me, knocking me into the swampy grass. As he made to throw himself on me, I raised my feet in the air and kicked him off with an upward thrust. Thank God my track legs came in good for something other than running. He landed somewhere above my head, but not far enough. I made to stand and ready myself, but he caught me by the stomach and body slammed me back down with incredible force. He kneeled with one knee in my chest and grabbed my throat with his hands.

"Where is she?" He shook me.

"I don't know," I choked, lying through my teeth. It wasn't my place to tell him where Libby had ran off to, and I wouldn't have given him the pleasure of knowing even if it was.

His eyes flashed dangerously. "Like hell you don't!" He dug his knee deeper into my abdomen, wanting to warn and cause me pain at the same time. "She left me a note, Curtis. I know you know. Tell me!" His voice had that edge to it.

"Fuck you," I wheezed. He was squeezing my throat so tight now, my tongue was about to pop off. It hurt like a bitch, but there wasn't much I could do.

He slammed me across the face and jerked me up by the shirt, then threw me back down, sending a shock ring throughout my back. Then he felted me again and grabbed my hair, yanking my now released neck away from my body. He lowered his face near mine.

"Where. The. Fuck. Is. She?" he bit each word like they were the last ones I'd ever hear. His whispering was ferocious, but caving in wasn't an option right now.

I took the opportunity to spit in his eyes, throwing him off just long enough to roll out from underneath him. I got to my feet and got ready again. Jimmy bounced right back up and we immediately got into another fistfight. I was surprised that I wasn't doing too badly for myself. He didn't manage to knock me back down until I lost my footing and slipped down the bank, back into the water.

Mud sprayed into my eyes and I rubbed and wiped at them vigorously to be able to see again. My only fear was that Jimmy would start in on me again and I would be blinded, and therefore would be unable to defend myself. It didn't take as long as I thought to completely remove the mud from my eyes, but it was certainly long enough for Crystal to get back to me. But he didn't.

I stood up as fast as I could and looked back up In the field for him. What I saw was the last thing I had expected.

There was Darry and Jimmy duking it out like no tomorrow.

Standing there stunned and confused, I was immediately distracted. I felt something razor sharp being plunged into the fleshy tissues of my right bicep, and I cried out in pain as it was ripped back out just as fast. Jett Crystal was laughing with glee at my reaction, but before he could use it again, I punched his nose, which I felt crack underneath the pressure of my knuckles. The bloody blade dropped from his hand when he grabbed his nose and ran of.

I was tempted to follow and beat him senseless, but already my arm was throbbing and I noticed it wasn't exactly working like it should. So, whether or not he would be any less of a match for me, I decided to get where it as safer. I grabbed the muddy slope of the bank and pulled myself back up with my good arm.

Thankfully no one pulled me down and I was able to make it into sight range of Darry and Jimmy. They were in a right good fight, socking each other, neither of them having knocked the other down yet. I was thrilled to see Crystal with a bloody eye and hurting some. He was hunched over in an odd way, but that was just adding sugar to the icing. Darry looked in good shape, because he had just only gotten there, unlike Jimmy, but I wasn't surprised anyway. He was a damn good fighter, and he was pissed, like I've never seen before.

It amazed me that Jimmy was a few years older than Darry was, yet Darry could go at him like an equal. It was an accomplishment he'd be able to brag about, to the gang, for years. He most likely wouldn't, but the fact that he could, or the fact that WE could would be enough for all of us.

Crystal was slowly falling to the group, but not without throwing in some good punches and uppercuts along the way. Darry won't be walking away from this scratch-free. He'd have some good shiners and he'd be sorer than he normally would, and he'd probably skip out on work tomorrow, but he wouldn't feel bad about it. It wasn't like him to be that way.

"Damn it!" Jimmy yelled and hit Darry so hard he stumbled backwards. He stood up straighter and fought his way back up to rival Darry's strength. I watched with wide eyes as he attempted to body slam Darry the same way he did me, but failed as Darry reversed the action and threw him over his own back, causing him to land on the ground, crumpled in pain.

I grinned in admiration. It was like straight out of a corny knight-in-shining-armor-saves-the-day book, but all that mattered to me was that Darry had show up. I knew he didn't have it in him to stay away, but some how you had to figure that maybe he did feel too old after all. Now the truth came out and I couldn't have been more pleased.

Two of Rave's members came charging up the slope to take on Darry with Jimmy at this point. And even with how large in stature Darry might have been, there was no way he could take on three, without some help. He flattened the first guy with one blow, and was about to do the same to the next, when Crystal caught him in a headlock from behind.

Without stopping to think twice about it, I ran at top speed and jumped on Crystal's back, throwing him off guard and we both crashed to the ground.

"Fuckin' kid!" he yelled and swung a hard one to my chest, knocking the wind out of me once again. He tired to kick me in the side, but I rolled over and jumped to my feet, despite my lack of breath.

He was wheezing now, having a hard time getting his full strength back. Darry really had done a number on him, and his heart must've been pumping hard to make up for the loss of blood and swelling. Perhaps I was the only one, besides him, who knew this, because I had taken my fair share of health and medical classes in school, but Lord help me if I was going to let his impaired abilities slow me down.

He wagged his hands, beckoning me to him, and I was about to go when I heard someone call out my name.

Stupidly, I turned around and saw our gang, the four of them, on the other side of the retched canal. Rob's arm was draped over Two-Bit's should and her looked about ready to pass out. The others appeared fine, but what really struck me as odd was that they were the only ones there. And a faint siren was wailing in the distance.

"Pony! Get over here!"

"Shit!" I mumbled torn, but spun back around to face Jimmy again, who I found crumpled and moaning on the ground, his hands grasping his head, and his own pipe lying on the ground next to him.

Instinctively, I wanted to pound on him regardless, but Darry grabbed me by the sleeve and pulled e down the bank with him. I followed his orders when he yelled at me to run. The two punks, who had taken him on, and our gang were running to escape the scene before the cops arrived.

Soda was sitting in the driver's seat with the engine roaring. How he did that, I was unsure. But Darry and I jumped in back with Steve and laid down, covering ourselves with the tarp that Darry had brought alone. He thought of everything.

I couldn't tell you how we made it out of there, but sooner than I had expected, we were pulling up in front of the house. The duration of the time we had been back there, I had been too tired and afraid to talk, but it didn't matter anymore.

"Hey, Steve?" He turned and glanced at me. "Did we win?"

"Hell yeah."

I smiled wide with pleasure but immediately stopped when I Saw Two-Bit dragging Rob out of the front.

This was going to be a long night.

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A/n: Well... That's it for now! I do actually have the next chapter written, with a very evil twist...but you get to wait just a little while, because I feel like being mean :D No, but I just don't want to upload two chapters at once, so I'll put it up in a couple of days when I actually type it up. For now it's handwritten, and I'm kind of sick, so I don't exactly feel like concentrating real hard on typing up something that can wait. Sorry.

Please review! Thanks for reading.

Review Responses:

CiCi: Lol, you know, it brings me P-L-E-A-S-U-R-E to know things that my readers don't ;) Don't worry, you'll know when the time comes. I know how evil it is, but that's why I love doing it. If I told y'all, there wouldn't be a point behind the story, you know? Maybe I'm crazy, but I guess it comes from years of having people do it to me. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you enjoyed this one as well. Thank you for reading!

kaz456: Oh, you got Pony's mood right on. Yeah, I get into enough of those moods, although people might not be able to guess. I know I come across as being a calm and rational person, but I don't think everyone would think that if they saw what was going throw my mind when I put on the fake smiles. As I'm sure everyone can relate to. But yeah, he's got himself a bit of a problem and only time will heal it. I'm so glad you liked the chapter, and the whole story for that matter. Thanks for reading. I hope you like this one!

Tensleep: Yeah, no kidding. Who knows what'll happen to that poor baby? It's already got a crazy mother, there's no telling what else will come out of it. This chapter is full of surprises, some that I think you don't even know of already, so I hope you liked it. Now, if only I could remember what you guys were in trouble for. I knew at the time when you wrote the review...but now it's bugging me – not that it's important, but you know how that goes. I'm so happy for you that Carson is coming home! That has GOT to be exciting. I wonder where he's at now.... Lol. Thanks for reading! I hope you like this one.

Jessie13: Well, it takes a stupid girl to cheat on her boyfriend. It takes a moron to get caught. Now, as for Karli... I don't think she can even flatter herself by fitting under either of those categories. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this one!

Rock: If only: If you could write as fast as me, huh? Lol. I bet you're eating your words now! ;) Yeah, guys can be dicks, girls can be bitches, and we just all have to live and learn...and then get Luvs. Jk. That just came to mind... Now, did I buy you lunch or something? I don't remember this...lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this too!

Jorjor: Thanks for reading, reviewing, and nominating (just had to throw that in there, lol)!

Oblivious Misconception: Yeah, I know of shorter engagements, but I know what you mean. I loved how you worded your review. It was so beautiful. Really. Lol. That probably sounds crazy, but your reviews always look so well thought out and I appreciate that. You always read my mind so perfectly. You got every down pat, lol.

Dan the Man: Thank you! Wow. That's such a compliment. You're mind was somewhere else though...::shifty-eyed::. Jk. You've got a lot of really good guesses, all of which I have thought about and taken into consideration in the past. We'll just have to see though. I'm so glad you like this. Shoot, a guy reading my story and liking it...that's awesome. Thanks a bunch. I hope you like this one as well.

Arantxa: Wow. Thanks! I'm thrilled that you like it. Wow. That review really made me feel good. I hope you like this one too!

steves-girl: So, Steve's finally in here. How didya like it? I hope you liked it a lot, 'cause this was one difficult chapter to write! Lol. Thanks.

Tonyboy: Yup, this sure is the rumble! I'm so glad I have you on the edge of your seat, or so it seems. Especially if you're the same Tonyboy as the other reviewers... Sorry for the long wait for an update. I've really been trying! I hope you like this.

DaNNi BaBezZz: Hey, that's just fine. I hope you had a good vacation. Sounds like it had to be for how long it was. Of course I look forward to your reviews! They mean a lot to me. I hope you liked this chapter!

Chibi Tatiana: Reminds you of a cousin's girlfriend, huh? I know the feeling with THAT one! I have quite a few cousins that could fit under either Pony's, Libby's, or the real father's category... Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this one.

Malara: WOAH. That was one hell of a review! Thank you! I mean... wow. I opened that up in my yearbook class today and my eyes nearly popped out when I saw how large it was, how detailed, and how well you kept track of the events of the chapters. I nearly squeaked with delight when the nosy kid (who I love dearly) sitting next to me tried to read it, so I hid it, 'cause I'm self-conscious... Anyway, thank you! I totally agree that the situation is hilarious from the outside. I know it is. I've seen this happen, believe it or not. I don't blame you for laughing at all. ::Smiling with pride:: You're entire review is just about to make me cry because you paid so much attention and praised so much. I love you. I can't wait for you to review again! I really hope you liked this chapter as well.

Fyre: Sorry that the whole thing happened with this chapter, the last time it was uploaded. Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it and all the input you have. I hope you enjoyed this.

Julie: Thanks for trying to read at least, lol. I'm glad you liked what you read of the story. I hope you continue to read and that you liked this chapter as well.

Sodapop's#1gurl: Haha, and to think that I HAD updated but very few people could read it because of some sort of malfunction or something. I'm really happy that you like it so far :D I hope you enjoy this!