A/N: (Bawling) I really need to stop watching "Moulin Rouge." Oh, God, that is by far the saddest movie I've seen in my LIFE! (Curls up, crying) And, why, you're wondering, am I giving you this pointless talk? Because, MR helped cure Liz of her WRITER'S BLOCK! So, this chapter will be the beginning of the angsty part of the fic. (But, sadly, Tim and Dally won't be bursting into song. You all must be terribly disappointed. Heh, wait until "Phantom of the Opera" comes out on DVD! (Has a mental image of Tim: Sing for me, my Angel of Music and Dally: He's there, the Phantom of the Opera!))Oh, God. (Bursts into fit of uncontrollable laughter.))

A/N- part two: I've been having some more computer problems. And, I have track and soccer after school, but I'll try as hard as I bloody can to get the next chapter out.

P.S. I love you all. I really do.

P.S.S: Can anyone tell me what time of year the Outsiders took place. (i.e. Summer, fall, winter etc.)

P.S.S.S: For the sake of this fic, I've changed Curly's age. In here he's fifteen, so in the time the Outsiders takes place, he's sixteen. Just wanted to clear that up.

Disclaimer: I only own the pathetic excuse for a plot, Alicia and any other characters you don't recognize. Everything else belongs to S.E. Hinton. (Dude, she wrote "The Outsiders" when she was sixteen. I feel so worthless and lazy now.)

Alicia was sitting on the couch when Angela and Curly came through the door. Angela was obviously very pissed about something and Curly was trying to calm her down. "That worthless, no-good pile of shit! I wanna strangle her, throw her in a boiling pot of water, stuff her in a box and mail her to Japan, go to her house at night and knife her! Argh!" Angela flung herself down on the couch next to Alicia.

"Who do you want to kill?"

"Rose." Curly answered. He had several feathers in his hair, probably from his costume. "She told Miss Narwin that Angela was smoking in the bathroom-"

"Which I wasn't!"

"-and now Angel has detention before school tomorrow."

"Before school! Before school!" She sighed. "You are so lucky that you didn't have to go to rehearsal. The only good part was when Curly accidentally knocked Rose off the stage when he was in his turkey costume." Angela grinned. "So, what happened here?"

"Oh, God, you don't wanna know." "

"Actually, I do. If I didn't I wouldn't've asked. Hand me a smoke and talk."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Fine," she grumbled, pulling out two cigarettes. She lit them and handed one to Angela, who took a long drag. "Travis and I walked home together and he was gonna come over here-"

"Are you going out with him?"

"No. Not yet, anyway. So, I opened the door and there's Tim and Dally, pretty much doing it on the living room floor." Angela pulled a face and Curly, who was sitting on the floor, jumped to his feet and ran to a chair. "So, Tim and I yelled at each other for a while and I took Travis home. I came back and I didn't see Tim and Dally until I went upstairs, and realized that they were in Tim's room."

"What were they doing in Tim's room?" asked Angel, grinning.

Curly laughed. "Let's see, two hormone-ridden guys who are obviously in fucking love with each other, alone in an almost empty house, what do you think they were doing?" He looked up at the ceiling. "Are they still at it?"

A smile spread slowly over Angela's face. "Wanna go check?" Together, they crept up the stairs. Tim had most likely lost track of time. He wasn't expecting Alicia to come home for a while, and he was still under the assumption that Curly and Angela weren't coming home for at least another hour. The length of the rehearsals varied, after all.

Curly led the way down the hall to Tim's room. He peered through the keyhole and Angela and Alicia crouched down and looked under the door. All they could really see was Tim lying on his back. Dally was on top of him and they were, from what it appeared, making out. Dally's hands were tangled in Tim's hair, and Tim was stroking Dally's back. It actually would have been kind of sweet if it weren't their older brother. Or if they weren't naked.

Tim groaned loudly. Curly snorted and almost collapsed. "Curly!" Angela hissed.

The door swung open and with a crack, the doorknob hit Curly in the forehead. Curly toppled back and hit Alicia, who dropped onto Angela. Tim looked down at the pile of sprawled limbs.

"Ugh, Alicia, your ass is in my face!"

"Well Curly's crotch is in mine!"

"Bet you like that, huh, Ali?"

"Fuck off, bitch."

"Don't you fucking call me a bitch, you slut!"

Tim rolled his eyes and prodded Curly with his foot to stop the bickering. "Well?"

Curly sat up. He rubbed the perfect circle mark on his head. "Well what?"

Tim rolled his eyes. He had a blanket wrapped around his waist, but other than that was naked. "Don't act like a fucking twat, Curly. Not that you can help it, but…" He trailed off and smirked. "What were you doing outside my room?"

"Uh, that's a good question but…"

Angela was obviously ready for this one. "We needed a ride to the store to get cigarettes and we wanted to see if you were here, because you're eighteen and can buy them legally." She said, smoothly.

Tim raised an eyebrow. Dally appeared behind him, also with a blanket around his waist. He looked at them and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Well, look what we have here."

Angela got to her feet and gently touched the bruise on her shoulder where Curly's foot hit her. "Well, obviously you're preoccupied and all that, so we'll leave you alone so you can get back to it." She grabbed Alicia and pulled her downstairs. The moment they reached the last step, they looked at each other and burst into insane laughter. Angela clung to her sister, tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks, and Alicia gripped the stair rail, holding her stomach. After almost five minutes, they had gotten control of themselves. "Oh… oh, God." Angela took a deep breath. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining. At that second, Curly started coming down the stairs, when he tripped and fell down several steps, which set them off again.

"Wh-who are you?" Rose's face was a mask of frozen terror. Her pale hands shakily clutched the skirt of her long brown dress.

"How? I am Deer Girl, an Indian maiden. These are my people." Alicia stood tall and proud, her long hair in two braids and dressed in a calf-length buckskin dress. She gestured to the group behind her, also clad in fake skins. "We are the Cheyenne tribe- ya know what, Miss Narwin? That isn't even historically accurate! The real tribe that helped the Pilgrims was the Wampanoag tribe. Why'd you change it?"

Miss Narwin smiled, patiently. "Because, Alicia, 'Wampanoag' is too hard to remember."

"I remembered it," said Alicia stoutly.

"Well, yes, Alicia, I see that you did. However, the audience might not remember it."

"Or, they might remember it, and be pissed at you for fucking with history."

Rose perked up at the mention of 'fuck.' "Miss Narwin, Alicia said a curse word!"

"Aw, dry up, Rose." Alicia rolled her eyes. "You got to get used to hearing swearing, or else you'll be screwed in the real world."

Miss Narwin ignored them. "Now, I want you to start from the beginning of this scene."

Rose walked over to the left of the stage. She had a woven basket in her right hand, and in her left was a flower. She was picking the blooms and putting them in her basket. "It's so nice to have fresh flowers around," she sang as she tossed more into her basket.

Alicia and her tribe came from the right. In one of Alicia's hands was a tomahawk and in the other was a knife. She brandished them at Rose, who turned. "Stop, stop!" Miss Narwin stood and waved her arms. "Alicia, you are not to have weapons! How many times must I tell you?" She rubbed her forehead. "From the top!"

Angela strutted down the street. Her long hair streamed after her, and she was in a short skirt and tight blouse. A car full of teenage boys drove by and honked at her. She flashed them a brilliant smile. Angela was beautiful, and she knew it.

As she walked up her driveway, she saw the neighbors in their yard. It looked like they were moving, because there was a large van in their drive. Angela felt a twinge of sadness. She and Ali were minor friends with their fifteen-year-old daughter, Sharon, and Curly had once dated her. Angela wondered what he would have thought.

"Angela!" A pretty girl with long, wavy pale hair ran out of the house.

"Hi, Sharon. Long time, no see. What's the van for?"

Sharon glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, Tracey's movin' out." She pointed to a short, red-haired woman who staggered, cursing, to the moving van in her too-high heels. Tracey was Sharon's father's third wife. Shrugging, she said, "So, how're your brothers and sister?"

"Oh, Curly's fine. He's getting around, you know. Poor guy just can't find a chick to stay with for more than five minutes. And Ali and me are in the school play. She's at rehearsal now."

"And how's Tim?" There was a gleam of interest in Sharon's eyes when she mentioned the oldest Shepard. She had always loved Tim; in fact, she only dated Curly to get closer to him.

Angela shook her head. "Don't get your hopes up, Tim's spoken for."

Sharon's face fell. "Who is it this time? He ain't back with Monica is he?" Monica was one of Tim's more recent girlfriends. She was very pretty, exotic and dark, and, according to Tim, was amazing in bed. Not that that mattered to Angela or Alicia. Monica and Tim had broken up after she lured Tim into Angela and Alicia's bedroom. They came home and went to their room, when they opened the door, to find Tim and her in their bed. To make matters worse, their parents happened to walk by at that moment and they saw them together. They grounded Tim for five months, and even Tim didn't dare disobey them. Their father had the worst temper in the entire family, and even Tim was a little wary of him.

"Naw, he ain't back with her. He's with someone else."

"Who?"

Angela grinned. "I'm not tellin' you! He'd fucking kill me."

"It ain't a guy, is it?"

Angela chose her words very carefully. "It… might be." She didn't want to deny it too much, because then it would seem defensive, and Sharon would get ideas. The Shepards had their pride and they had to defend it. However, she couldn't straight out tell the truth, even if it seemed like she were joking.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means that I can't tell you the truth. If Tim were goin' with another guy, he'd be gay and that wouldn't be too cool. And if I said he was with a chick, you'd be pissed, so I ain't gonna say." Angela tossed her hair and walked to the door. "See ya 'round, Shar."

As she walked through the front door, she heard the shower running. She sighed with relief. Finally, Tim is taking a shower. She thought to herself. Her brothers could go weeks without showers and eventually, their mother would force them into the bathtub and scrub them. But, wait, that wasn't Tim's voice she was hearing. Or, it was Tim's voice, but why did she hear Dally too? Was she hearing things? Remembering Health class, she shuddered. People with schizophrenia heard voices and saw dead bodies. Oh, God, don't let me go insane. Then she remembered what Alicia had said about seeing Dally and Tim having sex on their living room floor. She rolled her eyes. Wouldn't they have learned by now? Angela tossed her bag onto the floor as she peered down the hall and saw the bathroom door open. Oh, Jesus. Some people just never learn. They put locks on doors for reasons.

Dally went over to Tim's house almost as soon as he woke up. As soon as he saw Tim's family leave, he snuck in through the living room window and, after crashing onto the floor, crept up to Tim's room. The older boy was still in bed, fast asleep. Dally shook him awake and kissed away the surprised expression on Tim's face when he awoke to find Dally standing over him.

After they spent the day laying around, smoking and watching TV, Dally snuggled up to Tim on the couch. Not for long, though, because he pulled away. "Jesus Christ, Tim, you fucking stink. What the hell have you been doing, rollin' around in garbage?"

"Sorry, Dal, but I have two sisters and a brother who spend about three hours each in the bathroom. You try to get in to take a piss while Angela does her hair."

"Shouldn't matter. All I know is this: I won't be caught dead with you if you smell like that." Dally moved away.

Tim laughed. "Since when do you care what I look or smell like?"

Dallas shrugged. "You normally smell kinda good. Like smoke and your cologne and fresh air. Now you just smell like… ass."

The older greaser lit a cigarette. "How do you know what ass smells like?"

"'Cause I've slept with you," Dally said, as he dodged Tim's fist and laughed. "But, seriously, Tim, take a fucking shower. You smell like hell and your hair looks a fuck of a lot better when it's washed." His fingers touched one of Tim's dark curls. "It's so nice and shiny, like your sisters' hair."

Tim brushed Dally's hand away from his head. "Whatever, Dal. My hair always looks like hell." He stood and walked into the bathroom. "I'm taking a fucking shower now." He called. "There's some beer in the fridge and you can watch TV if you wanna." Tim didn't shut the door all the way, so Dally glanced in. Tim's back was to him and he was taking off his shirt. Dally loved the way Tim's back muscles flexed when he moved his arms. He loved the way when Tim yawned, his back arched like a cat's. Hell, he loved Tim period.

There was a soft mew at Dally's feet. Speaking of cats: Angela's black kitten, Shadow, curled around his ankles. She looked up at him with her big, deep blue eyes. Dally bent down and picked up the small cat. Angela had found her last summer in an alley, curled up, half-dead behind a trash can. She took pity on the poor animal and took her home. Angela had, at first, fed her table scraps, until she and Alicia started to steal cat food from the store. Then Angela got a job: every Tuesday and Thursday, she waited tables at Max's, a small restaurant, where she was paid ten cents an hour.

Shadow reminded Dally of Tim. Both were long and lean with black hair and big, dark eyes. The cat even had a small scar on its cheek. Dally scratched Shadow behind the ears and she began to purr loudly. He looked down at her, almost tenderly. "You like that, don't you?" Dally asked, softly. She purred again and gave a small mew. He smiled as set her down, and then he walked to the kitchen. Upon opening the fridge, he found that there wasn't any beer. The water was running. As much as Dally didn't want to interrupt Tim's shower, he was in the mood for some beer. Besides, it wasn't like Dally had never seen Tim naked before. He walked to the door and pushed it open a little. "Hey, Tim!"

"What?" Tim stuck his head out of the shower curtain. His hair had soap in it and was hanging in his eyes.

"You don't have any beer."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Mother fucker," he grumbled under his breath. "Angela, Alicia or Curly must've taken the last of it to drink before school. Sorry."

"Yeah, and it was pretty good, too." Angela was standing behind Dallas. She was wearing a smirk, as always, and in her hand was her school bag. "Sorry, Dallas couldn't help myself. Better wait till ma or dad gets home to get some more. Oh, by the way, I'm going to Bryon's house. See ya later." Then, she turned on a heel and strutted away.

After Angela left, Dally went back into the living room to watch TV. A few minutes later, the water shut off and Tim came out with a towel around his waist. His dark hair was wet and hanging on his forehead and dripping onto his shoulders. He collapsed onto the sofa next to Dally. "Do I smell better now?"

Dally planted a kiss on Tim's soaking hair and inhaled. "Yeah," he murmured, and rested his head on Tim's shoulder. Tim rested his head on the back of the sofa, leaving a dark spot. Then he stood.

"I better get dressed. Ali and Curly'll be home soon." The dark- haired boy gently touched Dally's cheek.

Tim was right. Five minutes later, the screen door banged open, and Alicia and Curly barged in, yelling about how hungry they were and bitching abouthow much it sucked to be in the Thanksgiving play. Tim and Dally had been sitting together on the couch, watching whatever was on. Some Audrey Hepburn movie was playing, and Alicia jumped on the couch next to them

"I love Breakfast at Tiffany's. Let me watch," she demanded.

"No, Alicia, go away. It's a shitty movie." Tim shoved her hard off the couch and she fell to the floor. Alicia jumped to her feet and kicked Tim, hard, in the shin. He grabbed his leg. "Ow. Mother of fuck! What'd you do that for?"

"There. Now we're even." She said with a satisfied smirk.

"Jesus. Stop wearing those fucking boots."

As Alicia walked away, Dally turned to Tim. "Violent family, aren't you?"

Tim pulled up his jeans leg to see if he had a bruise and he scowled after his sister. "Yeah."

"Thank you for inviting us to this special feast, Anna Baker. It certainly means a lot to us that you asked us to share this holiday meal. As a gift, we brought this turkey!" Angela turned and gestured to Curly, who was dressed as a giant turkey. He walked out to the table.

"I am a turkey. Eat me!"

Rose raised an eyebrow, but went on with her line. "What a lovely gift! You redskins are so kind, even if we are more civilized," here Angela's eye twitched a little, "but I can see that under your dirty exterior, you are kind and normal humans."

"And, cut! That was marvelous girls- and Curly. You two work really well together." Miss Narwin beamed at them. "That's all for today. Fabulous job, ladies and gentlemen. Remember, next Wednesday is the performance, so practice at home!" She clapped her knotted hands together and walked away.

"You did really good, Angel," Alicia said. She had stayed to watch Angela's rehearsal because Dally was going over to their house again.

Angela rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Ali. I did shit and you know it."

Her sister laughed. "Yeah, I know." Angela punched her arm. Together, they walked to the girls' dressing room and Angela changed into her jeans and T-shirt. Then they waited for Curly. He staggered out a few minutes later and under his arm was his costume. He scowled and said, "let's go."

The moment that they walked in the door, they knew something was wrong. There was no yelling or screaming to greet them like normal. Instead it was deadly quiet. In Tim's hands was a letter and he was reading it with a horrified expression. His eyes were wide and scared and his face was pale. Behind him were their parents. Their mother looked frightened and their father looked proud. Dally was nowhere to be seen.

"Ti-Tim. What… what's wrong? What happened?" Angela asked, hesitantly.

Tim looked up. He took a deep breath. "I… I got drafted. I'm going to war."

A/N: Meh wasn't very long, but it helped get the story going. I promise to update within the next few weeks. I'm trying to juggle school, track and soccer, but track gets over on May 3, so expect more updates after that. (Not that I won't update before then.)Also, I'm going to start on another fic soon called "Passing the Holidays,"and it's about how Tim and Dally share the holidays. If you want, y'all want to, youcan send inideas. Anwhore, please review! I love you all! (Runs through the wall, leaving a Liz-shaped hole behind.)