Cherrybombxox: A cookie for me? Heck yes! Cookies are my favorite food next to toast and ice cream. (Ha ha. Don't ask.) Thanks so much for your support. I'll update as frequently as I possibly can.

angeloves1: Don't worry. I'm not killing anyone off…Unless I get bored one day and kill her drunken mom or something. But I probably won't do that either. Thanks for the reviews. Keep 'em comin'. I love hearing what you guys have to say.

Rugrats101: In the last chapter Joey was eleven. This chapter is going to be her fourteenth birthday. I skip around a bit. Sorry. It's kind of confusing. Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it.

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Joey's POV

Today is my fourteenth birthday.

I found in the last three years that Sodapop Curtis attracts a lot of girls. By now, I was madly in love with him. Before I didn't even know it was possible to love him anymore but, sadly, I found out it was.

Every few weeks Sodapop would have another girlfriend and when he didn't have a girlfriend, he was swarmed with pretty girls around his age.

Maybe that was the problem. What would a sixteen year old boy want with a thirteen year old girl? If I was old enough to be his best friend, why wasn't I old enough to be his girlfriend? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

But today I'll be fourteen and then there will only be a two year difference. That's not much at all.

The boys really grew up from the time I met them. Two-Bit was almost eighteen and Darry was twenty. They were all grown men except for Pony and maybe Johnny. Even Steve was sixteen now along with Soda. Everyone was growing up so fast and I hoped I was too.

My hopes were crushed when I looked into my bedroom mirror and saw that I didn't look any different than I had yesterday. I felt older somehow, but I sure didn't look it.

I looked at my reflection and tilted my head as if to see something that wasn't really there. I wanted to believe that I looked older but I soon found that no angle could cure youth. No matter how I looked at myself or what I wore, I was a child.

I continued to stare blankly at the mirror. I wasn't the biggest girl on the block. I was 5'3 and way too skinny. I had frizzy, wavy brown hair that went a bit below my shoulders and hardly any curves on my body. I could see why Soda preferred the kind of girls that hung all over him. You could tell by the way they acted that I was more mature than they were but they were older, prettier, curvier, and, for lack of a better term, more girly.

These past three years had, more or less, turned me into a boy. I began wearing faded blue jeans all the time and baseball caps. It's not like I could fit into my old, expensive skirts anymore anyway.

I hated my birthdays now. The only thing I hoped for every birthday since I met the 'boys' was that Soda would realize I wasn't a little girl. I always set myself up for disappointment. Of course Soda wouldn't come to realize that I wasn't a little girl if I truly didn't believe it myself.

What's the difference between fourteen and sixteen anyway? I suppose I'm going to have to wait two years to figure it out. But by then I'm probably going to be thinking 'What's the difference between sixteen and eighteen?'

My birthdays since we moved were spent mostly at home.

Mom usually went to work early in the morning until around six in the evening and then she'd come home and get drunk. But not on my birthday!

I hated my mom when she was drunk and she knew it so as a present, she wouldn't drink all day. She'd wake up really early, make a big breakfast for me, tell me she loved me, and then she'd go to work. It wasn't much but it was my favorite part about my birthday. I know she wasn't the best mother in the world, but she loved me, even if it was only for a day.

The first half of my birthday would be spent piled in my house with a bunch of relatives on my late fathers side.

My Aunt Mona, would give me flowers, chocolates, an expensive dress, and some money. Her brother, my Uncle Joseph, would always try to out-do her and give me something better. This year he gave me the most beautiful bracelet I had ever seen and matching earrings. I loved my uncle.

A few other random relatives would stop by with presents and be on their way as quick as possible and some of them would even send presents with Aunt Mona and Joseph. I had a feeling most of my family didn't like our house. No one ever visited. Only on holidays or my birthday. I suppose that was always why my mother never took the day off for my birthday. She couldn't bear to be seen in this house with all my father's family. They would probably lecture her and she was too old to be told how to live. Or at least that's what she said.

After everyone stopped leaving presents and telling me how much they loved me, I ran over to the Curtis's house, where I know everyone was piled into the living room waiting for me.

I burst into the door, as everyone did, and started laughing hysterically at the sight I was greeted with.

Everyone in the room was laughing except for Steve, who was on the floor with a look of horror on his face, and Darry, who's face was covered in ice cream.

Even Dallas Winston was laughing. I had met Dally about a month ago and I was terrified of him. He was really tall and looked like he could take anyone. Of course he wasn't as strong looking as Darry but he certainly looked meaner. He had golden hair, like Sodas, but you could tell Dally never combed his. He also didn't use hair grease. I suppose he thought it made him look…greasy. Dallas Winston was no grease. He was a hood.

Darry looked like he was going to explode and I assumed Steve had thrown the ice cream at him. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Darry was making his way over to Steve so I decided to make my presence known.

"Hello!" I shouted, waving my arms in the air to get attention.

"But Joey, whatever ARE you doing here today?" Two-Bit joked looking at me like I was an unexpected visitor.

"You tell me!" I said running behind him and taking his blade from his back pocket. Two-Bit loved his blade so I knew he'd chase me down trying to get it.

"Hey!" He chased after me as I ran around in circles, making sure to bump into Darry a few times to take his mind off of Steve. It worded, rather spectacularly, as he grabbed me by the shoulders, making my feet lift from the floor, and walked me into the kitchen. Everyone followed with chuckles.

"Happy birthday to you," Everyone began singing the birthday song as Steve lit the fourteen candles on the large chocolate cake.

"Happy birthday Joey" Soda whispered into my ear and kissed me on the cheek. When he got close like that I could barely stang. I felt like melting and I must have gotten a dreamy expression on my face because Two-Bit looked like he was going to burst out laughing. Of course Two-Bit knew. He'd known since the first day we met that I was in love with Sodapop. The day after I had met Anna, Sodapops then girlfriend, Two-Bit came to my house and explained to me that Anna was just a random girlfriend and I was more important. Two-Bit was a real pal.

I got a big goofy grin on my face as I blew out my candles. I wished for the same thing I wished for every year. I wished for Sodapop.

"Cake time!" Soda was jumping out in front of everyone to get some of the cake.

"Hey! It's my birthday!" I pouted as I pushed him out of the way. I got my cake first and went in the living room to sit down on the couch. Dally was still in the room. I hated being alone with him.

"So you're fourteen today huh?" He watched me as I shuffled the ice cream around my plate.

"Yeah" I said quietly as I glanced up at him.

"You look older." He commented, getting up and walking into the kitchen.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched him disappear.

An hour or two later we were all piled back up in the living room. Dally had left a few minutes earlier but I was still smiling from what he had said. That was the best present I'd gotten all day. Of course that changed when I sat on the couch waiting for Darry so I could open my present.

He walked into the room and sat in his chair as everyone looked at me to open my gift.

It was a small box about the size of my hand. I was excited and could barely wait to get it opened.

When I pulled the lid off my smile grew even wider and my jaw fell open.

There in the box laid a little silver locket. I pulled it out of the box by its delicate chain and admired it.

"Awww…You guys didn't have to do this." I looked from the locket to all the boys.

"We all chipped in. We knew you'd like it. Pony picked it out," Steve explained to me as he smiled at the expression on my face.

"Yeah, but it was Johnny who thought up the engraving" Pony told me as he nodded toward Johnny.

I opened the locket and saw a picture of me and all seven of the guys.

On the other side of the locket was an engraving that read-

"Friends until the end" Simple, yet beautiful.

"Johnny!" I squealed as I reached over Ponyboy, who was sitting beside me, to give Johnny a big hug. Johnny of course blushed and muttered a 'you're welcome'

Everyone laughed at this and the night went on to be great for the next hour or so.

Even though we did things like this for everyone in the groups birthdays, I felt special tonight. I felt like a princess. That is until Soda got up.

"Where you goin' Soda?" Two-Bit asked confused as Soda grabbed his jacket and began heading for the door.

"I've got to go. I told Maria I'd come over an hour ago." He mumbled as he turned to leave.

"It's the kid's birthday!" Darry shouted as he stood up with Two-Bit. I silently hoped that Darry didn't know I loved Soda too.

"It's been hours already and Maria said she needed to see me tonight…You're okay with that aren't you, Joey?" Everyone looked at me expectantly.

I couldn't very well tell him to stay so I hesitantly nodded my head and did my best to smile at him.

"Thank you. You'll always be me favorite girl" he ruffled my hair and made his way out the door.

If I'm you're favorite girl, why are you choosing her over me?