Lady rose 05: I know. How sad! Thanks for your support and for the review.

UrnotSethCohen: Thank you for the review. I know! I'd like to see them together too! Oh well, We'll all just have to wait and see! Mwa ha ha ha ha ah! Thanks for the review!

kaligirl05: I know! But he wasn't exactly all nice to her now was he! Remember the birthday party? I do! Mean, mean Soda. He deserved it! Thanks for the review!

WoPo12: You didn't think I'd forgotten about Sandy did you? Mwa ha ha ha ha! Wait and see. She will be in this chapter but I don't think she'll be in it much…Just enough to let you know her roll in the story now. WINK! Thanks for the review.

st.elmo-lover: I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make anyone cry! Its okay! Don't worry! If it will make you feel better…I'm going to write another chapter RIGHT now. In fact! As you're reading this, all you have to do is scroll down to get another chapter! Presto! Like magic. Don't worry! This one won't be nearly as sad.

LividDream: Shhhhhh! We're not supposed to talk about my bad grammar. If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist! I do my best. I'm horrible at English and there's only so much correcting Microsoft word can do! Ha ha. Thanks for your support and for the review.

DallyxSodaJDLuvinHoods: Yeah I know! They could have avoided it all! But neither of them had the guts to tell the other about it and now we have another mess of problems. Thank you for the review. I love frequent reviewers! You're so awesome!

Dess: Oh my gosh! That review was so sweet! I'm so flattered I'm going to get Joey a dog! I know just how I'll bring it into the story! Thank you so much for your support.

who really cares about pennames anyway: I know. Go Joey! Growing some guts! Haha. Thanks for the review. (And all the other reviews you've left me.) I really appreciate it.

Rugrats101: Ha ha. Yeah. It was pretty sad. I'm going to write up a new chapter right after I type these up. Thank you for all the reviews you've left. It really means a lot to me.

angeloves1: Don't cry! (Gives you hug) Crap! Still crying…Wait! I know. (Hits the update story button) YaY! Ha ha. Thank you for all the reviews you've left. You're one of the best ones to hear from!

Sodapop's#1gurl: Thank you so much for the review. I'll try to update more often. I always have ideas floating around in my head but I can't be typing up stories while anyone in my house is around because I'm one of those closet-fic writers. Ha ha.

Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Twelve reviews for chapter 10...In one day! How awesome is that? Ha ha. Thank you all for showing so much support. I'm just waiting for the sad day when I get my first flame. It's going to make me heartbroken but hopefully I'll remember how many people enjoy this and I'll come to my senses.

I'm not sure about this chapter. It seems too…uppedy? And cliché… Don't expect anything spectacular in this one…I don't think I like it too much. (And I'm 90 sure it's the worse chapter so far.)

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Joey's POV

The funeral was over. The relatives were all out of my house and I could finally get some peace and quiet.

I hadn't seen any of the boys since the night I told Soda he was never there for me. Thinking back to the look on his face, I wish I hadn't said it. Soda tried to be there for my all those times…just not the way I needed him.

'What about your birthday' The little voice in my head told me it was right of me to say that to him but all I could think was that it would never be the same between me and Soda again.

I'd have to face him today though. Darry was driving me to the airport where my thirty-year-old cousin Melissa would be arriving. I was nervous. I was supposed to be the daughter that she never had. I didn't want to disappoint her. She was probably thinking of a pretty blonde girl with pink shirts and fluffy skirts. I already knew she wouldn't like me.

I tried to look like a girl my age was supposed to. I was close to fifteen years old and I wanted to look like a young woman was supposed to.

After thinking long and hard about this, I thought it best to find something of my mothers to wear. It felt weird to be going through her things but I wanted to make Melissa like me. If I was going to be living with her, she was going to like me. I didn't want a repeat of mom.

I stood in front of Laura Jacobs closet and began digging through drawers and sifting through hangers. She had a lot more clothes than I remembered.

All the way in the back of the closet was a soft light blue skirt that would come down right above my knees. After a bit more searching, I found a white long sleeved shirt that was surprisingly knitted like a sweater. I pulled it over my head with the skirt already snug on my hips and began looking for suitable shoes. I eventually found a pair of white sandals that looked casual yet pretty.

I walked back into my room and put on my blue headband and my little silver bracelet with the matching earrings that Uncle Joseph had given me. They matched my silver locket the boys had given me for my fourteenth birthday perfectly. I always wore my locket.

I brushed out my hair and put on a very small amount of makeup. Not enough to let anyone know it was there, but enough to make a subtle difference.

I walked out into the living room and opened the front door. Light flooded into the room as I stood there looking out into the day. It took me a good few minutes to convince myself to keep going. I didn't want to face Soda. Actually, if the boys knew about what I'd said to him, I wouldn't be able to face them either.

I shook the thoughts from my head and pulled the door shut behind me as I began the short walk to the Curtis's.

I was absolutely horrified when I heard a whistle behind me.

'Oh no'

"Hey. What's a pretty lady like you doing out here?" The guy sounded drunk and I was scared to turn around. I walked faster.

"Aw come on! Where ya goin'?" It wouldn't do my any good to run now. I could tell he was close and there was no way I could run very fast in my sandals. I wasn't the best runner in the first place.

"What do you want?" I whipped my head around to look at him and I was even more frightened when I saw there were three of them. The one who I assumed had been talking must have noticed my eyes get wider because he smirked at me and began to step closer.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I was relieved to see Dallas Winston standing behind me with a bored expression on his face.

"You see this girl right here?" Dally asked them as he nodded down at me "You ever touch this girl…you die." He stated it like a fact that he had known for years and was tired of repeating. I looked up and Dally and saw that his expression looked as bored and uncaring as his voice was. I knew it was just for show, but I admired his calmness. There were after all three of them.

"Oh…" The big one in the middle looked horror-struck and immediately turned around and walked the other way, the others following behind him.

Dally smirked at me but he didn't say anything.

"So what are you all dolled up for anyway?" We started walking in the direction of the Curtis's.

"My older cousin, Melissa, is going to be at the airport soon and Darry's going to take me to meet her there. She's going to live with me so I don't have to go to New York."

"Oh yeah…I heard about your mom. How are you holding up?" He looked a bit uncomfortable talking about it.

"I'm okay…" A silence settled around us as we approached the Curtis's house.

"So?" He raised his eyebrows.

"So what?" I was confused.

"Soda." He looked at me like I was stupid. How was I supposed to know what he was talking about? I sighed.

"What about him?" I really didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Anything happening?" He was amused and I was expected to humor him.

"No," My shoulders sunk down even further as I told Dally all that had happened since the night we last talked.

"Oh…" He didn't know what to say and I couldn't blame him.

"Yeah, he probably hates me now." There was no way in Hell I was going to cry now.

Dally rolled his eyes.

"Nah. You guys are all buddy, buddy. Even if you don't get everything you want, you'll always be friends." He seemed to dismiss my opinion on the situation and began walking up the steps to their house.

"You know Dally, you're really good at cheering people up." I smiled at him and punched him in the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. " He rolled his eyes again. "Just don't tell anyone." He smirked at me and then went inside. I followed.

"Joey!" Two-Bit hollered from his spot on the floor in front of the TV.

Steve looked up from his chocolate cake and laughed when he saw me.

I was confused again.

"Nice skirt" He chuckled through a mouthful of cake. I laughed and rolled my eyes as I took a seat on the couch beside Johnny.

"Hey Johnny!" I winked at him. He immediately blushed. He's so shy I couldn't help myself.

Pony, who was sitting on the floor beside Two-Bit and I laughed at him.

I looked up to see Soda coming into the room. His eyes met mine for a moment before he turned his attention to the chocolate cake Steve was eating.

"Want some cake Joey?" Soda asked through a mouthful of cake as well. He was smiling like an idiot. I guess he chose to forget what I had said to him and I was grateful for it. I laughed and shook my head no.

I then noticed a girl was beside Johnny on the couch that I had never seen before. She had long wavy blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She was very attractive. I wondered whose girlfriend she was.

"Oh yeah!" Soda washed down the cake in his mouth with a bottle of coke and pointed to the girl.

"Joey, this is Sandy. Sandy, this is Joey!" He was still smiling like an idiot.

I didn't let anyone see the look of hurt that had to have crossed my expression as I quickly covered it with a friendly smile.

"Hi" I stuck my hand out for her to shake. She gladly accepted it. "Hey"

After a few minutes Johnny got up and joined Two-Bit and Pony on the floor.

"So Soda tells me a lot about you." Sandy shifted on the couch so that she was facing me.

"Really?" I playfully winked at Soda across the room. He laughed and returned it.

Sandy chuckled at us.

"The way he talked about you being on of the guys…it never crossed my mind you weren't a guy." She meant this as a joke but I didn't think it was very funny at all.

"Surprise, surprise." I forced a small laugh as I looked to the TV screen.

'Mickey Mouse again?' I rolled my eyes.

"Oh I love your shoes! Where did you get them?" She was staring at my shoes with admiration.

"They were my mothers." Why on earth did she have to ask that.

Her face fell.

"Oh, yes. Soda tells me she passed away not long ago." She probably meant it as a question but I wasn't going to answer her. I heard Dally grunt from his chair by the window.

As soon as she had asked about it, Soda immediately stood up and walked over to Sandy.

"It's getting late. We better be going." He pulled her off the couch and put his arm about her shoulders. He smiled apologetically at me.

"Oh yes." Sandy smiled at him. "Lets go then"

"See you later Joey…We're all going to the Dingo. Come on guys!" Soda lead Sandy out the door and Two-Bit, Steve, Johnny, Pony, and Dally all followed them.

Darry took this time to come out of the bathroom. He was obviously in the shower.

"I'm going to get dressed. I'll take you to get your aunt in a second." He nodded towards me before heading in the direction of his room.

"Cousin" I corrected before he disappeared.

"Oh wait! I forgot my purse!" I heard Sandy yell from outside. I looked to the other end of the couch and saw a small handbag.

She walked into the room and looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was behind her.

"Listen here Missy" she was pointing her finger at me "Soda is MY boyfriend."

"What?" What was the matter with this girl?

"I see the way you look at him!" She pointed her accusing finger at me again.

"He's my friend. I'm allowed to look at him!" I was getting angry.

"Not like that, you aren't!" She was trying to keep her voice down and I was smart enough to keep my voice only as loud as hers.

I rolled my eyes at her and sunk back into the couch. I was finished arguing with this delusional fraud.

She stalked over, grabbed her purse, and pointed her finger back at me.

"If you try to get between me and Soda, I'll make sure he never so much as looks at you again." She leaned back slightly and put her hands on her hips.

"I think mine and Soda's friendship is more important than his psycho girlfriend!" I stood up in front of her.

"We'll see" she smirked at me and went out the door. I was fuming as I plopped back down on the couch and crossed my arms.

"You ready to go?" Darry emerged from the hallway, fully clothed, and waited for my reply.

I grunted and headed out the door.

He looked a bit confused when he came out behind me but he shook it off pretty fast.

"So do you know anything about her yet?" Darry was usually the strong silent one but I suppose he didn't like the odd silence. I sighed and forgot about Sandy.

"Um…She's thirty." I couldn't remember anything else. He laughed.

"Good memory" He commented.

"I know" I got a smug smile on my face as I held back a laugh.

We got to the airport and found that her plane had already landed. We searched the place for about twenty minutes before a young looking blonde woman walked over to us.

"Joey?" she asked looking at me. The woman was gorgeous. Tall and slender. Her blonde hair was in large delicate waves and she was wearing a bright pink sweater and matching shoes.

"Yes?" I don't know why I asked. If she knew my name she was obviously Melissa.

"Oh! I'm Melissa! You're even more beautiful than I expected! Cute shoes! And what pretty hair you have!" She went on about my outfit and my hair for a few minutes before Darry finally figured he was making this awkward and led us all to his truck.

He carried three large suitcases with him and Melissa wheeled a slightly smaller one behind her.

I was startled when I heard her luggage..erm…bark?

Melissa seemed to notice my confusion and stopped to show me what was in the case. I looked into the small opening that had a sort of net keeping its contents in.

I peeked in to see the cutest puppy I had ever seen. It was a wheat golden color and had big brown eyes.

"Awww!" I couldn't help myself. It was adorable.

"Do you like your present?" She was smiling at me.

"For me?" I couldn't believe it. This cute little thing was mine.

"I thought you'd like it." We continued our way to Darry's truck where he was waiting for us. I was beginning to like this crazy woman in the passenger seat.