Disclaimer- Hah, yea, I bought them from Susie. See, in all of these weeks I haven't been writing, I have been fighting in the court of law. Yea, it was all over the news... hmm what's that? You didn't see it? Wow.. Oh, wait, I must be mistaking. I don't own them, numb skulls. And Robin, Nakia in this chapter does no really reflect you. So don't say anything about it. I'm soooo sorry this chapter is sooooo short. So so so sorry. At least it's a chapter...

Chapter 3

I sat on my bed around one o'clock in the afternoon, just daydreaming. I did that a lot of the time. What I really was thinking of was Johnny. And Dallas, of course. And also Ponyboy. I really missed them all. But in my mind, I knew that day would be the day to get a chance of the past that I didn't want to be reminded of. I was almost scared, going out to meet her again. I got up, and went over to my closet. I pulled out a few clothes, and decided on a jean skirt and a baby doll style tee shirt. It was starting to get chillier, but I didn't want to ruin my image. I was looking for a jacket, I had way too many, when a certain one fell of it's hook. I stared at it for a few seconds. I grabbed it, and tried it on, something I hadn't done in almost a year.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked in the mirror. Every single thing that I was doing reminded me of him. The old beat up jacket, which he had killed the boy in. My hair, which he had bleached himself. My eyes, which I had constantly compared with his when he was alive. My image, completely opposite of what he would have wanted me to look like. Me... the complete opposite of what he had wanted me to become. I couldn't hold back as the tears silently rolled down my cheek.

No one was around, but I still felt embarrassed. Embarrassed at crying over some one who had been dead a year. Embarrassed that I would let a dead kid get to me like that. Embarrassed at my horrible thoughts directed at my deceased best friend.

I took one last look in the mirror, and whispered at myself, "What's happening to me?" In the back of my head, I could almost hear Johnny's loving voice saying comforting things, things he had said when he was alive to me.

I ran outside, but stopped short at my gate. I looked to my left, and for the second time in two days, saw Ponyboy. He sure was there a lot of the time. He was staring down at the ground. I looked at him as some one who hadn't been his neighbor for over a year. My first thoughts of him were how lanky and almost tough he looked. His grey-ish green eyes had become more grey; more cold almost. Like he had something building up inside him, something that was bursting to come out. A hate inside him, not unlike Dallas's. A hate to the world, and the people in it. He looked up, and the eyes that I would have thought didn't belong to him were gone. They was replaced by his sweet, caring eyes, but still grey with an almost darkness around them. He stood up and walked to the fence. He looked at me for a split second, and walked down the street towards the town. He didn't look back.

I walked down to the park, and entered the empty area. It still was a little before two, so Nakia wasn't there yet. I sat down on the swing sets, so I was facing the fountain. I remembered how one time, a couple weeks before that fateful night, me and Ponyboy had stayed out way too late, and we came back at like one in the morning. Darry had gone to sleep at around eight that night, because he had to get up extra early. We snuck inside, acting like we had been there all night. He crept into his bedroom, I just flopped down on the couch. Actually, now that I remember it, I had accidently flopped down on Steve. He didn't wake up, so I just fell asleep on him. The Curtis's woke up to a very peculiar sight. Pony and I had the best laugh, though.

"Hey," I heard some one say. I spun around and there Nakia was. She smiled and got up right next to me. "Wanna go to lunch or something?"

"Sure," I answered. We walked along the streets looking for something to eat. We were talking about anything. It was coming easier then I thought it would. It was almost like the first time we talked on the phone, we had started talking like best friends. There's some people that you can just connect with. We were sitting outside of an ice cream parlor. She had a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, I just had plain chocolate chip ice cream cone. We were laughing and having a great time, when a shadow fell over me. Nakia looked up and did a little wave. I turned around.

"Well, hello, ladies," Curly said in his best gentleman voice, standing over me. I stood up. He was about 16, but still really tall. I liked tall guys. Nakia stood up beside me. "Hey, baby," he whispered in my ear. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Curly," I said. Nakia stood there, looking at me. I finally caught on. "Oh, Nakia, this is Curly Shepard, you know him. And Curly, this is Nakia, an old friend of mine."

"Well, hellloooooo, Nakia. What brings you to hang out with a bum like Corey?" he said. I knew he was playing around, though. He had that little smile on his face. I shoved him a little, and he moved. Behind him were his two friends. Ponyboy and Mark.

"Hey, Mark. Ponyboy," I said, looking up at them. I really resent the fact that I stayed short.

"Hey, Corey," Ponyboy and Mark said in unison. Ponyboy kept silent, but Mark started a conversation with me.

"So, what's been going on?" he asked. Curly was talking to Ponyboy. Nakia was actually in their conversation as well. Since whatever happened that night on the one year anniversary of Johnny and Dallas's death, I was a little stand-off-ish. But that night he had seemed different then his usual self, so I figured that he was okay now.

"Uhhh, nothin' much. What about you?"

"Same, same..."

"So, how's Bryon?"

"Oh, great. We're like brothers. I really don't think it's ever going to be any different." At that, I nodded. But now, looking back, I think, hey, whoever said a brother couldn't hate his sibling.

"That's great."

"Yea, so how's your home."

"Oh, just great." I said in an exasperated tone. He nodded his head, and inhaled deeply on a cigarette. He was very handsome, you know. I didn't like him like a crush or anything. Well, to be honest, I didn't even really like him that much. But that can't stop him from being very good looking. He just had those type of piercing, hypnotic eyes. I laughed a little. Nakia broke into my thoughts.

"What day is the dance?"

"On... oh shit, Friday," I said, a little surprised. It had just snuck up on me. It was only five days away. I hadn't even gotten an out-fit.

"Oh, Corey, I don't know where I'm going to get a car. Wemay have to walk," Curly said to me, taking the ice cream cone out of my hands, and eating it in my bite. I stared at him. "Oh, I'm sorry would you like some of it?" he asked, with his mouth full of the freezing dairy product.

"No, it's-"

"No, here," he said and spit a small thing of the ice cream back into the half eaten cone. I almost threw up.

"Curly, that was nasty," I said. Ponyboy rolled his eyes.

"You've had worse," he said quietly.

"Oh really, and what would that be?" I said, crossing my arms and facing him.

"Well, you and Two-Bit drank each other's back wash."

"Yea, and it tasted like beer. Beer and, well, beer."

"Okay, just for that, you deserve to eat this cone. And if you don't I'm forcing you to," Curly said laughing, coming towards me with the cone. I backed away.

"Uh uh, come on, I mean, this is sick," I said laughing.

"Oh come on, it's not you have never had another guy's spit in your mouth," he said, laughing his idiotic laugh. I froze.

"What did you just say," I said. I glared at him. Nakia was standing there with her mouth open.

"I, uhh,..."

"Yea, just what I thought," I said, and shoved the ice cream on his shirt. I was really offended. I wasn't a slut or anything.

"It came out wrong!" he yelled as Nakia pulled me away from their small group.

"He's just a jerk," she said. I could hear the three guys talking.

"Good going, Curly," I heard Ponyboy's distinct voice say. Ponyboy patted him on the shoulder. Curly snorted and knocked over a napkin holder, grabbing a few as he did so. He stalked away, and Pony and Mark followed him.

"Well, you were going to go to the dance with him?" Nakia asked.

"Yea, I might still..."

"Wow. I had this weird thought that you and Ponyboy were going together."

"Fat chance for that... why? Did you want to go with him?"

"Uhh, no, I just thought, cause of last year and all, I thought he liked you..."

"You do realize he liked you last year. Other wise he would have never asked you out," I pointed out. She looked uncomfortable. "Why did you ever say no to him?"

"Uh... you should have seen Jamie's face..." I would have never believed Nakia to be one so influenced by other's.

"Oh, so you going to ask him to the dance?" She thought about it.

"Maybe," she said finally. I laughed and told her I'd see her later. I had more home work to finish. I really disliked high school in those first years. The later two years weren't so bad, I suppose.

I went home, finished my math and spanish home work, and went to bed early. I had a dreadful five days of school to look forward to, then the long awaited school dance.

AN- I am sorry it's so short. I really wanted to get something out for you people. Please, don't be disappointed when I don't update soon. I have the next chapter planned out, but I have too much school stuff. I'm sorry, but I'm putting my school junk first. I mean, come on, what would you do?