CRAP! I am SO sorry! I put up the wrong chapter! Forgive me and read this one instead!

Chapter Four: Secrets and Lies

Suze shut her book, only slightly annoyed. He seemed like a nice kid. "Hi," she said, "I'm Susannah Carducci. But call me Suze." She stuck out a hand for him to shake.

He shook her hand, saying, "Hi. I'm Ponyboy Curtis. But you can call me Pony," he said, smiling.

The smile froze on Suze's face. Ponyboy! Dallas was talking about him! Suze thought frantically, wondering what she should do.

Pony must have seen the expression on her face, because he peered at her and asked, concerned, "Are you okay?" Suze thought fast.

"Yeah. I was just wondering…did you happen to know Johnny Cade?" Suze asked. According to Dallas, the two of them were best friends.

Pony's expression changed. The sides of his mouth drooped slightly, he lowered his gaze, and a shadow of sorrow crossed his face. Suze immediately felt bad for mentioning it. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I knew you guys were friends."

Pony looked at her. "How did you know?" he asked suspiciously. Suze was at a loss for words. "Um…I met him a while ago. We were passing through here…to, uh, close the deal on the house," she lied. "I was walking around and ran into him."

Ponyboy seemed to buy her excuse, because he nodded slowly and changed the subject. He started explaining to her about the whole Soc-Greaser thing.

Suze assured him that she was a greaser. I must be a good liar. He bought that dumb lie. But seriously. He would think I was crazy if I told him I was a mediator.

000000000

I wonder if she knows how Johnny died, Ponyboy wondered briefly. Nah, she couldn't. She barely knew him.

He walked around the park with Suze for a long time, talking about school, their families, their hobbies, and a lot of random stuff. They got started on Gone With The Wind, and Ponyboy told Suze about how he had read it with Johnny in the old abandoned church.

That really got him started. He told Suze, someone he barely knew, everything. He told her about Soda, Darry, Two-Bit, Dally, and Johnny. He told her how he and Johnny had gotten jumped, and Johnny killed a Soc.

He told her how they had run to the old abandoned church, how Johnny had gotten him a copy of Gone With The Wind, how they had read it. He told her how the church had burned down, how Johnny had given his life to save the kids, and how Dally had killed himself when Johnny died. He even told her about Soda's horse, Mickey Mouse.

He cried a little when he told her. She looked awkward for a moment, then reached out and gently wiped his tears.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I know how you feel." Her heart ached as she thought about his story, and her father.

Ponyboy wiped his tears hastily. "You must think I'm a loser," he said, embarrassed. Suze shook her head. "Not at all," she said quietly.

Ponyboy decided that he really liked her. He really did. "Hey, Suze?" he asked, kind of shakily.

"Yeah?"

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Ponyboy asked. He didn't know why he was so nervous.

"No, why?"

"How about I meet you at the Dingo tonight at eight?"

"Okay. See you there," Suze said, starting to walk away.

"It's a date," Ponyboy said very softly to himself after Suze had already walked away.

000000000

Review.