Author's Note: This chapter is written by taylor519 (user id 2770779). I wrote chapter 9 and will write from here on out.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.

Emma Lea turned into the parking lot of a tall grey apartment building. It wasn't really nice looking, but it was a lot better that most of the rundown buildings near where Johnny lived. He figured they were maybe a twenty minute walk from the Curtis', which wasn't too bad. She led him down a hallway and to a wooden door with the number 107 on it.

"Well, here we are." She fiddled with the key in the lock the pushed the door open. "If you decide to stay I'll make you an extra key. The lock is kind of sticky though, you got to jiggle the key a bit. You'll get the hang of it." She stepped inside and opened her arms, as if she were presenting her apartment.

Johnny looked around. It was kind of small. The was a drooping couch and big chair in the living room, with a simple little wooden table. He noticed there was no T.V, but there was a radio on her counter. The kitchen was small too, but it was tidy looking. He liked it, it was cozy and felt home-y. Not home-y like the Curtis' was, they had pictures up and always had people in it and food cooking, but this was nice too. It was calmer.

"I know it isn't much." Emma Lea told him quietly, heading down the hall and motioning for him to follow.

There was a door on either side of the hall, both open. She pointed towards one, "this is my room." He glanced in. It was messier than the rest of the house, but not by much, just that the bed was un-made and there was a shirt thrown on top of the dresser.

Emma Lea turned and opened the door on the opposite side of the hallway. "And you can stay here," She told him cheerily. Johnny stepped into the room, but found there really wasn't much in there. A single bed against the wall, a closet on the opposite side of the room and a small wooden dresser beside it. The window let in enough light to brighten the entire room. He wasn't complaining, though. At least it was clean and the walls weren't cracked and it didn't reek of booze like every room in his own house.

Emma Lea stood nervously in the doorway, wondering what to do next. She wasn't done talking with him, she had so much more to tell him, but she wondered if he wanted to be left alone.

"Do you want some hot chocolate?" She asked him finally, knowing he wouldn't say anything until she did.

Johnny hesitated before agreeing. He certainly wanted to go talk to her some more, hear more about her. But he didn't want to impose or anything. The last thing he wanted was to be a mooch.

Emma Lea got out the chocolate mix and began heating the water, Johnny sitting silently in the living room.

"Now Johnny, I want you to make yourself comfortable here. My home is your home, okay? Feel free to do whatever it is you want," She told him, wanting him to feel at home.

Once the hot chocolate was made Emma Lea handed a mug to Johnny and took a seat in the big chair, while he sat at the far end of the couch.

"So, Johnny, you know all about me now, what about you?" She asked, doing her best to start a conversation. She was normally so good at talking to people, but Johnny was different. He was shy, and almost blocked off. It almost seemed to her like he didn't like talking about himself.

"What do you mean?" Johnny asked, knowing anything he told her wouldn't even compare to her story.

"Well..." She pondered, wondering what exactly she could ask him about. She remembered the boy from the funeral. "Do you have any friends? Or a girlfriend?"

He shook his head, and she fiercely hoped it wasn't to both questions. "No girlfriend." He said after a sip of hot chocolate. "I got a bunch of buddies I hang around with though."

She smiled at him, proud of herself for getting him talking a little. "So, tell me about them!"

"Well, there's Ponyboy, who was at the funeral. Then he has two older brothers. Sodapop and Darry. Then there's this guy Two-Bit, but that's not his real name. But everyone calls him that because he likes to joke around a lot. And there's Steve and then there's Dallas."

She was surprised to learn he had so many friends, considering when she lived in Tulsa she couldn't even make one, but happy for him none the less. She had wished he went into more detail about them, but knew he wouldn't. She had come to expect short answers from him.

"I'd like to meet them sometime." She told him genuinely. She certainly needed to know more people in this town. She had moved there only a month ago and so far her only friend was Herb, and he was about twenty years older than her.

Johnny shrugged, "sure, if you want."

Emma Lea tried to get some more information out of him, but it was difficult because of how shy he was. She did find out there was a feud between the rich kids and 'greasers' as he called them, and that he was jumped a few years back. He seemed most open towards talking about his friends, though, so she focused on that. She learned quite a bit about them, that the Curtis parents had passed away and for a while there they were really struggling, but then Darry got promoted and now he gets a little more time to himself.

Ponyboy, apparently, was the only one of them who actually did well in school, according to Johnny, he was the one who had a real good future. But Emma Lea figured her life wasn't so bad, and she hardly had any education. She figured any of those boys and Johnny too all had futures ahead of them, if they wanted. Johnny also told her about Dallas-he ended up telling her a lot about him. He told her Dally was from New York, and tougher than the rest of the gang. Dally was a real hood, he never got hurt, only angry, and he was never scared. Emma Lea was fascinated by how Johnny described Dallas, and couldn't wait to meet him. Johnny talked about him like he was some god on earth, someone better than the rest of us.

When Emma Lea's words were cut off by her own large yawn, she realized it was time for bed. She could stay up and talk to Johnny all night, but knew she wouldn't make it. It had been a long day and she was ready for bed.

"I think it's time to turn in," She yawned again, and Johnny nodded at her. Emma Lea stood and took both there empty mugs to the kitchen, rinsing them out and leaving the in the sink. They could wait until morning. She turned and headed off to her room, mumbling "g'night Johnny," as she went.

"Emma Leah?" He called after her. She smiled to herself and turned to face him. She noticed that was the first time he used her name.

"Yeah?"

"Who's Granny Ann?" He asked, remembering the question that had been on his mind throughout her whole story earlier that day.

She tilted her head to the side, his question taking her off guard. "Well... I guess she's your Granny Ann, too. She's our mothers' mom. She's a real sweet woman, if you want I'll take you to meet her sometime."

"Okay, Goodnight." He smiled that little smile at her, and it just about made her day. Emma Leah had noticed it was rare for him to smile, unlike her. She smiled all the time, even when she wasn't happy. Because if she smiles, it usually makes other people smile. But with Johnny, he only smiled when something really made him happy, and that's why seeing his lips turn upwards even just a little made her so content.

XXX

Johnny awoke to the smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen. He groggily pulled himself out of bed and slowly made his way towards the delicious smell. Turning the corner, he saw Emma Lea, humming happily to herself as she flipped pancakes. It amazed him how happy she always was considering her life had been as screwed up as his own.

She jumped when she saw him, having not heard him wake up.

"Morning, Johnny!" She smiled cheerfully at him. "What do you like in your pancakes?"

"Huh?" He wasn't use to people asking him what he wanted to eat, usually he was just happy to get food at all.

"I got blueberries, chocolate chips or bananas, or do you like them plain?" She elaborated.

Johnny shrugged, he had never really thought about it. "I guess I'll have blueberries."

"Blueberry pancakes coming up!" She said like a waitress. "I would have guessed plain with you."

"What's that mean?" He asked her.

"Well you can tell a lot about a person by their favourite foods. In my mind, people who like banana pancakes are typically the smart, get-things-done type of people. People who like theirs plain are usually the kind of people who like to keep thing simple and just live their lives, free of drama and problems. Chocolate chip people-like me, tend to be the kind of people who are still a little kid inside, spontaneous and outgoing. And blueberry people are the kind of people who like excitement, they are loyal friends but they can't sit still too long, and they have a real good sense of humour." As she spoke she finished off the pancakes and put them on a plate with the bacon, then brought both their plates to the table. Sitting down, she motioned for Johnny to sit across from her.

When she looked up at him, he was giving her a funny look.

"You can tell all that from pancakes?" He asked, not believing her at all.

She let out a laugh and blushed, realizing how crazy she must sound. "No, of course not, it's just a theory. Sometimes it is surprisingly true, but then certain people subconsciously want to be uneasy to read, so they are different." She understood she was rambling, and that she probably sounded insane, but in truth, she really believed a lot of her pancake theory.

"Huh, then I guess I probably would be more of a plain pancake person." He smiled a little at how strange that sounded. "Blueberry sounds more like Two-Bit or Soda."

She smiled as she dug into her pancakes, now totally covered in syrup along with the bacon. Emma Lea really appreciated that he didn't make fun of her for her crazy pancake theory, like most people would. He just went along with it.

"So what are you planning on doing today?" She asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Uh, I don't know, probably go over the Ponyboy's like usual, what about you?" He was surprised with himself how easy it was to talk to her. He never really talked much, even around the gang, but around her it was hard not to talk.

"Nothing, I guess. I still haven't met many people around here." She shrugged, trying not to sound like such a loser.

Johnny heard what she was hinting at and offered, "Why don't you come meet the guys?"

"You don't mind?" She asked, not wanting to intrude on his personal life.

Johnny shook his head, why would he mind? "Of course not."

Emma Leah beamed a bright smile at him, glad she wouldn't have to spend the whole day alone again.

XXX

They had decided to walk, Johnny saying they would probably end up walking around town anyways and Emma Lea deciding it was a nice day out anyways.

Emma Lea looked up at the shabby little house she had dropped Ponyboy off at the night before. It was small and almost droopy-looking, but it was cozy, she could tell even from outside of it. It was better looking than most the houses around it and the laughter from inside made it much more inviting than its neighbours.

She followed Johnny up the walkway and hesitated for only a second when he let himself in without knocking. Stepping inside, she was mildly surprised to find it kind of tidy, considering Johnny had told her it was a bunch of boys that lived there.

"Hey Johnnycakes, who's the broad?" Asked a boy who lounged across the couch, his feet up and head back. At his words the other two boys looked away from the TV and up at her. Emma Lea smiled at the cute nick-name. She had noticed by the way Johnny talked about them last night that his friends weren't just friends, they were the closest thing he had to a family.

Emma Leah recognized the one on the floor as Ponyboy, and could guess from the unfriendly gaze that the other was Dallas. She studied Dally for a moment, intrigued by what Johnny had told her about him. He had white-blond hair and light blue eyes, and a lean figure with a clearly strong upper-body. On anyone else, those looks would have made a person look like a male Barbie doll. But somehow, on him they looked tough.

"My cousin, Emma Leah, she's letting me stay with her for a little while," Johnny introduced quietly before taking a seat next to Pony.

"Well, howdy Emma Leah. Aint that a mouthful. How about just Emma? Or Em?" Two-Bit began, before even introducing himself.

She shrugged, "Sure, if you'd like, or just Leah, it don't really matter."

"Alright Em, I'm Two-Bit, the one and only." He introduced theatrically. "And that's-"

"Dallas Winston." She cut him off, smirking at the surprised look on his face.

"You heard of me?" Dallas asked, his expression unchanging as he continued to look at the TV.

"Just from Johnny," She shrugged, as Two-Bit pulled in his feet so she could sit down. "So is this what you guys do all day? Just sit around watching TV?" She asked casually.

"No! Are you kidding? That would mean I'm lazy, wouldn't it?" Two-Bit asked, seemingly offended.

"Two-Bit, you are lazy." Ponyboy spoke up, earning a grin from Two-Bit.

"I aint lazy, I just know how to relax." He defended.

"All day." Ponyboy pointed out. Before Two-Bit could come up with some smart remark, he turned to Emma. "We usually go walk around, visit Soda and Steve at the DX where they work and stuff like that, if you want we could go now so you can meet them."

Emma smiled at him. "Sounds great."

They all filed out of the house, Two-Bit and Pony starting up their light-hearted bantering from before while Johnny walked next to them. Emma Lea fell in behind, walking a little slower so that they wouldn't over-crowd the sidewalk and she wouldn't end up walking on the street.

"So, your letting Johnny stay with you?" A low voice came from beside her. She jumped, not noticing Dallas next to her. She had thought he was staying at the house.

"Yeah, he's family and all." She said good-naturedly.

"How come I never heard of you before, if ya'll are so close?" He asked, lighting up a cigarette.

"Well, we aint, really. I just ran into him at the funeral the other day. I knew him when we were little and all. So when I saw what his Dad was like I decided to ask him to come stay with me." She explained to him.

"So, what's in it for you then?" He asked her, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Huh?" She looked at him hard, wondering what he was getting at.

"You have to be getting something out of this. It just doesn't make any sense that you're just going to put up Johnny in your place for no reason at all." He concluded, blowing out a puff of smoke.

She coughed and choked on the smoke that was now clouded around her face and glared at him, irritated. "Maybe I'm just a good person and don't like the thought of him living with that man. How's that for a reason?"

"I don't believe you." He told her. "No one just picks up a random hood off the street and invites them into their home."

She huffed and turned away from him, frustrated. Why couldn't he just understand that she just wanted to help Johnny? "What's with the third degree anyways, what does it matter to you what Johnny does? He's a big kid he can take care of himself."

Without knowing it, she had trapped Dallas. She called him out on caring about something. He couldn't tell her the truth-that he was worried she would hurt or betray Johnny-because he's Dallas Winston, and he's not supposed to give a damn about anyone but himself.

He blew another puff of smoke into her face, smirking when she started coughing again. "I know that, I was just wondering what your game is." He told her.

"Oh, so this is about me then?" Emma asked him, doubting that was that truth. He gave her a small shrug and took one last drag on his smoke before tossing it to the ground. "Well I aint playing no game, Dallas. I'm just trying to help him out. It may be hard for you to understand, but some people do nice things for each other for no reason." She told him, knowing from what Johnny told her that Dallas was not that kind of nice person.

"Not true." He told her, unaffected by her weak insult.

"What do you mean, 'not true'?" She asked, seriously wondering if he could back this up or if he were just being stubborn.

"Everything anyone does is for themselves, in one way or another. Say you were actually just helping Johnny because he's family," he said sarcastically, so that she knew he was talking hypothetically, "you would actually be helping him because if you didn't, you would feel guilty. And since you are letting him live with you, your conscience is clear and you feel like you're a 'great person'. When, in reality your a cold bitch like the rest of us." He explained.

Emma Lea was surprised by how much sense that made, but didn't agree with it. "So you're saying I'm only pretending to care so other people will see me as a good person?" She asked, astounded by this train of thought.

"Exactly."

She wanted to tell him how stupid that was, and how ridiculous it sounded, but she thought back to her own pancake theory and decided not to. If that's really what he believes, so be it. Besides, they were at the DX now anyways.

They stepped inside the little gas station convenience store, relieved by the cool air conditioning. Behind the counter was a very attractive boy, who caught Emma Lea's attention immediately. When he looked up to see who had come in, his beaming smile made her smile back automatically.

"Hey guys! I was wondering when you were going to show up, it's been so boring around here." He said, then added, "Boss said I got to stay up here 'cause Earl called in sick, so Steve's in the back working on cars and I'm up here on my own."

"What, flirting with the millions of pretty girls who come here for you too much work?" Two-Bit teased.

Soda just smiled, not denying it one bit. He turned his attention to Emma Lea and gave her a large grin. "Speaking of pretty girls..."

Emma felt her cheeks heat up and bit her lip-an automatic response to being hit on. Even after years of living in Las Vegas, and singing in bars many nights, she couldn't help but be bashful when it came to her love-life. Even though she had been hit on many times, she still wasn't used to it. And even though she knew this boy was a little too young for her-probably seventeen at the most-his change of tone made her blush.

"I'm Sodapop Curtis," he offered, coming closer to her.

"Emma Lea," she told him, forcing her blush away so she could get back to normal.

Soda looked between the other three boys, silently asking if she was one of their girls. Although, she was definitely not Dal's or Two-Bit's type, and it seemed unlikely Johnny had managed to pick up a looker like her without ever talking.

"I'm Johnny's cousin," she interjected, before he could voice his question.

"Oh," Soda was taken aback. He had never met anyone in Johnny's family other than his parents. He had thought that Johnny had no family other than his parents, and they weren't much of a family. "Well, it's nice to meet you." His easy-going smile returned.

He wasn't sure if he was allowed to flirt with her though. Had she been one of the guys' girls, he would have known to back off. Had she been related to anyone but Johnny, he would have known to back off. But he wasn't sure whether she was off-limits or not. Johnny hadn't seemed upset when he called her pretty moments ago, but then again, Johnny was very good at masking his emotions. Johnny was as good as Dally at that.

She sure was a looker, though. She had dark, curly hair and the same dark complexion as Johnny, but it was lighter on her. Her jaw was rounded and her face strong. She smiled a lot, showing off straight teeth and two little dimples on either side of her mouth. She was short, but full-chested and curvy. Her rounded brown eyes were wide and her head held high and proud.

Deciding to take the safe route, he turned towards the back. She sure was pretty, in a sexy, foreign way, but it wasn't worth upsetting Johnny over.

"Hey Steve! Come out here!" He shouted, figuring since she was there she should meet Steve too.

Steve came out of the back, rubbing his grease covered hands on his pants. His work pants were baggy, and he wore only a wife beater on top, having gotten too hot working on the cars to wear his uniform DX shirt.

"Hey guys," he said, looking over to Emma Lea, "Who's this?"

"Emma Lea, she's Johnny's cousin, man." Soda explained to him.

Steve introduced himself, even though she already knew who he was and took a seat on top of the counter. The boys began to chat, asking her every once in a while about herself. She enjoyed being around them, probably since it had been a while since she hung around anyone her own age, but mostly because they were really fun people to be around.

Emma Lea spent the rest of the day with them, doing absolutely nothing but having a lot of fun. She really liked hanging around them, and was especially happy Johnny had such great friends.