Disclaimer: S.E Hinton wins ownership this time, but I'm not giving up yet!

*gives a relieved sigh* Ah Christmas break, how I love thee! Now I have time to read, write, exercise, and draw to my heart's content. :) Sorry about the wait, guys, but now tests are over and I finally have time again.

*blinks at reviews* 27 reviews?! I love you guys! You absolutely make my day! Thank you so much for all of the feedback, I really appreciate it. :)

On to the chapter! Dun, dun, dun....

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Chapter Four- Ponyboy: Sometimes, You have to Take it like a Man.

Two-Bit refused to take me to school the next day. He told me it was because he decided that I needed to learn how to handle my own affairs. I knew that he just didn't want to be seen with the balloon that had become his nose. Plus, admitting that a girl had done it would be an extreme blow to his ego, no matter how scary she is.

I admit that I was scared of facing Angela without any of the gang nearby, but I was cautiously optimistic that I would be able to dodge her. With that happy thought, I resolutely walked out to the school.

"Hey Ponyboy!"

I stopped at the entrance to the school as a blonde, wild-eyed boy came jogging up to me. I grinned as we exchanged high-fives and man-hugs. "Hey Mark! How ya been?"

"Can't complain." He shrugged. A mischievous sparkle lit up his eyes and I knew exactly what he was going to say even before he said it. "So, I heard a certain crazy chick is checkin' you out, man-well, when you can be found, that is."

I sighed. "I don't know what made her think that I would be interested in her. Girls are weird."

"Tell me about it. I can't keep any of my girlfriends for longer than a week. Don't know why."

I looked at him incredulously. "I can tell you that. You look at every girl but your girlfriend when you're on a date."

Mark laughed. "I can't help it! Maybe one day I'll meet the perfect girl who will be able to keep my attention, but so far all the ones I've been dating have turned out to be pretty dumb."

"Well gee, Mark, I don't know why. You go for the same type of girl every time-she just happens to have a different name."

"Alright, wise guy, we'd better get inside or we're gonna be late for class."

"Since when do you care about being late?"

"I don't." He smirked. "I'm just curious to see how your first class will go. As soon as you're out, I'm gonna be watching to see what happens."

My brow creased. "Why?"

"Well, Angela is in your first class."

"Angela's in my class?!"

Mark cuffed me on the back of my head. "Shoot Ponyboy! Get your head out of the clouds! What do you do in class anyway?"

"I pay attention to the teacher. I don't look at girls." I stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world. To me, it was.

Mark snorted. "You're boring, Curtis."

"Boring is better than skinned-which is exactly what I'd be if Darry ever found out I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh, I see your point."

We had reached my first class, Algebra 2, and stood before the door. I stared at the handle. Mark just grinned. I had never been nervous about math before, but suddenly it felt like I was going to be quizzed on the intricacies of Trigonometry.

I swallowed.

"Would you get in there, man?! You're driving me crazy!" Mark took me by the arm, opened the door, and all but shoved me into the classroom.

I stumbled in amidst a few soft snickers. The door shut behind me, sealing me in my doom.

"Well, Mr. Curtis, I'm so glad you decided to join us today." Mr. Lane's dry tone cut in. He pointed towards an empty chair. "Please have a seat."

"Yes sir." I mumbled as my ears heated up. I shuffled over to the chair and put my books on the desk.

A not-so-quiet giggle broke me out of my trance.

I slowly raised my eyes. Much to my dismay, there was Angela Shepherd sitting right beside me.

I froze.

She winked.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Curtis?" The teacher's tone turned sharp.

I tore my eyes away from the female blood-sucker to find that the whole class was staring at me. I sat down hard, stuttering, "N-No, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Hmph, well, as I was saying before Mr. Curtis decided to interrupt, X squared times-"

I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying, not when Angela kept on leaning over, sending a whiff of cheap-smelling perfume my way. Don't look at her, ignore her, I reminded myself.

A little piece of paper flew onto my desk.

I coughed and it flew right back off.

A few minutes and two algebraic problems later and another piece of paper landed on my desk.

I sneezed.

Bon voyage paper.

Mr. Lane was staring at me again, rolling the chalk between his fingers impatiently. "Ponyboy, are you unwell?"

"Sorry sir." I mumbled. "I just have the beginnings of a cold."

A disbelieving snort came from Angela.

The teacher zeroed in on her. "Don't tell me he gave it to you, Miss Shepherd?"

"No." She answered meekly, or as meekly as she could.

"Good, then see to it that you stop leaning towards him so as to prevent yourself from getting sick. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." She didn't sound pleased.

I snickered as laughter rippled through the class.

"Quiet, please, unless you all wish to receive a detention." The teacher went back to scribbling on the board.

The class quieted and I started to write down the problem he was doing.

Tap. A little white note landed between my X squared and my Y cubed. I flicked it off with my pencil. Two more notes took its' place. I blew them off.

"Ow!" I cried as a pencil hit my head.

My teacher was not amused. "What is it now, Mr. Curtis?"

"I just got a sudden pain in my head, sir." Boy, was that ever a lame excuse!

"You'll have more to worry about than a headache if you interrupt me again." Mr. Lane tapped his ruler against his palm in a decidedly threatening manner.

"Yes sir." I slumped in my chair, properly abashed. Why do these things always happen to me? I didn't have much reprieve before an eraser hit my desk.

I turned to glare at the culprit, all pretences of ignoring her gone.

A triumphant smile spread across her face. She blew a kiss at me and batted her eyes.

Who ever told girls that guys actually find that attractive? Try stupid and neurotic.

I turned away again.

Another piece of paper hit my desk, but this time I didn't even have to do anything. Mr. Lane's stern voice intervened. "Miss Shepherd, Mr. Curtis is not a basketball hoop. Stop cluttering up his desk with paper slips."

I could hear the pout in her tone. "Yes sir."

I sighed in relief.

The rest of the class was spent in relative peace, but I had a feeling that my confrontation with Angela Shepherd wasn't over yet.

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"Ponyboy!"

I cringed just outside of the classroom. Her sugary-sweet voice didn't fool me a bit. I could see Mark leaning against the opposite wall, amused to no end. I wanted to punch his lights out and then give Angela to him for a girlfriend.

I wasn't given much more opportunity to contemplate what I would do to him before Angela appeared in front of me. Oh boy, was she pretty...and pretty was hard to ignore. But I knew that her personality sure didn't match her beauty.

"Why were you ignoring me?" She asked as she curled a piece of hair around her index finger.

"Don't act dumb, Angela. I can't stand that." Oops, did that come out of my mouth?

She looked stunned for a moment before a frown came over her face. She tried to jab a finger into my chest before she realized that it was still in her hair. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

I stared at her.

Her face puckered in distaste before it melted into pleading. She stuck her hair-encircled finger in my face. "Ow."

I wasn't about to help her. I made that mistake once already, there was no possible way I was going to fall for it again.

Then I got an idea that would have made Two-Bit proud.

"Hold on a second." I told her.

She immediately brightened up and relaxed. "I knew I could count on you, Ponyboy. You're so-"

I rummaged around in my backpack. Where were they? Where-aha! My fingers closed around the object and I pulled them out before turning to Angela.

"-and kind and polite and-what are those for?!" Angela leapt away from me when she saw what I was holding.

"Well, Angel, these are called scissors. They're nice and sharp and they'll get rid of that nasty old finger that had the nerve to get stuck in your hair." I stepped towards her, bring up the scissors.

She held up a hand. "Now, don't be rash, Ponyboy. I don't want you to cut it. Trust me, all you have to do is loosen it with your fingers."

I smiled. "But that's another reason why scissors are such a good idea. They do all the hard work for me so I won't have to touch you, because I really don't like you."

"B-But-" She spluttered, eyeing the scissors.

"Tell you what, Angela," I said as I opened and shut the scissors right in front of her face, "I won't cut off your finger or your hair if you promise to leave me alone." So I was stooping a bit low, but she had asked for it.

She looked between the scissors, her hair, and my face. "O-Okay. I'll leave you alone."

I grinned and put my weapon away, chirping, "Good. Have a great day, Angela."

I strode off down the hall, congratulating myself on my accomplishments. I had scared Angela Shepherd.

"I'll get you for this, Ponyboy Curtis! I swear I'll get you for this!" She screamed after me.

Apparently she didn't stay scared for long. I knew she was tougher than that, I think I just caught her off guard. Oh well, I could deal with her revenge.

To be the victim of her revenge was better than being the target of her love.

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And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading! I think I'll have about one or two more chapters. As Ted Dekker would say, "Hallelujah, amen, you are dismissed."