Hey everyone. I got another chapter for y'all. I don't own any of The Outsiders. I only own Dani Winston. xForza Italia 06 NYx owns Serena. Cate Tiernan owns Hunter. Please R&R

Chapter 24

Dani's POV

It is finally the last day of the first week back to school after Christmas vacation. The week seems to have gone by extremely slow. Classes are as boring as ever, and the teachers are assigning lots of homework. It's like they're making up for the week they weren't able to assign any.

This morning, I woke up, as usual, and went down to the kitchen to get breakfast. I sat down at the table with Soda, Darry, Pony, and Rini, and Soda wouldn't meet my eyes once. Then when I came out of the shower wrapped in a towel, Soda looked like he was blushing. I've never had that effect on him before. I wonder if Rini and Dallas had the same talk with him that Serena had with me.

Then I went to school and made it through all my morning classes. I went to lunch and came back. Then I went to my two afternoon classes. When the final bell rang, I went to my locker to get my things. When I closed it, Hunter was leaning against the ones next to it. I had managed to avoid him all day, and now, here he is.

"Hey," he said. I didn't reply. "I know you're mad, but just give me five seconds. It was just a stupid kiss that didn't mean anything. I just had too much to drink and wasn't thinking. Could we go back to being friends?"

I started to slowly count to five on my fingers. "It wasn't just a stupid kiss. It obviously meant something. That kiss broke me and Tim up, and because of that, you're a jerk," I said and wiggled my fingers. "Oh look, time's up." Then I slapped him across the face and walked away, leaving him stunned. That felt good. I wonder if it'll work on Tim.

I walked out of the building and was instantly greeted with a wall of snowflakes. I headed for Two-Bit's car and waited for him and the rest of the gang, who still attended school, so we could head home.

About ten minutes later, they arrived at the car, and I was frozen. I climbed into the front seat, and after Two-Bit started the car, blasted the heat, so I could warm up. "Damn it's cold," I said.

"I know. I can't wait 'til summer. I need the warmth of the sun," Serena said.

"I know I can't wait to see all the hot blonds wearing barely any clothes," Two-Bit said.

"You're such a pig," I said to him.

"Oink oink baby." We all laughed.

Two-Bit drove us all to the Curtis's, and we walked in. Two-Bit sat on the couch and watched Mickey mouse, while Johnny, Pony, Serena, and I did our homework, so we wouldn't have to worry about it all weekend. Of course, Two-Bit never does his homework, so you can see why he's still in high school at age nineteen. When we finished our work, we sat with Two-Bit and watched TV.

--------------------------------------------------------

By seven o'clock, the snow was coming down so hard you could barely see a foot in front of you. The whole gang was going to end up staying for the night. We were all sitting in the living room, doing nothing, when Two-Bit said, "We gotta find something to do."

"We are doin' something," Steve said.

"Something more exciting."

"I know. Let's play Truth or Dare," Serena said.

"Okay, I'm goin' first," Two-Bit said, "Dani, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," I said.

"Okay, I dare you to…kiss Darry." I got up and kissed Darry on the cheek. "Dani, it's gotta be on the lips."

"That'd be weird. He's like my brother."

"Now I think everyone here would strongly disagree with that statement." Wow, big words for Two-Bit. Hehe"Darry is strong, muscular, smart, actually works for a living, doesn't get drunk or go out gettin' laid every night."

"Dallas doesn't go out getting laid every night," Serena said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He stays here and gets laid every night." I laughed, and Rini glared at Two-Bit. "Plus, Darry needs some action in his boring life.

"Two-Bit…" Darry said.

"C'mon Dar. She's a great kisser, and it's not like you're that much older than her—three years," Soda said.

"Oh my god. Fine," I said. I bent down and kissed Darry on the lips. I stayed there longer than I intended to, but Darry was a really good kisserDamn, never expected to be kissing Darryl Curtis.

Suddenly a pillow was thrown at my head, and Darry and I broke apart. "We've been calling you for the past five minutes," Pony said.

"Yeah, get a room if you're gonna do that," Steve said. I blushed, and I'm pretty sure I saw Darry's cheeks become a light shade of red. I went back to my seat and sat down.

"Okay, my turn. Dal, Truth or Dare?" I said.

"Truth," he said.

"How did you really feel about me and Tim dating?"

He was silent for a minute, and then said, "I didn't like it. You're too good for him. Shepard's usually with a different girl every night and doesn't have relationships, except for you. Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I'm surprised it lasted that long, and he didn't cheat on you," Dally answered honestly. I nodded, satisfied with his straightforwardness.

"Sodapop, Truth or Dare?" Dal asked.

"Truth," Soda answered.

"Would you ever go out with Dani?"

"Maybe."

"It's a 'yes' or 'no' answer."

Soda blushed and said, "Yeah." Then he looked at me. I smiled, and he quickly looked away. "Okay Darry, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Darry replied.

"How was the kiss?"

"It was…heated."

"Damn Dani. For it bein' like kissin' your brother, it sure sounds like you made it fiery," Two-Bit said.

"What can I say? I'm a professional at kissing," I said.

"I wanna be the judge of that," Two-Bit said. I rolled my eyes and crawled over to him. Then I placed my hand on the back of his neck, pulled him towards me, and kissed him on the lips. I pulled away, and he said, "Don't stop."

"Sorry Two-Bit. First kiss is free, then I charge five dollars for every one after that," I said, jokingly.

"So does that mean we all get a free kiss?" Steve asked.

"My sister ain't a slut," Dally said.

"Its okay, Dal, but I'm curious as to why Steve would want to know, since he has a girlfriend," I said, smirking.

"Me and Evie are takin' a break, which means I'm free to kiss whoever I want."

"You and that broad are always takin' a break," Dally said. Steve just shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine Stevie. I guess you can have a kiss, too," I said. I went over to him and kissed him on the lips.

"Wow, Dani, that was amazing," Steve said.

I smiled and said, "I know." Then I walked over to Pony and Johnny and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. The tips of both of their ears turned a deep shade of red.

I saved Sodapop for last. I wasn't really sure if I should kiss him on the lips or the cheek. The way he's been acting around me made me kind of nervous and unsure of myself. I decided not to make a move until I had talked to him. "Sodapop, can I talk to you, alone?" I said. Two-Bit and Steve made 'ooh' sounds. They're so immature

"Sure," Soda said, looking a little apprehensive. He got up and followed me into his room. I would've gone outside, but it was only, like, ten degrees out. So I opted for his bedroom. I closed the door, and we stood in silence, me looking at him, and him looking at the floor.

"What's going on with us?" I asked, deciding to get straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" Damn, why does he have to pretend like he doesn't know what I'm talking about?

"You've kinda been avoiding me since the day after Christmas. Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, and of course I'm not mad at you. It's just…"

"It's just what?" He was stalling.

"Dallas and Serena kinda cornered me after you went to into the bathroom, and they said some things that got me thinkin'. And I think they might be right."

"Right about what?"

"About there being something goin' on between us."

"And is there?"

"Well…I don't know," he said, looking down.

I moved closer to him and said, "Sodapop…" He looked up, and I quickly kissed his lips. He looked shocked for a minute, before pulling me against him and started to kiss me long and hard. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed against him with passion and urgency.

When we broke apart, my lips felt swollen, and I was breathing hard. He closed his eyes, trying to get his breathing under control. "Whoa," I said.

"Yeah," he replied.

There was a knock at the door. "Are you guys plannin' on comin' out anytime tonight? Some of us would like to get some sleep!" Pony said from the other side of the door.

"Be out in a minute!" he yelled back. "So what was that?" he asked in a quieter tone.

"Umm…I don't know. I couldn't help myself," I paused, "I guess that means I agree with you, about there being something between us."

He smiled. "So are we a thing now?"

"It all depends. Are you asking me out Sodapop Curtis?" I said, flirtatiously.

"What if I am?" he asked, moving closer to me.

"Then, it's a yes."

We were about to kiss when there was another knock at the door, followed by a "Soda!"

"I guess we should go," I said. I gave him a quick kiss on the lips and walked out of the room. I walked into the living room and sat down between Steve and Two-Bit on the couch. Darry, Pony, Serena, Dally, and Johnny had gone to bed. Soda came into the room shortly after and sat in Darry's chair. I looked at him and winked, and he smiled.

About an hour later, Steve and Two-Bit fell asleep, leaving Soda and me alone. I moved my head in the direction of the kitchen, and he nodded. We both got up and went into the room. I got there and jumped up on the counter to sit. Soda came over to me and stood between my legs, placing his hands on my hips. I smiled and kissed him. He slid his tongue into my mouth and started massaging mine with his. I pulled away quickly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"This is just so different. You and me, not me and Tim. I'm sorry for bringing this up. It's just that me and Tim were so…intense. I kinda miss him." I looked away. I didn't want to see if I was hurting his feelings or not.

He took my chin in his hand and made me look at him. "Look, I know its different being with me and not Tim. Me and him are so unlike one another. I know I can't replace him, but I will try to make you happy. I really like you, Dani."

I smiled. "I really like you, too. You're always there for me when I need you, and you make me laugh and smile even when I don't want to. I really love that about you."

He grinned, and so did I. "We'll make this work. I really want it too."

"I know. I do, too." I kissed him again. "Now I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, of course. Good night."

"Good night." He gave me one last kiss and moved aside, so that I could jump off the counter and head upstairs.