Chapter Three

Darry gave them all an 'I told you so' look, and the rest exchanged glances, sighing in defeat.

"So maybe there is gonna be a flood," Steve huffed, angry about being wrong.

"Correction; there's already a flood," Ponyboy said, looking up from his notebook yet again, causing Steve to scowl at his intelligence and abrubtness of pointing out people's mistakes and correcting them. He thought of Ponyboy as a know-it-all. And of course, a tag-a-long.

Johnny, however, was busy looking outdoors, at the water that was seeping through the open doors of his father's truck. The door's he'd forgotten to shut after he was finished cleaning out the inside of the car. He groaned.

As if on cue, Mr. Cade, seeming quite angry stormed through the water, that had now almost reached a foot tall, growled in anger as soon as he saw the open car door.

Slamming it shut, he turned to glare in the direction of the Curtis' house. Johnny stepped away from the widow.

Just as he did that, the power went out. Panic instantly enused, and everyone started yelling things at the same time, making it impossible to understand them.

Finally having enough, Darry stood up.

"QUIET! Look, I'm gonna go try and find some candels. No need to freak out..."

Once Darry seemed to have left, Steve turned to who he was pretty sure was Ponybody. It was so dark that he could hardly tell.

"What are you writin' in that book? I swear you've had that pen goin' across that paper all afternoon."

He reached out for it, as if to grab it. Ponyboy instantly held it out of his reach and responded with a quick; "Nothing."

"He told me it was homework," Johnny said just as Steve opened his mouth. Probably to make a snide remark.

"Ain't no homework that takes all afternoon," he said, glaring suspiciously at Ponyboy. "Heck, maybe he's plotting our deaths. Gimme that book, kid."

He reached for it again and, like the last time, Ponyboy snatched it away.

"I've got a lot of homework, okay?" he snapped, sounding annoyed. It wasn't like him to snap at anybody. But he and Steve had never gotten along.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. It's probably a love letter to that Cherry Valance, eh Soda?"

Ponyboy's ears instantly reddened.

"Steve-" Soda started, but he wasn't planning on stopping any time soon.

"She's too old for ya, kid. What is she? Sixteen? Seventeen? Seriously Pone, go find someone you own age. Maybe 'ol Cherry would be willing to give me a go..." He trailed off, grinning in a teasing manner. But Ponyboy did not find it funny.

"DAMN YOU!" he screamed, getting up and throwing the notebook to the floor, then storming off into the room he shared with Soda.

Steve, not seeming to care, instantly reached for the notebook. But Soda reached it before him, picked it up, and sighed.

"Steve, no. That's invasion of privacy. Whatever it is, it's private and important to Pony. And you really shouldn't tease him like that. You know how he gets." (A/N: Meaning Ponyboy's spaztastic.)

Steve shook his head, but sat back down. He continued to glare at the door to Ponyboy's room, as if he could burn a hole through it with his eyes then go in and rip Ponyboy to shreds. Right then, Steve wanted to take his lighter and burn Ponyboy's flesh off until all that was left was a bloody mess. He wanted to decapitate him, kill him slowly and painfully. Basically, he was physco, and he wanted to kill Ponyboy.

And so, the madness began.