Pony's POV

Rachel began mumbling apologies to her friends. "I really don't know who they were. I'm sure they weren't really friends of Ponyboy."

"I should hope not." One of the ladies replied. "I should hope you wouldn't allow your nephew to hang around hoodlums like that. Did you see the way they were dressed?"

Who were they to criticize how we dressed? They may look nicer on the outside, but they sure weren't any prettier on the inside.

"Awful. It's no wonder you want him living here with you. Maybe you can keep him from dropping out of school like his lazy brother."

I couldn't take it anymore. Nobody insults Soda and gets away with it. "Don't you dare call my brother lazy!" I shouted. "He works harder than any of you. And my friends may not dress as fancy as you, but at least we aren't hypocrites."

If they had a response, I didn't wait to hear it. I ran. I didn't know where, I just ran. It wasn't until my lungs refused to take another breath that I collapsed onto the ground. For the first time, I looked around to see where I was. Nothing looked familiar, but right now I didn't really care.

I was too mad to care. Mad at Rachel for being so…what was the word? Well, rich. Rich and snooty and trying to tear apart our family. Mad at Two-Bit for yelling at Rachel, even though she did deserve it. Mad at the world for being so unfair and taking my parents. The only thing I wasn't mad at right now was Sodapop. I missed him like crazy and almost decided to go home for that very reason. But then I thought about Darry. I was mad at Darry for being so hard and hating me so much.

I felt a swift kick to my leg, not hard enough to bruise, but it sure got my attention. "You really ain't being too smart kid. Out here by yourself at night, not paying a bit of attention to who's around." I was relieved to hear Jasper's voice, but he was sounding too much like Darry.

"There ain't no one around." I pointed out.

"No one but me." Jasper scoffed. "I coulda cut you to ribbons before you had a chance to look up."

Ok, so he was right. I should have known better, especially after Johnny'd gotten beat up so bad, but I just hadn't thought about it.

He jerked me to my feet. "Come on."

"I'm not going back to Rachel's."

"You're not staying here either. It's not safe, and trust me, I know."

Trust him. I knew better than to trust just anyone, but he did seem fairly trustworthy.

"You're friends left already?"

"Uh, yeah." As we began walking I wondered how he had found me. He had a way of appearing just when you needed him. I toyed with the idea of asking why he bothered; Dally wouldn't have. "Hey Jasper?"

"Hmm?" Jasper answered absentmindedly.

"What are you doing over here?"

Jasper moved his alert eyes to my face. "Over where?"

"Here. Oklahoma City, on this side of town."

"To keep kids like you from getting yourselves killed."

I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously. When I moved out here I realized just how tough it could be. Kids like you and Katelyn getting picked on while the "grownups" looked the other way. I figured someone's gotta stick up for 'em."

We continued on in silence for quite a ways. I hadn't realized I had run so far. Somehow, walking with Jasper next to me reminded me of walks I used to take with Soda - before Mom and Dad had died.

"Darry hates me." I blurted out suddenly. I'm not sure what possessed me to say it. I'd never said that to anyone, not even Soda.

Jasper thought that over for a moment before he answered me. "Somehow I doubt that, but for arguments sake let's say that he does. What about your other brother," His brows furrowed together, "Coca…Soda…Pepsi - Can….uh Pop."

I grinned in spite of myself. "Sodapop."

"Yeah. Sodapop. I was getting there. Anyway, what about him? Guess it don't matter what he thinks."

Was he crazy? Soda was the most important person in my life. "Of course it matters."

"Then why don't you care how he feels?"

"I DO care." How could he even think that I didn't care?

"But you care more about what Darry thinks."

"No, I don't."

"No? Then how come you're here trying to prove something to Darry instead of going home for Sodapop?"

I wasn't trying to prove something to Darry, I was trying to stay out of his way. "Darry doesn't want me." I said, crossing my arms. "Besides, if I go home Rachel's gonna take us to court and it wouldn't be fair to drag them through that. It would just make Darry worry more."

"So he'll worry less knowing you're here with your aunt?"

Jasper was being entirely too reasonable. How could he think so straight?

"It's not fair."

"If you're expecting life to hand you a diamond on a silver platter, you're gonna die disappointed Ponyboy."

I sighed. Obviously he didn't understand.

It was almost as though he read my thoughts "I do understand. You think you got it pretty rough. And it is hard, losing people you love, but you aren't the only one. Your brothers lost people too. And look at Katelyn, moving isn't going to be easy for her. And Dally, there's a guy who's been through a lot."

"What about you?" I couldn't help asking.

"Me? I guess you could say my life was pretty similar to Dally's. But Dally…Dally can't care. He can't open up or he'll crack. That's where we're different. The last time I got out of jail I saw a kid getting beat up - bad. 'Let him get beat up.' I said to myself. 'Let him learn how to fend for himself and be tough like me. Get tough, and nothing can hurt you.' I kept walking, but his screams followed me and I realized that being tough and closing myself off wasn't helping anybody, not even myself, so I decided to DO something. To make a difference."

The more we talked, the more I liked him. He was like a giant teddy bear with a gruff exterior. Life had made him that way, same as it had Dally. Only Dally wasn't a teddy bear inside, he was a big ol' grizzly. Maybe life had made Rachel the way she was too.

"Ponyboy, you need to go home."

I was startled. "What?"

"I ran off when I was nine. I knew it would hurt my mom but I'd convinced myself that my dad hated me and I wasn't going to stay where I wasn't wanted. I've kicked myself a million times for leaving my mom like that. I went back to see her a couple years ago and she didn't want anything to do with me." He paused and looked down at me. "You've got something good with Sodapop, don't throw it away."

And with that he was gone, just as quickly as he had come. I thought about everything he'd said and realized that he was right. I did want to prove something to Darry. I wanted to prove that I wasn't just a bother; that I was useful, like Soda. And I had been ignoring how Soda felt. I remembered the tears in his eyes the day I left and I felt more horrible than I've ever felt in my life. Going through court again wouldn't be as bad as what I was dragging him through right now.

I could see Rachel's house down the street. As soon as I got back I would call Soda and have him come get me.