Your awesome reviews have caused me to update this thing, whatever it may be. :)

I still don't own the Outsiders, or the lines used here that you recognise. Nor Twilight (thank God for that), nor Harry Potter. Yeah. I don't actually own anything I reference. Anyway... enjoy! :)

I finally thought of something to say. "No thanks." I was backing up, away from that dreaded black, shiny t-shirt. Of course I backed right into one of them. They squealed happily, and had me down in a second. They had my arms and legs pinned down and one of them started putting a barrette in my hair, so tightly that it was yanking my hair out by the roots, and if you think that doesn't hurt for a girl, you're crazy.

I could smell sickly sweet perfume and hairspray, and I was wondering foolishly if I would pass out from the half-toxic fumes before they did anything. I was scared so bad I was wishing I would.

I fought like a greaser would to get loose, and almost did for a second; then they tightened up on me and the one not pinning me down dusted a powdery cloud of makeup on my whole face, making me choke. So I lay still, muttering prayers to the Greek god Sodapop between coughs.

After doing all sorts of horrible things to my face, the Twihard holding the shirt dropped it daintily on the hood of the shiny car, and picked up a tube of something labelled "venom lip-gloss". She held it in front of my mouth with the cap open. It smelled... like them.

"Once this is on your lips, you'll never go back to your disgusting Rumbler fanclub again," she purred.

It occurred to me that they could convert me completely if that stuff touched my lips. I went wild. I started screaming for Melanie, my parents, anyone. Somebody put her powder white hand over my mouth, and I decided then that I'd have to fight fire with fire today, and so I did the only thing I could think of doing: I bit it as hard as I could, tasting the blood running through my teeth.

Disgusting. I never thought I'd have to stoop so low to get free...

The girl screamed, and sprayed perfume in my eyes, making them tear up instantly. They were stuffing an embroidered handkerchief in my mouth, and one of them kept saying, "Oh my Edward, this one's a real fighter!"

Then there were shouts and the pounding of feet, and the Twihards hopped up with another little squeal, and left me lying there, hyperventilating. I lay there and wondered what in the world was happening- people were jumping over me and running by me and I was too shocked to figure it out. Then someone had me under the armpits and was hauling me to my feet. Dad.

"Are you all right, Cynthia? What were those girls doing to you? You look so... different!"

He was running a hand through my hair and I wished he'd stop. I was disgusted enough about it as it was. As embarrassed as I was, though, I could tell it was Dad- partly because of the voice and partly because his elation at my transformation was barely hid. Dad's always been the one in my family who wanted me to leave the Outsiders alone the most.

"I'm okay. Quit doing that, Dad, and don't call me Cynthia," I grumbled.

He stopped instantly. "I'm sorry."

He wasn't really. My dad's never sorry about anything he does. It seems funny to me that Melanie could look so much like my father and act exactly the opposite from him.

My father is the Darry in my life, though I'd never tell him that. He looks almost identical to him, except for the hair. He has dirty blond hair, something I'm glad I never picked up. He acts just like Darry too, not getting anything that isn't plain hard fact and not understanding why I love a book so much, but he's a little gentler than Darry and doesn't yell as much.

I sat down again, fruitlessly trying to rub off the dried eyeliner they'd somehow managed to put on me without poking my eyes out.

Dad jammed his fists in his pockets. "They didn't do that much to you, did they? It's only a little makeup and some hair stuff."

They did. My whole face felt uncomfortable and tingly, my scalp hurt from end to end, and I wanted to start bawling, but you just don't say that to my dad.

"Yeah, not too much."

Melanie came back over, and behind her were four people I thought I'd only get to see through pictures on the internet- Jolie, Tammy, Daphne, and Steph. It was the first time I'd ever seen them in person, and I was so shocked I almost forgot about what happened, until Mel dropped down beside me, examining the back of my head.

"They even curled your hair and put extensions in it, didn't they, Pamela?"

I only looked at her blankly. "They did?"

She kept on looking at my hair. "Your hair looks longer than I've seen it in years."

"It is?"

"Look!" She took out a mirror and angled it carefully so that I could see only the back of my head and not my face. I realized I had long hair as if by magic. "And you're wearing one of their shirts! Did they pull a whole new outfit on you?"

I remembered the voice: "We're going do you a favour, Rumbler. We're going to give you a whole new wardrobe! What kind of girl likes to wear rags like those?" They must have gone all the way with it.

"Yeah."

Mel looked at me more closely. I looked away hurriedly, not wanting to meet her eyes, because if you want to know the truth, I was starting to bawl. I knew I must've looked as non-Rumbler as I felt and I was shaking like a leaf.

Melanie just gave me a hug. "Easy, Pammy," she whispered, then added in a fake southern twang to try to cheer me up, "they ain't gonna do nothin' else to you while your buddies are around." When I still didn't say anything, she said, "They came all the way here just as a surprise for you. I didn't know you had such good friends..."

"I know," I said, but the ground began to blur and I felt hot tears running down my cheeks. I brushed them away impatiently. "I'm just a little spooked, that's all. I thought they'd turn me into one of them." I drew in a quivering breath and quit crying. Jolie was here, and a Rumbler just isn't supposed to cry unless you're as messed up as Jolie was. Compared to her I was barely changed at all.

Mel rubbed my hair, taking off some more barrettes while she was at it. "You're a nice girl, Pammy. Don't let them change you. You're awesome the way you are."

I had to grin at her attempt at a pep talk- Just like Sodapop, Melanie could make anyone grin no matter what. I guess it's because she just sees things simply and doesn't understand how anyone could complicate it. Just like the enmity between the Rumblers and the Twihards. She sees it as useless and doesn't really understand why anyone could obsess over a fictional world so much.

"You're crazy, Mel, out of your mind," I muttered, an Outsiders quote rolling off my tongue with me barely realizing it.

My parents just looked at each other and shook their heads disbelievingly.

"You two both need to focus on schoolwork more," my mom grumbled. "Books and clothes never got anyone famous or rich. I wish you guys would focus on something else for a change."

Melanie's eyes sparkled visibly as she said, "Yes they did. Ever heard of authors and fashion designers?"

Mom stared at her for a second, then cracked a tight-lipped smile. Melanie knows my mom and dad well enough that she knows exactly what will set them off and what will get them off our cases. That's partly why she never gets grounded.

Oh, and I should explain a little about the clothing comment. You see, I have my Outsiders, but my sister only cares about the stuff you wear every day. Yes, clothes. She's pretty much an expert on it, and she helps me design my Rumbler outfits even though she constantly complains about how boring it is.

By then, the gang I'd only seen on pictures had chased the Twihards to their beloved Volvo and spray-painted phrases on their cars. The examples I could read were, "Twilight's nothin' but a fad; The Outsiders is here to stay!" , "Sparkly Barbie vampires with their designer clothes and shoes have nothing on good old hair grease, jeans and leather jackets!", and "Twilight boys are made of marble. The Outsiders are made of flesh, blood, spirit and passion."

After the car had gone too far away for them to chase, they came running toward us. I marvelled at how different they looked in person. I'd spent more time with them on the fanclub than I did with any of my classmates, and they accepted me, even though I was younger, because I had proved myself dedicated about the Outsiders at the Interview. It's a long story.

I'll stop again here. This is really a lot of fun. XD Review?