I am back from Balitmore! YAY! Anyways, to aplogize for the delay, this is a little longer than the previous chapters. I do not own The Outsiders

It was deathly quiet as we rode down the street. I glanced at Johnny, who was looking uneasy. I frowned and looked back at the road.

"Johnny..." I whispered. I felt his eyes on me, "I don't want you getting hurt. You should really go home..." I explained, "The gang wont survive without you."

"And it can't survive without you!" he yelled at me. I flinched.

"Yeah it can..." I said with a slight chuckle.

"Bull!" I stopped at a red light and stared right at him. He was pale, shaking a little. But he had his eyes steady on me.

"Johnny," I chuckled out, "I'm just a dumb ass kid... er, adult, who gets drunk. Hell, the gang would improve without me." But the look Johnny gave me made me frown.

"Two-Bit! You were there a few months ago when me, Pony, and Soda were jumped by like, nine Socs! You saved us! And a month or so ago, you were there first when Pony was having one of his worst nightmares! And you carried Steve home on your back when he was drunk and passed out at Bucks a week ago. Without you, Darry would never smile, me and Pony and Soda might be dead, and Kendra..." he took a breath, "Kendra wont have the protection of an older brother!" A car behind me honked loudly; I flipped him the bird and drove off.

"Dally would be better off..." I muttered.

"Bull shit!" he yelled louder than before, "Dally'd be in the cooler for a few years without you!"

"Naw, he's a smart one."

"You get him out of half of the trouble he's in!" I thought for a moment.

I guess it was true... I had help him, Pony, and Soda when they were jumped... and Darry barely smiles unless I've cracked a joke or fallen off of something. Then... Steve was drunk a few days ago, and I did carry him on my back... And I guess I did get Dally out of half of the trouble he gets in.

"I guess that's right..." I muttered. Johnny must of heard me, cause when I looke at him, he was smiling.

"You see?" he asked, looking right at me, "The gang could fall apart without you. Keeping Darry in a good mood keeps him off of Ponyboy's back, Steve could of gotten hurt out there drunk... and me and Pony and Soda all look up to you. You're the oldest, besides Darry, and we need you."

"The gang needs you more..." I said, "I really want you to go home..."

"I wont leave you!"

"I already got that..." I sighed, "But when I find Tim, you have to stay in the truck."

"Okay, but don't think I'll stay there when you start to go too far."

"Alright."

There was a group of Shepard's gand on the corner of Pickett and Sutton. I pulled over and waved one over. He got in the back of the truck, along with the other three. I turned and looked straight at them.

"Hey, Two-Bit," one of them said.

"Hi. Any of you four seen Shepard?"

"Tim, Curly, or Angela?" the chick asked.

"Tim."

"I think he said something about going to the river bed with a few friends..."

"Why do you want to know?" the third guy said.

"I need to 'talk' to him."

"Mind giving us a ride down there?"

"Sure, no problem." I turned back around as the slammed the doors. One of them was saying something about this looking a lot like Darry's car. I wondered why he knew this was Darry's car. Anyways, I revved the engine and sped down the road. It was a few miles to the river bed. I noticed I didn't have any beer on me. Damn. "Guys, I'm gonna stop to get a few beers, do ya mind?"

"Naw." I nodded and swerved across the other lane, gettin' a few birds and vocabs thrown at me. I stopped the truck, got out, and told them not to bug Johnny or the destroy the car. I was digging in my pockets and found my I.D. card, gave my age as 22 to buy beer. I upgraded it a few days ago for my b-day. I stumbled in and looked around for the beer coolers. I found them, got three six-packs and took them to the counter. The guy looked at me.

"I.D.?" I slid it across the counter to him. He looked at it, nodded, and gave it back, "Twenty-five even." I dug out a few bills and passed them to him. He nodded and told me to get out before he decided to throw me out. I took the beer and got out with a pack of Kools under my shirt and a spiffy new lighter in my pocket. I got in the truck, nothing was broken, and handed the beer to Johnny. I took out the pack of Kools an the lighter and lit one up.

"Want one, Johnny?" He took one and lit up.

"Should you be drinking and driving?" he asked.

"Don't worry, I won't pop one till I get there." I said, starting the truck. The guys in the back were watching me. "What, you wanna beer? A cig?" I asked. The three guys took both but the chick only took a cig. Now that everyone was pleased, I started down the road again. The river bed was in sight in a few minutes. I looked around and made sure the fuzz wasn't there. Tim and a few guys were down there. The sky was darkening fast until I heard a clap of thunder. I stopped and parked the truck. The Shepard boy got out first, leaving the chick. She leaned forward and kissed my cheek and got out. Boy, she was a looker but she'd hate me for what I'm about to do. Johnny was pale again.

"I don't want you to do this..." he whispered. I frowned and popped the cap of a beer. I sat there and chugged it quickly.

"Sorry, this is something I have to do." I said taking another beer. I chugged it more slowly this time. Then, I stuffed a few in my jacket and got out, locking Johnny in the car. There was no way to unlock it from the inside.

"TWO-BIT!!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry... I have to do this..."

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