Sorry this one took so long...the last chapter was obviously not the end but just to clarify I'm not done typing. Not by a long shot. If you like Percy Jackson and the Olympians fanfics, i started one and it should be up in the near future. Enjoy the chapter!

Dear Diary,

All hail the New Year! What an amazing night! Oh, you probably have no idea what happened do you? Here's what happened:

1) Went to a party at Shepard's

2) Made a few new friends

3) Admitted I like Ponyboy…to his face!

Maybe I have some luck in my life…

I closed my diary and smiled softly to myself. Pony likes me! I was in heaven. I looked at the clock on my bedside table. 2:55 AM. I opened my diary and added another sentence:

Welcome to 1963, it's going to be a blast!

"Carmen!"

"I'm sleeping…" I muttered to my pillow. Whack! My pillow had been pulled out from under my head and slammed against my face.

"Carmen!" Kathy whined.

"You're almost as annoying as your boyfriend."

"Come on, Carmen! Sandy already has the day all planned out! First…"

I'll admit it: I fell back to sleep. When I woke up two hours had gone by and it was three o'clock in the afternoon. I felt something warm on my hip, weighing me down. I whined in protest and the weight was gone.

"Good morning." I practically melted at the sound of his voice.

"Good afternoon." I corrected. I rolled over and our noses touched.

He chuckled, a deep melodious noise. His hand came up and played with the tips of my hair.

"Ponyboy…?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing in my bed, just outta curiosity?" I asked quietly. This time he burst out laughing. He tried to regain control but failed miserably.

"Seriously?"

I scowled. "Yes, seriously?" I glared playfully at him. His returning grin made my heart squeeze painfully.

"Kathy sent me to wake you up about twenty minutes ago." I cussed her out in my head.

"So…"-yawn-"what kept you…in my bed?"

He tilted his head forward to meet my eyes directly, so that all I saw was green-gray. "Do you really have to ask, Carmen?" His lips meandered to my neck where he gently sucked at my skin.

Our faces moved in slow motion (or at least, that's what it felt like) towards each other. His breathe caught and my heart pounded. My eyes slid shut and Ponyboy's hand slid to brush along my jaw line. He sighed my name before his lips met mine.

I forgot my name, I forgot where I was. All that mattered was Ponyboy. I felt his tongue along my bottom lip and went to open my mouth when the door slammed open. We jumped back, startled. I heard an odd thump and a moan.

"Wow, nice of you to wake up." Kathy and Sandy were standing by the door. Sandy walked to the side of my bed and helped Pony off the ground. I giggled.

"You two better not be doin something you ain't supposed to…" Kathy trailed off and waggled her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and stood up. Sandy shoved a handful of cloth into my arms and guided me to the bathroom. I robotically took a shower and slipped into the jeans and shirt Sandy had picked out. The shirt was pink (not my color) and said in big black letters: 'Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again?'

I padded barefoot into the kitchen and was surprised to see only Kathy and Sandy eating waffles. "Where are the guys?" I asked suspiciously.

Kathy grinned and replied, "Girls' day! No boys allowed!"

Sandy did a fist pump and the two high-fived. "Then, sleep-over at my place!"

I nodded. I hadn't had a sleep-over since I was ten. This should be fun. "What's first?" I asked. "After breakfast," I added while stealing one of Sandy's waffles.

"Shopping!"

Shopping in downtown Tulsa was a…experience. I guess that's the word I was looking for. Sandy and Kathy giggled half the time, for what is beyond me. We all linked arms like we had been best friends forever and strutted down the aisles of stores. Well, they strutted; I tripped over my own feet and ran into a bench. Kathy used the 'five-finger discount' on a number of items. Her boyfriends would be so proud. Sandy on the other hand, didn't buy anything except a bag of M&Ms from the candy store. With a months worth of allowance at hand…I did something awfully stupid. I let Kathy and Sandy give me a new wardrobe. Actually it wasn't that stupid. It was sorta fun. I got a pair of red knee-high converse and a few pairs of jeans. They picked out some shirts that were a bit lower cut than I would like, but if I put a tank top under it…that would work! They forced me into a Victoria's Secret. That was a fun trip…note my sarcasm. My ears will never go back to their normal color again. I managed to decline some of the racier items. But they talked me into a few nightgown-things. They didn't cover enough skin for me. I will probably never where the damn things but if it made Kathy and Sandy happy…I guess it was worth a little discomfort.

Once the mall closed, we all pilled back into Sandy's beat-up, green, Volkswagen and headed to her house. Her house was small and homey looking. She said her parents were out of town on business so we had the house to ourselves for the night. Sandy led us through a living room and into a back room. It was painted black and had swirls of neon pink splattered on the walls. Her bed, dresser, and matching desk had been pushed out of the way and in the middle was a big empty space.

"A dance floor?" Kathy guessed, earning an excited nod from Sandy. Two sleeping bags had been hastily thrown onto Sandy's bed and a radio was plugged in nearby. We put out bags into her closet and Kathy cranked up the music. It was a lively tune that I hadn't heard before, not that I listened to music all the time.

Sandy surprised me when she flopped onto her bed and asked simply, "Kathy, do you love Two-Bit?" Kathy quit twirling and blushed.

"Yeah, I think I do." Sandy sighed like she was afraid that was the answer.

"What's up Sandy?" I questioned. She shook her head, but I could see the tears in her eyes.

"Come on! You can't just bring up that kinda topic and then just drop it!" Kathy cried dramatically and unplugged the stereo. All three of us sat cross-legged on the make-shift dance floor.

"Sodapop asked me to marry him," Sandy said so fast it sounded like one word, but I understood. Kathy gaped, obviously understanding as well.

"Who did what now?" I muttered.

"He said we would wait till I finished school and maybe Pony too, so he could keep supporting him and Darry…" she trailed off sounding like she was in pain.

"And you don't want to marry him?" I guessed, angered by the thought. Who doesn't want to marry Soda? Sandy was lucky enough to catch his eye and win his love!

"Sandy?" Kathy put a hand on her best friend's shoulder and smiled briefly. "You love him, but you don't want to fully commit, right?" Sandy nodded and sobbed. I sighed and rubbed my temple. Just what I needed, an emotional, love-sick teenager.

"Carmen?" I raised my head to see both girls starring at me.

"What?"

"What's that on your neck?" My hand reflexively went to my neck.

"There's something there?" I jumped up and raced to the bathroom. Sure enough, a red circular mark had bloomed just above the hollow of my throat. I gingerly pressed my index finger against it and was reminded of how it got there. Ponyboy. This morning…

"It's a hickie, right?" Kathy asked while smirking. My eyes met hers in the mirror and she grinned. "Come on! We need to have a girl talk."

In this 'girl talk' I was told some things I wish I hadn't heard. Some things that made me regret not wearing a high-collared shirt today.

"So to review, make sure you-"

"Yes, yes I get it!" I wailed in agony, cutting of Sandy. She smiled ruefully and gave me a one-armed hug.

"We've all been there girly. Just be smarter than we were." Kathy said softly.

It was odd how I met these girls yesterday and now we were so close. They weren't telling me this stuff to embarrass me (that was just a bonus), they actually cared about me. I was moved almost to tears. The rest of the night was a blur of childhood stories and boy-talk. I never wanted the night to end. But when the sun came up, Sandy dropped me off at my house

Review! please...