Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.

AN: Big thanks to aero for editing this for me. Much love chicka.

XXX

December 31, 1965

I worked at the grocery store that was right in between the Curtis turf and Shepard turf. H & M Lucky Dollar, it was more of a corner store than anything. The initials stood for Henry and Maude Oswald; they were the cute, older couple that privately owned the place way before there were turfs and the wrong side of the tracks. They were nice people, nice enough to send me home with a couple brown paper bags full of food when they thought I wasn't eating enough.

I'd been working in the store since I was fourteen, and normally a kid at that age would never get a job anywhere but my Ma was the one who set me up. Apparently, my dad and Mr. and Mrs. Oswald's son fought in Japan together back in the day. According to their son my dad was some kind of hero. I always had a tough time believing someone that abandoned their family could be a hero. I never said it out loud because I knew it wasn't true and I knew it was disrespectful but I thought I had the right to be bitter.

Glenn worked there too, Mr. and Mrs. Oswald's grandson. Everyone called him Ozzy and I was pretty sure he went to school with Darrel Curtis. He was the type that stayed out of trouble and he wasn't into the whole gang thing. His dad worked in the military, he was never home; it seemed like every time you turned around another war was beginning. I wasn't sure what he did but Ozzy said when he came back from the Second World War he wasn't the same, said that he thought that dropping bombs and gun shells were more of a comfort then his own home and off he went to Korea. If there was one person who hated war more then me, it'd have to be Ozzy.

The Oswald's were like my second family and I adored them. That was why when guys like Curly Shepard came in and decided that they deserved the five-finger discount, I had a problem.

"Shepard!" I hollered at him before he could make his way outside.

"Mathews, fancy meeting you here," he said, giving me some kind of sly smirk that he probably thought was attractive. It wasn't.

"Gimme your coat," I said, holding out my hand. He was grinning at me and eyeing me up and I was everything but flattered.

"You want my pants too, Mathews?" He snickered as he stepped closer to me. I think that he thought he was scaring me or something. Someone like Curly wasn't scary unless they decided to actually raise their fist at you. He wasn't like his brother or Dallas, where people just knew not to fuck with them. So instead of backing away I rolled my eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"The coat, Curly," I said again. "Or I can get Ozzy over here."

He slowly shrugged off his jacket and handed it to me. I smirked a little at his defeat. Ozzy was a pretty big guy and I'd really hate to be the person stealing from his grandparents.

"Ya know, Janey, being a Mathews, I thought you'd be boss with a little discount here and there."

This is where the stereotype came in. Seeing that my brother was a certain way, apparently I had to be like that too in some way, shape or form. Shit like that really pissed me off. I glared up at him as I started emptying out his coat pockets. Most of it was stuff he probably would never use. A couple of candy bars and a car magazine were the only two things I could see him getting use out of.

"Do I look like my brother?" I bit as dug around in his pockets.

"Nah, you're better lookin'." He winked.

"Shuddup, Curly." Smirking, I shook my head a little as I pulled out make up from his inside pocket. I tilted my head to the side and gave him a questioning look, raising my eyebrow. I chuckled, shoving his jacket back at him.

"What?" he said as he shrugged his jacket on. "Angel's birthday is in a week."

"Uh-huh," I teased. Well, at least he was thinking of someone besides himself. Her birthday was coming up right quick though; I remembered her going on about sneaking into Buck's to celebrate. I didn't see how it would work, seeing as if one of her brother's weren't there the other was bound to be. And I doubted they'd be too keen on her being there; Keith hardly let me go and I was two years older then Angela.

"Ya gonna let me take you out tonight?" he asked, moving closer to me. I shook my head as I stumbled backwards. He definitely caught me off guard. He was unpredictable, and I'd be lying if I said that that alone didn't interest me. But it was Curly Shepard, I'd went to school with him since forever, and quite frankly, he had the reputation of doing anything for a piece of ass.

"Is it 'cuz I'mma Shepard?" he asked in a low voice as he ran his hand down my arm, grabbing my wrist.

I guess I couldn't use his last name as an excuse for anything because that would make me the biggest hypocrite in the world. I had never been in a situation like this; nobody has ever been this forward towards me before, it made me uncomfortable. Maybe he knew that and maybe that was why he was doing it.

Before I knew it I was backed up against the front counter with nowhere to go. I could feel my face start to burn up and I knew if I tried to come up with some smart ass comment it would come out all jumbled and wrong.

"Do I look like my brother?" he whispered into my ear, throwing my words back at me. My heart was pounding in my chest and I didn't know whether Curly Shepard repulsed me or gave me butterflies. His hands made their way to my hips, pulling me closer to him.

The fact of the matter was Curly looked exactly like Tim, but I was sure that's not what he meant. I guess he was sort of made of him, like me. He'd always live in his big brother's shadow and no matter how hard he tried to break free from that, it'd never happen because he'd always be Baby Shepard. I knew exactly how he felt. I felt him smirk against my cheek before kissing it. I must have been holding my breath because all of a sudden I couldn't seem to get enough of it.

"Is there a problem here, Janey?" I heard Ozzy ask as he walked up from aisle two. I pushed Curly away from me as soon as I felt him loosen his grip. He was giving me this wolfish, mischievous grin; I quickly looked away and turned to Oz before shaking my head.

"No problem," I said, "he was just leaving."

"Mhm," Ozzy grumbled as he picked up the box full of stock that needed to be put away. He gave Curly the once over before turning around.

"Happy New Years, Mathews," Curly grinned as he strutted out of the store.

XXX

I was done work at ten and my brother was supposed to pick me up, but seeing as it was New Years Eve, I wasn't surprised when I saw Darry sitting in his pick up truck in the parking lot. I sighed; I hadn't had more then a two-word conversation with any of the Curtis brothers since their parents' funeral. I hadn't really seen any of them since then, but what did you say to your friends who lost both their parents? I didn't think a sorry and a hug would make anyone in that situation feel better.

"Hey, kiddo," Darry said as I opened the passenger side door. I hated when people called me kid, it bothered me something awful. It was just a pet peeve, made me feel like all people saw me as was a kid. Honestly, I'd rather be called Janey the rest of my life then be stuck with everyone calling me kid.

"Hey Dar," I said, hopping into the truck.

"Your brother is already soused," he half smirked, shaking his head a little. The best thing for Darry right now was my brother. Sure he was good at making people smile and laugh but underneath his jokes he was a real good friend. He always listened and he gave the best advice he could offer. He was the one who was closest to Darry's age, and to most people's surprise, Keith could act his age when he wanted to, but not Darry. Darry knew that and I truly believed my brother had a big part on helping him through everything.

I knew because for a couple weeks after the Curtis parents passed away, Keith would spend a couple hours a night hanging out with Darry. He'd come home, almost in tears, and if you listened real good, you could hear him crying sometimes.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," I grinned.

"You coming over, Janey?" he asked as he turned out onto the street. "Some one will need to drive your brothers car home."

I gave him a small smile before shaking my head. It didn't feel right; to me it felt like the Curtises and Steve, Johnny, and Dal were more of my brother's friends then mine. It didn't bother me none, I had my own friends. I just felt like the kid sister I didn't want to be and I hated it.

"Oh, do you have other plans?"

"No." I shook my head again. Thinking about it, it was actually kind of sad. I mean I had friends, but I wasn't really popular like my brother, where everyone knew who I was. And I was really picky on who I hung out with because I tried to stay as far away from that girl drama as possible.

"Ya know, Jane, we still consider you a friend," he said. I glanced at him; it was like he had that thing parents had where they could read your mind or something. I gave him a shrug and stared out the window.

"Besides, Evie's there." I scrunched my nose a little. I liked Evie, I did. But a person could only take so much of the girl; I didn't know how Steve did it. She was nice and everything, but boy was she stupid. I swear sometimes I thought she was putting on some kind of show.

"Oh, I see, ya want me to distract her," I grinned, giggling a little. A whole night with Evie could definitely be a headache.

"Would I do that?" he asked. I grinned and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," I joked, making him chuckle. One person I loved to kid around with was Darry 'cuz he just didn't do it much, even before he had to grow up too fast.

XXX

"Janey!" my brother hollered, stumbling over the couch. "Janey, happy 1966!"

Keith pretty much tackled me into a big bear hug. I hugged him back and giggled a little.

"It's still 1965, dumb-dumb."

"Oh… well, just in case I dun see you at twelve," he slurred, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Ya mean just in case you're wrapped around the toilet bowl."

"Exactly!" he hiccupped.

"Two-Bit! Johnny went all in," Soda called from the living room coffee table.

My brother stumbled over the couch and sat down in between Steve and Soda and obnoxiously called Johnny's all in. I was assuming he'd be losing all his money tonight, but I didn't think he minded losing to Johnny much. I made my way over to the couch and sat down beside Evie. She was pretty much bouncing with joy at the sight of another girl.

"I don't know how you do it, Jane," Evie said. "Boys are, like, so boring when they're together."

I looked at Evie and didn't know what to say, so I just nodded. I didn't hang out with them everyday like my brother did or anything, but I guess I could see why people would think that way.

"Ya know, I always wondered why everyone celebrates New Years at twelve instead of one."

I blinked and turned to Evie, biting my tongue. I was about to explain to her that twelve was the beginning of the day when I heard the screen door slam and turned around to see Dallas all beat up. He sniffled from the cold outside and made his way into the kitchen without saying a word to anyone.

I looked over at the boys playing poker and giggled a little. They were so loud, even Darry was playing; the only person missing was Dallas. I huffed a little and leaned back into the couch to try sneak a peek into the kitchen. I worried about the guy because he was my friend, and I hated seeing my friends all bruised up.

"Janey," Soda whined and crawled in front of me, resting his head on my knees. He was giving me these puppy dog eyes, and I didn't care who you were—when Sodapop Curtis gave you a look like that you did what he was asked. He was such a pretty person, it was had not to stare at him, even if I had known him my whole life. I looked down at him and smirked a little.

"Can you get us beer?" He batted his eyelashes. Soda didn't drink much at all, but New Years was everyone's exception, and I think the only reason Darry was letting him get away with it was because this December during the holidays, their parents weren't around.

"Who could say no to a face like yours, huh? How many?" I sighed. Usually I'd put up more of an argument, like asking him if I looked like a maid. But I wanted an excuse to go see what Dallas was up to and a reason to avoid Evie; it was like my IQ dropped every time she spoke.

"Hm." Soda smirked as he held up five fingers.

I got up from the couch and made my way to the kitchen and saw Dallas leaning against the kitchen counter, biting at the skin of his nails. He was in one of those moods, the one where you just stayed away from him 'cuz he'd bash your head in if you said the wrong thing.

"Try not to smile, ya might crack your face," I grinned as I dug into the icebox, taking out five beers and putting them on the counter. He just stared at me, and I sighed a little. I got away with shit when it came to Dallas; I think it bothered him. I giggled at the look on his face before he shook his head.

I opened the cupboard underneath the sink and dug out the first aid kit. Maybe it was the sister in me, but when someone was all busted up, I had the urge to fix it and I always did. Dallas once made me give him stitches, it was the scariest thing I had ever had to do to someone.

"Why do ya gotta fuss over everything?" Dallas grumbled as I dug out a cotton ball and alcohol and glanced up at him. As much as he complained I knew he appreciated it because it wasn't like anyone else cared enough to dig him out a first aid kit.

"Why are you pretending you don't like it?"

He snorted as I stood in front of him. I shook my head before dabbing the cut above his eyebrow. Luckily he only had one cut, it looked pretty nasty though. I winced a little when he let out a hiss.

"Fucking Soc's, man," he said as he grabbed the cotton ball from me. Okay, pretty much everyone on the East side hated Soc's, with good reason. They seemed to think it was okay to come over here and kick the shit out of people. I had this irrational hate for them; I hated all of them I didn't care if I didn't know them. To me, they were all the same. Maybe it made me as bad them, but again, I didn't give a fuck. At least I knew it was irrational.

Glancing into the living room, I heard a muffled Happy New Year that didn't really sound like anything at all.

"To a better year," I grinned at Dallas, handing him a beer as I grabbed the others off the counter.

"Yeah, right," he said before taking a sip of his beer, walking with me to the living room.

"Happy 1966!" my brother yelled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and the other around Dallas'.

"Another year full of booze and broads," Dallas said. I giggled as the guys cheered, putting the beer down on the coffee table. I had a feeling that this was the year that everything was going to change.

XXX

If you can read you can review, right?

AN: and don't worry she's not best friends with the gang, that's the complete opposite of what's going to happen :D