First off, I want to thank all of you for your reviews. :) I'm grateful for each and every one of them. So, thanks for that, guys!

Another thing, this will probably be my last update for a couple days. I'd really like to finish writing this story before posting anymore, but I'm going to work my butt off today to finish it. So, if I update tomorrow, you'll know that the story has been finished. I hope you all understand.

When you get done reading, please review. Your feedback makes my day, and it helps me with my story. :)

It was going on eleven o'clock. Tomorrow was the first day of school. He shouldn't be up; he should be fast asleep. Johnny rolled over to face the wall. The thought of going to school terrified him. He didn't know anybody around here. The only person he knew was Daniel, but he was a senior. Johnny was going to be all alone.

Ten minutes past when Daniel came into the bedroom. In the moonlight, Johnny could tell he was hiding his face for some reason.

"Daniel?" Johnny asked. He fell onto his bed and looked at his younger brother.

"What do you need, tadpole?"

"Why are you hiding your face from me? Did something happen at the party?" As soon as they arrived in California, Freddy invited Daniel to some 'Adios, summer' party. Johnny wasn't invited, but he didn't mind. He probably would've been the only tenth grader there.

"What are you talking about? I'm not hiding my face," Daniel answered smoothly. Johnny looked at him and frowned.

"I come from a gang of hoods; I know when someone is lying. Now, what happened?" Johnny asked again. Daniel rolled his eyes and crawled under his big blanket.

"If I tell you, do you promise you won't tell Mom?"

"I promise,"

"Okay, well, at the party, I was kicking a soccer ball around with this pretty girl, and her psycho boyfriend or something came up. He was being a complete asshole to her, so I went to help her get him off her case. The kid wasn't very happy about it, so we got into a fight, and he gave me a black eye," Daniel explained. Johnny stared at him blankly, trying to process the information. "And would you stop staring at me? It's creeping me out."

"Sorry . . ." Johnny mumbled. He sat up in his bed and turned to face Daniel. "So you got your butt kicked by some chick's boyfriend? What'd he do to you?"

"I don't know . . . The usual, I guess. He kicked me; he tripped me; he pushed me," he explained casually. He made it sound like it was normal to get beat up like that. But, in Johnny's case, it was normal.

"How do you plan on hiding your black eye from Mom?" Johnny asked curiously. Daniel looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you were a greaser back in Tulsa . . . How'd you hide your black eyes from you folks?" Johnny fidgeted in his bed nervously.

"Well . . ." he said nervously. "My old man was always the one that gave them to me. Except for that one time that soc beat me up . . ." Johnny trailed off and absentmindedly traced his scar. Daniel mentally slapped himself.

He knew Johnny was abused. He remembered reading it in his first letter.

Daniel looked at Johnny funnily. His nose wrinkled in confusion.

"What in the world is a s-soc?" Daniel stammered, making sure he pronounced it like Johnny had. Johnny looked at him.

"You don't know what a soc is? They don't have 'em in Newark?" In the moonlight, he noticed Daniel shake his head. "A soc is the rich kids."

"Oh . . . Well we had plenty of those back in Newark, but we didn't call them socs. They were just normal people to us,"

"Wish it was that way in Tulsa," Johnny muttered. Daniel glanced over at the clock on his night stand. Big, red letters that read "11:30" looked him right in the eyes.

"Shit . . ." he muttered. Johnny's head snapped around.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"If we don't go to sleep soon, we're going to be late for our first day of school," Daniel explained. Both boys slid down into their bed. "Night, tadpole."

"G'night, Daniel," Johnny answered. He stared at the wall and smiled in spite of himself. Daniel was starting to accept him. He was no longer ignoring him, and he was starting to act like he enjoyed Johnny's existence. They still weren't buddy-buddy, but it was a start. A wonderful start.

XxXxXxX

Pony's first thought when he woke up that morning was about Johnny. He remember his best friend mentioning them being in Reseda for two days before it was time to start the school year. Pony couldn't help but feel a tad jealous.

While Johnny was starting school today, Ponyboy had started a week and a half ago. In the end, he knew it'd be worth it since they got out the week before Memorial Day. He wasn't complaining about that.

He crawled out of bed and quickly got dressed. School was a week and a half in, so he saw no point in wearing his best clothes anymore. Besides, he didn't have any more. All his clothes now were what he had worn during the summer when he was spending his time outside.

Ponyboy grabbed his backpack and went to join his family in the kitchen. When he stepped onto the cool tile, he realized him, Soda, and his mother were the only ones up.

"Where are Darry and Dad?" Ponyboy asked curiously, taking a seat across the table from Soda.

"Dad's at work . . ." Soda said, stuffing some egg into his mouth.

". . . and Darry is asleep still," Mrs. Curtis finished, serving her youngest some breakfast. Even though Pony enjoyed school a little, he couldn't help but feel jealous that Darry had already graduated. But, as his mother always says, "Darry did his time; you have to do yours."

Pony picked up his fork and began digging into his food. It was then in that moment that he realized just how hungry he was.

"Slow down, Pony. You eat like a horse," Soda teased, making a jab at his name. Pony glared at his older brother and swallowed his food.

"Ain't you so funny?" Soda smiled and nodded his head.

"I'm hilarious. Someday you'll hear me on the radio. I'm going to be a comedian," Ponyboy smirked.

"You'll be successful one, too. Nobody will take you seriously with a name like yours," he shot back. From the sink, Mrs. Curtis stifled a laugh. Soda stared at his younger brother with wide eyes.

"Well played, young one. Well played," he said. Pony felt accomplished. With a morning like this, he knew it was going to be a great day.

review loves. :)

next update: in a couple days or whenever I finish writing this story. :)