Disclaimer; I don't own The Outsiders

I was awakened, what felt like seconds later to someone shaking my shoulder. I groaned and opened my eyes, to see a worried looking Johnny. I immediately sat up.

"What's going on?" I asked, a little groggy.

"Nicky's gone!" Johnny said frantically.

"What do you mean he's gone?" I yelled.

"The window's open in y'alls room!"

Shit.

I jumped up from the couch, my sleepiness now forgotten, and dashed into our room, only to reveal the open window.

Shit, shit, shit, shit.

I ran back into the living room and quickly got my jacket from the coat rack. Darry is gonna have my ass if I don't find him. My mind was spinning with what ifs. What if I didn't find him? What if he got kidnapped? Shit, what if he's lying in a ditch somewhere!?

I shook my head. Snap out of it Ponyboy! You need to go find him.

"Come on Johnny, he couldn't have gone that far." He nodded and just as we were about to head out, the phone rang. Ugh, what now? Of all times it decides to ring… I dashed to the phone.

"Hello?" I said quickly.

"Is this Mr. Ponyboy Curtis?" I heard laughter at the other end of the line. I sighed exasperated.

"Two-Bit, I'm in a hurry. I have to go." Just as I was about to put the phone down, I heard him say,

"You sure? Because I have a little package here that may save your rear from gettin' kicked." I furrowed my eyebrows. "What're you talking about?"

"I have a youngster held hostage, by the name of Nicholas Curtis. Claims he knows ya."

Holy shit, I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I looked at Johnny who was standing by the doorway and mouthed 'Two-Bit has him.' He also let out a sigh of relief.

"Pone, you still there?" I almost forgot I was talking to him. I quickly snapped out of it.

"Yeah. I'll be over there in a little bit."

"Nah, no worries. We'll be there in five." He then hung up. I put the phone back and looked over at Johnny. Now that my worry was gone, it was replaced by anger.

So much anger.

"I swear, once he gets here, he's gonna be in so much trouble." I fumed. So many emotions were going through my head. I want to hug him for not being dead, but then I want to kill him for almost giving me a heart attack.

"Take it easy on him Pone. He's only a kid." Johnny said sympathetically.

"Take it easy on him because he ran away? Yeah, no thanks." I snapped. Johnny visibly flinched at the tone of my voice, and I instantly regretted those words. I ran my hand over my face and sighed deeply.

"Sorry Johnnycakes. I don't mean to snap at you, but the kid…ugh, he makes me so angry." He nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, but take it easy on him, Pone. He don't know any better." I swear, that's my brother's excuse in life. 'He's just a kid' or 'he's only six' or my favorite 'he don't know any better.' Man, thinking about that was making my blood boil. I was ready to slug the kid.

"I can't let him off the hook either. He could have gotten himself killed!" I half-shouted. Damn, the kid ain't even here, and he was getting on my nerves. I sat down on the couch, trying not to explode at poor Johnny because of my brother. Thankfully Johnny sensed my anger and didn't say anything else.

I was lost in thought when I heard Two-Bit's old car pull up to our driveway. I looked at Johnny who told me to stay calm. No promises Johnnycakes.

Seconds later, Two-Bit emerged into the living room with my brother. Just as I was about to go off on him, I noticed his face and I stopped short. I narrowed my eyes.

"What happened to you?" There was a bloody napkin taped on his nose.

"Baby Curtis here had a little accident." Two-Bit replied, throwing his keys on the coffee table. In response, Nicky huffed and crossed his arms on his chest. "I'm not a baby, I'm almost seven!" he exclaimed. I took a deep breath.

Don't let him get to you, don't let him get to you.

I looked at him, and pointed my finger towards the bathroom.

"Shut up, and go wait for me in the bathroom." I ordered. He obliged, thankfully, and I turned to Two-Bit.

"What happened?" Honestly, part of me didn't want to know, but the responsible part of me had to know.

"Well, the kid came over, right? I was asleep, and ma was at work. I heard the doorbell ring and I jumped up, since doorbells scare the daylights out of you when you're asleep." I rolled my eyes at his rambling.

"So, I answer, and see small fry on my porch. But what surprised me was that he had a bloody nose. So I asked how he got it, and he said that he was climbing out the window, and he fell face first on the ground."

Typical.

"So then it hit me that he just walked the street on his lonesome, so I asked why he wasn't with you, and he replied he hates you."

I figured.

"I let him in and try to clean up his nose. He didn't let me touch it, so I bandaged it up instead."

"With a napkin and tape?" I asked amused. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised, he's done weirder things before.

"Why not?" he grinned. I shook my head at him. Even though he was crazy sometimes, he was a good friend.

"Thanks for bringing him Two-Bit," I told him seriously. "I appreciate it." He just waved me off.

"It's nothin' Pone, I'm just lookin' out for y'all." I nodded, grateful to have a buddy like Two-Bit.

I went back into the bathroom, where my brother was sitting on the edge of the tub, gingerly touching his face. I pushed past him and got an old rag we use for rumbles from the cabinet. I wet it, and then I went to go clean my brother's face.

"Stop, it hurts." he whined softly.

"Suck it up." Man there was so much blood coming from that tiny nose. He looked at me with puppy eyes. Oh no, that ain't working on me kid, you got the wrong brother. That's Soda's weakness, not mine.

"You ain't even close to being off the hook, so cut the crap with the eyes." I said a little harshly. He looked down at his shoes.

I kept wiping at the blood, and eventually all of it came off, and the bloody nose stopped, which was a relief. It was then I noticed a couple scratches next to his nose. They weren't deep, but needed to be disinfected. I got the alcohol from under the sink and once it came in Nicky's view, his eyes widened. "No, no! You ain't putting that on me!" he screamed. I raised my eyebrow.

"What's the big deal?"

"It hurts!" Yeah, I didn't notice. I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"Quit whinin' and hold still." I was ready to pour a little alcohol on his nose, when he dodged it. I narrowed my eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I don't want that!"

"Well you need it, so sit still!" I tried again, but this time he smacked my hand. I was getting pissed off.

"Stop being a baby!" I grabbed him with my free arm and held him down as I tried to get some on the cuts. But it was no use, he kept wriggling away and most of the alcohol I poured was on my shirt.

Time for plan B.

"Two-Bit! Johnny!" I yelled through the bathroom. The guys immediately rushed in.

"Watcha need Pone?" Two-Bit asked.

"Hold him down."

"NOOOOO!" Nicky got out of my grasp and tried to make an escape from the bathroom, but Two-Bit had quick reflexes and quickly caught him. He was kicking everywhere.

"Let me down!"

"Shit, squirt, quit hittin' me!" Two-Bit said as he wrestled him to the ground. Johnny got his hands pinned above his head, and Two-Bit was sprawled on Nicky's legs, holding them tightly.

"Stop! Let me go!" he practically shrieked. Frustrated tears were pooling his eyes because he knew he was defeated.

I quickly crouched next to him and poured some of the alcohol on his cuts. He then began wailing. If someone came in here, they'd think we're torturing the kid.

I finished putting alcohol on his face and as I wiped off the rest of it from his face, he bit down on my palm, hard.

"Fuck!" I immediately pulled my hand away, looking at my hand. It was pink and starting to bleed. I glared at him.

"What the hell was that!?"

He was fuming inside. "I hate you." he said venomously.

"Like hell I care." I retorted. I got up to wash off my cut, and that was cue for Johnny and Two-Bit to let go of the kid. Once he was free, he practically ran to our room, and slammed the door, all while screaming "I HATE YOU."

Something inside of me snapped when he bit me. It's like all the anger I had, vanished, and got replaced with a not giving a damn attitude. I was tired of putting up with his shit, getting blamed for everything he does, I was done with it. This was the last straw. So when he slammed the door shut, that didn't bother me in the slightest, but I did have to refrain myself from going into our room and slapping him. I dried my hands and put the alcohol away. I went back to Johnny and Two-Bit who were standing awkwardly by the bathroom. They were looking at me expectantly.

"What?"

"Ain't you gonna go after him?" Two-Bit asked. I snorted.

"Nope." I shrugged. This was my breaking point, and now I could care less what he does.

Two-Bit whistled as he looked at the door that was slammed shut earlier. "Even me and my sister don't fight as much as y'all do." Once again I shrugged, not caring at all.

I sat on the couch and immediately Johnny and Two-Bit did too. I looked at the clock and realized it was almost two-o'clock. Darry would be home at four, and Soda at five. I picked up my algebra book and started doing my homework, since I have school tomorrow. I made a mental note to tell Darry that I didn't want to baby-sit anymore. Yeah, we might have to pay a babysitter, but I'm not putting up with him any longer..

He's nothing to me anymore, but a brat that unfortunately lives with us. And I'll be damned if I talk to him ever again.

A/N: Yeah, this chapter is long over-due! And I know, I know, when Pony said "He's nothing to me anymore" it sounds pretty harsh, but don't worry, soon you'll find out why he bothers him so much, this was pretty much a filler chapter. Next chapter is gonna be good, so stay tuned! PS: Your reviews were so sweet last chapter, so thanks so much! Btw; yeah I know, lots of cuss words! I wrote 'shit' a total of eight times! My bad! I'm not that proud of this chapter, but next chapter will be better and more detailed, promise.