Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.

A/N: I am really enjoying writing this story. I hope y'all are enjoying reading it. I bet you don't know where it's headed. Let's just say, there's going to be a lot of drama. Thank you to those of you who have left reviews. You make my day! Enjoy the next chapter and leave your thoughts. Have a beautiful day!

Chapter Four

We always joked that Ponyboy should have joined the track team when he went to high school-the kid was fast. I walked onto the Curtis' front porch and looked down the street to find him. He was already to the street sign, over 50 feet away. I ran down the stairs quickly. I couldn't lose him. Ponyboy didn't pay attention to anything when he was upset. It drove all of us crazy, but we couldn't say anything to him, or he'd just get more upset. When my foot touched the last step, I realized that I had stepped on the wrong side. The wooden board flew up and I rolled down the front lawn. My knee skidded across the sidewalk and my right wrist and elbow were throbbing from hitting the ground hard. I sat up carefully and looked at my knee. It was bleeding all over my new nylons. I bit my lip. I had saved my money for two months to be able to buy them and with one stupid mistake, they were ruined. The blood was running down the sides of my right leg and there was a huge hole right under my knee.

I stood up and limped back up the front stairs. I looked around quickly to make sure no one had seen me fall. I was glad I didn't scream. I laughed at myself a little. Sometimes I didn't use my head. I watched Pony turn the corner and I knew I wouldn't be able to catch up to him. I just hoped he'd make it to school without running into any nasty Socs. I reached my hand up and knocked on the doorframe. I heard the shuffle of feet and a chair was pulled away from the kitchen table. Soda opened the door.

"Glory!" He said when he saw my knee. "You ain't been gone more'n thirty seconds." I could tell he was trying to keep from laughing. That was Sodapop. He could find the humor in any situation. It drove me crazy sometimes. "What happened to you?" He asked as he let me in. "Darry! Can I get the bandages we use after a rumble, some water and a towel?"

"Why?" Darry asked as he walked into the front room; he was drying his hands on a towel. "What happened? Did the Socs get you? Is Pony okay?" I winced as Soda helped me sit down.

"Everything's fine, Darry." I said. "It wasn't the Socs. I just stepped on the wrong side of the steps. It's not a big deal. Last I saw of him, Pony was just fine." Soda shook his head.

"We gotta fix those stairs, Darry." He said.

"I've been meaning to get to them." Darry said before he went to the bathroom to grab the bandaids. There were a lot of things that Darry meant to get around fixing. The oven handle was coming unscrewed. The toaster kept getting stuck. You had to flush the toilet three times before it would finally work. And there was a hole in the roof that leaked in the hallway when it rained. I looked up at Soda and I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was.

"You've been meaning to get to a lot of things lately." He said under his breath. Then he looked up sharply. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. That sounded awful." Before he could say anything else, Darry came back with the bandages and the towel.

"Let me go get the water for you."

Soda nodded and knelt down next to the couch.

"We've all been kinda moody lately." He said, quietly. "Ponyboy keeps having nightmares about Mom and Dad and I know Darry isn't sleeping either, I can hear him pacing up and down the hallway in the middle of the night. I just can't help but feel like it's all getting worse. You're going to have to take your nylons off before you clean up." I grabbed his hand and squeezed it before I stood up. Soda always changed the subject like that after he told me what he was feeling. He was funny like that.

"Everything is going to be all right." I said. "I promise. Let me go to the bathroom and get these bloody things off. I'll be right back."

The fall was worse than I thought. It didn't take too long to clean up my leg but my right arm was still throbbing. I was afraid that I had broken it but I didn't say anything to Soda. I had to get to school or my dad would kill me. I was sure it would be fine. I probably just hit it a little too hard and it just needed a little more time to feel better. I knew Soda could tell I was lying about my arm but school was going to start in ten minutes and I couldn't be late. I thanked him for helping me and I started to walk out the front door.

"Wait." Soda said. "Let me drive you down there real quick." He reached into the kitchen and grabbed his keys. We walked out to the car together. He opened my door and I got into the front seat. After he had closed his door and started the car, he stopped and looked at me. "Sandy, I've been thinking about what you said earlier." I felt my heart start to beat faster. "And I think you're right about something. My job at the DX isn't enough. It doesn't pay enough to pay all the bills. I wouldn't be able to support a family working there and I want a family, Sandy. I want a family with you. So I'm gonna start looking for a job that will help me do that."

I felt my heart pound out of my chest. Had Soda just said what I thought he said? Did he really want a family with me?

"You want a family with me?" I asked. "You want to marry me?" Soda smiled.

"I want to marry you." He said. "We should wait until you get out of school and I get another job but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm gonna be here for you no matter what. You'll never get rid of me, I love you. Sandy, will you marry me?"

It was crazy. I knew that. Soda and I were only sixteen years old. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to say yes. I had never loved anyone as much as I loved Soda. And I wanted him to be happy but everything was happening so fast. I wasn't ready to be engaged. I was only a junior in high school. Who knew what the next year would bring us? But if I didn't say yes, I knew I would lose Soda. I didn't know what to say so I nodded. He smiled even wider and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

"It's not official or anything." He said. "I don't even got the ring yet. And we don't have to tell anybody. At least not until after you graduate." He looked down at his watch. "Shoot! We'd better step on it. School starts in less than five minutes!" And then it was over. He stepped on the gas and I looked at him. I was engaged, almost. I couldn't believe it. I thought I would feel more excited, happier but all I could feel was that something was wrong. I guess I could tell that something terrible was going to happen. I leaned my head on Soda's shoulder and prayed I was wrong. But I knew I wasn't.