Note: I don't own The Outsiders or That Was Then, This Is Now

Chapter 39

"Trash takes the side entrance. You boys know that." The body blocking the ramp was joined by three more.

The arrogant, privileged voice was at odds with the jeans and tennis shoes they were all wearing. Of course their jeans and sneakers were in pristine condition, not a speck of dirt or a smudge of oil anywhere to be seen. Pony told him the Socs were starting to dress more like greasers every day. He wouldn't have believed him if he didn't have the evidence standing in front of him, blocking the only entrance the school had with wheelchair access.

His hands gripped the wheels of his chair, the rims digging into his palms. He tried to keep his face blank, not let his panic show. And boy did he feel panicked, it washed over him, stealing his breath. He hadn't felt like that in a long time. It was like the Martins had created some sort of bubble around him, a bubble where he could forget about things like Socs and getting jumped and worrying about what lurked behind every corner.

It would be so easy to just turn around, to escape. No one would say anything, no one would call him a coward. At least not to his face.

He wished he could say something. Make a witty reply to show those guys that what they said didn't matter to him, that he never gave them a second thought. But his voice was paralyzed, caught in his throat. If he tried to talk, he'd probably stutter and stumble over his words, making a fool out of himself.

"Well, don't let us keep you, then. The door's right over there. If ya hurry, you might make it before the garbage truck shows up." Two-Bit, Johnny thought as he tried to not let his relief show. Leave it to Two-Bit to know just what to say.

Ponyboy was also there, standing next to him, but so far he'd kept his mouth shut. Johnny wasn't sure, but it seemed like Pony had stopped breathing altogether and his back was ramrod straight. He was just as scared as he was. They'd expected a run-in, they just figured it wouldn't happen before they even made it through the front door.

"You think you're funny?" the one Soc asked Two-Bit as another made a show of cracking his knuckles.

"Nah, I know I'm funny. You guys, however, aren't - just in case we weren't clear on that," Two-Bit said as he took a step forward, coming out from behind Johnny's chair. Johnny watched as Two-Bit slowly dragged his hand around to his back, hovering above his pocket. The threat was wordless, but there was no doubting what the gesture meant. Not again, was all Johnny could think as he watched Two-Bit's hand inch closer to the switchblade he kept in his pocket.

It was a new one, meant to replace the one Dally lost to the cops the night of the shooting. Two-Bit had shown it to him and Pony just the other day, bragging about snatching it from right under old man Fry's nose while his back was turned at the corner store. Johnny pretended to be in awe, told him it was cool, but the sight of that blade caused his heart to pound in his chest. He just wanted all the fighting to be over, for them to live like normal kids with normal problems.

"Is something going on here?"

Being rescued by Principal Clark was not exactly something Johnny would label as cool. Far from it, actually. But it got him into the building without a war breaking out, so he supposed he should be grateful for that. After the Socs walked off, snickering to one another, Clark turned to them and had the nerve to tell them that any other incidents and he would seriously consider pulling Johnny out of school. It was like the other guys didn't even exist.

Two-Bit said he figured the whole thing would blow over in a week - there'd eventually be something more interesting for everyone to focus on. Johnny hoped so, but he just didn't see how his nerves could take actually waiting out a whole week.

The rest of the day was just as painful, in that awkward, ungainly way he had gotten used to months ago. People stared, people gawked, people whispered and pointed. He had to admit that part of it had to be paranoia - not everyone was paying attention to him. It just felt like that.

They put him in a couple of classes with Ponyboy - smart classes. He figured it was because of his grades from last year and he found himself wishing he hadn't tried so hard.

He was out of his element with the Socs and middle class kids. Pony fit much better than he did, that much was obvious. He'd been in classes with these guys for years now, so they more or less accepted him, ignoring the grease and his worn clothing. But Johnny didn't know how to act around them, how to sit next to a pretty girl in class, one with bouncy blonde hair and a soft pink sweater. Shoot, he barely knew what to say to a greaser girl, much less one who had hearts drawn all over her notebook.

He had his nails chewed ragged by second period.

Johnny heard the laughter and the applause before he made it through the door - apparently something really funny was happening on the other side. He couldn't imagine what; History was just about the dullest class he could think of. Every year they seemed to start at the same place in time and every year they barely made it past the Civil War. It's like the last one hundred years never happened.

He shouldn't have been surprised to see Two-Bit near the back, grinning from ear to ear, receiving multiple pats on the back and handshakes of congratulations. The weird thing was he noticed Two-Bit before he noticed the truly strange thing in the room. Mr. Lockwood's desk was - well, it was where it was supposed to be, but it was turned upside down. The real clincher was the fact that whoever had done it - not that there was much doubt who that person could be - had managed to balance Lockwood's nameplate carefully on one of the thin metal legs of the upturned desk.

Johnny couldn't recall seeing a teacher's face turn quite so red before.

"Mathews," the guy ground out between clenched teeth and Two-Bit sprang from his seat and saluted. Johnny fought the urge to groan and hang his head.

"Detention, Mathews."

"Yes, sir," Two-Bit said with a grin as he made his way toward the door. When he reached Johnny's chair he leaned down and whispered, "Completely worth it, huh kid?"

Johnny's answer was a feeble smile.

"Principal's office, now Mathews," Lockwood barked out.

Two-Bit stood, gave the class one last salute, flashed a peace sign and made his way out the door. All Johnny could think as heard Two-Bit's heavy footsteps echo down the hall was that there went his ride home for the day.

The library was quiet and practically empty. And after the day he'd been having, those were two things Johnny would count in its favor.

This was his last period of the day and one the school had set aside for him to meet with his new tutor. Normally, he'd be leaning against the outside wall in gym class, trying to sneak a smoke with Ponyboy as some Socs picked team members for dodge ball or some other form of organized torture. Poor Ponyboy was going to have to suffer through gym class without him this year.

The librarian barely glanced up from the newspaper she was reading as he made his way past her desk toward the back of the room, near the windows. He piled up his books and notebook on an empty table and then waited, his gaze following the couple of girls who walked by, wondering who he was going to be stuck studying with for the next year.

Part of him wanted to tell Sarah to just forget it. He could just go back to those dumb classes, he was fine with that. He didn't need special attention, couldn't even figure out why anyone would think he deserved it. He could handle D's and F's, they weren't a big deal. Then he thought about that last report card and how he'd felt smart for the first time in his life as he looked down at those grades. For the first time he could understand why school meant so much to Ponyboy and why he worked so hard at it.

He must have been daydreaming for a minute or two because he didn't even notice the girl step up to his table and set her books down. It was when she cleared her throat and pulled out at chair to sit down that he finally realized someone was standing there.

"Hey," was all he managed to say, the word raspy and thin sounding to his ears.

"You're Johnny, right?" the girl asked brightly as she took the seat next to his.

He reached out and started to straighten the edges of his books absentmindedly, his gaze fixed on the table. He knew what he was doing, but he couldn't force himself to look up and he felt that cursed hotness start to flood his cheeks.

It was weird, but he could feel her smiling. "You're name is Johnny? I'm at the right table?" she persisted

"Yeah," he finally answered.

She cleared her throat and he could tell he was making her uncomfortable, making an awkward situation even more awkward by letting his shyness win out. He took a deep, steadying breath and forced himself to look up at her.

She was pretty, with long dark hair and kind eyes that looked to be a shade of gray. He couldn't recall ever seeing gray eyes before. Hers were big and open, like she hadn't been beat down by life over and over again. She looked sort of familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. He couldn't remember ever seeing her in school before, but then again, he never really looked too closely at faces before, either.

She smiled, a nice smile that really lit up her face. "My name is Cathy, Cathy Carlson. Your mom said you needed a tutor for the school year. I talked to her at the hospital; I work at the snack bar there, but could always use some extra money."

"She's not my mom," he said suddenly, without thinking.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought …" her voice trailed off.

"She's my foster mom," he said, not sure why he felt the need to explain.

"Oh, have you been with her long?"

He looked at her carefully. "Weren't you around last year?"

She shook her head slowly. "No, I was away at school. Why - did something happen I should know about?"

"You could say that," he said under his breath as he reached for the first book on the stack, something to take his mind off the way she was looking at him.

Cathy was still at his side when he made his way out of the building. The final bell had rung and now he was left with two options - wait for Two-Bit to get out of detention or find another ride home. He was resigned to the fact that he was going to have to sit around for an hour until Two-Bit made his late appearance. And he'd have to do it alone since Pony had track practice and tryouts after school today.

He stopped his chair a little off to the side, not too far from Two-Bit's beat-up Plymouth. Cathy stopped, too. He wasn't sure why. It made it look like they were leaving together, when the truth was they just happened to be going in the same direction. At least that was what he had thought.

A group of girls happened by, a couple of them looking back at him and Cathy, their heads leaning together as they said something and laughed. He forced himself to sit a little straighter in his chair as he tried to ignore them.

"So," Cathy said suddenly, pulling his attention away from the people milling about.

"Huh?" he said, trying not to wince at how stupid he sounded.

"So - tomorrow, right? And then we'll work out when I can stop by your house on the weekends." She was smiling again and he just kept his face blank.

"Sure. Tomorrow."

She readjusted the stack of books in her arm and shifted the strap of her purse. "And tomorrow, Johnny, you are gonna say more than five sentences to me, even if I have to drag them out of you."

She laughed as she walked away, heading for the school buses. A smaller kid came up to her and she threw her arm around his shoulders. He had on a green army jacket and his hair was the same dark shade as hers, almost black. He realized why she looked familiar, it was the kid. He was always hanging out at the bowling alley, hogging the pinball machine whenever Johnny had a couple of quarters to waste on it. He was a weird kid and coming from him, that was really saying something.

The cars cleared out and he found himself wishing he still smoked. A cigarette would at least pass the time.

A black GTO pulled up a few spaces away from him, screeching to a clumsy halt. Johnny leaned forward, trying to get a good look at the driver as the door opened and Dally stepped out.

Dally stood for a minute, a faint breeze whipping through his ungreased hair. He was squinting at the sunlight and seemed to be looking for someone, scanning the parking lot. He saw Johnny and grinned.

"Hey, kid. Long time no see," he said as he ambled over to where Johnny was sitting.

"Hey, Dal," Johnny said, relieved to see Dally in one piece. He hadn't seen him since that day after he'd been staying with the Curtises, when he'd been nursing a concussion and spilt open head. He should have known Dallas would be fine, it took a lot to knock him down.

"So school, huh?" Dally asked, pulling out a cigarette from a pack and lighting it.

"Yeah, school. What brings you here?" Johnny asked. Dallas Winston hadn't stepped foot in a school in ages and it was the popular consensus that the Tulsa school system was grateful to him for making that decision.

Dally shrugged and blew out a cloud of smoke. "Nothing really. Shepard just has me meeting his stupid brother here for something. Not sure what and I'm a little pissed that he isn't here to meet me. Supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."

"But, Dal --" Johnny started.

"Yeah, I know - I just got here. So where is the little prick?"

"Could be he's in detention with Two-Bit," Johnny offered and tried not to laugh as Dally obviously didn't take that news too well.

"On the fucking first day? Yeah, it'd be just like him," he said with a cynical laugh. "So is that why you're sittin' out here, waiting for Mathews and his stupid ass?"

Johnny grinned and nodded.

Dally looked around again, still scanning the few students left now that most everyone had cleared out. He ran his hand through his hair and tossed his cigarette onto the ground, grinding it out with the toe of his boot.

"Fuck this. Kid, you want a ride?"

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A/N - I'm sorry it took so long to update - the holidays were tough this year at work. Anyway, as you can see, I brought in some characters from That Was Then, This Is Now. I thought it would be fun to make Cathy Johnny's tutor since she is an English teacher in Tex. So Mark and Bryon might make appearances in future chapters, too. And don't worry, there will definitely be more Dally and Johnny in the next chapter, I promise.

Oh - and if you like Four Brothers, I started a story for that category a couple of months ago.