Sorry for the delay, but I had three tests this week; a social studies test, an English vocabulary sst, and a Spanish exam on top of a book report, an English project, and a Spanish project. yeah, I've been pretty much swamped and I'm back! sorry the chapter isn't very long, but I promise to make it longer next chapter.

Ponyboy should've known better than to wander away from the party, but he was bored and it was too loud for his liking, so he went for a walk. Strolling through the court yard in the front of the school, he thought of Soda and Aimee.

He loved the idea of his brother being happy, and Aimee was fantastic, but… deep down, he felt jealous. After all, he'd barely seen Soda since he started dating Aimee, and he missed the big brother that used to take time out of his day just to hang out with his kid brother. The change left him with a sick feeling in his belly, like when Mom and Dad died… as if he'd lost a friend.

And that's what he couldn't figure out. Soda wasn't lost; he was just busy. Why did he feel the ugly green monster strike every time he saw Soda holding hands with Aimee Brown?

"Why, if it isn't the horse kid," a taunting voice drawled from behind him, and the blonde spun to face a collection of Socs.

There were eight of them, four guys and four girls, and none of them looked alike. The group was split down the middle between girls and boys, and in the lead of the boy's group was a tall teen with brown hair, blue eyes, and a green madris shirt. Behind him were two boys, one with black hair, the other with brown, and both had brown eyes, although the one with brown hair had a darker shade of brown. And in the back, as though he were trying to hide, was a blonde kid, his body thin but not so as to appear like a stick. His skin was a pale and his eyes were sky blue. A couple of freckles dotted his cheekbones. His eyes were twitching, nervously.

In the lead of the girls, a pretty girl with long blonde curls and green eyes smirked. She wore a pink skirt and a white blouse, the top three buttons undone. Behind her were three others. One had dark skin and eyes of chocolate with her hair curled neatly. She wore a green blouse and a black skirt, wobbling on high heels. And next, there was a girl with long, straight brown hair and blue eyes; she wore a blue blouse with a white skirt. Finally, a beautiful Asian girl stood behind them wearing a white blouse and a pink skirt.

"Who are you?" Ponyboy demanded.

The lead girl giggled. "You really don't know?"

Ponyboy shook his head. He knew the girl went to his school, but he didn't even know the names of his classmates, much less an older girl.

"Oh, honey," she said, her voice dripping with false kindness. "We're your worst nightmare."

And that's when Ponyboy started to run. He was no coward, but after Bob, he knew when to run away.

Unfortunately, the lead boy anticipated this as he grabbed the back of Ponyboy's shirt. " You're not going anywhere, Greaser."

He was in really deep shit.

Soda was having a blast, dancing with his Juliet while the small container in his pocket weighed down, reminding him of how special this night really was.

"Aimee?" he whispered. "Could we talk? Privately?"

She grinned. "Sure."

The couple walked outside, hiding in the shadows of the building.

"Aimee," Soda began, "When I entered high school, my parents gave me something, and they told me to give it to my one true love. I considered giving it to Sandy, but it didn't feel right, so I decided to wait. And I'm glad I did."

Slowly, he withdrew the object from his pocket and opened the tiny box. "My dad gave one to my mom when they were in high school. It's basically just a way to say that I love you and I'll never stop loving you."

"Oh, Soda," Aimee breathed. Cautiously, she pulled the necklace from the container and allowed him to put it around her neck. "How do I look?"

The necklace wasn't much, just a simple heart with I Trust You scribbled on the back and I Love You inscribed on the front. But his dad told him that those two statements meant the world to someone.

"Beautiful… as usual."

They kissed, passionately.

"Michael, be careful you don't east to kill him!" a male voice suddenly interrupted them from around the corner.

"I'm not kill him, Luke! Calm down!" another male voice snapped.

"Get off of me," a pained voice mumbled with all the venom the person could muster.

Soda and Aimee exchanged looks. "Ponyboy," they said in unison.

And they broke into a run.

Thank you for reading! review and keep your eye out for the next chapter. I pray I won't disappoint with that chapter! Bye!