Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders or the song "I've Been Down".

My head weighs ninety pounds and I've been down. My friends are aliens and I've been down. Well now I've got no wife. Cut a lizard's tail it grows back to life. I killed some sleepless nights. My heart's torn to pieces. Could have floated.

Community service is a fucking joke.

FUCKING joke.

Do they think this is going to help me?

Like giving back to the community is going to bring the dead back. Oops, better not say that here.

It's too early to be up and my leg is killing me. I took five baby Aspirin. Yeah, it's all Rick had in the medicine cabinet. I bet I could ask any of these guys here and they'd give me something ninety percent stronger.

"Done for the day." One of the guards comes by and pats me on the back like it's some kind of thank you. Like I really have a choice in doing this or not and like I've made a big difference in the world.

I throw my stuff in the back of the truck and walk down the street. Picking up trash off the side of the road is useless. As I'm walking, I watch ten cars pass, throwing out candy wrappers and soda cans.

Stupid idiots.

I feel the change in my pocket and count how much is there. I can't remember the last time I had a doughnut with a coke. I hadn't been up early enough for one in about a year and you can guarantee they're not on the menu at the big house.

The closest place to me is the DX and I'm too hungry to care whose inside.

The bell dings as I enter and Steve walks out from the back. He stares at me for a while before speaking. "Well, look what the cat dragged in." He smirks, coming over to me. "Come to grace us with your presence?"

I straighten up my blue jean jacket, laughing. "Ah, well, you know."

"When did you get out?"

"Three days ago."

He nods, going over to the counter to scrub it down. "Take whatever you like. It's on me, man."

I walk to the back of the store where the cooler is and take out a coke. I go over to the pastries and take two doughnuts with a lot of glaze on them and start to dig in. I'll get more in a minute since I'm not buying.

"What happened to your leg anyway?"

"Mathews."

He laughs, shaking his head. "Of course. He missed you."

I take another big bite and lick my fingers. I go over and lean across the counter. "How's the wifey?"

He grinds his teeth together, puffing up. "Fuck. You know what the girl wants now? I've given her every dime I've ever made, a house, a ring, but that's not enough anymore apparently."

"What?" I ask, now curious.

I always had a bet going with myself on how long they'd last. They'd been together since middle school but then he screwed it up and married her. Marriage ruins everything. I was just waiting for the day when he proved me right.

"A kid," he says the words slowly, dragging them out. "A fucking kid."

I start to bust out laughing, choking on my doughnut. He's right, I wouldn't have guessed that...well, I could of. Evie was always wanting something, why not a kid? They were married. That's something else that will fuck everything up - babies.

"I told you to get out while you could." I shake my head, still not believing it. "You screwed up, Stevie boy."

"I ain't gonna do it." His eyes get really wide and he puffs his chest out a little. "We're too young to be havin' kids. I can't be a dad. I told her that and she's the one that gets mad at me. She won't touch me now!"

"You don't wanna touch her," I tell him. "Woman are sneaky bitches."

"I believe ya. My back is killin' me. She thinks she can just put me on the couch whenever she wants."

She can. I know she can. Steve can try all he wants to seem like the one who wears the pants in the relationship, but he's not fooling anyone. Mrs. Randle holds his balls in her purse.

"Hey."

Steve and I both look in the doorway. Sodapop stands there, hands in pocket. Steve gives him a small grin when he notices me standing here. I start to gather up my free doughnuts and get another one before I head out.

"How you been?" He stops me, blocking my way. "I-I didn't know you got out."

"Doin' good, man." He looks like shit. No, he looks like he's been hit by a fucking bus. I wonder how he's even standing. He has dark circles under his eyes like a crack addict who hasn't had a fix in a while.

He comes over to us and props his elbow up and rests his head on it. His eyes are only half open. Maybe he's on something. Nah, not Sodapop.

"I told you that I had this covered," Steve tells him. "Go home. Get some sleep."

Soda shakes his head, his eyes fully closed now. "'S need the money."

"I'll give you your cut."

Soda shakes his head, his eyes still fully closed. I can tell by his smell that he came from the hospital. By the looks of it, he stayed there all night. I can imagine what sleeping there all night must have been like. Soda probably didn't leave Superman's side since he found out.

"You look good," he says to me. "'Cept for the leg."

Steve shakes his head at him and goes into the back, leaving us alone for a minute.

I stand, finishing off my food and balancing on my good leg. I start to think about how to get some stronger pills. There's a CVS down the block that should be easy to sneak and grab a few pills. It wouldn't be the first time I committed such a crime. All I need is a distraction or two and it'll be easy.

"I know."

I thought he was sleep by now. His eyes are still closed. "What?"

He opens them up slowly and looks behind his shoulder to make sure Steve is still in the back and not in hearing distance. He faces me again. "About that Soc kid."

I make a fist, crushing the remains of my doughnut. My blood pressure is rising. It doesn't take a fucking rocket scientist to figure out what's going on here. I could kill someone. I just might...again.

"I'm not going to tell."

"Good."

He leans up, trying to wake himself up. He drags himself over to me and gets face-to-face with me so I can feel his warm breath. He stares me down, well, as much as he can with his eyes half-open.

"I ain't gonna ask why. I don't care. I only care about one thing - don't go near my sister...again. We...we got enough goin' on. If I see you near her, or hear about it, I'll kick your ass, Dallas. I swear it."

I don't know if it's from his lack of sleep, or the fact that I've been gone so long that he thinks he can take me like he says he can. He's never talked to me like this before and I'm thrown back a bit. I've heard this same thing come out of countless dickhead's mouths, even Tim's, but something's different hearing Sodapop say it to me.

I can't help but laugh. I reach into my pocket and light up a fag. "Yeah. Ain't gonna be a problem."

He nods, sneering a little himself. He watches my cigarette smoke fill the gas station and I know his mouth is watering. He hasn't had one, in what? Six months now is it?

"We good?"

"Yeah, we good, man. I heard about Darrell."

He leans against the counter and looks forward instead of at me. "Yeah. It ain't real good. I just got back from the hospital this morning. He lost his job last night."

"Damn."

"Yeah. I'm pullin' extra here and Pone's applying today at Dairy Queen."

That reminds me - it's almost lunch. I might go get a good word in for baby Curtis.

"We celebratin'?" Steve rounds the corner, munching on a Snicker bar. He takes his spot on the stool behind the register and pops open the cash just to make sure. "I gotta get out of my house and so does this one." He motions to Soda.

"Friday," I tell him. "I wanna see that Ape movie."

Steve snickers. "We gotta bring Two."

Soda shrugs, holding himself up. "I'll get the booze then. I'm off to Jennie's. You got this covered?"

Steve waves as Soda makes his way out the door. He blows out air once he's out of sight. "He's gonna kill himself. Kid may be able to defeat death twice but third time's a charm and he's knockin' on his door."

Somehow, my money isn't on him. I had a different person in mind to kick it first.

She circles me, not breaking from my eyes. She smells expensive and good. Her black dress shows off her slender curves and her thick thighs and smooth legs. Her hair his long and dark and smells like peaches. It always does. She washes it every day just so it can smell like this. A smell that will bring you closer to her. I grin as I smell her.

They say most woman are only beautiful when they smile. It's not the case for her. She's beautiful when she scowls. It's mean and nasty and wicked yet inviting for a fucking. She knows it too. It makes every guy in town go hard.

If she wasn't so cold, I'd have her in bed in about five minutes. I'd seen her around before Tim and her got together. You can't miss a girl like Tiffany. She's like fire and meaner than the devil himself. She has sharp, big, brown eyes. She's every man's fantasy and nightmare.

I bet she makes Tim's life a living hell every day. No, scratch that. Tim's leaving a nightmare full of sex and fantasies.

"Nice to see you again." Her heels click against the hard slick wood floor. She stops moving and stands in front of me, smacking her dark red lips together. "Long time, no see. I must say, it's been real quiet since you've been gone."

She sticks her hand out for me to take. Her nails are long and red. I smirk and ignore it. "Where's Tim?"

Her hand falls to her side. "He should be coming any second."

I wish I could see her from behind. She'd bite my head off if she caught me looking and she's not about to break eye-contact to let me do it. I still can't believe she's Tim's but the ring comes down to her cleavage, proving that she belongs to him and she has no intentions of breaking that until she gets everything she's after.

No one's really taken a good look at the two of them when they walk down the street. No one's seen them from behind and put together one thing - she's Angie baby plus five years. That's the scary part of looking at Tiffany. Same eyes, same hair, same frown, same sex driven fire attitude. If I didn't know any better-

"Take your eyes off her Winston." Tim rounds the corner, handing his lady her drink and locking arms with her. "Stop drooling you fucking idiot."

She grins at him before parting and leaving us alone. As she heads up the stairs, I look around Shepard to get one last good look at that big beautiful ass of hers before he steps in my way.

"Ah, Shepard, you remember when you were in school? That time Father Evans walked in on you and Christi Holden in the bathroom and you swore you weren't doin' nothin'. Meanwhile she's got a wad of cum hangin' off her face?"

He's eyes burn holes in me though he's not hiding the little corners of his mouth that are going up. "And?"

"You dated classy woman, man."

Tim looks over his shoulder at his woman still making her way up the stairs. He smirks. "Yeah, and?"

"What happened?"

His brows form together. He pushes the door open for me. "Shuddup. I don't wanna have to hand you your ass on your first day back."

"I'm serious!" I say, stepping into the house. "Remember Mini and Daisy? The twins we banged together at that big town house across town? I'd never seen those skinny legs of yours run so fast when they're daddy came chasin' after us."

He laughs a little, remembering it as well. He licks his lips thinking of the memory and taste of Daisy. "Your fat ass almost got us caught. That's all I remember from that night. Might wanna lay off the Little Debbie's." He hits my stomach.

"Man, when you got a girl name Mini Mouse fuckin' ya, you don't run out just because Daddy comes home."

"Do you even know her real name?"

"Does it even matter?"

I sit on his couch and lit up a fag. I can't remember the last time I was in this shit hole. He's lived here all his life. He only moved back a few weeks before Christmas when his mom and husband number four got arrested for left and domestic abuse. They got ten years. No one cared really. Tim got the house, Curls got the basement.

He hands me a beer and sits beside me. "How does it feel to be a free man again?"

It's the first beer I've had in three months. I enjoy every sip I take. "Didn't expect to see that broad at the door. Figured she'd leave your sorry ass the first chance she got. Didn't figure she held your balls so tight."

"Yeah, I recall a little girl doin' the same thing to you," he says. "Oh what was her name? It's slipped my brain."

"Shuddup." I take another sip and then another. "Broad never had my testicals in the palm of her hand like that broad does you. Never thought I'd see the day Timmy."

He kicks his shoes off and leans back. Darry got him a job a few months ago working on roofs with him. It's the only job Tim's ever held down. I got a good idea who's making sure he goes to work every day. Her time will come and she'll learn all about the man sitting on her couch and just what he's capable of. It happens all the time. I'll bring it out of him.

"Never guess who I saw together at a party last week."

"Who?"

He moves his head so he looks at me. He laughs. "Two of yours."

"Sylvia." That's a given. I don't even have to think about that. "How is my lil' princess of Tulsa anyway? Still got Cs or did she upgrade to Ds?"

He grins wide as he takes a sip of beer. "Should ask Curtis."

"Don't tell me the she-devil is after him."

"She." He winks. "The two MVPs of Dallas Winston's fuck list have made nice."

I chug on my drink. I think of the last time I saw Sylvia. She had white powder all over her face and it wasn't from doughnuts. That's before the hospital and the mental institution. She was spitting out crazy stuff. No one knew what to do with her. That was the night Buck threw her out on the road and left her there until morning.

"Spent the whole night in the bathroom smoking dope together," he goes on. "Bryan told me he saw them together last night too. Need to get better control of your ladies."

My drink's gone. I get up and get another one and then go back into the living room. He's seemed to drop the conversation as he's gotten caught up into the game on TV. "Where is she?"

"E apartment. Room 104. Careful, she's got claws now."

It may be time for the princess to see her prince again. Lord knows she's missed me dearly.

I am the funny guy. Yeah I've been down. I am the big rock star. Yeah I've been down. I'll never be the same 'cause I've been inside out. And i wanna be an animal and take care of my own. My head weighs ninety pounds and I've been down. My friends are aliens and I've been down. I know what it's like 'cause I've been down. Devil sneaks in and deals and I've been down.

A/N: Short and slow chapter again. I know. I apologize. I'm aiming for a quick update though.