A/N – In hopes that a longer chapter might win me some reviews…

Disclaimer – I don't own the outsiders and am making no money off of this. If you sue I no longer have the baseball uniforms so you're down to getting trapeze grips…

1958 - 8th grade.

But I see your true colors

Shining through

I see your true colors

And that's why I love you

So don't be afraid to let them show

Your true colors

True colors are beautiful,

Like a rainbow

"Come on Soda, just go with me!" I whined, whining had never gotten me anywhere with these boys, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Please?"

"No, Alice I don't want to go to the stupid dance."

"Why Soda? We're in the 8th grade, we're supposed to go to stupid dances and have fun!"

"I just don't want to go, besides isn't a guy supposed to be asking you? Give it a few more days, I'm sure Bob or Randy or someone will ask you."

"But Soda, I don't want to go with them, sides, this is a Sadie Hawkins dance, the girls are supposed to ask the guys, that's the whole point!"

Soda sighed, "Why in the world would you want to go with me anyways, I can't dance, I'm not friends with the same people you are, and your parents will hate this idea."

"Because this is supposed to be fun Soda, and I want to go and have fun with my best friend, that means you! And who cares what my parents want, they like you, and its not like we're getting married!"

Soda took my hand and looked me right in the eye "Alice, you are my best friend and I love you like a sister, but there is no way in hell that I am taking you to this crummy dance."

"Fine, I get it, your waiting for Sandy to ask you aren't you? She's nothing but a cheap slut, and I hope you two have a great time!" With that I grabbed my book bag and stormed out of Soda's bedroom where we had been doing our homework.

"Alice! Alice! Come on don't be like that." Soda said grabbing my arm in the living and spinning me around to face him, both of us completely oblivious to his brothers and mother sitting in the kitchen listening to every word.

"Don't be like what?"

"Like such a girl!"

"I am a girl you jackass" I yelled as I wrenched my wrist out of his grasp and stalked out of the house. Soda again gave chase.

"Alice, your supposed to stay for dinner, Ma already set a place for you."

"Tell her I'm sorry, but I'm being to much of a girl right now to hang out with her three BOYS!" This time when I turned and huffed away Soda didn't come after me and I was surprised to find that I was a little disappointed...

xxx

I got home that night in a foul mood, but then again I guess I fit right in at my house. My mother had taken to drinking about the time that my father had started going on lots of extended business trips, despite being only 12 I wasn't dumb I knew what he was doing. Add to this the fact that when my father was home he and Matthew ran hot and cold with each other.

Like Soda's brother Darry, Matthew was now 16 and on the football team at the high school where Soda and I would be joining them next year. They had put their differences aside enough to let them play football together, though Matthew still didn't like me hanging around with Soda so much.

Matthew and my father fought a lot, about Matthew's use of the car, the girls he went out with, his grades, anything and everything. Yet, when my father was in a good mood, and my mother wasn't to drunk Matthew was the golden child, the perfect football player. My younger brother and sister were still cute, and worshipped my father, but me? I was the embarrassment, hanging out with people that were below us, so there forth he ignored me it was like I didn't exist.

When I stomped into the house that night and ran upstairs to my room, I was hoping not to be noticed, to not have to walk on eggshells. As my luck would have it though I was only alone in my room for a few minutes before Amanda stuck her head in my room to call me down to dinner.

I wouldn't dare say no, not when my father was home so I got myself up, checked my hair in the mirror and headed downstairs not knowing what I was going to walk into tonight. For once luck was on my side though, when I got to the table everyone was smiling and talking about the big football game that would happen the next night, my brother would be starting so mother and father were in a good mood.

"Alice, what are you doing home? I thought you were staying at the Curtis's for dinner tonight?" My mother asked as we took our seats.

"I decided to come home and have dinner with my family" I shrugged "seemed like a nice thing to do."

"Ya right." my brother smirked, "you and Pop must have had a fight! Good riddance to him!"

"SODA and I didn't have a fight, just a small disagreement, it'll be fine by tomorrow."

"What did you fight about hunny?" My mother asked quietly as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"I asked him to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me and he won't" I still don't know why I told the truth...

"You asked him to go to the dance with you!" Matthew yelled. "Are you insane? That's like committing social suicide to be seen at a dance with someone like him, good thing he had the good sense to say no. I don't think Darry or the other Greasers would appreciate it very much ether."

I didn't know what to say to that, maybe Matthew had a point. Maybe the time had come that the divide that ran so strong through our town would divide us as well. I knew I didn't care about it hurting my reputation, but I had never given a thought to it hurting Sodas. My only comeback was the classic I don't know what to say response

"Whatever".

Dinner couldn't be over fast enough and I quickly escaped into my bedroom where I tried to figure out where I stood on this whole Soc/Greaser issue. I honestly didn't care about where someone lived, how much money they had, or the way they did their hair for God's sake...but I did care about Soda and about Two-Bit, Steve, Darry, and Pony by extension. Was I causing trouble by being in their lives?

Just as I was trying to decide what to say to Soda the next day at school I heard a light tapping on my window. I sighed, knowing it was Soda, but not knowing what to say. I went to the window and slide it open sitting on the window seat while Soda settled himself on the roof (I wasn't allowed to have boys in my room, and we had long ago decided this was a loophole, lord help us if we ever got caught though).

"Hey" He said a shy smile playing on his lips.

"Hey" I answered, trying hard to give nothing of my thoughts away.

"Look Alice" Soda began with a sigh.

"No, it's ok Soda, you don't have to say anything. I was talking to Matthew about our fight." Soda made a face "and I realize that our being friends can't be easy on you and everyone else. I understand why you need to push me away, and while I'll miss you...I get it." The words came tumbling out quickly as tears welled in my eyes, I couldn't look at him as I said it, staring at my hands.

The next thing I knew Soda had covered my hands with his, I had never noticed how big they had gotten, or the small cuts on his knuckles from working on cars with Steve, the grease caked under his nails.

"Alice, will you just listen to me for a moment?" He looked a little exasperated so I bit my lip and nodded. "You are my best friend, and I never want that to change, ever. You dig?" I nodded. "The reason I didn't want to go to the dance with you was because I was afraid of what your friends would say to you, that it would damage your reputation. But I talked to my brother tonight too, and he made the point that if you were ashamed of me, you wouldn't have asked me to go in the first place."

"Soda, why on earth would I ever be ashamed of you?"

"Because...because I'm a greaser, and I'm poor, because I'm not that smart, and I can't afford to dress as nice as the other guys at the dance...I don't ever want you to be sorry to be seen with me." All this came out in a rush while looking at his hands. It really broke my heart that he felt that way, I had acted like a brat when he wouldn't take me to the dance, and really he had been worried about me, worried that I would be ashamed of him while I had whined like the spoiled child that I was.

I reached out and put my hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at me. "Soda, I hope you know that I don't care about any of that. I hope you know that your my best friend because of who you are, not what you have, and I hope that you know how wonderful and intelligent, and amazing you really are, because I don't think there are enough words in the world for me to explain it to you."

Soda finally smiled at me for the first time that night. Not the shy nervous smile he had given me when I had opened my window, but a big goofy Sodapop Curtis smile, the smile that had drawn me in when we were 10.

"So I was thinking...as long as your ok with the fact that I'm going to be under dressed, and that I'm not going to be able to get you flowers or anything...I'll take you to the dance...you know...if you still want to go with me that is."

I couldn't help the huge smile on me face "I'd really like that Soda, and why would you get me flowers anyways? You're my best friend, not my boyfriend! We're gonna have so much fun!"

After an awkward hug through the window Soda made his way down the tree outside my window and headed home.

A/N – The song is True Colors by Cyndi Lauper. The next chapter takes us to that oh so wonderful experience, the middle school dance. If I can get 5 reviews for this chapter I will post it tonight or tomorrow since it's a long weekend…push the button…you know you want to…