A.N. Extra, super, long chapter coming up. I don't own The Outsiders, everything belongs to S.E. Hinton.

Ok, I'm getting frustrated. Barely anyone is reviewing and it's kinda pissing me off. I know a lot of people are reading, so please review. Yeah, I'm talking to you person from China!

I really want that Crutchie fanfiction that I have been asking for, for like ever. If you know anyone who would be willing to write it for me, please tell them. It is your destiny to help me, young padiwan because I am your father. If you got the reference, you are the awesomest !

Scout POV

Thesecond the sunlight streamed through the window I was awake. I rubbed my eyes tiredly and sat up. I shook Johnny awake.

"Come on, we got to get supplies before word get around." He sat up and yawned.

"Yeah, sure, sure." Johnny bent over Ponyboy and was about to wake him up before I shook my head.

"Best to just let him sleep." Johnny nodded and traced something in the dirt. I leaned over his shoulder.

Be Back Soon

J.C. and S.C.

I nodded and we climbed out the window, starting slowly down the hill. When we finally reached civilization, or what masqueraded as civilization, we walked into the closet corner store. Walking around we picked up two loafs of bread, some baloney, a jar of peanut butter, and a couple of apples. We circled around again and this time picked up a deck of cards, a copy of Gone With the Wind, a bar of soap, a towel, a hairbrush, some toothpaste and 3 toothbrushes, and 2 boxes of cigarettes. Johnny was about to pick up a few more, but a glare from me had him putting them back so fast it was like they were on fire. Johnny grabbed a bottle of peroxide.

"You and Pony gotta bleach your hair." My mouth dropped open.

"But-"

"It's our looks or us." I relented.

While Johnny was distracted I discreetly pick up a box of my… products. I'm a girl, get over it. When we dumped everything on the counter, the check-out person smiled at us warmly before ringing everything up. $17. 83, not too bad. I pulled some bills out of my pocket and handed then to the gentleman, who gave me back the change.

"Would you like a crate or something to carry that stuff in, kids?"

"Yes, please". I think Darry would have been proud of my manners. He smiled again, not in a Two-bit creepy way, but like a genuine, nice person. I guess word didn't get around fast in the country or he would have thrown us JDs out in a second. We thanked him and started the trudge back up the hill.

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Getting Pony to agree to cut and bleach his hair was like pulling teeth. He complained the whole time I cut his hair about how much it hurt and how it was going to look ugly, I wanted to jab him in the neck. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of his complaining, the peroxide was finally dry. He looked in a broken mirror Johnnycake had pulled out of a closet. Let's just say, Pony is definitely NOT a blonde. He looked really pasty and the short hair just made him look too much like a soc, never again. Despite the situation, I giggled at the look on his face.

"Your turn, kid", he mocked glared at me. Luckily, I didn't need my haircut; the socs had taken care of that, wow, only a few days ago. I felt so much longer than that, like a lifetime ago. Only 24 hours ago we met Dally at the corner of Picket and Sutton, and now we are runaway criminals. It's been too fast.

When the peroxide was dry in my hair I looked in the mirror. Revolting wasn't a strong enough word for how I looked. I wanted to cry, but I just turned away. Now was not the time to cry, get a hold of yourself, Scout. It was Johnny's turn. I got to say, I didn't do such a bad job on his hair. Of course, I didn't look like my Johnnycake, but it was what we were stuck with. He took the bar of soap and washed his hair under the tap in the back. He sat there shaking and shivering until his hair was finally dry. It felt weird. None of us felt like ourselves.

"It's like being in a Halloween costume you can't get out of", Pony summed it up to a 'T'. Back inside, we curled up together on a pew all sniffling. I felt homesick. I wanted Darry and Soda and Two-bit and Steve and Dally, hell even Tim or Curly Shepherd would be fine.

"Just last night", Pony cried, "just last night we were walking Cherry and Marcia home from the movies. Just last night we were sleeping in the lot. Just last night-"

"Would ya shut up about last night", Johnny wailed. "I killed a kid, he couldn't have been more than 17 or 18 years old and I killed him! How would you like to live with that, huh? I didn't mean to. They were drowning you and I didn't know what to do. There sure is a lot of blood in people."

"Shh, everything will be ok." I really didn't know that. I was just as scared as these two, maybe even worse. I wanted to throw up. I started shaking and tears pricked in my eyes. I tried to sniff them away, but they came anyways. I held Pony as he cried into my shoulder.

"No it's not! I shouldn't have brought two 13 year-old kids. You two should go home; you guys didn't kill him!"

"No, we're 14, we've been 14 for a month!" Pony sprang up bawling.

"We're in this just as much as you are." I bit my lip to stop my crying.

"I'm sorry", Johnny grabbed the both of us and pulled us into a hug. We sat down on the hard, concrete floor, holding each other, bawling our eyes out. Eventually we fell asleep.

I was the first to wake up the next morning. I wiggled out from beneath Johnny's left arm and stood up, brushing my hair. I used the tap to brush my teeth and wash my face; man was the water cold! When I got back inside the boys were both still asleep. I smiled at the sight and threw Dally's jacket over the two of them. Gotta watch out for them, like Dally said. I gotta make him proud.

I quickly slapped together three baloney sandwiches and placed them on the table. I ate one as I played a game of solitaire. A few minutes into my game the boys blearily sat up and rubbed their eyes.

"We ain't gonna cry no more, are we?"

"No, Pony, I think we're getting used to the idea. We'll be fine." I hope so, Johnnycake. I really hope so.

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The next few days were the longest in my life. With Johnny and Pony's cigarette habit, we ran out of cancer sticks real quick. I could tell Pony was itching to get his hands on one. To pass the interminable time, we played poker and read Gone With the Wind. While Pony was reading, I would draw pictures in the dirt for Johnny to see. He was very intrigued by the southern gentlemen riding into seer death because they were gallant. Every time they would appear Johnny's whole face would brighten up and he would listen more intently to the story, watch my fingers move in the dirt as I created a man on horseback, straight and tall despite any fear he might have about his impending death. They reminded me of Dally… Pony of course disagreed, but Johnny shared a smile that I knew meant he thought the same way.

We heard a whistle going from low to high twice coming in front of the church. I had to be from the gang, but who… Dally. Dally loped inside the church and unceremoniously threw himself on a pew near the window.

"Guys, I've got great news."

A.N. So that's it for now. Don't kill me for a cliff hanger, please *hides behind Johnny*. You wouldn't hurt my Johnnycake, would you? Lol, anyway, R&R for the next chapter. Try and guess what Dally's news is. Whoever is right gets like 12,000,000,000 cookies!