A/N: So this is the last chap. We hope you've enjoyed this little piece. It's always a little sad finishing a fic, and we've had so much fun writing this one. Thank you all for supporting and reviewing along the way :)

Chapter 11 – We're All Friends here

A few days had passed and Mrs. Curtis had succumbed to Soda's puppy dog eyes and had let him off easy. He was allowed to go outside after school and play with his friends as long as Darry went with him. She had the feeling that Soda and the others would not try any funny business if Darry was there to keep an eye on them.

Steve was still a bit moody. "C'mon, man," said Dallas. "Don't be such a cry baby. So, you get caught once in a while, so what?"

"I ain't moping over getting caught. I'm moping over the fact that my old man has to make such a damn big deal over it. Not like anyone got hurt or nothin'..." Steve said and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"So what? I take a beating every time my old man gets pissed over something. No matter if it's my fault or not. Ain't that big a deal. You don't see me sulking around, do ya? You don't see Johnny doin' it either, and your dad's punches like a girl compared to his."

Steve just mumbled a few curse words and kicked a small rock so it skipped across the road and hit the tire of a truck that stood parked next to the curb.

But Sodapop got mad when Dallas talked to Steve like that. "You know being a criminal don't make you tuff, Dal," he said, sticking out his chin.

"Whatcha say?" said Dallas in a dangerous tone. The others went dead quiet.

"You heard me," said Soda, glaring back at Dallas. "You ain't that tuff. Have some respect for my friend, okay?"

The punch came so fast that Soda didn't get a chance to try to dodge it.

Darry was on Dally in an instant, shoving him hard against a wall. "Keep your hands off my brother, Dal," he hissed. "We're all friends here so no point in fighting amongst ourselves!"

Dallas scowled at Darry, clenching his fists at his sides. They had all felt Dally's anger at least once (except Johnny), and Soda the most times since he often didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. But even Dallas had respect for Darry and he wouldn't have a go at him unless he was blind with rage. "Fuck you," he settled with mumbling. "If your brother can't watch his mouth he's gonna get it. Simple as that..."

"Well, maybe you should try and watch your mouth too, Winston," Darry muttered and examined his brother's face. Luckily the punch had not done much damage.

"So where to now?" Keith grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

"How 'bout going down to the DX and see if there's still that old shopping cart by the container?" suggested Sodapop, having already forgotten about the punch. "We can ride it down Richmond Hill."

"Sounds like a plan," grinned Keith, and the others agreed as well. Even Steve seemed to lighten up by the suggestion.

Ponyboy exchanged looks with Johnny. Riding down a steep street in a shopping cart sounded dangerous, and neither were keen on doing it. Ponyboy, for one, wasn't going to protest and if Darry would let him, he would ride too. He didn't want to look like a coward in front of the big boys. Johnny looked very nervous as they walked down the street towards the DX. He wasn't going to protest either but he wasn't going to suggest going first, that was for sure.

"We can fit in two at a time. Who wants to go with me?" said Dallas, who seemed to have forgotten all about the bad atmosphere from before.

They all looked around at each other until Keith spoke. "Why don't you ride with Johnny? Then I'll ride with Sodapop and Steve, and Darry will probably wanna ride with Ponyboy, unless he ain't allowed."

"We can't fit in three," said Sodapop to Keith. "Not with how fat you are."

"I ain't fat!" Keith replied. "I'm just big boned. My mom says so, and besides I meant that I would stand on the back of it and youtwo ride in the cart."

Sodapop laughed and climbed in before anyone else had the chance. Dallas, who had decided to go first no matter Keith's plan, quickly squeezed himself in behind Sodapop and turned his head to Keith. "Well, go on and drive us, then!"

"Oh so now I ain't gonna ride with ya?" Steve complained. "I'm stuck with Johnny, then."

"Stuck with Johnny?" said Dallas, turning an angry glare at Steve. "What the hell kinda attitude is that?" He made to get up from the cart to tell Steve a thing or two.

Steve really was just mad about not getting to ride with Soda. "I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to go first, but if you wanna, that's fine…"

Johnny wasn't sure how to feel – hurt by what Steve said or glad that Dally had defended him.

Ponyboy was staring down Richmond Hill, frozen with fear. It looked like a mountain. It would be like going down the world's largest roller coaster with no brakes. Ashamed to admit it, he hoped Darry wouldn't allow him to go. It would be a little embarrassing, but not as much as admitting that he didn't dare.

"Hmm," Darry started as he looked at the hill and then at Sodapop and the others in the cart. "Maybe we should do something else then test how well this cart breaks down a steep hill." He saw how his youngest brother was shaking and Johnny's expression was not to be joked with either. "Maybe go play some football instead."

But Sodapop was not going to play football. He was going downhill. "C'mon, Keith," he said, urging him on before Darry got a chance to make up his mind. Keith jumped on and before Darry could protest, he kicked off and the cart rolled downhill, first slowly but quickly gaining speed.

"WUHU!" whooped Soda and Dally as the cart picked up momentum to a furious speed. They reached the crossroad and, with no way of breaking or turning, the cart roared across, to the sound of a horn and screeching brakes.

Johnny clapped his hands over his eyes, afraid to watch but only heard Soda's continuing whooping so he dared look again and was happy to see that the cart had made it through safely.

"Man, I was supposed to be in that cart," sulked Steve and Darry turned to Ponyboy. "I made up my mind. You ain't going into that cart."

They were nearing the bottom of the hill and going faster than ever. Sodapop suddenly realized that they had no way of stopping. The street was ending in a T-junction and across was a small park.

"The path, Keith!" yelled Dallas. "AIM FOR THE PATH!"

Keith tried to steer for the path but the cart started to sway and tilted over so the three boys rolled onto the ground. Luckily for them the cart had hit the grass so the ground was at least soft.

"Ouch!" complained Soda as he sat up, rubbing a scraped cheek and inspecting a hole in his pants by the knee.

"Thanks for the soft landing, Curtis," grinned Dallas and got up.

Keith sat up and tried to gather himself. The landing, however, had not managed to wipe the smirk off his face. "Wow that sure was fun!"

Darry and the others arrived shortly after and Darry pulled his brother to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" grinned Soda. "I wanna try again. Hey, Steve, wanna have a go?"

"Oh no you don't, little buddy," Darry said firmly. "You guys almost got hit by them cars over there. Better we take the cart to a less busy street if you wanna go again."

Steve shot out his bottom lip, looking really disappointed. Darry had always been the smart and responsible one of the seven boys so it was only natural for him to suggest they be more careful. Steve was just not in the mood to be careful. He wanted to go down the same hill.

"Aw, Darry," whined Sodapop. "This is the steepest hill in the neighborhood!" He knew, however, that if his brother had set his mind, there was nothing for it. He was their unofficial leader and they usually listened to him. Well, not so much Dally. He mostly listened to Dally.

"And that's the problem with it," Darry said firmly. "I ain't scooping you off the front of a car or the asphalt."

Johnny and Pony watched nervously, hoping the other boys would listen to Darry.

"Well, where else do you suggest then, Superman?" asked Dally, who wasn't that annoyed, since he had already had his go down the steep hill.

"I dunno. By the old factory? There's a hill there as well and we won't be bothered by cars." The boys looked a little sceptic but Darry just shrugged. "It's that or nothing."

Sodapop sighed. "Well, alright then. Let's go!"

They let Johnny and Ponyboy sit in the cart as they pushed it to the other place, taking turns pushing, running as fast as they could. Darry, of course took twice as long hauls as the rest.

They reached the old factory after what seemed like ages and Darry wiped off sweat from his forehead. They looked down the hill, which wasn't very steep but Darry thought it would do. Then Ponyboy would be able to have a go as well so Darry stepped up behind the cart with Johnny and Pony still in it and let it roll down the road, putting his foot on the wheel from time to time so it didn't go too fast.

It was a little scary at first but then Ponyboy started enjoying the ride. He got eye contact with Johnny, who sent him a rare grin.

They reached the bottom and Darry sent both of them a grin, making sure they had both enjoyed the ride.

"MY TURN!" Steve yelled from the top of the hill.

"We better get up there," Darry grinned and started to push the cart back up.

Sodapop jumped in behind Steve, and Keith was quick to take the rear. It wasn't nearly as thrilling as the first ride, but still good.

As they reached the bottom, a man came running out of a house yelling angrily at them. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF JESUS ARE YOU DOING?"

"Taking a ride," explained Sodapop.

"Uh oh," Darry said. He had thought no one would be around so he quickly yelled at Soda and the others to make a run for it.

Steve jumped out of the cart as it got to a halt, quickly followed by Soda and Keith. Soda and Darry fell back so Johnny and Ponyboy wouldn't fall behind. Luckily the man didn't follow for long, he just let out a string of curses like "NO GOOD HOODS," and "DEVILS!"

"Man that sure was an angry old fart, huh?" Steve grinned at Sodapop who was walking beside him.

"He loved it. Dudes like that got nothing better to do than hating kids and yelling at them," laughed Sodapop.

They passed a small drugstore and Dallas stopped. "Need some stuff," he explained and disappeared inside. The others waited outside for him and when he came back out, none of them said anything, not even Darry. He had gotten pretty used to the others snatching up a few things once in a while.

"So," Keith said as he accepted a smoke from Dally. "Where to now?"

"The lot?" Steve suggested, taking a cigarette as well.

Johnny's eyes widened as Dally handed him a cigarette, but when Dally tried to give Soda one as well, Darry snatched it from him. "He's too young," he mumbled and sent Dally a look of disapproval. Dally just shrugged and lit his smoke before he swung an arm around Johnny.

Darry bent his knees a little and motioned for Pony to jump onto his back. He didn't have to tell him twice. Steve and Soda punched each other in fun and laughed about the ride in the cart as they all headed for the empty lot. They were like brothers and they always would be. The best of friends that no matter what would always have each other's backs and make each other feel like they belonged somewhere.

A/N: To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.