A/N I guess I wasn't fully ready to end the story. I hope you guys like it! I have no clue why my punctuation disappeared, but here it is re done! Oh and the Outsiders are not mine!

"I'm sorry." Steve said.

"Yeah. You can't tell anyone about it. We don't want the state finding out about it." I stepped back to admire the wax job we had just done on the car. I just got done pouring out everything about how Sunny had left, and why.

Steve followed in the same suit. I had only been talking to him at work, and the only things we talked about were work, and girls. However, when I got grounded for smoking, I picked up a few extra shifts at the DX. I needed human contact and being locked in my room really sucked.

I grinned. "Looks pretty good."

"Yeah. It does." He said.

I walked over to the sink and started washing my hands. "How's Evie?" I knew it was easier to keep the conversation going, the deal with the awkward silence.

"I wouldn't know. We broke up three weeks ago." Steve said. I could tell he was really upset about it.

He was there for me the entire time when Sandy crushed me. "What happened?"

"She cheated on me. She invited me over when her parents were out of town. Stupid broad, had another guy over, she forgot we shut down at nine on Fridays not ten."

"I'm sorry that really blows."

"You're telling me." He said.

"Come pick Ponyboy up with me, we can scope out the cheerleaders." Steve an I fought twice before, once when we were twelve, and a little while ago when he called Darry all brawn. But every fight we had was put to an end with one of us inviting the other to come pick up girls.

Steve grinned. "Let's lock up early, maybe we can watch them run a few drills."

"Sounds good too me!" I said. I knew for us at least things would fall back to normal.

"Are you guys still talking about the cheerleaders? "I mean seriously half of them aren't that cute, believe me. I've seen them with out their make up."

Steve and I looked up from our spot on the couch. "Well, we know he is looking." Steve said.

"I thought you, you were kind of dating that one." I asked.

"I took her out once. I was supposed to walk her home but her Dad realized I was the greaser kid in Bob's murder." He shifted from side to side awkwardly. "I'm trying to study, so can you keep it down maybe?"

"Sure, and you had nothing to do with Bob." I answered. "Pony what uniform do you think will make the girls go crazy over, the Navy's, Marines or Army?" I held up a pamphlet from each of the forces.

"What about the air force?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at me. "I thought you were a hippie?"

Steve laughed. "He doesn't even like drinking all the much. I don't think he could smoke pot all day."

"I like some of the stuff they do. I mean I am a greaser after all. Just answer the question Pony."

"Dad was in the Navy. Mom always did say he looked cute in his uniform. Why don't you ask a girl?" Pony said disappearing down the hallway. "And shut up. I need to study."

"What the hell?" I threw my covers back and rolled out of bed. Was one night's sleep impossible to ask for? Three nights ago someone had toilet papered our yard. A mustang was half way out down the block when we got outside. The night after Sunny left. The word "Murderer" was spray painted on our door. Tonight something broke. I figured Steve might have just broken something going to the bathroom, or Two-Bit wondered in drunk.

When I opened my door I heard noises coming from my brothers' room. "What's going on here guys?" I asked, I couldn't help but be a little angry. Three o'clock in the morning if they were going to sleep, they could at least let me. That all quickly changed when I saw Pony covered in glass.

"Turn the light on!" Soda hissed.

"Ponyboy." I rushed over to his side. "Stay there! Soda, there is glass everywhere."

"My knee kills." Pony groaned.

I grabbed Soda's flip-flops so I wouldn't cut my feet on glass. They were too small but they worked at least.

I picked the rock up that had been thrown threw the window. I silently thanked God; it hit Pony's knee and not his head.

"Are you okay?" Steve who had probably been woken up from commotion was standing at the door. "Maybe you should call the pigs."

"Yeah, call them." I said. I leaned down and picked Ponyboy up. I put him down where there wasn't glass. "Can you put weight on it?"

Pony nodded, I could tell it hurt, but it clearly wasn't broken.

The police didn't do anything. They seemed more annoyed that I had called them. People were targeting Pony. I couldn't figure out why nearly a year after everything with Johnny, Dallas and Bob why now. He seemed like he was in a good place, then all the sudden parents didn't want their kids near him, people were calling him a murderer.

"Who hates you, kid?" Steve asked once the fuzz was gone.

I handed Pony an aspirin bottle. "Who doesn't" He replied.

"Maybe you should quit the team." Steve said. "I mean things are just getting heated with the socs again. They may dress like hippies but they ain't, not to mention the gangs."

"I'm not involved with a gang. I'm good at football. I can't help it that it was Bob's sport, I can't help that I play the same position as he did. People seem to forget that he nearly drowned me."

"You ain't going to quit either. Between, football, track and your grades, there is no way college will turn you down for a scholarship." I said.

"Let's ambush them. We can stay up every night until they come back and when they do, we can crush them." Soda shook his fist in the air.

I laughed. " I don't think so little buddy. We'll call the fuzz back. We can't have fights breaking out on my property."

"Fine, then Steve and I will wait up, and when they come back, we'll get their cars."

"What'd he do now?" I asked. I watched my brother and two other guys running suicides with weights, my stomach turned at that old punishment the Coach would make us do when we were in trouble.

"Shoving match, with two boys in the locker room."

I watched as number 16 stopped running and threw up on the field.

"Jackson, shower and go home." He shouted. "You know never in my life did I ever think I would find someone as half as stubborn as you were, Darrel"

"I've heard he takes after me in that department." I grinned. "I'll have a talk with him."

"Don't, let him be like you. Miller go home! Pony's on the slow side today."

"His knee might still be swollen." I explained.

Coach looked at my quizzically. "What do you mean?"

I went into full explanation about, the past few days and then how last night someone had thrown a rock through the window. "He's a tough kid."

"A little too tough. Ponyboy, come on in son." It was well known after you left the team, that coaches bark was louder than his bite. "He didn't tell me he got hurt."

Pony's pace slowed as he neared us. His jaw was locked tight. Unless you knew him, you wouldn't have known how much pain he was really in.

"Take a seat, son." Coach Carter added. I watched as he scrunched Pony's football gear up.

His knee was twice the size it was the day before, and it was black and blue. Coach Carter shook his head. "This could cost you playing in the game Saturday. Why the heck didn't you mention anything to me?"

"It didn't hurt." Pony said. It scared me how good of a liar he could be.

"That was a stupid move, Ponyboy." I said even if I was secretly impressed that he out ran the other guys even with a bad knew.

"I'm still going to play aren't I?" Pony asked as he glared up at me. The kid was smart. I guess he figured I was the one who said something.

"It's not broken. You can't practice this week. We'll have to start running Jackson. Go home, rest it, and ice it a couple times a day. We'll see how it looks Saturday"

He wasn't happy about that news. Then again neither would I have been if I were in his shoes. Pony gave me the silent treatment all the way home. I was about to say something to him, but I over heard the conversation in the kitchen, between Soda and Maria.

"Which uniform?" Soda asked. He had all these military pamphlets spread out on the table."

"You can't choose a career based on the uniform." Maria mused

I watched as a sly grin spread across his face. I knew that grin; some type of adult content would follow it. I put my hands over Pony's ears just time for him to say. "The job is the fun part, the uniform is just the benefit. I know there is a reason you don't change out of your nurses uniform when you come here after work."

Maria blushed and Pony pried my hands off his ears. "Either Marines or Army." She answered

"Maria, will you look at my knee."

"What about the Navy?" Soda asked. "My Dad was in the Navy."

"I'm not a fan on men in white pants." She said getting on her tip toes and kissing my cheek. "But black jeans, are another story." She whispered in my ear.

It was moments like that where I was happy that my ears didn't go red like Pony's. I watched as she examined Pony's knee. "Have you taken anything for it?"

"No." Pony answered. "We are out of aspirin."

She pulled a bottle of Ibuprofen out of her pure. "How much do you weight?" She slid a few pillows under his leg to elevate it.

Pony fell silent. He had grown a few inches, but his weight hadn't caught up yet. It was making people talk. He was a greaser, and the kid who was second string, was probably just as good as Pony, but Pony was faster. When Coach gave him the spot and not the soc boy, people were looking for just about any reason, to get the greaser off the football team.

"How much?" I pressed.

He looked down at his hands. "One o five."

Maria looked up at me. I could tell she wanted to say something, but she wasn't going to do it. Things were still at odds with her when it came time to Ponyboy. I knew she was thinking, that the average on his team was probably one fifty or more. She was thinking that if the wrong guy tackled him, every bone in his body would be crushed. I was thinking it too.

"You eat everything in sight. How have you not put on a few pounds?" I asked.

Pony shrugged. His ears were going red. "I guess because Sunny always cooked healthy."

I hated Sunny's cooking. It just didn't have taste to me. He put vegetables in everything. Despite what most people think, I hate vegetables. "We're going back to our southern, fried, soul food."

By the time Saturday rolled around, the temperature outside had dropped. I was crammed on the freezing cold bleachers with Steve and Soda who were hitting on every girl in sigh. I sat waiting to find out if Pony was actually going to play.

"Where is Two-Bit?" Steve asked.

Soda squirmed around to keep warm. "I don't know. He must have found a girl or two."

"Hi Darry." That was a voice I hadn't heard since the rumble.

I looked up, sure enough it was just who I thought. "Hi, Paul."

"I heard Pony's been following in your footsteps." He grinned. "It sucks about his knee, maybe that is why string beans shouldn't play football." He tugged on his college jacket that he was wearing.

I felt something inside me ignite. I gripped the bleachers, so I wouldn't strangle him. "How'd you know about his knee?"

"My cousin is his replacement." Paul turned around and sat down. I heard him mumble. "The one who should be playing anyway."

I could hardly believe we were friends at one point in time. I heard through the grapevine that I had broken his nose in the rumble. He had to even get some surgery on it. I was sorry then, I almost thought about telling him that. That wasn't the case any more. I couldn't wait until I had the chance to do it again. The announcer came on the speaker.

"Our starting line up, number thirteen Ponyboy Curtis."

Steve and Soda burst out in hysterics. "Better luck next year soc."

I leaned down. "Brings back old memories doesn't it? You always wanted to be quarter back. I guess string bean, is a lot tougher than he looks."