That night, I was on the couch, watching Mickey Mouse with the gang. Dally was still at Buck's place. Johnny and Pony were at the drive in watchin' a movie.

All of a sudden, Johnny and Ponyboy ran through the door. They slammed the door behind them. Johnny looked really upset. Ponyboy was angry.

I looked up at the 2 boys. "What's wrong, guys?"

Johnny's lower lip began to quiver. "It's Dallas... He's in the cooler, again..."

I frowned. "Jail?" I looked down. "Dallas?"

Pony nodded, angrily. "Again!!! He's in the cooler,... Again!!!"

My frown grew and Sodapop put an arm around me. "Don't worry, sis. He's fine." He helped me up. "Come on. Let's go bail him out."

"How much is the bail?" I asked.

Soda shrugged. "Couldn't be much more than $30."

I grabbed my purse and we headed out.

When we got there, they led us toward Dally's cell. It even had his name on. Just to tell you how well known he is around here.

I saw him in the cell and frowned. He looked tough. And kinda scary. He looked up at me and smile. He had been sitting in the corner of the cell, his head down. Now, he stood up and clutched the bars. "Ashley! I'm so sorry. I... I was... I was just walkin' 'round town when a Soc walks up ta me. He starts makin' fun of me. Callin' me soft." He groaned. "That jerk made a fool outa' me." He grinned and held up a fist. "I slashed his tires on his old mans stingray." He cackled. "That twerp learned his lesson."

I frowned at him. He noticed my frown and frowned along with me.

"What's wrong, Ash?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Now, how much is the bail?" I took out my purse.

"40." he said with a smirk.

I took out 3 fives. "I got 15. Johnny, ya got any?"

Johnny reached into his pocket and took out a few bills. "I got 3. If that helps."

I nodded and took the $3. "Pony, you?"

Pony nodded and handed my $5.50. I grinned at him. "Cool." I turned to Two-bit. "Two? You got?"

He groaned, taking out 5 quarters. "Fine. Here."

He handed it to me and I gave him a thumbs up.

I counted it up. "We got $24.75. Who else?"

Sodapop handed me a five. I thanked him and added it to the pile.

Steve handed me $3 and said, "Ya owe me 3!" to Dallas. Dallas grinned and said, "Sure. I'll get y'all back, soon."

I counted the money once more and announced, "$32.75. We need $7.25."

I turned to Darry and smiled. He rolled his eyes and took out his wallet. "Here." he said, handing me the rest of the money. I thanked him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

I rushed to give in the bail money. They opened the cell and Dallas ran out and hugged me. I hugged him back.

He was quivering. "Don't toughen up, Ashley." he sobbed. "It ain't worth it." His voice went high at the end of the sentence.

I refused to let go of him. "Don't worry, Dal. I won't."

I heard Darry give a huff of relief, but I didn't know why.

We, along with the rest of the gang, walked back out to the car. We all tried to squeeze in because the T-bird got towed. Johnny and Ponyboy had to share a seat and I sat on Dally's lap. Sodapop noticed and told me to sit on his lap instead. I rolled my eyes as he pulled me toward him. Dally pulled me back. I ended sitting half on Soda's lap and half on Dally's.

When we were back home, Dally and I sat down on the couch. He put an arm around me and gave me a peck on the cheek. I chuckled. Two-bit rolled his eyes at us and turned on the TV.

I looked into Dally's eyes. "Dally?" I asked.

He turned to look at me. "Yeah, princess?"

"Why did you really bust the Socs car?"

He looked down, letting out a heaving sigh. "Alright. The cat's outta the bag." He took my hand and looked deep into my eyes. "I-I was just upset... Everyone thinks I'm all soft." He was talkin' in that deep voice of his that made 'im sound all tough. "I ain't soft!..." His expression softened. "Am I?..."

I chuckled. "No, ya ain't, Dal." I grabbed him in a hug. "You're my little bad boy."

He chuckled. "Thanks, Ash."

Sodapop stood up and walked in front of us. "What now? I'm already bored."

I rolled my eyes. "What do ya wanna do?" I asked.

"We can head out to get somethin' to eat. Then, we'll have some ice cream." Darry said.

I grinned. "Cool. Sounds like fun." I stood up and headed toward the stairs. "I gotta go put on some more makeup real quick. Be at the car in a minute."

I tried to go upstairs, but I felt someone grab me from behind. It was Darry. He picked me up and carried me to the car. "Darrel!" I screamed. "Put me down, Superman!"

The rest of the guys were cheering as he dragged me off to the car.

He put me down in the passenger  seat of the car. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes as the other guys got in, howling like a bunch of dogs. "Why do you guys hate makeup?" I asked.

Two-bit put a hand on my shoulder from the back seat. "Quit whinin', doll. We just think ya look pretty without that gunk all over ya face. Ya dig?"

Steve chuckled and I shrugged off his hand , smirking. "Right back at ya, doll."

He pretended to do a hair flip as if he were an offended Soc girl.

I chuckled and ruffled my friends hair.

We drove to Dairy Queen and sat down at a booth. I sat down at the booth and crossed my arms. Dally sat down next to me, mimicking the way I was crossing my arms and I elbowed him in the rib. He chuckled and put his arm around me. I smiled and put an arm around him, too.

A lady came over to take our order. "Hi." she said. "I'm Angela. What are y'all having?"

Steve's eyes went big. "H...hi..." he said, practically drooling. "I... I'm Steve..."

She chuckled. "Nice to meet you, Steve."

He waved at her, not thinkin' of a way to open his mouth and say something. Two-bit ruffled his hair and looked up at Angela. "He'll take a shake and a burger. He also wants you to share the shake with him."

Steve started nodding like crazy and the girl chuckled once more. "I'd love to, Steve." He started blushing and she looked back at Two-bit. "Anybody else want something?"

Two-bit grinned. "I'll take a burger and 3 shakes, please." He held up 4 fingers and Angela chuckled.

"The rest of us will get a burger and a shake each." Sodapop said with a killer grin.

The girl nodded. She was about to walk away when Dallas said, "Ya know," he grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes. "We'll share a shake with 2 straws, if ya don't mind."

Angela nodded and walked off. The guys started makin' fun of Steve because of the goofy look on his face. But he didn't notice. He was too busy thinkin' 'bout Angela. He was starrin' up at the ceilin', thinking of her.

Once Angela came back with the shakes and burgers, Two-bit hurried her and Steve into a separate booth to... Talk...

The rest of us dug into our food. Dally and I looked into each other's eyes and both took a sip of our shake. Sodapop was stuffing his face with food and so was Two-bit. They were actin' like they were at a bar, taking shots of milkshakes. Darry was talking to Johnny. I didn't know what they were talking about because they were whispering, but they seemed a little nervous.

Johnny's POV

I was sipping my shake slowly, when Darry tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up at him and smiled. "Hey, Dar. What's up?"

He seemed glum. He was trying not to frown, but he was. "Johnny? I have a question."

"Yeah, Dar?" I asked, smiling up at him. "What's your question?"

Darry looked down, making me frown. "Do ya trust Dallas?"

I was caught off guard. I bit my lip. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

He frowned. "I'm nervous... About Ashley..."

I smiled. "Why are ya so nervous?"

"She's turning 17 tomorrow."

My grin widened. "She is?! Why didn't ya tell me?!"

He covered my mouth and looked back and forth, trying to make sure that Ashley didn't hear. "Sssshhhhh. She'll hear." He looked at me and grinned. "Guess what."

"What?" I asked, already excited. I was just about as exciting as Two-bit at a Mickey Mouse convention.

"Soda, Pony, and I been planning a party for her." he whispered. "Wanna help us?"

I nodded, grinning at him with all my strength.

He handed me a stack of papers. "Start givin' these out. Okay?"

I gave him a thumbs up and got up to begin my mission.

Darry's POV

Johnny got up and started handing out invitations.

I grinned. Now it was my turn. I stood up and walked over to Ashley and Dallas. I stood in front of them and Dally flinched. "Hey, Dallas. Can I talk to ya real quick?"

He looked at Ashley and she nodded. He stood up and followed me outside.

When we got there, he lit up a cigarette and put it in his mouth, trying to act cool. "What's up, Dar?"

I snatched the cigarette from his mouth and put it out.

He glared at me, but I smiled. "Dallas, tomorrow is Ashley's birthday."

His eyes went wide. "Wha...?"

I chuckled. "Yup. And I need ya to keep her out of the house, tomorrow. Take her to a movie or something till 7:30. Okay?"

He started nodding like crazy. Then, he froze. "Gotta go get something. Tell Ashley that I'll be back in half an hour." He ran down the street. I didn't know why, but I decided not to run after him. I just shrugged and went back inside.