Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Outsiders.

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This story takes place three years after the book, but nothing happened. Pony, Johnny, and Dally didn't go to the movies and meet Cherry and everything. Darry and Pony didn't get into a fight. Johnny never killed Bob. The church didn't burn down so Johnny didn't get burned and die. As a result, Dally didn't die. NOTHING! But it's still three years later which means that Ponyboy is 17 and a soon-to-be senior in high school. The gang is still together even though they're older and stuff. So recap; Ponyboy-17, Sodapop-20, Darrel-23, Two-Bit-21, Steve-20, Johnny-19, Dally-20. They're still just a couple of pranksters that love to goof-off though.

Jillian 'Jill' Wood is also 17. And a soon-to-be senior. Her parents abandoned her about two months ago and it's mid-August right now. She has been living in a tree at the vacant lot (yes, I know a tree), getting money from a job at the local drug store (she just lied to them about her address and stuff), and wearing the clothes she took when she left the house. If you know Hyde from 'That 70's Show' then Jill is a lot like him, only a girl and not a stoner, and it's 1969. Which also means that she is like Dally and Tim Shepperd a little, but more fun-loving like Sodapop and a joker like Two-Bit. A tomboy basically.

Jill is thin with a fairly large chest, has dark brown, almost black, hair that goes a little past her shoulders, and she has gray eyes. She is also tall, but not any taller than Ponyboy. She is a greaser but since she is a girl, she puts no grease in her hair, it's also a little curly close to the bottom and she usually just pins it to the side with a bobby pin. And... BEGIN!

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Ponyboy and Johnny were headed down to the vacant lot in search for the football they lost a couple of days ago. Upon arriving there, they found it and started playing catch with it. Jill had actually found it last night and was tossing it to herself but got tired and threw it below her 'sleeping tree'.

“Go long, man!” Johnny yelled as he threw the ball to Pony.

“Got it!” Pony yelled while making a dramatic leap for it. “And the super bowl winner is... Ponyboy Curtis! And the crowd goes wild!!” he laughed while standing up.

They hadn't noticed Jill yet, but she had heard them. She thought she was dreaming or something so she rolled over (still half asleep) and soon wished she hadn't done so. Her whole body hit the ground in a large thud. If they hadn't noticed her before, they did now. She was on the ground looking up at the sky. All the pain suddenly came to her like a stampede. Jill clinched her eyes shut and grabbed her head while sitting up. While rubbing her head, she said: “Okay, note to self: never roll over while sleeping in a tree. You will hit the ground.” Pony and Johnny both chuckled at this.

She then shook her head in an attempt to shake off the pain and soon wished she hadn't done that either. “Okay, second note to self: never shake your head after falling out of tree. It'll just make things worse.” she said right before her body fell to the ground and she blacked out.

“Why do you suppose she was sleeping in a tree, man?”

“I don't know, Johnny” Pony said while staring at her 'Boy, is she pretty' he was thinking. “We can't just leave her like this though. Let's get her back to my house. Grab that stuff in that tree. I'm guessing it's hers.”

Johnny went and got Jill's clothes, two tee shirts (one black, one blue), a pair of jeans, some socks, and a sweatshirt (at this moment she is wearing a white tee with a pair of jeans and black converse high-tops with her hair down as usual). He also got a toothbrush and toothpaste (she had been brushing at random restaurants), a hairbrush, and two books, 'The Once and Future King' and 'Dune'.

Ponyboy picked up her unconscious form, bridal style. She is pretty light so he had no problem doing so. Johnny was making sure that her head was propped up onto Pony's chest so that she wouldn't hurt her neck.

“Hey Pony, she likes to read, just like you.” he said jokingly.

They both chuckled a little and made their way back to the Curtis house.