Disclaimer: We do not own The Outsiders, Susie Hinton is the mastermind behind that wonderful novel. We also do not own the song "Stuck In the Middle" by Stealers Wheel.

A/N: We've finally made it. This, ladies and gents, is the last chapter of Tender is the Night. Enjoy and thank you so much for all of your support!

Well you started out with nothing,
And you're proud that you're a self-made man.

There was an undeniable wave of victory floating through the air and it landed squarely on Ellie's shoulders. It had been the longest school year she'd ever been through, but she'd made it out no worse for wear. In fact, she felt like she was the one who won. Standing on the front steps of Will Rogers earlier, she was on the top of the world as people scurried around her. The last week of school was so much better than the first.

Sitting on the Curtises front porch, the house empty behind her, she soaked up the first rays of the summertime sun with her eyes closed. A whistle that ended in a high note begged them back open. Dallas was walking up the lawn toward her.

"They let you out?" she kidded, scooting over and making room for him on the step.

"They didn't have enough to charge me with. Findin' me on school grounds ain't proof I broke the windows," he said.

"It's you, though," she pointed out. "Ain't that judge smart enough to know better?"

"You'd think by now. But I'm pretty charmin' in court," he bragged.

She reached out and rubbed his head where the hair was shorn away. He batted it away.

"You're never charming," she told him.

"Sure I am," he corrected.

"Just when you want something," she said. "Even then most girls wouldn't count that as charm."

"What did Tim have to say about you seein' me in jail the other day?" he asked.

Ellie shrugged. Tim had driven her to the jail because she asked, but she'd never tell Dally how she could see him burn a little. She didn't think that Tim had the ability to be jealous, but she could see it on his face and in his actions as he drove her home that he was at least angry about it all. That urgency to beat Dally was as clear as it was the night of their first date.

"Nothin'," she lied.

"Sure," he said sarcastically. Then, motioning behind him, he asked, "No one home?"

Ellie shook her head. "Nope. I don't know where they all went, but they'd better be back 'fore long. We're supposed to go to the drive-in tonight. Remember?"

He nodded. "Yeah I remember."

"You goin'?" she asked, realizing she was hopeful he would. The whole gang wasn't all together that often and Ellie relished in the nights they all hung out. She just liked everyone being together and having a good time.

"Ain't got nothin' else to do," he confirmed, whipping a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He stuck one in his mouth and Ellie's eyes widened when he pulled out the lighter she'd given him for Christmas. Her mouth dropped open in surprise and she found herself reaching for it.

"I threw this away," she said, feeling the heft in her hand. She'd thrown it pretty far after he launched it at her head.

Dally merely shrugged. "Johnny found it and I took it back. Don't mean nothin'."

But it did mean something. As she ran her thumb over the deep scratches in the silver finish, she felt her stomach tie up in knots and then she tried to reason with reality. Dally didn't keep mementos, especially not of a relationship that didn't work out. But then again, he had come on to her more than once since they broke up.

"I guess not," she said as she handed it back.

He gave her the cigarette as he lit another and she puffed on it as they sat in silence.

"Guess what?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know," he answered, bored.

Ellie sighed and said quickly, "My mom's knocked up."

The subtle movements Dally was making suddenly froze and he turned his head and looked at her as though she told him a pig had flown across the sky. He looked disgusted.

"It's why I'm here and not over there," she explained slowly. "I came home from school the other day and there was this little pink sweater and booties sittin' on the kitchen table. Mom came in smilin' like an idiot and told me she's gonna have a baby."

The thought made her stomach hurt, especially because Ellie couldn't work up the nerve to kill her mother's happiness with the news that Jimmy was less than faithful. Though, Ellie didn't think it would matter. Her mom probably wouldn't even blink an eye at the news.

"Did you tell her?" he asked, speaking through the smoke he was exhaling.

That was a funny question for him to be asking.

"You mean about Jimmy?" she asked, knowing it had to be what he meant. "I couldn't do it. She was actually happy. I don't know if I've ever seen her that happy."

It struck her just then. That was the same excuse Two-Bit had used as to why he didn't tell her about Dally and Sylvia.

"She don't deserve that if she's so damn stupid," he said, bitterly. "They both treat you like shit. Why not give her a reason to throw him out on his ass?"

Ellie sighed. This was killing her good mood.

"She wouldn't do it," she said. "She doesn't have the same common sense I do."

Dally shot her a look that made her want to cower away, but she held her ground.

"I don't think it's common sense. It's more like you're just crazy," he said, clamping a hand on the back of her neck. He squeezed and shook her head playfully before letting go.

"I'm only crazy 'cause of you," she said, offering him a little smile. "Ever since we were kids. You've always driven' me out of my mind. I think you do it on purpose."

"No shit. You make it too easy, princess," he said, an impish smile on his face.

Ellie smiled and lifted her face as to soak up the sun again. She could live with the fact that he had hurt her at one point in time, but for the times like these, she didn't think that she could ever live without him. It was worth it to get over the ill feelings just to get back to normal, especially since so much had changed and so much was about to change. It felt good to be able to call him her friend again.

It's so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, I'm all over the place

The movie was lame and just plain stupid, and Dally wasn't the only one who felt that way. Soda and Steve looked so close to falling over in boredom and Two-Bit had gone to the concession stand a number of times in the last hour. Darry was sitting stiffly in the truck bed and to the surprise of no one, Pony, Johnny and Ellie were silently watching like their lives depended on it.

Nudging Soda, Dally motioned toward the three of them and Soda grinned and nudged Steve. There were two buckets of popcorn sitting in the truck bed and Dally leaned over and grabbed them, passing one down to Steve. Darry watched with a mild look of humor on his face. Silently counting to three, Dally and Steve dumped the half-empty buckets on Ellie and Pony's heads. The reaction was priceless.

Ellie shrieked and frantically started brushing kernels out of her hair. She glared at Dally, and he laughed at her. Pony looked annoyed, but he didn't put on the show Ellie was.

"What's wrong with you guys?" she complained.

"We're bored. Who the hell picked this movie?" Dally asked her.

"It's just what was playin'! But it's James Dean so quit ruinin' it for me," she demanded, throwing a handful of popcorn back at him.

Dally wasn't in the mood for a movie. He was more in the mood for pushing her buttons, but he didn't push the next one. Two-Bit must have been watching as he was heading back for the truck because he was sneaking up behind Ellie with a fresh bucket of popcorn. He motioned for everyone to be quiet as he crept up and dumped the entire bucket over her head.

Not even Johnny could contain his laughter as Ellie shrieked again, flailing her arms and trying to brush the popcorn out of her hair. She was fuming when she finally turned to see Two-Bit standing behind her with the empty bucket, laughing like a goon. She tried to reach out and slap him, but he was quicker and set the empty bucket on her head. She pulled it off and launched it at his head, missing completely as it sailed and hit the windshield of the car beside them.

"Don't hurt yourself, El," Two-Bit said, standing behind her and pulling pieces of popcorn out of her hair.

"You guys are mean," she said, seething.

"That was weak, El," Steve said.

"You're ruinin' the movie!"

Dally stared at the screen as James Dean was pushing his old man around on screen and then back at Ellie.

"This movie is about Socs," Dally told her.

"It is not," she defended.

"It is, too. But I guess you're kinda one nowadays anyway 'cause you listen to the Beatles and shit like that," he reached across and tugged on her skirt, which was longer than it had been, but still shorter than they were used to seeing in her in. She slapped his hand away. "Though, you're almost a floozy, too. I don't know what you are."

"You listen to what?" Two-Bit asked, leaning into the truck beside her. "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"So what?" she asked, annoyed.

"It don't get much Socier than the Beatles," Steve said. "Besides, that's chick music."

Her face scrunched up and she returned, "I am a chick and I like it."

"You a Soc then, too?" Dally asked, following what he saw was the natural progression. "You never did tell us why that prick did that to your face."

"Why are you even bringing that up right now?" she blasted.

"Because I wanna know why you protect that bastard. Dumping syrup on him don't make it right what he did to you. 'Fess up already," he ordered her.

She sat there, staring back at him with big eyes as everyone else tried to ignore their latest fight, but Dally could tell at least some of them wanted to know. It didn't take her long to stand up, a waterfall of popcorn falling off of her lap, and hop out of the truck.

"Way to go," Soda said.

"Shit, what'd I say?" Dally asked. He didn't think he'd pushed that far, but that was a broad for you - ready to cry at the drop of a hat.

"Is someone going after her?" Darry asked. He was watching her stomp toward the restrooms.

"I ain't dealin' with it. She on the rag or something?" Steve asked.

"Aww, give her a break. Everyone's always gangin' up on her," Two-Bit said, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"Yeah," Pony piped up. "You're makin' fun of her. And did you think that maybe she just doesn't want to talk about what happened? It was a long time ago. Give it up, Dally."

"I ain't the one keepin' secrets from everybody," he said.

He didn't realized everyone was staring at him until he lit up a cigarette.

"What?" he asked flatly.

"You pissed her off, go bring her back," Darry said.

Dally opened his mouth to protest but he was catching glances from everyone, including Johnny.

"Maybe she just wants to forget it happened, Dal," Johnny piped up. "You know who it was, ain't that enough?"

Grumbling, Dally hopped out of the truck to try and chase her down.

Clowns to the left of me
Jokers to the right

The girls' restroom was a popular place, and Ellie couldn't find a spot in front of the mirror to try and clean herself up. Fed up with trying to wait, she shoved her way past two Socy girls, one a fiery redhead who made a snide comment under her breath. Ellie shot her a glare and then preceded to pick pieces of popcorn out of her hair and off her clothes.

She knew she was making a big deal out of nothing, but as used to it as she was, sometimes she couldn't handle everyone ganging up on her at once. Dally insinuated that she was half-Soc and he didn't even know why Michael messed with her the way he did. In a way, Ellie was half-Soc and even though she knew no one would care, she was still scared of Dally's reaction if he ever found out Michael was her cousin. She couldn't imagine telling them who her dad was and getting shit for that. Like it was her fault or something.

Ellie looked over at the redhead and the gaggle of girls she was with. They were talking about some beer blast they were going to after the movie and checking their hair and expensive clothes in the mirror. Ellie knew she wasn't one of them and she couldn't even figure out how she could possibly even relate to them. And just like Dally, she held a certain degree of hate for them. It wasn't fair that they had everything she could never hope to have.

It was easier, though, to fit in with the girls on her side of the town just because she knew what they expected. She knew how they thought and between Tim and Dally, she always had something to say or some excuse to leave. They accepted her because she was competition, not because they were actually friends.

Heading back outside Ellie stopped short as she noticed Dally leaning against the light post illuminating the area.

Walking up to him, she crossed her arms and said, "I don't like you right now."

"What else is new?"

"I guess nothing," she said, deflated.

She flinched back as he reached out, pulling a kernel out of her hair.

"You missed one," he said, flicking it back in her face.

He was aggravating.

"We aint' stickin' around for the second movie. Steve and Soda are gonna go pick up their girls and Two-Bit wants to go hunt some action," he said. That was an open ended statement, almost as if he were inviting her along.

"Tim's picking me up from here," she said.

She tried to go past him, but he grabbed her and pulled her back. She was so tired of this cat-and-mouse game he enjoyed so much.

"What?" she huffed, but once again, being that close to him she was losing herself. His hands were hot through the sleeves of her shirt and he was standing closer than necessary. How could he still have that effect on her with everything he had done to her?

"Why are you so touchy right now?" he asked. "What'd I say this time?"

She sucked in a breath, trying to wait him out.

"Ellie ... what?"

Ellie opened her mouth, the confession sitting heavy on her tongue, but the words wouldn't come out. His hands were still wrapped around her arms, keeping her in place until she said something he wanted to hear.

"Just tell me already," he said, impatient but an unmistakable thread of eagerness in his tone. He knew there was something she wasn't saying. It was something he only thought he wanted to hear.

"Tell you what?" she asked, trying to play dumb.

"You're always hidin' shit. You always avoid the fuckin' question of why Holden messed with you. I want to know why."

If she told him, about everything, she didn't know what to expect from him. He would explode, but she was afraid that he might not speak to her again. He wouldn't understand which was one reason she didn't tell him in the first place.

"How would that make any difference now?" she asked. "He messed with me, he hurt me. Okay? He was looking for kicks, I don't know," she started rambling, hoping to say something that would satisfy him. But he was an enigma. For someone that didn't give a damn about the world or what happened in it, he couldn't let it go when someone got too close to the things he cared about. Not knowing the full story was eating him alive and she knew it was just because he was always after an answer.

He cupped her cheek, his thumb roughly tracing the scar. She tried to pull it away, but he held it there.

"Why did he fucking do that?"

"Because ... Because -"

The words just wouldn't come, but it didn't matter because they were interrupted.

"Wanna get your hands off of her, Winston?"

Dally let go of her arms where he was holding it and Ellie stayed where she was and watched as Tim evaluated the situation. Her arms felt burnt where he'd been holding them. She felt dizzy.

"What the hell do you want?" Dally spat.

"My girlfriend," Tim said, simply.

"Yeah, well, we're busy. Come back later," Dally challenged.

"Fuck off, Winston. She ain't yours no more," Tim returned.

Ellie sensed the escape and she moved to Tim's side.

"Are you gonna tell me or not?" Dally asked in a bitter tone.

She looked at him, standing there fumbling with a pack of cigarettes. He didn't need to know and as long as he didn't, the truth wouldn't hurt either of them. She didn't need to give him one more reason to hate the world.

"It's nothing," she lied.

"Sure, babe. Are you gonna tell Timmy your big secret?"

Tim hesitated beside her and Ellie's stomach sank. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and caught him looking right at her. He said nothing.

"There is no big secret," she said, trying to sound confident. "Things just happened."

"Easy to say now that he's gone, huh?" Dally said.

She couldn't fault him for caring, even if his methods weren't conventional. Her mother didn't spend this much time trying to get to the bottom of it.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed to him, not wanting Tim to hear it.

He just stared at her, smoking like a chimney and looking as though he was going to say something that had the potential to hurt her in some way. It's what he always did because it was all he could do anymore.

And this was what she was doing to him. Tim's hand curled around hers and she followed him, feeling that magnetic pull behind her. She didn't understand how he still had that power over her with everything he'd done. She didn't think she would ever understand.

Swallowing those feelings, she followed Tim to his car and tried to leave it all behind her.

Here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.

A/N: *Insert evil laugh here*

Don't fret, Dally, Tim and Ellie can't possbily end their story here. Remember that Front Page Drive In News is still in progress and a sequel is being planned for Tender. It will take place during the novel and will include the aftermath and will be called One Headlight. There will be more information on this later.

We would like to thank everyone who reviewed and kept reading during our sporadic updates. We never, ever expected this story to go over as well as it did and we thank all of you for keeping us inspired to finish our first fanfic and to keep us writing. We never could have done it without your support.

Thank you for reading!

xoxox

Katie and Kori