When he got home, Ponyboy checked to make sure no one was around, and then he let out the hugest, loudest scream ever. It echoed off the walls of the small house. He punched a hole through his wall and tossed a small snow-globe to the floor. Luckily, it didn't break, just cracked a bit on the top.

He grabbed his laptop and forcefully opened it, logging onto Prattlr and messaging a few of his other friends. Just as he was about to resume his online game of "Death Maze", he heard the door slam and a familiar voice say "Anyone home?"

Darry.

"Yea, I jus' got home a while ago! What's for dinner?" He called back. Darry walked into the room, little Katie squealing and squirming in his arms, and smiled.

"Meatloaf. I'm makin' it."

"Great, we're all gonna get food poisonin'." Pony joked. "What's up with Katie?"

"Well, apparently, the doc forgot to tell us that she needed her shots... four total, two on one leg, two on the other. Little Katie here put up a pretty brave front up til the last injection, an' that's when she jus' let it all out. If only Mackenzie was the one to take 'er to the doc's."

"Awww, poor baby." Pony cooed, going over and kissing his niece on her forehead. "Want me to watch 'er while you make dinner?"

Darry nodded and carefully handed his daughter over to her uncle. Katie whimpered as she felt a different pair of arms wrap around her, but soon became calm again when she noticed who was now holding her. Ponyboy smiled down at her as she yawned and soon fell asleep.

He brought her into Darry's room and laid her down in the bassinet that Darry had saved up enough money to buy for her when she arrived. He then grabbed his laptop from the room and brought it back, sitting on the unmade bed and typing away to his friends.

Monday couldn't have come quickly enough. Ponyboy thought of just skipping or making an excuse or, hell, even offering to watch Katie for the day, just anything that would get him out of having to go to school.

Darry, however, was firm, and whatever he demanded, it just had to be done. No excuses, no complaints, nothing of that sort.

Pony huffed in frustration as he got out of Steve's old beat-up Cadillac and trudged up those dreaded front steps to the double doors of hell.

"Hey, Jade!" He called out to a girl in his Chemistry class. His friends were surprised when they found out that he had a huge crush on her since Day One, when they were partnered together for an experiment.

Jade turned around, and to Ponyboy, it looked like she was hesitant to even be seen with him. "Oh, uh, hi, Pony..."

Pony was out of breath when he finally caught up to her. "So, uhh... 'bout the upcomin' dance this Sunday night. You wanna, maybe... go with me?"

Jade abruptly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Luke already asked me, and I said yes to him..."

"Wait..." Pony took on the expression of a wounded pup. "But you don't even like Luke... ya said so yourself that he was just a player an' a jerk.."

"Yea, well, I think he's changed... he's much sweeter.. I'm so sorry, Ponyboy. Maybe for Prom or something?"

Ponyboy nodded numbly. "Uhh... yea, sure... next time.."

Jade flashed him an apologetic smile and hurried off to her next class. Pony just stood there, thinking about her response.

'Great... what a day this has been...'

It didn't make the day, or Pony's sullen mood, any better when all the school seemed to talk about was his rejection from Jade. By lunchtime, everybody had been taunting and tormenting him, making crude remarks and spreading rumors that Pony had previously asked 15 other girls to the dance, and that he was probably just trying to get into Jade's pants...

...none of which were even close to the truth.

After school, all he wanted was to curl up in bed and never come out of his room or even the house. Darry thought it was just an addiction to that damned laptop of his, as always.

Pony grabbed his pillow and screamed all of his anger out. Then, he grabbed his laptop and opened it up, checking Prattlr to see if he had any messages or... well, anything.

Three inbox messages, all anonymous.

'Back the fuck off of my girl, you manwhore.'

'Ha! You were so ridiculous trying to ask Jade out. Why would she, or any other girl, for that matter, want to go out with a guy like yourself?'

'Why don't you just go and off yourself? It's not like anybody even cares about you anyways.'

That last message was what made Ponyboy's blood boil. He had had enough, but he couldn't just ignore it like everyone said!

Little did he know that that one message was only the start of what would send him spiraling out of control.