There was a big group of them standing around in the vacant lot. She knew at that point that he would be among them, but she had decided it didn't matter. Too much had already been lost. Too many lives had already been destroyed. She didn't know if she could stop the disastrous chain of events that had begun spiraling out of control several days ago, but she had to try. She had to do this. She put the car in park and strode briskly across the grass, her chin up, her eyes forward.
She was terrified.
They all stared at her. It was Two-Bit who stepped forward first."Hey, Cherry," he nodded. His eyes were sad. None of the personality that she had seen in him before was left.
A dark haired boy with thickly greased hair leaned over and asked another boy about her. "... Soc's girlfriend..." was all she heard. Then a few more of them stepped forward, their eyes narrowed, a few with smirks on their faces.
Her stomach turned to ice as she set her jaw and folded her arms.
It was Dally who called them off, but later he would say it was Two Bit.
She tried not to look directly at him when he pulled her aside, afraid he might see that his touch frightened her. When she finally caught his eyes, she was surprised by what she saw. He still looked dangerous, but the cool, confident, devil-may-care look was gone. A light stubble was growing on his face and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked haggard, as though he hadn't slept in days, as though he were carrying a burden far too heavy for anyone to carry.
"What do you want?" there was anger in his voice, but desperation too.
She shrugged. "I... I want you to know that I'm going to testify-"
"Testify WHAT?" he demanded before she could finish.
She could feel all the eyes on her. She was well aware that Dally could turn against her at any moment, and the rest would follow. She was comforted only by the knowledge that Two-Bit might try to stop them.
"I'm going to tell the judge that Bob..." her voice caught momentarily. "That Bob was drunk. I know he went after them. They were defending themselves."
"You're damn right they were!" His anger flared momentarily.
But she caught a sudden and brief glimpse of something in his eyes- gratitude? No, she thought. Definitely not. It was hope. She had given him a small flicker of hope. A slight chance that maybe, MAYBE... he could set this burden down. And in that moment she loved him because she knew what he was doing. He was carrying the burden of a secret. And two boys' lives depended on that secret being kept. He knew where they were, and he was the only one.
There was a long silence that passed between them. A silence during which she was painfully reminded of why she had loved Bob... and why she could fall in love Dallas Winston, too. She could see into the windows of their souls and knew that there was so much more to both boys than what most people were able to see. There was a vulnerable side that they worked very hard to cover up. For to show that they were capable of loving deeply would mean showing a vulnerability that would threaten their very survival in the worlds they lived in.
But for some reason, she could see it. When Bob or Dallas experienced love, it was not superficial or trivial- and it was rare. The few people these boys would love in their lives they would love deeply and truly forever. With Bob, it had been his grandmother and Randy. No one else. Cherry knew she had simply been a trophy to him. But she stayed with him because she loved him for that vulnerable side. And because there was always that possibility that she might break through that wall someday and then he might love her, too. The allure of being loved that deeply...
With Dallas, it was Ponyboy and Johnny. Maybe only Johnny, Cherry wasn't sure. Cherry could see his love for them in the pain and exhaustion etched in his face. He couldn't protect them forever, though. She knew it and so did he, but he would never admit it to himself, and he would die trying if he had to.
Two-Bit stepped forward then. "Thanks, Cherry."
"I'll tell you what they're planning for the fight, too, if I hear anything." Cherry said.
"Why?" Dally demanded, not trusting her.
"Because I'm sick of all of this," she said, glaring at him. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt."
"Tuff enough, doll." Dally said with a shrug, looking past her and taking a package of Kools out of his pocket.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she was relieved he'd been looking away at the moment. It was as close to 'thank you' as she would ever get from him, but it was more than she expected.
Dally smirked a little then. "Why don't you let me take you over to the Dingo and buy you a coke?" he asked slyly, lighting up a cigarette.
She narrowed her eyes at him. She had to get away from him, and she had to get away now. "Why don't you go to hell?" She turned on her heel and walked quickly back to the Corvette. She saw him watching her in the rearview mirror as she drove off.