disclaimer: i do not own anything of S.E. Hinton's.
a/n: this is sort of a preamble to the story, thus explains the length. the plot will, hopefully, be clearer in the future chapters.
Chapter One: Run, Laura, Run
"Everyone calls her Loony Laura, 'cause, she is… loony, I mean."
"Shut-up, Two-bit," Soda rolled his eyes at his friend's childish behavior. "I bet she has a reason for being the way she is. We shouldn't be quick on judging her."
"Oh, come on, Soda," Steve nudged his friend on the ribs, holding up a bottle of beer towards Laura's direction. "You know she's as loony as… well, I can't think of anything to describe her just yet, but she's one weird chick. Threw an empty bottle of beer at me once, says I was looking at her the wrong way."
"'Cause you always do," Soda sighed.
"Look, if you really wanna know what her problem is, why don't you go on and ask her?" Two-bit stated, as if it were the most obvious thing to do.
"If she can live through that," Steve was too drunk to even know what was happening around him, and the same goes for Two-bit.
Fortunately, Soda was sober enough to notice the big red truck advancing towards Laura. It was making noise, sure enough, but the girl was too distracted to differentiate reality from hallucinations, or so it seems. Before even realizing it, Soda was on his feet, pushing himself to run faster; to save the girl just in the nick of time. They landed on the green- almost brown- grass with a soft 'thud'.
"Are you alright?" Soda inquired as soon as he stood up, holding out a hand to help her.
"Was doin' fine 'til you came along." Laura spat bitterly, glaring at Soda's hand.
"Look, I was just tryin' to help OK?" Soda tried to be as polite as possible.
"You always do," Laura sighed sadly. "Always tryin' to help, but never succeed."
Upon hearing her words, Soda's face softened as he heaved her off the ground. "You should really watch where you're going, you know. A lady like you shouldn't be walking alone at this time of the night."
He heard no reply, though. He hadn't even noticed that Laura had already started to walk away, with a dazed expression on her face. "Hey, can I at least offer you a ride home?"
Apparently shocked, Laura swiftly turned to him and said, "Don't… I have already hurt too many people."
Furrowing his brows, Soda took a step closer, but Laura moved back, and before he knew it, she had already sprinted off into the distance.
"Told 'ya she was weird." Steve cackled as he watched Laura run as if some socs were chasing her.
"I dunno, Steve. Something about what she said wasn't right."
"Man, nothing she says is right." Two-bit interjected, causing both him and Steve to burst out laughing.