-2 Weeks later-
-RPOV-
Dally, Pony,Johnny-cakes, and me were at the drive-in movies. Watching some lame movie. I haven't been payin attenion instead i've been watchin' Dal get frisky with a stupid broad. She's a soc..I hate socs...Her name is Sherri, but as she said people call her Cherryyy. She can shove it!
"Take your feet off my chair and shut your trap." She sneered.
"Who's gonna make me?"
"That's the greaser that jockeys for the Slash J sometime," she said, as if we couldn't hear her.
Dallas said, "I know you two. I've seen you around rodeos."
"Dal give it a rest" I sighed. Of course he just inorged my comment, I got up to get a coke.
"You want anythin Johnny-cakes,Ponyboy?" Ponyshook his head no.
"I'll go with ya Rosie, a gal shouldn't be walkin' alone" he got up, we headed torwards the snack bar.
"Ya know he really digs ya Rosie" I sighed.
"Johnny-cakes he sure don't show it. He don't feel the same, I ain't going to try ethier." We got our drinks,and headed back only to see Dally have his arm around the damn socs shoulders. I threw my drink, and stormed off. Johnny, and Pony followed. We sat in the lot. I told Ponyboy I was going to stay here with Johnny. I was in deep sleep next to Johnny when somthing tackled me. I sat up grabbing my blade.
"Pony? What the hell happened?
"Dar..Darry hit me, cus I was out to late' an came back by my lonesome" He was shaking. I took off my jacket, and handed it to him. I had long sleeves on, so the cold wasn't so bad.
"Your going to frezze!" He began taking it off, but I stopped him.
"Not as bad as you.." We headed torwards the jungle gym in the park. We sat there smokin' and talkin' when I saw a blue mustang.
"Guys..We gotta get out of here.." They turned their attenion to the car that now pulled up to us.
"Hey, whatta ya know?" Bob said a little unsteadily, "here's the little greasers that and their little slut.
"You're outa your territory," Johnny warned in a low voice. He didn't sound very sure. He was got it real bad before I met em. "You'd better watch it"
Randy swore at us . Bob was eyeing me."Nup, pal, yer the ones who'd better watch it."
I was getting mad. I was hating them enough to lose my head.
"You know what a greaser is?" Bob asked. "White trash with long hair."
Oh Hell no...
-PPOV-
"You know what a Soc is?" I said, my voice shaking with rage. Rosie gave me a warning glance. I was too mad..I should have listened. "White trash with Mustangs and madras." And then, because I couldn't think of anything bad enough to call them, I spit at them. Bob shook his head, smiling slowly. "You could use a bath, greaser. while I have fun with the little gal here. Get em!I ducked and tried to run for it, but the Soc caught my arm and twisted it behind my back, and shoved my face into the fountain.
The next thing I knew I was lying on the pavement beside the fountain, coughing water and gasping. I lay there weakly, breathing in air and spitting out water. Then I saw Johnny, Rosie was crying. She had blood running down her leg. I looked over to Johnny he was sitting next to me, staring straight ahead.
"I killed him," he said slowly. "I killed that boy."
I felt like I was going to puke. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
"You really killed him, huh, Johnny?"
"Yeah." His voice quavered slightly. "I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you. He was raping Rosie. Poor Rosie." He got up and hugged her. Rosie was raped..Johnny killed Bob. " They were gonna hurt me!" Rosie was silent..she looked at the ground in shock.
I hadn't realized I was screaming. I shook loose. "Okay," I said, "I'm okay now."
"Dally," Johnny said with finality. "Dally'll get us outs here."
"Where can we find him?"
"I think at Buck Merril's place. There's a party over there tonight. Dally said somethin' about it this afternoon."
Buck answered the door when we knocked, and a roar of cheap music came with him. The clinking of glasses, loud, rough laughter and female giggles, and Hank Williams. It scraped on my raw nerves like sandpaper. A can of beer in one hand, Buck glared down at us. "Whatta ya want?"
"Dally!" Johnny gulped, looking back over his shoulder. "We gotta see Dally."
"He's busy," Buck snapped.
"Buck..tell him it's Rosie, Johnny,and Pony he'll come."
"Ya man..Tell him it's Pony and Johnny," Buck glared at me for a second...sighing..
"Alright Rosie, give me a moment."
He appeared in a few minutes, clad only in a pair of low-cut blue jeans, scratching the hair on his chest. He was sober enough, and that surprised me. Maybe he hadn't been there long.
"Okay, kids, whatta ya need me for?"
As Johnny told him the story, I studied Dally, trying to figure out what there was about this tough-looking hood that a girl like Rosie could love. . It would be a miracle if Dally loved anything.
"Oh, shoot, kid"- Dally glanced contemptuously over his shoulder- "I was in the bedroom."
He suddenly stared at Rosie. "alone..."
-RPOV-
"Ponyboy, are you wet?"
"Rosie...Is that blood running down your leg? Why is blood running down your leg?" He said through clinched teeth. I was to scared to speak. I just looked ahead.
"Dal..she was raped. I stabbed the Soc when he was on top of her man!" Johnny was scared I could see it. The word made me sick..Raped..raped..raped..why me?
"I'll kill them all! Get in here you three!" He picked me up bridal style. I didn't say anything I was still in shock.
"Get that sweat shirt off Pony." He started wipping the blood off my leg. I just stared at nothing. He looked up to me.
"I'm sorry baby girl, I should've been there. This what ya get for bein good huh?! Trying to help people!" He was shaking with anger now. I wanted to speak, the words just didn't want to come out.
After Dally left the room, Johnny said somthing about wishing he had a appeared after a minute. He carefully shut the door. "Here"- he handed us a gun and a roll of bills- "Here's fifty bucks."
"Pony, do Darry and Sodapop know about this?"
Pony shook my head. Dally sighed. "Boy howdy, I ain't itchin' to be the one to tell Darry and get my head busted."
"Then don't tell him," He sounded angry. I already miss being home. I wish I never left, but Pony might have with Johnny..I can't loose Johnny he is like a brother to me. Dally hugged me. I suppose he didn't think I was going to hug back, cus he tensed when I did. I let the tears fall. He rubbed my head as he spoke.
"Hop the three-fifteen freight to Windrixville There's an old abandoned church on top of Jay Mountain. There's a pump in back so don't worry about water. Buy a week's supply of food as soon as you get there- this morning, before the story gets out, and then don't so much as stick your noses out the door. I'll be up there as soon as I think it's clear." Towards the end he mumbled somthing I couldn't understand.
Before we left I did not expect Dally to do what he did. He kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed back.
"I'll see ya soon' be safe ya hear" I nodded. He gave me one last final peck, we left.
We croched in the weeds beside the railroad tracks, lis tening to the whistle grow louder. The train slowed to a screaming halt. "Now," whispered Johnny to us. We ran and pulled ourselves into an open boxcar. When we got on I layed my head on Johnny's shoulder. He rubbed my hair and kept apologizing. It wasn't his fault. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Hours later we arrived, so we had to jump. I woke up Johnny, and Pony so we could jump. Hell Pony boy was half asleep when we jumped. He didn't even rember?! Is that even possible?
It was a small church, real old and spooky and spiderwebby. It gave me the creeps.
But this church gave me a kind of creepy feeling. What do you call it? Premonition? I curled next to Johnny, with Pony next to me. I let the tears fall, since the guys fell alseep. Soon I let myself fall in to the darkness. When I woke up for a second I didn't know where I was. Pony was snoring loudly next to me.
"Johnny?" Where could he be? I looked down and seen written in the sand
'Be back soon. J.C.' I sighed, and went to the pump to get a drink. Pony came running out in a panic when he saw me he seemed to relax.
"I think Johnny-cakes went to go get some stuff' how ya feelin'?" I could see the sadness in his eyes. Hell how could we not. This just plain ass sucks. I heard someone coming up through the dead leaves toward the back of the church
"Hey Johnny, What'd you get?" Werid how me and Pony say things right away
We went in. Johnny dusted off a table with his jacket and started taking things out of the sack and lining them up neatly. "A week's supply of baloney, two loaves of bread, a box of matches..."
"Eww..I hate baloney, but it will have to do. I sat and stared up at the ceiling, hell if this place caught on fire. That roof would be down in moments i'm sure.
Johnny sat down and pulled out his knife. "We're gonna cut our hair, and you're gonna bleach yours."
"Oh, Hell no!" My hand flew to my hair. "No, Johnny, not my hair! I will color it dark, but no way in hell am I cutting it, or bleaching it! I ain't no blonde Two-bit gonna be all over.
"Okay. Will dye yours, Pony i'm sorry but were gonna have to cut and dye yours.
For some reason I think Johnny knew I was gonna refuse, because he already had black hair dye in the box. "Okay," I said, wide-eyed. "Get it over with." About an hour later it was black.
"Well I look tuff!" I smiled for the first time since the accident. They both finally cracked a smile. The next four or five days were the longest days I've ever spent in my life. We killed time by reading Gone with the Wind and playing poker.
I felt a hand rub my cheek. "Gosh you look sexy with black hair" I opened my eyes to see Dally.
Dally? I smiled. He leaned in, kissing my lips. I kissed back. God this didnt feel real.
-DPOV-
"How's Sodapop? Are the fuzz after us? Is Darry all right? Do the boys know where we are? What..."
"Hold on, kids,"I broke in. "I can't answer every thing at once. You three want to go get something to eat first? I skipped breakfast and I'm about starved."
"You're starved?" Johnny was so indignant he nearly squeaked"
"The fuzz won't be lookin' for you around here," Dally said, lighting up. "They think you've lit out for Texas."
Johnny looked startled. "Yeah. Whatever gave you the idea we ain't?"
I shook my head. "You're all pale and you've lost weight. After this, get out in the sun more. You look like you've been through the mill."
-RPOV-
We all went to dairy queen. Johnny was telling Dally how we plan to go back, and turn ourselves in, Dally wasn't taking it well. We headed back towards the church, so we could get our stuff. From a distance we could see the church on fire. Dally drove up closer. Ponyboy jumped out of the car, while Dally was screaming for him to stay back. I followed Ponyboy into the church. I heard Dally screaming for me. Johnny joins us. Funny how we can talk about a fat guy being to fat to fit in here while were in a fire. We were heading out since we got the kids out. Pony's arm caught fire so we threw him towards Dal. Johnny was about to get smashed by a burning pillar. I pushed him out of the way, I fell to the floor, I head cracking. My body started to burn a little. I didn't even care about my hands, I pushed the pillar
"AHH!" It hurt so bad..all I could was scream out. Finally the pillar moved enough for me to get to Johnny. It hurt so bad to move, but if I didn't move Johnny now we'll burn alive, and die.
"Dal...Dally take him" I handed him out the window. I pulled my self out. I feel to the ground, blackness taking over. Last thing I rember was Dal calling my name.
-DCPOV- Darry
I ran into the hospital to see Ponyboy covered in Ash smokin' a weed
Soda, and me ran up to him. I apologized and cried. We all did. It was a well needed. I noticed Rosaline wasn't anywhere around.
"Pony where is Rosaline?"
He looked down. "She pushed Johnny out of the way of the burnin' pillar, somehow she pushed it off, getting them both out, Dal told me she hasnt woken up since them. Right now their doing surgrey." He sniffled. I looked at Soda, he was crying, she was his best friend. We waited for hours. We seen Dal and Johnny. They are both worried sick about her. We were talking when a nurse came in.
"Excuse me, are you with Rosaline Martan?"
"Yes! Is she okay?!" We all shouted.
"She stable for now.. She had 5 broken ribs, stomach burns,internal bleeding. She is lucky to be alive. My really bad knews is right now she is in a coma."
That night we headed home, worrying about Rosie. There is a rumble tommorow.
We fight for Rosie.
