Gang Violence

Chapter Three

Disclaimer- I do not own the Outsiders.

It's been a few days since I was jumped and I was thinking about Tim Shepard less and less. Which made me feel a lot better. It was just me being stupid and childish. I knew that now. It's over, it's done with, and my life is back to normal.

"Hey, Cotton Candy, we're gonna go play some football in the lot," Soda called to me from the living room as I brushed my hair in the bathroom. "You comin'?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute," I called back. I pulled my hair up into a sloppy ponytail and followed my brother out the door.

I love Saturdays. Even in the summer when there's no school any day of the week. It's because Soda, Darry and Steve all have Saturdays off and it's really the only day that the gang can hang out together all day long. We usually hung out at the lot and played football.

I never actually play, not anymore at least. I used to when we were little, but as we all got older, the guys got more rough and I just didn't want to anymore. I'd much rather sit on the sidelines and laugh at their antics. It was much more fun.

I sat down in the grass and watched as the boys picked teams. Darry, Pony, Johnny, and Soda against Steve, Two-bit and Dally. Same teams as always. There was seven guys and a four on three was as even as it could get. Besides, Pony and Johnny are pretty small.

The boys started playing and I watched for a moment before my mind started to wander again. I wasn't thinking about anything specific, my thoughts were just kind of floating around my head. Random things like, what I am going to have for lunch? And, what am I going to do tonight? It was then that somebody landed on the ground next to me.

It was Evie Hammond. My best friend. I had known her for years, since before preschool. "Hey," she greeted happily, her brown waving hair falling lazily onto her shoulders.

Evie knew, and was good friends with, all the guys and was going steady with Steve. You had never seen two people so in love in all your life. If you saw them apart you would never know that they were capable of having such affection towards another human being, but when they're together, you can just tell. I kind of envied them.

"So, what's goin' on?" Evie asked.

"It's a Saturday," I replied with a smile, spreading my arms out wide to display the boys, sweating and grunting as they chased the brown ball up and down the make-shift football field. "Football."

She laughed. "Wow, we're boring," she said and now it was my turn to laugh. "Oh, hey, are you going to that party at Shepard's tonight?"

"Didn't know there was a party at Shepard's," I answered, watching as Johnny scored a touchdown.

"Well, there is," she replied. "Are you going?" I thought about it for a moment. Did I want to go? Before I had time to answer her, though, Evie piped up, "I'll take your silence as a yes."

"Oh, I dunno, Eve," I finally said.

"What? Why not?" she asked, flabbergasted. "You ain't scared o' Shep, are you?"

"No," I told her but the tone my voice took on didn't even convince me. It's not so much that I was scared of Tim, but more that I was scared to be around him, if that makes sense. I had just managed to get him out of my head, I didn't want to jinx it and cram him back in there by seeing him.

"Oh, c'mon, Candy," Evie exclaimed disbelievingly. "You can't be serious. Wasn't it ol'Tim that saved you the other day?"

"Yeah," I answered. "And I'm not scared of him, I just..." I trailed off, not really sure of what to say. I didn't have a very good reason not to go, even I knew that, and Evie would definitely blow it out of proportion.

"Ohmigawd," Evie said, barely above a whisper. Her face was blank with shock but then a smirk crossed her face and her brown eyes twinkled with mischief. "You like Tim Shepard!"

"No!" I panicked.

"Cotton Candy Curtis likes Tim Shepard," the way she said it, it made it seem like she was trying to make herself believe it and I understood why. The words didn't really fit together.

"No, I don't! Are you crazy?" I said quickly, probably too quickly.

"Yes you do," she replied, smiling. "If you don't, than why are you getting all defensive?"

"I do not like Tim Shepard," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

She just laughed at me. "Oh, you are so coming to this party tonight."

Review please! And thanks to all who reviewed chap 2!!

Later Dayz

Rachel