CHAPTER 4

-THE NEXT MORNING-

-PONYBOY'S POV-

I woke up around 9:00 to the sound of chattering in the hallway. I shook the guys, but they wouldn't get up—Not even Johnny, who's the lightest sleeper of all of us.

Damn, I thought as I stood up, Taylor's not in her bed. Guess she's still in her private library or something. I tip-toed over to the door and cracked it a bit as I saw a boy and a woman who looked about in her mid 30's, early 40's speaking to each other.

"What do you want for breakfast, Jake? We've got waffles, eggs and bacon, cereal…?" The woman asked him.

He rolled his eyes at her, "I don't care. I'll just pick up some food on the way to Sandy's." Damn. He had to remind me of that witch…

"No, Jake. I think that girl is a bad influence on you and that you need to find someone more your age to hang out with." She scowled at him, "Why don't you just eat breakfast here for today?"

The boy threw a shout at her, "Because I'm so sick and tired of Taylor talking about those stupid cartoons!"

The woman crossed her arms, "They are not cartoons. They are fictional characters."

"That she thinks are like…real!" He flailed his arms up and down like a loon.

I all of a sudden lost my grip on the door frame and fell over, slamming the door onto the wall behind it. Shit.

"Hey, who are you?!" The boy bellowed at me with confusion and anger.

I was speechless. I froze completely. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?! I thought. "Uhh…"

"That's Rhett Winston, Taylor's friend that spent the night." She nodded with a smile. "Are Alice and Taylor up yet?"

I put my finger up and snapped it, "Yeah. They are. They're getting dressed and going to… school in ten minutes." I smiled back, unbeknownst to her, thankful for saving my butt.

"So you're Rhett?" The boy asks me. "I hear a lot about you from songbird. Only thing is… she said you had blonde hair."

I nodded, "Yeah, I uhh—dyed it red. Last night, actually. Does it look okay?"

The boy opened his mouth, but before he could utter a single word, was cut off by the woman. "It looks fine, dear. You go ahead and fix yourself some breakfast."

I nodded once again and told her, "Maybe you should stay clear of the girls for a few minutes. They're talking about some other stuff as well."

The boy rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Rhett. My name's Jake by the way. You better be real nice to my little sister or you're gonna be dead meat."

I gulped down a whole pocket full of saliva. I was actually pretty intimidated by Jake's approach. He could probably kill me if he really wanted to. He looked almost as strong as Darry… Which reminded me, Where was Darry?

I hurried on down the stairs, noticing how huge this place really was. I was starting to think that Taylor really might have been a soc, though her mother didn't act vulgar toward me like a soc's mother would. Anyways, there was a huge couch right in the center of the room with small violet colored pillows on it. It was the nicest furniture I've ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on! The walls were fancied up with wallpaper crested with roses and bouquets of gold and silver. They had the most beautiful paintings on the walls—one of them was by Pablo Picasso, and I recognized it. It sure was pretty…

I finally got away from all of the glory sights and moved on down a hallway with velvety-red wallpaper and candles hung up on the wall. It lead into an even smaller hallway with a brilliant blue color that faded into white along the ceiling. There was finally a door on the right that had a sign reading Taylor's Books.

Nice. She has her own private library all to herself and I don't even have a proper bookshelf.

I opened the door a crack and was immediately greeted by a dog barking in my face. It was a cute little dog, like one you'd see with Elizabeth Taylor at a shoot or something. I gave the small dog a gentle pat on the head and said, "Good dog, good dog."

I continued passed the corner and to my shock, there were hundreds—thousands—millions of books on the shelves! Had she already read all of these?!

I then saw Taylor curled up in a leathery fabric chair, with a book in hand, sleeping. She actually looked kinda cute as she slept. Like a child almost. Just like Sodapop…

I didn't want to disturb her, but I had to in order not to get the police called on the guys and I. "T-Taylor," I shook her gently, "Taylor, you awake?" She clearly wasn't.

She rubbed her eyes, "Pon—" She yawned, "Ponyboy? Is that you?"

I nodded as I removed the book from her hands, "Yeah. And you gotta come upstairs. Your mom thinks you and Alice are in your bedroom."

"Wh—Are you real?"

I gave her a strange look.

"Nevermind." She said, "How'd you get past my mom?" She sat up.

I chuckled, "Well, it's kind of a long story…"

"I guess we don't have a whole lot of time, huh?" She asked me tiredly.

I shook my head, "I guess we don't." I gave her a grin, "You like to read?"

She nodded. "I've always loved to read." She jumped to her feet, "Been readin' since I was only five years old."

I shrugged, "Same here. I love the characters, they can be so gallant."

She flashed me an excited smile, "Like Dally?"

I tilted my head, "Dally? What's he got to do with that? Anyway, he ain't gallant. He's kind of a jerk if you ask me. He's actually a jerk if you ask anyone. Believe me, he ain't anywhere near gallant."

She let out a sigh, "I believe you, Pony. I just kinda think in a way he's… kinda heroic. Johnny must think so, too."

I gave her another funny look as we walked back out into the hallway, "Heroic… I don't follow. What has Dallas Winston ever done to help people?"

-TAYLOR'S POV-

Damn. It's not like I could just tell him he was from a book or anything. He'd think I was crazy, then it would drive him crazy. "I bet he's done something. Maybe one day he'll save someone from a fire. Ya never know. He's pretty crazy, so really, why wouldn't he?"

"You obviously don't know Dal. He believes that he can take care of himself and that he doesn't need anyone to care for him. Also, that he doesn't care for anyone but himself."

I sighed, "I don't know, man. I guess I can just see him as being a hero. Maybe that's not the way he sees things, but I see a tough guy, who all his life, was alone… But one day, he was recognized for more than being a law-breaker."

Pony paused for a minute before smiling. "I like that." He stated simply, "You always see the best in people. It's very admirable."

I couldn't help but blush. I knew I was a little old for Pony, but it was still a flattering thought. "Thanks, Pony."

As we reached the stairs, my mom stepped into the bathroom. I knew that that would leave us enough time to get the guys out of there.

"C'mon." I grabbed Ponyboy's arm and pulled him up the stairs and into my room.

I flicked on the light since it was out for some reason. I always wanted to say something like this… "Rise and shine, sleeping beauties!" I mildly shouted.

Two Bit and Johnny immediately got up and straightened themselves up. They fixed their hair in my mirror, as did Pony. Wow. As for Dally, he was just laying there like a bump on a log.

I rolled my eyes in disgust as I lightly kicked his hip, "Wake up, Jailbird."

He slowly sat up, flipping me off in the process. He just sat there for a few seconds, "What happened last night?"

"We'll explain later." Johnny said as he grabbed Dally's arm and pulled him up.

"Okay, we should meet at the park for a few minutes before we head out." Pony said with a nod.

I grabbed Ponyboy's arm before they could leave, "I wanna come with you. To the park?"

He nodded in agreement, "Uh, okay."

-SODA'S POV-

I woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes and the sound of dogs barking. Steve and I were both laying on a bed in the girl, Maya's house. Steve woke up at the same time, so it wasn't my imagination that pancakes were on the cook. As for the dogs, they were definitely barking.

I sat up, and so did Steve. I looked around the room for Maya. She wasn't in there. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and asked Steve, "What time is it?"

He looked at the wall at a coca-cola branded clock. "9:05. God, lover boy, we gotta get back to Tulsa."

I snapped at him, "I know! Just keep quiet about it. I gotta get back by 5 to take Pony to the movies. I promised him I would."

"Yeah, yeah… Just focus on getting us back, okay?" He got up and looked through the chest of drawers diagonal from the bed.

I jumped to my feet and stood beside him with a smirk. "What're you doing?"

He continued rummaging through the drawers. A lot of it was lingerie; Bras and panties of all colors and in all different fabrics. Lace, silk, you name it. Steve pulled out a pair of hot pink laced panties and chuckled with one hand over his mouth as he held it with the other. "This girl is naughty. I mean, are you seeing this?!"

I rolled my eyes and snatched it from him, "You're so perverted, Steve." Without thinking, I caressed my fingers along the skimpy fabric. Woah, this stuff really did have a naughty feeling to it…

Suddenly the door opened. Before I could hide the 'no-no' article, Maya stepped into the room. "Good morning, boys." She said with a warm smile.

I was speechless as she stared at me. I simply waved my free hand at her and mumbled, "Hey." I could tell I was growing into a tomato from the embarrassment.

She simply smiled and held her hand out, "Playing with my panties, I see." I shook my head nervously, but before I could speak, she let out a giggle. "If you wanted to see them, you could've just asked me." I raised my eyebrows at this approach.

Steve closed his eyes and smiled like 'the fun drunk' and asked, "Can we see them?"

I slapped my hand to my forehead. Really, dude? "I'm sorry about Steve…"

I then felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Maya with a friendly smile on her face. "It's okay, Sodapop. I would've let you see them, though." She then walked out of the room. I felt a smug smile spread across my face. You've done it again, you handsome rascal. Maya then shouted, "Pancakes are ready! I've got to go to school, but I'll be back around 3:15. Maybe we could go get some food… That is if you stay."

Steve and I walked out of the room and into a hallway that lead to the kitchen. "I don't think we're gonna stay, darling. I think we're gonna head back to Tulsa by around 9:30, actually. Right, Pepsi?"

He caught me off guard as I was staring at the walls. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure." I continued to glance around.

Maya looked a little disappointed, "Oh. Well, I mean, maybe if you ever come back…"

Steve grabbed a pancake off the counter and started wolfing it down. "Yeah, maybe," he said grossly, his mouth still full with broken up, saliva-filled pancake.

I cringed a bit at the sight. Don't get me wrong, I love Steve. He's my best buddy in the world, but he sure is a sloppy eater.

Maya looked grossed out too as she stormed to the front door and grabbed her backpack. "Well," she said, "I guess I'll see you later…" Her eyes met mine, "Sodapop." She walked out the door with a firm smile on her face.

"Damn it, Steve!" I exclaimed as she shut the door. "She's a real nice girl and you had to act like that toward her?"

Steve rolled his eyes as he picked up another pancake, "So what, man? It's not like you could make that happen."

"That's not what I—"

"Oh yes it is." He half shouted at me. "You've clearly got a thing for her. Now I don't know if your head is so far up that it can't get out of the clouds, but listen; That girl is something that's never gonna happen, ya hear me?"

I let out a loud sigh, "I know. Just don't be so arrogant sometimes, okay?"

-ALICE'S POV-

When I got to school, I didn't see Taylor. Oh shit, I thought, what if Dally killed her or something? I chuckled at my own thought as I rushed into 1st period.

Rhett sat in the back with the usual smirk he wore so well. As per usual, girls were highkey flirting with him, everyone noticing it, except for him.

"Hey, Rhett." I asked him, "Have you seen Taylor?"

He crossed his arms, "Why would I have seen her? I don't want to see her."

I felt my voice elevating in anger, "Shut up, you idiot. You had your chance with her, and now she's probably hanging off of Sodapop's arm because you blew it!"

He sat up and leaned in closer to me, "Sodapop is not real! He's never gonna be real and she's never going out with him! Get your head out of your ass, it's not a hat."

How dare he use a Pitch Perfect reference on me?! "He is real, you Cotton-Headed Ninny Muggins!" I whisper yelled at him.

He gasped, "Cool it, will ya?!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

I let out a growl, "You are so stubborn!"

He held his hands under his desk as he asked me, "What was that?"

"I said, 'You are so stubborn!'" I hissed at him. Before I could finish my statement, he pulled a mirror into view. I yanked it away from him and busted it on his desk. I then crossed my arms and continued about my business, sitting quietly until class started.

His mouth dropped open in shock. "Gee, Alice, you got a real temper on you." He ran his hand through his hair.

I ignored him and just waited for class to start. And he says Dally's an asshole…

-JOHNNY'S POV-

"So, what's the hurry to get back?" Taylor asked us.

I let out a chuckle, "I'm not in the biggest hurry."

She smiled. Pony sat next to her on the park bench, "I need to get back to my brothers. They're probably worried sick…Well, at least Soda probably is."

Taylor jumped up, "Don't say that, Pony. Darry loves you and the only person who can't see it is you." Wait. How did Taylor know who Darry was? We never mentioned his name or anything about him.

"How d'you know?!" Pony snapped back at her. "How d'you know so much about me and Sodapop?! Who are you?!" Pony then ran off down the sidewalk.

"Pony…" Taylor stepped a few steps before giving up. "Shit."

Two Bit stormed after Pony, "Wait up, man!"

I swallowed, "How do you know so much about us all? You and Alice seem to know a lot about us."

She smiled anxiously, "I wish I could tell you, but I can't. I don't know how you'd react if I did."

That caught Dally's attention. He jumped up at the notion, "What do you mean 'you don't know how we'd react'? We don't 'react' in any particular way to anything."

She sighed with noticeable fear in her voice, "Oh, you'd react to this, buddy."

"Please, Taylor. What is it? It'll eat me alive not knowing." I told her, my hands still in my pockets.

She paused for a minute before letting out a sigh. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then she stopped and paused again. She sat back down on the bench silently. She waited a few seconds before whispering, "You're gonna think I'm absolutely crazy but…" She bit her lip, "I'm psychic. I know a lot about you because I'm a psychic."

"Bull." Dally pointed at her, "How do you really know about us?!" He inched closer to her with his sharp teeth gritted.

I leaped in front of him, "Stop it, Dal. I think she's telling the truth."

"How can you tell, huh? This little bitch probably lies to everybody!"

Taylor leaped to her feet and protested, "I'm not lying, Dally! Also, I'm not a bitch," she turned away shyly, "I let you stay the night at my house last night. I helped you, so thanks for the name in return."

He snickered before it seemed like he realized something. He calmed down and sat on the bench. "Sorry. Guess I always get like this around new people."

"I'll say." I commented, to which he laughed.

"So," he leaned in and whispered something to her…

-TAYLOR'S POV-

Dally then whispered to me, "So, are you free tonight? Maybe we could hang out somewhere."

I felt myself go pale. Normally, when I imagined what would happen if Dally flirted with me or asked me out, I would be blushing like a strawberry in bloom. I guess now that Dally is actually here, I'm just a bit in shock.

"I-I-uh…" I looked up at Johnny, standing there watching the whole interaction. "Wh—maybe…" I really didn't know what to say.

I suddenly got a buzz from my back pocket. Thank God to whoever it was! They really saved me from further embarrassment. I pulled out my phone and read the text message.

Dally and Johnny leaned in, "What's that?"

I giggled. I guess I must've forgotten they were from the 1960's and wouldn't have known what my cell phone was. "Oh, it's just my cell phone. They were invented long after the b—60's… Yeah, they're pretty cool. Maybe you can get one if you stay…" I glanced up at Johnny, a shy smile on his face, "Would you like one?"

Johnny shrugged, "What do they do?"

"Here," I told him, "let me check my text really quick." I scrolled through my iPhone 6 Plus and to my messages.

Alice: Hey where are you?! Classes started 5 minutes ago!

I ignored her text and showed Johnny and Dally the features of my phone. Hopefully that would be enough to convince them to stay… It would be pretty damn awesome if they did.

"And you can call your friends from anywhere, as long as you have their cell… You can set alarms, write stories, watch YouTu—you can watch cool videos on this really cool site that everyone's obsessed with. It's pretty sweet." I told them.

Dally leaned back on the bench as Johnny continued to stare at the phone in amazement. I thought it was actually kind of cute the way he took an interest in it. Dally lit a cigarette as he uttered, "I'm actually starting to like it here." Yes. Goals have been reached!

Johnny nodded in agreement, "Me, too." He glanced around awkwardly, "I-I really like that Alice girl… She's nice."

Dally was rattled by this. He paused, dragging his attention away from his cigarette. "Why? She's kind of stubborn, don't you think?"

I turned to him, "She's not bad, Dal. She's really cool when you get to know her. She's also one to play hard-to-get." I crossed my arms as I thought of Ponyboy. I looked at Johnny, "Don't you think Ponyboy and Two Bit should be back by now?"

Johnny looked down as if deep in thought. "Sure they would. What do you think, Dal?"

Dally took a long drag before answering the question at hand, "Pff, they're fine I'm sure." His eyes wandered toward me, "Why're you so worried?"

I quickly turned away, "I dunno, I'm just wondering. What if something happened to them?"

Dally snickered, "Ain't nothing going to happen to them, alright. Calm down."

What he said kind of pissed me off. What I told them about being a psychic, wasn't exactly a lie. I've been able to see into the future ever since I turned 16. I'd see visions in my dreams; brief ones, but still some things I'd see the next day at school and stuff. When my dad died, I had a vision of my dad sitting in his office chair, being brutally beaten to death… It was the worst thing I ever had to see…

I suddenly got a vision. Pony and Two Bit were running when a drunk guy ran over Pony as he rushed across the street. Oh shit, I thought, No!

"Ahh!" I jumped up.

Johnny rushed to my side and put his hand on my arm, "What's wrong?"

I felt like I was going to collapse as I looked into his eyes and responded, "Pony's in trouble. We have to help him!" I rushed off down the sidewalk before he could respond.

-DALLY'S POV-

"What's up with her?" I asked Johnny.

Johnny shrugged, "She said that Pony's in trouble."

I licked my lips before pausing for a second. I finally caught on, "C'mon, let's go help her."

When we got a few meters behind Taylor, I screamed at her, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Pony's gonna get hurt," I could hear her sniffling as she ran, "I gotta help him or he's gonna get hurt!"

I was taken aback by how emotional she was acting over someone she just met. What was Pony to her anyway? "Seriously?!" I asked her, still out of breath from running.

I was then caught off guard by her screaming, "No! Don't cross!" I looked up ahead and sure enough, Pony was about to cross the street.

"Why can't he…?" I gasped as I notice what was going to happen. My eyes witnessed a car coming full speed at Ponyboy as he was crossing the street. "Pony! Don't cross!" I shouted as loud as I could.

Before he could get half way through the street, the car came rushing at him. Johnny kept screaming "No! Pony, no!" at the top of his lungs.

"Pony!" I shrieked in fear as the car came barreling closer. I was close to the road when Taylor collapsed on the sidewalk. She fell to her knees and cried, placing her hands over her eyes.

I immediately kneeled down next to her. I didn't know what to say, or what to do.

I then looked up and what I saw I almost couldn't comprehend. A huge car ran right into Ponyboy, causing him to fall onto the windshield.

I jumped up and sprinted toward the car. As I reached the street, a guy stepped out and started crying. I shouted at him furiously, "What the hell is wrong with you, goddamn it?! He's just a kid!" I pointed to Ponyboy, laying almost lifelessly on the ground.

I heard Taylor, Johnny, and Two Bit rushing to Pony's side as I continued to scream at the guy like a lunatic. The guy looked drunk as it was.

"My name is Taylor Wellington. I'm at Anita Harris Phelps Park in Dallas. And my friend was just hit by a car." I heard Taylor on the phone, with who I assumed was 9-1-1. "No, ma'am, the man is drunk I believe." She glanced in the man's direction.

The man was leaned up against his car having a serious breakdown. I pointed my finger at him, "Don't think you can sob your way out of this, you petty little…"

"Calm down, Dal." Johnny ran to my side, "It's okay. Taylor said he's breathing."

I sighed in relief, "Good. Now we've just gotta get him to the hospital 'cause he's prolly fucked up a little."

Johnny looked back at Pony and Taylor before sighing, "I hope he doesn't need too much done."

"Yeah, me too."

-THREE HOURS LATER-

-RHETT'S POV-

I kept staring at the screen of my phone, trying to decide whether I should text Taylor or not. It hurt me pretty bad that she'd defend some stupid impersonators over me. I thought I was her best friend. She was mine…

Suddenly Alice walked to the lunch table and sat beside me. I immediately turned off my phone when she began to speak, "What's with the long face? I thought pretty boys weren't allowed to have frowns."

"I am not a pretty boy," I protested, "I am simply someone that somehow has a lot of girls into him."

She snickered, "Yeah, whatever," she took a sip of her Mountain Dew, "pretty boy."

I rolled my eyes and turned my back to face her. I went back to my messages and stared at the screen on Taylor and I's conversation. I just sat there and stared for a good minute.

Before "The text is not going to send itself." happened.

"Jesus!" I jump back as Alice watched over my shoulder. "What's your obsession with doing that to people?!"

She shrugged, "I dunno, dude. I just like to scare people into relationships." She ended with a grin.

I rolled my eyes before stepping out of the cafeteria and into the choir hall, which is empty at lunch time. I quickly dialed Taylor's number and waited for her to pickup. The call went something like this:

Taylor: Hello? *Sniffles*

Me: Tay? Are you okay? Where are you?

Taylor: I-I'm at the hospital. With the guys.

Me: What did those little punks do to you?!

Taylor: God, Rhett, they didn't do anything. Ponyboy got hit by a car and now he's having to get immediate treatment… *voice trails off*

Me: *puts hand over mouth* Are you hurt?! Do you need me to—

Taylor: Can you please come and get me?

Me: Uhh, is that what you want?

Taylor: Please, Rhett. I want to see you.

Me: *gulp* Okay, baby girl, I'll be there in 10. *hangs up*

I ran back inside, only to see Alice being hit on by no one other than Jack Wiggins—the son of the soccer team coach. I rolled my eyes as I walked back toward the exit of the building.

I pulled out my phone and texted her, telling her where I was going. That's when I saw my sister hanging out next to my car with her friend, Maya. Maya had a thing for me, and I knew that. But in all honesty, I didn't like her back since I was so in love with Taylor.

"Hey, Rhettsy." Maya winked at me as I unlocked my car.

I just gave her a friendly smile before hopping in the driver's seat and starting up the car. I really didn't want to hear about how she wanted to 'take a ride' with me or anything of that sort.

"What, aren't ya gonna even say 'Hi'?" She smirked at me.

I looked out the window and frowned, "You really are a slut, aren't you?" Before she could reply or worse, attack me, I peeled off out of the parking lot.