Blah, finallyy. A new chapter! -dances.

It's not that great, but it'll do. I'll already apologize in advance for any typos/mistakes. I'm so tired right now, I don't feel like going back and proofreading. I might be looking for a beta. Anyone interested? PM me.

Now, on with the chappttterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders. Disapointed, right? No, you're probably not. I know you wish you owned The Outsiders too.

Chapter 4

As we approached the airport, I stared at the ring in my hands.

"What'cha got there?" Two-bit asked, glancing over at my hands.

"Nothing," I mumbled, closing my hand around the ring. "Hey, Two-Bit?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how Dally afforded these plane tickets? He doesn't even have a job." I asked, twirling a strand of hair around my finger.

"Well lotsa things, I reckon. He probably gambled; he always had the best luck."

I nodded slowly, staring at all the people as we pulled up to the airport. They were running in and out of the doors, as if their lives were just one big rush. I got out of the car clutching my bag and looked around. No one noticed me.

Two-Bit gave the car keys to some man, and let me inside. He looked like he knew what he was doing, and I didn't interrupt. After an hour of waiting, we finally got to board our plane.

"You seem awfully quiet," Two-Bit commented, strapping himself in and watched me. I sat in my seat, still clutching my bag and chewing on my bottom lip. I stared directly at the seat in front of me, then at the plane door. There was still time to get out.

"Two-bit, I don't want to do this. I'm leaving. Right now," I said, still chewing on my bottom lip as I got up.

"What? No! You afraid of heights or somethin'?" He quickly unbuckled himself and followed me as I made a mad dash to the door.

"Um, miss!" A flight attendant called, motioning for me to come back.

"Sorry, wrong flight," I responded, and she shut the doors. Two-bit was staring at me angrily.

I didn't say anything and walked away, through the terminal. When we got to the doors, Two-Bit grabbed my arm and looked me in the eye.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, looking around in case anyone was watching.

"I'll tell you later, get the car." I said, hoping he would forget. Two-Bit just sighed and went to some man wearing a uniform and gave him a ticket.

In about 10 minutes, our car was here and I got in silently. Two-Bit got into the driver's seat and pulled onto the freeway, holding onto the steering wheel tightly.

"Tell me why, now."

I scrunched my nose. I was used to people being stern with me, mostly because I was so stubborn. "We don't need to go to stupid California. I'm fine here. Dally's just crazy."

"Dally will kill me," He mumbled, glancing over at me again.

I put Dally's ring in my pocket. I wasn't going to wear it. He and I were just friends.

xxxxx

When we got to my house, Two-Bit only dropped me off and then drove off. I came inside quickly, stowing my bag in my closet and taking the ring out of my pocket. With a slight idea of where Dally was, I headed over to Buck's.

When I got there, Buck answered the door with a smirk. "Here to see me?" He asked, staggering around like his drunken self.

"No. Where's Dally?" I asked, picking up a beer off the table and shoving it into his hands.

"Upstairs," He mumbled, chugging down the beer.

I rolled my eyes and headed up the stairs, walking straight into the room Dally always slept in. To my surprise, I found me lying in bed with Sylvia, the tramp he was "dating" the other day. Dally turned around and stared at me with wide eyes. I glared at him, throwing the ring at him and walking out the door.

"Lexi," I heard him call, causing Sylvia to roll over and mumble, "Who's that?"

I was at the top of the staircase when Dally grabbed my arm and turned me around.

"Dally—what the hell?! Put some clothes on!" I exclaimed. He was completely nude.

"Why are you still here? I thought you left with Two-Bit!"

"Yeah? Well I don't always do what I'm told." I said, squirming out of his grip and heading down the stairs.

"Wait—wait!" I heard him say, running into his room to get some clothes on.

I went down the stairs as fast as I could, hoping to leave before he could catch me. I ran out the door, past a dazed Buck Merril, and out onto the street.

I looked around, finding Buck's car parked across the street and heading towards it. At that exact moment, Dally ran out the door fully clothed.

"Lexi, wait! Come back here right now!"

I ignored him and walked towards the convertible. The keys were already inside, so I reached for the door. Dally was walking towards me barefoot.

He would've gotten to me, but then everything changed. As I pulled the handle on the door, the car exploded. I flew backwards, landing on the stairs leading to Buck's doorway. Dally landed not too far away from me, because I could hear him coughing somewhere near me. I heard people running outside to see what had happened, and all the gasps around me. I couldn't see anything, though. I couldn't seem to open my eyes at all.

"Lexi? Lexi!" I heard Dally's voice in my ear. He must've been okay, since he got up and was now at my side. I felt a strong pain in my neck; I must've landed on a stair.

I heard the sound of ambulances and fire trucks, and instantly opened my eyes.

"Dally," I said, though my voice was barely audible, he could hear me. "Get me outta here. I don't want to go to the hospital."

Dally seemed to have debated over that, but then finally he got Buck to help him carry me to the side of the house and laid me down on a worn down mattress.

"Buck – go call Two-Bit and tell him to come pick us up. Now," Dally ordered, sitting next to me.

I glanced at Dally. His face was covered in ashes. Quite frankly, I was surprised I wasn't dead yet. I was so close to the explosion, and all it did was send me ricocheting backwards. I coughed, feeling a sharp pain in my ribs.

"You okay?"

"Mhhm," I managed to say, slowly closing my eyes.

"No, no, don't close your eyes Lexi. Two-bit is here, we're taking you to Darry. He'll know what to do," Dally sounded worried, and that made me smile.

He picked me up, groaning at his own pains, and quickly carrying me to the car. He laid me down on the backseat and climbed into the shotgun. Two-Bit started driving immediately.

"Whoa, Dal, she looks bad." Two-Bit commented, speeding up a little.

My eyes were closed now, but I could hear everything.

"She'll be fine."

"As long as she don't get all the blood on my seats."

I instantly opened my eyes and looked myself over. I had blood everywhere. My shirt was stained red, and there were cuts and bruises all along my arms and legs.

The next thing I knew, I was passed out.

xxxxx

When I finally opened my eyes again, I saw Dally and Sodapop standing over me. Sodapop was attempting to clean up all the blood with one first aid kit, and Dally was staring at me with his always cold eyes.

"Ouch," I said as Sodapop poured rubbing alcohol on one of my cuts.

"Sorry," He mumbled, continuing to disinfect. "Didn't realize you woke up."

"Where's Darry?" Darry was always the one who would take care of this stuff.

"He's working late tonight. He don't know what happened yet, so hush." Sodapop said, pulling out some band-aids. I glanced down at my legs, only to see that they were covered in band-aids of all different colors. I laughed.

"I look like a rainbow."

Sodapop cracked a smile. "It's better than bleeding all over the place."

We both chuckled a little, and I looked up at Dally. He looked lost in thought, staring at the wall. "Dal, don't hurt yourself," I teased, causing him to look at me. "I'm fine. No big deal."

"No big deal?" He said, raising his voice. "Really? Buck's car exploded and you look like this, and all you can say is that you're fine? You know who did this, Lexi. We're not just dealin' with some assholes that lost a friend. We're dealin' with sick people. Ones who won't stop until they're satisfied; and we don't know when that will be."

I thought about what he said. He had a point. This wasn't just a little chase anymore. It was much bigger than that. Either that, or Dally could be wrong. Maybe they're just really upset.

"Maybe they're just really upset," I said dumbly, repeating my own thoughts. Sodapop glanced up at me with raised eyebrows, but stayed out of it.

"Yeah, sure." Dally snorted, pacing the room.

"Dally; take your attitude somewhere else. I'm too tired right now," I said, and Dally sat down on the other couch quickly.

"No. I'm staying."

"You really should go. Maybe that tramp you left naked in bed will actually see you again," I said, smirking. Sodapop laughed, causing me to laugh, too.

"Sylvia. Her name's Sylvia. You know what? Maybe I will." He got up at stocked out the door. I smirked at him, watching him slam the door behind him.

"Don't be so mean to him," Sodapop commented, putting the last band-aid on my knee. I sat up, rubbing my neck. It was sore as hell, but I didn't want Soda to put me in a neck brace or anything.

"He can take it. He's a big boy."

Sodapop smiled at me, putting the first aid kit away.

"I'm surprised you boys even have a first aid," I commented.

"Hey," Sodapop smirked. "We surprise people a lot."

"I'll bet."

Sodapop nodded. "Well, I have to go see Sandy in half an hour. You'll be alright by yourself?"

I nodded. "Yep. I'm fine."

"Okay then, I'm leaving now." He stood up and pulled up his jeans. "See ya."

"Mhhm," I mumbled back.

When Sodapop left, I managed to get myself to stand up, hoping to go sit on the couch on the porch. When I got to the porch, I began to rub my neck again.

"What's wrong with your neck?"

I jumped. Glancing over at the couch, I saw Dally taking a smoke.

"Shit," I took a step back. "You scared me! I thought you left."

"I had somethin' to tell you," Dally said, staring me straight in the eye. This time it wasn't one of his cold, icy stares. It was softer.

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