Chapter Seven: November

Georgie POV

I was getting tired of the Soc's. They still hadn't left me alone, and we'd been in school over a month. The gang was thinking a lot about Dally and Johnny. And they had no idea how much I was thinking about them, too. I couldn't tell anybody about that.

I did my homework in Soda and Pony's room everyday. I don't know why. I was always the only one home right after school.

"How you doin'?"

I froze. My breathing becoming frantic.

"No... It's not possible..."

I turned around, and someone was lounging on the bed.

"What the hell...?"

I was going crazy. That was the only explanation. I was insane. I hadn't seen him in two years.

"Cut it out, Dal. You're scaring her."

I turned towards the window to see a young man giving me a sympathetic look. This is crazy. I'd seen him in pictures, but I'd never heard his voice before.

"She's fine."

He stoop up and lit a cigarette. I was suddenly feeling the urge for one. As if reading my mind, Dally handed it to me and lit another one for himself.

I took a good long drag and closed my eyes.

"I'm dreaming. Or I'm crazy. Whichever one, it doesn't matter."

Dally laughed, and I glared.

"It'd seem that way, wouldn't it?"

Johnny stepped towards me.

"I don't know you that good, but I've been watching. You're doing real good, Georgie."

"Eh. She's doin' alright."

I shot him a look.

"Shut up!"

"Ohhh. I see you still have a temper."

I sighed, getting frustrated. I was holding the bridge of my nose to keep from having a mental breakdown.

"Okay. If you're going to haunt someone, asshole, then why does it have to be me?!"

"We're not haunting you. You see, sometimes when ya die, you get a job."

I scoffed.

"Yeah, I know. Never thought I'd have one, did ya? Anyway. We got a job. We help make the fate of the gang happen."

"I don't follow."

Johnny spoke up next.

"When we died, we became in charge of making the gang's fate happen. We knew someone else was gonna come in. Take our place, in a way."

"No one could take your place, Johnny."

I said that with a sad smile on my face. He smiled back. I wished that I could have met him when he was alive.

"Anyway, we knew you would be here. Become part of the gang. We made sure there was a job opening for your Dad, and..."

"Yeah, how is the old man from hell...?

He said that in a low, angry voice. He was pissing me off.

"Shut it, Dally!"

"Did you guys already know each other? You've never mentioned any girls that I can remember."

I stared at Johnny in disbelief. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I turned to Dally, giving him a death glare...

"You never told them about me?"

He sighed. Clearly getting frustrated.

"You don't understand..."

"Oh, I understand. You're an asshole! I thought you told them! I just figured you never used my name! That's why I didn't say anything to the gang when they told me about you! I didn't know that you failed to tell them about me at all!"

"You don't understand. I couldn't let anyone know about you..."

"You don't care about me! If you did, you would have never gotten yourself killed! Do you know what that did to me? That letter was the worst thing I have ever received in my life! Do you know how hard that was?!"

"I would've done the same thing if you had died! And don't go griping to me! I know what it did to you! Trust me! I know you tried to kill yourself after I died..."

"Why shouldn't I?! I was dead for a long time after you died, anyway!"

"Did you guys date or something?!"

I realized we had been ignoring him, but I was too mad at the time to really register what he had said. Poor guy. Dally sat down on the bed. Head in his hands.

"I couldn't let them know I cared about anyone. I had a lot of enemies. I would've had a weakness, and anyone could've used you against me."

"Thanks a lot..."

I started to tear up and backed into the wall.

"Bug?"

"Don't do that..."

I started to cry.

"Please don't cry. I can't do crying. Come on, sis..."

"Sis...?"

Dally sighed and sat on the bed again. Lighting another cigarette.

"Johnny, meet my sister."

I could see that Johnny looked shocked and hurt.

"Look, we don't have much time. Soda will be home in a minute. You're the only one who can see and hear us, so you can't be talkin' to us when he gets here. You'd look crazy."

"I must be. I haven't seen you since we moved away from New York."

"Wait. She can't be your sister. I've seen both your dads."

"We have the same mom, stupid. Another story, another time. Georgie, the reason that we had to die was so you could be here. Mom never would have wanted to move to Tulsa if I hadn't died. It's all part of fate... Wait... Why haven't you told the boys that you know who I am, anyway...?"

"They were still grieving you two. They still are... I can't take that away from them..."

"But you didn't have anyone to grieve with. You had no real friends, now you do. They could be there for you. You still haven't moved on. Don't you remember when you practically lived with me in New York like you live with them now? You would never tell me what was going on at home. I still don't know..."

"I thought you said you knew everything about the gang..."

Johnny came to my side.

"We know everything about the gang except for each person's deepest secret. That's the only thing we can't know. They have to say it on their own..."

"Tell me. I have to know. I've beat the shit out of your dad before trying to..."

"Yeah and we had to move because of it! You couldn't just let it go!"

"Someone was hurting my sister! You think I'm gonna let that go?!"

"You don't know if he was hurting me or not!"

"He was hurting you somehow! You never wanted to be home!"

"Georgie! You here?"

I heard Soda, but I didn't care. I was pissed at Dally.

"You asshole!"

I threw a punch at Dally, but he was gone and I punched through the window!

"Georgie!"

I was staring at the window. I didn't even feel the cuts on my hand. I heard the door fly open, and turned around to see Soda looking at me.

"Wha? What happened? Why'd you do that?"

I looked out the window, looked back at Soda, grabbed my backpack, pushed passed him, and went to my house. Soda was screaming for me the whole time, but I couldn't stop. I ran in the house, went to my room, and just stood there. I couldn't believe what had just happened. What I had just done.

Soda POV

I went to Georgie's the next morning to tell her that Two-bit was there to get us. Her mom said Steve had picked her up five minutes ago. Steve?

Two weeks went by, and those two have completely ignored us. Georgie hadn't come back and Steve hadn't either. I saw him at her house, though. They even avoided us at school, and I could see the way she looked. She wasn't sleeping. Steve avoids me everywhere. Even at work. I decided to corner him one day at the DX when I saw him go in the bathroom.

"Hey, buddy. Long time no see."

"Hey, Soda."

"What's going on...?"

"Soda..."

"No. Don't 'Soda' me. You guys have been avoiding all of us. You guys dating or something?"

"I'm still with Evie, Soda. Look, I'd love to tell you what's going on, but I know about as much as you do."

"What do you mean?"

"All I know is she broke the window. But, I don't think that's all that's bothering her... But she won't talk... Look, I'm not gonna let her be alone at school and I go to her house as much as I can. Right now she trusts me. She needs to trust someone. She also talks to Two-bit. Just not you, Pony, and Darry."

"Because of the window?"

"I guess. She just said she snapped and had to punch something. I guess the window was just the first thing she saw."

"We're not mad. Darry does stuff like that when he gets mad, and we have the money now to fix it. Why does she think that every time she does something wrong, we hate her?"

"I think it's a girl thing."

We both chuckled a little.

"Just, let her calm down. She's starting to get jittery like Johnny, and I don't like that. I'll try to talk to her."