AN: THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!

STACY'S POV

"See ya later!" I waved as Two-bit left to go find Sodapop and Steve. The sun was starting to set now and Tess, Dally, and I were walking passed the empty lot. I stopped in my tracks as I saw the sky. The clear blue sky was now filled with shades of pink, orange, and a little purple and were wrapping around clouds, making them glow with a golden look. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Stacy!" Dally called and I looked over at him and saw his annoyed look.

"Isn't it perfect." I say as I sighed.

"I'll never get what's so great about a sunset." Dally says as he lit up a cigarette.

"The sun set's here too?" Tess asked me and I smile down at her.

"Yep. All over the world, the sun sets but it's at different times." I tell her and I glance over when I here a snort. "Would you like to say something Dallas?"

He just gave me a look. "Do you really think the kid understands what you're saying to her?"

I gave him a look. "She's two not one."

"I bet she won't even remember this in a few weeks." Dally says as he shook his head at me.

"I bet you won't even remember this in a few weeks." I countered as we started walking again.

"Must you think so little of me?" Dally asked me with a brow raised and I laughed.

"Must you think so little of my child?" I asked him.

He rolled his eyes. "I just don't like kids. They annoy the hell out of me."

"Probably 'cause you're mean to them." I told him. "Does Tess annoy you?"

Tess looked up at him, hearing her name in the conversation.

Dally glanced down at her. "Not too much. She only bugs me when she starts to act like you."

I gave him a look. "So I bug you?"

"Well duh." He says. "Especially when you start to mouth off to me."

"Well I'm sorry buddy but ain't nobody going to tell me how to talk to them except God himself." I yelled at him.

He gave me a heated glare. "And that's exactly why you bug me, or at least one of the reasons."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Oh and what are the other things I do to bug you, oh great one."

I could tell he was pissed off now. "Oh I don't know, how about the fact that you never think before you act! You take your kid and y'all walk in the dark to the store even though it could have waited till the morning and then you get jumped."

I was ready to punch the sorry excuse of a person. "How was I to know that I'd get jumped?"

"Why it's called commonsence. I here this guy that you keep bringing up called God gave it to you but I could be wrong. He must have skipped you." Dally yelled at me.

"Oh and you're so flawless I could only hope to be like you." I told him sarcastically.

He glared at me. "What the hell is your problem?"

I wanted to scream. "You're my problem you jackass!" I then grabbed Tess's hand and walked off. "Oh and don't worry about ever having to deal with me or my kid again 'cause I promise you I won't ever make the mistake of talking to you again. I won't bother your friends either."

"Stacy!" He yelled but he didn't bother to come after me. It's not like I was running either since I had Tess and all.

"Dally mean?" Tess asked me after we were a good block away from him.

I smiled down sadly at her. "Yeah, he's mean."

I should have known he'd be like this. It was so clear that it'd turn out this way yet stupid me was starting to get sucked back into this shit again. I swore I wouldn't get involved with another guy again and here I am, not even all the way involved and yet I'm still able to get hurt. Maybe I should just keep to myself from now on. It surely wouldn't hurt to try.

"Stacy?" I herd someone say and I looked to see that guy Tim.

"Shepard." I greated as I walked on. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to someone right now, let alone Dal's friend.

"Wait up." He says and I could hear him running against the concriet. "What's up?"

"The sky." I say as I coutinued to walk on. All I wanted to do is go home and get dinner ready. I didn't want to talk to Dally's friend or Donny's old friend.

"What's wrong?" He asked me as he looked into my eyes and I turned away and coutinued to head home.

"Nothing." I say. It's none of his business why I'm upset just like it was no one elses.

"Stacy." He said in his deep voice and if I wasn't focusing on getting home, I would have turned to look at him.

"What?" I snapped. "There's nothing wrong and if there was, what makes you think I'd tell you?"

Tim didn't go off yelling at me like I thought he'd do or walk away like I wanted. He did the last thing I thought the gang leader would do. He pulled me into his chest and held me there, his stone grip making it impossible to break free.

"What's wrong?" He asked me again and I had to will myself not to cry.

"Nothing that was right in the first place." I told him with a small laugh.

"Come with me." He says as he let me go but takes my free hand into his. He leads Tess and me to his house and we walk on in.

"So?" I say as I sat on his couch which looked like it could fold out and become a bed. I picked Tess up and placed her in my lap carefully, making sure she didn't hit my cut.

Tim walked down the hall and after a few minutes, he came back. I couldn't believe what he had in his hands. Actually I could but I didn't want to. There was the necklace Donny wore everyday since he got it. It was the only thing our grandparents had got him before they passed away. They got him the silver cross with blue dimands in it and me ruby earrings. As you can guess, our grandparents had a good bit of money.

"He told me if something ever happened to him and I ever ran into you, he wanted you to have this." Tim handed it to me as a few tears leaked from my eyes.

I placed it around my neck and held onto the pendent for dear life. I still didn't understand why he had to die. Sure he did horrible things to survive and sure he did fight when there was really no need but hey, don't we all? I just wish the pain would go away for once. I was so sick of having to see him in my dreams each and every night and then wake up realizing that he's dead and he's never coming back.

I looked down and saw Tess fast asleep. It was around six o'clock and she hadn't had a nap so I guess this wasn't anything unusual. I moved her over so that she lay right beside me on the couch and out of my lap. As soon as I did that, Shepard had me back in a hug only this time, I didn't try to get away.

"I keep thinking that this is a dream." I told him. "That I'm really back in Florida and that I never met Cody and Donny's still alive and my life is some what normal. I just wish things were how they use to be."

I felt Tim rub my back. "For a while I thought that as soon as I came in here that he'd be awake and bugging the hell out of Curly while Angela cooked breakfist. I use to here his laughter in my head everytime I walked into this house but over time it's gone away."

I whipped at my eyes. "You swear to God you want think I'm crazy and you won't tell nobody?" Once I got a nod of the head I coutinued. "I have flashbacks when I go to sleep. Like I'll see things from my childhood about him when I go to sleep. That's why I'm usually up at night. After those dreams, I never want to go back asleep which is kind of stupid since I think I'd rather want to be in my dreams where he is then out in reality where everyone who's ever hurt me is."

"It'll be OK." Tim told me. "Everything's going to work out."

I looked up at him and shook my head, a small smile

on my face. "I use to believe those kind of lies. I'm smart enough now to know it's not. Nothing will ever be OK ."

"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked me.

I looked down at my sleeping kid. "She's the best yet scariest thing that's ever happened to me. I just wish that there was something I could do to stop them from placing her in foster home."

Tim looked at me confused. "What are you talking about? Why would they place her in foster home?"

I looked back at her. "I won't be alive for very much longer Tim."

He gave me a bewild look before telling me to coutinue.

"Cody, her dad, will stop at nothing till I'm dead. I don't know if he'll go so far and try to kill her but I do know that when he's out of jail and finds me, I'll be six feet under soon. That's why I came here. Donny told me this was a good place to be in hiding but I seem to have already made one big mistake already, I told everyone my real name." I say as I looked down. I wasn't in denial about what was going to happen to me like many people were. If it wasn't for Tess, I probably wouldn't have even came all the way out here. There really isn't anyone else worth living for and she's the only thing that kept me from killing myself when I herd the news about Donny.

"Why are you giving up already?" Tim asked me. "There has to be a way around this."

"Like what?" I asked him. "I can't go to the police because he can make the court see that I'm an unfit mother and Tess would be taken away from me. I know hardly anyone and know no one that could help."

"Kid, I ain't going to let anyone get to you." Tim told me and I looked up at him.

"Why do you care so much about me?" I asked him. "You hardly know me."

"I know a lot about you from Donny." Tim told me with an expression I couldn't read. "He used to tell me all about you and what y'all two always did together or what y'all would argue about more than anything."

I gave him a small smile as the tears finally stopped falling from my eyes. "Really? He used to tell me about y'all here too. Said that you were pretty cold and emotionless but he knew how to get you to lighten up and smile. He used to tell me all about Curly and Angela, saying he got lucky when God only stuck him with me and not them."

Tim chuckled. "Ain't that the truth."

I laughed lightly. "Oh they can't be so bad. Don told me that Angela could be really sweet sometimes and Curly could be funny as hell and a pretty good kid."

Tim just shook his head but I could see a small smile on his face. "Yeah Angel's nice one minute and then screaming the next and Curly's a pretty good kid when he's not running his mouth to the wrong people or getting into meaningless fights with people he knows he can't take so I have to go and save his ass."

I smiled. "Yeah but isn't that your job anyway? To look after your younger siblings."

Tim just laughed. "I'd trade with ya in a heartbeat."

I smiled and shook my head. "You want to watch over a two year old twenty four seven?"

Tim looked over at her. "I forgot about her."

I laughed. "My point exactly."

Tim just looked me over. "Donny used to tell me how stubborn you could be and that you were the weridest kid ever. I don't know about the strange part but I am beginning to see the stubborn part."

I rolled my eyes. "If that kid was alive, I'd kill him."

It was silent after that and for a while. I couldn't really think of anything to say and he seemed to be having my luck.

"I never imaged a gang leader would be like you." I finally told him.

He raised a brow. "What do mean by that?"

I smiled. "You held me when I cried. Only one person's ever done that."

"Just don't go around spreading it. You're the first person not related to me that I've done that for." He told me. "You want something to drink?"

"No that's OK, I probably should be going." I say as I start to get up.

"Stay awhile kid." He told me. "What's to do anywhere else?"

I sighed and nodded. "You're right."

He went into the kitchen and came back with a coke for me and a beer for him. I smiled and nodded my thanks as I opened it just as the front door was opened and slammed shut.

"I'm home!" A male voice called and we were soon greated with flying shoes

"So what and don't throw your shoes all over the damn place." Tim yelled after him as he walked into the room.

"Hey." Curly greeted me. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." I say kind of ackwardly.

"Where's Angel?" Tim asked him exspectingly.

"Uh you see." Curly started and Tim's eyes were already narrowing. "We sort of had an arguement and she decided that she wanted to go to Kimmy's house so I thought that I'd look out for her wants and dropped her off."

After a long list of swearing that made me glad Tess was asleep and couldn't hear it, Tim looked over at his kid brother and I kind of felt for him there. "Are you crazy boy? You honestly think she went to Kimmy Wilson's house? She probably snuck off to that no good punk John Jacob's house to go and fuck."

"I thought he was in jail." Curly says as he sits in the arm chair farthest away from Tim.

"He got out today." Tim snapped at him.

"Oh." Curly says as he looks anywhere but at Tim. "Why do I always have to drive her around and look out for her? Ain't she a big girl?"

"Because you're her older brother and I said so, that's why!" Tim yelled at him.

"You're her older brother too!" Curly says but soon shuts up once he see's the look Tim was throwing him. I had to contain my laughter right then and there. It was actually pretty funny to see them arguing.

"I'm the oldest which means I'm in charge and when I tell you to do something, you best do it little boy." Tim told him in a voice that even had the hairs on my arms standing up.

"OK." Curly says as he looked anywhere but at his brother. "I wasn't thinking at the time and I thought I could trust her. Sorry."

"I've about had it with that girl! If she honestly thinks she's going to sleep around with every other guy and make a whore of herself and our name then she's got another thing coming." Tim then went on cursing.

"If you want then maybe I could talk to her." I tell him making both boys look at me questioning. "I have a kid and I'm only sixteen. She's what, a year younger? I could tell her all the hell I've went through and scare her into listening to y'all."

Tim snapped his fingers and gave another rare grin. "That's perfect. Thanks Stacy, this might work."

It was later that day and I was still at the Shepard's when Angela came home and went straight to her room. Tess was now awake so I declaired Curly and Tim babysitters for the moment. Walking down the hall, I knocked on the door that I was told was Angela's.

"Who is it?" Her voice sounded clearly annoyed as her music was turned off.

"Stacy, can I come in?" I asked praying she'd say yes. I sure hope this works.

"Stacy? Sure." She the opens the door and greats me with a smile. "What's up?"

"Uh I just need to talk to you, can I come in?" I asked her and walked on in once she nodded. Her room was in pink and blue and had to be the girliest room I've ever been in. She had bright curtains that were hung up by the window and above her bed like a princess would have. There were stuffed animals on a shelf and nail stuff on the next while Elvis and other hot music posters were hanging on the walls.

"Nice room." I commented as I sat on her bed. Either she's really good at sewing and she made her blanket or she swiped it from the store.

"Thanks." She says as she sits in her chair at her desk. "What's up?"

I sighed. "Tim and Curly are really worried about you."

She instintly gets up and rolls her eyes. "Is that was this is about? Look I'm fine and you can tell them that!"

"Angela listen to me." I told her as I got up too. "Look they didn't ask me to do this but the way they were talking got me kind of worried."

"Why would you be worried?" She crossed her arms. "You barely know me."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I want you or anyone else to go down the road I went. Angela, do you honestly want to know where the path you're taking ends?" I asked her as she walked over to her bed and sits down.

"He uses protection." She told me.

"Which he 'cause I sure no that there's more then one." I told her as I sat next to her.

"They all use them." She says as she looks at a magazine on her bed.

"Are you positive? Are you on the pill?" I asked her and she sort of looked away.

"Man why do I feel like this is the most embarrassing thing in the world?" She asks. "I brag to my friends all the time."

"If it's because you think I'll run and tell your brothers, don't worry. I won't say a thing about what you tell me." I told her.

She looked me over. "How do I know if you're telling me the truth?"

I smiled. "Trust me, I swear I won't tell. Scouts honer." I held up my right hand making Angela laugh.

"You remind me a lot of Donny." She told me and I just looked down some what. I never thought I was a thing like Don but whatever.

"So tell me, what all have you done with a guy?" I asked her.

"Went all the way a few times." She says and I gave her a look. "OK more than a few. It's just, I feel so great when I'm with them. It's like I'm actually good at something and they get really into it."

I smiled. "Yeah guys seem to dig it a lot."

Angela smirked. "You got that right."

"I'm going to tell you some things about my life." I told her. "Now here's where I trust you. No one knows this whole story and I want to keep it between only you and me. You won't tell, I won't tell savvy?"

Angela nodded seriously. "Sure."

"OK. Well when I found out I was pregnant, I made the worst mistake of my life. I told the father, who tried to kill me. Be careful who you trust Angel, they might seem nice but honey, that's usually a cover up. Cody sure was good at covering up the truth and boy oh boy did I fall for that bastards lies. Donny saved me the first time Cody tried to kill me by talking with me over the phone and told me what to do."

"I remember him telling me you were in trouble and that he'd have to leave soon." Angela says. "I wish he would have been able to."

I gave a small smile. "Me too. Well anyway, he was coming up with countless ways to kill me while my mom was doing the same. You see, my parents wern't the best. Once my mom found out, she tried everything she could to try and make me get rid of it. I don't understand why she put so much effort into it before kicking me out. Hell, I would have figured that would have been her first choice.

ANGEL'S POV

"She kicked you out?" I asked her. "Where did you go?"

She gave a small smile. "At first I was sleeping on the streets, trying to get a job. Of course I was thirteen at the time and nobody would hire me because of my age and which side I was from. Things were really hard, especially when I became six months along and the baby was really making me hungry. Hell I starved a lot in my life time but I never felt the hunger pains like I did then. I felt so bad, not just because of my need for food but because I knew that I couldn't give my baby what it needed and I just knew that it would die and it'd be all my fault."

"But it wouldn't be!" I argued. "It would be your stupid mom's fault because she kicked you out and the dad's fault since it does take two to make a baby."

She smiled a little. "Well I've always figured it my fault. Anyway, my luck was starting to turn slightly when I met this girl who happened to be really sweet. She was middle class and was working at a hot dog stand where I was near. I had been staying under a bridge where it was by and was figuring out a plan to steel a few of there hot dogs when she, Elaine, came up to me and gave me four of them. She told me she'd been watching me and thought she'd save me the trouble. We got to talking and she offered me a place to stay and said she could get me a job with her and I gladly excepted. I don't know where I'd be without her today."

"Man I think I'd die if I had to live life that way and starve." I told her as I tried to picture me in her shoes. "If Tim and Curly ever died or left me out in the cold like that, I think I would kill myself."

"I thought about it more than once and probably would have if Tess wasn't there. I can't tell you how many times I've held my blade to my wrist or a gun to my head but all I could think about was what would happen to Tess? She has no one to take care of her or when she was in my stomach I kept thinking how unfair I was being, taking away an innocent life and how would that get me anywhere? I just couldn't do it." Stacy says. "I went into labor early and almost lost my baby girl and I can't tell you what I felt then. I had already lost the most important person to me and if I would have lost Tess too, I can honestly tell you that I would have left that hospital and shot myself without second thinking it. But hope looked up and Tess survived but we were no where near out of the picture. We were OK for about a year or two before things went south. I had this crazy exboyfriend chacing after us and he found out where I was staying and killed Elaine's boyfriend. I was out of there after that, trying to find a safe place.

"I was running with Tess in my arms, thinking I had to find a safe place for my baby while Cody was chasing after me. He had a gun and I knew it which only made me run faster. Well I was running passed this bank when he shot at me. Some random guy saw it coming and pushed me down in time, taking the bullet for me. They arrested Cody for that but since the guy didn't die he didn't get the chair, just a few months. It turns out that my mom had died and I had to sell everything. Luckly, I was able to get some money out of mom's will and once I sold the house I was set for awhile. I knew I had to get out of Panama City so I decided taking Donny's advice and came here." Stacy finishs.

"God I don't know what I would have done." I say as I lay back on my bed. Sure, my parents are horrible but I always had brothers to turn to, even if I was a total bitch to them sometimes or most the time for Curly. "Why didn't you just come to live with Donny sooner? You know he wanted you too."

She looked down a little. "I was caught up in drugs and guys and wasn't using my head at all. If I could do it all over again, I surely would had jumped at the chance to go. Don't get me wrong, I love Tess more than anyone alive, but I'm still not ready to be a mother. They say you adventually catch on but it's been two years and I'm still not that great."

"I saw you with her." I tell her as I placed a hand on the girl's tiny shoulder. "You're great with her."

"I can't give her what she needs!" Stacy says as a few tears fall from her eyes. "Don't end up like me Angel, don't. Don't go sleepin' with all those guys 'cause you think it's cool 'cause honey, it surely gets you no where near popular. I had a bunch of friends when I was hanging with Cody but as soon as they herd I was pregnant, they all left me. Do you honestly think the crouds going to stay with you and help you out?"

I thought about that. Maybe Kimmy would but I knew a lot of girls wouldn't from exsperiece. A girl in our click got pregnant and we pick on her all the damn time. Hell, maybe Kimmy would join Sylvia and the others and look down on me if it happened.

Stacy placed both hands on mine. "Angel honey, you have to be careful who you sleep with. One, you never know what they got. Two, you may not know if they're really using protection and three, you may not know what kind of person they are. Cody tried to fuckin' kill me and he's still trying to. You don't want to end up like me, living on the streets, waking up in the middle of the nights with a kid to look after, and trying to hide even though it's useless. You're way too pretty for that Angela."

I hugged her tightly. "You don't deserve any of the shit you've went through."

I felt her hug me back. "Thanks sweetie. Now please promise me that you'll be more careful and you won't be slutting around with guys you hardly know. Let a relationship take time to form and then do it. No matter what people say about you Angela, it's the best way. I would do that if I ever got the chance again."

"I'll try Stacy, I promise." I told her as I pulled away.

She smiled. "Good. Now one other favor."

I gave her a confused look. "What else?"

She smiled. "Go give those brothers of yours a hug while you can. Take it from someone who know's, they'll be gone sooner than you think. Try not to give them such a hard time either. When everything's going wrong they're the only ones you can truely turn to and you don't want to ruin that."

I smiled at her. "I'll remember that."

We walked into the livingroom to see Tim watching Tess, who was sitting in Curly's lap, amused.

"Why?" Tess asked him as she looked up into his dark blue eyes with a smile on her face.

"I don't know." Curly told her, making her laugh and she asked again. Over and over they said the same words and I guess it was kind of funny to see how they could be so easily entertained by that. Curly hates kids so it's kind of strange to see him playing with one but whatever.

I went up to Tim and hugged him and kissed his cheek. "I love you and I'm sorry I worried you." I then did the same to Curly and they both looked at me shocked.

"What?" I asked them confused. "I just did the nicest thing I'll ever do and you two just stare at me like I'm some alien or something."

"I'm in shock." Curly said as he coutinued to stare at me with his mouth slightly opened.

"I'm right there with you." Tim says as I roll my eyes.

Tim turns to Stacy, who was smiling at the sceen. "You must be a mircle worker."

She laughed. "I just told her some things that happened to me and she agreed that she needed to stop what she's doing, right?" She asked me and I nodded.

"Yep. So what do y'all want for dinner?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen to see what we had. I don't know why, but I was in a really good mood. "Are you staying Stacy?"

She shook her head as she held Tess's hand. "No we really need to get going. I'll see y'all around."

"You sure will! I might be needing some more help here!" Tim called and Stacy and I both started laughing. Why was everyone so shocked? Am I really that mean? Curly I can totally understand to a point but Tim? Nahh they must be just stupid.

AN: I KNOW TIM'S A LITTLE OUT OF CHARACTER BUT SORRY. THAT'S JUST HOW I PUT HIM IN THIS STORY. PLZ REVIEW!!