A/N: I feel like this chapter is kind of short, but I had so much fun writing it, and I think y'all will love reading it (especially what Dally says!). Everything in this chapter came to me so clearly, and I felt like my fingers were flying over the keys. (That's the best feeling ever for a writer!) So, without further ado, here is Chapter 10…

A miniscule part of me wondered for a split second whether or not this was a good idea, but I reassured myself with the facts that Curly and I were about the same size and that my brothers had trained me well. Victory would crown me, and if it did not, I would accept my fate as a loser with dignity.

"So do we just… start?" Curly asked.

"Have you never been in a fight?" I replied mockingly.

"Not with a girl," he sneered.

"It's no different than with a boy, stupid." To demonstrate my point, I punched him in the jaw.

"Hey!"

"What? Can't handle a little girl?"

Curly growled and threw a punch at me, but I easily dodged it, having anticipated it. I did not, however, anticipate the sweeping kick he used to knock me off my feet and onto my butt. As Curly leaned over me, about to punch me, I sprung up and headbutted him in the gut. He doubled over, clutching his stomach. I knew he didn't hurt that much. My headbutts weren't that strong, and I was aware of that. He was just faking to make me pause while he caught his breath. Sadly for poor, unsuspecting Curly Shepard, I would show no mercy. Yet. I wasn't that horrible.

We cautiously entered the house. And here's the thing: I told my brothers to let me do the talking, but I didn't know what talking to do. I mean, how do you tell your mean mother that her only daughter has been kidnapped and that you couldn't do anything to stop it? I wished upon every ounce of luck I had ever had in my life that she wouldn't be mad at me for not being able to save Trudy. Let me tell you, I was beating myself up over it enough without her help.

Mom saw us coming, and as we approached her in the living room, her face became suspicious looking.

"Where is Trudy?"

I stepped forward, praying that she would not see my worry. This wasn't exactly something I was used to; I was the happiest kid in the house. I played everything off like it was just a byproduct of this wild ride called "life," and I would have to do that now. But without sounding like I didn't care about my sister. Man, was I nervous.

"She isn't here," I said.

"Two-Bit, don't state the obvious like that. You know what I mean. Where is she?"

"I don't know exactly."

Mom glared at me. "What do you mean you don't know 'exactly?'"

"I know who she is with, but not where they all are." To be quite honest, my stalling wasn't helping as much as I had hoped it would. This sucked.

"Two-Bit, tell me the truth now!"

I took a deep breath. "Mom, this may scare you, but it's nothing that can't be taken care of with proper help. While we were walking home from school, these guys pulled up in front of us. Well, in front of Trudy. She had raced ahead of us, and I was chasing her. Anyway, these three guys got out of their car and took her. I tried to stop them, Mom, I really did, but-"

"Stop right there," Mom interrupted. "I do not want to hear your excuses. It isn't your fault the child was kidnapped."

This response surprised me. She almost sounded… understanding?

"It's her own fault."

Nope. Definitely not understanding.

"The heck are you talkin' 'bout?!" Dallas yelled, pushing past me.

Dally's rage did not faze Mom in the slightest. "I'm talking about how Trudy has finally gotten herself in enough trouble to teach her a lesson. The girl's always off playing some stupid game - and often with you four as well - instead of doing homework or cleaning or-"

"You shut up!" Dally exclaimed. "You don't even care?! Your daughter was kidnapped, and you're okay with it because it will teach her a lesson? Yeah, it'll teach her a lesson: a lesson in being outright afraid because who knows what those guys plan to do to her! And you know something? She's running around outside playing because she has time because she's so stinking smart that she breezes through her homework because it's easy for her! Trudy's a genius! She even has time to help the rest of us with our homework, and I don't think we give her enough appreciation for that. And you sure as heck don't give her any appreciation for the crap she does for you! You treat her like a slave! And now you don't even care that some jerks just came along and freakin' kidnapped her!"

And here we see a shining example of Dally's explosive anger. Everyone fell completely silent as he lashed out at Mom, hurling his words at her faster than a cloud hurling raindrops onto the earth. Pony stared at the ground, unmoving, as if trying to be so still he would be invisible. Johnny stared at Dally, clearly in awe. He looked up to Dally almost too much. Yeah, Dal had the courage to holler at Mom like that, but that wasn't entirely a good characteristic.

When Dallas had finished, no one spoke for a moment. Finally, Mom stormed out of the room to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I hope you're feeling guilty!" Dally called after her.

"I most certainly am not, you worthless juvenile!"

At that, Pony turned and ran out of the house through the back door. I started to call for him to come back, but I knew where he would be when I needed him.

I put my hand on Johnny's shoulder. Dally was panting and looked angrier than I'd ever seen him.

"Dal, Johnny and I will be upstairs. Come see us when you're ready," I said quietly.

"No, Two, I'm gonna stay here with Dally," Johnny said.

I wanted to protest, but I knew how much Dally loved Johnny. Having him around would help calm Dally down. I sighed and went to check on Ponyboy.

I easily won the fight. Okay, not completely "easily." Curly was a good fighter, too. After all, he had learned from Tim and from experience. I now stood with my hands on my hips, while Curly lay on his back panting.

"Alright, fine. You can fight," Curly admitted.

"Mmm hmm. And?" I sounded mean to myself, but honestly, being this snarky made me feel tough, which was exactly how I needed to feel considering that I'd been kidnapped.

"And you can help me plan an escape," Curly moaned.

"Ok. Great."

I sat down and reached my hand out to him. He shook it somewhat begrudgingly.

"So," I started, now feeling less like I needed to be on the defensive, "where do we start?"