A/N: So far I have gotten one review! Thank God! I was getting a little worried there. This is the second last chapter! Hope you all enjoy!

X

I stayed in bed the next two days. Darry and Soda came in to check on me an awful lot, trying to get me to eat something, but I didn't want to. I hardly moved, and I only got out of bed when I needed to use the bathroom. It was like I was dead on the inside; Or I was in a trance. At night I couldn't sleep, and I didn't move much, until I heard Darry and Soda talking in the next room. I climbed out of bed, tiptoed over to the door, and opened it a crack.

"Soda, you need to get some sleep," Darry was saying. "Pony's awake now. He's fine."

My stomach jumped. Ponyboy was okay.

"I know," Soda replied, laying on the couch. "I just worry." He closed his eyes.

"I know what you mean. I'm worried too, especially about Charlie." My eyes widened as I listened closely. "Should we tell her that we know she was raped?"

Soda groaned sleepily. "I dunno. We might scare her, and she might not tell us who did it. She might even deny it completely."

My gasp caught in my throat and I covered my mouth, not daring to make a noise to let them know I was there. I backed up until I was sitting on my bed, then removed my hand. The same words kept playing over and over in my head. They know.

I waited until Darry left for work before I opened my door and peaked out. Sodapop was asleep on the couch, so I snuck past him to Ponyboy's room. Before I could get there though, I heard a voice behind me.

"Where do ya think you're goin'?"

I turned around to find Soda looking up at me with his dark brown eyes. Even though he was sleepy, I could see the amusement in his eyes.

"Uh….well…I…" I couldn't find the words to say.

"It's okay," he replied after a moment. "I won't tell Darry if you don't want me to." He grinned sleepily at me.

When he closed his eyes, I turned and headed for Pony's room. I opened the door slowly, and found Ponyboy laying on his bed under a bunch of blankets. He had two pillows underneath his head, so he could see who was walking in his room. His head was bandaged up, probably because of the concussion, and he was looking at me with his soft green-gray eyes.

"Hey Charlie," he said kinda weakly.

I turned and closed the door. "Hi." I walked over to his bed and stood by him.

He padded the space next to him on the bed. "Sit"

I shook my head.

"Charlie, it's alright. I'm not gonna die if you sit next to me, so sit."

I cautiously sat down, making sure I didn't hurt him or make him uncomfortable in any way.

"How are ya holdin' up?" he asked.

I sighed before answering. "I dunno. Did Darry tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"The doctor said I had a panic attack…the night I found out Johnny was dead."

"Johnny isn't dead," Ponyboy said with a serious face.

"What?" I looked at him. "Yes he is."

"No," he replied firmly.

I watched him, and realized he was completely serious. He really believed Johnny wasn't dead. I decided not to push the issue further, and I think he was grateful for that. I laid back next to him, and closed my eyes.

"Tired?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Not really. I feel like I'm living in hell."

"Why?"

I opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling. "Soda and Darry know."

"About wha-?" he stopped cold when he realized what I was talking about. "How? Do they know who did it?"

I shook my head as tears started coming to my eyes. "I don't know." I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to cry; not here and not now.

Pony noticed that I started crying, and he grabbed me face in my hands.

"Hey," he said as he wiped my tears away, "it's okay." He pulled me into a hug, and I didn't fight it. I just laid there, crying into his chest.

I don't know how long I stayed like that, but eventually I stopped crying, and we were so tired that we both ended up falling asleep right there.

X

A few days later, I dressed up in my gray skirt and white blouse for my court date (I mine as well dress like a girl now that everyone knew). Ponyboy, Soda, and Darry got ready for their court date, and mine which was right after.

When we got to the courthouse, Ponyboy pulled me into the tightest and longest hug I ever had in my life. When he pulled away, he looked into my eyes and whispered, "Good luck."

I nodded and walked over to my lawyer who was standing outside of the room. Unlike Ponyboy's, my hearing was private, so the only people there were me, my lawyer, my parents, their lawyer, and the judge (and later the Curtis brothers).

The hearing was long and kind of boring. They asked both me and my parents some questions-with my parents lying through their teeth-and then the judge left the room for a little while before coming to a decision.

"Will everyone please rise?" he asked us after he spoke with everyone and the Curtis brothers had entered. "Based on the evidence we have, the answers you have given us, and the information we have received by the child's current guardian, we grant full custody of the child to Darrel Curtis." And with that, he smacked his gamal down, and the case was dismissed.

I didn't have to be told twice. I quickly thanked my lawyer, and turned to the Curtis brothers, who were standing in the aisle. I smiled wide, and ran over to Ponyboy, throwing myself in his arms.

"I don't have to live with them anymore," I shouted gleefully.

Ponyboy returned the hug, and said, "I know, and I'm glad."

When I pulled away from him, I looked into his eyes. Neither of us planned what happened next, but before I knew it, his face was close to mine, and he gently kissed me.

The kiss didn't last long, but I didn't pull away from him. When we finally pulled apart, he looked at me, and I remembered my first kiss with Johnny. I looked away from Ponyboy, and ran out of the courthouse, nearly colliding with Soda in my haste. I forgot they were there.

"Charlie," I heard Pony say as I ran out.

I ran to the parking lot and sank to my knees before I got to the car. A few tears slid from my eyes as I started to break down. It wasn't the fact that Pony kissed me when less than a week ago I was dating his friend who was now dead, it was the fact that I wanted to kiss him-that's what scared me the most.

X

A/N: This is a really intense chapter. Sometimes this story gets so full of angst, that I have a hard time writing it. Let me just say that in my head, when I first thought of this story, I did not intend on making Charlie and Ponyboy kiss, I was just going to keep hinting at the fact that there would be something more between them. However, as time went on, I decided to finally write a kissing scene for them, making things just a little bit more complicated in Charlie's life, giving something more for her to run away from. As you know, the growing theme in this story is that Charlie likes to run away from everything, and the point is to have Charlie learn that running away won't solve her problems.

Any questions, comments, or suggestions? Review please! I've worked really hard on this story, and I would appreciate it if you'd give me a review, even if it's a small one.

One more chapter guys!