Eddy pulled up to his house and I knew right away that I was way out of my element. The house was lit up like a Christmas tree, music pouring out every open window, and there were people scattered about the front yard, in various states of sobriety, most of them far older and better dressed than I was.

He pulled right up to the door and walked around to open the door for Anna, who, by this point, was laughing inappropriately at everything anybody said, in addition to having some trouble walking on her own. As Eddy helped her into the house, it seemed that he pretty much took every possible opportunity to touch her, and not in ways that seemed at all permissible to me.

The second we entered the house, he sat her down on the couch and disappeared, returning in a few minutes with a beer for each of them. I sat in a chair facing them, my mind racing with thoughts of how in the world I could possibly get us both out of this situation without being in serious trouble. Eddy sat down next to Anna and wasted no time in locking his lips against hers, encouraging her all the while to keep drinking. I wanted to pull him off of her, or to say something about the fact that he was taking advantage of a drunk thirteen year-old, but I knew I likely wouldn't make even the slightest impact. I got up and headed for the kitchen counter, where I had spotted a phone. I wanted nothing more than to call Darry and have him come get me and Anna both, and take us both away from this party. Unfortunately, I knew Darry was out with Alison, and, as usual, he hadn't been willing to share any details about where they were going.

I dialed my own house anyway, praying that Soda and Sandy had stayed in rather than going out – totally against Darry's rules - and that they would actually bother to answer the phone. Pony had gone out to the movies - the drive-in, with some track friends. We had all been glad to see him going out, it was a pretty rare occurrence after all that had happened over the past nine months.

The phone rang and rang. No answer. Crap. I hung up and dialed Ben's house. Maybe Kevin could come get us.

The phone rang and rang at his house, too, though, as people lined up behind me, urging me to get off the phone.

"Isn't it a little late for you to be out all alone, honey?" a girl who must have been a senior asked, blowing cigarette smoke in my face. I glared at her as I hung up.

"Hey, you're the little one from the basketball team, aren't you?" I didn't recognize the girl who said that, but she clearly knew who I was. She looked vaguely familiar, maybe she was a cheerleader.

"Yeah, so?" I had no desire for smalltalk with anyone at this party. I just wanted out. Fast.

"Looks like your friend's having fun," she motioned with her chin over my shoulder.

I looked over and saw Eddy practically lying on Anna. I handed off the phone and ran over to intercede.

"So… Eddy… what are you doing this summer?" I asked, forcing him to peel himself away from Anna, who, cup full of beer still in her hand and making regular visits to her mouth, had lost all capability for coherent conversation.

"Eh… I gotta do summer school. I'll pass, though. No staying back for me."

Immediately, his comment made me think of Two-Bit. He would definitely help me out. God, please…let Two-Bit be home, I prayed, as I headed back over to the phone, warning Eddy to keep his hands to himself. I knew he couldn't drive but… he'd find a way to have somebody come get me. I was sure that he wouldn't just leave me stranded.

I had to wait for about five other people to use the phone before me, but, finally back at the front of the line again, I dialed Two-Bit's house, hoping beyond hope that he would pick up. I didn't call him very often, only on the rare occasion that I was looking for Soda or Darry and thought they might be at his house, but his number was burned into my memory from looking at the phone list next to our kitchen phone. As it rang, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Eddy got up again, leaving Anna propped up against the corner of the couch, going to get the two of them yet another beer.

Much to my relief, somebody picked up at Two-Bit's house. Unfortunately, it wasn't him; it was his sister.

"Hi… Katie?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"It's Scout Curtis. Is your brother there?"

"You're kidding, right? On a Friday night?" I guess Katie was getting some of Two-Bit's sense of humor.

I hated to resort to this, but…

"How about your mom? Is she home?"

"No, she works Friday nights."

"You're home alone?" I never got left home alone at her age. At the most, she was… what..? Ten, maybe? I hardly even got left home alone at twelve.

"Yeah, so?" I guess, in the Mathews household, the criteria for staying home alone were different than those in the Curtis household.

"Listen, can you leave a message for Two-Bit to call and ask for me at this number as soon as he gets home? It's really important, Katie… it's practically an emergency."

"Okay, Scout, geez, I get it."

"Sorry. You ready? Got a pen?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I read her the number off the phone and made her read it back to me.

"Don't forget, okay, Katie? If you go to bed before he gets back, leave it where he can see it, dig?"

"Scout, I know I'm not as old as you, but I'm not two."

"I know, Katie… sorry. It's just really important.."

"Bye, Scout."

"Bye."

Okay, well at least now there was hope of somebody finding me, I thought. I just prayed Two-Bit would be sober enough when he got back to help me out. For the moment, I turned my thoughts back to Anna, who was drinking the latest beer Eddy had delivered, her head limp against the armrest of the couch.

I sat down on the opposite armrest, glaring at Eddy.

"Don't you think she's had enough? She can hardly even sit up."

"What are you, her bodyguard?" I could tell from his speech that he wasn't anywhere close to sober, either.

"No, I'm her friend, and I don't like how you're treating her, at all. What happened to you driving her - us - home?"

"I have a feeling she just might want to spend the night. I'm sure you can get a ride, though, Scout… wouldn't want a little goody-two shoes like you to miss your curfew!" He was mocking me. The goody-two-shoes comment was entirely too reminiscent of Steve, and I immediately felt a hatred for him.

"C'mon, Anna, stand up. We need to talk." I grabbed her by the underarms and pulled her up. She protested with the minute amount of logical thought that remained after all the beer, and then gave up quickly, letting me drag her through the living room to a bedroom I'd seen just off the front hallway. I practically carried her in – no easy task since she had about seven inches and thirty pounds on me - and lay her back on the bed. This must have been the parents' room… it had that telltale parental wallpaper.

"Scout…. What're you doing? We're missing the party!" It took a great deal of effort to figure out what she was saying. I had heard drunk people talk before, but never as drunk as this.

"The party's over, Anna," I said. "Just have a rest."

"Where's Eddy?"

"He's cleaning up," I lied. "Just close your eyes, okay? I'll wake you up when he's done."

"Okay. Scout?"

"What?" I noticed a phone on the bedside table. Perfect. I could stay with her and still try to call home.

"Why is this bed moving? It's making… I don't feel good. I think I'm…" I bolted into the bathroom, grabbed the trash can and made it back to the bed just in time for Anna to lean over and throw up into it. Luckily, her hair was braided, so she didn't get any in it. Immediately after, she started to cry, just like I had when I'd gotten sick after drinking.

"I'm sorry," she cried, slurring. "I'm sorry, Scout. I think I messed up."

"I know. Just go to sleep, Anna." I took the trash can back in the bathroom and rinsed it out, taking a towel back in with me to clean her up. When I came back she was out cold, so I just wiped her mouth and shirt and threw the towel back into the bathroom. I hoped Eddy would catch hell when his parents came home and found a vomit-stained towel in their bathroom. The jerk deserved it.

No sooner had I thought of him, when there he was, coming in the door.

"Get out," I hissed at him.

"You're not her fucking mother," he snapped at me, "so stop acting like it."

"And you're not her fucking anything!" I was fuming. "You pretend like you're gonna take care of her, then you get her drunk so you can do whatever you want to her? Let her drink so much she gets sick and passes out? And you're so drunk yourself you couldn't drive us home, anyway!"

"Hey, look, I didn't force her to do anything." I was sure he truly believed that if he'd slept with her, there would have been no wrongdoing on his part, since she was probably too out of it to even put up a protest.

"Shut up!" I knew all about forcing things on somebody. "She likes you, and you're using her. That's just as bad."

He moved to touch her on the bed and I slapped his arm, forcing him back. He looked shocked. I was scared for a moment that he might hit me back, that he might be an angry drunk and come after me, like Steve had, but I was relieved when he just backed away, sneering.

"You're fucking crazy. I don't need this shit, she ain't worth it," he said, and turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

I followed him and locked the bedroom door, going back to the phone and picking it up, interrupting the conversation between two girls swapping gossip about some guy who had just been caught making out with his ex-girlfriend in her car. I just listened, waiting. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they hung up. I placed the receiver back into the cradle to get a dialtone, and, just as I was about to pick it back up, it rang in my hand.

"Hello?" I didn't particularly care that it wasn't my phone to answer.

"Scout?" It was Two-Bit, thank God.

"Two-Bit, are you drunk?"

"No, not too much, anyway. What the hell's goin' on? Where are you? I been tryin' to call this damned number for twenty minutes. What's the big emergency? Whose number is this?"

"Do you know that guy Danny Blake from the basketball team?"

"Blake? Yeah, I know that guy."

"Do you know where he lives?"

"Yeah. What the hell is going on, Scooter? Are you all right?"

"I'm okay. But Anna is passed out drunk at a party at his house. Can you find someone to come get us? Please, Two-Bit? I've been trying to call Darry or Kevin or anyone all night, and I can't get a hold of anyone. Please, can you come get us? I'm scared... for her. For us." I was so glad he had called that I was about to cry.

"Scout, are you okay, right now?" I had no idea what he planned to do if I said no, but, luckily, I didn't have to. Eddy had backed off, and I still had all my wits about me.

"Yeah, but... I just really want to get out of here."

"You stay put, alright? I'm on my way."

And with that, he was gone.

.........................

A/N: I have a habit of ending chapters in a place that ticks people off. Sorry. But I do appreciate your angry reviews, regardless... :-)