Disclaimer: We do not own The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, nor do we own "You Learn" by Alanis Morissette.

Wednesday, September 21, 1966

Throw it down, hold it up,
You wait and see when the smoke clears.

The lot was a pretty happening place. Dally and Steve seemed annoyed that she was there, but Ellie didn't care. She knew there was going to be a rumble and just because she wasn't going to have anything to do with it didn't mean she was going to miss what was going on in the meantime. She wanted to know.

Her boys and Tim's boys stood around a gutted car and chatted. Tim ignored her for the most part, and she returned the favor. She leaned against the hood between Darry and Dally, whose hand kept grazing her side.

"Man, I tell you," Two-Bit said. "Those clowns thought they coulda jumped me good."

"They're gonna keep comin' to our side," Todd Howell said, "and we'll just keep beatin' 'em fair and square."

"Were they fighting dirty?" Ellie asked.

"Sure, but I can fight as dirty as they can," Two-Bit said. "They like to gang up on one guy and see how much damage they can do. They think they can do it, too. We're greasers, who's gonna care?"

Ellie smiled inspite of what he said. She couldn't help it. Two-Bit had a way of making things funny just with the tone of his voice. Everything he said was true, and he tried to find the light side of it.

"It's pretty easy to find it funny, Two-Bit, when you come off on the winning side," Darry said.

"Well, yeah," Two-Bit said.

"Yeah," Darry replied. He slapped the top of the car and waved his goodbye. He walked home alone. Ellie watched him go, those broad shoulders slumped as he walked.

"Well said, Two-Bit," Steve said, sarcastically.

They all noticed when a little red car pulled up on the curb. Ellie watch as every single boy seemed to ogle the pretty red head who got out of the car and walked tentatively their way. She stepped through the grass, her skirt a few inches longer than Ellie's own. Her arms were straight at her sides, seemingly ready to hold her skirt in place should a gust of wind come creeping in from nowhere. Ellie stared at the car her daddy bought for her and the sharp clothes that probably cost more than what Ellie herself had spent on clothes in the last two years. She looked at this girl and saw everything she wasn't, and she hated her for it.

"Hey, Cherry!" Two-Bit called across the lot with a grin and a wave.

"That the dead kid's girl?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, that's her," Two-Bit said.

"Let's jump her."

Ellie's head snapped up and she looked at Mark Snyder, one of Tim's boys. A couple of others started joining in the same chorus. She looked up at Dally, his eyes were dark and full of lust.

"Jesus Christ," Steve muttered.

Two-Bit gave Mark a rough punch to the shoulder that set him back a few inches. "We ain't about to jump a girl," Two-Bit said forcefully. He looked back at Ellie, as if expecting her to stand up for Cherry, like she was going to speak out on behalf of the Socy girl. "Help me out here, kid."

"I don't know her," she said.

Two-Bit looked confused and angry with her all at the same time. He turned away from her.

"Hey, Cherry," he greeted her warmly. "Fancy ride."

She laughed. It was fake and nervous. She ignored everyone else and looked right at Two-Bit.

"It's not much," she said.

"I could make somethin' off of it," Mark said.

Cherry blushed and looked down for a few seconds.

"What's up?" Two-Bit asked.

"Look, Two-Bit, I feel real bad about what happened. I feel like it's all my fault," she said.

"I'll say, sweetheart," Dally cut in.

Cherry's face turned red, but Ellie had a feeling it wasn't because she was embarrassed. She saw the way her teeth clenched through her cheeks, the way her eyes narrowed at Dally. She was angry, indignant even. Ellie knew it was a lot easier to blame things on yourself when others were telling you it wasn't your fault.

"Have you heard anything from Ponyboy or Johnny?" she asked, focusing again solely on Two-Bit.

"They ran away," Steve said. "All cause your boyfriend jumped them."

"I know," she said quietly. "I should have stopped him. I knew he was angry about what happened."

Her voice cracked and Ellie rolled her eyes. Tim's boys snickered.

"Did your boyfriend always worry about 14-year-olds pickin' you up?" Tim asked.

Cherry looked at him, her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Yeah, it ain't that, right? It's just 'cause they're greasers," Tim said. It was almost as bitter as she had ever heard him. He did such a good job of acting like nothing bothered him, she had just assumed that nothing ever did.

"Look, I didn't want any of this to happen, and I'm sorry it did. Really sorry."

"You should be," Steve said. "Those were kids your friends jumped, and now nobody knows where they are."

"I know." Her voice had just the right amount of sugary sweetness to it, and it was giving Ellie a toothache just listening to her. No wonder she had that fancy little car. She could talk anybody into anything she wanted. "I just came because I wanted to let you know that I want to keep you informed on what's going on with them."

"Anything we oughta know?" Two-Bit asked.

"They're planning to fight, but I guess you already know that," she said.

"Yeah, Saturday night. What else you got, dollface?" Dally asked. Ellie didn't like the way he was edging away from her.

"Think you could find out if they're really planning on fighting fair?" Two-Bit asked, ignoring Dally. "There were rules set at the council last night, skin on skin. That means no weapons, but we don't trust 'em."

"I'll find out. I can talk to Randy."

Dally stepped in between Two-Bit and Cherry, looking her up and down. Ellie pushed herself back from the car and watched.

"How 'bout you and I take that flashy little Stingray and go to the Dingo for a Coke," he suggested.

Ellie was vaguely aware of the snickers going on around her. She was too busy glaring at Dally and looking at everything Cherry had that she didn't.

"You can go to hell, Dallas Winston," she said, her tone cool.

"Ah, come on, baby. We had so much fun the other night. You still gotta show me if your a natural red head," he said.

Even Two-Bit couldn't quite contain his laughter. Cherry looked at her as if she was honestly going to say something to make them stop. Ellie did her best to make herself look tough and amused at once, even though she could feel the sting of what he said.

Two-Bit collected himself and wrapped an arm around Cherry's shoulders and started to lead her back toward her car.

"Excuse my buddy," he said, loudly. "He's had no upbringing to speak of."

Dally looked proud of himself until he turned back around and caught sight of the way Ellie was looking at him. She crossed arms over her chest and glared at him.

"What's your problem?" he asked her.

"You," she said.

"Ooooh. Watch it, Winston. You're going to have two broads on your back," Todd said.

"Shut up," Ellie said.

Todd chuckled and nudged Tim's shoulder. "These broads, man. I tell you."

Tim didn't seem to care either way.

"Jealous?" Dally asked. She hated the way he smirking at her.

"Oh, please," Steve muttered.

Two-Bit stepped back up to the car and leaned on it.

"Classy, Dal."

"Shit, man. I had to," Dally said, smugly.

"And what's up with you?"

Ellie realized he was directing the question at her.

"What?" she asked.

"How come you didn't speak up for her? These goons wanted to jump her and you just sat there," Two-Bit said.

"So because I got jumped once, I gotta stick up for her? I don't like her," Ellie said.

"You don't know her," Two-Bit said.

"You guys can have your stupid rumble," she said, turning around and heading in the same direction Darry had left.

Behind her someone whistled, and the Dally laughed loudest of them all.

XXX

Darry watched her walk up the front steps from his chair. She threw the screendoor open and headed straight for the couch. She picked up one of the throw pillows and pressed it agaist her face, letting out a muffled scream. He watched with muted fascination, thanking his lucky stars he was never cursed with having a sister.

Her arms dropped, falling limp at her sides and the pillow tumbled away.

"A little dramatic, you think?" he asked.

"I hate him," she said.

Darry sighed and tried not to laugh.

"If you really hated him, you wouldn't give him the time of day," he said.

She hung her head a little. "I know. That's why I hate him."

"What happened?" He really didn't care. In fact the less he knew about Ellie's love life, the happier he was.

"That girl, Cherry, showed up. That Soc's girlfriend, you know?"

"And?" he asked.

"And Dally's just a jerk."

There was commotion outside, and Darry looked up to see Steve and Two-Bit heading inside.

Two-Bit didn't acknowledge him but instead turned on Ellie. He was in rare form. "What happened with you back there? How could you just stand there when they were wanting to jump her?"

"Why is everyone on my case about everything?" she asked.

Darry looked at Two-Bit, who was taking in a breath and seemingly calming himself down.

"I don't like her, Two-Bit, and I ain't standing up for her. Steve and Soda keep blamin' me for everything, but it's really all her fault."

Darry looked back at Two-Bit now, waiting for his rebuttal.

"That ain't what I mean. I just thought you woulda stood up for her, being a girl and all," he said.

"So just 'cause I'm a girl I have to stand up for her? It was my job to make sure no one jumped on her? What would I have done if y'all decided to anyway? I couldn't've helped her none, even if I wanted to." Her tone was sharpening and she stood up. "Maybe if you guys treated girls right, I wouldn't have had to step in at all."

She all but ran outside and in the direction of home. If Ellie provided anything, it was enough drama to keep the gossip rings moving again and again. Sometimes it got old, but even though Darry knew a lot of it could be avoided, it hit her pretty hard sometimes.

"Way to go, man," Steve said.

"I didn't mean it like that and all. I just couldn't believe she didn't say anything. That ain't like her," Two-Bit said.

"Yeah, but she's right," Steve said.

Steve sat in the space Ellie had vacated and sighed. Darry watched him for a few seconds before Steve caught him staring.

"Where's Soda?" Steve asked.

Soda was yet another problem concerning the dramatics. After he came home from his date with Sandy, he was more upset than Darry had ever seen him. He hadn't gotten much information from him except that she was pregnant and leaving him. Darry knew he should be more concerned for his brother, but he couldn't help being relieved at hearing that Sandy was leaving. Soda would have married her in a heartbeat and having a wife and a kid was the last thing he needed. Darry couldn't even wrap his head around having that for himself, much less his little brother.

"He's out," Darry said.

"I'm gonna catch up with Ellie," Two-Bit said. "I wanna make sure she's okay."

"Let me," Steve said. "I'm sure she knows you ain't mad at her, but you know how she gets."

"Man, I oughta do it. I feel bad," Two-Bit said.

Steve stood up and put a hand on Two-Bit's shoulder.

"Don't. It ain't you, it's Dally," Steve said.

XXX

Steve found her alone in the lot after having checked by her 's boys had cleared out after Cherry left, and Dally had headed off on his own. She knew better than to walk around town alone, but he was glad none of them were there to hassle her. She was leaning up against a bench seat from a car, staring up at the sky.

"You're gonna hurt your eyes staring at the sun like that," he said.

Without looking up, she said, "It's cloudy."

"I guess so," he said, sitting down beside her. He looked up the clouds, too. They were gloomy as all get out.

They didn't say anything for awhile until Steve said, "You should have gone home. I thought you knew better than to be walkin' around by your lonesome."

"Steve, please," she said quietly.

"Fine. Two-Bit wanted to come talk to you, but I know you ain't mad at him," Steve said.

"Yes, I am," she said.

"No, you're not. You're mad at Dally 'cause he was payin' more attention to the Soc than to you," he said. She didn't say anything, and he grinned to himself smugly. "He's just tryin' to get a rise outta her."

"That's what he does to me," she snapped, but she looked hurt about it. "And I am mad at Two-Bit."

"Why?"

She finally looked at him and he remembered the night he found her after she walked out on Tim and his car. He knew why she was upset with Two-Bit, but Two-Bit didn't know why she would be.

"Why would they want to jump her anyway? It's stupid and they all know it," she said.

"It's just talk, El. No one was going to do anything to her but embarrass her," Steve said.

"So how come he just expects me to stand up for her when they shouldn't have been talking trash to begin with?" she asked.

"Because you're always telling people what to do," Steve said, cracking a grin when she glared at him.

She punched him in the shoulder and laid her head back again.

"I wish all this wasn't happening," she said.

"It'll be okay. We can have this rumble and stomp 'em good. Things will get better," he said.

She turned her head and looked at him with wide, distrusting eyes.

"You don't really believe that, do you?" she asked.

Steve was caught off-guard by her question and sat up.

"Why wouldn't I believe that? You know what the stakes are, what the rules are gonna be. If we stomp the Socs, they ain't gonna be jumpin' kids on this side of town anymore," he said.

"Yeah, but for how long?" she asked.

Steve took that into consideration and suddenly wasn't as confident as he had been.

"I'll just bash a few of their heads in anyway. It'll be a good time, too," he said.

XXX

Soda was really just planning on going for a walk around their neighborhood, but he ended up heading toward Steve's place. He was almost there when he noticed Ellie sitting outside, under her bedroom window. When he got a little closer, he saw she was smoking.

"What're you doin'?" he called, as he walked up to her.

She jumped when he spoke. "You scared me, Soda. I didn't expect anybody to be out."

"Sorry," he offered. He pointed to the spot next to her. "You mind?"

She shook her head and held up her pack of cigarettes. "Want one?"

He nodded and slid one out of the pack. He wondered if she knew about Sandy. Nothing around town ever seemed to stay quiet for long, so he hoped that if she knew, she would keep it to herself. Just the thought of her made him sick to his stomach.

"I figure what Mom doesn't know won't hurt her," Ellie said, indicating her cigarette. "I'm sure she knows, but we'll both pretend she doesn't. I don't know if she cares, but I'll pretend she does."

"The way Steve tells it, school's a war zone," Soda said.

Ellie sighed. "It's awful. I haven't gone since Monday. Everybody wants to blame everybody else. And they all wanna fight over every little thing."

"You stayin' out of trouble?"

Ellie shrugged. "Not much trouble I can get into between your house and mine. That's about the only place I've been going lately."

"Seen Dally lately?" he asked casually.

"Just today in the lot. I don't know where he's been," she said.

"I'm sorry about everything I said the other day," Soda said. "Everything's just been so ... it's just been awful with Pony and Johnny gone and not a thing we can do about it. I don't know what me and Darry are going to do if they don't come home soon."

"Don't apologize. You had every reason to be mad at me. I was out of line."

"Well, then I was out of line, too," he replied.

She smiled at him. "Thanks for the company tonight. I sure wish things would get back to the way they were before all of this happened."

"That how I felt after Mom and Dad died. It will eventually. It just takes time." He hoped it would just take time for Pony to come home, not for them to get used to him being gone.

"What's with the pow-wow over here?"

Soda looked up to see Steve walking towards them, pulling his jacket on.

"I was heading over to your place, and I saw a damsel in distress, so I figured I'd stop and see if I could help her," Soda replied.

"Distress?" Ellie asked. "I'm no more distressed than I usually am."

Soda raised his eyebrows. "Like I said, a damsel in distress."

Ellie responded with a sharp elbow to his ribs, and he laughed.

Steve took a seat in front of them. "Any word on the boys?"

He shook his head. "I wish."

The three of them sat in the dark, smoking, each thinking quietly to themselves. It wasn't exactly an easy silence, but Soda was glad to have some company.

You cry, you learn,
You lose, you learn,
You bleed, you learn.

A/N: Sorry for the slow updates, but we are still on set and not having a whole lot of time to look this stuff over and post it. Hope you enjoyed!