A/N: Hey hey! Wow, thank you guys so much for the reviews! I love you guys! Anyways, I don't actually have much to say this time. So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! and please review! Thanks :)

Disclaimer: I only own Mackenzie and her father. S.E. Hinton owns everybody else!

The metal bench felt freezing, but Soda's warm arm around my shoulder was quickly warming me up. I still felt numb from what happened, though. I hadn't meant to scream so much at my dad, but I could feel the anger pulsing through my veins. He tried to tell me that he'd kill Soda, before I got the chance to see him again. That's what really set me off. Now we were in the waiting room of the hospital when god-knows-what was going on with the doctors and my dad.

"Hey, sweet cheeks, what're ya doin' here?" a rough voice called from down the hallway.

I looked up from Soda's chest and smiled a little.

"Hey, Dal."

I felt Soda tense up a little at our familiarly close exchange, but I ignored him. Dally came closer and sat down next to us. I took one look at him and nearly jumped out of my seat.

"What the hell happened to you?" I hissed, taking his face in my hands as I stood in front him.

"Got in a fight. Calm down," he chuckled, pushing my hands away.

"You idiot."

This was really serving as a great distraction. I needed to keep talking to Dally, or else I would start thinking about my dad again.

"Would'ja calm down? Take your ass and sit it down and tell me why you're here."

I did what he told me and Soda wrapped his arm around me again. I looked at him and tried to read his eyes, but hell, I really couldn't understand what his problem was. So, not being able to read him, I turned back towards Dally.

"Um, something...happened with my dad," I said shakily, not having realized before that he had gotten me back to the subject of my dad.

"Shit, don't wanna hear about that. But hey, baby, if-"

"Dal, could you not call her that?" Soda interrupted.

"Call her what?" Dally shot back.

"You know what."

"Guys, could you stop? Soda, he calls me that all the time, it's no big deal."

Soda's POV

Did she just say he calls her that all the time? Since when was it okay for other guys to call her stuff like "sweet cheeks" and "baby"? Especially her ex-boyfriend? I'll admit, I was getting a little pissed off. I usually wasn't so...jealous, but for some reason this whole thing with Dally was really bothering me.

I pulled Mackenzie even closer to me so that she was nearly on my lap. She squirmed a little and looked at me. I could tell she wasn't happy with Dally and I arguing, but I could also tell she was stressed out about her dad. Nonetheless, she removed my arm from her shoulder and scooted a little closer towards Dally. I was a little hurt so I decided to shrug it off and get some food from the cafeteria.

Mackenzie's POV

Soda seemed upset, but I honestly couldn't figure out why. It was like, as soon as Dally had walked over, he tensed up and went cold. I didn't know what to think, except that maybe he was...jealous. But, jealous over what?

"Dally, we're done right?" I asked absentmindedly.

He chuckled a little. "What?"

"I mean, there's nothing left between us, right? No...feelings?"

"There were never any feelings, sweet cheeks, just a little...feeling."

I felt his hand slide from my shoulder to my waist and I squirmed uncomfortably. I knew very well what Dally was capable of convincing me to do and I was scared. Many times he had managed to get me to do many things and even being with Soda, I would still probably fall for Dally's stupid tricks.

"Dally, knock it off," I growled, removing his hand and scooting away.

He rolled his eyes and stood up, not able to help himself from brushing by my thigh with his hand. Finally, after just standing there, he walked right on out. I watched after him for a little while, really wishing he hadn't left. Now I was all alone, waiting for Soda to come back.

I could feel my eyelids getting heavy as I struggled to stay awake. I leaned my head against the wall behind the bench and sighed...

"Baby," someone whispered and I groaned, "Oh come on, babe, you gotta wake up."

I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was now in Soda's lap, with his arms cradling my body. I managed a small smile as I laid my head back down on his chest. I felt his chest rumble as he chuckled softly.

"Kenz, you gotta wake up, the doctor needs to talk to you."

I shot up at that, still in Soda's arms, but wide-awake and alert. I stared into Soda's eyes, trying to tell him how worried I was. I wasn't prepared to talk to any doctors, but I knew it had to be done.

"You'll be okay," Soda whispered, encouragingly.

"I'm scared, Soda, come with me..."

He nodded lightly and kissed my lips once before we both got up. I gripped his hand tightly and walked to the room where they had put my father. I saw my dad lying on the bed with a few tubes hooked up to him and some machine. Then I saw the doctor talking quietly with a nurse next to the bed. Soda cleared his throat to get the doctor's attention and I looked at him, silently thanking him.

"Ah, you must be his daughter," the doctor said, gesturing to my dad.

"I-I am," I replied, my hand gripping Soda's even tighter.

"Well, I have some...news to share with you. Let's go out into the hallway, shall we?"

I nodded and Soda and I followed him into the hallway. The doctor closed the door before he turned to me and sighed. I realized I was shaking when Soda began telling me it was okay.

"And you are?" the doctor asked Soda.

"Her boyfriend," he answered immediately, despite what my father had told us.

"Ah, I see. Well, Ms. Calverson-"

"Mackenzie," I corrected him. "Ms. Calverson" sounded too mature for me.

"Mackenzie," he continued slowly, "You're dad...well you're father isn't going to make it much longer. He's in bad shape and I'm truly sorry to be the one who's had to tell you this."

"H-How long?" I whispered.

"Not long at all...possibly a day."

I choked out a sob and Soda pulled me into his arms. My whole body was shaking and I just wanted the doctor to go away. I could feel him looking at us and it truly pissed me off.

"Will you just get the fuck away?" I snapped at him.

He began to say something, but Soda shook his head and the doctor left us alone. I went back to crying in Soda's arms as he whispered into my ear things I would only let him say.

"Baby, it's gonna be okay. I'll help you through this, I know how you feel."

"You remember when we were eight and you fell of your bike and scraped your knee? I was right there next to you just like I am right now."

"If you cry I'll cry, babe. Please don't cry."

I looked up at him and he wiped a few stray tears away. As he did this, I realized how important he was to me. I mean, sure, the other boys were like a family too, but Soda truly understood me, he really knew how I was feeling when even I didn't know. And when he promised he would always be there for me, he really hadn't been lying.

"Just don't leave me," I begged.

"Never," he promised.

A/N: So how was that guys? I don't have any bullet points for you to think about this time haha. So either you're happy about that or not! But I would like to know if the interaction between all the characters was good or bad. And whatever else you want to comment on or give ideas about! Have a suggestion? Tell me and I'll think about it! :) thanks!