Carry on my wayward son

There'll be peace when you are done

Lay your weary head to rest

Don't you cry no more

-Kansas


It was Thursday evening. AJ tried not to remember how less than a week before; Pony had wanted her to go see a movie with him. She tried not to think about Pony at all.

She was hanging out in the parking lot of The Dingo with Steve, Dally, Two-Bit, Tim, Brandon, and some of the Brumly boys, whose names she couldn't remember. She wasn't even supposed to be there, she could tell by the look that Brumly number one (as she had taken to calling him in her head) had given her. But what was she supposed to do? After Brandon took her and Amy home, she had walked down to the DX to see Steve at work and he had brought her, after they dropped Soda off at home.

Poor Soda. It made AJ's heart hurt just to look at him. He was like a shell of his former self. AJ thought back to the way he had been just a week before, laughing and joking. AJ wished that Sandy hadn't already left for Florida, she'd hunt her down and kick her sorry, cheating ass herself, pregnant or not. Sodapop had treated her like a queen and this was the way she repaid him? It made AJ made enough to spit nails.

"I didn't know we were bringing our girls along." Brumly number one said loudly, bringing AJ out of her thoughts. Steve puffed up instantly.

"What of it?" He asked, his voice soft and bitter.

"She ain't got no right to be here, that's what of it." The guy spat back. He wore his dark hair greased back and had a mean, but handsome, face. "This here is man's business."

"Well, I'm sorry; I didn't realize this was 1899." Steve said sarcastically. He started forward, but AJ laid her hand on his arm to stop him. The last thing they need was for the greasers to be fighting among themselves.

"I'm just gonna go get a chocolate malt." She said. Two-Bit stood up from the car he was leaning against.

"I'll go with you." He said.

They got in line inside the diner. "I didn't mean to cause trouble." AJ said in a low voice to Two-Bit. He smiled and shook his head.

"You're no trouble; don't worry about it." He told her, tugging a strand of her short hair. "Them Brumly guys are weird, is all. They do things differently than we do, I guess."

When they got to the front of the line, they both ordered malts and Two-Bit paid for them, over AJ's protest. They had just headed back outside when a redheaded girl in a tuff looking Stingray pulled up. She was a soc for sure, but AJ wondered what she was doing there.

"Who's that?" She asked Two-Bit. He blinked in obvious surprise.

"Why, its Cherry Valance." He told her.

"Cherry Valance." AJ repeated and the name clicked into place. This was Bob's girlfriend, the girl who had caused all this mess in the first place.

"That's the dead soc's girl." Two-Bit whispered to the others. Brumly number two cracked his knuckles.

"We outta jump the little bitch." He said. AJ wasn't surprised, not really, when his buddy went along with the idea.

"I don't know how y'all do it on your side of town," Brandon said, shooting the two guys dirty looks. "But we don't mess with chicks on our turf, soc or not."

AJ could feel Cherry's eyes raking over her appraisingly, probably because she was the only female in the group. AJ looked down at her faded jeans, her old t-shirt, and her scruffy sneakers, and then at Cherry's matching skirt and blouse and her leather loafers. She looked like a ruffian next to this girl and she knew it.

Dally stepped forward. "Can we help you, doll face?" He asked.

"Um…yeah…I just wanted to say that I think I can help you." She looked nervous, but her voice didn't shake.

"How do you think you can help us?" Tim asked coolly.

Cherry recoiled slightly at the sight of him and AJ wondered why. Tim wasn't that scary looking…was he? She eyed him herself; he was good-looking, but, like the Brumly boy, he looked mean, especially with that scar that ran from his temple to his chin and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. She guessed, to someone who didn't know Tim or any of these boys really, they looked hard. And then she realized with a jolt, as she lit her own cigarette and slouched a little, that she looked hard, too.

"I can give you inside information." She replied.

"Like a spy?" Two-Bit spoke up, grinning. It seemed that even this socy girl wasn't impervious to his charm, because she grinned back.

"Exactly." She answered.

"And you're so willing to help us…why?" Steve asked. She looked at him and then at his arm, which was thrown over AJ's shoulder.

"Because…because this is all my fault." She said. "Bob was drunk and looking for a fight and I…I…" Her voice trailed off. She took a deep breath. "I want to help you." She said more calmly. "And I want to help Ponyboy."

AJ felt like spitting in her face, this girl with her leather shoes and diamond earrings and her brand new sports car. AJ knew that Cherry Valance had never seen her mother cry at the kitchen table because she didn't have enough money to cover the light bill or spend nights wondering where her father was.

She knew now why some greaser's graffitied nice houses and keyed the paint on new cars; it was for the same reason she wanted to beat this girl's perfect, beautiful face in. It was natural to want to destroy what you could never have, what you could never be.

Cherry had started to walk away, her business completed, duty done. Dallas gave his friends a shifty eyed grin and hurried to catch up to her.

"Hey, maybe we could head inside here, you and me, and I could buy you a Coke?" He asked, walking backwards beside her. She didn't even break her stride, just threw him a dirty look.

"Go to hell." She told him sweetly and climbed into her Stingray.

The other guys laughed as Dally came sauntering back towards them.

"That little gal hates your guts." Brandon called out. He glanced at his watch. "Shit, is that the time? I better get home before Alice gets anymore pissed at me."

"Your wife's got you on a tight leash there, doesn't she, Dunn?" Dallas asked and Brandon flipped him the finger.

"You just wait till you're married, Winston." He shot back. "Then you'll see what's what. If she ain't happy, you ain't happy and all you boys would be best to remember that." He climbed in the front seat of his car, and then glanced at his sister-in-law. "AJ, you need a ride?"

"No, Steve's taking me home." She said. "He's having dinner with us tonight. Which," She glanced at him. "I'm fixing, so I better get home too."

Tim grinned. "What is it with you Adare girls? You always got your men wrapped around your little finger."

AJ shrugged. "Something in the water, I guess." She said, climbing into the front seat of Steve's car.

When they got back to AJ's house, she got to work making up a batch of fried chicken. Steve tried to help, but he was more in her way than anything, so she finally had him sit down and peel potatoes for her.

Amy came in a bit later.

"Where were you?" AJ asked. Amy shrugged.

"With Angel." She answered, heading to her room.

"Doing God knows what." AJ muttered to Steve who grinned, but kept his mouth shut. "Amy! Get your ass in her and make up some iced tea! Mama's gonna be home soon!"

"I'm coming!" Amy walked into the kitchen, tying her hair back into a ponytail. "Don't have a bird."

"Just make the tea and shut up." AJ told her. The three of them worked in near silence until Nora came home.

After supper, Steve and AJ sat on the front porch until it was time for AJ to go in and then Steve went next door.


Friday passed surprisingly uneventful. AJ tried to pay attention in all her classes, she went with Steve and Two-Bit down to the Handee-Mart for lunch, she played volleyball in gym and make slightly burnt cookies in Home-Ec. Steve took her and Amy home after school was over, where she did her homework and watched a little TV. When Steve's shift was over, he came back and sat in the living room watching Batman and then F-Troop, curled up on the couch under a blanket with AJ, while Amy sat in the armchair, throwing them occasional looks of disgust. At 8:30, when Star Trek came on, the phone rang. Amy answered it.

"Oh, hi Mom." She said. "You working late tonight…huh? Yep, she's right here. Yeah, Steve's here too…Mom, what's going on? All right, here she is." Amy handed the phone to AJ. "Mom wants to talk to you. Something's up, I think."

AJ took the phone. "Hello?"

"AJ?" Her mother's voice sounded weird.

"Yeah, what's going on, Mom?" She asked. "You're worrying me a little bit."

"Honey, Ponyboy and Johnny are here."