Steve couldn't believe what he was doing. He didn't think it could happen, but Tim convinced him everything would be just fine. So there Steve sat, in the passenger seat of Tim Sheppard's car with 3 other gang members of his in the back. They were on their way to Yale, except this time Steve planned to be successful with their plan and to be done with it. He'd have nothing to do with this again and could just move on with his life. More importantly, it'd be a secret he'd keep to himself. Always.

"If anyone catches you with this car Tim, I will deny any part of it," Steve firmly said, "I cannot fuck up with Soda or Darry or Ponyboy."

"I told you no one will know. I'm not going to be driving it around. I got other plans with it," Tim said pulling his car up to the side of the road, "Alright let's walk the rest." As the five guys stepped out of the car, Tim pulled Steve alongside him. "You can be quick about it, like you said last time, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's just get it out of here." Steve didn't respond as Tim continued. "So did you miss her?"

"What?" Steve asked confused.

"Gracie," Tim said, "Have you missed her?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "I don't know."

"She has certainly missed you. Can't stop talking about you."

"Yeah, well, she probably misses Soda too."

"I don't know, she hasn't said anything about him." Steve didn't respond to that. He was feeling too anxious about the mess he was in right now. "If you haven't missed her, then why are you here?"

Steve shook his head, "To get you off my back."

"I think you thought she'd be here. She comes to see you and then you're back here. That's all it took for me. She could be around when we're done."

"Can we just focus on the car please?" Steve said through gritted teeth.

Soda ended up out on the back porch with a lit cigarette. All the memories of Steve and thoughts of his little brother were driving him into a near panic attack. He knew he couldn't just sit there and wonder where Ponyboy could end up, or relive the past with Steve. The best he could do was keep pushing Pony to talk about things and his feelings. He'd have to be on top of everything, more than he was with Steve.

Tim, his gang members, and Steve sat behind some bushes across the street from the car. They waited to make sure it was quiet for the night. Some of the people at Yale would have late night deals going on, so they had to make sure those were departed for at least some time.

"Tim, what is your beef with this guy anyway?" Steve asked, "You obviously have something going on to be risking jail time."

"Well," Tim lit up a cigarette and took a deep inhale, "It started awhile back. They came over to the Dingo one night and started messing with Angela. Usually she can hold her own, but apparently they were hammered off their asses and got too hands-on with her. They followed her down the street and tried getting it on with her. She fought back some, and they ended up tearing her clothes some and just making her look like a fool. It took us a couple weeks, but we ended up finding someone who was a brother to one of the guys, so we sent a little message by jumping him. Then they started saying Angela made it up, she tore her own clothes and was starting bullshit drama."

"And now you guys have been going back and forth ever since," Steve commented.

"And we have every right to. I would never jump a Soc girl, or any girl for that matter. Touching a girl is wrong. They took it way too far and I don't care how long it takes until I feel they've learned a lesson."

Steve shrugged it off. He wasn't sure who to believe in the situation. As a greaser, he should, and obviously would, be siding with Sheppard no matter what. If Steve were to be honest though, he knew there was a chance Angela was lying just for attention. It seemed like a crazy lie to be telling, but Angela would be the one to do it. She'd come up with ways to get the attention and pity on her. If something really did happen, unfortunately she'll only have Tim Sheppard's gang on her side when everyone else will just wonder what's true.

Soda had gone through two cigarettes before he finally felt some relaxation. He was finally having some idea that everything will eventually be alright. Ponyboy just needed time. He needed the time to get through his thoughts and feelings. Soda looked up towards the sky. It was cloudless. The moon was full and shining bright. It was calming, and full of hope.

"Are you ready?" Steve asked tossing his cigarette into the street.

"Yep," Tim got himself up, took one last good look around, "Go for it."

Steve got up and hurried over to the car and got to work. He kept his eyes on the car, trusting Tim to keep his eyes everywhere else. He was trying his hardest to push Soda and Pony out of his head. He didn't have time to worry. It was too late to change his mind. There couldn't be any distractions.

The driver's door was open and Steve motioned Tim over.

"Can you start it?" Tim asked as he got down next to Steve.

"Well it'd be a waste of time for me to be here if I couldn't," Steve smirked.

"Just hurry up and...shit. Shit!"

Steve did a double take as he looked up. There were some shadow figures rushing over towards them.

"Damnit," Steve jumped up and got in defense mode.

Eventually, Soda walked back inside the house. He saw Pony had come downstairs and sat on the couch in front of the TV. "Hey Pony," Soda took a seat next to him, "Can't sleep?"

"I don't know," Pony responded.

"What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. Something just doesn't feel right."

"About what?"

Pony thought for a minute, "That's just it. I don't know. I feel like something is wrong, but I don't know what."

"Is it Steve?" Soda asked curiously.

"Maybe. Are you sure he made it home?"

"I guess you're worried if he could get jumped again," Soda said.

"Yeah, maybe that's it," Pony agreed.

"I'm not very tired if you want to go for a walk," Soda suggested, "I take it you won't get back to sleep very well either. We can walk by his house and check."

"Sure. You're probably right anyway, I won't get back to sleep."

"We'll fight them off. Just get it started now!" Tim barked. Steve quickly hopped into the driver's seat and moved quickly to get the car started. He heard Tim and his gang fly fists. He heard yelling, he felt someone get shoved against the back of the car. Steve didn't know how many people were there, and he wasn't going to waste a second to find out.

Out of nowhere, Steve felt his shirt get tugged at. He grabbed the steering wheel tight as someone tried to pull him out of the car. It was no use though, Steve felt his grip loosen, and got yanked out of the car and tossed to the street. Multiple feet came at him as he got kicked in the gut and the back of the head. Only a few kicks were able to pass through though as the guys got pulled away from him. Before Steve could open his eyes to look, he felt himself get yanked to his feet.

"Hurry up!" Tim yelled getting Steve back in the car. He shut the driver door, leaving Steve alone to work. Steve felt his head throb from the blows.

"Ah fuck," Steve panted as he held his head. He looked down at the work he had started. His vision was coming in and out of fuzzy blurs. Squeezing his eyes tight, Steve took a deep breath and reopened them. His vision was a little clearer as he moved a couple wires, hearing the motor start.

"He's not here," Pony said. He looked up at Soda, who was just staring at the empty driveway. His older brother had a disbelieving look on his face, and it scared Pony. "Soda?"

Soda let out an irritating sigh, "I know where I can look for him." Pony looked down to the ground, disappointment filling him. "Go home Ponyboy."

"But Soda..."

"Pony, I said go home and don't try to argue. I'm just going to look for a bit, and then I'll be back."

"I don't want you to go to Yale."

"I'm not. I'm going to Sheppard's. Now go home Ponyboy."

"Fine," Pony agreed, turning back towards home.

"He's got it! Go! Tim yelled at his gang. They began running down the road to get back to Tim's car. Tim found the opportunity to open the car door, pull Steve out and shove him in the backseat. Putting the car in gear, Tim Sheppard sped off with an injured Steve in the backseat.

Soda felt the anger rise in him. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it just seemed a likely possibility Steve went back to Yale with Tim.

Arriving at the Sheppard household, Soda knocked on the door, hard. He saw Steve's car in the street, but didn't see Tim's car. It looked like Soda's suspicion was about to be proven correct.

"Oh hi Soda."

Soda turned back towards the door, expecting to be greeting Angela, "Hey...oh...hi Gracie. What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out with Angela," Gracie smiled, "I didn't think I'd see you here. What are you doing out so late?"

"I'm looking for Steve," Soda simply said.

"They should be back very soon. Want to come in?"

"Did he go to Yale?" Soda demanded.

"Just come inside," Gracie smiled, "He can tell you when he gets back."

Soda let out a groan. He didn't want to, but he didn't seem to have a choice. If he wanted to make sure Steve was okay, and possibly yell at him, he'd have to wait.

"Good work kid," Tim said as he pulled up towards his house.

"We are done now," Steve said firmly, laying across the back seat.

"I know. Are you feeling okay?" Tim asked as he pulled the wires apart to shut the engine off.

"I'll be fine," Steve slowly sat up, feeling a painful stab shoot across his head. The door opened and Tim held out a hand to help Steve out.

"Just take it easy," Tim got Steve to his feet and they slowly started up the yard towards the front door.

"I wasn't here tonight," Steve said, bringing his hand up to hold his head.

"I know man. Just relax. Let's get you cleaned up and looking good for tomorrow."

Tim readjusted the weight as Steve leaned onto him more and more. He reached for the doorknob and opened the door.