I arrive at the hospital and I immediatel ask to see Johnny. Those damn nurses wouldn't let me see him. I know Two-Bit and Pony would be along soon to see him. He was in critical condition.

It was important to me that I see him. I begged for them to let me in. The doctor let the nurse know what was going on.

"Let her go in. He's been asking for her and two other boys. It won't hurt." he tells her. "Yeah, my brother and our friend. They are coming so let them in." I said, going towards Johnny's room.

When I got in there, I felt my heart breaking. Johnny was lying on his back, completely still and his eyes shut. "Johnny, hey, kid." I said quietly with a weak smile. The silence of the hospital sent an eerie feeling through my spine.

He forces his eyes open and tries to grin at me. "Hey, Bex... Wh-Where's Pony and Two-Bit?" he asked me weakly. "They'll be here soon. It's just me right now." I said, feeling myself tear up a little bit.

"Oh..." he wheezed, finding it hard to take a breath. I stood right beside him and asked, "How're you feeling?" "I could... *wheeze* ...be better." he gasped, "What about you? I... *wheeze* heard you were in here too."

"Y-Yeah. I was here for a couple of days. Had trouble breathin' from the fire. But I'm okay now." I say, feeling pressure in my throat, nose, and cheekbones.

I bit my lip and sobbed quietly, turning away from him so he wouldn't see me crying. "Bex? What's the matter?" he asked me. "I'm sorry for cryin' on ya. I can't help it." I said, fighting to hold my tears back.

"It's about me... being here isn't it?" he wondered. "Yeah... I guess." I said, "Johnny, why did you save me in that church?" "Bexley, I had to save you. What would Pony, Soda, and Darry do without you? They need their sister. Nobody needs me..." Johnny replied.

"Johnnycake, the whole gang needs you. We wouldn't get along without you." I said, feeling myself choke up. He looked at me with a pleading look in his black eyes. We sat there in silence for a few minutes.

Then, something in my heart was telling me to do something. Just saying, "Thank you," wasn't enough. I had to show him that I was grateful for him saving my life. I brushed his short hair back.

Next thing both of us knew, I leaned down towards him and kissed Johnny on his chapped lips for no less than 7 seconds. He was surprised by my actions. "Bex... what was that for?" he asked, smiling at me. "I needed to show you that I'm grateful for you saving my life. Thank you, Johnny." I said, smiling down at him.

"You're welcome, Bex. I couldn't let you get hurt." he said with a weak smile. His eyes focused on me for a brief second before they shifted to look around me. I had a confused look on my face and wondered what he was looking at.

"What're you lookin' at?" I asked him. "Turn around, Juliet." Two-Bit's voice said from behind me. My entire face was bright red when I heard it.

I spin around and see the surprised look on Ponyboy's face and the look of excitement on Two-Bit's face. "Jesus Christ! How long have you guys been standing there for?!" I exclaimed. "Long enough to see you having your first kiss." Ponyboy chuckled, walking over to us.

"You two saw me...?" I started. "Yep. And might we say that it was the cutest thing I've seen, little sister." Two-Bit teased, squeezing my shoulder. I felt embarrassed that they saw me kiss Johnny.

Two-Bit walked over to Johnny, pulling up a chair. "They treating you okay, kid?" he asked Johnny. "Don't let me put enough grease in my hair." Johnny wheezed. "Don't talk, just listen. We'll bring you some hair grease next time. We're havin' the big rumble tonight." Two-Bit said.

Johnny's eyes went big but he didn't say anything. "Hey, got your picture in the paper for being a hero. Look." Two-Bit said, holding the paper out for Johnny to see. Johnny grinned at this, "Yeah, that's tuff enough."

The more we looked at him, the more we saw just how frail and pale he was, breaking my heart even more than it already was. Now that I've kissed him as my way of thanking him, it hurt so much worse.

Pony saw this and wrapped an arm around me as we sat down in the hospital chairs that was in the room. Even from here, I could see that even speaking a few words tired him out. Even him talking with me tired him out quickly.

"You want anything besides hair grease, kid?" Two-Bit asked, pretending not to notice just how pale Johnny was. "Book... Can you get another one?" Johnny wheezed, barely nodding. Two-Bit looked back at Pony and I; we hadn't told him about Gone with the Wind.

"He wants a copy of Gone with the Wind so we can read it to him." Pony explained. "Can you... get one from the drugstore?" I said, looking down at my feet. "Alright. Don't y'all run off." Two-Bit said, a bit too cheerfully for my liking.

I heard Two-Bit leave the room, leaving Pony and I alone with Johnny. "Dally's gonna be okay." I tell him, fighting my tears the hardest I could. "Yeah, Bex and I are getting alone with Darry now. We're okay now." Pony said.

We knew that Johnny understood what we were talking about. Johnny had always been our buddy, the lonely days we spent in the church had strengthened our friendship. But with me, I felt it was something more.

Johnny tried to smile, but he suddenly went white and his eyes squeezed shut. "Johnny, are you okay?" Pony said in alarm. "Johnny!" I exclaim, my heart tightening inside of my chest.

"Oh yeah... it just hurts sometimes. It usually don't. To tell you guys the truth, I can't feel anything in the middle of my back." Johnny replied, keeping his eyes closed, "I'm pretty bad off, ain't I, Pony and Bex?"

Pony had tears starting to form in his eyes as he said, "No, you're gonna be alright, kid. You gotta be. We couldn't get along without you. And thanks a lot for saving Bex's life in the church. I'm more than grateful." "Yeah, I know. Bex told me the same thing." Johnny said.

Hearing Pony say that hit me hard. We wouldn't get along without our little Johnnycake. We needed him just as much as he needed us for the same reason.

"Guys... I won't be able to walk again. Doc said I busted my back. I won't be able to use crutches." Johnny said before faltering. "You'll be okay." Pony repeats, sounding like he was about to cry but was struggling to keep it stifled. I tried not to cry also but a few tears slipped out.

I quickly wiped them away so Johnny would see them. "You guys want to know something? Remember how I used to talk about killing myself? Man, I don't wanna die now. It ain't long enough. Sixteen years ain't long enough. I wouldn't mind it so much if there wasn't so much stuff that I hadn't done yet and so many things that I hadn't seen nor done yet. When we all went to Windrixville, that's the only time I've been away from our neighborhood." Johnny said, drawing a quivering breath.

"Johnny, you're not gonna die. You can't." I quivered, my voice breaking. "The doctors won't let us see you no more if you get too juiced up." Pony said, trying to hold his voice down.

When you spend sixteen years in the street, you learn all the wrong things. You see a lot of things that no kid should ever have to see. It is harder than one might think because you learn how to shut off your emotions while living on the East side.

Then a nurse walked into the room. "Johnny, your mother is here to see you." she said. Johnny's eyes opened with surprise at first before darkening. "No, I don't want to see her," he firmly said.

"She's your mother. She wants to see you." the nurse prodded on. "I said I don't want to see her. She's probably here to tell me about all the trouble I'm causing so why don't you tell her to leave me al-" he said, his voice rising before he suddenly passed out onto the pillow.

My heart stopped when I saw this and I felt the color drain from my face. "Johnny!" I cried out, What's wrong with him?" "You two can't see him now." the nurse says, hurrying Pony and I from the room. Two-Bit just happened to return not a second later.

Something in me told me to leave the hospital. I didn't want to see Dally right now. I had to get the hell out of there.

"Bex, are you okay?" Pony asked, seeing just how pale I really was. "I'm not feeling too good..." I replied, feeling weak. "Do you need a doctor?" Two-Bit asked, "We can get you one."

"I just need some fresh air." I tell them, feeling like I was gonna throw up. "Do you want one of us to come with you?" Ponyboy asks, helping me stand up. I weakly push him off of me and say, "I want to be alone for a few minutes."

"You sure, little sister? You're burning up." Two-Bit asks in concern, placing a hand on my forehead. "I'm sure. Tell Dally that I stepped outside if you guys go see him. He'll probably be asking where I am." I tell them, feeling more weak by the second.

Both Ponyboy and Two-Bit were concerned for me, silently panicking. "Okay. We can respect that. If anything happens, we're here." Two-Bit said, squeezing my shoulder. He then went to Dally's hospital room.

Ponyboy looked at me, silently distraught about me feeling sick. "Pone, don't worry. I should be right as rain with some fresh air." I assure him. "Okay. Please be careful, you hear? I don't want anything to happen to you." he tells me, pulling me into a hug.

I hugged him back for a minute. He then follows Two-Bit, but not without looking back at me at least three times.

Hugging myself, I walked outside of the hospital and sat down on a bench that was by the front doors. I needed a minute to compose myself. After seeing Johnny suddenly pass out like that, I felt like I was about to do the same.

I leaned forward and rubbed my face with my hand. That was too much for me to handle. I couldn't bear to see Johnny like that.

"Johnny doesn't deserve any of this..." I said to myself, feeling more faint by the minute. Why wasn't it me?

"Hey, girl, you feeling okay?" someone asked, getting me to look up. It was a man who looked to be a bit older than Darry. He was standing in front of me with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sick." I said, feeling heat radiate off of me. The man then puts a hand over my forehead. "You're burning up. Maybe you should see a doctor." he suggested.

My stomach turned when he suggested that I go back into the hospital. I didn't want to. Even Two-Bit suggested that I see a doctor.

"No. I don't want to go." I declined. "Are you sure? You're really pale." the man said, still prodding on.

I made the mistake of standing up too quickly because I was overwhelmed by dizziness and I stumbled backwards. "Whoa, okay. I'm gonna grab a doctor. Sit down, girl." he said, a bit startled.

"N-No... I'm okay. Don't... Don't worry about..." I started to say but I found myself swaying on my feet, everything around me was starting to spin. That's when I passed out, the concrete rushing up to meet me.

When I woke up, I found that I was in a hospital bed. Ponyboy was next to me, sitting in a chair with tears in his eyes. "Ponyboy?" I said, trying to sit up.

"Bexley, don't sit up." he said, pushing me back down with both of his hands on my shoulders. "What happened?" I groan, rubbing my forehead. "You passed out. Some guy came running in carrying you saying that you had passed out. Two-Bit and I overheard this and I had to come to see if you're okay. You scared us both to death." Pony said, his hand on my forehead.

"Oh... I see." I swallowed, fighting off this headache, "How long have I been out for?" "About a few hours. I should've come with you. Two-Bit could've told me about Dally." Ponyboy said, guilt and anger in his voice. "I know. I shouldn't have turned you away. I'm sorry." I said, feeling guilty.

"Where's Two-Bit?" I asked, seeing that Ponyboy was the only one in the room with me. "He's still with Dally." Pony responded, holding my hand gently. "Oh... did he ask about me any?" I wondered.

"Yeah, he asked where you were since you didn't come with Two-Bit and I. I told him what you said and that you had to stay in the hospital for two days because of the fire." Pony said, his voice still bit shaky.

"Oh... I see. Was he mad any about us going in there?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "Oh he said that if we'd ever pull a stunt like that again, he'd beat the hell out of us." Pony chuckled. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Good ol' Dally." I say. After a couple of minutes, I was feeling a bit better so I sat up. Just then, Two-Bit walked into the room.

"Well, lookie here, sleeping beauty's finally awake." he said, ruffling my hair a bit. "Lay off, Two-Bit." Pony said. "How're you feeling, little sister?" Two-Bit said, "Scared us something awful."

"I feel fine now. Don't worry." I said, smiling at him warmly. "That's good to hear, kiddo." Two-Bit said, readjusting his leather jacket, "Should've let me get that doctor for you."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." I tell him, rubbing the back of my neck. "So, what caused you to pass out on us like that? You weren't like that before." Two-Bit wondered. I looked down for a minute and said, "I freaked out because of Johnny. After he passed out, I just couldn't handle it."

Two-Bit squeezed my shoulder tightly, "He's gonna be okay. I think you're more worried than the rest of us because you had kissed him back there." My entire face flushed with red.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed, little sister. Soda was y'all's age when he had his first kiss." Two-Bit said, giving me some assurance. "How come you did that, Bex?" Pony asked in a curious tone.

"I couldn't help it, Pony. Just saying 'Thank you' wasn't enough. I had to show him that I'm truly grateful for him saving my life." I answered, feeling my heart pound in my chest.

"Can't believe our little Bexley has blossomed into a woman." Two-Bit said, making me blush even more. "Oh shut your trap." I said, rolling my eyes

"Hey, I'm just messin' with ya. Hell, I bet when he gets out of here, I could definitely see the both of you in a relationship." Two-Bit teased. "Oh stop it, Two-Bit. Can you guys not tell Darry about me passing out? I don't want him worrying about me." I said, completely flustered.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything. He's got enough on his plate already." Pony promised. "Same here, little sister." Two-Bit said, "And I won't say nothing about you having your first kiss with our Johnnycake." "You're lucky I'm still a little drowsy to pummel you." I said.

I then started to cough dryly, indicating that my throat was dry.

Pony went to get me some water, to which I drank the whole glass. "You two ready to get out of here?" Two-Bit said, to which we both nod. Luckily, the doctors let us go after checking me over.