"Where's Andi?" Sodapop asked as soon as he opened the door to let Terry
back into the house.
"She… she left with Dallas," Terry answered, rolling into the Curtis living room. "They went to Windrixville."
"Windrixville? Is that where Ponyboy and Johnny are?"
"I guess. I d-"
Terry stopped mid-sentence. He was having one of his visions. It was hot and flames erupted from all directions. He could make out dark human shapes in the distance, passing along crying little kids in an attempt to get them out of the burning building. The last little kid was passed through the window, and the three human shapes began to make their way out. A cracking beam gave way in the ceiling, and the last shape looked up. "Johnny!" The world flashed again, and Terry was in a hospital. A pale, dead-looking body lay on a stretcher, the Curtises, Andi, and two other boys watched, grief-stricken as the body was carted away.
"I have to see the Professor."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Andi and Dallas watched Ponyboy and Johnny in awe as they scarfed down burger after burger in the local Dairy Queen they found.
"Glory… and I thought me and the girl were hungry."
Ponyboy and Johnny didn't respond. They just continued swallowing down anything they could get their hands on. Ponyboy belched.
"Pony!" Andi said.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Use a napkin!"
"Our manners went down the tube without you around, sweetheart," Dallas said, winking. Andi rolled her eyes.
"I could imagine."
"I didn't tell y'all something." Andi, Johnny, and Ponyboy turned their attention towards Dallas. "We're having all out warfare with the Socs back at home. Can't walk down the street without getting jumped or worse."
Andi swallowed.
"I've started carryin' a heater."
"Dally, you kill people with heaters!" Pony cried indignantly.
"Ya kill 'em with switchblades, too, don'tcha, kid?" Dallas asked, directing his comment at Johnny, who reddened immediately and looked down at his half-finished banana split. Andi sent Dallas a silencing glare. "Don't worry, Pony," Dallas went on, ignoring the look Andi was giving him, "it ain't loaded. It sure helps make a bluff though. Two-Bit got jumped a few days ago."
"What?!" Andi said, jumping up and slamming a fist against the table. "WHAT?"
"Don't worry you're pretty little head, sweetheart," Dallas said, motioning for Andi to sit down. "Two-Bit's one helluva fighter. Me and Darry came along, but he was holding his own before we came." Andi breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey," Dally said, brightening suddenly, "I didn't tell you we got ourselves a spy."
"A spy? Who?" Johnny asked looking up.
"That good-looking girl I tried to pick up at the movies that other night… Cherry what's-her-name."
A lot of fumbling went around the table when Dallas said her name. Johnny gagged while Ponyboy nearly dropped his ice cream sundae. Andi pounded Johnny on the back a few times since it looked like he was choking.
"Ch-Cherry? The Soc?" Johnny and Pony said at the same time.
"Yeah, that's her," Dallas said. "She came over that night after Two-Bit got jumped in her little ol' Sting Ray. We were all for jumping her, since she's the dead kid's girl and all, but Two-Bit stopped us."
Andi sat listening silently. She had no idea who Cherry was, but she seemed like a decent person. Andi was still mulling over Two-Bit's jumping, berating herself for not being there to help out in her friend's time of need. Two-Bit always took care of her, and she felt like she had failed him for not being there, but she was glad he hadn't been too injured. Andi zoned out of the conversation.
"- around here for kicks, play checkers?" Dallas was looking around the Dairy Queen with a mix of amusement and disgust. "I ain't never been in the country before. Have y'all?"
"Dad used to take us all hunting," Ponyboy said, and Andi nodded in acknowledgement.
"Yeah… I heard you were the best shot, Pony."
"I guess… Darry always got the most ducks, though. Him and Dad. Me and Soda goofed around too much, scared all the game away."
Andi raised an eyebrow at Ponyboy. He was bluffing, that was for sure. He really didn't like to shoot things, and thought his gift was rather a curse. Pony was beginning to look rather uncomfortable.
"Well, it was a good idea for you two to cut your hair," Andi said, changing the subject.
Dallas nodded in agreement. "They had your descriptions in the paper and everything, but you sure wouldn't fit them now."
Andi had to grin at Ponyboy, who gave her a dirty look. She began to laugh.
"We're goin' back and turn ourselves in."
The silence that ensued was deafening. Everyone turned to look at Johnny.
"What?" Dallas said, after he had cussed a while.
"I said we're going back and turn ourselves in."
Andi's stomach churned.
"You know what they do to murderers, Johnnycake?"
"I got a chance to get let off easy," he said in a voice that indicated he wasn't only trying to convince everyone else but himself as well. "It was in self-defense. Cherry and Ponyboy'll testify to that. I don't got a rep with the fuzz either. And I don't aim to stay in that church for the rest of my life."
"Are you sure?" Andi said, her voice barely a whisper. She knew that Johnny had a deathly fear of the police, and that was one of the reasons why he was always careful not to get into trouble. "Are you sure you want to go back?"
"You know us greasers get it worse," Dally interjected, chewing nervously on the corner of his fake ID card.
Johnny sighed. "It ain't fair to Ponyboy, either. He's got Soda and Darry worrying about him at home. I… I don't guess my parents are worried about me."
Andi looked at Johnny sorrowfully before turning to Dallas.
"The boys're worried about you," Dallas said in a voice that indicated that was all that really mattered. "Two-Bit was plannin' on going down to Texas to hunt for you."
"Good ol' Two-Bit," Andi muttered.
"But my parents," Johnny said, his vision blurring a little at the thought but going on as if Dally hadn't heard him the first time, "did they ask about me?"
"Shit, Johnny," Dally growled. "They didn't. I don't know why you'd even be caring about something like that. My dad don't give a monkey's ass about where I am, and I get along just fine, don't I?"
Both Andi and Ponyboy gave Johnny sad looks. They understood that he wasn't as tough as Dally was. Johnny was sensitive and susceptible to things like heartbreak and neglect. Ponyboy felt as if he would cry, and Andi nodded when she saw him looking at her pleadingly to do something. Dallas cussed before tearing out of the Dairy Queen parking lot like the devil was after them.
"Why didn't you think of turning yourselves in five days ago?" Dally bellowed over the roaring wind. "It would've saved a lot of trouble."
"I was scared," Johnny yelled back. "I still am."
Andi gripped onto her seat tightly because as much as she liked to speed around in cars, Dallas was really pushing her limit. She was about to tell him to slow down when she noticed what kind of condition he was in. Dally's eyes were blazing like a wild fire and even Darry knew better than to mess with Dallas Winston when he was riled up into a rage, so Andi kept silent. She glanced over at Johnny, who was slumped down in his seat, staring at his shoes. None of the gang liked to get mad at Johnny because he really wasn't the type that could take abuse like that.
"I ain't mad at you, Johnny," Dally said in a tone that made both Ponyboy and Andi look up at him. "You get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me…"
Andi knew now that things were dead serious. Dally never talked about his past to anyone. The gang knew that he had grown up on the streets in New York, but other than that, Dallas Winston's past was strictly Dallas Winston's.
"D'you want me to hide for the rest of my life?" Johnny asked quietly. Andi and Ponyboy knew that had Dally said yes, Johnny would have stayed in that church eating bologna and candy bars for the rest of his life, but they had reached the bottom of the hill by now, and there was a more pressing situation at the top.
"Glory…" Dallas said in awe, as he brought the car to a screeching halt.
"Let's go see what the deal is," Ponyboy said, jumping out.
"What for?" Dallas asked.
"Ponyboy Curtis, you get back in this car right now!" Andi barked, jumping out of her seat beside Johnny. He climbed out of the car after Ponyboy. "Crap." Andi climbed out of the car and ran after them, Dallas muttering obscenities from the driver's seat of the car.
"What's going on?" Andi heard Ponyboy ask a man standing by.
"Well, we were having a picnic when the church caught fire. It's a good thing it's the wet season, and the old thing is worthless anyway."
Andi saw Pony whisper something to Johnny, but she didn't hear what it was. She was too busy looking at the flames that ripped through the church.
"Jerry, some of the kids are missing."
Andi froze. She could hear something like screaming in the distance.
"I'm sure they're somewhere around here," Jerry said, dismissing the dilemma.
"They've been missing for a half an hour… I'm sure I saw them climbing the hill."
Andi didn't need anymore encouragement. She leaped into the burning church. Johnny and Ponyboy watched with their mouths wide open.
Pony motioned with his head towards the window and the two of them leapt in after her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What part of Windrixville?" the Professor asked Terry. They were flying towards the town in the Blackbird.
"I don't know, but it's not that big of a place from what I've heard."
"Professor," Kurt's voice said, interrupting the conversation. "There seems to be a fire down there."
The Professor shot Terry a glance, and he nodded.
This was the place.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Andi was in the building, putting out the fire as best she could with the skills she learned from the Xavier Institute. She was coughing from the smoke and had to keep one hand over her nose and mouth as she used her other hand to spray the fire out as she charged forward, searching for the kids. A crash behind her made her turn around.
"Hey."
It was Johnny and Ponyboy.
"Hey, yourself, Ponyboy Curtis!" Andi yelled above the roaring fire. "What're you doing in here?"
"Lending a hand."
Andi grumbled as she followed them deeper into the flames. The sobbing and crying of little children was getting louder as they went. When the three of them finally stumbled upon the group of little kids, it was an appalling scene.
"Shut up," Johnny said loudly to a kid who was screaming his head off. The little kid stopped screaming immediately and gazed up at the older boy. "We're gonna get you outta here."
They formed a line, Johnny grabbing a random kid, handing the kid to Andi, who in turn handed him/her to Ponyboy, who set them out the window. They were shuttling kids as fast as they could while the fire continued to blaze around them. Andi was sweaty and miserable and coughing her head off, but when she glanced at Johnny as he handed her another kid he grinned at her. She could see that although they were in this extremely dangerous situation, Johnny was actually having the time of his life. The fear and shame that Andi had been so used to seeing behind Johnny's eyes had been replaced by something more daring. Andi nearly dropped the child she was holding.
"Hurry up, will ya?" Pony called from near the window.
"That's the last kid!" Johnny yelled back.
Ponyboy nodded and proceeded climbed out the window.
"Go on," Johnny said gently, urging Andi to follow.
"But-"
A loud crack from above interrupted her. Johnny spun around as the beam from the ceiling came crashing down towards him.
"Johnny!" A jet stream of water shot out from the tips of Andi's fingers in her attempt to deflect the beam and push it far enough away that it didn't hit Johnny. She only succeeded in putting out the flames that enveloped the beam, and Andi watched in horror as Johnny became crushed underneath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*bum bum bum* Sorry to leave you hanging, but I think you know what happens… I took some quotes from the book, so let me emphasize the point that although I do that from time to time, I STILL DO NOT own The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton does)… although… I'd LIKE to, I mean, who WOULDN'T want to own seven hot, sexy, "bad boys"? *cackles demonically* If you're worried about whether the ending will be happy or not… let me reassure you that I despise sad endings. :D
"She… she left with Dallas," Terry answered, rolling into the Curtis living room. "They went to Windrixville."
"Windrixville? Is that where Ponyboy and Johnny are?"
"I guess. I d-"
Terry stopped mid-sentence. He was having one of his visions. It was hot and flames erupted from all directions. He could make out dark human shapes in the distance, passing along crying little kids in an attempt to get them out of the burning building. The last little kid was passed through the window, and the three human shapes began to make their way out. A cracking beam gave way in the ceiling, and the last shape looked up. "Johnny!" The world flashed again, and Terry was in a hospital. A pale, dead-looking body lay on a stretcher, the Curtises, Andi, and two other boys watched, grief-stricken as the body was carted away.
"I have to see the Professor."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Andi and Dallas watched Ponyboy and Johnny in awe as they scarfed down burger after burger in the local Dairy Queen they found.
"Glory… and I thought me and the girl were hungry."
Ponyboy and Johnny didn't respond. They just continued swallowing down anything they could get their hands on. Ponyboy belched.
"Pony!" Andi said.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Use a napkin!"
"Our manners went down the tube without you around, sweetheart," Dallas said, winking. Andi rolled her eyes.
"I could imagine."
"I didn't tell y'all something." Andi, Johnny, and Ponyboy turned their attention towards Dallas. "We're having all out warfare with the Socs back at home. Can't walk down the street without getting jumped or worse."
Andi swallowed.
"I've started carryin' a heater."
"Dally, you kill people with heaters!" Pony cried indignantly.
"Ya kill 'em with switchblades, too, don'tcha, kid?" Dallas asked, directing his comment at Johnny, who reddened immediately and looked down at his half-finished banana split. Andi sent Dallas a silencing glare. "Don't worry, Pony," Dallas went on, ignoring the look Andi was giving him, "it ain't loaded. It sure helps make a bluff though. Two-Bit got jumped a few days ago."
"What?!" Andi said, jumping up and slamming a fist against the table. "WHAT?"
"Don't worry you're pretty little head, sweetheart," Dallas said, motioning for Andi to sit down. "Two-Bit's one helluva fighter. Me and Darry came along, but he was holding his own before we came." Andi breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey," Dally said, brightening suddenly, "I didn't tell you we got ourselves a spy."
"A spy? Who?" Johnny asked looking up.
"That good-looking girl I tried to pick up at the movies that other night… Cherry what's-her-name."
A lot of fumbling went around the table when Dallas said her name. Johnny gagged while Ponyboy nearly dropped his ice cream sundae. Andi pounded Johnny on the back a few times since it looked like he was choking.
"Ch-Cherry? The Soc?" Johnny and Pony said at the same time.
"Yeah, that's her," Dallas said. "She came over that night after Two-Bit got jumped in her little ol' Sting Ray. We were all for jumping her, since she's the dead kid's girl and all, but Two-Bit stopped us."
Andi sat listening silently. She had no idea who Cherry was, but she seemed like a decent person. Andi was still mulling over Two-Bit's jumping, berating herself for not being there to help out in her friend's time of need. Two-Bit always took care of her, and she felt like she had failed him for not being there, but she was glad he hadn't been too injured. Andi zoned out of the conversation.
"- around here for kicks, play checkers?" Dallas was looking around the Dairy Queen with a mix of amusement and disgust. "I ain't never been in the country before. Have y'all?"
"Dad used to take us all hunting," Ponyboy said, and Andi nodded in acknowledgement.
"Yeah… I heard you were the best shot, Pony."
"I guess… Darry always got the most ducks, though. Him and Dad. Me and Soda goofed around too much, scared all the game away."
Andi raised an eyebrow at Ponyboy. He was bluffing, that was for sure. He really didn't like to shoot things, and thought his gift was rather a curse. Pony was beginning to look rather uncomfortable.
"Well, it was a good idea for you two to cut your hair," Andi said, changing the subject.
Dallas nodded in agreement. "They had your descriptions in the paper and everything, but you sure wouldn't fit them now."
Andi had to grin at Ponyboy, who gave her a dirty look. She began to laugh.
"We're goin' back and turn ourselves in."
The silence that ensued was deafening. Everyone turned to look at Johnny.
"What?" Dallas said, after he had cussed a while.
"I said we're going back and turn ourselves in."
Andi's stomach churned.
"You know what they do to murderers, Johnnycake?"
"I got a chance to get let off easy," he said in a voice that indicated he wasn't only trying to convince everyone else but himself as well. "It was in self-defense. Cherry and Ponyboy'll testify to that. I don't got a rep with the fuzz either. And I don't aim to stay in that church for the rest of my life."
"Are you sure?" Andi said, her voice barely a whisper. She knew that Johnny had a deathly fear of the police, and that was one of the reasons why he was always careful not to get into trouble. "Are you sure you want to go back?"
"You know us greasers get it worse," Dally interjected, chewing nervously on the corner of his fake ID card.
Johnny sighed. "It ain't fair to Ponyboy, either. He's got Soda and Darry worrying about him at home. I… I don't guess my parents are worried about me."
Andi looked at Johnny sorrowfully before turning to Dallas.
"The boys're worried about you," Dallas said in a voice that indicated that was all that really mattered. "Two-Bit was plannin' on going down to Texas to hunt for you."
"Good ol' Two-Bit," Andi muttered.
"But my parents," Johnny said, his vision blurring a little at the thought but going on as if Dally hadn't heard him the first time, "did they ask about me?"
"Shit, Johnny," Dally growled. "They didn't. I don't know why you'd even be caring about something like that. My dad don't give a monkey's ass about where I am, and I get along just fine, don't I?"
Both Andi and Ponyboy gave Johnny sad looks. They understood that he wasn't as tough as Dally was. Johnny was sensitive and susceptible to things like heartbreak and neglect. Ponyboy felt as if he would cry, and Andi nodded when she saw him looking at her pleadingly to do something. Dallas cussed before tearing out of the Dairy Queen parking lot like the devil was after them.
"Why didn't you think of turning yourselves in five days ago?" Dally bellowed over the roaring wind. "It would've saved a lot of trouble."
"I was scared," Johnny yelled back. "I still am."
Andi gripped onto her seat tightly because as much as she liked to speed around in cars, Dallas was really pushing her limit. She was about to tell him to slow down when she noticed what kind of condition he was in. Dally's eyes were blazing like a wild fire and even Darry knew better than to mess with Dallas Winston when he was riled up into a rage, so Andi kept silent. She glanced over at Johnny, who was slumped down in his seat, staring at his shoes. None of the gang liked to get mad at Johnny because he really wasn't the type that could take abuse like that.
"I ain't mad at you, Johnny," Dally said in a tone that made both Ponyboy and Andi look up at him. "You get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me…"
Andi knew now that things were dead serious. Dally never talked about his past to anyone. The gang knew that he had grown up on the streets in New York, but other than that, Dallas Winston's past was strictly Dallas Winston's.
"D'you want me to hide for the rest of my life?" Johnny asked quietly. Andi and Ponyboy knew that had Dally said yes, Johnny would have stayed in that church eating bologna and candy bars for the rest of his life, but they had reached the bottom of the hill by now, and there was a more pressing situation at the top.
"Glory…" Dallas said in awe, as he brought the car to a screeching halt.
"Let's go see what the deal is," Ponyboy said, jumping out.
"What for?" Dallas asked.
"Ponyboy Curtis, you get back in this car right now!" Andi barked, jumping out of her seat beside Johnny. He climbed out of the car after Ponyboy. "Crap." Andi climbed out of the car and ran after them, Dallas muttering obscenities from the driver's seat of the car.
"What's going on?" Andi heard Ponyboy ask a man standing by.
"Well, we were having a picnic when the church caught fire. It's a good thing it's the wet season, and the old thing is worthless anyway."
Andi saw Pony whisper something to Johnny, but she didn't hear what it was. She was too busy looking at the flames that ripped through the church.
"Jerry, some of the kids are missing."
Andi froze. She could hear something like screaming in the distance.
"I'm sure they're somewhere around here," Jerry said, dismissing the dilemma.
"They've been missing for a half an hour… I'm sure I saw them climbing the hill."
Andi didn't need anymore encouragement. She leaped into the burning church. Johnny and Ponyboy watched with their mouths wide open.
Pony motioned with his head towards the window and the two of them leapt in after her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What part of Windrixville?" the Professor asked Terry. They were flying towards the town in the Blackbird.
"I don't know, but it's not that big of a place from what I've heard."
"Professor," Kurt's voice said, interrupting the conversation. "There seems to be a fire down there."
The Professor shot Terry a glance, and he nodded.
This was the place.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Andi was in the building, putting out the fire as best she could with the skills she learned from the Xavier Institute. She was coughing from the smoke and had to keep one hand over her nose and mouth as she used her other hand to spray the fire out as she charged forward, searching for the kids. A crash behind her made her turn around.
"Hey."
It was Johnny and Ponyboy.
"Hey, yourself, Ponyboy Curtis!" Andi yelled above the roaring fire. "What're you doing in here?"
"Lending a hand."
Andi grumbled as she followed them deeper into the flames. The sobbing and crying of little children was getting louder as they went. When the three of them finally stumbled upon the group of little kids, it was an appalling scene.
"Shut up," Johnny said loudly to a kid who was screaming his head off. The little kid stopped screaming immediately and gazed up at the older boy. "We're gonna get you outta here."
They formed a line, Johnny grabbing a random kid, handing the kid to Andi, who in turn handed him/her to Ponyboy, who set them out the window. They were shuttling kids as fast as they could while the fire continued to blaze around them. Andi was sweaty and miserable and coughing her head off, but when she glanced at Johnny as he handed her another kid he grinned at her. She could see that although they were in this extremely dangerous situation, Johnny was actually having the time of his life. The fear and shame that Andi had been so used to seeing behind Johnny's eyes had been replaced by something more daring. Andi nearly dropped the child she was holding.
"Hurry up, will ya?" Pony called from near the window.
"That's the last kid!" Johnny yelled back.
Ponyboy nodded and proceeded climbed out the window.
"Go on," Johnny said gently, urging Andi to follow.
"But-"
A loud crack from above interrupted her. Johnny spun around as the beam from the ceiling came crashing down towards him.
"Johnny!" A jet stream of water shot out from the tips of Andi's fingers in her attempt to deflect the beam and push it far enough away that it didn't hit Johnny. She only succeeded in putting out the flames that enveloped the beam, and Andi watched in horror as Johnny became crushed underneath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*bum bum bum* Sorry to leave you hanging, but I think you know what happens… I took some quotes from the book, so let me emphasize the point that although I do that from time to time, I STILL DO NOT own The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton does)… although… I'd LIKE to, I mean, who WOULDN'T want to own seven hot, sexy, "bad boys"? *cackles demonically* If you're worried about whether the ending will be happy or not… let me reassure you that I despise sad endings. :D
