Disclaimer: Don't own'em. I'm just a poor redneck with NOTHING TO DO!!

Chapter 7

There was a loud knock on the door. The doctor , who had been stitching my wound asked the nurse to open it.

'Don't be Dally..Don't be Dally...Don't be Dally.' I silently prayed. For once, my prayers came true as I looked into the worried faces of my parents. "I can't believe you got mixed up with those hoodlums! Are you into drugs? Is that why they-" Her mother, Sandra, blurted out as soon as she walked into the room.

"MOM!" I shouted. The doctor jumped and the nurses walking by stared at me in surpise. I gazed at them sheepishly. "Mom, I'm not doing drugs, i'm not mixed in with the 'wrong crowd'. I don't have any idea why those greasers came after me." I explained, lying through my teeth. (Except for the drug part) I hadn't been just some victim Curly had tried to maul, I knew exactly why he did it; because Dally had humiliated him in front of his gang at school the other day.

A comotion was heard from the hallway. I tried to peak out the door, but I couldn't see from my sitting position on the hospital bed.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait until the patient is finished being satured." A young nurse said. "Like hell! We've gotta see her and we've gotta see her now!" A voice growled. My eyes widened in realization and I almost laughed out loud. That voice belonged to the one and only Two-Bit Mattews. Then a thought crossed my mind. 'Dally'll be with him...'

My prediction turned out to be true. Dallas was leaning against the wall when I walked out of the room, my mid section still numb from when the doc had frozen it. I met his icy eyes as he glared at me cooly. I noticed the rest of the Curtis gang was there, either sitting on the chairs, sprawling on the floor or slumped up against the wall.

'They're probably just here to make sure they don't get blamed and I don't send the police after them.' I thought.

No one said anything until my mother finially broke the silence. "You should leave." She said, to the greasers. "You've caused enough trouble as it is."

"We aren't leaving until we've had a word with Casey." Darry responded looking at me. I felt as if I owed them for fighting off Curly for me, so I took a step forward towards Darry. "Casey!" My father exclaimed. "I'll be out to the car in a minute." I said walking up to Darry.

"Thank you." He said, his tall figure towering over me

"Thank you!? For what might I ask?" I responed, slightly miffed. "You...you saved Ponyboys life...You dono what that means to us...but...I...well, the gang'll always be here if you ever need any help. I just don't know how else to repay you." He said. I could hardly stand it, watching him look so confused and sad at the same time.

"Well for a start you could get Dally here off my case." I suggested, shooting a glare in his direction.

I looked over at Steve and Ponyboy. "Thanks for getting me away from Curly." I said gratefully. "I didn't want ya hangin' around but I didn't want something like this to happen either..."Steve said and shrugged. Two-Bit laughed. "You just wanted another chance to show off your damn muscles." I chuckled as I made my way over to Dallas.

"Casey, you gotta use you head." He growled. "What?!" What was this? The good, law biding citizen Dallas Winston giving me a lecture?! HA!

"What in the hell are you talkin' about, Dally! Like your in any position to give me advice! First you kidnap me, then you terroized me in the park and held me against my will at Ponyboys house...I could sue the shit outa you and your just standing here LECTURING ME!" I yelled. Dally smirked.

"If you were gonna get the fuzz after me, you would've done it a long time ago, dollface."

"Oh, get bent Dally!" I responded as I turned to walk away but he grabbed my arm. "Get your filthy hands off my daughter." My father said in a low threatening voice. "Give me a minute and I will." He growled. My father was speechless, no one had the gull to speck to their elders the way Dally had where we grew up.

"We were serious...about us bein' around if you need help. Just show up at Ponyboys or at Bucks...I've got a room there." He muttered, his mouth close to my ear so my parents wouldn't hear. His hand snaked down my arm and he pressed a key into the palm of my hand. He made sure I knew he was being serious before he let me go. "See you around, dollface." He said as I walked back to my parents and we left the hospital. The gang was behind us and we headed for my mothers Mercedes while they headed for Darrys beat up truck and Steves friend's old car.

I shoved the key in the pocket of my blue jeans, thinking it was of no use to me. With the perfect life of a soc, who would need the help of Dallas Winston?

'Not me. Definatly not me' I thought.

As I looked out the window, ignoring my parents lecturing, I truly had no idea how many times I would need to use that key.