Chapter Eleven:


"You know," Emma commented as we walked along the sidewalk, tugging her jacket closer to protect her from the evening chill. "Now that we've gotten rid of Sandy, all we have to do is get rid of that tramp Evie and we'll be set."

"Oh?" I asked, giving her a sideways glance. "How so?"

"Well," she explained. "It turns out Sandy was two-timin' your brother, so it's good riddance to her-"

"I'll say," I muttered darkly, kicking a loose pebble with my foot.

"And Steve could do much better than Evie," Emma continued as if I hadn't interrupted. "In fact..." she gave me an appraising glance, raising her eyebrow mischievously.

"Don't even go there," I warned.

Emma laughed, shrugging as she tossed her dark ponytail over her shoulder. "Why not? It's the truth, and you know it. You dig him, and he digs you."

"It doesn't matter," I insisted firmly. "I'm not some little girl with a crush, Emma, I ain't gonna go chasin' after him like that. If he thinks there's somethin' between us that's worth makin' a go for, then he'll have to make that call."

"Oh, I think it's safe to say that Mr. Steven Randle's gonna be callin' on you sometime soon, dear," Emma chuckled. "He's quite taken with ya, in case ya haven't noticed."

"Mmm," I murmured in reply, but the truth was, I had noticed. Guys don't just go around randomly kissing their best friend's sister unless there's something there. Still, this wasn't as simple as Emma liked to make it seem. Maybe Steve was just going through a rough patch with Evie, or maybe he was just attracted to me. Wouldn't be the first boy who'd gotten it in his head that he wanted me, probably wouldn't be the last.

Of course, with three protective brothers, it's a wonder I've ever had a date at all.

Things with Steve were tense, if only because there was a lot on the line. The last thing I wanted was to be the cause of any discord among the gang, especially between Steve and Soda.

One of the things I like most about Emma is that she's real perceptive, and right then she could tell I didn't really want to think about Steve Randle. "How's Darry holdin' up?" she asked instead.

I flashed her a grateful half-smile. "He's doin' better," I replied. "Sandy leavin' gave him a new problem to focus on, so bein' able to take care of Soda and fuss over him has let him keep his mind off of Ponyboy some, but I know he's worryin' himself to death about the kid."

"Yeah," Emma said softly. "I miss that little son of a gun."

"Me, too," I said with a weak smile. "But at least he's got Johnny with him. The two of them ought to be able to keep each other out of trouble."

"We hope," she said with a smirk. "Don't forget about that time they accidentally lit their shoes on fire when they dropped those candles."

"Ugh," I groaned, shaking my head as we rounded the corner of the vacant lot. "Don't remind me."

"Oh, boy," Emma muttered, coming to a stop and blowing out a long hiss of air.

"What?" I asked, frowning. "What is it?"

Wordlessly, Emma nodded towards the lot, and I turned to see a cluster of greasers, among them a few familiar faces. "Is he over there?" I asked, not daring to look in case he was.

"Yeah," she nodded grimly. "Sorry to tell you, but he is."

"Damn," I cursed. "C'mon, let's keep walkin'. Maybe they won't see us."

Of course they did, though, and a moment later I heard Two-Bit call out my name, and had no choice but to head over to join them. As we approached the crowd of boys leaning around on their cars, I was careful to avoid looking at Steve, focusing instead on Two-Bit and Dally, who were sitting on the hood of Tim Shepard's car, smoking and drinking.

"Hey, ya'll," I said, accepting the cigarette that Dally offered and letting him light it for me before putting it to my lips and taking a long, slow drag. I glanced over at Two-Bit and nearly dropped my cigarette when I saw the bruise on his cheek. "What happened to you? Ya run into a door or somethin'?"

"Got jumped," Two-Bit replied simply.

"Glory," I muttered, touching a hand to his cheek to check for swelling.

"Aww, wasn't bad," Two-Bit assured me with a cocky grin. "I was handlin' those bums just fine, and Darry and ol' Dal here came along quick enough, so it was a pretty clean deal."

"Dammit," I seethed, shaking my head. "This is gettin' out of hand."

"Don't worry your pretty little head any, kid," Dally waved dismissively, confident that he could handle anything that came up. "We'll take care of it."

"How, Dallas?" I snapped. "By killin' every Soc that comes along?"

"Hey, they come lookin' for a fight, I ain't gonna back off," Dally said sharply, his eyes flashing, and I couldn't help thinking how unfair it was that life had made him so hard, so bitter. "And speakin' of which, what the hell do ya two think you're doin' walkin' alone? Don't ya got any sense?"

"Apparently not, since I'm still hangin' out with you," I shot back with a scowl.

Dally raised an eyebrow at that, but let it go. Dallas Winston may be a tough hood but he's not all bad, you know? Part of me was touched that he was concerned about my safety, but at the moment I was more annoyed than anything, and he knew that.

He was backing off now because I was exhausted, but he'd probably tell Darry that I'd walked from the diner later, just to spite me. For now, though, he changed the subject in a way that only he could.

"Nice get up, though, doll," he said with a sly grin, his eyes raking me over. "Darrel know you're out here walkin' the streets dressed like that?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his leather jacket off of the car, slipping it on over my waitress uniform. "Can it, Dallas," I said irritably. "I'm tired, okay?"

"Long day waitin' tables, kid?" Two-Bit asked.

I glanced in Steve's direction, just as he looked up, and for a minute our gazes met before we both looked away. "Ya could say that," I replied vaguely.

Dally's eyes narrowed and he looked from Steve to me then back again, a thoughtful gleam in his cold blue eyes. Before he could say anything, though, the rumble of an approaching car drew attention to the other side of the lot.

Pulling in was a tuff looking Sting Ray convertible, and though we were too far away to see the face of the girl driving, the flaming red hair was a sure giveaway.

"What's this?" Tim grunted, nodding at Cherry Vallance as she stepped out of her car.

"The dead kid's girl, man," one of his boys growled. "She's a Soc."

"That's kind of obvious, don't ya think, genius?" Emma muttered, and he shot her a nasty look, which she returned with one of her own.

"I say we jump her, man," the guy said, turning back to Tim.

"Are ya insane?" I demanded. "She's just a girl!"

"So?" Tim snapped. "The Socs don't have a problem jumpin' our girls, why should we have a problem jumpin' theirs?"

"Because it ain't right, that's why," I snapped heatedly. "And so help me, Shepard, if you lay one hand on that girl..."

Tim didn't respond, giving me an evaluating look. I shifted uneasily, wondering if he was debating how much damage I could actually do, but I was saved from finding out when Two-Bit stepped up beside me. "Look, man, Cherry's an okay girl. Let's just hear what she has to say, alright?"

Tim gave a silent nod of agreement, and Two-Bit moved forward to meet Cherry as she approached. "Hey there, Cherry," he called.

"Curly was right," Tim told me, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You've got nerves of steel."

"Hi, Two-Bit," Cherry said with a faint smile.

"Well, well," Dally drawled, swinging his legs over the edge of Tim's car and standing up. "Look who it is."

"Nice to see you, too, Dallas Winston," Cherry said coldly, but there was something in her eyes that suggested the coldness wasn't heartfelt, at least not completely.

"What's up?" Two-Bit asked her.

"I just came by to let you guys know that I'm going to testify for Ponyboy and Johnny," she told him, and I blinked in surprise. "I mean," she looked down, wringing her hands. "I feel like this is all my fault, you know? So I'm going to tell the judge that Bob and the others were drunk, and went looking for a fight, that Ponyboy and Johnny had to fight back in self-defense."

"Why do you wanna do that?" Dally asked incredulously, and I rolled my eyes again. Leave it to Dally to not understand why someone would want to do the right thing.

"Because it's the right thing to do," Cherry snapped. "Not that I'd expect you to understand that."

"We really appreciate that," I told her, and her gaze softened as it shifted in my direction.

"It's the least I can do," she said quietly.

"There anythin' else?" Dally asked, blowing smoke in her face.

She glared at him, but didn't respond to him, instead facing Two-Bit again. "I heard there's going to be a big fight this weekend, between the Socs and the Greasers."

"Yeah," Two-Bit nodded. "You heard right."

"I'll keep up with what's coming from our end, then," she offered, folding her arms over her chest. "And I'll let you know what I find out."

"Thanks, Cherry," Two-Bit said, flashing her one of the most sincere smiles I've ever seen from him. "That'd be a big help."

Cherry glanced at me again, biting her lip. "I hope Ponyboy's alright," she said softly, and I could tell she really did.

"I'm sure he is," I said with a forced smile. "He's a tough kid."

She nodded, and started back towards her car, and Dally started to follow her. He draped an arm over her shoulder, grinning cockily. "How about I take you over to the Dingo and buy you a Coke, baby?"

"No thank you," Cherry snapped, pushing his arm off of her.

"Aww, c'mon, doll..."

"Go to hell," she said hotly, and hurried off to her car.

I watched her for a moment, then followed, waving off the inquires from the others. Cherry was just climbing into her car when I caught up to her, and she gave me a curious look as she opened the door and climbed in. "I just wanted you to know," I said breathlessly. "I'm sorry about Bob."

She was silent for a long moment, her eyes judging my sincerity, but then she smiled, a sad, shaky smile. "Thank you," she replied.

As I watched her drive off, I couldn't help wondering how I would feel if I were in her shoes. If it had been my boyfriend killed by her brother. Would I have been so understanding? So accepting and kind about it all?

I didn't know, and I hoped I never had to find out.