Chapter Twenty-One:


Glancing at the clock on the wall for what felt like the hundredth time, I sighed, not even attempting to pay attention to whatever my teacher was saying.

Darry had insisted that I attend school, despite Ponyboy's condition, saying that I couldn't afford any unnecessary absences. He was right, I suppose, but that didn't mean I liked being trapped at school while my brother was sick, with no way of knowing what was going on back home.

The schoolday was halfway over, but I didn't think I was going to be able to take it much longer. I couldn't keep my thoughts from drifting to Ponyboy, and what was the point of sitting in class if I couldn't even concentrate?

I'm out of here, I thought with a groan, pushing to my feet. Mrs. Carter looked up in surprise and opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again and nodded her approval for me to leave. It was funny, but with everything that had happened I was getting a break at school. Ponyboy would have gotten a kick out of that, I'm sure.

Gathering my books, I let myself out of the classroom as quietly as possible, ignoring the curious looks my classmates gave me and the whispers that passed between them. Shutting the door behind me, I walked briskly down the hall, not breaking stride until I reached the doors to the parking lot, when I realized that I didn't have a way to get home.

I could always walk, it wasn't that far, but I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and I was tired.

So that left me with one other option.

Turning on my heel, I made my way to Mr. Fenton's English class, and peeked in through the door. He was facing the blackboard, writing something about grammar, so I scanned the rows of desks quickly, finding Steve easily enough. He was slouched down in his chair, tapping the end of his pencil on the desk absently, a bored expression on his face. He didn't have any books with him, as usual. Sometimes it amazed me that he managed to get decent grades when he never brought his things to class.

Waving my hand a little, I managed to catch his gaze, and gestured for him to come outside into the hallway. He sat up and said something to Mr. Fenton, most likely asking to be excused to use the bathroom or something, and I stepped out of view as he slipped out of the classroom, shutting the door behind him.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I'm gettin' outta here," I replied bluntly. "I can't take sittin' through another class. Ya mind givin' me a lift home?"

"Sure," Steve said with a lazy shrug. "It's not like I'm learnin' anythin' important today."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't argue with him as we made our way outside to the parking lot. Steve opened the passenger door of his car for me, and despite myself I smiled at the gesture. I've never been real big on the whole chivalry thing, it normally ticks me off to have a guy treating me like I'm not capable of doing something for myself, but for some reason it doesn't bother me anymore when it's Steve. Maybe because now I know that he doesn't see me as some weak little girl, but that he just means to be sweet when he does things like opening my door for me.

We drove in comfortable silence, with the radio turned on by the volume low enough that it wasn't drowning out the rest of the noise around us. About halfway back to the house, Steve took one hand off the wheel to reach over and put his arm around me, so I leaned against his side, closing my eyes for a bit.

When I opened them next, we were pulling into the drive of the house. Straightening, I stretched my arms a little, my shoulders feeling kind of stiff. "Ya wanna come in for a bit?" I asked.

Steve shook his head. "I reckon since we cut out early, I should head on over to the DX station. With Sodapop takin' time off, there's a lot of work needin' to be done." He wasn't complaining, I knew, just stating the obvious. "Besides, ya look right exhausted, it'd be smart for ya to get some sleep."

I smiled ruefully. "I am kinda tired," I admitted.

"See?" Steve said with a lopsided grin. "I'll come by tonight after work and check in with ya'll. Tell Soda and Darry I said hey, alright?"

"Sure," I nodded, leaning across the seat to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Don't work too hard."

"I'll try not to," he replied as I climbed out of the car and shut the door behind me. He backed out of the drive, offering a small wave as he started down the street, and I smiled to myself as I trudged up the stairs to the front door.

As soon as I stepped through the door, I heard someone moving around in the kitchen. "Darry?" I called out.

"Lizzie?" his voice carried into the living room, and a moment later he stepped into the doorway, frowning at me. "What are ya doin' home from school?"

"Got sent home early," I replied with a shrug. "Steve gave me a lift."

Darry narrowed his eyes, looking none too pleased to hear that I was missing almost half of the schoolday, but before he could reply, voices drifted in from the bedroom. "He's awake?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Darry nodded, unable to keep from grinning in relief. "He just woke up a few minutes ago, so I'm makin' him some soup. Soda's in there with him now."

Dropping my stuff down on the couch, I hurried down the hall to the bedroom. Inside Soda was bouncing up and down on the edge of the bed, clad in a pair of jeans and nothing else, talking excitedly to a sleepy-looking Ponyboy, who was sitting propped up against some pillows in bed.

"Pony," I breathed a sigh of relief, moving forward to hug him. "Thank God you're okay," I murmured, brushing his hair away from his eyes and kissing his forehead. "Ya had us scared to death, kid."

"Sorry," he said with a faint hint of a smirk, his voice still a little weak and hoarse.

"Ya better be," I retorted lightly, taking a seat in the empty chair beside the bed. "How are ya feelin'?"

"Not bad," he replied. "Kinda tired, though."

"Yeah, me, too," I said with a small yawn. "I don't think anyone's gotten much sleep since ya got sick. I haven't been able to stay awake in class this week at all."

"Speakin' of which," Soda said, raising an eyebrow. "Why are ya home?"

"Left early," I said simply. "Steve said to tell ya he'll be stoppin' by later, after work."

"He bring ya home?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "He cut out to give me a ride."

"He keep his hands to himself?" Soda demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "Why he pawed me to death, Sodapop," I exclaimed sarcastically. "Don't be ridiculous, Steve's got more respect for me than that."

"He better," Soda mumbled under his breath.

"What are ya'll talkin' about?" Ponyboy demanded, a bewildered expression on his face.

Soda and I both started in surprise, exchanging a confused look, and then I realized that Ponyboy didn't know about me and Steve. How would he? He'd been away when we'd gotten together, and things had been so crazy since his return, that no one had ever gotten around to telling him.

"Steve and I are goin' steady," I said slowly.

Ponyboy blinked, once and then twice more, his mouth opening and then closing, speechless. Finally he managed to ask, "When did that happen?"

"While you were gone," Soda grunted. "We didn't find out until after the rumble, right before ya walked in to tell us about..." he trailed off, remembering the doctor's orders to avoid getting Pony upset. "Steve kissed her in front of us," he amended.

"And ya and Darry didn't flatten him?" Pony asked incredulously.

"Believe me," Soda said darkly. "We'd have liked to."

"Sodapop Curtis!" I scolded, smacking him soundly in the back of the head with my hand.

"Well, Ponyboy, what do ya think about all this?" Soda asked, rubbing his head.

"I think maybe I've got a fever," Ponyboy muttered with a groan. "And this is all just a hallucination."

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically. "You're a real riot, Pony. Just be glad you're still sick, or I'd smack ya in the head, too."

"No violence, princess," Darry said as he entered the room, carrying a cup of soup. "Here ya go, kid, eat up."

"Thanks, Darry," Pony said with a weak smile.

"Lizzie, since you ditched school," Darry said, giving me a disapproving look. "How about ya sit tight and keep an eye on Ponyboy for a while. I'm gonna head in to work for a bit, and Soda here looks like he's ready to drop at any moment."

I glanced over at Soda and realized it was true, there were dark circles under his eyes and his mouth was drooping a little, as if he was resisting the impulse to yawn. "Yeah, okay," I nodded. "I reckon I got some readin' to be doin' for school anyway."

"Thanks, princess," Darry said with a smile, squeezing my shoulder in appreciation. "Soda, you go crash on my bed for now, let Ponyboy have some space."

"Sure," Soda agreed, pushing to his feet. "Sleep tight, kid," he said, tossing Pony a wink as he left the room.

"The doctor will be over tomorrow to look in on ya, Ponyboy," Darry told him. "Until then, ya stay put in that bed, ya hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear ya," Pony sighed, leaning back against his pillows.

"Lizzie, I reckon I might be kinda late tonight, so will ya cook up somethin' for you and the boys to eat?" Darry asked me.

"Not a problem," I said, shooing him out of the room. "Get to work." Glancing back at Ponyboy, I said, "I think I'll grab my book, be right back."

"Okay," he yawned.

I headed down the hall to my room and picked up the book from my nightstand, then stopped off in the kitchen to grab myself a Pepsi before walking back to Pony's room.

By the time I lowered myself down into the chair beside his bed, he was already sound asleep.

Smiling to myself, I opened the book to the page I'd marked with a bookmark, and began reading.


A/N: Sorry it's kind of short this time, guys, I've got a lot of work going on right now with school, so I haven't had any time to write, really. I will try to make the next one longer ;)