Author's Note; "Thanks again for your reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Soda's getting pretty messed up now. Anyway please read and review."

Tori meanwhile, had sat in the flat all day. She was hurt and upset and had taken to watching films and eating crap. Kirsten had been round, and even Dally had made an appearance. But she hadn't heard anything from Soda. She was unsure if she even wanted to. How would she cope on her own? But it wasn't all about the unborn baby. It was about her and Soda. Why had they let themselves get into such a routine, which they didn't like? They should have made more of an effort with each other. Perhaps they should have spent more time apart. Whatever the reasons, Tori felt as though she had driven him away and that's all she could think about. She wanted to call him, she wanted to talk to him, but she couldn't bring herself to pick up the phone. He might have been drunk, but what he said was obviously the truth.

Around half three in the afternoon, Tori was dosing off when she heard the door open. She sat up abruptly and waited for the 'door opener' to walk through the sitting room.

Soda opened the door slowly, and peered around the corner. "Hey." His voice was shaky, he sounded uneasy.

Tori fought back her tears, and without looking at him, replied with "Hi."

Soda pushed open the door, to reveal the sitting room in a mess. The duvet from their bed was draped around the settee, alongside a few pillows. A big bar of chocolate lay, half eaten, on a small coffee table; alongside a big bag of potato chips, a mug of half-drunken hot chocolate and a box of tissues.

"Wow. This is a mess!" was all Soda could think of saying. Great icebreaker, Soda thought, she's going to think I'm pissed off, and I don't want to fight anymore.

"Yeah. Well. I'll tidy it up, when I feel like it. I've cleaned up enough today." Tori said, her eyes still fixated on the television. It seemed too painful to look at Soda.

"What do you mean?" Soda asked, curious as the flat looked messier than it had last time he had been in it.

"I had to clean up your sick. Remember, you were sick this morning, when you came in absolutely ripped, off your face." Tori's eyes hadn't moved.

"Oh, yeah. About that, sorry."

"What, you're sorry that I had to clean up your sick which was splattered all around the toilet? Or you're sorry because you came in drunk and acted like a prick?" Tori's head turned to face Soda, who was still stood in the doorway. Her eyes were like daggers, which sliced straight through him. Soda knew he had hurt her, this made him feel worse.

"Well, both. To be honest with you, I can't remember what was said. I really can't. I don't know what to say to you." Soda sat down on a chair.

"Sodapop, don't. I think you said all you had to say this morning. And if you can't remember, how about, I recap for you. You told me to 'piss off' and 'leave you alone'. You can't take it anymore. Me, the baby, any of it. So you walked out." Tori's eyes turned back towards the television to prevent herself from revealing her emotions, and begging Soda to come back to her. She knew it would be a stupid thing to do, but she needed him and at the minute she wasn't thinking straight.

"Geez, I'm sorry. Fuck. I've screwed it all up haven't I?" Soda put his head in his hands. "I didn't mean it to come out like that. I meant, that, we've started to argue all the time and I keep upsetting you, so maybe we should call it quits. It's not that I don't love you, because I do. I do want to be apart of our baby's life. But I don't think things are working between us. I want to stay friends Tori, and maybe in a couple of weeks or something when things have cooled down and we're not stressing each other out. Then maybe we could make a go of it again." Soda paused. Tori's eyes were fixated to the screen; Soda saw a tear roll down her soft cheek. If it was hard for him to say, it must have been even harder for her to accept. The possibility of raising a child on ones own must be a terrifying thought, but Soda had to choose. He had to choose between a break-, which could sort things out, or trying to slog it out- which could result in a bad break up. He knew what he had to do. "Tori, talk to me. Look at me. Please. This isn't easy. You're the only girl I've ever felt like this with. I don't want to loose you. But I can't handle all this pressure, this responsibility. Please, try and understand."

Tori turned to look at Soda, tears falling from her bright green eyes. She looked so vulnerable, so innocent. Like a child. "Soda, that's fine. You want to be apart of its life but you don't want to be involved until it's born. Okay. That's fine." Tori was angry, but mainly she was sad- not about Soda leaving her when she was pregnant, but the fact she loved him and he was ending their relationship because of a twist in fate.

"Really? You're okay with it?" Soda was astonished and for some reason this made him feel bad.

"Yeah I get it. You choose when you have responsibility, because you're scared. Whereas I, well I'm just stuck with it forever. That's absolutely fine. I just wished you had decided that when I first told you. Would have saved a lot of hassle."

"Don't be like that with me. Please. I just need a bit time alone. I'm sure after that I'll be able to settle down with you." Soda explained.

"Yeah, and what if I decide I don't want to settle down with you?" Tori was being stubborn. She didn't mean to be; it was just because she felt hurt. She didn't want to lay her emotions down, she didn't want her heart to be trampled on anymore than it already had.

"Tori come on. I'm shit scared. I don't know what to do." Soda moved on to the settee, and picked up one of Tori's hands. It was hot and clammy. Soda noticed that, Tori's once long and perfect nails, had been chewed off and were now a row of rough jeered, edges.

"Yeah, Soda, I'm sorry. I'm just, I'm terrified. I'm scared to be on my own; I'm scared for the birth. I'm scared to loose you. Everyone I've ever loved, they've been taken away, my dad, my mother, and you… it's okay though… I understand." Tori felt her guard falling down in front of her eyes. She knew she had to let go, if there was any hope of her and Soda keeping a friendship, she had to let go.

"I'm sorry. I really am." Soda wiped a tear from Tori's eye and attempted a smile. She smiled back and mouthed the words, 'I love you'. The pair hugged in silence, both thinking about the future.

Hours later, after more heart wrenching discussions, Tori and Soda had decided it was best if Soda went back to live with Darry and Pony. He gathered his things together. The two lovers said a tearful goodbye and Soda left the flat.

The next day Steve came round to Soda's. It was around lunchtime, and Soda was still sitting around in his boxer shorts.

"Hey Buddy. I heard you two split huh? You okay?" Steve questioned as he sat down.

"Yeah. I'm fine; I think she's fine. I just miss her. I'm depressed." Soda said taking a swig from his can of coke.

"Shoot, Soda. Get a grip! You only split yesterday. You're not depressed. You'll see her again." Steve rolled his eyes. "Anyway she's not your responsibility now. She's just a bit of pregnant eye candy, and she will be pretty vulnerable now, so she will be an easy target. And you, you're single, with no attachments. Which makes you, back in the game!" Steve explained.

"No. That's not how it is. Tori's not easy and she's not back in the game." Soda retorted.

"If you say so. Tori's fit. And young single mothers, need reassurance, in the form of sex. So she will be gagging for it soon!" Steve exclaimed. "You might as well start dating… and I know just the girl… Christie Mathews. She's hot. And she puts out."

"Shut it Steve. I'm not dating that slag. And Tori's not like that. By the sounds of it, you wanna bit of her." Soda's voice became slightly aggressive.

"Yeah, wouldn't mind." Steve joked. "Just go on a date with her."

"Steve I've had enough of you telling me what to do. If it's not at work, it's in my love life. All I ever hear is 'Soda, do this' and 'Soda do that'. I'm sick of it. So lay off." Soda shouted.

"Me? Telling you what to do? It all changed when you got with Tori. She was in control. Then you were all like, 'Tori this' and 'Tori that' and 'me and Tori are having a baby'. I've never told you what to do Soda, because if I had you wouldn't have been so obsessed with your girl, and ignorant of the rest of the world." Steve scoffed.

"That's bullshit Steve and you know it! You just don't get it at all do you? I'm having a baby. I'm going to be a dad! I'm sorry if hanging with you and getting pissed isn't my main priority now! Just fuck it Steve. You're pissing me off." Soda screamed.

By this point Soda and Steve were both stood up. Anger was building up inside Soda like a bomb ready to explode. It wasn't as if all this anger was because of Steve, it had been building up inside of him for some time. He needed to cool off.

"You know what? You're acting just like you did when your parents died. Shutting everyone out."

Soda felt a surge of anger and the next thing he knew he had hit Steve over the head with a big clock, which rested on a cabinet.

Steve fell to the floor.

"Shit! Steve I didn't mean it I'm sorry!" Soda said as he dropped to the floor to see if Steve was okay. He didn't move. Soda touched his head. He looked at his hand. It was smeared in blood. What had he done?

He picked up the phone and dialled 911. He called an ambulance. The ambulance took Steve to A&E, where he was fixed up and put on several machines. The doctor told Soda he could go in to see Steve. He had had to have four stitches in his head and to do this the doctor had to shave a clump out of Steve's hair. The doctor had said it was lucky the blow wasn't five centimetres to the right because it probably would have punctured his temple and caused brain damage.

Soda walked into the room. Steve was sitting up right in bed. He had a monitor attached to him by small, round sucker-like things attached to his chest, which was measuring his heart rate.

"Hi." Soda felt really guilty. He kept thinking about what would have happened if he had hit him five centimetres to the right. He shuddered at this thought, as the guilt surged through his veins. Why had he done it in the first place? "Steve I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident. I'm sorry." Soda apologised.

"Whatever Soda, you hit me over the head with that clock. You heard what the doctor said; if it was five centimetres to the right you could have knocked me senseless if it hadn't killed me. The doctor asked if I wanted to get the fuzz involved. Said I could get you charged. I said it was an accident, even though I know it wasn't. But you see Soda, you are or should I say were, a friend, and friends don't call the fuzz on each other. Or try and kill each other. So that's it Soda, you got what you wanted. You can spend all your time with Tori now; you don't have to worry about me. We're no longer friends. So get out. Go away and leave me alone. Now." If looks could kill, Steve would have been charged with murder, Soda sighed, turned and walked out of the room. What had he done? Why had he done it? He hoped Steve would forgive him, he usually came round after a day or two when they fell out. But Soda had never done something like this before. Soda carried on walking down the corridor when he saw Steve's dad running towards him.

"Where's Steve? Is he okay? What happened?" Mr Randle questioned.

"He's just in that room there. He's okay. Got four stitches, had some hair shaved off, he doesn't look so tuff. I'm sorry. We were arguing and I hit him with a clock. I didn't mean to. It's just, it was an accident. I'm so sorry." Soda blurted out.

"A clock?" Mr Randle laughed. "Ha! What you boys like? Thanks Soda, see you."

Soda guessed Mr Randle was just starting to sober up. He thought it was funny his son had been injured by a clock. Strange. But then again, Steve's dad had always been strange. He had been a heavy drinker since Soda could remember. And he was always throwing Steve out the house for no good reason. But why he thought it was funny was beyond Soda.

He decided he would go and see Tori. Just to make sure she was okay. He needed some reassurance.

He walked up the path, which led to the flat, only to be greeted by Nathan and his girlfriend, Lindsey, who had returned from college.

"Hey Soda," Nathan smiled. "Tori's not in."

Soda frowned. "Ah, do you know where she could be? I wanna talk to her see if she's okay."

"Yeah, that's why we came over too. Lindsey this is Soda, Soda, Lindsey, my girlfriend. She must be on that date she was going on. I could have sworn it was tomorrow but maybe I was wrong." Nathan explained.

"A date? Who with?" Soda asked, he had a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach. Had Tori forgotten about him already?

"Did she not mention it? I thought she would of; she was really excited about it. I can't remember his name. Well we better get going but if you do see her can you tell her we called by? Thanks. Bye." And with that Nathan and Lindsey walked away, leaving Soda astonished.

"Why did you say that? Isn't Tori just over Kirsten's?" Lindsey asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. But I thought if Soda thought she was on a date then he would make more of an effort to get back with her. They both love each other. It's just they're both petrified!" Nathan explained.

"Shoot, Nath, you're evil." Lindsey laughed as they walked away.

A few days passed by and Steve was out of hospital, he still wasn't speaking to Soda. Darry had been round to see Steve frequently, and had given Soda a stern lecture. Soda had started isolating himself. Darry was concerned. Ponyboy let it slip that Tori hadn't been in school, hadn't answered the phone when he had called, and was apparently seeing someone else. Darry's advised Soda to do something to take his mind off her.

Soda didn't want to date anyone else though. He pined for Tori. He felt so alone and the guilt of what he had done to Steve was growing by the day.

He was sitting in a history lesson gazing out of the window when his view was obstructed. Christie stood in front of him, her long blonde hair dazzled in the sunlight.

"Hey Sodapop." She said as she sat down. "Shame about you and Tori huh? And you and Steve? Shoot, you must be pretty lonely right now."

"Yeah well. Shit happens."

"Would you like to go for something to eat tonight? Say at The Dingo. Six o'clock?" Christie asked flirtatiously.

"Yeah. Why not?" Soda replied.

"Cool. That's a date then!" Christie giggled as she stood up, the happiest she had been in a while, and returned to her friends. Why had Soda agreed to this? He hated Christie. But he was trying to get over the fact Tori was seeing someone. But in actual fact she wasn't. The truth was somewhat different.

Tori had stayed in the flat while everyone was at school. She had phoned in sick at work and started becoming depressed. She began to loose her confidence and she felt like she did when she used to cut. But she was a stronger person now; she didn't need to use self-harm to anymore… She needed to stay focused, Kirsten was making sure of that. She arranged to meet Tori, at the park at six.

Six o'clock came and without making much effort, Soda was sat in The Dingo with Christie. She was dressed as if she was going to some posh restaurant. Soda didn't care. He hated her. He was just trying to take his mind off Tori and Steve. They ordered food and began to talk. Soda decided, although Christie was shallow, she was okay to talk to. A change. Soda noticed across the room, Steve, Two-Bit, Dally and Leigh were sitting eating. Had everyone taken Steve's side? Soda wondered.

Half an hour passed, it was ten to seven. Soda was bored. He heard the familiar sound of the door open, he glanced over, and Tori and Kirsten walked in. His heart pounded. What would Tori think if she saw Soda with Christie?

"Oh my God! Look at the size of her. You were so right to end it! She's fat!" Christie laughed.

"No, Christie she's pregnant." Soda said, still staring at his ex as she made her way over to Dally's table.

"Same difference." Christie stated.

Tori looked over, she spotted them.

"What the fuck is she staring at? I'll give her something to look at!" Christie exclaimed, pulling Sodapop towards her and locking her lips onto his.

Tori stood up as she continued to watch her ex boyfriend kiss that slut. By this point the whole table was staring in disgust. How could Soda do that?

The kiss ended and Soda looked towards Tori. She turned and walked out of the diner. Soda stood up.

"Tori! Wait!" Soda shouted after her. He started walking towards the door, Kirsten stopped him.

"She's been seeing someone though. You know that. So why should I wait around? She hasn't!" Soda defended himself.

"I'll go after her." Dally stated as he ran out of the doors.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage?" Kirsten shouted. "First you leave her, and don't bother contacting her. Now, you're kissing that whore in front of her. Geez, Soda you're not the guy I thought you were. Just stay away from her. I can't believe you. Soda. Tori isn't seeing anyone, she's heartbroken."

The whole diner was staring over to the rift, which was happening in the middle of the squared floor.

Kirsten turned to Christie, who didn't move. She sat there with a huge smirk on her face, as if she had enjoyed every minute of it.

"What you smiling for? You think you're clever? You knew we were coming here! You set the whole fucking thing up! Didn't you?" Kirsten shouted.

"Of course." Christie's smile grew evil; "I needed to get Sodapop back, for choosing that bitch over me. And I think I have just succeeded. Bye." She stood up and walked towards the door.

"You know something Christie? If I didn't have any sense I would have floored you. But, I'm not going to sink to your level. Leave Tori alone." Kirsten walked towards her table and continued to eat her food.

Soda stormed out of the diner. Could things get much worse?

Tori walked into her flat dropped her things and went to the bathroom. She found a razor blade and held it over her fragile wrists. She ran it quickly over her arm, blood dripped from the thin cut formed on her arm. She repeated this action twice more. She felt relaxed. It was as if every time she cut, it was like a safety valve was being opened, releasing some of her suffering. For a few moments the pain, which she felt, had subsided. Tori had forgotten this feeling and she had almost forgotten that she had stopped. The doorbell rang. Once. Twice. A third time. This better not be Soda, she thought as she wrapped her arm in tissue and pulled her sleeve down, placed the razor blade back in the cabinet and answered the door.

Dally was standing there. He looked worried.

"Come in." Tori said. The truth was she didn't want Dally there. She wanted to be alone.

"You okay? That was pretty nasty." Dally asked.

"Yeah. Sure I am. Soda's single, if he wants to go out with sluts, well that's fine." Tori sat down on the settee. Her duvet was still there, and the room was still pretty messy. The bar of chocolate had been replaced with a different one, however its wrapper lay beside the new one.

"So, you like chocolate?" Dally said as he looked at the bar.

"Yeah, its my craving at the minute." Tori explained. Dally sat down next to her. "Do you mind if I rest my head on your shoulder?" She asked.

"No, of course not. You gonna talk to me then?" Dally asked.

"What's there to talk about? I'm four and a half month pregnant, and I'm alone. My mother hates me, my dad's dead. My brother's got his girlfriend. My boyfriend left me to go out with a slag!" Tori began to feel anger and disappointment pain in her fresh wounds.

"Tori, you know you've got me, and Kirsten, Leigh, Darry, Pony, Johnny, Steve and everyone else. You know Soda loves you. He's just confused he's weird. Always has been. He'll come round." Dally sighed.

"Yeah well. I thought he hated her though. I thought he did."

"He does. He only done it cause he thought you were seeing someone. Anyway, Christie's a slut. Don't worry about her. And don't you worry about Soda. Anyway, what you going to call your baby? Got any names picked out. 'Cos I was thinking… what about Dallas?" Dally laughed.

" Ha. I don't know. Haven't thought about it really. Soda thought about calling it Jack, if it's a boy. But I just don't know."

Hours passed by and the more Dally talked the safer Tori felt. For tonight she had forgotten about her worries, forgotten about her cuts and actually smiled.

"You know something, I'm getting stalked. I have this feeling that someone's watching me the whole time I'm out of the house. You know, eyes on the back of your head or something. I don't know, but in the night, someone rings and, and if Buck answers they hang up. If I answer they sit and listen to me curse. I don't know who it is but I think it could be Shelly. You wanna find out for me?" Dally asked.

"Yeah, sure I'll try." Tori sighed.

"You wont be alone forever Tori. You're hot. You really are. In fact that night at the movies I was gonna try my luck but Soda steamed in first." Dally smiled.

"Huh? Shoot, really? I wish you had, then maybe I wouldn't be in this mess!" Tori exclaimed.

"Ah, shoot Tori. You don't mean that. You and Soda you will work it out." Dally grinned at Tori. Even though she was pregnant, and sporting a rather big bump, she was still beautiful. Dally instinctively leaned in and kissed Tori.

What's he doing? Tori thought as she kissed him back. Mm, he is a good kisser.

The kiss ended, Dally pulled away.

"Shit. I shouldn't have done that. You're pregnant, with Soda's child." Dally remarked.

"Yeah, well if you shouldn't, why did you?" Tori asked.

"I wanted to. I wanted to for ages." Dally stated. "You can't tell Soda. Darry would kill me."

"Yeah well, he kissed Christie so it's got nothing to do with him." Tori looked at the clock. Dally saw this.

"I better get going, got to be up early tomorrow. But you know if you need to talk." Dally winked, picked up his jacket and left.

Tori sat alone in her flat, for some reason she was smiling. Dally had just kissed her. But why? Why had he done it? It just didn't make sense.