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this chapter is not meant to be hyperactive so... watch me
struggle.

Chapter Eighteen

So, after Dally'd left to go to Bucks, although I doubted he needed anymore beer, I decided to go find Ponyboy and Johnny. That movie should've been over half an hour ago now. It doesn't take thirty minutes to get back from the movie house, and I'd know. I have been there, remember?

It was cold out, and I hadn't bothered to get a coat or anything, so I was basically 'shivering in my shoes.' But I didn't care. For some reason I had this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad was gonna happen. But, not wanting to get myself worked up over what was probally nothing, I ignored it. Ignored myself. Boy, was I ever wrong to do that.

I checked the movie house, they weren't there. The Dingo, but they weren't there. And, for some reason, I checked the DX, even though Soda and Steve weren't working tonight. They weren't there either. So, the only place left to check was the lot. But once I got there, I regretted declining Ponyboy's invitation to the movies.

"Don't- ever- try- to- pick- up- our- women- again," snarled a blonde soc, while struggling to keep what appeared to be Ponyboy's head in the fountain. Wait. Were they... trying to drown him? WAIT... Picking up... women? Ponyboy and Johnny? Just then, I saw red. I wanted to march over to Johnny and demand why he'd even try to pick up women, when he had a perfectly good girlfriend... but then I saw him, with that knife... moving towards the soc... and then everything went dark.

---

-Later-

I woke up with a splitting headache. That dream was just horrible. I didn't even think it was a dream... more like a nightmare. But as I turned my head and saw the body of that soc... the soc in my dream, I groaned. It hadn't been a dream after all. But then, someone, Johnny, spoke.

"I killed that boy."

I wanted to scream, to slap him, tell him what a stupid thing that was to do, but instead, I was completely silent. Shocking. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, just stare at the body and the puddle of blood it lay in. But wait, hadn't I seen him before? It was the soc... with the rings. Yeah, I remember... I saw him the night me and Johnny were shoveling that driveway. Then I remembered the story Johnny'd told me, about the soc with the rings, and that sick feeling in my stomach was replaced with one of satisfaction. He'd got what he deserved, that good for nothing... I was interrupted by a groan, and turned my head once more, to find Ponyboy stirring. I guess he'd fainted too.

Johnny repeated himself.

After a moments silence, Pony asked;

"You really killed him, huh Johnny."

"Yeah, I did."

Then, Pony announced that he was gonna be sick, and walked off somewhere, leaving me and Johnny. Alone. Being the hyper, always-happy girl that I am, I ignored how much my eye was twitching and turned to him.

"Picked up some girls eh?"

He smiled weakly and shook his head.

"Nah. They picked us up. Cherry really hit it off with Pone, and Two-Bit and Marcia got along real well. Besides, I don't need to pick no one up, I've got you."

Wow, nice moment and all, but really, was he failing to see the bigger picture here? He. Had. KIlled. A. Soc. People got the electric chair for that... they got... ugh, I didn't even want to think about it. All I knew was that the situation we were in was not a good one. But then again, murdering someone usually isn't.

"Me and Pony gotta run away," he decided. However, what about me?

"You don't plan on leaving me here do you? I'm coming with you."

Now, since Johnny doesn't like to argue, I knew I'd just won, and I'd be going. Oh, I'd be going.

By now Ponyboy'd come back, asking what we were gonna do. Truthfully, I didn't know. We couldn't turn ourselves in... Johnny'd get... ugh. Funny how the price you have to pay for death is death itself, eh? It's really... ugh. I suppose it's fair, I can't lie and say it's not, but I couldn't have that happen to Johnny. Not now, not ever.

"It's called karma," I said, finally speakng up. "What goes around comes around."

Johnny turned his sad eye on me, and shook his head.

"He didn't deserve this. He didn't kill me Rory."

I felt my temper rising, and all of a sudden I was shouting.

"WELL THEY WERE PRETTY DAMN CLOSE! THAT ASSHOLE PROBALLY JUMPED PEOPLE EVERYDAY! WHAT AN... AN... ASSHOLE!"

He looked at me pleadingly, and I calmed down a bit.

"But he didn't. That's the point."

Who cares? He'd killed Johnny's soul, basically. He'd changed him. Ever since then Johnny was some scared, fearful, jumpy... greaser. Someone easy to scare, easy to pick on. And he hadn't even needed that. His parents beat him enough. That soc... got what he deserved, and there was no changing my mind about that.

"So what are we gonna do?" Ponyboy asked again. "We can't stay here."

Johnny nodded knowingly and said;;

"Let's find Dal. He'll know what to do."

Ack. Angsty. This chapter makes me emo-etic. Ugh it got

me depressed. Damnit. Oh well. REVIEW, and get me
un-depressed.