Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah.. you know I don't own The Outsiders.

Chapter Seven-Addicted

Ding...ding...ding…

Cherry rolled over and knocked her alarm clock off of the dresser, sending it to the floor with a crash. "Crap," she muttered as she sat up under her covers. It was 7:30, she had to be at school by 8:00. She moaned loudly before crawling out of bed and picking the shattered alarm clock up off of the floor. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was sticking up in all directions and she was still wearing the outfit she had worn to school the previous day. She had been so exhausted when she came home, that she collapsed in her bed, forgetting to set her alarm for 6:30.

She made her way down the long hallway lined in blue carpet to the bathroom. Squinting from the light, she picked up her toothbrush and squeezed a layer of mint tasting toothpaste onto the bristles. She slowly began brushing her teeth, staring at her reflection in the mirror. When she was finished she got into the shower, quickly shampooed her hair and dried off again. Once again she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail and added a ribbon. She slipped on a pair of black pants and a tan blouse, before topping off the look with tan heels and a grey sweater. It didn't exactly match perfectly, but she was satisfied. She grabbed a tube of lip gloss and a stick of eyeliner, along with a diamond necklace before heading out the door.

Cherry made it to school by 8:05, so she wasn't considered late. However she did have to force herself to stay awake all through the first four periods of the day. She was thankful when lunch came, and instead of getting her usual breadsticks and coffee, she settled for a milk and rested her head on the table.

"Cherry, are you okay? You haven't been yourself lately," Maggie said as she set her lunch tray on the table next to Cherry. Cherry grunted and Maggie took a seat, shrugging. Karen rolled her eyes.

"Did you get a date?" She asked, chewing on a bit of apple. Maggie gave her a look telling her to shut-up, but Karen ignored it. Cherry sat up and licked her lips.

"No! I didn't get a date! Are you happy, Karen?" Karen stopped chewing and stared at Cherry, who only leaned forward and rested her head on the table again. Marcia walked over to the table, talking to Randy who was carrying a coffee in one hand and a Algebra book in the other.

"Hey, guys," Marcia said smiling and taking her seat between Maggie and Karen. "Cherry, you awake there?" Marcia's voice was laughing, but Cherry didn't think it was funny. Randy took the empty seat next to Karen and stared at Cherry.

"Yes, I'm awake. And I'm fine." Cherry's voice was muffled by the hand she was laying her head on. Randy looked at Marcia and Maggie who both shrugged and looked away.

"So, Cher, I heard that you turned Bob down, and now you don't have a date to Homecoming," Randy said picking up the coffee and taking a sip. Cherry sat up and glared at him, she could see his smirk behind the cup of coffee but didn't say anything about it.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, I've never heard of a Homecoming Queen who was dateless. It's not a very good image, do you think?" Cherry rolled her eyes and opened up her milk.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Cherry's voice was bitter and her eyes were tired. She seemed so in control when it came to staying strong. Except with Dally, and she still couldn't figure out why. When it came to Dally her whole body turned to mush, including her mind. She was so confused about last night, at first it was wonderful, but now she began to wonder if Dally had even meant to kiss her.

"So, Cherry I'll pick you up at your house tonight around 6:00, okay?" Marcia said trying to change the subject. She hated to see Cherry mad at Randy, even though it seemed to happen a lot. Cherry nodded and sipped on her milk.

"Look guys, I should really get to the library and work on my English paper. I'll see you guys later." Cherry pushed her chair away from the table and stood up, losing her balance at first. Maggie stared at her, speechless.

"Cherry, you're not hung over, are you?" Cherry turned around quickly to face her friend. She thought about it for a minute. Was she, no. Did she feel hung over, yes. Dally had given her an ultimate high last night, and nothing she could do could shake that kiss from her memory.

"No, I just didn't sleep much last night, that's all." She turned around again and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving four stunned people sitting at her lunch table, giving them all the permission to discuss whatever they thought might be causing Cherry's completely abnormal actions.

Cherry chewed on the end of her pencil in seventh period. The day was almost over, and every thought of the night's events haunted Cherry. She didn't want to cheer at the game, nor go to the dance, but she knew she didn't have a choice. "Cherry Valance, do you know the answer?" Cherry looked up at Mr. Sanders, her English teacher, puzzled.

"What?" She knew Mr. Sanders knew she was slipping. He'd seen her amazing book reports and papers early in the year. Now he was lucky to see her hand in a half page of writing.

"Cherry, you need to pay attention. This class is very important. I would like to see you after class." Cherry flinched. She was never asked to stay after class before. Ponyboy turned around to face her and she shrugged, continuing to bite on her pencil. His eyes grew wide and then he turned back around and raised his hand to give the answer. Cherry sighed, Ponyboy was two grades younger than her, was in advanced English and Math classes, and still did better than her.

When the bell rang, Cherry gathered her books together slowly and walked up to Mr. Sanders's desk. He put his pen down and folded his hands over his desk. "Cherry, I don't know what's going on with you, but you need to get it together. You have a 'D' in this class, when you started here you had straight 'A's." Cherry nodded and locked her eyes on the bobble head doll he had sitting on his desk. "How's your report coming?" He asked as he put on his glasses and picked up his pen again.

"Actually it's going pretty well, Mr. Sanders," she lied, "I was just in the library at lunch doing some research." Mr. Sanders nodded and then looked up at her again.

"I hope so. All I ask is for you to try to bring your grade up, maybe show me some effort. I know you are smart, but if your grades don't pick up, I'm going to have to let your coach know." Cherry flinched again. Her parents would kill her if she got kicked off of the squad. Her friends would hate her. "You're free to go," Mr. Sanders said as he pointed toward the door. Cherry nodded and walked slowly into the hallway. She really did need to get it together, no more thinking about Dally, and Homecoming would be over soon. She sighed and turned the corner.

"Hey," Ponyboy said stepping out in front of her. Cherry looked up, surprised he had waited for her. "What' up? Why didn't you answer that question?" Cherry shrugged and continued walking, Ponyboy following her.

"I didn't know the answer," she said plainly. Ponyboy rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"No, I mean why didn't you know the answer?" She shrugged again. How could she tell Ponyboy that she didn't want to run for Homecoming Queen, that she hated Bob Sheldon, that she hated her label and that every inch of her brain was covered in thoughts of Dallas Winston?

"Look, I have no idea what is wrong with me, I just can't think straight." The comment sounded a little more harsh than she'd meant it to sound, but Ponyboy slowed his pace a little, so that he was now walking a little bit behind her. The halls were empty, so neither one were worried about being seen with each other.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with Dally, would it?" Cherry stopped in her tracks and turned to face Ponyboy. Her eyes were wide and her mouth felt dry. She licked her lips and blinked, hoping Ponyboy hadn't just said that. However, when she opened her eyes again she was still standing there facing him.

"Excuse me?" Cherry couldn't think of anything else to say. Her heart was beating wildly, and her stomach was doing flips.

"Dally told me about last night. He said he thought you were angry so he ran off. I told him you probably weren't you were just shocked. You love him, don't you Cherry?" Cherry stood still, speechless. She didn't know what to say. She tried to make what Ponyboy had just said set into her brain, but she couldn't. It all seemed so unreal. Finally, she opened her mouth to say something, when the late bell rang. Ponyboy glanced at a clock in the hallway and then looked Cherry in the eye. "Well?"

"I…I don't think I love him," she said slowly. Her breath was caught in her throat. She couldn't figure out what Ponyboy had meant when he said Dally thought she was mad so he ran. "I don't even know if I have any feelings for him, actually." She looked at Ponyboy, who stared at her, wide eyed. "I do know that he sends me on this rollercoaster ride every time I see him, and I feel like I'm so weak. I feel…I feel like I can't control anything, like my brain turns to mush and my heart gives up." Cherry stared at the wall behind Ponyboy, hoping he could understand what she meant.

"He loves you, you know." Ponyboy said suddenly. Cherry stared at him, she felt so awkward standing in the middle of the hallway with Ponyboy, telling him her feelings for Dally.

"What?"

"He loves you, he always has. It's like there's a barrier though, keeping him from getting to you. He and you, you're from two different worlds, you have two different hearts." Ponyboy's eyes wandered to the clock again. Normally, he would be rushing to class by now, but he was already seven minutes late.

"Did…did he say…say that?" Cherry stuttered as a tear fell from the corner of her eye. Ponyboy shook his head.

"No, but that's the way it is. You know that. It's impossible, you'd be criticized forever." Cherry glared at Ponyboy. She thought the labeling meant nothing to him, but here he was saying that it wasn't possible for Dally and Cherry to be together.

"We don't have two different hearts, Pony. I didn't know Dally could love anything. Except Johnny…and violence." She paused and shifted her books to her other arm. "I'm so confused. All I want is a new start, you know. I don't want to be a Soc or a greaser, or anything. I just want to be me." She wasn't sure if she was still talking about Dally or about life in general.

"Well, if you want a new start, loving Dally would be a good way to find one. He'd take you on some adventure." Ponyboy said half-sarcastically. Cherry smiled despite his tone of voice and began walking slowly again.

"Maybe you're right, I'll see you around, Ponyboy," with that, Cherry turned and jogged down the hall to get to her eighth period. She was still confused about a lot of things, but she was sure that Dally was what she needed. He was her drug, and she was addicted. She was so addicted.

So what do you guys think. Thanks for the reviews on the last chappie. I actually like this chapter. The next one might be pretty big, I think lots of stuff is going to happen. Dun..dun..dun. haha. Anyway, I hope you like it and please review.