Disclaimer: I don't own it… it deeply depresses me, just kidding.

Chapter Eleven- A Best Friend

Cherry carefully unwrapped the red foil that was covering the stems of her bouquet of red roses from the dance. She places them in a vase full of water and placed them on her dresser next to the bouquet Dally had given her. She smiled and stepped back, admiring the colorful display. She flipped her head upside down and began pulling her hair together to put it into a ponytail. Her gold dress was hanging on the back of her door, spots of mud clearly visible on the bottom trim. Cherry only shrugged and crawled into bed, she had such an amazing night. She didn't even notice that her parents were still not home, or that her book report was still not finished, or that Maggie and Marsha hadn't called. She just sunk into her pillow, keeping her eyes locked on that shimmer of gold that was hanging on the door, right in front of her.

Cherry awoke to Marcia sitting on the edge of her bed, holding a newspaper. She blinked a couple times to make sure that she wasn't still dreaming, and then looked at the clock. When she saw that it was only 7:40 in the morning, she groaned and rolled over into her pillow.

"Cherry, hello! Time to wake up now!" Cherry mumbled a 'go away' into her pillow but Marcia tugged on her shoulder. Cherry sat up and licked her lips, keeping her eyes only partially opened, for fear of being blinded by the bright light. "This is important, Cher." Marcia's voice actually sounded serious, so Cherry gave her her full attention.

"Go on." Cherry's voice was scratchy and dry and she felt like she hadn't had any sleep at all last night. She didn't even make it home until around 2 in the morning, then she watched some late night soap opera on the television downstairs that hardly anyone in the household uses. It was around 3 when she finally decided to go to bed.

"I found this article in the newspaper this morning. It's all about you!" Marcia shoved the newspaper at Cherry and stabbed her finger at a section on the front page. Cherry blinked, trying to make out the heading.

High School Homecoming Queen: A Legend?

Cherry's eyes glanced up at Marcia who was waiting patiently for Cherry to finish reading. "A legend? Marcia is this some kind of joke?" Marcia shook her head and tapped the paper lightly.

"Read the article!" Cherry rolled her eyes but continued down the column.

Sherri Valance was crowned local Homecoming Queen last night. The Homecoming dance followed the victorious football game. Sherri, often called Cherry by her friends, is a Junior at the high school. Normally, the Homecoming winners would go to the follow up party, or maybe even out together. This year, Sherri left the dance immediately following the crowning of the Homecoming titles. It seems that Sherri Valance didn't even want to be in the running in the first place. She only agreed to because her best friend said she wouldn't do it alone. Sherri took the title and has now proved to be one of the most willing girls in all of Tulsa! She could have refused, or even given her title away, but instead, she ran away after the dance. Let's thank her for being such a wonderful role model!

Cherry finished the article and let out a long, hard laugh. She hadn't laughed so hard in ages. Marcia stared at her friend, shocked. Cherry tossed the newspaper over the side of her bed and clutched her side as she fell back into her pillow, laughing hysterically the whole time.

"Cherry!" Marcia's voice squeaked, and Cherry laughed even harder. She buried her face in the plush of her pillow, trying hard to control herself. "This is a serious matter! How can you be laughing?" Cherry didn't respond, only gasped for air. Marcia rolled her eyes and continued to speak. "Cherry, this article was written for you! You're a Tulsa legend!" Cherry stopped laughing and looked up at Marcia with serious eyes.

"Seriously, Marcia. Do you believe this shit? Obviously someone just made the whole thing up to gather attention to our school. Who writes articles like that anyhow?" Marcia's eyes grew wide and she stared at Cherry. Cherry only let out one last laugh before throwing off the covers and walking over to her dresser, where the two vases of flowers still sat.

"Cherry, you just swore. Are you okay?" Marcia's eyes were still on Cherry. Cherry shrugged.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Cherry pulled of her white tank top and replaced it with a black sweater.

"I think this is a big deal. You're amazing!" Marcia pointed to the paper that was laying scattered on the ground next to Cherry's bed. Cherry shrugged again and then turned back to the mirror. "Hey, how come you left early last night anyway? We were worried about you."

"I went with some friends. Sorry, I should've told you. I just didn't think you'd really notice since you were so drunk and stuff." Marcia's eyes grew wide and her cheeks turned red.

"You mean you saw me? Oh, man, Cherry please don't tell my mom." Cherry held up a hand and twisted around to face Marcia.

"I won't tell. Did you bring my bag with my cheerleading uniform back?" Marcia nodded and stood up. "Look, Marcia, I'm sorry but that article is the most ridiculous thing I think I've ever seen! Go home and re-read it and then tell me that it's not amazingly cheesy." Marcia nodded again and began picking up the newspaper. Cherry untied her hair and looked at Marcia. Her face looked so sad, and for once, Cherry felt like she was being a jerk. Marcia opened the door and begin walking out when Cherry stopped her. "Marcia, wait. You asked where I was last night and you're my best friend so you deserve to know." She paused waiting for Marcia's reaction. Nothing just silence. "I went to a bar with some friends." Marcia looked at the ground and opened her mouth to say something but Cherry held up her hand. "Let me rephrase that- I went to a bar with Ponyboy Curtis and Dally Winston." Marcia's head snapped up immediately and her eyes were wide.

"What?" Cherry nodded and lowered her head. "Cherry, you were with greasers last night?" Cherry nodded again and began walking to the door.

"Yeah. I know you're mad, and I know to you what I did was wrong. But I call you my best friend, Marcia. And I felt like my best friend deserved to know why I've been acting so off lately." Marcia narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth. Then she stopped and cocked her head, looking Cherry straight in the eyes.

"And a best friend should always be there for you, even when she feels like you're a traitor." Cherry smiled and let out a little laugh. "And you're right, that article is pretty ridiculous." Both girls laughed and then Cherry ran up to hug her friend.

Ring…Ring…Ring…

Cherry picked up the phone hesitantly. The last thing she wanted was for her parents to get in the way. "Hello?" Her voice sounded strange, and yet oddly familiar.

"Cherry?" Cherry smiled, it was Dally.

"How'd you get this number?" She drew a heart on the edge of the memo pad her mom kept by the phone.

"Ponyboy. Hey, listen, if you're not doing anything today, I was thinking maybe we could hang out at the park, or the Dingo." His voice trailed off a little bit and Cherry bit her lip holding in her excitement.

"Yeah, that sounds great." She could tell Dally was nervous, which made her surprisingly happy. She'd never seen this side of him before, in fact, she didn't think he had this side.

"Okay, I guess I'll come by your house in a few minutes then."

Okay, so it's kind of a funny chapter. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, more of a filler actually. But don't worry, lots of good chappies to come! I know it's been for-ev-er since i've written but i've been really really busy. I'll try to write this weekend too!

"Great, see you then." Cherry hung up the phone and then ran up the steps to finish her hair and make-up. Her heart was beating extra fast and she felt like singing. She never felt this feeling before, not even with Bob.