Author's Note: I just wanted to remind everyone that voting for GreasersChoice2006 and Wrong Side of the Tracks Awards has officially begun and Send the Pain Below is nominated at both sites. SO VOTE! Lol. If you love it that is:D Ne way...Yeah. Here's the chappy...

You know those times when you're unsure? You're unsure of what you're doing, unsure of what your thinking, of what your feeling.

Maggie couldn't have any more of those times in one day if someone had paid her.

She sat cross-legged on the counter, watching as Soda swept the floor of the DX out of sheer boredom. The sound of the radio was blaring from the garage as Steve worked on the cars. The sight of seeing Soda lip-singing would have been funny if Maggie hadn't seen it so many times before.

She wanted nothing more then to hum along with the music and act nonchalant, but she didn't have the strength or the will. The only thing she felt she could do was sit there, and stare at everything in sight. She couldn't bring herself to say anything to Soda or to Steve.

It had been a simple thing really, Steve comforting her when she broke down, but Maggie was always the one to make it into something more. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She couldn't stop feeling his arms around her and his heart beat under her ear.

At a time like this, she shouldn't have been thinking about it, and that's what made her the maddest!

She couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how much she tried. It was the anniversary of her parents' deaths and all she could thing about was Steve. His arms, his eyes, his muscles...

Maggie shook her head forcefully and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, letting her gaze turn towards the window.

She snapped her gaze back to Soda again, wanting what she saw outside to disappear. She didn't need this right now.

The all too familiar bell dinged and she groaned inwardly, contemplating on whether to cuss him out or run into the garage and hide behind Steve.

"Maggie." he said simply, right before the sound of his boots grew nearer. She refused to look at him, letting her eyes drift anywhere but to him.

"Just get out, Val." she said simply, her eyes still wondering. She caught Soda's eye finally and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"We really need to talk. What I did..what I said, it was foolish." he sounded sincere, but how sincere could a drug dealer get?

She sighed heavily and shook her head.

"That has to be the understatement of the year." she told him, her voice low and as nonchalant as she could get it. She took in a breath before jumping off the counter, her Converse made a little smack on the tiled floor and she found herself wondering how she could still fit into them after so long.

Anything was better then letting her frustration take over. She was way too messed up to explode on Val today.

Maybe tomorrow, she agreed with herself.

"I feel like shit, Maggie!" he pleaded.

Her gaze finally snapped up to meet his. Her eyes were icy cold for once and she didn't know how long she could keep her rage inside. How long she could keep her hurt inside.

"How the fuck do you think I feel, Val? Am I supposed to be all flowers? I got jumped! Actually jumped is an understatement!" she moved closer to him, feeling like a giant even though he loomed 2 feet over her.

"Maggie, just listen!" he pleaded, again, his eyes searching her's, trying to make her understand.

She stuttered for a minute. His look was catching her off guard and she didn't know what she wanted to do or how she was to act. She shook her head, more to herself. She couldn't let him get to her, she couldn't feel pity for him. Not now. Not after all of this.

"No, no I won't listen. I've listened for too long!"

"You're being stubborn!" his pleading quickly turned to anger and his eyes became cold again, this was the Val she knew. This was the man she had lived with for the past months. The man who had sheltered her.

This cold, harsh man broke her down more then the soft pleading one did. It was a nutty situation!

"Just stop, Val, while you're ahead, stop!" it was her time to plead, but she didn't mind. She just didn't want to listen to him, didn't want to be near him. She was almost in tears as it was. She didn't need him sticking around any longer.

He reminded her of everything. Of New York, of their relationship, of their closeness. Of her feelings for him.

He reminded her of so many painful memories she could barely stand to look at him, and yet she was. What had the world come to?

"Fine." his words were harsh and spat out of his mouth like a disgusting piece of food. "But you haven't seen the end of me!" he stormed back towards the door. The bell dinged again and Val let a curse fly as he knocked into a guy about his own size. Maggie shook her head and held back a sniffle.

"What can I help you with, gentleman?" she asked the new arrivals, trying as hard as she could to get her feelings and thoughts under control.

"You look better then then the other night..." the voice caught her off guard and she vaguely recognized it. She shook it off as she turned to the three 6 feet tall guys standing in front of her, looking down at her with smirks.

"Excuse me?" she asked hesitantly, leaning up against the counter, trying to look as tough as possible.

"Before we beat you up..." another one whispered, "you look better now."

Maggie gulped and lifted an eyebrow, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." she trailed off, giving them a look like they were crazy.

"I just love that feeling of you're body under mine. Maybe we can do it again sometime..." the first one whispered, stepping closer and visibly checking her out.

She rose a hand to hit him out of anger, before she even realized who they actually were. She had never...

A hand shot out and caught her's and the guy in front of her took another step forward, pinning her against he counter. She took the chance and let her eyes travel up his tight chest and to his face. She took in his spiked brown hair, his tanned skin, his brown eyes, and his straight white teeth.

He didn't look like a thug.

Looks can be deceiving, her subconscious said in a sing-song voice. Maggie wanted to scuff at herself. What the fuck was getting into her, lately?

"We're here to see your pimps. We have business to discuss." he explained lowly, his eyes trailing down to see if he could get a look down her shirt.

"There in the back." she bit out slowly before bringing her knee up. She wanted to laugh when she caught him by surprise and her knee connected with that oh so tender spot. His grip went slack and she pushed him away, glaring at his pansies behind him before heading to the garage to receive her so called pimps.

"Steve, Soda." she yelled. Soda's smiling face popped up over the car and Maggie snorted, even though inside she was trembling with anger.

"Some business men are here to see you." an eyebrow shot up on Soda's face before his head disappeared. A minute later him and Steve came walking around the car.

Steve's mouth was set in a tight line as he looked over her disheveled figure.

"You'll see..." she said lowly, leading them both up front.

The obvious leader, who she had kneed perfectly, was now attempting to stand, trying to keep his dignity. He shot a short glare in Maggie's direction with pained eyes before standing to his full height.

"Who're you?" Steve snapped coldly, throwing his rag at the counter after wiping off his hands.

"We're here to discuss a rumble." the spiky one said, his voice a bit strained. Maggie had to fight off a smile.

"A rumble?" Soda asked questionably. His smile disappearing.

"Yeah." spiky shot out irritably.

"Oh for fuck's sakes." Maggie snorted. "These are the guys that jumped me the other night." she explained to Steve and Soda. "They want to, probably, set up a date that the rumble can be on."

"Be glad Dallas isn't here." Soda muttered lowly as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked the other way.

Steve, of course, had grown tense by now and was obviously thinking about kicking all three of their asses, no matter how big they were.

"Go call the guys at the house, Maggie." Steve instructed, his jaw set as he glared at the 3 in front of him.

"Yes, sir." Maggie muttered, heading into the back room and grabbing the phone. She dialed the number hurriedly and listened as the phone on the other end rung a few times.

"Hey. Yeah it's Maggie. The guys that jumped me the other night are at the DX. They want to set a date for the rumble." she held the phone away from her ear as a few yells sounded from the receiver and a few curses as well.

"Yeah, just get here." she yelled back into the phone and then hung up. She sighed and muttered obscenities under her breath as she moved back into the main room.

Steve was just as tense as she had left him, but hadn't moved from his spot. A good sign to say the least.

"They'll be here in like..." she trailed off as a screech of tires sounded from outside. "Now." she answered nonchalantly. "That was fast." she said to the string of boys that had just entered the DX.

"Well, we can't start yet. Eric, Tim, and Dallas are on their way." Darry answered with a shrug.

"Wait, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at work." Maggie protested.

"I..took a break." he said simply, even though it did sound a bit rehearsed.

"You look like a bull." she stated to Dallas, who had just charged into the room seething. Tim and Eric on his heels. "Don't charge, I don't have the red blanket yet."

Everyone turned to stare at her with raised eyebrows as she cracked up laughing.

"Ok..ok. I'm sorry. This is just a bit much." she said, finally calming down and getting serious. She took her rightful place on top of the counter so she could look ever everything. Having so many 6 feet tall guys in one room was a bit unnerving, especially when you were only about 5'2.

She couldn't place what she was feeling.

The only feelings she could really make out were rage and fear. The two were mixing together and taking over all the other ones swimming through her head and she couldn't get a grip of herself. She didn't want to be here right now. She came to that conclusion as she blocked out the words of all the other people in the room.

Darry and Dallas were standing at the front of the big group, discussing the rumble with the three pansies and all the rest of the gang stood behind them.

Steve looked like he just wanted to beat them up and send them on their way, like a message to whoever their leader was.

Kind of like "We come in hostility!"

Maggie shook the thought from her head with a weird look and moved her eyes out the window. Dates were being thrown around, rules, whether to have rules, weapons, restrictions on weapons.

Maggie gazed down into the whole thing to see Dallas turned around and looking at her, as if to reassure himself that she was still there, was still safe. She thought better of that idea. It was Dallas Winston after all.

She wondered, just how many of the boys in this room would die. And how many of their gang-mates would die too. How many of them would be willing to put their lives on the line for territory? For something so stupid as land? She shook her head. It wasn't stupid. She knew that. It was all the greasers had. All the greasers could fight for. And they would keep on fighting.

"Ok. It's settled then." Darry spoke coldly and his words cut through her thoughts like a knife through butter. She shuddered for a moment when she realized it had already gotten dark. The tension in the air had risen to an unbearable level and she knew they all had to get out of here before something happened.

"Let's go guys." she spoke up, for the first time in years it seemed like. Her voice was already dry and she needed something to drink. But she stopped herself from saying anything about it. It wasn't important.

"Yeah." Steve agreed, walking over towards Maggie and pulling her off the counter. "Let's lock up." he told her as he headed towards the garage. She followed suit, knowing he would want her to help put all the tools away.

"You ok?" he whispered when they were finally alone. His eyes were a bit softer then they usually were and he looked like he was actually concerned.

Maggie nodded her head with a small smile. "Fine. Just tired." she answered, moving out of his grasp and towards the tools that were strewn across the garage. She set to work picking them up, letting her mind focus on the cool metal of the tools instead of the haunting thoughts of another rumble.

Just thinking about it made her shudder and shy away in fear. This was one rumble she didn't think she wanted to fight in.

"You done?" Steve's voice cut in, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah." she said quietly, shoving the last tool into the box before shutting the drawer and heading out of the garage. Steve locked the door behind her and then turned around to look at her.

A smile had plastered itself onto his rugged features and his slightly yellow teeth were showing. It was a goofy smile on his face, but if you would have put the same smile on one Sodapop Curtis, then it would have been stunning.

Maggie laughed at the thought and shoved Steve playfully on the shoulder before walking more into the main room. Most of the gang had already gone and the only ones left were Pony, Dallas, and Soda.

A weird combination.

To say the least.

"You coming with me or Steve?" Dallas asked, his voice tense and low. He was not in a good mood, understandably.

"I don't know. Are you going to charge at me if I say no?" she asked playfully, trying to lighten his mood. He glared back at her. His eyes going from blue to stormy blue.

"Ok." she said, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "I'll ride with Steve."

"Alright. Pony, Soda, you're riding me." Dallas said loudly so Soda could hear him from the back room.

"Ok." was Pony's simple reply before he bolted out the door.

"It's you and me, Stevey. You and me." Maggie said jokingly as she rubbed her hands together in a funny way. Steve gave her a look like she was crazy, and she couldn't help but to agree with her own look.

"See ya." Soda said as he threw the keys at Steve and darted out the door, followed by Dallas. What were they so excited to get back to?

Maggie walked slowly out the door after them and tucked her hair over her shoulder. She took in a deep breath as fresh air greeted her and turned to watch Steve lock up. It was a short process, only because he had done it so much, and they were on their way before long.

She slid into the car with ease and pulled the door closed behind her, turning to look at Steve.

"Thanks, Steve." she said suddenly, surprising even herself. "For everything."