Cherry's POV

I made my way down the street and saw Two-Bit smoking at an abandoned lot.

"Hi, Two-Bit," I greeted and walked over to him. He stood up quickly.

"You better not have your Socy friends with you."

"I don't."

"Good." He sat back down and took a long drag on his cigarette. "What are you doing here?"

I beat around the bush and told him I had to return the switchblade to Dally.

"He's most likely at Tim Shepard's. Just go to the park and he's the house across from it. With the big dogs." Two-Bit smirked and I left, following his directions.

I soon made it to the house. Thank God the dogs were sleeping peacefully. I knocked on the door.

A boy with dirty blond greasy hair answered the door. I bet this was Tim.

"What?" He said rudely.

"Is Dallas Winston here?" I asked. Tim looked me up and down and closed the door. He could probably tell I was a Soc. My clothes were very different from the greasers. I waited for a few seconds, then Dally came to the door. He was shirtless and only had jeans on. He looked tired and his dark hair was sticking at odd angles. He looked...handsome in a way.

"What are you doing here, Soc?" He asked groggily.

"Returning your switchblade. I looked all around for you, y'know." I handed him the switchblade and he took it.

"Well, I'm mostly here."He began to shut the door. But not wanting to stop talking, I blocked the door with my foot.

"Wait," I yelped. Dally groaned and opened it up wider. "Aren't you gonna say thank you?"

"Not to a Soc like you." A little amusement showed on his face.

"Hood," I mocked and he chuckled.

"Go on now, Soc. Don't want your mama to worry about you, do you?" He closed the door and I didn't stop him. I sighed and walked home.

MONDAY

Ponyboy's POV

I woke up late and was in a hurry to get dressed. I took a toast from Soda's plate and ignored his protests. Running to school seemed to be a tradition of mine now. I finally made it to school while everyone was still packing inside. The school day went fine, as fine as it gets, and it soon ended. I had tons of homework so I needed to rush home if I was going to be hanging out with Johnny tonight. When I exited the school, I saw Cherry and her boyfriend Bob arguing next to his blue Mustang. What a tuff car.

As I got closer I could hear them clearly.

"Who told you to go to greaser territory? You cheatin' on me with a hood?" Bob yelled. Cherry didn't flinch.

"No, Bob! I had some things to take care of, but it's done now." She started to get into the car but he grabbed her. "Let me go!" She protested but he didn't.

"If I ever hear word of you going to the east side again, I'll hurt you!" He shouted and pushed her into the car. I was watching wide-eyed. Bob caught me looking and made a slice-the-neck motion at me. I shook my head and ran home. As I ran, I thought about Cherry. She told me she liked Dally, and I was afraid of her safety. If some Soc ever saw her with Dal and reported it to Bob...well, I didn't wanna think about that. I had to protect her somehow, but without her knowing I was...

I was sitting on the floor, doing my homework when Two-Bit, Steve, Soda, and Johnny walked in. Johnny sat down with me and began chatting about his day.

"I heard that Soc Bob is having a party. Who's in to crash it?" Steve suggested. Everyone was skeptical.

"I don't know, Steve," Sodapop said. "That sounds like walking directly into a trap." Steve just burped and started feasting on the chocolate cake Two-Bit brought out. Then, I got an idea. I whispered it to Johnny but he shook his head furiously.

"Ponyboy, you're out of your mind!" Johnny scolded me and I just shrugged. I was going to do it anyway.

While everyone was asleep, I grabbed my switchblade and sneaked out of the house. I made it over the train tracks to Soc territory. The house with the loud music was probably Bob's so I snuck my way in through the back door. I tried to look Socy, and I was failing, but there were too many people drunk or dancing to notice. I spotted a curly head and recognized that as Bob. I made my way over to him. He was drinking, of course. I tapped his shoulder and noticed I was shaking something fierce. He turned around and a look of menace crossed his face.

"Look who we have here! A greaser!" He cackled and I stood up straighter.

"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk to you." I shouted over the music.

"Sure you are." He took out his switchblade but I lifted my hands up in defense. No weapons. He looked at me for a long while, then motioned me to follow him upstairs. We went into his room and he closed the door. It was covered in autographed posters of rock legends and guitars.

"What do you want to talk about, greaser?" Bob crossed his arms suspiciously. I looked at the switchblade and decided not to try anything.

"Your girl, Cherry." I inhaled. "She-She's been coming to the east side and flirting with Dallas Winston. A hood." I exhaled. I hated to lie, but I knew this was the best for Cherry.

"I knew it. I knew it!" Bob hit the door and it made a hole through it. I jumped. "Why did you tell me this? What do you get out of it?" He asked as he made his way to the phone.

"I want you to stay on your side of the town." I puffed my chest out to look stronger than I really was. Because on the inside, I was a scared as a squirrel.

"Fine, whatever. Just get out." He waved me away and I ran downstairs and out the front door. I ran all the way home and jumped into my bed that I shared with Soda.

"Where have you been?" Soda asked groggily.

"Bathroom," I said, drifting off into sleep myself. Soda was probably too out of it to ask any more questions because everything fell silent.

Bob's POV

That two faced broad was cheating on me! She lied to my face! I was enraged and started dialing Cherry's number. She picked up a few moments later.

"Hello?" She said in an innocent voice. It made me want to spit.

"I just got word of you cheating on me, you little redheaded..." Then I proceeded to call her all the nasty names I could think of. I heard a gasp.

"Bob, I never cheated on you!" She argued.

"So you're lying now? I outta hurt you! No, you know what? Go run away with that hood Dallas. That'll hurt you on its own." Then I hung up the phone. I punched everything in sight and plotted how I was gonna get my revenge on the little greaser. I don't care how tough he is, or how many times he went to jail. And I especially didn't care what the dark haired boy said to me earlier. He's a fool for thinking I would agree to something like that. I'm a Soc and he's a greaser. We'll always be rivals. No matter what.

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