Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, or "We Used to be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Saturday, January 28th, 1967

A long time ago we used to be friends,
But I haven't thought of you lately at all.

Anna was done with all the tip-toeing around. She stood next to the kitchen table, arms crossed over her chest as Danny walked in. He stared at her, rubbing a knuckle over his forehead. A sure sign he was already frustrated with her.

"What?"

"I want to know what's goin' on," she said, lifting her chin a little.

He frowned at her. "What's goin' on with what?"

"You and Rex Hamilton."

"Nothin'." He walked past her, heading for the fridge. "Just business."

"That's what you said on Monday," she said. "And it's also bullshit."

"Is that right?"

She gaped at him, not understanding why he was being so frustrating. She had been wanting to apologise for the way she'd acted at Grandpa Joe's ever since she'd done it, but he was acting as though he didn't give two shits about how he was treating her. A lump formed in her throat, and she pushed it back, not sure what was going on anymore.

"I know you were at the Dingo when that shooting happened."

"So?"

"So? So you lied to me! I asked you if you were there, and you said no."

Danny hesitated before answering. "Look, I wasn't with Vinnie when he did it, and I wasn't anywhere near Hamilton. I was completely away from everything that went down until I dragged Vinnie outta there, but because that's when Hamilton saw me, he's taken to thinking I had more to do with it than I did. That's all there is to it. No big deal, got it?"

"You should've told me."

"Why? So you could've spent the last few months worryin'?"

She couldn't even deny that. "This guy hates you," she said, trying not to get hysterical. "You should've heard the things he said about you."

"What things?"

"Just … things." She sighed, not sure how to tell him without sounding overly dramatic. "I'm pretty sure he wants you dead."

Danny said nothing, just stared at her.

"I'm serious! He was so angry, and when he grabbed me and said these things -"

"Wait. He grabbed you?"

She recognised that glint in her brother's eyes, and immediately regretted her words. The last thing she needed was to make him even angrier at Rex. Perhaps that was why she hadn't mentioned this before.

"S'nothin'."

"Now that's bullshit. Did he hurt you or not?"

"No. I already told you; he just scared me a little," she said. "But doesn't that tell you somethin'? This guy's willing to scare me just to get at you."

"He won't do it again, Anna. I can fucking promise you that." Danny stepped closer, watching her intently.

She didn't want to say her next words - didn't want to be that sister - but they came anyway.

"Don't go."

"What?"

"Tonight. Don't go."

Danny looked at her as if she was stupid. "Kid, I have to."

"No you don't. Danny, please -"

He walked past her, ignoring her pleas. "Quit your worrying, Miss B. It's gonna be fine. We outnumber the River Kings, it's no weapons, and we're gonna kick their asses."

She watched him go, not saying anything else. She was angry, so damn angry, but she couldn't help but feel relief at the use of her nickname. It'd been too damn long since she'd heard it.

XXXXX

"Glory, Anna," Henry moaned, as she sucked on a patch of his sensitive skin.

She sighed into his neck, wriggling slightly as she sat straddling him in the backseat of his car. His fingers dug into her hips, pulling her closer, and she knew exactly what it was he wanted. Taking a breath, she pulled back.

Things with Steve might have become … different lately, but things with Henry had stayed exactly where they were. She didn't know if that was good or bad. Rushing into something wasn't what she wanted, but she didn't want to keep pushing him away, either.

Deciding not to think about that then, she dragged her fingers through her hair and licked at her swollen lips. They had spent the rainy afternoon making out in Henry's car - hands, lips, and tongues doing whatever they pleased.

Well, almost.

"I should probably drop you off soon," Henry said, looking like that was the last thing he wanted to do.

She nodded, sliding her hands over his chest. "Probably."

"Or, you know, we could just spend the rest of the night right here."

She smirked and gave him a quick kiss. "Not a chance. I need you to kick some River King ass tonight."

A part of her figured that the more people fighting in the rumble, the less chance of Danny, Tim, or Henry getting hurt. Or Soda, Two-Bit, or the Curtis boys. Or anyone else she knew and hated to admit caring about.

Henry's fingers slid over her neck. "Trust me. After the shit they pulled with you the other night, I'm more than willing to kick all their asses."

And after everything that had happened the other night, Steve hadn't been mentioned once. She'd expected Henry to be at least a little pissed that Steve had dropped her off, but unless she was kissing Steve in Buck's, then Henry didn't seem to be the jealous type. Since their talk after that kiss, the whole 'Steve' issue had been dropped. In fact, it hadn't even been an issue anymore.

She didn't know if it was because Henry simply trusted her implicitly, if he didn't care enough to really worry, or if he just didn't think Steve had a chance. It wasn't a good thing, but she kind of hoped it was the latter. She wanted Henry to care about her - she sure cared about him - but she wasn't sure implicit trust in her was a good thing. Not when she couldn't seem to get rid of the feelings she had for Steve. Or when she had kissed him back at Buck's.

"Should we get goin'?" Henry asked, fingers fiddling with the one of the few done up buttons of her blouse.

He was so good to her, and she was such a bad girlfriend. It wasn't just that a part of her wanted to be with Steve; it was that every part of her had wanted to be with him after the incident with Rex Hamilton. Going inside her own house - where she knew her brother, a gang leader who wouldn't try and hurt her, and her boyfriend were - had been the last thing she'd wanted. Staying with Steve had been what she wanted. Being with Steve had been what she wanted.

She sucked at this girlfriend thing.

Almost wanting to say no, she nodded. "Yeah, we should."

Disentangling herself from him, she made her way back to the front seat and Henry did the same. She watched him silently as he started the car and headed for her place, wishing more than anything that the feelings she had for Steve could be transferred to Henry instead.

There was nothing bad about the guy. Sure, he wasn't perfect - no one was - but in her eyes he was close. If she could fall in love with him, she figured she'd be pretty happy. She knew he'd never screw her over like Steve had done, but those feelings just weren't there. She shifted in her seat, remembering the feel of his hands on her. At least he made her feel good.

They pulled up at her house a while later, and Anna was surprised to see Evie sitting on the porch. She and Danny weren't exactly close, so she was obviously there to see Anna … and Anna couldn't for the life of her work out why. They hardly spoke these days, and when it did, it was forced and awkward and no more than once every few weeks.

Unbuckling her seatbelt, she turned to Henry. "Don't hate me for sayin' it," she said, "but be careful tonight."

He grinned. "Sure, babe."

Leaning over, she gave him the kind of kiss she hoped made up for not being what he wanted her to be. When she pulled back, he opened his eyes and scowled.

"Get outta here," he muttered.

Anna grinned and got out of the car, throwing him a quick wave as he took off down the street. Pushing Henry and all her bad feelings about herself out of her mind, she made her way through the light rain to meet Evie.

Goddamn Evie. It wasn't the worst thing in the world for Evie to be there, but it sure wasn't good. They didn't share any classes at school, their paths between classes didn't cross, and there hadn't been any family dinners for months. They were still family, nothing was going to change that, but not seeing Evie was a good thing. Not seeing her meant not thinking about her and Anna quite liked it that way.

Being family didn't change shit as far as she was concerned. Evie had done almost as much damage as Steve, and hadn't once apologised. A lack of apology was something she'd expected from Steve, but even he'd been decent enough to do that.

"Hey," Evie said, standing up.

Anna nodded. "Hi."

Silence followed. Horrible, tense, awkward silence.

"So," Evie finally began, "I saw Steve at work today."

Anna's heart sank, and she jumped to the obvious conclusion; they were back together. Evie seeing Steve, added to Anna's constant rejection of him, could only equal one thing. The idea of them being back together again killed her, but it was exactly what had happened after he had cheated; Anna had rejected him, and he had run to Evie. It was happening again and everything he had said to her was obviously bullshit.

She didn't want to have to go back to seeing the two of them together. The idea of it made her sick, but she refused to think of what that meant.

"Oh yeah?" It might have hurt, but she kept her voice cool.

"Anna …" Evie waited for Anna to meet her gaze before continuing. "Why haven't you taken him back?"

"I … wait, what?"

Evie sighed. "Look, I know it's none of my business, I know that. But you love him right?"

"No."

"Liar."

Anna said nothing. This wasn't the first time someone had called her on her lying. Not that she was lying …

"He ain't about to give up on you," Evie said. "He's gonna do whatever it takes; I think he proved that by getting you to kiss him the other week."

Anna crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you trying to help him? I mean, he dumped you for me, remember?"

"How could I forget? Glory, Anna, I might not have had what you had with Steve, but I still had something."

She shook her head, heading inside. "I don't wanna hear this." She'd already had one confrontation that day; another one - especially with Evie - was the last thing she wanted. She wasn't ready for this.

"Why not?" Evie followed. "Jealous?"

Yes. So utterly jealous that she hated herself for it. She remembered arguing with Evie after finding out her cousin had tried to kiss Steve at the DX. Evie had practically confirmed feeling nothing for Steve then; she had wanted to get back at Anna and that was it. Having seen them making out more than once the last time they were together was bad enough; hearing that there were feelings involved was nauseating. Especially when she had no delusions about the two of them sleeping together.

She shrugged off her coat and chucked it on a dining chair. "If what you had with Steve was so damn special, then why're you here?"

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean, why are you tryin' to help him? You had something with him, but he still dumped you twice, and both times had something to do with me." She shook her head. "But now you're trying to convince me to take him back?"

Evie sighed. "Yeah, because I know it's what you both truly want."

"Right. So you're trying to make up for all the shit you've pulled, is that it?"

Anna's heart was thudding, but she felt good. She thought she hadn't wanted this, but she and Evie hadn't had any kind of confrontation since the night of Two-Bit's birthday. After Evie had helped Steve cheat, she and Anna had seemed to come to some kind of silent agreement to never mention it, but now that it was happening, it felt good. It felt deserved.

"Maybe it is," Evie said.

"Yeah, well, you're wasting your time. I'm with Henry now."

"Are you?"

"What does that mean?"

"Glory, Anna." Evie scoffed. "You kissed Steve! Everyone knows it!"

She said nothing. There wasn't anything to say; Evie was exactly right and it was something Anna herself couldn't stop thinking about. Steve's kiss had been on her mind constantly. Steve had been on her mind constantly.

She glared at Evie. "How is this any of your business?"

"Well, I guess it ain't."

"Of course it ain't." Anna started tidying the kitchen, just to keep her shaking hands busy. "But why the hell would that stop you from sticking your nose in? You did it when I was with Steve, and you're trying again now."

"That's not fair."

"Not fair? Not fair is you trying to kiss by boyfriend while he's at work. Not fair is you getting him into bed not an hour after he leaves my house." Anna scoffed. "Not fair is the two of you making out at Buck's without even bothering to tell me you were back together."

Evie fidgeted. "We didn't think you'd want to know.'

"Of course I didn't want to know! I didn't want it to be true." She regretted the words the moment they were out.

"It's not as if you didn't do the same thing to me," Evie said. "You stole him first."

Anna couldn't believe they were back to that. "At least I had the decency to tell you to your face. I didn't let you find out by catching us making out at Buck's."

"You know what, Anna? If you didn't want him moving on you should've taken him back."

Anna stilled her movements, staring at Evie. "Are you kidding me? He cheated on me. He cheated on me with you."

"He thought you were leaving!"

"You - you're taking his side? You're my cousin but you're takin' his side? He dumped you twice, he used you to hurt me, but you're still takin' his side?"

"Yes!" Evie's voice had risen quickly, and she seemed furious. Anna didn't get it. Not even a little. "He wants you back. Everyone knows that, too."

"I don't care!"

Evie was angrier than Anna had ever seen her. "That's bullshit. You think it's not completely obvious you want him back? I've seen the way you look at him, the way you blush when he stares at you, and I know you kissed him back."

Anna's heart was pounding from Evie's words. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Everyone can see it, Anna. Probably even Henry."

"Leave Henry out of this," she snapped.

"Then admit you want Steve back."

"I don't want him back."

Evie practically growled in frustration. "You do!"

"No, Evie, I don't. I can't!"

Silence followed for a moment, and Evie raised an eyebrow.

"You can't?" Evie persisted when Anna said nothing. "Why not?"

She shook her head. "Just go, Evie. I don't even know why you're here."

"I told you -"

"You told me you're trying to help him get me back, but all you've done is bring back all the shit the two of you pulled!" Anna sighed. "I don't get it. What d'you want?"

"I want …" Evie trailed off and her whole body sagged in defeat. "Last time, when I kissed him at the DX, it was to get back at you. You know it was. But when we got back together this time it was different, okay?"

She seemed to be waiting for an answer so Anna shrugged, not understanding and not finding it okay at all. She didn't want to do this. Talking about Steve was something she hated, and she especially didn't want to do it with Evie. Even more than that, she didn't want to think about the things Evie was saying.

"I knew I wasn't who he really wanted," Evie said. "I knew that, but I still fell for him all over again."

"You did?" Anna was surprised and it made her a little sick, but couldn't really blame her cousin. It was over six months since their relationship ended, and Anna still wasn't over him.

Evie nodded. "I didn't love him, but it definitely hurt when he broke up with me again. I guess I realised then that you must've felt a hundred times worse than I did. You loved Steve, and he cheated on you." She grimaced. "With your cousin."

"Yeah, but who really thought that me and Steve would last anyway?" Automatic sarcasm had always been her best defence. This seemed like the perfect time for it, because she had thought she and Steve would last.

"I did," Evie said. "After hearing you say you loved each other … I know we're only seventeen and too young for that stuff, but I could tell it was real with you and Steve."

Not knowing what to say to that, Anna turned the conversation back around. "So, you're here because you feel bad?"

"Saying I'm sorry wouldn't mean anything, Anna, that's why I've never done it. The only way I can think of to really apologise is to give you and Steve what you really want."

"Which is what?"

"Each other."

No. Anna sighed. Maybe. She shook her head. No. She wasn't over Steve, and she definitely still had more feelings for him than she would like, but she didn't want to go back to him. But glory she missed him, and she was so sick of trying to being angry at him. At both of them. She wished more and more everyday that Steve and Evie had never slept together.

Evie was sitting at the counter, looking calm and relaxed and too damn perfect for Anna's liking. But for once, for the first time in months, Anna didn't feel angry at her. There was still a whole lot of bitterness, but no anger.

"Hey," she said, "you want a Coke?"

XXXXX

The rumble was set to begin at 11pm, and it was getting close. Even if Steve hadn't known what the time was, he'd know it was close just by the mood of the guys around him. Unable to help himself, he glanced at Pony, wondering how the kid was doing with this. Steve hadn't been through what Pony had been through that night, but he sure as hell wasn't feeling great about what lay ahead.

He wasn't chickening out, and he was sure as hell looking forward to beating the River Kings, but memories of their last rumble had a way of sticking around. And not just with him, he was sure. Darry was towering over Pony, and Steve knew he was once again checking to make sure Pony wanted to be there. Steve had to give the kid credit; after everything that had happened he was still ready to fight with everyone else. He was surprised Darry was letting him, and that Darry himself was there.

Looking away, Steve turned to Henry Phillips and Jack Hennings. "You sure this is no weapons?"

"Sure is," Phillips said. "Hamilton reckons that when he kills Tim, he wants it to be with his bare hands. Not sure how much I believe him, but I just do what Tim says."

Despite all the shit Steve had pulled trying to get Anna back - including convincing her to kiss him while she was drunk - Henry seemed almost friendly toward him. Steve just hoped it was because he was looking forward to the fight, not because things were going so well with Anna.

He pushed her out of his mind. Last thing he needed to be doing at a rumble was thinking about some broad.

"Here they come." Soda's voice was quiet in Steve's ear.

A group of guys were making their way toward them, and Steve saw they were dead even in numbers. Of course, their side would have a few more had Curly gotten out of juvie early, or if Dally and Johnny were still around.

Steve's chest felt heavy at that thought. Never before had he been in a rumble without Dallas. In fact, there weren't many fights he'd been in without Dally around to back him up.

There was no quiet build up to this rumble, not like there had been with the Socs. Instead, Hamilton threw his jacket on the ground, stepped in front of Tim, and smirked.

"I'm gonna fuck you up, Shepard."

In response, Tim chuckled and threw the first punch.

Had the guy who had beaten him with the pipe the other week not been so damn small, Steve would have kicked his ass without another thought. But not only did he have more pride than to fight someone so small, Pony already had him on the ground. Not wasting anymore time, Steve found the next best thing, and started in on the twitchy guy who had jumped him.

He threw a right hook to the guys face as soon as he saw him He wasn't a bug guy - tall, yet kind of scrawny - but he fought better than Steve would have thought. All his breath left him when Twitchy sucker punched him.

"Christ," he muttered.

Sucking in any breath he could get, Steve charged at him, and they both went flying to the concrete ground. Twitchy's head landed with a sickening thud, and Steve smirked, pressing his knee into his chest and punching him in the jaw. Again, the guy surprised Steve by grabbing onto his T-shirt and rolling them over. He sure had more strength than Steve had thought.

They rolled, kicking and punching whenever they could. When Steve got punched in the head, he grabbed the guy's free hand and bent the fingers back as far as they could go.

"Son of a bitch!" Twitchy cried, pulling his hand back.

It gave Steve the advantage he needed. Pushing the guy off him, he got to his feet and kicked as hard as he could. He might have found himself with three broken ribs after the last rumble, but he had no sympathy for this guy. He would've kept kicking this guy all night long were it not for the ringing of gunshots that sounded far too fucking close for his liking.

His breath caught, and he spun on the spot, half-expecting to see Dallas falling to the ground in front of him.

"Fucking idiot!" someone yelled. "Get the fuck out of here."

Steve looked around for his buddies, taking in that each one was standing and breathing as the River Kings ran. His nose was bleeding, and he quickly wiped the blood away, wondering what the fuck had happened. He took a step forward, intent on getting to Soda, but stopped when his foot slipped in something wet.

He looked down, already feeling sick. Frowning at the dark puddle he was standing in, his gaze followed its path, reaching the mess of blood coming from the bullet would. Muttering a curse, he dropped to his knees next to a grimacing Danny.

If ever again a greeting I send to you,
Short and sweet to the soul I intend.

A/N: Beta'd by RileysMomma. Reviews would make my day :)