Chapter 3

Andy POV

I was dizzy. So very dizzy. And there was so much pain. I realized I was being lifted into the air by strong arms. 'Sodapop' I registered. I buried my face in his chest trying to block out all the pain. He held onto me a little tighter as if to tell me it would all be okay. Then I remembered the reason for all this pain.

Flashback

Steve and I were walking home from the drive-in when we heard the rumble of an engine behind us. We turned to see a red corvette full of Socs trailing us. I saw his hand flinch to the switchblade in his pocket.

"Hey Grease!" One of them yelled at us.

We kept silent as they followed us closely.

"Hey sweetheart, what're you doin' with trash like that?"

My hand moved slowly to my pocket. I had my switchblade with me out of habit. I was nervous as ever. I had been jumped before but I still wasn't looking forward to the idea of 6 or 7 Socs coming after us.

"If they start trouble I want you to run." Steve whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"No way, I'm not leaving you." I whispered back sternly.

The Socs got angry because we weren't responding. They climbed out of there car and started to chase us.

I slowly reached over and felt my pocket, ready to pull out my switchblade at any minute. I knew Steve had his switchblade but I was still worried. I was hoping someone would come along soon but, of course, that's not my luck.

They came up behind us and, before we could react, one of them grabbed me around the waist. He pulled a blade and put it against my throat. I shuddered, feeling the cold metal against my skin. I hadn't had time to grab my own blade from my pocket so basically, we were stuck. I looked over slightly to see Steve. There were about 6 Socs surrounding him. I knew he was a good fighter but not even Steve could hold off 6 Socs. Two of them had pinned him against the fence and were holding his arms while the other four were beating him.

"STEVE!" I yelled.

"Shut up girl or your next." The one holding me sneered.

I had no choice but to stand and watch them because if I moved, I was next, if I talked, I was next. But finally I decided that I couldn't let this go on any longer. I was willing to be beaten within an inch of my life, as long as Steve was okay.

"Stop it!" I screamed. "Stop it! Please, just stop it!"

They all looked at me with shock. I knew what was coming next, and I was scared. Steve had been beaten badly. He was covered in cuts and bruises and there was blood dripping everywhere.

"How about we teach this greaser a lesson? We'll show him what we do to greasy girls that disrespect us." The Soc holding me shouted.

The two Socs holding Steve let go of him and he instantly fell to the ground. He wasn't unconscious, I could tell, but he didn't have the strength to stand just yet. The Socs walked towards me. Two of them grabbed Steve and stood him up.

"Your gonna watch this greaser." One of them snarled.

They all came towards me. They had me on the ground before I even realized what was happening. One of them was sitting on my chest, restricting my air. The rest of them were holding one of my legs or arms. So basically I had five Socs on me while the other two held up Steve.

"STEVE!" I yelled as loud as my lungs would allow me. I didn't know what help yelling would be but it had to be better than nothing right?

"Shut up girl." The Soc on me said and his fist hit my jaw considerably hard. He started beating me with force. I felt my skin tear in some places and felt the warm blood run down my face. The Socs got up off me and started kicking me all over. I think they must have pulled a blade at some point because I felt gashes forming all over my body. I felt the blood run down my arms and I felt it seeping through my clothing. One of them was consistently kicking me in the head. I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness. Finally, they picked me up off the ground and held me up, seeing as I couldn't stand on my own.

"Had enough greaser?" One of them asked me wickedly.

"Just leave him alone." I whispered.

I felt the cold metal of the blade near my heart. My heart started beating faster.

"Oh we'll leave him alone." The same Soc said. "Right after we're done with you."

I quivered as he placed the blade near the top of my left ribcage. He pulled it across my stomach and down to my right hip. I let out a bloodcurdling scream as the Soc dropped me. I heard them get in their car and leave. Steve ran over to me.

"Steve." I whispered.

"Andy. No, Andy no!" He quietly begged. He was sobbing hard and I knew that he was crying.

"Andy stay with me." Was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

End flashback

And now here I was. But there was one thing I still didn't know. How had I gotten home?

Soda carried me gently into my room and placed me onto the bed. He pulled the covers over me and turned out the light. I heard him quietly close the door and walk down the hallway. I was so sore and tired that I fell asleep almost instantly.

Steve POV

I couldn't believe what had just happened. 'I can't believe I let her get hurt.' I thought to myself. I hated myself. I let them beat her. I couldn't help but blame myself for this. She had been beaten within an inch of her life to save me. I wasn't worth that.

Flashback

"Andy stay with me." I begged quietly. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Andy had passed out and was bleeding fiercely.

I didn't know what to do. All I could think of was getting help. I knew what I had to do but I didn't know if I would be able to do it. Then I looked back at Andy. She was bleeding and bruised. She probably broke a couple of ribs too. The thought that she was hurt pushed me forward. I gathered up all my strength and picked her up as gently as I could. I slowly started to walk towards the Curtis' place. When I got there, Ponyboy was sitting on the porch. He gasped and yelled inside to the other guys. Everyone but Darry came running out to help. Dallas took Andy from me quickly and ran inside with her. As soon as she had left my arms, I felt my strength start to fade quickly.

"Steve are you okay?" Soda asked worriedly, rushing forward. The last thing I remember is Soda trying to hold me up and take me inside. Then everything went black and quiet really fast.

End Flashback

Soda came back in just as Two-Bit had finished explaining.

"She's sleeping now but she seemed okay other than the obvious." Soda stated.

"Alright well did you all find something to eat while I was out?" Darry asked.

"I made some soup." Soda said.

"Alright then I guess it's time for bed." Darry announced.

Two-Bit and Johnny went home for the night. Now it was me and Dally in the living room. I slept on the armchair and Dally slept on the couch. Lori slept on the floor in her and Andy's room because she didn't want to accidentally hit one of Andy's cuts or bruises in the middle of the night. I had a hard time falling asleep because of the events of the night, and occasionally one of my cuts would flare up. But eventually I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Lori POV

I woke up the next morning and went to get out of bed when I realized I was on the floor. I remembered what had happened last night and shivered. Andy was one of the toughest people I knew and she was beaten so badly she could barely move. That scared me. If it could happen to her, who's to say one of the gang wouldn't be next.

I figured I would let Andy sleep, seeing as she was in pretty rough shape, and go help with breakfast. I quickly threw on some jeans and a white T-Shirt. I walked out of our room and into the kitchen. Darry was standing at the stove making eggs and bacon.

"'Morning Darry." I greeted sleepily.

"Oh hey Lori, I didn't here you come in."

"Need any help?" I asked.

"Umm sure could you start making some toast?" He asked me.

"Yeah sure." I replied.

I walked over and got the bread and started dropping pieces, one by one, into the toaster. I had never really gotten to spend time with Darry so it was kind of nice. Andy and I had gotten really close with the whole gang since we had gotten here and Darry was like the big brother I never had. I jumped up and sat on the countertop.

"Hey Dar?" I asked, a new thought forming in my mind.

"Yeah Bells?"

"How come we're greasers?"

He kind of paused for a minute. I could tell he was trying to think of a good answer to my question. I think I caught him a little off guard. I tend to blurt out the first question that comes to mind. Andy was used to it though. I felt a pang of sadness thinking about Andy.

"Well I think the big difference is money."

"That don't mean nothin'. We'd still be the same people we are now if we had all the money in the world. Maybe not in the same situations, but we'd still be ourselves. The Socs would be just fine with us if we dressed like them and had some money. They ain't got no right to go jumping us because we got enough dignity to hold our own." I spat.

I think Darry was a little shocked by this. Probably because I had never said so much to him at one time.

"You got a point there." He stated. "But as much as we hate it, Socs will always be Socs and Greasers will always be Greasers. No matter how good a point we make."

"I guess." I sighed. "Hey Dar?"

He looked up from his place next to me where he was buttering the toast. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a big hug.

"Thanks. For everything. Me and Andy, we never had any family like you guys and your like the big brother we never had. It's just…thanks, I guess." I trailed off.

He gave me one of his rare grins and went back to the toast.

"Lori you'll always have family here. We all love you and Andy a lot. Your like the entire gang's little sisters…well most of them anyways."

Suddenly he froze. He looked shocked at himself; as if he had let something slip that nobody was supposed to know.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, raising one eyebrow. That was a little something I picked up from Two-Bit.

"I-umm" he stuttered. Just then we heard a loud thump and a scream.

"SODAPOP CURTIS!!!!!" I recognized Ponyboy's voice. I heard Soda laughing wildly as he appeared in the living room. Ponyboy came out soon after clad in only his sweat pants and sat down for breakfast. I felt myself blush crimson and turned my head down. I mumbled something about going for a walk and headed out the door.

Just as I was headed out, Two-Bit was headed in and he stopped me on the sidewalk.

"Hey Lori. Why you so red? Something going on in there?" He asked with a grin.

"Umm, I-I was j-just headed for a w-walk." I stuttered stupidly.

"Mind if I joined ya'?" He asked me.

"Umm, sure I guess."

"So what's on your mind Bells?" He asked as we headed up the street.

"Not a lot." I replied. I figured this would be my best accomplishment yet; lying to Two-Bit. I swear he has mind reading abilities.

"It couldn't have anything to do with a crush could it?" He asked slyly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shot back.

"Oh nothing…unless you know what I know."

"And what is it that you just happen to know?" I pried. I really wanted to know what he was talking about.

"I think you know."

"So you're saying that you know that I know what you know."

"Yes."

"I see. Well, what if I don't know?"

We were at the lot by now and Two-Bit was annoying me quite a bit. It was obvious that he knew something but I was really irritated and if he didn't tell me in the next five minute I was going to pound his head in.

"Then you are blind as a bat."

"For your own safety I suggest you spit it out now or I'll beat it out of you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Now spit it out."

"Fine. What if I told you that one of the gang just might have a little crush on you?"

Oh. My. God. Is he serious? He can't be serious. I think I'm gonna die. Wait, I don't even know who it is! Oh my god. Hold on, I'm gawking like an idiot.

"W-what?"

"Oh come on Bells. It's so obvious that Johnny likes you. Don't pretend you don't know."

"WHAT?!?!" I screamed. "Two-Bit Mathews! How could I have known that! Huh?"

"You really didn't know?" He asked, kind of shocked at my outburst.

"NO!" I screamed. How would I know that? Better yet, what was I going to tell Johnny? That I didn't like him like that because I was in love with his best friend? Oh no. Wait! I take that back! It was an accident I swear! Oh who cares? There's no point in denying it now. I'M IN LOVE WITH PONYBOY CURTIS! So there.

"Oops." Two-Bit said sheepishly.

"I gotta get back." I said and turned around. I walked down the street quickly, not looking back. Apparently Two-Bit wasn't going to hang around because he wasn't following me. I figured my best option was to pretend I had no idea what was going on and hope for the best.

I walked the rest of the way back and walked into the house. Dally and Steve were now awake and eating breakfast. Also, which shocked me quite a bit, Andy was sitting at the table with them slowly munching on some toast.

"Hey Andy, feeling better?" I said with a small smile. I was glad she felt better. At least she looked better anyways.

"Yeah. Much better actually. Thanks to Darry and his stitching skills." She smiled. Darry gave one of his rare grins. He looked good when he was smiling. He should try it more often. Just then I realized that Ponyboy and Johnny were missing. Soda was obviously at work seeing as it was a Friday.

"I'm going to work you guys." Darry said as he headed for the door.

There were a few shouts of goodbye before he headed out the door. A few seconds later, Ponyboy and Johnny walked in.

"Hey guys" Ponyboy said, walking into the kitchen. "Feeling better Andy?"

"Much." She replied.

"Hey who wants to go to the movies tonight?" Johnny asked. Wow, he barely ever talks never mind straight out asking people a question.

"Sure I'll go." I said while grabbing some toast off the table.

"Nah. I'm not going, I've seen everything already." Ponyboy said with a mouth full of chocolate cake.

"Proof that you go to the movies way to often." I said as I rubbed his head and pranced out of the kitchen.

I heard him mumble something like "Don't touch my hair woman."

I walked into the washroom and brushed my hair. I put it up in high pigtails like I did everyday and brushed my teeth. I washed my face and walked back out into the living room. Everyone was scattered around, except Steve who had probably gone to work. Two-Bit had showed up while I was in the bathroom and was now sitting on the floor next to Ponyboy.

"Hey Pony, are we gonna hang out at the DX today?" I asked cheerily.

"Umm, sure if you want to." He said. "Are you up to it Andy?"

"Yeah, I'll make it." She said with a grin. She never did like people worrying about her.

"Then let's go!" I shouted. I ran out the door and did a back flip off the porch.

"Lori I didn't know you could do that." Said Two-Bit from the doorway.

I grinned. "Neither did I."

Two-bit started laughing and did a round off across the lawn.

"Impressive." I stated, still smiling.

"Hey hurry up you two, we don't got all day!" Dally called from the sidewalk. So all six of us walked up the street, heading to the DX.