Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Outsiders.
(Language, violence for warning)
Keep Moving
Secret Revenge
Nine forty-five is when the gang and I arrived at the park, it was already packed with a few greasers. Some of them howled and whistled at me as I stood in the middle of the park, the gang standing behind me looking wary. Most of them probably throbbing with adrenaline even if it wasn't their fight to be fought. On the other side of us a few of greasers went to place their bets with Two-bit or Steve. My head was down trying to stay focused. A few of the people who placed bets would either snarl in my face or cheer at me with a pat on my back. After a while it really started to get annoying. To cool myself up I lit a cigarette that was hanging from my lips. While standing there, I cracked my knuckles against my palms.
Besides the random people coming up to me, I was in my own world. My head was on one thing, the fight. Most of all I tried to think that I wasn't fighting Rocky, because at some point she was my friend. A bitch, but my friend. As I took a drag I lifted my head and looked around the park. My heart was beating loudly in my ears. To my feet I felt the vibration of ever throb of my pulse. Every sound was blurred out because my heart beating. When I would reach up to grab the cancer stick from my lips, my hand would shake with anticipation. I shook with adrenaline coursing through my body. So much was focus of the task at hand, that I almost didn't feel a hand on my shoulder. When I turned around slowly, Ponyboy's face came into view. I moved my body to face him.
He was looking at me with a strange, uncomfortable half smile. My head nodded slightly in question at him. Pony uncomfortably cleared his throat as he shifted on his weight. The poor guy looked more nervous than I felt. In good nature I handed my cig over to him to take a drag. When he did he let it smoothly fall from his nostrils. As I took a drag from the same cigarette, he finally found his voice.
"I know I'm not the kind of brother that really gets in your face about stuff but…" he swallowed. "I'm worried about you."
Ponyboy looked behind him to make sure the rest of the group wasn't listening in on his conversation with me. Out of instinct, I patted him on the arm. I felt my face and body soften a little at his concern. It took a lot of courage for him to come and say something to me. He's right, he isn't the brother who gets in my face about things. Usually Pony is the one who backs me up or is a quiet support system. Darry is the oldest so he is the one who is most likely to confront me about something that concerns him. Soda might do it but in a completely different way than Darry. Pony just…doesn't do this kind of stuff.
"Pony baby." I said in a soft hissing voice. He didn't take it in a mean way, which it wasn't to be intended in that manner. "Don't worry about me, I'm gonna do just fine. This fight isn't the first I've been in, I can handle myself."
"Sissy." oh no. Ponyboy only calls me Sissy when he is really upset about something. He must be serious about this. I took a drag while he continued.
"You aren't all the way better. I don't think you should do this. What if you get badly hurt or something horrible?" his eyes darted up and down my body, imagining the damage that might be inflicted on me.
"Don't worry little brother." I handed him the rest of the cig to calm his nerves. The kid needs it a lot more than I do. "It's not like I haven't gotten hurt before. Besides, I wont get hurt badly. You've seen the way she fights."
"Yeah, I have! She fights dirty if she starts to loose. What if she brings a blade even if it's against the rules? What if you get stabbed, AGAIN!?" he practically screamed it at me. Darry noticed his distress and started to move closer to the two of us.
"Ponyboy." I sighed. "Some times you can't think about the 'What ifs', because those questions don't have an answer in the end." Darry looked at me than back to Pony, swinging an arm around our little brother's shoulders.
"We will deal with the results when they happen, so just chill." I told Pony. Even if my words were true, they didn't give my younger brother comfort. Pony turned to Darry looking scared out of his mind.
"Darry, make her not fight. Forbid her to fight, I don't want her hurt again. I don't want her to be gone again. We can't loose her again Dar!" Darry gave me a look that said 'This is all your fault.'. My back straightened a little and my focus was on the fight again, there was no convincing Ponyboy I would be fine.
"Lucy is old enough to make certain decisions for herself. No matter how dumb they seem to us, they are smart to her. Whatever the outcome, we have to stand by her even if we don't like it. That's what family is." Pony scooted closer to Darry, trying to become smaller. He looked embarrassed and scared.
"Darry, she might get hurt." he said in a small voice.
"I know little buddy, but we can't think about that. We have to have confidence in her. We'll just have to deal with the out come when it's over, no matter what it is." Pony finally shook his head yes, turning away form us to go with the group. But I grabbed him into a hug before he could leave, I whispered in his ears.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." he nodded into the hug before letting go. As he walked over to the gang and some other greasers, I started to jog away from them. A quick jog around the park would do me good, maybe shake some of the fighting jitters. Darry came along too, even though I wanted to be alone. He was to my right as we jogged, he looked just as nervous as Pony. Did anyone have confidence in me besides myself?
Remember when I told you Darry tries to talk about things when he's nervous, well that's what he did. He tried telling me pointers like, 'Remember to keep your hands up.' or 'Pony is right about her fighting dirty, don't let your guard down.'. After awhile I just tuned him out. All I could hear now was the heart thumping in my ears and the air whistling around my head. a I didn't answer him. The park isn't very big but we jogged around it a few times before I finally realized it had been a long time. When I stopped jogging, Darry felt my concern. While we walked over to the growing crowd, he looked at his watch.
"Almost twenty after." he informed me. I grunted at the time, was she chickening out? She better not be because I'd rather have a fair fight than to have to jump her or some shit. I think I was pretty nice to let her have a fair fight, I could have attacked her instead. As soon as I was about to complain about her being a chicken shit, a far off figure approached the large group of greasers. The figure became more clear as it got closer. On her face lay a smug little smirk as she walked through the crowd to get to the middle. Even with the smirk she looked focused and determined, so I smirked back. My smirk was more out of satisfaction that she showed up, rather than I having to go look for her again. My smirk faded after a short length of time, but hers remained.
Male and female greasers surrounded us in a huge circle. The two of us looked around at our crowd. There were a lot of people there, more than I had anticipated to come and watch our fight. The ones that were cheering for her stood behind her, giving me hateful glares. I glanced behind me to see the gang, Tim's gang, Buck, and some others I had yet to know the names of. There were a lot of girls on my side, no surprise even if I don't have a lot of girl friends. I suppose they would react the same way if they were in my shoes. When I looked over at Soda, he looked really chill with his arm around a blond I hadn't seen before. Her lips were a soft pink in the lights of the park and her eyes sparkled at me. She wore a purple dress that was mostly hidden by Soda's jacket he had arrived in. I wanted to gaze at them longer, but didn't get the chance because I heard someone call me from Rocky's side. I looked over to see Will waving to me.
Gross, I thought as he pulled himself out of the crowd to stand next to Rocky. The two of them looked at me then began to passionately, aggressively make out. A few greasers hollered for them to get it on, some yelled for them to get a hotel room, but most of them just yelled. Seriously, I threw up in my mouth. As I swallowed the disgusting stomach acid, they pulled apart with smirks. Rocky licked her lips, looking at me devilishly. The best part about that was that they thought I cared. Finally, we started to get ready. Rocky pushed Will back into the crowed while she kept tight eye contact with me. She swung her arms up and down, making them loose. I shed Soda's jacket that I was wearing to reveal my black undershirt. It hugged my but not to the point that you could tell what was underneath the shirt. Truly, I wore it because it was easy to move around int.
Once she looked away, she walked back over to Will. I turned and walked over to Darry, who was closest to me. Handing him the jacket, I also took Mom's necklace off. I placed it in his fingers giving him a serious look.
"Keep this safe until I'm done." he nodded just as serious. Soda notice that I was standing there, which was a shocker since his attention was on the girl he was with. As I gave Darry a small nudge to relax, I moved over to Sodapop and his girl. She smiled at me just as he was.
"Good luck." she said with that same smile.
I nodded to her in thanks, waiting for an introduction. "Oh, Lucy this is Sandy. I don't think you've met her, I've been dating her for a while."
"I don't think we have met, it's a shame because I've heard a lot about you." she said with a twinkle in her eyes. I could see why Soda liked her, she was just as upbeat as he was.
"Maybe we could get a milkshake or a Coke at the Dingo some time, get to know each other." I said trying to be polite.
"That would be great." her smile widened, if it was possible. After nodding to her again, Soda pulled away from her. He looked me in the eyes with his hands on my shoulders.
"Be safe." his voice was slightly shaky, but confident. Sodapop's eyes were worried but he had a grin plastered on his face. "And kick her ass."
"I'll try my best." I said pulling away from him. My serious face didn't faultier as Dally waved me over before I reentered the center of the circle. He looked at me with a smirk, so I smirked back slightly. My man kissed my lips for the first time in front of others, a few of them whistled. It was just a quick little good luck thing, but it still felt nice. When I went to walk away from him, he pulled in close to my ears.
"She's got a blade on her, keep you eyes open because if she pulls that out your in trouble. If you want mine you can…" I shook my head against his and spoke to his ear.
"No, I want to do this fairly even if she doesn't. She pulls the blade, I'll get it away from her. If my plans don't work out than I'll get the blade from you." he nodded and continued with his speech.
"Keep your hands up and feet apart. Don't listen to anyone except for yourself, don't let anyone distract you. I'm right here if you need me." I nodded walked back over to her.
I looked her over, sizing her up. She wore tight jeans that hugged her hips so much it looked like it hurt. A red plaid shirt was draped over those jeans with a white V neck shirt tucked into that. Her hair was up over her face, so I didn't pull it I guess. Only bitches pull hair in a fight, I don't. I suppose that's why I forgot to put mine up. If it wasn't about to begin, I would for found a way to put it up. Instead I threw my right hand out to her to shake. She gripped my hand tightly with a sneer.
"I still don't get why you freaked out so bad, it was just a fuck." she spat.
"You'll never get it, so lets get this over with so I can go home and sleep." when our hands separated, I remained her of the rules.
"Anything goes except double teaming and weapons. If one of us needs a second, the other will respectfully back off. We each get one time out, the second time means you've given up. The first to pass out or can't continue physically, loses. If you want to give up, yell 'Uncle'." I stated with a stone face.
"Why if I give up?"
"Because the only way for me to lose is if I pass out from exhaustion, otherwise I'm in the game until you're out. Any questions?"
"Fuck you, lets go." she said dropping down into a fighting position. I nodded cracking my back one last time before crouching into a defensive stance.
Immediately she shifted to her left, like I knew she would. I didn't moved away from her or start to circle until she lunged at me. Quickly, I brought my knee up and knocked the wind straight out of her. As the crowd of greasers booed or cheered, I bobbed on my toes. She held her stomach but kept advancing with an aggravated expression. Shaking her head, she swung her heavy bracketed arm at me. It jingled as I twisted to avoid the blow, but was hit with one that cracked me in the shoulder. The hit was a little painful, but I didn't flinch away from it. I took the opportunity to grab her outstretched arm, twirling over my head. Her limb was curled up behind her back as I lifted it higher in hope it might pop out of place.
She cried out in pain and tried to kick me in the shine with her right heel. Her foot dug into my leg, causing me to let go. Spinning around, she faced me. Since she wasn't far, I threw my fists at her. Rocky's arms flew up to block her face, only being half successful. When I backed up, I danced around on my toes. Looking at her arms, she shook them to make sure they weren't that damaged. Satisfied, she threw a few punches my way.
I could only avoid half of them. Most of them turned into body shots, my sides begged for solace. But not as much as the gash on my face. Before the fight, I had forgotten to tell her to rid herself of jewelry. My mistake caused her ring to make an deep imprint on my right cheek. I shut my eyes to clear my thoughts, I threw my hand up for a time out. It was my only time out but it would be worth it. If she kept those rings on, it would cause a lot more damage than her bare skin. The two of us stood up straight as everyone hollered for us to continue. We met each other in the middle.
"You givin' up Lucy?" she teased with a lot of breath coming out of her nose.
"No, I forgot to tell you to get rid of your jewelry. It's considered a weapon." with a smirk she pocked my face near the gash.
"My bad, must of forgotten." I turned my head away from her.
"Just fucking take them off so we can continue, otherwise I'm done holding back." why would I hold back? She deserved everything she gets, but I don't want to hurt her. As much as I hate her and fucking want to strangle the bitch, she was my friend at one point. Being who I am, I can't let that small fact escape my mind. She turned to her side of the circle as I listened to the cheers for me.
"Get her good Luc!" Steve hollered."Shut up Steve, Rocky is gonna win. This bitch doesn't know what she's doing." Will screamed as Rocky took off her last ring. I glanced over my shoulder to see Steve curl up his lip and throw up his middle finger. A few greasers laughed at the gesture, I smirked at my friend. Will started to advance towards my side of the circle with a raised fist.
"You're ass is grass son." Will said as he got closer to me, only to start a fight with Steve. I looked over at Steve, who was being held back by Soda and Evie. She stood in front of him to calm him down, doing a really lousy job if you ask me. As Will got closer I sidestepped in front of him, pushing him away.
"Get your ugly ass on your side of the circle." he looked down at me with a smirk. He leaned his head down to my ear.
"You know Lucy, I really miss ya. If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to make you jealous by going with Rocky." his hot breath was on my neck as he spoke, the blood was raising to my face in an angry blush.
"You do know Will, I really don't care about you. If you haven't notice, I'm trying to beat the shit out of Rocky so why don't you go back to your side."
"Well, would things change if I told you I always picture you when I'm with Rocky." he leaned in closer, his hand under my armpit. His fingers inched closer to my breast. I brought my knee up quickly into his groin.
"No, things wouldn't change if you told me that." he bent over holding his junk but looked up at me as he slowly backed away.
"Why not?" he hissed rudely and frustrated. I didn't even glance back at him as I advanced towards Dallas. He was looked at Will like he would set him of fire with his eyes, but his face slightly softened when he me. Standing on my toes, I pulled Dallas's face against mine. We kissed for a good ten seconds before I pulled away. Dally was smirking against the kiss the entire time, he enjoyed my kisses when I'm angry. I walked back over to Will and pushed him into Rocky.
"That's why you jerk off, so leave me alone so I can beat her ass." Rocky balanced herself and pushed Will back into the group. She walked over to me with a slight smirk.
"So that's why you were so upset, I fucked your man." I shook my head.
"Ready?" I asked, shaking off the situation. She tossed her elbow at my head before I could get into a stance. Luckily I dodged it, I bent down to sweep her feet. It didn't do much but cause her to fall of balance, so I jumped on top of her. My knees held down her arms as I sat on her stomach. My fists connected to her face, causing her to scream out in pain. Eventually, she kicked me off of her. Rocky's large boots ripped into my ribs, causing irritation. They hurt as I lay on my side for a moment.
We both quickly jumped up, he nose was badly bleeding. She ignored it as she spit out some blood. The crowd went wild at the sight of it. I smirked slightly to myself as she lingered towards me. Her hand in a clawing motion, sliced more of the gash on my face. With my hands, I pushed her away. When she came back she grabbed my hair, so elbowed her in the side. She let go but was falling off balance, automatically she grabbed my shirt.
It was ripped off my back as the two of us were flung on opposite sides of the circle. My back slammed into Tim who held me up by the arms. A few guys hollered at my bare skin, my bra only covering me up now. Most of the crowd was laughing at me as a blush crimsoned my face. Upside-down I looked up at Tim, who pushed me towards Rocky."Go get her Luc." he told me. Rocky slowly trotted with my shirt in her hands. I stuck my hand out for her to give it back, since it was an accident. She smirked and flung it into the crowd. Rage filled up inside me and I charged towards her with a loud battle cry. Her middle connected to my shoulder as we crashed to the ground. She got me off her by elbowing me in the face. My head spun as I staggered backwards. Rocky took this as an advantage and started taking large blows into ribs.
I felt a large sting on one of the hits, it shook my body. My mouth couldn't help but call out in protest. To get her away from me, I head butted her. In a dazed state she fell down on her back. Both hands held my right side, there was definitely some cracking of the ribs involved there. When I looked down at it, my side had already begun to swell. As I tired to compose myself, I turned in a circle. A large grimace was placed on my face as I looked over at Dallas. He looked like he was shaking, his hands into fists. His eyes told me he was there if I needed him. Nodding, I closed my eyes. Taking deep breathes, I felt a dangerous tug at my head. Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was ground. My face was thrown right into the hard surface of the Earth.
Then my head was held up by my hair, my knees crotched down to the ground. Both my hands still held my side. When I looked up at Rocky she was gripping my hair tightly in her fists. As I tried to escape, I felt something cold go against the back of my neck. The crowd silenced with a few gasps from some of the ladies in the group. I felt my heart beat increasingly speed up with the cool metal against my skin. Most people would of said I was scared, but I wasn't. Rocky didn't have what it took to stab someone, even if she could cut them she could stab them.
To show she was serious, she slightly cut my flesh. A blood ran down my back and soaked into my bra stapes. Some of it when down my shoulders or it fell across my chest. There were some that landed on the legs of my jeans, soaking in making a stain. I felt her lean forward to speak to me some no one would hear.
"Now Lucy, this fight is between you and I but I have a message for you. As much as I hate her fucking guts, she paid me to do this." what the hell was she talking about.
"The best thing about meeting a soc that hates another greaser, is that that soc will pay you to humiliate that greaser."
"Rocky, what are you talking about?" I whispered in a husky voice.
"Two words, Julie Holland." my eye got big.
"Chicken shit couldn't get me back herself." I chuckled to myself, to my surprise Rocky did too.
"That's what I said when she confronted me this afternoon. She had heard about our fight tonight, Julie had a proposition for me. Said she would pay me two hundred dollars to give you a message."
"AND! That message is?" I said a little annoyed that this fucking message was interrupting our fight. As I rolled my eyes I felt her tug at my hair, a sharp feeling raced across my scalp. One after the other, it hurt to scream out so I choked on my air. Finally, the tugging stopped along with the sharp pain. My head throbbed from its contact with her blade. When I looked up, she held a gob of my silver brown hair in her clutches. In my head I was screaming for my Mother.
I don't care about my hair, it's just hair. But the meaning of it is what crushes me. The last time I had my hair cut was when my mother was alive. Two hundred and thirty-seven days since it's been cut….Two hundred and thirty-six days since Mom has passed. A large cringe was set onto my face, I wanted to scream out in protest that she cut my hair. The smirk she held on her face made it all the worse. It's a moment like this that I wonder…what would of happened if my parents hadn't died.
As the remaining strains fell into my face, blood dripped down my forehead. It trickled down my nose and landed next to a blood stain on my jeans. When I looked up at Rocky again, she threw the clot of hair at me. Some of it landed in front of me, the rest blew away. Pulling my shaky hands from my side, I gripped the hair in my hands. My eyes glared at Rocky, killing her with my thoughts. The glorious smirk that graced her face turned into a frightened frown. As I clenched it in my fists, I felt a crispy scream rise in my throat. As it left my lips, Rocky jumped at the volume of my voice.
"YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE!"
