Ch 10:

"You're way too young to be broken. You're way too young to fall apart. But you do anyway, because it's not like you have a choice."

~Anonymous

Cherry's POV

A few weeks passed since that evening under the willow tree. The weeks dragged by, as the final weeks of school came to an end. It was a twinge of melancholy feeling about leaving school… I only had one year after this after all. I would miss the long days of class, the football games, even the teachers, but especially the people. Everyone would be splitting up their separate ways, some even leaving the country. I would definitely miss High School.

And then… there was Dallas to deal with. We have barely talked since that night, except for the occasional phone call. However, the calls were always brief and much unfrequented. My heart ached whenever I heard his voice, or even his name.

The day school let out, I woke up earlier than usual in the morning. That queasy feeling in my stomach lurched. It had never gone away, not once these past two weeks. I sprinted to the bathroom and flipped open the toilet seat just in time for me to vomit. I retched a few times once I was finished, my throat aching as if someone had stuck a knife down it. I was sweaty and clammy. Tears had already sprung to my eyes, because this marked the eighth time in fourteen days.

I scrubbed my teeth until the taste was gone, and then opened the cabinet above my sink. With shaky hands, I pulled out the pink cardboard box marked Pregnancy Test.

I followed the directions exactly, and before I knew it I had laid out the strip in the sink. The box said I had to wait about five minutes before it displayed the results. So I picked out an outfit for school, trying to keep my mind off the awaiting strip. It was almost like it was beckoning me closer, but I ignored the temptation and continued getting ready.

I pulled out a cotton summer dress, and slipped the smooth fabric over my bare skin. I looked in the mirror, and my eyes immediately clouded up. There was a small visible bump growing from my stomach. It was barely there, but it was certainly noticeable.

I balled up the dress and threw it at the wall. The sobs had started again, although I was trying hard to keep them under control. I threw on some shorts and a baggy shirt to hide my possible-baby bump. I used foundation to cover up the sallowness of my skin. I used a combo nation of mascara and eyeliner to make my eyes appear bright and beautiful, although they were truthfully dull and unseeing. Then I ran a brush through my tangled damp hair, before fast-walking back toward the sink.

I closed my eyes and felt around until I felt the cardboard under my hand. I rose it up slowly. I peeked open one eye, scared at what I would see.

Darry's POV

I cursed loudly as the hammer bruised the edge of my thumb. My flesh already turned a slight purple color, and it throbbed like hell. I looked up to see what caused the distraction, and found it was Ponyboy, standing on the front lawn. I had been working on fixing the hole in our roof for about three hours now. Two-Bit had fallen through the roof and into the attic, as Soda had told me. What he was doing on the roof in the first place beats me, though I sure wasn't happy with him for it.

"Darry!" Pony called again, waving his arm to get my attention. I sighed and nailed the last nail in place, before slowly climbing back to the ground. Pony gave me an overlarge grin, which I ignored.

"What do you want?" I snapped. His face fell, but I was more interested in the fact that Cherry Valance was standing behind him. She looked as though she hadn't slept in weeks, and that she had been crying recently. I knotted my eyebrows together in bewilderment.

"She wants to talk to you." Pony shrugged happily, completely oblivious to the awkward tension in the air. Thank the Lord Dally wasn't here.

"Oh, alright. Let's go inside." I lead Cherry back to the house, Pony on our heels. But once we reached the kitchen he turned and went into his room. The kid may not use his head, but at least he knew when he wasn't wanted.

"What's going on?" I asked Cherry, rummaging through the fridge for a drink. I found two cans of Pepsi and poured them into glasses. I slid one to Cherry, who took it with shaking hands.

"I-I…." She stuttered for a moment, her eyelashes fluttering as she blinked rapidly. Then she broke down crying. I watched as though in a trance for a minute, while her shoulders shook. I stood up, murmuring comforting words and rubbed her arms gently.

"What happened?" I asked, because now I was pretty concerned. Maybe Dally lashed out again. I mean it was odd how he just completely went back to normal; I'm sure some part of him was still as shattered as before. I knew that he was going to break down again, and I was truthfully terrified for that moment. But maybe it had already happened, and I wasn't even involved in it.

"I didn't want this to happen. I don't want him to leave me." Cherry managed to gasp, but the second the words left her mouth she started sobbing again. I pulled her to my chest clumsily, letting her tears soak through my shirt.

I knew immediately the 'he' she was talking about was Dallas. But what he did was besides me, though Cherry was really starting to worry me. She was always tough, and I had never even seen her look wounded over something. And we had never been close, so I didn't understand why she was coming to me out of anyone else in the world. I mean we had talked but mostly just brief exchanges of words, not full blown conversations. And now she was sobbing into my shirt.

"What happened?" Ponyboy asked, jogging into the room. He looked extremely worried when he laid eyes on Cherry, who hadn't even looked up when he entered the room. I shrugged, handing her a tissue which she gladly took.

Pony's hands where immediately resting on Cherry's shoulders, pulling her close to him. She gave him a watery smile before throwing her arms around him and breaking down into fresh tears. Ponyboy was a lot better at comforting her then I was. However it seemed unfair how quickly he would take her back in, when it was so obvious she had chosen Dallas. And even though Pony had been heartbroken, now he was just getting smitten all over again.

Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit bounced into the room, all laughing loudly over some incident at the gas station. All I picked up was that they played a prank on their boss. But when they reached the kitchen they all went silent, looking at Cherry in bewilderment and anguish. Even Two-Bit looked worried.

"We don't know." Ponyboy mouthed to them, his grey-green eyes wide.

"Dally?" Soda whispered back. He knitted his eyebrows together while he leaned against the counter.

"I think so." I replied almost silently. Pony bit his lip, avoiding our eyes. I looked back at Cherry, whose sobs had resolved into sniffles. She was such a mess.

"Cherry, what happened?" I asked, my voice completely and utterly solemn. Cherry looked at me, her eyes still glittering with tears. She pushed her red hair out of her face, standing up shakily. Moving away from Pony's grasp, she stood up straight and stared at all of us, who were looking back in anticipation and fear.

"I'm pregnant."

No explanation needed I know this chapter was short, and I'm sorry about that! The next one is going to be filled with tension and cute Ponyboy moments, so be prepared! Thank you all of my lovely readers/reviewers, I truthfully love all of you. Please leave a review telling me what you think, advice and criticism is what keeps me going! Flames are welcome. Also, I have never set a disclaimer, but S.E. Hinton owns the Outsiders and the characters, I only own the plot of this story! I'm going to ask one question because I am truthfully curious, who is yall's favorite character? Mines Dally Thanks!

~Lots of love,

Alaina