I'm back. This is a short chapter by my standards at least, but it's also very good. This is actually where some Cherry/Dally kicks off and there will be more on that next chapter. Enjoy and remember the golden rule of fanfiction... REVIEW! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Close," the girl smirked.

Soda took in her appearance that looked just like Aimee, but her eyes were cold and her lips were quirked up in a sneer.

"Martha," he whispered.

She nodded. "Apparently, you're not as dumb as you look. I'm here for a reason. Can you guess what that reason is?"

"I'm not gonna stay away from Aimee," Soda replied, calmly but firmly. Nothing anyone could do could change his mind.

Martha rolled her dark eyes. "I didn't expect you, too, but I have a deal for you, Soda." She knelt down on the sidewalk, her dress a millimeter above from the shimmering puddle of the blonde's blood.

"Look, Soda," she growled. "I have an advantage. My family's reputation will not be ruined by a filthy Greaser!" Her pointy shoes kicked his ribs and Soda gasped in pain.

"That's what this is all about?" He muttered, angrily. "Your family's reputation?! You don't care about Aimee's feelings at all, do you?"

Martha shrugged. "Honestly, not really, but I do know that everyone would be better off if she dated a respectable Soc like John Cabot." She gestured to the boy next to her.

He was tall and thin with dark hair and blue eyes that reflected something beyond anger. An emotion Soda couldn't place. He wore a yellow madris shirt and crisp jeans stained with scarlet liquid. His knuckles were coated in crimson and split.

"John Cabot?" Soda mumbled, remembering about that explorer he learned about in eighth grade. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on the situation at hand. "That's why you did this to me? Because I'm dating Aimee?"

John rolled his eyes. "Of course. No wonder you dropped out; you are dumb."

Soda's temper flared and he opened his mouth to spit out an insult, but something stopped him. There was a flash of emotion in John's eyes other than rage; a raw, open kind of sadness. John was angry, but more so... he was heart broken.

"Look, I can see you really like Aimee, but news flash, buddy. She doesn't like you back. If you don't move on, then, you're never gonna be happy, so stop wasting your time jumping Aimee's boyfriends and go find yourself someone to date other than Aimee Brown," Soda snarled. Wow, he sounded possessive and maybe even cruel, but hey, this guy had insulted Soda's intelligence! Look, Soda will admit he's not the brightest crayon in the box, but that doesn't mean he likes people pointing it out.

John's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but Martha cut him off.

"Enough about this!" She snapped. "Stay away from my sister or else!"

"Or else what?" Soda said in a false innocent voice.

He expected her to kick or hit him or maybe even tell John to do it, but he knew he was in trouble when Martha smiled coldly.

"Because I have leverage. You don't attend Will Rogers High School anymore and even if you did, you can't be with that little brother of your's all the time," she sneered.

Soda's heart dropped out of his chest. She was threatening Ponyboy! What was he going to do?

"You wouldn't dare," he snarled, his voice shaking with fear for his kid brother and anger that she had the nerve to use his family to keep him away from Aimee.

She smirked. "Oh, I would, Sodapop. Pony's only told you a fraction of the bullying he endures. And we'll make it even worse. Can you imagine how poor little Pony would feel when he finds out his big brother is the cause of it?"

"Leave Pony out of this!" He shouted. "He didn't do anything to you!"

"He killed Bob!" Martha snapped. "Randy broke up with me because he was grieving and he didn't want to drag me down with him! Well, guess what? If Ponyboy and that Johnny kid hadn't killed Bob, he wouldn't have broken up with me."

"Do you hear yourself, Brown?" Soda gaped. "That sounds beyond stupid!"

"It's true! Now, you heard me! Stay away from Aimee or Ponyboy will wish he died in that fire." With that final statement, she spun on her heel and stormed away from the bleeding, closely followed by a shocked John Cabot.

Soda groaned and stumbled to his feet, heading towards home. Of course, home was three blocks away and his entire body hurt like hell. And judging by the amount of blood and bruising, he must of looked like hell too.

The lights were off at the Curtis residence when he arrived home, meaning Darry and Pony were already in bed and he thanked whoever was listening. He may just get off.

Slowly, he creaked open the door, flicked on the light, and crept towards his bedroom.

"Where have you been?"

He spun around. "Darry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

But it wasn't Darry. It wasn't even Ponyboy. Dallas Winston was sitting on the couch with a first aid kit on his lap.

"Dally-"

"No questions. Sit and explain what happened tonight with Aimee, her twin, and that kid named after the explorer," Dally commanded.

"How did you know?"

"I saw it, Sodapop."

He was dead.

Martha smirked as she reclined in her desk chair, her arms behind her head as she went through tonight's events in her head.

Fool proof, and Aimee never had to know.

She stared down at the photo of Aimee and Sodapop seated together at the café and with an almost animalistic growl, flicked open a lighter. She held it up and slowly, began to burn away the part of the photograph that displayed Sodapop Curtis.

She couldn't let her family's reputation be ruined. Aimee did that enough by dating Greasers and riding around in beat up trucks with no good hoods. Martha was the only one that could restore the family reputation and social status. But she couldn't do it all alone; she needed her twin on her side.

She heard footsteps and the door creaked open. Soda had probably called his precious girlfriend and told her all about what Martha had done. Oh well, Martha better call her friends and give them the new victim of their torment: Ponyboy Curtis.

But, it wasn't Aimee. It wasn't her dad, nor was it her mom.

"Martha, we need to talk."

Shocked, Martha spun around to look into the bright, but rageful, green eyes of Cherry Valance.

thanks for reading and feel free to leave any suggestions for the story. This is going to be a very long story and I need some fill in the blanks, so just leave a suggestion. Thank you!