I am so inspired by the reviews I got! I cannot thank my oh mighty, clarissa, and Yehhhok enough for their kind words! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's going to have a lot of Tim and Lilyrose in it so be prepared. Please continue to review because it keeps me really motivated :D
It's been about four days since the gang and I got jumped, and things have settled down. It's Wednesday and I have to work in an hour, so I'm scramblin' around my room tryin' to find all my clothes. Darry yells at Soda and me to hurry up and I hop toward the door on one foot, tying my shoe and holdin' my apron in my teeth. I work down at the Dingo as a waitress, somethin' Darry doesn't like because it can get rough but I help pay the rent so he can't really complain much and it's summer so I have tons of free time. Soon I'm squeezed in between Darry and Soda in the old truck as we start toward the Dingo.
"Now remember, you wait till someone comes to get you after work before you start walkin' home, Lilyrose! I mean it, one of the guys will be there to pick you up and get you home," Darry says and I nod my head, staring out the front of the truck as my mind wanders.
"And if any of those no good Greasers bother you, let me know and I'll take care of 'em!" Soda says with a cheesy grin and I turn to him and laugh, knowing he was mostly joking. There was a part of Soda that was always serious, you just couldn't always see it, but I suppose having to pitch in to keep all of us together took its toll on him. We pull up in front of the Dingo and Soda hops out, extending his hand to help me down from the truck. When both my feet are on the ground I wave to Darry and give Soda a hug and kiss on the cheek before heading inside the diner. As soon as I put my apron on my boss Chuck yells at me to get started and put a smile on my face. The next four hours are long, with perverts and assholes coming in and harassin' me constantly. Currently, there was a particularly perverted Greaser trying to put the moves on me and I was starting to get seriously annoyed.
"If you're not gonna order anything and just harass me, then I think you need to leave," I huff out with a glare and he stops laughing with his friends about the most recent crude comment he's made.
"Really, now? You're gonna make me leave, sweet cheeks? How you gonna do that? I tell you what, you give me a little piece of that hot ass and I'll gladly get the hell outta here!" he says with a sneer and his friends start laughing. My face goes bright red and my eyes narrow in frustration as embarrassment makes my face turn red. I feel pain in my hands and realize I've been clutchin' my notepad and pen to my chest the entire time. I don't know what to say and in my own embarrassment and anger I didn't hear the door open and several people walk in right before the pervert made his most recent remark. A person appears in front of me, at least six inches taller than me, clad in a black leather jacket and torn up jeans. From behind I can't tell who it is but soon I see familiar people step up beside me and realize the man standin' in front of me is Tim Shepard, with his gang is surroundin' me.
"I'm not sure I like how you're talkin' to the lady, here, Gus," I hear Tim say after a short period of silence. I can hear the indifference in his voice and peek around him to see the pervert, apparently called Gus, starin' at the floor and clenching his jaw.
"Yeah, well, what's it matter to you?" Gus says, trying to sound cocky but he doesn't even look up from the floor.
"That ain't none of your business, now I suggest you get the fuck outta here before I beat your ass," Tim says, his voice deep and booming. Gus and his buddies shuffle out the door and Tim watches them get in their crappy car and leave before turning around to face me.
"How long was he givin' you trouble?" he asks after staring at my face for a few seconds, sounding angry. I just look up at him and sigh, running a hand through my hair which is curly today because of the humidity.
"Just a few minutes. Thanks for that but I could of handled him," I say with a small huff at being treated like a little girl who can't take care of herself and he nods before leadin' his gang over to a booth and sitting down. It's only when everyone resumes talkin' that I realized everyone had stopped to watch the whole confrontation with Gus and I turn red again in embarrassment and frustration, knowin' everyone saw Tim 'rescue' me. I walk back into the kitchen to get a hold of myself before walkin' out to the table the Shepard gang was at.
"What can I get for you guys?" I ask, smiling and writing down their orders as they start to talk. The entire time I kept my eyes on my notepad, feelin' Tim's stare on my face, and feelin' very self-conscious. An hour later the Dingo starts to close and I find myself sneakin' glances at Tim who is finally gettin' ready to leave with his gang. I sigh once they get in their cars and leave, slumpin' against the counter and pushing back some hair that fell out of my ponytail. Soon I'm standin' outside, waiting for one of the guys to pick me up and I eagerly jump in the car when Steve roars up in his piece of crap car. He starts laughing when I jump in excitedly and I whack him on the arm, clickin' my seatbelt on and slumpin' in my seat as I give out a yawn.
"Long day?" Steve asks with a smirk, glancin' at me before returning his eyes to the road. Sodapop and I have been best friends with Steve ever since we could remember, causin' people to sometimes call us the troublesome three.
"You have no idea! Know that guy Gus? He's short with long hair so greasy it drips?" I say before askin' about the pervert nonchalantly like I didn't really care and Steve looks over at me again, this time with narrowed eyes.
"He botherin' you, Lily?" he asks and I sigh, rollin' my eyes.
"He was. Then Tim Shepard stepped in and he left the Dingo, so it's not really a big deal! But it ain't like I couldn't have taken care of him myself!" I say, stressing the fact that I would have handled it had Tim not stepped in. We pull into the driveway and hop out, Steve practically runnin' to the door and me shufflin' my aching feet with a groan. I eventually make it into the house, letting my bag drop to the floor just inside the door before I shuffle over to Darry who's relaxing in the recliner, and drop down onto his lap. I curl my legs up onto Darry's lap as well and he puts his arms around me as I let my head fall onto his shoulder. My eyes have started to drift shut when Steve opens his big, stupid trap.
"Gus was botherin' Lilyrose today!" he practically yells out and I groan when Darry tenses for a moment then relaxes.
"And when exactly were you gonna tell us this, Lily?" Ponyboy asks and I sigh, burrowing deeper into Darry before startin' to speak, my voice muffled.
"He was making some rude comments but Tim Shepard stepped in and made him stop and leave. Even if Tim hadn't been there I would have handled him!" I say and Dally starts coughing, sounding like he's hackin' up a lung. Two-Bit starts thumpin' him on the back and Dally is finally able to speak. I realize he had been taking a drag of his cigarette when I explained about Gus.
"Well, this is somethin' I never thought I'd see happen!" Dally says in a hoarse voice, laughing before lighting up another cigarette with a smirk on his face.
"Dal, what in the hell are you talkin' 'bout" Two-Bit asks after he takes another swig of the beer in his hand and Dally's smirk gets even bigger as he chuckles.
"There's only one reason Shepard would step up to defend a lady, and that's 'cause he likes her," he says with a smirk and I turn beet red, slippin' off Darry's lap and walkin' to my room ignoring the laughs and whistles comin' from behind me. I change into my pajamas before collapsin' on my bed next to Lucky who wakes up from her nap and moves to sleepin' on my stomach. I click off my bedside lamp and slowly drift off to sleep to the sounds of the gang laughin' and Lucky purring.
Time Jump - - Time Jump - - Time Jump
"C'mon Rosebud it's time to get up! You didn't eat dinner last night so you need some food in you!" Darry yells, his voice shattering the dream I was havin' about kittens and this beautiful meadow. I roll over onto my back, starin' up at the ceiling for a few minutes before rolling out of bed and landin' on my feet awkwardly. I grab my purple fuzzy robe off the back of my door and stumble down the hallway and into the bathroom, half awake. After scrubbing my hair and body down with my rose scented stuff I wrap myself up in the robe and walk back to my room. I decide on some tight jean capri pants with a few holes and rips in them along with a coral colored shirt with white lace detail around the collar. I shrug on a white button-up sweater before goin' to sit at my white vanity covered in a bunch of pictures of the gang and my mom and dad. I put on some eyeliner and mascara before braiding my hair down my back quickly. I slip on some clean white socks before runnin' into the kitchen with a smile on my face. I jump onto Soda's back and he stumbles from where he was standin' by the kitchen counter.
"Mornin' sleepin' beauty!" Soda says and I give him a kiss on the cheek before slidin' off his back and walkin' out the archway to sit at the table where Darry was glaring at me.
"Lilyrose the next time you skip out on dinner I'll tan your hide! You understand?" Darry says, foldin' open the newspaper but still glarin' at me over the top of it. I roll me eyes and plop down in a chair next to Ponyboy who gives me a small smile and mumbled 'good morning'.
"Alright Darry, I'm sorry it won't happen again," I say and scoop some eggs onto my plate. After we all eat breakfast Dally, who had shown up halfway through, and I decided to head down to the lot to see what was goin' on. Ponyboy and Johnny end up taggin' along but I don't mind, the more the merrier! We talk about random stuff and I scold Ponyboy for smokin' so much until we get to the lot. What I see doesn't really surprise me but I still tense up. The Shepard gang, along with some other greasers, is facing a group of Socs. I slide my hand into the front pocket of Dally's leather jacket and take out Ponyboy's blade I put in there for safekeeping, slippin' it to Ponyboy quietly just in case things got too rough.
"Ponyboy, Johnny, why don't you guys take Rosie to see that new movie at the theatre you were talkin' about," Dally says, smirking at us and I smile at him while I nod. The three of us turn around to leave but a few Socs appear right behind us, blockin' us in.
"How come whenever I leave the house somethin' bad like this always happens?" I ask quietly and Dally laughs, sauntering up behind me.
"Come on boys, why don't we let the lady go? Make it more fun for all of us!" Dally says loudly and the Socs glare at him.
"I think she should stay, we could make this a big party! What do you say boys?" one of the Socs yells out, laughin' obnoxiously and his friends join him. Soon enough, we're standing with our fellow greasers as the brawl begins. I duck down, tryin' to avoid flying fists and crawl towards the open area around the fight. I lean against the trunk of a tree, waitin' for the fight to be over and watching for Dally, Johnny, and Ponyboy amongst the chaos. Suddenly one of the greasers is shoved out of the circle and I recognize that it's Tim. A Soc comes bargin' out of the circle after him, and I wince when he lands a solid punch to Tim's jaw. After a few more hits from the Soc, Tim is closer to me and one last punch sends him into me knockin' us both down. I'm on my back as Tim holds himself above me, looking at me with cold eyes but they soften when I flinch. I see the Soc appear above Tim and I squeeze my eyes shut, hearin' the guy kick Tim in the stomach. I feel Tim collapse on top of me and open my eyes to see he's been knocked unconscious from a blow to his head. I lock my arms around him in a hug and start rollin' us away from the Soc. I can only roll us a few feet because Tim is pretty heavy but the Soc has started to retreat along with his friends. I hear a groan and look next to me to Tim blinkin' his eyes slowly before lookin' over at me. He heaves himself up quickly, offering me a hand without a word and pullin' me to my feet in one swift move like I weighed no more than a feather.
"You okay? You took a pretty nasty hit to the head," I ask, stoppin' him before he walked away. I don't know what made me ask him but I guess I just wanted to know. He looks at me for a few seconds before answering.
"I'm fine. You should clean that cut below your eye, it looks dirty. You don't want it to get infected," he says before walkin' toward his gang. He spoke with no emotion on his face and only moved to point at the cut on my face. I am SO confused. Why would he care about my cut? How could he just get up and walk away after the beatin' he took? I guess that shows why Dally considers him a friend, he's pretty damn tuff. A little while later and we're headed back home, the three guys only havin' a few cuts and bruises.
"I'm proud of you Johnnycakes! You didn't even hesitate to get into that fight, I think you're finally getting back to your old self!" I say, loopin' my arm through Johnny's and givin' him a kiss on the cheek. His face turns red but I can see him smile a little.
"Th-Thanks, Lilyrose. Guess I just felt like I had to," Johnny says quietly, almost whispering and I smile at him. We relay the happenings of the day to everyone back at home before I start collectin' laundry from my room.
"If you guys want your laundry done come bring it to the washroom!" I yell through the house and start loadin' the washer, adding some of Soda's dirty laundry to mine when he appears with a full laundry basket. Pony and Darry follow soon after, each givin' me a kiss on the cheek as I start folding the clothes I had left in the dryer a couple of days ago. Soon I have the dryer empty and a few stacks of fresh, folded clothes sitting on the old wooden table in the corner of the washroom. I switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer and start another load before headin' out to the living room. I can smell chicken cooking and assume Darry is making dinner for tonight. Halfway through an old episode of Mickey Mouse complete with Two-Bit commentary the doorbell rings, and I know it's not one the guys from our gang because they always just barge right in. I get up to get the door but Steve is already there swingin' the door open and eating a piece of chocolate cake, his teeth caked in the stuff. He grins at whoever it is and invites them inside, callin' for Darry to come to the door. Lo and behold, Tim Shepard steps through the door with a few guys from his gang followin' behind him. His eyes scan the room, ending on me and we just stare at each other. Flashes of him lyin' over me earlier today flash through my mind makin' me want to shrink into the couch in embarrassment. Could this day get any more awkward?
Okay guys, I feel okay about this chapter although I know it's shorter than the previous chapter. If you see any grammar mistakes or there are things that don't make since just let me know so I can fix them! Please review, I'd love to know if I'm on the right track or if I should try and redo any parts!
LilCrafty6 :D