All My Dreams Fulfilled Chapter 10, an outsiders fanfic

After a few more hours at the lake, we all drove back to the Curtis' house, where, Two-Bit being Two-Bit, decided that we should all play truth or dare.

"C'mon guys!" he encouraged. "It'll be fun!"

"Will it really, though?" I asked.

"Yes, it will. Now, everyone sit on your asses."

Some of us laughed, while some rolled their eyes at him. Some did both (namely me). But we all sat down in a deformed circle in the Curtis' living room.

"As long as nobody prank calls anyone asking for cats", Darry started, looking at Ruth and the rest of us girls, "I think we should be alright."

"I'm gonna start since I came up with this amazing idea", Two-Bit announced as he searched the circle for his first victim. His eyes eventually landed on Steve and a maniacal grin spread across his face

"Oh, hell no", Steve said and shook his head defiantly.

"Oh, hell yes, my compadre. Truth or dare?"

"Dare, goddamnit. I ain't no sissy."

Two-Bit thought of a suitable dare for much longer than was needed.

"Would you just hurry it up already?" Ruth asked, exasperated.

"Fine. Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Do an impersonation of Pony."

Steve looked to his right, seeing Ponyboy.

"Oh this is too easy", he laughed. He got up, went into Pony and Soda's room and came back with a book before spreading out on the couch and opening up the book, pretending to read. He stayed like that, flipping pages every now and then, for about 3 minutes. We just stared at him until Two-Bit spoke up.

"Okay, we get the point", he chuckled. "Pone likes to read. Now sit back down."

Steve tossed the book onto the coffee table and sat back down, scanning the circle.

"Darry, truth or dare?"

"I guess I'll choose dare", he sighed.

"Switch shirts with Ruth for the rest of the game."

Darry and Ruth looked at each other before standing up and going into the other room. When they came back a few minutes later, Ruth was wearing Darry's red T-shirt that covered her all the way to the hem of her shorts. Then Darry came out with Ruth's stretchy white blouse on, which rode up a good 4 inches above the waistline of his jeans. We all started laughing hysterically when we saw him, even Darry himself. I guess he realized how ridiculous it must have looked.

Once we finally calmed down enough to speak properly, Darry turned to Soda and asked "Truth or dare?"

"I think you know my answer to that one, big brother", Soda told him and cocked an eyebrow.

"What is it with you boys and dares?" Rachel asked. "I swear…"

"Do jumping jacks until your next turn." We all knew this wouldn't be a problem for Soda since he was always moving anyway.

Sodapop got up and started doing jumping jacks, causing pictures on the walls and the T.V to shake and rattle.

"Okay", Darry interrupted his brother. "Maybe in the kitchen instead. Where I can see you."

Soda jogged over to the kitchen and started doing jumping jacks again, this time not making the house seem like it was in the midst of an earthquake.

"Ash, truth or dare?" he asked.

"Truth", she answered.

"You're no fun", he laughed. "Um…Did you have a nickname when you were a kid?"

"Oh! Oh! I know it", I exclaimed and raised my hand.

"You wouldn't dare", Ashlynn said.

"You damn-well know that I would. Either you tell 'em or I do."

She sighed heavily. "Pooh."

Soda stopped his athletics in shock. Nobody called him out for it, though since everyone was staring at Ashlynn in either confusion or disgust.

"What? You were called poo? Like crap?"

"No! P-O-O-H", she spelled out. "As in Winnie the Pooh. My mom used to call me that when I was little."

I was giggling relentlessly and everyone was giving me odd looks.

"You okay there, darlin'?" Pony asked with a smile as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah", I wheezed out. "Just gimme a minute." And so I laughed and laughed for another few minutes until I calmed down.

"Are you satisfied now?" Ashlynn asked me.

"Oh, you have no idea."

The game went on like this for a while, the boys mostly doing dares and the girls usually doing truth. Ruth and Rachel were the bravest out of all of us. They were the ones that did any dares. The only boy that didn't do any dares was Ponyboy. Sure, he wasn't the best in the common sense department, but at least he had enough to not choose dare. Everyone seemed to like asking the two of us inappropriate questions, whether it was a truth or a dare.

"Lily, truth or dare?" Steve asked me.

"Truth."

"What base have you Pony gone to?" This got him a light slap upside the head from his wife.

"Um…I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I know that there are 'bases'. I just don't know what each of them means", I told him, using finger quotations around "bases".

Steve leaned over and whispered in my ear what each of them meant, causing me to blush.

"First", I said finally. "Just first."

"Damn, Pony", Steve laughed. "I thought more of you." And that caused both Pony and I to slap him upside the head.

"Truth or dare?" Two-Bit asked Pony a bit later.

"Dare! Dare! Dare! Dare!" everyone chanted, except Pony and I, of course. They carried on like this for a good 5 minutes before Pony finally relented. Hey, I said he had some common sense, not that he was immune to peer pressure.

"I dare you too…" Two-Bit started, then acquired the single most devious facial expression I had ever seen on a human being. "I dare you to take Lily into the closet and play Seven Minutes in Heaven."

Pony and I both blushed and looked at each other.

"I'm not gonna make you, y'know, darlin'. You don't have to."

I shook my head and stuttered over my words a bit. "N-no. It's okay."

We stood up and went into Soda and Pony's room, closing the door.

"Alright, I'm settin' the timer for seven minutes!" Two-Bit called. "Ready. Set. Go!"

We just sat on the bed, not really talking for a minute or so.

"How the hell did we get into this?" Pony questioned me.

"I wish I knew, honey", I answered honestly.

"We could just sit in here and talk if you want to. It's not like they'll know as long as we're quiet."

It was so incredibly sweet and endearing of him that even after almost three years of being together, he still asked for my permission to do stuff like this. He would never make me do anything that I didn't want to, and I was so thankful for that. In many ways, our relationship was just as innocent as it had been that first night sitting out on the Curtis' back steps while we watched the sunset.

"We don't have to make out", I told him. "We can kiss and talk and just do the regular stuff we do when we're alone."

He simply took my hand and gave me a sweet kiss on the lips. It didn't last very long, maybe 10 seconds, but it took my breath away just like all of his kisses did.

I rested my head on his shoulder and rubbed my thumb over his knuckles. "Did you have a good birthday?"

"I had a wonderful birthday", he told me and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I was with all of y'all. Especially you. That's what makes it good."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you", he said, kissing my forehead. "I love you, you know that?"

"I think I mighta gotten a clue", I smiled. "But you know what?"

He looked at me expectantly.

"I love you too", I told him.

"I'd be concerned if you didn't, darlin'."

Even though I had lived my entire life in Oklahoma, I never really picked up on the accent. Well, not as much as everyone else did. Namely my own boyfriend. Sure, he'd had a Southern accent since he had lived here his whole life and there was nobody to alter it like there was for me with my parents' accents, but in that past year or so, it had become thicker and sweeter, more noticeable. It was just about as thick as anyone's accent in Tulsa could get and it was my undoing. It positively made me melt. Especially when he called me "darlin'". Then when his voice broke along with his accent getting stronger, I thought it would be the death of me.

I could only hope that our kids would develop his accent and not mine. Mine almost wasn't natural. It was a strange combination that never sounded nice. Oklahoma's sweet, warm accent was like the Indian summers that happened there almost every year. Boston's accent was colder and harsher like the blizzards that happened up there during the winter which my parents had relayed tales about time and time again. My accent was like the Indian summer had come up north during a blizzard, turning all the snow to slush. That's what it was: slush. Not able to decide whether it was a liquid or a solid. Just slush. Our kids didn't need that.

When I broke out of my reverie, I looked over at Pony, finding him lost in thought too. I loved that we could do that, just sit in complete silence with our own thoughts and not feel distant. It was a nice change from all the talking I did when I was with my family or the gang.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" he asked me.

"Just stuff", I shrugged.

"Two more minutes, kiddos!" Two-Bit shouted from the living room. "If any clothes are off, start puttin' 'em back on!" Then I heard a slap and an "Ouch!" that I could only assume was either Sodapop or Darry smacking him.

"Wanna give 'em a show?" Pony asked, a mischievous glint in his green eyes. I knew exactly what he meant.

"Sure. Why not?" I smiled before leaning up and cupping his cheek, kissing him. He smiled into the kiss and put his hand lightly on the back of my neck. I shuddered at the feeling of my cold still-damp hair again my warm skin, causing him to laugh.

"You okay?" he muttered against my lips.

"Yeah", I laughed slightly. "My hair's just cold."

He chuckled and went back to kissing me. It only took a few seconds for the timer to go off and Two-Bit to bust open the door. We didn't jump apart, just pulling away like we did every other time.

"Your clothes aren't on backwards", Two-Bit observed, "and your hair isn't a mess. So either y'all didn't make out or you're just real good at gettin' ready fast."

"It's the first one", Pony told him and led me back out to the circle of people.

"Didn't I say Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Two-Bit laughed.

"Yeah. And?"

"That means you make out."

"Well, how were we supposed to know that?" I asked innocently. "It's not like we've ever played before."

I showered while the game continued, wanting to get the grime out of my hair. I always enjoyed the lake, I just didn't enjoy the fact that there was dirt and gross stuff in there all the time. Mom always said she understood what I meant. She liked the ocean when she went to Cape Cod better than lakes because it just felt cleaner with the tides and currents washing dirt and seaweed away.

When I got out of the shower, I grabbed my pajamas and slipped them on, along with some new undergarments. It felt nice after being in a bathing suit all day. I brushed out my hair before going back out into the living room, seeing Rachel hopping around like a madwoman.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked her, genuinely confused and concerned for my friend's safety.

"She got dared to put ice down her pants", Evie responded. Her hand rested on her stomach and I could only guess that the baby was kicking.

"Rachel Johnson, why would you do a stupid thing like that?" I questioned and went into what the gang referred to as "mom-mode", putting my hands on my hips and cocking my head with an expression that very clearly read "What the hell are you doing?".

"Because I was dared. Didn't you hear Evie?" She continued to hop around as she talked.

"You're gonna get a rash down there, I'm tellin' you right now", I warned her. She just waved me off.

Pony pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me. "I like your outfit."

My pajamas consisted of his football jersey that I had kept and a pair of pajama shorts. I would have chosen something with longer sleeves to hide my scars, but I figured that everyone had all seen the worst of them today, so just seeing the scars on my arm couldn't be too bad.

"What?" I laughed as I tugged slightly at the jersey. "This old thing?"

"Yeah, that old thing", he smiled and kissed my cheek.

I rested my head on his shoulder before he picked me up and lay me down on the couch. I looked up at him confusedly.

"I'm gonna go take a shower", he explained. "I'll be right back. Then you can sleep on me all you want."

"Good", I responded, curling up into a ball.

He went and took his shower and was back in about 10 minutes wearing a wife-beater and a pair of sweatpants. He looked adorable to me, especially when he came over and wrapped me up in his arms.

"You wanna go to bed?" he asked.

"Mm-hm", I hummed with a nod.

"Darry, where's everyone sleeping?"

Darry looked up at him, then down at his watch. "I think we should wrap it up, y'all. It's gettin' late."

Everyone but Rachel, Two-Bit, Soda, and Steve nodded.

"So where're we all sleepin'?" Pony repeated.

"Steve and Evie can go into Mom and Dad's room since that bed's the biggest", Soda suggested.

"We don't have to", Evie said. "I don't wanna mess with their privacy."

"No, it's fine", Darry assured them. "Y'all need the space. Me and Ruth'll sleep in my room."

"I call Soda and Pony's room!" Two-Bit announced.

"Fine, but I sleep in that bed, so don't you go'n do anything", Soda told him, Pony nodding in agreement. He looked like he was falling asleep right along with me.

"Me and Soda'll take the recliner or the floor since Lily and Pony look just about ready to conk out right now", Ashlynn said.

"No, it's okay", I told her, slurring my words in my exhaustion. "We-we can move."

"Y'all just stay there", Darry ordered. "Get some sleep."

Pony nodded against the crook of my neck, which he had buried his head into while I had done the same to him. He lay down on his side, his body between me and the back of the couch. I snuggled my head into his chest and was too tired to care about all the noise everybody else was making. He lightly kissed my forehead and pulled me closer.

"I love you, honey", I told him as I drifted off.

"I love you too, darlin'. And I always will", he said back and almost immediately, we were both asleep.

XxXxXxXxXx

Steve and Evie got the house they had been hoping for the next week. We all went over and had a small housewarming party for them.

"It's just so quiet", Evie mused.

"Just wait", Darry told them. "Soon this house'll be anything but quiet with the baby."

"I'm looking forward to him, though", Evie smiled down at her stomach.

"Her", Steve smirked.

"Him", she said, giving her husband a knowing look.

A few weeks later, we went back to school and I decided to try something. Since nobody had said anything about my scars, I figured that I would wear short sleeves and not put any makeup on my scars for the first time in years. I had a sweater with me, though, just in case.

While he, Ashlynn, and I walked to school, he finally noticed.

"Darlin', I dunno if you know, but you didn't put any makeup on your scars", he whispered.

"I know", I said shyly. "I figured I would try it out and see if anyone notices. Are they bad?"

"No", he quickly assured me. "No, not at all. You look as beautiful as ever. Maybe even more."

"Thanks, honey", I blushed. "You think I'll be okay?"

"I know you'll be okay."

Sure enough, he was right. Nobody noticed or cared about my scars. As school continued, I started not covering up my scars as much.

Ponyboy tried out and got into football again soon after the school year started and stayed after school practically every day for practice.

Madame Evelyn had offered me the teaching position, along with Ashlynn and we both accepted. So about a week after school started we taught our first class which consisted of six little girls: Diana, Debby, Kelly, Jane, Isabella, and Virginia.

A few weeks later, the football team had their first game, which they lost. Pony was pretty torn up about it.

"I just feel like I let 'em down, y'know?" he told me that night.

"It's not your fault, love. Not by a long shot. You did really great, but things happen. There's always next week and the week after that and the week after that and every week until the season ends", I assured him, laying my head on his shoulder.

"I guess so", he sighed as he put his head on top of mine.

"I love you, honey", I told him.

"I love you too, darlin'", he said back and kissed my head. "Thanks for cheerin' me up."

"You're welcome", I smiled.

XxXxXxXxXx

About a month after school started, it was Pony and I's three-year anniversary. Luckily, we didn't have to worry about any surprise visits from social services. It was a school night and we couldn't stay out late, so we simply went to dinner at Dairy Queen after work which was perfectly fine with me.

On my birthday when we were at school, I noticed flyers up everywhere that said that the school would be putting on a performance of the play The Diary of Anne Frank and anyone that wanted to audition could go to the auditorium and audition in a week.

On the way home from school that day, I was gushing to Ashlynn about how excited I was about it. I would have been going on to Pony too, but he had practice.

"You should try out", she told me.

"No", I said sharply.

"Why not?"

"I'm not good at going up in front of people."

"What the hell are you talkin' about? We go up on stage every year for the show and last year we did it for Swan Lake."

"I just feel like I'd feel stupid acting in front of all those people. And what if I have to sing?"

"How much do you think you'll be singing in a play about Anne Frank? Answer me honestly."

"Not much", I admitted, "but what if-"

"Just try it. The worst that could happen is you don't get in."

"But what if I completely suck at acting in front of everyone? If I screw up big time?"

"They wouldn't put you in period if you sucked. If you don't audition, I'm gonna make you audition."

"Fine", I sighed, quickly adding, "but you have to be there."

"Wouldn't miss it", she smirked.

So a week later, Ashlynn, Ponyboy, and I were walking to the auditorium so I could audition. He miraculously didn't have practice that day, so he insisted on coming, which I wasn't opposed to. It even reassured me a bit that he would be there.

When we got into the auditorium, there was someone on stage that was giving a very impassioned reading of what I could only assume was Mrs. Van Daan's role. We stood silently at the doorway until she finished, prompting the people sitting down, along with a young blonde woman to applaud her before noticing us.

"Hello", she chirped. "Are y'all auditioning?"

"Just her", Ashlynn said and pushed me forward, causing me to glare at her a little.

"Wonderful", the woman said. "I'm Mrs. Rote."

"I'm Lily Smith", I told her.

"And what role will you be auditioning for?"

"Anne", I said shyly, hoping it wouldn't be too pretentious to say that I was going for the title role.

"Sounds great. There aren't many people going for her. I'm guessin' it just seems daunting", Mrs. Rote rambled as she thumbed through a stack of papers, finally pulling one out and hopping out of her chair, walking towards me. "You'll be reading last, dear, but while you're waiting you can read through the script."

As Mrs. Rote walked towards me, I got a better look at her. She was only about 5'2 and was a little bigger than me weight-wise. Her navy-blue pencil skirt clung to her legs while the sleeves of her flowy white blouse moved with every move she made. She seemed very nice and young. She was straight out of college that year, I had heard.

"Here you go, Lily. It's nice to meet you", she told me with a smile and shook my hand. "Now who are your friends?"

"This is my boyfriend, Ponyboy Curtis, and this is my best friend, Ashlynn Young", I said, putting a hand on their arms as I introduced them.

"It's nice to meet y'all", Mrs. Rote told them, shaking their hands too. "Now, just sit back and relax until it's time for you to go up."

I nodded thankfully and we all sat in the back row of seats. All the other people that were auditioning were sitting near the front.

"You excited?" Pony asked, taking my hand and intertwining our fingers.

"Yeah, but I'm really nervous too", I admitted as I opened the script.

"A wise woman once told me that it's good to be nervous."

"And who was that?"

"You", he smiled and kissed my temple.

I read through the script as people auditioned, trying to block out their voices and the applause that came after each reading, even if they were bad. After who knows how long, I was called up.

"Lily Smith, auditioning for Anne", Mrs. Rote announced. Everyone turned towards me, making me blush.

"Break a leg", Pony said, giving me a quick kiss.

"Thanks, honey", I told him.

Ashlynn squeezed my arm reassuringly before I walked up the auditorium aisle and onto the stage.

"So, Lily…" Mrs. Rote trailed off while she flipped through the script, presumably looking for something for me to read. "Could you please read Anne's opening monologue? Starting where her and Mr. Frank are both speaking."

I nodded and found the page, taking a deep breath before starting to read. "My father started a business, importing spice and herbs. Things went well for us until nineteen forty. Then the war came, and the Dutch capitulation, followed by the arrival of the Germans. Then things got very bad for the Jews. You could not do this and you could not do that. They forced Father out of his business. We had to wear yellow stars. I had turn in my bike. I couldn't go to a Dutch school anymore. I couldn't go to the movies, or ride in an automobile, or even on a street-car, and a million other things. But somehow we children still managed to have fun. Yesterday Father told me we were going into hiding. Where, he wouldn't say. At five o'clock this morning Mother woke me and told me to hurry and get dressed. I was to put on as many clothes as I could. It would look too suspicious if we walked along carrying suitcases. It wasn't until we were in our way that I learned where we were going. Our hiding place was to be upstairs in the building where Father used to have his business. Three other people are coming in with us…the Van Daans and their son Peter…Father knew the Van Daans but we had never met them…"

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Rote praised. "Now go to Act One, Scene Three where Anne comes out in Peter's clothes. I'll be Peter."

I flipped through the pages, finally finding the one she was taking about and smiling to myself as I started to read. "Good evening, everyone. Forgive me if I don't stay. I have a friend waiting for me in there. My friend Tom. Tom Cat. Some people say that we look alike. But Tom has the most beautiful whiskers, and I only have a little fuzz. I am hoping…in time…"

The other were all laughing at the scene and it took all I had not to break out into laughter too.

"All right, Mrs. Quack Quack!" Mrs. Rote said provokingly.

"Peter!" I yelled.

"I heard about you…How you talked so much in class they called you Mrs. Quack Quack. How Mr. Smitter made you write a composition… 'Quack, Quack', said Mrs. Quack Quack'."

"Well, go on. Tell them the rest. How it was so good he read it out loud to the class and then read it to all his other classes!"

"Quack! Quack! Quack…Quack…Quack…"

"You are the most intolerable, insufferable boy I've ever met!"

Mrs. Rote didn't say any dialogue after that, just applauding along with everyone else. I assumed I was done, so I nodded in thanks since a blush was rapidly making its way across my face.

"Wonderful job, Lily. Thank you", she told me before announcing the person to audition. "Now Sarah Well, auditioning for Anne."

As I sat down, a tall brunette walked up to the stage and was instructed on what to read. Now, I didn't think I did perfectly, but I felt like I did better than Sarah. She read everything correctly, but just didn't seem to have any passion or feeling while speaking. She was the last person to audition.

"Alright", Mrs. Rote stared as she climbed up onto the stage so she could be seen. "I'll make my decisions over the next few days and the cast will be up on the school bulletin board on Monday during lunch. Thank y'all for auditioning and have a good night."

"You're definitely gettin' that role", Pony told me on our way to my house.

"You think so?" I asked.

"Totally", Ashlynn said.

XxXxXxXxXx

Those next few days were riddled with anxiety. I wanted that role badly, no matter what I said, and could only hope that I would get it.

On Monday, I jogged down the halls to the bulletin board with Ashlynn and Ponyboy trailing behind me.

"Slow down!" Pony told me. "We could get caught by a teacher."

"We're almost there", I reminded him. I turned the last corner and skidded to a halt when I saw everyone that had auditioned in a mob. I cautiously walked over and squeezed through the people to look at the casting list.

My eyes scanned over the roles until I got to Anne. My eyes read every letter of the name of the person that got the part so I wouldn't accidentally skip over anything. It was my name.

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened as I read it over and over again.

Anne Frank: Lily Smith

Some of the crowd had dispersed and I felt new people come in.

"What is it, darlin'? Did you get it?" Pony asked from behind me.

I whipped around and nodded, a huge smile making its way onto my face.

He laughed and picked me up in a hug, spinning me around. "I knew you'd get it! I knew it!"

"See? If I hadn't made you audition, this wouldn't be happening", Ashlynn told me knowingly when Pony put me down.

"You suck, but I love you, Ash", I laughed as I gave her a hug.

"Love you too, ya big goof", she laughed.

Rehearsals were Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so on those days Ashlynn stayed in the auditorium and watched while Pony had practice. Then we all walked home together before going to work.

The boy who was playing Peter was a junior named Roger Davis and he was a Soc. He was also annoying as all hell. He was a good actor, but he wanted everything his way and seemed to think everything revolved around him. He also found it fun to hit on me all the time, even though it was a well-known fact that I had a boyfriend. He especially did it between scenes when we were reviewing our lines. It must have looked like we were just talking, because nobody bothered us or questioned his behavior.

About a month after Pony and I's three-year anniversary and only about a week after the anniversary of Johnny and Dally's deaths, he took it too far.

Ashlynn had caught a cold, so she wasn't in school that day. Roger took full advantage of this fact and hit on me every chance he got and worse than usual, whispering disgusting things in my ear and putting his hand on my upper thigh.

"Stop it", I told him sternly. "I have a boyfriend."

"C'mon, you know you want me", he smirked.

"No, I don't, actually", I said as I scooted my chair farther away from him.

He went on like that until rehearsal was over and everyone was packing up. Everyone was gone except for him and I since he had his own car and I was waiting for Pony to get out of practice.

I switched the strap of my bag from my right to my left shoulder to distribute the weight as I stood near the doorway of the auditorium. Suddenly, I felt something. I turned to Roger in outrage. That little piece of crap had smacked my butt.

"Excuse me?" I said, trying to control my voice. "What the hell was that?"

"Just tryin' to show you how much I like your ass", he told me, moving closer. "Your tits are pretty nice too. Mind showing me them?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, you little pervert?"!" I yelled at him.

He strode over to me, ripped my bag off of my shoulder, and started groping my butt with one hand and my breasts with the other.

"Get off of me, you bastard!" I screamed and struggled against him. The arm that was around me wasn't loosening its hold, no matter how much I fought against him. I started cussing him out with practically every nasty word I knew, which there were a lot of.

I hated the way he looked at me. It was the same way those Socs had looked at me when they had jumped me three years before: like a hungry wolf that just spotted its next meal.

I continued to try and wiggle free of his grasp, but he just took the arm of the hand he was using to feel my chest and wrapped it tightly around my back, groping my other breast since it could be reached. Curses kept streaming out of my mouth and tears were coming to my eyes.

I'm going to be raped, I thought. I'm going to be raped by this bastard.

"Let me go, you asshole!" I yelled between gritted teeth.

"Oh, those kinds of words shouldn't be comin' outta that pretty little mouth", he said. "I know how to fix that." He proceeded to start kissing me, shoving his tongue down my throat. I screamed, but it was muffled by his mouth. When I tried to bite his tongue, he pulled me closer and groped me harder, causing me to gasp and whimper in pain. I could already tell there were going to be bruises.

I hated him. I hated this boy so much.

"What the hell is this?" I heard a voice roar. Roger's grip on me disappeared and I finally got loose from him, only to turn away from him and see my boyfriend. His fists were clenched, his jaw was set, and he looked ready to pounce. His normally sweet green eyes were hard and icy.

Suddenly, I realized what it must have looked like to him.

"Pony, it's not what it looks like", I told him. When I reached towards him, he pulled away. My heart shattered in my chest.

"Like hell, it isn't!" Pony yelled. "You're cheating on me with this prick! You betrayed my trust!" He stormed out of the room and ran down the hall. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Now…", Roger drawled, "where were we?"

Since I was free, I fought back with all my strength, seeing him in the groin and punching him in the face. "Go to hell, you son of a bitch!"

Before I knew it, my bag was over my shoulder and I was sprinting down the hall as I sobbed my eyes out. I knew where I needed to go: the Curtis' house. Ponyboy would be there. I was sure of it.

My skirt flew behind me and I stumbled and almost tripped several times due to the tears streaming down my face hindering my vision. But I knew where I was going and I was going to get there if it killed me.

My breaths came out in pants as I ran down Pony's street, finally coming to his house and bursting through the door. I heard sobbing and I knew it was Ponyboy, which only made me cry harder.

I ran into his and Soda's room, only to see him sitting on his bed with his face in his hands. His body was racked with sobs.

"Ponyboy", I whimpered.

His head shot up and he glared daggers at me.

"Ponyboy", I repeated again, my voice coming out as only a hoarse whisper.

"Get out."

"No."

"What the hell do you want?"

"I-I want t-to explain", I stuttered over my words as I cried.

"I think I saw enough to get an explanation", he growled.

"Goddamnit!" I yelled. "No you didn't! You saw nothing!"

"I'm pretty damn sure I saw somethin'!" he yelled back.

"I wasn't doing anything! I was waiting for you and that asshole started groping me and feeling me up! He's been saying these awful things to me all day and he's always hitting on me! I kept telling him to get off, but he wouldn't listen! I want nothing to do with him. He can go to hell. I want you. I love you. I tell him that every time I see him, but he never listens! If you hadn't come he would've raped me! I hate him, that son of a bitch!"

I was sobbing and crying harder than I had in my entire life and had started to hyperventilate. I collapsed onto the floor and cried into my knees as I became increasingly light-headed.

The mattress groaned and squeaked and when I finally lifted up my head, I saw my boyfriend sitting next to me. His eyes were bloodshot and tears were still dripping out of them. His face was soft and reassuring as he lifted up a hand and lightly cupped my cheek.

"Is that true? Did he really do all that to you?" he asked softly.

Words wouldn't make their way out of my mouth, so I just nodded as tears continued to pour from my eyes.

We were silent for a while until l spoke. My voice was shaky and small, but I managed to get out an "I'm sorry".

"No", Pony muttered and scooted a little closer to me. "No, don't say that. It's not your fault, it's mine. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"It's not your fault either", I quietly insisted. "You had every right to jump to conclusions about what you saw."

"It's his fault", he said. "It's all his fault, the asshole."

I nodded in agreement.

"Come here", Pony whispered to me, wrapping me in his arms. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay."

This set off a whole new round of sobbing as I sat in his lap and cried into his neck. My arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and my fingers gripped at his hair. I felt like I needed something to anchor me and he was it.

"Stay with me", I whimpered.

"Forever, darlin'. Forever", he whispered and gently kissed my neck.

A few minutes later, he tilted up my head and searched my eyes before kissing me. It was soft at first, but evolved into more. I felt the opposite of what I had felt when Roger was kissing me, if it could even be called kissing. Roger had made me feel dirty and disgusting and like an object. All he wanted was to get in my pants. When Pony kissed me that all went away. I felt loved and protected and like a person. It made me feel whole.

The kiss wasn't gentle. It was desperate and hungry and rough and messy. Teeth clashed and hair was pulled. Yet it somehow maintained innocence. For what it lacked in carefulness and coordination, it made up for in emotion and love. The purpose seemed solely to be as close to one another as possible.

Pony lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his middle while his were holding me under my butt so I wouldn't fall. He carried me over to the bed where I was lain down. He hovered over me, propped up on his elbows with one hand on the back of my neck and the other on my back.

After a while, we pulled away, breathing heavily. Our lips were swollen and our faces were flushed.

"I love you", Ponyboy murmured against my lips. I didn't know why, but for some reason when he said it right then, I felt like it meant so much. Every time we said it to each other, we meant it, but I just felt like this time meant more somehow.

"I love you too", I told him, my voice breathy.

He lowered himself down on the bed next to me and pulled me into his arms. I put my forehead on his chest and felt his heartbeat. I loved knowing that he was there.

"We're late for work", I randomly said.

I could feel and hear Pony laugh. "They can live one day without us."

"Mm-hm", I hummed in agreement and nodded my head.

"I'm so sorry he did that to you, darlin'."

"I am too."

"I'm gonna kill him tomorrow when we get to school."

"I already punched him and kicked him in the crotch, but be my guest", I muttered into his T-shirt. "He deserves it."

That was when the phone rang. Pony got up and answered it. I could hear his side of the conversation.

"Hello?…Hey, Soda. I don't think I can come in today…I'll tell you later…Just tell him that I'm sick, okay?…Thanks, Pepsi-Cola. Can you call the bookstore and tell Evie that Lily's not coming either?…Thanks…I love you too."

He came back into bed and held me close again. "We don't have to worry about work now. I think it's been a long enough day as it is."

"Yeah", I sighed.

"I love you so much", he told me and kissed my head. "And I always will."

"I love you too. So much", I said. "And I always will."

(Ponyboy POV)

I had just finished football practice and was on my way to the auditorium to pick up my girlfriend so we could walk home. When I walked in I was greeted with the sight of her in a guy's arms. His tongue was down her throat and his hands were squeezing everywhere that they shouldn't have been.

"What the hell is this?" I screamed. I was so mad that I was seeing red.

They broke apart and Lily turned towards me. "Pony, it's not what it looks like."

"Like hell, it isn't! You're cheating on me with this prick. You betrayed my trust!" I ran out of the room and down the hall. I needed to get home. I needed to be alone.

I sprinted all the way to my house, busting through the door and chucking my bag onto the floor once I was in my room. I sat on my bed and started to cry. I thought she loved me like I loved her. Why would she do this to me?

A few minutes later, I heard the door slam open again, but paid it no mind. It was probably Soda or Two-Bit.

"Ponyboy", I heard a small voice say. I looked up to see my girlfriend. Tears were streaming down her face. My heart broke, but I made myself keep it inside. I'm mad at her, I reminded myself. She cheated.

She said my name again.

"Get out", I told her.

"No."

"What the hell do you want?"

"I-I want t-to explain", she stuttered.

"I think I saw enough to get an explanation", I said.

"Goddamnit!" she yelled. "No you didn't! You saw nothing!"

"I'm pretty damn sure I saw somethin'!"

I allowed my heart to openly break. Why did this stuff always happen to her? She didn't deserve this. I couldn't believe he tried to do that. It was wrong and despicable and disgusting. I felt awful for accusing her of cheating after she had had to deal with all of that.

Without a second thought, I got up and sat down on the floor next to her. She lifted her face up from her knees. Her beautiful brown eyes were filed with tears and heartbreak. Streaks of mascara were visible on her face.

"Is that true?" I asked her. "Did he really do all that to you?"

She nodded and I didn't know what to say. What was there to say?

"I'm sorry", she whimpered.

"No. No, don't say that", I told her, coming closer. "It's not your fault, it's mine. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"It's not your fault either", she told me. "You had every right to jump to conclusions about what you saw."

"It's his fault", I said. "It's all his fault, the asshole."

She just nodded again. She looked like she was about to break into a million little pieces.

"Come here", I encouraged. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay."

Lily moved into my lap and I held her while she cried into my neck. They were terrible, heart-wrenching sobs. She seemed so small and fragile. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her hands tangled into my hair. She was holding me so tight, I felt like she was going to break my neck, but I didn't care. I needed her and she needed me.

"Stay with me", she whimpered brokenly into my neck. This made my heart shatter even more.

"Forever, darlin'", I assured her. "Forever."

The two of us stayed like that for a while. She slowly calmed down in my arms and I could feel her breaths start to even out.

I lifted up her head and looked into her eyes. She seemed so broken, so tired. I couldn't think of anything to say so I kissed her. I kissed her deeply and lovingly, trying to fill all the cracks in her heart. It soon got rougher, more needy. I knew it was because we needed each other. We needed each other in the most innocent way possible. We needed each other to live.

She wasn't as tense in my arms and I could sense that she was more relaxed now, which in turn relaxed me. I picked her up and her legs wrapped around my middle as I brought her over to the bed. I knew nothing was going to happen, but I figured it would be more comfortable than the floor. She was lying under me and I propped myself up so I wouldn't crush her while we kissed.

After a while, we pulled apart.

"I love you", I told her, murmuring it against her lips. I always meant it when I said it to her and I could tell the same went for her, but I felt like it meant more this time. I couldn't put my finger on why.

"I love you too", she whispered.

I carefully moved from hovering over her to laying next to her and folded her into my arms as she rested her forehead on my chest.

"We're late for work", she told me.

That was the least of my concerns. "They can live one day without us", I laughed.

She agreed with a hum and nodded.

"I'm so sorry he did that to you, darlin'", I told her honestly.

"I am too."

"I'm gonna kill him tomorrow when we get to school."

"I already punched him and kicked him in the crotch, but be my guest. He deserves it", she said. I almost laughed. My tuff girl.

The phone rang and I reluctantly got up and answered it. "Hello?"

"It's Soda. Where are you?"

"Hey, Soda. I don't think I can come in today."

"What? Why not?"

"I'll tell you later."

"What about the boss-man?"

"Just tell him that I'm sick, okay?"

"Sure, Pony."

"Thanks, Pepsi-Cola. Can you call the bookstore and tell Evie that Lily's not coming either?"

"I guess so."

"Thanks."

"I love you, Pone."

"I love you too."

Lily was right where I left her when I got back into bed.

"We don't have to worry about work now", I told her. "I think it's been a long enough day as it is."

"Yeah", she agreed.

"I love you so much", I said, kissing her head. "And I always will."

"I love you too. So much", she said back. "And I always will."

Hey, guys! I know, it got kind of dark in this chapter, but I had this idea and I think it turned out pretty okay. Roger sucks, I think we can all agree on that. If your name is Roger, I mean no offense, it's just the first name that popped into my head. Baby Randle is coming soon and I'm honestly really excited to write that. All quotes from the Diary of Anne Frank play go to their owners, as do rights to The Outsiders. I love y'all and stay gold!- AthenaRavelclaw13