Time absolutely flew by and before Bridgette knew it, it was after the holidays. She had two weeks off from school and Curly was finally home. Like always, Curly was not in a good space when he got out. He was dark and brooding and not altogether nice. But even that couldn't ruin Bridgette's Christmas spirit because she had received her official acceptance letter from OU. And, better yet, she had received a full ride scholarship.

The recruiters were fighting for her because they all wanted her to play for their team. They sent her bribery presents and offered her the moon. Bridgette took it all in stride but she already had her heart set on OU. And, sure enough, they ended up offering her the most. She had never seen her family so excited before. Ever. Even Curly jumped on the furniture and cheered.

She had done it. She had made everyone proud.

Bridgette didn't get the chance to see much of Ponyboy during the break because her parents were home for most of her break. She spent a lot of time with Nadine, though. Nadine had even come over to her house to the surprise of just about everyone. Her parents weren't home but both of her brothers were. Tim liked her by default and Curly was amused by her. If she was scared of them, she hid it really well. Pretty soon, the four of them were laughing and talking like it was the most natural thing in the world. Bridgette couldn't believe it.

As great as everything was going, the fights between the greasers and Socs hadn't subsided. If anything, they had escalated. Even Skyler agreed that they should stick to school and phones for awhile.

Bridgette and Skyler had to meet two more times before they agreed it would be best not to meet for awhile. Every time they met it was uncomfortable at first but it didn't take long for them to start making fun of each other. At first it started off rather mean. Bridgette would make a comment about his stupid pants and he would make a comment about her beat up shoes. But soon it just became part of their rapport. It was actually kind of…nice. Neither of them would ever consider the other a friend, but they were friendly and it was nice.

It was the first day back at school and it was freezing. There was snow on the ground and Bridgette was glad the soccer season had finished. It would have been a nightmare trying to play in the slush. She kept her head down as she walked with her hands buried deep in her pockets.

She went about her day as usual, having a nice reunion with Ponyboy. He told her all about the New Year's Eve party they had at his house and he asked if she ever thought she would be allowed to go.

"Who knows," she replied.

He was elated when she told him about OU and she couldn't help but squeal when he told her he had decided on OU as well. They spent all of lunch under her normal tree talking about going to school together. Pony hadn't been going to the DX at lunch recently because it was too dangerous. Ponyboy was more than capable of handling himself against one, even two, Socs, but the Socs were coming out in car loads. She enjoyed his company.

As part of her agreement with the recruiter from OU, she had to practice for an hour after school with the coach to keep her fresh. Because of the snow they went to the weight room. Bridgette didn't bother to change into her normal clothes because that would require her to shower and it was too cold to walk home wet.

As she walked home with a smile on her face, she felt the distinct sensation that she was being followed. None of the Socs had given her a second glance through all of the fighting but that didn't mean they never would. She looked behind her and found a car full of Soc girls and boys trailing along behind her. She didn't want to draw attention to herself by running but she did strain her ears for any sounds. She heard the wheels swish against the slush and the low rumble of the engine but no sounds that would give her reason to be worried. Eventually the car sped away from her and she was free to jog home. She didn't know what they were doing but she knew she didn't like it.

"What's wrong with you?" Curly asked when she came barreling into the house.

"Socs," she said.

"What did they do?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing," she insisted. "A group of them just drove really slowly behind me. Just trying to scare me."

"I don't like that one bit."

"It's fine."

And now that she was in the safety of her home, she meant it. It was fine.

"If it happens again you let me know."

"I will," she promised.

She finished her homework and laid down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling and lost herself in her thoughts.

She didn't have any encounters with Socs for the rest of the week. Well, until Friday in physics.

"We have to work on this," Skyler frowned. "Look at all of the experimentation in this lab report."

Bridgette looked over it and bit her lip. There were eight problems and six of those problems required some kind of experiment that couldn't be done over the phone.

"Great," Bridgette sighed. She wasn't even mad that she had to meet with him anymore. She was uneasy about being anywhere near Soc territory.

"What time are you done with soccer?"

"About four," she said.

"Why don't…why don't I pick you up?" Skyler asked uncertainly. "Better safe than sorry."

"Yeah, okay," she agreed.

That didn't sound half bad.

So after soccer, Bridgette waited in the front of school. He pulled up in a tuff blue Mustang and Bridgette got in the passenger side. It was a really nice car with black leather interior.

"Nice car," she said. "Your mom buy this for you?"

"Dad, actually," he said. He looked over at her. "Nice jacket. You steal it?"

"No, my brother did."

And that wasn't even a lie. Curly really did steal it. Skyler shook his head and drove off.

"I will never understand you greasers."

"And we will never understand you Socs."

"What's there to understand?"

"Well, why do you wear such stupid clothes?"

"Excuse me?" he asked but she could tell he was trying not to smile. "We look presentable. Unlike you hoods."

"Jeans and t-shirts are appropriate for any occasion."

"Not the country club."

"Heaven forbid," Bridgette rolled her eyes.

They reached his museum of a house and walked inside.

"Are your parents home?"

"My parents are never home," he chuckled. "Philanthropist lifestyle, you know?"

She had no idea.

"So it's just you in this massive house?"

"It's not that big."

"Oh please."

"Seriously. You should see Scott Hummel's place."

"Pass," she said. "So where are we doing this?"

"I got most of it prepared before I came to get you. It's in the living room."

Bridgette learned on her second meeting with him that his living room was different than his TV room. And his TV room was different than his game room. The living room was massive with ornate furniture that Bridgette felt uncomfortable sitting in.

Skyler put on some music and the two got to work. It took them nearly an hour and a half and Bridgette had to call home to let Curly know she was hanging out with Nadine.

"I'm Nadine now?" Skyler asked.

"Yes," she said simply.

"I can live with that. So does no one know we work together?"

"Ponyboy Curtis does."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Skyler asked curiously.

"No. Just my friend."

"Oh."

"Do any of your friends know we work together?"

"Just Holly Mathers."

"Is she your girlfriend?" she teased.

"No. Just my friend."

Bridgette didn't know who Holly was and she wondered if Skyler knew who Pony was.

They finished their project and Skyler volunteered to drive her back to school. She thanked him and they set out.

"Do you know where you're going to school next year?" Skyler asked.

"OU," she said. "You?"

"Stanford."

"Oh, that's exciting," she grinned.

"Yeah. It's my dad's alma mater so, you know, it was always going to happen."

"You don't sound very excited."

"It'll be fun," he shrugged though he wasn't very convincing.

"Yeah," she said simply.

"Sometimes I forget that you're sixteen," he shook his head. "And you're going to college. That's crazy."

"Yeah," she said. "It'll be fun, though."

"Don't get into too much trouble."

"Yeah, you know me," she said sarcastically. He pulled up to the side of the school and put the car in park. "Well, thanks."

"Bridgette wait."

"What?"

He didn't say anything and she turned to him in annoyance. Despite saying she was at Nadine's, she still had to get home pretty soon. Besides, it was dark now and she wanted to get home.

He surprised her by leaning across the center console and cupping the back of her head in his palm. He rather forcefully pulled her head towards him and she realized what was happening just in time. She used one of her hands to create a barrier between their lips and the other hand to push on his chest.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to wiggle out of his hold. "Are you crazy?"

"Are you telling me you don't want to kiss me?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," she said like he was an idiot. Which he was.

"Really?" he coughed.

"What are you…have you lost your mind? You're a Soc!"

"And you're a greaser but I still want to kiss you."

"What?" she asked breathlessly. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" he asked in annoyance, his hand still on the back of her head. "You're cool."

That should have been a compliment but it made her feel weird.

"Look, you're pretty cool for a Soc but it's just not…" she trailed off as she tried again to remove his hand.

"Oh my god," he winced. "You're not going to tell Tim about this are you? He's going to kill me. Please don't tell him."

"Why would I tell him?" she asked impatiently, finally giving up on getting away from him. "He doesn't know we work together and if I told him, he'd know I had been lying."

"Oh yeah," Skyler said, a glint in his eye. Bridgette knew she had said the wrong thing the moment the words left her mouth. He looked too hopeful and his grip on her only seemed to tighten.

"I would like to go now," she said firmly though her heart was racing.

"Just try it," he persisted. "It'll be good for you to try new things."

"Try what?" Bridgette asked but was cut off when he leaned in. Bridgette was not going to let that happen so she turned her head and let him kiss her cheek instead. She was not in the correct position to kick him like everyone advised her to do but she was confident she could beat him off long enough to make a run for it.

"What are you doing?" she cried. "Skyler, would you knock it off? We're lab partners. That's it. Go kiss girls in your own circle."

"Where's the fun in that?" he asked, leaning in once more.

"I swear to god if you try to kiss me again I will drop you as a lab partner," she threatened. "And you know your grade will suffer."

"So what?" he asked. "We're already accepted to college. They can't do anything to us now."

She didn't know if there was any truth to that but he leaned in for another kiss so she figured he at least believed it was true.

"Leave. Me. Alone," she said, hitting him in the chest with each new word. "I thought we were digging okay. Stop ruining this."

"I'm trying to introduce you to a new way to have fun. Give it a try. If you don't like it we can stop."

"I already don't like it, so stop," she fumed.

"You really are a prude," he said, removing his hand from the back of her head finally. She fumbled with the door handle in her haste and then almost fell out of the car.

"Yes I am," she said proudly. She then slammed the door closed and took off towards her house.

Nobody asked her any questions or bothered her at all when she got home which was a relief. She didn't know if she could handle it mentally. She was completely drained. She couldn't believe that had just happened. Part of her wanted to tell Tim to prove that she really could take care of herself but the other part of her was not suicidal. Tim could tolerate a lot of things, but hanging out with a Soc was not one of them.

Needless to say, physics was a little awkward the next day. He acted like nothing had happened but he kept looking sideways at her. She couldn't wait to talk to Pony about everything.

"I need to talk to you," she said as soon as the bell rang for lunch. He had a brand new bruise on his cheek and she frowned.

"I thought you might."

"I—what? Why?"

"Aren't you going to tell me Holly has been staring at you all day?"

"Holly?" she asked blankly. "Who's Holly?"

Pony looked around the crowded hall and nodded his head towards the lockers. There was a girl with flawless olive skin and big brown eyes quite clearly staring at Bridgette. As soon as they made eye contact, Holly narrowed her eyes. Bridgette turned to Ponyboy in bewilderment.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"Holly Mathers," he said. "Soc."

That name sounded familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Wait, if it wasn't about her giving you death looks all day, what did you want to talk about?"

She waited until they were under the tree before she quietly told him everything that had happened.

"Are you serious?" he asked, his eyes turning cold and hard.

"I am."

"We'll take care of this," he assured her.

"Take care of what? You don't have to take care of anything."

"We can't let him just get away with that."

"Nothing even happened. I took care of it."

"What a lousy guy," he scowled. He turned to Bridgette and said, "I told you guys noticed you."

"Does it really have to be him?" she groaned.

"I can't believe he would do that. What was he thinking?"

"I don't know."

"Hey, your mom still thinks you have full practices, right?"

"Right."

"Why don't you come over after practice? We can hang out."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"Okay. Yeah, sounds good."

She smiled as she ate her sandwich.

Bridgette had pushed all thoughts of Skyler from her mind at the prospect of hanging out with Ponyboy. It had been a long time and she was looking forward to it. She finished with practice and took a quick shower, even though she knew the walk home would be brutal.

She was so focused on the stinging cold and the idea that her wet hair might frost that she didn't notice the car tailing her. She had reached Pony's street and was hoping his house was warm when she was suddenly knocked sideways into a mound of dirt and snow. She was more started than hurt and she turned onto her back to see what was happening.

Holly Mathers was hovering over her.

"You're filth," she hissed. She crawled on top of Bridgette and two people Bridgette couldn't see pinned her arms down. Bridgette couldn't believe this was happening. She was too baffled to be scared. "He shouldn't be anywhere near you."

"Who?" Bridgette asked.

Holly responded by leaning her knee into Bridgette's chest, making it hard to breathe. As Holly's pretty brown eyes bore into Bridgette's, she finally remembered how she knew her. Holly Mathers was the only person Skyler had told about their meetings. She was his "just friend."

"Nothing happened," Bridgette said indignantly, gasping with the effort.

"He told me things were different," Holly said darkly, leaning further into Bridgette's chest. "I saw you two in his car at the school."

"Then you saw me pushing him away," Bridgette gasped.

"No, I just saw you two sitting close to each other. Really close."

"Then…listen…to me…" Bridgette panted. "Nothing…happened. Never…will."

Holly slapped Bridgette across the face and it took all of her self control not to laugh. A slap? Holly was slapping her? Is that how Soc girls fought? If it were only the slap it would have been one thing, but Holly was putting all of her weight on her knee and Bridgette really was struggling to breathe. She tried to push Holly off of her but the girls holding her arms had a firm grip.

"I am so sick and tired of you greasers," Holly said, leaning in so close that Bridgette could feel her hot breath. "You think you can do anything you want. And you're the worst of them all. Everyone thinks you're so perfect but really you're just a whore. Keep up that innocent act and then go for guys way out of your league. It's pathetic."

Bridgette couldn't defend herself because all of her efforts were put into catching her breath. At one point Bridgette realized that she was going to pass out if Holly didn't move soon. Oxygen was being deprived to her brain and pretty soon she would be out cold. If Holly didn't move, even after she was out, it could cause some serious damage. Oxygen to the brain was actually pretty important.

Bridgette used every ounce of strength she possessed and kicked her pelvis off the ground. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around Holly's neck. Bridgette let her legs drop back to the ground with Holly securely tucked between them. Holly shrieked and her friends started to yell. All of their commotion got the attention of some greasers nearby and they came running over.

Bridgette had no idea where he came from or how he got there so fast, but before she knew it, Tim was hoisting her to her feet. Bridgette watched the scene in front of her in a daze. There were black dots obstructing her vision and she had a huge headache, not to mention a throbbing pain in her chest.

A couple of greaser girls were pulling the Soc girls back to their car by their hair. Holly was clawing at them but she looked fine.

"What the hell was that?" Tim boomed.

"She was kissing my boyfriend!" Holly yelled. "She was kissing Skyler!"

Bridgette tried to defend herself but she was too lightheaded.

"What is she talking about?" Tim asked.

"She doesn't…know what she's…talking about," Bridgette panted.

"Frankie, get her in the car. Girls, take care of those Socs."

Bridgette didn't know what he meant by that but she hoped it wasn't anything serious. She felt a pair of hands that must have been Frankie's guide her into the car. She sat down and let her head loll. She knew she would be fine in a few minutes but for the moment she felt dizzy. She looked out the window as the car started and saw Pony standing with Darry looking concerned.

The drive home proved to be exactly what she needed. Tim helped her into the house but she was fine. Her mom came into the room and Bridgette groaned. That was the last thing she needed. The absolute last.

"What the hell is going on?" Curly asked. He had been watching TV when everyone unceremoniously interrupted him.

"Some Soc girls just jumped her outside the Curtis house," Frankie explained.

"What?" Curly cried. He rushed over and started to inspect her.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "She just crushed me and made me lightheaded. I'm fine, though."

"She is fine," Frankie said. "Curly, you should have seen it. She got this girl in a choke hold with her legs. It was tuff as shit."

"That is pretty tuff," Curly agreed. "Good for you."

"Hold on. What was she talking about? Kissing her boyfriend?" Tim asked.

"I wasn't kissing anyone," Bridgette huffed. "Especially not a Soc."

"But what was she talking about?" Tim insisted.

"It was nothing."

But she knew Tim wouldn't let up. If Frankie had seen her take down the girl, then who knows how much they had actually witnessed or heard.

"There is a Soc named Skyler who is my physics lab partner," she explained. "Holly must like him."

"She said you kissed him," Tim said.

"I did not kiss him," Bridgette said.

"But she thinks you did. And we all know you wouldn't go around kissing boys in school, so where did she think you kissed him?"

Everyone stared at her. Her mom looked completely lost. Frankie looked sad for her. Curly and Tim looked very serious and a little scary.

"We've had to work on some projects outside of school," she admitted, staring at the ground in shame. "We've been meeting at his house."

"Are you kidding me?" Tim roared.

"Wait a minute," her mom said slowly, as if finally catching up. "Did Frankie say by the Curtis house? That's not on the way to school. What were you doing over there?"

Tim prevented her from having to answer because he flipped over their dining room table in a rage. He walked over to Bridgette and took her face in a viselike grip. It hurt really bad but she didn't move.

"You've been going to his house?" he asked menacingly. She didn't respond because she was too scared. "We taught you better than that. And now you're whoring around with a Soc?"

"What?" Bridgette cried. "I would never. I have never. It's for school. It was always only for school."

He didn't respond. He let go of her face aggressively and she rubbed her cheek. Tears stung the back of her eyes as she looked around the room helplessly.

"It was for school," she repeated, her voice cracking. "He tried to kiss me but I stopped him. I took care of it."

"What were you doing by the Curtis house?" her mom asked, her eyes taking on a crazed ferocity. "I forbid you from those boys. What were you doing over there?"

Bridgette looked around the room again for some kind of support. Tim had his knife out and had cut through the drywall of the living room. Curly and Frankie looked all parts shocked, confused, and scared. Her mom looked livid.

When Bridgette remained silent, her mom stormed over to her and hit her across the face, knocking her on the floor. As Bridgette tried to stand, her mom kicked her in the ribs.

"Mom," Curly said and he sounded panicked.

Bridgette wasn't sure if he had restrained their mom for a moment but it gave her the chance to stand up. She was definitely crying now and her vision was blurred. She didn't know what to do but she knew she couldn't stay there. Tim was prying his knife from the wall and her mom was about to make another go at her.

Without a second thought, Bridgette used all of her soccer training to run as fast and as far as she could away from them. She tried to control her tears but it was hard. Her school bag was still hanging from her shoulder which made running awkward but she kept pace. She knew at least one of her brothers had run after her but she also knew that she was much faster than them. Before she knew what she was doing or where she was going, she found herself in front of the school. She sprinted around the side of the building and picked the lock. She slammed the door behind her and sobbed against the wall.

She was stunned. Everything had gone wrong in one fell swoop. Everyone hated her. Her mom, her brothers, even Socs, who typically didn't give her the time of day. She didn't understand where she went wrong but things had gone very, very wrong.

She couldn't go home, especially not now that she ran away. She couldn't go to the Curtis house which was the neighborhood safe home because that was the first place anyone would look. She couldn't go to any other greasers in town because they would rat her out as fast as they could. She thought about going to Nadine's house but she knew exactly what would happen. Nadine's mom would insist on Bridgette calling her parents to let them know she was okay and staying with them for the night. Tim was mad enough to come get her and he knew where Nadine lived. It was too risky.

And as much as she hated to admit it, she was terrified of Tim. He was her brother and she loved him but she knew better than anyone how irrational he was. He was a hood. A real hood. And while she knew he loved her, he wasn't above teaching her a lesson. And she didn't want to know what lesson that might be.

Without thinking about it, she climbed to her feet and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She started to walk towards James's office and picked his lock as well. She sifted through his desk and found what she was looking for. His home address. It was middle class area which was the safest place she could be. She scribbled the address on the back of her hand and left everything as she found it, locking up as she went.

Once again, she ran at full speed to her destination. She was sure Tim had assembled a group of people to go looking for her and it was only a matter of time before they dropped by the school.

Bridgette heaved a sigh of relief when she reached the street he lived on. She located his house and sprinted forward. She pounded on his door and looked behind her nervously, expecting Frankie to roll down the street any second.

The door opened and Bridgette forced her way inside before she even checked to make sure it was James. Fortunately, it was James.

"Bridgette?" he uttered. He was wearing pajama pants and no shirt. As riled as she was, she still had the sense to appreciate that valleys and curves of his toned torso. "Is everything okay?"

Now that she was safely inside a warm house with someone she trusted, the last hour caught up with her. She fell back onto his sofa in anguish. Her face was sore from Tim's firm grip, her mom's hit, and even from Holly's slap. Her chest and ribs were bruised and it hurt when she breathed. She clung into her ribs and winced.

"Bridgette?" James repeated more frantically. He rushed over to her side and kneeled beside her.

"Everything—went—wrong," she stammered, each word a different shooting pain.

"What happened to you? I need to take you to the hospital!"

"No," she urged. "No. I need—to rest."

He threw the pillows off the couch and helped her adjust so she was lying down. He used one pillow to prop under her back to add support. He stayed kneeling beside her and she took a few painful breaths. She closed her eyes and willed herself to be strong. She was surprised but not opposed when James took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"I'm…I'm sorry for…interrupting your evening," she said, suddenly formal.

"You don't need to be sorry," he said quickly. "What happened?"

"I don't…really understand…myself," she admitted. She took a few seconds to collect her thoughts. "A lot has…happened recently."

"Like what?" he asked gently.

Bridgette looked at the ceiling as she tried to figure out where to start. It was all a blur to her and the shooting pains in her torso didn't help.

"I guess…it started…with Skyler. My physics partner."

It took her longer to tell the story than it warranted but she had to take constant breaks to control her breathing. She couldn't remember being in that much pain before and she really didn't like it. But she managed to get through it. She told him about Skyler's unwanted advances and how she was totally in control of the situation so everyone needed to calm down. Then she talked about the Holly ordeal and distractedly ran her fingers over her chest, wondering if there was a visible bruise. When she talked about getting home and the shitshow that happened there, she felt the tears prick her eyes again but she refused to cry. Not in front of James.

"I didn't…know where else…to go," she finished. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," he said soothingly. "I'm glad you came here."

She nodded and closed her eyes, aware that he had been holding her hand the entire story. They were silent for a moment and she wondered what James was thinking. He had been having a normal night in when one of his students came to his house like a lunatic and then burdened him with her sob story. It was embarrassing but she didn't regret it.

"Do you…mind if I call…someone?" Bridgette asked.

"Who?" he asked cautiously.

"My friend. Ponyboy."

"Your math partner," he said quickly.

"Yeah. I won't tell him…where I am…but I need him to know…that I'm okay."

"Okay," James allowed. "But don't tell anyone where you are. I want this to be your safe house."

The idea of a safe house was amusing to her but she did like the sound of it. James brought the phone to Bridgette and the cord was just long enough to reach her. She dialed Pony's number and waited.

Of course, she didn't have to wait long because Pony picked up in the middle of the first ring.

"Hello?" he burst.

"It's me," she said simply.

"Bridgette, where are you? Everyone is so worried. Tim came by and he looked like a maniac and when I told him you hadn't been by here, he almost threw me against the wall. Darry had to help me. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm fine," she said. The image of Tim hurting Ponyboy made her heart sink. Tim actually liked Ponyboy. What would Tim do to anyone he didn't like in his rage?

"How can you be fine?" Pony asked. "I know this isn't easy on you. It wasn't even your fault."

"I just called to tell you I'm safe and doing okay," she said, looking down at her hand. "Thank you, though."

"Come over here," Pony said. "We'll protect you. We won't let anyone touch you."

"Thank you," she repeated more quietly this time. Now she was in real danger of crying. "But I'm safe where I am. Please…please tell Tim if you see him that I'm okay."

"He doesn't deserve any peace of mind," Pony scoffed.

"Just…let him know if you…see him," Bridgette finished. "Thank you."

"Wait!" Pony cried but it was too late. She hung up.

James took the phone back but watched her closely.

"Bridgette," he said gently. "It sounds like your brother Tim is a time bomb. I can't tell you what to do but I don't think you should go home any time soon. He needs time to cool off. Same for your mom."

"Maybe you're right," she agreed, too tired to argue. What would be the point in arguing anyhow? He was right. Tim was dangerous. Her mom was dangerous. She always thought she was immune to them but she was wrong. No one was. "Pony just said I could stay with him."

"And how long would it take Tim to figure that out?" James asked knowingly. She didn't reply. "Exactly. Stay here. I have an extra room. It's safe here. And no one is going to know. Your safe house for as long as you need it to be."

"That's too intrusive," Bridgette said, accidentally looking at his bare chest as she said it. She cleared her throat and shook her head.

"It is not," he rolled his eyes. "Look, as a counselor you're kind of a dream. The kid who beat all odds and made it big. I'm not letting anything hurt you now. Not when you are so close to getting out of this place. My job is to help you so I'm going to help you."

Bridgette met his gaze and smiled tentatively.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Not really," she said honestly.

"How much pain are you in?" he asked.

"I don't know. On a scale from one to ten it's probably a seven," she mused.

"And you're sure you don't want to see a doctor?"

"Positive. It's just bruised."

"And how would you know?" he grinned.

"I'm really smart," she joked and he laughed. "I would like to rinse off really quick, though."

"I'll start you a bath," he said. "You won't be able to stand long in that condition. I can't believe you ran all the way here."

He disappeared into the back of the house and Bridgette laid there in silence, wondering how her life had turned into this. Maybe Tim had been right all along. The moment she started to make friends and obtain some freedom, things started to go downhill.

James jogged back into the room and helped her stand. She put her arm around his shoulders and he supported her weight as they walked to the bathroom. For a wild second, Bridgette thought about calling Tim or Curly to find out how they nursed injuries after a rumble. The thought made her sad.

"There's a towel right there," James informed. "Shampoo, conditioner, soap. If you need anything let me know."

She nodded and he closed the door as he left. It would have been nice to have Nadine there to help her take off her clothes. Lifting her arms above her head was agony and she couldn't bend over to remove her pants for the life of her. She had to resort to a weird kicking and stepping motion to get them off.

She dipped her toe in the water and nodded. As she lowered down, she winced and vowed to look up rib injuries in the library the next day. She wanted to make the bath relatively quick but her injuries prevented that. She shampooed her hair but she got lazy with the conditioner. It hurt too bad to rub it in so she just kind of globbed it onto her head and rinsed. It felt good to scrub away the dirt and sweat. She drained the tub and then slowly lifted herself. She looked down at realized with a certain fascination that her chest and ribs were both shocking hues of purple and blue. It was captivating in a way. Even her cheek was sporting a pretty nice bruise. No wonder James was so adamant about the doctor.

She dried herself off as best she could and wrapped the towel around her. It wasn't until she opened the door that she realized she didn't have anything to change into.

She had resorted herself to changing into her grimy clothes from practice and she had to locate her bag. She left it in the living room but James had moved it.

"James?" she called.

"Back here!" he responded.

She followed the sound of his voice down a long hall. He was in a bedroom that was clearly the guest room. He was in the process of making the bed and her bag was sitting against the closet door.

"I'm just going to grab my gym clothes," she informed, aware that she was only in a tiny towel.

"I have clothes for you," he said. He pointed towards a chair tucked under the window and she saw a pile of clothes on it. She walked over to it curiously but before she made it James let out a dramatic gasp. She whirled around in alarm. He was looking at her bruised chest. "We're taking you to the doctor!"

"James," she said soothingly. "It's a bruise. It'll heal."

"That's massive!"

"Still just a bruise," she smiled warmly. She grabbed onto his forearm and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Hey," he pouted. "Shouldn't I be the one comforting you?"

"Nope," she said simply. She walked over to the chair and grabbed the clothes. It was a pair of soccer shorts and one of his old jerseys. She smiled down at it and then met his gaze. He returned her smile and then excused himself so she could change.

In spite of her pain, she changed as quickly as she could. She walked out of the room and found James in the kitchen fixing some soup.

"I ignored you earlier and decided to make you some food," he said.

"Good," she laughed, and then pressed her hand against her ribs.

"Are your ribs bruised, too?"

"Yeah."

"Let me see."

She reluctantly pulled up the shirt and showed him. Part of her realized that that was the most amount of skin she had ever shown a boy and the other part realized how unappealing it was for both parties. It made her giggle.

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked. She nodded apprehensively. "See a doctor with me tomorrow. Just ease my mind, okay? You don't have to pay for a thing."

"It's really not a big deal," she said. She had seen various people in town sporting far worse injuries than her and they survived.

"That's fine," he allowed. "But humor me."

"Fine," she sighed.

"After that we can do some shopping," he said.

"For what?" she frowned.

"I'm not letting you go back home to grab clothes or anything. It's too risky. You need to pick some things up."

"I can't afford new clothes," she rolled her eyes.

"I can," he countered. "Stop talking back to me. I'm a person of authority."

She pretended to glare at him and then they both started to laugh.

"Mind if I go sit?" she asked.

"Not at all. This is your house, too, now."

She didn't agree with that but she appreciated it.

She sprawled out on the couch and took a few breaths. He walked in the room and handed her the bowl of soup. He turned on the TV and they watched the Carol Burnett Show. James was astounded when Bridgette said she had never seen the show before. She loved it. It really was hilarious.

"Oh man," Bridgette whined after they finished the episode. "I haven't done my homework yet. My mom's going to—"

She stopped and looked over at James in confusion.

"You don't need to worry about your mom," he soothed.

She nodded but looked away. She had been over at James's house for a grand total of two hours and already she had pushed aside the events of the day. Is that what it was like to grow up in a middle class family? You get to sit and watch TV and do homework right before bed as someone brought you food and started baths for you? It would have made her laugh if it didn't also make her want to cry.

She made to stand up to get her bag but James said he would get it.

Bridgette was tired as she worked but she still worked diligently and carefully. James watched her at first and she knew it wasn't very interesting. She finished and James helped her stand up. She excused herself for bed and James told her she could wake him up for anything.

It was a restless sleep. No matter which way she positioned herself it still hurt somewhere. But she knew that if she tried hard enough she could sleep through the pain. No, she couldn't sleep because she couldn't turn off her mind. She was so lucky to have James and a new safe house. And she was lucky to have Ponyboy and his gang that actually cared about her well being. But as safe as she was at that moment, she had to go home eventually and she dreaded to think what would happen to her. She considered for a moment living with James for the rest of the year. He said she could stay as long as she needed and she did like it there. It was like a glimpse into a normal family.

But she couldn't do that. After Tim cooled down, he would start to worry about her. And even her jaded parents would eventually want to look for their golden child.

It was too much for her to handle.