Author's Note: I sound like a broken record but I can't thank you all enough!

Bridgette was terrified the next day. James told her she could take the day off but she told him she didn't want to ruin her perfect attendance record. She didn't have her makeup and would have to brave the day knowing everyone would be able to see her bruises.

James couldn't very well drive her to school without drawing attention to themselves but he also didn't feel comfortable letting her walk.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "If anything, I can just run."

She walked into school and reluctantly went to physics. Skyler was already in there and he looked mortified. She ignored him.

"Bridgette," he pleaded when class ended. "You need to listen to me."

"Just friends, huh?" she asked.

"We are," he said. "I didn't know. I had no idea. I explained everything to her. I even told her…I even told her that you pushed me away. It took awhile but she believes me."

"Fantastic," Bridgette said dryly.

"I'm sorry!"

"I don't care," she said. "My life just fell to shit because of that whole thing."

"What happened?" he asked quietly, fascinated by her bruised face.

"None of your concern," she said coldly. "Just leave me alone, okay? And no more lab reports. If we ever need to meet, you're doing them for both of us. Got it?"

Something about her tone must have really intimidated him because he agreed without question. Well, that was one problem solved.

She stumbled through her other classes, deciding that maybe it was a good idea to see the doctor. Pony was waiting for Bridgette outside of English.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He grabbed her arm and inspected it.

"I'm fine. Just bruised," she said.

"Bridgette, where are you staying? We've been worried sick."

"Who is we?" she asked.

"Me and my brothers! We figured you'd be too smart to come to our house but where else would you go?"

"I'm staying with Gina from soccer," she lied easily. "I was going to stay with Nadine but Tim knows where she lives."

"You really did think it through."

"Yeah," she nodded. She felt guilty for lying to him but she would take that particular secret to the grave.

"But, come on, what happened?"

"I'll tell you later," she said. She was too tired. Too tired to be at school, too tired to explain anything, and too tired to have that life any more. It was exhausting.

He didn't let up. And, furthermore, he followed her everywhere. Holly tried to approach Bridgette and Pony stepped between them.

"Get over yourself, grease," she scowled. "I wanted to talk to her."

"I don't want to hear it," Bridgette said.

"Look, he explained everything. I get it now. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Sure," Bridgette said. Holly wasn't sorry. She did have a swollen eye, though, and that was enough for Bridgette.

"Come on," Pony begged. "Tell me."

Bridgette lowered against her tree and took a second to compose herself. Pony sat across from her and stared at her expectantly.

"They lost it."

"Who? Tim and Curly?"

"No. Tim and my mom."

"Your mom?"

"Tim lost it because of the Skyler thing," she said dismissively. "Mom lost it because I was jumped over by your house and I shouldn't be over by your house."

"You're kidding…"

"No," she shook her head. She pulled out the lunch James had prepared for her. It was leftover soup. James told her to come by his office and he could warm it up in the teacher lounge but she didn't mind it cold. Pony looked at it accusingly.

"Middle class lunch," she said monotonously. "Check me out."

"You shouldn't have to go through this," he said angrily. "You've done nothing wrong. You've done everything they've asked. It's not your fault there's this divide between Socs and greasers. It's not your fault you were partnered with a Soc. Why don't they understand that?"

"They don't think the same way you do," she shrugged. "You're different."

"Maybe they are," Pony said quietly. His tone had changed and Bridgette tilted her head in confusion. He shook his head and looked towards the street. "So how long are you staying with Gina?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know how long it will take for him to cool off."

"Knowing him it'll be awhile."

"Yeah."

"If you get tired of being with Gina, our house is always open. Tim knows now that you're not there so he won't check in."

"I'm okay," she said. "It's kind of nice seeing how the other half live."

She meant it as a joke but it came out sounding like a cry for help.

"Things are really messed up right now," she shook her head. "I don't know what to do."

"Give them time," Pony advised. "They can't be mad at you forever. You're the one who is going to save them or whatever, remember?"

"Yeah," she said bitterly. "Whatever that means."

"You'll have a hard time saving them if they keep beating on you. Just remind them of that."

"Sure," she snorted. "Will do."

They were silent for a second while they ate.

"Hey, my mom still doesn't know we're still paired together. I don't think she will, but just in case she asks…"

"Don't worry," Pony said. "I can take care of it."

She nodded thoughtfully. They finished their lunch in silence.

Bridgette had to talk to her gym teacher and her coach to let them know she wasn't going to be able to participate. Her gym teacher looked skeptical but her coach looked concerned. He just went over different tactics at their meeting.

Bridgette trudged to James's house. He was waiting for her and they headed to the doctor. The inspection was quick and easy and he confirmed it was heavily bruised. He gave her a prescription for some pain killers and a doctor's note for gym. James then took Bridgette shopping.

It was kind of nice. At first she only grabbed the absolute necessities, such as a pair of jeans, a few shirts, a toothbrush, and socks. Then James rolled his eyes and started adding items to his cart that he figured she would need, such as deodorant, lady products, and other toiletries. Pretty soon they had a cart full of things, including some makeup.

Bridgette didn't know how to thank him and he kept insisting she didn't need to thank him. He was just glad she was okay.

She did her homework as soon as she got home by habit. Then they settled down for another night of TV and dinner.

"Are the painkillers helping?" James asked.

"Yeah, actually," she said.

"You know, I was thinking, you're going to college soon but you're still a minor. I could call social services on your mom."

"It wouldn't make a difference," she said.

"Why?"

"Well, social services have been called multiple times for my brothers. If they didn't take those delinquents away form her, they're definitely not going to take me away from her. I'm the only one that looks like she's turning out okay."

"I could vouch," he frowned.

"No, it's fine. Besides, if nothing else, she's still my mom."

He didn't look appeased and she didn't blame him. She excused herself to go to bed. She was about to pass out. With everything that had happened, her lack of sleep the night before, and the medication, she was a zombie.

Sure enough, she was out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Bridgette stayed with James the entire rest of the week. He told her that her mom had called him.

"What?" she asked stiffly. Did she know she was there? How could she possibly know that?

"She wanted to see if you changed partners with Ponyboy Curtis," he smirked.

"Did she really?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah. Apparently she asked this young man what her daughter was doing over by his house. He told her that he wasn't sure but he did leave his math book in class. He figured you might have been dropping it off for him. Your mom wasn't expecting that so she called me to verify."

"And?"

"And I told her you had changed partners months ago with a girl named Molly Barden," he said. He plopped down in his big armchair and looked at her smugly.

"Did she believe you?"

"Of course she did. I have no reason to lie. I'm just a homely counselor."

"Sure you are," she giggled.

"Your mom bought it. She's content. She no longer thinks you're a traitorous daughter."

"Really?" Bridgette asked breathlessly.

"Really. Now your only concern is Tim."

"He'll take a lot more work," she said. "But this is good. This is good news." She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you."

"Yeah, of course. Believe it or not, I've grown attached to you and I don't want you to die at the hands of your crazy mother."

"Yeah," she laughed. "Thank you again for letting me stay here. I don't know what I would have done."

"No need to thank me," he said for umpteenth time.

"I feel there's some need," she retorted.

"Hey, I'm enjoying it. You're good company."

"Yeah, I've been a delight limping around your house and letting you look after me," she joked.

"Yes you have," he said seriously and patted her knee.

She grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Mind if I use the phone?"

"Go for it. I'm going to shower."

Bridgette waited until she heard the bathroom door close before she picked up the phone. She dialed Pony's number and waited.

"Hello?" Soda answered.

"Hi, Soda. It's Bridgette."

"Oh!" Soda cried. "Is everything okay? Do we need to sneak you into our house? Pony's had the room ready for days."

"I—really?" Bridgette asked in surprise, really touched by the gesture.

"Yeah. Where are you? We'll come get you."

"Oh, there's no need," she said. "But can I talk to Pony really quick?"

"Of course," Soda said. He called for Pony and it took Pony a moment to come to the phone.

"Hello?" he asked breathlessly.

"Hey," she said in confusion. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was in the shower."

"Oh, um, you didn't have to come to the phone," she said awkwardly.

"Yes I did," he said simply. "What's going on?"

"Why didn't you tell me you talked to my mom?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," he said. "I talked to your mom. If anyone asks, you were dropping off my math book."

"Yeah, I heard," she grinned. "Mr. Midland told me that she called the school to see if we were still partners. He lied and now it seems like she's off my case. You're a certified hero."

"Yes," he said sarcastically. "Like most heroes, I lie my way into safety."

"Don't discredit yourself. That was really cool of you."

"Well we are friends, you know. And I don't want anyone beating you on my account."

"Yeah. So…have you heard anything about Tim?"

"A little. He's been looking for that Soc. Tyler or whatever has been in hiding. But I think he needs a few more days to calm down. Curly and Frankie have been talking to him a lot, trying to get him to see reason."

"Really? Curly has?"

"Yeah. Curly hates Socs as much as anyone but he recognizes that you were doing it for school. He recognizes that you do pretty much everything for school. Now he just has to convince Tim."

"Good luck."

"I know. But he'll come around. I know he will."

"Yeah."

"So how are things where you are?"

"Really nice," she admitted. "Kind of want to stay forever."

"Or," Ponyboy said coyly. "You could just stay here."

"That would be nice, too," she agreed. "But it's still too risky."

"I guess," he pouted. "I just want to hang out with you again."

"I want to hang out with you, too," she said sadly.

"Soon," he promised.

"Soon," she nodded.

They were silent for a second and then hung up. Bridgette told James about it when he got out of the shower.

"Things are looking up," he smiled. "And now we have the whole weekend to enjoy ourselves."

They couldn't exactly hang out so they spent their weekend hanging out indoors. Bridgette tried to tell him to go out and enjoy himself but he promised her he was enjoying himself.

So they went swimming his pool and he was highly amused by how much she liked pools. It was too cold to swim, really, but she didn't care. They played a lot of board games, talked a lot, and watched TV. Bridgette liked making fun of shows like the Brady Bunch.

It was Sunday night and they were sitting on the couch having one of their frequent bonding sessions.

"So, James, I've got to know. Why aren't you married?" she asked.

"Wow, one of those questions."

"Yup," she grinned.

"I had a pretty serious girlfriend in college. I thought she was the one. I wanted to be a counselor and she wanted to be a teacher and all we really cared about was helping the youth." He looked at her pointedly and she grinned. "I thought things were going really well. I was even making plans to go to Texas so I could ask for her dad's permission."

"So what happened?" she frowned.

"She dumped me. The day of graduation. No explanation or reason. She just told me we were finished and that was it."

"No way."

"Way."

"But why?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I never heard from her again."

"That's barbaric," she scowled. "That is so primordial."

"I know," he laughed in spite of himself. "It was hard. Really hard. Took me awhile to get over it but I think I'm finally at a good place again."

"Good. So do you have your eye on any hot teachers?"

"That is so not appropriate," he said. She just continued to look at him. "No. I do not."

"Shame," she said. "You're probably a hot commodity among the staff."

"That's definitely not appropriate."

"I'm just calling it like it is."

"Okay then, what about you?" he challenged. "Any boys that have your attention?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Let me guess, Ponyboy Curtis."

"It's just a guy," said she nonchalantly. "But I am smitten."

"And why haven't you approached this young man?"

"He's not interested," she said simply. "And I've accepted that."

"No, you should not accept that. Go after him. Kiss him."

"That's what my friend Nadine told me to do."

"Nadine is smart."

"Is not," she argued. "I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"So many reasons. One, he could push me away and I don't handle rejection well. Two, I've never kissed anyone before and I don't want to be bad at it. And three, my brother would strangle him."

"One, he wouldn't push you away. Two, how have you never kissed someone before? And three, you need to stop living in fear of your brother."

"Easy for you to say. You have a normal life with normal siblings."

"I wouldn't call them normal," he shook his head. "But, again I ask, how have you not kissed anyone?"

"Have you been paying attention at all the last couple of months?" she asked in exasperation. "I am sheltered."

"You can still kiss."

"Not me. And I haven't. And by the time I kiss this guy—if I ever kiss him—I feel like I should be good at it. He's had plenty of experience and I would look stupid next to them."

"No you wouldn't. And guys don't care about that. They're just happy to get a kiss."

"Well this guy is special. And I have a lot to prove to him."

James looked at her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Okay, this is definitely inappropriate. I'm going to bed."

"Fine," she sighed. "I'm going to stay up a little longer."

"It's a school night," he reminded her.

"No it's not," she smirked. "There are parent-teacher conferences tomorrow. So it's a school night for you."

"That's lousy," he said and she laughed.

He went to his room and Bridgette watched more TV. She was grateful for an extra day off. She liked living with James and she was really happy, but it wasn't easy keeping it a secret. There were a lot of things she could have done wrong growing up but she felt like living with a member of the faculty was pretty far up on the list.

She stood up, deciding she really should get some sleep. She went to the kitchen and took her painkillers. She walked out of the kitchen and right into James.

"Oh, sorry," she laughed. "I thought you were going to bed?"

"Bridgette?" he asked. He sounded out of breath, like he had just run around the block.

"Yes?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," he said slowly. She could tell he was choosing his words very wisely. He might have even been practicing his speech when he was meant to be sleeping.

"Okay," she said uncertainly. His tone made her nervous.

"I want nothing more than for you to be safe. That's my number one concern," he said. Bridgette looked at him expectantly. What was he talking about? "And I am so glad I have been able to keep you safe for the last week." Again she just looked at him. He took a step forward and for a horrifying second she thought he was going to kiss her. Instead he put his hands on her shoulders and looked down at the ground. She stared at the top of his head with a heavy heart. This wasn't like him. He was acting really weird and she really didn't like it. "I think it's time you tried to stay somewhere else."

She narrowed her eyes and strained her ears because everything she had seen and heard couldn't be accurate. They had been having a nice bonding session only twenty minutes prior and now he was kicking her out? He was kicking her out when he knew she didn't have anywhere else to go?

"W-what?" she stammered. She took an instinctive step back so that he couldn't put his hands on her shoulders any more.

"I've just been thinking," he repeated, still looking at the ground. "I've always wanted to be a counselor and I have a really nice job. If anyone found out about this"—he pointed between them—"then I could get in a lot of trouble. And so could you."

"But nothing is happening," she said. "You said it yourself, you're keeping me safe."

"There are other ways to keep you safe," he sighed. "I should have been smarter."

"What are you talking about?" she asked desperately. She knew in her heart that he was right, that it wasn't proper for her to be living with a member of the staff, but she didn't know where to go. She had already run through the list of people that would help her before she went to his house. He was her last resort.

"Things have already smoothed over with your mom," he said. "And it sounds like Tim will calm down soon enough. It shouldn't be long before you go back."

"But where do I go in the meantime?" she asked.

"You have a lot of soccer friends," he said, forcing his enthusiasm.

"Did-Did I do something wrong?" she asked. "I won't ask anymore personal questions."

"It's not you," he pleaded. "Trust me, you did nothing wrong."

"Well, something changed," she pointed out.

"I did. I changed. This whole thing is inappropriate. I don't want either of us to get into trouble. You don't want to lose your scholarship, do you?"

"No," she said, looking around the room helplessly.

"On that note, I think we should limit our meetings at school, as well," he winced.

"You must be joking," she panted.

"You can always come to me with questions or problems. It's my job to help."

"Your job," she repeated coldly. "So it's been your job to be nice to me this whole time?"

"Look, Bridgette, I do care about you as a person, but yes, it is my job to care. I would do the same for any of my other students."

"No," she argued. "We're friends, James. I know we are."

"Well, of course we are," he said. That would have made her feel better if his tone wasn't pitying. "And we always will be."

"Except now when you're kicking me out with no notice and no warning?"

"I'm doing it for you, too, you know," he sighed. "The longer you're here, the more likely someone will find you."

"I can't believe this," she said. She tried to get angry so that she could feel good about leaving behind such a heartless person. She wanted to storm out of there feeling vindicated and free. She wanted to assure herself that it was for the best. But she wasn't mad. She was hurt. Because she really had considered him a friend. And now he was acting like she was just another student. She wasn't special to him, she just needed the most help of all his students.

She went back to the room she had been staying in without another word and looked around. He technically bought her all of the clothes so she didn't feel like she was in a position to take them with her, but she also knew he would have no use for them. She shoved her few belongings into her book bag and put on her shoes over her pajama pants.

"Are you going to be okay out there?" James asked and she was pleased that he sounded guilty. Good.

She opened the front door and turned around in a fit of dramatics.

"Greasers always survive when people turn their backs on them," she said darkly. Then she walked out and slammed the door behind her.

She knew that if she had time, she could have thought of a much better phrase to leave him with but she was overwhelmed. She could not for the life of her figure out what had just happened. She thought back to everything that had happened that weekend to figure out what went wrong but everything seemed fine. In fact, she felt like that was the best day so far with him. She felt lost and rejected.

Without thinking about it, she went straight to school. Curly was right. It was her sanctuary.

Her heart ached when she thought of Curly. He had just gotten out of jail and she was looking forward to seeing him again. Now she was separated from him again.

Bridgette went to the library and went to the bar back section where no one ever went, even the librarian. All that was over there was a rocking chair that all of the seniors swear was haunted and the historical fiction section. She set her bag down behind the rocking chair to use as a pillow and pulled out her leather jacket to use as a blanket.

She had a bad feeling that it would take her ages to fall asleep with all of the hurt and confusion swarming around in her head but it seemed like ever her brain was too exhausted to think about it.