When she woke up again it was to Ponyboy gently nudging her. It was time for her to get up for school. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and wondered how she could possibly be as tired as she was. Even with their chat the night before, she had still gone to bed early.

She got ready in a daze and accepted the toast Pony handed her. She made small talk with Darry on the way to school more out of politeness than anything. She went to the library and found all of the science projects gone.

Skyler was scared of her and never said a word to her any more. They worked on everything in silence and acted like the other person didn't exist. It was a good system, one that should have been implemented from the start. It kind of made her sad, though, because she did have some laughs with him.

She smiled at Pony when she got to English and then walked with him to math. She was worried things would be awkward between them considering their conversations the night before but it was as effortless as ever.

The bell for lunch sounded and everyone gathered their things.

"I've been thinking," Bridgette said.

"Okay."

"I think I want to talk to Tim," she said. "I think I'm going to take your advice."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," she laughed. "What do I have to lose?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "You'll always have us."

Bridgette smiled at him and felt her heart warm up. It was odd to her that up until a few months ago she had been a virtual stranger to those boys and now they were welcoming her with open arms into their home. She knew that people crashed at their place all the time but it felt different with her. Most people just walked in and slept there without asking and Bridgette had been personally invited.

"I think I'm going to head there right after school so, um, wish me luck."

"Good luck. Do you want anyone to go with you? You know…just in case?"

"No," she shook her head. "Thank you, but it really should just be me."

"I understand. Let me know how it goes."

"Of course."

And now that she had plans to follow through, she couldn't wait for the day to end. She figured she would be nervous or scared but she was actually excited. She couldn't wait to get home and put her plan into action. She couldn't wait for everyone to hear what she had to say.

With her newfound drive, she managed to convince her coach that she could practice again. She was still bruised but it was practically gone and it didn't hurt so bad that she couldn't do it so she figured why not. He was not disappointed and she relished kicking that stupid ball around. She had missed it.

Once again, she didn't really think things through as she walked home. She hadn't had any problems with Socs since that Holly thing but she knew things hadn't settled down with them yet. Steve had a chipped tooth the last time she saw him and there was a Soc walking around school with a limp.

No one troubled her, though. Unlike the day before when she walked home, more than a few people saw her and openly pointed. Some even looked like they were about to get into their cars to warn Tim that she had returned. Bridgette felt fire inside of her that Pony had ignited. She made eye contact with every single person gawking at her and marched into her house with a purpose.

Bridgette was expecting Curly to be home, maybe Tim. She figured she would make a speech to each person individually as they came in and out of the house. She was not expecting her entire family to be home. She lost her motivation for a moment only because she was confused. Weren't her parents at work?

Curly saw her first. He was sitting on the couch shuffling a deck of cards and Tim was sitting next to him eating. Curly looked up from his shuffling and did a double take. Then he dropped the cards in his efforts to get Tim's attention.

"What the hell is your problem?" Tim scowled but Curly wouldn't let up. Finally Tim looked up and his eyes landed on her. At first Bridgette was positive that this was the moment her life would end. Tim looked as mean as she had ever seen him.

"She's back!" Curly shouted and within seconds her parents were tripping over themselves to get into the room.

"Where have you been?" her dad asked. Her heart pounded when she noticed he wasn't mad, but concerned. His dark blue eyes flooded with worry and there was a crease in his forehead above his nose.

"I stayed with a friend from soccer," she recited.

"Don't you know how worried—" her mom began but Bridgette held up a hand to silence her. Everyone in the room looked at her hand as if it possessed magical powers.

"I'm fine," she announced. "No thanks to you, Mom."

Bridgette's heart was pounding so fast she was sure it would beat out of her chest. Her voice was steady and strong but she felt like her knees were going to give out on her any second.

Everyone reeled back in shock. Curly started to choke on his own spit and their dad had to pat him a few times on the back to get him to stop.

"Everything—everything—I do or have done has been for you all. I worked with that Soc because it was a partnered project and I needed to maintain my grades. I worked with Ponyboy at the beginning of the year because we were partnered for a project and I needed to maintain my grades. I didn't do anything wrong. I did everything you told me to do. That's all I've ever done. And now I'm graduating early and I'm going to college and I'm doing it all for free. I'm succeeding and thriving. Everything you have insisted on since I could kick a ball or write my name. I'm sick and tired of being all of your pet or your trophy. I'm a real person and I can make my own decisions. I'm smart. I'm not going to do anything rash or do anything to jeopardize my safety or well being or ticket to college. If you can trust me to 'save this family,' then certainly you can trust me enough to do that."

Once again, everyone gaped openly at her. Her hands were sweating profusely and her mouth was dry. She didn't really know what step to take next. She had been hoping someone would say or do something that would guide her but everyone continued to look at her very unhelpfully.

"It's good to be home," she added pathetically.

She waited a while longer for someone to react. When no one did, she sidestepped into her room awkwardly. She sat down in the middle of her bed and waited. Something had to happen. They just needed time to process. That was fine. She had time. In the meantime, to get her mind off of things, she pulled out her homework.

Her door opened and Curly walked into the room. He looked down at the books in her lap and smiled and shook his head. He sat on the corner of her bed and took a deep breath.

"What did I come home to?" he grunted. "I'm in the cooler for a month and suddenly you're getting into fights with Socs and telling us how you're going to run your life."

"I'm growing up," she shrugged.

"I know, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Can you not?" he joked. Bridgette laughed softly and shrugged.

"Sorry," she said. "Can't help it."

"Fine," he said.

"Are they mad?" she whispered, pointing towards her door.

"Probably," he said thoughtfully. "They're still figuring out what just happened."

"I don't blame them, I guess," she frowned.

"It's kind of weird," he said. "We've been rebelling and fighting the system since I can remember. We always thought you'd never fight back."

"Yeah, well, you all worked pretty hard to make sure I didn't," she said bluntly.

Guilt flashed across his face which ironically made her feel bad.

"Curly, I'm a good person with a good head on my shoulders. I want to go to college just as much as everyone wants me to go. I'm not going to do anything to screw it up. I just wish you all would trust me to make the right decisions on my own. Let me prove to everyone that I can take care of myself."

"It's not that easy."

"It is," she urged. "It is that easy. And to be honest, I'm done trying to get everyone's permission. It's my life and I want to start living it."

"Well damn," Curly snorted.

"Curly, I'm just going to say it. I love you. And I really appreciated and enjoyed getting the chance to hang out with you more this year. I miss hanging out with you. We used to be really close."

"We can still be close."

"Not if you keep going to jail," she pointed out.

"Are you telling me what to do?"

"No. I'm just saying I miss you when you're gone. You understand me better than Tim. And I think you accept me better than him."

"Now, now," he said, holding up his hands as a shield. "Tim loves you in his own way. We just worry about you."

"I know," she said quietly. "And I worry about you two."

Curly found this ridiculous but she couldn't help it. She thought back to what Pony told her about them and tried to wrap her mind around it. She believed every word about Tim, but she couldn't picture Curly being mean to girls when he was nice enough to her.

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I do trust you. I don't trust anyone else, really, but I do trust you. And if you say you can handle yourself, then I believe you."

"Really?" she beamed.

"Really."

She sprung forward and took him into a hug. He patted her head awkwardly but then eased into the hug. He was really skinny and it made it kind of uncomfortable but she didn't care. He pulled away, patted her knee, and walked out, as if that was enough emotion for one night. She tried to get back to her homework when the door opened again. This time it was her mom.

Bridgette apprehensively moved her books aside so that her mom would know she had Bridgette's full attention. She didn't sit down but instead hovered over the bed with her arms crossed.

"I do not appreciate or condone you telling me what you're going to do," she said stiffly. "I am your mom and I can make any rules I want. But you have never given me any trouble before so I don't see why you would start now. I'll ease up on you. But if your grades start to slip then all bets are off."

Bridgette just nodded, knowing that was as good as it would get with her mom. Her mom didn't have a heart to heart and there were no hugs. She just left. Her dad came in next and she wondered if they planned to do it that way.

"You've done well this year," he said. "Keep it up and I'll be happy."

He ducked out of the room and Bridgette waited expectantly. Sure enough, Tim slid into the room and closed the door. He didn't sit down, either, and looked down his nose at her.

"I don't need your permission to tell you what to do, you know," he stated.

"Well, I don't need your permission for anything, technically," she countered.

He glared at her but she held his gaze. She had made it this far. She wasn't going to back down now.

"I don't like you being around Socs."

"I don't like it either," she shrugged. "And I already took care of the situation with my partner."

He continued to glare at her and she continued to act like it didn't faze her.

"I'm trying to help you."

"I know you are. But you've done everything you can to help me. I'm leaving for college soon. It's time to start letting me take care of myself."

"You don't know what's out there."

"You're right. I don't. But it's not like I'm going to run over to Buck's place and party. And it's not like I'm going to start going through guys. I'm still me, Tim. Nothing is going to change that."

"I don't like my kid sister telling me what to do."

"And I don't like my big brother controlling every aspect of my life," she countered.

His eyes blazed but she absolutely refused to back down or submit.

"Look," she said softly. "You're still my brother. Nothing will change that. And I'll still need you to look out for me the same way I look out for you. If I ever need help or if I'm ever in any kind of trouble, you'll be the first person I ask. Believe it or not, I do actually respect you and admire you. But I need space, Tim. I need to make my own decisions for once. Trust me to make my own decisions."

"I trust you," he said slowly but she wasn't altogether convinced.

"Thank you," she accepted.

"I'm still mad at you," he said and Bridgette was momentarily thrown back to when they were kids and she had torn his playing cards in an attempt to make paper dolls. It was like he was trying to stay angry but he was too tired.

"I'm still mad at you," she frowned.

His head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes at her, not in a menacing way but a curious way.

"Why?"

"You hurt me, Tim. And you wouldn't listen to me. You wouldn't listen to my side of the story. You didn't care."

"You lied about a Soc!" he cried.

"Yeah, because I knew you wouldn't accept it and I needed him to get a good grade. And then when he got fresh with me, I took care of it. No one else. I did. And I took care of that situation again on my own. Please understand that I can do this."

He sneered at her but she knew that was his thinking face.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" he scowled.

"Not really," she shrugged. "But it would help to ease my mind if I had your blessing." His scowl intensified.

"Fine. Whatever. Just…just promise me that if you have any more meetings with Socs you tell me. Not so I can say no but because it's not safe and I just need to know where you are. Just in case anything happens."

"That's reasonable," she conceded.

"Okay good."

He stormed out of the room and knocked something over in the other room. He really did have a temper on him.

Bridgette finished her homework and packed her bag for the next day. She walked out of the room to find her family huddled in the corner whispering to each other. She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

"I wanted everyone to know that I am going to my friend Ponyboy's house," she said.

Everyone stared at her with varying degrees of confusion and bitterness. She didn't wait for a response as she exited the house. She got a few feet when Curly came running after her.

"We already talked about this, I'm not—"

"I'm just walking you," he interrupted with an eye roll. "Socs are still out there and I don't want you getting hurt."

"Oh," she said stiffly. "Uh, thanks."

She reached Pony's house and knocked on the screen door. Pony was the only one home and he looked on edge as he opened the door.

"How did it—oh, hi, Curly."

"Ponyboy," Curly nodded once. "I'll, uh, let you two be. I guess. Is this going to be long? We need someone to walk you home."

"I can walk her home," Pony offered quickly, eyeing her out of the corner of his eye.

"Sure," Curly mumbled reluctantly. "Okay. Thanks, I guess."

Curly walked away, looking over his shoulder every couple of steps.

"What the hell?" Pony asked.

"It worked," she gawked. "I can't believe it. It worked!"

"Come here! Tell me what happened."

They sat down on their usual spot on the ground and she told him everything that had happened in pain staking detail. Once again he proved to be the perfect audience.

"So…so you're free," he said uncertainly.

"As free as I think I'm going to get," she laughed lightly.

"That's amazing!" Pony shouted.

They continued to express their shock in loud exclamations until Soda and Steve walked through the door. Bridgette, who felt the happiest she had ever been, shot to her feet. She didn't think twice or overanalyze anything.

"Soda, let's dance!" she said. She had never danced with anyone before. The only dancing she had ever done was alone in her room. She had no way of knowing if she had any rhythm or if she looked like a fish out of water when dancing. She didn't care at the moment.

If Soda thought this was a weird request, he didn't let on. He broke into a face splitting grin and walked over to her. Soda was a great dancer and very enthusiastic. He took control. He grabbed her hands and maneuvered her around the room like he did it for a living. Bridgette was having the time of her life, spinning and shaking and laughing the entire time.

"May I cut in?" Steve asked.

Then Bridgette nearly fell over she was laughing so hard when Steve took Soda into his arms. They did a classical waltz around the room with very serious expressions on their face. She was crying she was laughing so hard.

"Come on," Pony said, wiping tears from his own eyes. "We can't let them steal the show."

And that was how Bridgette ended up dancing with Ponyboy. It was all very spastic and wild and it the most fun she had ever had.

Darry came home to find them all dancing their hearts out. He looked like he wanted to ask them something but decided against it.

"I should get back," Bridgette said.

"Back where?" Soda asked.

"Home."

"What?" he asked blankly.

"I'll explain everything," Pony promised. "First let me walk her home."

Bridgette could feel everyone's eyes on them as they walked out of the house. She could even imagine Soda wiggling his eyebrows at Darry and Darry grinning at him.

"I'm proud of you," Pony stated.

"Thank you. I'm proud of me, too."

"Good," he said firmly. "You should be. It's about time."

"It is," she laughed. A few people around town looked at them as they walked and she smiled at every single one of them.

"So does this mean we can hang out without any restrictions or hiding?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

"That's good."

She agreed. They reached her house.

"Thanks for walking me."

"Any time."

She didn't know what else to say so she just smiled and walked into the house. Everyone was still gathered in the corner and they all looked up at he when she walked inside. She nodded once at them and then went to her room.

Things were looking up.