(A/N: And we are here with the next chapter. Wow, are we already at the part where Lady runs away? This seems to be going a lot faster than I thought it would. I didn't think we'd get here until chapter 5 the earliest. But of well, I'm happy with how it's turning out, so let's get to it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 4: Street Savior

Lady was always a fast runner, and she ran for as long and as hard as she could. However, the corset made it nearly impossible to breathe, and the lightheadedness it caused had her running about in a daze, hardly registering her surroundings.

Her feet continued to push her on though. Fueled by fear and adrenaline, she ran until the lack of oxygen from how little air she was getting finally caused her to stop, and she leaned against the wall to try and catch her breath.

Tears of anger and humiliation ran down her cheeks. In this moment, she genuinely hated her great aunt. Whatever "good intentions" the woman had, this was too much, all of it was too much. She was going to have to have a serious talk with her parents about Aunt Sarah when they came back. They knew the woman could be harsh, but there was no way they would approve of the things she had been doing.

Wiping her eyes, Lady looked around. She frowned as she realized that she had no idea where she was. She hadn't been paying attention as she ran, she had simply run from the policeman chasing her. And while she had somehow managed to lose him, she realized that she had ended up running into the lower-class section of town.

Lady frowned. She had never been to this section before. Sure, she had ridden in a car through the area, but she had never been here on foot before. She needed to get back, but she had absolutely no idea where to go from here.

"Great…" she muttered, her voice barely coming out as a whisper.

She began walking along, keeping an eye out for anything familiar from the car rides she had taken through the area, but she didn't see anything. She attempted to get the corset off so she could breathe properly, but she couldn't get to the lasses in the back. She didn't know why anyone would design such an article of clothing; it was practically a torture device.

As she walked along, she made her way down an ally, thinking that no one would see her. She realized very quickly that she had made a mistake when she heard someone wolf-whistle at her. She looked up to see a fire escape on the side of the wall, upon which three boys were lounging.

Simply by the way they were dressed and their dirty appearances, she could tell that they were, for lack of a better term, street rats. She'd heard that there were several abandoned or orphaned kids and teenagers running around the streets of the lower-class section of town, stealing and cheating to get by. These boys looked to be about her age, maybe a year or two older, and she had little doubt they were amongst the thieving type she heard of.

"Where you going, sweetheart?" asked the one who had whistled at her.

Lady frowned in disapproval. She hadn't appreciated the cat-call, but didn't think she was in any position to call the boy out on his rudeness. Besides, she needed help getting back to her side of town, and these boys likely knew the way.

Reaching up, she tried to dig her finger into the space between the corset and her chest so she could get some air. "Can you… help me…?"

The first boy had already been on his feet, with one of his other companions lying down and the other sitting on the steps. But then they got up as well, and all three of them made their way down the fire escape, dropping into the ally.

"Sure, we can help you," said one of the other boys. "What exactly is the problem?"

Had Lady not already been distraught and having trouble breathing, she may have picked up in the mocking tone in the second boy's voice. But given her situation, she didn't even notice.

"I got lost," she admitted. "I need to get back to the other side of town."

All three boys chuckled at that, and the first boy, who seemed to be the leader of the group, glanced at his friends. "You hear that? She needs to get back to the other side of town." He turned back to her and looked her up and down. "And based on the fancy way she's dressed, I'd say she means the rich people's side of town."

"Awfully far away from her own kind, ain't she?" said the third boy.

This time Lady did pick up on the mockery in their tone and suddenly began to feel uncomfortable. She didn't like the way they were looking at her either, it was sending up red flags in her head.

"Yes," she wheezed, trying to hide her discomfort. "Like I said, I got lost. Could you…" she futilely tried to create more space between her chest and the corset, "could you point me in the right direction?"

He second boy smirked, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. It came across as almost… predatory was the word that came to mind. "Sure, we could point you in the right direction. But what'll you give us if we do?"

Lady frowned. "I… I'm sorry, I don't have any money."

This made the three boys chuckle again, and the first one took a step towards her. "Now, ain't that just like a rich girl, thinking that money can solve everything."

Not liking the way he was closing the distance between them, Lady began backing away. The first boy continued to advance, and his friends were right alongside him. It was then that she noticed that the second boy was holding a metal pipe that he began tapping against the wall as they walked towards her. The third boy had a chain that was wrapped around his shoulder and torso, and he began to finger it.

"I don't think money can solve everything," she said quietly.

The second boy hit the pipe against the wall again, a lot harder this time, making Lady wince. "You got that right. There are some things that money can't fix."

"And you've got a big problem on your hands on your hands," the first boy continued. "You came down here, onto our territory, in our part of town, uninvited. Some people might call that trespassing."

"And we don't like trespassers," the third boy finished.

Fear began rising up inside Lady, and she suddenly wished she were back in the clothes shop with Aunt Sarah. "Please, I don't want any trouble."

The second boy scoffed. "Should have thought of that before you came to our part of town."

The first boy nodded. "Now you're gonna have to pay."

Had the corset not been squeezing her chest so tightly, Lady imagined that she would be hyperventilating from fear. "But I told you, I don't have any money."

The same predatory grin that Lady most definitely did not like spread across the first boy's face as he stopped walking, almost as if he were getting ready to pounce. "That won't be a problem." His eyes once again ran up and down her body. "I'm sure we can figure out another way for you to pay."

His words were all it took to send Lady into panic mode once more. She turned around and fled, running down the ally. She immediately heard the boys give chase. Jeers and crude remarks came from them as they ran after her. Lady didn't look back, knowing that they were right behind her. She was already exhausted from running away from before, and the corset most definitely was not helping. Fear and adrenaline spurred her on though, but she knew it would not last long.

The three boys were close behind her, seemingly letting her stay just ahead of them when they could actually catch her at any time, as if they were toying with her. Honestly though, Lady didn't care, not as long as it meant they wouldn't catch her.

But just when it felt like she was going to pass out, she turned down another ally and skidded to a stop. A large fence, far too tall to climb, blocked her way. On reflex, she turned around, but the three boys blocked the only way out of the ally.

As fear threatened to completely take her over, Lady backed away until her back hit the fence. She began looking around for a way out and spotted another fire escape just above her, but the ladder was not down, and it was too far out of her reach. She was trapped.

The first boy approached her as his friends came up behind him. All three were sneering, seemingly finding her fear amusing. There was nowhere for Lady to go, and the first boy walked right up to her.

"Nowhere left to run, rich girl," he said, his mockery taking a nastier tone. "Now, I think we were discussing how you were going to pay us back for coming to our part of town."

Only a few feet separated them, and the boy was still coming. Lady flattened herself against the fence, knowing there was nothing she could do. "Please…" she panted, closing her eyes and turning her head away. "I'm sorry…"

The boy came to a stop in front of her and his hand shot out. His fingers dug into Lady's cheeks as he gripped her chin and turned her to face him. "Not yet you're not. But you will be."

Lady was on the verge of tears, the moisture already filling her eyes. But then a familiar voice called down from up above, making her heart skip a beat.

"I see you still don't know how to treat a lady."

The hand holding her let go as the first boy stepped back. A moment later, someone dropped down from the fire escape, landing between Lady and the other three boys. The person looked back at her and flashed her a smile, and Lady's breath caught in her throat in a way that had nothing to do with the corset. She recognized that face, and it went with the voice she had also recognized; she still occasionally saw and heard both in her dreams.

The other three boys scowled as the first boy stepped back to stand beside his friends. "Well, well, if it isn't the Tramp. Didn't know you were back."

Turning away from Lady, Tramp looked at the three boys. He was smiling pleasantly, but there was a hard, warning look in his eyes. "You know me, I like to get around; hence the name. But it looks like the three of you are the same as ever. Chasing a helpless girl down an ally." He clicked his tongue several times in disapproval as he shook his head. "Shame on you. It's no wonder it's the only way you can get a girl if that's how you treat them."

"She came onto our turf," the first boy snapped.

Tramp raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall you owning the area, but even if you did, I'm sure it was an honest mistake. She just got a little lost." He glanced back at Lady. "Isn't that right?"

Lady was quick to nod. "Yes, it was a mistake."

Smiling, Tramp looked back at the three boys. "Well, there you go. No harm, no foul."

The first boy shoved Tramp with one hand, making him take a step back. "No harm, no foul nothing. These rich folks think they can go anywhere and do anything. Well, not here. There are consequences for coming onto our turf."

Tramp held up his hands, as if to indicate that he didn't want to fight. "Hey, there's no need to cause any trouble. Like she said, it was an honest mistake. I'll be happy to escort her out, and that will be the end of it. No one has to get hurt. What do you say?"

The first boy glared at him, then glanced to the side. He walked over to the wall and picked up the empty bottle he saw lying there. He smashed the end against the wall, then returned to stand in front of Tramp, holding up the broken bottle like a deadly weapon.

"I say you better get out of here," he growled threateningly, "otherwise the only one who will be getting hurt is you."

His friends showed their support, the second boy holding up the pipe he held and the third pulling the chain off from around his shoulder and began slowly swinging it around.

Tramp stood his ground, his eyes going to each of the boys before settling on the first one again. When he spoke next, his voice was little more than a whisper. "Do you really want to do this? It doesn't have to be this way."

The first boy shook the broken bottle at him. "Yes, it does. The question is, do you want to do this for some spoiled, rich girl? Just walk away, Tramp; she's not worth it."

Tramp stared at him for a few moments before turning back to Lady. She looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to help her, and he let out a sigh as he slipped his hands into his pocket and nodded. "I guess I have no choice."

The first boy smirked, and Lady felt a jolt of fear run through her. But suddenly, Tramp pulled his hands out of his pockets, revealing that he was now wearing a pair of brass knuckles. Quick as lightning, he whirled around to face the first boy and threw a punch. His fist slammed into the boy's face with a sickening crunch. Blood flew from his nose and mouth as he went down, completely knocked out cold.

Lady gasped in shock, having never seen such violence. Tramp quickly moved in front of her protectively, holding his fists up, ready to fight. The other two boys looked down at their fallen friend in shock, then back at Tramp.

"Still want to do this?" he asked. "You can walk away as you are now, or all bruised up. I don't care which."

In response, the second by charged forward, swinging the pipe. Tramp ducked beneath it and maneuvered around the boy. As he did so, he drove his fist into the boy's side, causing him to cry out in pain and stumble into the wall.

Tramp then turned to the third boy who came at him, swinging the chain. Tramp stepped back to avoid the first swipe, and the second. When the boy swung the chain down at him a third time, Tramp moved into position and held up his arm, and the chain wrapped around it. He then yanked his arm, pulling the chain forward, and the third boy went with it. He then punched the boy in the gut, causing him to double over, then kneed him in the jaw, and followed up with a punch to the jaw, knocking the boy down.

The second boy made an attempt to hit Tramp, with the pipe again. Lady let out a cry for him to watch out, but Tramp was already whirling around. He held up the chain and the pipe came down on it. With some quick hand motions, Tramp wrapped the chain around the length of the pipe and somehow flipped it out of the second boy's hands.

Now wielding the pipe himself, he whacked the boy in the knee, causing him to cry out and go down, holding his leg. A second whack to his side knocked him to the ground, and both the second and the third boy moaned in pain on the ground while the first remained unconscious.

Tramp backed off and went to stand in front of Lady again. "You want to continue this, or do you want to get out of here before things get any worse?"

The two conscious boys looked up at him. Tramp glared at them challengingly before smacking the pipe against the brick wall, sending brick fragments flying. The two boys let out pained groans as they forced themselves to their feet. They grabbed their unconscious friend by his arms and legs and carried him off, disappearing around the corner.

Tramp let out a snort as he nodded in satisfaction. He couldn't exactly bring himself to feel bad for them after what they had tried to do. He couldn't stand to see others prey upon those who were weaker than them, which was part of the reason he learned how to fight, so he could put a stop to it when he saw it. The other reason was because living on the streets could be dangerous; you had to know how to defend yourself.

Tossing the pipe and chain aside, he returned his brass knuckles to his pockets as he turned back to Lady. He couldn't believe she was here. He'd simply been lounging on the rooftops when he heard the commotion, and had looked down to see her running from those three goons down the ally. He was glad to have gotten to her in time before anything bad happened to her.

He was also glad to see her in general. Truth be told, he had been thinking of her quite a bit over the past several months since they met. Honestly, he didn't think that he would ever see her again, certainly not like this. The poor girl looked like a mess. Her hand and clothes were disheveled, she was drenched in sweat, and she was pale with terror. Well, maybe not so much anymore now that her assailants were gone. Even so, he still thought she looked gorgeous.

"Hey, Pidge," he said, going back to the nickname he had given to her all those months ago. "What are you doing on this side of the tracks? I thought that you…"

He trailed off as he noticed her gasping for breath, as if she could barely breathe. Her fingers were scratching at her chest, and he suddenly realized that she was wearing a corset. He was never a fan of those things, viewing them as a borderline torture device.

"How tight do you have that thing?' he asked in outrage. "You look like you can barely breathe."

Lady struggled to get enough air to speak. "Can't… get it… off…"

Tramp's eyes narrowed. He appeared thoughtful for a moment before looking around. "Hold on." He bent down and picked up the broken bottle the first boy had dropped, then motioned for her to come over to him. "Turn around and hold still."

Lady did as he said. She felt him hold her in place, and then he began using the broken bottle to carefully cut the lacings, being sure not to accidentally cut her skin. With each lace he cut, the corset loosened until he was finally able to tear it open.

Lady gasped loudly, taking in a huge gulp of air. The tight pressure around her upper-body was gone, and she still wasn't sure if it was her imagination or if she actually felt her ribcage shift again. Feeling began to return to her arms as she quickly scrambled to remove the corset and throw away, then proceeded to rub the spots it had been covering.

Tramp gently reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let me see."

Lady hesitated, wondering about the decency of his request. But he did seem to be genuinely concerned for her, so she allowed him to pull down the back of her top to see the angry red lines left behind from the corset digging into her skin.

"Geez," he exclaimed as he looked at the markings. "Any tighter and that thing would have cut right into your skin. Did your parents make you wear that?"

Lady shook her head as she fixed her top. "No, it was my great aunt. She's babysitting my brother and me while my parents are away. She's very… old-fashioned."

Tramp glanced at the discarded corset in disgust. "More like medieval. I can't believe some girls still wear those things."

Lady couldn't help but agree as she shook out her arms, trying to get the blood flowing back into them faster. "Today was my first time wearing one. I ran away because my aunt actually wanted to make it tighter."

Tramp's eyes practically bugged out of his head. "She wanted to make it tighter!?"

Lady nodded, "So I ran out of the store. But I was still wearing the corset when I did without having paid for it, so the shop owner set a cop on me. I panicked and ran away without really knowing where I was going." She looked around. "That's how I ended up here."

Tramp sighed and tried to lighten the mood. "Hey, I've been there. You have no idea how many times I've had to run from the cops." At the questioning look she gave him, he was quick to add, "Not necessarily because I do anything wrong, they're just trying to round up all the street kids into orphanages and foster homes. Or juvenile hall for the troublemakers."

Lady frowned at that, not sure why he seemed to view that as a bad thing. Wouldn't it be good to get homeless kids off the streets and into good homes? But when she mentioned this to Tramp, he just snorted.

"That depends on where you end up," he told her. "And you have no say of where you go. You could be separated from friends or siblings, or end up in a bad household." He gave her a pointed look. "Some of us find the freedom of life on the streets to be far more appealing."

Taking a look around the dirty ally, Lady wasn't sure she agreed with that. "I don't think it's for me. I think I'd like to go back home and deal with my aunt. Hopefully, I won't be in too much trouble for running away." She gave him a pleading look. "Can you help me get back?"

Tramp resisted the urge to frown. She wanted to leave so soon? He had been hoping to spend some more time with her. After all, he had been frequently thinking about her on and off for months. And it wasn't like someone like him could just drop by her fancy part of town.

But if she wanted to go home, then of course he would take her home. Maybe they could go the long way though; he wanted to get to know her a little better.

"If that's what the lady asks of me," he said, flashing her a smile, "then I shall be happy to assist."

A hint of red filled her cheeks as she gave him a look of gratitude. "Thank you so much."

He just chuckled. "Really, think nothing of it. Spending time with you will be far more appealing than what I had planned for today."

Her blush deepened. "I really appreciate it."

He motioned for her to follow him and they began making their way out of the ally. "Really, it's no problem. But tell me about this aunt of yours; she sounds like a real piece of work."

Lady sighed as she wondered where to begin.

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"And when we got to the clothes store, that's when she told me that she was going to have me get a corset," Lady finished as they walked along. "The rest you know."

Tramp snorted. "I don't blame you for running away. Heck, I would have too, probably a lot sooner than you did. And you say she's watching you and your brother for the whole week?"

Lady nodded, looking anything but happy. "For the rest of today, tomorrow, and the next day. My parents should be coming back late on the third night." She sighed in resignation. "These three days are not going to be fun."

A thought suddenly occurred to Tramp and he grinned broadly. "You know what you need? A day off from your aunt. What do you say I take you somewhere where you can enjoy yourself before I take you back?"

Lady stopped walking and frowned. "But I should really be getting back. Aunt Sarah will be mad enough as it is."

He threw his hands in the air. "Oh, come on, Pidge, live a little. You're already going to be in trouble for running away, so why not have some fun while you're out first?"

Lady tried not to think of how cute he looked as he excitedly waited for her answer. Honestly, she really wasn't looking forward to going home and facing her aunt's wrath. And, truth be told, she wasn't quite ready for her time with Tramp to end either. Plus, he was right, she was already going to be in trouble, so why shouldn't she have a little fun?

Decision made, she gave him a curious look. "What did you have in mind?"

Tramp looked like a little kid in a candy store at her response. "Come with me."

He held his hand out to her. Lady didn't hesitate before taking it, and he began leading her off in a different direction, away from her home.

(A/N: Well, this chapter was fun to write. Adapting Tramp's fight with the dogs to the human version of him fighting some street scumbags worked out well. So, now we're up to the part where Tramp took Lady to the zoo to find an animal to get the muzzle off. Ah, but in this story, he's already gotten the corset off of her. So you know what that mean? This is a full-on date. Well, more of an outing I guess, but you know how it goes. Stay tuned to see how their "outing" goes next chapter. Oh, and in case anyone is interested, next week I'll be starting a new story. It's a three-way crossover between Gravity Falls, Amphibia, and The Owl House, so check it out if you're interested.)