Cherry gulped as her car approached the vacant lot. She'd gotten several looks from Greasers throughout the neighborhood, but none were as intimidating as Dallas Winston's. His icy blue eyes locked right on hers through the windshield of her car and she swore he was reading her soul.
As she opened the door to get out, more glares fixed her. She recognized Dallas, and the nice Greaser who had walked her home-the one Marcia kept talking about-Two-Bit. Other than that, the other boys were complete strangers.
As she slowly walked closer, she noticed startling details. Two-Bit's eye was bruised. Blood ran down the side of his mouth, but he was grinning happily. The leader of the other boys had a long scar running down his face. There was something in Dallas's pocket that Cherry could just see the outline of-a gun. She shuddered.
As she walked closer to them, they started whispering among themselves. When they finished, the man with the scar gave her a cruel smile.
"Well, well, well..." He drawled as he slowly stepped closer to her. "What do we have here?"
"I dunno, Tim. Looks like a little Soc..." Another boy called.
"Not only that," Dallas observed. He grinned devilishly. "She's the dead kid's girl!"
Cherry felt a flare of anger run through her. She didn't appreciate Bob being called 'the dead kid' or herself being referred to as 'his girl'. She was her own person, and she wanted to be treated as so.
"D'ya know what we do to little Soc girls like you?" Said the one with the scar as he took out a switchblade.
They all crowded around her.
"You Socs have jumped us Greasers for so long!" Someone called.
"I think now, it should be the other way around!"
"You'll never see the light of day, Soc!"
Cherry was too scared to scream. She felt dizzy watching them surround her, her heart beating at a mile a minute. She thought, okay. It's all over. At least I'll see Bob.
"Don't." Two-Bit suddenly croaked. He staggered forward, and for a second, Cherry wanted to thank him. But then he said, "Let's hear what she's got to say. If we don't like it, then we can jump her."
Thanks, she thought sarcastically. She realized that they were all staring at her.
"Well?" Dallas asked. "What are you here for?"
She swallowed again. Here was her chance to make everything right. She fought the urge to run back to her car, hop in, and step on it.
"I feel like this is all my fault," she started.
Dallas cut her off. "It is."
She ignored him and continued. "I'll testify that Bob and Randy were looking for a fight. I'll say that Ponyboy and Johnny fought back in self defense."
They all looked surprised. "I-I want to be your spy." She finished.
Cherry waited for one horrible minute while they stared at her quietly. She was all alone, completely defenseless. If they decided to attack, they could seriously hurt, or possibly even kill her.
Suddenly, they did something even more unexpected. They all started laughing.
"A spy?" Dallas asked. "Well why didn't you just say so? Sure, we could use a pretty broad like you as a spy."
She smiled at them. "Good. I'll come here to report anything important." She started to leave, but was stopped by none other than Dallas Winston.
"So," he started. "I don't know if you want to go to The Dingo for a Coke or anything-"
She cut him off. "No thank you." She glared at him. He was handsome, and she was in love with him, but she knew he wasn't good for her. He wasn't her kind, and she wasn't his. He would leave her for another girl later on. "But you could go to Hell instead, if you please."
And with that, Cherry drove away, aware that she had both ruined her chance to be with the boy she liked, but had saved herself from despair in the long run.
She didn't know which she would've preferred.

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHERRY VALANCE!!!!!!!!!!
Our favorite Soc girl! :)
"Things are tough all over." - Cherry Valance

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHERRY VALANCE!!!!!!!!!

Stay Gold, Tucker, Stay Gold.

Orange_Elephant a.k.a. SCR