The Delinquent's Daughter {An Outsiders Fanfiction - Sequel to Hope}

15

The next day Faith and I walked to school silently, and so slowly that we missed the warning bell and got there one minute before the class start bell. I hugged her goodbye, told her I would see her later, which she didn't respond to, and ran to my locker. Eli was standing next to it, smiling.

"Hey," he said when I got over there. Not noticing him originally, I jumped halfway out of my skin. He laughed, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Sorry... You okay?" I nodded, putting my backpack in and grabbing a few binders.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming today," he said.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Faith was walking slow," I responded. He shrugged.

"It happens. Hey, did you happen to talk to your parents about... you know, dates?" He asked. I figured he was referring to the month I'd still be grounded for, but I honestly didn't think to ask in the first place. I shook my head.

"So much has been going on... I didn't even think about it," I admitted.

"It's cool. Hey, is everything okay?" He asked. The bell suddenly rang, but neither of us moved. I didn't want to say no, it wasn't, but I also didn't want to lie and say it was fine. So I shrugged.

"Faith's mom wants her to move back in with her," is all I said. He gave me a funny look.

"I didn't even realize Faith's mom was in the picture." For someone that I never talked to before a few weeks ago, he sure did know a lot about us. Then again, Faith was pretty and popular, and most of the guys in the school wanted to go out with her. Most of the girls wanted to be her best friend too, but the spot had been long since taken.

"Honestly, until the other day, neither did I," I admitted. He smiled at me, probably understanding how weird this was for me.

"Hey, we're already late. You sure you wanna stay?" He asked, looking around the empty hallway.

"You mean skip?" I had never done it before, but that didn't mean I didn't want to. He nodded.

"Yeah. It's either a tardy or an absence," he said. I wanted to say yes, but I worried about being caught.

"I have a math test first," I lied. Ah, there I went again, building our relationship on half way too honest truths and half total lies. I had English first, anyways. He gave me a funny look, and that's when I realized my mistake.

"Nice try, but I'm in your first class, and you know it's not math. We don't have to if you don't want to," he said. I smiled gratefully.

"I want to be here for Faith today," I explained. Her mother didn't give her a specific day, and knowing her, she could decide to take her today. She wouldn't go to our school anymore, I realized sadly, still looking at nothing in my locker.

"Hey, are you okay?" Eli asked me. I shrugged.

"I don't want Faith to leave," I said. Taking my hand, he pulled me away from my locker and closed it.

"Then we'll just have to find a way to get her to stay."

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Eli walked home that afternoon with Faith and I.

"You know this could be the last time all three of us do this," she commented. Boy, did I know.

"Faith, you can't do this," I said, full knowing that it wasn't her choice.

"It's not like I want to," she responded.

"So how are we going to stop it?" Eli asked, getting right down to business.

"I think it's inevitable at this point. I haven't lived with her in over 13 years. I don't blame her for missing me," Faith spoke softly and regretfully. I wanted to tell her we wouldn't take that, but I knew it was true. She seemed nuts, but Sandy seemed like the type of woman who would fight for what she wanted, until she got it.

"Would you be coming home on weekends at least?" Eli asked. And that's when I remembered something Sandy had said.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Sandy asked. She had completely changed the subject in a matter of seconds. My mouth dropped open. I didn't know what to do.

"N-no. Why?" Faith responded. Sandy tried to take her daughter's free hand, but she drew it back.

"Honey, this is perfect. If that's the case, you can leave your old school free of guilt, right?" She asked. "Oh, babygirl, I'm so excited!" She hugged her daughter, and Faith didn't hug back. She didn't even let go of my hand.

"Faith!" I exclaimed. She looked at me, startled. "Remember when your mom asked you if you had a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, what about it?" She asked. I looked her in the eye.

"So what if you have one?" I said. It came out as more of a statement than a question or suggestion.

"But I don't," she responded. She sounded sad, broken, and downright confused.

"Yeah... But I do," I told her, looking at Eli. He looked confused to.

"Don't you guys get it?" I asked. "If the two of you pretended to go out, do you think she'd let you stay?" They looked at each other. Faith looked uncomfortable. Eli looked happy to help out.

"C'mon on, Faith. We've already kissed once, right?" He asked. She shrugged.

"Yeah... I guess so." I smiled at her, trying to get her to go along with it. It was the only thing I could think of.

"You can leave your old school guilt free," Sandy had said.  But if she had a boyfriend, then it wouldn't be guilt free. And no parent would wish something like that on their child.... Right?

A/N: Kind of a short chapter, but I'm excited to see what's to come. What do you think of Eli teaming up with the girls?