The Outsiders: A New Place

Chapter 16

the door swung open, revealing who was behind it. the foot steps ran in, and it was the rest of the gang sweaty and out of breath.

"ugh, more hoodlums!" she scoffed. i rolled my eyes as darry said "guys, we have to hide ash." i stared in disbelief and wonderment when i questioned "why?" but before i could even finish my thought, soda and dally were pulling my mom away and was taking her out of my room and down the hall. i heard fighting and finally a voice that said "fine! ill leave!"

the gang all stood around my bed as steve put the bed sheet over my head. i yelled "steve!" and the gang shushed me. at least i wasn't the only one confused about what was happening; johnny, two bit, and pony still didn't know either. footsteps were coming down the hall again, getting louder and faster. i felt everyone sit on my bed, probably pretending to be chill. the door burst open again and this time, it was a voice i had recently heard.

"where is she?" the mysterious voice asked. i scanned my memory to find who that voice may belong to, and then it clicked. it was my dad.

as soon as i realized it, it made sense. it matched perfectly.

"where is she!" he asked again.

"we dont know who you're talking about, sir." i heard soda say almost in a whisper.

"you boys know very damn well where she is. i recognize two of you when i broke into that house. now, ill ask one more time, where is she?"

the boys paused for a second, then i felt their weight lift off of the bed. i stayed very still, because now i was uncovered by them, only the sheet over my head. suddenly the back of my nose started tingling, and i had to sneeze.

perfect time to have to sneeze. just perfect. i thought to myself. i prayed and prayed for it to not come out right now, but it didn't work. i sneezed loud, and not even the sheet could protect me from the glares blazing into my back.

i muttered "shit!" to myself and then i heard footsteps running to my bed and the sheet being lifted off of me. at the same time, i heard my dads voice say "she is here!" i looked up to see pony as the one lifting the sheet off and whispering "we have to go."

i followed my orders and gently sat up. all of a sudden, cops were running into my room, carrying my dad out. we all stared in confusion when a cop approached us.

"sorry about that guys, it won't happen again. he escaped prison when he heard you were in the hospital, ash, and we tracked him down here." he said.

"oh yes, and we asked him about his motives for breaking into that house, and he said it was because he got word that you ran here and stalked you. you don't have to worry about him for a long time."

"well thats just great. ive got a stalker dad." small giggles came from everyone and the cop left my room. nurses came running in after and laid me back down, checking my pulse and everything.

"what's happening?" i questioned.

"we have to do another check up on you after that whole incident."

"a-alright?" i said, hesitant.

"the boys will have to leave though." one of the nurses stated, looking at the gang. they took their hint and left while the nurses checked me over.

Ponyboy's POV

we left the room and me and the gang went to sit in the waiting room. i laid my head back, thinking about what happened in the past ten minutes. just a few minutes ago, me, johnny, two bit, and ash were all having fun and talking. now, ash may be scarred from her mom and dad all over again. somehow, i feel like this all was my fault.

i must have been thinking out loud because i heard soda say "pony, this isn't your fault. its no one's fault, really. this just ended up being fate, you can't change fate."

i looked at soda, knowing he was right. "i know, and i do realize that, its just for some reason i have this hanging guilt."

"thats not guilt, thats showing care for someone you love."

i smiled to myself and looked at soda, telling him thank you. it was about ten minutes later when the nurses came out and told us it was ok to go in. we all walked in and saw ash, looking as cute as ever.

"hey ash... so, uhhh, how you feeling about what happened earlier?" two bit asked.

"it was fun, it gave me an adrenaline rush. it was nice to feel that way again, being cramped up in here and all." she replied. we all stared, not expecting that to be the answer. "whatever you say, kiddo." two bit smiled at ash.

it was late at night, so we all decided to head home and come back tomorrow. we said our goodnights, me kissing ash on the forehead.

In the middle of the night...

Ash's POV

god, this bed is so uncomfy! i thought to myself. i squirmed and stretched, trying to somehow make this stupid bed bigger. i laid sprawled out on the bed, wondering how i could get myself out of this situation. i decided to get up and walk around for a bit and get some feeling back in my legs.

i hung my legs over the side of the bed and gently reached down and put one foot on the cold ground and slowly reached the other one down to meet it. i helped myself stand up using the bed, and it felt so good to finally be on my feet again. i carefully moved one foot, which almost caused me to fall. i continued trying and finally, i was walking on my own.

i walked around the room for a bit longer to get the blood flow in my legs and laid back down. i was so ready to be out of this damn room.

The next morning...

pony and johnny came to see me today, and as they walked in i was in the process of convincing the nurse to let me out early.

"but why? im sick of being in this cramped room on a sucky bed, i want to be in my own bed!"

"im sorry ms. sanders, but doctors orders, we have to keep you in here for four more days."

i sighed in frustration and looked at pony and johnny standing in the doorway.

"how long have you guys been there? i wondered aloud.

"about a minute." pony responded. the nurse exited and pony and johnny walked over to me. "so i hear you want out of this room?" johnny asked smiling.

"ugh, you dont know how bad i want to breathe fresh air again." i replied, putting my head back.

"i don't blame you, i would feel the same way." johnny responded. the room was silent for a bit of time until we all started having more conversations. later in our talk, pony asked johnny to leave the room so he could speak to me alone. he nodded and stood up, walking out. pony turned to me and we looked at each other smiling.

"so, about our kiss... did you feel something between us?" pony asked. i wasn't sure if this was a good or bad question, but i responded with "honestly, i did. did you?"

his eyes gleamed bright and he said "you know, i think i did."

we both smiled big at each other, and i knew at this moment that i wanted to be with pony for as long as possible. maybe our whole lives, even.

hey guys! i had some writers block on this chapter so it is a bit shorter, but im hoping i wont have it in these next few chapters. and since christmas is coming up, i don't know if the next time i will update will be before christmas or after, but if i don't update before i hope you all have a wonderful christmas and if you don't celebrate it, have a happy new year! don't forget to vote, comment, and follow, and thanks for reading!