With the implication behind Bryce's statement hanging teasingly in front of me, I knew what I had to do. It didn't matter that he'd broken his end of the deal when he tried to jump Ponyboy the other day, because in my heart I knew that was a tame attempt compared to what he would do if I didn't go with them. Even though I was shaking with fear, my own safety came second to me if it meant protecting the gang. Over the years they had defended me more times than I could count, and this was the only way I could keep them safe.

     "Don't even think about it missy." Two-Bit's grip on my shoulder tightened, not enough for it to hurt but enough for me to know that he wasn't planning to let me go without a fight.

     "Two, please. Let me go." Dampness started to pool at the corner of my eyes, but I blinked it away as I tried to put authority into my voice. "I want to go with them."

    I lifted my head enough to see Bryce, Max, and Jacob all laughing with arrogant smirks on their faces. Jacob went as far as pushing  the back seat door open, and motioning me forward as he started speaking.

     "Yeah Two, you heard the girl, let her go. She wants to come with us." His sing-song tone mocked not only me, but also the gang. An insult that I knew if he didn't stop soon, the gang wouldn't take lying down.

     And as much as he now hated the gang, this same realization seemed to dawn on Bryce as he stared down his old friends. "Jacob, that's enough." His stony gaze shifted to me. "Alexis, it's time to go."

     A instinctual shudder ran through me as I met his eyes, his glare telling me everything I needed to know. The longer you make me wait, the worse your beatings gonna be

      "Y'all might as well give up. We ain't letting her go with you to be used as a punching dummy for the night."

     Speechless, all I could do was stare at the back of Dally's leather jacket. With one thumb linked through his belt loop, and the other hand holding a lit cigarette, his posture almost looked as bored as he sounded. Murmurs of agreement came from all around me.

     "Don't make us call the fuzz on you. With your rep, us as witnesses, and my sister dutifully giving her testimony, we could easily get all of you booked for kidnapping and accessory to kidnapping."

    "Oh now you got me shaking to my core, you hear this guy fellas. He thinks a threat of the fuzz is gonna scare us." Momentarily looking away from the car of Soc's, Dal looked his shoulder to address everyone. Following his gaze I realized my brother and his friends were outnumbered 5 to 3. Steve and Soda had Two-Bit flanked, with Johnny visible off to the side behind Soda.

     Before I could try another attempt to convince the gang to let me go, with a new layer of icy anger glossing his eyes as he turned back to the road, Dally spoke first.

    "You ain't gonna cal the fuzz and here's why. None of y'all are old enough to be drinking and Alex has no reason to protect y'all, because if your asses get thrown in jail there's no one to beat her. Now quit testing my patience and scram, otherwise I can't promise your car's going look so tough tomorrow."

    Hearing words laced with anger, no matter how hard they tried to play it off, Dally's threat visibly hit the three Soc's hard. Smirks turned into flatlines, conceit shifted to uncertainty, and ever so slightly Bryce's face paled. Shifting my gaze back and forth, I watched the Soc's murmur amongst themselves, the gang stand their ground in a stare down, and the Soc's continue talking. Time felt like it's stopped but finally, the trio in the car pulled their heads apart and adjusted their focus back to where the gang stood. Specifically, all three focused their stares onto me.

     "Listen carefully, sis," Bryce spoke slowly and harshly. "This is your last chance. Come with us and we'll move past this, or choose them and pay the price. What's it going to be?"