A/N: I just wanted to give a shout out and thanks to all those who are following this story and reviewing! Means a lot! Keep it up!

Trembling in my room, I sat on my bed in a ball, in fear, knowing what would soon be coming. As I listened to my parents fighting I could hear my fathers slurred words. This couldn't end well for me. I had no idea what it was now, I just knew I couldn't run. Not now. Not when its already started. He'd catch me, and it wouldn't be much better for me. All I could do was wait. I tried to focus on the screeching of my bed springs, tried to distract myself. My room was small and stuffy, even with the tiny window on the wall that was always open. If it was just a little bit bigger I could squeeze through it. I could escape. I could run and go someplace safe. Not to far. Maybe the Curtis' house, or maybe with Dally.

Footsteps. That all I could hear now. Footsteps heading my way. My fear escalated, and I tensed. First mistake. He could see it, and he knew it meant I was scared, which only pleased him. I started watching the door, couldn't tear my eyes away. Second mistake. He knew it meant I was waiting for him to burst in here and begin. He thought it meant I wanted it to happen. There was a bang and my door was thrown open violently. I saw my father before me. In his same old jeans and boots, with his shirt unbuttoned and untucked, moving every time he budged. He had a beer bottle in his hand, nearly empty. He didn't look very angry, but he'd had a lot of practice hiding it, when he knew social workers were around, which happened a lot. I'd learned that the calmer he looked, the worse it was for me. The more angry he actually was. I knew how to deal with things like this. Don't say anything and don't fight it. Just let it happen. The less I interrupted, the sooner it was done. Usually. He was staring at me, too many emotions in his eyes to count. I knew remorse and love weren't in there though. They never were. Sometimes I wondered if he even knew what those words and feelings were, much less what they meant.

He walked slowly over to me, like a lion on the prowl. I was the prey, and he was about to make his move. "Hey, Johnny." He said quietly. He always used this not-so-innocent sweet voice. It didn't fit him, he had a voice like nails and a hand like a hammer. I didn't reply, and I dragged my eyes away. It almost hurt worse to watch him do this to me than to feel it happening. I always closed my eyes. Tried to pretend it was a dream. Tried to pretend that my parents loved me as much as I loved them.

When I didn't answer him he pounced. He grabbed the collar of my shirt, dragging my off my bed and throwing me as hard as he could into the wall. He still had his beer bottle in his hand when it happened and it shattered as soon as it hit the wall. The little amount of beer that was left spilled over my shoulder, mixing with the now running blood that was cause by glass fragments hitting my head, neck, and shoulders. He let go fast and I crumpled to the floor. "You're supposed to answer when someone says hello John, it's only polite. Where did your manners go. And look! You Idiot! You shattered my beer! I wasn't done with that! You worthless piece of garbage!" He screamed in his slurred voice at me. The air was knocked clean out of my when his foot reached my stomach. Then he kicked me square in the face. I felt the blood trickle down. I was curled in the fetal position, only half conscious when he dragged me again to my feet. I couldn't even stand straight. I was still clenched over in pain and the room was spinning. I couldn't even open my eyes or move my head to look him in the eye like I knew he wanted me to. I knew I was about to black out, and I hoped it came soon. He made a disgusted sound and let go of me, letting me fall limply to the ground. Once my head hit the wall on the way down, I was out cold.

I woke up about half an hour later in the fetal position. My head was throbbing and I could feel where the blood had been and where it was still falling slightly. The smell of beer, seat, and blood was overwhelming. I ached everywhere. I attempted to stretch while still lying on the floor, and the pain was immense. I sat up as slow as I could. Knowing from experience that if I sat up too fast, I'd black out again. I started seeing stars in my vision and the room began to spin slowly. Head-rush. Once I was sitting up, I leaned my head back against the wall and shut my eyes and took deep breaths. The pain was indescribable. Almost like someone was trying to blow up a ballon in my head as big as they could, and then someone else trying to stab it but it just won't pop. After a few minutes I could see again and I began to inch myself onto my feet, using anything I could grab on to help me up. Once I was up and steady I changed my clothes and walked to the bathroom to clean the blood up mostly. I had to walk cautiously, checking around every corner before leaving a room. It took a while for my Dad to calm down from the mood he was in and if he caught me it wouldn't be good. Hopefully, by now he would be passed out in his armchair that was facing away from the door. My mother wouldn't bat an eye at me leaving, so I wan't worried about that. My mother barely even knew I existed.

After I had erased almost all signs of what had happened I headed for the Curtis' house. Their house was like a refuge for me. They were always happy to have, and I actually feel loved for once.

Once I got there after walking in front the few houses that separated us I just walked straight in. Their door was always unlocked. Probably more for me than anyone else. They always knew I'd come straight here after a good beating, but they rarely said anything. "Johnny?" I heard Soda yell from in his room. "Yeah, it's me." I replied weakly. It hurt a little to talk, the pain in my stomach making it too much. Soda walked out of his room to see me, with Pony hot on his heels. You could see their faces change as they took in my small broken figure. I knew it looked bad. I could feel the gashes in my forehead and in my neck and shoulder almost as if I could only feel what I knew they were staring at. They tried to hide it but you could still see the anger and concern and sadness in their eyes. I knew they wanted more than anything to get it to stop, but the way they wanted to make it stop wouldn't end good for them. They wanted to get rid of my Dad. But they wouldn't dare go after him. Besides, they couldn't afford it legally.

Darry walked out of his room to come see, and his face fell. No one said a word when I just walked past them to their bathroom and shut the door. Their first aid kit was behind the window. I put one hand on either side of the sink and just stared at my reflection. I looked awful. My face was flushed and pale from the blood loss. I had many small cuts, but I had one long and distinct shoe shaped one on the side of my face, near a longer one from the glass of the beer bottle. Parts of my face were stained red from the blood. The permanent fear and pain and lost look in my eyes was more prominent than usual and paired with my matted and blood caked hair, it made me look frightening. Like a criminal from one of those old cop shows or something. I didn't understand why he did this to me. I never disobeyed him. Not once.

After a while I heard a rasp at the door. "Johnny? Can I come in?" It was Sodapop. I didn't trust myself to speak so I just opened the door for him. He had seen me like this before. Too many times to count. He didn't say anything to me as he gave me his famous crooked smile and clasped me on the shoulder. I always seemed to feel better around Soda. He just had a contagious joyfulness about him. Thats why he was always the first one to talk to me when I came over here. He knew exactly how to make me forget what just happened. He continued to joke with me while he grabbed the first-aid kit I had yet to get out and started to fix up my face and neck, all the while just sitting on the counter. He knew that this was a bad part of it. The reflection time, I'd heard him call it while talking to his brothers, thinking I was asleep. It was the time when I thought about what had happened and tried to think of what I did wrong to deserve this. They knew I still loved my parents, and no one knew why.

After I was cleaned up and the color had come back into my face we headed back to the living room, where Pony and Darry were trying to act natural by watching TV, but I knew they were nervous on how I would be. Today was one of the worse ones. Usually I don't black out, never get blows that hard to the head, but when I do, its really bad. It makes everything else hurt just as bad. Pony moved his feet, giving me room on the couch to sit down and Soda sprawled out on the floor. Darry was sitting in his armchair. The one that was close to Dad's. Don't think about it.I commanded myself and zoned into Mickey Mouse on TV. After a few minutes of throbbing pain I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of whispered bickering in the kitchen. It was Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. "I just don't see why they aren't doing anything for him! The poor boy getting beaten half to death by his father, and the state just sits back and lets it happen! How can they do that?!" Mrs. Curtis struggled to whisper. I knew she was talking about me. They were both fully aware of what was happening. "I don't know, Michelle. I've called the Social Services many times and every time they just ignore it like I'm lying. They've told me before that it's because there isn't any room left in foster homes or orphanages. I know they really mean that no one wants a Greaser who has problems. It's not fair to Johnny. I wish there was something more we could do." Mr. Curtis said. I stayed lying down with my eyes closed. I wanted to hear this conversation. It was silent for a long moment. "Darrel. Why can't we just take him in? He almost lives here anyway as it is. We can find the extra money, I can work more hours. I just can't stand the thought that this will happen again like we both know it will if we let him go back there." Mrs. Curtis said. They were always so thoughtful and willing to help. I considered them more my parents than my own. They may as well be because Mrs. Curtis was right, I basically am already living here. I could feel them looking at me. "Michelle, you know I would. And I've given the state that option before but they've denied. Said it was too close to where we would be dragging him away from." Mr. Curtis said sadly. The smell of eggs filled the house. Mrs. Curtis was making breakfast. The kitchen was silent. They knew there was nothing more to talk about.

I soon heard the sleepy footsteps of the three brothers coming down the hallway. I decided to go join them, knowing that they wouldn't eat without me. I slowly stood up and made my way over to the table, attempting to rub the sleep out of my eyes. There was a spot already set for me, like there always was. Everyone just smiled and had nice conversations going. It felt like a normal morning. Like I was part of a normal family. But you could feel the tension between Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, though no one said anything and they kept their emotions out of their face. They kept looking in my direction, probably trying to figure out what to do. Then the table went silent, the tension rising as the brothers figured it out. They were all shooting worried glances at me, trying and failing to be discrete. I couldn't look up when I changed the topic. "So, you guys heading up to go hunting today?" I asked, already knowing they were. They shuffled around awkwardly. "Yeah. We're gonna have to head out here pretty soon after we finish eating." Mr. Curtis said simply. I knew that he didn't like to say it. He meant that once they left I'd have to get out of their house. And he knew that it was likely I'd go back to my house. Back to my father, and he hated that thought. He also knew that he couldn't take me with them, I would've said no even if they asked me. They already gave me so much more than they need to.

There was a new hurried pace of eating as we finished breakfast. An almost eager feeling to get out of this awkward conversation, and part eager to get to the country. I couldn't tell which was the thing they wanted more. It didn't take them long to be ready and they headed out the door, looks of concern and pity across their faces as they said their goodbyes. They'd be gone for a few days. That was more than enough time for my so-called father to beat me nearly to death, and now, with almost no safe place to go. Mrs. Curtis looked as if she was about to make them stay home when she saw my face change when I thought about it, but I quickly regained my composure with a happy "Have a safe trip. See ya." before she could do anything and walked out the door.

I figured I'd go find Dally or Two-Bit or maybe even Steve. Anyone was better than no one at this point. I started to make my way down to The Dingo where I thought I'd look first when Dally, Two-Bit and Steve caught up with me. "Hey Johnnycakes!" Dally said as he ruffled my hair as always. I winced and tried not to hiss in pain. "Jeez Dal! Don't do that. My head hurts enough as it is!" I said. Thats when he got a good look at my face. I tried to look away, ashamed of my family and didn't want to seem vulnerable in front of Dallas. It's just not something you do. His face instantly changed into anger. Plain hateful anger. I knew it was directed at my father, but somehow I felt like that was his look of disapproval in me.

I looked up to Dally and couldn't bear the thought that he thought I was just some weak kid with a sob story to tell. He usually kept his mouth shut, but I guess it looked really bad today. "Dangit Johnny!" He almost screamed, making me jump. "Why can't you just stay away from them? Why do you keep going back? Man, if I could I'd k-" "Dally." Two-Bit said, trying to get Dally to shut his trap. That one word was all it took. He looked down at my shaking figure. He stopped dead in his tracks. I knew I was shaking and I tried to stop it, but I couldn't help it. I was just looking down at my hands in the air in front of my legs who were tirelessly chasing each other in a circle, desperately trying to twist back time. The many scenes of my father abusing me flashed through my head, causing me to lose myself in the world of its pain. Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. That made me jump, made me think a memory was coming back to be true again. I realized it was only Dally and I looked up at him sheepishly. "Johnny. I ain't gonna hurt you. I'm sorry 'bout what I said. I'm not mad at you Johnny. It's your worthless no-good person in your house who think he has to rights to be called a father who I'm mad at. It ain't your fault Johnnycakes." He said, almost softly, trying to make me forget again. I couldn't stand all of the worried glances getting shot my way, like I was about to break or something. This had been happening for as long as I could remember and I'd never cried about something I can't change, and I wasn't about to start.

"I know Dal. You just scared me. That's all. It's nothing to get you all worked up about okay? So let's just forget about it." I said irritably. I got a few worried looks, but they all changed into trying to be happy, for my sake. They knew I hated it when they gave me those looks, but I knew they couldn't help it. They were just concerned about me. We walked in silence for a little bit before we got to the drive-in movies. We jumped the fence and grabbed a seat. I saw Dally's face grow with silent anger as the movie proceeded and around the middle he couldn't take the silence and anger anymore and bolted out. Maybe to go pick up some broads, maybe go pick a fight. It didn't matter to me what he did as long as he was careful not to get caught. I couldn't do this with him in jail. While Pony, Soda, and Darry were gone, Dally was my last place to go.

A/N: Hope you guys liked it! I think it was my best chapter yet! Let me know what you thought by reviewing! I think I might stick with just these three characters POV for now...Unless you have someone else's POV you would like to see! I will have some chapters from other important people late I promise but these three will be a definite through the whole story! Let me know and I'll do it! But if you want someone's POV in the next chapter before I repeat the cycle let me know ASAP so I can have time to write it before next Thursday is here! Thanks again!