"Yeah I'm sure. It ain't fair for Mrs. Harries and soda worrying about Ponyboy all the time... I don't guess my parents are worried about me?" He asked.

"The boys are worried. Ya know Two-Bit was gonna go to Texas to search for you?" Dally exclaimed.

"Dal. I asked if my parents-" Johnny started.

"No they ain't worried! You think my old man cares if I'm off dead on the side of the road or drunk in a gutter?! That don't bother me none!" Dally yelled. It startled me, hearing him yell. If there was one thing I hated most, it was hearing people yell. Especially dally. He was like my big brother. He hardly ever yelled at me. I'm sure johnny felt the same. We drove back to the church in silence. When we arrived, there were a bunch of kids running and screaming. The church was in flames! My jaw dropped.

"Jesus Christ." Dally exclaimed, pulling over. Ponyboy jumped out of the car.

"Where's he going?! Get back here, stupid!" Dally yelled. Johnny hopped out also, following Ponyboy.

"No! Autumn you are not going in there!" Dal told me. I gulped.

"I need to dal! There's kids in there! I need to help pony and Johnny!" I said, hopping out.

"Autumn please!" Dally called after me. I ignored him and kept running. I ran into the church.

"Pony? Johnny?" I called out.

"In here!" Johnny replied.

"Autumn you need to go back out! You're gonna get hurt!" Pony exclaimed.

"I'm not leaving without you!" I argued. He sighed.

"Just please be careful." He pleaded.

"I will." I promised, picking up a kid. Dally was standing outside.

"Dal! Take this kid!" I ordered. He came over and grabbed her from me. We got all the kids out. My leg got caught under a big piece of wood as the roof started caving in.

"Pony! Help!" I called out. He made his way over to me quickly. I started coughing as smoke filled my lungs, making it hard to breathe. He gently but quickly got my leg out, then grabbed me and pulled me out the window. Dally hit him on the back and Pony was knocked unconscious.

"Shit what'd I do? Stupid kid!" Dal exclaimed. I went over to Ponyboy.

"He's breathing!" I yelled, sighing with relief.

"Ahhhh! Help!" Johnny yelled from inside the church. I ran over to the window about to climb in and help him. The roof collapsed and dally yanked me backwards, making me fall to the ground. I got dizzy, and the world around me started spinning and blurring. Then I blacked out.

I woke up in an ambulance and tried to sit up, but a soaring pain ran through my head and I collapsed back down.

"Easy there. You're okay." A woman told me.

"Where's Ponyboy? And dally? And Johnny?! Is Johnny okay?!" I exclaimed.

"Relax. You're friends are in different ambulances." He said, not answering my question about Johnny. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

All I had was a headache, so they let me out of the stretcher. I saw Ponyboy and ran to him, hugging him.

"Autumn! I'm so glad you're okay!" He told me.

"I love you Ponyboy. I love you so much." I exclaimed, burying my head in his chest.

"I love you so much more than you know." He replied. I smiled and we pulled away and sat down. The man who had been at the picnic with all the kids came up to us and sat down.

"There's someone here to see you kids." He told us, gesturing to the front door, which was being opened by my mom, who was followed by Sodapop and Jack. Pony and I got up and sprinted to them. I jumped my moms arms. She stroked my hair.

"Oh sweetie I was so worried. Are you okay?" My mom asked, pulling away and putting her hands on my shoulders, studying my face.

"Yeah mom I'm fine." I told her, smiling. She smiled and hugged me once more, then moved on to Ponyboy. I hugged jack for a couple minutes, then Sodapop.

"Visitors are now allowed for patients in rooms 324, 635, 316, and 212!" A doctor announced. 212. That's dallys room.

"C'mon guys we gotta go see dal!" I exclaimed, running to the elevator. We got to room 212 and I knocked, stepping in.

"Autumn!" Dally exclaimed. I smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I'm glad you're okay dal." I told him.

"You too shortie." He answered me. I laughed and everyone else entered.

"Hey Dal how ya feeling?" Soda asked him.

"Great." He answered sarcastically. I giggled.

"Pony got a smoke?" Dally questioned. Ponyboy nodded and handed one to him. After twenty minutes, we left. Johnny wasn't allowed visitors yet, so we went home. It was about 12, so we all went to bed. I hugged Ponyboy and he was about to go down the hall to his room, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him to my room. We laid down and he wrapped me up in his arms. I smiled, falling asleep.

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