Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton does. Enjoy!

Chapter 1. Mingling Crossroads

Ponyboy could feel the water seep into his tattered shoes.

It was disgusting. Especially with each step, he could feel the muddy water reabsorb into his socks only to be squished right out again. He tried to kick some of the water out of his shoes, but after several failed attempt, he accepted his wet, messy fate.

Of all the days that Two-Bit forgets to pick him up, it had to be the day that it rains. Pony had borrowed the school's phone and tried to get hold of Two-Bit. He called his own house first because Two-Bit was there more often there than his own house. When that didn't work, he called Two-Bit's house. Both calls ended up with the same lousy outcome. No Two-Bit.

He considered calling Darry but Darry was in the next town over which left him to consider Soda. But Soda was working and Steve was mostly like by his side. If he remembered correctly, Steve wasn't working today, just hanging out with Soda at the DX because he had nothing better to do. And, knowing Soda, he would probably beg Steve to pick him up. And Pony already knew that Steve wouldn't be happy picking up his best friend's annoying kid brother.

So, that left him with this miserable fate.

He was too busy trying to calm his chattering teeth that he didn't notice a car was behind him until the owner honked his horn.

"Two-Bit you were supposed to-" The words died in his throat as a brown Chevy impala pulled up instead. Pony knew that Two-Bit was good at stealing, but not good enough to steal an impala without winding up in the cooler within minutes.

Pony swallowed as the tinted window rolled down.

In all honesty, he was expecting to notice the person behind the steering wheel. Possibly an overbearing soc that knocked his books out of his hands in the hallway, but he didn't recognize the man that stared back at him.

"Hey, kid." The man leaned over the window. His checkered shirt becoming slightly damp as he rolled the window all the way down. "Want a ride?"

Pony stepped back, licking his dry lips. "Who are you?"

"Charles Zeller." He gave Pony a friendly smile. "I got a son your age. I would hate my boy to be walking around in the rain like you. So, what do you say, son? Want me to drive you home?"

"Thanks, but no." When Charles frowned, Pony felt his heart leap. He tightened his hold on the backpack straps that he didn't even know that he was gripping in the first place. Maybe hearing Steve complain about his annoyingness was better than getting hassled by a stranger, after all.

Darry warned him many times to never ever get in a car with a stranger. Especially a stranger of different class in Tulsa. It was hardly ever good news. You always ended up ruffed up one way or another. Or six feet under….or in a deep end drainage. Or, you know, both.

"Oh, I get it." Charles waved his hand in the air, before allowing it to come down and slap his thigh loudly. "Stranger danger, right?"

Pony remained silent. He just wanted to go home. Standing out here with the rain pelting down on him was not something he enjoyed.

"Alright then." Charles twisted the key in the engine again and his headlights started blinking again. "Well, maybe next time. See ya, kid."

Charles's car bypassed him and effectively splattering some water on his jeans. Whether that was purposeful or not, Pony didn't know. Either way, it sucked.

Pony stood there and watched him leave. He didn't know if he just avoided a kidnapping or if he just lost his chance of getting home in a more proper fashion. In any case, the car was gone and it was too late for second suggestions.

His grips loosened on his straps, as he turned a corner. Everything was quiet aside from his sloshing shoes and pounding rain until he heard the soft hum of a truck.

He didn't come back did he? His paste hastened as the hum of the car became louder. He read enough books to know when people were purposely leading you to believe that you were safe and next thing you know they clobber you over the head and wind up in a infested warehouse with a bunch of decomposing, smelly corpses. He didn't dare look back. He couldn't.

"Kid!"

And that was when he broke out into a run. He didn't care if he was acting foolishly or paranoid. He didn't want to get kidnapped. He just wanted to go home. He could hear the car gain on him. It was eating the ground quick.

"Kid, stop!"

He ignored it and pushed forth even harder.

"Pony! Ponyboy, stop!"

The use of his names shocked him to the point that his legs went weak. Next things he knew, he was collapsing under his own weight and was going down hard. The gravel bit into his skin. Somebody was cursing when he went down. Not to later, he heard the sound of a car door slamming.

"Shit. Pony, you okay?"

Pony tried to get up, to run, to hide. Because if the man knew his name, then that was a dangerous sign. But, before he could, two strong hands intercepted him and held him down.

"Don't touch me!" Pony screamed as he tried to push the invading hands away.

"Pony, calm down! It's me, Two-Bit! Two-Bit!" The calloused hands went from restraining his palms to his shoulders instead. Before he could even comprehend those words, Two-Bit was shaking him so hard that his head was spinning.

For the first time, Pony stared at his chaser fully. And true to his words, it really was Two-Bit. A very wet and worried Two-Bit, but it was Two-Bit. He couldn't believe that he didn't even recognize his own gang's voice.

"Two-Bit?" Pony whispered with a barely audible voice. Two-Bit had to lean in to hear him.

"Glory, Pone. Are you that mad at me?" Two-Bit gave him a weak grin before picking up his hands to access the damage he done during his fall.

He was mad. But after that little freight, he didn't have the energy to be mad anymore.

"I'm real sorry, Pone. Kathy was holdin' me up. She wouldn't let me go."

Two-Bit heaved Pony up and guided him to the car. It was only when he was strapped in the car that he realized how cold he was. Two-Bit leaned toward the back of his seat before producing a ragged shirt.

"Here, dry yourself." Instead of tossing the ragged thing like he would usually do, Two-Bit held it out for him and waited for him to take it.

Pony wrapped it around his small frame. He didn't even bother drying his body. He just wanted to be warm.

"I'm really sorry, Pony."

"I ain't mad." Pony whispered as he brought the shirt up higher. Two-Bit noticed the action, his hand automatically going to the heater, but Pony knew it wasn't going to help. An old car like this could only get so warm before failing.

Two-Bit grinned at this. "Really? Cause you sure ran when I was callin' you."

"I thought you were somebody else." Pony admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed. Now that he was in Two-Bit's old dingy car, wrapped around a shirt that smelled like alcohol, and his buddy sitting right next to him, he realized how childish this whole ordeal was. God, was he getting paranoid or what?

Two-Bit picked up on Pony's implied words immediately. "Somebody messin' with you, kid? That's why you was running? Those stupid socs again?"

"No," Pony answered awkwardly. He fisted the shirt around him tighter. It smelt of Two-Bit and the littler greaser found that that was oddly comforting.

Two-Bit pulled up to the house before turning to Pony fully.

"Then who?"

"It's nothing, Two-Bit."

"Pony-" Before Two-Bit could say anything else, Pony was already unstrapping himself and scampering into the little house.

He kicked off his shoes and made a mental checklist to clean up the floor before Darry and Soda got home. Darry may come home tired every night, but he was never tired enough to not give Pony a good earful for tracking little water puddles everywhere. Pony grabbed a random towel that was lying on the couch before draping it around himself and making his way toward the kitchen sink.

"Darry and Soda are going to skin me if you don't tell me what happened." Two-Bit hollered as he came in right behind Pony. Unlike Pony, he didn't seem to notice the mess that he was leaving.

"Two-Bit, can you help me?" Pony ignored Two-Bit's obvious guilt trips and held up his hands instead.

"You skinned it real bad." The older greaser noted before taking Pony's hands in his. Pony hissed as a piece of glass was pried out of his palm. "Must have landed on a broken beer bottle."

Pony hissed when Two-Bit pulled another piece of glass out. Two-Bit tugged his hand closer to the sink, allowing the blood to drip freely into the white sink. Well, as white as it will ever be. This sink had met too many bloodbaths in its little lifespan that it could never be considered white anymore. Now it wore a more grimy yellow hue with a tinge of orange. Darry tried hard to get it back to its pristine color, but his efforts always fell flat.

"He's goin' to kill me for this, too." Two-Bit gestured toward Pony's palm. Two-Bit examined Pony's hand closer, and seeing no more glass, placed it over the sink again. "Golly, I sure don't want Superman busting my balls anytime soon."

"It ain't your fault. I fell on my own." Pony justified.

"Well, Superman is gonna skin me anyway." Two-Bit flipped open a cabinet and reached in to grab the first aid kit.

"We don't gotta tell him nothin'." Pony offered. He really didn't want his friend feeling guilty. Hell, he was still feeling guilty for making Two-Bit feel guilty when he told the greaser to lie about his health before the rumble. Soda told him that the older greaser got in real trouble with Darry because of that. "We can tell him that I fell during gym. We don't gotta say anything about you pickin me up late none. Savvy?"

Two-Bit looked up from rummaging through the kit. His eyebrows quirked up but his mouth was already spreading into that notorious grin. The jokester walked up to him and casually wrapped his hand around his neck.

"Yeah, I savvy real good." Two-Bit grinned harder before tousling his hair. "I always told Steve that you are a real bud. Thanks, Pony."

Pony frowned. "What about Steve?"

Two-Bit waved Pony's question off and went back to the kit. "Pone, where's the disinfectant? It's not in here."

Pony didn't move from his spot next to the sink. He glanced in his friend's general direction. "I don't know. I guess we used it all on Dally when he busted his knuckles against Tim."

"Should I go get some?" Pony knew that meant that was Two-Bit asking to swipe some and he'd rather not get Two-Bit in trouble.

"I don't need it. I can just run it over water or something."

"Darry will really skin me if I don't clean your wound properly." Two-Bit thought a moment before hurrying outside and telling Pony that he needed to get something from his car. A few minutes later, Two-Bit came back with a brown bag. He took ahold of Pony's hand again before producing a bottle from the bag. He uncapped the bottle with his teeth.

"Two-Bit, you aren't -"

He poured it on his wound.

Pony yelped and tried to yank his hand back, but Two-Bit held fast.

"Two-Bit that stings!"

"I know it does, kid. Just hold still."

"You're not suppose to pour beer on wounds! There's yeast in there." He tugged again, but Two-Bit did not relent his request. The stinging persisted.

"It ain't beer."

"Then what is it?"

"Vodka."

"Then why is it in a beer bottle?"

"You know that nasty store owner down the street?" Two-Bit asked as he drizzled more vodka on Pony's other hand. "Yeah, well he started noticing that stuff just disappeared every time I was there. So, I drank all his beer when he wasn't paying attention and filled the empty beer bottles up with Vodka. Paid for the stupid beer, but lifted his Vodka." Two-Bit chuckled to himself, obviously proud of his lifting skills.

"Why didn't you just buy the vodka?"

"Kid, Vodka is way more expensive than beer."

Pony's hands were starting to burn. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Sure it is, Pone. I ain't no brain like you, but this baby," Two-Bit gestured toward the beer bottle filled with vodka. "Is 45% alcohol. It's probably a better disinfectant than the one Darry always uses."

"Stings a lot more, too." Pony grumbled. His hands were starting to turn red. On the bright side, they weren't bleeding anymore.

When Two-Bit finished, he wrapped Pony's hand in such a fashion that it looked like a blind person wrapped it. Two-Bit laughed at Pony's obvious displeasure.

"Darry can always rewrap it latter."

"Yeah, I guess."

It got quiet, and Pony was about to leave to get dressed, but before he could, Two-Bit spoke up.

"Are you going to tell me what happened earlier?" Pony stiffened at the question. He thought that the older greaser had forgotten the whole thing. He turned to Two-Bit and thought that he could possibly evade the question somehow, but Two-Bit face was all serious. He really hated when Two-Bit got serious with him. He preferred the oblivious, prankster version of him a whole lot better.

"I already told you it was nothin."

"Yeah, what got you all spooked and runnin from me was nothin'?"

"I just-" Two-Bit gave him a look and he quickly relented, " ...I thought somebody was following me."

"A soc from school again?"

"No." Pony gave Two-Bit a funny look and started to fidget with his bandaged hands. "He was an older guy."

Two-Bit quirked his eyebrows up at that. "How old? What did he want?"

"Like in his thirties." Pony was really starting to wish that he didn't have such a loose tongue because then he wouldn't have accidentally slipped in front of Two-Bit earlier. "He uh...wanted to know if he could drive me home."

"Drive you home? What the? Pony, don't ever get in a stranger's car." Was it him or did Darry's soul suddenly take over Two-Bit's?

"I know that. Darry tells me all the time."

"Then what?"

"I told him no and he just left."

"I got to tell Darry." Two-Bit stated before standing up and walking toward the phone.

"Why?" Pony quickly followed Two-Bit. "It wasn't anything, Two-Bit, I swear! I was just over reacting."

"Why? Pony, I got to tell Darry that his kid-brother apparently got a freakin' pedophile on his ass."

"Pedo-what?"

"Pedophile!" Two-Bit repeated loudly as he tried to remember Darry's work number. After all, this wasn't his forte; cracking jokes and getting drunk was his ground but not this.

"What's that?"

Two-Bit stopped short at the question and turned fully to Pony who was blinking up at him. The kid was actually earnestly confused. Jeez, no wonder Darry and Soda worried about Pony so much; he was just too damn innocent for his own good.

"It's a disgusting man." Two-Bit was not about to be the one that was going to ruin the kid's innocence. He'll leave that to Dallas or Steve. Or both.

"Oh. I don't think he was a pedo-pedo..." Pony knitted his eyebrows together as he tried to recall the word. When Two-Bit didn't assist him by repeating the word, Pony settled on, "That word."

"Well, what do you think he was then, Pony? You obviously thought he was no good either because you totally freaked when you thought I was him." Pony frowned, Two-Bit had a point there. Who knew that Two-Bit was so good at making such good remarks.

"I was just overreacting. Come on Two-Bit, be a buddy."

Two-Bit frowned. Why did that line sound so familiar?

"Maybe he just felt sorry for me. I mean, it was raining." Then Pony remembered something that the man said that might help mollify the man's case. "He said that he has a son my age and he wouldn't like his son walking around in the rain, too. I guess I just remind him of his son."

Before Two-Bit could come up with anything to say to that, Pony spoke up again.

"If Dad was still alive," Two-Bit inwardly grimaced when he noted Pony's eyes watering slightly. "He would probably offer other kids rides home if he saw them walking home in the rain." Pony bit his lip. "And I don't think Dad would be a pedo-that word for offering."

"Aw, Pony, don't cry." He moved over to the little greaser and patted his back.

"I ain't crying!" True, he wasn't, but he was getting there. Two-Bit couldn't help but smile slightly at the childish front.

"Okay, Pone, you ain't cryin. You ain't cryin." Two-Bit held up his hands in defense.

Pony scrubbed at his eyes and exhaled loudly. "I'm just saying that it wasn't a big deal. Do you really have to tell Darry? It's not like he forced me to get in his car or anything." In a quieter voice, Pony said, "He just offered."

Two-Bit sighed. "Okay, Pone. But if that man ever bothers you again, I'm tellin' Darry and Soda. And if he does, don't you ever get in his car. You hear?"

Pony nodded. "He ain't going to bother me none. I think he was a good guy."

"Sure, if you say so Pony."

Before Pony could retort, he sneezed loudly.

Two-Bit laughed. "Golly, kid. I totally forgot that you're soaking wet. Should probably shower before you get sick."

"I think it's too late for that." Pony stated as he sneezed again.

Two-Bit watched Pony retreat to the shower.

Golly, sometimes that kid just made him question his actions.

Unconsciously, his grip tightened around the neck of his beer bottle.

Hopefully, what Pony said was true.

That it was just a casual and coincidental offering.

Two-Bit took a swig of his beer encased vodka and stared out the window, the rain pelting hard against the window frame. The vodka went down fast, slightly giving his throat a raw edge.

But, most importantly, that he was a good man.


A/N: I know that I'm supposed to be working on my other Outsiders fic but I totally got writer's block on that one. And this idea popped in my head so I decided to give it a shot. Hopefully, you guys don't think this one is too bad.

So, what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Made you want to vomit?

Sorry if Two-Bit is a bit OOC in here.

Anyway, please R&R. Reviews inspire me and make me happy. No flames please.

6/15/2014