Hey there people! This is my first story, and its a 'what-if' story for the book the Outsiders.

Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimed- don't own the Outsiders or any characters.

Chapter 1

"Ponyboy! Come on little buddy, talk to me!" called a voice.

"Darry, Sodapop. I think we're too late. There's nothing we can do for him now, he has to pull through on his own." called another.

"Shut up you bastard! I won't ever give up on him, not now, not ever. This is my little brother we're talking about here! He was only a kid god damn it!" sobbed a familiar voice. I heard the sounds of footsteps leaving the room.

"Hello?" I weakly mumbled, "Darry?"

A blurry face turned in my direction so fast that I was convinced that whoever that face belonged to would get whiplash. "Oh Ponyboy, don't you ever do that to me and Sodapop ever again, you hear me!" came another sputtering sob, we thought you bit it." Darry grabbed me roughly and scooped me into his arms, holding me like he would never let go, and I never wanted him to until I coughed and sputtered for air.

"Darry, what's wrong with me?" I said with panic racing through my veins, turning me ice cold. "Darry, I'm off pretty bad, ain't I" I said, tears slipping from the corners of my eyes, streaking my dusty face. All I got in response was a sob.

"Yeah, you're pretty bad off little buddy, but you're tough right? We'll get you through it, the whole gang." I sobbed quietly on Darry's shoulder for what seemed an eternity.

Finally I said, "Where's Sodapop and the rest of the gang?"

"They had to take Soda out of the house, so he couldn't see you. He was going crazy with worry and he wouldn't leave you alone long enough to rest." I slowly picked my head with great effort and looked around the room, just long enough to see that I was back in the house that I lived in with Darry and Sodapop. I was back in my old bed. Then, a sudden, sharp jolt of pain ran up my side. It was enough to make me gasp and it almost made me black out. My head thumped back against Darry, hard. Everything was spinning, everything was blurry and out of focus, my head and my side were now throbbing. "God damn it Pony, take it easy!" shouted Darry gently. 'We need you to stay with us, you've been asleep for almost three days."

"Three days!" I yelped, "What the hell happened to me?"

"Well, no one knows. You went out with a party with Dallas. He came back drunk off his ass, without you. Not making the mistake of leaving you alone with him again! Anyway, when he comes home without you we soon figured out that he had no idea where the hell you were. The whole gang, Johnny, Soda, Steve, Two-Bit, Dally, and I went looking for you, panicked beyond belief. You know how bad things are getting with the Socs! Dally came home around two o'clock in the morning and we didn't find you until around five o'clock in the morning. You were unconscious and shaking like a leaf, freezing cold in the vacant lot. You had no jacket on even though it is the middle of winter. We carried you home and then had you looked at by the doc. He told us that you had five broken ribs, you shredded your tongue and cheek, and you also have a fractured wrist, and needed seven stiches to your face and five to your hand." I let this news sink in.

"Darry, I'll be ok though, right?"

"I hope so but only time can tell, only time can tell." He breathed a slow, steady breath, thinking things over. "Do you want me to let the rest of the gang back in now?"

"Sure." I managed to wheeze out.

Darry walked out the door from his seated position on the bed in three long strides and hollered, "Hey everyone! Pony's up if you want to see him." I heard jostling and things breaking and before I knew it the whole gang was in my room jostling me and the bed, I gasped. The jolting pain was enough to make black spots dance in front of my eyes. "Guy's take it easy, knock it off!" Darry yelped, "He's only been awake for twenty minutes!" The guys took their hands off me and some sat on the bed and some chose to stand.

"Sorry bud, I forgot how bad off you were." Two-Bit said with a sad smile, "But I thought you could handle it like a man, not a whining little girl," He said with a mischievous wink and a wild grin.

"Remind me to beat you later." I said between breaths, "Once I'm done with you, you'll be wishing you were in half as good of shape as I am now." I retorted.

He smiled and then let out a laugh. "I knew you were okay." He said and ruffled my hair and walked out the door. "I'll be right back!" He yelled over his shoulder. Everyone else was standing at the end the bed, just staring at me.

"Guys, why are y'all acting so weird, it's not like I'm on my death bed!" I said with a chuckle.

"It's just that you um... look different?" Dally offered up. Sodapop rushed over to me and enveloped me in an awkward bear hug and then held me like Darry did.

"Ponyboy, I thought we had actually lost you this time." He said, his eyes filling up with tears. He put his face against mine and cried. I could feel the salty wetness running down my face. I hugged him back harder.

"I'm sorry I worried you Soda." I said guiltily. He laughed and pulled me away from him just so he could see my face.

"No offense buddy, but you look like hell all cut up and bruised like that." Now it was my turn to laugh, which also hurt but I was so happy I didn't care.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered, "I'm going to go and jump in the shower."

The other guys left the room, jostling me with affection and saying things like, "It's good to have you back, Pony."

The job was half done for me, my shirt was off but my sides were wrapped in bandages, I'm guessing because of my cracked ribs. I was pretty stiff but I gasped, wriggled, and pulled until my bandages were almost off. Soda's eyes widened because of his surprise at my struggle with a simple task like that.

"Don't hurt yourself, let me get it for you." He said gently. He reached for the white bandages wrapped around me. I was so tired and out of breath after trying to get them off myself that I didn't even have the energy to refuse. By the time I caught my breath, Soda already had gotten the bandages off.

"Thanks, I can do the rest." I said quietly. Before he could respond, I threw the covers off and struggled to stand up. I was on my feet and I leaned heavily against the wall.

"Um... Ponyboy," Soda said, "You're looking a little pale, you okay?" I just waved him off but still stood against the wall. I took a couple wobbly, tentative steps. I tripped and started to fall but Soda caught my arm with his hand and put his other arm around my shoulders. I let him guide me to the bathroom and pushed his hand away and shut the door. Feeling much better, I jumped in the shower but taking much longer than usual, every movement stiff. I got out and wrapped a towel around me. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. I greased back my hair, using a more generous amount of the hair gel than usual. For the first time in three days, I looked in the mirror. Soda was right, I looked like hell in its purest form. There was a deep gash from my temple at the edge of my hairline to my cheekbone that had been stitched up. That is definitely going to scar. My face was a map of purple, yellow, black, blue, and green. I had a black eye that was almost swollen shut. My lips were cracked and dry. This reflection looked nothing like me. I felt like I was going to puke. Which I did. I brushed my teeth again and slapped a smile on my face. I hobbled as fast as I could out of the bathroom. I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. I went down the hall where Darry was waiting for me in the kitchen, eyeing me up.

"Sit," he commanded and nodded his head towards the nearest chair. I obeyed without complaint. The guys filtered in because everyone knew that Darry in the kitchen meant food. "What do you want to eat?" He asked.

"Everything." I replied with a grin.

Review if you love life! Trust me, soon enough, Ponyboy won't!

~Clara-bear6