I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)

In media: kidnappers and common criminals are portrayed as smart. They always have their plans thought out thoroughly, and sometimes take months before actually doing what they always intended to do: kidnap a person, rob a bank, shoot a businessman – it was all the same.

A certain group of 'criminals' decided to take a different route as to what the stereotypical kidnappers did. They took three weeks in planning time, though most of that was wasted due to the fact that one of the members of the group had caught a sudden illness. But they all knew what their target was: they were going to kidnap Ponyboy Curtis.

Unfortunately, Brian, the man who was going to kidnap Ponyboy Curtis, didn't actually know what the boy looked like. He was the criminal who had caught the illness, so he was absent for most of the group's meetings. He heard that Ponyboy had two brothers, and he was a 'greaser' who hung out with two other people as well as his brothers. Brian wasn't the type of person who gave up easily however, so he was determined to kidnap Ponyboy, even if he didn't know what he looked like.

"Okay," Aaron, the leader of the gang, started. "I've seen that Ponyboy hangs out at a gas station after school. It's called the DX; he's always with another boy, who I'm pretty sure is his brother. Alright Brian, he's blond and he's poor – remember that."

Brian nodded vigorously, wanting his eldest brother to know that he could do the challenge. They were a gang of brothers, but none of them got along; though it was more than just a sibling rivalry.

The next day, after Ponyboy had finished school, the gang parked by an alleyway; all ready to put their plan in action. The alleyway was close to the DX, so the brothers planned to just take Ponyboy and then leave. Aaron nodded at Brian, who put on a determined face before exiting the car.

Little did the brothers know that Ponyboy's hair had already changed back to its original color. There was still blond in it, but there was nowhere near as much as there used to be. The last time Aaron had seen Ponyboy was four months before the kidnapping was set to take place; the brothers didn't want to risk looking at Ponyboy in case anybody got suspicious, and this is why you will learn that these criminals were the worst at kidnapping and planning in general.

Brian, who was the youngest of the four brothers, gulped before taking out a revolver. He didn't have any intention to hurt the youngest Curtis, but if he didn't come willingly then Brian knew that he'd have to threaten the boy until he did.

Sodapop, who had just had a war with Steve and Ponyboy (they were throwing candy bars at each other), left the DX to go and get some fresh air. It was a sunny day in Oklahoma, as it had been for the past few weeks, so his hair had been bleached to a wonderful wheat gold color.

The blond didn't notice the dark figure in the alleyway until a hand came over his mouth. The boy tried to scream, but Brian's hand was pressed so hard over his mouth that he felt as if his jaw would break. When he started struggling, Brian kicked him in the back of the shin, making it feel as if his legs had suddenly disappeared. Brian kept a firm hold on him and pressed the revolver against Sodapop's temple, making said boy's eyes widen.

"Easy; if you stay calm then nothing bad will happen to ya," Brian whispered, loosening his hold on the gun. Sodapop shook, and then attempted once again to gain attention. Brian sighed and hit Soda over the head with the gun, knocking Soda so that he was barely conscious. Soda whimpered, but Brian shook his head at him. "I warned you."

Soda was left lying in the secluded alleyway while Brian went to get help in carrying Sodapop's body to the car. Greg, his middle-brother, assisted Brian with carrying Soda's body to the car, but instead of shoving the boy in the trunk, they deposited him into the back seats, where Brian and Aaron were seated.

"He's a little big for fourteen isn't he?" Greg muttered as he held the car door open for Brian to place 'Ponyboy' in the seats. Brian nodded, wiping the sweat off his brow as he slid in his previous seat before slamming the door shut.

Greg got in the passenger seat, glancing back at Aaron to see if they were good to go. Aaron nodded and looked down at the boy who they had taken, but as the car started driving down the road he realized that this wasn't the boy who he'd seen four months ago.

This boy was taller, darker, handsomer – unlike Ponyboy who was a small, pale, cute boy who looked much younger than his age. It was true that an appearance could be changed in a few months, though Aaron doubted that one could change this much.

This boy looked older than Brian who was sixteen, and the whole purpose of the kidnapping was to get another brother: a baby brother who they could look after and care for. Their mother wanted a little boy to look after, and when she had seen him at the school (before the murder of Bob Sheldon), she knew that he was the son that she had to have. And her boys had promised her that boy, and they promised to look after him.

"I didn't know Ponyboy worked at the DX too…" Aaron thought, scanning over the boy's uniform. "I thought it was only his brother and his brother's friend."

Realization dawned on Aaron, and he started breathing heavily before searching the boy. Brian raised his eyebrows at his brother's sudden movements, wondering what was wrong; he'd gotten what he'd wanted hadn't he?

Aaron sighed when he saw a small card sticking out of the boy's jean pocket. He took the card and closed his eyes, praying for a moment, before glancing at the card. It as a driver's license, and Aaron wanted to cry when he saw what the name read:

Sodapop Patrick Curtis.

"Damn it! We've screwed up!" Aaron cried, throwing the license out of the window.

"What? How?" Cole, the second eldest brother, and the current driver, inquired loudly.

Brian and Greg both turned to Aaron, fear evident on both of their countenances. Brian was scared of what his brother would do to him for screwing up, and Greg was scared because he thought that the fuzz might have found out about their plan.

"Guys, we've kidnapped the wrong brother!"

XXX

"And you're sure you didn't see where he went? Did he maybe meet up with somebody?" Darry asked Steve, clutching his hair in exasperation.

When he came home from work, he was greeted with the sight of Ponyboy and Steve arguing very heatedly with each other. Darry stepped in when Ponyboy was ready to throw a lamp at the older teenager, and demanded to know what had happened.

Steve gave him the news that Sodapop had left the DX for a short break, but he never returned from it. Darry felt sick; he had almost lost one brother, and he didn't want the stress of almost losing another one. But Sodapop wasn't the type of person to just disappear without telling anybody, and nothing had recently happened to make him want to run away, so this made Darry even more worried.

"Alright, if he doesn't return by his curfew, I'm calling the cops. Please, gather everyone who can help; I ain't losing Soda," Darry begged. Steve and Ponyboy both nodded and left immediately while Darry started making phone calls to Soda's friends as well as his own.

By 6 pm, all of Sodapop's friends were out looking for him, including Two-Bit's family, but nobody found him. Steve had found Sodapop's license by the park, so everybody searched the park, but again: found nothing. Everybody was ready for dinner by then and left, except for Darry, Ponyboy, Steve and Two-Bit's family.

"I'm sure he'll turn up soon; he's probably having a mood swing," Mrs Mathews smiled, trying to brighten the dark atmosphere. Darry nodded at her gratefully, and then turned to Ponyboy. "Guess we should all head back; who knows? He might be at home."

Everybody departed: Steve left for his house, Two-Bit's family left for their house, and Darry and Ponyboy left for their house…without Soda.

Dinner was exceptionally quiet that evening; Ponyboy and Darry didn't utter a word to each other, the only sounds were coming from Ponyboy's fork; the boy kept scraping his fork across his plate in anxiety.

"Stop it," Darry warned dangerously, and the boy did. Darry was in a foul mood now; constantly snapping at Ponyboy if he did something which irritated his brother in the slightest. The youngest Curtis was upset by this, but didn't address the matter.

The food which had been prepared turned cold, since both Darry and Ponyboy had lost their appetite due to the situation. Ponyboy scraped his food into the trash, and then cleaned both his and Darry's plates, but Darry didn't even seem to acknowledge him.

As he said he would, at 11 pm, Darry called the police and reported a missing person. The police soon arrived, collecting basic information about Sodapop as well as some photographs. They needed a few personal details too, and Darry took no time in giving them the information that they needed.

"We'll try our best to find your brother, Mr Curtis," the police officer promised, standing up to shake Darry's hand. Darry shook his hand and then raised his eyebrows at the officer, signalling that he wanted to know what was happening.

The officer promised Darry that they would do a search for Sodapop, and question residents of the city if they had seen anything suspicious around the DX. Darry smiled in gratefulness, wishing the officer a good night before shutting the door behind him.

Ponyboy watched as his brother collapsed on the recliner with his head in his hands. He wondered if this was the same reaction Darry had when he had run away, though he expected it would have been slightly worse since Darry had actually caused that incident.

"Don't worry Darry; I'm sure he'll be fine," Pony reassured softly, putting a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

He was surprised when Darry suddenly jerked away from him. The man stood up and glared down at his little brother, who shrunk back in fear.

"You're sure he'll be fine, huh? How can you say that? Don't you care?!" he yelled, his eyes widening in anger.

"N-no, but let's look at the positives, huh?" Ponyboy stuttered, shaking slightly.

"Positives? Really? After what happened last time, I can't believe you're saying that! But then again, at least Soda uses his head more than you," Darry responded aggressively, turning away.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ponyboy questioned, staring at his big brother. He realized his question was a mistake when he saw the look on Darry's face as he turned around again.

"Well, I'm sure that nobody will end up dead, unlike last time."

"That wasn't my fault!"

"Oh, I'm not talking about Bob. I'm talking about Johnny – whose fault was that? If I recall, it was yours."

Ponyboy stopped trying to think of comebacks and just stayed silent. Darry realized that Ponyboy hadn't replied to him, and looked down at his little brother, but saw nothing but sadness. He replayed the words in his head, and felt a sinking feeling of regret pass into his chest.

"Oh Pony…" he started, at loss for words.

The youngest Curtis bolted up into his and Soda's room, slamming the door loudly behind him. Darry bit his nails and clenched is eyes shut; why did he have to go and say that? One brother was already missing, and who knew what Ponyboy would do now that Darry had said those words to him…

No! Darry wasn't going to lose Pony too. Not two brothers in one day; it wasn't fair! So far Sodapop was gone, but that didn't mean that Darry couldn't prevent Ponyboy from ever leaving him; he'd make sure that Pony hardly ever left his sight.

He went to the cabinet and found the child lock which his parents used to put on all of the children's windows when they were young. He crept into Ponyboy's room, noticing that the boy was sobbing on his bed. Darry's heart broke at that, but he didn't make a sound, and secured the window before slipping the key in his pocket.

"Hey, come on now little buddy, I didn't mean it," he soothed, sitting on the bed and wrapping his arms around Pony. Ponyboy was shocked for a moment and struggled, but Darry kept his arms around his little brother; preventing him from going anywhere.

Ponyboy was crying loudly, as if he had been wounded. Well, Darry's words had wounded him, plus his older brother was missing, so he had reason. Darry stroked the boy's hair and kissed his head, trying to comfort him as much as possible. The youngest Curtis still struggled, but because of his lack of energy due to the stress of losing his brother as well as not eating his dinner, his attempts were futile.

Darry held Ponyboy and then gently laid him on the bed, trying to make his little brother feel as comfortable as possible. Pony sighed and closed his eyes, hugging himself as Sodapop wasn't there to hold him. The oldest Curtis wanted to hold his baby brother, but knew that Pony probably didn't want to talk to him, so he left him alone.

However, as Darry sat down on the sofa, he realized that Pony still might be able to escape; there was nothing to stop him from walking out of the front door. Luckily, Darry remembered where the key to Pony and Soda's bedroom door was, and he took no time in getting it out of the kitchen drawers. He crept over to the door and locked Ponyboy inside the bedroom, preventing him from leaving.

"I ain't losing you again, Pony. Even though Soda's gone for now, I promise things will get better. I'm gonna keep you safe, even if it means keeping you in here forever," Darry stated, but it was directed at himself, not Ponyboy.

Darry would make sure that he kept this promise; he wasn't going to lose Pony ever again, even if it meant he had to upset his little brother. Because Darry was determined.

AN: Hope you enjoyed the prologue guys! The main plot will progress more in the next chapter. This is going to be based mainly on Darry and Pony, but there might be some scenes of Soda with the kidnappers. Also, just noting that Pony is fourteen in this fic but he looks younger than his age. Stay Gold everybody :)