A collaboration story made with my lovely girlfriend, about a fictional love triangle between Dallas Winston, Ponyboy Curtis, and Johnny Cade.

Sadly, I don't own The Outsiders. If I did, Two-Bit would totally be with some chick named Geli (ridiculous, amirite?) and Dally and Johnny would still be alive. All rights belong to S.E. Hinton.

Chapter 1

Choices. People make 'em all the time. Some good, some bad, some that don't even matter at all. But sometimes people make choices that have long-term effects that can really mess a person up, even if it's not affecting the person who made that choice. It happens all the time, and I'm almost ashamed to admit I once made a choice like that.

It's dark and windy and there's a young kid out who looks like he can't be more than 14 years old. Around midnight and he's all by himself, but can barely keep himself up and steady. He's only got half a clue as to where he's going, and he's not even sure if his destination is close by anymore. But the rain is starting in, so he just needs some sort of cover at the moment. The boy's world is going dark as he nears some sort of roofing, but when his legs bump into some stairs he crashes onto the wood, giving up for the moment, as he's dry and safe from previous harm.

Ponyboy Curtis jolted awake from his half-sleep when he heard a loud thump from outside. He and his brothers left the front door unlocked all the time, but he couldn't help but be a little paranoid about outside noises, especially when it was around the middle of the night and was raining hard. He immediately poked at his older brother when a groan followed shortly after. Soda muttered and turned away, only to receive more harder, persistent pokes. He was immediately greeted with Pony's bright greenish-gray eyes looking positively frightened.

"Soda!" he hissed at him, being as quiet as possible. "I-I heard a noise outside! I think someone's out there..."

Sodapop was quiet for a moment, listening to the hard winds and rain beating on the roof outside. "Pony...c'mon, it's prob'ly just the rain...go back to sleep."

"Soda please..." Ponyboy pleaded. "What if it's a robber? Or a killer that's gonna tie us all up and kill us off one by one...?"

Soda frowned, but sighed, getting up slowly and pulling on some jeans. "I swear Ponyboy, you really oughta lay off those books your teachers give ya'..." He rubbed his eyes, dragging his feet all the way to the front door with a tentative-looking Ponyboy waiting by their bedroom door. Soda cracked open the door, the wind greeting his face harshly, and looked around; stopping when he saw someone lying on the porch. His heart skipped a beat when he realized who it was.

He turned around, urgently beckoning for Ponyboy to come over. When his little brother finally managed to work up the courage, he told him what the noise was. "It's Johnny...I think he passed out here."

The name "Johnny" struck a panic nerve in Ponyboy's system. He rushed over to his fallen friend, turning him on his back and gingerly touching his face, noticing the bruises on the boy's tan face. Looking back up at Sodapop, he lifted up Johnny's limp upper-half, getting a soft moan in response.

"Help me out here Soda, we gotta get him inside..."

Soda obliged, grabbing up Johnny's legs with Ponyboy holding up his torso, and helped bring him over to their couch. They placed him down, Soda taking off his muddy shoes so Darry wouldn't get mad about the couch being too dirty.

"He looks hurt bad," Ponyboy mumbled to himself. "Soda, do we got any ice? His eye looks swollen..." Soda nodded, going into the kitchen.

Ponyboy knelt beside Johnny, holding his hand and looking at his wet clothes. He already knew that Johnny's parents were the ones who did the damage. But every time Johnny came to them looking beat-up, he looked worse and worse every time; Pony could never understand why someone would wanna hurt such an innocent kid. Although Johnny never showed it emotionally, it was obvious he didn't understand it either. Maybe that's why he was so naïve about always going back home.

Ponyboy kissed his hand softly, dropping it almost immediately once he heard Soda's footsteps come back toward the living room. He had a bag of ice wrapped in a cloth and was handing it to Ponyboy. "Hey...me an' Steve gotta get to work early in the morning so I'm goin' back to bed. Take care of Johnny, but don't stay up too late. You know Darry'll kill ya' if he finds out you were up past midnight on a school night."

Pony nodded, taking the towel and lightly placing it over Johnny's right eye. "Alright...see ya' tomorrow Soda. Goodnight."

After Sodapop retreated back to the bedroom, Ponyboy rested his cheek on Johnny's chest, looking at that tired face. He felt awful knowing he couldn't do much to help his best friend. No...not just that. Johnny was his lover, and he was supposed to be able to protect his lover, no matter what. Pony just felt shitty, seeing poor Johnnycake looking so hurt. It just wasn't fair. Johnny wouldn't hurt a fly. He didn't deserve everything his parents threw at him.

He sat up, kissing Johnny's cheek softly, leaving the towel on his cheek and standing up. He really did need to get some sleep. He'd be able to check on Johnny later in the morning. "Goodnight Johnny...I love you."