"I'm tired of fighting them", Johnny huffed in the passenger seat of someone's car. Dallas was driving thirty miles past the speed limit and was blasting the radio. "Whatta ya say?", Dallas yelled as he turned down the radio. Johnny sighed. "Nothin'", he said in defeat. "You hear about the rumble, Dal?". Dallas smirked. "Course I did, kid. Next week, right?". "Yeah". "Well don't you worry, we'll bash their heads in good." Johnny digested that. He really really didn't want to go to the rumble. He wasn't quite fond of fighting, it wasn't his cup of tea. Although come to think of it, Pony might hate it more ,Johnny thought, He thinks fightin' is optional. Well, you always gotta fight in this world.

"Hey, Dallas?". "Yeah, kid?", Dallas responded as he took a sharp turn. "Where you takin' us?", Johnny asked concerned yet not caring. "Just for a ride", Dallas responded. "Damn, kid. You all of a sudden are acting all nonchalant and shit". "That's a bit of big word for you", Johnny snarked bitterly. He knew it was true. He was acting down a lot more. He was acting like a bag of chips, filled with air. But who could blame him? He just wanted an escape. He didn't want this life. He didn't want to be persecuted because his family was broke. Or because he family hated him. Or because he wasn't good at school. He didn't want to be a greaser or a soc. So that left him with no body. He wanted to be nobody.

"Shut up, kid", Dallas said playfully, "I been hangin' 'round Pony too much. Any way, you need some… some… some motivation! That's the damn word". "Maybe you ain't been hanging out with Pony enough." Dallas ignored him. "You need somthin' to do. Like how Pony's always good cause he don't wanna be thrown in a boys home and Steve always is hustling' money so he can get outta his dad's place. Yeah, you need something to work for." "And what would I work for?". Dallas paused. "Don't know kid, but I got a feeling your gonna find that motivation soon. Just like I gotta feeling the Soc who owns this car is wondern' where it is now. I'ma dump it at the school parking lot. They'll find it soon enough".

Dallas drove back to the school and parked the car in a parking spot. They got out and walked to the Curtis's. Dallas was right, Johnny would find some motivation soon. Some big motivation.

It was the night of the rumble. A week can sure go fast. All the boys were huddled up at the Curtis's, as per usual. Steve managed to nick a bottle of something and was taking turns passing it around with Dallas And Two Bit. The stakes were high, and a little liquid courage wouldn't hurt. "We're gonna kick them insured asses!", Dallas piped up. The rest of the boys cheered. "Turn that radio up!", Soda yelled wanting to boost the adrenaline. Ponyboy walked over to the radio and turned it on full blast. It was "I Fought The Law". "Ain't no law gonna win me!", Two Bit passionately cried. The boys seemed to get more riled up buy the song. But for Johnny, it just made him more apprehensive. The lyrics, "I fought the law and the law won", it just didn't sit right with him. But, the rest of the gang seemed to be excited and confident. Even Pony. The rumble couldn't get that bad?

It was nine. The sun had went down and was time for the rumble. Two Rumbles in two months, that should be a record or something. The boys hoped out of the house, Dallas was first, he was the most eagar. Johnny was second to last. He was trailing behind, he was the least excited. The others were adrenaline packed, but Johnny felt dread. A fight can fill you up with adrenaline. It really can. If your made enough, you might not even remember what happened. You'll feel jittery and ecstatic for a while. Then your adrenaline drops, and you crash. It was like a drug. Some people were just as addicted to fights as they were booze or pills or smokes or acid or speed or grass or anything. Johnny didn't want to get addicted to nothing. That's why he didn't like fights.

As he was trailing behind, he looked through the window of the Curtis's house. To his shock, he saw Sodapop still inside. Usually, Soda was the one of the first people out of the door, craving a fight. It was strange. Then, Sodapop picked up the half drank whisky bottle and downed the rest. That was the real shocker. Soda didn't drink anymore. He use too before his parents died. He stopped because the night of his parents crash, he was hauled in for intoxication. His parents were driving to pick him up from the station when they got in a reck. It was late, maybe twelve am. It was dark and they couldn't see the road ahead. Soda had felt extremely guilty for the longest time. Steve bailed him out, it was hushed over for Pony's sake and Soda quit his wild antics. Soda was bawling at the funeral for a reason.

Johnny speed walked up ahead to catch up with the rest of the crowd. He acted like he saw nothing.