I was walking back home from The Dingo, hoping to make it there before Darry. I was with Johnny Cade, one of our closest members of our gang. We parted ways after leaving The Dingo. Darry would be on his way home from work, where Sodapop would usually give him a nice back rub after a hard day at work.

Hopefully Ponyboy would be there. Darry has a habit of saying that he doesn't use his head. He does the same with me a little bit more. I hate it when we're constantly reminded of it; it gets annoying every now and then. What I do understand is that Darry's only looking out for us; it's been that way ever since mom and dad died eight months ago. But Pony and I were equally stubborn. We were both smart enough to get through college, something that Darry never got to do. That dream died when our parents died.

I was almost at the house, until something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was a body laying in an alleyway, all bloody and bruised. I walked closer to the body, which was shaking slightly. The moment I realized who it was, my stomach turned and I suddenly felt lightheaded.

"Oh god… Ponyboy!" I gasped, my blood running cold. I ran to his side and saw how badly beaten he really was, my twin brother, covered in his own blood. He was also very pale with tears leaving a trail down his cheeks. I knelt down beside him, seeing that his greyish blue jacket was unzipped, his shirt all cut up. Anger filled my entire being as I learned who had done this; the damn Socs.

Lifting up his shirt a little bit, I almost threw up at the black and blue bruises on his sides and the deep cuts in the skin. There were hand shaped bruises on his wrists and ankles. Ponyboy's known to be a fighter, and he was definitely struggling against the hands of the Socs. There was a gash on his cheek, the blood still oozing from them. It would definitely leave a scar, just like Johnny's.

I also saw that a handkerchief was stuffed in his mouth, meaning he was crying out for us. A sob escaped my throat at the realization, he was calling for us and we didn't hear him… He needed us to be here to protect him. But Darry and Soda were at work and I was at the Dingo with Johnny. Why didn't I tell him to come with us?

"Oh my god… Pony, I'm so sorry…" I sobbed, looking away from his unconscious body. He was still breathing, meaning he was still alive. If those Socs had killed him, I don't know what I'd do.

Suddenly, I heard the engine of a car pulling up behind us. I quickly looked behind me with a gasp, eyes widened. It was Darry's truck, the headlights shining bright against us. In an instant, Darry hopped out of the car and quickly made his way over to where Ponyboy laid.

"Oh god, Bex, what happened?!" he exclaimed, seeing the state our brother was in. "He… h-he was jumped by the Socs, Darry. I found him like this…" I replied, trying to not bawl but I couldn't help it. Before Darry could respond, there were hurried footsteps behind us.

The rest of the gang was running towards the two of us. It was as if they sensed what had happened, yet it was too late. Soda looked like he was gonna throw up, his chocolate brown eyes full of fear. He came over and knelt down on the other side of Ponyboy, his hands trembling as he wiped the tears from Pony's bruised cheek. I couldn't help but take his hand into mine, holding it ever so gently.

"What happened?" Soda asked, starting to cry a little. "We don't know, little buddy." Darry whispered, tears filling up his ice-teal eyes. "I found him like this…" I answered, seeing how much smaller my twin brother really was while he remained unconscious. It horrified me to think that someone would actually target him. If I was with him, surely I'd be in the same state as him. We'd been through too much already in our short lives.

Darry then started to check for any broken ribs, gently pressing his hand on Pony's side. This caused Pony to moan, his eyes cracking open a little. For a second, they were full of confusion and pain. When he saw us hovering over him, they quickly changed to horror, as if he'd seen something that no one should ever see. Seeing him so scared made my heart ache something awful.

Johnny's eyes were huge, looking terrified. He had been jumped himself a few months ago and hasn't been the same since. The question was, will Ponyboy be the same?

(Ponyboy's POV)

Agonizing pain. That's all I could feel, the aching in my head and body was nauseating. Opening my eyes, I saw three blurry figures hovering over me. Instantly, I thought it was the Socs, they had come back to beat me again. Their horrible words echoing through my mind, "How'd you like a haircut below the chin, Grease?"

I yelped, being startled from the faces above me that my eyes couldn't make out. However, a sharp pain made me regret moving. One thousand volts shot up my back, and sides, but my cries of agony were muffled by the handkerchief stuffed in my mouth.

"Easy, Ponyboy. It's only us." Soda's gentle voice said, his dancing brown eyes coming into focus and wheat gold hair came into focus. "Pony?" Bex's voice said, and I looked up at her, my hand in hers. Her green eyes were filled with tears. Then, the faces of Darry, Two-Bit, Johnny, Steve, and Dally came into my view. Seeing them gave me relief, tears flooding my eyes.

Two-Bit's endless smile had been replaced with a serious frown, which didn't suit him at all. Steve was frozen in shock. Johnny stared in fear, his black eyes widened. Dally was there swearing under his breath. The last time I had seen this was when Johnny had gotten jumped. Made me wonder if I looked just as bad as I felt.

It was then that I saw blood covering my body, coming from the cuts on my arms and chest, the fabric of my shirt cut. The sound of their cruel laughter as they were beating me and cutting me like my skin was butter. My wrists and ankles were heavily bruised from the Socs pinning me to the ground. My head was pounding from how many times I was punched in the face.

My auburn hair was covered in dirt when I let my head drop to the ground. The only thing I was feeling was shame; I couldn't look at the gang. "Pony, we need to get that out of your mouth." Bexley said gently, pulling the cloth out of my mouth and through my teeth.

The minute it was out of my mouth, I could breathe much easier. I gasped loudly and swallowed as I tried holding back tears. I didn't want them seeing me cry, they'd think I've gone soft, off my rocker. I had to be tough in front of the gang. Greasers don't cry, especially not in front of strangers or their own kind. Even Bexley knew that very well.

"Pony, what happened to ya? Who did this to you?" Darry asked, his broad build standing over me. I turned my head away, unable to make eye contact with his icy teal eyes. Nothing came out of my mouth, invisible hands suffocating me. The only thing I could see was that blonde headed Soc hovering over me, the blade held against my throat. It seemed like a terrifying nightmare, but it was in fact real. All of it was.

A tear rolled down my cheek, a warm salty one. I didn't want them to watch me anymore. The sobs were becoming harder and harder to hold in. When I opened my eyes again, I saw that they were still looking at me, wide eyed. Bexley was silently crying, tears running down her cheeks. She and I were close, so seeing me like this must've broken her heart.

"Darry, we need to get him home." Soda's voice broke through the air, sensing what I was feeling. His voice was breaking as he spoke. When he spoke, everyone had woken up from their trance. My nerves spiked up at the rapid movement above me. My vision was too fuzzy to see what was going on. Everything was happening too fast.

I got scared when I felt a pair of hands touch me, causing me to whimper in fear. "Shh, easy now, Pony. It's just me." Darry softly said. I then feel myself being lifted off the ground, which was surprising because Darry was never gentle with me or Bex. Darry then started to walk ahead, heading for home.

Then there was the sound of an engine behind us, which made me flinch because it sounded just like that Corvair. I shut my eyes because the tears were making it hard to see straight. I couldn't stop shaking no matter how hard I tried to stop. The more I tried, the harder I shook. I could hear the taunts in my head, causing me to feel nauseous.

Suddenly, there was a warmness in my hand, someone held my hand to comfort me; Bexley's hand. "It's alright now, baby. You're safe now." Darry assured me in a whisper. As much as I wanted to believe it, I just couldn't. I didn't feel safe… at all.

(Bexley's POV)

We made it home. Darry took Pony to our bedroom and placed him on the bed. Needless to say, I followed him in there and watched as Ponyboy was trying to hold back sobs. I sat down next to him and saw that he wasn't fully aware of what was going on; but when he saw a switchblade hovering over him, he started to panic. He whimpered and tried escaping the hands that were holding him to the bed. Tears welled up in my eyes when I saw how scared he was.

"It's alright, honey. We're only usin' this to get your shirt off easier." Soda's gentle voice broke through his terror. At this moment, Pony stopped wiggling and looked as if he was trying to find my hand, which I promptly took both of my hands. They started cutting through Ponyboy's blood covered shirt with the knife. While this was happening, fat tears flooded down his cheeks and into his auburn colored hair. He tried stopping the sobs but they were already taking over him.

"Easy there, Little Colt. We're almost done." Darry whispered, relieving Ponyboy. Based on his fear, I knew that he didn't want to be anywhere near that blade. Soda also saw this and gently brushed his hair away from his eyes. As for me, I continued to hold my twin brother's hand, rubbing the knuckles soothingly.

Not a minute later, his shirt had been completely down the middle. It was pulled back from his chest so the cuts were exposed. "You're okay, honey. It's alright." Soda said, his voice as nurturing as mom's voice. Ponyboy cried a bit harder when Darry treated the wounds, it was like he couldn't stop himself. He was shivering immensely.

It pained me to see him like this, all bruised and cut up. It broke my heart so much. "You need to rest, honey." Soda said in his ear. I laid down with him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. As if on cue, Ponyboy turned towards me and our foreheads touched. That helped him fall asleep a lot faster, taking the pain away from him. I fell asleep too.