Okay, it starts off slow and kinda picks up at the end I think. I tried picking emotions out vividly but I don't know how it came out. You tell me. I actually realized I ripped off someone's story title. I'd change it but I'm not sure if that would confuse people…

Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsider's characters.

I'm rambling a bit, so here is the story:

Chapter 2:

The Point of Separation

I nearly choked at my pepsi when the blonde I winked at burst into a loud shrill fit of giggles. Didn't quite expect that one. I dropped my drink down on the counter and bid the ladies which had surrounded me a farewell. The boss welcomed the business the girls brought but if I didn't get any work done I'd lose my job.

The day had been relatively slow, due to the rain no one had really come out to get their car fixed. Steve was inside working the register and I strode in next to him.

"The fan club finally leave?" He asked in mock anger and gave me a grin.

"Yep, I mean, I didn't want to break any hearts or anything but—"

"Shut your trap Soda, some of us have to work for a living." He handed back change to a dull faced customer and joined me sitting on the stools.

"Up for scoutin' out some girls down at the nightly double?" Steve half-asked and groaned when the phone rang at that same moment.

I shrugged. I wasn't exactly over Sandy yet but worrying about Ponyboy took my mind off it enough. He even pointed out that he was perfectly fine but I still was being overprotective, Darry's habits musta rubbed off on me.

"DX station…" Steve answered the phone and paused to listen to the other line. "Two-Bit? I can't hear you….what? you crashed your bloody car—don't you ever learn d.u.i.ing is illegal for a reason…what? Ponyboy?"

Two-Bit calling caught my attention enough, and from what I gathered he crashed his car but when they mentioned the name Ponyboy a lump formed in my throat.

"How bad? Oh, yeah yeah," He looked at me and signaled me over.

I took the phone trying not to worry, Pony was probably just stranded on the side of the road with him or something. Maybe he got knocked around a bit, the kid was tough enough, he'd be fine. I couldn't convince myself and my stomach flipped when I heard Two-Bit's voice. It wasn't laughing and cheerful, or even angry. It was desperate. I've never heard Two-Bit's voice desperate and I didn't welcome it at all.

"Soda?"

I paused before responding.

"Yeah, it is me, what is wrong? What is up with Ponyboy?"

"Listen, I was in a crash. Shoot, I don't know how bad he is man, but I think you ought to get over here."

"Pony was in the crash?" I asked already knowing the answer but I must have gone ghost pale because Steve reached on to grab my shoulder.

"Yeah, the kid was. Come over and call Darry will ya, pass the message on to Darry." There was so much static on the other line I had to guess on some of what he said.

"Where are you?" I swatted away Steve's hand and massaged my temple trying to think reasonably.

It was so hard though, I couldn't stop worrying. Pony was in an accident. Pony was hurt. We don't know how bad.

He gave me half decent directions and I ran over to the counter to grab a pad and write them down.

He was about to hang up when I asked him, "Are you okay Two-Bit?"

There was only static on the other end before his voice came on again.

"I don't know Soda, just get over here as soon as you can okay?"

The line went dead and I placed the phone slowly back on the receiver. I was doing my best not to panic but my hands were shaking. We fought so hard to stay together. Those social workers have done nothing but snoop around our house for months scarin' Pony and Darry and me. They wanted to take Ponyboy away and I'd be turning 18 soon so they couldn't touch me. If anything else happened…

"Soda," Steve said, his voice more serious and commanding than I'm used to, "Call Darry and I'll talk to the boss to get you out of here."

I nodded mutely and sucking in a shaky breath I dialed Darry's number. I got one of his co-workers who said he was busy at the moment. I argued, of course I did, but the man on the other line wouldn't hear it.

"Just tell him it's an emergency then, and have him call back," I said figuring Steve would be here to answer it.

Hanging up shortly afterward I grabbed the keys that Steve left behind the counter and walked out.

"I'm borrowing the car," I told my best friend without even bothering to look at him, without even bothering to see if I got the time off.

I couldn't focus on anything—lights, stop signs, other cars—and I was surprised I didn't die. I could only think of Pony. Pony was in an accident, he could be hurt—badly hurt, he's probably scared, and the state is probably gonna try to pry us apart again.

Just a few nights ago my baby bro woke up from a nightmare, one he confessed he did remember but wouldn't tell me anything about it. He even cried and kept apologizing because he couldn't control himself. I stayed up with him all night…Pony needed me. He may be a greaser but he is still a kid. He needed me.

I pressed the gas down harder and followed Two-Bit's directions.

The rain was coming down in a steady drizzle. I could see the ambulance lights before I pulled up and I put the car in park and didn't bother to close the door. A woman and her child were there crying, and I barely even looked to see walking passed police barracks that were up. I was in a daze. I'm usually one to keep my head, to reassure Pony but I couldn't stop myself worrying. We'd just lost Johnny and Dally, and had our family so close to being torn apart. What else could happen?

"Hey, hey buddy restricted area, I'm going to have to ask you leave!" A police ran up pressing his knight stick to my chest so I couldn't move. I barely registered him.

"I'm—I'm the brother of someone that was in the crash, I need to see him." I said pushing the knight stick back. He let it go but I would have fought if he didn't. There were scraps of metal, and shattered glass everywhere. I was searching the area but I couldn't find Pony or Two-Bit. The ambulance was up ahead, but I was stopped before I got there.

"Soda." It was Two-Bit. I flipped around so fast I nearly lost balance and I wasn't prepared for the sight ahead of me.

He was bleeding from the head, and looked like he just rolled down a mud hill once or twice. But it was his face, his cheerful eyes and cocksure smile…my heart sank. I trailed down to his knees. His jeans were covered with blood, and his hands were too. But he wasn't cut anywhere. It wasn't his blood. Glory, it wasn't his blood.

"Are you okay? Where is Ponyboy?" I asked forcing my voice not to falter on me.

He was silent, dead silent. How hurt could he be? Why wasn't Two-Bit saying anything?

"Hey man, do ya…want to see him…"

"Yeah, where is he?" I asked again my voice rising.

Two-Bit was unnerving me, why the hell wasn't he saying anything? I just wanted to talk to Ponyboy. We'd worry about the social workers later, I just needed to make sure he was okay.

"Two-Bit." I said to snap him out of his trance, he wasn't even looking at me.

"Follow me," His voice was quiet.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets, they were shaking. If this was his idea of a joke I'd jump him myself. Pony was fine. Pony would be fine and Darry, Darry wouldn't let him get taken away. Pony was fine. Pony was fine. Pony was fine….

Pony lay there, but it wasn't Ponyboy. It couldn't be, it didn't even look like him. Black and blue bruises and nicks and cut of different sizes trailed down his face and appeared in a series down his right side. He was pale, deathly pale which made the bruises stand out like horrendous markings. His shirt had been cut off and his left side….his left side was covered with dried blood, more than I even thought a human body had. It covered his shoulder and went down past his ribs in unruly blotches. Whatever cut open his shoulder was gone leaving a bright red and pink wound. I couldn't look, I felt sick. Real sick, like I've never felt in my entire life. My knees shook and I had to fall to the floor and touch the ground to know it was still under me.

I focused on his chest to find his steady breathing but it was still. He was still, completely still.

He was dead. Pony was dead. Ponyboy was dead. My baby brother was dead. I couldn't put into poetic words like he could or even reassuring words like Darry could. I couldn't make a joke out of it like Two-Bit or brush it off like Dally would have. I just could sit on the ground shaking.

I didn't register the tears running down my cheeks. I didn't care who saw, strangers or not. I didn't care if I was made fun of or jumped everytime I walked home because of it.

I would do anything to bring him back.

Truth hit me too hard.

Ponyboy…my baby brother was dead, and he wasn't ever ever coming back.

For the first time in my life I wanted to die. I wanted to go with him. He was just a kid, a scared kid who needed me….and I was a scared kid who needed him more than anything else in my life.

"Pony," I whispered tasting the salt of my tears as they poured down my face.

I crawled forward on hands and knees closing the few feet difference between us.

"Ponyboy," I crawled over his blood which had surrounded him in a small puddle. I reached out to touch his bruised hand which laid by his side…like he was just sleeping. But he was so cold, so cold I had to shiver, so cold I let out a sob that shook my whole body.

"Ponyboy you can't die on us now. You're too young to die Pony." My hands were trembling so much and the world was spinning around me.

People were talking but I couldn't hear them. The world faded away, and there was just me and Pony. No, this wasn't Pony. Pony would be sitting in the lot with Johnny, or waking up from nightmares at home. This isn't Pony.

Ponyboy can't be dead. He can't be. My baby brother can't be dead. He can't leave me behind. Not yet, I'm not ready yet. I'll never be ready. I leaned forward and stroked his hair which was tainted by splotches of blood. The grease had all but washed out. But that was okay because Pony and I didn't need to use much hair grease on ours. Ours, there was no more ours.

"Ponyboy, please wake up honey, it was just a nightmare." I knew I wasn't making any sense and my voice was shaking so much.

Ponyboy didn't open his eyes and I hoped to God any minute I'd wake up from this nightmare and open mine. He didn't look placid. He didn't look like Ponyboy, he just looked dead. So dead, and I couldn't follow him. I couldn't hold his hand and tell him it would be alright or fling my arm over him at night.

"Ponyboy," I shut my eyes, the tears were blurring out my vision. "Why'd you have to die," my voice was so broken I sounded like a crying girl. "Why the hell couldn't you use your head Pony. Please come back to us, Golly Ponyboy... Any body but you. Any body."

I swear I'd kill myself by tearing my own heart from my chest if it would bring you back Pony. If anything would. I rested my hand on his head and sat back drawing my head into knees.

I couldn't stop crying. My heart twisted itself and I could hardly stop to breath. We'd fought for years to stay together since Mom and Dad died. But our family was being torn apart by something none of us could control. Three down, two to go. Who's next? One of the gang just to spice things up or Darry. I seem to being left back here a lot! We'd fought against the state with unfailing persistence. We'd fought against almost every obstacle in the mortal world but this was the one thing that could separate us. Death, death that had claimed my parents and my favorite person in the whole wide world.

My baby brother was dead. Gone, not coming back.

Someone tried to pull me back but I didn't care. I couldn't stop crying. Darry didn't even know yet, it would break his heart. Mine was already falling apart. Nothing could tear us apart like this. There was no point in our entire lives that could tear us apart but this. Death was the point of separation.

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and standing up I wiped the tears out of my eyes. I didn't want to leave Pony but that wasn't Ponyboy. He'd never have to worry about me leaving him again. I bit down on my lip hard, blood started to fill my mouth. I had to leave. I couldn't stay home. Damnit, I felt like running home.

I started off walking mindlessly in a direction-- rushing to a place I wouldn't know until I got there.

I'd take his place if I could.

I'd go with him if I could.

I'd try even if I couldn't.

If it had been anyone else. I staggered back falling against the ambulance blinded by tears.

"Ponyboy…"

Sound like Soda? I tried anyway, I'm not too good about pov's except for maybe Pony's(my fav character!).

I got rid of having to sign in to review by the way.

Like it? Hate it? Have the sudden urge to punch me in the face or email me a cookie? Shoot.