Blowin' Smoke

Amanda: That'll happen in this chapter! And thank you so much Amandi! (Remember?) :)

Candymouse22: I hope it'll be interesting. And yeah, for this purpose I want him hurt but not too hurt lol. Thank you so much for your review!

Shattered Aura: Thank you so much for reviewing! Poor boys, I love to torture them lol.

FebruaryMarch: I'll try to work on my dialog. Thank you so much!

RainbowStarMountain: Aww thank you so much! I loved that part too it was fun to write. And lol the thought of an angry Darry is scary to anyone I think. (And shh too don't anyone you're right)

Chapter 5

Ponyboy's POV (Late-December, 1967)

It had been two weeks since Steve and Two-Bit got jumped. The rumble was scheduled for Saturday night in the same place we fought the rumble after Bob. Darry figured that two weeks was enough for Two-Bit to heal enough to fight, hopefully.

Soda and I had planned our sneaking to the fight down to the very last detail. We would give Darry a five minute head start before slipping out the front door and taking a short cut through the woods. After that, when we got there we would stay hidden in the shadows until the first punch was thrown and then we would get our chance to participate.

On Saturday, as everyone prepared for the rumble, I tried to keep myself amerced in reading and doing my math homework. However, Sodapop wasn't as skilled keeping himself occupied as I was and I was starting to get worried Darry would figure us out, but he was too caught up in his own pre-rumble thoughts to notice.

"You guys ready to go?" Darry questioned Steve and Two-Bit a little after five. After they let out a holler Darry turned to Sodapop and I, suddenly serious.

"Be good, boys, and I better not catch you anywhere near that rumble tonight. Do you understand me?"

Soda and I both gave a convincing "yes" but Darry remained skeptical.

"Alright then..."

"Let's go!" Steve yelled impatiently, a rare smile spreading across his typically hateful and bitter face.

As soon as the door slammed shut Soda and I looked at each other, then at the clock, grins spreading across our faces.

"Are you ready?" Sodapop asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I answered, nervous and excited all rolled into one adrenaline fueled ball.

Slowly, the minutes ticked by one the oven clock. By the time three entire minutes had passed, Sodapop was through waiting.

"Let's just go," he suggested. I nodded because I figured Darry was already out of range.

As soon as we got out of the house we followed our preplanned route through the lot, then took an old trail in a small strip of woods. It took us about ten minutes to finally lay our eyes on the rumble sight, and old abandoned warehouse parking lock, neither Soc nor greaser territory.

Silently, Soda and I lurked just back behind the shadow cast by the warehouse alley. The sight came into view just as Darry stepped forward, locking eyes with a dark-haired Soc I didn't recognize. The Soc clocked Darry in the jaw, but Darry blocked it. No one needed anything else; the fight was on.

I raced out from behind a tree, landing a punch on a medium build Soc with red hair. He didn't even flinch, sending a punch by my upper jaw line. I tried to block the next few blows, and I succeeded with some of them, but he kneed me in the stomach to throw me off and it worked. I started coughing hard, unable to get my breath back. He used the opportunity to send blows to my spine, head, and anywhere else he could to bring me down. I was so focused on trying to breath to even counter any hits. My vision started getting smaller and my last thought before everything went black was, '"Darry was right. I'm so sorry."'

Soda's POV

I was right behind Ponyboy, running, when the fight started. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I was on cloud nine. My first shot was directed at the temple of a Senior Soc I knew from high school. His name was Andrew and he was a typical hotheaded Soc who had tried to jump Two-Bit and I a few times in the hallway. I blocked the next two hits he directed at my face, and sent him a blow to his nose, blood flying. He threw every curse word he could at me, punching wildly, but without much aim. I kicked him in the stomach and moved on to the next guy as he went down, coughing hard and gushing blood.

I looked around for half a second to see if anyone needed help before my eyes landed on Ponyboy across the parking lot. Two Socs surrounded him, kicking him as he laid on the ground, unmoving. I ran at them wildly, pushing one of them back before throwing a lunch at him in his temple. I could only take care of one Soc at a time, and before I could react I saw the other Soc out of the corner of my eye kicking Ponyboy in his leg. A sickening cracked echoed as he made repeated contact, sending my blood boiling. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard Darry's voice yelling, but all I could focus on was the Soc. I was seeing red, punching that no good piece of trash wildly.

"Soda!" He screamed, cussing. "Knock it off. It's over; we won, Soda. You need to stop. SODA!" He finally screamed my name in desperation, pulling me hard by my waist.

"Your going to kill him!"

I suddenly look down at my hands. They weren't punching anymore, they were wrapped around the Soc's throat as he fought wildly, but I was cutting off all of his air.

"Oh god," I mumbled, suddenly feeling sick. "Ponyboy..."

"I know, Soda. Two-Bit!" Darry hollered, his hands still around my waist protectively. "Get Ponyboy in the truck. Now." His voice sounded more panicked than I had ever heard it before.

Two-Bit was breathing heavily and bleeding out of a few cuts, but he was grinning, no apparent serious injury. He picked up Ponyboy gently before taking off back into greaser territory, towards our house.

"I'm okay, Darry. I'm good," I wiped a hand across my face, trying to regain control of myself. Darry kept a hand on my shoulder, afraid I would pass out or something if he didn't. Finally, realizing how urgent the situation was, and that he still has Steve here with me, Darry took off running towards Ponyboy and Two-Bit.

I picked up my pace to a fast jog, trying my best to get to Ponyboy as quick as I coils, but I could only take in so much oxygen at a time. By the time we reached the house the truck was gone and Two-Bit was in his running car. I cussed under my breath.

"Ponyboy," I groaned, again feeling a sudden and intense urge to puke. A hand led me into Two-Bit's passenger seat, but I couldn't place who it was. All I remember is mumbling, "I should be there. Oh boy, I should be there. Ponyboy..."

"Darry's got him. He'll be okay, Soda."

"No!" I hollered, agitated. "I need to be with him."

I didn't know what was wrong with Ponyboy, and everything thought in my brain felt unreal, like I wasn't living it, but I was. Ponyboy was sick enough that Darry couldn't wait a few extra seconds to take me with him. This wasn't good at all; I had ruined everything by taking him with me to fight tonight.

As the gravity of the situation begins to sink in, Two-Bit pulled into the parking lot of the hospital just in time for me to throw the door open and promptly get sick.

Stay Gold,

- Alee XxX