Thank you to everyone that is reading this story! This chapter, and most of the ones following, will be longer than the prologue/chapter 1, so I hope you all enjoy the update!

(Ponyboy's POV)

"Curly, this is bad idea," I muttered as Curly put the car in park next to some bushes and around the corner from Rusty's, trying to keep the car out of sight as much as possible.

"It'll be fine," he reassured me as he started getting out of his seat. "I'll be quick. Just whistle if you see any trouble." He shut the door and jogged away before I could say anything else.

As Curly slinked his way to the parking lot full of Soc cars, it felt like there was a knot forming in my stomach. I thought back to what Curly said we had to do, and I tried to figure out when I should've bailed out.

"Here's the deal," Curly started, sounding like he was some kind of mastermind behind a plot in a movie. He continued driving, keeping his eyes on the road, as he explained. "Some Socs slashed Tim's tires and keyed his car while he was in the slammer, then they jumped a couple of our guys because those cowards knew Tim wasn't around."

It was then that I noticed a few bruises on Curly's arms and his split knuckles that I somehow missed before. "You were one of the ones that got jumped?"

He gave me a sideways glare. "Hell no, two of our guys were gettin' pummeled before Tony and I jumped in to help. We got them good before they ran off."

"So what exactly are we doing?" I asked.

"I'm gonna mess with their cars, maybe grab some cash, then get outta there," Curly said with a smile. "Nothin' to it."

"Then what do ya need me for?" I asked, hoping he'd see that he really didn't need me and would bring me home.

"You're gonna be the lookout," he said simply. "I just need you to watch my back and let me know if any of them are about to spot me."

I figured that's when I should've bailed– as soon as Curly gave me a "job" to do in his revenge plan. I didn't have a specific issue with the Socs other than the fact they seemed to always have issues with me, so I didn't have a reason to be involved. Still, Curly was a buddy, and greasers stick together.

I continued to watch Curly duck behind cars and mailboxes until he made it to the parking lot. I saw him pull out his switch and start to get to work on the first car he reached.

This is a bad idea. I shouldn't be here.

For a moment, I debated using the change in my pocket to call one of the guys to come pick me up before something bad happened, but I quickly decided against it. Whether I liked it or not, I had to back Curly up and make sure nothing went wrong. Plus, if I got out of the car, a Soc could see me at the payphone and decide to jump me and steal the few coins I had.

Curly was on his third car when I really started to get worried that he would be caught. He was taking too long and I was sure someone was going to catch him. Relax, Ponyboy. He said he's gonna be quick. I kept an eye on the windows of Rusty's, waiting for any of the Socs inside to look like they were about to leave. I recognized some of them, and I hoped they would never find out I was involved in the vandalization of their cars.

When Curly got to the fifth car, I spotted a nice car driving down the road and slowing down, possibly to turn into the parking lot and catch Curly red-handed. Even if it wasn't their car being messed with, Socs wouldn't hesitate to rat on greasers or start a fight, especially since we were on Soc turf, so I knew I had to warn him.

From the passenger seat, I let out a long, low whistle and ended it with a sudden high-pitched note. I knew Curly would recognize the noise, and when he peered from around the car he was working on, I pointed at the car that was turning into the parking lot. He nodded and gave me a thumbs up, but instead of returning to the car so we could get out of Soc territory, he just hid behind a different car and continued to cause damage to Soc vehicles.

Come on Curly, it's time to leave.

"Greaser!" I heard an angry voice shout.

I had been so focused on Curly and the car that drove into the lot, that I forgot to keep an eye on Rusty's. A group of Socs were standing outside the front door, pointing and yelling at Curly. Curly looked like a deer in headlights as he sprang from his crouched position and sprinted back towards me, with the group of Socs chasing him out of the parking lot.

The second he reached the car, Curly tossed some items under his seat and threw his knife on the floor. As he started the car, he glared at me. "You were supposed to be the lookout!" Curly shouted.

"I warned you about the other car," I snapped. "It ain't my fault that's when they decided to leave-" I trailed off as I watched the group of Socs that chased Curly. They had seen Curly's handiwork, and they looked livid. Some of them were rushing into cars, and I knew what that meant. They're coming after us. "We gotta get outta here."

Curly must've spotted what I was looking at, because in a blur of movement, he threw the car into gear and we were suddenly moving. Tires screeched as we turned the corner and sped down the road. Not to be one to pass up an opportunity to gloat, Curly reached his arm out of the window, and as we drove by Rusty's, he flipped everyone off. The Socs that were standing there were yelling and throwing things at our car, and unfortunately for me, one of the flying objects smashed through the window and hit me in the side of the head.

"Shit," I spat as I bent over and held my throbbing head in my hands.

"Dammit!" I heard Curly shout over the sounds of us speeding away from the scene. "You alright, Pony?"

I pulled my right hand away and saw that while there was blood, it didn't seem to be a life-threatening amount. Even so, my head was pounding from the impact. "Yeah," I muttered. Looking down at my feet, I found a busted side mirror that didn't belong inside to the car we were in. I picked it up, and noticed that it came from a blue vehicle of some kind. "What the hell?"

Curly glanced in my direction. "I dissembled a few things back there… I guess they found different uses for them." He looked at the rearview mirror, and he suddenly looked worried for the first time. "Shit, they're following us."

I looked behind us, and my heart dropped. There were at least three cars of angry Socs following us. What have I gotten myself into?

Curly took the mirror from me and tossed it out his window, apparently trying to either hit one of the cars behind us or at least distract them. I watched as the mirror bounced off the hood of the car behind us, which happened to be a blue car that was missing a side mirror. Too bad they aren't turning around to get their missing mirror.

Curly was white-knuckling it the whole time, speeding and turning corners at the last second, trying to shake the Socs off our tail, but nothing was working. Every time I looked back, there was at least one car right behind us. Once in a while, something would make contact with the back bumper of our car, and I hoped the Socs wouldn't force us to crash.

We were still a mile or two deep into Soc territory, and I was starting to think we weren't going to make it before we crashed or something. I didn't even care that Darry would be furious with me when he found out what we were doing, I just wanted to get back to our turf, and more than anything, I wanted to be safe at home.

"Damn, these guys don't give up," Curly said. I had a feeling he wanted it to sound like a joke, but between the urgency of the situation and the sweat on his face, I knew Curly was starting to panic. He turned another corner, and the Socs once again managed to follow us. "Dammit!"

"We just gotta get to my place, someone will be there to help," I suggested, hoping I was right. I just wanna go home.

To my shock and horror, Curly shook his head. "No way, man. Don't be stupid. You want them to know where you live?"

I'll be dammed; Curly Shepard is using his head more than me.

"Then where are we goin'?" I asked, trying to hide my fear.

"Towards our side of town," Curly said through gritted teeth. He turned another corner and I swore I could feel two of the tires come up in the air. "I'm hoping they'll lose interest or we can out-run them. Maybe the greasers at Buck's will help us out." That was the first time in my life that I was eager to get to Buck Merrill's place.

As if the universe had it out for us, a fancy new car turned the corner ahead of us and was driving towards us head-on. "Shit," Curly muttered, turning the car sharply and slamming on the brakes, causing the pounding in my head to increase significantly. I looked around to try and side a different road for us to drive on, but we were in between intersections. On one side of the road, there was an old business building that looked like it had been abandoned, and on the other side, there was a church. With no other options, I turned to look in the direction we were driving from, and the blue car had stopped behind our car, blocking the road.

"We're boxed in," I said stupidly, as if Curly didn't already figure that out. Socs were jumping out of both cars, and I looked at Curly, feeling like a lost little kid. "What should we do?"

Curly reached down and grabbed his switch off the floor. "Fight 'em off," he said bitterly, although the look in his eyes told me he wasn't entirely confident about his plan. At least he has a blade, I have nothing. I suddenly wished Curly hadn't thrown the mirror out of the window; it was the closest thing to a weapon I came in contact with all day.

I thought about running for it, but I immediately knew that wasn't an option. I was better at running short distances, and since we were in the middle-class area of Tulsa, it was still at least a mile before I'd reach out side of town, and that was assuming I'd get there before the Socs caught me. Not only that, but I couldn't leave Curly behind to fend for himself. I came to the conclusion that I'd back Curly up in a fight, but instead of getting out of the car willingly and under my own power, a pair of hands stretched through the broken glass next to me and I was pulled out of the window and onto the hard pavement.

After the hard fall, I was pulled to my feet before my back was slammed into the side of the car. I blinked a few times, then I realized that a tall Soc with a big nose was standing in front of me with his forearm pressing against my neck. "What the hell were you greasers doing on our side of town?"

I shook my head, not able to form words. I don't know. I didn't want any of this. I was just trying to walk home from the movie house. Even though my heart was racing, I did my best to look tough and indifferent about my situation.

Then I heard Curly from the other side of the car. "Just givin' ya a taste of your own medicine." Smart, antagonize them when we're already outnumbered, I thought sarcastically.

"This kid has a blade," someone said from Curly's side of the car. They didn't sound too concerned that Curly was armed and dangerous, which meant they had no reason to be intimidated by me.

The Soc in front of me grinned and with his free hand, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his own switchblade. "That's alright, we got 'em too."

"Hey Ed, isn't this one of the kids that killed Bob last year?" the blonde Soc standing in front of me asked the big-nosed Soc.

Realization hit the guy's face, and Big Nose pressed his arm into my neck even more, making it hard to breathe. "It is." Then he raised his voice so all the Socs could hear him. "Guess what guys, this kid was there when Bob died. He's the one that got away!"

Got away? Bob tried to kill me, then Johnny and I ran away, then the fire, and then Johnny and Dally… I didn't "get away" as much as I barely survived and managed to avoid going to jail or being sent to a boy's home. "He tried to kill me," I stated, barely able to speak with the arm pressing into my throat.

"I think it's time for good old-fashioned justice for Bob," Big Nose said loudly, then he got real close to my face and pressed the tip of his blade into the skin right under my left eye. I still tried to look tough, but I was pretty sure that I was shaking like a leaf. "Pretty gutsy of you to show your face on our turf. Or maybe you're just not smart."

You're probably right, I'm an idiot. I got sucked into one of Curly's bright ideas and I'm about to pummeled because of it.

"You're the dumbasses that messed with us first," I heard Curly snarl from somewhere behind me.

"Shut it, kid. You ain't as tough as your big brother," one of the Socs spat at Curly. "So quit acting like it."

I wasn't surprised to hear Curly shout something as he started the scuffle on the other side of the car. Honestly, I expected it. Curly had a short fuse that led to a fiery temper, and practically saying that he was nothing compared to Tim was something that I knew would set him off.

Since I anticipated the fight a fraction of a second before Big Nose, I managed to move from under his arm and send my knee right in between his legs before he could make a move. I felt the tip of his blade cut across the skin on my face as he crumbled to the ground, but since I could still see, I took it as a minor win. My small victory was short-lived before there were instantly three other Socs on me, and I felt like I was fighting for my life.

I punched, kicked, and hell, I wasn't too proud to spit or scratch, but I knew I was fighting a losing battle. Even if I had a blade, I couldn't fight off three Socs on my own, and I knew Curly was outnumbered on his side of the car too, so I couldn't rely on him to save me. No, this time, I was truly on my own, and when Big Nose returned to the fight, I knew I was a goner.

I ended up on the ground several times, and twice I thought I could get away, but I was quickly pushed back into the car before being sent to the ground. Feet slammed into my ribs, fists connected with my face, and in the flurry of movement and waves of pain, I knew I was losing consciousness.

After what felt like both a short amount of time and eternity, I stopped feeling the blows. The side of my face was on the rough pavement, and the last thing I noticed was the church in the background, serving as a backdrop behind the guys that were doing their best to beat the life out of me.

How ironic, I'm going to die in front of a church.

Then darkness encompassed my vision.