(Ponyboy's POV)

Within a minute of leaving the guys outside, I was walking into the locker room. The room reeked of chemicals, which meant the janitor was in there recently and probably tried to get rid of the smell of sweaty high school athletes by using air freshener or something. I glanced in the garbage can near the door and saw containers of whatever he used, and I wrinkled my nose. I think the chemicals smell worse than it would've if he just left the room alone.

The room smelled gross, which made me even more glad that I was about to take a shower and at least make myself smell better. It wasn't until I was standing under the falling water that realization hit me. I'm a state champion. I actually won.

I knew besides getting good grades, track gave me the best chance of earning a scholarship that would allow me to go to college. My brothers wanted me to go to college, and I was starting to look forward to it too. Darry used to be really hard on me about my grades, but after the stabbing incident and Windrixville, he had eased up on me a bit. Still, I knew it was important to Darry for me to get good grades and do well in track, so I still did my best.

I turned the shower off and quickly changed back into my street clothes, throwing my track uniform in my locker to wash a different day.

"No bodyguards, grease?" I heard suddenly. I turned my head and spotted David, a Soc that was in some of my classes, and two other guys that I recognized as his friends whose names I didn't even bother to learn. They were standing about ten feet away, but they completely blocked my path to the door to leave. Not to mention, David's friends were both smoking up a storm, and I'd have to walk through the fog of smoke just to see the exit. "I'm surprised they let you get dressed by yourself. Isn't it their job to look out for you?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "What do you want, David?" I asked, slamming my locker shut and facing them, trying to look confident and tough. I noticed they all took a step or two towards since they were a little closer suddenly.

"To see what you're made of. You greasers think you're so tough, but the only thing you've proven is that you're good at running away, just like a coward," David replied with an evil grin. "I doubt you could even throw a punch."

"What's the point? I haven't done anything to you," I said, honestly annoyed by the never-ending Soc-greaser conflict. I didn't like fighting, but that doesn't mean I would let myself get pummeled without trying to defend myself.

One of David's friends shot back, "All of you scum need to be taught who's in charge around here."

David nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you think you run this school now that you got away with murder? Well I got news for you, kid; we aren't gonna let it slide."

Seconds later, David's friends threw their cigarettes away in the garbage before all three of them approached me. I wanted to run, but with lockers on both sides of me, I had nowhere to go,

They were on me in an instant. Despite my attempts of fending them off, one of them grabbed my arms while David looked thrilled to deliver blows into my stomach and face. I started kicking wildly, and I managed to get a lucky shot into David's knee. He bent over in pain, and in that moment, I was able to get one of my hands free. I opened a nearby locker as quickly and forcefully as I could into one of the Soc's face, and he dropped his head into his hands, groaning in pain. I only had a moment of triumph before the other Soc tightened his grip on me and David was back and swinging as hard as he could.

In a desperate attempt to free myself, I tilted my chin down and then quickly threw my head back into the other guy's face. Unfortunately, while it hurt both of us, he still had a hold on me, but it wasn't as tight as before. I squirmed and managed to get free, and I immediately connected my fist with David's face. He seemed surprised, and I gave him another surprise when I kicked him between the legs. With David down for the count, I started to run towards the door, but the collar of my shirt was grabbed and I was yanked backwards. My back was shoved into a nearby locker, with the handle digging into my spine. The Soc whose face I slammed the locker into punched me in the side and threw me down to the floor. I tried to catch myself, but the side of my head still hit the hard floor, and I saw stars.

When my vision corrected itself, I was looking up at two angry Socs. I tried to fight them off, but David's friends then pinned my back to the floor, and once David collected himself, he stood up straight and glared down at me before he spat on my face.

"Piece of shit," he said, his voice a bit strained. Then, he gave me a swift kick to the head, which practically ignited fireworks in my skull.

I groaned and tried to protect my head the best I could, but my arms wouldn't move. I remained pinned to the ground, but seconds later, I was somehow able to wrap my arms around my head and curl into a ball to protect myself. I thought the sounds of explosions were either my mind playing tricks on me or my brain was bursting from the pain, but while I tried to stay conscious, I heard the guys above me talking quickly.

"You dumbasses threw your smokes in there!"

"We should tell someone."

"And get expelled?"

Another strange sound resonated in the room, and I felt spots on my skin prickle with pain. What's going on? Did someone actually light fireworks in here?

"Shit, we gotta go."

"And leave him?"

"We'll deal with him some other time."

"That's not what I meant."

"He's awake and moving, he's fine. He'll just get up and run away when we leave."

"I don't know, man."

"I'm leaving before-" another strange sound cut off the last voice, and the prickles of pain on my skin turned into large areas that stung.

I moved around a little, trying to help my skin return to normal. When the stinging subsided, I suddenly had an eerie feeling I was alone.

It took more time than I expected to uncover my face and open my eyes. The room was spinning around me, and the movement made me motion sick. Without the voices nearby, I was able to hear a weird crackling noise, but I wasn't confident that I could move around to find out what was going on. Something in my gut was telling me that I had to get up, but I couldn't force my limbs to listen.

Attempting to move the least amount as possible, I looked around the room from my spot on the floor, and that's when I noticed the fire. The garbage can near the door and not far from me was engulfed in a blaze, with the flames licking the wall next to it. It took too long for my brain to comprehend that the cigarettes from David's friends had started a fire in the garbage and the fire was spreading. Every few seconds, a popping noise would occur, and with it, sparks flew. Then I remembered the janitor just cleaned the room, and one of my science classes taught me that some chemicals and fire shouldn't combine. Oh no.

The flames were already spreading and igniting stray clothes or other flammable objects. The smoke was starting to accumulate, and it was rapidly getting harder to breathe. It wasn't the first time I was in a fire, but it was the first time I was alone in one.

Get up, Ponyboy. You have to get out.

Somehow, I was able to get to my feet, but I had to rest my hand against the wall to keep myself upright. The room was swirling, making it impossible for me to see which direction the flames were spreading. I thought for sure I'd end up on the floor, but I managed to take a few steps, leaning heavily on the wall next to me. I instinctively wanted to walk towards the door, but when I looked up, I noticed that the fire was larger than I thought, and the heat coming from it was making my skin hurt. Even if I wanted to brave the flames and smoke, I knew it would be too much for me to handle, especially since I was barely able to walk under my own power and I struggled to know which way was up. I knew I wouldn't be able to get to the door without passing out, or worse.

What am I supposed to do?

I couldn't get out, so my only option was to find the best spot for me to wait until someone found me, or fall unconscious from the smoke; whichever happened first. I started coughing, and the threat of dropping to the floor and falling unconscious was becoming more real by the second.

My head was pounding as I tried to think quickly. I decided to go towards the showers since I doubted there was anything flammable there and it was the furthest away from the fire blocking my escape. I kept my hands up as I stumbled, hoping that I'd catch myself rather than land on my face. The smoke was making my eyes water, so I mainly relied on my memory to guide me through the locker room. As I moved, I continued to feel hotter and dizzier. I knew I only had a few minutes to get to the showers, so I pushed myself to move the fastest I could.

By the time my feet hit the tile floor, my eyes were shut and I was trying to suppress my coughing by covering my mouth and nose with the inside of my elbow. I took a couple more steps before I stumbled onto the floor, and I stayed there.

While I remained on the floor, I naturally curled into a ball, trying to hide as much of my body from the smoke and fire as I could. As my consciousness was slipping away, I was thinking about the guys waiting outside for me.

How long before they know something's wrong? How are they gonna react?

My last thought before I blacked out was about my brothers. I hope I see them again.

I'm still working on the next couple chapters, so my updates unfortunately won't be as frequent, but I'll post them as soon as they're ready!