Yes, I'm back with another Outsiders story. This is one that I've wanted to write for a long time, but I didn't feel like I could do it justice until now, (I still might not be able to, but I'll give it my best shot.) It's still a major work in progress, so updates might not be as frequent as typical, but I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or anything related to the story created by S.E. Hinton.

(Ponyboy's POV)

I fell to the ground, my head bouncing off the hard concrete that surrounded the park's fountain. The Soc raised a broken bottle, apparently about to strike me with it, but before he could, Johnny jumped on him from behind and tackled the Soc to the ground.

I couldn't even remember why we were rumbling, but I was there to help out my gang, along with the Shepards and Brumly Boys. I didn't enjoy the act of pummeling other people, but I liked proving to the guys that I could hold my own in a fight, especially my brothers since they seemed determined to worry about me. Even though I could fight just fine, it was still easier when Johnny and I tag-teamed against one of the bigger Socs. Both of us preferred it that way too; less injuries for us when we did that.

"You okay Pony?" Johnny asked as he stumbled towards me. Behind him, I spotted Dallas knocking some of the Soc's teeth in. That's what happens when someone fights with Johnny; his attack dog Dallas Winston comes to protect him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I muttered as I got back on my feet, using the ledge of the fountain for support.

Johnny was about to say something else, but his eyes suddenly widened when he looked at something behind me. I started to turn around, but before I could, something hit me like a freight train. My legs hit the ledge right before I was knocked into the fountain with a huge splash.

Unfortunately, my body's instinct to the impact was to inhale sharply, which didn't work well underwater. I started thrashing, trying to get the weight off of me, but nothing was working, and I struggled to stop myself from breathing more water in. Black shutters appeared on the edges of my vision, and I knew I was in real trouble. As suddenly as it appeared, the weight on top of me disappeared, then a hand gripped my forearm and yanked me up.

I coughed and gasped for air as someone made me sit on the ledge of the fountain.

"You okay?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I blinked rapidly before spotting Two-Bit standing next to me. His hand was on my shoulder and he leaned down a little, apparently to get a good look at me. I realized he was waiting for an answer, but all I could do was nod my head. "Try to stay outta trouble, kid."

As I watched Two-Bit leave me to go fight another Soc alongside Dally and Johnny, I spotted Steve attacking a tall, dark-haired Soc nearby. Did the two of them just come to my rescue? I didn't have time to be thankful or think too much about it because I knew that if I looked like wounded prey, Socs would come after me like a pack of wolves.

I got up to my feet, and it didn't take long before a Soc spotted me from just a few yards away. Luckily, I noticed him before he threw a beer bottle in my direction. I dodged the bottle and heard it shatter on the concrete near me, but in the meantime, the stocky blonde Soc ran towards me. He was a big guy, but my small size meant it was easier for me to maneuver quickly, so right before he reached me, I veered to the side. The Soc's momentum caused him to stumble, falling onto the solid ledge of the fountain. Before he could get up, I jumped on his back and tried to get him in a headlock. I'd rather cause the Soc to peacefully pass out than have to fight against him one-on-one. Sure, I was faster, but if I found myself stuck in his grip, I would be doomed.

Unfortunately, the headlock idea didn't work, and my small size worked against me because the Soc stood up, grabbed my arms around him, and bent down so fast that I flipped over him and ended up back in the fountain, causing another splash as I went underwater. Luckily, I knew it was happening, so I didn't inhale nearly as much water as I did before. I need to get away from this fountain; they keep shoving me in it. While in the water, I felt the Soc's hands try to keep me down, but I shot my fist upwards and connected with something hard, causing the guy's hands to retract.

The moment nothing was pushing me down, I stood up and lunged forward at the Soc, throwing my whole weight at him. The two of us ended up on the ground, furiously swinging on each other, both of us landing most of our punches. I must've been making him mad or something because his punches became wilder and he was practically growling at me. Somehow, while I was flat on my back, I managed to get my legs in front of me, and with my feet positioned in front of the Soc's chest, I extended my legs as quickly and forcefully as I could. The Soc stumbled back, giving me enough time to stand up, albeit shakily.

When the Soc regained his composure, he snarled as he reached into his back pocket. Suddenly, there was something shiny in the Soc's hand, and as I stared at the blade, I knew I was in real trouble. This is supposed to be a fair fight. Darry never would've let me come if he knew there would be weapons.

I didn't have time to figure out what to do next because the blonde Soc was coming right at me.

(Soda's POV)

I had just knocked a Soc down when another one seemed to appear out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground. The guy may have had the jump on me, but I was a better fighter. After I connected my fist into his jaw, then his nose, I watched his eyes roll back into his head. As I straightened up, I heard a noise that caught my attention.

There was a big splash in the fountain, and I knew someone had been shoved into the water. I was going to ignore it, figuring it was one of the greasers I didn't know too well, but then I saw Steve yank the Soc with dark hair away and beat the living daylights out of him. I was wondering what caused such a strong reaction out of Steve, but then I saw Two-Bit pull someone out of the water, and I realized I knew the now soaking-wet greaser. I knew him real well. Ponyboy! I knew I had to get to my kid brother's side as soon as possible.

Darry and I always tried to keep an eye on Pony during a rumble, but sometimes it was hard to focus on Pony and also not getting pounded into the ground. That was one of the reasons he never let Pony go to a rumble that involved weapons; that, plus neither of us wanted Pony to get hurt too bad in the first place. Sure, he was a tough kid that could fight just fine, but something about seeing your kid brother hurt at all made you feel awful for not being able to protect him.

I was more than halfway to Pony before another Soc grabbed my arm, turned me around, and punched me in the gut. It was almost enough power to knock the wind out of me, but I managed to get enough air in my lungs to fight the guy off. We exchanged a few blows before something ran into him, knocking us both on the ground. I struggled to get out from under the Soc's body weight, and when I got to my feet, I realized it was my best friend that had knocked the Soc down and was socking him in the face as much as he possibly could.

"Thanks," I said breathlessly.

Steve gave me a quick nod before delivering the last punch that sent the Soc into the land of unconsciousness. Sweet dreams, asshole.

I heard more splashing, and when I turned to look back at the fountain, I spotted Ponyboy in the water again, but he suddenly jumped forward and knocked the big Soc down to the ground. It was a proud big brother moment, watching my kid brother fight against a guy much bigger than him and hold his own, but I still wanted to get closer to him in case he needed me. He typically fought alongside Johnny, and therefore, Dally was usually around too, but I didn't see either of them, so my baby brother was on his own. I'm coming, Pony!

I watched as Pony kicked the blonde Soc away from him and got back on his feet. Right when I thought Pony was in the clear, I was quickly proven wrong. To my horror, I watched the Soc reach into his pocket and pull out a blade. Shit!

I kept sprinting towards them, praying that I was fast enough to help my baby brother. The Soc started moving towards Ponyboy, and I was determined to not let him hurt my brother.

"Pony!" I shouted, hoping he'd understand that I was coming to help him.

Pony's wide eyes met mine for a moment, and in that split second, I saw fear written all over his face. Then his eyes went back to the guy coming at him with a knife. The guy reached Pony before I got to my brother's side, but Pony managed to throw his hands up to defend himself just enough before I landed all over that Soc, bringing both of us to the ground.

"You leave him alone!" I shouted as I pummeled the guy who dared to threaten my brother with a blade.

(Ponyboy's POV)

"Pony!" I heard Soda's voice shout.

For a fraction of a second, I took my eyes off the guy that was likely going to stab me so I could look at my brother. He was running in my direction, and while I knew he was trying to help me, I didn't want him to be in danger too. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to warn him to stay away, because I only had about a second to defend myself from the maniac who brought a blade to a skin-only rumble.

I brought my arms up in a defensive position, remembering that Dally once said if you were going to get stabbed, the forearms were the best place for it, and hands weren't too bad either; both places were much better than the torso or legs. I didn't remember why he felt the need to share that information, but I was grateful for it in that moment.

I was so focused on not letting the blade get close to my chest, that I must've not realized how close Soda was to me. The guy was only within arm's reach for a few seconds before he was tackled to the ground by an angry Sodapop Curtis.

"You leave him alone!" he shouted.

I had seen Soda mad before, usually when one of us got hurt or when he found out some Socs at school were bugging me, but none of that compared to how he looked in that moment. He was furiously punching the blonde guy on the ground, likely breaking some of his fingers against the Soc's teeth, and I was suddenly scared that he wasn't going to stop until the guy quit breathing, and maybe not even then.

"Soda," I said, finally coming out of my daze. He couldn't hear me over the sounds of struggle coming from both him and the Soc, so I went to his side and gripped his shoulder. "Soda, c'mon. You're gonna kill him." You can't kill a person, Soda.

He spared a glance in my direction, and upon looking at my arm, his eyes widened and he shot up to his feet. "Pony, your arm!"

I looked down and noticed a large cut that went diagonally across my forearm. I must've either been scared or filled with adrenaline because I didn't feel the knife touch my skin at all. I'll have to thank Dally for telling me about using my forearms to defend myself against a blade. I looked at my brother and tried to calm him down. "I'm fine-"

"Let me see," he said, pushing me away from the Soc on the ground. He moved me closer to the fountain, where there would be a light above us. As he examined my arm, I realized it was dripping blood. "Pony-"

I noticed movement behind him, and much to my dismay, the blonde Soc made it back to his feet. How is he still conscious after Soda pummeled him? "Soda!" I gasped, trying to get my brother's attention away from me.

"What?" Soda asked worriedly. When he saw I wasn't looking at him, he turned his head to find the Soc coming towards us.

In a blur of movement, the blonde Soc made a move towards us, but Soda unexpectedly shoved me away, knocking me to the ground. When I turned to see what was going on, I saw the blade enter Soda's body.