Chapter Text
(Ponyboy's POV)
Me, Dally, and Johnny were hanging out like usual. Of course Dally was looking to cause any trouble he could, Johnny was there to admire how easily he did it all, and I was just there so I wouldn't be alone on a Saturday night.
Johnny and I were laughing as Dally repeatedly failed to light his cigarette. Finally, it sparked and smoke rolled from the end of it. Dally smirked and put it in his mouth.
"Pony, why'd you stop smoking?" Johnny asked.
"Track," I replied, before Dally suddenly jerked his head toward us with an intense look in his eyes.
"What-"
"Shut up," he half-whispered. All three of us looked forward to see the silhouette of four people walking toward us. As they got closer, I could see their curly hair and madras jackets. Socs.
"Haven't we told you greasers about being out here at night?" one of them laughed.
"This is our side of town," Dally countered, his thick New York accent blazing with hatred.
"Is that so?" one of them smirked. "Let's see about that."
All four socs launched themselves at us. Dally was immediately on two of them, Johnny was easily taking care of one, and I was doing my best with the one that came at me. But of course, I was much smaller than him. He had me on the ground in a second. I tried to fight him with all of my strength, but it was useless. He grabbed my shoulders so tight that it hurt, and began to slam my head into the concrete. After the first hit, my vision got a bit fuzzy. After the second hit, things got blurry. By the third hit, darkness rimmed my vision.
That was when Dally noticed me and yanked his switchblade out of his pocket. That got the socs. Without a word, they were gone in seconds.
There was a hand on my shoulder. "Kid, you with us?"
"Head..."
"Yeah, yeah, it's gonna be okay," Dally's voice said. I saw his outline, but it looked like he was standing behind frosted glass. I couldn't make out his features, expressions, any of it. Just the effort of trying to see was surging pain through my eyes.
The next thing I knew, I was cradled in someone's arms- probably Dally's from the smell of it- and we were moving fast. He must've been running. It was hurting my head even more, the constant motion. Soon enough, we were somewhere completely different.
"I'm real sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen," Dally said urgently.
"What happened?" said a soft, familiar voice. I assumed it was Soda's.
"Got his head smashed into the concrete a few times," Dally said, out of breath.
"The hell is going on?" said a gruff voice. Darry.
"Dare, it's gonna be fine, he's just a little hurt," Soda said quickly. I couldn't see his face, but I could feel the fear radiating off of Dally when Darry walked into the room.
"Get him on the couch, lemme see him," Darry ordered. Suddenly, I was lying on something soft and cushiony. "Pony, can you hear me?"
"Mhm," I replied dazedly.
"Soda get a towel for the blood," Darry said. Blood? I didn't know I was bleeding. "Hey, buddy, does anything hurt?"
"Head... eyes..." I answered, both throbbing.
"Dammit," Darry cursed. Soda returned with a towel. "Soda, wipe up the blood, I'll go get some ice."
I felt a soft cloth gently wipe my head. "Soda?"
"What is it, honey?" he asked gently.
"I'm sleepy," I said, the pain intensifying, making it hard to even think.
"No, no, no," he said. "You have to stay awake."
"Why?" I asked, all logic fleeing my brain. I felt like a baby.
"Because... if you sleep, you'll miss dinner," Soda thought up. In my overwhelmed brained, I thought that sounded fair.
"Soda, do not let him sleep!" Darry called from the other room. "If he closes his eyes he could go into a coma, then who knows if he'll wake up."
"I'm trying, I don't know how much longer he can hang on, though," said Soda.
Sure enough, that was the moment I knew it was over. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. No matter how much I fought, my eyelids dropped and shut, everything fading into a peaceful darkness.
(Soda's POV)
"Darry!" I called, fear churning in my stomach, making me want to throw up. Pony looked so still on the couch, his eyes closed, his head still bleeding.
"Shit," Darry said, rushing into the room. "Pony, wake up!"
Pony remained motionless. I had almost forgotten that Dally and Johnny were still there, but Johnny let out a small squeak of fear.
"Soda, get the car, we're taking him to the hospital," Darry ordered. I quickly darted out the door to get the car and pull it to the front. As soon as I put the car in park, Darry was rushing out the door with our little brother's limp body tucked safely in his large, muscular arms. Darry quickly got into the back of the car with him and I took off to the hospital.
"Dally are Johnny are gonna meet us there, right?" I asked. Darry grunted.
"They said they would. I didn't have time to argue," Darry said through gritted teeth.
"Why do you have a problem with that?" I asked. "They're worried about they're friend."
"They got him hurt!" Darry lashed out. "If it weren't for them, he would be fine!"
I realized that Darry was really angry. Despite how he always acted towards Pony, Darry really did love him. He would never let anything bad happen to him. But now, it was too late. Pony was hurt and Darry was just trying to get through.
We soon pulled up to the hospital and before I even turned the car off, Darry was running up to the doors with Pony in his arms. I rushed after them.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Darry said, getting a nurse's attention. "My brother, he got beat up. His head hit the concrete a few times. He passed out maybe five minutes after the accident. Please help him."
The nurse nodded, and quickly got Pony onto a gurney, her and a couple other workers rushing him off down the hallway as Soda and Darry watched, their hearts both breaking, their eyes threatening to spill over with tears. They watched as the gurney turned a corner and their little brother was out of sight.