Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton does. Enjoy!

Chapter 1.Niceties of Protocol.

Pony was trying to make do and get home before Darry. Darry was going to be home early today and he promised his older brother that the movie would be done before that. Dally had some business to deal with a couple towns down and Johnny had wanted to come along. With Johnny not being here, Darry was high strung enough about the whole ordeal.

He shuffled his feet impatiently as he waited for the light to turn green. There weren't even any cars coming which caused Pony to toy with the thought of just crossing now, but quickly crossed it out when Darry came into mind. Darry would skin him if he ever found out that Pony did that.

"Stupid broken light." He looked down the streets again -still no cars buzzing by.

Heck, even ol Dallas Winston would skin him for it. Dally did it all the time but when he was with Pony and Johnny, he never did. Once, Pony had suggested it and Dally blew it off gruffly while saying something along the lines of,

"Do as I say, not as I do, kid. Don't be pickin' up on my bad habits." Dally even chucked some tobacco at him to prove his point.

"Finally," Pony breathed as he started to cross the street. Maybe if he had crossed the street earlier, when the light was still red, he would have avoided getting run over by a certain someone.

Going down in a heap of limbs, Pony bit back a moan of pain as the asphalt dug into his bare skin, but the other person didn't mirror his eloquence. Instead, the other one cursed a few dozen words as they went down.

"Ow, what the-" a kid with a leather jacket sat up and gave Pony an annoyed look. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Before Pony could tell him that he was right here the whole time and he was the one that ran into him, the teen placed his hand up and motioned for Pony to be quiet.

Straining his ears, Pony could faintly hear the sound of a car and some cursing. Pony instantly tensed. There weren't many greasers in the neighborhood that drove cars.

"Shit," he stood up and dusted himself off and surprisingly leaned down to grab Pony's forearm and yanked him up. Too stunned, Pony didn't object. "Those stupid socs are still following me."

He cocked his head toward Pony and scrutinized him a bit more.

"You're a greaser, aren't you, kid?" He grinned when Pony nodded mutely. "Hide me then. Those bastards are following me. I don't know this shithole well enough to know all the goody places to hide from those mothereffers yet."

"Uh, okay." For a second, Pony contemplated on bringing this person to their house to hide but thought better of it. Pony started to walk between alleys and swerved around in complicated little brick walls for a good fifteen minutes.

After not hearing the hum of a car following them anymore, Pony stopped. "I think we lost them."

"Guess we did." The other teen leaned against the bricked wall and crossed his arms. "You dig, okay, kid." He paused for a moment before smirking. "Thanks, you little bastard."

"Um, you're welcome." Pony wasn't sure why he just got called a 'little bastard' especially since he just saved this guy's ass, but, then again, Tim always called Curly and Angela foul names - Dally said that it was Tim's way of being affectionate; Pony always thought it was odd but never questioned it. This guy didn't really correlate with affectionate but it was said good-naturedly enough that Pony decided to take no offense in it.

"So, you goin' stand there and look dumb or are you goin' to tell me your name?"

"Ponyboy Curtis."

He quirked his eyebrows up, seemingly impressed. He kinda reminded Pony of Two-Bit.

"Ponyboy, huh? Well, I don't hear a name like that every day. Jace Stylinson - pleasure to meet you, little bastard."

"It's, uh, nice to meet you." Pony was never a talker and especially not in front of a stranger. Pony looked up and noted the change in lighting. He really needed to get home before Darry threw a fit. "I have to go."

Pony started to make his way out of the alley, Jace close on his heels.

Pony was slightly freaked when Jace settled besides him. "Ponyboy, right? So, you live in this shit hole?"

"Yeah," Pony didn't really appreciate the derogatory comment of the neighborhood that he lived in for the past fourteen years but decided to keep his mouth shut for the most part. He couldn't help to add meekly, "It's not that bad."

Jace laughed. "Sure, kid. Say, why don't you show me around the old place? Heck, you can crash at my place, too. I bargained a good deal and got myself a fancy ol' house down the road. You don't seem that bad of a kid either."

"No," Pony said hastily. This Jace guy seemed nice but he really wasn't close enough to him to go traipsing around with him. Pony rubbed his sweaty palm against his jeans. "I mean, I have to go home. I'll get in trouble if my brother doesn't see me."

"Come on, just a quick look around. Show me all the places to hide and what not. Just don't tell your brother then."

"Well," Pony hesitated. Darry would be home in ten minutes. How quick would this little 'show around' be?

"Ah, come on," Jace grabbed onto Pony's forearm and tugged. Surprisingly, Pony stumbled from the grip. Jace was obviously a lot stronger than Pony had initially thought. Jace put Pony in a headlock and grinned wildly "Where can I find some booze?"

Before Pony could answer, somebody was yelling.

"Hey!"

Steve jammed his fist in his pockets as he made his way over to the Curtis' house. Soda was still at at DX and he would normally go hang out with Soda but the bossed had hired a new employee. And though Soda might be able to handle the annoying brat, Steve couldn't.

Steve was cursing his boss's stupidity at hiring such an incompetent employee when he recognized a familiar figure standing off in the distance.

Pony was being accompanied by somebody and, even from this distance, Steve knew it wasn't Johnny - Johnny and Dally wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Hell, it wasn't anybody from their gang.

Unconsciously, his paste hastened. By the grimace on Pony's face, he was obviously looking uncomfortable at whatever was being said by the other boy.

Steve was not known for being a worry wart and neither was he really the overprotective type either, but his felt a fuse go off when he saw the kid grab Pony's arm roughly causing Pony to lose his balance. The other boy was trying to tug Pony down an alley. It didn't take long for Pony to realign himself again but his posture was destroyed again when he was put in a headlock.

"Hey!" Steve ran up to them and before either could react, Steve grabbed Pony's other arm and yanked him behind him. He sneered at the other guy. On closer inspection, the guy was probably not that much older than Soda and himself.

"Steve?" Pony sounded confused but Steve ignored him. Steve did not overlook the fact that Pony's arms were scraped. He could feel Pony's blood slipping into his grip.

"Who the hell are you?"

Jace's eyes furrowed in anger. "I could be asking the same question, ass-hat."

"You little-" Steve raised his fist, ready for a punch, but Pony suddenly clung to his arm.

"Steve! Steve, stop!" Pony tugged on the older male causing Steve to take a few steps back. "He wasn't hurting me none. He's a...a friend."

Steve's eyes flashed over to Pony uncertainly. He didn't like how Pony was hesitating. Steve couldn't really tell from his clothes if this guy was a greaser or a soc. His clothes weren't embodied with some fancy, soccy aspect but his clothes didn't look all that greaser like either. This kid was obviously cocky and he looked like he knew something that they didn't and that did not settle well with Steve at all. The kid's smile only grew wider when Pony defended him.

"You don't look familiar." Steve accused.

"I'm new." Jace answered easily. "Ponyboy was going to show me around the place before you rudely interrupted."

"Well, too bad," Steve snapped back quickly. For a new kid, he sure had some nerve to run around the neighborhood and act all pompous on such feral ground. Tulsa was not a playground. He would get himself killed with that mouth. "He has other matters to attend to. You can explore by yourself, dipshit." Steve turned to Pony and grabbed his arm. "Let's go, kid."

"But-"

"Let's go!" Steve tugged on him harder causing Pony to wince from the pain. Ponyboy gave Jace a fleeting, awkward smile before leaving with Steve.

Jace looked put off by the sudden departure but he didn't chase after them which Pony was glad for. Steve was mad and it wasn't good to mess with him when he was in a sour mood.

"See ya later, Ponyboy!"

"Fat chance!" Steve hollered back.

Ponyboy sighed as Steve loosened his grip. He already knew that Steve was going to be reporting this to Darry when he got home. Which was great, because he already knew that Darry was going to holler at him for being late. Now, he was going to get in trouble for being nice.

Pony sighed as Steve yelled at him to hurry up.

Sometimes, his life really sucked.

Two-Bit looked up from watching t.v. as the door slammed open.

"Hey Darry!" Two-Bit followed Darry into the kitchen as Darry unfastened his belt and placed it on the counter. "I'm starved. What are we havin' tonight?"

"Chicken," Darry answered shortly before pulling out some frozen chicken out and putting them in the pantry. Darry craned his head in the living room, expecting to find his little brother on the couch reading. "Where's Pony?"

"No idea," Two-Bit shrugged. "Went to watch a movie or something."

"He should be back by now though." Darry looked at the clock. "Ten minutes ago, actually."

"Ah, lay off him, Superman." Two-Bit made a wild gesture with his arms for emphasis and almost split Darry's head with his beer. "It's Friday. Let the kid live!"

"I told him to come straight home after that movie. He knows that he needs to do his homework."

Normally, Darry wouldn't let Pony go see a movie unless he had finished his homework but Pony had told him that today was the last day the movie was being aired and he really wanted to see it. After much pestering, he had agreed only under the condition that Pony would come home right after.

There was a distant sound of yelling and it became more distinct as the door swung open.

Two-Bit cocked his eyebrow up in wonder. "Is that Ol' Stevio lecturing lil' Pony?"

"What do you think you were doing talking to him?" Steve stormed into the living room with Pony in tow; he practically threw Pony onto the couch.

"It wasn't anything." Pony tried to defend himself. "I was just-"

"What's going on in here?" Darry crossed his arms. His eyes reverting back and forth between the two. Two-Bit peeked around Darry's back.

"Ask your kid brother!"

Darry did just that but was halted when he realized that Pony was holding his arm funny. Frowning, Darry rushed over to Pony.

"What's wrong with your arm?"

"It's nothing, Darry." Pony only held on tighter.

"Let me see."

"Darry," Pony whined. Darry pulled Pony's hands away and was not that surprised when it came away bloody.

"What happened? Who did that to you?" Darry kneeled in front of Pony as he told Two-Bit to fetch the first aid kit.

The door shook and Soda came in. "I'm home!"

Two-Bit almost slammed into Soda from the sudden appearance. Soda caught sight of the kit in Two-Bit's hand and instantly became tensed. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Soda didn't wait for an answer and rushed into the living room where Darry was examining Pony's bleeding arm while Steve stood on the sidelines, looking annoyed.

Soda dived onto the couch, "What happened, Pone?"

"It was nothing, Soda. Stop worrying." Pony tried to pull his arm away but Darry wasn't having none of it.

"Was it a socs?" Two-Bit asked as he handed the kit to Darry.

"I just fell." Pony tried to explain.

"That stupid kid did that to you, didn't he?" Steve interjected. "I knew he was a no good bastard."

"No!" For some reason, Pony felt the need to defend Jace. "I mean, he didn't mean to."

"Who are you talking about, kid?" Two-Bit asked as he took a swig of his beer.

"His name is Jace. I was trying to help him hide from a bunch of socs." Pony looked down at his shoes. He hated the attention.

"Yeah?" Steve was not happy at Pony helping the bastard. "You should have let the socs take him. He's a mouthy one."

"Pony," Soda started. "You know that you shouldn't talk to strangers."

"I was just helping him. He kind of fell on top of me. Besides, you always said that we help one another." Pony's eyes furrowed in contemplation. "He looked like a greaser."

Two-Bit laughed.

Darry sighed as he finished applying ointment to Pony's injuries. "Did those socs get to you?"

"No," Darry, Soda, and Two-Bit looked relieved at the news. "We hid from them. He said he was new here and didn't know where to hide."

"If you ask me, he's kind of suspicious."

Two-Bit nudged Steve in the ribs. "You probably just mad because he rubbed you the wrong way. What? Did he beat you in a beauty pageant?"

"Shut up, Matthews," Steve gave Soda a pointed look. "He put your kid brother in a headlock and it didn't look all that playful either." Steve's eyes traveled toward Pony. "And you didn't look all that comfortable yourself."

The gang's eyes narrowed at Steve's words.

"He didn't mean anything by it. He just wanted me to show him around." Pony hissed slightly as Darry poured some peroxide on his wounds.

"Well," Soda interjected, seeming a bit mad after Steve's little input. "It seems that he was being forceful about it."

"And a troublemaker if he already got socs on him." Darry stood with the kit in his hand. "Stay away from him, Pony. I don't need you running around with the wrong crowd. We have enough with the State breathing down our neck."

Pony huffed but decided to not say anymore. Ever since the whole incidence with Bob, the gang always got pricklier about things. He almost got jumped a couple of times but he always managed to pull through or the gang would appear just on time. The Bob incident was three months ago, and Darry was finally letting going some of the leashes, but now they were going to reapplied and no thanks to Steve, either.

Pony glared at Steve but Steve ignored it.

Darry sent a Steve a silent thank you and Pony sighed again. What was the big deal? Jace Stylinson seemed nice, maybe kinda mouthy but so was Dally and the gang liked Dally enough.

Soda ruffled Pony's hair before getting up to dress out of his work clothes. Two-Bit went to mess with Steve and Darry in the kitchen.

Sides, Jace Stylinson seemed kind of wild, reckless, and proud, and, to an extent, Pony found him somewhat admirable.

Not everybody would go around calling Steve an ass-hat and even lesser went around messing with Socs on their first few days especially not in a neighborhoods notorious for violence.

He was easy going like Two-Bit but dangerous like Dally.

Pony never really knew why Johnny was so crazy about Dally. Dally was like Johnny's war hero or something.

But after seeing Jace today, he found himself understanding Johnny a little more. And after almost losing Johnny in the fire, Pony realized how little he knew about his friend. Sure, he and Johnny talked all the time but there was some things that Pony never understood about Johnny. Like why he put up with his parents or why he worshiped the ground Dally walked on. Pony had made it his goal to understand the gang as much as possible before he dropped dead since then. And, just maybe, Jace Stylinson could help him understand Dally more, too.

Maybe, maybe I'll show him around town next time I see him.

Jace walked into the desolate house and placed his pack of beer in the refrigerators. It was dark, but he didn't bother flicking on the switch. His eyes were prone to the dark.

"I heard you came in contact with that kid today, Styles." Jace didn't even jump at the voice. He grew out of getting spooked a long time ago. "Within an hour of landing, too. Ain't you just a lucky bastard."

"Guess, I am a lucky bastard." His laugh was raw but it contained no humor. His green eyes flashed in the dark as he caught sight of the figure sprawled on his couch. "His friend didn't seem too keen on being buddy-buddy with me though."

"You just need the kid to trust you."

"Sure, he'll be putty in my hands in no time." Jace popped the the cap off the beer with his teeth before spitting it in the direction of the figure. Jace didn't bother to offer some beer to his kin. He bought the beer for himself and had no attention of sharing it. Besides, the man on his couch was not his friend - just another colleague. "Why the hell are you here? I think the people around here would find it weird if they saw a soc in my house."

"Relax," The man carded his hands through his blonde hair nonchalantly. "Nobody saw me."

"That's what you think." Jace leaned against the metallic sink, the coldness seeping into his skin. "I don't need your stupid self getting me exposed."

"You're still as quaint as ever, Styles."

The teen only snorted at the comment.

"Guess that's why boss chose you." The man smirked and Jace had the urge to just punch the smirk off the man's face. "You talk shit just like them."

"Skip the preamble." Jace banged the beer down on the counter. "Why the hell are you here? I doubt you came all the way down here to congratulate me."

"Just wanted to make sure you didn't fuck up already." The man stood, realizing that he overstayed his welcome. "Just remember, the boss wants the kid alive, not dead. So don't you go stabbing him just because you got bored."

Jace snorted before pointing toward the door. "The boss drilled me on that a dozen times before I departed. I don't need to be told that by the likes of you. I want your ass out."

"Boss will be sending you some money and clothes later this week. Remember, don't kill the kid." The man smiled. "See you, Styles,"

"Whatever."

Jace watched the man turn around the corner before climbing into a mustang. He watched it peel away before dropping the curtain back into place.

"That idiot would come in his car." He picked up his beer again and took a long swig.

The clock ticked in the darkness, reminding him how late it was. He should better head to bed - tomorrow was going to be a long day and he needed a fresh mind and energy for it.

Tomorrow, he was going to befriend Ponyboy Curtis.

And, damn, being nice always took so much energy out of him.

A/N: Oh my gosh! I can't believe I wrote this! My first time writing for The Outsiders fandub! I was really debating on whether or not I should try writing for this fandub or not. I thought it over for months and just decided I might as well try after reading Outsiders fics for so long.

So, I'm not really happy with this chapter, so I might edit it later.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Made you want to vomit?

Anyway, please R&R. Reviews inspire me and make me happy. No flames please.

3/1/2014