The afternoon sun dips toward the horizon, casting golden streaks through the sparse clouds as Ponyboy walks home alone from the DX station. His worn converse scuff against the pavement, and the wind carries the faint smell of gasoline and distant cooking from the neighborhood. A sudden whooping sound cuts through the air, followed by the unmistakable screech of expensive tires.

Ponyboy tenses. He recognizes that sound. Socs. Before he can duck into an alley, three boys pull up in a blue Mustang, blocking his path. The leader, Dice, steps out first - tall with perfectly styled blonde hair and a smirk that never seems to leave his face. "Well, well, look what we found, boys," he drawls, cracking his knuckles.

Two other Socs flank him, and Ponyboy's heart races as they close in. He knows he can't take all three alone. When one of them shoves him roughly to the ground, gravel digs into his palms through his thin jacket. The metallic click of a switchblade opening makes his blood run cold as it presses against his neck.

"What's a little greaser doing out all alone?" Dice sneers. Ponyboy grits his teeth, preparing for the worst, when a new voice cuts through the tension. "Dice! That's enough!" A girl pushes through the circle, her eyes blazing with anger as she looks from her brother to the boy on the ground.

Ponyboy blinks in confusion, blood trickling from a scraped knee. He's never seen a girl with the Socs before, especially not one who would stand up to them. "Get off him," she repeats, her voice trembling slightly but her posture firm.