What does Ponyboy physically feel or touch?

In Chapter 1, Ponyboy is walking home by himself after watching a movie when he is jumped by a group of Socs. The Socs throw him down on the ground and proceed to punch him in the face. One of the Socs even pulls a knife and puts it up to Ponyboy's neck. Ponyboy realizes that he could die and flips out. Just in time, the Greasers come to Ponyboy's rescue and the Socs run away. After Darry makes sure that Ponyboy is alright, Ponyboy sits down and begins to rub his cheek in the location where he had been "slugged" the most. Sodapop walks over to Pony and notices a cut on the side of his head, and then Two-Bit comments on the bruise that Ponyboy has on his cheek. Once again, Ponyboy physically touches his cheek gingerly. When Ponyboy finally gets home, he looks in the mirror. Ponyboy says, "I rubbed my cheek where it had turned purple" (Hinton 15). In the first Chapter of the novel, Ponyboy physically touches his cheek three times.