greasers

Soda

You eagerly watched the clock as the minutes ticked by. Your teacher was rambling on about who knows what. You didn't listen. You never listened. Finally, the small hand hit the three and you jumped up from your seat, along with everyone else, to get to your locker first. It was the first Friday of the school year, so everyone was obviously ready to go home. You threw your books in, grabbed your snack and drink, and then were on your merry way down the hallway. Once you got outside, you saw Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit waiting for you. Two-Bit saw you and waved. You jogged over and he hugged you. "How was your first week of sophomore year, little sis?" he asked. He knew how much you hated being reminded that you were younger. "Fine. How was your first week of your second year of senior year?" Two-Bit rolled his eyes and Ponyboy gave you a high five. The four of you began your long walk to the DX. It was much faster to just walk home, but you wanted to see Soda. You were still in the beginning of your relationship, the part where all you do is kiss and cuddle and tell each other how much you love each other. It was almost 3:30 when the four of you finally arrived at the little gas station. When you burst through the door, you expected to see Sodapop sitting at the counter, but instead you saw Jacob, his co-worker. "Jacob, where's Sodapop?" you ask, slightly confused and slightly scared. "Boss let 'em take off early. Both him and Steve." You thanked Jacob and then turned on your heel and left the store. "Biggest waste of my time," Two-Bit muttered as everyone began walking back to the Curtis house. You rolled your eyes and kept walking. Another twenty minutes of walking and you were finally home. (Or the Curtis house that is. You referred to it as home.) "Honey, I'm home!" you giggled as you burst through the front door. But you were greeted by the sound of silence. "Soda? Steve? Darry?" you called as you walked through the house. When you got back to the living room, you shruuged your shoulders. "No one's home?" Johnny asked. You shook your head and the sat down on the couch. Ponyboy just shrugged and left to go to the kitchen. Two-Bit sat down next to you with a beer in his hand and the remote in the other. The usual Two-Bit. Everyone watched an episode of Mickey Mouse while you waited for someone to come home, preferably Sodapop. Just then, the screen door opened and Soda limped in. His eye was bruised, his forehead was bleeding, and he could barely walk. "Soda!" you exclaimed, jumping off from the couch. "Hi Jenna," he said quietly. "What happened?" you asked, cupping his face in your hands. At that moment, Steve walked in, cut up and bruised as well. "Bob and Randy happened." You sighed. "C'mon let me get you cleaned up. I'll clean you next Steve," you said gently as Soda followed you to the bathroom. He hopped up onto the sink counter as you collected the first aid kit. It was almost empty, due to the excessive amounts of rumbles and fights this gang got into. You began cleaning his wounds as Soda explained what happened. "I got off early so that I could take you on a nice date and as Steve and I were walking home Bob and Randy and like five more Socs jumped us out of the blue. We didn't see them coming, so we didn't have any time to react. Now I can't take you out because I can barely see you. This is all my fault," he sighed. You put down the wet cloth and set your hands on his knees. "This is most certainly not your fault. It's not like you went and asked them to beat you up. So please, don't say that again. We can just cuddle and watch movies instead, okay?" Soda smoothed down your hair and tucked it behind your ear. "Okay."

***

After you finished cleaning up both Soda and Steve, you ran home to your actual house to get a change of clothes. You shoved some sweatpants, an old t-shirt, and your toothbrush into a duffel bag then said goodbye to your mom, running back to the Curtis's. Soda was perched on the couch with the ice on his eye, like you had told him too. You walked over and kissed his forehead. "I'm gonna go change. Pick something out to watch." He smiled and grabbed the remote from the table. The other boys were in the dining room playing cards as always. When you looked in the mirror, you sighed. You had blood on your flannel and your tank top had chocolate on it. What a surprise. Taking off your jeans and putting on sweatpants was liberating. Everyone was in the same spot when you came back out. Soda was still flicking through the channels and Two-Bit, Johnny, and Ponyboy were all playing cards. You plopped down next to Soda and rested your feet on the table. "You still didn't find anything?" Soda gave you the remote and shook his head. "You choose. I'm actually really tired so I'll just take a nap. Maybe when I wake up I'll feel better." You turned and gently kissed him. As you were about to pull away he grabbed the back of your neck and kissed you again. You smiled against his lips but were forced to pull away when you heard someone clear his throat. You looked up and saw your big brother shaking his head. You giggled and then snuggled into Soda's side. He wrapped his arms around you protectively and the two of you just laid there, enjoying each other's company. Unlike last time, this new sound of silence was quite comforting.