Author's Note: I'm not going to say this is my first fic, and that's my excuse for writing poorly. However, this is my first one-shot, and it's about Soda and Sandy.
Now, you Sandy-haters don't have to read this, but I just want you know that there are so many more layers to Sandy, and the only thing you're looking at is her cheating on poor Soda.
I was aiming for something for professional and well written, it wasn't what I expected it to come out to be, but I'm pretty satisfied with it. Satisfied enough to post it and see what you think. It actually came out a little longer then I thought it would. I tried my best to keep the characters in character, and not OOC. This is actually a fic that I had to work my hardest to keep them in character, because it's so in-depth. I'd appreciate it if you took the time to read the whole thing, rate, and review.
I accept constructive criticism, and I'd be happy to take in all suggestions you have because it will only make me improve in my work. Flames, as much as I would like to say that I'll ignore them, I can't. Being the sensitive person that I am, I just might take it to heart. But I will try my best to ignore it.
I'm going to stop babbling now, and let you read. I hope you and enjoy it, and last but not least, Stay Gold.
xxx
Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to, I do not own The Outsiders in any way. It belongs to S.E. Hinton.
Title: Returned, Unopened
Summary: Was it Sandy's fault? All Sandy's fault? Or was it Soda's?
xxx
Sandy sat down at her vanity, and brushed her long blonde hair out of her face, when the phone rang.
She ran over to her nightstand, and picked it up, "Hello?"
"Hey darlin'," a voice said.
"Soda?" Her china blue eyes glowed, as she recognized the familiar voice, and weaved the cord through her fingers.
"Yep, listen, how about you an' me go down to the Dingo and get a Coke tonight, just the two of us," he said, smiling on the other line.
Sandy paced around her room, almost dropping the phone, "Listen Soda, I'd love to…but," she daintily picked up a picture of her and Soda, and smiled for a moment.
"But?" He interrupted, his tone of voice changing.
"I have plans, I'm real sorry, hon," she began feeling guilty. She was feeling guilty for being dishonest to her boyfriend, but she felt they needed some space. She felt like he was smothering her, possibly. But it wasn't his fault.
Ever since the Curtis parents had passed away, all Soda wanted was to replace that special something that was missing, and it made him only hold Sandy closer. He couldn't help it if he held on to Sandy so tight, that he was gradually pushing her away, it was just because he didn't want to lose her. He just couldn't help it.
Before Sodapop could get another word in, Sandy in a hurry, said "Goodbye" and hung up.
Sandy had plans with Michael Carson, tall, lean, muscular, brown hair, with hazel eyes. Soda wasn't the only heartthrob in this town. Girls fell over Michael too, but they wouldn't, if they had known the real him. But this kid's looks gave that Soda Curtis a run for his money.
Sandy's parents liked Michael much more than Sodapop, in their opinion. Whose parents wouldn't?
Sandy sat at the table pushing around her dinner as her dad ranted on about how great Michael was. "Sandra, honey, he's a good looking young man. He has a scholarship, and good grades. He seems like a nice boy, just give him a chance. At least he's going somewhere. Unlike others…"
"Daddy, stop bringing Soda into this, will ya?" Sandy sighed. "I'm going out with Michael tonight, that's it. End of discussion." She stood up and put her dish in the sink.
She went up to her room and put a hint of blush on her face, not too much, not too little. She didn't want to look like a clown, she wasn't like all the other greaser girls, but she was one herself. She didn't come from a fabulous home, she was still a greaser, but she was an all right girl.
The doorbell rang, and Sandy sprinted down the stairs. "I'll get it!" she shouted, jumping off the last step. She fixed her shirt promptly, and opened the door.
"Hi Sandy," Michael smiled, and handed her some flowers.
"Wow, thanks," she blushed, and greeted him with a peck on the cheek.
"I was thinkin', how about you and me go see a movie?" he offered. Michael is what seemed to be nice at first, but Sandy didn't know she was making a big mistake.
"I'd love to."
xxx
They pulled up to the drive-in, and it was only five minutes into the movie when Michael put his arm around Sandy. It was the average move that guys made on a date, and Sandy didn't expect this to go too far, she didn't mind, so she moved a little closer.
He then lifted her chin and began to kiss her, she got caught up in the moment, and kissing right back until the thought of Sodapop came to mind. When she broke from the kiss, she was expecting to see the dancing and glowing eyes of Sodapop; instead she saw the fury eyes of someone who was not her boyfriend. "Michael."
"What's wrong?" Michael seemed a little irritated.
"Nothing," Sandy lied. She was thinking about Sodapop, and she knew it. She still loved him, alas she didn't love him as much as he loved her, causing her to want some space. But somewhere down in her she still had feelings for Soda.
She figured by going out with another guy would make it easier to break off with him, but it wasn't going to be easier than she thought it would be.
Michael sat for a minute, and just gazed at Sandy from the other seat, as she hastily turned and looked out the window. Michael slowly reached his hand over to her shoulder and she turned around in surprise.
"Are you sure nothings wrong?" he furrowed his eyebrows.
"Yeah…" she sighed, wondering herself.
"So then kiss me," he reached over to the passenger seat and tried kissing her, when she backed up against the window. "What now?"
"It's nothing…I mean, I like you, but I don't think—"
"You don't think what?" He urged her on, and it wasn't helping much.
"I'm just not ready. Okay?" she became a little aggravated herself. She started to feel like he was picking her up just to get her in bed – to use her, in other words.
Just like the way she was using him. She didn't think she was using him that way though, even though she kind of was.
"Alright, whatever," he scowled and gripped onto the steering wheel hard. "Let's just finish watching the movie, alright?"
She nodded, a little intimidated.
Only about ten to fifteen minutes passed by, as Sandy rested her chin on her hand, and noticed something in the rearview mirror. She sat up, and squinted.
It was Sodapop and Steve, hitting on some girls and looking pleased.
'Well, he's moved on pretty fast.' She thought to herself dryly. But she couldn't let him see her there.
Sandy didn't know if she wanted to make him jealous, or just hide. Sodapop was coming closer to the car, and she had no idea what was going through her. But she did what she had to do. She wanted to break off with Soda, she wanted to get away from things for a while, after all, this is what her parents wanted and nothing was going to stop her now.
Sandy turned around and grabbed Michael by the shirt aggressively and kissed him. He kissed her back, who was complaining? He wasn't, for sure.
And things just went on from there. Too far.
xxx
Sodapop was strolling over with a girl linked to his arm, and noticed the car. He also noticed a face that was all too familiar and frantically looked in the window being the curious person he was.
And there was his beautiful girlfriend, with some random guy all over her. He looked down hastily, not knowing what to feel at the moment, and walked away. Calming down, he went back to his seat with the girl. He seemed fine at the moment, but without doubt he'd handle this later.
There was a knock on the window and Sandy looked up.
"Sorry kids, but I think it's time you'd leave now," an employee at the drive-in said strictly. The drive-in was empty, just a few drunken guys leaving, and some cars leaving. There wasn't a sound except for the brushing of the broom, while another employee cleaned up whatever junk was lying around.
"Gosh, I'm sorry," Sandy said. The worker nodded with courtesy and walked away.
Sandy looked around ruefully, and noticed what had happened. She felt ashamed, her blue eyes beginning to water, and picked up the rest of her clothes swiftly, and didn't even bother to wake up Michael. She opened the car door quietly and made her way out of there as fast as she could.
She walked around aimlessly, thinking about that whole night, with nothing she could remember, except seeing Sodapop there, with that girl. Her sorrow suddenly turned into jealously, and thought about the bad things in Sodapop.
She then realized Sodapop wasn't the only one wrong. She thought over herself as a fool and a sham, thinking of all the good moments with her boyfriend. She wanted to kick herself.
'How could I do something so stupid?'
The headache she had had at the movies, had only gotten worse since then. Infact, she'd had a headache since the night before, but probably from all this stress was only making it worse and she decided to pay a visit to the doctor. Maybe he'd know what to do.
xxx
Soda walked into his house, with his usual routine. He kicked off his shoes, and threw his jacket on the couch, missing it, as always.
"Did the mail come in yet?" he asked in a jaded tone, pouring himself a glass of chocolate milk. Usually, he'd be reckless, and frenzied, but you could tell he was still thinking about Sandy. In his train of thought, he didn't realize he was pouring the milk right onto the table instead of the cup.
"Soda, I thought you were drinking the milk, not the table," Darry gave one of those rare grins, and looked at his bewildered sibling.
"Me too, Darry, me too…" Soda murmured to himself and grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped down the table. "I'm not thirsty anymore…" He put the cup in the sink and went into his room, and plopped himself onto the bed.
He fumbled into his pockets for a pack of cigarettes he'd bought earlier, lit up, laid back, and stared at the ceiling, blowing a smoke ring.
"Soda…" Ponyboy turned around in his chair. "Something wrong?"
"Nah Pone, why you askin'?" Soda sat up.
"You only smoke when somethin' is buggin' ya," Pony said sort of to himself, but Soda heard him.
"Nup, I'm alright," Soda got up and walked into the living room.
Pony shrugged it off, Soda usually told him everything, and if he said there was nothing wrong, then there was nothing wrong. Right?
Then again, Ponyboy never listened to Soda's problems like the way Sodapop listened to his.
The phone rang and Soda leaped off the couch, "I'll get it."
"Hello?" he said.
"Soda, it's Sandy," a sweet and soft voice said. Soda felt like slamming the phone, but he kept himself calm. The only things he could think about her now were that she was a no good, unfaithful, little sneaky, conniving…
"Yea?"
"Well, I need you to come over, I have something to tell you," she said, wondering if he were angry at her, being the tone of voice he was using. Of course he was mad, but Sandy didn't know that yet. She thought everything was going to be A-Okay, and it wasn't.
"I'll be there in a minute," Soda said, and hung up. He could only imagine what she had to tell him, and thought about it while zooming down the street in his Ford.
Sandy tapped her ruby red fingernails onto the table, in certain tune and hummed to herself as she waited for Soda to arrive. She had news to tell him, whether it was good or bad, it was big.
The bell rang, and Sandy's adrenaline only went up, as she got closer to the door. She opened at and smiled, "Hey Sodapop." She was about to lean in to kiss him but he backed away.
"Yea, hi. Now what was it that you needed to tell me?" He slipped through the doorway and walked in.
"About that," she played with her fingers anxiously, "Why don't you have a seat?" She sat down on the couch, and patted the spot next to her.
"Sure," he said, walking over listlessly and sitting down next to her. There was a long pause.
"Well, Soda…I'm—I'm…"
"You're…" he interrupted, getting nervous himself.
"Pregnant," she finished off.
"You're what?" Soda's eyes rounded. He stared at her for a good minute, and put his hand over his face.
"I'm having a baby," she drawled.
"I heard you the first time," Soda stood up promptly, and ran his hand through his greasy hair. He stopped for a minute. "Whose baby is it…?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't give me that, I saw you last night," Soda said crossly. "I saw you…Sandy how could you do this to me?" Soda was angry; he was heartbroken, and just wanted to beat it out of there before he bawled right then and there. If you wanted to see someone in the gang who would crack easily, it'd be Sodapop.
"It's not like you weren't with someone else! I saw her too, Soda." Sandy changed the subject, knowing she was also wrong, although, she kept her defense up.
"But at least I didn't—!" Soda was about to go on to saying something else, but Sandy stood up and interrupted.
"Sh!" she hushed him up. "My parents are upstairs packing, Soda, and I don't think they want to hear about this mess."
"Who would?" he said, bitterly and scoffed. She grabbed his hand, and looked him in the eye.
"Listen Soda, I'm sure you're the father," her voice raised and sped up as he started to pull away. "I'm pretty sure it's you, it couldn't have happened that quickly if it were Michael."
Soda finally pulled away, and said in a low voice, "That's great Sandy. Real great, I'm happy for you. But I don't want anything to do with you or this baby." He pushed a few boxes out of his way and made his way to the door as Sandy hurried after him.
"Soda!" She held the door open, as he held on the knob, firmly.
"Goodnight, Sandy," he looked at her with a pain stricken expression, and pulled the door shut.
When Soda got home, he sat himself on the couch, not taking his shoes off, throwing his jacket anywhere, just sitting on the couch, his arms crossed.
Darry walked into the living room, not even sure if his brother was home or not, because he couldn't even tell. Something was definitely wrong.
"Soda, you're home?" Darry said, sarcastic. "Couldn't even hear ya when you came in…" Sodapop just sat and stared at his feet. "Something wrong?"
Soda sighed, and made no eye contact with his older brother, "Sandy's pregnant."
Darry didn't know what to feel at the moment, exactly. Shocked, happy, or completely furious at the fact that Soda went out and got some girl pregnant, and then he thought about how it wasn't just a girl. It was Sandy, Soda's girl, and she completed him. "Gee Soda…that's great…who's the father?"
Soda was pretty sure it was him, believing Sandy, but not wanting to. A tight knot twisted in his stomach as he thought about telling the gang that Sodapop Curtis is going to be a daddy. He thought about Tim Shepard's gang and the Brumly boys and how they'd laugh when they would see a tough greaser like him with a baby stroller.
'Hell, not even Steve would wanna see that…'
It'd ruin his rep and his life, so he decided to lie about it, as if it were the right thing to do. He figured since Sandy was leaving now, he'd be off the hook. "No, no Darry, it's not mine," he shook his head.
Darry was again baffled, and had no idea what to say. Should he be sad? Or should he feel relieved? He stood there, and patted his brother on the shoulder, "That's just too bad…better luck next time, eh kiddo?"
"I guess so," Soda shrugged. Darry got up and went to make supper as Soda muttered to himself, "Guess I shoulda talked to Ponyboy about this or somethin'…"
A sudden wave of sorrow came over Soda after he'd realized what he'd just done. He'd yelled at his girlfriend, smoked a cigarette and lied about something really big. Something that could actually be his own. And most of all, he'd lost the love of his life, and all this being in a matter of twenty-four hours.
He thought about how there was no hope in this now, Sandy was going to leave for Florida tomorrow morning. He had to find a way to tell her he was sorry.
"Soda, are you comin' to eat?" Ponyboy leaned in the doorway.
"Yeah Ponyboy, in a minute," Soda said. Pony nodded and went into the kitchen.
Soda pulled up a chair at the desk, grabbed a paper and a pen, and sat there for about a good hour.
xxx
Sandy glanced over at the horizon, and admired its beauty, sitting by her pool and dipping her feet in; she was at her new Florida home.
"Sandra, dear, you have mail," her mother walked over to her, rummaging through a pile of mail, and handed her an envelope.
"Thanks, ma," she slipped her finger under the opening, and lifted her sunhat a bit. She looked at the envelope once more, and saw Soda's address on it. She stopped.
She couldn't help but to smile, but it slowly faded, as she thought about everything that's been happening lately. She wasn't going to let it happen again. At least not that easily. She thought about the expression on his face when he left her that night, and it replayed in her head, like a movie. There were other fish in the sea, she thought dully.
"Sandy, sweetheart, are you alright?" Her mom gave her a look.
"I'm okay," she said.
"Oh alright," her mom stroked Sandy's hair, "Supper will be ready in a few minutes." She went on inside, and shut the screen door.
"All right," Sandy yelled over, and then sighed, returning to her thoughts.
Sandy loved him; just not as much as she did before. She had made her final decision and she was going to do what she felt was right.
She walked over to the mailbox, and slowly slipped the letter back in:
Returned, unopened.