It had been one of those endless Fridays at the DX that Soda and Steve had grown to hate. The first customer had pulled up to the pump before Steve even had his keys in the door or Soda had his shirt buttoned up. Chryslers, Dodges, Chevys and Fords had been arriving in waves, as everyone wanted to fill up before heading out of town for the holiday weekend.
On top of being hot and exhausted, Soda was bent out of shape about having to work through another weekend instead of taking off for a holiday of his own. He'd sulked around the garage all day long, spouting off occasionally to Steve, who would listen as patiently as he could manage from under the vehicle he was working on.
"Look at 'em all Stevie," he'd sighed miserably, as his last customer drove off and there was finally quiet around the station. "Heading somewhere nice and cool, I bet."
Steve grunted as he slid out from under a Plymouth. "I don't think there's anywhere cool south of Alaska."
"You boys would get a lot more work done if you'd quit your goddamn yammering," Wes, the manager, snapped coming out from the office. It seemed that the hotter it got, the more short-tempered Wes got. "You two were slower than molasses today."
"It's hot," Steve growled, "and we've been busting our balls all day long."
"Busting your balls?" Wes snorted. "You haven't even started working on the Dodge."
The Dodge that was sitting out in the lot had been a bone of contention between Wes and Steve all day long. Since the car belonged to his brother-in-law, Wes had ordered Steve to make its repair a priority. Steve, never in a hurry to please Wes, hadn't so much as looked at the car all day. Every time Wes bustled in or out of the office he'd mention the car to Steve, who blatantly ignored him.
"I must've forgot," Steve smirked.
Wes narrowed his eyes at Steve, spitting at his feet. "Just for that, you two can stay late tonight to finish the cars left in the lot."
"There's four more cars out there," Steve cried, jumping to his feet. "We won't finish before midnight!"
"I don't care what time they get done," Wes smiled grimly. "Just as long as they're finished before I get back here at nine tomorrow."
"Nine?" Soda repeated. "I thought you were coming in at seven--to cover for me until noon."
Determined to have at least some fun with his weekend, Soda had requested Saturday morning off. He'd been figuring on going out after work with his new girlfriend of two months, June, and sleeping in the next morning.
"I must've forgot," Wes mimicked Steve with a similar smirk and stalked off to his car. "Have a good night boys," he chuckled, slamming his door.
Steve lobbed his wrench at a pile of empty gas cans as Wes rolled out of the driveway.
"Can you believe that guy?" he sighed. Glancing at his watch, he pulled the keys to the Dodge out of his pocket and tossed them to Soda. "Go pull that bucket of rust around front for me, would you?"
Soda, missing the keys, stared at his friend as his dreams of Friday night freedom slipped away from him. "But--" he started to say, but Steve cut him off.
"Listen, if I'm gonna finish all these cars by my lonesome so you can keep your lame date with June, the least you can do is pull the goddamn Dodge around for me," Steve smirked as his buddy grinned widely.
"You mean it, Steve?" Soda asked, practically giddy that prospects were looking up for his evening. "I thought you told Wes that you'd be here till midnight."
Steve shrugged and stooped to fish his wrench out from the pile of gas cans. "So I exaggerated a bit," he admitted. "With any luck, I'll be out of here by nine. Besides, we both know you wouldn't be much help."
"Hey!" Soda cried, good-naturedly punching Steve in the shoulder.
"And if I have to be here anyways, I'd rather not be listening to you piss and moan all night," Steve added, for good measure, and darted off before Soda could slug him again.
Glancing at his own watch, Soda's eyes widened. "I gotta get home before Darry if I want a chance at a shower before I pick up June," he laughed, unbuttoning his work shirt. "He spends at least an hour in there trying to get the hot water to loosen up his muscles."
"Get on out of here, then," Steve said, nodding towards the drive, where Two-Bit had just pulled in. "You can catch a ride with Two-Bit, if you think that hunk of junk he's driving will get you home in one piece."
"At least I have a car, Steve," Two-Bit hollered through his window, "even if she is a little rough around the edges."
Steve fought back the urge to stroll right up to Two-Bit's beater and give it a good kick, certain that it would fall to pieces.
"Thanks a lot, man," Soda grinned, clapping his buddy on the back. "June has to be home by nine, you know? So, I'll be home early. You ought to come by the house once you get done here. Maybe Darry and Pony'll want to get a game of poker going."
Steve knew that June didn't have to be home until eleven. He also knew Soda had seen his freshly bruised cheek, though he hadn't said anything about it. He half-smiled at his friend, grateful that he had somewhere to go other than his own house, even if it was to play cards with Superman and the kid.
Soda grinned back, running for the passenger's side of Two-Bit's car. He hesitated, looking in at Two-Bit through the window. "How're your breaks?"
"Good enough," Two-Bit shrugged, lighting a cigarette.
Soda grinned and shrugged. "Good enough," he echoed and climbed in beside his friend.
"Ain't Steve comin'?" Two-Bit asked as Steve headed back into the garage.
"Nah, he's got a couple cars to finish up," Soda explained. "Wes got all bent out of shape today and said we had to stay until all the cars in the lot were done. Stevie said he'd do 'em though."
"Sounds like a hell of a night for old Steve," Two-Bit shook his head.
"Better than him going home, though," Soda muttered. He'd watched Steve take on a handful of Socs and whip them all, but for some reason Steve never fought back when his old man was wailing on him.
Two-Bit shot a glace at Soda. He always got the same look on his face when he thought about the way things were at Steve's house.
"We'll show him a good time tonight," Two-Bit said, decidedly. "When he shows up at your place tonight, let's take him out to Buck's or something."
Soda's eyes lit up. "I think he'd like that."
