Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders, S.E Hinton does.
-----x-----
"Hey, Sandy," Ponyboy said, who was kneeling at the doorstep putting on his shoes. "Soda, your girlfriend's here. I'm going out to a movie with Curly, I'll be back later," he called, and then hurried out the door.
Soda flung the door open to the bathroom and came bounding to the doorway where she stood, his hair dripping wet and his white shirt sticking to his wet chest. Sandy shifted the weight to her back foot and turned her head, trying to ignore the sight that would once make her jump on him and shift their attention to the bedroom.
"Hello my baby!" He sang, and lifted her up in a tight embrace. She instantly blushed, and felt her heart fill with love. He put her down and pressed his lips against hers, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands to her waist. Familiar warmth fluttered through her body and he pressed his against hers. Their lips gently parted to allow their tongues to meet, but Sandy pulled away quickly as she remembered the reality of the situation.
"Soda…" she started, and he pulled her to him again with his face twisted in confusion. "No, honey…" She moved his hands from her waist. He lowered his eyes, and walked over and sat down on the sofa. She quickly sat down beside him, and put her hand on him. "Whoops." She moved her hand down to his thigh, her cheeks burning as she realized where she'd placed her hand. He sucked in a breath, and then squirmed awkwardly in his jeans.
"Soda…this is really hard for me to tell you…" she closed her eyes and her grip tightened on his thigh. He looked down at her confusedly. Things had been going well between them lately, as far as he knew.
"I'm sorry, Sandy. For whatever's going on right now. I should've realized that you weren't in the mood for that…" he said softly, "I'm sorry."
"Oh, hon…"
"In fact, I'm going to stop talking, and listen to what you need to say, and then I'm going to hold you in my arms, and give you all of my love and care. What is it?" He looked at her with his eyes glowing, and kissed her forehead.
"I'm…" she stopped and tried again, but couldn't finish, and broke out into a sob. Why did he have to act like such a doting boyfriend now? "I'm pregnant."
He was silent for a moment, unmoving, and then suddenly sprung to life.
"Then you can marry me! I'll put in extra shifts at the DX, you can move in with me an' Darry and Pone, and we'll make it work! I love you, Sandy. No matter what, I want you to know that I'll be there for-"
"My mother knows. She's sending me away to Florida to live with my grandmother." She interrupted harshly, and then reached up to cover her face with her hands. "Oh Soda, I'm sorry. You know how my mom is, and especially after Dad died, I couldn't fight with her about it. I love you too," she said softly, her voice lowering to a whisper. She took deep breaths and tried to fight off the tears that threatened to escape.
He moved his hand over her stomach, and closed his eyes. The rubbed at the slight bulge and smiled sadly. "Hey, baby," he cooed. Sandy leapt up from the couch, and a tear ran down her cheek.
"I've got to go home now," she gasped. She turned and ran out the door, and then burst into tears.
He could be there for her and the baby. He could marry her and they'd provide a loving home for their child…A child, who she wouldn't know if it belonged to him, or John, until way down the road. How a gift could be so precious and small could ruin an entire life, she couldn't understand. But Soda wouldn't want to be with her if he knew the truth…she slowly trudged home, thinking of how to say so much in a letter.
-----x-----
Sandy opened the front door to see her suitcase resting against the couch, and her mother drinking tea and chatting to someone on the phone. "I'm home," she quickly said with a wave, and then headed to the kitchen for some water.
"Of course she's a lady! I raised her well, mother. What? I didn't tell her to go do that! You know how life is on our side of town. Had you provided us with more money- I loved him! Just… don't be too hard on her. She'll see you tomorrow night. Goodbye."
Sandy heard her mom slam the phone down onto the reciever, and jumped.
" Sandra, your grandmother is doing the extremely selfless thing of letting you move in with her immediately for the duration of your…condition," her mother called, and she could sense the look of disappointment on her face. "I've packed your things already, don't worry. Although your grandmother will be purchasing a new, more appropriate, wardrobe for you. She'd fall dead at the sight of you now."
Her heart sank, and she felt weak. One mistake had the power to take her life away from her. With a sigh, she dragged her feet to her room and began to write to the one person she hated to leave the most.
-----x-----
She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned, wanting to slap away the hands shaking her boxy. "Sandy, wake up. You have a plane to catch."
