Steve stopped his car at the sidewalk in front of the Curtis household, but he didn't switch off his car. "Aren't you coming in?" Soda asked.
"Naw, I have to go home. If I get kicked out though I'll probably come over, if that's okay?"
"Of course," Soda said quietly. He got that lonely feeling again knowing he might not see Steve until tomorrow morning. He felt like a little kid again, when him and Steve would hate having to stop playing and go home.
"You okay?" Steve asked putting a hand on Soda's shoulder.
Soda nodded, "Yeah, I'm just tired. I think I'll go take a nap."
"Alright, well I'll either see you later or tomorrow," Steve said.
"Okay," Soda said slowly getting out of Steve's car. It hurt to leave the car and watch as Steve drove away. Soda was really looking forward to hanging out with him after work.
After standing at the end of his driveway for awhile, he turned and walked inside. Ponyboy and Johnny were sitting in the kitchen talking. "Hey Soda," Ponyboy greeted as he walked into the kitchen.
"Hey Pony, hey Johnny. What are you guys up to?" Soda asked sitting at the table with the two.
"Not much, we were thinking about a movie tonight," Pony said.
"Is that how you guys are going to start off summer vacation is a movie? You're not going to do something wild?" Soda asked.
"I think Two-Bit's crazy antics are enough to cover for us," Pony said, "You and Steve should come with."
Soda suddenly felt a sense of hope, "Yeah I'll call Steve after Darry gets home. It'll be fun. I got to ask Darry if I can go out Friday anyway."
"Where are you going Friday night?" Johnny asked.
"Steve's going to drag race, so I'm going to watch."
"I still wonder why you ask Darry's permission for things," Ponyboy pointed out, "You are eighteen."
Soda shrugged, "Force of habit I guess, and I'd rather not suddenly leave the house if he needs me you know?"
"Who else is going?" Johnny asked.
"No one that I know of for sure, Shepard's going to be there so I'm assuming his gang will be too. Maybe Dallas, Steve thinks Two-Bit will be. You guys want to go?" Soda asked.
Johnny shook his head. Pony responded, "No, this is probably one of Shepard's blow outs for school being over, so it's probably best we don't go."
Soda nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm not even going to race, I'm just going to watch Steve. I just need to get out of this house and do something."
"Besides date?" Pony asked jokingly.
"Oh yeah," Soda replied.
The three boys continued talking as they waited for Darry's arrival. Soda was feeling more and more anxious by the minute. He really wanted to take the chance to see Steve tonight. If he did, he could sleep soundly tonight, he was sure he could. Around six was when Darry walked in. "Hey guys," he said as he grabbed a glass of water.
"Hey Darry," Soda greeted, "Pony and Johnny want to go to a movie tonight, I was going to go and maybe Steve, is that okay?"
Darry thought for a moment, "I guess. Is this at the movie house or the drivein?"
Soda looked at Pony and Johnny quickly for an answer. "Drivein," Pony responded.
"Alright," Darry said, "Just be careful for anyone having thier own school is over parties alright? Home by twelve?"
"Got it," Pony nodded.
"Cool, I'm going to call Steve," Soda said going to the living room phone. He heard the other guys talking still as the phone rang. Darry was taking stuff out to start dinner. The phone continued to ring. It ended with no answer. Soda hung up the phone and figured Steve was on his way over. Him and his dad probably got into a fight and he was coming right now. Soda went out onto the front porch to wait. Time went by and no sight of Steve's car from either side of the street. It made Soda more and more anxious. He was so focused on looking for Steve he jumped when the door opened.
"It's time for dinner Soda," Pony said and then shut the door.
Soda took one last look and went inside. Before going into the kitchen he tried calling Steve again. The phone rang and rang, but once again no answer. Soda felt upset as he hung up the phone again, more upset than the first time. Still, he had that little sense of hope that Steve was coming here.
When Soda sat down at the kitchen table, Darry asked, "Is Steve going?"
"No, he didn't answer," Soda said picking at his food, "So I guess we're walking unless I can use the truck."
"You can use it, that's fine," Darry said, "They keys are hanging by the door whenever you guys leave."
"Thanks Darry," Soda said slowly eating his dinner.
The boys didn't leave until eight, and Soda knew then Steve went off elsewhere for the night. He shook it off though, he was going to try and have fun tonight. Soda parked in the drivein parking lot and the boys walked up to the stands to watch whatever movie was playing.
Soda decided to look around to see who else was there. He recognized some people from other gangs around this side of town, but that was about it. A few people were having a party rage in their cars, or at least trying to keep it a secret before any cops showed up.
The three boys were sitting and talking, not really paying attention to the movie, and Soda was trying to let it distract him, but it wasn't working too well. Soda began to think about Steve again. He really wished he was here, so they could be together. It'd make the drivein more enjoyable. Steve kept crawling into Soda's thoughts as he tried harder and harder to focus on Ponyboy and Johnny.
Before Soda knew it, Pony pointed down to the parking lot, "Hey there's Dally and Shepard." Soda looked down and sure enough Dally and Tim Shepard were walking around looking for some action. The three boys walked down the stands and strolled over to Dally and Tim.
"Hey guys," Soda greeted.
"Hey Soda," Tim replied, "Hey boys."
"Hey Sodapop, Ponyboy, Johnny," Dally said, "What are you guys up to?"
"Not much, just hanging out," Soda answered.
"Cool," Dally said, "Hey Soda, Tim's having a drag race Friday night."
Soda nodded, "I know, Steve told me about it. Are you going?"
"Oh yeah," Dally said lighting a cigarette.
"So far my word is getting out too much," Tim said, "Some Socs want to be there and get their hands on some booze and start trouble. If they think they're going to get past me and race, they got another thing coming."
Dally flicked his cigarette towards the ground, "You guys want to come hang with us? We've been trying to find other people to hang with."
"Sure," Soda said, "I got Darry's truck."
Soda and Dally climbed into the front of the truck while Tim, Pony and Johnny got in the back. "Have either of you guys seen Steve tonight?"
"No, we haven't," Dally said.
"Why? Is he in some trouble?" Tim asked.
Soda shook his head, "No, he isn't home and I haven't seen him anywhere so I was just wondering."
Soda bit his lip before his emotions took over him. He wasn't worried about Steve, he could take care of himself, he just wanted to see Steve. To Soda, seeing Steve was like a drug, he needed more and more of it just to be happy. All he wanted was that feeling Steve gave him; happiness, a sight of hope. But was Soda really willing to get emotional over not seeing him? He knew that was ridiculous, he didn't always need Steve around to be happy and not think about Sandy. As weird as it was though, Soda hadn't thought about Sandy as much lately, he just wanted Steve around to be with Steve. The last time Soda ever had that kind of feeling was with Sandy. Soda began to wonder if there was some connection with his feelings when he was with Steve and what he use to feel with Sandy.