Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders.


Friday, December 23, 1965

"Connie you're mental."

"Look, I just don't wanna go."

Caroline scowled. "Because your mama's goin' and you don't get along with her well? Tough love, whatever. Suck it up and go, for Christ's sake!"

"I don't want my dad to spend Christmas alone." Caroline smirked at her best friend's comment.

Connie had a feeling Caroline knew damn well she hardly cared that her father might be spending Christmas alone, but that she'd do anything not to spend it with her mother.

"That's a bunch of shit and you know it, Con," Caroline remarked as she rolled her eyes at her best friend's endless excuses.

Connie shrugged as she sipped her Coke and wished she'd just shut up about it already. Had it not been obvious enough that she was tired of the topic and that it was going absolutely nowhere, and no matter what they did, she wasn't leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning? Sure, it was her home, where she was born and raised, but Caroline were right. She didn't really care if her dad had to spend Christmas alone (but thankfully he was gullible enough to believe that). As long as she didn't have to be with her mother.

"...and he's taken, but Sam Hudson, wow, Connie do you see his face?"

Connie shook her head. "Too pretty."

It was obvious that Caroline had given up on the previous topic because Connie was too stubborn to give in and moved on to discuss boys like they always did when they were at the Dingo.

Caroline raised her body slightly out from the booth seat and glanced around until her eyes fell on another boy. "Oh, oh, Jack Willis! Meredith just ended it with him 'cause she said he's had his eyes on you for a while now!"

"No thanks."

Caroline shrugged. "I'll have him then."

"I'm getting kind of bored," Connie complained, sipping on her coke, as she hoped it would pass the time.

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "It's freakin' seven o'clock, you wussy. If you wanna go home, be my guest, but if ya go home, ya gotta face the wrath of your evil mother. Just keep that in the back of your mind, all right?"

She rolled her eyes, but was thankful that Caroline reminded her of that. She didn't wanna contend with difficulties tonight, which she knew she'd have to do if she went home.

"I'm sleeping over tonight, cool?"

"'Cause you gotta ask for permission, right?"

Connie grinned at Caroline.

"Oh, hey, you know that girl you were workin' on your history project with? Evie or whatever?" Caroline paused and Connie nodded, letting her go on. "Well ya know her and Steve Randle broke up like a day ago or something ... He's hot, like, really hot."

Connie cocked an eyebrow but couldn't stop the grin that appeared at the last part.

"She told me yesterday," Caroline confirmed, chewing at her nails.

"Where and what happened?"

"Well she was cryin' in a bathroom stall, so bein' the nice person I am I asked her what was wrong and she said Steve cheated on her."

Connie laughed. If there was anything she knew about Steve Randle, it was that he really didn't seem like a guy to cheat. Yeah, she knew he could be an ass sometimes and stuff, but he didn't seem like an unfaithful guy, especially to Evie. She knew how he felt about her.

"I just can't see Steve cheatin' on Evie."

Caroline frowned. "Yeah, 'cause you know 'em both so well, right?"

"I know Evie all right, and I'm not fully defending Steve here, but if anything, Evie would be the one to cheat on him. I worked with her for over a month, and there was sure as hell a lot of talking about guys that weren't Steve ... on more then just a friendly level. Maybe she's lying or something."

Connie watched Caroline snicker at her comment. Caroline was free to believe whatever she wanted, but Connie was entitled to her opinion too. If anything, she'd ask Steve the next time she saw him. They were on an all right basis, since they had a bunch of classes together and saw chatted a few times about Evie ... Heck, he even offered to give her a ride home, with Evie in the car, that is.

Caroline clasped her hands together, set them on the table in front of her and leaned in, her eyes motioning to something at the front door. "You know, since you're such a smart ass, maybe you should just ask Steve yoursel-" she cut herself off as she raised an eyebrow at the sight ahead of her.

Connie, completely unmindful of the sight behind her, turned around, hoping to catch a quick glimpse of the scene. She was more than surprised when she saw Charlie and Evie walking in together, his arm slung over her shoulder as she giggled casually.

"What the hell?"

Caroline quickly shook her head at Connie and grabbed her arm from across the table, ensuring that she wouldn't fall out of her grip and make a scene then and there.

"Connie don't you even think about, ya hear me?" Caroline said, her eyes scanning her best friend's face. Her eyes looked uncharacteristically tense as her lip twitched slightly. She tried to shake off Caroline's grip but all she did was tighten it instead, her nails digging into Connie's skin.

"Let go, Caroline!" she scowled, biting her lip to help prevent the urge to scream. "I won't go over there, just let the hell go!"

Caroline furrowed her brows together and frowned at her. "If you make one move Connie Anne Jackson, I will tear your limbs off and shove them up your ass in your sleep!"

Connie wiggled her arm free as Caroline loosened her tight grip. She inhaled a quick but deep breath and banged her back against the booth cushion, which, strangely enough, didn't feel all that cushiony.

"Now look at me," Caroline directed, lips pursed. "You ain't movin' from this seat unless Prince Charmin' comes to pick you up ... So hell, that means you aren't movin' 'till I get back from the ladies' room. Thanks to you, I'm pretty damn sure I chipped a nail, and that manicure was expensive, so you're payin' for my next, ya hear me?"

Connie held her hands up in defense, but cringed at the scratches that had appeared on her arms when she did. "I won't move an inch."

"Damn right you won't."

Caroline gave her a quick nod as she walked to the bathroom, makeup bag in hand and head held high as she passed Charlie and Evie, coughing distinctly to catch their attention as Evie played with his shirt collar. Sure enough, the two of them gave her a rather cold stare as she entered the bathroom, but went back to their gawking seconds later.

It took everything Connie had not to cringe noticeably at the scene.

"You need to go outside," Connie murmured to herself as she slid herself out of the booth. Once she got on her feet, she was surprised to know that her balance wasn't exactly on her side today as she stumbled through the Dingo, trying her best not to let her brother catch her eye. Thankfully, she made it out in time, only to spot Steve Randle pacing around in a circle with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other. For some strange reason, she couldn't help but feel as though she was invading his space by looking at him.

"He's drunk as hell."

The voice came from beside her. She wouldn't have noticed him at all if he hadn't said anything.

Connie turned to face him. "They're inside."

"I know. You gotta tell him they're not."

She studied his face for a moment and questions pondered in her head. He looked awfully familiar. She'd seen him around school a year ago a lot; he was the boy who was always picking up girls, the one who Caroline used to like. The one with the weird name, Pepsi or Coke or Soda. Something like that.

"Why's that?" she asked, raising a brow.

The guy glanced at Steve, then back at Connie. "He'll go in there and start a fight, and he don't need that right now."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah I hear you."

"Hey, you're Evie's friend right? Connie?"

"Yea, you're Sodapop, right?"

"Yeah." He gave her a grin and she couldn't help but return the favor. His smile was contagious. "Evie really likes ya, she said you're a good friend."

"I know. Maybe she got a crush on me," Connie joked.

He laughed heartily and smiled at her again. "Don't let Steve figure out; next thing ya know, he'll be comin' after you, and I might have to really stop him. I wouldn't want him hurtin' a face like yours."

She smiled and shook her head. So what, he wasn't her type, but now she saw why Caroline fell for him.

Soda ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Steve again, who looked right back at him. Soon after, he quickly diverted his glare to something else in the parking lot.

"You wanna do me a favor?"

"What?" she asked, pulling her sweater closer to her body, hoping for some warmth.

Soda shrugged. "You maybe wanna go to Buck's place with Steve for an hour or two? Look, I know it sounds bad, trust me, I know, but all ya would do is just keep an eye on him or somethin' like that. I gotta go to work right now, and I don't wanna leave him alone like this. Listen, I'll drive you there, if you really want, heck, I can pick you up, too if you'd like."

Connie licked her lips. "I got a friend inside who'd be pretty damn angry if I didn't let her know-"

Soda interrupted her. "Bring her with ya! I mean damn, if he thought one girl was good, imagine what he'll think of two, right?"

"Well I guess that's fine-"

Soda interjected. "Hey, anyways, I think he needs a girl to talk too, Connie. Remind him that Evie wasn't worth it, ya know, just tell him stuff like that. Make sure he don't drink no more while you're with him, too. I know he'll want one, but try your best to keep him away from 'em. There's a bedroom upstairs, too, just so ya know-"

"I'll go grab Caroline."

XXX

"So we're babysittin' him?"

In all honesty, Connie thought Caroline would be happy about this. It was a Friday night, they were going to Buck's, there'd be alcohol, and attractive boys in their mid-twenties. There wasn't anything about this that didn't scream Caroline Gilbert.

She was especially pissed that Soda had to go work.

"Who the hell works on a Friday night?"

"Dedicated people," Connie replied, rolling her eyes as she glanced at Steve, who was sulking helplessly in the corner, eyeing the bottle of beer in Connie's hand. "You wouldn't know much about that, so I'll stop there."

Now, Caroline was dancing with some thirty year old man who looked a lot like her father if you asked Connie, but the lighting was pretty bad in here, so she dismissed the thought and rubbed her temples, setting the beer down on the bar table. She peeked at Steve, sitting next to her, and watched him eye her bottle, which, in her hour of being here, had only been sipped about three times. Caroline bought it for her, told her to loosen up a bit, but she wasn't quite sure she needed it as bad as someone else.

She turned to face him fully this time and saw the somber expression on his face. His previous intake had died down to the point where he was hardly talking anymore, and she figured one beer wouldn't do much harm, so she ordered another one, paid, and set it in front of him.

Steve gave her a small grin, but he doubted she saw it as she went back to drinking. She was different, all right. Way different then her friend, that was for sure.

"Thanks," he said.

"Mhm," she replied, taking a long swig and then setting it back on the table, glancing over at his expression. He looked beat up; not physically, but emotionally, like he'd just burst out crying right then, but something told her he wasn't the crying type.

"Why you doin' this? Don't ya got better stuff to do? Dates or somethin'?"

She shrugged. "Not really."

"Why?" he asked, then took a short sip of his beer.

"Because ... I don't know, I just don't."

He swallowed and then put his beer down. "You even know what a date is?"

"Are you being serious right now?"

"I'm just askin', no need to get defensive," he said in reply, smirking.

She frowned. "I wasn't getting defensive..."

"Yeah, okay." He took a long swig this time, and within a matter of seconds, had finished the first beer.

Connie blushed. She had only just gotten more than halfway through hers.

She watched him order another beer. Her lips twitched at the sight. "Hey you really think you should be havin' that? I mean you just had one and-"

"I'm fine."

She nodded, but knew it wasn't really fine at all. Whatever. She wasn't about to pick a fight with an angry and drunk teenage boy. Been there, done that.

But there was something irritating her that she needed to fix.

She took the biggest swig of beer she'd even taken before. The bittersweet taste spread across her mouth, taking over her senses and completely overwhelming her body with intoxicants. Connie wasn't one for heavy drinking, but damn, there was something in her that told her she should do it. She slammed the beer on the table and took a deep breath, covering her mouth when a burp suddenly appeared. She went red.

Steve couldn't help but let out a smirk at the sight before him.

Connie handed the empty beer bottle to the bartender and made a muffled noise that sounded like she wanted another one.

Steve watched her moves closely. It was obvious she was messin' with his head, tryin' to get him to think she could drink more than him ... well he could sure as hell keep up ... and when she gave him that smile...

She raised both her eyebrows, smirking. "I think you'd better finish that up so we can order a second round."

XXX

"So was he good?"

Connie growled at Caroline's question. She'd always been one to infer things quickly, but they'd only been driving for 30 seconds and hadn't even reached the main road.

"He sucked."

Caroline came to a sudden halt and turned to face her best friend, a genuinely confused look planted on her face. "Oh my God, are you serious?"

Connie rolled her eyes. "I'm joking. We didn't even do anything."

Caroline frowned and made a huffing noise, then made her way back on the main road. "How you gonna tell me you didn't wanna get some of that? Connie, he's hot! Like, he's really freakin' hot!"

Connie opened her mouth to say something but quickly refrained herself from doing so before she might say something she'd regret. Yeah, he was definitely attractive, but she wouldn't admit it out loud.

"I guess he's all right." She was lying right through her teeth.

Caroline blinked rapidly, and Connie was worried her immediate safety might become threatened when she did. "All right?" she asked, shaking her head in disapproval. "Nu uh, Connie Anne, that boy is not just all right, you know it damn well he's much more than that, I mean, his eyes, and his arms, oh damn, have you seen his arms..."

Connie ignored Caroline's babble and shut her eyes for a moment. Her head was starting to hurt real bad, and she figured it was from the drinking... Actually, she knew it was from drinking, but she didn't care too admit that either. She'd had a decent time tonight with Steve; but again, it was something she decided she should keep to herself, and she secretly hoped he'd agree with that.

They didn't even do much together anyway, so Connie wasn't sure why she was still thinking about it. All they did was have a few drinks, dance a little, that's it.

Why it lingered in her mind for the whole night was beyond her.

XXX

"So was she good?"

Soda had picked him up thirty minutes ago from Buck's and had done him the justice of taking him home with him instead of droppin' him off at his old man's place, which Steve had yet to thank him for.

His question kinda caught him off guard. He wasn't completely sure if Soda had tried to set him up with Connie when he asked her to practically babysit him, but nothin' really happened between 'em, so he wasn't sure what Soda was goin' at.

"We didn't do anythin'."

Soda raised a brow in surprise. "And why the hell not?"

Steve shrugged dully. " 'Cause it just didn't seem like neither of us was interested," he paused while rubbing his temples, trying to reduce the migraine that had suddenly taken over his body. "And ya know, I think she got a boyfriend and stuff."

"Why'd ya think that?" he asked.

"Man ... Look, I know her, she's like Evie's best friend or somethin' 'long those lines, and I'm pretty sure she got a boyfriend."

Soda nodded. "Well I can always ask-"

Steve interrupted and shook his head. "Naw man. Can we just drop it?"

Soda shrugged in reply. Steve didn't wanna talk about it; he knew where the conversation would lead too, and he wasn't in the mood to talk about Evie or Connie or any girl at the moment. In fact, he wasn't in the mood to talk at all.


A/N: First off, thank you to Dee, who was lovely enough to look this over for me. If anyone is looking for a beta reader, I would 100% suggest her. Secondly, all reviews are great. If there's something you liked or didn't like, mention it in the little box. Third, I'm going away to camp for two weeks, so this won't be updated for a while. I'm sorry for the wait, but when I get back, I'll be updating much quicker.

-Nadia