Dumped; chapter twenty-one

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The five days prior to Saturday, the day when Friday and Soda were supposed to meet at the Dingo, Steve and Friday spent mounds, mounds of time together. Usually, Friday did prefer to spend some time at home. She liked her family, meaning her brother Randal and mother. But now that her father had invaded her life, she preferred to stay as far away from her house as possible. For Steve, that meant more time spent with him.

On February tenth, the day before Saturday, Steve and Friday had a particularly interesting day at his house. Friday had shown up, Steve had argued with his father in front of her, and then they'd stormed up to his room. Well, actually, Steve had stormed up to his room, while Friday followed timidly.

Once inside, Steve sat on his bed, fuming. He was praying he wouldn't have a fit, not with Friday in the room. He didn't want to release his tension on her, it just wouldn't be right. But sometimes… sometimes… his old man was just… intolerable. He led Steve to do stupid, rage-filled things that he eventually regretted.

"You okay?" said Friday cautiously, noticing how Steve clutched the blanket on his bed between his fists. He exhaled, relaxing slightly, though his shoulders and hands were still tense.

"Fine. Just fine," said Steve, unclenching his teeth finally. He'd been grinding them for nearly fifteen minutes now. He said nothing else, so Friday went over and explored the shelves in his room. On the nearest tabletop she found a familiar book, Gone with the Wind, and skimmed through its pages.

"You read?" she asked Steve, her eyebrows arched. She'd never taken him for the type.

"Not much," admitted Steve, settling down. "That's not my book. Soda's little brother came here once with Soda, an' brought it along with him. Guess he must've left it here by mistake."

"Soda's brother?" inquired Friday, setting the book back down.

"His name's Ponyboy." Steve squinted his eyes and thought about Ponyboy. He hadn't seen him much lately, only a couple of times a month around the DX. In the past, he'd mocked Pony, referring to him as a tagalong, and Soda's shadow. But lately, mostly since Dally and Johnny had died, he'd secretly thought of him as… more mature, although he'd never tell him or Soda that.

Friday scrutinized Steve, and then shrugged. "Ponyboy? Interestin' family Soda's got."

"Yea," agreed Steve, watching as Friday sat beside him once more. They stared at each other for a couple moments, silently. The atmosphere in the room was somewhat tense, but somehow also welcoming and comfortable. Steve took Friday's hand in his and grinned at her, and Friday grinned back, though a little stupidly. Steve was the first to lean forward, and they kissed.

And from there came the interesting part, as things got a bit more… well, physical than usual. Not to an extreme point, but an under-the-shirt experience. Friday's first under-the-shirt experience. Steve had wanted to go farther, but he hadn't mentioned it. Steve's hormones were currently fused with anger, which was a dangerous combination. And Friday was just, well… not ready for that kind of thing, and he knew that, though it wasn't his most favorite thing in the world.

Besides, they hadn't been dating very long yet. A little bit over a month, Steve couldn't remember the exact date, because they'd officially starting dating without actually saying they were long ago. But, just about a week ago he'd asked Friday to be his girlfriend. But it was no secret they'd been a couple longer than that.

After the more-physical-than-usual session had occurred, Steve and Friday kissed very little, and instead went to a movie at the Nightly Double. They ran into a soc girl there that Steve knew of, a pretty red head called Cherry. Friday hadn't ever met her, but noticed that Steve was somewhat tense when he and Cherry had exchanged a brisk "hello." She didn't inquire to why, though.

Steve drove Friday home late that evening. Usually, they minded the time because of Randal, but lately Friday's brother had better things to do than harass her about Steve. So, for a while, they sat in front of Friday's house, just talking. Then, she kissed his cheek and opened the passengers door, exiting. Before she went inside, Steve called, "If your dad gives you any shit, come to my house, all right?"

Friday nodded from afar, and answered back, "Sure thing. And remind Soda that me an' him are supposed to hang out together tomorrow, all right?"
Steve replied, "Sure" then nodded and began down the road, smiling.

XXX

Saturday afternoon, Friday walked herself to the Dingo. It was one of those rare days that Soda was already off for a change, so nothing interfered with them hanging out. But quite honestly, Friday didn't want to hang out with Soda. Not alone, anyway. Not that she didn't like him, because she did. He was Steve's best friend, after all. But ever since what had happened, she'd gotten the feeling that Soda wasn't exactly taking a liking to her all that much, though he was too polite to say so.

It was four PM, exactly the time Friday and Soda had agreed to meet up, and just as expected, when Friday entered the Dingo, there was Soda. He was sitting in a booth by the window, stirring a mug of water with a clear straw. Friday exhaled and went over to him, suddenly feeling an ache of discomfort.

"Hi," she said perkily. Her perkiness, in truth, was pretty artificial. She was actually feeling a little bit nauseous—Soda looked awful upset for some reason.

Soda glanced up at Friday as she sat across from him. "Hey," he answered lowly.

A greasy-looking waitress came over to the two a moment later, asking for their orders. Soda claimed he wasn't hunger, while Friday ordered a carton of fries. Then, the waitress went away, and they were left alone again.

"So… Steve was talking about your brother the other day," Friday began. She thought of what had happened in Steve's room, and blushed a little. "Ponyboy. Right?"

Soda managed a smile. "Yeah. Ponyboy."

"How old is he?"

Soda cleared his throat, gazed around for a moment, then answered, "'Bout fifteen now."
"Could I meet him sometime?" asked Friday interestedly. Honestly, she did want to meet Soda's brother. She figured anyone with the name "Ponyboy" had to be pretty cool.

"Guess so," said Soda. Then he sighed, and Friday bit her lip.

"You all right?" she asked. "You're lookin' kinda upset."
Soda gazed at the floor of the restaurant, while also picking at his nails. It was silent for a minute, but then he said, "You think it was selfish of me to ask Steve to come along to war? I dunno. I guess it just would've been a real comfort. But then you… not you, well…" He paused. "Steve says he's scared. But you know it's got something to do with you too, don't ya?" He sounded a little bitter, but mostly disappointed. Friday held her breath: she hadn't expected this subject to surface again. She thought it had been settled completely the other day.

Friday scratched her neck, uncomfortable. "I, er… it's not really my place. I dunno. Um… about the selfish thing." She giggled a little, but in anxiousness.

"But you know it's got somethin' to do with you, right?" said Soda, a little demandingly.

Friday knew, but she didn't want to say it aloud. "Wasn't this… er… settled the, um, other day?" she asked. She hadn't meant it to, but it had come out sounding a little rude.

Soda looked at her. "Yea," he answered. "It ain't just gonna go away, though." He waved his hand in the air, a "go-away" motion, then slumped down in the booth before standing up completely. "Ya know, I oughta be going. Darry wanted me home for dinner or somethin'."

Friday glanced quickly to the clock. Four-twenty, she thought. They'd only been here for about twenty minutes now, and it had already turned miserable. And aside from that, who the heck ate dinner at four?
"Soda…" Friday began, but didn't know what else to say. She probably could've said sorry, but what good would that of done? Besides, she wasn't doing anything to intentionally hurt Soda and Steve's relationship. She just happened to be in the middle of things. She hadn't put herself there.

As Soda left, the greasy-looking waitress arrived with Friday's fries. Friday took them in a takeout box and left some money on the counter, telling the waitress to keep the change. Then she left herself, walking straight to Steve's house, intent on avoiding her own home for the rest of the day. Also, Steve had told her to tell him how it went with Soda, anyway. He wasn't going to be thrilled to hear that Friday was almost fully convinced his best friend hated her.

Once at Steve's house, Friday entered without knocking. Steve's dad's car wasn't there, so it was unlikely he was either. Upstairs, Steve was in his room, greasing his hair back in the mirror. Friday went straight to his room, interrupting him. He looked at her, noticed that she seemed dejected, and assumed, "Don't tell me that ya have bad news."

"Depends, do ya think that your best friend hatin' me is bad?" she said sarcastically. Friday didn't usually get bitter like this, but she felt guilty, which was weighing her down. "D'you think I'm breaking your friendship apart, Steve?" she added bluntly. "And be honest."

Steve considered it. Maybe she was pressuring it, but breaking it apart? He didn't think so. Soda and Steve had suffered through times like this before, and they'd remained best friends. And it wasn't exactly Friday who was adding tension on the situation. It was more of Vietnam in general. "

"I don't think you are," said Steve slowly. He took his girlfriend's hand and smiled, and Friday managed to grin back, but faintly. "Don't worry your head about it, all right? Me an' Soda'll get past this." The pair weren't exactly fighting anymore, but the tension still remained, and both he and Soda realized that it wasn't just going to vanish.

Friday was quiet, so Steve went back over to the mirror, finished greasing his hair, and told her, "I've gotta run to Buck's place real quick. I gotta talk to Two-Bit about somethin'." Steve had mentioned Two-Bit before, so Friday knew who he was referring to. "You wanna come along? It ain't exactly the kinda place for someone like you, but if ya want…" He shrugged, faltering.

"Yeah," Friday agreed instantly. She didn't want to be left there alone, where she could spend an hour replaying what had happened between her and Soda. "I need to distract myself for a while anyway."