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"I really don't understand why you're friends with him, Soda," Steve Randle once overheard Darry Curtis say to his best friend Sodapop Curtis. He didn't wait around to hear Soda's answer. Steve wondered if anyone else had ever said that exact same thing to Sodapop...probably, if he had to bet on it. The truth was, Sodapop's friendship was probably the most important thing Steve had in his life. He didn't know what that said about him, if anything. Steve never really did any self-examination. He was afraid if he ever did, he might not like the person he was. That was a scary thought.

Not too long after overhearing Darry's comment, the unthinkable occurred. Darry failed a test.

The oldest Curtis brother had just entered high school and at the moment, Darry didn't have a lot of free time on his hands. On top of a lot of school work, he had just gotten a part-time job, had football practice and tried to go to the gym with his father whenever he could. Steve couldn't help but find it amusing how hard Darry was taking this, he was acting like he had let everyone down, like he had just blown the chance of receiving a scholarship for college.

"Don't worry about it Superman," Sodapop said, using that stupid nickname that apparently Ponyboy came up with when he was very little. "It was just one test. Everyone fails a test one time or another."

"Yeah," Steve chimed in and remembered just how low the score was, "But you really failed it."

Darry narrowed his eyes at him but said nothing as he turned and headed up to his room. Once they both overheard his bedroom door close, Soda turned to his best friend, not looking happy at all.

"Now why did you have to say that?" He demanded. "You don't realize how important it is for Darry to go to college."

"Oh come on, he's moping around like he just found out someone killed his pet dog, and all of it over failing a test for the first time in his life. I bet you right now he's in his room doing a thousand pushups to punish himself."

Soda's expression hardened even further and Steve could only roll his eyes. It was obvious that Soda had the same 'hero-worship' for Darry that Ponyboy had for him. Steve didn't know why, but as several weeks past by he couldn't help but continue to poke the bear. Every time that Steve happened to see Darry he would take a not so subtle dig at the older boy until finally, Darry couldn't take it anymore. It was Saturday night, Steve was at the Curtis house as he and Sodapop were going to go out and do something. They didn't know what, but just about every Saturday they always met up to go look for some action around town.

"I thought you had plans with Paul to go out," Soda said as he saw that Darry was still in his home clothes.

"I did, but I canceled," Darry answered. "I'm going to study all weekend."

Steve snorted.

"Darry, don't take this too personally but maybe you should try to find yourself a girlfriend," Steve then gave him a shit-eating grin but Darry didn't even acknowledge him. Okay, Steve had to admit that was a little lame but he was running out of good digs.

"You want me to help you?" Soda then asked which nearly caused Steve to snap his neck as he looked over at his best friend so quick. What? They were supposed to be going out.

"Na, it's okay," Darry smiled, appreciating the offer. "You go ahead out, I just don't want to take the chance of doing badly on this next test on Monday."

Before even thinking about it, Steve then blurted out;

"Yeah, you don't want people to think that you're all brawn and no brain."

The next thing Steve knew he was flying. A very painful flying. He smacked the floor with a loud thud and once he opened his eyes he was seeing stars. It took a couple of seconds for his vision to clear, he could now see Sodapop leaning down over him. Steve then groaned as his hand instinctively went up to cradle his now severely aching mouth, a little bit of blood slipping from his fingers and tears of pain brimming from his eyes.

"You best hightail it out of here unless you want to put that 'all brawn and no brain' theory to the test," Darry growled before turning around and stomping his way up the stairs to put some distance between the two of them.

Darry shook his throbbing right hand as he made his way inside of his room, now starting to feel a little guilty. That was his brother's best friend he had just punched after all. He could take being joked on as much as the next person but enough was enough. What Darry didn't understand was why Steve was on his case so much lately. Back downstairs, Sodapop helped Steve take a seat on the couch. Once he realized that Steve's jaw wasn't broken, he was just going to have one hell of a bruise, Soda quickly went from concerned to angry.

"Steve, just get out," Soda said as he again helped Steve up and walked him all the way to the porch, "You best stay away for a couple of days."

Steve sighed heavily as he watched his friend then turn around and head back inside of the house. Rubbing his jaw again, Steve slowly made his way back to his own house. After a few days, things went back to normal as Sodapop made Steve and Darry both begrudgingly apologize to each other, but they both knew that from now on it was best to just stay out of each other's way.

That night Steve walked down the street of his neighborhood with his hands shoved into his pockets and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He was alone but he wasn't worried because was safe to walk alone here, the socs knew better then to come around to this territory and start any trouble. Steve stopped walking and leaned up against a streetlight as he breathed out a stream of smoke before looking up the night sky, gazing on all of the stars that had gathered.

Steve still had a bruise despite keeping an icepack on his jaw every night since the punch. He didn't know why he had to get on Darry like that, just like he didn't know why he had to get on Ponyboy sometimes. Steve didn't have anything personal against Ponyboy, he just had no interest in hanging out with him. To Steve, Ponyboy was just his best friend's annoying little brother. He didn't know why he was so quick to try to start a fight with someone or why he always felt the need to prove something to himself...

Well, actually deep down he did know. Steve was angry. He was an angry person but just didn't know how to deal with it properly.

It probably all started when his mother died. Steve was only five when it had happened so thankfully he didn't remember much, he didn't remember much about her. Steve only remembered one day his mother coming home and telling him that she had just seen a doctor. He was confused, she had never gone to see the doctor before. Two weeks later she was dead. Stomach cancer had consumed her completely. Steve remembered creeping downstairs on some nights and saw his father David sitting on the couch, a bottle of vodka in one hand and tears streaming down his face. The death of his mother really affected Steve's relationship with his father. The two of them just didn't seem to feel comfortable being around one another anymore and the older Steve got the more and more his father seemed to get on his case about every little damn thing.

After four years went by after his first wife's death, David remarried a woman named Cheryl Roberts. Steve was actually happy about that. She seemed to make his father happy, and Cheryl treated Steve good, she treated him like he was her own son, and Steve grew to love her a lot, but it just wasn't the same as having his actual mother here...as brief as it might have been.

Two years after his mother's death, when Steve entered the second grade was when he first met Sodapop Curtis and the two of them clicked right away, they had been best friends ever since. Steve wondered what would have happened to him if he had never met Soda as he was really the only true friend he had. Sure, he got along with and talked to other kids at school, he liked Two-Bit, but with them he always did keep his guard up. Whenever he was around Soda he could let his guard down. Steve laughed, joked around, played pranks, did all sorts of fun things. The anger went away.

Continuing to watch the stars, Steve took in some more smoke as he knew an inconvenient truth. He couldn't be handcuffed to Sodapop Curtis forever. Steve had to find someone or something else that made him happy. Perhaps he could meet a nice girl, get settled down somewhere far away from Tulsa, get married, make some money, have some kids...have it all. Build a home where his scars could heal.

Perhaps one day that will happen.