Chapter Seven:


That kiss proved distracting for the rest of the day.

I had a hard time paying attention in my afternoon classes, and more than once the teacher called my name without me noticing, which got a few laughs out of the rest of the class. By the time I made it in to work that afternoon, I didn't know if I was more frustrated with Steve for kissing me in the first place, or with myself for not being able to stop thinking about it.

And I really couldn't help thinking about it. I mean, Steve Randle kissed me! Steve, the boy who used to pull my hair when we were kids, and made fun of me when I first joined the diving team. He was my big brother's best friend, one of the gang.

He had a girlfriend for Pete's sake!

It was a wonder I was able to get the right orders to the right tables, I was so out of it. Emma could tell something was wrong, and had asked if I was okay on the way to the diner, but I hadn't been ready to talk about it yet, so she'd left it alone, doing her best to cover for me when I needed it.

About two hours into my shift, I headed over to one of my tables to take the order of the latest customer and was startled at who I found sitting alone in the booth. "Hey," Soda said quietly, obviously distracted.

I frowned, surprised to see him. The boys occasionally came in to the diner when I was working, but not too often, and certainly never alone. And from the grim look on his face I had a feeling this wasn't a social call.

"Hey," I replied, glancing over my shoulder and catching Stella's eye. I jerked a thumb at Soda, and she nodded, waving me on. I dropped down onto the bench across from my brother, giving him an expectant look. "What are ya doin' here?"

Wordlessly, Soda produced a sleeveless sweathshirt from his lap.

I felt the color drain from my face. "That's Ponyboy's shirt," I said, and Soda nodded. "Where did ya get it?" I demanded.

"I went over to Buck Merril's to talk with Dally," Soda explained slowly, his eyes serious as they bore into my own. "I found this in his room."

He let the words hang in the air between us for a minute, and I pursed my lips as the meaning of what he'd just said sunk in. Ponyboy had been to see Dally that night, which meant that Johnny must have been there, too. "What did he say when ya asked him about it?"

Soda sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "He wouldn't tell me anythin'. He says he doesn't know where they are or nothin', but I know he's lyin'. He wouldn't have just let Johnny take off without some idea of where to find him."

I nodded my agreement. "Well, at least we know they made it out of town okay."

"I reckon so," Soda muttered. "I just wish we could get in touch with Pony, ya know? I hate not knowin' if he's doin' okay or not."

"Me, too," I said softly.

We sat there in silence for a few moments, each wrapped up in our own thoughts. In truth, I was grateful that Soda had come by with this news, it gave me something else to think about other than whether I wanted to punch Steve for kissing me or for ending the kiss too soon.

"Hey, can I borrow that?" Soda asked, shaking me out of my reverie. I followed his gaze to my order pad and shrugged, handing it over. "Thanks," he said, grabbing the pen and holding it in his hand, a thoughtful look on his face.

"What are ya gonna do with it?" I asked.

"Dally's bound to check up on them sooner or later," Soda replied. "I'm gonna write Ponyboy a letter, then give it to Dally. That way when he sees Pony again, he can give it to him for us."

"Ya think Dallas will do it?" I inquired.

Soda shrugged. "I don't see why not. He's tryin' to protect them, that's all. If we don't pester him about where they are, he won't feel like he's being put on the spot or nothin'."

"So what er ya gonna say?" I asked, leaning forward eagerly. "Ya have to tell him that Darry's sorry about what happened, that's for sure."

"Yeah," Soda agreed. "I was plannin' to."

He leaned over the paper and scribbled for a few minutes, so I studied him while he did. He was tired, you could see it in his expression, around his eyes mostly. Pony's disappearance was taking a lot out of us all, but Soda was trying so hard to stay optimistic, for our sakes. I felt a surge of affection for him for that.

"How's this sound?" Soda asked, looking up from his writing and clearing his throat. "Well, I guess you got into some trouble, huh? Lizzie, Darry and me nearly went nuts when ya ran out like that. Darry is awfully sorry he hit you-"

"Add that he didn't mean it," I cut in, and Soda paused to jot that down.

"And then you and Johnny turned up missing and what with the dead kid in the park and Dally gettin' hauled into the station, well it scared us somethin' awful," Soda continued. He frowned, biting his lip the way he usually does when he's trying to think.

"Tell him about the police comin' by the house," I prompted. "They need to know what's goin' on here in town and all."

"Right," Soda agreed, and began to add that in. "I'm gonna put in somethin' about Dally knowin' where they are, but not tellin' us."

"Good," I nodded. "Give ol' Dallas a little guilt if he reads it then."

Soda hunched over, working on the letter for another few minutes before straightening and handing me the finished copy. I read it out loud, so he could hear how it sounded. "Darry hasn't got the slightest notion where you are and it's nearly killin' him. I wish you'd come back and turn yourselves in, but I reckon ya can't since Johnny might get hurt. Ya sure are famous. Ya got a paragraph in the newspaper even. Take care and say hi to Johnny for us."

"Well?" Soda asked. "What do ya think?"

I handed the notebad back to him. "Looks good to me."

"Anythin' else we should add?" Soda wondered aloud. "Has anythin' interestin' or unusual happened since he's been gone?"

I felt my cheeks flush at the memory of the kiss Steve and I had shared, but thankfully Soda wasn't looking at me, so he didn't notice. I could just imagine how well the news that his best buddy had kissed his sister would go over, and it wasn't pretty.

"Nah," I replied. "I think that's everythin'."

"Okay, then," Soda said, ripping off the top sheet and handing me back my notepad. "Thanks, Lizzie. I should probably get goin', I've got work in a bit."

"Is Steve workin' with ya tonight?" I asked, strictly because I wanted to know if there was a chance of Soda finding out about that kiss. It wasn't like I was asking about him for the sake of asking or anything.

"Nope," Soda said with a lopsided grin. "He's got a date with Evie."

I struggled to keep my expression even, despite the fact that my stomach turned over at those words. "Figures," I muttered.

"Yeah, what can I say," Soda drawled. "Steve's a lover, not a worker."

I snorted in disgust. "I thought that was you, Sodapop."

Ignoring my jibe, Soda bent and placed a kiss on my cheek as he slid out of the booth. "Play nice, Sis. I'll see ya back at the house."

"Yeah," I replied, standing and straightening my white apron. "Don't be late, okay? I'm gonna try and scrape together somethin' that resembles an actual meal."

"Sure thing," Soda promised, starting for the door. He paused as he was opening it and turned to give me a grin. "Make enough, okay? I reckon Steve might drop by and eat with us tonight."

I kept the forced smile on my face until he disappeared out into the parking lot, and then sighed, shaking my head. I hoped Steve decided not to show, but with my luck he would.

Throwing down my notepad, I made a decision and marched over to the table that Emma was waiting on, grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her off to the side. "What is it?" she asked. "What-"

"Steve kissed me today at lunch," I said bluntly, cutting her off.

Emma's eyes widened. "Steve did what?" she cried, a little too loudly. People turned to look at us, and I glared at her. "Sorry," she whispered. "Steve kissed you? What did you do? What did he say? What did you say?"

"I didn't really do anythin'," I replied. "I was in shock. And neither of us said anythin', because Two-Bit came back out to the car right after."

Emma was quiet for a long moment, and then her lips twitched slightly. "I just have one thing to say to that," she announced.

"Oh, yeah?" I said. "What's that?"

"Can I be there when Soda finds out?" Emma grinned. "I've always wanted to see Steve get his tail whipped."