Soda and Two-Bit went further in their time together, but didn't go all the way. It was exciting to Soda, but he just couldn't push himself to new levels. Part of him was scared to experience it, and part of him was scared to disappoint Two-Bit. Neither of them knew what to expect as they kept going.

"You're not upset are you?" Soda asked as he snuggled up to Two-Bit.

"Of course not," Two-Bit said as he kissed along Soda's hairline.

"I keep wanting to do more, but I get scared out of it too."

"The right time will come. We just have to have faith in that. Now get some sleep, alright?"

"I'll try."

Two-Bit ran his hand through Soda's hair, "Don't worry about tomorrow. Please. Everything will be taken care of." Soda looked up and gave Two-Bit a kiss, feeling his eyes stay closed from exhaustion.

Surprisingly, Soda stayed asleep the entire night. He was relaxed with Two-Bit. Waking up next to Two-Bit brought a smile to his face. He didn't even remember what was happening that day until Two-Bit got up to get ready.

Soda just stayed in the bed as he watched Two-Bit get dressed.

"Can't we just stay here until tonight?" Soda asked, "Just lay here and do nothing?"

"I would love to, but I want to talk to Darry and Dally about tonight. We need a plan. I'm sorry."

Soda frowned as he sat up and began getting dressed, "Two-Bit..."

"What?"

"Can you just promise me something?"

"Of course, what is it?"

Soda swallowed the lump in his throat, "Do whatever you want to Steve, but don't kill him."

Two-Bit walked over to the bed, shocked at what Soda had just said to him. He hadn't even thought of anything like that. He barely thought of killing a Soc. He took Soda's hands into his and saw the plea in his eyes.

"Please?" Soda asked again.

"Soda, I don't think any of us could do that. As nasty as he is being and as much as we all hate him right now, we all still think of him as our brother. We couldn't kill him."

"But Dally..."

"Don't worry about Dally. Darry and me, especially Darry, are the angriest at Steve. Darry will be giving him a piece of his mind more than anyone. And we both know Darry won't kill him."

Soda nodded, "Okay."

"I know you will, but I truly don't want you to worry about this. Let us take care of it."

"Yeah okay."

Two-Bit gave Soda a peck on the cheek, "Come on, let's get you home."

Darry, Pony, Two-Bit, and Johnny tried doing anything they could to distract Soda and make the day go by easier. Nothing worked though. Soda kept to himself, and sat outside on the back porch smoking cigarette after cigarette. Darry didn't try to stop him from doing that either. He didn't want Soda to go to alcohol or something worse. He was concerned about leaving him with Pony and Johnny though. If Soda lost it, how could either of them stop him from running out? Two-Bit almost wished they would have just stayed at his house. He wanted to hold Soda, to make him feel safe and confident things would be okay. He almost wanted to just tell Darry about what him and Soda were doing, but he couldn't betray Soda's trust or comfort like that.

As the evening arrived, Dallas entered the house. Pony went outside to have a smoke with Soda while Johnny and Two-Bit stayed inside with Darry.

"Where have you been?" Darry asked.

"Oh just keeping my eyes and ears open," Dally said, sitting himself on the couch.

"Did you find Steve?" Two-Bit asked.

"I heard he was going to a drag race tonight. Not the usual track though, somewhere on the other side of town."

Darry ran a hand through his hair, "We can't get him alone then. Everyone could jump in, and knowing we're on Soda's side, we'd be the ones outnumbered."

"We can't just call him out in front of everyone either," Two-Bit added.

"Well let's just go now, maybe we can find him before he gets there with his new gang," Dally said, "And you know I will start something with or without you guys."

"But..." Darry began.

"No, don't start," Dally said, "We are doing this so let's go." Dally walked out the door waiting for Two-Bit and Darry to follow.

"I...I should talk to Soda..." Darry said.

"No, go out and hold Dally for a minute. I'll talk to Soda," Two-Bit said.

Darry wasn't sure, but slowly nodded. "Send Pony in here, so I can talk to him." Two-Bit went out back and sent Pony inside.

"You guys are going?" Pony asked Darry.

"Yes, now listen up," Darry said looking between Pony and Johnny, "Just try to keep Soda happy if you can. Play games, watch a movie, play football in the backyard. Make a cake with food coloring and too much sugar for all I care. Just keep him calm. Don't let him get too upset, because he is on the verge of just running away again. We can't have that, not tonight."

"We know Darry," Pony said.

Darry nodded, "I know. He just has to stay here. Even though we're trying to catch Steve, I have a feeling he's expecting us to do something."

Pony frowned, knowing Darry was right. They weren't making it known they were looking for Steve, but he was probably ready to fight, especially if he had new friends to back him up. "Just be careful Darry."

"Are you leaving now?" Soda asked without looking up at Two-Bit.

"Yeah, we are," Two-Bit replied, leaning against the door, "Darry's really worried about leaving you alone. He thinks you'll run off or do something harmful."

Soda took a deep breath then shook his head, "No, I won't. It's not safe for me to. I know that." Two-Bit slowly walked over to Soda. He put a hand on Soda's shoulder and closely looked at his face. There was a wet streak going down one side of Soda's face.

"Are you crying?" Two-Bit asked. Soda wouldn't turn his head or open his mouth to answer. He knew if he tried to speak, he would just bawl. "Soda, everything's going to be okay. I know you probably don't believe that anymore, but give it time. Tonight when I get back, when it's over, we can figure out a new...life for you."

Two-Bit rubbed Soda's back as he spoke, still not getting a response.

"Maybe I should have had Darry come out here, I'm not good at this," Two-Bit slightly chuckled at himself, "I can't even talk to my six year old sister about anything soothing. Give her a cookie and that's my brotherly talk." Soda got a small smile on his face.

"I...just can't believe this is happening," Soda said looking away, "I kept wondering if Steve would get over it and come back to us. But no, we're searching to practically jump him." Two-Bit took a deep breath and started to think. He knew Dally would bust through the door any second and have a fit about leaving now. He needed to say something though to get Soda to remain calm for the next few hours.

"Do me a favor?"

Soda finally looked up at Two-Bit, "What?"

"Quit smoking tonight, that's not like you," Two-Bit said taking the cigarette pack out of Soda's jeans, "Go inside, hang out with Ponyboy and Johnny and just relax. Make a cake and we can eat it together when I get back." Two-Bit ran his hand through Soda's hair. "Dry your eyes and go relax. You deserve it."

Two-Bit knew that wouldn't fix everything, but he was glad he said something.

Soda slowly nodded, "Okay."

Two-Bit gave Soda's forehead a quick kiss and made his way to Darry and Dally in the front.

Ponyboy and Johnny watched as Soda paced between the armchair and window. After the guys left, it took awhile for Soda to get back inside the house. When he did though, the boys played cards for an hour and Soda seemed to really enjoy himself. Pony was happy to see his brother distracted and away from reality for some time. They were all happy and relaxed. Neither of them thought about what was happening at the time.

Then when Soda saw the clock, he became anxious and couldn't get himself to sit for another card game. "Don't you think they should be back by now? How long do rumbles or fights usually last? How long are we usually gone at rumbles?"

"They had to find them Soda. It wasn't a meet up and rumble, they had to find them first," Pony said.

"Maybe they got hurt and can't get back. It's Steve and however many new friends he has versus just them three."

"If anyone got hurt they would be here by now and you know it. There's no way Steve and a few guys beat all of them, especially Darry."

"I know," Soda said, tapping his foot impatiently.

"If you know this then what are you worried about?" Pony asked.

"I..." Soda jumped up and walked to the window, "I don't know what I'm so jumpy about." Pony thought for a minute and watched his brother. He had seen him this way before. He knew what it meant when Soda looked out the window anxiously. He always did this whenever he was waiting on...

"Steve?" Ponyboy suddenly asked.

Soda turned, "What?"

"It's Steve isn't it? You're worried about Steve. You are worried about how bad he could be getting it from the guys right now."

"Why do you figure that?"

Pony pointed at the window, "You always go to that window every time Steve got kicked out and you worried about him while he made his way over here. You are worried about the guys leaving him close to a vegetable, aren't you?"

Soda sighed. He didn't like admitting it, but Pony was right. "Pony...I still care about him. He's still a best friend or a brother. I don't even care about him being like a...a...partner or something. I just want him back in the gang."

"Could you really forgive him after all he's done to you?" Pony asked.

"I...really don't know Pony. I don't know," Soda rubbed his eyes. It was a hard question to think about. Could he forgive Steve if he asked for it? Sure, probably. Could he forget what Steve has done and could their friendship be back to the way it was? Soda didn't like admitting it, but the answer was probably no.

"Well we all want him back," Johnny added in, "We all wish things were back to normal for the gang."

"You mean...you guys wish I was normal again so things could go back to normal," Soda said looking towards the ground.

"Soda, you know that's not what he meant," Pony said, "Soda, everyone is fine with who you are now."

"No. I know everyone wishes I was back to normal. The normal everyone wants me to be. Everyone just has to deal with how I am now. Everyone has to accept it. Two-Bit has to accept the rumors going around about him too. No one really wants to deal with this though, they just have to. Everyone wants me to go back to normal...just be fucking normal!"

"Soda calm down, it's not like that at all," Pony said, but Soda marched to the door.

"Soda," Johnny said, "What are you doing?"

"Just leave me alone," Soda said and slammed the door shut.

"Pony..." Johnny's mouth hung open, "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry. He knows you didn't mean it like that."

"Should we go after him?"

Pony shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe we should wait and see if Darry gets back soon. He won't like it if none of us are here."

"If they don't get back soon, we might have to try and go find somebody," Johnny suggested.

"Yeah, okay. We'll give them some time."

Soda headed down the street. He knew it was all true. The gang wanted Soda back to normal. The gang would rather Soda be depressed and lonely than happy and gay. Soda almost wanted that too. Soda knew if he suddenly stopped being gay, Two-Bit could go back to blondes that he could brag about. Two-Bit couldn't possibly want this. He wanted girls, and he just didn't know how to tell Soda.

Soda knew if he wasn't around, everyone could be happy again. Soda just knew it. He knew it was all true.