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Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.

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That night, Steve's sleep was a string of nightmares, the most potent involving the subject of Vietnam, which he had purposely been avoiding.

The first dream involved Soda and himself, though they weren't laughing and joking around as they usually did. Instead, they stared at each other from across a pasture that was dressed in mounds of bloodied grass and dirt. Soda nodded, and Steve, who was confused by the gesture, simply followed his lead as he charged toward a soldier on the other end of the battlefield. The solider, who was clearly Vietnamese, aimed his pistol directly at Soda and tapped the trigger without hesitation. The shell bulleted easily toward the greaser, and he was shot dead.

That dream had caused Steve the jerk awake in the midst of the night and fall asleep again only after half an hour of personally whispering soothing things to himself. Once he had gone back to sleep, however, another dream erupted. This one was less visually dramatic, but still terrifying.

It was simply of Friday and Soda, a boundary line written between their feet in an empty chasm. Absolutely nothing surrounded them except what seemed to be a blurry sort of whiteness. Steve gazed around the abyss slowly, confusedly, before realizing that he stood directly atop the borderline that separated his two friends. Soda murmured a couple of words, though they were inaudible. Steve asked that he repeat whatever he'd spoken, although he was never able to actually hear what the dream version of Soda had wanted him to know, because—again—he jolted awake.

The second time he woke, it was five-thirty exactly. Steve decided it wasn't worth it to risk obtaining any more rest, so he dressed slowly and arrived at work much earlier than he would usually have.

---

Throughout the entire work day, Soda seemed to sense that something was wrong, so rather than ask him seriously, he joked, "What's the matter, Steve? Worryin' about yer date?" He laughed nervously when Steve did not grin, and then added, "C'mon, what's the problem?" This time, he was being sincere.

"Just tired," yawned Steve, swabbing the countertop of the convenience store with a rag, "had some nightmares last night…."

"'Bout what?" asked Soda concernedly.

"Nothin'," retorted Steve. "But are you gonna double tonight or not? How about that cute blonde over there?" he added, lowering his voice and pointing to the corner of the store, where a pretty seventeen-year-old stood with a bottle of Coke. "She definitely likes ya."

Soda rubbed the top of his hair, as though he was seriously considering the offer, but then shook his head undecidedly, "I dunno. I was supposed'ta work late tonight…."

"Come on, Soda," said Steve hopefully. "Friday wants to get to know you. She thinks you're real nice, but she hasn't really talked to ya," he continued, smiling briefly. "So c'mon. Ask that girl out," he concluding, gesturing once again to the girl in the corner. Soda sighed, which Steve recognized as his sigh of surrender, and smiled as he trudged over to the blonde. The girl was quick to accept his proposal to double with a friend of his, and the date had been decided.

---

The evening came a lot more quickly than Steve had thought it would, which was pleasant. He prepped himself briefly, though not very much. He wasn't expecting anything extravagant from Friday—she just wasn't the type of girl who would dress up, so he cleaned himself up a bit but stayed casual.

Soda's attire was also as casual as Steve's, though he'd borrowed a pair of nicer pants from Darry, rather than some torn jeans and what not. The blonde, whose name Steve had discovered was Anna, met up with them at the Nightly Double before Friday had even arrived. Steve kept his hands in his pockets as he paced back and forth amongst the concession stand, where Soda and Anna seemed to be getting along quite well as they ordered popcorn and Coke.

"Friday here yet?" asked Soda constantly, and Steve shook his head almost every time. Finally, Soda added, "Hey, come out to the car when she shows up," and disappeared outside with Anna giggling and clinging to his shoulder.

Just as it seemed that Friday had stood Steve up, or had become preoccupied with a different matter, she entered the lobby and gazed around anxiously. Steve immediately realized what the hell had taken her so long.

She was wearing the prettiest dress Steve had ever seen. It wasn't scanty, like Evie's were likely to be, and it didn't cover everything up, much like Lisa's outfits. Instead, it was a charming red color and seemed to fit her flawlessly, even for someone who possessed a frame as tiny as hers.

Also, she was wearing makeup. Makeup. That was something Steve would've never imagined Friday to even consider.

"Oh, uh, hey," said Friday anxiously, rushing toward the awestruck greaser. "So…what d'you think?" she added, craving his approval.

Steve whistled softly. "You look real good," he said truthfully, and Friday blushed.

"Thanks. Uh, you, too," she answered, giggling a bit too shrilly. Steve glanced down at what he'd chosen to wear, and suddenly felt self-conscious of that fact that he hadn't chosen something more … formal.

There was a moment of silence that followed the brief conversation, and Friday motioned toward the exit doors.

"Um, let's go," said suggested, and Steve nodded vigorously and led her to his car, where Soda and Anna were already waiting. They were placed in the front, so Steve and Friday had no choice but to accommodate the back seats.

"Hi," whispered Friday perkily, when she noticed Anna and Soda placed ahead of them. "I'm Friday." She was mostly referring to Anna when she stuck her hand out, but Soda shook it anyway.

"Yeah, she finally decided to show up," remarked Steve, and Soda chuckled softly. Friday giggled a little, which she seemed to be doing a bit too much of that evening, and nodded slightly.

"I was kinda fixin' my … hair." She poked the bob atop her head and grinned that "Friday" grin—the one that Steve had come to favor.

"It looks good," complimented Soda, and returned to Anna, who was focusing mostly on the Western film that was currently playing.

By the time the first film ended, which Steve and Friday had managed to miss half of because of her lateness, a romance picture began. This seemed to inspire Anna, because she decided to lean over and kiss Soda. It was a gentle, innocent kind of kiss, though it altered to something heavier as the movie progressed, and caused Friday to shift uncomfortably in her seat.

The middle of the romance movie had arrived, and Steve placed his arm carefully around Friday's shoulder. Friday coughed a little, fidgeted once more, and muttered, "I've gotta use the bathroom." As soon as Steve nodded, she removed his arm and exited the car, half-sprinting to the ladies room.

While in the restroom, she corrected any hair that had fallen out of place and then simply stared into the mirror, scrutinizing the tiniest flaws of her face. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so self-conscious, and she didn't understand why she was feeling that way now. All she was aware of was that she was extremely nervous, though she sort of did want to kiss Steve. However, she was also unsure of what kind of kiss. A peck, or … well, what Anna and Soda were doing … ? She couldn't decide, because she was hardly an expert at all on the subject. She'd only kissed one other boy, and dated three or so. And never had she liked them as much as she did Steve.

Twenty minutes later, and after much self-reassurance, Friday returned to the car. Steve didn't question what had taken her so long, although he'd wanted to. He merely smiled at her as she reclaimed her seat, and she managed to retort with a grin of her own.

The romance film ended with a "fairytale ending", which made Friday cheerful, because she'd always been fond toward fairytale endings. Steve seemed unimpressed by the movie, though somehow amused. Anna and Soda broke apart as the credits rolled across the black background, and Soda turned instantly to Steve.

"You want me to drive us back?" he offered, rubbing a smudge of pink lipstick off the side of his mouth. Steve laughed aloud and nodded, but then added, "Hey, Friday, ya need a ride?"

Friday shook her head slowly, as though she didn't want to insult Steve. "No. My brother is pickin' me up."

"I'll wait with you till he gets here. Soda, start the car, will ya?" said Steve, and Soda nodded obediently as the pair left the backseat.

Friday walked quietly alongside Steve as they headed toward the front of the movie theatre, where Friday's brother would eventually pull up to. Steve, who hadn't ever known Friday not to be talkative, commented on it.

"Hey, you okay?"

Friday glanced at him and grinned. "I'm great. Yeah."

"You've been, uh, kinda quiet."
Friday scratched at the skin of her neck uncomfortably. "Sorry," she replied simply. "Well, um, can I tell you somethin'?"

Steve answered instantly. "Yeah. Go ahead."
"Well … " Friday sighed, her cheeks reddening. "I'm kinda new with the whole date thing …. I've been on dates before, but … " She shrugged, cutting her sentence short. "Yeah," she concluded finally, unsure of what else to say.

Steve laughed a little, though not to ridicule her, but because it sort of amused him that she seemed nervous. "That's … fine," he said, hesitant of his words. "Yeah. So, um, I—" Before he'd been given time to complete his statement, a car—a clunker, definitely—carted up beside the couple and honked. Friday's brother, Randal, waved from the front seat, and Friday grinned.

"I'll see ya Monday…?" she inquired unsurely, and Steve nodded and leaned forward. Friday kind of flinched, but not severely enough where it messed up what Steve was attempting to do. He kissed her—full on the mouth—and the greatest part was that it hadn't been awkward. Not even slightly. Randal's eyes widened as he witnessed the event, and he honked a second time—this time much more obnoxiously than before—and called for Friday to enter the car immediately. Friday giggled as Steve eased away from her, throwing a "look" toward her brother that caused him to honk once again.

"Kinda over protective, ain't he?" asked Steve quietly.

"Kinda. Yeah."

"So, see you Monday?" added Steve, altering topics suddenly.

Friday smiled. "Yeah. Monday."

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By the way, this is NOT the end of the story. x]] It's only the end of the first date. :P