Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders.

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Sara's POV.

When Soda kissed me on the cheek I was completely and utterly shocked. I didn't know if he liked me more than a friend, or just as a friend. I've seen lots of friends who kiss their friends on the cheek. But it just felt like the magic was there between us.

All the girls completely drooled over Soda, and I didn't want to be one of those girls. I knew he liked being around girls all the time, but wouldn't you think he'd want a break once in a while? Now I was covered in the thoughts and I knew I wasn't going to get much sleep tonight.

Before I left Soda, I smiled at him and silently walked out of the room. I walked out in a trance, and had trouble finding Steve. After a few minutes of searching for him, I found him next to the hospital sign. As I jumped into the rusted truck Steve quickly said, "About time." I sighed at him and kept my head focused on the road.

My thoughts suddenly went back to the thought of becoming a girl who only liked Soda because of his looks. Ever since I met Soda that had to be my number one fear. But I couldn't argue with the fact that Soda was incredibly handsome, because his was. If I said he wasn't, I'd be telling a lie. But all my thoughts broke when Steve said, "So what did Soda talk to you about?"

"Does it really matter?" I demanded. I was actually surprised when I said because I'm not the kind of person who's rude. Steve glanced over at me and gave me a disgusted look.

"I guess not," he muttered from under his breath.

So far the drive back to Soda's house was silent. The silence was bugging me and I had to find a way to break it. "So.. working tomorrow?" I said off the top of my head.

"Yeah. Are you?" Steve asked.

"No, I'm off for the weekend."

Again, the car filled with silence. But I didn't mind it this time, since it gave me more time to think. But my thinking didn't last long because before I knew it, we were parked by the sidewalk in front of Soda's house.

"Thanks for the ride," I told Steve.

"No problem." With that I got out of the truck and hopped into mine. I started up the engine and slowly drove home. This time there was going to be silence anyways, so I decided to think some more.

I've read and seen movies about friendships that turn into relationships, then it ends in a vicious and devastating break-up and the famous line, "we can still be friends" was never true. I didn't want that to happen, if it ever did. Especially with Soda.

Soda was too much of a good friend to lose over a relationship. I'd rather be friends with Soda, then his girlfriend who would probably end up never talking to him again if we broke up. But if he wanted to be in a relationship, maybe we could try it. But I was still unsure about it all. Maybe he didn't like me like that. Maybe him kissing me on the cheek was just a friendly gesture for saying thank you.

All these thoughts going through my head made me forget about driving home, and before I knew it I was sitting in my truck in front of my house. The lights were off and my Dad's car was gone. I'm guessing he's working overtime tonight to get the couch he was interested in.

I walked up the steps still in a tired daze and scrambled through my coat pocket for my key. Once I found it I shoved it into the rusted key hole and opened the wooden door. I didn't even bother turning on the lights. I found my way to my room and plunged on my bed. My DX shirt was still on, and my jeans were hugging my legs tightly. There was no point in changing for bed now, so I decided to attempt to fall asleep.

Before my Mom died we never really got to talk about boys or relationships. Even though I was 16 she never really thought I was interested, and the truth was, I wasn't. My Mom was sick for about 2 years before she died, so she probably didn't have the strength to talk about it with me anyway. If this was love, I'd manage on my own I finally thought. But one question kept running through my mind.

Was I really in love with Sodapop Curtis?