A/N: Once again, thank you for the reviews! They are really appreciated! Been sick all day so have another chapter!

It's important to know that with this entry I am taking it as fact that Soda suffers from ADHD. I genuinely believe this is canon as Soda exhibits so many symptoms of it within the book, and so Soda's demonstrated character is influenced by more than just his zodiac sign. Also quick warning for very brief, one line and totally non-graphic reference to rape.

Soda – Libra

Soda is a Libra born on October 8, famously having a birthday two weeks after the events of the novel. Soda is an interesting character to analyse through astrology because while some other characters are painted darker than they really are by Pony's biased first-person view, Soda is probably the only character who gets the exact opposite. I haven't counted, but I would not be surprised if Soda was mentioned as often or more often than more prominent characters like Johnny or Dally, but even with so many rose-coloured mentions we don't see much of the real Soda. Pony worships the ground Soda walks on, so we are given a character with no troubles, who has such an easy life that he brightens the day of anybody who comes near him. Even Steve, almost irredeemable in Pony's eyes, benefits from the glow cast on him by Soda.

Libra, the scales, is all about balance. Soda exemplifies this balance. He is the middle sibling and is the bridge who enables Darry and Pony to function with one another (though, strangely enough, Soda is actually incompatible with his Capricorn and Cancer brothers). I theorise that he is more than the bridge within his family, but the bridge of the entire gang. I have mentioned this briefly before: Soda's age, social nature, and belonging to the only family in the gang that has more than one family member belonging to the gang, suggests that it is likely he brought most of the gang together through school friendships. This likely would have taken place over a few years, before Johnny and Soda's poor grades caused them to be held back any and after Two-Bit's laziness caused him to be held back with the younger ones. I admit that Dally does not quite fit this theory, with his youth in New York and the unlikeliness he would have later bothered with school or (at first) been attracted to someone like Soda, but he could have come in another way.

This status as a social bridge is characteristic of a Libra, who are excellent communicators and diplomats. Pony notes Soda is the only character who can get away with teasing Darry. I don't know that this statement is strictly speaking true, but it demonstrates Pony's acknowledgement of Soda's communication abilities. Libras like Soda can also be a lot of fun. It's clear Soda does not take life as seriously as Darry or Pony. This might mean Soda has less determination to succeed financially than Darry and Pony, but he can certainly make friends a lot more easily. This might be due to the element of Libra, Air, giving Soda a lightness of character and allowing him to feel joy when a sixteen year old dropout and orphan doesn't really have much reason to.

But Libra is the sign of balance, and not everything about Soda can involve friends and fun. In fact, Soda really only manages to narrowly sidestep the dreaded Mary-Sue territory that Pony's hero worship pushes him towards. At the end of the book we realise Soda has fallen into a classic Libra trap and we see the price Libras pay for being so likeable. In working so hard getting Darry and Pony not to tear one another apart, Soda neglects his own emotional needs and finally hits breaking point after he is firmly rejected by the woman he loves. This is a risk for Libras, who like it best when everyone just gets along, and can make the mistake of just saying "yes" too often. Unfortunately for him, Soda is surrounded by stubborn personalities like Darry, Pony and Steve – who as an Aries gets along with and is tempered by Soda's Libra, but who can easily railroad him if Soda isn't careful. Though we never see Sandy in the book and her sign is unknown, I gather from Soda's worship and blindness with Sandy and the fact that she cheated that she, too, was probably allowed to dominate the relationship and got sick of Soda saying "yes" to everything. Libras are all about balance, and they are not meant to be pushed around, but they can fall into the trap of not standing up for themselves and restoring balance in their relationships before people of other signs who are less considerate than they are.

It's a little blink-and-you-miss-it due to Pony's bias, but Soda also shows other negative Libra traits. Soda does demonstrate quite a tendency to be vain. Like all Libras Soda is very good looking and it seems he knows this. He gets a lot of positive attention by members of the opposite sex, and I surmise that, contrary to what I know many others believe, Soda actually encourages this. While teenage girls may be attracted to good looking boys like Soda, nobody is attracted to people who are nasty or tell them to back off. Soda also probably puts effort into his appearance beyond the classic greaser obsession with hair. He has the classical Libran androgynous beauty, but this appearance takes effort as well as a favourable zodiac sign. He is very clean about his looks - unlike many teenage boys, Soda actually takes regular showers (this judging by the positive female attention - girls need good smells as well as good looks to form an attraction to someone). Soda has regular admirers at the DX, and Pony says they are "flirting with" Soda, the implication being that Soda is participating. Pony also says that Soda participates with the other guys in the gang in talking about girls. Soda could probably win these "bull sessions" easily, and, vain as he is, he knows it.

Soda does, interestingly, demonstrate several characteristics that are actually almost opposite to his sign. Libras love beauty, and a typical Libra might go to great effort (and greater expense) making their home as beautiful as they make themselves. Soda, on the other hand, is messy and hardly spends a thing. Growing up in poverty was probably good for Soda to eliminate the trait of spending too much on luxuries, but Soda's messiness is probably a result of his ADHD causing disorganisation. We see that Soda flings his belongings all across the house, from his shirt to his shoes. While Libras can by nature be lazy, they are not so flamboyantly disorganised and take pride in their homes. Sometimes, though, Soda's ADHD can negate some less desirable Libran traits. Libras love luxury and, as mentioned above, can be lazy, but Soda is very active, enjoying fights and rodeos. Libras can also have trouble demonstrating emotions due to their need for balance and poise, while by contrast people with ADHD have trouble regulating emotions. Both sides of this are demonstrated by Soda, who can hold up a happy face much of the time but when pushed too far suffers significant emotional hardship. This is when times are hard; Soda's emotional intensity also allows him to feel heady levels of joy, which he does not bother regulating (this resulting in his ability to "get drunk on just plain living").

Libras seek love more than anything in their lives. Soda, unlike Darry and Pony, doesn't have quite such a need for financial success and security, as long as he has social support. Pony (and I assume Darry as well, although we never see it) is very insistent that Soda is not dumb. One of the few things Pony hates about Soda is that he dropped out. While I would believe Pony is right and Soda is not dumb, but has a learning disability, Soda doesn't seem to mind. This is definitely a good thing, as there was no help for learning disabilities in the 60's, so Soda might as well have been just as dumb as he believed for all the help he was going to get, but Soda acknowledges he is different to Pony and likes working at a gas station. What Soda cannot stand is when he is rejected by Sandy, a girl he loved so much he was going to marry her even though she cheated. The love Soda feels really borders more on obsession than love, and it's demonstrated that the emotional connection is far more important than the physical, unusual for a teenage boy. Since testing an unborn baby's DNA would have been impossible and both Soda and Sandy were certain the baby was not Soda's, the only way they could know was if Soda and Sandy were not sexually active, at least not in the most recent months. This is an interesting point, since unless Sandy's baby was the result of rape it's more than probable that it was Soda's decision not to have sex. With how much he clearly loves Sandy and his teenage libido, it's interesting to ponder why this was the case.

Even if Soda was not sexually active with Sandy, he has the capacity to make someone else very happy if he eventually does choose to have sex! Along with being people of great physical beauty, Libras are fantastic in bed. Their love for equality and balance means they will spend a lot of time making sure their lover gets just as much (or more) pleasure than they themselves do. Soda's ruling planet is Venus, the planet of all things sensual. Libras are versatile, enjoying both vanilla sex and a little of the not-so-vanilla, as long as it's all about pleasure. They are sensitive in their lower back and buttocks and might enjoy playful spanking once in a while. They can also enjoy being both dominant and submissive in sex. Soda's lucky lover can expect romantic hotels far away, rose petals and lots of candles.

Soda should be careful to keep up strength in his lower back, which is liable to injury for Libras. He should also drink lots of water to maintain the important balance in his body and avoid damage to the kidneys. It's a good thing Soda doesn't drink as this dehydrates, which is bad for Libras. Though Soda doesn't seem to be quite the sports star his brothers are, he should make sure to exercise more as he gets into middle age, as Libras are prone to weight gain in later life.

A/N: This has nothing to do with anything, and the evidence is dubious, but I learned when researching this chapter that it has been suggested that ADHD is caused by excessive consumption of food colouring. Hm…

I just thought that was funny. Please review! This was a really fun chapter, probably because it's more fun finding fault than finding a positive, and since all we're given about Soda are positives I had to find fault. I think I actually came up with a new headcanon while writing it. Steve is coming up next, another character who could use a more well-rounded look than Pony gives in the book.

Just for your amusement I have a mental image of the Curtis family now as Mr Krabs from Spongebob (Pony, Cancer), a set of anthropomorphic scales like the candlestick in Beauty and the Beast (Soda, Libra), and an angry bleating goat (Darry, Capricorn).