Sodapop was exhausted by the time breakfast rolled around. He had gotten home and went to bed, but was soon woken right back up by the howling of greasers entering his house. What really got him going was the hope Steve was over, and being his normal self. That didn't happen, though. It was only Two-Bit and Dally, who confirmed they saw Steve's car at home when they originally left the Curtis residence.

"Son of a bitch went home to sleep," Dally commented.

Two-Bit noticed Soda's uncertain look and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Soda shrugged. "I hope so."

Plates of breakfast were passed around, and Darry shooed everyone out of the kitchen so he could talk to Soda.

"Soda, why don't you call in sick today?" Darry asked, sitting at the table with his cup of coffee. "You do look terrible. All that worrying got to you."

"I need to go in and check on Steve. He should be there today."

Darry sighed. "Well, maybe we can drive over there, see if he's there working, and I can bring you back home to rest before I go to work."

"Darry, no, we need the money. Bring me to work and I'll go straight to bed when we come home."

Darry tapped the kitchen table, debating if he could somehow convince Soda otherwise. "Alright. If it gets to be too much, though, you come home."

"Sure."

"If you aren't out in the truck in fifteen minutes, I'm making the final decision to leave you here."

Soda smirked. "I'd walk."

Darry was too concerned about Soda to care about giving a speech to Dally and Two-Bit to keep the house clean. He didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to get to the DX, see Steve doing his usual work, and Soda finally relax. Maybe his little brother would relax so much, he'd just go to sleep right in the passenger seat. Wishful thinking. Darry couldn't remember the last time he saw Soda worry this much. The one benefit to it was Soda was out to the truck within ten minutes instead of the usual rushing out last minute.

Darry pulled up to the DX. The brothers immediately saw Steve's car parked in its usual spot. Soda didn't take his eyes off it, letting out a long breath.

"Feel better?" Darry asked.

"Not entirely. I still need to talk to him."

Darry sighed, realizing he wasn't going to find any way to get Soda back home. "Okay. Go do what you need to do. Please have Steve drive you home if you need to. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for the ride, Darry. I'll see you later."

Soda walked to the garage, peeking inside. He saw Steve sitting on a stool, back toward him, looking over a clipboard. Soda tried to read the room. He usually could with his best friend, but this moment was tricky. Taking in a deep breath, Soda took steps inside the garage. "Hey, Steve."

Steve slightly jumped, quickly spinning around. "Oh, hey, Soda."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to spook you. You okay?" Soda looked over his best friend. He didn't see any bruises or obvious marks that his dad had smacked him or anything. Not that his dad hitting him would have made him jumpy. Steve's dad pissed him off. He didn't scare him.

"Yeah. Sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

Soda took a few more steps in. Steve got off the stool. Soda saw his hands slightly shaking as they gripped the clipboard. "How's it looking in here?" Soda asked.

"Fine."

"Good." Soda stood in his spot, his hands dropping to his sides, trying to find a way to keep a conversation going. "Hey, I haven't even congratulated you on the job you'll be getting. I'm still in shock for you. You deserve it, though. Completely. No doubt about that."

Steve looked confused for a second before saying, "Oh, yeah. Thanks, buddy."

Now Soda was confused. "What's going on, Steve?"

"What do you mean?"

"What happened to you last night?"

"Nothing."

"Don't bullshit me!" Soda barked, but immediately backed away. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just exhausted. I went through hell worrying about you last night, but that's not the point. That all is not your fault. I just know something's wrong. Everyone's making me feel crazy, but I know I'm not. You were filled with excitement about this new job opportunity. I was expecting you to come over and bounce all off my walls over this. All night long. I was expecting us to be exhausted today, because we wouldn't have slept from celebrating this. Now tell me what's going on!"

Steve shook his head. "My dad ruined the celebration. That's all." Steve looked down, his arms dropping to his sides. "He didn't hit me or nothing. I went home to clean up. He asked how my day was, so he didn't seem that drunk or anything. I told him the news, and he told me every single reason I didn't deserve it."

In seconds, Soda felt like shit. Fuck Mr. Randle. Sometimes words could hurt more than the fist. "Steve..."

"A reason back to when I was three years old up until now as to why I didn't deserve it and would end up failing and end up on the streets."

"Steve," Soda said with a soft chuckle, "he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. Terrance wouldn't have thought of you if-"

"Just go," Steve said. "I-I don't want to hear it. I don't want to talk about it. I have work to do."

Soda wanted to help his best friend, but knew it was time to leave him alone. "Alright. Just come inside if-" Soda couldn't finish his sentence. His hands slid into his pockets and Steve took several steps back with his eyes wide, running into the work table. "Whoa, whoa! Steve!" Soda's hands flew out of his pockets and were held up to offer comfort. He quickly checked behind him, thinking maybe someone was behind him. No one was there. "What happened?"

Steve stopped, his hands gripping the work table. He was gasping for breath. Soda hurried to his best friend's side. He took Steve's arms, helping him straighten up.

"Steve? What happened? Talk to me."

"Get out!" Steve barked, shoving Soda off. "Just get out!"

Soda's mouth hung open, ready to offer words to fix whatever went wrong, but nothing came out. Instead, he turned in embarrassment and hurried out.


The end of Soda's shift rolled around. Steve hadn't gone inside the DX store for anything. Not once. And Soda was behind the counter feeling like the worst person all day. He still had no idea what happened that morning. He didn't know what had caused Steve to panic. It proved what Soda had been trying to tell everyone, though. Something was going on. It was hard for Soda not to go out and check on Steve. It had been a slow day inside too, and that didn't help.

As Soda counted the drawer, waiting for his co-worker Tyler to come relieve his spot, Ponyboy walked inside with Johnny.

"Hey, guys," Soda smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Darry called home and said he was going to be working late, so we're on our own for dinner," Pony said. "He said there was enough money in the tin to go out for burgers if we wanted."

"Cool. Steve and I will be off soon, so if he's in the mood, he can drive us somewhere."

Pony and Johnny looked confused. "Did Steve work today?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"He's not out there," Pony said. "His car is gone."

"What?" Soda closed the register and hurried outside. Steve's car wasn't in its spot. Soda ran to the garage, seeing it was empty. Hawkins car was gone too.

"What?" Pony asked.

"Is everything okay?" Johnny asked.

Soda turned to the boys. "I never saw Steve leave. I didn't even know Hawkins came to pick up his car." Soda looked around, trying to piece together what may have happened. "Maybe Steve followed Hawkins home to make sure his car worked fine." Soda wasn't satisfied with his explanation, but there wasn't anything else he could do in that moment. His eyes on the road, hoping to Steve pull back into the parking lot, Soda slowly returned into the store to finish the register.

"Do you still want to go eat?" Ponyboy asked.

Soda shuffled the paper bills, semi-counting in his head.

"Soda?" Pony asked.

"Huh?" Soda asked.

"Do you still want to go eat?"

"Yeah, yeah. We'll have to walk."

"That's fine," Johnny said.

"Good thing it's summer," Pony smiled.

Soda nodded. "Let's give Steve a few minutes. Why don't you guys pick a couple candy bars?"

"Sweet. Thanks, Soda," Pony said.

Tyler arrived for his shift. Soda waited a little longer. Steve never returned.

"It's okay," Tyler said to Soda. "I'll close the garage and see if Terrance can come by to lock it for me."

Soda nodded. "Alright."

"We all know Hawkins car. Maybe it dropped dead on the way back home," Tyler chuckled.

"Yeah. If Steve does come back, can you tell him to meet me at my place?"

"No problem," Tyler said.

"Thanks, Tyler." Soda turned to his brother and friend. "Ready, guys?"

Soda, Pony, and Johnny walked to the closest diner. They picked a booth to sit at, Pony and Johnny going on in their conversation. Burgers, fries, and sodas were ordered. Everything was made and brought to the table. All of it in a blur. Soda couldn't focus. He couldn't even fake have an appetite.

"Soda?" Pony asked. "Are you really that worried about Steve?"

Soda looked out the window. "He said his dad was the reason he didn't come over last night. He didn't hit him or anything, but he tore him down. Real good." Soda looked at Ponyboy and Johnny. "He got an amazing job opportunity. He's going to be trained to run the garage. It'll all be his."

"Really?" Johnny asked. "That's great for him."

"It is, but Mr. Randle gave him every reason he doesn't deserve it and how he'll fail."

Ponyboy twirled a fry in ketchup. "I think that'd make anyone not want to hang out."

"I know," Soda said, "but I don't know. I think it's something more. Something's wrong. He freaked out on me earlier."

"How?" Johnny asked.

"He looked terrified and backed into the work table, hyperventilating. I don't even know what triggered it."

"Maybe he's not being completely honest with everything his dad said...or did," Johnny suggested.

Soda nodded. "That's what I think."

"Just give him space," Ponyboy said. "That's what he usually needs, right?"

"Yeah. If his dad really did do something that bad, then I'd rather him not go home, though. I don't want him to be too ashamed or something to come to our house."


After they ate dinner, the three started walking to the Curtis house. Soda wanted to hurry to see if Steve was there, but his feet moved slow, almost as if he knew Steve wasn't there. Then suddenly, a car pulled up next to the three.

"Hey, greasers!"

Soda's heart skipped, turning around and picturing Steve back to his old self. It was only Dally, though.

"Whose car is this?" Johnny asked.

"Buck's. Who's coming with me to the drive-in?"

"That's where you're going to spend your Friday night?" Soda asked.

"I was going to go watch some drag racing, but I can't find anyone who's going to that. So, I'm going to start at the drive-in for some action."

Pony looked at Soda. "Do you want to go home?"

Soda looked down the street. He waited for a feeling to push him to his house, but there was nothing. "No, let's go out."