Draft of Outsider Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, all rights go to S.E. Hinton.

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See the end of the chapter for notes.

Chapter 4

4 hours before it all went wrong…

My mind kept wandering back to what happened in the kitchen all day to the point where Steve had to snap me out of it.

"Did you hear me, Soda?! I said: 'They wanted their oil changed!'" Steve reminded me for probably the 5th time.

I blinked out of my trance and stared at my hand. I was holding a wrench. I shook myself out of it and made myself promise that I wouldn't zone out again.

"Right, sorry… Um, I'll get right to it…" I murmured sheepishly and slid under the person's car, trying to focus.

After a few hours of work, we finally were able to close up shop, which is good, too. I was gettin' impatient and I wanted to talk to Ponyboy as soon as he got home.

We started walking home when Steve stopped me and put a finger to his mouth, shushing me.

I stayed quiet and suddenly, I understood why he'd done that. I heard voices. Familiar voices. Then I realized they were the voices of some socs.

Steve motioned me to stay down but to get closer so we could hear what they were sayin'.

I crouched down and crept closer, making sure I was hidden. I looked over and saw who it was.

It was a group of 4 socs from Pony's school. I recognized them from one time when I went to one of Ponyboy's track meets and they were sittin' in the bleachers, laughing at him.

My greaser instinct kicked in and I got a bit hacked off, but even with Steve here, I knew we wouldn't be able to take 'em all on. I heard their voices and listened in.

"...and he couldn't get away! He was covered in blood!" one said while the others laughed.

I flinched at that last word. Who were they talking about? I hoped it would be none of us, but I knew deep down that it was guaranteed.

"He was such a wimp, and what kind of a name is 'Ponyboy' anyway?!" the second one added and the rest howled with laughter.

My blood ran cold. I desperately wanted to run in there and bash their heads in the concrete, but there were too many of them and too few of us.

Steve made a furious attempt but I had to hold him back.

"Steve, no! We can't take 'em all! You'll be best off leavin' them alone!" I whispered while holding his arms back.

"You heard what they said, Soda, how can you be restraining yourself?!" he hissed, still trying to keep his voice down.

"It doesn't matter, Steve! C'mon, please!" I replied, pleading.

"Dally wouldn't hold me back!" Steve whispered, wrenching his arm from my grip and glaring at me.

My hands went limp at that and I was shocked. Steve's expression faded away as if his anger had too. I stared at him, shocked, and he looked surprised too, as if even he didn't expect he'd say that either. Steve opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"Sorry…" he murmured finally. I tried to put it behind me and grabbed his arm, standing back up and starting to run away from the socs, although this time, Steve didn't fight back.

We kept running and didn't stop until we had been running for a while. I stopped and tried to catch my breath, sitting down on the concrete and panting. Steve sat down next to me.

I stayed quiet for a bit, regaining my stamina, though I could feel Steve staring at me.

"Sorry, I got mad. I… I didn't mean what I said," he sighed. I put my shoulder against his. He's been my best friend since forever, I can't be mad at him.

"It's alright, I just wanted you to be safe, savvy?" I replied. Steve leaned in closer.

"Savvy. I know, and…" Steve said, closing his eyes. "Thanks, Soda."

I nodded and gave him a small hug, then we walked the rest of the way home.

Notes

I know this is short, but I was given time to work on it at school today, so this chapter was an exception! I still don't have a constant schedule and I probably won't, random uploads are my specialty! And yes, this chapter does involve some implied Stevepop, (Steve x Soda), but if you don't ship them, then you can just read this and look at it as best friends! Thank you and have a good day!