Steve hadn’t ever met this Sodapop guy, but he had already decided that he didn’t like him, which was a shame since everyone talked so highly of him. But it was his first day on the job, and to say that he was struggling was an understatement. He was trying to juggle running the counter and pumping gas and sending away disappointed girls that only showed up to see Sodapop.
He hadn’t even had time to work on any of the cars that had been brought in, which is what he was mainly hired to do.
By the time the day was over, he was almost ready to quit. The job was too much to handle for one person. If today was any tell of how “dedicated” Soda was at the job then he was in for a rough time.
“How was your first day?” His boss asked as Steve flipped the open sign to closed.
“A little less than ideal.” Steve grumbled.
“I know, I know.” He chuckled. “Would’ve been easier had the other guy shown up. That’s why I hired you. Job is a little too hard for one person to do by themselves.”
“I just hope he shows up tomorrow.” Steve sighed.
“I don’t really know why he didn’t show up today. He was all good to go to train you and then called about a half an hour later and said he had something come up. I let him off easy ‘cause that’s not like him at all. I think he’s only ever called out one other time since he’s worked here. He’s a good worker, honest.”
Steve forced a smile. “Well, let’s hope I get to meet him soon.” He waved his boss good night and stepped outside, the cool air making him wish he brought a jacket.
“Hey buddy!” Two-Bit ran up, rubbing his arms. “I been waiting on you for forever!”
“Two-bit what are you doing here?” Steve laughed.
“Well I gotta see how your first day went. And I also figured that you and Soda might want a ride home. Where is he, anyway?”
Steve could have groaned. “He didn’t show up, man. Made my first day really hard because of it.”
“You’re kidding?” Two-Bit’s brows furrowed. “That doesn’t sound like him at all.”
“So I’ve heard.” he rolled his eyes. “I, however, would very much appreciate a ride home.”
“Great!” Two-Bit smiled and led Steve over to where his car was parked, where he immediately began pushing. It was always tricky pushing the car and then running to get in the passenger side while it was moving, but Steve had done it enough that he was almost good at it.
As he hopped in and shut the door, Two-Bit began questioning him more about his day. “How hard was it?”
Steve shot him a look of annoyance, though Two knew he wasn’t annoyed at him. “I didn’t even get to fix any cars, which is what I was hired to do. I was too busy doing all of Soda’s jobs.”
“Dang.” Two-Bit stared at the road, thoughtfully. “I sure hope he’s okay. I never known him to just bail on work like that.”
Steve watched as they passed up his street. “Where are we going?”
“The Curtis house. I wanna check on him.”
“No offense, man, but I really just want to go home and sleep.”
“Come on, it’ll be like five minutes. And what if he’s like, dead or something? Then I bet you’ll feel really bad.” The older male tries to reason.
Steve huffed and crossed his arms, turning his knees towards the window. “Fine.”
-
“Ain’t you gonna come in?”
“No, man. I think I’ll wait outside.”
Two-bit rolled his eyes. “Stevie. Come on. You’re always complaining that I am your only friend. And if you aren’t content with that, this is how you make friends.”
Steve looked up. “Come on, Two-Bit. I never said you weren’t enough.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Two-Bit got out of the car. “Just come inside with me.”
Steve followed him, frowning. Two-Bit seemed genuinely hurt. He almost stopped him to say something again, but by the time they reached the porch, he had already started smiling again.
“Anybody home?” He yelled as he pushed open the door.
Steve followed him inside, and recognized Ponyboy’s voice shouting back from the kitchen. “Hey Two-bit.” Ponyboy walked into the living room, holding a bottle of Pepsi.
“Hey Pony, is your brother okay?”
“Soda or Darry?”
“Sodapop.”
“Yeah?” Pony looked confused. “He’s just up in our room. Why wouldn’t he be okay?”
“He didn’t show up at the DX this morning, left me by myself.” Steve tried not to sound bitter, it wasn’t Soda’s brother’s fault that he didn’t show up for work.
“What do you mean he didn’t show up? He said his boss called and said that you called in so he didn’t need to go in to train you anymore.” Pony and Steve stared at each other, equally confused.
“Yeah, that’s definitely not what happened.” Steve began getting angry. “What’s your brother's deal? Why is he trying to make me look bad?”
Pony shrugged, trying to defend his brother. “I’m sure there’s a good reason for this–”
“A good reason he lied?” Steve snapped.
“Yes! Soda’s never done something like that before. There’s gotta be a rationale explanation for it.”
“What does rational mean?” Two-Bit interjected.
“Not now, Two-Bit.” Steve said.
“I’m just trying to keep up, it’s not my fault I’m dumb.”
“Rational means logical.” Pony said, breaking his eye contact with Steve and giving his friend a sympathetic smile.
“Thank you. See Steve? Ponyboy actually likes me.”
“Oh my God, can we please stick to the actual topic?” Steve laughed, despite himself, as he was still annoyed but couldn’t help but smile at Two-Bit’s ridiculousness. It came out as more of a laugh mixed with a scoff.
“Look,” ponyboy continued, as if nothing had interrupted them in the first place. “All I’m saying is that Sodapop would never call out for no good reason. And if he lied about it then there must be something really going on.”
“Oh my gosh can everyone please stop making excuses?” Steve snapped. “All I have heard for the past two days is how amazing this guy is and how I’d get along with him great and how hard of a worker he is. Well all I’ve seen is him bail on work after promising our boss he’d train me, and then lie to make me look bad. I’m kind of over all of the ‘Soda is amazing’ talk.”
The other two boys went silent, staring at the stairs. Steve followed their gazes to find a hurt looking Sodapop standing at the foot of the staircase. “Oh, man.” Steve said, instantly feeling bad. “I’m sorry, I didn’t–” He stopped himself, before realizing why Soda looked so familiar. “Wait, didn’t I run into you…” He suddenly remembered his outburst at the store, and remembered calling him the “hottest person in Tulsa.” His cheeks flushed with embarrassment and anger.
The four of them all stood silent for a minute, before Steve backed up to the door. “Uh, I should go. Sorry I said all that about you. You kinda deserved it though. Uh, but I’m still sorry. Right. Two-Bit I’ll see you later.”
And with that, he all but ran out the door.
Written by: greaserbabes
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𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋. ( 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘱 )
Fanfiction( a stevepop soulmate au ) Finding your soulmate is something everyone longs for, especially Steve and Sodapop. The words written on their skin acts as a guide to who their soulmate will be. And despite merely grazing one another and not talking, th...
