Sunburn (Stevepop)

Ch 16- Feeling sick again

They wrestled on the couch for a minute before Steve got him pinned under him and smirked, "Still wish I'd make you?"
Soda fake gasped and in a mock girl voice said, "Oh jee, we better not, my big brother's home!"
They chuckled and Steve began ravaging his neck, planting hickies anywhere he could. Soda detached his lips from his neck to kiss him several times, ending up in a mess of making out and hickies on the couch.
Darry walked in to ask Soda why he was gone so long. He immediately sighed, and wondered how many days he would wait until Pony and Two-bit were suddenly together too. He picked up a flip-flop off the ground and threw it at Steve's back to get his attention.
"Hey kids!" He shouted right before he tossed it, "Do I really gotta start making rules about PDA in the TV room?"
Steve climbed off and Sodapop sat up, "Sorry Superdope," Steve said unapologetically.
Darry rolled his eyes at the name. "Steve, phone for you. It's Evie, she sounds upset. Can't imagine why."
He sighed and answered the phone.

"Steve Ra-"
"Steve! What the hell? First last night, with your sudden not wanting to kiss anymore, and that dumb friend of your's tryin' to flirt, sayin' I'm single now-"
This was the first Steve heard about what Dally actually did last night while Two-bit was joking around. He was not surprised.
"And now I try to arrange a date to ask about it, and you ditched me? And I swear to god if you make me talk to one of your friends one more time...!"
She was yelling so loud he had to hold the phone a couple inches from his face so he wouldn't be wincing.
"Why'd he say I don't have a boyfriend anymore, what's going on Steve?!"
"Uh..."

Soda watched as he made a shoddy attempt at explaining that he was breaking up with her for "somebody else". He could tell just from Steve's face that he was having a hell of a time. He looked like he hated breaking up with her. Soda had plenty of time to sit and doubt himself, since the phone call took nearly twenty minutes. He completely spaced out Darry asking him questions.

Finally, Steve hung up the phone. He titled his head back with a groan, squeezed his eyes shut, and leaned back against a wall. She'd started crying on the phone, and love her or not, nobody can make a girl cry and not feel awful about it. He felt sick after the first breakup he ever instigated himself. He wanted nothing more than to relax.
Again, Soda was antsy. He was nervous that Steve looked so distraught because he was right all along-in that he loved her, and just didn't like his situation. But he told himself not to panic when things looked bad, as he sometimes did.
Soda got up and approached him immediately, "Hey, how'd that go? How'd she take it?"
He rolled his eyes and gave Soda an angry stare. In annoyance he wondered if Soda was deaf and didn't hear the clearly awful phone call, or if he was just being irritating on purpose.
Both of them felt sick, a feeling they were both familiar with after the past few days.
Steve left Soda without anything more than that eye-roll and a resentful groan, going quickly to the kitchen for some milk from their fridge.
Naturally, Darry would swooped in to give Steve a lecture. He was already peeved, and getting a lecture from Darry would have made him all the madder, but he was more intimidating than he'd ever seen him right then.
"Hey Steve, look, just because you're a friend, and I've known you longer than most of the friends I have now, and you put Pony in his place sometimes and Soda adores you, don't mean I won't pummel you if you try anything fishy with my kid brother. You hurt Soda and you're dead, you'll be lucky to see daylight ever again, you hear me?"
Steve's eyes were wide open, a startled look plastered right over his cool, angry demeanor. He nodded quickly, then Darry gave him a pat on the shoulder and a cup, so he wouldn't drink the milk straight from the gallon.
"...Sorry about Darry," Soda said shyly, leaning on the door way to the kitchen and stealing glances at Steve.
"Just being a good brother, I guess," Steve muttered, still quite dazed. He stared back at Soda, who was too embarrassed to meet his gaze like he would any other time.
Soda knew that despite his temper, Steve wouldn't try to hurt him unless they were wrestling or something. Steve still apologized plenty for being bitter, even though neither of them entirely felt like he had to.
For the rest of the day they laid low in the Curtis house. Being a Saturday, most everybody was out having fun anywhere they could, including Darry, who left them home alone for a few hours. Obviously not the best idea.