of cookies and kisses

1.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Steve shouted, slamming the door to the Curtis' house behind him.

"In my room!" was Sodapop's faint reply.

Steve sprinted down the hallway, coming to a stop at the middle Curtis brother's ajar bedroom door. Through the gap he saw the unmade bed, but no Soda anywhere, so he finally pushed it all the way open with his hip.

Soda was standing in front of the mirror, brushing his slicked hair back with a little black fine tooth comb. Steve swallowed thickly; he couldn't help the way his eyes wandered down his friend's body. He had put on a fancy plaid shirt but still hadn't buttoned it, so it was hanging off his shoulders a bit, skin looking smooth and tan even from Steve's place at the door frame. Soda's back muscles shifted as he kept combing his hair, and Steve had to force himself to look away. And just in time, because Soda turned around, flashing him a million dollar lopsided smile.

Steve cleared his throat, suddenly dry. "Lookin' tuff," he managed to say. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm going out with Sandy tonight," Soda said.

"Oh, Sandy, right."

"You just got off your shift?" When he saw Steve nod, Soda snorted. "Yeah, I can tell. You got grease on your nose, Randle."

But before Steve could bring a hand to his face to try and wipe the smudge off with an equally greasy thumb, Soda crossed the room and did it for him. So close to him, Soda smelled like he had bathed in his cheap cologne, but it was a familiar smell to Steve and he didn't mind, not when it came to his best friend. He stood frozen in place as Soda's thumb brushed the bridge of his nose softly, one could say almost gently , letting out a small laugh as he dropped his hand. Soda's eyes were a deep blue in the fading daylight filtering through his blinds.

"Do I got something on my face as well?" Soda asked, and Steve realized he had been staring at Soda for at least ten seconds, gaping like a fish out of water.

"No. You should button up your shirt, though."

Soda laughed, walking back to the full-length mirror. "Yeah, I know, the law."

Steve all but fled the room in the direction of the kitchen. He saw a plate of chocolate chip cookies on top of the counter and grabbed one, stuffing it in his mouth so he wouldn't think of what had just happened. Why did he behave like that in Soda's room? It wasn't like him, reacting like that to Soda's presence. Maybe he was a bit rattled about what his friend had said, about going out with Sandy.

Sandy. Steve wiped his mouth off any cookie crumbs with the back of his hand with a little more force than necessary. He saw Sandy at school regularly, even exchanged a few words with her during recess and such since she was good pals with Evie. Sandy was sweet enough, with her blonde ponytail and easy laugh, but nothing worth falling head over heels for. At least not for a boy like Sodapop. Steve might even think Soda could do better with someone else. What, someone like you?, a little voice in his head said, mocking. It sounded suspiciously like his father when he was drunk.

But he could tell Soda was excited to be going on a proper date with Sandy. Boy, had he been pestering the whole gang with stories of her. Even Darry, who was his older brother and kind of had a responsibility to listen to him, was sick of hearing Sandy did this and Sandy said that over and over again. Steve knew he himself was, sharing the burden with Darry as Soda's best friend. But the fact that Soda had managed to ask her out and she didn't spit on his face, but said yes , was pretty big. Steve wasn't surprised; Soda had those straight out of a teen magazine looks that could get him any girl he wanted.