***Soda's POV***

I'm kind of thankful for Darry's sudden meeting, even though I don't know what it's about. Business has been really slow and since Steve ran out without telling me where he was going, I've been all by myself.

I tap my fingers against the counter, bored out of my mind, when I hear a car pull up out front. I raise my head and make eye contact with brown eyes.

And tons and tons of makeup.

The girl walks in, wearing tiny shorts and a top that says "oh well" across the front of it. I raise my eyebrows.

"How can I help you today?" I ask, hoping she doesn't hear how ridiculous I think she looks in my voice.

"The oil needs a change, and I didn't have to tools to do it on my own. Can I borrow yours?" she asks. This took a turn.

I am so surprised at what she says that she laughs before I respond.

"Oh, yeah of course. Follow me back here," I say, leading her to the garage. She grabs the exact tools I would have used and gets to work.

Within the next hour, I learn her name is Kayla, she's 17 - just like me - she's a greaser, her parents aren't around much, she's an only child, she's also a dropout, and she can do wonders with the right tools.

It turns out other stuff was wrong with her car too, so by the time we get done we're both covered in dirt, oil, and rust. Her face has oil from where I smeared it, and I have it up and down my chest.

I look at the time and notice that we have an hour before the meeting.

"I'm so dirty," she says and laughs. She turns to me. "Thank you, Soda. Today's was the most fun I've had in a long time."

"Haha, if you're looking for a good time darling, I'm always around," I say. Today was fun, and I definitely started to warm up to Kayla.

"Hey, I know this is really sudden, but we're both really dirty and both really need a shower, do you wanna just come back to my place?" I ask, hoping she'll say yes, partly so I can see her without makeup and partly so I can spend more time with her.

"Yeah, I need a shower so bad," she says. She begins to walk out. "Are you coming?"

I jog behind her and drive her to my house.

We walk in, and Lauren and Darry are making a dinner for everyone. I quickly hustle Kayla into the bathroom and shut the door.

"I'm gonna hop in super fast, then I'll let you shower," I say. Kayla nods and looks around.

"Do you think that girl would mind if I used her makeup remover while I showered?" she asks.

Bingo.

"No, not at all," I reply. I turn around and strip so I can shower. Kayla turns too, then begins to take her makeup off. I smile. She's going to be so beautiful without it on.

I rinse my hair and begin to scrub, but Darry starts coming down the hall. He knocks on the door.

"Hey Soda, I need to get something out of the bathroom, can I come in real fast?" he asks from outside the door.

I frantically pull the curtain back and look at Kayla. I motion for her to hide.

"Uh, yeah Darry, one sec!" I say. Kayla hustles around, but there's nowhere to go.

"Alright man, I'm coming in!" Darry says and the doorknob begins to turn. Kayla has no choice but to get into the shower with me. I turn and it scares me when I see her.

She covers my mouth as Darry grabs what he needed and leaves. Kayla laughs and hops back out. I begin to breathe hard. That was a close one.

I finish up and keep the water running so it doesn't sound suspicious. I grab the towel and Kayla takes my place. I dry my hair, then wrap the towel around my waist.

A few minutes later, Kayla shuts the water off and gets out too. I turn to her as she wraps the towel around herself. I can't help but stare.

She's the prettiest girl I've ever seen.

"What? Is there something on my face?" she asks worriedly.

"No, it's just that.. you are the most beautiful thing."

She reddens and smiles. "You're not so bad yourself."

I laugh and pull her into my room so we can change. I grab some jeans and a red flannel. Kayla's clothes got ruined when she jumped into the shower, so I throw her some of Ponyboy's old running shorts and I give her one of my sweatshirts since she looks cold. She thanks me and slips into the clothes.

She sits on the bed when she finishes, and I tackle her once I finish. I land on top of her and her wet hair dampens my bedding. I move her hair out of her face.

"Yup, very beautiful," I say. She laughs and grabs around my neck and wraps her legs around my waist. I stand and she holds herself up on top of me.

"Hey, I have to go to this gang meeting, and I still want to hang out with you, so if you stick around we can hang out afterward," I ask. She nods her head and her wet hair goes everywhere. I laugh and we walk back out to the living room.