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Soda stared in the mirror. He gripped the fabric in his hands, holding it up to himself and curiously striking different poses. He wasn't sure if he was ready to put it on, but he sure did like how he looked just like this.
This all started about a month ago, Soda was pretty sure. He lost a bet to Steve and had to try on one of Sandy's old dresses that she never took back before she left. Sandy wasn't a small girl, but she was definitely still smaller than Sodapop, and the dress had bulged and ripped as he tried to fit into it. Obviously, he looked ridiculous. Steve laughed his head off and Soda tried to smother him in the long skirt. And yet, there was something in the way it flowed as he moved that he really liked. That dress had been ruined, but he tried on just the bottom half as a skirt as soon as he was alone, and grinned as he twirled around.
Or maybe it started before that, if Soda thought harder. Maybe it started when he first began flirting with girls. He really just thought he was complimenting them, because they looked real pretty, until one girl kissed him and he realized that wasn't how it came off. He didn't mind it though. He liked flirting with them. Especially the ones who would flirt back, play games with him, and if he was lucky, let him take them on a date. He almost laughed his head off after his first kiss he enjoyed it so much.
Or maybe it was even before that. It wasn't until this all started that Soda remembered being no more than five or six years old, stealing his mom's heels and parading throughout the house in them. It made everyone laugh, and that gave him the confidence boost of a lifetime. He couldn't run in them though, and he broke his ankle when he tried to. So his mom had hid her heels after that.
Whatever or whenever it was, Soda caved and bought a dress of his own last week. He tried to be discreet about it, told the store owner it was for the prettiest girl in town, and tried not to blush as he drove home, thinking about calling himself 'the prettiest girl around'.
There was something about the twirl that he liked. How flowy the dress moved, dancing around his knees. It caught his eye and made him smile. He really ought to wait until he was home alone to actually try it on, but it was so rare for the Curtis house to be completely empty, or for Sodapop to be the only one around, that he figured it might never happen. Darry was helping Pony out with homework, so Soda figured he wouldn't be interrupted for a while and now was as good a time as any.
The dress was still a little small, but it didn't rip when Soda put it on, and he found he actually liked how the size made it hug his hips and chest. It was a summer sundress, light and airy, a solid blue color. It reached just below his knees, and he tried hiking it up a little higher before shaking his head and dropping it back down again.
Soda had always been handsome. Everyone said so. His mom prided herself on her handsome boy, his dad said he'd never worry about grandchildren. The girls in town proved it by swarming him almost constantly, even when he had been in a relationship. Even Ponyboy once admitted that he wished he were half as handsome as Soda, which made Soda laugh loudly because the idea of his little brother trying to look good to impress girls was truly a ridiculous one.
Now, as he stared into the mirror, pulling the straps back over his shoulders and blushing as he stuffed tissues into his chest, he thought he finally understood. He was pretty. Maybe he looked a little ridiculous, because he had never seen a man wear a dress before, but he didn't see why that should stop him from being the first. Especially if he looked that damn good in it.
A laugh escaped his lips without him meaning it to, and he quickly put a hand over his mouth and looked in the direction of Pony and Darry through the closed bathroom door. Part of him wanted to get his brothers, show them how beautiful he looked and dance with them to see how the dress moved. Maybe he could get some makeup, some killer red lipstick, maybe even find some old, small heels and not break his ankles this time.
But something stopped him. Fear, possibly, though he didn't like the idea of being afraid of his brothers in any way. He just wasn't quite sure how to explain himself. 'Ah, nothing wrong, I just sometimes get this inexplicable urge to be a girl or at least not a boy and this dress is the handsomest thing I've ever owned'. Of course. They would understand.
He would tell them eventually. Soon, even, now that he knew just how good this made him feel. But for now, he stood alone in the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror and quietly dancing to the song that was stuck in his head. That Elvis song that played occasionally at the DX, "Long Legged Girl". Yeah, that was it. He grabbed the skirt of the dress and swooshed it around as he kicked his legs up, humming the tune and accidentally kicking all their toothbrushes off the sink.
There was a knock on the door. He thought for sure it would be Darrel checking on him for making so much noise, but Ponyboy's voice came quietly instead.
"Soda? You in there?"
Soda froze. He watched the door from the mirror.
"Yeah," he called back. He didn't move.
"You planning on coming out?" Pony asked.
Soda had half a mind to say no.
"Give me a minute."
He didn't want to take the dress off. He tried to commit the image to memory, the feeling and sight of the dress on him.
He started putting his normal clothes on over it. Maybe that was a bit much - it was summer time and he would be hot as hell like that. Plus, it probably didn't even hide the dress very well. He stopped, took his normal clothes off again, and started to pull the dress off. He didn't like that very much either though.
He sat on the toilet, resting his chin on his fist and trying to think of what to do. He slipped the dress back on and played with it on his legs. Pony knocked on the door again.
"Dude, hurry up."
"Hey Pony, can you come in here for a minute?" Soda said without really thinking.
Silence. Then, a shocked "what?"
Soda almost laughed.
"Can you come in here?" He repeated, standing up to unlock the door.
He could almost see Pony considering it before the door creaked open. Soda pulled him inside the bathroom and shut the door again before Pony could gawk in the hallway.
"What the hell do you- ...Soda?"
Soda grinned. Pony looked shocked, wide-eyed like a deer or something.
"I think I look real pretty," Soda said nervously, looking at himself in the mirror again, "But I can't tell if it's just cause I'm going crazy or not. What do you think?"
"Jeez Soda, you're even handsomer in a dress. But... why?"
Soda shrugged. He adjusted the dress again.
"Been thinking about it for awhile. Couldn't get it off my mind, I guess. I think I look prettier as a girl. You think Darry would be okay with it?"
"I dunno. Don't know why he wouldn't be. Soda, are you...different now?"
Soda laughed and grabbed Pony by the arms and spun him around.
"No kid, I think I'd just like to be a girl for a little bit. Nothing else has to change."
Pony smiled and hugged Soda. He didn't really understand, though he also didn't understand why Soda or Steve or any of the guys liked girls at all, so maybe Soda just liked them more than all the rest, and Pony liked them less. Maybe they were alike, in that way.
"So if you're a girl now, do you have to pick a new name?"
Soda blinked. "Why would I pick a new name?"
"I don't know, don't you want a girl's name? To be a girl?" Pony looked so confused and worried, Soda had to laugh. He ruffled Pony's hair and shook his head.
"I think I like my name. And it ain't exactly a boy's name, either."
Pony nodded. "Are you gonna look more like a girl?"
Soda sighed. "Well, I can try my best. Hey, maybe I'll grow my hair out longer. You think you could braid it for me? I don't know how many more dresses I can buy without the store thinking I kidnapped a woman, though."
Pony grinned. "Maybe you can get a boyfriend to buy you clothes."
Soda shoved his brother playfully before considering the idea. "You think Steve would buy me clothes?"
"Are you asking me if Steve will dump Evie to be your boyfriend and buy you dresses?"
"Ew, nah I don't wanna date Steve. But maybe he'd buy me clothes still."
"Hey Soda?"
Soda looked from the mirror to Ponyboy, listening intently.
"If you're a girl now, should I call you like a girl? Like, she and hers and stuff? Should I call you my sister?"
Soda thought about it. He thought about Ponyboy introducing him to friends and saying, 'This is Sodapop, she's my sister'. She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.
"Yeah, I think I'd like that. If you could do that. Thanks."
Soda smiled at her brother. She brought him close to her chest and rested her head on his.
"Hey Pony," she asked after a minute, "wanna help me show Darry?"
Pony stood up and nodded. Soda took a minute to gather herself and make sure she looked as girlish as she could. Pony rolled his eyes and mumbled, "jeez, you already act like a girl taking so long to get ready."
Soda scoffed, but by then was ready and opened the bathroom door.
"Hey Darry," Soda called as she and Pony made their way into the kitchen, where Darry was still sitting at the table over Pony's homework and waiting for the youngest Curtis sibling to return.
Darry looked up upon hearing his name called, and his jaw nearly dropped at the sight of Sodapop all dolled up in her brand-new dress.
Pony dug himself into Soda's side for extra protection. For both of them.
Darry stood up and made his way over to them.
"What's all this?" He asked, his voice almost concerned.
Soda smiled, not afraid of her big brother in the way that Pony was.
"Been thinking a lot, Darry. 'Bout a lot of things, and, I think I wanna look like this more often."
"You look like a girl, Soda," Darry said, not quite getting it. Soda rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, that's the point big-brain. I like looking like a girl. I wanna try being one, for a little bit. I think I can do that. I mean," She looked down at herself, dress waving around her feet and Ponyboy tucked into her side, "apparently I can."
Darry had to sit down again and think on that for a minute. It seemed like bigger news to him than it had to Ponyboy. Soda was almost starting to get worried when Darry stood up again and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Mom and Dad always wanted a girl," he whispered into her hair, and Soda grabbed a fistful of Darry's shirt and hugged him even harder back.
"So what does this make you?" Darry asked after he let go a few minutes later.
Soda had a feeling that was a question she was going to be answering a lot in the coming weeks.
"I think this makes me your sister," she said simply.
Darry nodded, breathing deeply.
"Okay then," He mumbled, "alright, we got a sister, Ponyboy. I think I can do that."
Sodapop grinned from ear to ear. She showed her brothers how her dress twirled, and when The Rolling Stones came on the radio, she got to dance with them.