Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or First Date by Blink 182

Thanks to rileysmomma for looking over this for me.

"This fic/chapter is being posted as part of "Good Fic Day," an effort to raise the quality of writing here. We hope to encourage more writers to improve the quality of their own fan fiction - spell check, grammar check, keep the gang in character, outline, plot and don't use Mary Sues. Good fan fiction requires effort, and we would like to encourage other writers to rise to the challenge of producing better fan fiction, not only for our readers, but for S.E. Hinton, who created the wonderful book we are trying to honour."

Kathy sat on the front porch, knees pulled up to her chest and a frown on her face. Her blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, her makeup had been perfectly applied and she was wearing her favourite and best short skirt and blouse.

All for some date that was supposed to have begun over twenty minutes ago.

Kathy was not impressed with this boy, or herself, for that matter. The way she saw things, if a boy was going to stand her up or be late to pick her up, he wasn't worth waiting around for. The way she saw things, she should be out with her friends right now instead of waiting around for some boy.

However, every time she thought about going inside to call someone, Anna's words flitted through her mind. He is your perfect match, she had said, I have never met anyone more perfect for you.

Kathy cursed her best friend and wrapped her arms around her knees. Perfect boy or not, nearing half and hour late was unbelievable. Ten minutes late had been bad enough and Kathy had gone inside then. She had called Anna, furious that this so-called perfect guy was messing her about.

"I know this guy," Anna had said quickly. "He won't stand you up, I promise. Just give him a bit longer and he will be there."

Instead of actually replying, Kathy had simply huffed into the phone's receiver and slammed it back down on the cradle. As angry as she had been, she had still wandered back outside to wait.

Looking up at the sound of a rumbling engine, Kathy pushed her hopes back down. Four cars had driven past in her time waiting and all of them had continued to drive past her house, ignoring the reasonably nicely dressed greaser sitting on her front porch.

This time however the car pulled up right next to her mailbox and Kathy's stomach twisted with nerves. The jerk may have been late and he may well have been driving a piece of junk but, according to her best friend, he was the perfect guy for her.

Kathy stood quickly as the car door opened and slowly made her way down the porch steps. She was halfway down the walkway when the figure clambered his way out of the car and she stopped short at the sight of him.

"Two-Bit?" she groaned to herself, watching as he came around the front of the car to meet her.

"Heya beautiful," he said as he reached her.

Kathy frowned slightly. "What are you doing here?" she asked, hoping she had her wires crossed and he was here for some other reason than to pick her up. Maybe he needed to see her brother.

"Pickin you up o'course."

Kathy sighed. "Of course."

Two-Bit grinned and held out an arm for her. "Shall we?"

Kathy gave him an odd look before walking past him towards his car. She could feel his eyes raking down her body and her face flushed. She was no prude, greaser and prude just didn't go together, but she was still getting used to boys looking at her so appreciatively.

Not bothering to wait for him to open the door for her, Kathy opened it herself and climbed into the passenger seat, watching Two-Bit clamber around the front of the car and scramble into the drivers seat.

"Hope you weren't waitin' too long," Two-Bit muttered, starting up the car.

Kathy frowned at him for a moment. "Almost half an hour," she said, "don't you know it's rude to keep a girl waiting?"

Two-Bit nodded and reached across her to the glove box, pulling out a six pack of beer a moment later. "Yeah," he said, popping one of the cans open, "sorry bout that. Got a little distracted with a poker game at the Curtis'."

A poker game. Of course.

"No worries," Kathy said disdainfully as she watched him take a large drink. "One of my favourite things to do on a Friday night is sit outside and wait for my date to remember to pick me up."

Two-Bit looked at her for a moment before breaking into a grin. "You want one of these?" he asked, motioning towards the beers sitting between them in the front seat.

Kathy shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "No."

"Right. Well, ya hungry? I though we might head over to the Dingo for a burger."

"The Dingo." Kathy repeated indignantly.

Two-Bit seemed to take that as agreement and an endless stream of chatter began making its way out of his mouth. Kathy mentally sighed. She hardly expected any form of romance, especially when she had seen Two-Bit climb out of the car, but the Dingo for a first date was hardly ideal. Particularly on a Friday night.

She had known Two-Bit since her first day of high school. Even in a school the size of Will Rogers it was hard to go even your first day without hearing about the infamous Two-Bit Mathews.

Up until today, however, she had only ever casually spoken to Two-Bit, and most of it in passing. Now she was in a car with him, heading to the Dingo for a date, remembering all the stories she had heard about him and wondering how it was that Anna seemed to know him so well and why on earth she seemed to think he was perfect for her.

"So," Two-Bit's voice interrupted her thoughts. "You and Anna are pretty good friends huh?"

Kathy nodded. Until I murder her in her sleep for this, she thought to her self. "Have been since the start of high school," she said aloud.

Two-Bit nodded as he threw his now empty can out the window and pulled out a cigarette. Kathy watched in bewildered fascination as he struggled to open another can, light a cigarette and drive all at once.

"Maybe you could just do one thing at a time?" she said. "You know, so you don't go killin' us?"

Two-Bit chuckled. "Don't you go worrying your pretty little head about that," he said happily. "You really think Anna woulda' let me take you out had she thought I was gonna get ya killed?"

"How exactly do you and Anna know each other?" She asked once the can was placed between his legs, the smoke was hanging between his lips and his hands were back on the steering wheel.

Two-Bit grinned. "You know my buddy Steve Randle? He's a gonna be a junior this year too."

Kathy sighed. "Let me guess, you got stuck between one of their many arguments that mostly consist of glares and muttered insults."

"No," Two-Bit paused, "I purposely started one of their many arguments that mostly consist of glares and muttered insults."

Kathy looked at him in shock as he burst in to uncontrollable fits of laughter. It wasn't often that she was at a loss for words, far from it in fact, but this guy simply baffled her. What the hell was wrong with this guy that he liked seeing his buddy arguing with someone he so obviously didn't like?

Kathy shook her head slightly and, ignoring the constant flow of noise coming from Two-Bit, turned to look out the window. It was going to be a long night.

"We're here," Two-Bit said as he pulled his car into the Dingo parking lot.

He stared at Kathy as she sat up a little straighter and looked around. She sure was a looker with all those blonde curls and that cute little nose. And a bit feisty too; Two-Bit liked that. Grinning at her, he opened his door and climbed out. Walking around the back of his car, he met her near her door and led the way into the Dingo.

The place was packed - hardly surprising for a Friday night - but had he put some thought into things, Two-Bit probably would have taken Kathy somewhere else for their first date, somewhere a little more private.

He grinned to himself. Who knew, maybe that would come later if he was lucky.

Glancing around the room, he spotted Steve, Soda and Dally sitting in one of the booths, drinking cokes.

"C'mon," he said to Kathy, placing a hand between her shoulder blades to lead her towards the booth.

They stopped and chatted to the guys for a bit. Soda and Steve started telling him about some car they were working on at the DX and Dally told him about his most recent fight with Sylvia.

It wasn't until Kathy started fidgeting next to him that he realised she was uncomfortable. Looking down at her, he figured uncomfortable wasn't the right word for it. Downright grouchy seemed to fit better. Her arms were crossed tightly and she was scowling something fierce, but Two-Bit couldn't ignore the way her crossed arms caused her blouse to tighten over her chest.

Placing a hand back on her shoulders he snaked his arm around her neck. "Sorry guys," he said cheerfully, "but I've got myself a lovely lady here in need of some of my attention."

He could hear the guys laughing at him and even heard Kathy scoff as he led her towards a quiet table on the other side of the restaurant. He didn't care, though; he just liked the way Kathy's body felt against his side - even with how tensed up she was.

They sat opposite each other in one of the back booths and, after a few minutes of silence, a waitress came to take their order.

"Ladies first," he offered with an easy grin.

"Uh, I'll have the cheeseburger, fries and a coke," Kathy said and Two-Bit immediately ordered the same.

The silence returned the moment the waitress left and Two-Bit took the time to look at his date, enjoying the way she blushed and frowned into her lap under his gaze.

"You look real pretty tonight," he told her, lowering his voice slightly.

Kathy looked at him and seemed to study him for a moment. "Thanks," she finally said, still frowning.

Two-Bit shrugged and leaned a little closer over the table that separated them. "Just bein' honest," he said, making sure to keep his eyes fixed on her pretty blue ones.

"Yeah well … you don't look too bad yourself," she said with a roll of her eyes, "for a greaser who can't keep time."

Two-Bit laughed loudly and knew he was a dead man when Kathy smiled softly at him.

Kathy was surprised to realise she was having a good time. She was even more surprised to realise that good didn't quite cover it and she was actually having a great time.

Despite Two-Bit turning up half an hour late, despite his slight lacking of good manners while eating and despite the ten or fifteen minutes he had spent talking to his friends, Kathy had realised this may very well be the best date she had ever been on.

Two-Bit Mathews was sweet, funny and charming.

Kathy thought she had seen charming when Sodapop Curtis had talked her and Anna into giving him some of their freshly made banana-chocolate chip cupcakes after Home Ec a few months back. But Two-Bit was something else and Kathy was becoming slightly worried that the old saying may very well be true. There was a good chance that Two-Bit Mathews would be able to charm the pants off of her.

And he was handsome. Kathy grinned as he began to animatedly tell her one of his many stories, his face lighting up. She didn't know how she had never really realised this before. Of course she had known he was good looking. She and Anna were in the habit of making lists at the beginning of every school year naming good looking boys at school. Two-Bit had been on their list since they started high school but she hadn't really noticed.

But now, now that she was noticing, Kathy was seeing just how incredibly handsome Two-Bit Mathews was. So tall and solid, amazing red hair that looked so soft she just wanted to run her hands through it - even with all the grease that was in it - and beautiful grey eyes that she thought almost sparkled.

Kathy mentally rolled her eyes at how pathetic she sounded. Eyes that sparkled? But she couldn't think of any other word to describe them and she had a feeling that the laughter and happiness held in the eyes was an almost constant thing. She was, however, looking forward to seeing them darken with certain other emotions. She blushed a little at that thought.

"Hey," Two-Bit said, placing his hand over hers and breaking into her thoughts. "You wanna get outta here?"

You wanna get outta here? Code for, you wanna go make out somewhere?

Kathy looked up into his eyes and swallowed. It was as if he had been reading her mind; for his eyes, while still sparkling with happiness had become serious and dark. Kathy was no expert but she was sure she saw a hint of lust in there too.

"Yeah," she said softly, "lets get outta here."

"You o.k.?" Two-Bit asked as he turned the engine off.

Kathy undid her seat belt and looked around. They were parked under a large tree next to the lake. It was dark, quiet and, a perfect spot for making out.

"I'm fine," she said smiling at him.

"You sure? You know, I can take you home if ya want, it's o.k." Two-Bit said and Kathy hated to see that he was frowning.

"I said I'm fine," she snapped. "I mean … I want to be here."

And she really, really did. But for some reason she was unbelievably nervous and without any fair reasoning for it. She had kissed boys before. She had spent time in cars at the lake kissing boys before. She had even let one boy get his hand up her blouse.

The nervousness she was feeling now was completely unreasonable and she desperately wished for a cigarette.

"Hey," she felt a cool hand on the back of her neck and turned slightly to look at Two-Bit who was looking at her with concern. Yes she had wanted his eyes to darken with emotions, but not concern.

"I'm fine," she said again, turning her body so she was properly facing him and saw the way his eyes flickered towards her legs as they opened slightly, flashing a bit of the lace at the edge of her stockings. A small tingle ran down her spine at the look in his eyes. That was what she wanted to see.

"Good," Two-Bit's voice was low and husky as he pulled her towards him slightly.

Kathy felt her skirt ride up the back of her legs as she slid along the seat but wasn't worried. All she could focus on was the look in Two-Bit's eyes, his large hands - one still behind her neck, the other now on her waist - and, his soft looking lips that were slowly making their way towards her own.

His lips were a mere inch from hers when he turned his head slightly and pressed his lips along her jaw, making his way towards her ear. And as amazing as it felt, Kathy couldn't stop the small whimper of annoyance that came out. She wanted to kiss him.

Two-Bit chuckled huskily in her ear and ran his hand from behind her neck up into her hair and finally, finally, brought his mouth down to hers. His unhurried mood of building up their kiss was gone the moment the kiss began, their mouths crushing together urgently.

Kathy's hands immediately found themselves at the back of Two-Bit's neck, her fingers threading into the soft hair there as his hand slid from her waist to her back, pulling her body tightly against his own.

Two-Bit was a solid guy and Kathy could feel the hardness of his chest against her own as she pressed herself against him. Must be all that fighting, she thought idly to herself, obligingly opening her mouth when she felt Two-Bit's tongue trace her lower lip.

Slowly, but with more urgency than she thought someone could manage, Two-Bit pressed her back into the seat beneath her, laying his body atop of hers. A while later, when Two-Bit's lips made their way down her jaw and towards her ear, Kathy's whimper was anything but annoyed.

"So I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow," Two-Bit said as his car idled outside Kathy's house.

"So I should aim to be ready by 8.30?" Kathy asked in a teasing tone.

Two-Bit laughed. "Probably, but I'll do my best."

Kathy nodded and Two-Bit watched as she smiled at him once more before opening the car door. He decided then that he wasn't letting her out of his car without one more taste of her sweet lips and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him again.

"See you tomorrow beautiful," he breathed softly once the kiss was over.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Kathy repeated with another smile, this time slightly dazed, and climbed out the car.

Two-Bit watched as she made her way into the house, not bothering to hide the fact that he was checking out her behind. He grinned to himself as the front door shut and pulled the car away from the curb.

Kathy was certainly one sweet little thing. So soft and warm when he touched her, and responsive. So very responsive. Two-Bit's grin widened, he liked that in a girl. He liked to know that he was doing good, that his lady was enjoying herself.

Though, despite how responsive and enthusiastic she had been, despite how she'd spent a large amount of their time by the lake with her blouse open and, despite how badly he'd wanted to get his hands up her skirt, Two-Bit hadn't been all too surprised when she had stopped him on his first attempt to get there and suggested they head off.

Kathy had only just recently turned sixteen and he was pretty sure she was still a virgin. Two-Bit wasn't about to go pushing her into changing that, especially on a first date. Greaser he was, but he wasn't one to go forcing a girl to do anything she didn't wanna do.

Of course he would never in a million years admit it but he didn't mind her stopping all too much. He had made it to second base after all. Plus he really liked a challenge, and he really liked Kathy. And going by her eagerness tonight, he did think he would be waiting too long anyway.

As he quickly drove home Two-Bit promised to "acquire" something real special for Anna the next day.

Kathy sighed in contentment as she closed her bedroom door behind her and leaned against it. Two-Bit was one hell of a kisser and her lips were still tingling.

Quickly changing out of her clothes and into her pyjama's, Kathy climbed into bed and let the memories of their time by the lake wash over her. His lips, his tongue, his hands, everything had felt so good.

Kathy sighed and rolled onto her back. Two-Bit hadn't even complained when she had finally managed to find her head and tell him to stop. He had grinned at her, given her a long, slow kiss and driven her home, his happy chatter filling the car the whole way.

Kathy rolled back on her side, sleep coming quickly as she thought of Two-Bit and how glad she was that Anna had set her up with him. She still didn't get why Anna had deemed him perfect for her as they didn't have a hell of a lot in common, but she was no longer complaining. Snuggling deep under her covers she promised to go out and buy something real nice for Anna tomorrow.

If some spelling looks weird it's because I live in New Zealand and use NZ grammer :)