I don't own.
Charlene "Cha Cha" DiGregorio and Danny Zuko had know each other their whole lives. The families were pisani, from the same part of Italy, and they both attended the local Roman Catholic Church. Angela Zuko and Annette DiGregorio were best friends and had often spent time together when their children were young. So, you see, when Danny told Sandy they were old family friends, he wasn't lying- well, not exactly.
They were family friends, but they were also more than friends, or they had been at one time. Danny had been Cha Cha's first, and he never felt quite right about it. It was embarrassing almost, he'd thought that she slept around a lot, she had a reputation, as Frenchy pointed out, so when he'd found out she'd actually been a virgin he sort of felt he'd taken advantage of her. He felt bad about it, and Danny Zuko does not do "feeling bad".
He didn't want the guys to think he'd gone soft or anything, and he didn't want to look weak to her either, so instead of apologizing or something, he just ignored the issue, as well as Cha Cha. It wasn't nice and it certainly didn't make him feel any better, but now that they were older they hardly were expected to spend as much time with their families, except for the occasional Sunday dinner, and she didn't attend Rydell High, so avoiding her wasn't a problem. It wasn't a problem, that is, until Kenickie showed up with her as his date to the stupid dance. And then he'd been forced to face her after nearly three years of barely any contact.
Those three years had changed Cha Cha, hardened her, from what Danny could tell. She'd fairly grown into her reputation and she'd been dating Crater-Face and hanging around with the Scorpions. Danny didn't even want to talk to her, but when they ended up dancing together they fell into a natural rhythm. They'd used to perform shows for their parents when they were younger- singing and dancing routines to songs from the old country and that sort of thing- and it was like one knew where the other would be, before they even got there. Cha Cha knew it would happen that way, they'd always been great partners, so she stole him away, although she knew that the blonde was his girl, she didn't much care. She was the best dancer at St. Bernadette's, and she wanted to be the best dancer at the public school too.
She wanted to prove to that Frenchy girl that she was more than a reputation, and maybe, just maybe, she wanted to show Danny how good they were together, how good they could still be together. So their dance and big win hadn't exactly had the desired effect; Danny didn't confess his love for her or apologize for being such a shit after taking her virginity at 15, but then again she hadn't really expected it to. She wasn't that naïve. She did enjoy going home and telling her parents that she'd run into Danny at the dance and that they'd won the competition together, they'd been watching the broadcast and while her parents didn't appreciate how risqué she'd danced, they were pleased she'd won, and they had always liked Danny. Her mother had always thought the two would grow up and get married, Danny's mother felt the same way. It was hardly looking likely, but hey, who was she to spoil their big plans?