Re-post. Originally posted on 731 for the Sister Fic Challenge in September 2008; Originally posted on ffn shortly thereafter.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the canon characters, they all belong to Susie. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. Audrey Holden is my original character.

Paul Holden stood in the doorway to his little sister's bedroom watching her finish getting ready for her senior prom. He glanced around the room, the sight of the pink dress hanging on her closet door setting off an angry reaction inside him. She'd gone to a lot of trouble, having a dress made in the color everyone knew he loved to see her in, her shoulder length curls held back by a simple matching ribbon, framing her face the way he liked.

After a couple of minutes she saw him in her mirror and smiled back at him, putting her lipstick down on her vanity tray. Her smile faded when he didn't return it and she swiveled around on her stool to face him, a note of concern in her voice when she spoke.

"What's the matter? Is this color too much? Does my hair look stupid?"

He stood there with his fists angrily jammed in his pockets, looking at his little sister all dolled up to go out with a guy that didn't deserve to lick the dirt from her shoes. The thought of her kissing him was enough to make his blood boil.

"Paul?"

"You shouldn't be going with him," he told her, moving further into her room when she scowled at him. "You know that, right? He's not good enough for you."

"Why?" she snapped, narrowing her eyes at her brother. "Because his parents couldn't afford to send him to college? That's not his fault and you know it."

"Because he's just a good for nothing greaser," he snapped back at her, a glint of hatred in his eyes and his tone venomous as he said the words aloud. She flinched; it wasn't as if she hadn't heard those same words used to describe her boyfriend before but she'd never heard them from her brother. He didn't miss her reaction and he moved closer to her, his next words more venomous than the last. "And that's all he'll ever be."

"How can you say that?" she asked, staring at her brother in disbelief. She didn't understand his sudden hatred for her boyfriend. They had been buddies for years, played football together all through high school. He was the one who had introduced them, for god's sake. She knew that the whole soc versus greaser rivalry had escalated but she'd always thought her older brother was too smart to fall into that mindset. It shook her to the core to realize that she was wrong.

"It's true, Audrey, and it's about time you face facts and cut your losses," he told her, his expression cold and so much like their father's it gave her chills. "Find yourself a guy that's going places. I bet I could talk Rick Sheldon into giving you a second chance. You'd probably have to be real nice to him, but I bet he'd get over any hard feelings real quick if you were nice enough."

She couldn't believe her ears. He couldn't be serious. Rick Sheldon? She'd gone out with Rick Sheldon one time as a freshman. He'd taken her to the drive in – apparently his idea of showing a girl a good time was getting smashed and trying to force himself on her. Paul had beaten the tar out of him for it when he'd found out; now he was actually suggesting she be "nice" to him to get him to give her a second chance? The thought of it made her sick to her stomach.

"Rick Sheldon's a creep and a drunk," she said, narrowing her eyes at her brother as she folded her arms over her chest, hardly able to believe what her brother was insinuating she do. "I can't believe you'd suggest such a thing after … Paul, I love Darry, whether you like it or not. You're wrong about him."

"Keep telling yourself that, kid." Paul rolled his eyes and sneered. "You stick with Curtis and you're gonna end up living at the bottom of the barrel with a bunch of little greaser brats running around wishing you'd listened to reason when you had the chance."

"You're wrong," she told him, her anger boiling over as she shoved his shoulder to push him away from her. "Now get out. I have to finish getting dressed so I can get out of here. You're going to make me late."

He gave her a dirty look but left the room and she slammed the door shut behind him. She flopped back against it and closed her eyes, trying to get back to the happy mood she'd been in before her brother had barged in with his crap attitude. She took a deep breath and forced herself to focus on what she knew to be true. Darry was working hard roofing houses every day, trying to save up enough money to be able to join her in college that fall. He was smart, he was handsome, and he loved her for who she was, not her name or the money her parents had. She opened her eyes and looked around her bedroom, two words echoing over and over again in her mind: he's wrong.

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It had been a long day, the end of an even longer week. He was tired and the last thing Darry Curtis wanted to do was put on his suit and go to a high school dance, but that's exactly what he found himself doing. It was Audrey's senior prom and he'd promised her months ago that he would take her. No matter how tired or how sore he was, he couldn't bring himself to break that promise. He heard a crash from the living room and rolled his eyes, wishing for the hundredth time he had his own place. A small grin touched his lips and he patted his jacket pocket where he'd put the thick envelope that had come from OSU. "Soon enough buddy, soon enough," he told himself as he heard a loud thump and another crash. Some days he wanted to throttle his brothers.

"Mom, could you please tell those two to knock it off?" Darry pleaded with his mother from the bathroom where he stood in front of the mirror trying to get his tie on straight. "She's gonna be here any minute."

Sarah Curtis shushed her younger sons, reminding them once again that roughhousing was not allowed in the house, before joining her eldest son in the bathroom.

"Calm down, Darry," she told him, straightening his tie for him when he turned to her for help. "You know honey, it's not like this is the first time Audrey's ever been to the house. She's been your girl for going on two years, right? I expect she's used to your brothers by now."

"Yeah, maybe, but this time she's gonna be all dressed up," he reminded her. "I don't want one of 'em messing up her dress 'cause they're goofing around." He checked himself in the mirror and let out a sigh of relief; at least he looked presentable. He saw his mother smile at him in the mirror as she patted his shoulder.

"You're a good looking young man," she said, putting her arm around him as best she could and gave him a sideways hug. She was about to say something else when they were interrupted by the slamming of the front door, laughter, and wolf whistles. Darry's eyes flashed annoyance and he moved past her into the hallway only to be greeted by Pony knocking into him as he fled the living room.

"Audrey's here, Dar," he told his eldest brother, smiling sheepishly as he helped him regain his balance. "She looks real pretty, you know, for a girl and all." His ears turned red when his brother grinned at him and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Thanks buddy. Hey, do me a favor, go and get the corsage out of the fridge, will ya?"

Ponyboy disappeared into the kitchen and he made his way into the living room to welcome his girlfriend. He stopped short when he saw her standing there, his breath caught in his throat. He didn't think he'd ever seen her look more beautiful than she did right then, not even when he'd taken her to his own senior prom the year before. Audrey looked over at him and smiled self consciously, her cheeks slightly flushed pink.

"Hey," she said, brushing a loose curl away from her face, smiling softly at her boyfriend. She could tell by the look on his face that she'd made the right choice when she picked out the soft pink fabric for her dress.

"Hey." He crossed the room to where she was standing in the doorway and kissed her cheek. He looked down at her dress and then back up to her face, smiling appreciatively. "Ponyboy's right; you look real pretty, you know, for a girl and all." She grinned up at him, stifling the urge to giggle when she heard Ponyboy walk into the room and grunt in protest.

"Aw come on, Darry, you ain't s'posed to tell her I said that," Pony whined to his brother as only a twelve year old boy could do. She gave him a sympathetic smile and walked further into the room with Darry at her side.

"Well, I'm glad he did," she told his youngest brother, leaning into Darry's side as he slid his arm around her. "A girl can never be told that she looks pretty too often. So, thank you Ponyboy." His ears turned pink and he tried to flee the room but found himself walking straight into his mother. She put her arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze.

"Audrey's right, hon, a girl never gets tired of being told she looks pretty," she told her youngest son, smiling when his blush deepened. She turned her attention to Audrey and her smile widened. "And they're both right; you look lovely Audrey."

"Thank you, Mrs. Curtis." She looked up at Darry for a moment and then back at his mother. "And thank you for suggesting the pink fabric for the dress. I think it's a hit."

Sarah smiled at her son and his girlfriend, a knowing look in her eye. She couldn't count the number of times she'd heard Darry come home from a date and say how pretty his girlfriend looked when she wore pink. She saw him squirm a little and shot him a look that told him to relax.

"You're welcome, dear. It's a lovely color on you." She gave her youngest son a nudge. "Pony, didn't Darry send you after something?"

"Oh yeah." He stepped forward and handed his brother the small box their mother had brought home from the florist. "Here."

"Thanks Pone," Darry said, taking the box from his brother. He took a look at the corsage for the first time and held his breath, hoping like hell that she wouldn't be disappointed with it. It was simple – a couple of daisies and some ribbon – and obviously not very expensive. He removed the corsage from the box and held it so she could see it. He saw the genuine smile that overtook her face and let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Darry, it's perfect," she told him, holding her breath as he fumbled his first attempt to pin it to her dress, poking himself in the finger and cursing quietly so his mother couldn't hear him. "Did you pick it out?" She grinned when he rolled his eyes at her in answer, focusing on pinning the corsage to her dress without poking her in the chest or himself in the finger again. She looked past him to his mother and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Mrs. Curtis; it's exactly what this dress needed."

"You're welcome, dear," Sarah told her, smiling as she watched her son continue to struggle with the corsage. "It seemed like it would suit you." She was about to step in to help when he finally got it fastened in place.

He looked up at his girlfriend with a satisfied look of accomplishment on his face that made her laugh.

"Bet you're glad this is the last time you've got to do that, huh?"

"You know it." He grinned down at her and winked, letting his hand fall to his side to find hers. They posed together so his mother could take a couple of pictures of the two of them before finally begging off. They headed out the front door only to find Soda and his best friend Steve Randle with the hood popped on her Mustang. She felt him tense up and stepped around in front of him, placing her free hand on his chest to stop him.

"Let 'em have a few more minutes," she told him, frowning at the irritated look on his face. "Come on, they're just excited. It's not every day they get the chance to poke around under my hood." He rolled his eyes at her before giving her an ornery grin.

"Wait a minute; I thought I was the only guy you let poke around under your hood."

Her mouth fell open in surprise and she blushed wildly, making him laugh at her in response. She smacked his chest half-heartedly, trying not to laugh at him.

"Must you always have your mind in the gutter?" she asked, pretending to be offended. He slipped his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, his expression suddenly serious.

"Yes."

She fought to keep the smile from her face as he pressed her against him but failed miserably.

"Just checking," she laughed just before he let his lips brush gently across hers. She was about to kiss him back when they were interrupted by a chorus of wolf whistles. He pulled away from her ever so slightly and shot his brother and Steve a death glare that silenced the two boys and sent them running for the house.

"That was just mean," she told him, her cheeks still flushed a slight pink from the embarrassment of having their private moment interrupted by the boys.

"Maybe," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "But it worked, didn't it?"

She shook her head and patted his chest, a puzzled look crossing her face when she felt something stiff underneath her hand. She gave him a questioning look and he grinned down at her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the thick envelope bearing the logo from OSU. Her eyes widened in surprise and he nodded in confirmation.

"You're in?"

"I'm in," he said, his grin broadening when she squealed and jumped up to throw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on the side of her head. "Looks like you and me are headed to OSU this fall; just like we planned."

She pulled back just far enough that she could see him, his happiness clearly written all over his handsome face. She let her fingers trail through the back of his hair and let her forehead rest against his before giving him the softest kiss.

"Just like we planned." And in her mind she couldn't keep herself from silently gloating: See? I knew he was wrong.