Chapter 1

"She thinks you're shit. And deep down, you know she's right."

Steff stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, reliving that sucker punch to the gut again. He had lost count now of how many times he recalled it; sometimes it was several times an hour. Never less than a couple of times a day. She was right. He was shit. He had treated Andie like shit, because that's how she made him feel. The only girl who was immune to his charms, meager as they were. Steff wasn't stupid; he knew he was blessed with wealth and good looks, neither of which he had earned. It was all a just a matter of being born into the right family, and it was his luck of the draw that he had been. He had never earned a single thing of his own in his entire life; everything had been given to him, and all he was expected to do was take, take, take. So he did. Which is why he was dumbfounded when Andie consistently rebuffed his advances. Steff smiled faintly, recalling the way Benny used to complain about Andie; her brains, her red hair, her John Lennon glasses which Benny said made her look like the owl on the Tootsie Roll Pop commercial, her bohemian style of dress which she likened to someone's granny fresh off the bus from Woodstock, the list went on and on. Steff hadn't seen, or even thought about Benny in months, but he was still amused by her turn of a phrase. "You're a faggot, Blane!" was his personal favorite.

He sighed deeply and turned over onto his side, now staring unseeingly out the window, and thought back to that night, the night he had revisited literally thousands of times over the past four months. He and Benny had broken up that night at prom. After watching Andie walk into the dance with that little weirdo she was always hanging out with, her head held high and her spirit unbowed by his own petty attempts at sabotaging her relationship with Blane, he knew he was done with Benny, done with being nothing but a self-centered, narcissistic, entitled piece of shit.

"She thinks you're shit. And deep down, you know she's right." Steff had blinked, stunned by Blane's sudden insight. Blane wasn't usually given to such perceptiveness. Steff's mind had fished around, casting in vain for a clever, boredom-drenched comeback, but none was forthcoming. Then Blane had walked away, leaving him standing there, a sour taste in his mouth, and a churning in his gut, as realization of the truth of his words began to sink in. After a moment, Steff had walked blindly back to his table, fished in his tux jacket for the room key, and tossed it to Benny. "Go on up and get the party started. I'll be along in a bit." He stood silently as his "friends" gathered their things from the table and departed, but his attention was fixed on the scene transpiring across the room. Blane was talking to Andie. From what Steff could surmise, it wasn't going well for Blane. Good, you stupid bastard; you don't deserve her any more than I do. Steff watched as Andie briskly wiped a tear from her face, her posture rigid and distant as Blane leaned in and said something to her. An overwhelming sensation, primitive and fierce unfurled in Steff's chest, watching Andie bravely face her betrayer, determined not to surrender an inch, and he wanted to pound Blane's stupid, faggot face in. You don't get to tell her anything, you coward! You treated her even worse than I did! Steff abruptly turned from the scene and made his way quickly to the men's room, just in time to empty the contents of his stomach. The others in the restroom probably thought it was because he'd had too much to drink; Steff knew the truth. Unbearable shame and remorse were the culprits. As he washed his hands and splashed water on his face, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Took a long, hard look. She's right. I am shit. Steff wiped his face and hands, threw the towel away, and exited the men's room. He walked determinedly through the ballroom and out the door, stopping only long enough to use the desk phone to call up to the suite he had rented for the night. The conversation with Benny was mercifully brief; he told her he couldn't see her anymore and to go ahead and continue with the party. In retrospect that may have been a mistake; she was so enraged by being dumped on prom night that she had proceeded to run up an amazingly spiteful room service bill and bar tab, and she and her friends had trashed the room to boot. His parents had not been amused.

At school the following Monday, he had been shocked, and then sickened and depressed by the sight of Blane and Andie walking arm in arm, as though nothing had happened. Her little weirdo friend had been walking past and had noticed the stricken look on Steff's face. "I know. Sucks, right?" Duckie had muttered as he walked by. Steff nodded, saying nothing. By that Friday, Andie had come to her senses again, and had given Blane his walking papers. Outwardly, Steff took no notice, pretending to be involved in the hoopla surrounding graduation. Inwardly, he was satisfied, if not overjoyed. Blane didn't deserve Andie; neither one of them did. Blane was nothing but a pussy, and he, an arrogant, bored, spoiled brat, consumed with self-loathing.

As he walked out of school for the last time that Friday afternoon, he immediately spied Andie making her way to her Karmann Ghia. He walked quickly to catch up with her; this might be his last chance to ever speak to her, and he was determined not to let the opportunity slip through his fingers.

"Andie!" he called, a bit more loudly than he intended.

Andie turned and glanced at him, and immediately returned to unlocking her car door. She inwardly steeled herself for another unpleasant exchange. What is with this guy? He can't just be satisfied with being the most gorgeous boy in school. He has to make sure everybody knows it too. Why is he such an ungodly prick to me all the time?

"Don't worry Steff. Blane's all yours again. You needn't worry about him bringing his "trash" to your graduation party" she said dismissively.

Steff winced. Blane, you fucking asshole! You told her I said she was trash? Why would you do that? Why would you tell her something that would only hurt her like that?

Steff gently put his hand on Andie's, stopping her from opening her car door. Andie looked up, only now noticing how close Steff was standing. Steff's heart was pounding in his ears; he was terrified, and determined not to screw this up.

"Andie," he began softly, "I'm sorry."

Andie inhaled sharply, her eyes widening, then immediately narrowing in suspicion.

He continued. "I'm really, truly, sorry for the way I've treated you. You deserve kindness and respect, and I've never once shown you either. You're worth a hundred of any of us and I wanted you to know that. I don't deserve your forgiveness, and I don't deserve your friendship, so I won't even ask for it, but I didn't want to let you leave my life without ever knowing how I really feel about you, and how sorry I am for hurting you."

Steff looked down, unshed tears gathering in his eyes, and inhaled deeply, waiting for her to tell him to fuck off.

Andie was speechless, her mind reeling. She stared at him, open mouthed. Is this another one of his asshole pranks? She glanced around wildly, expecting to see Benny and the rest of her coven of witches, pointing and laughing. Seeing no one, she regarded Steff again closely. He finally met her eyes, and she saw in them fear and deep sorrow.

They held each other's gaze for long moments, and in that time, each felt a small shift. Neither could have said what the shift was, but it was there and had happened, nonetheless.

Steff removed his hand from atop Andie's, and stepped back. She hadn't told him to fuck off, but he didn't want to press his luck. He smiled. "Good luck after graduation, Andie. I mean that."

Andie cocked her head a bit and studied him, as though seeing the real Steff for the first time. Where the hell was this guy three years ago? she wondered. She gave him a shy smile, the first genuine smile she had ever bestowed upon him. Steff felt that smile all the way down to his toes, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds on a winter's day. Steff beamed in return, nodded, and turned and walked away.

He had only seen her once more after that, at graduation, after the ceremony was over. She was hugging her dad, and their eyes had locked from across the room. He smiled and nodded at her in acknowledgement, and she had given a bright smile and a small wave in return. His dad had noticed and had good naturedly elbowed him in the ribs. "Stay away from redheads, son. You're no match for 'em." "I'm no match for that one, that's for sure" Steff had agreed.

Steff sat up on his bed and looked at the clock. It was time to get going; first day of class at UC Santa Barbara. His parents had been shocked when he had changed his mind about going to school on the east coast, insisting instead on getting his own apartment and a part time job and going to school locally. It wasn't much of a job; he worked part time at a medical supply store, delivering orders, but he had gotten the job all by himself and was proud of himself for actually earning the pittance he was paid. His apartment wasn't much to write home about either, but Steff wasn't fooling himself; he wasn't so plebian that he would stoop to living in a dorm. Around strangers. Who would probably be loud and smelly. So instead, he stooped to living in a slightly dumpy apartment by himself, where he wouldn't have to worry about whose hair that was in the shower.

Steff arrived at school early enough to get a cup of coffee and sit down on a bench under an oak tree and watch the other students walk by. The place was a mad house; the freshmen looking scared and lost, constantly glancing around, trying to get their bearings. The upper classmen wandering around, looking bored, but happy to be back at school; already making plans for back to school parties that were probably still going on somewhere. Girls walked by, most noticing the gorgeous boy sitting by himself on the bench. Steff was used to girls noticing him of course. They had been throwing themselves at him since he was 11, so their regard was nothing new – he just tried not to be such a condescending asshole about it now, is all.

Steff glanced down at his watch and saw that it was almost time to get to class. He stood and began to make his way to the lecture hall for Comp I. As expected, it was cram packed with freshmen, looking either nervous, or sleepy. He took one of the few remaining seats and got out his notebook and pen and got ready for class to begin. As the instructor began to go over classroom policy and grading procedures, the entrance door on the other side of the auditorium opened and a late arrival entered. Steff glanced over and all the air went out of his lungs with a whoosh.

It was Andie.

Author's Note: I have always had a love/hate relationship with Pretty in Pink. Love the movie, hate the choice that Andie makes at the end of the movie. I used to think that Andie should have chosen Duckie, however, lately I've come to realize that the most intriguing relationship in the movie is everything that is and isn't going on between Steff and Andie. Reviews are appreciated, so let me know what you think!