Hey guys! So I know the last chapter took sort of an intense turn, but it was necessary for some of Brenda's history to come out in the open. Now, onto the next chapter! I still don't own the boys *sigh*

Darry looked at the front door in disbelief. Then he felt anger wash over him in a wave. He turned on the now sniggering Steve, who was the only source of noise in the room besides the TV.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" he roared, barely able to keep from punching the boy in the jaw.

"Oh, come on! She's got Soc written all over her and you know it, Darry!" Steve said, rolling his eyes. "You know those types of relationships never work! Plus, her old man is a religious freak who thinks he's holier than Jesus freakin' Christ Himself! Its better that it ends now, before you get in too deep. You'll thank me lat-"

Darry cut Steve off with a sharp hook to the jaw. The Greaser crumpled to the ground, cradling his jaw, having been hit for second time by Darry. The much larger man was fuming.

"BRENDA IS NOT A SOC, YOU IDIOT! SHE WORKS FOR A LIVING JUST LIKE YOU AND I DO!" he stormed. "MY BOSS IS HER UNCLE! I MET HER AT WORK!"

And with this, Darry stormed out the front door and went to look for Brenda. He didn't have to go far. She was huddled on the fountain, her shoulders visibly shaking. He felt the anger leave him, immediately replaced with concern for this young girl. He walked over to her quietly. "Brenda?"

She looked up at him, her face tear streaked and looked back down. "Hey," she said, her voice raspy with her tears. He sat beside her carefully, then gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"Wanna tell me what's got you all upset? I know that it can't be what Steve said, cause, well, none of its true. I know you aren't that kind of girl. You wouldn't work as hard if you do if you were." She looked up at him, and he gave her a gentle smile, offering her his handkerchief. It had been one of his dad's and he liked carrying it. She took it and dabbed her eyes.

"My dad is a preacher, Darry, or he wants to be one, at least," she said quietly. "Remember when I told you that my father had strict standards?" Darry nodded. "Well, he's that way because he believes God is angry and vengeful. He-he wouldn't be happy if he knew we were dating, but I'm… not living with him anymore, so I don't care what he th-thinks." She took a deep breath and Darry could tell she hadn't told him something, but decided to leave it alone. He gently took her into his arms and pulled her close. She surprised him by not only letting him do this, but wrapping her shaking arms around him in return. They stayed like that a moment, then she pulled back. He smiled at her.

"Your face is all wet," he said, and she grinned at him. "Let me help you." He took the handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from her face, a good bit of make-up coming with them. "There we go; much better," he grinned at her. "I think I messed up your make-up, tho- Brenda, what happened to you eye?"

She gasped, knowing that the bruises under her eyes were now visible. They were much better than they had been, but still had an ugly blue tint to them. She tried to think quickly. "I was ro-rough housing with my co-cousin and hit the coffee table by accident."

Darry could tell this wasn't the truth, but he didn't want to push it at the moment. He nodded and said, "Well, please be more careful. Don't want to ruin those beautiful eyes, after all." She smiled at him. He smiled back and reached a hand out, pushing a strand of hair that had come loose from her braid behind her ear… he stopped, letting his hand rest on her cheek. Gosh, she had soft skin. She looked down, blushing.

"Brenda…" he said, gently putting his hand under her chin and tilting her face up. He leaned in without a word and pressed his lips softly to hers. Fireworks went off in his head. He had never felt this before, and he liked it.

Brenda was surprised by the kiss, but then began to enjoy it. She could hear bells in her head and her body shook slightly. She had never been kissed before, not like this. She felt like Darry was not only kissing her, but cherishing her. They broke apart after a moment and opened their eyes slowly.

"That was… wow…" Darry said, smiling at her softly. She looked into his eyes and saw that he really meant it. His eyes were filled with fire. Darry had never wanted someone so badly. Brenda held innocence in those doe eyes and silken lips that he longed to explore in a more… intimate way. Instead, he decided they both needed to get out of the cooling air of the approaching night. "Why don't we go back to the house?"

She nodded her consent, and they rose from the fountain, hand in hand.

(Awww! They finally kissed, isn't it great? I love to write romance! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!)

They arrived back at the Curtis house to find only Soda, Two-Bit, and Ponyboy. Soda stood up when they came in and walked over to Darry. "Steve left, I told him not to come back until he was ready to behave," Soda said. He looked at Brenda with a small smile. "Are you ok?"

"Yes," she said in a small shy voice. "I'm sorry to have broken up the party."

"It's fine," Darry said. "It needed to be broken up. It's getting kind of late."

"Brenda, do you know how to play poker?" Soda said, taking Brenda by surprise. She shook her head slowly. "Well, you should learn if you are going to spend any time at all around us! I'll go get a deck."

And so the rest of the night was spent around the coffee table, with the guys all trying to teach Brenda the basic concepts of poker… and catch any Aces that might be in Soda's shoes. She found herself having a really good time, and knew that this would not be the last time she hung out with Darry's family.

At the end of the night, Darry drove her home to her uncle's and walked her to the front door. "I had a really good time tonight, Brenda. I hope Steve didn't ruin any chance I have of you coming back over," he said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I had a really good time tonight, Darry, and I can't wait to get to know everyone better," she said, squeezing his hand gently. He smiled back at her and took her other hand gently.

"Will I see you at work tomorrow?" he said, rubbing the back of her left hand with his thumb. She nodded and looked up into his eyes. He leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "Goodnight, Brenda."

"Goodnight, Darry," with those words, she turned and entered the house. Darry walked down the front steps and to his truck, his ears still ringing with the fireworks that sounded when he kissed Brenda.

Her kiss thrilled him like nothing he had ever felt before in his life. He hoped it would always be like that.