"This is ridiculous," Andrea told Val, still standing in line at the bathroom. "We're never going to get in there."

"So…" Val said, trying to hide her grin. "You having a good time?"

"Maybe," Andrea told her. At Val's stifled giggle she blew out a breath. "Okay, yes. I enjoy kissing Steve."

"You've been kissing Steve?" Kelly asked walking up to them. "Steve Sanders?"

Andrea blushed. "Hey Kelly."

"Kelly, huh?" Val said, looking the other woman up and down.

"Oh my gosh Andrea, you and Steve?" Kelly said, mouth open.

"Is there something wrong with that Kelly?" Andrea asked, slightly offended.

"No, of course not. It's just so…unexpected," Kelly told her.

"For you and me both," Andrea told her. She looked at Valerie. "Valerie, this is Kelly Taylor. Kelly, this is Brenda and Brandon's friend from Minnesota, Valerie Malone. She's been helping the guys at the After Dark with Brenda."

Kelly looked at Valerie, taking in the tight dress, red lips and curled hair. She disliked her on sight. "Steve told me they were fixing up the old pharmacy building. I'm surprised Dylan would get into any sort of partnership with David."

"And why's that?" Valerie asked her.

Kelly shrugged. "Brenda."

"They're big boys," Val told her.

Kelly arched her brow at Valerie. "Have your eye on a specific one?"

"Maybe," Valerie said. "Is there something wrong with that Kelly?" she said, intentionally repeating Andreas' earlier words.

Kelly snorted. "The only ones left are Brandon and Dylan. Good luck."

"Good luck with what?" Brenda asked, walking up.

"Your friend Valerie was just telling me she has her eye on one of the guys," Kelly told Brenda.

"Yeah," Brenda said, nodding. She looked at Andrea, dismissing the conversation. "Nice work, Andrea," she said, laughing.

"That's what I told her," Valerie said, grinning.

Andrea put her hands to her face. "You guys are making me blush!"

"Where did David go?" Valerie asked Brenda.

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Do you hear this?" she asked, pointing up. "This music is David."

"Sounds good!" Valerie told her.

"Since we're all together, I wanted to ask you about something," Brenda told them. "I've already mentioned it to Andrea." She looked at Kelly. "Did you get your invite to Donnas' ball?"

Kelly nodded. "I didn't think I was going to get one," she admitted.

"Donna doesn't think any of us are going to come, but I think we should. We can all bring a person with us if we want, or we can all just go together as a group."

"You want to go to Donnas' ball with David?" Kelly asked her. "Are you kidding me?"

Brenda glared at Kelly. "David and I have discussed it and we're going to support Donna, not as a date. I think it's a good idea for her to know how important she is to us."

"I'm not sure I should go," Val told them. "I've never even met her."

"You'll meet her there and you'll love her," Brenda said.

"I think it's a good idea," Andrea told her. "I'd like to go."

"Good," Brenda said. "I'll talk it over with Brandon and David tonight. Andrea, can you talk to Steve about it?"

"Sure."

"What about Dylan?" Kelly asked.

"Do you want to talk to him about it?" Brenda asked her.

"It doesn't matter," Kelly said.

Brenda shrugged. "One of us will. Okay then, that's settled."

They'd finally reached the end of the line and Andrea was able to go into the bathroom. "Brenda, can I talk to you for a minute?" Kelly asked her.

Brenda nodded, then followed her. "What's up?" she asked when they'd walked into the backyard.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry I tried out for Maggie," Kelly told her. She sighed. "I only did it to upset you, and I realize now how stupid that was of me."

"Thank you, Kelly," Brenda said. "Look, I know you're upset about Dylan…"

Kelly held up her hands. "I've known since the moment you two met that he was in love with you. It was stupid of me to think that he could love me like that."

"I hurt Dylan," Brenda admitted. "But what you two did…I didn't think I would ever get over it. I still don't know that I am."

Kelly nodded. "I am sorry, Brenda. I didn't mean to hurt you…but I didn't really care that I did." She shrugged, tears in her eyes. "What does that say about me?"

"I don't know," Brenda told her honestly. She watched some other people dancing for a moment. "I want to be friends with you, Kelly. I just can't handle you trying to hurt me all of the time."

"I want to be friends too," Kelly told her. "I'm just not sure how to be a good one."

Brenda smiled at her. "We'll work something out."

Andrea got out of the restroom and found Valerie standing at the door. "Where did Brenda and Kelly go?"

"To talk," Valerie told her, sighing. "I don't like her."

Andrea laughed at Valerie's openness. "Some people don't," she told her. She shrugged. "She just takes some getting used to."

As they walked back toward the guys Valerie chewed on her lip. "She seemed pretty interested in whether or not I had my eyes on Brandon or Dylan."

"Yeah, I noticed that. I don't think she's over Dylan, and she always had a thing for Brandon."

Valerie stopped walking. "Kelly always had a thing for Brandon?"

Andrea turned around and looked at her. "Yeah. Brandon said he thought of her more like a sister, though, and they never dated."

Valerie started walking again, frowning. She wondered if Brandon thought of her as a sister. Andrea was watching her. "What?" she said.

"You have a thing for Brandon," Andrea accused with a smile.

Valerie shook her head. "No, that would be silly. I'm sure he thinks of me like a sister too."

"I guess we'll see," Andrea said as they got closer to the guys.

"Andrea!" Steve called when they got closer. "You owe me another dance; that one was cut short," he told her, winking. Andrea laughed and took his hand, letting her pull him out onto the dance floor.

Valerie and the guys watched them for a moment. "Where's Brenda and Kelly?' Brandon asked.

"Kelly wanted to talk to Brenda alone for a minute," Valerie told him, shrugging.

"Sounds like fun," Dylan said, making a face at Brandon. "Hey, Valerie, this is Jimmy Reed. He's here with Kelly."

"Hi," Valerie said, shaking his hand. He was gorgeous, but Valerie had come to expect that in men around here. She looked at Brandon. "Want to dance?"

Brandon rocked back on his heels. "Sorry," he told her. "I don't dance."

Valerie took his hand and pulled him toward the dance floor. "I don't take no for an answer."

Brandon looked at Dylan for help but Dylan was laughing into his cup. Even Jimmy was smiling. Giving in, he followed Val out on the floor. "Val," he said when they stopped, "I'm serious. I really can't dance."

Valerie moved to the music, dancing around Brandon, somehow making it seem as if he were dancing too. When she rubbed her body down the front of him he grabbed her arms and looked into her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing," Valerie said with a sly smile.

The music changed to something slower and she looked at him. Dropping his hands to her waist, he pulled her closer. "Now this," he told her lowly, "I can handle."

Valerie smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body closer to his. "I have a question," she said, looking up at him.

Brandon looked down into her eyes, then moved to her lips. Valerie's breath caught and her heart raced. "I may have an answer."

"Do you think of me like a sister?"

His eyes caught and held hers as they danced. She was so beautiful, her face flushed from dancing. He leaned down and brushed her lips with his. "No," he told her, lifting his head back up. "I don't think of you as a sister."

Valerie smiled at him. "That's all I needed to know," she told him.

Kelly and Brenda walked to James and Dylan. "Brenda," Kelly said, "this is James. James, this is Brenda Walsh."

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"Why do you call him James, Kelly?" Dylan asked her.

"I've always called him James," Kelly said defensively. She looked at Brenda. "Everyone else calls him Jimmy," she said with a shrug.

"Nice to meet you too, Jimmy," Brenda said, smiling. She looked at Dylan, who was watching her. "What?"

"Where's Silver?"

"He's DJing," she told him, pointing to David.

"We're going to dance," Kelly told them, pulling Jimmy towards the dance floor.

"So you're thinking about leaving?" Brenda asked him, hurt. "When we talked you said you weren't."

Dylan sighed. "Brenda, do we have to talk about this tonight?"

Brenda shook her head. "Sorry I brought it back up," she said, walking past him.

He reached out and took her arm. "Bren, look, let's just have fun tonight, okay? I don't want you to be upset." He looked at their friends, dancing. "Do you want to dance?"

Brenda let out a breath. "Sure," she said. They walked out on the dance floor and Dylan lightly rested his hands on her hips, careful to keep a safe distance between them.

"You and Val are doing a good job on the After Dark," he told her.

"It's harder than I thought it would be," Brenda admitted, then quickly added, "Don't tell Brandon I said that."

Dylan laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good," she said, smiling. "We're all thinking about going to Texas for Donnas' ball."

"Who is "we all?"?"

"You know, the gang." Dylan nodded. "Do you think you can come?"

"I don't know, Bren. With all the work we have to do at the After Dark it would be hard to leave."

"I didn't think about that," she said, frowning. "I still think we should all go."

Dylan grinned at her. "Of course you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're always thinking about ways to make everyone else feel better."

"That's not a bad thing," she said defensively.

"It's a great thing," Dylan told her, looking into her eyes. "It's one of the reasons I love you."

His words caught her off guard. She stopped dancing. "Dylan," she said softly.

He started moving again, twirling her around. "Don't look at me like that Brenda," he told her.

"You can't just say things like that."

"Why not?" he asked her. "It's the truth."

They danced for a moment, not talking. "It just makes it harder to stay away from you, knowing that you love me," Brenda said after a moment.

Dylan sighed. "The fact that I made you doubt my love for you is reason enough for you to be with Silver."

Brenda looked up to where David was DJing and found him watching her. She smiled at him and he winked at her. "I really care about him," she told Dylan.

"I know you do, Bren. You wouldn't be with him if you didn't." He looked into her eyes. "I told you once that if we were meant to be, time would tell. We're not together right now." He shrugged. "But who knows what will happen a week from now, or a month from now, or a year from now?" He leaned down closer to her. "We will be together, Brenda. I know it."

The dance ended and he let go of her, walking out of the room. Brenda stared after him, then looked up at David. It was time to get a drink.