Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or Fools Rush In by many different people, lol. Originally written by Johnny Mercer with music by Rube Bloom, but I went with the Elvis version for this ;)

Tuesday, June 14, 1966

Anna fought a grin as she watched Mary-Louise say goodbye to Danny. The girl had obviously taken quite the shine to him, and Anna couldn't be more happy at how uncomfortable it was making Danny. It wasn't that he didn't like Mary-Louise, he just didn't like her as much as she seemed to like him.

"So, you'll call me tomorrow?" she asked for the third time.

"Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow," Danny said.

Anna ignored the glare Danny sent her way at the scoff she let out, and turned back to the bowl she was mixing. She liked the fact that Danny was almost in a serious relationship … well, as serious as he would let it be. Not only was Mary-Louise much nicer than Ruth Goodall, but Anna now found herself with something to use against her brother whenever he teased her about Steve.

"Bye, Anna," Mary-Louise called, walking toward the front door.

Anna grinned. "See ya."

Danny waited for Mary-Louise to leave before turning to Anna.

"Don't say a word," he snapped.

She shrugged. "What could I possibly say?"

"Good," he said, taking that as her agreement to not say anything.

"No, seriously," she continued, grinning again. "What could I possibly say about that? There are no words."

Danny sighed and threw himself into a chair at the table. "You're right."

Anna laughed and he grinned at her. "Really," he continued, "you're completely right. I ain't about to toot my own horn or nothin' but that girl is nuts for me."

"Can't think why," Anna muttered.

Danny snorted. "Could say the same about Steve. Dunno what he sees in you."

She pursed her lips, debating whether to bluff her willingness to tell Danny something he really didn't want to hear, or to just come up with a smart comment. Remembering the way Mary-Louise had still been buttoning her blouse when she had walked into the kitchen, she went for the latter, not wanting the threat of Danny telling her something she didn't want to hear.

"Why, my charm and personality, of course," she said dryly.

"You've got personality comin' outta your ass," Danny agreed. "But I haven't seen any charm from you in years."

She smirked. "You can talk, you kicked poor Mary-Louise outta here before she was even dressed."

"She had work," Danny explained. "I can't complain if she wants to visit me first."

"Can I complain?"

Danny gave her a look. "Can I complain about Randle?"

Anna ignored him and he smirked. She knew he wasn't serious, though. Even before Steve had gotten her to talk about Grandpa Joe - something Danny had been hoping for - he and Danny had started getting along pretty okay. Not great, but that was hardly surprising - she didn't think Danny would get along great with anyone she dated. But they had been getting along okay and Danny had let up on being so moody about her spending time with Steve.

She thought back to the day she and Steve had talked as she began spooning her mixture into the muffin tin. She hadn't said much, but it had been enough. Not just because she hadn't wanted to talk much in the first place, but because she really did feel better for the small amount she had said.

Missing Grandpa Joe was hard, and she knew it would be for a while. Everything she had told Steve had been true and it was hard to deal with. Hell, she missed Grandpa Joe more than she had ever missed her own mother after she had left, of course it was going to be hard to deal with. But she did feel better.

Steve hadn't said much while she had talked, but what he had said had been good. He'd made her talk about something she didn't want to, but he'd done the same to make her feel comfortable.

God she loved him.

A knock at the door came, and Anna looked up, smirking at Danny.

"Your girlfriend's back."

"Doubt it," he muttered, but didn't look impressed as he got up.

Instead of hearing Mary-Louise gush over how much she had already missed Danny, Anna heard her own boyfriend talking and her heart sped up. She rolled her eyes at herself. She still couldn't believe how pathetic she got around Steve - racing pulse, butterflies in her stomach, blushing - she felt like a character in a regular romance novel.

"Hey," he said, grinning as he came into the kitchen, hair slightly damp from the light rain.

She smiled, excited to see him even though she had just seen him that morning. "Hi."

He leaned down to kiss her and, ignoring her brother's disgusted scoff, she deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Aw, c'mon," Danny said. "At least I kept what I was doin' in my bedroom."

Steve smirked. "If that's what you'd prefer …"

Danny came back with some stupid comment and the two of them bantered for a few moments'. Anna didn't care what Danny said, though. He had once promised her that he'd kick Steve's ass if he caught him "shoving his tongue down her throat", but she knew that was just Danny being Danny. He wanted to kick Steve's ass for touching her, but he wouldn't kick Steve's ass unless he hurt her.

Danny turned to her. "Hey, the paper come this mornin'?"

"In the living room," she muttered.

Danny left for the living room, and Steve leaned into kiss her again. Anna wasn't about to turn him away; kissing Steve was one of her favourite things to do. They always made her weak at the knees.

She smiled against his lips and leaned in for more. But Steve pulled back, grinned at her, and stuck his chocolate covered finger into his mouth

"Hey!" she cried, indignantly. "That's perfectly good muffin mixture you're stealin' there."

"I know." He smirked. "Tastes like you."

She knew he was talking about her kisses - he had mentioned on more than one occasion how much he liked they way her mouth always tasted like chocolate mixture - but she blushed at the implication of his words, and the look in his eyes.

"Ya could've just kept kissin' me if you wanted to taste it so bad," she grumbled, going back to her baking.

"Why do that when I can have both?" His smirk grew as he snatched the wooden mixing spoon out of her hand.

"Steve!"

"Yeah?"

"C'mon, give it back."

"Why?" he asked, picking at the mixture on the spoon.

She sighed. "Because I need it."

Steve grinned and dangled the spoon just out of her reach.

"C'mon!" she said again.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Anna couldn't help but grin. Reaching for the spoon, she laughed as he lifted it higher still.

"C'mon, I need it," she said, still laughing.

Steve shrugged and smirked at her. "Then come get it."

She reached again, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist. Leaning in, he grinned at her and smeared the spoon and mixture over her mouth and chin.

"Hey!" she said, laughing as he pulled her close.

He growled softly before playfully kissing her and licking the mixture away. She couldn't help but laugh; when Steve was in a good mood, he was in a really good mood and she loved it.

"Anna," Danny said from the doorway.

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she was surprised to see a teary Kathy standing behind him.

"Glory, Kathy, what happened?" she asked, struggling out of Steve's grasp and wiping away any remaining mixture on her face.

It took Kathy a minute before she could answer through her tears, but she finally managed to choke out that she and Two-Bit had broken up. Anna wasn't surprised; she had seen that look on her friends face enough times to know that it had something to do with Two-Bit Mathews.

Wrapping her arms around Kathy's shoulders, Anna gave Steve an apologetic look as he walked past her, probably heading for Two-Bit's.

"I'll see you later?"

He nodded. "I'll be back."

She watched him leave before directing Kathy to her bedroom, and onto her bed.

"Here," she said, handing her friend some tissues.

Kathy just cried harder.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Anna said, sitting next to Kathy and hugging her.

Kathy shook her head. "It's not," she cried. "It's not okay at all. It's all completely ruined."

Anna ran her hand over Kathy's hair as she did her best to pull herself together. She thought back over every other time Kathy and Two-Bit had broken up and knew she had never seen Kathy this upset.

"What happened?" she asked.

Kathy calmed herself down a little. "He asked about Danny," she said.

"What about Danny?"

"Everything," Kathy wailed. "If I had slept with him."

Anna closed her eyes a moment, realising full well what had happened.

"I couldn't lie!" Kathy continued, as more tears fell. "But I couldn't tell him it had happened either. Didn't really matter I suppose; he figured it out by my silence and -" she blew her nose "- I've never seen him that angry before, Anna."

"I understand why you couldn't lie," Anna said, "but he doesn't really have any right to be angry about it, does he? I mean, I hate to say it but I doubt he's been celibate every time the two of you have broken up."

Kathy nodded sadly. "I know."

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes and, despite being angry at Two-Bit for making Kathy cry again, she could understand where his anger came from. Just the idea of Steve and Evie sleeping together made her feel sick, and she knew it had happened, too. Steve had assured her it hadn't happened the last time they had been going out, but Anna had been forced to hear all about it from Evie before she had ever broken up with Steve all those months ago.

"He was so horrible about it," Kathy said quietly, breaking the silence between them. "I don't know if he was more hurt or angry, but I'd never seen him like that … I don't think he'll ever take me back."

Anna hugged her again. "It'll be okay," she said. "He might be hurt and angry, but he loves you. He might also be a bit of an idiot at times, but he'll come around eventually."

Kathy smiled in response, and Anna could only hope she was right.

XXXXX

Steve paused at the foot of the path leading up to Two-Bit's house, watching as his buddy lifted the bottle of what was probably bourbon to his lips and took a long drink. He had no idea what had happened, but in the months Two-Bit and Kathy had been together and apart, Steve had never seen Kathy that heart-broken.

If he thought about it, he'd never really seen her heart-broken at all. He'd seen her glancing longingly at Two-Bit across the hall between classes, he'd seen her doodling absentmindedly in her English notebook rather than taking detailed notes in the days after one of their break-ups, and he'd seen her fighting tears while doing her best to ignore Two-Bit and whatever girl he was flirting with.

He'd seen her sad plenty of times, but he'd never seen her like she was when she had turned up at Anna's.

Glancing up and down the street, he thought for a moment, before deciding that leaving Two-Bit alone wouldn't be the best idea. He slowly made his way up the path and stood in front of his buddy, glad the rain was more of a slight mist.

"Hey," he said, voice soft.

Two-Bit was scowling when he glanced up at Steve. "Whaddya want?" he sneered.

Steve shrugged and sat next to him, unsure of what to say. Normally if one of the guys were having girl troubles, they would help each other out by agreeing to go drinking with them, or backing them up when they jumped whichever guy was getting in their way. He wasn't sure either of those would work this time.

"Ah … just seein' how you're doin'," Steve said, frowning at his words. "Kathy turned up at Anna's in a right state."

"Good," Two-Bit muttered scornfully.

"Wanna tell me what happened?

Two-Bit sighed. "She slept with Harris."

Steve stiffened. Though he had technically cheated on Evie with Anna, it had only been a kiss … well, two kisses, but compared to sleeping with someone, that wasn't the same. Anna had been upset at the time, and there had obviously been something more than just friendship between them. He didn't know what was going on between Kathy and Danny, but he couldn't help but wonder if Two-Bit had his facts mixed up. Kathy was mad about Two-Bit; she wouldn't mess things up with him for anything.

He sighed and chose his words carefully. "Was this … recently?"

Two-Bit shook his head. "Na, it was when they dated a while back."

"So, she didn't cheat on you?" Steve asked, pleased he wouldn't be pissing off Anna by once again finding himself at odds with her brother.

"Do you think that actually matters?" Two-Bit asked.

"I guess not, but -"

"There ain't no buts, Steve," Two-Bit interrupted. "What if you and Anna broke up? What if she dumped you and you wanted to stay together? That's bad enough, right? But then you get back together a while before later finding out she screwed someone else while you were broken up. She was out screwin' some bastard all the time that you wanted her back and still loved her."

"Leave Anna outta this," Steve snapped, hating the mental image Two-Bit had invoked.

Two-Bit just raised an eyebrow. "Exactly."

He took a long drink and went back to scowling at his front lawn. Steve clenched his fists as he thought about someone else being with Anna. The mere idea of someone else touching or kissing her made him desperate to hit something.

The thoughts Two-Bit had just put into his head made Steve sick with rage. What had happened with Bolton a few weeks back was bad enough. Hell, the anger and jealousy he'd felt when he thought she was dating Soda had been bad enough … adding the idea of Anna no longer being with him and sleeping with someone else in the meantime was …

His anger suddenly turned cold as the rest of Two-Bit's words sunk in completely. Loved her? He smirked, finding it highly unlikely that he loved Anna. The sudden thudding of his heart and shaking of his hands told him otherwise. He swallowed.

"Now what?" he quickly asked Two-Bit, wanting to keep his mind focused.

Two-Bit shrugged, and they were both silent. Steve wished Two-Bit would say something - anything - to keep the conversation going. His head was racing, as though it were going a million miles an hour to catch up with his heart and where his heart had so obviously been for God only knew how long.

"I was really horrible to her," Two-Bit finally said.

Steve glanced at him, forcing out his words. "You were angry."

"Yeah, but …" he trailed off with a shake of is head. "I shouldn't have said what I did. As much as I hate what she did with him … I was too nasty."

Steve decided not to ask, knowing it would be better for the both of them if he didn't know. Two-Bit was his buddy and he would always take his side in any argument he and Kathy had, but he didn't need to hear the nasty things Two-Bit had said to the girl Steve had just seen crying.

"She was really upset," he said, "but you know she loves you. Shoot, there ain't no one who doesn't know it."

Two-Bit shrugged. "I guess."

"Wanna go to Buck's?" Steve asked. "Forget about it for a while?"

"Na." Two-Bit stood. "I'm just gonna head in."

Steve stood too and watched as Two-Bit made his way inside, slamming the door closed behind him. Forcing his mind to stay on track, he considered going to Buck's by himself before deciding dead against it. Getting himself drunk right now wasn't what he needed.

But then, he had no idea what he did need. He thought about going to Soda's and talking to him, but - as understanding as Soda was - Steve wasn't sure he'd understand why this was a problem. And this was a problem.

Sure, he cared about Anna - he cared about her a whole lot - but he didn't love her. He couldn't love her … could he?

He and Evie had been together almost six months before they broke up the first time, and he had never even considered loving her. He'd loved being with her - he wouldn't have fought so hard to get her back otherwise - but love had never entered his mind when it had come to Evie.

Now, he and Anna had only been together a month and already the L word was running through his head?

Scoffing at himself, he left Two-Bit's front yard and made his way down the street. The only reason he was even considering this was because Two-Bit had said it first. There was no meaning to his thought process. He was surprised by what Two-Bit had said, and his surprise was lasting.

The fact that he couldn't keep his hands off of Anna, even if all he was doing was holding playing with her hair, didn't matter. Neither did the fact that his days always seemed better if he had woken up next to her, or that the simple thought of her brought a smile to his face.

It didn't mean anything that her happiness was more important to him than his own, that the image of her crying outside the Dingo that day still tore him to pieces, or that she made him happier than he had been since his mom died.

His favourite smiles of hers were the small ones she gave when he said something almost sweet. He didn't care about the slight hint of perfume when he trailed his tongue over a certain spot on her neck because it smelled so damn good and he couldn't help but nuzzle into it. He had taken to paying attention when "Stand By Me" came on the radio at work, not caring about Soda's smirk, but that didn't matter.

None of it mattered.

He continued telling himself this as he walked, but, deep down, knew his own conviction skills had turned to shit.

He looked up as a light drizzle began again, knowing he'd find himself outside Anna's, just as a part of him had known that was exactly where he'd been heading when he had left Two-Bit's. It was unsurprising really, he realised as he looked up to see her sitting with Kathy on the front porch and smiling when she saw him, he was completely in love with her after all.

A/N: The usual thanks to RileysMomma for beta-reading. Extra thanks to the perfect imperfection for being awesome. Please review :)