Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, or "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Saturday, March 18th, 1967

The scars of your love remind me of us.

Anna knew she had to stop Steve and she had to stop him soon. He was driving her crazy, and if this went on for much longer, she was going to end up naked beneath him and not complaining about it. She couldn't let that happen - not yet.

But glory she wanted it. One of his hands was slipping beneath the hem of her skirt, his body was pressed tightly against her own, and his lips … well, Steve certainly knew how to kiss, and it was going to get her into a whole world of trouble if she wasn't careful. Grasping onto all the willpower she had, she pulled her mouth away from his.

"We have to stop," she panted, sucking in a breath as his lips left hers to trail down her neck.

"Just a little longer," he muttered against her skin.

She couldn't say no. She knew she should, and was still trying to remember why, but she just couldn't. He felt too good. Everything about him was warm, and it made everything about her feel just as warm. But she'd never intended for things to get this far. A little making out wasn't a bad thing, but Steve's fingers traced small patterns over the skin of her thigh and she gave a feeble whimper in protest.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"We really gotta stop."

Dropping his head onto her shoulder, he groaned loudly. "Why?"

Searching through her fuzzy mind, she tried to think of an answer to that and came up with nothing. They needed to stop, she knew that, but his hands, lips, and teeth had her wondering why exactly it was that she was stopping him. They were alone, they were on his bed, and they were both willing and eager. But …

"See? You don't even have a good answer." He was smirking; she was sure of it.

"I do …" She took a calming breath, brain finally working. "We're taking things slow, remember?"

"We were just kissing," he said, lifting his head to look at her.

"Your hand was beneath my skirt."

"Is that really so bad?"

Oh Lordy. With those gorgeous blue eyes staring at her so intently, she had trouble staying strong. Her best bet was to ignore him, because if she answered she would answer honestly and he would take it as consent to continue. She knew that if he continued, it would be a good while before she found the strength to stop him again.

Changing the subject seemed like a good idea.

"So … what time's the party?"

Steve shifted so he was lying next to her, legs still entwined with her own. "Later."

She rolled her eyes. "Good answer."

"Who cares about the party? Wouldn't you rather stay here?" Yes, she would. She stared at him, not saying anything as his fingers dipped inside her open blouse, resting on her stomach. "You know I'd keep you plenty entertained."

Blushing, she grabbed hold of his hand. "I don't doubt it."

Lacing his fingers together with her own, Steve changed the subject a lot smoother than Anna had.

"I told Two-Bit and Soda we'd meet them around eight."

"What's the time now?"

"Seven-thirty," he said, glancing at the clock behind him. "I oughta shower … unless you can't bear the idea of me leaving you alone in this bed."

"You're so full of yourself sometimes."

Steve just grinned and climbed to his feet. "That's why you love me."

On the outside, she gave a small smile and sat up. Watching him grab some clean jeans, she did her best to stay calm, but on the inside, her heart was pounding and she had to fight the urge to get up and run from his house. Steve Randle was talking about love, and he was doing it casual as all get out.

He might have said it jokingly, and he might have been talking about her feelings rather than his own, but it was something. Last year she had said it without thinking, without knowing Steve was listening, and he had said it back in his own Steve-like way. In the two weeks they'd had together after that, Anna had said it less that once a day, and Steve had said it three times total. Three. She had counted.

Neither of them trusted well, they weren't talkers, and they weren't big on opening up about their feelings. For Steve to casually say something like that was a big deal. Maybe not for anyone else, but for them. Neither of them had said the word once since that afternoon in his car, but that was okay. She had made him tell her how he felt at the hospital - twice - and he'd said it and meant it and that was all that mattered to Anna.

But for him to bring it up again, in any context, was a ridiculously big deal to her. He might still be the seventeen-year-old boy who wrestled with his buddies, but when it came to their relationship, he was officially the mature one. They were taking things slow - both physically and emotionally - but she was still the one trying to remember that she didn't need to take off anymore.

She knew how she felt and she knew how he felt and there was no use hiding it. It wasn't like last time where she had to try and ignore her feelings for fear that he wouldn't feel the same. He did feel the same. So much so that he'd said it first at the hospital, and every time she remembered that, the urge to take off cleared.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, standing in the doorway in a fresh pair of jeans and wet hair.

"Nothing," she said, feeling stupid for having not even realised he'd gone. And already showered.

Steve just gave her a half-smirk half-frown and dug around for a clean T-Shirt. Unable to help herself, Anna watched. Without the chance of his smug smirk catching her, she couldn't deny that her boyfriend was hot. Especially when he was shirtless and just out of the shower.

It was why she had such a hard time making herself stop him when they were fooling around. She supposed love and wanting to be with him had something to do with it, but when his hands were on her and his lips were making her dizzy with kisses, all she could think about was him and his body and the things she knew he wanted to do to her. The things she wanted him to do to her.

They made out a lot. They reached second base nearly every time they made out, and had hit third twice since that day at the hospital. Not going past that was becoming harder every time he kissed her, but something inside her knew waiting was for the best.

And other than being as persuasive as possible and not bothering to hide his disappointment when she stopped him, Steve was pretty good about the no sex situation. He never really pushed her for anything other than more making out time. Which she usually gladly gave. She knew he wanted more, but she was pretty impressed with his self control. Hell, she was impressed with her own self control.

But the fact was that it wasn't just about how good she knew he could make her feel. It was about how bad he had made her feel. She had forgiven him a long time ago, and they were working toward getting back to what they used to be, but there was still a lot to get past. For Anna, anyway.

"You ready to go?" Steve asked, holding a hand out to her.

Nodding, she placed her hand in his. "Yeah."

XXXXX

Gaze fixed on Anna, Steve did his best to ignore the arguing couple next to him. Although couple wasn't really the right word. Apparently there had been no move forward or back for Soda and Anita, and nowadays all they did was try to make civil conversation. It seemed to work most of the time, and sometimes they even seemed like friends, but every now and then - usually when one of them had a few drinks in them - things got messy.

Soda snapped something about Anita flirting with George Silvers, and Steve tried even harder to block them out. If it weren't for the actual being together part, those two sure acted like a couple. It was a wonder they both didn't just give in and be together.

Leaning against the chain-link fence, he continued watching Anna. She was drunk. Not terribly so, but amusingly so. It was fun to watch her annoy other people with her constant chatter, and it was even better when she had a few drinks in her. And he had to admit - even though he was who she liked to annoy most with her chatter - that some of the things she came out with were pretty great. Even when she admitted to Curly Shepard that if he'd had a scar on his face, she might have had a crush on him the last few years instead of Tim.

The fact that Steve was just finding out about her old crush on Tim wasn't so great, but he got over it when she decided she wanted to make out for a while.

Anita stormed away just as Evie made her way toward Anna. Steve watched, wondering what would happen. He'd seen them talk occasionally at school, but never out of school where Anna didn't have to be polite if she didn't want to be.

"That girl's gonna send me insane," Soda said, sagging against the fence.

"Why don't you just take her out?"

Soda shrugged. "Though about it for a while, but now …" he trailed off, shrugging again.

"You don't wanna?"

"Dunno what I want. Dunno what I could get even if I did know what I wanted." He sighed. "I think I screwed everything up by kissing her."

Anna and Evie seemed to be talking happily enough, and Steve looked at Soda. "Maybe it wasn't the kissing that was the problem, but the taking off afterwards."

Soda gave a rueful grin. "Could be that."

"I think she still likes you. Wouldn't fight with you so much otherwise."

"Don't I know it. I just don't know if I still like her."

Steve didn't say it, but he was pretty sure Soda did still like her. The two of them might not talk as much as they used to, but there was a look Soda got in his eyes whenever Anita was around. The look was much too confused and intrigued for Soda to no longer like Anita. Unfortunately for both Soda's and Anita's sakes, Steve was also pretty sure that Soda still spent too much time thinking about Sandy.

He looked back at Anna to see her laughing at something Evie was saying. Relief coursed through him. Anna had forgiven him, he knew that, but if she had forgiven Evie, too, then he was that much closer to getting things back to how they used to be. He had Anna, she was his again, but other than when he was kissing her, she was more reserved than she had once been. He couldn't blame her, but he didn't like it.

"You really think I should just ask her out?" Soda asked.

Steve smirked at Anna as she blew him a kiss and headed inside the house they were partying at. He looked at Soda, not sure how to answer.

"Well, not if you're not even sure you still like her. No point getting her hopes up."

"I guess." Soda stared into the distance, looking more miserable than Steve had seen him in a while. Then he frowned, standing up straighter. "Here comes trouble."

Steve looked to see Evie heading their way. He tensed, unable to remember the last time he had really spoken to her. There had been a short and forced conversation at work one day, but he couldn't remember much before that. All he knew was that it can't have been pleasant and was probably when they broke up. For the third time.

Looking past her, he tried to find Anna, but came up with nothing. Last he'd seen she had been heading inside, but before that she'd been talking to Evie. And their talk had seemed friendly enough. If Anna was friendly with Evie, then surely he could be polite. Also, if Anna was friendly with Evie, then he knew he didn't have to worry about her being jealous again. Even still, a tiny part of him wasn't sure it was a good idea. He'd cheated with Evie, after all.

"Hey," she said, stopping in front of them.

"How's it goin'?" he said, while Soda just nodded.

"It's goin' real good. I was just tellin' Anna how glad I am you two got your shit sorted." She said it so honestly and cheerfully that he couldn't help but believe her.

"You ain't kidding," he said. "Took me long enough to get her to even speak to me, let alone consider getting back together."

"I think she just had to realise some stuff," Evie said. "She always wanted you, but after … well, after the mess we made of things, I can hardly blame her for not speaking to either of us for so long."

"Yeah," Steve said, not sure what else to say.

Evie frowned. "You don't have to worry; I ain't hangin' around to start any problems. I actually want you and Anna together."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I told her that a long while ago, and I want you to know, too. Just, you know, so you know I'm not gonna be tryin' to cause any trouble."

That was a relief. Evie had caused more than enough trouble last year, and the last thing he and Anna needed coming between them again was any interference by Evie.

"Glad to hear it," Soda said. Steve was surprised at the hostility in his voice.

Evie seemed to notice and took a small step back. "I'm datin' someone else now. Y'all know Joey Hanson?"

Steve had to think hard to remember the guy Evie was talking about.

"That quiet guy who used to be in Shepard's gang?" Soda asked.

Evie nodded. Joey was a few years older and Steve didn't really know him. The only time he could place him was from the night Danny got shot, as the guy opposite him, hands also covered in blood.

"That's great, Evie," he said. From what he'd heard, Joey seemed like a decent guy. He was supposed to be super smart, but instead of going off to college, had chosen to stay in Tulsa and look after his sick mom. He'd quit the gang, but still helped out Tim occasionally.

"Yeah, he's really sweet."

Anita came back then, looking near tears.

"What's wrong?" Soda asked.

She shook her head. "Just Ricky. He always gets that bit meaner when he's been drinking."

Soda was silent for a moment and Steve could tell just by watching him that he definitely still liked Anita. Finally, he looked at her.

"Don't worry about him. I'll sort it."

"I didn't tell you so you'd sort it," she snapped. "I told you because he made me feel bad and I thought you'd -" She stopped, looking shocked at the words that had come from her own mouth. "Nothing."

The silence was awkward, and Steve was actually pleased when Evie came up with a decent enough conversation.

"So, how thrilled was Danny to hear about you and Anna?"

XXXXX

Not for the first time, Anna wished Kathy and Two-Bit were still together. Not only were they both miserable without each other, but parties were much less fun without her best friend around. Although, if Kathy was there, things between her and Two-Bit were always awkward to the point that one of them would leave early.

And after catching Two-Bit making out with Jean Jenner, Anna was pretty damn glad Kathy wasn't there. As unhappy as she was without Two-Bit, she'd be even unhappier to know breaking up hadn't seemed to change his ways at all. Scrunching her nose at the sight of Two-Bit's tongue down Jean's throat, Anna headed back outside to find Steve.

"Anna, baby. How about a dance?" Curly asked, standing right in front of her.

Inwardly cringing at the memory of telling too many people about her old crush on Tim, she pretended to consider Curly's offer. After a moment, she smirked and gave his chest a light shove.

"Ask me again when you're not fifteen."

He grinned. "You know I will, baby. That's only next month."

She ignored him, heading down the stairs and onto the front lawn. Steve was right where he'd been when she headed inside, but now both Anita and Evie were standing with him and Soda. Stopping short, her heart skipped a beat and she watched.

They talked, they laughed, they acted as though the last year hadn't happened. Frowning, trying to work through the alcohol in her bloodstream to figure out what this meant, Anna continued to silently watch. Evie said something, Steve answered. Steve said something, Evie laughed. Soda and Anita whispered to each other and still, Steve and Evie talked and laughed.

And it really shouldn't mean anything. After everything that had happened, Anna knew she was the one Steve wanted, not Evie. Just weeks ago she had assured Danny and Henry and Anita that Steve wouldn't go making the same mistake as last time, and she had believed it. Earlier that day she had believed it. But believing it became awfully hard when she was seeing the two of them together. The fact that she'd also been the one Steve wanted when he'd cheated on her last year didn't escape her.

Swallowing hard, she made herself remember Steve telling her he loved her at the hospital, telling her that he never got over her even when he was with Evie, telling her that it was her, only her.

It didn't work. They were still trying to get back to something resembling what they'd had last year, and Anna was still trying to get past every thing that had happened. Seeing Steve and Evie talking and laughing and not even noticing she was there just brought it all back. Cheating, lying, going behind her back. He'd promised her it wouldn't happen again and she'd believed him, but …

"That can't be easy," a voice said from behind her. She didn't have to turn to know it was Henry.

She said nothing, but only because he was right. It wasn't easy. It was like she was seeing something she wasn't supposed to see, and when something she wasn't supposed to see involved Steve and Evie … well, the possibilities made her sick.

"I hate to say I told you so …" Henry continued.

Anna turned. "Go to hell," she snapped, before heading back inside.

This wasn't the same as last year. Steve had promised, and she had to believe him because if she couldn't believe him then she was screwed. She refused to go through this relationship constantly worried about the threat of Evie like she had last time. He wanted her, he loved her, and he'd promised. Seeing them together, even just talking, took all that away, but she'd deal with it because he'd promised.

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all.

A/N: Thanks to RileysMomma for beta-reading. Reviews would make my day wonderful :)