The minute I came into the living room, Soda jumped up.

"Look!" he said, excitedly holding up his hand, no longer in an actual cast but instead in some sort of fabric glove-type thing. "I can work!"

"I hope you got a note," I said, a bit skeptically. Darry had been serious, I knew, there was no way he was going to let Soda work unless the doctor specifically okayed it.

"Oh, I did," he said, waving a paper in my face. "I'm a free man!" I thought that was a little funny – most people consider themselves "free" when they don't have to work anymore – leave it to Soda to feel the exact opposite.

"That's great, Soda," I said, quickly reading his doctor's note and then glancing over at Two-Bit. "How 'bout you?" He had something different than his original cast as well.

"I got a walking cast now," he said, "so I can walk on it, but no driving yet."

"That's good, isn't it?" I asked.

"No, it ain't," he said. "I got a date tonight and she has to drive!"

"Yeah," I countered, "well, it's good for me, then, because I have a date tonight, and he has to drive." I pointed at Soda.

"Whaaat?" Two-Bit feigned horror. "Scout Curtis is going on a date? You can't go on a date! What are you, nine?"

I tried to punch him in the gut but he blocked me, easily, and held my arm down so I couldn't try again.

"I'm almost thirteen, wise guy," I said, trying to get my arm back. "I'll be in high school, with you next year."

"Yeah, and I finally made it to senior year!" he bragged. Because of the accident, he'd had extra time to take his final exams… by then, he had already seen all of the tests so he knew all the answers.

"Not exactly the honest way," I said, finally yanking my arm free. "So who's your date with, anyway, since you know who mine is?" I asked.

Two-Bit got quiet and I swear, he started to blush. I laughed out loud.

"Hahahaha, Two-Bit, you're blushing! Who's the girl?"

Soda was interested now, too.

"C'mon, Two-Bit, who is it?"

"Nobody."

This was different. He was usually a complete braggart when it came to girls, not exactly secretive.

"No way, man, you brought it up, you gotta tell now," Soda said.

"I think I'd better be going," Two-Bit said.

"I think I'm your ride," Soda said. "So fess up."

"It's nothing, okay? Just a real cute girl my mom works with down at the diner, okay?"

I couldn't stop laughing. I had never, ever seen Two-Bit all flustered over a girl.

"Knock it off, Samantha," he said. He only called me that when he was trying to get me mad.

"Well, sorry, Keith," I countered, "but it's cute to see you like a girl enough to actually blush about her."

"I ain't blushing," he said, standing up. "C'mon Soda, now… about that ride?"

"Yeah, alright," Soda got up, still grinning, and followed him out the door.

"Be right back, Scout."

"Bye Two-Bit," I called, still laughing a little bit myself.

As soon as I heard the car pull out of the driveway, I took a deep breath and went into my bedroom. I put the envelope with my money on the dresser and, acting on impulse, I opened my top drawer and took out Mom's ring, slipping it onto my thumb. I just wanted, somehow, for her to be a part of my first date.

"I miss you, Mommy," I whispered, choosing to leave it at that and not get myself all worked up, figuring that having eyes all red and puffy from crying all afternoon wouldn't be all that attractive for a first date.

I sat down on my bed, staring into my mirror, trying to see myself objectively. I was short, and that was an obvious disadvantage when trying to look older, but I looked at myself critically, trying to figure out how others saw me.

I was startled enough to jump when Pony was suddenly at my open door.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"God, Pony, you scared me!"

"Sorry. Why are you just sitting there/"

I hesitated to ask him; Pony hardly even looked at girls. But he was there, and probably more than Soda or Darry, who would just be looking out for my feelings, he would be most likely to be honest.

"Pony, what do I look like… to boys, I mean? Am I pretty? Or just short and… weird, or, average, or ugly, or what?"

He didn't answer, he just looked at me like I was nuts.

"Pony, come on. Who else am I supposed to ask? I mean, I know you guys are all really handsome, because all the girls always say so, but me - I have no idea. Am I normal, or weird, or… what?"

"Scout, I mean… I'm your brother. I don't know, I just see you as my sister."

"Well, then look at me as just a regular boy would, not my brother.."

"You're just… Scout."

"Pony, please." I stared at him until he gave in. He stared back at me with what I guessed was a more discerning eye.

"You're cute, Scout," he finally said, staring at his shoes. "I think… you have that dimple, I mean, I'm sure guys love that."

"Really?" I always just thought my dimple made me look like a little kid. "That's cute? Or does it just make me look young?"

"It's cute." He was squirming at my questions.

"So, Pony, really, pretend you aren't my brother. Would you think I was pretty?"

"Scout, you are my sister. I can't just forget that. I mean…of course you're pretty. Why are you worried anyway, you already have Ben…"

"I just… I'm worried about going to the high school next year. I don't want to stand out. I'm already a year younger than everyone else."

"I'll be there, Scout. And Two-Bit. You'll be okay."

I thought about it. It would be nice to have them there. I wished Soda was still in school too, though.

"Thanks, Pony," I said, finally, hearing Soda come back home.

"No problem," he said. He turned to leave, then stopped and looked back at me, adding,

"You know, your hair looked real cute the way you did it for the state lady yesterday. I bet Ben would like that."

He left and headed out to the living room to talk to Soda, and I had to smile.

I went down the hall into the bathroom, wanting to shower before the dance, to try to put myself together from the bottom up, a clean slate. I wanted to look, and feel, and smell better for Ben than I ever had. This felt more… official than anything had ever felt with Ben.

I thought about my conversation with Darry that morning about shaving, and wished that I had done that earlier and had a razor to shave… especially the newly hairy parts, namely my underarms.

I was pretty sure Ben wouldn't want any part of my armpits, though, anyway, so I let it go, thankful I had Mom's deodorant. I didn't think either Darry or Soda would appreciate me "borrowing" their razors to shave my underarms.

I washed and scrubbed every inch of myself, double shampooing my hair and making sure to comb it out under the water so I knew it wouldn't tangle. Finally, I shut off the water, grabbed my towel, and stepped out of the shower. I could hear Pony and Soda still talking in the living room.

I dried off and wrapped myself in the towel, wishing I had brought my clothes in with me. I draped another towel around my shoulders and opened the bathroom door, heading down the hall to my room.

Soda whistled at me, as was typical, and, to my surprise, I heard Pony telling him to stop.

"She's getting self-conscious," I heard him say quiety. "She's been asking me if I think she's pretty."

I made it to my room and shut the door, not wanting to hear Soda's response to that.

I sat down on the bed and looked at myself in the mirror again, scrubbed clean. I grabbed my comb, parted my hair and began braiding.

I finished both braids and got dressed, making sure everything was clean, and using not only Mom's deodorant, but a bit of her perfume, too. I hadn't been able to find any blush, so I put a dab of red lipstick on each cheek, spit on my fingers, and rubbed it in. I had no idea how to deal with any other kind of makeup, so that was going to have to do it. I lay down on my bed for a while, trying to settle the butterflies in my stomach, and was surprised to hear Darry come in. I glanced at the clock, shocked that it was already five-thirty.

I lay there a few moments longer, eventually hearing Pony call me.

"Scout, dinner."

I sat up, smoothing back my hair and grabbing the envelope off my dresser. I headed out into the kitchen, totally self-conscious in my dress, having already stressed incessantly over my face and hair. I was prepared for the worst teasing ever.

"Scout… you look real nice," Soda said. Pony had obviously called them all off, and I was so grateful. Soda had showered and put on a nice shirt, too.

"Thanks," I said, quietly, sitting down in my seat. "Darry… this is for you," I said, handing over the envelope.

He took it, but there was obvious sadness… or something… in his expression.

"Thanks Scout," he barely whispered.

I squeezed his knee under the table as Soda served up pieces of the Shepherd's pie he'd cooked that afternoon.

I picked at it, but was way too nervous to eat much.

"So, Scout, you're driving there with Kevin and coming home with Soda?" Darry asked.

"Yeah."

"Ten thirty. Got it?"

"I got it."

"Do you get it, Soda?"

"I get it."

"Pony, you too. Ten-thirty. And I'll know if you aren't here because I'm sure I will be able to convince one of your siblings to squeal on you."

"I'll be home," Pony said unenthusiastically.

"Are you going out, Dar?" I asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, I'm gonna stop by Angelo's and see if Ali can't get off early for a soda or something. I might be back before you all though, so don't count on me being gone and thinking you can be late."

"We won't," Pony and I both said,robotically, which made Darry laugh at us.

"Come on, you two… I'm not that bad."

"I don't remember Mom and Dad grilling you about curfew all through dinner," I said. "I haven't even had a chance to break it yet and I'm already getting lectured."

Darry eyed me playfully.

"Poor Scout," he said in a woeful voice, tugging at a braid.

"You know, you can be a pain sometimes, Darry," I said, getting up. "But I suppose it's just part of your job." I patted him on the shoulder as I brought my dishes over to the sink. I wasn't really mad, and he knew it, I just wanted a few minutes alone before Ben showed up to get me.

I was surprised when just a few minutes after I had gone back down the hall to my room, Darry was knocking at my door.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah." He came in and shut the door behind him, which was always a little weird, since it meant he didn't want Pony or Soda to hear us. He sat down on the spare bed across from me.

"You look really pretty," he said. I was pretty sure Pony had told him to say that, but it was nice, regardless.

"Thanks." I felt myself blushing a little.

"Are you nervous?" he asked. I knew this was him trying to take Mom's place with this pre-date talk and, as awkward as it was, I loved him for it.

"Kinda," I admitted.

"Scout, you know that Ben can't make you do anything…"

"I'm not nervous about Ben, Darry. It's just… it's high school kids. I just don't want to look dumb, or not fit in."

"There's definitely nothing dumb about you," he said, "and I'm sure you'll fit in. You're used to being around older kids all the time, anyway. It's not like you're shy."

"I know, it's just – the first time for anything is always kinda scary, you know?"

"But the good thing is," he pointed out, "once you get it over with, you never have to deal with the 'first time' again."

I was actually pretty impressed. For Darry, that was pretty serious parental wisdom.

"Here." He handed me two dollars. "You earned it, so take this, in case you need it. And call here or Angelo's if there are any problems."

"Darry, Soda and Kevin and Ben are all gonna be there. What the heck could happen to me?"

"Nothing, I hope. But… just in case." Just then the doorbell rang.

"Look's like your date's here," Darry said, then shook his head. "I can't believe I'm saying that," he stared at me. "Your date."

"Darry, relax, it's Ben. You know him, you know he won't do anything wrong."

"Still…" He stood up and headed out to the living room with me. I opened the door and there stood Ben, looking particularly nice in a button down shirt. He seemed taller than usual, and I noticed he had new shoes.

"Hey."

"Hey," he said. "You look nice. Are you ready?"

I looked back at Darry. I was a little worried he might try to be all corny and start with the "Now, Benjamin, what exactly are your intentions with my sister?" sort of nonsense, but he didn't.

"You take good care of her, Ben," was all he said.

"I will." He took my hand, and led me outside.

"Hey, Scout?" Darry called after me.

"Yeah?"

"Have fun."

I smiled as Ben led me through the darkness between our houses to Kevin's car.

……………………………..

Kevin wasn't outside yet, but the two of us climbed into the car to wait for him, Ben sliding all the way over to the passenger door and pulling me into the middle. He looked over at me, but didn't say anything.

"What?"

"I like that dress on you," he said. "In fact, I think I'd like just about any dress on you."

"It was Anna's," I admitted.

"I don't care who it came from," he said, "it looks real nice on you."

"You look pretty handsome yourself," I said. "But now with your new shoes you're even taller than me than usual."

"Well, I am the guy in this relationship, I have to make sure I get to be in control by having you always have to look up to me…."

I gave him a look, fake laughed at his pathetic joke, and caught him totally off guard by tickling his stomach. He yelped and tried to get me back, and in a second we were both reduced to giggles and screams. I remembered that first time I had kissed him, how we had tickled each other – right then, for the first time since that night, I felt like I had recovered a little bit of the innocence of that moment. For the first time since the night of that first kiss, I felt Ben's hands on me, and there was no hint of fear -of Steve, or what he had done to me. It was just me and Ben, and it was nice. Comfortable.

Suddenly the front door opened and Kevin got in.

"Jesus, you two. Its gonna be a long four years of high school keeping you two out of trouble if you already can't keep your hands to yourself."

"She tickled me!" Ben said.

"Yeah, okay," Kevin snickered, and started the car. We picked up Kate and she was her normal non-stop chatty self. I wondered briefly how Kevin ever got her to shut up long enough to kiss her.

We pulled up to the church function hal and I was sort of surprised to see how many people were there. I guessed church dances got a whole lot more popular in the summer, when there's not a whole lot else to do. Kevin and Kate stopped outside to talk to some friends, while Ben and I made our way inside. I was glad that Darry had given me some money, because it hadn't occurred to me that we would have to pay for the dance. The junior high school dances were always free. I went to pull out some money, but Ben stopped me.

"I asked you, remember? I'll pay." We got up to the front of the line to go inside, and I recognized the man standing behind the two teenagers collecting the money as the church's minister.

"Benjamin," he said, "nice to see you. We've missed you around here."

"Yeah…" Ben tried to come up with an excuse for his poor church attendance, but failed. "I apologize for that."

"Well, we'd be happy to see you back here any time."

"Thanks. I'll try."

"I didn't think you were old enough to be going into high school yet," the minister said to Ben. I struggled to remember his name. Hey… Hair… Hayes. That was it. Hayes.

"Well, I'm not, quite yet, but Scout's my date and she's going to be a freshman in the fall."

The minister seemed to notice me for the first time. He was the one who had handled my parents' funeral service.

"Well, hello Scout," he said. "It's so nice to see you. How are you and your brothers doing?"

"Fine, thank you," I said, and, feeling like something more was in order, I added, "I wanted to thank you, for all of your help with our parents' funerals, and all." Ben squeezed my hand.

"Well, Scout, I have to admit, that was a difficult service – for everyone - but I really admire how stoic both you and your brothers were. And I hope you know that any of you are welcome back in the church anytime - with no pressure to become members… we all can use a little heavenly guidance from time to time, I think."

You're certainly not kidding about that, I was thinking.

Ben nudged me. "Looks like we better go inside," he said, "we're holding up the line. Nice to see you again, Pastor Hayes."

"You too, Benjamin, and you Scout, too. Have fun."

Ben pulled me inside the door and immediately pulled me into a hug.

"Sorry about that… if that was awkward," he whispered.

"It was okay… It's getting easier to talk about," I admitted. "He was just being nice." I had no issues with the minister – it certainly wasn't his fault my parents died and he had to lay them to rest. He was just doing his job.

"Want something to drink?" Ben asked. There was a table set up on one side of the recreation hall with a punch bowl and some cookies and things.

"You think it's spiked?" I asked. That was constantly happening at school dances, but I wasn't sure if people would try to pull that off at a church dance.

"Nah, I doubt it, but I'll test it, first." He pulled me over to the table and poured a cup, taking a hesitant sip.

"It's okay," he said, pouring another cup and handing it to me. We moved over to the side of the room and stood there for a few minutes, taking it all in. I realized we were both pretty much imposters - neither one of us really old enough to be at a high school dance, but nobody seemed to care – at least not enough to pick on us, anyway. I watched the older kids dancing – some with decidedly better moves than others, and suddenly the music changed from fast to slow.

"Wanna dance?" Ben asked, looking down at me. He looked so handsome right then that I wondered how I ever could have told Anna a few months before that I couldn't tell if he was attractive or not.

"Yes," I said, decisively, putting my hand in his and letting him pull me out to the dance floor. I rested my head against his chest and felt his heart beating as his arms circled around my shoulders. The chaperones prowled around looking for any hands that were wandering inappropriately, but neither Ben nor I was interested in getting harassed about that, so we just swayed slowly to the music. He moved his mouth over towards my ear and made a warm feeling rise up in my face when he whispered,

"Your hair smells really good."

I took the opportunity to mention the fact that I could smell his cologne – not overpowering – just nice, and that he didn't smell so bad himself. I closed my eyes, as I saw some of the older girls doing, and just let myself get lost in the sensation of him guiding me along, gently rocking. I massaged his shoulder muscles a little and he made a contented sigh against my neck.

And then, all of a sudden, the music was fast again, and the moment was over, for a while anyway, until the next time the music slowed and he pulled me back against him again.

After a while of dancing, Ben headed off to the bathroom, leaving me with Kevin and Kate. I was grateful when Kate's sister Sarah, who I knew from basketball, came over and started talking to me. I guess she didn't know I was dating Kevin's brother.

"Scout, I totally forgot that Kevin had a brother, and you're dating him?"

"Well, kinda, yeah."

"Oh, don't give me that 'kinda," if he's anything like Kevin, he's gonna grow up to be a real looker. And I saw how you two were dancing together."

I just laughed. I thought he looked pretty good already, but if he was gonna become even more of a "looker," that was fine with me.

Just then he came back and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Hi, Sarah," he said, pulling me tight against him. I don't think it mattered that he wasn't in high school yet; he acted the part perfectly. The music slowed again, and he excused us to go back out to the dance floor.

"Are you havin' a good time?" he whispered in my ear, as the sound of the Young Rascals' Groovin' filled the room.

"Yeah. I think I definitely like this, dancing with you," I said, as he rubbed my shoulders.

"I think the feeling's mutual," he whispered, sneaking a kiss as the chaperones busied themselves with a particularly friendly couple in the far corner. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and Ben must have felt the same, since he suddenly pulled his head up. Both of us looked up and came face to face with Soda.

"May I cut in?" he asked, a crazy grin on his face.

"Hi Soda," Ben said, letting go of me and passing me off to Soda. He looked at Sandy and was a very good sport.

"Shall we?" he asked, and he took her hands and led her in the dance, in far less close proximity to her than he had been to me.

Soda spun me around and made me laugh, then hugged me in an entirely brotherly way as we danced, a completely different way than it had felt with Ben.

"Everything going okay?" he asked. "You look like you're having a good time."

"I am. Thanks for coming so I could go."

"Well… you're gonna grow up whether your brothers like it or not, so I guess we gotta do the best we can to make it a good experience."

I leaned my head against him and we swayed slowly until the song came to a close and he pulled away.

"You're a good brother, Soda," I whispered.

"You're my favorite sister," he whispered back, kissing the top of my head, and we both laughed. Ben was back at my side right away, seeming pretty glad to be back in familiar territory with me than the dangerous and unfamiliar territory he'd been treading in with Sandy.

"Meet me out front at ten," Soda said, squeezing my shoulder, and then disappeared into the crowd.

The last half hour or so of the dance was largely slow songs, and I got so comfortable in the warmth of Ben's chest and the comfort of the soft swaying that when suddenly the bright lights came back on and people started heading for the exits, it was a bit startling. Ben led me out to the front, where Soda and Sandy were waiting, Soda sitting on the hood of Two-Bit's car, his lips giving Sandy's their full attention. Ben and I just walked by them, me slapping Soda on the knee as I walked by.

"Time to go, loverboy," I said, and in a minute he and Sandy were climbing into the front seat and the car was roaring to life.

"You guys have fun?" Soda asked, and both Ben and I answered simultaneously.

"Yeah."

"Thanks for the ride home, Soda," Ben added.

"No problem," he answered. I leaned up against Ben, not wanting the warmth, the security of his heartbeat against my ear and his arms around my shoulders to end. I was almost asleep against him as we pulled up at home, and I sat up as Soda slowed the car, noticing that it had started to rain, hard. As we came to a stop, the rain was pounding down.

"I'm gonna drive Sandy home, 'kay Scout? I'll be home in about twenty minutes. Ben - no going in, okay? Darry might get home anytime anyway. I looked in the driveway and noticed his truck was still gone.

"I won't," Ben said, taking my hand and opening the door.

"Ready?" he asked me, and I nodded.

"Let's go!" he yelled and he pulled me out of the car, both of us getting drenched as we ran to the gate, struggled to open it, and finally sprinted for the porch, reaching it both laughing and entirely drenched.

We stood in the porch light, catching our breath. I looked up at Ben and he pulled me in close again, leaning down to kiss me. I shivered – whether it was from the kiss or the cold, I didn't know, but, in either case, it sent chills up my spine.

"You should go in and dry off," Ben said quietly.

"You too," I whispered.

"Thanks for being my date tonight, Scout," he said, kissing my forehead and pushing my wet hair back behind my ears.

"Thanks for asking me," I said. He leaned over and kissed me again, just as I heard the door open behind me and Pony's voice calling.

"Scout, is that you?"

Ben pulled away, and trailed a gentle hand down my cheek.

"Night Scout," he said, and was gone, disappearing around the side of the house. I turned to see Pony silhouetted in the front doorway.

"So, did you have a good time?" he asked as I came inside.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I really did."

I had a definite feeling that I was gonna like being a teenager, and that my dreams would be nothing but sweet that night.

……………………

A/N: Or… maybe not such sweet dreams. We'll see. I know. I'm mean. But you're better about telling me what you think about the story when I'm mean.