Author's Note: I am absolutely smitten with the feedback I have received and I wanted to thank everyone so much! I already have about sixteen chapters written but I'm uploading slowly because I keep going back and tweaking different things. So thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy!

As excited as Bridgette was for the new developments in her life, she was hesitant about telling Ponyboy. The last time she wanted to share news with him, he ended up making her feel pretty stupid. Again, she knew this was a big deal but she wasn't sure if Pony would be able to understand the magnitude of the situation. She decided to tell him casually.

Like always, she didn't get the chance to really speak to him until after calculus.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," he replied.

"You'll never guess what happened after we left your house yesterday," she said with a nonchalant grin.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"Tim admitted he's been pretty hard on me," she laughed.

"You're joking," Pony frowned.

"Nope. He told me that he's been too hard on me and he said something about me not being prepared for the social structure of college."

"What does that mean?"

"He's basically worried that he hasn't allowed me to prepare for college. With boys and parties and all of that."

"Well, he really hasn't," Pony agreed.

"Yeah. And that's why Tim has agreed to something I never thought he would agree to."

"What's that?" Pony asked skeptically.

"I can hang out with people alone," she shrugged. Pony cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, people he trusts."

"People he trusts? Do you even know any girls?"

"Yes, I know girls," she scowled. "I am on a team full of them, you know." Pony chuckled and held his hands in the air in surrender. "He was actually talking about you. Well, you and your gang."

Pony stopped walking and stared at her.

"What?" she asked uncomfortably.

"Tim trusts me?" Pony asked in disbelief.

"Apparently."

"Why?"

"I guess it has something to do with the fact that you're a pretty nice guy," Bridgette rolled her eyes. "Or, at least, you are when it comes to me. If you're actually not a nice guy and you're putting on some kind of act, please don't tell me. It'll ruin everything."

"I'm a nice guy," he pouted. "I mean, like, in general I am. But I've done some stuff."

"Everyone has done some stuff," she said impatiently.

"Not you."

"Not yet," she corrected.

"Oh glory," he sighed and ran his hands through his flawless hair. "You're going to get me into trouble. You are."

"I am not."

"If your plan is to use me to rebel against your brothers then forget it. I've got a lot to look forward to and I sort of need to be alive to enjoy it."

"What are you talking about?" Bridgette sighed. "All I want is a friend. Can you or can you not be my friend?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"But what?" she challenged. He didn't say anything. "Okay then."

She started to walk to the cafeteria. This conversation went better than the other one by a long shot but she felt uneasy about it.

"Wait," Pony called after her. She turned around and he jogged over to her. "Friends, right?"

"Right," she said slowly.

"So shouldn't we eat together?"

Bridgette opened her mouth to reply but couldn't think of a single thing to say. That did make perfect sense. Clearly Pony had more experience in the friend department than she did. She had fantasized about being Pony's friend for years and years. She imagined them hanging out and laughing together. She imagined teasing his brothers and getting hearty laughs from the other guys in the gang. In fact, now that she thought about it, she had always imagined herself in their gang. She knew that would never happen but that didn't stop her from picturing it.

And now that fantasy was more or less coming true. She would never actually be in their crew, but hanging out with them was a pretty nice consolation prize.

Of course, in her fantasies, she was typically dating Pony. And in between teasing his brothers and eating with them at the diner, she was kissing him passionately.

Even though she was actually hanging out with Pony, something she never thought would happen in a million years, she still knew that kissing him was completely out of the question. It saddened her because she was so close yet so far, but when it came to Ponyboy she would take any kind if interaction she could get.

"Come on," he insisted when she continued to stare at him. They walked out of the school and down the path. Bridgette looked over at her tree and almost had the urge to wave at it, as if it was an old friend that would be able to appreciate how exciting this was. She walked along the paths that Pony walked every day and felt like she was taking a sacred walk. She had watched him go up and down this path so many times and now she was doing it. She was doing it with him.

"So what else did Tim say?" Pony asked, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Um," she coughed. "Well…"

She told him everything she could remember. He was a good audience, nodding thoughtfully and agreeing when it came to it. He even added his own input. He was more blunt about it than Tim but that made sense.

"I mean," Ponyboy continued the rant he was on. "He's right. Boys are boys and boys are all kind of the same when it comes to certain things. Not all boys are going to pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do, but there are definitely some. And you really do need to know how to handle things if it gets to that point."

"How am I supposed to know what to do if I've never been in that situation?" she asked impatiently.

"I heard you're really good at kicking," Pony shrugged.

"I'm serious," she snapped.

"So am I!" he cried. "Look, Bridgette, not all guys are good guys. I know Tim warns you about these guys all the time but he's never let any of these guys get anywhere near you. If one of these guys is going to pressure you into doing something you don't want to do, do you honestly think they'll listen to what you have to say? No. Being able to beat the shit out of them is going to work in your favor."

"I just wish I could prove to everyone—and to myself—that I can take care of myself," she mumbled. "I just wish I had the chance."

"You will," Pony assured her. "Trust me. There will be plenty of opportunities in your life to prove you can handle yourself. That's what life is."

"That was deep."

"Shut up," he laughed and shoved her shoulder gently. They reached the DX station and Bridgette wondered if they would make it back to school on time. The walk seemed to take forever.

Pony waltzed right into the store and Bridgette hurried along after him.

"Finally!" she heard Steve's voice sound from behind a shelf. "Thought you weren't going to make it again."

"I brought someone," Pony said.

"It's not Heather again, is it?" Soda asked in what he probably thought was a whisper.

"No," Pony said. He beckoned for Bridgette to step forward. "It's Bridgette."

"Bridgette?" Soda and Steve asked in unison. Bridgette stepped out from behind the shelf and was greeted by both boys staring at her in awe.

"Where's Tim?" Steve asked.

"Don't know," she shrugged.

Steve looked over at Ponyboy in alarm.

"He's giving her more freedom," he explained. "But only with us. He trusts us."

"Does he really?" Soda asked.

"Apparently."

"Well, I am honored," Soda said.

"Wait, so this is really okay with Tim?" Steve asked.

"It really is," Bridgette confirmed.

"This calls for celebration," Soda said. "Bridgette, what would you like to eat? No charge."

"Uh," Bridgette said, looking around the small store. "I have my own lunch."

"I don't care," Soda laughed. "Take anything you want."

Bridgette looked around again and decided on powdered donuts.

"Don't get too crazy," Steve said sarcastically.

"Don't mind him," Soda told her. "He's just mad because those donuts would go straight to his hips."

"See if this goes to your hips," Steve said and took Soda into a headlock. Soda wiggled away from Steve and the two started to wrestle in the middle of the store. Bridgette looked outside wistfully, knowing that this was really happening to her but unable to completely accept it.

A car pulled up and Soda and Steve raced each other outside.

"So," Bridgette said slowly, trying to think of something to say. She opened her donuts and took a bite just to stall for time. She used to love those powdered donuts as a kid but she hadn't had them in years. Her diet consisted of mostly healthy food, like sandwiches, fruits, and vegetables so the powdered donut was too sweet and made her mouth feel dry.

"So," Pony repeated, grabbing a bottle of pop from a shelf. Bridgette thought desperately for something to say. She was finally friends with Pony. She was finally allowed to hang out with him without someone hovering over her. She would be damned if she screwed it up now of all times.

"Who's Heather?"

As soon as the question left her mouth she wanted to bury her head in her hands in shame. She really didn't know who Heather was and Soda didn't seem too fond of her, which was intriguing because Soda seemed to like everyone. But it also seemed quite personal and Bridgette knew she wasn't on that level with Pony yet.

"You know Heather," Pony said lazily.

"Do I?" Bridgette frowned.

"Heather," he repeated, like saying the name multiple times would suddenly make everything clear.

"I don't…"

"Greaser. Black hair. Year under us in school. Well, I guess a year under me. A year over you. Technically."

"Is she the girl you made out with in the halls last year?" Bridgette deadpanned.

Pony looked surprised and Bridgette knew she was right. Her heart sank when she thought back to all of those times she had to walk right by the pair of them sucking face to get to her locker. This was still during the time where she wasn't on his radar. No one ever gave them a second glance. It wasn't uncommon for couples to be passionately kissing in the halls. Bridgette just so happened to be head over heels for this particular boy sucking face.

"You saw that?"

"Everyone saw that," she said. "Do you still, like, see her?"

She wasn't sure how to word it but that was her subtle way of asking if they still made out on occasion.

"No, she's kind of on the crazy side," he said.

"Oh," Bridgette said, though she had no idea what he meant.

"Really possessive," he continued. "But from what I hear she has her claws in Deano now. You know Deano, right?"

"Nope."

"Well, he's cool."

"That's good."

"We should head back," Pony decided. Bridgette nodded. She loved hanging out with him but she didn't want to be late. Partly because Tim wouldn't be happy but also because she was secretly proud of her perfect attendance record.

Pony kept the conversation light on the way back, talking about their project. Bridgette made it to class just on time. She went about her day with the usual monotony. She was in the process of gathering the soccer balls at the end of practice when a girl from the team named Nadine beckoned for Bridgette to join the rest of the team outside of the locker room. Bridgette jogged over and waited. Nadine's mom was really involved in the soccer team and usually provided everyone with snacks and water during games.

"We've been having a really good season so far," Nadine announced. "And I do think we have our captain to thank."

Bridgette blushed crimson and avoided eye contact as the team clapped for her. She was not expecting praise at all, but especially not right then after a normal practice.

"I want to have our normal sleepover," Nadine said slowly, looking over at Bridgette warily. "And I would really like for our captain to be there." Again, Bridgette blushed as the rest of the team chorused their agreement. "We understand if you can't make it, but we wanted you to know that we really want you to come if you can."

Bridgette wanted to thank them for their kind words and sentiments and gush about how nice they had always been to her in spite of everything. She wanted to make a speech about how well the team worked together and how their success wouldn't be possible without the effort of every single person on that team. Instead she asked:

"When is it?"

Nadine opened her mouth in surprise but quickly said, "This weekend. Saturday and Sunday at my house. People usually come over around five or six and leave the next morning whenever they want."

"Do I have to bring anything?" Bridgette asked shyly. She couldn't really afford anything but if it was a potluck, she could probably convince Two-Bit to swipe her something to bring.

"No," Nadine said quickly. "Just yourself."

"I don't know if I can make it," Bridgette disclaimed and everyone nodded, looking at her with wide, attentive eyes. "But no matter what, I do appreciate that you all want me there. I want to be there, too."

Nadine smiled timidly and Bridgette returned it just as timidly. She looked around at the other girls and they were all showing similar signs of support and Bridgette felt light.

Bridgette finished gathering the balls and jogged home with a smile on her face. She didn't take a shower at school because she was already running late for her meeting with Ponyboy but she did wash her face and dab on some of the cheap perfume she had been given for Christmas. She had half a mind to jog to Pony's house but she decided she would rather be late and somewhat presentable than on time and sweaty.

"I thought you had bailed," Pony admitted as soon as he opened the door.

"One thing you can be certain of is that I will never bail on school," she said.

"Noted," he said. "Come in."

Bridgette opened her mouth to greet Darry and Soda but didn't see anyone in the living room or kitchen. Bridgette looked at Ponyboy questioningly and he returned the look.

"Where is everyone?" Bridgette asked.

"Darry is working," Pony listed. "Soda and Steve are at the rodeo. Two-Bit just left. I don't know where he went, actually."

"Oh."

"You said it was okay for us to be alone, right?" Pony asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," she said quickly. "I'm just…getting used to it, I guess."

"Do you feel like you should feel guilty?" Pony smirked.

"Yes," she snapped.

"Welcome to the real world," Pony said, throwing out his arms.

"Thanks," she mumbled. He walked over to the fridge and she leaned against the door frame.

"Want some food? I think Darry left some—oh, no. Soda must have eaten it. Hmm."

"I'm fine," she said, looking over at her book bag. She knew Tim had given his permission to hang out with Ponyboy alone but she really did feel weird about it still. She would have felt better if she could work only on school things and ease herself into being his friend on other visits.

"I know you're starving," he persisted. "We can go grab a burger or something."

Bridgette had been waiting for this very moment for what felt like her entire life. He had asked her to go out for a burger. Nine of ten times, that could be considered a date, which is how she had always pictured it with Pony. She knew that in this particular instance in the real world, he was definitely not asking her out on a date. But still…he had asked her to go for a burger.

And she couldn't even enjoy it.

"Um," she said nervously. "Really, I'm fine. We should get to work."

Pony closed the fridge door and looked over at her curiously. He nodded and walked over to his books piled on a table by the door, but he never took his eyes off Bridgette. He looked like he had a million questions but was too polite to ask them.

"Do we still want to divide the material or work on it together?" Pony asked. They sat down on the floor with their notes spread out in front of them.

"Well, how well did you understand the material when he went over it?" she asked.

"I think I understand it just fine, but it's not so easy to explain, is it?" he sighed.

"Not really. There's a lot to explain," she frowned. "How does he expect us to reteach this in only five minutes?"

"Haven't you heard? We're really smart," Pony said, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"Smartest in the class from what I understand," she laughed.

"It's true, though," Pony shrugged, no longer mocking. "We really are. And those Socs know it."

"Socs," she scoffed and he nodded. They both looked down at their copious notes. "I think we need a lot of visuals."

"Yeah," Pony said. "And we should have normal problems and applied problems to teach them."

"Yeah," she said enthusiastically.

They continued to bounce ideas off of each other for another thirty minutes. Eventually they got bored with talking math and talked about English instead. Once that got boring, they both sat there with their backs against the couch.

"When does Curly get out?" Pony asked.

"Don't know," Bridgette shrugged. "No one really tells me much. I just know it's soon."

"That's good," Pony nodded. "He's a cool guy."

"He is," Bridgette said. "So is Tim. He just hides it better."

"Yeah," Pony chuckled. "Is Tim home?"

"No, he says he's off taking care of things for Curly. Whatever that means. I just hope he gets home soon so I can ask him if it's okay if I can go to the soccer sleepover."

"Really?" Pony asked.

"Yes, really," Bridgette rolled her eyes. "I'm the captain so it only makes sense for me to—"

"I don't mean 'really' in that way. I mean, do you really have to ask Tim for permission for that? Isn't that what he wants? For you to make friends with middle class girls?"

"He never lets me go to parties," she defended. "Why should this be different?"

"Because other parties include boys and alcohol," Pony said like it was obvious. In hindsight, that was pretty obvious.

"He still would like to know," she muttered.

"Well, of course he would. But I don't think you should ask him. I think you should tell him that you're going to a sleepover for soccer."

"You think I should tell Tim that I'm going to do something," Bridgette said, more as an observation than a question.

"I do. At least for this situation."

Bridgette didn't let on that she thought that wasn't too hot of an idea but as she walked home ten minutes later, she realized Pony was right. Tim and Curly were always telling her that she needed to make friends with the right people. Who was more "right" than middle class people? They didn't have the dangerous amount of free time and money as the Socs and they didn't have to steal or worry about police records like the greasers. Besides, she actually knew these girls. She had been playing with most of them for over a year now. She wouldn't necessarily consider them friends, but in any team sport, there has to be some level of trust and Bridgette really did trust them. And if they said they wanted Bridgette to be there, then Bridgette was going to be there.

She didn't get the chance to talk to Tim at all until Friday night. She had just gotten off the phone with Skyler when Tim walked through the front door looking haggard. She wondered if that was really the best time to grow a backbone, but she also didn't have much time.

"Everything okay?" she asked hesitantly.

He grunted as a response.

"Um, so…so there's this sleepover for the soccer team tomorrow night and I was, you know…I was thinking about going," Bridgette said. She meant to sound confident but she trailed off pathetically at the end.

Tim, who had just been picking his nails with his blade looked up.

"Any boys?"

"None," she said. "It's just for the team. And as captain, I figure I really should go."

He studied her for a second. She bit her lip as she waited. She knew she didn't technically ask for his permission, but one word from him and she would stay home anyway.

"Yeah, you probably should," he finally said.

And that was it. He didn't give any restrictions or guidelines. He didn't ask a ton of questions. He just left it at that. Either he really was too worn out to put up a fight, or he really did trust middle class girls more than anyone else.

Bridgette beamed at him and then went to her room before he could change his mind.

Bridgette couldn't remember ever being so nervous then when she pulled up in front of Nadine's house in Tony's car. Technically it was his sister's car, but she let him borrow it. And Tony was under Tim's instructions. At first Bridgette thought that Tim set it up so that Tony could keep an eye on her but then she started to wonder if it was because Tony's sister had a nice car compared to the greasers in town. She knew that nice cars didn't really matter in their part of town but she couldn't shake the feeling that Tim did it on purpose.

"Let us know if you need anything, I guess," Tony said.

He still hadn't warmed up to her and she could only imagine what he thought about being her chauffeur. She grabbed her bag from the backseat and thanked him before he revved away.

Bridgette had to take a couple deep breaths before she felt like she could ring the doorbell. She had been to that part of town before but only to run errands with her parents. She knew that Socs and greasers frequented the diners around there but she had never been invited.

Nadine's house was a cozy two story with ivy climbing the walls and a gravel walkway that crunched under Bridgette's feet. The garage was closed but there was a car parked in the driveway. Bridgette didn't know if the car was parked there because that was where they preferred to park or if it was because there wasn't room left in the garage.

There was noise on the other side of the door and a few seconds later Nadine opened the door. Her entire face lit up. Bridgette could hear people talking and laughing in the other room.

"Come in," Nadine said quickly. "We're in the game room."

A game room? She had never heard of a game room. She followed Nadine anxiously into a room at the back of the house. Even though the house wasn't as big as a Soc house, it was still huge compared to Bridgette's house. Their footsteps echoed as they walked.

The game room consisted of actual games, such as a pool table and a dart board. It also had a bar in the corner, though it looked like Nadine's mom had stocked it with pop and snacks. There was a sliding glass door that led to a pool outside and Bridgette tried not to stare at it with envy. She had always wanted a pool. The closest thing she had to a pool was running through the sprinklers when she was little. All of the girls were sitting on couches and chairs or on the floor eating snacks. They all turned to face the entry when Bridgette walked in. Everyone beamed at her but they didn't mask their surprise. Clearly no one expected her to actually show up.

Bridgette felt awkward as people made room for her. She set her bag down next to everyone else's bag and took a seat on the floor next to a girl named Mary. People were still looking at her like they didn't quite know what to do with her but Nadine distracted everyone.

"My mom went out to get the honey for our face masks," she explained. "She can't believe she forgot that at the store."

Bridgette laughed with everyone else, though hers was a bit forced. She told herself to get a grip. She spent hours with these girls every day. She had no reason to be so nervous.

"We were just talking about Charlie Benton," another girl named Gina informed. A few girls fanned themselves while Mary pretended to faint.

"I have gym with him," Kayla bragged.

"How does he look in those shorts?" Gina asked, leaning in closer as if she didn't want to miss a word.

"How do you think he looks?" Kayla gushed.

All of the girls giggled and squealed. Charlie Benton was easily one of the best looking boys in school with his long wavy blond hair and tight khakis. Bridgette saw him smoking pot in the parking lot every morning. He was a really nice guy without a care in the world except for basketball. He loved basketball to an alarming degree.

The girls continued to gossip about Charlie Benton until Nadine's mom returned home with the honey. Nadine's mom popped in to hand the honey to the girls and did a double take when she saw Bridgette. Bridgette couldn't remember ever receiving such a warm and caring smile. Nadine's mom made her feel completely welcome and at ease just with that smile. Bridgette had always liked Nadine's mom.

Mary told everyone a long-winded story about Charlie Benton forgetting his notebook in his car one day and she volunteered to be his scribe for the classes they had together. During the story, Nadine started to mix together ingredients for homemade facemasks. Bridgette didn't care all that much about Charlie Benton, but she still found herself listening intently to every story told about him.

Nadine put on the record player and Bobby Darin filled the room. Bridgette smiled to herself. Tim hated that kind of music but Bridgette had always liked it. It was upbeat and nice. As the music played, girls started to apply their face masks. Bridgette watched what the others did and copied them. The mask was made out of orange peel and honey and felt sticky on her face. She had never worn a facemask before and she wasn't sure she liked it. Nadine handed everyone cucumber slices. Bridgette was about to eat hers when she noticed everyone else put them on their eyes. At first she thought everyone was pulling her leg. Surely they were expecting her to put the cucumbers on her eyes like everyone else, and then they would run away or something. But Nadine caught her eye and discreetly showed her what to do. Bridgette looked around at everyone spread out on the ground or furniture with their cucumbers on their eyes. She shrugged and gave it a try. The cucumber was cold and felt nice on her eyes but she wasn't sure the point of it.

Everyone was quiet for awhile and Bridgette wondered if they really did get up and leave her. She pulled a cucumber off and found that everyone was still lying there, listening to the music peacefully.

After about fifteen minutes, girls started to stir. They took turns going to the bathroom in groups to wash off their mask. Bridgette was glad for this because she didn't think she could wear it the whole night. Thought, after she washed it off, she found that her skin felt smooth and refreshed and she decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to make masks of her own at home every so often.

The girls grabbed different snacks from the bar and started their boy talk again. Bridgette didn't know who everyone was that they talked about but she knew enough to follow along, even adding her own comments every so often.

"He's alright," Kayla agreed after Bridgette had agreed with someone else that a boy named Mike was good looking. "But you know who is better looking than most of these guys we're talking about?"

She looked around the room with a coy grin on her face.

"Ponyboy Curtis," she finished.

Bridgette didn't really know how to react to that. Her first instinct was to agree whole-heartedly that he was the best looking boy she had ever seen. At the same time she felt uneasy. Ponyboy was hers. Not literally, but figuratively. He was a greaser like she was. She basically grew up with him, even from afar. She knew all about him. And now he was her only real friend, other than James perhaps. She wasn't stupid. She knew Pony was popular with the greaser ladies. All of the Curtis boys were too handsome to be entirely fair and Bridgette caught Socs, middle class girls, and greasers alike ogling them. But Bridgette never imagined she had to compete with middle class girls for him, also. She didn't stand a chance against girls like Kayla.

"He is a doll," Mary cried.

"Those eyes!"

"And hair."

"But his lips!"

"He has such strong arms."

"I bet he had a great body."

"He does. I had gym with him last year and we had to swim."

"It was good?"

"It was great."

The comments the team made were extremely similar to the comments they had been making about boys all night. Bridgette knew that the girls were not even close to obtaining Charlie Benton, the same way the girls weren't about to snag Ponyboy, but it still made Bridgette feel a little sick.

"Don't you have math with him?" Nadine asked.

It took Bridgette a second to realize she was talking to her.

"Oh, er, yeah. He's my partner."

"And he's smart?!"

This started another rant about his perfection from the girls. Bridgette was glad no one asked her if she liked him because she wouldn't even know where to start with that. She did wish they would move on to another boy, though.

Their project the day before had been just as successful as their first. Pony had been polite and stuck to school related things and Bridgette knew he was doing it for her benefit. She made a vow to be more open with him which is why she agreed to hang out with him after school on Monday. But no one wanted to hear about that and Bridgette didn't really feel like telling them.

By some miracle, Nadine's mom came down at that moment to announce she was going to bed but the girls could stay up as late as they wanted. The girls decided to change into their pajamas and Bridgette let out a sigh of relief.

Once they were in the pajamas, Nadine put on some Beatles and all of the girls got up and danced around. Beatlemania was alive and well in that room. Even Bridgette danced along. She had never let herself go so much and she was having the time of her life. She even held onto Nadine's hands and they spun around and did the jitterbug, and neither of them really knew how to do the jitterbug which made them crack up.

The rest of the night consisted of more gossip, more dancing, and overall bonding. By the time girls started to head to bed, Bridgette felt like she could go out on a limb and call those girls her real friends and she felt the feeling was mutual.

Bridgette was having too much fun to go to sleep but she didn't want to bother anyone so she snuck out to the backyard and sat by the pool. She knew she wouldn't have many opportunities in the near future to sit by a pool so she figured she might as well enjoy it.

There were a few lounge chairs sitting by the pool and Bridgette plopped down in one of them. The moon wasn't a full moon but it was close enough. It provided more than enough light and cast a pretty glow into the water. Bridgette took in a deep breath and let it out. She was happy. She had been happy before, of course, but this was a different kind of happy. A new happy. She liked it.

She was out there for only ten minutes when the sound of the patio door opening startled her out of her thoughts. She had been thinking about how romantic the lighting was and how she wished she could be sitting there with Ponyboy.

Nadine was the one that opened the door and Bridgette felt guilty. This was her house and Bridgette hadn't even asked permission to come out there. What if it was off limits?

Nadine took the seat next to Bridgette but didn't say a word. They both looked into the pool silently. Bridgette wanted to apologize for potentially breaking a rule but she felt too awkward to speak. They were quiet for so long that Bridgette started to wonder if Nadine even knew she was there. Maybe Bridgette had done such a good job of freezing in panic that Nadine had actually not seen her.

Just as the ridiculous thought crossed Bridgette's mind, Nadine turned to her and smiled.

"I'm really glad you could make it," she said earnestly.

"I am too," Bridgette said, her voice hoarse from being quiet so long.

"I hope you had fun."

"It was the most fun I've had in a long time," Bridgette admitted. She didn't see the point in denying it.

"Good," Nadine said quietly. She tucked a brown curl behind her ear. "Hey, um, Bridgette? I'm sorry it took us so long to get to know you. We wanted to, it was just…"

"Not very easy?" Bridgette finished, smiling shyly. Nadine shrugged and Bridgette couldn't help but snicker. "I know. And I'm sorry. I wanted to get to know you all, too. Trust me. I really did. It was just…"

"Not easy," Nadine smirked.

"Exactly. But I do think it's going to be easier from now on."

"Why? What changed?"

Bridgette weighed her options about telling Nadine all about her crazy family. She decided to tell Nadine a brief synopsis, like that her family put a lot of pressure on her and her brothers were overprotective. But nothing too informative because they had only become official friends that night and it would take a lot longer than that for Bridgette to open up.

"He's more lenient now," Bridgette finished. "He figured he needs to start preparing me for college and he won't be around then."

"Wow," Nadine said. She chewed on her lip and her brow was knit. "I figured your family was a little protective but I had no idea it was that bad." Bridgette just shrugged. "I wish I had known. But, hey, you said Tim was letting you hang out with friends now, right? Well, I consider you a friend and I would love if you could come over more."

"Really?" Bridgette asked quietly.

"Really," Nadine said firmly.

"I would, um, really like that."

"Me, too."

They smiled at each other and Bridgette felt her heart sore.

"Now let's talk about something really important," Nadine said. Bridgette looked at her in confusion. She grinned wickedly and said, "I'm talking about your crush on a Mr. Ponyboy Curtis."

"What?" Bridgette spluttered, her face heating up.

"You heard me," Nadine smiled smugly. "Spill."

Bridgette mumbled a few more things and shook her head but that didn't last long. Nadine just kept smiling that stupid smug smile and Bridgette caved.

"How did you know?"

"Please," Nadine scoffed. "You looked like you were going to be sick when we were talking about him in there. That's not a normal reaction. Besides, I've seen the look on your face when he comes to our games. You totally dig him. And I'm going to guess you've dug him for quite some time."

Bridgette thought about denying it but it was too late. Nadine caught her.

"You could definitely say that," Bridgette sighed.

Nadine clapped her hands and insisted Bridgette tell her everything. Bridgette still had her reservations about everything but she did trust Nadine and she did like the idea of getting a girl's opinion on the matter. Again, Bridgette glazed over the details and settled for a more broad explanation but it was enough for Nadine. Nadine looked like she was going to burst at the seems.

"This is so exciting!" Nadine cried gleefully. "So what's the plan? How are you approaching it?"

"Uh, I'm not, really."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean?"

"What's the plan?" Nadine asked impatiently. "How are you going to get him to be your boyfriend?"

"Oh," Bridgette laughed loudly. "No. Just no."

"No what?"

"It's never going to happen," Bridgette shook her head. "He's not interested. He made that clear."

"Bridgette, he made that clear ten years ago," Nadine said. "He was eight. He still thought girls had cooties. Come on."

"He hasn't shown interest at all," Bridgette continued.

"No offense, but are you really the best judge in these matters?"

"That's offensive," Bridgette said though she wasn't offended at all. Nadine was right. She had never been hit on so she didn't know what to look out for.

"I'm just saying," Nadine shrugged. "He's come to your soccer games. You know he's not there for any of us."

"Well, we are friends," Bridgette rolled her eyes.

"Are you also friends with that boy who's always there? That really good looking one?"

"That's Sodapop," Bridgette said. "Pony's brother."

"Of course they're brothers," Nadine nodded. "They are so good looking."

"Yeah," Bridgette agreed. "They really are."

"Okay, look. You're his partner in math. You have English together. Your brother trusts him, which is already a good sign. You're friends, as you like to point out to me. Now you just have to take it further."

"But how?"

"You can just kiss him."

"No, I cannot just kiss him," Bridgette said, laughing at the absurdity of it.

"And why not?"

"He doesn't want to kiss me."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, what makes you think he would want to?" Bridgette challenged.

"You're a pretty girl. He's a boy. It's not complicated."

"It is if you factor in my reputation around town as the caged animal," she said. "And the fact that every boy in town is convinced my brother would murder them if they so much as look at me funny."

"That doesn't mean they don't want to," Nadine pointed out. "They want to. Guys at this age only have one thing on their mind and that is girls. Even the weirdest girls can get a kiss." Bridgette pursed her lips and wondered if she had just been insulted or not. "You are not one of the weird girls. Shut up with that face." Bridgette then pouted. "I'm telling you that he definitely wants to kiss you."

"Okay," Bridgette said slowly, deciding to play devil's advocate. "Wanting to kiss someone is still different from wanting to date someone."

"Only slightly."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Does so."

"Well it doesn't make sense to me."

"That's because you're new to this. Look, give me time to think things over and I'll get back to you with a plan, okay? In the mean time, try flirting."

"Flirting?"

"Yes."

"I don't know how to flirt. Are you kidding me?"

"Oh glory," Nadine shook her head. "What am I going to do with you? Okay, next time I see you, I'll have a plan for you and I'll teach you flirting techniques. I'd do it now but this lighting is too romantic and I don't want you to fall in love with me."

Bridgette looked at Nadine in surprise and laughed. As glad as she was that she had made friends with Nadine, part of her was sad that it took her so long. Nadine was really cool. Like, really cool.

"Come on. We should try to get some sleep."

Bridgette followed obediently. Bridgette got under the blankets Nadine's mom had provided for her and closed her eyes.