(Kate's POV)

I waited eagerly all week for Saturday to arrive. Thankfully, Darry and I talked on the phone every night after he got home from work, so I at least got to hear his voice a few more times before our date.

I had to work at the diner the morning of our date, but it was a short shift, so I'd have plenty of time to get ready for my date with Darry.

"What's got you so giddy today, hon?" Connie asked.

Connie was the owner of the diner, and therefore, she was my boss. Even so, she treated me more like a daughter than an employee. I started working for her when I was in high school, and as soon as I graduated, I switched from part-time to full-time. She had been there for me when I went through some things and matured over the years, and I knew she was still always looking out for me, even when she didn't need to.

"I have a date tonight," I said with a smile I couldn't contain if I tried, even as I was cleaning the counter, trying to get sticky caramel off of it.

She walked to the edge of the counter and rested her arms on top of it. "Who's the lucky guy?" Connie asked with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk on her face. She may have been a couple decades older than me, but she still liked to get as much detailed gossip as anyone my age.

I abandoned my cleaning and hopped up on a barstool, eager to tell her everything. "Do you remember the name Darry Curtis?"

She gave me a knowing smile. "Sure I do. Football player, Boy of the Year… you were pining for him most of high school."

I smiled sheepishly and looked down at the counter, feeling myself blush a little. "Yeah, that's him. He was here with his brothers and some friends a few days ago, and I gave him my number. He called me that night and asked me out on a date."

Connie grabbed my hands and squeezed, causing me to look up at her. She looked positively delighted. "That's so exciting! I'm happy for you, Kate. You deserve to act like a kid your age and have some fun."

"I'm not a kid, Connie," I said, still unable to wipe the grin off my face. "I'm twenty… not even a teenager anymore."

"You're still young," Connie insisted. "Growing up too fast isn't all that it's cracked up to be, trust me."

If anybody would know that, it would be Connie. She had a baby at the age of seventeen, which forced her to drop out of high school to raise her son alone since the father didn't want anything to do with her or the baby. She had worked as a maid for some rich people and as a dishwasher at a restaurant, and even with the two jobs, she barely scraped by. At the restaurant she worked at, a chef took her under his wing and showed her some tricks of the trade, but she was already a naturally gifted cook. After she impressed the chef she worked with, he let her join him in the kitchen rather than continuing to be a dishwasher. One thing led to another, and she eventually opened up the diner. Not long after that, she met a nice man and married him just a year after meeting him, but after 12 years of marriage, he died of a heart attack. As if the woman hadn't dealt with enough in her life, Connie's son died in the Korean War. The only people she had left were her employees, who she treated like family. Especially me.

I nodded. "You're right. I'll try to stay twenty forever, but that means I'll never be able to buy drinks at a bar," I said with a smirk.

"Honey, with your looks and personality, you'll be getting free drinks at bars for years to come," Connie said, her voice sounding like a loving mother's. Then, just a like a mother would, she gave me a playfully-stern look as she pointed her finger at me. "But free drinks don't mean you owe anybody anything, alright? Boys can buy you all the drinks and whatever else they want, but you don't need to go home with them."

I laughed. I had never gone home with a guy, and it was entertaining that Connie was implying that it had ever crossed my mind. "You got it, Connie."

With that settled, Connie smiled again and leaned a little closer to me. "Tell me more about Darry. Is he still as handsome as you said he was in high school? What's he doing these days for work?"

I told her everything I knew about Darry, which wasn't as much as I would've liked. Sure, I knew him from high school and all, but so many things had happened since. I told her about the car accident that killed his parents, but she already knew about it since it was all over the news when it happened less than a year prior. Then I told her how Darry was the caretaker and legal guardian of his brothers, which she also knew from the newspaper article that was written after Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas saved those kids from the burning church just a couple months before.

"Well Connie, it seems like you know just as much about him as I do," I joked.

She grinned at me. "Sounds like you have a lot of stuff to catch up on during your date tonight," she countered. "I want a full report when I see you next. And he better treat you nice, or I'll have to have a talk with him."

I smiled and thanked her for her protectiveness, but I had a feeling she wouldn't be needing to have that talk with Darry. I remembered how Darry had instantly become flustered after he suggested picking me up to go to the drive-in. I knew what other people did at the drive-in, but the rumors in high school accused Darry of taking relationships too slow if anything, so I figured that he wasn't insinuating that we'd do anything like that. It was sweet of him to worry how I would react, but I quickly reassured him that I was comfortable being picked up to go to the drive-in with him.

"Of course. I'll tell you everything," I agreed.

It was just after 6:30 at night when I stood in front of the mirror in my bedroom, spinning in circles in an attempt to make sure my outfit looked decent from every angle.

I wore a black skirt with one of my nicer shirts and a pair of flats. We were going to the drive-in, which I was thankful for because I would feel out of place anywhere really fancy, so I knew I didn't need to dress up too much, but I still wanted to impress Darry. I had curled my hair and put on some mascara, but I didn't bother with more makeup than that. A lot of girls my age constantly applied layers of makeup on their face, but that never appealed to me. I didn't understand why some girls thought dark red lipstick, thick eyeliner, and bright eyeshadow looked good together, but I guess as long as they liked it, it didn't really matter what I thought.

I was getting anxious as I waited for 7:00 to come around, so I looked around my apartment to find something to do to occupy my mind. Not only had I not gone on a date for a long time, but I was going to be out with Darry Curtis, and every time I remembered that, my heartrate spiked. Right when I decided to wash the dishes in the sink to calm my nerves, there were three knocks. Abandoning my task, I went to open the door.

It was Darry.

I was speechless for a moment, not only because I wasn't expecting it to be him since it wasn't seven o'clock yet, but because he looked really handsome standing there in his jeans and dark jacket. Despite the fabric that covered them, I could see how muscular his arms were, and I was pretty sure he wasn't even flexing.

"Hi Darry," I said once my mouth could form words.

He gave me a grin. "Hi Kate. Sorry about being early-"

"No, that's okay!" I was quick to say, not wanting him to feel guilty about anything. "How'd you know my apartment number?" I had given him the address of the building, but he somehow found my exact apartment.

"Since I was early, I didn't want to look creepy or anything waiting outside, so I came in. I looked at the mailboxes, and there was an apartment number next to your name," he explained. He sounded nonchalant, but I thought it was considerate that he didn't want to scare anybody by standing around, and it was pretty smart of him to look at the mailboxes.

"I just have to grab my wallet and keys. You can come in if you want, it'll only take a second," I said as I opened the door wider for him to follow me into my apartment. Usually I'd be hesitant to let guys into my apartment, especially since we didn't know each other that well and we hadn't even been on our first date yet, but something about Darry just made me feel safe, and I knew nothing would happen.

I went to the coffee table to grab my things, and as I reached for my wallet, Darry spoke. "You aren't going to need that."

When I turned around to face him, I saw that he was giving me a pointed look. "What?"

Then Darry's expression turned to slight amusement as he stood just inside the door. "It's our first date. You're not going to pay for anything."

"You don't have to do that, Darry. I'm perfectly fine with paying for myself." Nobody on the east side of town has a lot of money to spare, and knowing that he had to take care of his brothers made me even more determined not to let Darry spend money on me.

His eyebrows pinched together and he looked puzzled, like I had said something confusing. "But I'm the guy. I asked you out. That means that I'm paying."

I am many things, stubborn being one of them, and nontraditional is another.

"I appreciate the courtesy," I said, a small grin forcing its way onto my face. "But I don't like people spending money on me. I can pay for myself."

It was true; I have always had a problem with people paying for anything on my behalf because it made me feel like I owed them, especially when they told me not to worry about it. It was probably stupid, most girls would love to have a guy like Darry offer to spend money on them, but I wasn't like most girls.

Darry looked at me for a moment, then he crossed his arms, quirked an eyebrow, and smirked at me as he leaned back against the doorframe. "You can bring your wallet if you want, but I'm not going to let you open it tonight."

We stood there, staring at each other in a battle of wills. It was apparent Darry was someone that could match my stubbornness, and he also wanted to demonstrate classic chivalry and treat me with respect. I wanted the date to go well, so starting it off with an argument probably wasn't the best idea.

Reluctantly, I let him win.

"Fine," I said, setting my wallet back onto the coffee table. A huge grin swept across his face as he pushed himself off the doorframe. Once I grabbed my keys, I added, "But next time, I'm paying."

Darry raised an eyebrow at me. "You really want to agree to a second date before the first one even started?"

Honestly, I was already sure that I wanted multiple dates with Darry. He had proven himself to be a gentleman who wasn't offended or upset when I argued or tried to go against social norms. That, on top of everything else I had known about him since high school, made the pull of attraction I felt for him even stronger. I couldn't tell him that though, because he'd probably think I was crazy or something. But who's to say he'll want any more dates with me after tonight anyways?

"That's a fair point. Let's reconvene at the end of the night," I said jokingly.

He chuckled at that, then held the door open for me as we walked out of my apartment. I turned to lock my door, and when I turned back around, Darry was looking at me like he was studying me.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I asked, wiping at my cheeks.

He shook his head, then gave me a genuine smile. "No, it's just… You look good, Kate."

I felt myself blush as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Thanks. You do too, Darry."

Darry suggested that we see the new Paul Newman movie since Ponyboy had told him it's good. I had no idea what it was about, but I wasn't really there to see a movie; I just wanted to spend time with Darry and get to know him a little better.

We picked seats in the back of the area that had all of the chairs. We knew that we would be talking during the movie and we didn't want to disturb anyone that would actually be paying attention to the screen. The movie hadn't started yet, and it wouldn't for a while since we had left my apartment earlier than we anticipated when we had originally planned the date, so Darry offered to get something from the concession stand.

I still felt uncomfortable with him insisting on paying for everything, so I said I would be alright with just a small popcorn. He stood up, but instead of walking away, he just looked down at me with a soft look on his face. "What kind of drink do you want?"

I shook my head. "I don't need-"

"You'll get thirsty from the popcorn," Darry said with a knowing look on his face. "So what would you like to drink?"

I smiled and felt my face heating up again. "Coke or Pepsi. Either one is fine." He nodded and left, promising to be back before the movie started.

As I sat there, I tried to wrap my head around what was happening. I was on a date with the guy that I had a crush on ever since high school. Both of us had graduated and gone on with our lives, but something in the universe made it so Darry was at the diner during one of my shifts, and after a series of events, he asked me out on a date. Not only did all of that not seem believable, but Darry was every bit of the man that I imagined he'd be. He's polite, caring, and even more handsome than he was in high school. Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when a greaser I had never met before sat next to me. I looked at him, and I immediately noted his blonde hair, light blue eyes, and the scowl that seemed to be a natural expression for him. Then, before he slung an arm across the back of my chair, I noticed that both of his hands had pink patches that scarred his skin. I imagined the scars went up his arms too, but his jacket hid them from view.

"What's a pretty girl like you doin' by yourself?" he asked with a sly grin.

"I'm not by myself," I said calmly, barely glancing at him before I turned my attention back onto the blank screen. "I'm on a date, and you're sitting in his spot."

"Yeah? Where is he then?" he questioned, obviously not believing me.

"He's getting us some popcorn from the concession stand," I replied, still not looking at him.

My attempts of getting him to leave didn't work, because he suddenly leaned close to my ear. "How about you ditch him and come with me. I could show you a real good time, doll."

I leaned away from him before shooting him a glare. "No thanks." Then I crossed my arms across my chest. "I'd leave me alone if I were you. I don't think he'd be happy to see you talking to me."

He laughed at that. "I ain't scared of anyone. Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, I know exactly who you are. You're Dallas Winston," I replied confidently.

I have a healthy amount of situational awareness, so I understand when I'm near someone who has the physical capability of hurting me and potentially the personality to go along with it. Even so, I knew a lot of the time, bullies like Dallas just wanted to get a reaction out of the person they were bothering, and I wasn't going to let it happen. I always tended to act extra confident as an act of defense, which usually worked out in my favor.

Because I knew how proud Dallas would be of his rap sheet, I continued telling him just how much I knew about him. "You're one of the guys that saved those kids from the fire in September. You're a hero."

An angry look crossed his face. "Don't say that. I ain't a hero," he snapped, withdrawing his arm that was on my chair. He continued to glare at me, and I was all too aware of how close he still was. On top of that, I made Dallas Winston mad, which probably wasn't a great idea.

Sometimes faking confidence when faced with a tense situation was a good trait, and other times, it would come back to bite me. Maybe I went too far this time.

I tried to keep a straight face, hoping Dallas would take the hint and leave me alone, but to my surprise, his eyes narrowed before he spoke quieter. "What skeletons are you hidin' in your closet, doll?"

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully. I was trying to avoid showing any emotion, but I really was confused by his sudden change in demeanor.

"You ain't scared of me. You ain't even nervous," he stated in a low, almost quiet tone. On top of his strange tone, he looked almost surprised or entertained. "That means you've dealt with something even worse than me."

He wasn't wrong. In fact, he was dead-on, but I didn't want to talk about it, especially not with Dallas Winston at the drive-in while I was on a first date with Darry.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around Dallas's arm and yanked him up to his feet. Dallas looked mad, and he turned as if he was thinking of punching the person who pulled him away from me, but when his eyes met Darry's, he froze.

"Dallas," Darry said in a deep, dangerous voice, giving the other greaser a warning without uttering another word. I had seen Darry around school for four years, and I had seen him act anywhere between happy and annoyed, but I had never seen him mad like he was then.

The blonde greaser stared at Darry, the two of them looking especially tall and imposing since I was still sitting down. After a moment, Dallas's eyes fell back on me. "What's your name, doll?"

I had no idea why he was asking, but I didn't see the harm in answering him. "Kate."

A look washed over his face, and instead of his standard scowl, his face relaxed and he nodded. "Thought so." What does that mean? Then he looked back at Darry, and with the arm that wasn't in Darry's tight grip, he raised his hand in surrender. "Alright man, I'm leaving."

Darry let go of Dallas's arm, but he was still glaring at the blonde.

Dallas spared one more look in my direction. "Nice to meet you, Kate." Then he gave a small nod to Darry. "I'll see you around, Darrel."

Darry didn't reply, opting to continue to stare at Dallas until the blonde greaser left and was out of sight. Once we were alone again, Darry let out an irritated breath and sat down next to me. Then he reached over to the empty seat next to him where he apparently had put our popcorn and drinks. He offered me the large bag of popcorn, and I happily accepted.

"Are you okay?" Darry asked, his voice sounding so kind and gentle that it was difficult to remember it came from the same guy that sounded angry and dangerous towards Dallas just a minute before.

I nodded, trying to quickly swallow the popcorn I had already put into my mouth before replying. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He studied me, as if he was trying to tell if I was lying. "You sure? He didn't do anything to you, did he? I'll knock him into next month if he did."

I shook my head immediately. "No, he didn't. I'm alright Darry, I promise." The way he pursed his lips told me he didn't quite believe me. "Aren't you two friends?"

Darry huffed out a breath. "Yeah, he's a friend of mine, but I know how he is. Dal isn't subtle or polite when he talks to girls… or anyone really."

I let out a short laugh. "I picked up on that."

He grinned a little. "He's still a good buddy though. He looks out for our gang, especially Johnny and Pony. He can be a good guy when he wants to be."

I nodded along with his words. Just in the short interaction I had with him, I had a feeling that there was more to Dallas than meets the eye. Even though I had heard loads of awful things about Dallas Winston over the years, the article about him helping save those kids in the fire showed that he still had a heart, and if Darry was friends with him, I knew there had to be a good side to the hood. Plus, when I didn't react how he apparently anticipated, Dallas's demeanor changed, and I wondered if his attitude was a defense mechanism like my fake confidence was for me.

"How long have you been friends with him?" I asked, wanting to know more.

"Dal? Ever since he moved here from New York," he said before taking a sip of his drink. "He had a rough life up there, and his old man's not a great influence on him either, so he's a little rough around the edges. He'd do anything for our gang though." It sounded like he added that last part in order to make sure he wasn't talking badly about his friend, which I commended him for.

"What about the rest of them? How did you meet the guys in your gang?" I asked, genuinely curious. I wanted to know about Darry's close-knit group of friends. He called them a gang, but his "gang" was a lot different than most of the gangs I heard about. It sounded like they were just a group of friends, rather than a group of hoods that caused chaos everywhere they went.

By the time he finished telling me how me met all of the members of his gang, I had eaten half of the popcorn, and the movie was just starting.

"You should take this away from me," I said, handing the popcorn over to Darry. "I'm going to end up eating all of it before you even get a chance to have any."

He chuckled at that and accepted the bag. Then, before I could even ask, he reached over to the adjacent chair again and handed me a soda. I thanked him before chugging some of it. Again, he laughed quietly.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

He glanced at me and grinned. "Are you glad you have something to drink?"

I huffed out a breath and rolled my eyes in a playful manner. "Okay, I'll admit it. You were right." He smirked, but didn't say anything or rub it in. Instead, he took a sip of his own soda and looked at the screen.

We spent about half of the time watching the movie, and the other half talking. We reminisced about some things from school like the football state championship or when one of our Soc classmates got suspended for shooting a spitball into Mrs. Kramer's face. Then we started talking about what we were up to currently, and that's when I realized my life was quite boring compared to his.

I already knew about Darry taking care of his brothers and all, but I was surprised when he told me that he was also Johnny Cade's legal guardian after the infamous incident at the park and the week that followed. Since he knew where I worked, I figured I should ask him about his job, and that's when he told me that he actually works two jobs, with a lot of his work being very physically demanding, to make sure he can provide for all of the boys. Even though he didn't necessarily seem upset by talking about his work, he didn't keep eye contact with me for very long, so it looked like he was almost ashamed of his jobs or his work life in general, even though he had no reason to feel that way. I was astounded by Darry and everything he had done for others, and I wanted to show him some support rather than make him feel like I looked down on him like I figured other people probably did.

"No wonder you're so muscular. You look like you could still be playing football," I said, then I immediately felt myself blush. Talking about his impressive and attractive muscles… smooth, Kate. "It seems like you work a lot to support your family. That says a lot about how good of a man you are."

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks." I could see his skin turning pink, but I didn't say anything about it since my face was still cooling down from my own blush.

There was a brief pause, and I was determined not to let it become an awkward silence. Say something, Kate. Anything to keep the conversation going.

"Alright, so I know what you do for work now, but when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?" I asked, hoping to bring some levity back to the conversation.

"A professional football player," he replied immediately with a grin. "I was thinking about studying business or something like it in college in case football didn't pan out, but then I didn't go to college at all, so all of those ideas went out the window."

"There's still time, you could always go," I said optimistically.

A flash of something like pain or loss crossed his face before he looked away and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. I have to make sure my brothers are taken care of first, everything else can wait." There he goes again, putting everyone else before himself. "Pony's the one that'll be going to college."

"Yeah? Is he smart?" I asked, excited to hear more about the people in Darry's life.

He nodded and looked back at me, pure pride and admiration shining in his eyes. "He's really smart. He skipped a grade a while back, so he's younger than everyone else in high school, but he's still one of the smartest ones. He's a good runner too, so he might be able to get a track scholarship," he said proudly. Seeing Darry so happy to talk about his brother made me smile. It was obvious how much he loved his family.

"What about you?" Darry asked. "What did you want to be when you grew up?"

I started laughing quietly even before I began to answer him. "When I was really little, I told my mom I was going to be a princess." I was pretty girly when I was a kid, but by junior high, I started disliking everything girly that I used to love, most notably, the color pink.

Darry looked at me with his eyebrows raised and a barely suppressed grin on his face. I knew he was trying really hard not to laugh.

"When I got older and outgrew my princess phase, I realized that I want to help people," I said a little more seriously than before. "I think being a nurse or something like that would be a great way to take care of others. But as you know, college is expensive, so I can only take some general education courses over the summer when tuition is cheaper. But for now, I'm serving people in a different way: by giving them food."

Darry nodded, looking completely serious with the hint of laughter gone from his face. "You have plenty of time to go to college, Kate. You're smart. You could do it."

A smile spread across my face. "You really think so?"

He nodded again. "Yeah, I do."

I felt a warmth spread throughout my body, which made the blush I had earlier reappear on my face. I wasn't used to being called smart, especially not by men. Other than my parents, Rachel, and Connie, nobody really commented on my intelligence, and I figured they all just said I was smart to make me feel good about myself. Darry sure is different from a lot of guys I know.

We continued switching between watching the movie and talking. It was a little past halfway through the movie when I realized I was getting cold. We had finished the popcorn, which was the only thing that was providing me with heat. I chastised myself for wearing a skirt and not something warmer. I tried to think of a solution, but to no avail. This is what I get for trying to look cute.

Suddenly, Darry was taking off his jacket and draping it across my lap. I looked at him, about to tell him I didn't need it, but he spoke first. "You're shivering."

"But you'll get cold," I immediately retorted, trying to come up with an argument that he'd listen to. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt underneath his jacket, so I knew he was about to feel the chill in the air too. "I'll be fine."

He gave me his amused look once again, then he smiled and shook his head. "And the guys think I'm stubborn."

"You are," I said immediately with a teasing glare. "But you may have met your match when it comes to being bullheaded."

"Hmm, we'll see," Darry said with a smirk. Then he put an hand on my knee and nodded his head in the direction of his jacket. "Keep that there. I don't want you getting hypothermia."

I wanted to argue, but I couldn't think of a smart reply to get him to take his jacket back, so I kept it where it was. I had been shivering, but having his jacket covering my legs warmed me up almost instantly. It was like a blanket that had still contained some of his body heat.

"Thank you," I said sincerely.

After the movie finished, we walked back to Darry's truck. I tried to give him his jacket back, but he insisted I wear it until I got home. Apparently he was still worried I was cold.

When he pulled up to my apartment building and put the truck into park, he finally let me return his jacket.

"Thanks for letting borrow it," I said guiltily as I watched him put it back on. I knew he was probably cold by the end of the movie, but he never once said anything about it. "I promise I'll dress more appropriately next time so I don't have to wear your clothes."

He grinned. "So there will be a next time?"

I laughed. Considering how nervous he was during our phone calls and even in the beginning of the night, he had eased into a charming disposition as we both got more comfortable being around each other. "I guess that's up to you. I don't have your number."

His eyes widened a little, and I wondered if he didn't realize until then that I had no way to contact him. "I'll call you tomorrow. Then we can plan our next date."

I beamed at him. "I'd love that."