Darry's Girlfriend

by DramaQueen7

After everything that has happened in the past year, the absolute last thing on Darry's mind is his social life, let alone dating someone. All of that changes when he runs into someone from his past; someone that he still has feelings for. This story stems from my one-shot series "Darry Has A Girlfriend: One-Shot Series" but I wanted to dive deeper into this relationship.

9. Thanksgiving

TW: mentions of past child abuse (and in Steve's case, current)

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(Darry's POV)

"I can't believe she has to work on Thanksgiving."

"I told you, she volunteers to work on holidays."

"But why?"

"Why don't you ask her when she comes over, Pony?"

"Please don't ask her that."

My brothers and Johnny were all excited about Kate coming over for Thanksgiving dinner, and even though I tried to stay calm and act like it was any normal day, I could tell I was a little on edge. Not only had Johnny and I been working on the food most of the day, but I had asked my brothers to clean the house, which must've triggered them to get antsy since I usually only made them clean when we knew someone from the state was going to stop by for a visit.

I took the turkey out of the oven and placed it carefully on the table, then I took a step back to inspect our work. I managed to get turkey, potatoes, green beans, and some rolls, but that was about as extravagant as we could afford. Johnny helped me make all of it, plus a chocolate cake that was safely hidden in the fridge, while Soda and Pony were busy with their cleaning tasks. I started to worry that I didn't make enough food to feed five people, but I didn't have time to stress about it as the clock read 6:13.

"I'm going to go pick Kate up," I announced as I grabbed my keys.

When I walked into the living room, my brothers and Johnny were all sitting there, watching tv. I glanced at them, seeing them talk excitedly to one another. I hope Kate's ready for this. "I'll be back soon. Don't touch any of the food until we're back, savvy?"

All three of them nodded at me, then I walked out the door, hoping my brothers didn't manage to find the cake before I returned.

It didn't take long to get to Kate's apartment, but I still didn't like feeling rushed or being late. As I walked up to the building's front door, Kate suddenly walked out, holding a couple bags in each hand. She was wearing dark jeans and a tight, long-sleeve shirt. Her hair was half up and half down in a way that kept her hair out of her face, which showed off her features. She was effortlessly beautiful.

I quickened my pace to meet her halfway. "Sorry for being late," I said as I reached her.

She shook her head and smirked. "You're not late. You're just always early, so I wanted to be prepared this time." Then, as I reached for the bags she was holding, she turned and kept them out of my reach. "I can carry them, Darry. It's quite literally the least I could do for you since you invited me over."

I was about to argue, to tell her I could carry the weight for her, but she was stubborn and proud, so I decided against it and bit my tongue. Instead of taking the bags from her, I walked her to my truck and opened the passenger door for her, and once she was settled, I closed it and walked over to the driver's door.

"You know, I could've driven to your house," Kate said once I started the engine. I looked over at her, and despite having multiple bags resting on her lap, she was grinning and seemed perfectly content on having practically no room. Good thing it isn't a long drive.

"Yeah, but I wanted to pick you up," I countered with a grin before setting my sights back on the road.

"It's your old-school chivalry," she said simply. I glanced sideways at her with raised eyebrows. Is that a good or bad thing? She must've sensed my concern, because she smiled warmly back at me. "Don't worry, I like it. I'm just not used to it is all."

I turned back to look at the road, but I couldn't help but smile a little. Kate likes me being chivalrous. I was happy to hear it, and I suddenly felt the urge to tell her why I acted that way in the first place. "Our parents instilled in us how to be polite and respectful, especially to women." Even though it was still somewhat difficult to mention my parents, part of me felt like I owed it to them and Kate to tell her about them. "They tried teaching the rest of the gang too, but I think it was harder for some of them to pick up on those traits," I joked. She laughed lightly, making my heart pound in my chest. God, I love that sound.

All in all, the gang treated women rather fairly, except maybe Dally with his rocky relationship with Sylvia. The guys didn't hurt women, and as far as I knew, none of them cheated on their girls, which was more than could be said for a lot of the guys in town.

"Well you certainly paid attention to what your parents taught you. You are a very courteous man," she replied, her voice sounding smooth and kind. We were at a stop light, so I turned to look at her. She was smiling at me for a moment, then she looked forward and suddenly got that far-away look that I had seen when we had our date at the diner. "There are a lot of men out there that aren't so nice."

My lip twitched, almost curling at the thought of a man mistreating a woman; it was one of the most despicable things a man could do.

"Yeah, there are," I agreed ruefully. "But my parents weren't about to raise boys that were anything but respectful to women. Dad always said the man should drive, and he should meet a woman at the door and walk her back to the door. Mom's big thing was under no circumstances were we to ignore a woman if she said the words "no" or "stop" because if we did, she and Dad would whoop us so bad, they wouldn't recognize us when they kicked us to the curb."

Kate was silent, but the light turned green, so I was forced to focus on the road again.

It was during that next few seconds of silence that I realized what I had accidently let slip out. Did I just tell her what my parents taught my brothers and I about manners and consent? I really need to work on my conversation skills.

Before I could make myself even more worried, Kate finally broke the silence. "From what you've told me, it's hard to imagine your parents laying a hand on any of you," she said skeptically.

I shrugged a little before turning down our street. "Besides the occasional smack to the hand for swiping a finger through cake batter, they didn't really beat on us. They'd usually just yell or ground us when we upset them. But I can guarantee you that if any of us hurt a woman, Dad would've belted us, and Mom would've done a lot more with her wooden spoon that hit us on the hand."

Kate was chuckling a little when I parked the truck, and I was glad the slight tension from the topic of conversation was alleviated. Before she could even think about trying to carry everything on her own, I stepped out of the truck, walked around to her side, opened the door, and took two of the bags.

Kate reached out and grabbed my hands. "I can-"

"I know you can, but let me do this," I said, looking up to meet her eyes. She was frowning at me, but there was a hint of playfulness hidden in her expression. "Please?" I added.

She rolled her eyes and smiled before letting go of my hands. "Fine. You take two, and I'll take two."

I grinned. "Thank you."

As we both walked towards the house, I felt how heavy the bags I was holding were. "Glory Kate, I thought you said you weren't bringing a lot of food."

"You said I didn't need to bring a lot," she corrected with a sly grin. "And this isn't even everything Connie wanted me to bring, it was just all that I could carry."

"You didn't need to-"

"I wanted to," she said, cutting me off. Then she nudged me with her elbow. "Let me do this. Please?" she said in a mimicking tone.

Where have I heard that before?

I grinned while I shook my head. "Fine."

When we made it to the door, I reached forward to grab the handle, but I decided to wait a moment. I turned to look at Kate, who was looking up at me, smiling. "It's not much, and I'm sure my brothers are going to have loads of questions-"

"I'm sure it's lovely, Darry," she said softly. "It's okay. It's going to be fine."

I smiled at her, then opened the door.

As we walked in, I immediately looked around the room to see what the guys were up to. The radio was quietly playing music, and I didn't see Soda, Pony, or Johnny. What's going on? I was about to yell into the house, asking where everyone was, but suddenly, I heard a shout from the kitchen, followed by some type of commotion. I groaned. Here we go.

"How did you even know it was there?" Johnny asked loudly. "Are you part bloodhound?"

"I was getting a Pepsi," Ponyboy countered. "It ain't like it was hidden!"

"We're supposed to save it for later!" Johnny replied.

"Just let me take some frosting-"

"No!"

"How could you and Darry have made one without us knowin'?" Soda asked, his voice suddenly joining the uproar.

"I'm back!" I shouted, hoping to stop whatever was going on. It must've worked, because I heard the fridge door close and hurried footsteps. Within seconds, Pony appeared in the doorway to the kitchen with Johnny on his back, holding onto my kid brother with his arms and legs like a monkey. I raised an eyebrow at them. "What's going on?"

"Pony found the cake and tried to eat some," Johnny said, immediately ratting on his best friend, who was holding him up with his arms around Johnny's legs.

"Then he jumped on me!" Pony said.

"Because we ain't supposed to eat it yet!" Johnny said, still clinging to Ponyboy. Then he started rubbing his knuckles into Pony's hair, and my brother started slapping his hand away, still keeping one arm around Johnny's leg. He wasn't about to let his best friend fall.

I sighed and shook my head, but I felt a grin appear on my face from their antics. I turned to allow Kate a clear line of sight to the two hoodlums. "Kate, this is my brother Ponyboy, and the lemur on his back is Johnny. Guys, this is Kate."

"Hey guys, nice to see you again," Kate said politely.

As if they suddenly remembered they promised to be on their best behavior, they both smiled and greeted Kate before Pony walked over to the side of the room where Johnny's wheelchair was and lowered his friend into it. Even though Johnny could walk around a little bit with just his crutches, he got tired easily, which was probably especially true after jumping on Pony's back.

"Where's Soda?" I asked. Soda was especially excited to have Kate over for Thanksgiving, so I was surprised that he wasn't the first one out to meet her.

"Lookin' for me?" Soda said with a whimsical tone that sounded an awful lot like Two-Bit. He walked in from the kitchen holding a bouquet of flowers. I gave him a puzzled look, which he purposely ignored. He walked up to Kate and gave her his movie star smile while he extended his hand that held the flowers. "These are for you. Darry was in such a rush to pick you up, he forgot them here. Let me take those bags, Kate."

I stared at my brother with wide eyes, and I felt the back of my neck heat up from embarrassment. As he and Kate exchanged the flowers and bags, Soda gave me a wink, which I was sure Kate noticed.

"That's very sweet, thank you," Kate said, first looking at Soda, then at me. Something in her eyes told me she knew what my brother was doing, but she was going to play along with it.

"Come on, Soda. Let's put this stuff in the kitchen," I said before practically shoving him away from Kate. Then I turned to look back at her, extending my hand to her. "I'll put those in some water. We'll eat in just a few minutes. Make yourself comfortable."

She nodded, handed me the flowers, and sat down on the couch next to Ponyboy.

As soon as Soda and I set the bags down on the counter and I put the flowers in a vase of water, I turned to glare at him. He was already looking at me with a cunning smile. "Don't get mad, Dar. I'm just trying to help ya out a little."

I wanted to be mad, but I couldn't quite figure out why. Maybe I'm upset that it didn't even cross my mind to get her flowers. Maybe it bothers me that no matter how many times Kate says I'm chivalrous or a gentleman, I managed to prove her wrong. Maybe because Soda's obviously better at the whole dating thing than me, and it's embarrassing.

I sighed and rubbed a hand down my face. I pushed my feelings aside and focused on the idea that Soda was trying to help me, not make me irritated. "You could've warned me," I finally grumbled.

"Where's the fun in that?" he asked, quirking his eyebrow.

"You need to stop spending so much time with Two-Bit," I said with a smirk before punching him in the arm.

Soda and I quickly unloaded everything that Kate brought: ham, corn, stuffing, and pie. When we were done, I could see he was practically drooling as he looked at the feast in front of us. "Hold on, little buddy. We have to get the others first." He groaned, but nodded his head in acceptance.

I walked back into the living room, and I found Kate, Pony, and Johnny already talking about something. I was taken aback slightly, mostly because Johnny was pretty shy and didn't open up and talk to new people easily, and he's gotten even quieter around strangers since being stuck in a wheelchair, but he and Pony were already engaging in a conversation with Kate.

"I like to work on holidays so other people from the diner can see their families," Kate said.

It took me a second to realize what their conversation was about, but before I managed to put an end to it, Johnny asked the question I was hoping we could avoid. "What about you? Don't you wanna see your family?"

"Dinner's ready," I announced to the group, hoping to stop the conversation before Kate was already made uncomfortable.

They all glanced at me, and to my surprise, as Kate stood up from the couch, she looked back at Johnny with a small smile. "I don't see my mom much these days. Let's just say her husband and I don't get along." From everything she had said about Victor, that was Kate's way of putting it mildly. I still didn't know much about the guy, but I knew I didn't like him, and I had never even seen him. "So instead, I spend holidays with people from work."

Luckily, Johnny must've sensed something was off, because he just nodded and stayed quiet while Pony maneuvered himself behind Johnny's wheelchair and pushed him towards the kitchen. Even though Pony stayed quiet, the look on his face told me he was already analyzing everything that Kate had said.

I stayed where I was as the three of them walked in my direction. Pony and Johnny passed me, and when Kate reached me, I wrapped my fingers around her hand to have her stop. When she did, she looked at me curiously. I did my best to look apologetic. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be, it's fine," she said casually, like the topic of her family wasn't difficult to discuss. I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or if she was just putting on a brave face, but I didn't want to push. I gave her hand a squeeze and guided her to the chair next to mine at the table.

Between the help I got from Johnny and the food Kate brought from the diner, we had a feast that could feed dozens of people, or maybe a few hungry teenagers plus me and Kate. Naturally, the guys all questioned Kate about everything they could think of: our high school days, Kate's work, and her hobbies. Soda was quite disappointed to learn she didn't have any sisters.

"Have you read Herzog, Ponyboy?" Kate asked when the topic of good books came up.

"No, but my English teacher said it's really good," my youngest brother said, his eyes lighting up from the excitement of the conversation. I didn't realize that Kate liked to read so much, and as soon as she mentioned it as a hobby, Pony jumped at the chance to talk about it. "I've been needing to get different books to read. I just read The Great Gatsby for the third time."

"That's a good one too, I'm not surprised you've read it so many times," Kate said, also excited to talk about literature. "Herzog might be a little mature for most people your age, but it sounds like you're way ahead of your peers, so you can probably handle it just fine."

Pony's ears were red, and I couldn't help but grin.

The conversation progressed, and when the guys asked Kate about our most recent date– the previous Saturday night at the rodeo– she talked excitedly about all of it, especially about the horses in the barn.

"So you really just walked up to a wild horse to help it?" Johnny asked, his voice sounding small, but the surprise was still evident.

After she took a sip of water, Kate nodded and smiled at him. "Of course. I couldn't let the poor thing be scared and in pain."

Johnny looked at her with admiration. "That was real brave of you."

"And she dealt with Dally again," Pony added. "That means she's really brave."

"You know, I used to have a horse," Soda announced proudly.

"Mickey Mouse, right?" Kate asked. Soda looked at her, stunned, which made her laugh a little before she explained. "Darry told me about him."

Before I knew it, the two of them spent at least ten minutes talking about horses.

It was then, as I listened to the others talk, that I realized I could see some of my brothers' characteristics in Kate: Soda's love of horses, caring nature, and desire to help others, along with Pony's intelligence and tendency to think a lot. In fact, Pony and Kate had similar expressions whenever they were thinking so much that I was sure they were getting stuck in their own heads. After my realization, I silently wondered if Kate and I shared any common traits, then I almost laughed out loud when I thought of the most obvious one: stubbornness.

Suddenly, I heard the door slam open, followed by a loud "Dammit!"

"Sounds like Steve's here," Ponyboy grumbled.

I knew Pony was right, and even though we were all used to Steve and the attitude he brought into the house, Kate wasn't. I glanced at her, and her eyes were wide, staring in the direction of the door. Leave it to Steve to traumatize her.

Wordlessly, Soda and I shared a look before he got up from the chair. He knew how to handle Steve, and I was sure that he didn't want his best friend to scare Kate or possibly even upset her. Unfortunately, Soda wasn't quick enough, because before he even took a step away from the table, Steve appeared in the doorway.

Steve looked rough. He was leaning heavily on one leg and using his arm to balance against the wall. His lip was split, causing blood to trickle down his chin, and there was an angry red mark on his jaw. One of his eyes looked like it was slowly closing shut too.

"Holy shit, Steve," Soda gasped. I didn't even comment on the inappropriate language, even though I felt like I should have since he was in the presence of our younger brother and Kate. It was always hard for Soda to see his best friend hurt, but it was unfortunately becoming a more common occurrence, which just made it even more difficult for Soda to deal with. "Was it your dad again?"

"I got in his way, it's nothin'... I just need some ice," Steve muttered, already walking to the freezer.

We all knew better than to believe Steve, but nobody said a word. Soda just put a hand on Steve's shoulder and tried to keep his voice light and neutral as he spoke, but he wasn't fooling anyone either; he was upset. "Get your ice, then come with me. I'll fix ya up, then you can grab somethin' to eat."

Steve let out a huff, but he didn't argue, so I knew he'd listen to Soda's instructions. After he grabbed a bag of frozen peas, he placed it on his jaw and turned around. That's when he noticed that we had a visitor.

"Shit guys, I didn't…" he trailed off, suddenly looking uncomfortable as he stared at Kate. "Sorry, I can go-"

Soda was quick to chastise him. "Nonsense. We'll get ya cleaned up and you can stay for dinner."

Steve looked at me warily, and Soda followed his friend's eyes to look at me too. I could see my brother's concern written all over his face, and I knew he was silently pleading with me to agree and convince Steve to stay. As much as I didn't want to make Kate uncomfortable and feel like she didn't have a choice, I didn't have it in me to turn a friend away. If Steve needs us, we're here for him, no matter what.

"He's right Steve," I said with a nod. "You're always welcome here."

"Do you need help?" Kate suddenly offered. I looked at her, and I was surprised that there wasn't any fear or uneasiness in her features. Instead, there was something that resembled understanding and determination. "I know my way around a first aid kit. I can help."

I remembered on our first date, Kate had said she thought about being a nurse, but she wasn't sure if she could do it. I had told her she could handle it, and as I sat there, watching Kate look at Steve like someone she was determined to help rather than someone to fear, I knew I was right; she would be a fantastic nurse.

Why do I keep underestimating her? Every time there's something that should make her want to leave, she stays.

"That's okay, Kate. I got it," Soda said with a smile. Meanwhile, Steve looked at Kate like she grew two heads.

Kate nodded, but not being one to back down, she offered a piece of advice. "If you put a cold spoon on your eye, it should stop the swelling and keep it from getting too dark."

Everyone froze and looked at her with varying levels of surprise or confusion, including Pony and Johnny, who weren't directly involved in the conversation. I decided to speak up to break the silence, but I could barely think of any words to say. "A cold spoon?" Who just has a cold spoon lying around?

She looked at me, then after noticing my confusion, she looked a little embarrassed. Even so, she explained. "Yeah, it's more comfortable than putting a whole icepack or something over your eye. If you keep one or two spoons in the freezer, then you're ready for whenever you need them."

There was another moment of silence, but thankfully, Soda's laugh cut through it. "I thought that was just a trick for hickeys."

Kate still look a little embarrassed, but when she looked over at Soda, she relaxed a little and a slightly impish grin appeared on her face. "It works for those too."

We all chuckled at that, then Soda guided Steve out of the room, mentioning something about needing to put all of our silverware in the freezer.

"Sorry about that," I immediately said to Kate. "I know I told you about Steve, but that wasn't the introduction I had hoped for."

She still looked troubled, but she shook her head and tried to give me a casual smile. "You don't need to be sorry, Darry. I'm glad he has somewhere to go and people to help him."

She really is the kindest person I've ever met. "He usually only lets Soda help him," I admitted. "I think he's too proud or stubborn to accept help from anyone else most of the time."

"You're calling Steve stubborn?" Kate asked in mock surprise. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" I heard Pony and Johnny snickering a little, but I could tell they tried to hide it.

I tried to stop myself from grinning, but I knew I was doing a poor job at it. She's right, and she knows it. "It's probably easier to help a bucking horse than helping Steve," I retorted, trying to get Kate to laugh again. It worked.

"A horse would be more cooperative," Johnny said.

"Nicer too," Pony added with a smirk.

I guess with Steve out of the room, Pony and Johnny have the guts to joke about him.

As the two of them resumed eating ad whispering to each other, I focused on Kate. I could tell she was still bothered by something because she kept opening and closing her hands while staring at the spot where Soda and Steve disappeared. I covered both of her hands with one of mine, which made her look up at me. I hoped my eyes managed to ask her my silent question: Are you okay?

Somehow, she understood, because she just simply nodded at me and gave me a weak grin. Then the two of us went back to eating dinner too.

We didn't have to wait too long before Soda and Steve reappeared, causing Pony and Johnny to quickly shut their mouths, which told me they had still been talking about Steve. He looked a little better since he wasn't actively bleeding anymore, but Steve was still limping, and he kept the bag of frozen peas against his jaw as he eased into a chair. I caught Soda putting two spoons in the freezer before he sat next to Steve and put on a fake smile.

Things were tense for a moment, but Kate took it upon herself to break the silence. She picked up the plate of turkey and offered it to Steve. "Do you want some turkey? It's delicious."

Steve quirked an eyebrow at her, and I was worried he was about to say something rude or mean, but to my surprise, he nodded. "Thanks." After he put some of the turkey on his plate, he grinned. "It ain't blue or nothin', so I take it Soda wasn't in charge of cooking?"

"Darry wouldn't let me!" Soda exclaimed, pretending to be offended.

"Darry made me and Soda clean, but it turns out he only did that so he and Johnny could make a cake without telling us!" Pony added, sounding at least partially upset.

"We knew you'd eat it before dinner," Johnny said, his voice sounding a little more confident than I was used to.

Before I knew it, they all started talking about our day and telling Steve what we did to prepare for Kate to come over for Thanksgiving dinner. Just like Pony and Johnny, Steve looked surprised when he found out Kate was working earlier that day, but unlike them, Steve didn't ask about it.

Kate had asked what kind of spices we used for the potatoes and turkey, but I had to refer her to Johnny since I only added a few things before letting him take the reins. As Johnny listed the several spices and herbs he used, Kate seemed captivated.

"Sounds like you know your way around the kitchen," Kate told Johnny. While the guys would probably say that in a demeaning way, Kate said it genuinely, like she was thoroughly impressed.

Johnny was obviously embarrassed, but the small upturn of his lips meant he appreciated the compliment. "Thanks."

"I don't know many sixteen year-old guys that know how to use clove or sage," Kate continued, trying to engage Johnny into a deeper conversation. "What got you interested in cooking?""

Johnny looked at her analytically, like he was trying to see what her motive was for talking to him more than she had to. After a moment, he replied quietly. "My parents didn't really cook or make food for me, so I taught myself. I only could cook when they weren't home though. I didn't want to get in their way."

'Get in their way' just like Steve said he had gotten in his dad's way earlier. I had known how bad Johnny's home life was for years, but it still stung every time I heard about it. Thank God he's under my roof now.

Kate nodded understandingly, not showing any signs of judgement. "You know, if you ever want to learn some more, I'm sure Connie or Captain wouldn't mind having you hang out with them in the kitchen at the diner. Connie's the owner and Captain's the head chef. They both like to teach what they know," Kate said. Then she was quick to offer him a way out. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but if it's something you're interested in, I can ask them. Cap is in the kitchen more than Connie these days, so he'd probably be the one showing you around."

Johnny's eyes lit up for the first time since he learned he wouldn't be living with his parents when he got out of the hospital. "Really?" Then his eyes dulled. "What about my… chair. I can't walk real good yet."

"It won't be a problem," Kate said confidently. "Cap will make sure of it."

"Is that his real name?" Pony asked skeptically.

Kate laughed a little. "No, and honestly, I don't think I know his real name. Kind of like Two-Bit."

That got us all to chuckle again.

"So how'd he get his name?" Soda asked with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. I gave him a pointed look, trying to remind him about manners, but he didn't seem to notice.

"He served in the military with Connie's son. I think he was her son's commanding officer, and when Cap came back and her son didn't, Connie made sure to give him a job and a place to stay," Kate explained. "She taught Cap, and now Cap teaches the other cooks."

All of us stayed quiet for a moment, absorbing the information Kate had just given us. Then Johnny eventually replied. "I think I'd like that, to learn more I mean, if- if he'd be up for teaching me."

Kate smiled and reached over to put her hand on top of Johnny's. "I'll talk to him about it the next time I see him. I think you two will get along just fine."

Johnny gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

It had been a while since Johnny really had something to look forward to, and it was a blessing for him to have some hope and excitement again. After the week in Windrixville that put him in the wheelchair, Johnny had been pretty down. The state, Johnny, and I agreed that he would return to school the following school year with the hope he'd be able to walk by then, rather than being stuck in the chair and give Socs and teachers another reason to treat him horribly. Since he wasn't going to school, he had been stuck at the house most of the time until one of the guys showed up and brought him somewhere, but it finally seemed liked he might have something to do in his spare time.

Glory, Kate is an angel on Earth.

A short time had passed, and as we all kept eating and talking, I noticed that Steve was touching his jaw and moving it around uncomfortably. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who saw it either. "How's your jaw?" Soda asked softly.

"It's fine," Steve said automatically like he always did. "Barely hurts."

"That's why you're touching it and moving it around?" I asked skeptically.

Steve shot an angry look in my direction as he removed his hand from his jaw, but didn't say anything.

"The pain isn't the worst part, is it?" Kate suddenly asked. I looked at her, but she ignored me entirely. She was looking at Steve with an unreadable expression, and her voice sounded different than I had ever heard from her before. "That goes away eventually."

Steve stared back at Kate, and the two of them seemed to have a silent conversation that I was left out of. I wished that I could read their minds because I had no idea what they could be thinking or trying to communicate with one another. Soda and Pony were looking at them too, apparently at a loss just like I was, while Johnny just kept his eyes down at the table.

"Yeah, you're right," Steve finally said, his tone sounding slightly softer than before. "You dig real good, Kate. I guess everything I've heard is true. You're pretty cool."

Kate laughed at that, then looked up at me, her eyes bright. "So it's true. You've really talked about me around the guys."

"Of course I have," I said with a grin, trying to match the sudden change of atmosphere in the room.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, and nobody else from the gang made an appearance. We had cake and pie for dessert, and even though there was only six of us there, we managed to eat an impressive amount of it. After dessert, we packed up the leftover food into containers to put in the fridge, and even after she tried not to accept it, I made Kate take one of the containers.

"But you have seven guys that eat here. It's just me in my apartment," she had argued.

I didn't care about the numbers; she brought food over, so she was going to take some of the leftovers. It was only fair. "We have plenty. All I'm asking is for you to take one." She still looked like she was going to argue, but when I added a "please," she caved.

After she said goodbye to the guys and thanked them for letting her come over for dinner, she grabbed the flowers Soda gave her on my behalf, then we walked to the truck so I could drive her home. Once we were both sitting in the truck, she looked at me, smiling. "Thank you for inviting me over. They're all so sweet."

I quirked an eyebrow at her as I started the engine. "Steve? Sweet? Are you sure we were in the same house just now?"

She playfully shoved my arm. "He's nice, he's just a little rough around the edges, and I don't think that's entirely his fault."

I nodded as I put the truck into gear and started our commute back to Kate's apartment. Steve certainly had an attitude, and his personality was his own, but I had the same suspicion that Kate did: Steve's dad was to blame for some of his less-desirable qualities.

Almost as soon as we turned onto the next street, Kate spoke up again. This time, her voice was quiet. "Is Steve going to be alright?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah, he'll be okay." I tried to sound confident when I replied, but if I was honest with myself, I always worried about Steve. Not only did he still go back and live with his abusive dad, but he had gotten so used to it, it almost seemed like he didn't care anymore. "His dad roughs him up a little, especially when he's had something to drink, but Steve knows he can always crash at our place when he needs to. That's why the door's always unlocked."

"You leave it unlocked?" Kate asked, her voice suddenly getting louder and higher-pitched from her surprise. "Even at night or when you're gone?"

I nodded, sparing her a glance before looking back to the road. "Just in case someone needs a place to stay. I'd rather have them at our house than be out on the street or do something stupid and end up in jail, or worse."

Kate's voice went quiet again. "Does that happen often? Someone spending the night?"

I let out a long breath, already feeling troubled by my answer. "Yeah. We've had a few different people sleep on the couch, but it's usually been either Johnny or Steve. Steve's dad is rough with him, but Johnny's parents were even worse. They screamed and beat on him almost every day, but the poor kid just wanted his parents to love him. Once we were told he'd be getting out of the hospital, I knew I couldn't let him go back to his parents. That's why I'm his guardian now. That means Steve usually doesn't have any competition for his spot on the couch anymore."

"That's good of you, Darry. It's not right, parents beating on their own kids," she said with an eerie quality in her voice.

"You do what you have to for family, and the gang is family," I said without needing to think about it. "We're more of a family than some of their own relatives. Two-Bit is the only other one with a healthy family dynamic. He gets along with his mother and sister, and nobody's hitting anybody in that house."

Kate squirmed a little in her seat, and I knew I had said too much. I had made her uncomfortable, and I wanted to fix it immediately. "I'm sorry Kate-"

"No Darry, it's not you," she was quick to say. "All of this just brings back some memories I'd like to forget."

I wanted to pry, to get her to explain more, but I already felt like I was walking on thin ice, and I didn't want to fall through into frigid waters. Given some of the things Kate had said during our dates, and even during Thanksgiving dinner with the guys, I already had a bad feeling that Kate had dealt with some serious things in the past, but I didn't want to push her to tell me.

"I'm sorry," I said. We were on her street, so I only had about a minute left with her to apologize before she'd be gone for the night. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay Darry, I know," Kate said, cutting me off before I could sufficiently apologize.

She stayed quiet, so once I parked the truck in front of her building, I shut the engine off and looked at her. She had the same distant look I had seen a few times, and I could see her hands tensing up, which told me her mind was spinning as thoughts were being tossed around in her head. I wished she would voice some of those thoughts so she didn't seem so tense, but I wasn't sure if it was the time or place to ask her to share what she was thinking. Still, I had to try.

"What's going on, Kate?" I asked gently. Then I slowly reached towards her and put a hand on her arm. She flinched slightly, making the flowers and container in her arms shake a little, but something told me it was an involuntary reflex. Still, it hurt to think that she flinched away from my touch. She didn't shove me away though, so I let my hand rest gently on her arm. "Are you okay?"

I wasn't sure she was going to respond, but after a few silent seconds, she finally spoke. "There are some things you don't know about me, and I want to tell you about them, but it's hard."

"And this is one of those things?" I prompted. She nodded. "You can tell me, Kate. Only if you want to, though."

"I just don't want to change how you look at me." She was still staring off into the distant and her voice was thick with emotion, and it was painful to listen to. "I don't want you to think I'm fragile."

The idea of Kate being fragile was ridiculous, especially after everything I'd seen her do in just the few weeks we had dated. Even so, Kate was being vulnerable, so the least I could do was support her and not chastise her for saying something that didn't make any sense. "That thought will never cross my mind, Kate. You're smart, brave, sweet, tough… you're anything but fragile."

Her watery eyes met mine, and I had a strong urge to hug her and protect her from the world, but given how she flinched from my previous touch, I knew it wouldn't have been a wise move.

"You know how I said I don't get along with my step-dad?" Kate finally asked.

I nodded and waited for her to continue speaking at her own pace.

"Well, let's just say I know what people like Johnny and Steve have gone through," she said with a cold, dark laugh.

Even though I already felt my temper start to flare, I didn't dare speak or even move. I wanted her to say as much as she was comfortable with, so I wasn't going to disrupt her.

After she took a couple breaths, Kate continued. "It started off as us arguing and him yelling at me, mostly insults or demands to do whatever he told me, but it progressed quickly. He- he hurt me. A lot. Especially when he was drunk. Things got worse as I got older and started fighting back. My mom… I want to believe that she didn't know anything was wrong, but I think she did. I think Victor was just as bad to her though. I moved out to get away from him, but they're married, so she can't really do that."

I was immediately filled with rage, and I wanted to find the bastard that hurt Kate and pummel him into the ground. In addition to my initial reaction, seeing the toughest girl I'd ever met fight back tears from the memory of her step-dad only added fuel to the firestorm of emotions I felt. I was furious, sad, and at a loss of what to do. Who could hurt Kate? What kind of person abuses a kid, let alone a young girl?

I thought back to previous conversations we had, and everything was starting to make sense. She was surprised whenever I complimented her. She commented about how some men aren't nice. She gave Steve the advice about using cold spoons for swollen and black eyes. I instantly felt nauseous. The signs were all there, and I had my suspicions, but I don't think I wanted to believe it.

I couldn't stay frozen anymore. I moved to pull her into an embrace, but then I hesitated. She just told me she was abused by her step-father. The last thing I want to do is make her feel trapped or forced into any kind of physical contact.

I opened my mouth, probably to say something dumb and not comforting at all, but Kate swiftly moved towards me and wrapped an arm around me, with her other hand grasping onto the flowers and container of leftovers. I automatically returned the gesture and wrapped her in a hug. I was pleasantly surprised that she seemed comfortable being held against my chest, with my arms pulling her impossibly close to me.

"I got you, Kate," I whispered to her as I kept my arms tightly around her. "Thank you for telling me. I know it must be hard."

"It is," she choked out with a sob. "But I feel better now. It's something that you needed to know. Thanks for listening."

"Anytime," I said as I rubbed a hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her. "Whenever you want to talk, I'll listen, savvy? Just like how you said you'd listen to me whenever I wanted to talk about my parents or anything. It's a two-way street."

"You drive a hard bargain," she muttered into my chest. Then she let out a small laugh. "But okay."

I didn't want to be the first to break the embrace, so we sat like that for a while before Kate pulled away from me. Her eyes were still watery, but it looked like she managed to hold back the majority of her tears, even though she didn't need to.

"I can tell the guys about Victor too," Kate said, her voice already sounding steady.

I marveled at how fast she could get her tone to return to normal, but once I figured she had to learn how to do that in order to hide what she'd been through, the talent of hers troubled me.

"You don't need to," I told her.

"I know, but it seems like you and the guys are unfortunately well-versed in the topic already," she said with a shrug. Then a miniscule smile appeared on her lips. "I think it might even help all of us get to know each other better. Like Steve, for example. He and I have more in common than anyone probably would've guessed. Same with Johnny. If I tell them about Victor, maybe they'd both be more willing to talk about it, or just talk to me in general."

I wasn't sure how I felt about Kate telling the guys what was probably her biggest secret. I was glad that she wanted to get to know the guys better, but at what cost? "Only if you're comfortable talking about it," I said carefully. "None of us will ever push you to talk about things you don't want to."

She smiled softly and reached to hold my hand. "I know, and I thank you for that."

I returned her smile, then leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "I mean it, Kate. I don't want you to feel pressured into anything."

She nodded her head, then she gave me a grin, but her eyes were sad. "So all of this didn't scare you away? I know it's a lot-"

I moved my hands so they were on her shoulders as I stared into her beautiful eyes. "It takes more than that to scare me away," I said with a smirk, remembering how I thought she'd be scared away after just our first date.

"You sure? Between what I did at the rodeo and all of this-"

"I'm sure," I said, interrupting her. "You won't scare me away."

Finally, she gave me a smile that actually reached her eyes. "Good, because I like spending time with you and I'd hate to mess that up."

I moved my hands from her shoulders to the sides of her face, moving slowly so I didn't startle her. "You're not getting rid of me that easy. I like spending time with you too."

Time froze as we looked between each other's eyes and lips. I opened my mouth, about to ask her if I could kiss her, but she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her lips into mine.

Our lips easily found a rhythm, and I pulled her closer to me to deepen the kiss. I flicked my tongue along her bottom lip, and she responded by opening her mouth slightly, allowing my tongue to explore her mouth. Kate moved her free hand to the back of my head and pulled me towards her while lightly tugging on my hair. I had to fight back a moan at the sensation.

I was blissfully making out with the most amazing girl I had ever met, and I never wanted it to stop, but I knew it had to. When I forced myself to slow the movements of my lips and pull away from her, I watched Kate's eyes flutter open. Her pupils were dilated, and she looked like she felt exactly how I did.

"I could get used to kissing you," she said with a sly grin. "And I appreciate you being so polite and wanting to ask for permission to kiss me, but you don't need to every time. I'll make it perfectly clear when I don't want any affection."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure?" The last thing I wanted to do was make her uncomfortable by making a unsolicited move.

"I'm sure," she said smoothly. "We'd only have a problem if I told you I wasn't interested and you kept going for it, but I know you well enough to know that's not going to happen."

I nodded. Not only did my parents teach me better than that, but my own morals wouldn't allow me to even think about it. It made me furious to even think about someone mistreating women, let alone me mistreating Kate.

I suddenly thought about Victor and what he did to her, and I had to suppress my anger. He's not around, Darry. All you have to worry about it taking care of her now. You won't hurt her like Victor did.

"I promise Kate, I'd never do something like that," I said seriously.

She smiled softly, then kissed my cheek. "I know." With that, she started maneuvering her flowers and the container of leftovers in her arms, obviously about to step out of the truck.

I got out of the truck, then quickly moved around the front of it so I could open the door for her. Once she hopped out of the truck, she looked at me with eyes that could light up any room. "Thank you. And thanks again for inviting me over. I had a really good time."

"So did I. I'm glad you could come over," I said.

We walked up to the building, and when we reached the front door, I stepped ahead of Kate so I could open the door for her. I grabbed the handle and turned to look at her. "I'll call you tomorrow," I said. Then I gave her a quick kiss, drawing a smile from her lips. "Good night, Kate."

She took a step forward, and before she made it through the door, she stood on her toes and kissed my cheek. "Good night, Darry."

---

Finally, y'all get to learn a little more about Kate's past- it certainly wasn't all sunshines and rainbows.

I was excited to come up with an idea for Johnny getting out of the house and doing something at the diner Kate works at, and I hope it wasn't too much of a stretch.