After creating and adding to my one-shot series of Darry having a girlfriend, I decided to do a whole story about it. Some chapters (mainly this first one) may look similar to some of the one-shots because this story sort of stems from those, but I'm going to make sure it isn't just a copy-and-paste version of my one-shots. This fic will mostly contain new content and the chapters will flow together, unlike my one-shot series. This will be a bit longer of a fic, so please be patient as I continue to write it. (In the meantime, feel free to read the one-shot series and/or my other stories).

This story takes place after the events of the book, but Johnny and Dally are alive.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or anything related to the story created by S.E. Hinton.

(Kate's POV)

"Do you want me to get table four?" Rachel asked as she suddenly appeared next to me.

I was busy wiping down the table that a group of Socs just left. They had spilled their food and drinks, making it a sticky mess that I was lucky enough to get to clean up. I stood up and gave her a look. "No, I got it. Why?"

She raised her eyebrows and spoke quickly and quietly. "Did you not see who it is?"

I looked over her shoulder and spotted a group of greasers sitting at table four. As soon as I spotted them at the table by the window, I realized what had Rachel acting so funny. I knew the group sitting down, and I felt my face start to heat up.

Everyone in town knew Two-Bit Mathews, the wisecracker thief that had a charismatic quality that won over almost everyone, even some of the cops that he ran into frequently. Next to Two-Bit, Sodapop Curtis was showing off his Hollywood-worthy smile, probably laughing at something Two-Bit said. All the girls in Tulsa swooned over Sodapop's good looks, but he also had the charm to go with it. Across from Two-Bit and Sodapop, I saw Ponyboy Curtis, and his friend, Johnny Cade, who was sitting in a wheelchair next to Ponyboy at the end of the table. Everyone knew the two of them ever since a Soc, Bob Sheldon, was killed a couple months back, and they became famous around town.

The story had been all over the news. Apparently, a group of drunk Socs went to a park on the East side in the middle of the night and ended up fighting with Ponyboy and Johnny, the later stabbing Bob in self-defense. Then the two greasers went on the run for a week, during which, the cops went into a frenzy trying to find them. Turns out, they were actually in a small town called Windrixville, where they saved a bunch of kids from a burning church with the help of one of Tulsa's toughest hoods, Dallas Winston. The injuries Johnny got from the fire caused him to be in a wheelchair, but rumor had it that he was slowly getting better. I really hoped he would be able to walk again one day; I didn't like the idea that a kid had his life changed forever because the Socs started something with two young greasers which led to a series of terrible events.

Even though there were four other well-known greasers sitting at the table, two of them being known as town heroes by most people, none of them were the reason I was blushing. No, the reason my face started to get red was because of the fifth person sitting at the table: Darry Curtis, my crush ever since high school.

I had a few classes with Darry back in the day, and he was always one of the smartest kids in class. We had a class project once, and while Rachel was lucky enough to get paired with Darry, I got paired with some dumb Soc that thought I would gladly do all of the work if he kept complimenting me on how pretty I was or offered to kiss me, apparently thinking his kisses were worth all of the effort I was putting into the project. While I struggled through that project and did the work of two people, Rachel kept telling me how surprised she was that Darry was smart. I remember her saying it surprised her that "someone like him" could be so intelligent, clean, and nice, and it bothered me to no end. Both of us were considered part of the middleclass, but Rachel grew up closer to the Soc side of town, so she picked up some of their biases. I grew up closer to the greaser side, and I understood that money isn't what defines a person. She's still my best friend, but once in a while, Rachel stereotypes greasers and I have to remind her where I lived and how greasers aren't inherently bad, just like Socs aren't inherently good.

Back in high school, Darry was a smart jock, handsome as could be, and in all of the interactions that I had with him, he was always nice and polite. He even seemed a little quieter and shyer than his football teammates, but considering a lot of those teammates were obnoxious Socs, I understood why he wasn't as loud or outgoing as them. From what I could tell, Darry was the epitome of what my dream man would be, and no matter how much time had passed, I still had feelings for him. Even the thought of talking to him made butterflies flutter in my stomach.

"I got it," I repeated, bringing myself back to the present instead of reliving my high school days. "Would you mind finishing this table for me?" I asked as I handed the washcloth to Rachel.

She smirked and took the washcloth from me. "You might want to get your face to cool down before you go over there."

I glared at her as I walked away, and I heard her chuckling quietly.

I took a couple deep breaths before walking towards the table of greasers. Just pretend he's any other customer. Maybe he won't remember you anyways. It's not like you were super popular or anything. I felt my skin return to normal temperature, so I grabbed my notepad and pen as I approached the booth.

"-so I snatched that right outta his hand and made a run for it!" Two-Bit said obnoxiously, causing most of the table to laugh, but I noticed that while Darry was grinning, he narrowed his eyes a little.

"Don't get any ideas from him, Pony," Darry warned his youngest brother. "He's going to regret all of his thieving one of these days."

"Well, today ain't that day," Two-Bit said as he leaned back and intertwined his fingers on the back of his head.

I approached the table just like I would with any other group of people; I smiled and introduced myself. "Hello, my name is-"

"Kate Miller!" Two-Bit said loudly as he suddenly leaned forward and put his forearms on the table. "Lordy, it's been a while. How've you been?"

Sure, we had a couple classes together and I was one of the few girls in school that would gladly talk and even joke around with him, but Two-Bit and I didn't know each other that well. Even so, he was one of those guys that after you meet him once, you can consider him a friend. As long as you're not a Soc, that is.

"I've been good. How are you?" I asked politely.

"I've been great. Just keepin' an eye on these guys, making sure they ain't gonna be no trouble," he said with a wicked grin, pointing his thumb in the direction of the other side of the table where three of the tamest greasers sat.

Darry, Ponyboy, and Johnny never started trouble, and even before the whole story came out and they were found innocent of manslaughter, I knew it wasn't Ponyboy or Johnny's fault for what happened to Bob Sheldon. They seemed like quiet, nice kids. In fact, if I had to put money on it, I'd say out of the five sitting in front of me, Two-Bit would be the first to cause problems.

"You sure you're the one for the job?" I quipped, earning laughs from everyone at the table, including Two-Bit himself.

"Boy howdy, you haven't lost your sense of humor," the jokester said.

"You haven't either," I said with a smile, then I addressed everyone, trying not to let my eyes stay on Darry too long. "Would you guys like to order, or do you want me to come back in a few minutes?"

"Nah, we're ready if you are darling," Sodapop said with a show-stopping smile. Even though I had feelings for his older brother, I couldn't deny that Sodapop's charm had a minor effect on me. I can see why every other girl is obsessed with him.

They all ordered burgers and fries, so I left to put their order in. While the cook was making the food, I stayed behind the counter, which is where Rachel found me still looking at table four.

"So, how did it go?" she asked with an obnoxious tone that reminded me of a middle school girl that was spreading gossip.

"I just took their orders, Rachel. Nothing else happened," I said quietly. Even though we were far away from their table, I didn't want the guys to hear me. "Two-Bit recognized me, but I don't even know if Darry remembers who I am."

"I'm sure he does," Rachel said confidently. "Remember that project we had to do and I got paired up with him? We talked about you quite a bit, and I saw the way he watched you walk away just now. There's no way he doesn't know who you are."

"Why would you talk to him about me?" I asked, suddenly questioning how much my best friend talked about me when I wasn't around.

She just shrugged. "You just came up in conversation, I guess. Same reason we talked about Two-Bit too. It's normal to talk about friends with other people."

"I don't think Darry really wanted to listen to you talk about me when you were supposed to be working on a project," I retorted. "He was a popular jock, and I was just an average girl trying to graduate."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Uh, hello! You're gorgeous, smart, and wicked funny. A lot of the guys in school liked you, but you were just so focused on Darry that you never noticed!"

She's lying, right? "That's not true."

"Yes, it is," she assured. "But I get it, when you have eyes for someone, you only have eyes for that person. And guess what, Kate… I think he has eyes for you too."

I felt a smile start to appear on my face. "You think so?"

Her smile was bigger than mine. "Yeah, I do. You should give him your number."

I felt my eyebrows rise to my forehead. "What? I can't just give him my number out of the blue. What if he doesn't even want it? What if-"

"Order up!" our cook shouted as he put the five burger baskets on the counter.

I looked at the food, then at Rachel. "I have to go. Don't you dare get any funny ideas," I warned as I put the baskets on a serving tray. Rachel was the type of person to go behind my back to give a guy my number and unintentionally embarrass me, and Darry Curtis was the last person on Earth I wanted to embarrass myself in front of.

As I walked back to the table to give the guys their food, I overheard Two-Bit's loud voice. "C'mon Darry, ask her out. You've liked her since-"

"Shut up, Two-Bit," Darry spat harshly while keeping his voice down.

"Two-Bit's right, Dar," Soda added. "I've heard you talk about her-"

"Not now, Soda," Darry said, although his voice was softer towards his brother than it was towards Two-Bit.

I felt myself start grinning. Could it be true? Does Darry Curtis actually like me? Then a different thought crossed my mind, immediately wiping the smile off my face. Or are they talking about Rachel? That must be it; he must've had a crush on her since that school project so long ago. He probably just let her talk about me so he could sit there and listen to her voice or something. Rachel was a pretty girl with blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders and blue eyes; the kind of woman that every guy seemed to be attracted to. Of course they're not talking about me.

I mentally cursed myself for getting my hopes up, and when I reached the table, all the guys immediately stopped talking. I gave them a smile, hoping my inner turmoil wasn't obvious. Once they all had their food in front of them, I tried to keep my smile as I maintained my composure. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"How about your phone number?" Two-Bit asked with a sly grin. I noticed that everyone else at the table stared at him with huge eyes.

"Really?" I asked suspiciously. I tried to figure out if he was joking or something, because it didn't seem possible that Two-Bit was being serious. I didn't think he could be serious. I tried to match his strange request with some sass of my own. "I'm not your type, Two-Bit. Everyone knows you're into blondes."

He kept grinning at me. "It ain't for me, sweetheart. It's- ow!" Two-Bit suddenly leaned to reach towards his legs, where I guessed somebody kicked him, making him stop talking mid-sentence.

I tried to keep myself from laughing, but I wasn't sure that I was successful. "Anything else?" I asked the rest of the guys when I could maintain a calm expression.

"No, we're okay. Thank you," Darry said politely.

I nodded at him, trying not to stare into his piercing eyes for too long. "Okay, let me know if you change your mind." With that, I walked away from the table.

Moments later, I heard Two-Bit's irritated voice, although it seemed like he tried his best to be quiet. "What the hell, man! You kicked me!"

"Because you were trying to get her number," I heard Darry shoot back.

"Only because you're too scared to ask her yourself," Two-Bit said next.

Wait, are they really talking about me? I wasn't usually one to eavesdrop, but I just had to know if Darry was talking about me, so I set the serving tray down on the counter and decided an empty table nearby needed to be cleaned again.

"-probably doesn't even know me," I heard Darry say quietly.

"You were in the same class, you were captain of the football team, and not to mention Boy of the Year," Soda replied. "How could she not know who you are?"

"You like her. Why can't you just ask her for her number?" Two-Bit asked simply. "It ain't like it's hard."

"Easy for you to say," Darry muttered. "What if she says no?"

"I'm sure she'd give it to you if you asked, Darry," a quiet, soft voice said. I glanced towards the table and noticed most of the guys were looking at Johnny, so I figured it was him that was talking, but since I didn't think I'd ever heard his voice before, I couldn't be sure.

"Shoot Darry, I never thought you'd be one to get nervous talkin' to girls," Ponyboy said with a smirk on his face.

"Shut it and eat your food," Darry said as he gently shoved his brother's shoulder. I could see a hint of red on the back of Darry's neck, and I thought it was amusing that he could be embarrassed about anything.

Ponyboy just laughed and kept inhaling his food. "Think we can get some chocolate shakes?" he asked in between bites.

"Not today, kiddo," Darry replied.

"Aw c'mon Darry, the kid just wants some ice cream," Two-Bit said. "He's a growin' boy, he needs the extra food."

"Are you going to be paying any of the bill?" Darry asked, but by the tone of his voice, I figured he already knew the answer.

"Well, you see, I'm kinda low on cash…" Two-Bit trailed off.

"Yeah, not having a job will do that to you," Soda joked, causing Ponyboy and Johnny to laugh.

"What makes you think I have enough spare money to pay for a grown man like you?" Darry questioned.

"That's funny… callin' Two-Bit a grown man," I heard one of them mumble, which apparently started a kicking fight underneath the table, along with a few fries to be thrown.

I realized I had been watching too long, so I went back to wiping the table before returning to the counter to talk with Rachel.

"So? You find out that I'm right yet?" Rachel asked the moment I approached her.

I felt myself blush again, and I nervously put a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Yeah, I think you're right. Two-Bit tried asking for my number, but he said it wasn't for him."

Rachel beamed. "See? I told you! Go give him your number!"

I wanted to. I really wanted to give Darry my phone number, but I started having second thoughts. "But what if I'm wrong? Maybe it's not what it seems like-"

"Oh my God, Kate. You've liked him for years, so just do it!" Rachel said, practically yelling.

"Shhh. They're gonna hear you," I said. My mind was racing and my heart was pounding. Think Kate, think! Find a way to show him you're interested without doing anything drastic. Just do something nice or let him know that you do know him. Finally, an idea popped into my head. "I'll be right back."

I quickly got five chocolate shakes, put them on a serving tray, and walked back to Darry's table. They seemed to still be enthusiastically discussing something, but the moment I appeared, they got quiet. "I have five chocolate shakes, on the house," I said with a smile.

I saw Ponyboy's eyes widen, and he quickly glanced at Darry before eagerly taking one for himself and handing another to Johnny. Soda took one and thanked me right away. Meanwhile, Two-Bit and Darry looked at each other silently before Two-Bit looked at me. "That's sweet of you, Kate. Isn't it, Darry?"

Darry looked at him, then at me. "Thank you, Kate. I can pay for them though. I don't want it to come out of your paycheck."

He's so considerate. "That's alright, Darry. Enjoy."

I left the remaining two shakes on the table and turned to leave before he could argue with me. Again, when I reached Rachel, she seemed excited to discuss the newest events. "That was nice of you, Kate. But how is giving them chocolate shakes going to allow him to call you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm not someone who just gives her number to guys that she assumes like her. I didn't know what else to do."

"Excuse me, Kate?" I heard a familiar voice say. Rachel and I turned to face the counter, and I saw Darry standing at the end of it, apparently giving me and Rachel some space to talk.

I looked at Rachel, who was smiling from ear to ear. "Give me a minute," I said, trying to remain calm and collected. Then I walked up to Darry and put my hands on the counter, hoping he wouldn't notice they were shaking and sweating. "Can I get you something else, Darry?" Like my phone number?

"No thank you," he said politely, his voice sounding sweet. He looked a little uneasy, and I wished I knew why. "I just wanted to pay my bill, including the shakes."

I smiled and shook my head at him. "I told you, Darry, the shakes are on the house."

He looked at me carefully, and I suddenly felt vulnerable. Does he know I like him? Can he read my mind? What's he thinking right now? Right when I thought he was going to ask for my number, he cleared his throat and spoke again, this time, his voice sounding unsteady. "Okay, well, uh… thank you, Kate. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Darry," I said genuinely as I looked into his striking eyes. We both stood there for a few seconds before I realized he was asking for the bill and I was causing him to wait longer. I blinked as I tried to snap out of my daze. "Sorry, let me get your bill."

I moved over to the register and added up five burgers and fries. He handed me some cash, and as I got his change, my mind was racing. Maybe everyone's right; maybe he really does like me and he's just shy. If that's the case, now might be my only chance. In a moment of courage, I took the receipt, wrote my phone number on it, and gave him the paper along with his change.

As he inspected the paper in his hand, I watched his expression go from confused to surprised. Then Darry looked at me, and once again, I noticed the skin on his neck start to get red, but this time, he was grinning. "So uh, can I call you tonight?"

My heart was racing, and I thought I was going to pass out, but somehow, I managed to say a few more words. "Yeah, I'd like that. I get off work at five."

He smiled at me and nodded. "Sounds good. I'll talk to you later," he said.

After another moment of intense eye contact, Darry turned to walk back to the table of greasers that were watching him carefully. He still had a smile on his face when he sat down, and by the reactions of the four guys he was with, they all seemed happy and excited about the piece of paper he had in his hand. Two-Bit even glanced in my direction and gave me a wild grin before looking back at Darry.

"What'd I tell ya?" Rachel said as he suddenly appeared next to me. "I knew he liked you."

I shrugged, but my blushing skin gave away my true feelings. "Yeah, maybe. I just hope he really does call."

True to his word, Darry Curtis called me that night.