Stephanie put her tray down, taking the seat beside Johnny in the canteen. She had been feeling a pang, just a pang, of guilt about the way she'd been treating him lately. She'd been short-tempered and ratty, and for no real reason. He hadn't done anything wrong, or at least, he hadn't done anything out of character. He was the same old Johnathan Nogerelli that he'd always been. She was the one who was changing.

"So what's up?" she asked addressing the T birds in general as she unwrapped her ham and cheese sandwich.

"Poker night next Saturday," Johnny said, speaking for them all. He leaned back and gave her a pointed look. "Boys only."

"Cool," she replied not rising to the bait. If he thought making plans without her was some sort of punishment...nope, a bit of time away from each other wasn't such a bad thing.

"I mean I know you chicks can't really play cards," Johnny added, frustrated by her reaction.

"No, probably not."

His brows furrowed, they both knew she could play, she'd whipped his ass more than once at poker. "I guess you could come along," he said after a long pause. "We don't have to play all night."

"Aww, Johnny," Goose grumbled under his breath, and Stephanie looked away, wondering where the rest of the girls had got to. She spotted Sharon, balancing her tray precariously, talking to some girls from her homeroom. It sucked that they'd been separated in sophomore year but Mr Spears had been unable to handle two disruptive, sharp-tongued girls in his class. She'd been moved to Miss Mason's homeroom and seated next to Johnny, much to Paulette's chagrin. I don't think she's ever forgiven me, she probably thinks I came between them...She waved to Sharon who quickly made her way over to their table.

"Hi," she said taking a seat next to Louis. "For a moment I didn't think I'd be able to get away there. Some girls really can talk!"

Like you, Stephanie thought but she assumed Sharon wasn't going to burn all her bridges. None of them knew how being a pink lady would work out, they all remembered how Betty Rizzo had been ostracised a couple of years ago by the rest of the gang. Something to do with getting knocked up?

"So are you gonna come along?" Johnny asked Sharon, giving Steph a slight nudge and she shrugged.

"Come along to what?" Sharon asked raising her eyebrows.

"Davey's having a games night," Louis said. "His folks are going out for the evening so we were gonna get together and-"

"I can speak for myself," Johnny snapped and Louis raised his hands as if apologising. "But it's like Dimucci said. We're gonna hang out at Davey's, play a few hands, so if you chicks wanna come and join us?"

Sharon gave Steph a questioning look before answering. "I think I might have to babysit for my brother, I mean babysit my nephew."

"On a Saturday night?" Goose asked incredulously. "Are you crazy? It's the best night of the week."

"Which is probably why my brother and his wife need a babysitter," Sharon said with exaggerated patience. "I'm not saying I want to do it but they pay me."

"Couldn't your mom do it?" Steph asked, forgetting that she wasn't all that keen on going herself. "They bring the baby to your house anyways, don't they?"

Sharon nodded, her eyes flitting towards Davey. "They do but my mom likes an early night, you know how she works all hours."

"True." She couldn't help but admire Sharon's mom. She held down a job and ran her home with military precision, nothing was left to chance. It made her feel irritable with her own mom who was content to fill her days with domestic chores and a bit of embroidery, leaving her dad struggling to make ends meet at the service station. On more than one occasion she'd suggested to her mother that she help him out, she might as well make productive use of her time. Her mother had scoffed and reprimanded her for her insolence, but she suspected her dad was quietly impressed. As soon as she'd turned sixteen he'd got her a pair of overalls and taken her under his wing, hoping to give her a bit of ambition in life. Her mom hadn't approved but she'd risen to the challenge.

"So you're gonna take dirty diapers over the T birds?"

Stephanie's head snapped back up at Goose's words. What have I missed?

"I didn't say that," Sharon said, addressing them all. "I'll see what I can do. But I'm only going if the other girls are."

"Of course they are," Johnny said sounding self-assured. "Right Steph?"

"Yeah, whatever you say," she replied, not having the heart to fight him on it. It's a game of poker, a few drinks with friends, it'll be fun...

~~~

"So you're babysitting on Saturday?" Louis asked Sharon, his disbelieve clear.

She looked towards the front of the class before answering. "I might be but I don't have to," she whispered whilst Mr Hunter's back was turned. "I was trying to be tactful."

He stared at her blankly and then realisation slowly dawned. "Oh you mean because of Davey?"

"Keep your voice down," she hissed. "Yes, because of Davey. He knows how I feel - or rather how I don't feel - about him. It'll probably be awkward if I go."

He shook his head. "I've spoken to him, it's all sorted out, you have nothing to worry about."

"Even so, going to his house seems a bit insensitive."

"It'll look worse if you don't go," he countered. "It'll seem like you have a problem with him."

"But I don't!" She realised she'd raised her voice and she quickly looked down as Mr Hunter glared in their direction.

"So go then," Louis said when Mr Hunter had turned back to the board. "Or everyone's gonna start feeling awkward and thinking something's going on."

She gave him an appraising look. "I think we're all going to feel a lot more awkward when you finish with Rhonda. If you still plan to?" Despite his earnest words it hadn't gone unnoticed that he'd made no moves to do so.

"I am going to," he whispered leaning closer to her. "I've taken a big step back. I haven't called her, we haven't been on any proper dates, she'll soon get the message."

"So you're waiting for her to put the pieces together?" She contemplated him for a moment. "I don't think I approve, it seems like you're stringing her along."

"I'm not! But we're only been seeing each other for a few months. We're not going steady, I don't think there needs to be some big dramatic showdown."

"I didn't say that," she said smiling despite herself. "But surely there's a middle ground between ignoring her and having a heated confrontation."

"I guess there is," he said letting out a sigh. "And I'm trying to find it. I don't want to hurt her." He frowned for a second. "I don't think she'll be hurt, not really, but I think she'll be..."

"Humiliated?"

"Yeah, that's the word. Humiliated. I don't want to humiliate her. If it's her idea we split up then we can all move on without any hard feelings." He sat back looking satisfied with himself.

"Just be careful," she warned. "If she doesn't pick up on your hints, or chooses to ignore them, it could get messy. Sometimes an honest conversation is the best way to go."

He gave her a long look. "You're sounding kinda over-involved in this."

"Rhonda's my friend," she said in her best haughty voice, lest he get any other ideas.

"Is she? I know you and Steph buddied up in freshman year, and you and Paulette grew up on the same street, but where does Rhonda fit in?"

"I made friends with Rhonda through Stephanie when she helped her and Paulette with an English assignment, or maybe it was a science project." She twirled her hair around her finger, feigning disinterest. "I think that was how we all got together, it's a long time ago now." She remembered how she'd worried about getting pushed aside so she'd made an extra effort to befriend Rhonda, more so than either Stephanie or Paulette had.

Louis cleared his throat. "Sorry, I didn't realise you and Rhonda were so close."

"I care about her," she said choosing her words carefully. "I don't want to see her get hurt, I mean more than necessary." It was naive for Louis to think he could disentangle himself from their relationship, if it could be called that, without hurting her feelings. "Remember, if you mess up, we'll all fall out."

"And that's all you're worried about?" He caught her eyes, his gaze intense.

"Of course," she said with a small laugh. "What else would I be worried about."

~~~