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Chapter One

August 1968

The party was in full swing, the house full of drunk teenagers, Curly among them. Carolyn Hewitt must be regretting inviting their entire grade to her end of summer party, with many of them passed out on her lawn or throwing up in her bushes. Still, he didn't feel sorry for her, not if she got to come home to this mansion every day.

Leaving Jimmy to continue sucking face with Nancy Donovan, he pushed his way through the crowd and out the door. Welcoming the cool breeze, he pulled out a cigarette, shoving it into his mouth and lighting it. The backyard was full of couples huddled in dark corners. Only an hour he'd been among them, until Ricky Stuart decided he didn't much like his ex-girl with Curly, and wanted a fight even more.

Wandering around the side of the house, he found a girl standing there alone, leaning her upper body over the rails of the porch. She hadn't noticed he was there, which gave him a moment to study her. She wasn't a knockout but he supposed she was pretty enough. Tall with long blonde hair. And even if she didn't have that much in her chest area her legs were long, their skin showing from under her skirt. He would have rathered the hemline came higher than just above her knees.

"If you're not careful you'll fall over the edge."

Her eyes shot towards him, fear flicking through them if only for a second, though what exactly she was so afraid of he didn't know. He recognised her face from school, but doubted he'd ever talked to her.

"I'm plenty careful." She replied, setting herself back down on the porch.

"Want a smoke?" He offered, holding the packet out to her, but she shook her head, "Don't smoke?"

"No." She said, "What happened to your hands?"

Curly shrugged. "Got into a fight."

"Isn't this the part where you say you should see the other guy?"

"I would," he said, "But I don't think a nice girl like you should be seeing him."

She simply rolled her eyes, causing him to grin. There wasn't any fear in her eyes anymore, not even as he moved closer. Most girls like her were wary of guys like him, always thinking the worst of them.

"I'm sure there's some ice in the kitchen," she said, to which he raised his eyebrows, "For your hands."

"Nah, they'll be fine." He said, "I've had worse."

"Course you have." She said, and he was sure if she wasn't smiling he'd be offended.

"What's your name?" He asked, resting his elbows down beside hers.

"Peggy Jones."

"Peggy Jones." He repeated, "I'm,"

"I know who you are." She said, but immediately regretted it when his grin only grew and her cheeks reddened.

Yes, she knew who Curly Shepard was, everyone did. He'd gotten into too much trouble both in and out of school to be an unknown.

She'd already spent far too long away from the party, any longer and Jane would send the search party out for her. But being alone was easier than seeing Jane and her boyfriend all over each other and wondering why she and Michael didn't have it that easy.

Things had been great when they first got together. Maybe great was an overstatement, but every interaction wasn't shrouded in awkwardness. Even before they'd started dating, when they were friends, they never struggled to maintain a conversation. But now it felt like everything was an uphill battle with them. One step forward, ten steps back.

"You here with anyone?" He asked, as if he could read her mind.

"Yeah." She said, "Why?"

"Just wondering what a pretty girl like you is doing out here all alone."

"I could ask you the same thing." She retorted, with all the confidence she could muster.

"You think I'm pretty."

Yes, she thought, very much. Though pretty might not be the right word. He was certainly handsome, with a bad boy charm that made all the girls swoon. But he was dangerous, and she knew all about his reputation.

Though, he seemed tame enough to her.

"That's not what I meant." She said, "I swear I saw you sharing spit with a girl not long ago."

"You really do know me."

"I'm observant."

"Are you saying I'm unobservant?"

"Clearly."

"Still haven't answered my question." Curly pointed out. "If you got a date, why aren't you with him?" He asked, smirking at her. "Did he bore ya?"

"My boyfriend is not boring." Peggy retorted. "I just needed a moment to myself."

It wasn't a lie. Michael wasn't by any means boring, and she had genuinely wanted a moment of quiet. Of course, there was more to it then that, but she wasn't about to tell a complete stranger her insecurities about her relationship.

If she was honest, she hadn't even really wanted to come to the party in the first place and have to deal with Michael's attitude. It had been her mother's idea - a chance to have fun and be a teenager. And of course she had to tell Sheila, who just had to tell her son, who got it into his head that it would be the perfect date. Sometimes she really hated dating the son of her mother's friend.

Curly opened his mouth to say something back, no doubt to question her definition of boring, but was interrupted by her name being called. Looking past him, Peggy saw Michael and Jane standing further down on the porch. When Michael's eyes flicked between them, she noticed just how close Curly was standing.

"Nice meeting you, Peggy Jones." Curly smirked at her.

"I'll see you around, Curly Shepard."

Only when she reached the end of the porch did she dare to look back, to see that he was still watching her. But all she could offer him was a small smile, not wanting to wound Michael's pride further. They might be having their troubles but he didn't deserve that. Still, she couldn't help that her mind kept wandering back to Curly Shepard and their brief conversation.

This story takes place in the same universe as my other story 'Ain't No Sunshine'.