Chapter 1

"That's him!" The pretty young blonde standing next to an even prettier and slightly older blonde said as she began to dance a quick jig.

"Oh? All I see is a station wagon coming around the corner." The older girl said.

"Very funny, that's his parents' car. He's here. Oh, I can't believe I get to spend the whole day with him." The younger one said.

"Bren, you really need to calm down. I thought you said you wanted to impress this boy and get him to ask you to the spring dance. If you act like a blithering idiot, he's sure to notice you, but not in a good way. And, as your older sister, it's my job to see that you get your man." The older one chided.

Brenda, seeing the wisdom of her sister's words, tried vainly to stand still. "Oh, Beth, do you really think I can get him to notice me? I've been trying for the whole school year and he hasn't even once looked at me as anything other than his younger sister's friend."

"Well, that's what this whole party is about isn't it? Well, that and to celebrate you officially becoming a teenager." Beth teased.

"I still can't believe Mom and Dad agreed to let me have boys and girls for my party." Brenda sighed.

"Hmmm." Beth murmured. She couldn't believe that her parents had allowed a co-ed party or that they had agreed to let Brenda's two older sisters act as chaperones rather than themselves. Oh, they'd be home, just not down in the basement rec room with the attendees.

Things sure had changed since Beth had been thirteen. She supposed it had something to do with Brenda being the baby of the family and the fact that Beth and Barbara had broken them in. The two older girls had had to fight for every inch of independence they'd been given. Brenda had things handed to her.

Beth was brought back to the present when her sister literally squealed. "Ohmygod, there he is. For real."

Beth watched a young boy exit the front seat of the station wagon and then wait for his sister to get out of the back seat. She watched him lean in the open window and carry on a conversation with the man driving the car. Maybe it was their vantage point, but he looked kind of small to her for someone her sister had told her was a year older than her. Brenda had sent him an anonymous birthday card for his fourteenth birthday just last month. Beth had spent hours with her in the card store picking out just the right card. It had been sort of fun and nostalgic to watch her little sister go through the first stages of puppy love.

"He doesn't look all that impressive." Beth couldn't help but tease.

"What do you mean? He's absolutely the most cute boy in the whole school." Brenda turned to her sister in shock.

"Well, he looks kind of short." Beth pointed out. She loved making Brenda defend the object of her affection.

"He's taller than me." Brenda quickly defended and then noticed her sister trying to hide a smile. "Besides, I'm sure he'll grow some more. And, I'm not all that tall either. In fact, looking at Mom and Dad, I'm lucky if I'll top out at five foot five."

"How old did you say he was? Fourteen, right? I'd say he's mostly done growing." Beth tried but just couldn't hide her smile.

"You are so not funny. Besides, you're pretty darn short yourself." Brenda huffed having turned from her sister and missed seeing the smile.

"Hey, now that was truly uncalled for. Do you want my help today or not?" Beth knew that threat would get her a quick apology.

"I'm sorry. Truly I am. Oh, please, you have to help me. I'll just die if he doesn't notice me. That witch, Pam Peterson, is telling all the girls in school that she's going to get Keith to invite her to the spring dance in a couple of weeks. I just have to get him to ask me. I just have to. Next year he'll be in high school and I'll still just be in junior high. Oh, Beth, please." Brenda could feel the tears spring to her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Brenda. Don't cry. I was just teasing. Of course I'll help you." Beth quickly assured her sister and pulled her into a quick hug. "Now, let's finish with your hair so you can make your grand entrance, hmmm?"

"Just a couple more minutes. I want to watch him until he gets into the house. I wanna make sure he's going to stay." Brenda turned back to the scene below them.

"He's here. Why wouldn't he stay?" Beth asked confused.

"Because Laurie told me he had begged his parents not to make him come to a silly birthday party. He wanted to go to this concert in San Francisco with his friends. One of his friend's older brothers was going to drive them. They'd had it all planned until his parents found out about it. Laurie said there was a huge fight and Keith locked himself in his room for the whole night. He skipped dinner and everything. His parents grounded him. Laurie said it was the worst fight she'd ever seen." Brenda related the story with a little awe. She'd never once had cross words with her parents.

"Wow, he's a bit of a rebel, isn't he?" Beth looked at the boy walking with his sister to the house. Maybe she should watch him a little more closely than she'd first thought. "What else haven't you told me about him?"

"What do you mean?" Brenda asked never taking her eyes off of Keith's progress up the front walk.

She gasped when he suddenly stopped and turned around jogging back to the car. "Oh, no! He's leaving."

Beth looked quickly back out the window to see Keith open the tailgate of the station wagon and pull out a guitar case. "No, he's just getting what looks like a guitar."

"Oh, that's right. I had Laurie ask him to bring his guitar. He's so talented." Brenda gushed.

"Why did you have Laurie ask him?" Beth just couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Oh, gosh Beth. I couldn't have asked him myself. I'd have blushed and stammered and oh, wow, who knows what else. I get so tongue tied around him." Brenda said fervently.

"Well, how in the world do you expect to make a good impression on him today if you don't talk to him?" Beth asked finally able to pull her sister away from the window to finish her hair when Keith and Laurie rang the doorbell.

"I don't know." Brenda almost wailed in panic and sent a pleading look at her sixteen year old sister who she hoped and prayed would think of something. And, quick.

"Don't worry. Barbara and I will think of something. In plenty of time." Beth spun her sister away from her and bit her lip. Holy cow! Barbara and Beth would do anything for their baby sister. But, this one would definitely be a challenge. How do you get a boy to notice a girl who was too shy to talk to him?

Finishing with Brenda's hair, Beth stepped back and looked at her baby sister critically. Too bad she was so darn shy when she was around boys she liked - well, at least she was pretty. With her blonde locks curled and pulled back slightly from her face, their mother's bright green eyes sparkling with excitement and the rest of her facial features making a stunning picture, they could at least count on Keith thinking she was easy on the eyes.

Instead of the usual party dress that most girls wore to their thirteenth birthday party, Brenda had begged for something more mature. Their mother had finally given in and allowed her to wear bell bottoms. On top, she wore a tight sweater that hugged her budding curves. Beth looked at her baby sister, who she was just realizing was no longer a baby and thought, 'Keith Partridge, you had best look out'.

"What? Is something wrong?" Brenda asked seeing her sister's overly long perusal.

"Nope. I was just thinking that your new beau had best hold onto his hat when you make your appearance. You are going to knock him for a loop. That's for sure." Beth grinned at her blushing sister.

"I look alright?" Brenda looked down at herself.

"You look better than alright." Beth assured her.

"Do I look thirteen?" Brenda could sure use more reassurance. She needed to look older to land an older boyfriend.

"Oh, I'd say closer to fourteen." Beth quickly told her. She watched a pretty smiled replace the look of worry. That was just the effect that Beth had been going for. The smile transformed her pretty features into a look of rare beauty. The sisters all, thankfully, took after their stunning mother who could have easily been a model except for her height, but had chosen married life with the man of her dreams. Barbara and Brenda had gotten their mother's emerald green eyes while Beth had always lamented that she'd gotten their father's dull brown eyes. Since she'd been dating, she'd found out that boys were fascinated by the combination of her almost white blonde locks and her dark, exotic eyes so she'd recently decided that her eye color was a blessing not a curse.

"Really? Fourteen?" Brenda said in awe. "Oh, he's sure to notice me."

"Yes, he is. Now, stand up straight, throw your shoulders back and put on an air of confidence like mom showed you the other day. He won't stand a chance." Beth assured her.

"Well, they were the last guests to arrive. I guess it's time for me to make my entrance." Brenda said with newly gained confidence.

"That's the spirit. Let's go." Beth said and pulled the bedroom door open motioning her sister through ahead of her.

"Keith Partridge, you best be ready because here I come." Brenda beamed at her sister as she walked past.

Beth shook her head at her sister's quick change and followed her down the hallway and downstairs.

xoxo

"I can't believe we're at some stupid birthday party instead of the concert." Keith lamented to Gordy and Skizzy who were standing with him in a corner. "Do you suppose we could ditch the party and still catch your brother before he leaves?"

"Oh, sure. If you don't like living." Skizzy answered. "I have never seen my parents so mad. At least they were mad at Mark instead of me. Man, when they found out that Mark was planning on taking us to the concert instead of the ballgame I was pretty sure an atomic bomb had gone off."

"Yeah, I got pretty much the same reaction." Keith admitted. "But, going to the concert might be worth the fall-out."

"Bad pun Partridge." Gordy put in. "I have absolutely no desire to ever see my dad's face that red again."

"Actually, I think my dad was planning on taking me to the concert until he found out about our plan. In fact, I'm almost sure of it. While I'm at this dumb party, my parents got a babysitter for the rest of the kids and are going out. Wouldn't surprise me to find out they went to the concert with the tickets that dad meant for me and him. Dad's into music just like I am." Keith remembered the look of disappointment on his dad's face when they'd confronted him about his plans. At first he'd thought is was because he'd gone behind their backs but after a couple of days separation from the situation, he was pretty sure it had been because the surprise he'd planned for Keith had been torpedoed by Keith's actions.

"You are so lucky that your dad is so into music. In fact, come to think of it, your whole family is musically inclined. Ever think of startin' your own band?" Gordy joked.

"Oh, right. My parents won't let me go to a concert. Why in the world would they let me start a band? I'm surprised they got me an electric guitar for my birthday last month." Keith's eyes lit up when he thought about his latest prized possession. He'd been driving the family crazy trying to learn to play like Hendrix and Clapton. They'd finally moved his equipment into the garage to get some peace.

Since then, he and the rest of his brothers and sisters had been playing music to their hearts content whenever they felt like it. Keith was out there the most, but Danny, Chris and even Laurie would show up more and more often. They had yet to put it all together because Keith was just teaching Chris how to pound away on Keith's drum set, but he was learning quickly. Danny could already play some simple tunes on the guitar and Laurie was a whiz on the piano. A band just might not be such a far-out idea.

Oh, who was he kidding? His parents were alright with him feeding his love of music, but they'd likely draw the line at him trying to take it public. Besides, what would they play? Cover music? Keith got a faraway look in his eyes as he dreamed of himself on stage with Clapton while playing dueling guitars.

"Uh oh, Partridge is lost in musicland again." Skizzy said as he waved his hand in front of Keith's far away gaze.

"Knock it off Skiz." Keith knocked his hand away from his face just as the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen walked down the stairs into the basement rec room. Keith's mouth fell open as he looked at the gorgeous and obviously older girl calling for everyone's attention.

"Hey, Partridge, she's way out of your league. She's at least sixteen." Gordy whispered in his ear even though he was thinking much the same thing as Keith. Wouldn't any one of them have loved a shot at her? She was stunning.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the lady of the party has arrived." Beth said and swung her arm to draw everyone's attention to Brenda as she made her entrance.

Brenda immediately scanned the room looking for Keith. It took her a while to find him as her girlfriends rushed over to congratulate her on her birthday and her great outfit. She finally noticed him standing with his two best friends in the far corner. What hurt was that his eyes weren't glued to her like she'd hoped. In fact, he had a goofy look on his face and was staring intently at someone just to her right. Brenda glanced over to find Beth smiling happily at her.

Brenda's smile faltered as she realized that Keith was completely taken by her older sister.

When Beth noticed Brenda's smile falter, she shot her a questioning look and then followed Brenda's eyes to her crush to find him staring at her with a look of adulation. Great, just great. All she needed tonight was some horny kid chasing her all over the place trying to use all his best lines on her.

Beth threw a glare at Keith and nodded her head toward Brenda. Keith frowned back and finally pulled his eyes away from the goddess who was obviously much less enamored of him.

When his eyes finally lit on Brenda, she threw him her best smile. He threw a weak smile back and turned to Skizzy. "You really think she's sixteen?"

"No, I know she's sixteen. Mark talks about her all the time and says every guy in high school is hot for her. She's pretty selective though. She's only dated the most popular guys in school. You know, the quarterback or the star basketball player. She doesn't even look at the regular Joe's. Which pisses Mark and his buddies off to no end." Skizzy threw another longing look at the older girl who had already dismissed them as kids.

"Man, what I wouldn't give to be famous or really good at sports right about now." Keith whispered.

"Forget it Partridge. The only way she'd look at you were if you were as well known as your idol, Clapton." Skizzy shot down Keith's dreams.

"Kill joy." Keith shot at Skizzy.

"Nope. Just realistic. Besides, at two years older and already in high school, what does she want with some junior high dweeb?" Skizzy moved quickly to avoid Keith's elbow.

"Keep it up Skiz and I'll forget I knew you when I do become famous." Keith turned away from the girl who was well beyond his reach but still held a fascination for him. Too bad he wasn't some tall Adonis. He was just average old Keith Partridge.

If he could read minds, he'd have thought himself much closer to Adonis than an average Joe. Brenda was still gazing at him longingly and thinking that he was just about the cutest boy to ever draw breath.

"Well, brother dear, aren't you going to wish the birthday girl well?" Laurie had snuck up on Keith without his noticing.

"Yeah, maybe later." Keith said hoping she hadn't heard any of their conversation about Brenda's sister. From the look on her face, he was safe.

"I think it would be nice if you did it now." Laurie nudged him. She knew that Brenda had a mad crush on her brother and was doing everything in her power to get them close to each other.

Unfortunately, she also knew that Keith had yet to look at Brenda as a girl. Oh, he knew she was female, but to him she was just one of his kid sister's friends. One of his sister's friends whom he categorically avoided whenever they came over. He hated it when they tried to include him in their silly conversations. Well, that's what he called them anyway. Their conversations usually revolved around boys and fashion; neither of which interested Keith in the least.

Even though Laurie was seven months younger than Brenda, they'd been best friends since they were little. It had all started on the first day of school in the first grade. Laurie had been younger than the other kids in her class because she'd been allowed to test out of kindergarten and was thus one grade behind Keith instead of two. With her birthday in December, she should have been two grades behind, but her thirst to learn everything her older brother learned had allowed her to be more advanced than other kids her age. That didn't stop her from being extra shy and Brenda, seeing her struggle, had approached her at lunch and joked and cajoled her into smiling. Once that had happened, they'd become inseparable.

Brenda spent many happy nights on sleep-overs by the Partridge's and Laurie had done the same over by Brenda's house. At first, Keith hadn't minded being included when they'd played but as his tastes had matured, he'd started to avoid the girls at all costs. He would disappear whenever they were around and would try to sleep over at a friend's house if Brenda was to sleep by them. He had claimed it was self-preservation. They always followed him around and giggled. Gross.

Keith was completely unaware that Laurie's and Brenda's tastes had matured right along with his because he'd been avoiding them for a couple of years. If he knew that Brenda had a crush on him things might be different. Then again, maybe not. He had yet to see Brenda as 'date' potential. Right now, she was his little sister's best friend. That made her taboo.

Brenda was fighting to keep the smile on her face while she watched Laurie talk to Keith. She had expected Keith to at least come over and wish her a happy birthday, but so far he'd kept his distance.

xoxo

Barbara, Brenda's nineteen year old sister who'd been playing hostess up to this point, stopped next to Beth and asked, "How'd it go?"

"Oh, Barbara, she is head over heels for this one." Beth told her in a quiet voice.

"Which one is he?" Barbara asked. She had no idea what was going on. She was recently home from college and had completely lost track of her sisters' love lives.

"See those three boys in the corner? The ones with Brenda's friend Laurie?" At Barbara's nod of acknowledgement, Beth continued, "Keith's the one right next to Laurie. He really is kind of cute."

"For a fourteen year old, he's not too bad. His hair is kind of long, but I guess that's the new thing." Barbara agreed. She only knew how old he was because he was all Brenda had talked about since she'd gotten home that morning. "He certainly has potential to grow into a real looker."

"You sound just like a guy when you say things like that. A real looker, huh? Personally, I think he's still stuck smack dab in the middle of the male awkward stage. You know the one that doesn't seem to leave most of them until their somewhere between sixteen and thirty." Beth joked.

The shared laughter of Brenda's two older sisters drew the eye of every male invited to the party. They really did make a stunning picture. Too bad they were way out of the league of every young boy there.

xoxo

The party had been going on for over an hour when Keith excused himself. He'd used the excuse that he needed to use the bathroom, but the reality was he was bored out of his mind. They had music playing and were just standing around and talking. Some of the girls had danced a little, but none of the guys had. It was just like the dances at school. So far they hadn't played any slow music, so none of the guys were even thinking of dancing. Besides, even with Brenda's parents absent from the rec room, her older sisters were watching them like hawks. It was enough to give the insecure young boys a case of the yips, so they steered clear of the girls for now.

Keith wandered around the first floor of the house looking for the bathroom and once he was done decided to explore some more before rejoining the party. He could talk to Gordy and Skizzy anytime.

He wandered outside to find Brenda's dad working on the family's car.

"Hello, Mr. Morgan. What're ya doin'?" Keith asked.

"You're Keith Partridge, right?" At Keith's nod he continued. "Changing the oil and a little maintenance. You know anything about cars?"

"Sure. My dad and I are fixing up an old '57 Chevy that he says will be mine when I get my license. We're not as far as we'd like to be cause Mom always gives him her 'honey do' list." Keith said and leaned against the fender with a grin.

"Why aren't you at the party?" Mr. Morgan asked, liking the kid already for his views on the husband and wife dynamic.

Keith shrugged and avoided an answer. "Can I give you a hand?"

"Sure, but you don't want to get your party duds dirty so grab that pair of coveralls on the tool box. Then you can grab the creeper and slide under the car to remove the oil plug." Mr. Morgan could get used to having a helping hand with the manly chores around the house. Being the only male in his female dominated household had him starved for the relationship he'd have had with a son. Who could blame him for accepting the young man's offer of assistance?

If he'd have thought about it, he'd have known that his daughter would be upset. After all, the boy was supposed to be at her party. If he'd known the young man just so happened to be his daughter's latest crush he'd have known for sure she'd be upset. But, being the only male in the household, he tuned out on those conversations, so was unaware of the havoc he was causing.

Keith had been absent from the party for at least a half an hour when Barbara came out of the house and asked her dad if he'd seen Keith Partridge.

When Mr. Morgan looked through a space in the motor to see Keith lying on the creeper under the vehicle and out of sight of his daughter, he noticed Keith shaking his head and asking for his silence. So he answered that he hadn't seen him in a while.

Keith grinned his appreciation of the man covering for him and went back to helping with the auto repairs. Mr. Morgan grinned back and winked conspiratorially.

When they finished the maintenance on the car, Keith offered to help Mr. Morgan start the barbecue and grill the burgers and hot dogs that would be their meal. It was here that Beth found Keith.

"Daddy, what are you doing putting one of the party goers to work?" Beth gently chastised him. She'd been sent by Brenda to find her most important guest after Barbara had come up empty.

"What? He offered." Mr. Morgan defended himself. At her look of disgust, he gave in and said quietly to Keith, "Guess your reprieve is over. Sorry, son. Thanks for all the help."

"No problem Mr. Morgan. I had a good time." Keith assured him and had no problems following the pretty sixteen year old back into the house. Who could blame him if he took advantage of the view while he did so?

"I'm glad I found you. Brenda wants you to bring out your guitar and play some songs. We can have a little concert." Beth told him over her shoulder as they headed down the basement stairs.

"Yippee." Keith said without enthusiasm. God, he hated singing in front of people. He was always afraid his voice would crack. He'd have to make sure everyone else sang along.