Backdated to August 1st

[first_pink_lady]

By golly, she was nineteen.  Nineteen and on a tropical hunk of rock in the middle of the ocean.  Then again, it wasn't all that grim- nIneteen wasn't that landmark of an age, anyway, and the island wasn't so bad when she wasn't playing fetus-babysitter or stuck in a month-long monsoon.

If she'd been home, they would have graduated by now - most

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[since_1997]

"I've got a surprise for you."

She'd let it slip that it was her birthday soon and Paul's the sort of guy, the good sort of guy, who remembers this stuff. He's genuinely fond of Rizzo, thinks of her as a friend, and that means one thing: birthday presents. Dressed in board shorts and a t-shirt that he's pretty sure is Tom's, Paul crouches down in front of her and grins sunnily.

[first_pink_lady]

Rizzo's face lit up with a genuine smile, the kind that reached her eyes that she was barely conscious of. The kind she used to do more of when she had the Pink Ladies, but found herself doing less of these days, surrounded by mostly strangers. With aqaintances she tended to tease, or flirt, or do both - and it was a negotiation of her image with her vulnerable emotions, a near constant act. She never thought she'd miss Rydell this much. Jesus Christ, she was lucky she had Paul.

"Really? What?" She asked delightedly, but not too concerned. Empty presents she'd had a lot of in life, thanks to her daddy-o, but that he remembered at all was enough to fuel the sudden loss of her aloof, cool cat act.

[since_1997]

She looks gorgeous when she smiles like that and, for a moment, Paul just revels in that, just watching her. He holds out both hands, fists lightly curled and tilts his head on one side.

"Don't get excited. It's nothing amazing. But pick one."

[first_pink_lady]

She just barely keeps herself back from a quick game of 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe' because even if she didn't mind being juvenile sometimes, she had told Jan that you didn't gotta flaunt it. "Don't rain on my parade, Pauly." She chided almost gleefully. She didn't notice her hands were clasped together at her chest until she reached out and tapped the knucles of his right hand. Right being right, and all that.

[since_1997]

It really doesn't matter which hand she picked, earrings in one, a necklace in the other, just simple things, wire and shell, the best of a bunch of bad tries, but he wanted to make her birthday a little special - he knows how much she misses home.

He holds the necklace out to her, still grinning.

"You have no idea how long it took me to get these right."

[first_pink_lady]

She snuffed out her cigarette entirely absently with her left hand, the move so automatic for her that it could be done while she kept her full attention on the necklace. The smile on her face was still brilliant as she took the necklace from him, examining his handiwork as if it were priceless. She was flattered, and touched and... a little bit in disbelief, really, that he'd spent that amount of time on anything for her - that anyone would. For a few moments she actually looked her age, a girl who'd been pretending to be a woman for a long time but was still just a teen. "Thanks," She said, looking up from the necklace to him, her fingers running over the shells, and couldn't keep from throwing her arms around him, the necklace held close in her hand.

[since_1997]

"Tom helped."

She throws her arms around him and Paul wraps his arms around her, holding her close, rubbing one hand up her back. "There's earrings too, if you want them," he says, still grinning. "Happy Birthday, Rizzo."

[first_pink_lady]

"He's a keeper," She mumbled sagely into his shoulder. When she leaned back, she kissed him on the cheek - an oddly tender act for her - before examining the necklace again. She reached up to tie it on, over the gold chain, pleased as punch. "No kiddin'? You boys would have sent my home economics class home in tears." She looked up again, meeting his eyes at the birthday wish. "Thanks, Pauly." And it was terribly sincere.

[since_1997]

He touches his cheek where she kissed him and blushes, just a little bit, still giving her that same goofy smile.

"I just wanted you to have a good day," he explains, uncurling his other fist and holding out the earrings.

[first_pink_lady]

She had pierced ears, but it was just her luck that on the day she'd walked through the doors of Rydell and ended up here she hadn't had any on. "I gotta say, it's lookin' up now." She said brightly, immediately tilting her head the side to put on one earing, then the other. She tucked her brown curls around her ears, and clasped her hands around her knees as she faced him.

After a moment, her face grew a little more serious. "So I guess I'm here to stay, huh?"

[since_1997]

Paul thinks about that for a moment, solemn, and then he nods, shifting in position until he can drop his arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze.

"Guess we're in it together."

[first_pink_lady]

She can't help but lean into the contact, her instincts wanting her to put the tough act back up but the better part of her knowing that Paul wouldn't buy it. And that's terrifying, because she'd spent a long time building up those walls - and between Sandy and Paul, she was starting to realize that all they needed was kindness to start crumbling, which was really kind of pathetic and all.

She gave a soft laugh. "Who are you kiddin', Pauly. You've got it made in the shade. You and Tom are like the Cleavers around this place."

[since_1997]

"Yeah, but I left Robin at home." Paul rolls one shoulder in a shrug, but he keeps her close, her arms strill around her shoulders, his cheek resting against her hair.

"I don't know what the fuck I'd do now if I ended up back there tomorrow."

[first_pink_lady]

"Ain't there one you love more, between her and Tom?" She asked, curious but feeling oddly careful - she wasn't the type to worry about pushing buttons, but she felt fragile like this, being sincere with her guards down.

[since_1997]

He shakes his head, letting his hair fall forward before he pushes it back again, tucking it behind his ears.

"It's...She was my best friend, so's he, you know?"

[first_pink_lady]

She didn't; Paul was the first guy friend she'd ever had who hadn't thought of her as something to screw, first. And Kenickie - the only guy she'd ever gone steady with - had always been more of a lukewarm aquaintance than a friend, even when they'd starting making the necking a daily thing.

"There's gotta be more to it than just that." She said, a little bit mystified. She'd never thought Mister Right existed, but here Paul was convinced he had two of 'em - Mister and Miss Right.