Thanks to all you who actually complimented the last chapter, I greatly appreciate it. You all are fantastic readers! :D

To answer an anonymous question, yes, Rex WILL be in this story, along with Sid and Nancy. (Sid and Nancy are briefly mentioned in this chapter, while Rex appears in chapter five.) Rex was made into a "Chinese Water Dragon" while, the two Diictodons were made into Jack Russells, as, they are VERY active dogs so...I saw it suiting.

Also note, that this chapter has some back story on the characters and how I thought they might've grown up. (With the help of the lovely Hannah Spearritt of course, who hinted something about Abby's past in an interview.) And to note something else, A LOT of these earlier chapters have back stories in them, some do get quite long as I get caught up in the backstories we never got to hear about.

So...tell me if you like them or not, thanks. :)

Chapter Three.

7:54 PM, Stephen Hart's:

Stephen smiled and put his arm around Abby. They had been hanging out all afternoon, playing whatever sports came to mind. While he owned her in Squash, she owned him in kickboxing.

"You wanna have dinner with me, Abs?"
"Uh...well-" She shrugged.
"If you've got something else to do, that's fine with me. We can do it on another night."
"No, no. I'm totally free tonight." She looked towards Connor's house with a bit of a frown, but smiled up at Stephen.
"Cool. You must be starving." He commented. "I know I am, all those sports!"
"Are you gonna cook or order out?"
"I'm not sure if I'm such a great cook or not...but I can try."
"I can help, I'm...pretty good in the kitchen." She offered.
"That'd be great." He walked her to his porch and Abby took a final look to Connor's house before walking into Stephen's.

8:05 PM, The Temple's:

"Abby, where are you?" Connor said out loud anxiously, sitting with the popcorn on the couch and the movie sat paused on the title screen.
"Abby, you're never late...eight o'clock sharp..." He felt a bit disappointed, in the eight years they've been doing this, she's only ever missed one when she was fifteen. Connor could recall the first time they ever did this. It was such a lovely time for them.

Abby was thirteen years old, Connor was fifteen. They were in every class together. This was nothing unusual in a school that liked mixing grade levels together. She struggled in school everyday, Connor passed with an easy A in everything except gym. She had bruises, he had bruises...they had ended up being best friends.

They were in maths class, separated from one another because the teacher thought they "gabbed" too much.

Abby just stared at the paper, overwhelming guilt washed over her realizing she knew none of this. She really shouldn't have used maths class as a class to catch up on sleep, she thought. But she had and now staring at this, she wanted all the problems to solve themselves.

Connor stared at the wall, already finished with his work and anxiously awaiting class to be over so he could talk to Abby. He knew it sounded stupid that he had a crush on her, after all he was older. It wasn't cool to have a girlfriend younger than you at the time, but he just couldn't help it. There was just...something about her...

He looked over at her because as one of her best and only friends, he knew she sometimes struggled and he had to make sure she was alright. That was what friends do. She looked up when she noticed his head turn her way.

"You alright?" He mouthed.
"No..." She shook her head quickly.
"What's wrong?" He said quietly.
"Connor!" Came the stern voice of his teacher.
"Yes, Miss?" He immediately sat straight up and looked away from Abby.
"Stop talking to Abigail and let her focus on her work! Just because you're finished, doesn't mean everyone is."
"Um...actually...Abigail's the only one not finished..." Becker pointed out.

"It's Abby and you know that Hilary!" She snapped back and glared at him.
"Well if you would call me Becker like everyone else maybe I'd call you Abby!" He pressed.
"Shut up!" She told him.
"Why? You're the one not finished with this paper. Did you fall asleep again?"
"Now you're just being an arse and I hate when you act like this!" She yelled and punched him.
"Oi! I get enough of that without you!" He punched her back.
"Abigail, hallway! Now!" The teacher demanded.
"Abby! A-B-B-Y! Is it that hard for you nitwits to say?" Abby slammed the classroom door.
"Hil-Becker," The teacher, Ms. Covington said exasperated. "Go to the nurse, please."
"Uh-huh..."He nodded and held the side of his head. "I swear, one day, I'm gonna be a soldier so I don't have to deal with this crap!" He said to Connor. "With me?"
"Hm, I'd rather have fists than atomic bombs, mate. Besides, Abby does like you...except, she's brassed off today." Connor chuckled.
"Hilary, go." She demanded.
"I'm going!" He closed the door and walked past Abby.

"Miss," Connor raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Temple?" She sighed about to go outside to talk to Abby.
"Can I go talk to her? I mean...I am her best friend. I think she'll respond better. I actually did a study on how-"
"Go, Connor. Just go." She pointed to the door and Connor ran out.

"What are you doing here, Connor?" Abby snarled, still angered from her outburst.
"Are you okay, Abs?"
"Do I look okay? No! I'm not!" She felt like crying, but blinked away her tears.
"It's been two months since your last outburst in class. I was thinking people were starting to forget that scary Abby." He tried to get at least a small smile out of her. "What happened?"
"Just-nothing. I can't tell you or anyone."
"I'm your best friend though. We tell each other everything..."
"I'd get killed, Connor. I'm not-I'm not risking anything." She cried.
"What?" His voice cracked, very worried about his friend's safety.
"Forget it. Just forget what I said."

"You want to come to my house tonight? We can watch a movie or somethin'." Connor smiled.
"Why? If you want something, it's not happening!" She crossed her arms against her chest.
"Abby, we're friends. I don't want anything but that." He reassured her. "It's just that...watching movies with mates makes me feel better. I was assuming it would do the same for you. You don't have to if you don't want to but-"
"Yes, I'll come. Can I stay the night?"
"Er...I'll have to ask me mum, but I'm sure it'll be alright with her. She's always thrilled when I have a friend over. She suffocates them with her love and cookies so be prepared for an overly nice woman and for brothers who are absolute gits."
"Sounds like a great life." Connor cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrow.
"If you say so..."
"I do." She smiled and gave him a hug, whispering in his ear. "Thanks...a lot...you'll never know how much this means to me." He put his hand on her back softly and grinned.
"No problem. Anytime."
He would've never guessed that that simple gesture of kindness, could've saved his best friend's life. But it had.

It was eight o'clock when the movie was finally put in.

Abby looked at Connor like he was mental. "Why are we watching Freddy Krueger?"
"It's highly held as a classic." He smiled. "Besides, I think you would've killed me if I put in Star Trek or Star Wars."
"I really don't like horror movies." She admitted. "I get very scared."
"You? Scared?" He was astonished. "Most people think I'd be scared of them!"
She mumbled some hard-to-hear words and looked at the ground.
"I'll hold you if it makes you feel better." He teased, making her smile.
"Yeah, okay!" She pushed him a bit.
"Don't worry. I'll be here. It won't be too bad." He reassured. "The blood...looks ABSOLUTELY fake and they claimed that for the burns, he just stuck his face in pizza!"

Cuddled up under the same blanket, so close their eardrums were blown as one of them screamed, the popcorn in the middle was the only thing separating them from touching, Abby finally felt completely safe. She knew she wasn't far from home, but she wasn't home and that was the point.

Watching the movie turned into a popcorn fight at around nine, which lead to having to clean the entire living room at eleven, which means they didn't get done until twelve because they were too busy messing around.

Finally done, they crept upstairs and Connor switched on his bedroom lights.

"You...really like dinosaurs, don't ya?" Abby said and took a look around his room. A couple posters of dinosaurs tacked up on his wall, dinosaur models lined his dresser, and "Jurassic Park" and "The Land Before Time" sat proudly on his bookshelf next to a bunch of A-Team, BattleStar Galatica, Star Trek, Star Wars, and horror movies.

He blushed. "A bit. Oh and sorry for the mess. I didn't get a chance to clean." He kicked dirty clothes to the side of the room and threw some odds and ends on a shelf, making sure they didn't trip. But, mostly making sure she didn't.
"It's alright, I've got a baby brother." She responded and took another look around. "Where am I sleeping?"
"Erm...I'll sleep on the floor if you like. Or if you want you can take the couch downstairs."
"Not after watching Krueger, I'm not!" She exclaimed.
"Did I scare ya?" He poked her shoulder and laughed.
"No." She lied and shoved him.

"Well, I'm tired and I don't feel like working this out, too much thinking. Why don't you just sleep in the same bed as me? If you don't mind, I really don't mind at all."
"Of course you wouldn't!" Abby scoffed.
"I'm not going to do anything! Just sleep, I swear...but sometimes I talk in my sleep. Me mum says that it's because I absolutely never stop talking...so, that might be it. I won't...hurt you if that's what you think."
"Hm..." She shook her head, standing in the middle of the room, trying to figure out what she would do. Face fears of Freddie Krueger and sleep downstairs, sleep on his revolting pigsty of a floor (an insult to pigs everywhere, she claimed), or sleep in the same bed as him. As Connor crawled into bed and faced the window, she sighed and decided that the best choice was the last one and snuck into bed as well. But she made sure to keep her distance. Just in case.

Her mind still wasn't completely ready to trust anyone.

It was now eight thirty and Connor was sure Abby had ditched him so he had started the movie. In the first five minutes he had heard "I love you" more than he had heard in his entire life. Now, either that was sad or just an overload of unnecessary three words in such a short amount of time. He was opting for the latter...
"Why would Lester ever recommend this?" He cried and took a handful of popcorn, hoping that would make his night just a bit better. It didn't. It was burnt. He hated this movie with burning passion, actually he hated this night with burning passion.

"Abby must be on her deathbed or close to it to do this to me." He growled and passed out on the couch just as some overly sexy, dramatic scene was coming into play.

8:30 PM, Stephen's:

Abby could admit she felt bad for ditching Connor, but for Stephen? She'd do it. She spent nearly every waking moment with Connor and she loved him and spending time with him and he saved her and all that good stuff. But she hardly ever hung out with Stephen and she didn't see why she couldn't. She knew Connor hated him and every time she suggests he changed, he starts rambling about Doctor Who and how everyone thought "Doctor" changed, but he never really did. This was the one man that she's fancied for years after school and she guessed that Connor wouldn't be too hurt if she missed just one more movie night. They could reschedule or something.

"See, if I cooked this by myself, you'd be eating ashes right now." Stephen joked as he ate.
"I'm not the best cook either."
"Who are you kiddin'? You're a hell of a lot better than me."
"I've frequently had to cook as a child." She admitted and looked down at the plate of simple spaghetti.
"Now why's that?" He said curiously.
"...Nothing..." She replied and wouldn't keep eye contact.

"Abby, there's something wrong. I can see it in your eyes."
"No, really. There's nothing wrong." She lied, shook her head, and faked a smile. She had been quite an expert in her adolescent years, but now she was out of practice.
"You can tell me anything, Abby." He said caringly and lifted up her chin. "Really."
"It's nothing to bring up. It's-it's stupid, okay?"
"Now might be the wrong time to tell you, when we're talking about...whatever we are..." He whispered. "But I love you...every little thing about you…"

The words repeated in her head. He loved her? She couldn't believe it, she really couldn't. And she was overjoyed and exhilarated, but something else repeated in her head too. Connor. For some reason, at this moment, right when her crush of nearly five years tells her he loves her, she can only think about the best friend she'd ditch to get here.

He leaned in to kiss her, her heart pounded, but she pushed him away by his chest, right when their lips were about to meet. It took a lot of strength mentally to push him away when she knew how much she wanted it, how much she craved it, but it was just...better that way.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this."
"Why not? Is something wrong with me?
""No, no. Absolutely nothing is wrong with you, Stephen. And in fact, I've fancied you for a very long time, but I dunno." She shrugged.
"Abby if you fancy me, I really see no reason not to." He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair.

Her mind was telling her one thing, to go see Connor, yet her body was telling her to just kiss him already! She had to say though, her instincts were always right...

"Stephen, maybe we can...do this another night or somethin'? I really gotta get home now. Do you know Sid and Nancy have hardly been out today? They're gonna tackle me as soon as I walk in the door. I've gotta take care of them. Do what's best for the animals, aye?" She lied, complete with a smile.
"Fine. You know what, just swing on by tomorrow or something." He told her, trying to hide the devastation in his voice. Not that he liked Abby. She was a fine mate, but just because it'd been awhile.

9:00 PM, Connor Temple's:

In the dark, Abby fumbled about for Connor's house key on her keychain. He had given her the key forever ago, just in case she ever needed a place to crash and he wasn't home or was sleeping. And anyone who knows Connor, knows he's near impossible to wake up.

As she opened the door and switched on the light, she was greeted with the man sprawled out on the couch, nearly falling off of it, a bowl of popcorn on the table, and a movie box on the floor.
"Hiding From Mr. Right?" She whispered to herself. "That sounds like something Lester would watch." She picked up the box and studied the back. "Connor would've never watched anything so cheesy and romantic. I wonder why he picked something like this..."
Feeling bad that she had missed him completely and the reason why, she sighed and collapsed down on a chair trying to think of what to do. She could wake him up, it'd be polite. He hated sleeping on the couch after all. Or she could go home, take care of the animals, pass out, and hang out with him tomorrow, letting him gripe on about a sore back.

"Connor," She clapped in his ear loudly. "Connor Gregory, wake up, please!"
He opened his eyes halfway. "Huh?" Desperate to turn over and ignore her, he found that there was absolutely no room to move on his couch without falling to the ground or suffocating in the cushions.
"It's time to wake up and move to your bed." Abby told him and pulled him up by the hand.
"Where were you?" He asked, rubbing his eyes groggily, checking the time and hearing the movie still playing. It was even stupider by now, some intense break up scene where the lead man did something stupid and was yelling at the woman enough to cause emotional trauma.
"Stephen's..." She said quietly, hoping it would disappear into the yells from the telly. She didn't want him to hear where she'd been.
"What?"
"Stephen's." Abby repeated louder.
"Why?" He wondered.
"Uh...it was sort of a date, I guess?" She shrugged with a nervous laugh.
"Really?" He said in a whiny voice.
"I denied a kiss for you, be thankful for that!" She sighed.
"Why? Why didn't you just go all the way? You had enough time, skipping out on our day!"
"Connor, calm down. It's just a day that we made when we were naff teenagers. What does it matter that I skipped one day in years?"
"This one was going to be different..." He said under his breath.
"What's that?"
"Nothing..." He mumbled. "Just nothing. Whatever, why don't you just skip next week too? Or maybe the rest of your life."

"You're being ridicules. God forbid I want to live and have a couple friends outside of you."
"Well I wouldn't mind as much if it was anyone but Stephen!"
"Why? Just why? Don't you realize he's changed?"
"No he hasn't. He's just become more desperate!"
"You're lying. You just can't see past the fact that he bullied you."
"No, Abby. He didn't BULLY me, he beat me and terrorized me. You remember seeing me that day when you practically saved me life. That wasn't bullying, that wasn't making fun, that was a legit crime that he was never arrested for! Constable Quinn should arrest him now!"
"You know? I'll talk to you tomorrow." Abby sighed, tired of Connor's quick judgments. Besides, that man always found a way to blow things out of proportion. Not that she didn't remember that day, saving his life...it's just that she chose to ignore it, she chose to try to block it out along with half of her life, she chose to move on and try to forgive Stephen.

Connor hit his head against the couch. "There goes your chance, idiot. You blew it!"