Paul's POV

We continue to walk as my arm stays around her and we approach her house and we stop at her step.

"Thanks for being my date Soph, i had a great time." i say as i look at her while she stands before me.

"You're welcome and thanks for being mine." she replies and i nod with a content smile.

"G'night Soph." i say and she replies with 'goodnight' and she goes inside her house and i leave to go to mine.

I didn't do much that weekend, other than homework and play guitar with John and George. The weekend went by both fast and slow, like always, and before i knew it i'm eating breakfast at the kitchen table Monday morning. I get my coat on and grab my schoolbag before i leave my warm, pleasant house to endure the cold of the morning. I get an idea and since i have plenty of time to get to school, i walk in the opposite direction of the school. Once i get to her house i knock on the door and Sophie herself answers with a half eaten banana in one hand and a smug smile on her face.

"Morning, do you wanna walk to school together?" i ask.

"Sure, lemme get my bag and jacket." she replies and i nod and stand there waiting the few seconds that she takes and she soon joins me and we start walking.

"How was your weekend?" i question and i stare at my feet.

"Good, how about yours?" she replies and i look to see her putting a hair pin in her hair and we smile at each other.

"Alright i'd say, did you have a lot of homework?" i ask, making casual talk and i look down to my feet and the snow that covers the sidewalks.

"Nah, did you?" she asks and i shake my head.

We talk about loads of other irrelevant things on our way and then we run into John about a block away from school.

"Hey Macca, do you two wanna come over to me house after school? I was thinking we could stuff our mouths and play our guitars, since Mimi will be at some appointment she's got. It's probably her hair appointment." John asks in his snarky tone with sarcasm and such.

"Um do you wanna come with?" i ask Sophie as i turn to her.

"I have a project i have to do." she replies.

"Well i'm sure Mr. Smarty Pants here could help you with whatever it is. Plus some of us might be doing homework anyways, well I doubt it, and i wont be. i never do that stuff." John pipes in and i keep my eyes on her.

"I wouldn't mind." i state and she nods slowly.

"Sure." she decides and i nod and smile at her and she returns it.

John doesn't say much on the rest of the walk and he goes his way once we enter the school. Sophie and i head for our lockers which are in the same region and after getting my crap into my locker and grabbing my maths books i walk over to her.

"Want me to walk you to class?" i ask nicely.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." she replies with a small smile and she gets her books and we set off.

I walk her over to the English wing which is completely opposite of where my class is but i don't care, it's for her.

"So whats your project you have to do?" i ask as we turn down a hallway.

"Well first i have to finish the last scene of 'Romeo and Juliet' and then i have to write some bloody paper on it and do some stupid diagram for it." she huffs and i nod.

"Are you telling me that Miss Sophie Thompson is behind on her homework?" i scoff dramatically and her soft laugh escapes her lips.

"Each time i try to read it my mind wanders and i can't understand it." she replies sadly.

"I could help you with the reading love, cause my class just finished it last week and i didn't have too much trouble reading it." I offer since English is my best subject and I love to read.

"If it's not a bother." she replies as we reach her classroom and we stop outside.

"It isn't, so just bring your book and everything and then we'll just leave after last hour, kay?" I say and she nods.

"Sounds good." she replies and I smile at her.

"I'll see you then, have a good day love." I add and she smiles.

"Thanks, you have a good day too." she responds and I nod and we depart.

I don't see her until lunch when she always sits with Molly and some other birds while I sit with John and George.

"Why aren't you sitting with your girlfriend?" John teases.

"She's not my girlfriend." I protest.

"Not yet." he says and I shrug and eat my ordinary lunch.

After I had finished I went to use the loo and while walking to my locker for my next class I hear Sophie's voice and a guys voice, whose I don't know for sure.

"What, are you two dating?" he asks.

"No, we just went to the dance together, we're not dating." she replies in a angry tone.

She's talking about me, I realize and I stop behind the row of lockers that divides me from them and also my locker is two rows over. Great.

"Then what Sophie? I'm sure he fancies you and a guy like him will do what it takes to get what he wants, he's not a good guy Soph. He's just gonna use you and then forget about you soon enough." he goes on and I sigh.

"You don't know that, you don't even know him, Rod." she protests.

Ah I know this fella, and soon enough he won't be too happy that he was talking crap about me.

"I don't want you getting hurt, Sophie." he continues and I make a detour to my locker, but they stop talking when they see me opening the lock.

"Think about it." I hear him say to her quietly as he walks away and I take books out of my bag and add books.

"Uh hi." Sophie says as she approaches and I reply with a simple 'hi'.

The bell singling the end of lunch rings and I close my locker after throwing my bag over my shoulder.

"See ya later." I say to her before walking away.

What does that jerk know about me? Sure I've had girlfriends before Sophie, not that she is my girlfriend, but I didn't use them and I wasn't a complete douchebag to them like he made me out to be. I genuinely care about her and want to be with her and get to know her, but what she said bothers me. I know it was just a dance and that it wasn't all that fun, but I myself had a fun time, but she made it sound bad like I'm kind of a waste of her time. Something along the lines of that anyways.

All while my next hour of Biology I think about her and what she said; does she even like me the way I like her? Sure she knows that I fancy her, John was quick to announce that and I'm sure I show it even in the least. I wonder what that Rod guy has anything to do with Soph; is he her ex boyfriend, good friend, or is he competition for me? Either way I'm not going to let him stand in the way of me being friends with Soph and maybe becoming more then that one day. Maybe I'll just have John and his mate Pete Shotton put some sense into him, either knock it or kick it in.

I don't sit by her in History as we got new seats and the teacher was all strict about where you sit, all of a sudden, but I met up with her after class.

"Ready?" I ask as I walk up to her and she zips her bag.

"Yeah, so how're you?" she responds and we leave the room and make our way out of the school.

"Good, how about you love?" I reply.

"Good thanks." she says and I nod and keep my eyes forward as dozens of bodies pass us through the halls.

"Hey Macca!" John greets as we walk up to him at the entrance.

"Hi John." I say and we follow him out to the road on our way to his house and George and Pete join us.

We all chat about casual stuff on the walk there and Sophie seemed abnormally quiet and like something's wrong.

"Hey, is something wrong?" I ask her quietly as we're behind everybody while we're a block away from John's house.

"Did you hear what Rod said at lunch?" she questions quietly and I nod.

"I'm sorry, he's such a jerk." she replies sadly.

I don't get the chance to reply as somebody interrupts us.

"Hey Paul!" a cheery feminine voice says as she walks up.

"Oh hi Eve." I say with a small smile to a kind of friend of mine, but she's more like a bird who always flirts with me.