I was pretty close to deleting chapter 8 earlier today and rewriting it, but I said down and laid down a general outline for my next few chapters and now I feel a lot better about this story, so I decided not to delete it. I'm aiming for this to be the longest story I've written, my record is 25 chapters and I wanna completely smash that and go quite a bit further, so I hope you're ready for a long one.

Some of you seem fond of the idea of Weslie and Paul getting together, someone write me a one-shot on the two of them and I'll tell you a secret and write you in as a recurring character, let me know if you're up for that challenge.

'..can identify the main themes of the poem as isolation, desperation and despair' Mr Budgen was droning on in his usual bored voice. It was late on Wednesday afternoon and they were in their first lesson after lunch. Weslie had managed to finish her essay during their lunch hour, despite the interruption from Mason and Lawson, and had just handed it in to Grantly.

She was sat at the back of his classroom with a desk to herself. She had her arms folded over the open poetry book in front of her and her head rested on her arms. Her eye lids felt heavy and the sound of the rain hammering against the window behind her was sending her to sleep.

On the table beside her own, Paul and Bolton were paying just as little attention as she was. Paul was playing a game on his phone under the desk and Bolton was flicking rolled up pieces of paper at the back of Michaela White's head.

Grantly was talking in a low grumble, not caring if anyone was really paying him any attention and ignoring Danielle and Aleesha, who were gossiping over a celebrity magazine. He was still talking when there was a knock on the door and a year 12 girl popped her head around the door.

'Yes?' Mr Budgen snapped impatiently.

'Umm, Miss Mason would like to see Weslie Connor in her office please' she said. Weslie lifted her head up, confused and looked at the girl. A low chorus of 'ooohh' rumbled around the classroom in the typical someone's-in-trouble way.

'Yes, fine' Mr Budgen said, waving the girl away 'off you go Connor' he grumbled. She stood up and stuffed her things into her bag. Bolton and Paul were both looking at her questioningly, she shrugged her shoulders. She picked her bag and coat up and handed them to Paul 'can you take these for me?' she asked him quietly.

He nodded 'yeah course. Are you in trouble Wes?' he asked, concerned.

She shrugged again 'I don't know, I'll see you later' she mumbled as she walked away, Bolton whispered 'you'll be alright man' as she passed him. She smiled and nodded before leaving Grantly's room.

A moment later, she was being let into Mason's office by Bridget. She found Miss Mason sat behind her desk, smiling at her. Weslie stood in the doorway, still utterly confused.

'Take a seat Weslie' she said with a smile, gesturing to the empty chair in front of her. She hesitated a moment before sitting down.

'I just wanted another chat with you about the Lessons for Life, away from the boys' she explained. Weslie said nothing but sat and studied Miss Masons face, trying to read her expression. Behind her the rain was lashing against the window. It was dark in her office, due to the huge rain cloud dominating the sky outside, making it appear to be a lot later than it actually was and Rachel had the lamp on her desk switched on.

'Weslie, to put it bluntly, you're too smart for Lessons for Life' she said. Weslie frowned, more confused than she had been five minutes ago.

'Then why have you put me on them then?' she asked.

'Because of Paul' Rachel explained.

'What does any of this have to do with him?' she asked, bewildered.

'Well, everything I guess' she said, getting up and pacing for a moment 'I notice that you and Paul have become particularly close since you started here, is there something going on there?' she asked.

Weslie's eyes widened and she blushed violent red 'N-no! nothing, definitely nothing, nothing at all' she stammered, nervously pulling her hair forwards over her shoulders and avoiding her gaze.

Miss Mason laughed and shook her head 'I'm sorry, I'm not accusing you of anything, I was just wondering what kind of relationship you two had' she explained.

Weslie smiled 'we're just friends Miss Mason'

'Well, as I was saying' she continued 'the two of you seem to be close, perhaps closer than he and Bolton are, which is why I have put you on the Lessons for Life'

Weslie frowned again 'I still don't understand Miss'

Miss Mason smiled again 'I need to tell you something Weslie, and I need to you keep this between the two of us until Paul chooses if and when to tell you this himself, okay?'

She nodded 'Yeah, okay'

'I need you on Lessons for Life Weslie because I think you could provide Paul huge amounts of support that we couldn't. Paul has had some trouble at home over the last year' she explained, taking her seat again.

'Until recently Paul lived with his Uncle Dermot, who was violent towards him' Weslie's stomach turned and she didn't want to hear anymore, not only was this horrific, but it was definitely not something she should be hearing from anyone but Paul himself.

'There was an incident' she said seriously 'last term, Paul stole a knife from the school and took it home with him, he was going to stab his Uncle, to try and stop him being violent towards him. Thankfully, Mr Lawson and the previous Head arrived on time to stop anything happening and Pauls Uncle was placed in a mental health facility, Paul has been living with his foster parents ever since'

'The thing is Weslie' she said again, after a moments silence 'Paul seems to be okay, but that's not something we can be sure of, and the Lessons for Life kids will be very open to bullies once the rest of the school finds out that they're getting extra help'

'So you want me to stay with him? In case he doesn't cope with it well?' she asked, finally understanding what it was she meant. Outside, the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson.

'Yes exactly, we just think he'll do better if you're with him. Of course there's always Bolton' she smiled 'but he's more likely to open up to you, less peer pressure'

Weslie smiled and nodded 'No problem, I can do it. What work will I be doing?' she asked.

'You'll be continuing with your regular subjects, you'll just be sitting in with the Lessons for Life, and you'll probably be able to participate in some of the more exciting activities they'll be doing' she said with a smile.

'Thanks miss' Weslie said 'is that all?'

Mason nodded 'yes, that's everything, you can go back to your lesson now' Weslie nodded and stood up 'and thank you Weslie' she added as Weslie opened the door. She smiled and nodded, then left.

……

'What was that all about?' Paul asked when she met up with the boys in the corridor on the way to their last lesson.

'Oh' said she, taking her coat and bag from him 'she wanted to ask how I had settle in and was I happy here and all that bullshit' she said with a casual wave of her hand, as if it were nothing. She didn't at all enjoy lying to them.

'I hope you told her how much fun you're having with us' Bolton said with an arrogant smirk.

She laughed and rolled her eyes 'She told me to stay away from you two before you drag me down' she said with a wink.

When she sat down opposite the boys in their art lesson, she couldn't help but look at Paul a little sadly. She was very fond of him, she'd probably consider him to be her best friend and always felt a rush of affection towards him whenever she saw him, she loved spending time with him. He was a wonderful person, fun, loyal and friendly, and she couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt him. She couldn't comprehend the emotional turmoil he must have endured through out his life, and doubted whether she would be mentally strong enough to cope if it had been her, but there he was, sat smiling, joking with Bolton, happy.