I drove to school keeping well within the speed limit, hoping to limit the amount of time I'd have to spend in the common room before first lesson. I would of happily enough sat in my car checking my email for another thirty minutes when a hand had knocked at my window. I'd looked up in shock to see his face in my window. I'd opened the door careful to not bang it against the wreck next to mine.

'Hey.' I'd said in greeting.

'Come on.'

'What?'

'We're walking into school.'

'Em right yeah.' I'd fumbled for my bag in the passenger seat, till he took it from my hand and offered me his other hand to help me get out the car- the one not holding my bag and a big golfing umbrella. I took it politely smiling up through my lashes; quickly locking my car and zipping the keys in my pocket, along with my phone. 'Thanks.' I said as I retrieved my bag.

'Are you always this awkward?' He'd questioned laughing, keeping pace with me so I was in the shelter of the enormous umbrella.

'No surprisingly I'm not, it's just when people tend to take me by surprise.'

'Hmm, so if I was to do this…' He says as he takes my hand in his, lacing his fingers through mine.

'Right.' I say, not sure what to say next.

'Right.' He laughs.

'So what's with all this gallantry?' I murmur, looking up at him.

'I just… other lads don't do this do they?' He said sounding almost awkward himself.

'Back home not from what I've seen, here who knows? My experience of both isn't large… actually to be honest it isn't small either, it's almost non-existent!' I'd joked.

'Same.' He laughed, looking down at me. In the Ugg's my height is greatly reduced and my very petite frame of being just 5'1 is very much on show.

'I still don't believe that, you know?'

'I know; I'll just have to prove it won't I?'

'Shall we just see how Saturday goes first?' I joked again, still very much aware my hand was in his and we were already turning heads.

'Can I not be quietly confident?'

'Even with your out-of-date chivalry?'

'By Saturday I'll be your typical 'lad', if that's what you want?'

'Hmm…' I said pretending to debate for a moment. 'I think I prefer all this gallantness, how about you?'

'Gallantness it is ma'am.' He said pausing in his step to bow, which made me giggle.

'You're so weird.' I laughed again.

'I'm usually not like this.' He added, although it was not needed; I knew he was not normally like this- I'd seen him surrounded by his boys and the girls.

'No you're really not.'

'I'm not that person Catherine.' I felt something flutter inside of me as he spoke my name.

'I would really like to believe that.' I said honestly.

'Not nearly as much as I would like to prove it.'

Walking into school on his hand was honestly one of the weirdest experiences of my life, people watched him. People broke off conversations to talk to him, girls simpered at him and then looked on the verge of fainting when their eyes touched on our entwined hands- and that was all before we even made it to the common room. I smiled at each person we encountered; some greeted me, some stared in disbelief whilst others just glared as if I was unworthy of such an honour or I was taking their place.

'Mr popular.' I murmured as we walked up the stairs to the common room.

'It's not what it seems.'

'You don't enjoy it?'

'Do you enjoy how people now stare at you?' He asked, answering my question with one of his own.

'No.'

'Then you know how I feel.'

'Then why do you act like this?' I questioned, confused as to why he went along with something he hated.

'Answers for another time.'

'Huh?'

'Your friends.'

'Oh.' I turned to see them all staring at us, the girls smiling boastfully at the joint hands.

'See you in lesson.'

'See you in lesson.' I repeated back; and like the day prior he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it before walking over to his 'boys'.

'Girl.' Was April's only words as I sat next to her.

Sam didn't even look up as I sat down; I felt a little part of me crumble.

It felt as if there was a piece missing of me, when I'd tried to keep up with the chit-chat that was morning registration.

'Rehearsal tonight K can you believe it's only two days before 'show time'?' Annie whooped, smiling a little bit too much to be sweetly.

'Yeah I know; my Aunt Cath is coming along I think.' I said half-heartedly.

'Smile Kate you've done nothing wrong.' April whispered, placing her hand reassuringly on my thigh. 'Seriously you've done nothing.' She said again as my smile didn't change, I managed a slight twist of my lips, which must have felt like a victory because she tuned back into the conversation keeping her hand on my thigh; to me the smile felt more like The Joker's. Annie and Fran both kept our conversation flowing, but the silent shadow of Sam was like an elephant in the room and no-one was quite sure of what they should say and what they knew for a fact they shouldn't.

'Oh man.' Dan murmured, after a couple minutes of awkward silence; his eyes locked on something behind my head. I'd turned quickly not really sure what to expect, it was the thing I'd expected least the lip-stick mafia girls of his! Their faces were forced into something similar to a smile, their big heavily made-up faces made the twist of their lips seem like a foreign expression. I'd turned back around, rolling my eyes to Dan who was opposite, both him and Reece sniggered; Martin sat looking purposely in his lap, it was probably no help that he was sat next to Mr Happy.

'Hi.' Said a sickly sweet voice from behind our heads. I raised my eyebrows as April turned around in her seat to look at the made-up girls.

'Yes?' She said questioningly, I could feel her body tense next to me; as if she was anticipating their next words.

'Excuse me we weren't talking to you chubs!'

'Chubs! That's rich…' I didn't let her finish even though her face was turning red and blotchy.

'Who do you think your calling Chubs?' I ranted, as I swung around in my seat to face them. 'She is smaller than you!' I raved pointing to the obvious ringleader, I let my words sink in before I said softly. 'So what does that make you?' The menace in the air, almost made it hard to draw in breath, I never dropped my eyes from her glare; all the while I was thinking how piggish and small her eyes looked under the mountain of liner and falsies.

'You Bitch.' She whipped at me, her voice having no effect at all as I continued to keep gaze with her.

'Yeah I know.' I said, smiling sweetly at her. 'You don't talk to my friends like that hunny, no matter who you think you are; understand?' I purred at her, my voice having gone increasingly dark.

'You do know who your talking too right?' The common room was silent; no-one spoke; the normal general chatter non-existent.

'A failed Miss Popular by the looks of things.'

'Failed?' Her voice darker and colder.

'Yes failed.' I turned back around in my seat, facing Dan whose face was very much similar to the quick glance I'd had of the other- set and ready for just about anything.

'No-one talks to me like that.'

'Yeah well times change, right?' I murmured turning back around to face her, her face had turned an unsightly shade of puce; as if she was choking on her own words. I didn't see her hand move all I felt was the connection to my right cheek. A sudden sharp stinging that made everything hazy for a moment, before I saw red. Her ponytail was in my hand without me even consciously making the decision to grab it, I pulled it tight so she had to lower her head to lessen the risk of me yanking her mop from the roots; she was frozen still, in shock from the quick way events had changed. I'd suddenly became very pleased with the lack of teaching staff at the school and the fact we weren't watched.

'Kate.' April had warned next to me, bringing me back to the here and now. I felt my anger simmer away, and stood letting go of her hair, as I walked around the chair so we were face to face.

'Don't tempt me again because next time I won't listen to her.'

Her lips broke into a cruel smile again. 'Knew you didn't have the balls… pussy!'

I didn't even think. Somehow her hair was once again in my hand, and in the next second I'd brought her face down and my knee up so I was rewarded with a satisfying -yet slightly nauseating- crunch. My hand had pulled itself into a fist, with my acrylic tips moulding indentations into my hand. Her smile had been what had forced my fist forward, hard without really thinking about it; I hit her nose again resulting in another crunch- this time it had been somewhat wet with a stream of blood. That's when I'd heard her whimper for the first time, a real whimper; this was also when I noticed that no-one had moved from their seats. It was then that I let go of her hair, and pushed her backwards; in both disgust of myself and that of her. She'd had trouble finding her centre of balance so had ended up hitting the tiled floor with an echoing thud- it was all the louder due to the silence still absolute in the room.

'Who's Chubs now?' I'd hissed through my teeth, walking around and sitting back in my chair in the hope to disguise the round of shakes that had come on. She hadn't ventured an answer, her friends had just propped her up and together they'd half dragged, half carried her out the room; that's when the silence had broken.

'Omg.'

'New girl can fight.'

'Shit.'

The over-lapping whispering made everything more real, as I'd sat trying to control the manic shaking in my hand.

'Oh your cheek Kate!' Martin had said, getting down to kneel in front of me.

'Huh?'

'She gave you one hell of a slap sugar.' Dan murmured, as Martin had probed my cheek carefully with his fingers making me wince more than once.

'Give me something cold guys.' Martin had ordered, obviously trying to take the glow out of my cheek; I'd looked at the clock surprised I still had fifteen minutes of registration left, realising the little altercation must have lasted mere minutes.

'Here.' His voice had shocked me, as much as I imagine shock pads would. Sam. 'Hold it on tight, it should sting a little but it should take the red out.'

'Thanks.' Martin said, as he'd placed the cold compress on my cheek; it stung like Sam said but a second later it was leeching away the burn.

'Oh.' I'd breathed.

'Yeah now she's relaxed!' Fran had said.

'So you can fight little miss Barcelona?' Annie had joked, all of them had worn smiles- even Sam had the hint of one around his lips.

'You could say that…I did martial arts as a kid…'

'It shows.' Reece said deadpan. We'd all dissolved into laughter, getting weird looks off all the other gatherings.

I was looking in the direction of April, watching her and Reece banter back and forth when I'd felt a hand on my leg. I'd turned to find Sam kneeling in front of my chair, I'd grabbed his hand and moved in my chair pulling him up to sit beside me.

'I'm sorry.' I'd murmured, without even giving him a chance to talk.

'Shut up, you don't have to be sorry. I was wrong what I said, you're not ours; your part of us and no matter what I want you to be happy.'

'Thanks Sam.' I'd tightened my grip on his hand, as his other touched my compress. 'Yeah I know not the best idea.'

'At any other school maybe not, but here you've just made us serious contenders.'

'Huh? Do you always try to confuse me?' I'd said laughing, he'd laughed too and the sound had been like balm to my ears after all the unpleasantness of the evening prior.

'No your just dumb like that.' He'd teased. 'Any way here we were the nerds, you made us interesting and now well after that performance I don't think I'll be getting called Einstein any time soon.'

'Shut up.' I said, thinking he was pulling my leg.

'Catherine listen to me, they are the mean girls of this school and you've just took one out- actually scrap that you haven't just took one out you've took the main one out, maybe at other schools it would mean nothing but here there is a way things go and you've just levelled the playing field.'

'Shit.' I breathed.