CHAPTER TEN:

A/N: Chloe - Well, Elaine's had to go off her comp so here I am doing the A/N! Sorry about the long wait, a lot of coursework to do, we've been writing AOKP and CeeCee Clone Girls: A Goth Song (both totally worth a read), and we've both been writing individual fics, too - you should all totally check out some of Elaine's individual fics, they're great, and if you feel like reading mine... feel free!

Now that all the shameless advertising is done... please, review. Oh, any other potential flamers, please be constructive. Nothing funnier than people bashing your work and saying it's a pile of dirt without giving suggestions how to improve it - so yeah, constructive criticism is welcome, flames will be laughed at as they're never constructive - that's my motto:D

When I got to school the next day I was surprised to find that I wasn't going to have to add another person to the 'Let's Edge Away From Paul' list. April smiled at me during homeroom – a great way of letting me know that everything was okay between us. Lucky, really - I was skillfully ignoring Suze at the time and it must have paid off.

I wondered if she'd notice my lack of interest in her – I hoped she had. Would she care, though? Would she be pleased? Would she come up to me, saying 'Paul, Paul, I miss you! I need you! Make love to me, oh sweet Paul!'… What, a guy can dream, can't he?

I wondered if I should just turn around and check… It couldn't hurt, could it?

That was when April smiled at me, though, immediately eliminating all ideas of stalking Suze after class. Uh, checking, I mean. Yeah, checking… Not stalking. Because I care, you know?

…Yeah.

When class finished, I caught up with April. We still had some things to clear up.

"So, um, I'm guessing you're okay with what happened last night?" I asked, falling into step with her.

April looked up at me, biting her lip. She pushed one of her almost black curls behind her ear. "I'm not saying I approve of what you did," she said slowly and carefully, "but I guess I know from experience that no one's perfect." She smiled at me. "And I guess that despite your faults, Paul, I like you. And that's what counts. I'm not going to fall out with you over this."

I noticed that she'd avoided the 'I talk to the dead' thing. I didn't blame her, though. I guess it was a lot to take in, especially without any proof. I'd just sat there going, 'believe this' and she had. Whether or not it meant she just trusted me or was a gullible fool, I wasn't sure. But anyway, the point was she was taking it a lot better than my brother's doctors.

"I'm glad," I told her, with a smile.

"Can you just… try not to do anything like that again?" she asked. The look on her face as she said this told me it was important to her. But I knew I couldn't promise anything. And, well, it's not like I haven't already lied to April. I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I did it again.

"Sure," I said.

She smiled happily. "Thank you, Paul."

It was at dinner that day that Kelly made her next move.

I was just about to go and sit down when she came up to me, wearing a bright smile that symbolized one thing: pure evil.

"Hey," she said cheerfully.

Oh God, I wondered, what now?

"What?" I asked in a manner that I hoped made it obvious that I wasn't a bit interested in whatever she had to say.

She didn't take the hint, but then, does she ever?

"So," she said, "Is it true that April's your date for the Winter Formal?"

I rolled my eyes. Kelly just kept smiling in a way that seemed to get more sickening with every second I looked at her.

"Yes," I said tiredly.

"Wow," Kelly said, her smile – thankfully – faltering. "What an… interesting choice."

I had no idea what she was talking about. I mean, April wasn't hugely popular, but it wasn't like she was hideously ugly or anything. She was quite pretty, actually. And she wasn't 'crazy' like I was. So where was the problem?

Apart from me not really liking her, I mean.

I arched an eyebrow, urging Kelly to elaborate.

She sighed. "Look here, Paul, we all know you and April only started going out because neither of you had any friends. Things are different now," She paused to give me an encouraging smile. "Come sit with me."

She thought I was that desperate? I mean, Kelly totally wanted me: I just so happened to loathe her. I could have got anyone else had I needed to, but I didn't want to. The only person I really wanted was Suze and April was second choice. Her not thinking I was crazy had very little to do with it.

I guess Kelly can't accept stuff like that, though - God, she was unbelievable.

"I don't think so," was my immediate answer.

I started to walk away but she grabbed my arm, telling me to wait.

"What?" I said, more irritably this time.

"I've heard things about April," Kelly said, not even bothering to keep her voice down.

I looked over to where April was sitting, waiting for me, she didn't seem to have heard. I noticed that someone had, though.

Suze.

Somehow I managed to get my eyes to flick straight past her and fixate on Kelly. "What things?" I said quickly, annoyed at Kelly but pleased with myself for not, you know, staring at Suze or anything.

"That her brother's some kind of psycho," she said. "He got arrested for murder-"

"And found 'not guilty'," I interrupted sharply.

What? I could hardly say otherwise, could I? If April ever found out I'd told anyone I'd never get back in her good books.

"Only because she said he didn't do it. You don't actually believe her, do you? Her brother used to come to this school and I always knew there was something wrong with him… they're both freaks," Kelly said, sounding faintly disgusted.

Hey wait; didn't she think I was a freak until a few minutes ago? She obviously couldn't go about saying she was the best judge of character, but I had a sneaking position everyone would believe her because she was Kelly Prescott. The thought in itself was sickening but true.

I responded in a way I thought was quite well improvised - I glared at her. "Listen Kelly," I hissed - unlike her, I didn't want the whole school knowing what I thought. "I'm not going to pretend I don't know what you're up to any more, because I do. This is just some plan you've cooked up to get me to dump April and ask you to the Winter Formal instead - don't even bother denying it. But if you think it's going work then you've never been more wrong. Understand? Believe it or not, you aren't doing me a huge favour by suddenly remembering I exist, so just go back to leaving me alone, okay?"

Kelly nodded, looking close to tears thanks to my aggressive tone.

"Now just get out of my sight, okay Kelly," I said, but it was more of an order than a question. She didn't waste any time before scurrying off in the direction of the girls' bathroom.

Looking around, I saw that we'd somehow managed to get the attention of the whole schoolyard. Although I'd tried not to make a scene, I guess that with this being the second time I'd told the most popular girl in school what I really thought of her, it must be hard for the entire school to mind their own business. I just ignored them all and walked over to the table April was sitting at. They soon went back to their own conversations.

"What was that?" April asked me.

"Nothing," I said. "It doesn't matter."

That's what I told her, but I was surprised to find that I was actually really annoyed by what Kelly had said. I supposed it was just because it had been Kelly who said it. In case you couldn't tell and I haven't already mentioned it, I don't really like her. Okay, so I don't like her at all: big difference.

"It's important enough for practically the whole school to be interested in it," April retorted.

"Well, obviously they're all going to be interested if their Princess Kelly is rejected," I replied. April raised an eyebrow and I sighed and went on, "She asked me to sit with her, I said no and she… well…"

"Brought my brother into it…" April finished. "I see."

How did she know that? Was she listening, too? Whatever, I guess how she knew was pretty irrelevant. We both went quiet for a minute. I watched as April picked at her food.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," she said eventually, her voice quiet. "Even if… well, you know… I just know I can count on you."

I ignored the twinge of guilt I felt at those words and smiled at her. "No problem," I said.

April returned the smile.

"Um, Paul?" said a familiar voice from behind me, a voice I hardly dared believe was actually talking to me.

I turned round. "Uh, hi Suze," I said, trying to look and sound like her freely speaking to me wasn't a big deal. April was there, after all.

"We need to talk," was all Suze said.

"Um, okay." I turned to April, who wasn't looking at all pleased about this. I guess Suze wasn't one of her favorite people at the moment. "I'll be back in a minute."

April didn't reply; she just glared at Suze, so, without saying anything more, I followed her to an empty classroom.

"What's the problem?" I asked, shutting the classroom door behind us. I walked over to a desk and sat down on it.

Suze made sure she wasn't sitting too close to me. "You're up to something," She announced.

I smirked, so she had noticed. "Care to explain this theory?"

"It's obvious," she said, glaring at me, "One day you're constantly bugging me and the next you're ignoring me completely. Forgive me for thinking that's a little odd."

"Ah," I said, smiling softly at her, "you miss me."

"Are you kidding?" Suze asked incredulously. "I'm loving it!"

I stopped smiling and glowered at her.

That really hurt. God, I hated it when Suze said stuff like that. Because I could always tell she meant it.

"I just can't help finding it all very suspicious," she went on. "Especially after what you said to me the other day."

I guessed that she meant what I said about showing her that I care. She probably thought that ignoring her wasn't the best way to go about it. No matter how much she was enjoying it.

"And what exactly is going on with April? I mean you're going out with her now?"

I smirked at her, "oh, you're not jealous by any chance, are you?"

"Of course not." Suze rolled her eyes.

The smirk vanished. "That's what I thought," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. "Okay," I said in a louder voice, forcing a smile, even though it was the last thing I felt like doing right then. "You're right. This is all part of my plan."

Suze's eyes narrowed. "What plan?"

"To help you. See, I couldn't help noticing that you're not getting very far with making April confess about her brother. So what I thought was that it might be easier for me to get it out of her."

"How is that?" Suze asked skeptically.

"I've already gained her trust and, well… she hates you."

"But you never help ghosts," Suze pointed out.

"Think of it as me helping you, not the ghost," I said, putting it in more believable terms and terms that I preferred to think of: I wasn't helping the ghost at all, I was helping Suze so then she'd like me. Technically, the ghost and me wouldn't even talk. Bingo. I wouldn't help her.

Even if I didn't believe that explanation, it sure sounded better.

"Right," Suze said, rolling her eyes. "So where does the asking her to the Winter Formal come into this?"

I smirked. "Just giving her what she wants. You could really learn from me, you know."

Suze glared at me some more. "I already tried that, Paul," she said stonily, "and look where it got me." I didn't say anything, I hadn't meant for that to come up. Suze went on, though, "And I suppose that's where the ignoring me comes in?"

"I told her I was over you – a lie, of course. Do you know how hard it's been to not look at you for two days? Absolute torture," I said it casually, but that's not how I felt. Even with Suze's coldness towards me, I was in heaven right then. After all, I was actually having a civil conversation with her, well… sort of. And that's much more than I can say for the past week.

Suze didn't reply.

"So," I said, "what do you think?"

"I hate it," Suze said, "but I guess it could work."

I grinned. "Great," I said, then stood up. "I look forward to working with you, Miss Simon."

"Whatever," Suze said, getting up. She headed towards the door then turned back to me. "And Paul," she said, "don't think that because you're doing me a favour I'm going to fall madly in love with you. This doesn't change anything between us."

Then she turned round and walked off before I could say anything more. I followed her out feeling happier than I had done in a while.

A/N: Review Replies (as written by Elaine):

Mrs. Nikki Slater: Not a quick update, but an update all the same, find it in your heart to forgive us?

-Jassy-Poo Meets Winnie-the-Pooh -: Eastenders is a British soap. Chloe thinks it's way too melodramatic but I love it! And happy b day for like a million years ago. Lol.

Agent Spanish Sweethart: I haven't seen the sixth sense. Is it scary? I thought it might be scary, so I didn't watch it. Anyway, thanks for the review!

Buffyrox16: Thanks

Sabrina – if you're even reading this, which I suppose you aren't – what Lolly and Sinead said.

Sinead- Hi Sinead!