Disclaimer: I own nothing, at all. Enjoy.

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Don't Forget About Me

Chapter Ten: Endings?

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We'd all ended up back together. Sitting on chairs or on the floor, or, in Maddie's case, cross-legged on a table. Initially there had been an overwhelming awkward silence that had enveloped us after Hyde's last speech, and all of us, I had guessed, were too afraid to speak. Afraid that, no matter what they said, someone would manage to shatter.

We were all vulnerable, I thought to myself as I stared out over the group. I hadn't believed it of myself at nine this morning. What I had believed was that I was headed for a better life. That with good grades and good behaviour I would end up having a good life. That I deserved to have a great life, because I'd behaved as a teenager.

But what I'd learnt, what they, I thought, looking at each of them individually, had taught me was that nothing in life is certain, nor is having good grades or good behaviour a guarantee to perfection. What they had taught me is that we're all human, and to be human is to have flaws, to be wrong, to be beaten.

Once upon a time, Maddie and Cassie had been best friends. Once upon a time, Dalby had been willing to try, to learn, to succeed. Once upon a time, Belle had crushed on Henry. Once upon a time, Henry had crushed Belle. Once upon a time, I wanted to be accepted by them. By each and every one of them. I just wanted to fit in.

But Hyde had been wrong. Hyde was an old man, a vindictive old man who was jealous of the lives we were still to lead. He was wasted beyond his years. Stuck in a job he no longer liked, stuck with children he no longer respected, or wished to respect on any level. I imagined that Hyde, during his prime, would have been bright eyed as he entered the educational system, with the hopes of a generation on his shoulders.

Maddie had taught us that.

He would have wanted to made a difference. However, as the years progressed, his eyes would have lost that spark, his heart, lost that dream. Until he is left now, but a shell of a man, trapped in a job, which he no longer loves.

And us kids? We've managed to figure out life without him leading the way into the light. We'd grown wise beyond our years because of things that have happened in our lives, and today, we realised for the first time that maybe we're not that different. Maybe the stereotypes are in place for some reason, but that doesn't mean there is any truth to them.

We're all the same, scared kids deep down. Afraid of the past, scared of the present, and terrified of the future, and it's uncertainties. It's something that bonds us together. Something that will bond generations to come together. That fear we all smell, all taste, at least once during our childhood. It proves that we are all mortal.

Looking around this room, with its occupants, I realised how much we'd all changed since nine this morning. And I realised how much I didn't want it to go back to the way it was.

Cassie, Belle and Maddie were all laughing now, at something Maddie had said, while Ric and Henry looked slightly awkward together as they watched the girls bond so easily. Sometimes males were a lot stronger than females.

And I became determined there and then to make sure this didn't end here.

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I was laughing so hard; my stomach was beginning to hurt. But that was a good thing, after everything that Hyde had said, we needed to laugh. There was something great about being with Belle and Cassie. Although neither of them was exactly conventional, or what my so-called 'friends' would call cool, they were real, and honest, and brutal.

And that was like a breath of fresh air in my life. There was no backstabbing, no gossiping, no 'holier than thou' attitude to deal with. We all had our own issues; we all had a past full of things we weren't too proud of. We were just the same. It had only taken me all day to realise that. Under the fake face's we put on each morning, under the charade we kept up day in and day out, we were all the same, all yearning to find those people who you just click with. Who know you'll just be able to be yourself with. Who you know will accept you for you, with all your quirks and oddities.

And it had only taken me a day to realise that despite our vastly different exteriors, I'd found them.

"I can't believe you actually did that at boarding school Maddie. And what's more," Belle said in between laughs, "I can't believe they didn't catch you. How blonde must they have been?" She asked, laughing.

"Hey, I'm blonde." I joked to her as I laughed along.

"Who would've thought Little Miss Teen Queen Hunter had a wild streak in her?" Cassie mocked.

"Well, you should've known, we used to get into all sorts of trouble when we were little. Like that time when we jumped off the roof, wanting to fly. Or that time we decided to have babies, and stole the kittens… then had to give them back?" I said, laughing.

"Wow, you two were regular brats" Belle chimed in, as we all began to laugh again.

I looked up to see Henry and Ric awkwardly sitting watching us, and I knew that if they were playing a sport or driving a car, they would've been chatting away just as easily. Or maybe, they just needed to sit there in silence, maybe that was how boys worked things out.

Wrinkling up my nose as I pondered the confusion that boys managed to create, I saw that Luke was watching the group, but he looked to be a million miles away, lost in his own world.

He was still a mystery to me. While years of living with Henry had taught me to understand a certain type of male, and spending time with Dalby today had introduced me to the mind of another kind, Luke was different again. He appeared to be a loner, he thrived off intellectual interaction, yet he seemed so hell bent, towards the end of the day, at keeping us together, making us stick it out as a group.

And then, there was the way he kissed me. The way he'd pinned my body against the wall, out of loyalty, out of love, who knew? The desire was thick in his eyes that time, his want for me, and my want for him. He was Lucas Holden, known to me at nine this morning as the schools nerd. Now he was so much more.

Maybe it was because he had no real, actual friends. Maybe it was just who he was. Maybe he, like the rest of us, needed to find those people who just, understood. Maybe he'd found them, in us?

Either way, the more I stared, the more I felt my face heat up, and the more I felt weird, unknown feelings in my stomach.

There was definitely something mysterious about that boy. And I knew deep down, it would take more than a Saturday in detention to figure him out.

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How do girls do it so easily? I thought to myself as I shifted slightly, hoping the awkwardness would ease soon, as my eyes remained captivated by the three teenage goddesses who sat in the room, oblivious to their surroundings, laughing and chatting. We'd banded together for an hour, but we'd fallen apart once more.

I snuck a sidelong glance at Henry who was sitting just as awkwardly next to me, before turning my attention back to them. So we didn't have that much in common. He was a pretty boy, and I was a dress down for every occasion of my life kinda guy. The geek, I mean Lucas, was completely opposite to the both of us, yet for a short time he had had us all speaking.

Then Hyde had come in and possibly ruined everything that we'd all worked so hard to create.

And now Luke…Groaning inwardly, I suddenly realised that I'd called him Luke, like we were friends. He was now lost in his own universe, pondering the many possibilities of life on other planets. Probably wondering if that's where Hyde had come from. Another planet in another world, where everyone is spiteful and bitter and angry because they wasted their own lives, and therefore have to ruin the lives of innocent (and in some cases, not so innocent) teenagers.

Another couple of minutes passed in silence between Henry and I, and I felt like I was going to explode. Before I knew it, I had shoved Henry in the direction of Lucas and sat him down in a chair, whilst pulling out a complete deck of cards from my pocket.

"Poker." I grunted out. "You both know how to play?"

Their initial response was to look at me like I was mad, but I was more than used to that look by now. I rolled my eyes at them before pointing down to the table towards the cards, hoping to emphasise the question.

Alas, no luck. They both looked at me blankly. Obviously they've never been to a poker night at one of my mates houses.

Laughing to myself, I realised of course they wouldn't have, that would mean actual interaction with people I considered acquaintances, and before today that was unheard of.

Before today, I mused before quickly asking again "You both know Poker rules, right? Well, how bout we bet on them?" I said, nodding my head towards the girl. "Winner gets to choose partners for the dance that's coming up."

Before today, I'd never have even thought of such a thing. Now, as I looked at the smirks that had formed on the guys lips, and the look of horror, mixed with humour that had appeared identically on the three girls faces, I realised maybe I didn't want it to go away either.

Maybe I was more than a little content with the way things were panning out. Maybe this was the start of something that could actually make me believe in something.

Maybe, I just wanted a chance to be alone with one of those particular girls. Just like Henry wanted his chance, and Luke wanted his chance. We all knew it, so did the girls. But we had to keep up pretences, just incase.

"So, you in?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow and smirking back at Luke and Henry.

"Hell yes." They said together, as all three girls shrieked at the idea of their lives being played with like that.

"Let's play."

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Typical, I thought, rolling my eyes but screaming aloud like Cassie and Maddie. Boys are always playing with girls heads and hearts. Always breaking girls hearts. Even Luke could be a heartbreaker if he tried, especially under the wings of Dalby and Henry. They'd be indestructible if they teamed up against the female population of the world who valued looks above all other things.

However, they fell to their knees when it concerned us. They held no power over us. No, it was us who wielded power over them.

But maybe it would be fun, seeing how this panned out. Even though I knew we'd sealed out fates on the rooftop at lunchtime. Looking between Maddie and Cassie, we all began to smile, imagining what the dance would be like… hell, what school will be like on Monday morning.

Then, with that singular thought, my face clouded over with doubt, as storm clouds filled my mind.

I mean with just us here today, things actually seemed as if they would work. We all eventually acted like the people we are… not the people we pretend to be. But on Monday, things might go back to the way they were. Would Maddie become Matilda again, and walk by me in the hallway, ignoring me? Would Cassie skip first period every morning, would Luke still be that kid who sat up the front paying attention to the teachers every word, not showing that he had even an inch of coolness or spite that we'd all seen in him today?

Would Dalby get kicked out of school for not even bothering to turn up… or for some petty crime of passion in the heat of the moment, when he acted like he couldn't care less, when really, he'd shown us today that he did? Would he ignore me, say that I was just another notch on his conquest list?

Today, we'd all seen other sides to one another that had been unknown to all of us. When I'd been spending that time with Lucas, I hadn't even aware that that simple part of me existed. The part that yearned for learning and for books, and for intellectual conversation with someone other than myself, the part that actually wanted the conversation to continue.

Or the part of me that found out she has more in common with Matilda Hunter than I ever thought possible. That I can laugh with her harder and longer than I could with my oldest of friends.

And especially, the part of me that had kissed Dalby for death life, and clung to him as if nothing had mattered in the world. The part of me that had smiled shyly when I'd been called his girlfriend… and hadn't bothered to contradict anyone.

What if that all disappeared on Monday morning as we walked into school separately?

I turned to speak to Maddie and Cassie about this, but their somewhat amused, somewhat scared faces were directed elsewhere. Following their gaze, I found them watching the three boys, concentrating as hard as I could imagine they'd ever done (except for Lucas, that is) as they studied the cards in their hands.

I couldn't help but snort. It was ridiculous. Stupid. Borderline crazy even.

Cassie and Maddie turned to look at me, but my snort had not interrupted the boys. They remained locked in the game.

"What?" I asked Cassie and Maddie as they stared at me.

"Why'd you snort?" Cassie asked, somewhere in between curiosity and laughter.

Somehow, their initial looks had eased my worries about Monday. Now all I could think about was…

"What if Dalby or Luke make Henry and Maddie go to the dance together?"

Cassie started laughing along with me, while Maddie's face had turned pale white.

Somehow, I knew everything would be okay.

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There was one thing running through my mind, and one alone. Win. Because then everything would fall into place. For me at least.

It had been Dalby's idea. And if I won, then it wouldn't look any more suspicious if I said I wanted to take Cassie with me purely because I'd seen Dalby and Belle looking at one another, kissing one another all day, and like I would take my sister.

Was there a weakness in Lucas' face that showed me he was bluffing? Was there a movement in Dalby's eyes that proved he had the worse cards than me? Was there anything aside from my gut feeling that told me this game was mine, and she was mine?

There had to be, because Belle and Dalby, well, they were technically together now (by Maddie's standards at least) and Lucas being able to take Matilda to the dance with him, it was a nerd's wet dream.

Well, maybe Lucas was a cool nerd. But he would still love to take Maddie with him. And I had a feeling she wouldn't be so worried about him taking her either. Not after that scorching kiss they shared.

And that would leave me to pick poor Cassie. Which would let me prove to her that I wasn't a fake like she tended to believe. I mean, she'd accepted everyone else here for who they were, but still managed to find faults to call me on. It was like she purposely pushed me out of the friendship, bonding circle we'd had going on today, despite the numerous times we'd managed to be left alone, just me and her.

And while I'd loved the fact that I never planned for it to happen, it kept on happening. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe it was a sign of how much she didn't want to be around me, I thought, sighing sadly. I couldn't forget that kiss though, and her lips on mine. That had to mean she felt something, even if it was the tinniest bit of feeling. Something is always better than nothing is.

I looked up over to the girls who were still laughing hysterically at something or other. They had made it so easy to be around one another. They had just fit.

Guys never managed to make it that easy. Fitting always took a long time. Many hours of bonding had to occur over a play station game before you could call each other friends. Although this poker game was beginning to open us up. We were pretending to place bets, each of us holding our poker faces strong. Each of fighting to win. Each of us, I suspected, wanting to win so badly.

I guessed we all had our own reasons for wanting to win this. Maybe it was to prove something to the girls. Maybe, more importantly, it was to prove something to each other. Like a trial of some sort, to prove that we could actually be friends.

Suddenly, the girls were around us, their stuff with them. Maddie had linked arms with Belle, and the three of them stood with these goofy grins, their faces red from laughing.

"Now or never boys." Belle said, winking at us. "It's five. Time to go."

"Right." Dalby said, taking control once more. "This is it. On three, we show our hands."

"One…" I heard Cassie sigh.

"…two…" I felt her eyes on me.

"…three…" I looked up and our eyes locked momentarily. I knew I had won as Dalby swore under his breath and Luke groaned. Two pair, with jacks and eight's is a pretty good combo.

And she knew.

"So," Dalby said, never missing a beat, never one to break down after a loss. "Who goes with who?"

"That," I replied, standing up and getting my bag "Is something you'll find out on Monday." I finished, smiling at everyone, as I walked past their annoyed faces.

Sometimes, messing with people is just too much fun.

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Walking out into the fresh air, I knew that to anyone, who simply passed by, we would simply look like six teenagers who had come out of detention. But to us, something had changed.

Dalby, Henry and Luke had hung back behind us girls, all shuffling along, not willing to meet one another's gaze, but willing to stare at us three girls who walked infront of them, heads held high, bright smiles on our face.

Once again, I could feel Henry Hunter's gaze fall strongly on me. As if he were still trying to figure out my complex existence. But instead of feeling annoyance, I felt a weird kind of happiness. An unexplainable kind of happiness, that would simply have to sort itself out as time went on.

But happiness turned to dread as we approached the doors to the outside world. The world where freedom reigned, the world where everything could, and possibly would, fall apart once more.

Slowly, we made those steps outside together.

"So…" Maddie began, unlinking her arm from Belle's and walking to stand infront of us, essentially forming a circle. "What happens now?"

"Well, we're free you see. I don't know about you, but I'm getting the hell away from here. But you could have some weird fetish about staying in school… but hey, that's none of my business." Dalby joked, but you could hear that he was somewhat scared behind his words.

"No dick head. I mean, what happens on Monday?" Maddie continued, her large eyes, for the third time that day, conveying honesty and vulnerability.

"I don't know." Belle said slowly, suddenly realising that sometimes there just wasn't a right answer.

"Right." Maddie said, sounding more than a little hurt. "Well, there's my Mum. Come on Henry, we're going home." She said sternly before walking away rather quickly.

I sighed to myself thinking that some things never change.

"Tomorrow." I yelled out after her. "My house. You remember where it is right? It hasn't changed since primary school. Meet me there at 11. I've got something to show everyone." I yelled, as I saw Maddie smile then nod, before waving goodbye quickly.

I turned to face everyone else.

"Here's my address. It's pretty easy to find. You need to see this too. Maybe then today will make more sense to everyone." I said, handing out sheets of paper I'd prepared earlier.

"You really think this can be explained?" Lucas asked skeptically.

"If you know the right movie, then everything can be explained." I replied as I winked at him, before waving goodbye and going to meet my own Mother.

Hopefully tomorrow would do the trick, I thought to myself as I climbed into the front seat, shutting off my mind from my mothers words.

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AN: Thanks Kate, you're awesome! Yay, only two more to go. Sunday, and Monday… but should I write the dance too? Who knows, not me, that's for sure. This story hasn't exactly been created in the most structured way. Don't ask. As always, please read and review.