Chapter 15

Paul stood near the upstairs entrance to the upper level of the auditorium, gently rubbing his neck as he surveyed the students having lunch below him in the courtyard. Sure, he had second lunch and he was supposed to be in his fourth period Calculus class at the moment, but he didn't care. He had too many other things to worry about, like how the hell he was going to win his little bet with Trish when Chris was already in his way.

In his opinion, getting close to Steph would've been a fairly easy task if Chris wasn't always attached permanently to her side. Every time he saw her, Chris was with her, and there were simply no exceptions to that. It was like the two were at attached to the hip...or by the hand, because when he'd watched the two walk away after Chris had practically choked the life out of him, they'd been holding hands.

Paul sighed and looked down at the group of six sitting downstairs in the courtyard below him. He could see Shane and Amy sitting together on one bench while Chris and Steph sat close together on the bench across from them. Ty was sitting on the bench near Steph watching C-Dawg, who was giving them all a little dance by pretending that the small tree in between the benches was a pole.

He didn't know how he was going to win the bet unless he somehow managed to get Steph alone. If he could just get her alone and away from Chris, she would be easy pickings. He was quite the smooth-talker, and he had the notches in his bedpost to prove it. If he could just get Steph alone, he could play the pity card and appeal to her sensitive side, spouting off some mess about how he only wanted to be friends with her... Or he could just get her alone and kiss her... Yeah, that's what he'd do.

The question was, how would he get her alone?

He'd just have to wait for an opportunity, and as soon as one arose, he was going to grab it...

"Get up and dance with me!" C-Dawg yelled to Ty, who was currently sitting there watching him dance around the tree. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, then pulled her against him. "Ah, you know you want to dance with me."

"John..." Ty buried her face against his chest, wishing that she could somehow disappear. They were in the courtyard dancing, in plain view of every other student who was having lunch out in the courtyard. She wasn't really embarrassed so to speak, she just didn't want to stand out too much...and dancing with C-Dawg, a very popular senior, was bound to attract attention.

"I told you they'd be good together," Chris commented quietly in Steph's ear, putting an arm around her shoulders. "They'd be so good together, just like us."

"Yeah, they would. They're practically together already," Steph replied, just as quietly. She leaned her head against him and smiled to herself.

"Look at those two. They're so freaking obvious," Shane whispered in Amy's ear, looking over at Chris and Steph. "I don't see why he won't just get the courage to dump Trish and ask Steph out. He wants to, I know he does."

"Things take time," Amy said with a slight shrug. "It'll happen eventually... Remember how long it took for you to ask me out?"

"Yeah, that's true," Shane agreed, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "But if Chris feels for Steph the things that I feel for you... Well, it's a given that he won't be with Trish for much longer."

"Aw, you're so sweet," Amy said, blushing and smiling at him. He was even better than she'd ever imagined that he could be...

Steph stood up then, and looked around at her friends. "I need to go to the restroom. I'll be right back," she announced.

"Want me to come with you?" Chris asked, standing up as well.

"To the restroom? Now I think I have to draw the line there," Shane teased, shaking his head at the way his friend was so obviously crazy about his sister.

"I'll be ok, really," Steph said, already beginning to walk away. "I'll be back before you know it."

Chris watched her go and sighed, sitting down again. He wanted to be with her so bad, and he still had yet to break up with Trish. He knew that if he could just figure out a way to dump Trish without hurting her feelings then he'd be with Steph in a heartbeat...

From up above, Paul smiled to himself. This was the chance he'd been waiting for, and he hadn't even had to wait all that long. She was going somewhere...alone. This was the perfect opportunity, and he'd be darned if he wasn't going to take it!

Steph used the bathroom and came out of the stall. She walked over to the sink and washed her hands, then dried them and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't know what she expected to see that she hadn't seen earlier that morning when she'd looked in the mirror, and with a sigh, she opened the door to leave the bathroom...

Only to be confronted by Paul.

"What are you doing here? This is the girl's bathroom," she pointed out, checking the sign next to the door just so she could be sure that she was actually in the girl's bathroom.

"I just wanted to talk to you, and I can't whenever you're with Chris," Paul said with a little shrug. "Besides, I'm not actually in the bathroom, am I?"

"No," she said slowly. They were out of view of everyone since there was this small sort of hallway that led to the bathroom. Usually, only a female would be walking down that hallway, and at that moment, it was pretty much deserted. She was all alone...with Paul.

"You're quiet. Talk to me, I just want to get to know you," he said. "I mean, I'm a pretty cool guy once you get to know me. Chris seems hell-bent on making you believe that I'm a horrible guy, but in my opinion, he just wants you for himself."

"He wants me for himself?" she repeated, smiling a little. "That's what you think?"

"It's pretty obvious," he replied. "But Stephanie, that's not a good thing."

"Why is Chris wanting me for himself not a good thing?" she asked. "I was under the impression that it was a great thing."

"You forget the fact that Chris has a girlfriend, one beautiful, popular, extremely experienced girlfriend by the name of Trish Stratus," he said, trying to see how the words and the mention of Trish's name would affect her.

"What about Trish?" she asked, looking down, dismayed that he had mentioned Trish. "What's your point?"

"She's his girlfriend," he pointed out. "Do you think it's right for him to want you for himself when he has someone already?"

"He doesn't want to be with..." Her voice trailed off. She didn't feel like it was her place to tell Chris's personal business, especially the way he really felt about his relationship with Trish. He'd told her that he just needed a way to let Trish down easily, but Steph knew it wasn't her place to tell Paul that. "Chris is good for me," she said finally. "Really good for me."

"Steph, I'd be good for you, and I'd be good to you," he said, taking a step towards her. "I'd be so amazingly good for you, even better than Chris, and we'd be the most powerful couple ever to rule Spritzville High School."

"Power means nothing to me," she replied, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to decline that offer. Sorry."

"Not many girls can honestly say that they've ever turned down Paul Levesque," he said, taking a step closer.

"I guess I'm one of the ones who can," she said, and she decided that she needed to get out of this situation. She didn't know why, but she had this weird feeling, and she felt that it was imperative for her to get away from Paul and back to Chris.

"Steph, wait," he said, grabbing her arm. He pushed her against the brick wall and leaned near her. "Won't you even give us a try?"

"No... There's no chance for us. I barely know you and I'm not interested in you," she said firmly. "Now give it up and let me go. People are waiting for me."

He had her right where he wanted her, alone and helpless, and he had no intentions of just letting her go because she asked him to. This was the perfect time for him to take action and get started on winning this bet between him and Trish. He leaned down, lips an inch or two from her own. "Can I kiss you?" he asked her in a low voice, gazing down into her frightened eyes.

"No," she said, unable to look away from his rather large nose, which was also quite close to her face.

"You meant yes, right?"

"N-"

He cut her off by kissing her softly, and she tried to push him away but of course he wouldn't budge an inch. When she realized that her efforts were futile, she just gave up and stood there, eyes squeezed tightly shut, lips clamped together, hands against the rough brick wall, wishing that he would stop kissing her or that Chris would show up and force him to get the hell away from her.

"What the hell is this?" Chris exploded as he walked up to them. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He'd sat back with his friends in the courtyard waiting for Steph, and he'd grown impatient. Now he came to find her, only to find this. Paul had Steph pressed up against the wall and he had his lips on hers... The sight of it all made Chris seethe with anger, because Steph's lips weren't for anyone else to kiss, especially not Paul... He wanted Steph's lips for himself...

Paul pulled back and licked his lips, looking at Chris. "You picked a fine moment to interrupt us," he said, sneering at him. "What do you want?"

"Why the fuck are you kissing my girl?" Chris asked in a strained voice, trying to the best of his ability to control his temper. He could feel himself shaking with anger, and all he wanted to do was wrap his hands around Paul's neck and squeeze it, and never let go, but he knew he couldn't do that. He had to control his temper.

"Your girl is Trish Stratus, and if I'm not mistaken, she's in her fourth period class right now," Paul said with a smirk. "So technically, Steph here isn't your girl, and if she wants me to kiss her, then why shouldn't I? Who are you to ask me why I'm kissing her?"

Chris stared at Steph, pursing his lips together a little. "You wanted him to kiss you?" he asked her in disbelief after a few moments. "You wanted those filthy ass-kissing lips on yours?"

Steph opened her mouth to answer him but Paul answered first. "Of course she did. You didn't see her fighting me or pushing me off, did you?"

"No, no, I didn't," Chris said, eyes boring into Steph's. His heart seemed to plummet into his stomach when he realized that she hadn't been fighting Paul off. When he spoke to her next, his voice was low with a little edge to it. "You wanted him to kiss you, didn't you?" he asked, hoping that she would say no.

Steph studied Chris's face, eyes resting on his soft, smooth lips. How could he really think that she'd wanted to kiss any other guy but him? Didn't he know her well enough to know how she felt about him? Hadn't she told him how she felt about him not even twenty minutes before?

"Well?" Chris asked quietly, wanting an answer.

"Yeah, well?" Paul repeated in a taunting voice. "Tell your buddy Chris here that you wanted that kiss."

Steph looked Chris in the eyes, telling him with her eyes that she hadn't wanted that kiss. He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, then decided that he would have a little fun at Paul's expense.

"I can't believe you wanted him to kiss you!" Chris exclaimed. "I thought we had something!" Steph looked horrified that he thought that, but he winked lightly at her and she knew he was playing a role now. "Well, you gonna answer me, Steph? How could you?"

"Chris... I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist him," Steph said, turning so that her eyes rested on Paul. She reached up to touch Paul's face, cringing inwardly at the fact that she was willingly touching this guy's face. "As a matter of fact, Chris, I... I kind of want to kiss him again..."

"But Steph, we're... I thought we..." Chris's voice trailed off, and he shook his head in frustration. "Ah, forget it, just forget it. It's like fighting a losing battle... It's not even worth it."

"I'm glad you've realized that," Paul said to Chris, smiling down at Steph and putting his arm around her. Yes, he was definitely going to win this bet with Trish, and then he would have not one, but two extra notches on his bedpost: one for Steph and one for Trish...

"Forget this, I'm out of here," Chris said shortly, turning around and beginning to walk away. "Paul, if you want her, she's yours."

"And I do want you," Paul said to Steph, pulling her a little closer. "I bet you're a virgin, aren't you?"

"That's kind of a personal question," Steph replied, moving around a little so that his back was in the direction Chris had disappeared in. That way, she could see over his shoulder, and she could see Chris, who was slowly walking back towards them.

"You're innocent, I can tell," he said knowingly.

"How do you know that Chris and I haven't been together?" she asked absently, eyes still on Chris, who was now standing right behind Paul.

"Because he won't even do it with Trish," he said simply, pulling her even closer. "Now let's stop talking about those two... Let's..." He grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"I'm innocent, you're right...so I'm really nervous about kissing you right now," she said, looking away and hoping she sounded sincere. "Could you...close your eyes?"

"Hey, yeah, no prob," he said, closing his eyes and licking his lips in anticipation of a kiss. "Lay it on me, Steph."

"Oh, I plan to," she told him, and then she slapped him across the face as hard as she could, so hard that her own hand was stinging.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, one hand clutching his stinging cheek. He opened his eyes and glared angrily at her. "Why did you slap me?"

"Why did you lie to Chris?" she countered, pushing against his chest so she could put a little space between them. The guy acted like he didn't realize that people liked to have breathing room once in a while... "You told him that I wanted to kiss you when, in reality, you forced me! You just wanted him to believe that I didn't want to be with him..."

"And he believed it, so what does that tell you about how much he really trusts you? If he liked you so much, he wouldn't have believed me," he said. "But he did. He believed me."

"Actually," Chris said, spinning Paul around to face him. "I didn't believe you. I've never trusted you, so why did you think I'd start trusting you now? And why did you think that I would take your word over Steph's?"

"You believed me, though!" Paul sputtered.

"No, I didn't," Chris said with a smirk, and then in a flash, he punched Paul right in his face. "And I won't ever believe you about anything, so quit trying."

"Yes, please do quit before he loses his temper and really hurts you," Steph agreed, grabbing Chris's hand. "Come on, Chris. The others are probably thinking we're up to no good in the bathroom."

"You're right, Steph, as always. See you around, Paul," Chris said cheerfully over his shoulder as he and Steph walked away together and headed for their spot in the courtyard.

"Bitch," Paul muttered, not knowing whether to put his hand up to his eye or rub the side of his face, which was still stinging from Steph's slap. So they thought they would play tricks on him and get away with them, did they? Well, they were going to pay, both of them, but especially Steph...

He gathered his bearings, then walked out into the main hallway on L-Hall. He took the back way to class, walking all the way around the back of the cafeteria, simply because he didn't want to run into anyone else. He wondered how his eye looked. Chris had really decked him good, and he knew he was going to have one hell of a shiner very, very soon. Grumbling, he flung open the door to his Calculus class and stepped inside.

"Mr. Levesque... You're late," his teacher, Mr. Bradshaw, said dryly. "Where have you been?"

"In the office. I got into a bit of a scuffle with some kid a little while ago," Paul said evenly, lying the entire time. "This kid sucker-punched me and ran, so I had to fill out a statement."

"Does that explain the red handprint on your face as well?" one of his classmates, Sean Waltman, asked with a snicker. "Because it looks like someone slapped the living hell out of you!"

"Shut the hell up," Paul retorted, walking over to his desk and sitting down. He slouched down in his seat. He was going to have to have a little talk with Trish during second lunch...

Second lunch came quickly, luckily enough for him, and he hurried out of his class and up to Trish's fourth period class, hoping to intercept her before she could leave. He waited outside her class and when she came out, he grabbed her arm and nearly dragged her to the dark stairs at the end of the hall.

"What the hell? Why'd you freaking drag me down the hallway?" Trish asked angrily, rubbing her arm where he'd grabbed her and glaring almost hatefully at him. "You hurt my damn arm."

"I'm sorry about hurting your arm, but we have a problem," Paul said, leaning against the back of the wall of the closed-in stairs. He folded his arms across his chest as he looked at her. "A big problem."

"About?" she asked.

"About Stephanie and Chris," he answered.

She sighed and leaned against the other part of the wall, looking at him. "What did they do now? Did you see them together or something?"

"Yeah, see, here's what happened," he began.

He proceeded to tell her everything that had happened during first lunch between himself, Chris, and Steph, and when he finished talking, he was surprised to see her with her hand over her mouth, trying to hold in her laughter.

"What's funny?" he asked testily.

"She slapped you," she laughed. "And it sounds like she slapped you hard as hell..."

"And you find that funny...why?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"It just is," she said, laughing a bit more. Her laughter was cut short when he closed the distance between them, and before she knew what was happening, he had grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head with one strong hand. "Um, Paul?" she asked, a bit nervous now. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to make you see how serious this is. This is not a laughing matter!" he exclaimed, right in her face.

"I'm sorry," she said humbly, which was a first for her. She was never humble with anyone, but he was actually scaring her right then. "I'm not laughing anymore."

"Good," he spat, letting her hands go and turning away from her. He looked back at her a moment later with angry eyes. "It's no secret by now that I hate your boyfriend. He's always had what I could never get. He's the captain of everything, it seems, and the president of everything... He's Mr. Popular, Mr. Good-looking, and Mr. Intelligent all rolled into one...and I'm not, and I want to be better than him because I know that I can be. Therefore, I have to get Stephanie."

"So the bet is still on?" she asked timidly, kind of hoping that he would say no.

"Hell yes, the bet is still on," he confirmed. "Your boyfriend is in the way right now, but I'll get Stephanie, and when I do... I'll gloat, I'll gloat a lot, and then he'll be the jealous one instead of me." His eyes met hers and some of his intensity seemed to disappear as he looked at her body in a way that made her more uncomfortable than she'd ever been in her entire life. "And then, I'll have a go with you in the bedroom, and everything will be perfect..."

She tried to put on her usual 'cool' face, but it was hard. She still managed to pull it off, though. "Is that all you wanted to discuss?" she asked smoothly, twirling a few strands of her hair around her finger and licking her lips.

"Yeah, yeah, that's about it," he said, watching as she licked her lips. "So... You want to go off campus and discuss our...bet...over lunch?"

"Let's do that," she agreed, already heading down the stairs. She wanted to get anywhere, somewhere public, because she felt unbelievably uncomfortable around him in the mood he'd just been in. "We'll work out all the details and everything."

"Exactly what I was thinking," he said absently, but his mind was already back on Steph and the way she had slapped him. I'm going to get that little bitch back, he vowed silently...

A/N: I started this chapter and kept writing it a little at a time, and it didn't exactly turn out the way that I wanted it to... Sigh... Anyway, leave me a review and be honest when you tell me how much you liked/disliked it. Thanks!