Katie, number-one Diva and number-one cheer-leader of Roseville High (both, naturally, self-proclaimed), the only daughter of the fourth richest family in town and hostess of the party, finally retreated indoors after spending her most miserable hour of the night out in the cold where the party had moved to since someone discovered David's construction. She shivered in her coat. It wasn't intentional; she didn't mean to stay out there that long, she'd been long out of her comfort zone for approximately fifty-nine minutes – more or less the whole time she'd been out there. Who's stupid idea was it to move the party outside anyway? She wondered to herself. Oh. . .right, she remembered – that's why she went outside there in the first place; it had been to find that particular person. She'd kick them out in a heartbeat like she did Stacy's friends as soon as she'd find them, nevermind 'why' the party was now being held out there. She was the host. Any party outside wasn't a party at all. It had to be one of the boys who did it. Boys were stupid, boys under the influence of alcohol would be doubly-stupid. Their partners probably didn't have a choice. Most of them were so buzzed they probably didn't even feel how cold it was. Whatever. She'd had just about enough of everyone at this stage; the party was turning into an utter disaster. although, this time it wasn't just because of, yet, the fifth fight she'd felt the need to watch over – 'watch', as opposed to doing anything like break it up herself. Could you imagine? Her? Breaking up a fight between two testosterone driven idiots? As-if! Let them sort themselves out! She grumbled.

Her patience had been tested that whole night, especially when the friends of the ones fighting would then ask her to call an Ambulance, or make the call to send the instigator home. There was a problem with the former option. There wasn't one with the later option, she could do that quite easily. Hell, right now she'd sooner call the rest of Jack's bouncer friends and see if they can help 'escort' the people partying off in the cold, to a place out the front of her mansion. It was preferred at this stage. She'd have no problems with the call-out fee either. It would be insignificant to the amount she'd save doing something worse like calling the police, and having them discover the drugs on some of the people here. They'd been getting passed around. She knew about it too; she was furious. But they were her friends, and…ah… her parents wouldn't be pleased about hearing the police had to be called out to their house over it. They wouldn't be happy about having to come back from their cruise. So, she told no one about it.

She sneezed a very elegant sneeze. Well. . .tried to. She almost fell over into the snow on the way back as she swayed about from the new location of the party since being challenged by that bitch Melissa to a drinking contest with the beer bong. There was no way she was going to be beaten by her. Her pride was going to be her undoing; she was going to be sick tomorrow, she knew that much – if not from the alcohol, more likely the from the nasty cold she'd likely get. Nothing she could do about it now.

She whined to herself in frustration – tonight was the worst! Why did she ever think she needed to host this party? She wanted to find Stacy, she'd cheer her up.

It was then she heard laughter from the inside of the house. That felt odd to her; everyone was supposedly outside. She tried to guess how many voices she heard, but that proved difficult. The other party goers took all the speakers outside and turned them up all the way. She couldn't hear too well above her chattering teeth, but she could at least hear that there were at least two people, and that could only mean one thing. Katie became suspicious before becoming very furious. She even told them straight up when the party started; No fooling around! She did everything to deter people from going upstairs where the bedrooms where. Locking the doors was the first thing she did, barricading the stairs with some junk she had her manservants pull in from the garage was the other.

She stood in the main hallway and was ready to climb up the stairs. She didn't, couldn't rather. The barricade was there. They had to be on the ground level. She turned her head; she heard it again, behind her. This time she assumed it was going from the west wing. How brazen! To be doing it where people could see them! She'd give them a piece of her mind. This time she would call the police!

She blinked when she found them, thankfully not doing what she had in mind. Much the opposite, they sat in seats and laughed to one another with packets of chips and cans of drink on the table between them. There were more here than what she expected. There wasn't supposed to be another party here. 'What the…' She said, slowly, begganing their attention as she walked into the room. She didn't expect to see Paulo, David, Abbey and Sue here; she'd asked them to leave. Jasmine was here too. She wasn't feeling cold anymore, quite the opposite; she felt her blood boil, more than it had before when she thought people were fucking in her house. Something worse was going on and her patience had already been pushed to the limit. 'I thought I told you all to go!' She yelled. Her furore unleashed for them all to see.

Stacy stood up so Katie could see her. 'It's okay, Katie; they've rung their parents.' She said, trying to calm her down.

Paulo knew that to be a lie; they'd chosen to try and stick around and take as long as they needed to. Stacy had suggested doing so herself, going against Katie's very own wishes. He couldn't help but find some amazement in him by the suggestion; Stacy always seemed to have been under Katie's thumb while they were at school. Personally, the thought of collectively rebelling against Katie thrilled him in every way, especially after how she treated him earlier. He could count on David behind him all the way, nevermind the incident from others weren't, however; far too good for their own good and finding themselves as trespassers, it was her house after all. But Sue did manage to convince them, especially when she told them all how drunk Katie appeared from before. 'There's no way in hell she'd be able to walk after seeing that! It'll be fine! She won't remember! Now come on! We're here to enjoy this party!' She yelled aloud at the time.

And they'd find themselves wrong, again. Even more worrying to them was why Katie was acting this upset in the first place. They'd been invited, and sure; they were going to be kicked out for Paulo getting involved in a fight. But they were the only ones from school there that evening. Surely there would've been some consideration there? And they'd be wrong there as well. Katie clenched her fists. 'They can, like, wait outside!' She roared back. 'Why are they still here?! Jus' give them their coats and get them to leave!'

'Ah...uhhh. . .well, you see...' Stacy stammered.

Paulo turned back to Stacy just in time to see the flame of whatever resistance that was building inside of her teetering and threatning to extinguish. He couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Stacy; she looked like she'd stepped on a thousand nails. He had a theory as to why; right now Stacy's double life was hanging in the balance. It must've been difficult managing to lead a double life; being a friend of Katie and being part of the "in" girls, but also being with the people who weren't at the same time. She was at the center of it; they were her guests, and they were asked to leave. He had to beleive for a moment that there was one thing Katie hated more than anything in the world, and it had to do with her word not being followed. That had to be it. She appeared like that kind of a person, and it was also a reason why he never tried to get with her in the first place. It'd never work out between them, but never mind that. He felt he needed to do something. Take the blame away from Stacy. He wasn't going to wait for Sue to nudge him like she did with Abbey before. He was going to help. He tried to stand, but stopped when Stacy saw him out the corner of her eye, and held a hand up from her side; don't, it meant, and he sat back down.

'I'm not going to let them stand out in the cold.' Stacy said.

'An' why the hell not?!'

'Because they're my friends, Katie. I invited them. You let me.'

Katie let air fill her cheeks for a second, they disappeared. 'I let you invite them so I could promote the party in the school newsletter.' She said in a rather bored way, 'But a lot of good that did. Only these ones came.'

It angered him a little. He couldn't help but possibly wonder why that was the case in the first place. He made a noise involuntarily, causing Katie's eyes to shift quickly over to his. He felt his spine freeze before realising this was what Stacy was dealing with.

Stacy appeared shocked by the admission, 'I would've done it for you anyway!' She shouted. 'They're our school friends, Katie. I'm not leaving them out in the cold, and especially not after one of your other friends did to Paulo! Why are you being such a bitch tonight?!'

That turned out to be the wrong answer. Katie's face appeared devoid of any emotion in that second. Her eyes narrowed as her hands went onto her hips. 'I think you should go too.' Katie said to her.

'What?' Stacy asked.

'Yeah, you should go, take them all with you.' Her face remaining unchanged even as Stacy's jaw dropped as low as it would go. 'Or I'll have my bouncer remove you myself.' She turned towards Stacy's friends, 'Now. Get — the lot of you! Grab your coats, get your things, and get the hell out of my house; the party is over!'

They did as they were told this time; the threat was too real. They grabbed their belongings, grabbed their coats, and walked as fast as they could out of the front door one after the other. Adding insult to injury, Katie followed behind them, screaming at the bouncer to make sure they didn't try to return. They wouldn't.

It took all the energy in the world for Paulo not to suddenly twist around and flip Katie the bird, his better judgement finally conceeding they just didn't need the additional trouble.

They all found themselves on the other side of the front gate, where Katie had expected them to be before. It was a dark night; cloud covered most of the sky and not a single star could be seen. Only a single street lamp provided the only light for miles around. And it was cold. The only company for miles was between themselves and the thumping of the music coming from the back of the yard, muddled and incomprehensible as it was.

Paulo jumped suddenly at the precise moment when a loud sound exploded beside him. He turned in the nick of time to find it was Stacy. In her most absolute frustration shouting at the tip of her lungs back towards the mansion. 'Katie is such a bitch!' It echoed around. A tremendous scream. It was only a shame it would accomplish so little, especially considering how far away both Katie's and any neighbouring house was from each other. Not to mention the thumping of the music coming from the back of her house meant there was no chance in hell anyone at the mansion would hear either. And that was okay; it didn't bother Stacy a bit. She only said it to feel better for herself, and she did, loads better after it was all out of her system. It was only the people that mattered who heard her. That was more than enough.

Stacy turned towards the hand that found itself rested on her shoulder, to Sue. 'Hanging in there?' Sue asked her, feeling the need to especially after what Katie had told her moments before.

'Not really.' Stacy admitted, looking hurt as she did through the deceit.

'I'm sure she wasn't really just using you all this time. I—It's been a long night out, you know? She's probably just exhausted.' Sue tried to reassure her.

'Thanks, Sue. But. . .I think maybe she was.' She explained.

Sue's voice was soft. 'Using you, but why do you think so?'

Stacy shook her head, 'Katie's been acting strangely for most of this year. I—I just only thought about it on the way down here. It. . .kind've explains why she seemed so distant a couple of weeks ago when we used to talk during lunch.' She brushed at the side of her face where her hair was, 'Actually. . .now that I'm thinking about it more. . .It was when we were coming up to our senior year. Then. . .things started getting worse.'

'What do you mean worse?'

'She'd. . .gotten angry at me a couple of weeks ago.'

'Over what?'

'Hair dye. . .?'

Sue blinked in disbelief. 'Hair dye? Surely she's. . .'

'She made a huge deal about it!' Katie said towards the ground. '. . .and how I shouldn't be in charge of anything.' Stacy's face contorted as a tear leaked out of one of her eyes. She rubbed at it.

Sue's hand came up to her shoulders again. 'No no no no no. . .Stacy don't.' Sue tried to say.

'I'm sorry.' Stacy muttered, drawing an arm across her other eye as another tear rolled out of her eyes. 'I should've told you about it earlier. I knew you were looking forward to the party so I didn't tell you things weren't going so well.'

'You shouldn't have done this just for me.' Sue said, she swallowed, 'H. . .How long has it been like this?'

Stacy thought about it, looking towards her feat. 'M—Most of the year. . .now that I think about it.' Sue felt crestfallen as Stacy continued, 'I—It wasn't bad at first. But then she started getting a bit meaner, and I. . .I put up with it. B—Because I really wanted us to have a christmas party! I just. . . just wish. . .'. She felt Sue wrap her arms around her and push into her.

'You shouldn't have!' Sue sobbed into her. 'You should've told someone! We could've done something else! We didn't have to have the party.'

'Maybe. . .' Stacy said, bringing her hands up to Sue's shoulders. 'But I really wanted you guys to have some good memories.' Her mouth made a smile as she said it. Then it turned into a sly grin. 'Besides, figured I'd get the most out of her through the party. But. . .' It turned into a frown. 'Now that I think about it. She'd stopped inviting me out. I didn't think too much about it back then, it meant I had more time to hang more online. . . I should've seen it coming.'

Paulo wandered over to them as Stacy retreated her hand into her purse and withdrew her phone. As tall as he was, he could easily watch over Stacy's shoulder as she opened her contacts on the small device, scrolled through it until she came onto Katie's name, and selected the "delete" option. And that was it. He had to feel for her in that moment; she'd been Katie's close friend for such a long time. It was a very bizarre thing that only moments ago one of the longest lasting friendships at Roseville High had ended that night over a party. And Stacy was left with one half of the double-life she had at school. As much as he thought there'd be less stress in her life, he couldn't get over how sad she appeared. Paulo looked to Sue as well, she looked miserable. His hand came up to Stacy's shoulder. 'Hey, don't worry about it Stace,' He said. 'She'll forget about it by school again, surely.'

Stacy shook her head. 'She'll forget about David and the mess if she didn't write it down, but she won't forget that I didn't do as she asked. That's the one thing that doesn't run past her.' She shrugged, 'But whatever.' She attempted to smile, looking down at her phone. But it didn't take much for Paulo to see through such a vain effort.

He scratched his cheek, he looked for other ways to encourage her, 'Well. . . look at it this way; at least you don't have to fake it at school anymore, right?' He asked. He continued again when she looked towards him again. 'I mean, you won't have to live between two lives now. That's good right? It is Katie after all, who cares about her, right?'

David pushed himself between them. 'Yeah! Down with the gold digging bitches!' He shouted.

Stacy laughed lightly, she shook her head, 'Katie isn't that bad. . .really.' She tried to suggest. 'I. . .I just wish she wasn't like this.'

He was going to protest about it. It was when he looked to Sue first. She shook her head apologetically. He thought otherwise, another time, but not now. 'Well. . .Maybe.' Paulo wondered aloud, thinking to himself. 'Well . . .hopefully things manage to fix themselves. But. . .we'll keep a spot open at lunch on Monday if things don't work, alright?'

Stacy smiled. 'Thank you, Paulo. That means a lot.'

Sue nodded in unison, 'Yeah. It'll be fine! She'll probably forget all about it by tomorrow.' She tried to reassure her.

They didn't find themselves the only ones trying to encourage her, Abbey put his phone away after writing on it and came over smiling towards her. 'It was a nice party while it lasted.' He started. He looked at Paulo, realised, and cringed a little bit to himself, 'Not the. . . you know.' Paulo rolled his eyes at him and shook his head with a half smile. Abbey turned back to Stacy, 'Thank you for inviting us all.'

'Thanks Abbey, but. . . oh.' She was livid in the next second, 'Neither of you have to force yourselves to make me feel better! It was a total bust from the get-go!'

'Yeah.' David said, shaking his head. 'It was awful.' He jutted to the side suddenly and groaned along with it as Sue filled the space between them with a well placed elbow into his side. 'I mean, thank you for inviting me along as well.' He said, trying to correct himself.

'Thank you for inviting the two of us too.' Sue said as she moved beside Paulo her hand reaching for his.

'Yeah, it was good.' Paulo said, 'I enjoyed myself.'

Sue turned to him with a perplexed look. 'You don't have to force yourself, you know?' She said.

'No, really.' Paulo said again.

Stacy shook her head. 'That shouldn't have to come from anyone, the least of all you. You've had a rough night.' Stacy said.

'It's fine!'

Sue squeezed onto his hand. Paulo turned to her worried expression. 'I mean it, you don't have to force yourself. I only wanted you to have a good night out with friends.'

'And I did, alright?' He paused for a moment as they all turned to him . 'Well. . .alright, the last hour was the only highlight, when I wasn't being beaten in the face.' He said.

They couldn't help but laugh with him.

Stacy beamed with a radiant smile towards him, 'Well. I'm glad to hear it!'

All they could do for the rest of that night was wait. Abbey, David and Sue had messaged or rung their respective rides on the way down from the mansion; their parents (or in Abbey's case, his guardians) to come and pick them up. To fill the time, they occupied each other with questions about their plans once they finished school. Paulo couldn't help but find himself chuckling when it came to Sue's turn. She stammered as she raced to answer on the spot, still not having precisely determined what she wanted to do. It was his turn to put on a show when it came to him, a little embarassed as he hadn't thought of something despite getting better at his studies; working his day shift at the Burgertron shop seemed quite obvious, but as everyone else planned to move to college or univeristy, it didn't feel his plans for hte future were as grand. He wanted to aim big, he knew as much, but nothing had caught his attention. Stacy grabbed onto both their hands and told them encouragingly they'd find something in no short of time. They couldn't help but smile and agree. They had all the time in the world.

Eventually the first of the parents would begin to arrive. David's mother was the first in no short of time to collect her little (figuratively speaking) troublemaker from the party. Quite well familar with the noise the engine made, David's tail had begun to wag even before she came into sight. When she finally did, he was quick on his feat and pushed through them all to the front just as his mother pulled up beside them to the curb. That ended up working fine with Paulo as he instinctively stepped back into the darkness from the lamp posts' light to hide the bandages on his face.

David, as expected was the first to greet her. 'Hi mom!' David shouted at her as she wound down the passenger side window.

'I didn't expect you to be ringing up so early.' She sung out. Her attention frayed from him, thre was another person she was looking for, and she found him by his silhouette. She waved to him. 'Hi Paulo! It's been a while since I've seen you, how've you been?' She asked, finding it peculiar how he hid part of his face in the dark.

He felt something like a jolt of lightning make its way up his back. He turned and waved, 'I'm. . .well!'

She smiled, turning back to the other kids, 'Why are you all outside in the cold? It's absolutely frezing out there.'

They all looked at each other with unease, all of them wondering how they should answer that, or even answer it truthfully. Sue felt like she had to be the one, 'Ahhh, all of our parents are coming to pick us up shortly.' She explained, 'So we came outside. They're not too far behind you!'

Paulo couldn't help but wonder if the lack of creativiy in her explanation was intentional, but he had a feeling David's mother would accept it. Kids do weird things sometimes and David was pretty eccentric on his own. And she would accept it. 'Fair enough.' She smiled back. She turned to her son. 'Well, hurry up Davey, we'll take our leave.'

David didn't need a second. He opened the door to the passenger side and stepped in, putting on his seat belt. He was surprised when Abbey bent down and tapped on the window.

'What's up?' David asked, winding it down.

'Do. . .do you think you can drive Jasmine home?' He asked. 'She happens to live nearby to you.'

David turned towards his mother. 'Should be alright? Huh, Ma?'

'We sure can!' She said, indicating to the rear door on the opposite side, 'Pop around to the other side, honey. The rear door on that side has a bit of a problem.'

Jasmine smiled in Abbey's direction and waved as she crossed around the front of the car to her side, hopped in, did up her seatbelt. David joined her in waving to everyone as the car drove off down the road and disappeared into the night.

Paulo turned to Abbey once the car was out of sight. 'Did you guys happen to work it out after all of that?'

Abbey looked to the ground, neither shaking his head or nodding to the question. 'We're. . .just having a short break from each other.'

Paulo nodded, a little crestfallen, 'Sorry to hear that..' he said to him. His hand came up against Abbey's back with a loud thump, 'Hopefully things get better between you two in the next couple of weeks. Hey fruitcake?' He said cheerfully.

Abbey snorted, 'Yeah, thanks.' He said, wiping Paulo's hand off him. 'Don't think I'm going to let you get away with calling me that in future though.'

Paulo smiled, 'Alright, I'll give it a break.' He said pulling away. The elated feeling faded, replaced with his disappointment in how that aspect of the night's drama's going awry despite his best efforts.

Maybe just some things weren't meant to be, he figured.

Sue checked her phone again. She sent a text off to her mother, but she wasn't getting a response. She didn't know what was going on.

Paulo folded his arms. 'You know, you should just ring her.' He suggested.

'Yeah.' She told him, 'I'll ring her if she takes another five minutes, I know she was supposed to be out with friends. Promise.'

'Alright.'

They didn't need to wait too long for another car to pull upbeside them. Paulo just managed to remember who they were as the passenger window came down revealing the occupants; Janet and Kevin, Abbey's foster parents. He'd met them once in the past when he went to Abbey's house that one time, but never again. They just didn't turn out that close as friends.

'Hey party go-ers!' Kevin took no time shouting.

'You guys are out a lot earlier than I expected.' Janet joined in commenting.

'Aha . . . yeah, we're all partied out.' Abbey replied to them.

'Who's the girl we're taking back with us?' Kevin asked.

'Oh, right.' Abbey said, motioning towards Stacy, 'This is Stacy. Her father's out so she doesn't have any way of getting home.'

'It'll be fine, just jump on in and we'll be on our way. I don't want to leave Molly home for longer than we have to.'

'If there's a home to return to.' Abbey said snarkily. Kevin smiled at it. Janet didn't.

'Oh now don't go bringing that up! It was just a small fire.' Janet shouted.

'Did most of the oven-top.' Kevin said.

'Shoosh.'

'Thanks Abbey.' Stacy said getting in along with him, 'And thank you for taking me home, Mrs...'

'Just Janet will do fine.' She said smiling back to her. She turned to Paulo, the gears in her head clicked once she realised. 'Hey! I remember you! It's been a while since we had you around, how've you been?'

'I've been well!' Paulo waved back.

Her smile disappeared, concern drew across her face, 'What on earth happened to you?'

Paulo blinked. It took him a moment to realise he'd stepped back into the light since David's mother came around. 'O—Oh.' He stuttered, 'I just had. . .a little accident. I fell over on the way over.'

'Oh. . .I'm sorry to hear that.' Janet told him. 'It'd be nice to have you over some time, Abbey doesn't have too many male friends that come by.' She said, jering to Abbey as she turned in her seat back towards Abbey.

Paulo followed her attention to see Abbey's eyes growing larger 'Jan—et!' Abbey shouted in protest. Beside him Stacy held her hand up to her face to cover her smile from him. He couldn't help but laugh herself.

'It's only fair since Molly isn't here to defend herself. Besides. . . it'd be nice if you had a few more male friends.' Janet laughed. She turned back to Paulo, 'Do take up my offer though.'

'Ah. . .well, we'll see.' Paulo said. 'Got a fair amount of study to catch up on this year.'

'Oh, I'm sure Abbey would be happy enough to help.'

He looked back towards Abbey. 'Sure, if the offer comes up.'

'See! You're making more friends, Abbey.' Janet cheerfully said.

Abbey gave a very sourful glare before rolling his eyes and looking out to the other side of the window, but he appeared to soften when Stacy's hand went to his arm. 'Aww, go easy on him.' Stacy said.

'Alright, alright.' Janet said. She turned back to Paulo, 'Best rest up during Sunday, then right?' She turned towards Sue next, 'How did the party turn out? Well?'

'Yeah, we all had a good time!' She said cheerfully. She looked at Paulo, and gave a little shrug, 'Despite, accidents, I suppose.'

'Do you need a lift home too?'

'No, no. Not this time.' Sue smiled. 'My mother should be close behind.'

Paulo's thumb rubbed against the side of his cheek. That wasn't exactly the truth. 'Your mom hasn't replied yet, though.' He sung out. 'You know, you should hop in too; you live in that direction.'

Sue turned around, wide eyed at the suggestion, 'What? No! We're going home together. What would you do? Walk?'

'I would not!' He shouted at her.

'Earlier you said your father is out of town for the evening.' Sue said back.

He scratched his head. Ah. He did say that before, didn't he? 'Oh. . .right.'

'Scatterbrains!' She shouted back. 'You know, you should get in instead.'

'What? No!'

She turned towards Janet. 'Can you take Paulo as well? I'm sorry for asking.'

Janet considered it. 'Well . . .we do have one more seat.' Janet said.

'Might as well make the best of the trip.' Kevin joined in.

'Hey, Sue, I never accepted that. Besides I live too far away from everyone anyway.' Paulo protested.

'Where do you live again?' Janet asked.

'Elizibeth Street.' Paulo answered.

Kevin whistled. 'That's way on the end of town.'

'Yeah. . .I—I don't really want to leave Molly alone for longer than we need. We can still drop you off.' Janet suggested.

'My place isn't too far from you, Paulo.' Stacy said. 'I could always see if one of my parents could do the rest of the trip.'

'Thanks, but. . .' He turned back at Sue. 'You should go, your place is closer to Abbey's home. It would save you the detour.'

Sue shook her head again. 'My mother is coming and they've offered to drive you! Look, you look awful, Paulo. You really should take the quickest way home and put yourself in bed.' She suggested again.

He squinted painfully in her direction. Did it always have to feel this difficult with her. It didn't set right with him; her deciding for him and the idea he'd have to leave her alone; on her own. It was out of the question. But, a part of him really wanted to take Janet up on the offer to take him home. The thought of his bed even in its worn state felt amazing to him. He yearned for it.

But he couldn't agree. He shook his head to them. 'Thanks for the offer guys, but I'll be fine. I'll stick around with Sue.'

'No! Get in!' Sue said.

He'd had enough. 'Is this some kind of a trick?' He said, turning to her. 'There's no way I'm leave you out here on your own.' Paulo shouted. He turned to Abbey. 'Seriously, back me up here.'

Sue turned to Abbey with a glare in her eye. 'You'd better not.' She warned.

Abbey contemplated what she meant. He considered his options and her wishes, but. . .hell, a habit's hard to boot. He shook his head. 'Well, I wouldn't either.'

'Perfect.' Paulo said with a grin. Thank you so much for the offer but I'll stick around and keep Sue company.'

Janet looked at Kevin with an uneasy expression.

'They'll be fine.' Kevin assuringly. He pointed back towards the mansion. 'Besides, look, there's someone else walking down now, another girl. There'll probably be more of them soon.'

It was too quick for Paulo, but he thought he had seen Sue's eyes growing wider before turning back towards the mansion and to its gate with some speed. He shook his head, 'We shouldn't be here for too long then if that's the case. You guys get home.'

Kevin nodded, 'Look after yourselves then. At least it's not as bad at the storm we had a few weeks ago but it's pretty cold out.'

'We'll be fine.' Paulo smiled reassuringly.

'Suppose you could always cuddle up to each other if it's too cold. It's what I'd do with Janet.' Kevin replied, he laughed when Janet's fist lightly graced his shoulder.

'Stop.' She laughed.

'Alright, I'll keep that in mind.' Paulo smiled back. He turned to Abbey and Stacy, 'We'll see you guys back at school.'

'Yeah. See you back at school.' Abbey said.

'See you back at school!' Stacy shouted.

Paulo thought he heard Kevin telling them to buckle up tightly as the windows rolled their way up. The car reved its engine and drove off into the night. Paulo watched and waved as it did so, before Sue suddenly shot past him, waving her arms as she did so. The car didn't show any signs of stopping, and Sue slowed down as it disappeared into the black. Her hands came down, she turned back and walked towards him. Paulo couldn't help but be worried as she looked a little worried herself.

'What's the matter?' He asked, 'You changed your mind at the last second?'

'I. . .I just checked my phone. I realised why I never got a response; it never sent! I—I don't know what's going on, but my phone isn't sending!'

Paulo stared at her for a second. 'S—Shit! So none of the messages went?'

'I—I musn't have noticed until now! I restarted it and the reception bar's empty!' She panicked. 'W—What about your phone? Have you got a signal?'

Paulo reached for his phone only to find the cavity in his pocket empty. He was sure he bought it with him. He felt his heart fall in his chest. Did he lose it at the party? 'I've. . .lost it! Shit! I must have left it up at Katie's house.'

'Do you remember where you put it?'

'I. . .I don't remember! I had it when I arrived! I felt it when I went to get the invitation.' He thought to himself. He bought a fist onto his hand when he realised.'It must've fallen out of my pocket when that dick-head hit me! Wait here.'

'Where are you going?'

'Back up to the mansion, I'll go get it.'

'It'll be fine! Don't worry about it for tonight!'

'Why?' Paulo asked, turning back.

'The bouncer won't probably let you back in. I'll see i I can get Stacy to get it back for you when we go back to school.'

Paulo scratched his head. 'Aw come on Sue, I have to try. It's one of the few things I own!'

'Katie's not going to keep that thing. I don't think she's that petty. . . I hope.' She said.

A gust of wind blew into them. Sue's arms crossed over into each other. 'F—F—Freezing!' She managed between her chattering teeth.'

Paulo's fists shook at his side. 'God dammit. Alright then. What should we do? Ask that person coming down for a lift?'

'A—A—Are you serious?!' Sue shouted. 'After what happened? N—No! C'mon! We'll walk back towards town.' She said, grabbing onto his arm and walking in the direction towards the town. 'Hopefully I'll get reception by the time we get closer.'

'Walk? Are you insane? You just got up me for the suggestion before.'

'Yes but we weren't talking about reception at the time, were we?!'

Paulo managed to free his arm, 'Look, Abbey's folks said someone was coming down, let's just ask them if we can make a phone call?'

'N-No! Come on!' She shouted again, grabbing onto his hand and tugging hard in her direction as she continued down the road. 'I'm not going to rely on one of Katie's friends. So let's go, the air is freezing!'

'Sue! What's gotten into you?! Ow!' He shouted, nearly tripping and losing his footing with the force of the tug. 'Just wait a minute!'

She wouldn't. She wasn't going to heed his call. Her brisk walk quickly turned into a run. He had no choice; he had to follow with her pace as she tightly held onto him or otherwise he'd be dragged. It turned into a run, faster as they crossed the gateway and towards the hill where they walked from. He looked back one last time sideways towards the mansion as they ran past the gate, and cursed his rotten luck as he thought to his phone.

Then they disappeared into the night.

Author: I sat on this one for a majority of the month unintentionally. I had to split this chapter since it was getting too long. Part 4 will be posted over the weekend.