Sue popped the door open and emerged from her side of her mother's car, wasting no time once it came to a complete stop out the front of Katie's mansion. There was no attempt to curb her enthusiasm for the evening that awaited. She was giddy when she shot up as fast as she did. She had waited all month, and she didn't want to waste any time. Though, it became quite clear from the lack of cars she she could rest easy that they were much earlier than expected. She was likely to tire herself out before the party had even started. She told herself to calm down, and did. Just as she did, she needed to be careful about the evening. Any mistake right now would sour the night for her. For that reason she remained careful enough to make sure her dress didn't catch in the door when she closed it behind her. She'd spent long enough in the mirror looking good for the evening, something going wrong there would be tragic; she took the absolute best care with herself for the evening, she spent hours on her hair, a newly-bought turquoise dress with matching pair of high heeled shoes she'd been wanting to use for a while now. Something new for the occasion. Something more. . .Tess-like than her usual self.

And like that her memories already wanted to ruin the night for her. She let go of a sigh when she thought of them. They used to love talking about this kind of stuff all the time years ago during lunch. She could only dream. It would be the longest time before Sue would find herself going to them. Well, she was here now and it was only a shame that Tess couldn't be here too. She was somewhere else, hundreds of miles away at some university getting the next stage of her life underway. If only Tess could've seen her now. She didn't want to bring down her mood with another absent friend that evening, so in her absence, she entertained herself with the thought of Tess being there with her. It softened her mood. That was until Tess' visage grew a Cheshire grin towards her, as it did whenever she saw even a taste of romance in the air. 'And you called me prude, that one time.' Tess chuckled at her.

She shook her head to try and put out the burning sensation from her cheeks. Tess wasn't there any more. Prude? 'I'm not being prude!' She told herself. But she knew a lot of Katie's friends did an awful lot of clubbing, Katie's party was likely to be one of those. There was certainly room for choice for clothing. . .and experimentation in that area too. She started to wonder if her dress was the right one for tonight. It was nice; if she were going to a second junior prom. She shook her head, it was fine, even if she felt she might have been overdressed for the night. Her and Paulo's relationship wasn't like that. She wasn't like that.

Getting this dressed up this way again made it really feel like it was a second junior prom. She preferred that feeling. She'd made sure she got everything done correctly this time like she wanted it. She was a lot more enthusiastic about it than the last time. Ignoring her arm in a cast, of course.

And, unlike last time, she'd chosen to bring someone. That was, Paulo was going to be here too. But he wasn't here right now. He chose not to accept her offer to have them both driven here. He'd chosen to arrange another form of transport, all to her own chagrin; Whatever, she told herself. He could walk for all she cared. It left room for someone else who needed a break themselves for a change. A totally different person.

She turned, expecting to face them on the opposite side of the car. She saw nothing, and shook her head with a sigh. It was going to be a tough night, she resigned herself to believe. She walked around the back of the car to his side and bent over to the window. She whispered to him, 'C'mon. We'll be fine, it's a night out for all of us; just a night out with friends!' She made whatever attempt she could to be reassuring to him. But Abbey wasn't amused. He made a face to her as if he had been dragged along to this against his will. Sue smiled given it would've only been appropriate. Technically, it was true — but his foster parents had agreed that he needed a night out of the house of a weekend for a change. It was better than moping in his room. But he disagreed, breathing a rather lonesome sigh at her before reaching down for the door lock, and stepping out with a clear lack of enthusiasm that Sue showed. He didn't pay much mind to the face she gave. Mentally speaking, he'd much prefer staying at home and just getting on with his school work. He was only here as Sue had otherwise pressured him into thinking this was good for him given what had been going on over the last few weeks.

At least, that's what he had thought, until he learned that Paulo was coming. Then the night just fell to shit. Bringing him to this party was going to be anything but good for him. He'd just walked into hell.

But he couldn't forget his manners. he turned back towards Sue's mother as he opened the door, 'Thank you for dropping us off Mrs—'

'It's a pleasure, really.' She cut in. 'It's not often I can get Sue off the computer. . . or outside for that matter.'
'Mom!' Sue shouted. It wasn't true!

Her mother didn't acknowledge it. 'I've been meaning to thank you for last time too.' She said.
Abbey gave a confused look, 'With what?'

'Taking Sue to the cinemas and then walking her home, I mean. I appreciate that.'

He didn't have any way to respond to that. He turned to Sue, who couldn't either for a moment, she bent down to look through the car window. 'Mom, that's not him.'

'What? But weren't you both talking about being—'

'This is only for tonight! I'll explain when I see you again!' She shouted back. She noted how her mother grumbled to herself. She could only imagine the headache her mother was getting.

'Oh, never-mind then. I can't ever work you out.' Her mother spat back, resigning and starting the car up again. 'You kids have fun and let me know when you're ready to come home.'

'We will! I've got my phone with me! Thanks again, mom!' Sue said, standing back from the car. Abbey did the same. Both watched as it made its way around the driveway and back towards the entrance. She gave a final wave as the car turned the corner back onto the road and disappeared behind the fencing. Her arm came down, and she turned towards Abbey. 'Right.' She said, with the appropriate fist pump to nobody. 'Stage one, complete.'

She turned to Abbey, he had a very pained expression written all over his face. 'Just so I know, he's going to be here as well, isn't he?' He asked.

As normal as she could make it sound. 'Well of course he is. He's a friend of ours too you know?'

He bellowed out a laugh. 'A friend, of us?!'

'He's our friend, Abbey.' She growled.

'He's more than just a friend to you though, isn't he?' He asked.

She didn't answer him. She looked to her side and to the bouncer by the entrance to the house. She didn't know how good his hearing was, so she made the assumption he could hear well enough. 'He's just a friend.' She said, and squinted her eyes at him.

'Jesus, so the rumours are true, you both really are seriously—'

'Shoosh! What did I say in the car?!' She said through her teeth somewhere between a shout and a whisper. 'Do you realise how close to the bouncer we are?!' Her eyes flicking between them and the doorway. 'You're following my lead, right?'

Abbey didn't turn his head, not wanting to contribute to the suspicion they were probably being eyed with. 'Right. Sorry. . .'

'Come on. Let's get a move on and go inside. Then you can be Mr. Grouch-pants again.' She told him, before coming to a whisper. 'Remember how we're doing this?'

Abbey groaned at her, 'How did I let you talk me into this. Please. . .please tell me I don't have to do this. . .' He begged. 'I'm no actor.'

'You shouldn't have to, but if it looks like I need the back up, you're going to have to lend a hand.' She said.
'And if I don't?'

She muttered his name in such a scornful way only his own foster parent could've matched it, as rare as it ever happened when he did something wrong. 'I expect you to do it right.' She told him. 'As if we were dating.'

His frown grew.

'And don't give me that face either!' She shouted. 'I can't get Stacy to just let you through. She doesn't have the leverage. This is the only way. If you didn't want to do this, maybe you should have done something about your lost invitations earlier. '

It was as she said, he did lose them — Both of them; the very same tickets he would've used for Jasmine and himself if they were still together. He honestly didn't care where they'd gone now. All he knew was at one stage he was looking forward to the party. But once Jasmine started not paying him any attention, and not making an effort to study or even talk to him, it vanished. Then a week before the party he'd noticed they were gone from his locker. Though, they'd probably been missing much earlier. He only bothered to check when Stacy mentioned it in english. He didn't bother telling anyone. He wasn't going to look either, especially with the way things had been going. That was until Sue found out, and then there was a problem. She made him turn everything inside out; his locker, his room, his whole house with her help (yesterday, uninvited, mind you). He didn't know where they'd gone.
But he had his suspicions, but he didn't want to imagine it. Sue had the same thought too but he wouldn't let her follow through on it. So, there was a compromise.

Sue's arms slid around his. 'Are you ready? Boyfriend?'

This was the compromise.

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at the idea. Them, 'dating'. Never, never in his life, not with her. Friends they were, but like oil and water. God, he only hoped they looked the pair tonight even if it were for a brief moment; girlfriend and boyfriend.

God help him, at least they only had to do this until they got through the door. That would be the hard part. He let Sue lead. He hadn't the energy. He'd sooner run than bother. But he cooperated. In front of the bouncer, Sue reached her hand into a pocket she's fastened onto her cast and withdrew the invitation, handing it to the bouncer. They felt their heartbeats as the bouncer read it.

The response was exactly as she'd predicted. 'There's only one invite here.'

Naturally, Sue said to herself. Paulo has the other one. 'Ahaha!' She nervously laughed. 'My boyfriend's quite forgetful, you see; he left his at home and we only noticed when we got here.'

Abbey watched as the bouncer's attention then turned to him. He could only guess what he was really looking for, but he assumed he was looking for some kind of affirmation to what Sue said. And he realised that. This is what Sue meant. With a sigh, he let a whole different energy take over him and his disposition changed with it, one which wasn't hurting from having been dumped(?) by his love interest. His ears came up, and he had a smile that stretched from one side of his face to another. A very pained smile, but one none the less. 'That's right!' He explained cheerfully, bringing his hand up behind his head. 'I'd forgotten and I'd only noticed it was in my other pants pocket.' He said, trying to laugh convincingly. But really, he was dying inside of embarrassment.

'You could've at least tried looking as nice as the miss.' The bouncer commented.

Ouch. She thought to herself. Though it sounded about right. They certainly looked like the odd couple in that he had not spent as much time selecting his clothing as well as she had. The look he gave was priceless. He didn't need the bouncer to point that out for him. He wished someone would kill himself in embarrassment. Sue, on the other hand, grew concerned, Dammit! She thought to herself. It was the clothing. Did I really go too far overboard? She thought to at least appreciate the comment, she smiled at the bouncer, 'Oh, thank you! And don't worry, I've already spoken to him about it. Didn't I?' She said, nudging him.

His ears fell. 'Y—Yeah, yeah. Give me a break, alright? Trust me, I'm going to hear about it all night.'

The bouncer studied them both and sighed to himself. His hand came down and removed the velvet rope. 'Well, you've already had your night ruined, would be a shame to send you both home over a piece of paper.' He said, signaling them inside.

They nodded and didn't linger a second further. It was when the door had closed behind them Abbey immediately tried to wrestle is arm free from Sue's grip. He didn't mean to appear rude. He met no resistance. Sue tried to pull hers away too at the same speed.

'I knew it. I'm certain he would've let us in anyway.' Sue suddenly said.

He turned with a raised eyebrow at her. 'Then why did we—'

'I mean just call it a hunch. Stacy showed me the number of invitations and the abysmal number of people who bothered to respond to the RSVP. Katie wouldn't have canceled to save face.'

'Just to say she had the party, even if no one shows up?'

'Oh, no.' She began to explain. 'We both figured there would be enough. Katie told her that there was going to be enough people.' She shrugged. 'I suppose in a funny way numbers finally ended up meaning something to Katie for once.' She had a very smarmy face about her when she said that.

'If you knew that was going to be the case then why did we even do that?' Abbey said pointing back towards the bouncer.

'It's not like I knew for certain! It was only a hypothesis. The way the bouncer acted only gave that away for certain. I couldn't have known if that was going to be the case for real until we did that — He's only there to look busy. Katie would've fired him if he really let us in for no reason.'

'You know, you really have a poor opinion of Katie.'

'Are you implying there's a good part?'

'She has a really nice house.'

She looked around. She certainly did. 'It's not really hers, per say.'

He snorted. 'Whatever, but please tell me there's going to be no more of that?' He signaled to where they walked.

She folded her arms. 'Hey, that really hurts my feelings!' She meant it jokingly. He was serious, his face contorted and his hands shook.

'You know that's not what I'm talking about.' He shouted back. 'What if she's here? What if she saw that and got the wrong idea?'

She shook her head and tried her best to be reassuring, 'Because she's not; Stacy was going to message me if she did. Anyway, that was all we needed to do tonight. We can be just go back to being regular friends again. There's nothing to prove to any of the people here and no wrong ideas to give to anyone we do know.' She smiled, but only for a moment, she frowned and waved a finger at him, she remembered. 'But just for the record, from earlier; Paulo and I have worked things out between us; we're cool now, okay?'

He snorted as if she'd told him the punchline of a joke. 'You're kidding me, right?'

She was dead serious, she folded her arms and gave him her most stern look. 'No, I'm not..'

'So you actually went to the movies with him? That wasn't someone else your mother was talking about?'

'No, that was Paulo. She wasn't able to see him that time and you're both the same height.' She shrugged.

He rose a hand to his head. 'Hang on, help me process this; you were both at each other's throats less than a couple of months ago!.And not too long before you were going on about how much you detested him online!'

'That's right.' She said, expecting that would be the end of it.

'And you're dating?'

'Yeah. Happened a couple of weeks ago?'

He shook his head. 'Have you gone mad?!'

She sighed, and doing so swore under her breath. She expected this; getting past the bouncer would turn out to not be the hardest thing she was going to need to deal with tonight. Not by a long shot. She'd chosen to ignore the feeling her gut gave and feign ignorance once Abbey's house came into view when they were driving there earlier. She had realised that there was a great peace in that nobody had really tried to pry into her relationship too heavily, outside of a problematic individual. Nobody at school cared too much. She and Paulo enjoyed a number of calm weeks together, she preferred to keep it that way.
But it wasn't going to be like that with Abbey. One of her more unique friends for a few reasons; rarely ever did they have anything in common with each other to call each other as such. But they knew enough people together in school, associations made them so. There was also the video game they both played and worked on together.

More importantly, they both had hated Paulo to the core.

It was something that was unique between them that no one else shared. And she regret that. It wasn't not at all a nice feeling; a friendship built on hatred of another. But it existed, and once upon a time she really could have elbowed Paulo in the neck if he annoyed her so much back then. But it only filled her with dread. She was not violent person. She just wanted to be respected. And he knew how to get under her skin in such a blundering manner.

She thought back to Abbey. It was not likely the case that her friendship with Abbey could continue to exist over that bond. That made her wonder if Abbey had ever given it much thought over what that bond meant to him; whether he saw Paulo as a threat to their own relationship like he had before in a time long ago to another of his. She remembered, it didn't work out too well for him. Was it the same now? Anyone's guess if he thought he could do anything about it this time either. At least he thought to ask about it, an improvement. But why here? And why now? she wondered to herself. She knew the answer to that too; he was simply one of her better friends, having the decorum not to stir up his own trouble openly, and at least think about asking privately when they were alone, rather than in the hallways of the school where ears always searched for new scandals or gossip. He'd never get a chance to with their school schedules; too erratic as they were. It was hard enough to talk about the RPG game when you both took different vocations — Abbey was not at all interested in the creative side as he was the sciences, and he was also in a class ahead of her in math and english. She hadn't been online much either to ask about it there. It was kind of hard to retain an online presence when most of the time you had went to Paulo. Though, she wondered whether she really had the time, and it was just avoiding trying to avoid this; he' d been waiting a long time to ask, she wondered — weeks, maybe months to ask about the things he'd heard about. Better here in the empty corridor than in the hallways at school. She admitted, and folded her arms, 'There's nothing going on. We're really going out. That being said, everything I said about him before was true to a point. I mean, I can't deny I didn't wanted to punch him in his face so god damn hard back then. I really can't. Still do in a way too if you know what I mean.' She flashed a very persuasive smile.

'Why on earth would you want to want to date him of all people? Out of everyone you could've in the school? . . .or the world, even? You hated his guts. I didn't even want to believe the rumours at school. I even told people to stop spreading that garbage thinking I was doing you a favour! I didn't even want to try being that kind of person again.' He became quite animated, he threw his hands into the air. 'But here you are saying it's all true! Has. . .Has everyone just gone fucking crazy?!'

'I told you; we worked through it! There's no conspiracy! We're both cool with each other now! We've been spending a lot of time together now.'

'That doesn't explain anything; why would you even entertain the mere thought of dating him! You couldn't stand him for one second, and he never showed signs of standing you either. So what the hell changed?'
She didn't answer immediately, her gut told her not to and to give some real thought about what answer she wanted to give. She had a number of reasons available, but then there was the difficulty in choosing the right one that Abbey would accept at face value. Out of those, she knew she couldn't tell him the truth; she wasn't just about to explain to him she'd been on/off secretly pining for him as far back as middle school. That would've meant everything was a lie, or at least partially. She wasn't ready and it wasn't the right time. The thought of telling him that truth would've made a rift between them larger, and Abbey just didn't need that right now, not when he thought the world was turning on him.

The solution seemed obvious. She felt she knew what she had to do; she thought if she were able to find a way to discover some silver lining with Paulo and work out their differences, like she had with Abbey with the game, surely those two could work out their differences. It was going to be necessary if they were going to all remain friends without killing each other. And friends were in short supply these days. It was going to be hard; an endeavour in itself. This was Abbey she was talking about; as bullheaded as Paulo could be sometimes, dangerous when he thought himself in the right, and he couldn't stand Paulo in the past, at all. Another complication she started to consider; she had to be careful about how she played their relationship together, especially since Abbey was in the middle of dealing with a 'maybe-breakup' himself. It really was a bad time to talk about relationships in general. Nothing was going right in his world. His maybe-over relationship with Jasmine, or his best friend's motives for dating who would be someone closer to an enemy. She couldn't make him feel like he was losing both.

She tried to be closer towards the truth. 'We just happened to find out that we had a bit more in common than we thought.' She shrugged. 'Couldn't help it with the amount of weekends we spent studying together, it was bound to happen, relatively speaking.'

God. Was that her best? She made it sound like she was spouting statistics like a wannabe fanfic writer. Though Stacy could've been more convincing if she said it. It wasn't going to work, she knew that much. And it didn't. do much to ease Abbey's suspicion either; an eyebrow raised when he spoke, 'You spend an awful lot of weekends with him just for a tutor.'

'W—Well of course I have! I wasn't just teaching him math after all! It takes time!'
'Even a blithering idiot like him doesn't need to be waited on each day. We haven't seen you on the forum in months! Most of those weekends were meant to be towards quest-building for the game, what happened to those?'

'I'm sorry about that, okay?! I thought I explained!'

'You didn't even do that! You left a message on the server and jumped off before anyone could ask you why! You haven't been on long enough for us to ask to clarify. I'd know because I tried to!'

Mild embarrassment. She did do that. She felt she couldn't give a reply.

He shook his head. 'You know what? Forget it, I'm getting off the point. I don't know why I bought it up. But why are you even bothering with him in the first place? You know he doesn't need the help. It only took him four years to get with the program.'

'That's why I agreed to helping him, he really does need the help. So much more help, more than you know.'
'Ha. I wouldn't doubt that.' He scoffed, folding his arms and leaning against the hallway wall. 'I expected as much, especially when you only chase skirts.' His smile faded. 'You know you don't owe him anything. Neither of us do. This whole thing was his fault and his fault alone. I don't know why you'd even think about helping him fix his problems. You've got your own. You could have just easily told him 'no' especially after all the grief he put you through years ago. I'm surprised you didn't! He's not worth the amount of sleepless nights you appear to have been putting yourself through.'

Shit, so he noticed. She was very sure she had enough make up on to hide that telltale. 'Well, thanks for the concern about my well-being — and by that I mean about the lack of sleep, but I'm fine! And I did; I was almost ready to tell him no and find someone else, but I had my reasons.'

'You seriously feel you have a reason to help that buffoon?' He laughed. 'What on earth were those?!'

'I just felt I needed to help him. He looked pathetic when he tried.'

'Okay, but what were the real ones?'

God, curse his perceptive abilities. 'I don't want to talk about them. '

'You don't want to talk about them but you want me to get along with him? That's bullshit!'

'God, look I had a reason, okay? Believe me. I can't immediately tell you! It's not like telling you why I decided to go out with him will solve both of you and your problem with each other.'

'Just tell me what changed with you?'

'Who says I've changed?!'

'Then at least give me a hint that explains why you'd want anything to do with him!'

'He just needed the help, that's all there is to it!'

'God, this is bullshit. Be like that then! I can't believe you just dragged me along to this expecting we'd get along in just a night.'

'That isn't the intention, Abbey! I didn't force you to come here just to get along with Paulo! We're here to drink and have a good time. Midterms are over! It's been ages since we've all been together and I just don't want you to feel like you're the on your own and you can't enjoy yourself because he's going to be around us.'

'Just like old times, huh? Did you have a good time at the movies at least?' He asked, going back to what her mother had said. It caused her canines to bite down onto her lip. 'Didn't know there was an educational movie playing.'

'Shut up. Now you're just being petty about not spending as much time with everyone else . He only did that as a favour for helping him get started.'

'And he walked you home too, what a gentleman!'

'What the hell?! I told you; he felt he owed me! That's all it was. Stop being a fucking asshole! He had tickets and didn't want to waste them. David couldn't go to the cinemas at the time. It was just for convenience's sake!'

'Convenience?'

'Yes!'

'Even getting walked home?'

'Well. . .he insisted on it. It was entirely platonic.'

'Ah. . .' Abbey said. 'Wow, that's so weird.'

She felt it were an attempt to bait her; he was trying to get under her skin and get her to spill. Getting angry at her and thinking she was crazy wasn't working, and she felt she knew that. None of what she was telling him was landing home. He just didn't want to believe, or he was picking a fight with her. He wanted to know everything.

But so did she, and she wondered. Her eyes narrowed onto him, 'What's weird about that?'

'Well. . .I didn't want to believe it. But she didn't make it out like that.'

Her eyes grew large at the realisation, Oh my *GOD, Amaya! Her thoughts shouted. The only other person who can give a different account for the night. 'For the love of god, please don't listen to her.' She told him, a hand coming to her head. 'You'd believe that rumour but not the other one?! You know what she's like with this kind of stuff! She's excitable since we're all friends! Paulo was only returning a nice gesture, that's all that was! It was just a thank-you for getting him started. David was busy and he didn't want to waste the tickets. I figured that much out when he called. I went because I wanted to see that movie. If you think we did anything, you're wrong!' Her hands came down to her sides. 'Why in the hell are you prying into me like this? Can't you just believe what I'm saying? If you're not going to listen, why ask me about it?'

'As if I could earlier at school? Even there you've been spending more time with him than anyone else.' He complained.

'God, what are you; jealous about it or something? I didn't mean to disappear, I just lost track of time. I told you, he's that far behind everyone else. He needed that much attention. I've been worked to the bone and every night's been dedicated to working out the best way forward for the both of us so neither of us get left behind in the work.'

He laughed. 'Hardly jealous. I'm just. . .Look, I'm just trying to make sense of everything. I didn't mean to pry. It's just. . .You hated him! He's been nothing but bad trouble for as long as we've known him!' He held his head. 'I'm just. . . I just. . .I don't get it!'

Her shoulders dropped. She felt she could only pity him. It was just like she had imagined. Her earlier fears were justified, his world was breaking down. He was starting to go mad. 'Look, we just . . .I had my reasons for helping him. He just. . . he needed it. I only promised to get him started. Then he was going to be on his own.'

'Except. . .' He asked, with a worried expression on his face.

'Except. . .I might be a little teensy-bit invested.' She admitted.

'You say a little, but you're his girlfriend now.'

'Can you just let it go?! A lot happened, okay, and I couldn't let him go as hard as I tried! He was starting to make so many good improvements. I couldn't try and call myself a friend of his if I were to leave at that moment! He might just go back to bad habits. We found common ground somewhere in-between the fighting.' She bought a hand and rest it against her cheek. 'And. . .I suppose I started to like him.'

'So you're really doing this because you pity him?' He asked. 'Even filling in for a girlfriend so he doesn't try looking around?'

Her mouth dropped. 'I didn't say that! When did I ever say that?! I'm certainly NOT dating him because I pity him!'

'Then why? I'm just trying to understand that part.'

'You're being a real asshole, do you know that?! I found something! It. . .took a bit of time to find it but it was definitely there! I can't explain it. So can you leave me alone and stop asking about it?!'

She watched him back as he stood there and studied her. She wondered if he was still deciding if that was a sufficient enough answer. She didn't have much confidence. He was prying in such an unrelenting way. 'Are you sure you're not-' He stopped, looked as if he reconsidered. 'Alright, I'm done asking.' He said, and nothing more.

She blinked. 'What? That's it?'

'I'm taking your word for it.' He tried to push past her to where they were headed. He didn't get far, Sue's hand grabbed hold of his arm.

'Hold up. What were you trying to say before?'

'I mean just what I said, will you let go?' He tried to pull. Sue kept her grip on him.

'Bullshit.. No, that's real bullshit! You weren't listening at all to what I was saying before and you were just about to ask something else. That wasn't the only rumour was it? Maybe you should have been honest with me; why do you think I'm dating him?'

'I'm listening to what you said, honest!'

'No! I want to know what the other rumour was!'

'It's nothing!'

God, if only he said it with more confidence she would have believed him. She cursed at herself again. He was right; he was awful at being a performance artist. 'You're a liar! There is something else! You believed the rumours after all! You thought we were dating for a completely different reason, so spill it! What else is there?! I'm not dating him so he doesn't flirt with other girls. Do you think that stopped him when he was dating Rachel? I doubt I could stop him, I don't have eyes on him all the time. But I'd have heard about it, and I've yet to. So what other reason do you think we're dating?'

'I really thought it was that!'

'Stop fucking lying. That's not the only other reason, is it?' She shouted. 'Abbey so fucking help me, you will tell me the fucking truth.'

'You should start!'

'I have been! I have been this whole time! He apologised to me one day! Okay?! He's changing, and that's so fucking important for me right now! That's why we've been hanging out for longer. He's trying to be different and I'm trying to help him get where ever that's taking him.'

'Look, just forget I bought it up.'

'No! You're going to fucking tell me.'

'It was just a rumour!'

'And I want to know what it was! I'm sure it's something I've already heard it so fucking come out with it already!'

He visibly shook. 'Fine. Fine! I'll tell you.' He sighed. 'Someone—' He stopped, as if something in his gut was telling him not to.

She grew impatient. 'Someone. . .' She parroted, expecting the rest..

'Someone we maybe, might share the same grade with. . . thought that maybe—'

'Hurry up, Abbey and get to the point.'

'Someone suggested it might've been for attention.'

'Huh.'

She found it weird. It wasn't weird that her jaw dropped. She was simply astonished. It wasn't weird in that some of the rumours that had been going around were distasteful. This was awful, but there were more than a few that went around. This one certainly took the cake though. God, Paulo was such an insufferable shit. Why did he need to be in the center of attention at all times for as long as they'd known him. This was one of the main reason she never tried to get anywhere closer to him years ago. She didn't want anything to do with that. No, the weird thing was she should have been pissed at Abbey. . .or something — that was it. She should have been getting more angry at that point, her face would be bright red, like it usually gets. She didn't feel that way. But the way Abbey was looking at her, maybe it was. She wondered if she was so angry she grew numb from it.
But her voice was calm. 'Are you serious? You actually believed something like that?'

'N—N—No!' He stammered. 'But. . .'

'But what?!' She shouted back.

He didn't answer. Somewhere deep inside he likely felt like he had made a huge mistake that evening. But she only guessed that given how he looked like he was just about to bolt in the other direction. But his feet were planted on the floor. As much as he wanted to run, he wasn't going anywhere.

'God fucking dammit, Abbey. You seriously— '

'How could I not help but think that myself?! It's not like many people knew you were in a relationship before either. What could I seriously think especially when you're being avoidant?! You know how people get nosy about each other, they just never did it with you.'

'What a shame! It's not like I promoted it! I kept it private because it was private! Nobody needed to fucking know in the first place. Who does? I thought everything about it was stupid — It's still stupid! Nobody wasn't supposed to know this time either! But two people went behind both of our backs and before we knew it, the whole school knew! I didn't want it to be this distraction from school; that was the last thing I wanted!' She complained. She felt like she was on the verge of tears. 'Oh my god. You can't really have thought I was so two dimensional I did all for something as petty as attention, did you?!'

He looked apologetic, for a change. 'No. . .No. I tried not to! But. . .you couldn't help it when you knew the drama club might be getting closed since it didn't have the numbers this year.'

She didn't need to be reminded of that, at all. The night really was looking to be ruined at this stage. Her neck hair stood out on end. 'It wasn't for that either! My ex and I didn't want the drama back then, that's why we were so secretive of it! My life is not a play for people to enjoy! I'm not going to be some actor for people to laugh at!' His stark face did a number of favours in calming her down. There was a lot of frustration in dealing with the rumours that had been building up. Putting Paulo in his place was second to this. It felt good, but only for a second. God, it didn't help Abbey was right! The drama club had been faltering in numbers recently; there just wasn't enough people like there were in the past. She didn't know how Jessica did it, but she couldn't get the numbers. It had been biting at her all month. 'Is there anything else? Have I answered everything about this to you yet?'

He looked miserable, he had a very guilty look about him; he'd pried too deep. Despite everything he said before she didn't feel anger. He was right. She had changed. Things had changed, and it was a lot to take in for this. . .wanna-be knight inside his armour. He had to change too. She wanted him to understand that this was just the way things were. And he needed to accept it if they were still going to have a continuing friendship. She wasn't going to leave Paulo for him, and he knew he had no way of breaking them up without her being furious if he ever laid a hand on him again. 'Is it still that hard to believe it's because I might have developed feelings for him over the last few weeks?' She asked.

He nodded.

Her shoulders fell. 'Abbey, what do you need help understanding?'

'Just. . .how? Why help him?' He asked as he shook. 'Why subject yourself to that kind of torture? He. . .He did nothing but feed the two of us shit for the longest time. How can you just put all of that behind you and suffer for his stupidity? You shouldn't be putting up with that!'

'It's not torture. I'm fine with this. Really, I am.'

'But why?' He asked. 'He's only ever had one thing on his mind; and it's always been girls. He never paid attention in class, he's never gotten with the picture like the rest of us. He treated us like shit in the past. Why dig him out of the hole he's made for himself? He belongs there!'

'It's not that simple, Abbey! He doesn't belong there, nobody does.'

'How is it not simple? He's there because of himself. If it's not his fault, who's is it?'

'It's—' She froze, Paulo's situation was a bit of a mess. It was like she could tell Abbey everything. What would Paulo think? '. . .His, but—.' She shook her head. 'Why are we arguing about who's fault it is? What are you trying to say to me? Everyone's made mistakes! Nobody deserves to be left alone like that Not even Paulo after. . .everything, not even after L—' She couldn't finish it. The name alone causing her voice to shake a little.'

He shook his head. 'Just. . .how do you know he's not using you? He's done it before. He's always used people to get his way.'

'I don't think he's doing that.'

'But what if it does?'

'Then it happens.'

'So you're going to be a martyr about this?'

'If I have to?'

'Over Paulo?'

'Fuck! Yes! Over Paulo! Are we done with that?! I've told you I would already. Over anyone else if I had to for that matter! I'd do it for anyone in our class, anyone else if they asked. It's just he needs it. He asked me. . .begged me to help! I couldn't turn him away, I couldn't even if I tried. How could I? It was all too sad, everything, especially when I was meant to be a f. . .' She shook her head. 'We're all meant to be friends. That's why. I don't care about that stuff that happened in the past. It. . .It all hurt back then. I. . .I tried at times too. To be a friend with him despite him being such a block head!' Her shoulders fell in that moment. There were a lot of powerful memories from those times, each threatening to be remembered and sour her mood. But, instead she smiled. 'But it's over. We talked about it. He. . .He apologised! To me! It's. . . We don't need to fight about it any more, and he. . .he's put his complete faith in me. He trusts me. So I started trusting him back.' She looked up from the floor to Abbey. He didn't say anything. 'Do you understand what I'm saying? Can you at least try, try being friends with him?'

He folded his arms, a face full of regret, but he appeared to understand. 'Alright. Alright. I get it. I get it. But. . .for fucks sake — you make it sound all so easy.'

'Ha. I can assure you it wasn't. There were a lot of bumps in the way.'

'You know, you don't have to be the only one tutoring him. There are other people who could be his tutor.'

She smiled towards him. 'Are you saying you'll—'

'No.'

She laughed to herself. 'Yeah, I figured as much.'

'Why not ask David? He's in my class and does reasonably well.'

The noise she made from that suggestion was unique. 'Oh my god, you're serious.'

'What?' He asked, blankly for a moment. He bought two fingers and pinched between his eyes when he realised. '. . .Never-mind.' He said.

'David wouldn't be able to retain Paulo's attention, and David's attention would've gone somewhere else as soon as they tried to study together. I mean we've seen them together enough times to know that.'

'We don't know that.'

'Oh come on, David is so predictable. Paulo needs a tutor who wouldn't try to entertain him.'

Abbey sighed.

'See, Abbey? That's the other thing; he's got no one else who can be realists about him making a change. Mike and Daisy aren't here. There's no one else he can fall back on. . .at least in our grade.'

'A realist would know when to give up.'

'More like a narc.'

'Bah. What do you mean no-one in our grade? What do you mean?'

'Well, he did tell me one night the school had offered him a tutor. Just. . .not in our year.'

'Who? Why not take them?'

She held a plane face. 'Isn't it obvious?'

He understood, frowned and folded his arms. 'Surprised he didn't.'

'They dated, remember. Would've been awkward for the both of them.' She walked over to him and poked him in the chest. 'And someone would've been furious about it too. I could've left him back in the classroom, you know? Would've been easy to do. Especially after all the chides and teasing he gave me in the past. Don't act like I don't remember it all. There was something good about seeing him beg for help. He deserved it too, even after everything.' She said, a small sigh leaving her. 'But I couldn't.' She looked up towards him. 'Do you know why I didn't?' She asked him.

He didn't immediately reply, 'Well. . . thought I did. . . but I don't-'

'Because friends shouldn't abandon others.'

He was quiet for a good moment, 'You can hardly call us friends with him.'

'We had been. We're just all terrible at being them.'

'We're not-'

'We are!' Sue shouted. 'The difference is I spent the time with him even through every agonising moment and every put-down to try and find something like common ground.' She gave a light snort. 'And I did, even if it put me in this sling accidentally.' She said, holding up her arm to him. 'He cared about me when he fret all night about it and my well-being.' She bought it back down. 'He wants to show he cares. He just struggles to find the means.'

Abbey's ears fell. 'I see. I'm sorry, I didn't know.'

'Save it. Now you know. We're together because I allowed it, and I want to see where this goes. Happy?'

'I'm sor-'

She was stern with him again. 'And another thing just for earlier; just because your relationship is on the rocks doesn't mean you can bring mine down with you.' She watched Abbey's jaw drop. 'I spent the time with him to find something behind that facade of his. The best you can try to do tonight if you're staying away from the drinks is to try and find common ground with him. He's not as bad as he made himself out to be. So give him the chance. We all deserve a second try.' She turned towards the hallway. She didn't concern herself with Abbey's presence. She had something else in mind. Her attention wen't elsewhere and she walked towards the next room, looking for her target. She found them. Abbey slunk behind her. 'Wait here a second.' She said over her shoulder. She carefully snuck up on her target then threw her arms around them. She lifted them into the air as high as they could manage.

'Sue!' Stacy screamed.

'We're having a party!' Sue screamed aloud.

'Put me down!'

She did so, and Stacy fixed her dress and sighed. 'You really were looking forward to this, weren't you?'

'How couldn't I? It's been ages since we had a party!'

'I still remembered what happened the last time quite faintly.' Abbey said, feeling his arm prickle.

'Oh, right. I'd forgotten' Sue giggled. 'Well this one will be better, I've told David we're not playing any kid games..'

'Was that you two yelling at each other earlier?' Stacy asked. 'I came over because I heard some people fighting.'

Sue looked most perplexed, 'Us? No it wasn't us.' She glared over towards Abbey. 'Right?'

'R-Right.' Abbey agreed.

'Well, okay then. I guess they went outside. Did you guys want to see the room I managed to keep for ourselves?' Stacy asked.

'I'd love to.' Sue smiled.

'Great! We need to go over to where the actual food is first and take a couple of baskets for ourselves.'

'Wait, we need to do that? They're not bringing any food to us?'

'No.' Stacy shrugged. 'But we can just go over and pick up the scraps whenever it pleases us.'

Sue thought about stopping Stacy and talking to her about it, although it wasn't like it was going to change anything. Katie hated her more than of Stacy's other friends. Katie hated all the girls who were far too nerdy, but somewhere Sue had earned greater resentment. She didn't know why precisely, she didn't care either. Katie was a tremendous bitch, and thus not worth a cent of her time. She followed her until they stood in front of the main banquet. She couldn't believed how well cated it was, there was all sorts of food here ranging from junk food; party pies and sausage rolls to the more exotic; roasted potatoes and caviar. It smelled marvelous. She watched as Stacy took a plate and started to load various foods on top of it. The platter disappeared from in front of her, and she blinked. Stacy turned to where it moved, in front of Sue. She stood there in some shock.

'Sue! Put that back!' She shouted.

'We aren't grabbing the whole thing?' Sue asked.

'That's not what Katie and I agreed on.'

'It's not going to hurt. Katie's got five other platters of the same food around, she isn't going to miss one.' Sue told her. She looked around, Katie wasn't in sight at all, just the chefs, who eyed her suspiciously, but then turned and walked back into the kitchen. Sue kept staring in that direction before she felt Stacy's hand on her arm.

'Katie will find out, the chefs will be worked to death if we just take the whole thing!'

Sue frowned, the last thing she wanted to do was make someone's life harder. She felt bad about the chefs, she felt worse about Stacy. She sighed and put the platter back on the table. 'Fine, I won't take the whole thing then.'

'Thanks Sue.' Stacy said apologetically.

Sue gestured towards Abbey. 'Can you grab a few plates here too Abbey? Don't worry about stocking up on the same thing, just grab anything.'

Abbey didn't say anything. He just nodded and picked up a food tray, and sighed as he picked through the banquet.