So, shall we continue on? Thanks for reviewing, Sideshow Cellophane 26 – I was worried that I wasn't going to get any reviews (and for the record, I can't wait for that episode).

Sure enough, I got a message in my locker that morning, with what I recognized as my diamanté hair-slides (I always wore my diamanté headband, but I only kept hair-slides for when the breeze was intent on flipping black strands into my eyes).

The note read: Enjoyed the sleepover, we have to do it again soon! Found these in your room. Why don't you wear them? They're really cute! Got more to tell you, but that'll come later.

"Is that another message?" Simone asked, peering over my shoulder. "Omigosh, he was over at your house?"

"Don't get too excited, Simone." I said glumly. "I didn't talk to him all night. He probably thinks it's funny to take my stuff for two hours before giving it back."

"Compared to the jerk of a boyfriend I have, he's a total gentleman!" Maria assured me. "You're lucky, all right."

'Later', apparently meant the afternoon. I found another note with two photos. To my horror, the first photo was a close up of me asleep. I mean, I didn't look so bad. My hair was a mess, my mouth was open, and no one would want to be caught like that, but it wasn't the worst look. No, what was worrying was the papers peeking out underneath the pillow. One of them was the note from the day before, and the other was a photo of...oh no.

It was the same photo that Curly had given Rhonda back when they were pretending to date, even though it wasn't in a frame. But how had they gotten there?

The second picture was even worse. It looked like yet another shrine in the corner of my room. This one was most definitely one to him. It was obvious that it was my room, because, again, the corner showed me still blissfully slumbering.

I thought back. I didn't have a lock on my door. Had Curly sneaked into my room last night and planted those things so it looked like it incriminated me as a...

I immediately understood what this meant.

The note with the photo read: I didn't want to resort to this, truly I didn't, but I figured I'd have to work with destiny to get you to give me a chance. I'll be over at yours later tonight to discuss the terms. Leave the window open. And oh yes, I have several copies of these (I'll prove it tonight, of course leaving some at home). Oh, and it would be nice if you'd keep this just between us. I get you've wanted moral support before, but I really don't want to have to spread these photos around.

Eternal love, your number one guy

I sought Lisa out on the bus going home (Curly WAS on the bus, but he left me alone for once). She frowned a bit, since for the first time, she was going to sit with Phoebe (Helga wanted to be on her own for some reason).

"Sorry," I apologized, rather to Phoebe than to Lisa. "But this is an emergency." I quickly showed Lisa the picture (knowing I could trust her to keep it a secret) and the note.

"You expect me to keep this quiet?" exclaimed Lisa. "This is blackmail! You can't seriously think-"

"Sis, you're not telling anyone." I ordered. "I kept it quiet for Rhonda, you should keep it quiet for me."

Lisa's eyes widened. "What do you mean, you kept it quiet for Rhonda?"

"I'm still surprised you didn't notice." I teased her. "Why was it that I was the only one that noticed something was wrong that week Curly and Rhonda were dating?"

Bart was sitting nearby, chatting up one of the girls in his grade (or failing to – she didn't look impressed), but at that moment, he slid into the seat behind us. "I noticed." he said proudly. "Just cause I don't know Rhonda so well didn't mean I can't spot the signs. That morning, she looked like she wanted to sink right through the seat. And I saw the break-up. If Rhonda had been that devoted to him, she would never have dumped him."

Lisa was becoming more round-eyed by the minute. "What did he do?" she whispered.

"Long story short, Rhonda messed up this mink coat that was supposed to be her mom's birthday present." I explained. "She needed it dry-cleaned by the morning, and Curly's parents own a dry-cleaners', so it was her only hope on such short notice. But he said she had to pretend to be his girlfriend for a week as payment, and took a couple pictures to make sure she didn't try to get out of it."

"So this time..." Lisa deducted. "He's just trying the same trick on you. Anyway, you weren't even supposed to tell us, right?"

"Keep it down!" I hissed. "He's only a few seats down." I gestured to Curly. He caught my eye, then grinned and mouthed "Tonight."

So I convinced my siblings to keep it secret, and then I stayed in my room for the rest of the night, window open, waiting. I even refused to come down for dinner when Mom called me. I knew very well that if I didn't come down during dinnertime, Dad would eat my share, and I also knew that Mom had made spaghetti with meatballs (vegetarian ones for Lisa), which were always pretty good. But then again, I was too nervous to eat.

It got to nine o'clock and still Curly was MIA. He'd confirmed he was coming over, but I had to wonder if he really was, after all. It was nine-thirty before he finally put in an appearance.

He appeared at my window so abruptly that it gave me a shock. "Hey there, my love goddess." he greeted me. "So I believe we have a little deal to work out."

I scowled at him. "You mean, you're blackmailing me to get what you want. And don't call me love goddess!"

Curly simply smiled. "I love it when you're all fiesty like this. It's really cute." I scowled at this. "Anyway, as you no doubt already know, I left a picture of myself under your pillow last night, and if anyone else finds out about this, they might just jump to the conclusion that you're crazy about me. But even though you may not be as willing to indulge in our love as you could be, you will be by the end."

I laughed at this. "Seriously? You pulled the same trick on Rhonda and it didn't work. What the HELL makes you think it'll work on me?"

"I really didn't want to resort to this, as it happens." Curly pretty much ignored my comment. "But I figured that there was no way you'd look at me twice, otherwise. As I've said before, princess of my dreams, angel of my heart, you would change your mind if you gave me the chance, if you just tried it and discovered what it would really be like to be my girlfriend."

"Stop right there!" I said. "If this is anything like how you treated Rhonda, it's not going to work. I'm not going to tell the whole school that I'm your girlfriend. I'm not going to wear a T-shirt with your name on it. And I am NOT going to fall for you, because you act obsessive!"

"Obsessive it may seem, but I am simply devoted to you, my jewel of love." Curly replied, seriousness evident in his tone. "And stop comparing us to Rhonda and I, it is you who I hold my deepest affections for, not the shallow feelings I once harboured for her. And of course I wouldn't make you demean yourself to her level. I must admit, having her as my girlfriend was partially an excuse to get a little revenge for how mean she was to me. But you...you weren't mean to me all the time. And you get credit for helping me get over Rhonda."

"So?" I challenged.

"So I'm not asking you to announce that you're my girlfriend to the entire school. The T-shirt...maybe that one I gave Rhonda was a bit tacky, and besides, I don't want you to feel like you have to wear a colour other than black and silver. After all," Curly grinned, shamelessly checking me out. "I like the gothic way you dress. No, this isn't as small-time as my week with Rhonda. I've been studying where I went wrong with that."

"I could tell you." I retorted. "You forced her into it. You smothered her with devotion. You convinced yourself that she wouldn't want to break up with you and went through unnecessary pain when she dumped you."

Curly ignored me. "I don't think a week was long enough to get the full experience. I thought that was enough of a taste, but it isn't. Arnold's weird cousin spent over a week following Helga around. That didn't work."
"Yeah, cause she wants Arnold." I muttered under my breath, adding at a normal volume, "Wait...Arnold's cousin had a crush on Helga? I heard he was with Lila at some point!"

"He was," Curly explained, "But after he broke up with her, he told Helga that he was in love with her and wanted to spend every waking moment with her. Which brings us back to this deal. The other problem with my plan last time was, as you said, that I was too devoted to Rhonda. So, here's the deal: you be my girlfriend for the next fortnight, starting next Saturday, so you have time to get used to the idea." He paused, staring at me, and then smiled reassuringly. "Stephanie, don't look so scared. I love you, I won't hurt you. I couldn't live with myself if I did. Just play along, and I won't embarrass you in front of your friends or anything. I don't want you to act. I want you to be."

I shook my head. "No. Just no. And you expect me to believe that, when half the time, you seem to think you're the villain of a melodrama?"

Curly pulled out the photos of me. "Steph, look at it this way. Would you rather be my girlfriend for two weeks, or have everyone at PS118 think that you're obsessed with me?"

I groaned. "You promise that I'm allowed to break up with you on the last Friday?"

"Sure, if you actually want to by then."

"And you'll stop stalking me after that?" I asked hopefully. "Maybe even be just friends again?"

"Well...maybe..." Curly said thoughtfully. "We'll talk about that when the time comes. I'm sure by the end of the fortnight, you'll realize that you'll like me too."

"Whatever." I muttered. "Now it's time you left."

"Well, it is late. Au revoir for now, my lovely flower." Curly threw his most "charming" smile over his shoulder as he climbed out the window.

Poor Stephanie! In a lot of ways, this is harder on her than Rhonda, who was just putting on an act at school. Stephanie has to put on the same act, even when she's alone with Curly. Please review!

Also, I have just started uploading a story called "Mia's Missions On Mystery Mountain". It's a story based on a "Jumpstart" game (educational computer series), but you didn't need to play it to understand it - and if you look up "Jumpstart 3rd Grade" on YouTube, it can help. It's basically a playthrough of the game through the eyes of an age-appropriate girl, except that everything's real and so I can deviate from the storyline. Just a shout out if anyone's interested in reading it, since "Jumpstart" is a very underappreciated archive.