Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last two chapters as well as a big thanks to new followers/favourites.

Elle: Glad you enjoyed the last chapters. Thanks for reviewing.

Bridget hadn't even let the next boy ask her anything before she glared sharply at him and held up a hand.

"No," she snapped.

The boy halted in his tracks, his hopeful smile disappearing off his face and he suddenly looked like she had gone straight up to him and slapped him in.

"No?" he repeated.

"No."

"I was just going to ask you to dance," he said, gesturing to the dance floor.

"No. Run along."

He shook his head, mumbling an insult under his breath and trudged away rejected. Edgar and Alan shared amused smirks, not fighting back their snickering while Bridget placed her hands on her hips, sighing in frustration.

"That's the second one to bug me for a dance. Doesn't anyone know me? God, it's like I look approachable or something."

"You do march around looking like Joan Jett a lot of the times, who is pretty scary," Edgar said.

"And tonight you actually look kinda tame and normal," Alan added.

Bridget pulled a face and looked down at herself. "My reputation is ruined."

She pouted when Bonnie came back to join them, unsuccessfully trying to hide her wincing as she sat down on a chair. She had finally given into her stubbornness, wanting to have at least one dance because this was supposed to be a special night and she wasn't going to let MS ruin that. Sam had offered to dance to a song with her but she had only been gone for a few seconds, now returning with her face scrunched up in pain. She sighed, slumping back into her seat.

"Bonnie, guys are asking me to dance!" Bridget whined.

Her friend's jaw hung open dramatically and her voice oozed with sarcasm. "Oh my God, that's freaking terrible! How dare they?"

"I'm being serious," Bridget said, folding her arms.

"Enjoy it! You look amazing and people are responding positively to it," Bonnie said, grinning at her friend. "Anyway, I'm probably going to bail soon. I don't feel great."

"I got you another cola," Bridget said, passing the drink to her and Bonnie took it, nodding gratefully. Smiling, Bridget sat down next to her friend and put an arm around her. "Still had a good time despite it all?"

Bonnie nodded, grinning at her and the Frog brothers. "I know this isn't your idea of fun but it means a lot that you came. You guys are the best. And I promise tomorrow won't be as tormenting." She clutched Bridget's hand, the one resting on her shoulder, and she squeezed it while she stretched her foot out to tap Alan's shoe. "Are you looking forward to tomorrow?"

Alan shrugged, giving a little grunt in reply. "I'm not fussed about my birthday."

"But you still fancy coming to mine? We're all just hanging out."

"Is that all?" Alan asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Of course!" Bonnie said. When Alan shrugged and nodded before looking away, the girls grinned at each other and fought back the urge to chuckle. Bridget's grin was quickly wiped off her face when another guy came over, beaming at her. One of the jocks she recognised from the football team and her chemistry honours class.

"Looking good, Bridget. Do you want to –?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay." His shoulders slumped and he trudged off.

Bonnie sighed, frowning at her friend. "Brid, would it kill you to dance with someone?"

"Yes."

When Bonnie continued to look disappointed in her, she sighed and shrugged.

"Look, if this had been casual clothing, no-one would have been asking me. Now that I'm all dressed up, suddenly a couple of guys wanted to dance with me? That's just showing me they're shallow and they're only interested in me if I look a certain way."

"I don't think that's the case," Bonnie said. "I think with some people they suddenly get brave at a dance and ask people things they'd normally be too scared to ask. And I think you need to give more people credit."

Bridget shrugged. "I'm still going to scream if one more guy pesters me."

Alan gave a sigh and put his cola down. When the girls glanced up curiously, he stretched his hand out to Bridget who looked at it as if it had randomly sprouted feathers. She raised an eyebrow up at him.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

"You're asking me to dance?"

"God, I wish I had a video camera right now," Bonnie said and she glanced at Edgar who looked at his brother as if he didn't recognise him. They both exchanged a clueless shrug.

"Well, you have two options," Alan explained to Bridget. "You can stay here and keep getting asked by guys you're not interested in or you can make it look like you're unavailable by shuffling awkwardly around with me, one of the few people you actually like."

Bridget grinned up at him and took his hand. "When you put it like that…"

He led her onto the dance floor and both of them gazed around, observing how other people were moving and standing, taking a look at what they had to hold. It had seemed like a good idea but now Alan's hand hovered over Bridget's waist and they were both staring wide eyed and unsure at each other.

"Am I okay to put my hand there?" he asked.

"Um, yeah, I guess so." She hesitantly linked her fingers with his and they inched closer, trying to step left and right, forwards and backwards like everyone else was doing but they both kept starting in the same directions. Bridget stepped to the left, Alan to his own left. Bridget went forward, so did Alan.

In her seat, Bonnie dropped her head, covering it with her hands and she groaned. "Oh my God, it's like watching babies take their first steps."

Bridget bit her lip, nervously laughing as Alan stopped moving and fought back his own grin.

"Well, this going well," she said. "We can't even move around with some grace."

"I don't feel too bad when you're making a mess of it along with me."

She laughed, head burying into his shoulder. "Oh thanks, I'm glad I'm making you feel less embarrassed."

"What are best friends for?" he teased and she lifted her head up, a mock scowl on her face before she laughed again. "Okay, we keep going in the same directions. That's what we're doing wrong. If I go to my left, you need to go your right."

Alan glanced around, watching as couples began to move faster as the band began a new song. Still a cheesy love song but at a much quicker rhythm. He frowned as the lyrics started, listening to the words before he snorted and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Bridget asked.

"My dad was talking about this song today," he said. "Everlasting Love. He danced to this with Mom at their Valentine's Dance."

"Wanna bail?"

"Want some guy you don't like ask you to dance to this?"

She nodded. "Good point." She watched a girl near her, bopping up and down in rhythm to the song. She had pulled away from her date, holding his hands as they shuffled around to the music and laughing together. She copied, pulling away from Alan and taking hold of both of his hands.

"I don't think you need to dance as close for this one," she said and copied the girl's bopping movements as she moved from her left foot to her right foot. She glanced back at Bonnie who had been watching them in amusement with Edgar. But her friend held up her thumbs and flashed a wide beam. That must mean she was doing it right.

"I think we're actually in rhythm to the music," Alan said, doing the same movement but with a bit more of an awkward shuffle.

"Really?" She suddenly grabbed his shoulders. "Go us! We can dance!" She laughed with him, and went to go hold his hands again but he suddenly grabbed her wrists and moved her arms so they were back around his shoulders. He smiled timidly.

"I kinda like them there," he said as his arms went around her waist.

Her cheeks were reddening again. "And I kinda like yours there."

"Are you serious?"

They jumped at the shrill, furious voice, letting go off each other. Charlotte stood near them, her face twisted in fury and disbelief as she looked back and forth at Alan and Bridget. Her voice wasn't loud enough to stop the whole dance. The band kept playing and people nearer to the stage kept dancing. But a few couples around Bridget and Alan slowed down, curiously looking at the three teenagers. Bobby and Imogen had danced over. Imogen frowned at the scene but Bobby was edging her closer so he could watch in amusement and hear everything.

"What's your problem?" Bridget asked.

Charlotte glared at Alan, ignoring her former friend. "You know, I've tried my best not to say anything and accept your excuses but this is the last straw! You said you never go to dances when I asked you and yet here you are. You told me you don't dance and now you're dancing with her? Why are you telling me one thing and doing the complete opposite the next? Why am I always the one to get rejected by you?"

There were murmurings among the crowd as Alan and Bridget stood tensed up and hunched on the dance floor. Alan was desperately trying to force an answer out of his mouth, something to make Charlotte stop looking at him as if he had broken her heart while Bridget chewed on her lip.

Bridget was the first to speak. "He was just –."

"No! Bullshit. I know what's been going on between you two," Charlotte snapped, turning on her.

"You did say Bridget was your girl a minute ago," Bobby said to Alan, smirking with every word that came out of his smug mouth.

"Stay out of this, Denton," Bridget snapped while Alan glowered at the jock. "You know that was a slip of the tongue. Charlotte, the shithead is twisting things. Don't listen to him –."

But it didn't matter. Tears trickled down Charlotte cheeks and after letting a sob out, one she couldn't help, she pivoted on her heel and rushed out of the hall, shoving her way through other students. And as soon as she was gone, all eyes were on Alan and Bridget and the whisperings began again. There was a mocking chuckle and someone slapped Alan on the back, making him lurch forward and gasp at the force.

"Since when did you become popular with the ladies, Frog?" Bobby asked. "Lucky Valentines for you."

"You should have stayed out of it," Alan growled at him and followed Bridget who had started to chase after Charlotte.

She called after her friend, running out of the school and following Charlotte who marched towards the car park. She cried louder now, her shoulders shaking with each sniff and when she finally turned back to Bridget her make-up had run down her cheeks. Her eyeliner and eye shadow smudged with messy black splodges of mascara gathering under her eyes. Her cheeks were already blotchy and her lips looked bee stung. Whatever anger and dislike Bridget had been feeling for her former friend had disappeared. She sighed, taking a few cautious steps towards her and for a second she wanted to reach out because that was what she always did for Charlotte when somebody upset her. But she paused, reminding herself that this time, Charlotte was angry at her. Alan came up behind Bridget but she raised a hand up, shaking her head.

"Let me talk to her," she said. "Charlotte, I don't get it."

"Like I said," Charlotte said and her voice continued to crack. "He tells me he won't go to a dance and yet here he is with you. He doesn't dance with girls but then all of a sudden he's dancing with you. Don't you see it?"

"For fuck's sake, Charlotte, we're just friends. That's all it's ever been! We get on. We can't help that!"

"Do you know what really pisses me off? Before last summer you had never said one word to the Frog Brothers. You had to be dragged to the comic book store. You even told me Alan wasn't worth chasing and now you're like his Siamese twin."

Bridget shrugged helplessly. "Things changed."

Her attention went to Alan who avoided her eyes. He couldn't help the guilt on his face.

"I've always shown an interest in you, Alan," she said with a voice that was small and wounded. The anger was disappearing from her. Her heart felt like it had been snatched from her body and crushed into dust right in front of her. Every bit of her felt numb.

"I've been the only girl to do that. Every time I saw you I said hello or asked you how you were. I always tried to start a conversation up with you. I always complimented you. Whenever that jerk Bobby did something to humiliate you I always came to ask if you were okay. And most of the time you ignored me. You barely spoke to me."

"I'm…" he paused, frowning. What could he actually say? Nothing he thought of seemed right. With a sigh, lifting his hands lightly in a helpless gesture, he whispered, "I'm sorry."

"She's a bitch," Charlotte continued, pointing at Bridget. "She's rude and she's anti-social and you ended up giving her the attention you should have given to me."

Then she sneered, casting her eyes over Bridget. "She's not even pretty."

"Hey, that's enough!" Alan snapped, marching forward. Instinctively, he put a hand on Bridget's shoulder who, in the corner of his eye, noticed she had tensed. He heard her breath catch abruptly, a small gasp escaping, and her shoulders quivered underneath his hand.

Charlotte laughed dryly. "There you go again. Always ready to stand up for her. You sure she's just a friend, Alan?" She glanced at Bridget and her heart skipped in glee when she saw that her usually stoic friend had let a small tear escape from her watery eyes and her jaw tightened. When neither of them had any response from her, Charlotte wiped at her wet, puffy eyes and stormed off.

Bridget felt Alan's hand tighten on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded but the tears betrayed her. Still, she looked away and mumbled that she was fine.

"Guys?"

Edgar walked towards them, the rest of their friends following silently. He led the group, eyebrows knitted together as he glanced between his brother and friend.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"It's fine," Alan said. He wrapped an arm around Bridget who slumped against him and his forehead touched hers. "Let's get out of here."

She nodded, ready to go join with Bernice, Bonnie, and Leon but Alan kept hold of her hand.

"I'm fine. Honestly," Bridget said, facing him and she waved a hand idly. "I don't give a shit."

"You don't give a shit when it's people you don't know or don't like."

"I don't like Charlotte."

"No, you're angry with Charlotte. In the end, she's been your friend for years. It still means something, especially when she insults you."

She sniffed, letting another tear trickle down her cheek. "I'm used to getting insults. What she said was nothing I haven't heard before and I don't care."

Alan nodded, not taking it any further because while she proclaimed how much she wasn't affected by insults, he could see how her eyes still glistened with tears.

"Okay," he said and squeezed her hand. "But, just for the record, I think you look pretty all the time."

His words tugged her lips up into a small smile. The comment straightened her posture and he even got a little laugh from her. She reached out, stretching her arms to wrap them around his neck as she leaned in for a hug.

"You going soft on me, soldier?" she asked.

He scoffed, pulling away and folded his arms arrogantly across his chest. "Me? Soft? Never." He balled his hand up in a fist and gently tapped her shoulder with it. "See you tomorrow for Bonnie's Birthday Part Two."

She whispered goodbye before leaving where Bernice had her straight into her arms and Bonnie ranted loudly how she was going to have words with Charlotte the next time she saw here. Edgar and Sam came up to Alan who ran a hand through his hair and hunched up.

"Well, that was eventful," Edgar said, cringing. "None of that looked pretty."

"Think Valentine's Day causes more drama than romance," Sam added, trying to sound jovial but he patted Alan's shoulder as his friend continued to look weary and uncomfortable after that encounter with an angry Charlotte.

"If this night had to have drama I would have preferred dealing with bloodsuckers," Alan said, trudging after his brother and Sam. He hung his head, part of him trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. If he had really got himself stuck in the middle between two girls over some strange misunderstanding over him.

Definitely would prefer to deal with bloodsuckers, he thought.

Charlotte hugged herself as she walked down the street. Her options were either to return to the dance, back to prying eyes and whispers about the scene she had caused, or leave now and disappear to the comfort and security of her own home. Her dad was supposed to come in a couple of hours to pick her up but waiting in that hall, noticing the odd glance at her and mutterings while she tucked herself moodily away in a corner, would be sickeningly unbearable. Especially if Alan and Bridget had decided to stick around.

"Charlotte?"

She turned, seeing Logan catching up to her. His face creased in worry and she raised a hand at him.

"I'm going home, Logan," she said.

He was by her side soon enough and he took her arm, patting it reassuringly.

"You were amazing, doll," he said, shaking her arm slightly.

But the tears still ran down her cheeks, smudging her eye make-up more. Logan's flattering comments about how well she did, how she had been right to say those words, did not make this awful, tearing feeling in her heart and stomach disappear.

"I made a fool of myself," she said, stopping and looked up to meet his eyes. "I stood there shouting and screaming like some jealous girlfriend. And that's the problem. I've never been his girlfriend, I've never come close to being that."

"I believe if you want something, you should go get it," Logan said. "And if you want Alan, you should fight for him."

Charlotte frowned. "But he doesn't like me in that way."

A smirk crept up on Logan's face. It changed his features, made his eyes glint with a cold menace that she had never seen before in what, up until now, had been a pleasant, handsome face.

"I think I can help you," he whispered, smiling widely to reveal sharp teeth.

Thank you for taking the time to read and if you would like to leave a review, please feel welcome to. :) Chapter 7 will be posted up next Saturday.