"Hey, wait up."

Sharon turned around, hearing Louis calling her at the end of math class. He was stood in the hallway with Davey, both of them watching her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked frowning, and Louis quickly shooed Davey away.

"I was wondering how you're doing with this latest math work," he said moving to one side of the corridor. "How are you getting on?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't ask."

"I could give you a hand."

She paused as she slowly rearranged her books in her arms. "I don't know..."

He looked at her blankly. "Don't know what?"

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?" What planet was he on? "I don't think Rhonda will appreciate you helping me out. She's been off with me, to say the least, since you guys decided to take a break." She gave him a hard look. He hadn't said anything about a break, he'd specifically told her he was ending their relationship.

Maybe he's hedging his bets, maybe he doesn't like me as much as he says he does?

"I'm trying to be nice," Louis said, taking her arm and leading her into a corner under the stairs. "If we didn't all hang out together I'd have dumped her on Monday. No question."

She bit her lip, looking around but there was no one in hearing distance. "I don't know, it looks to me like you're stringing her along."

"I'm not." His face broke into a crooked smile. "Well, not exactly."

"But that's the problem!"

"I don't follow," he said frowning.

"No one believes you about this whole 'break' thing. They think you're letting her down gently cos you like me." She felt her face flush and hoped he wouldn't notice, it was a mistake to let the guy think he had the upper hand.

"I do like you," Louis said intently. "But it wouldn't have worked out with Rhonda even if I didn't. There's nothing between us and I don't know why she's pretending otherwise."

She looked at him weighing up his words. "Well, she's taking it out on me." Rhonda hadn't said anything directly but she was stony-faced and monosyllabic whenever she'd tried to talk to her, and she wasn't the only one. Sharon had received quite a few side-eyed glances and overheard more than one whispered comment.

"I'm sorry," Louis said touching her arm and closing the space between them. "I told her nothing was going on but I guess she doesn't believe me."

Sharon frowned. "Nothing is going on." She caught his eye, waiting for him to contradict her. Don't you remember how you kissed me, what you said?

"Well, since nothing is going on, it won't be a problem if I help you out with this math work then," he said, confusing her even more. "You're good at everything else, you can't go failing math."

Her frown deepened. "You have a point but we'd have to go somewhere we won't be seen." It might be above board but she could well imagine what people would think if they saw them alone together.

"We can go to my house," he said the corners of his mouth twitching. "There's no chance of Rhonda stopping by under the circumstances."

"I guess not," she said, pretending that he'd twisted her arm and she wasn't desperate to find out what he was really thinking. Did her like her or not?

~~~

"Mom, are you home,'"Louis called opening the front door, Sharon following behind him. He was confronted by the sight of his older sister Frances glowering at him from the kitchen doorway.

"Who's this you've brought home, Louie," she almost snarled. Sharon took a step back, his sister's animosity unmistakable, and he didn't hide his groan.

"Ignore my sister Sharon, she's what you wind up with when you breed with a bitch." Sharon looked at him startled and he grinned.

"That's no way to talk about our mother Louie," his sister countered and he could see she was trying not to laugh. "So what happened to Rhonda? She was the last brunette you brought home."

"Who?" he said with a shrug before turning to Sharon. "Come on, we'll go to my room, we'll get nothing done with her about."

"Oh, okay," Sharon said looking hesitantly at his sister, however, the look she shot back had her scurrying after Louis.

"Is she always so welcoming?" she asked when they were alone.

"Only to people she likes," he said indicating for her to sit down on the bed. Sharon got her books out, clearly intent on taking the study session seriously. She glanced around his bedroom frowning.

"Your mother still tidies your room, doesn't she?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

Louis shuffled uncomfortably. "I guess." And thank god she had. "How'd you know?"

"Guys don't keep their bedrooms this tidy."

He smirked at her. "So I guess you must have been in a lot of guys bedrooms to make that observation?"

"I have two older brothers," she said pointedly.

"Right," he said grimacing. Two older brothers? Just what I need.

Sharon sat on the edge of the bed looking uncomfortable. She passed Louis her math book, and he began to go through it, but as far as he could see it was mostly right. He couldn't help feeling disappointed since he could tell she wanted to leave as soon as they were done. "You know, you're better at this than you think you are," he said handing her book back to her.

"Some days I concentrate more than others," she said gathering her stuff together. "I think math bores me and that's why I mess it up."

"That's me with pretty much everything."

She gave him a half-smile. "I should get going. God forbid the girls find out I was in your bedroom..."

"Who cares what they think?"

"So your sister likes Rhonda?" she asked ignoring his question.

Louis shrugged not caring. "Nah, she hardly knows her. Rhonda's not been around here much." Sharon looked sceptical. "It's true, I don't even know how I wound up stuck with her." He groaned like it was a big hardship.

Sharon pulled a face at him. "I think you took her out and kept on taking her out, that's normally how relationships get off the ground."

Her patronising tone didn't go unnoted but he still laughed. "But when you have Johnny twisting your arm it's hard to get out of."

"Oh?"

He sighed as he tried to explain. "Steph wanted one of us to go on a blind date with Rhonda - well not exactly blind since we know her already - it was sort of a double date with her and Johnny. I drew the short straw." Well, he had thought Rhonda was okay for the odd date here and there but not for anything long term.

"Ahem, you went out with her more than once," Sharon said giving him a stern look.

"I guess she has her uses," he said grinning and she looked at him outraged.

"Your face," he said laughing. "I don't mean anything like that. She pretty much did my history assignments cos I can't be bothered with that shit. I mean, what's the point? It's the past." He'd thought the arrangement, if it could be called that, had worked quite well; Rhonda got into the gang, and he'd had his workload lightened.

"But that's cheating," Sharon admonished trying not to smile. "So what do you anticipate will happen with this break you're having?"

"I think she'll realise we're over. I mean no guy takes a break from a girl he likes."

"Louis that is so disrespectful!" Sharon exclaimed. He was surprised by her disapproval, he was trying to be nice, trying to let Ronda save face, but clearly, she didn't appreciate his softly-softly approach.

"Sharon it would hurt her feelings if I dumped her." She looked at him her face impassive. "Come on, you don't want me to be unnecessarily mean, do you?"

"I guess not." She turned away and caught sight of herself in his mirror. "Do you think I look like Jackie Kennedy? Steven said I did but I'm not so sure."

She looked at him expectantly, and he panicked. Is this a trick question? What does Jackie Kennedy look like?

"There might be a bit of a resemblance," he said hesitantly, and he breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled.

"I think I need to cut my hair though, Jackie's is shoulder length."

He tried hard to place Jackie Kennedy, he guessed she was a brunette but how long was her hair? Sharon's was all the way down her back but he wouldn't want her to chop it all off.

"Maybe just cut it a little," he settled on saying.

"Hmm," Sharon said still looking at herself. "It's a shame my hair's naturally curly rather than curled, it spoils the likeness."

"It looks fine to me," he said glad she'd forgotten about Rhonda but he was out of his depth talking girls' hairstyles.

Sharon turned to him, holding a handful of her hair. "You know I've always hated having curly hair but-" She gasped, her cheeks flushing.

He turned around and his heart sank. Rhonda! What the hell is she doing here?

~~~

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