[Fiction] The sleepover that changed my life

[dragoneau]

I hope you'll continue this story. (you left a door open, so you prob will, but I want to make sure )

[Thatboy]

Me too it’s soo good

[alli55]

Hi everyone.

Dragoneau, Thatboy, and the rest of you wondering: you'll be pleased to know that the story continues!

We need to discover how and why Megan believes the sleepover changed her life.

So, Chapter 18 Let's do something crazy will be posted tomorrow evening.

Thanks to all of you for caring that the story goes on!

[Sydney_sub]

Awesome updates! Looking forward to the story continuing

[alli55]

The sleepover that changed my life


Chapter 18 Let’s do something crazy


The next Saturday, Abi and I hit the town to do some clothes shopping. I hadn’t got a huge amount of money to spend, but we were going to have plenty of fun trying on lots of different outfits. Abi had a really good eye for knowing what suited you and what went with what, so she was going to be my fashion guru.

We had a great time going through the racks, Abi getting me to hold different items up against myself so she could assess whether they suited me or not. There was plenty of giggling at some of the more ridiculous or outrageous things we found, but eventually we had half-a-dozen things that we thought were worth trying on properly. We made our way to one of the curtained-off cubicles to try them on. I stripped to my underwear and we started to go through the outfits we’d selected. Each time, I’d put them on, Abi would make a few small adjustments, then she’d stand back and make her assessment before letting me see in the mirror.

One, in particular, stood out. It was a top in two shades of mauve that was described as a ‘snug fit top’, which Abi had paired with a black skirt that ended halfway down my thighs. Even before I’d seen myself in it, I loved it. The way the top clung to me, it felt like it was embracing me, and I liked the feeling.

“Wow, that looks really good on you!” Abi exclaimed and showed me in the mirror. She was right; I really liked the way it made me look.

She put her hand on my side and said, “See how it really suits your body type!”

“My what?” I said, remembering where I’d heard that phrase before.

“Your body type,” she said. “Look in the mirror! You can see that you’ve got a slender frame and this top really …”

“Have you been talking about me with your Uncle Ryan?” I interrupted.

Abi shut up and looked at me with the face of someone who’d been caught red-handed.

“Oh Megs, don’t be angry!” she pleaded. “It’s only because I care so much about you!”

“I know you do,” I told her, “it’s just …”

“Besides,” she added, “I’m not the only one who blabbed, am I!?”

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“Well last week, after you left, my uncle sat me down on the sofa and told me there was something he’d been wanting to do for ages. Then he gave me the nicest hug ever. We sat there and he cuddled me, and when I asked him he admitted that you’d told him that I really missed his cuddles.”

“I only did it because I didn’t think you would actually tell him yourself! I know you too well, Abi!”

“I know,” she said, “and that’s why I love you so much!”

“I love you too,” I replied, “but what did your uncle say about me?”

“He just said that he thought you were a bit down on yourself about how you looked. I said that was why you always wore baggy t-shirts, and he said that you had a slender frame and a perfect body shape, and that I should make sure that I helped and encouraged you to feel more positive about how you look. That’s why I’m so pleased we’re doing this together today!”

“Thank you,” I said, welling up slightly, “and I’m sorry if I was angry with you! I didn’t mean to be! It’s just, he told me the same thing, that I had a slender frame and a body that was in perfect proportion, so when you said it, I was like ‘woah, what’s going on?’, you know.”

“You should listen to what he told you!” she said. “He knows what he’s talking about, because he photographs people all the time. It’s his job; he’s a portrait photographer. He’s got his own studio and everything.”

That explained the way he was looking at me that night!

“I will,” I told her, “I already promised him I would.”

I bought that outfit, and over the next year or so Abi and I spent many a Saturday extending the range of my wardrobe. I still liked my t-shirts and skinny jeans, but the t-shirts no longer absolutely had to be baggy, and I was always looking to increase my options so that I could go for a different look when I fancied it.

----------

About six weeks after the sleepover, Bethany moved with her family to London.

The loss of her best friend meant that Paige wanted to be with us more than ever. Abi and I were quite happy for her to spend as much time with us as she wanted. We both liked her a lot, and she was always fun to have around.

We had maybe half-a-dozen or so more sleepovers during the next eighteen months, but we never had the freedom that Abi’s uncle had given us, so none of them got close to that one.

----------

My parents had a timeshare cottage in North Wales, and each summer we would go for a week to stay there. Since I was an only child, from about the age of 10 or 11 I had been allowed to invite a friend to come with us so I would have some company my own age. Needless to say, each year I invited Abi, and we had enjoyed some wonderful weeks away together.

The summer after we had just finished Year 10, though, Abi had gone with her family to California for three weeks. My Mum had told me to invite another of my friends, and so I had asked Paige if she wanted to come. Her parents were happy for her to go with us, so she had eagerly accepted my invitation.

We had enjoyed a lazy beach day at the seaside about twenty minutes’ drive from where we were staying, spent a day climbing up and down Snowdon, and done a few other sightseeing trips to various places in the area.

There were a couple of days left, and my parents wanted to spend the first one catching up with friends of theirs who lived nearby. We girls were excused this, and were told we could stay in the cottage or take the opportunity to go exploring nearby. Me and Abi had spent a similar day the previous year, and I knew a place where we could go and spend a lazy day just chilling together.

Paige and I set off along the footpath that led past our cottage towards the mountains in the distance. It went through a couple of fields and then across a bridge over a small river. We stopped on the bridge for a while, watching a pair of swans floating gracefully along. We then continued on across another field, at the end of which the main path carried on into the next field, but a smaller path branched off into an area of woodland. It was this smaller path that we followed. A short way into the wood there was a tree with a big branch that was low enough for us both to reach. We hauled ourselves up onto it and sat with our legs dangling.

It was a warm, sunny day and the shade in the wood provided a welcome chance to cool down a bit. We talked about lots of nothing until, after a while, there was a pause in our chatter and we could hear only the sound of the birds singing in the trees above us.

Without warning, Paige said, “Megan, do you remember that sleepover at Abi’s?”

“Yes,” I replied, “BSE me and Abi call it – Best Sleepover Ever.”

Paige giggled, and then said, “We did do some crazy things that night, didn’t we?!”

“We certainly did!” I agreed.

There was another short pause before Paige spoke again.

“Megan,” she said, “let’s do something crazy now!”

“Like what?” I asked.

Again there was a pause, then Paige said, “I know just the thing!”

She jumped down and grabbed one of my legs, forcing me to jump down too. Then she took hold of my hand.

“Come on,” she said, “come with me!”

That was one of the things I really liked about Paige. She was so touchy-feely. She wouldn’t just stand by you, she’d lean into you; she’d sit on your knee rather than sit next to you; and she’d never just let you follow her somewhere, she always took you by the hand and led you there.

Hand in hand, we went back the way we came until we got to the bridge. There, instead of crossing over, we went along a tiny path that led down to the riverbank. We followed it along until a bend in the river took us out of sight of the bridge. Paige slowed, let go of my hand, and began to look around for something. She stopped next to where the bank had partly collapsed, forming an earthen slope that led right into the river.

“Just here’s perfect!” she announced. “Ready to do something crazy, Megan?”

“Like what?” I asked again.

“We’re going skinny-dipping!” she told me, and she kicked off her shoes.

“We can’t do that!” I protested.

“Why not?” she asked, pulling her top over her head.

“Someone might come,” I replied.

“No-one’s going to come!”

“But what if they do?”

“They won’t!” Paige insisted, as she pulled her shorts off. “We haven’t seen anyone all day!”

I felt hands lifting my top up.

“What are you doing?” I asked her.

“Giving you a helping hand!” she said with a grin. “You seem to need it!”

I conceded defeat. “Okay, let’s do it,” I said, “but I can undress myself thank you!”

“If you insist!” she laughed, and returned to taking her own clothes off.

It wasn’t long before the two of us were stood naked on the riverbank. Although I felt very self-conscious being naked out in a public place like that, I had to admit that the sun’s warmth on my body felt nice.

Paige took hold of my hand again and we began cautiously to make our way down the earth slope, taking care not to slip. Soon we were stood at the river’s edge, with our toes just in the water.

“How deep do you think it is?” asked Paige.

“Not very,” I answered. “Just go in slowly, making sure you can feel the bottom ahead of you before you step forward.”

Slowly we waded into the river. With each step a bit more skin was plunged into the cold water, making us shriek and shiver. By the time we’d reached the middle of the river the water was still only up to our waists, and our legs had got used to the temperature and no longer felt cold.

I loved the way the water felt on my naked body, all soft and silky as if the river were caressing me.

“After three we’re ducking under!” Paige said, and I nodded.

“One,” we counted together, “two, three!” We both plunged underwater. The cold hit us again, and when we resurfaced I noticed how it had made Paige’s nipples stand out. I looked down and saw that mine were in the same state.

We dipped back down so that the water came up to our shoulders and stayed there, allowing our bodies to become accustomed to the temperature so that the water no longer felt cold. Then we splashed, swam and played around for ages, with not a care in the world.

I was really enjoying being crazy with Paige again!

Then, it happened!

“Hello, girls, you look like you’re having fun!” a man’s voice said.

Crap! Someone had come, and that someone had seen us, naked!

[Thatboy]

Oh my god is it Abi’s uncle, so sad Beth’s family moved, hope she returns

[Sydney_sub]

O, quite an awesome twist in the story. I hope it continues.

[alli55]

Hope everyone is enjoying the change in direction the story has taken now that the sleepover itself is history.

Just to let you know, Chapter 19 Paige will be posted tomorrow.

[chevans]

Thanks for the story so far. I've enjoyed imagining myself as Megs

[alli55]

The sleepover that changed my life


Chapter 19 Paige


Paige and I had been caught!

We’d gone skinny-dipping in a small river near to the cottage where we were staying with my parents on a week’s holiday together. It had been Paige’s idea, of course!

“What if someone comes?” I’d asked her, when she’d suggested it.

“No-one will come!” she’d insisted.

Wrong!

“Hello, girls, you look like you’re having fun!” we’d heard a man’s voice say.

Instinctively I ducked down so that only my head was above the surface of the water. Paige, I noticed, didn’t bother.

We looked over to the bank, and there was an old man with white hair. In the shallow water at the edge of the river his dog was splashing about.

“Sorry if I startled you!” he called out.

“That’s okay,” Paige said, “I don’t suppose you expected to find us here!”

“No, that’s true!” he chuckled. “You’ve picked a nice day for it!”

“It’s lovely!” she said.

I could hardly believe Paige! There she was, naked, holding a perfectly normal conversation with a complete stranger!

“What’s your dog’s name?” she asked.

“Itsy,” he said. “Stupid name, I know, but when we first had her she was an itsy-bitsy little puppy, so we called her Itsy.”

Paige waded towards the dog.

“Itsy!” she called and the dog looked up at her, tail wagging. In no time, Paige was making a fuss of Itsy, who seemed delighted by the attention.

“Come on Megan,” Paige called to me, “come and see Itsy, she’s lovely!”

“We should get going,” the man said, “I don’t want to embarrass your friend any further. Come on, Itsy!”

“Nonsense!” said Paige. “You’re not embarrassed, are you Megan?”

Bloody Paige! I should have been angry with her, but she was so cute and sweet that I never could be.

“No, of course not,” I said, rather feebly, and to prove it I stood up and waded over towards Paige and Itsy.

We played with Itsy, whilst her owner sat on the bank and watched.

“Thank you so much, girls,” he said at one point, “you don’t know it, but you’ve brought back so many happy memories. You see, when I was about your age, I used to come up here with my sisters and we used to go skinny-dipping just like you are. We had so much fun. They were some of the best days of my life!”

I smiled at him. “I’m glad we’ve brought back happy memories for you!” I said.

He returned my smile. “Well, now you’re making your own happy memories!” he told me.

After about a quarter of an hour, he slowly eased himself back up and said, “Come on Itsy, let’s leave the girls to enjoy their swim!”

He started to walk off and the dog scampered up the bank and ran after him. Just before he rounded the bend out of sight, he took one last look back at us and waved. We both waved back.

“That was so cool!” said Paige.

“I can’t believe we did that!” I told her.

“I told you we were going to do something crazy!” she reminded me.

“Yeah, but even you didn’t know that would happen!” I pointed out.

“No, I didn’t!” she acknowledged. “But what about you? I’m so proud of you, Megan!” She gave me a big, naked hug.

We swam for a bit more, then decided we’d had enough. We clambered up the bank and stood around drying off in the sun.

I took the chance to admire Paige’s body. She really was gorgeous! Her breasts and hips had both developed since I had last seen her naked at Abi’s sleepover, giving her a more feminine appearance than the little-girl look that she’d had then. I knew she was going to become a really beautiful young woman.

Once we were dry, we put our clothes back on and returned to the cottage.

That night, as we lay in our beds, drifting off to sleep, I heard Paige whisper, “Megan, are you still awake?”

“No!” I teasingly replied.

“Well obviously you are!” Paige whispered back.

“Obviously!” I said.

“Megan,” Paige began in an uncertain manner, “I know it sounds silly and pathetic, but I don’t want to sleep on my own tonight.”

“You’re not on your own,” I told her, “I’m here.”

“What I mean is,” she clarified, “can I sleep in your bed with you? I just need to feel someone next to me tonight.”

I didn’t know what had brought this on, but something in her voice told me it was a genuine need she had, and my heart melted.

“Of course you can,” I told her, “come on!”

Quick as a flash she was across the room and sliding in beside me. As soon as she was in she flung her arms around me and snuggled in close.

That was Paige! So confident and outgoing, and yet so insecure and vulnerable too. It was another reason why I liked her so much.

I was wearing my usual oversize t-shirt and my knickers; Paige had just her knickers on. As she snuggled in I could feel her breasts pressing against me and the warmth of her body radiating into mine. I was more than happy to fall asleep to the lovely feeling of closeness between us!

I was the first to wake, just as I had been at Abi’s sleepover the other time that Paige and I had shared a bed. Like then, I lay there as she slept. She had wriggled away from me a little in the night, and as I watched her I had an overwhelming desire to reach out and hold her in my arms. I didn’t want to wake her, so I slowly eased myself over as close to her as I could and then began to gently push one of my arms under her side. I’d almost got it so that I could reach round her back, when she stirred. I stopped dead still and watched. Her breathing quickened a little and she wiggled her body. But her eyes remained closed, and before long her breathing returned to its normal sleeping pattern and she was deep in slumber again. I placed my other arm over her shoulder and pulled myself into her a bit more.

Paige was where I wanted her to be: wrapped tightly in my arms. I don’t know how long I lay there like that, since time didn’t seem to matter anymore, but at some point I must have drifted off to sleep again.

When I woke next, Paige was looking at me, with a dreamy expression. She smiled when she saw my eyes opening.

“Who’s the sleepy-head now?” she asked.

As I became more awake, I realised that I still had my arms wrapped around Paige and was pressing her tightly to me.

“Sorry,” I began, “I seem to have trapped you!”

“I know,” she replied, “I really like you holding me like this! I think I could stay here in your arms forever!”

Looking at her lying there gazing at me, feeling her body pressed against mine, I suddenly had the strongest urge to do one particular thing. But I was terrified that I might have got my wires crossed, and that if I did it I would ruin our friendship utterly. I so wanted to do it but I so didn’t want to risk it.

Paige must have sensed something in me, because she said, “What’s wrong, Megan? You look worried!”

“No, Paige,” I said, “it’s just, there’s something I really want to do but I don’t know if I should because I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

She smiled her disarming smile once more. “Is this what you want to do?” she asked, and then she leant in, placed her lips on mine and kissed me. She pulled her head back and looked at me, waiting for my reaction.

I pulled her back to me and kissed her with every bit of passion in me. She kissed back just as passionately. When our kiss ended we gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Oh, Megan,” she said, her voice trembling, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, my darling little Paige,” I replied, stroking her cheek.

Her eyes began to glisten as her emotions took over her. I kissed her again.

“I’ve been in love with you for so long,” she said to me. “But I’d begun to give up hope that you’d ever feel the same way about me.”

I placed my finger on her lips. “Ssshhh,” I said, “I love you, Paige. I know that now. I love you with all my heart.”

She kissed my finger and removed it. “Oh, Megan, you’ve made me the happiest girl in the whole world!”

We kissed and cuddled and caressed each other as time stood still for us.

Then Paige took my hands in hers and looked deep into my eyes.

“Megan, make love to me.”

I wanted to. I so wanted to. But something was holding me back.

“Not here,” I told her, “not now! I want our first time to be really special!”

“Me too!” she said and she kissed me once more.

Eventually we tore ourselves away from each other, got up, got dressed and enjoyed a wonderful day at the seaside. We tried to be subtle around my parents, but we were finding it terribly hard to keep our hands off each other.

After another blissful night, sleeping in each other’s arms, Friday, the day of our homeward journey, dawned.

On the way back home, Paige and I made plans. I wanted to see her the next day, but she said there was something she absolutely had to do. On Sunday she was going to visit relatives with her family.

“Well,” I told her, “next week my parents will be at work so we can have the house to ourselves. Abi isn’t back till Wednesday. So how about you come over Monday morning and we can have our really special first time then.”

She put her hand in mine and gave me a squeeze, all the time looking at me and nodding her head. “I can’t wait!” she said.

All that weekend I had the really strange feeling of walking on air at the same time as having butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t wait for Monday to come so that I could be with Paige. I spent lots of time preparing my room, trying to make it just perfect for when we made love.

Every time I thought about being with Paige I got goose-pimples and came over all tingly. In my mind I could see us lying together naked on my bed, bodies entwined as we kissed and fondled each other. My fantasies had us doing a lot more than that, all of which I knew we would soon be doing for real.

I had fallen so deeply in love with Paige.

It was early on Sunday evening and I was in my room, when I heard the phone downstairs ring. I paid no attention to it, and carried on reading my book.

A few minutes later there was a knock on my door, and I heard my Mum’s voice.

“Megan, can I come in? It’s important!”

“Yeah, come in!” I called.

She came in, looking flustered and serious. She sat down on the end of my bed and patted the spot next to her with her hand.

“I need you to come and sit here, Megan,” she said.

That seemed a bit strange, but who was I to argue. I got up and sat next to her. She put her arm around me and pulled me into her side.

“Megan,” she said quietly, “there’s something I have to tell you.”

“What?” I asked, slightly nervously. The whole situation was starting to unsettle me.

“I’m afraid I’ve got some very bad news.”

[LockedLemy]

WHAT OH NO THIS CLIFFHANGER IS GOING TO KILL ME
great story though, waiting for the next part

[Thatboy]

who's dead???

[Thatboy]

When is the next bit out!!!

[alli55]

Don't panic Thatboy!

Sorry for the delay, I was unwell yesterday, and couldn't face proof-reading!

The next installment, Chapter 20 Friends in need, will be posted tomorrow.

Hope you can wait that long, potato wedgie!

I really appreciate your comments, everyone! Thanks!!

[alli55]

The sleepover that changed my life


Chapter 20 Friends in need


My heart stopped. A sense of panic gripped me. What? What was this “very bad news” that my Mum had got?

“There’s been a car crash,” she began, falteringly, her voice wavering, “a very bad car crash. And, oh I’m so sorry Megan, but Paige has been killed.”

No! No-oo!

I bawled and bawled and bawled.

My Mum held me tight and cuddled me, as she also cried.

My Paige! My perfect, darling, little Paige! How could she be dead? Oh, God!

I cried until there were no tears left in me. Then I just sat there, completely numb with pain. It felt like my heart had been ripped out of me and torn into a thousand pieces.

“I can’t Mum,” I said through the sobs, “I can’t!”

“You can’t what, dear?” she asked gently.

“I can’t live without her!”

She held me even more tightly. “I know, darling!” she said.

I couldn’t. I couldn’t see any future. Not now. Paige was dead and my life had ended.

The next few days I wouldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep. At first I tried, but every time I closed my eyes all I could see was Paige, screaming in terrible pain. So then I didn’t want to close them, I forced myself to stay awake.

On the Monday afternoon the doorbell rang and I heard my Mum talking with a man. Shortly afterwards she came up to my room, carrying a parcel covered in pink wrapping paper.

“Megan, that was Paige’s granddad,” she said. “They found this parcel in Paige’s room and it’s got your name on it. I’ll put it on your table and you can open it when you’re ready.”

“Okay,” I said, “thanks.”

Once my Mum had left, I picked up the parcel and looked at it. There was a label stuck on it that said To Megan, with all my love always, Paige xxx. That set me off crying again, so I put the parcel back and flung myself onto my bed, pressing my face into the pillow.

It was hours later, in the middle of the night, when curiosity got the better of me and I finally dared to pick up the parcel again. I began, very slowly, to pick at the sellotape holding the ends of the parcel closed. I didn’t want to damage the wrapping paper in any way, so I picked away until I had prised the tape off. Then I carefully opened the wrapping paper up to reveal a blue plastic box, the type that jewellery comes in when you buy it. I opened this box. Inside was a silver locket on a chain. The locket was in the shape of a heart and it had the words I love you engraved on it with a smaller gold heart that seemed to shimmer when I tilted the box.

I bet that was what Paige had been doing on Saturday. The thing she “absolutely had to do.”

I shut the box, and cried my eyes out once more.

Abi arrived back on the Wednesday, and was straight round to my house. I knew it was her as soon as my Mum answered the door and Abi said “hello”. I listened as they talked, but couldn’t really make out what was being said. Then they began to come up the stairs and the conversation became clearer.

“I don’t know,” my Mum was saying, “she’s taken it very hard. I’m really worried about her!”

“I want to help, if I can,” Abi said.

“I hope you can,” my Mum told her, “but I’m not sure she’ll even want to see you. I’ll let her know you’re here and ask her if you can come in.”

There was a knock on my door.

“Megan,” came my Mum’s voice, “Abi’s here and she really wants to see you. Is it okay if she comes in?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. I really didn’t. I couldn’t see how anyone could do anything or say anything that would make me want to go on living. But I knew Abi would want to help me and comfort me, and I knew that if I pushed her away she would be even more upset, and I didn’t want that.

“Please, Megs,” Abi called out, her voice giving away how distressed she was.

I wanted to reach out and hold her to me, so I said, “Okay,” as the tears began to well up once more.

By the time Abi came in, I was bawling again. She saw me and burst into tears as well. The two of us just sat on my bed, crying onto each other’s shoulders.

When the tears finally stopped flowing, Abi looked at me with red, puffy eyes.

“Oh God, Megs,” she said, “I can’t believe it!”

“I know,” I said. “Oh Abi, it’s killing me!”

She held me to her. “I don’t know what to say, Megs.”

“She loved me, Abi,” I wailed. “She told me on holiday, she loved me and I didn’t realise it. I must have hurt her so badly.”

“No, Megs,” she told me, “you can’t think like that! You can’t do anything about whether you have feelings for someone or not. That’s not how it works.”

“But I did love her,” I said, “I did, I just didn’t know it.”

“You’re just feeling guilty,” she said.

“No, you don’t understand,” I told her. “On holiday I finally realised how much I loved her. When I told her, she said I had made her the happiest girl in the world. I left it too late, Abi. And it’s killing me!”

“Oh, Megs, you can’t beat yourself up about this! I won’t let you! I love you too much to let that happen.”

“But it’s true,” I insisted.

“Well, then,” Abi said, “hold on to what she said! When she died, she was the happiest girl in the world, because of you. Hold on to that! Promise me!”

“I’ll try,” I promised.

----------

Abi was my rock over the next few months.

The pain in my heart didn’t go away, but gradually it got a little bit easier to cope with. I found I could distract myself by putting more and more time into my schoolwork. For most of Year 11, apart from spending time with Abi, I didn’t really have a social life.

But, then, without Paige, I didn’t really want one.

----------

Abi wasn’t as academic as me at the best of times, and as Year 11 went on she began to get more and more into boys. Into one boy in particular: Daniel, who was one of the class clowns, loved by the pupils who didn’t really want to work and hated by the teachers and those pupils to whom learning was important.

I didn’t like Daniel. I thought he was self-centred and uncaring. Abi could do a lot better than him, and I told her so.

But she was infatuated and pursued her quarry with her usual determination. Eventually her persistence paid off.

“I’ve finally got a date with Dan,” she told me, triumphantly, after school one day, “tomorrow at seven.”

“I knew you’d get him in the end!” I said, laughing. “Where’s he taking you?”

“I’m meeting him by the swings in the park,” she said.

That seemed a strange place for a date! But then, what did I know?

“Well don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” I jokingly warned her.

“God, Megs,” she laughed, “that doesn’t leave me with much!”

I playfully poked her in the ribs.

All that evening, while I was revising, I had an uncomfortable feeling about Abi’s date. Something about it didn’t seem right. I didn’t know what, but there was something that was making me feel on edge. But I knew I couldn’t say anything to Abi.

It was still bothering me as I lay in bed that night, trying to get to sleep. From nowhere, something that Ryan had told me the morning after Abi’s sleepover jumped into my head: “you’re tough … stand up to anyone who tries to hurt you and show them how tough you are.” I didn’t really think I was tough, but I knew that I couldn’t leave it and do nothing. So I hatched a plan.

The next evening, I set off for the park just after six. I needed to make sure I was there well before Abi was due to meet Daniel.

There was only one entrance to the park, so I knew they would have to come in that way. Nearby were some large bushes, and I was pretty certain I could squeeze into them and watch the entrance without anyone knowing I was there. I hadn’t banked on them being quite as prickly as they were, but nevertheless I got myself in place by half-six.

About 20 minutes later, I saw Daniel coming through the park gate with his friend, Liam.

That was odd! Why would you bring your friend with you on a date?

If I didn’t like Daniel, and I didn’t, then I positively detested Liam. He was one of those arrogant boastful types. According to him he’d shagged half the girls in our year. He was also a bully. The younger boys feared him.

I was now sure there was something wrong about this whole thing.

I watched Daniel and Liam wander off down the path towards the swings until they disappeared from view. Then I turned my attention back to the entrance.

After another 20 minutes or so, I saw Abi. Fashionably late, I thought. She was dolled up to the nines, really out to make a big impression. She looked quite good, though she’d been a bit too heavy with the make-up in my opinion. She, like me, was better suited to a more natural look.

She, too, walked off in the direction of the swings and soon disappeared from my sight. I extricated myself from the bushes, cursing the prickles, and moved to stage two of my plan.

There was a small path that dog walkers used that ran behind the bushes to the duck pond. It always stayed the opposite side of bushes and trees to the main path, so there was no danger of anyone there seeing me. But just about where the swings were, there was another little cut-through that no-one really used, but that dogs ran through just enough to keep it visible. By creeping along that cut-through I would be able to get close enough to where the swings were to at least hear what was happening, even if I wouldn’t be able to see.

Just after I had turned onto this little cut-through I saw that some uncaring lout had fly-tipped a load of rubbish. Lovely! I passed on by and came to the spot where I planned to check out what was happening. I stopped and listened.

Abi had obviously been taken aback by Liam’s presence.

“I don’t understand, Dan,” I heard her say, “I thought we were going to be together. Just the two of us.”

“Sorry, babe,” he said, “I just bumped into Liam on the way, you know.”

Babe? Ugh! Sick-making!

“I’m really disappointed!” Abi said.

“We can still …” began Daniel.

“Not with him here we can’t!” Abi informed him.

“Oh, you know you want to!” it was Liam’s voice speaking.

“Get lost!” replied Abi.

“Don’t be like that, babe!” Daniel said. “You know I really like you, don’t you?”

“Yeah?” asked Abi.

“Yeah,” Daniel told her, “you’re my number one girl!”

God, what a charmer!

“We can just go over there,” I heard Daniel say. “Liam can stay here and keep watch.”

Go over where? Crap! They weren’t coming my way, were they? And why was Liam going to keep watch?

There was silence for a bit, then Abi spoke with anger and a hint of fear in her voice.

“Shit, Dan, what d’you think you’re doing?”

“It’s what you wanted!” Daniel said.

“It fucking isn’t!” she told him, in no uncertain manner.

“She does really!” I heard Liam say.

“Fuck off!” said Abi, sounding panicky.

“Go on mate,” Liam said, obviously to Daniel, “I’ll hold her still!”

Oh my God! Abi was in trouble, that much was obvious!

“Fucking get the fuck off me!” I heard her yell, before her voice became muffled.

I had to do something, quick! But what?