Paul's POV
I sat on one of the swings and rocks gently. Back, forward, back, forward... like my thoughts.
I remembered being two. I sat in the little swings then. When I was two I had never met Susie and had no idea what a bass guitar even was. I remembered being pushed by my mother on the little swings. I remembered feeling like a prince- on top of the world.
I remembered being five. I progressed to the big swings then. I remembered riding my boke around the playground. I remembered crashing it and ending up with a scar on my chubby little knee. I wore that scar like a badge of honour.
I remembered being eleven. The swings were considered 'uncool' then- the roundabout was 'in'. I remembered spinning on it, leaning outwards, the wind ruffling my straight blond curtains, trying to forget the humiliation of that morning when Jessica Bielis, the most beautiful girl in school, had turned down my offer of a 'date' because I was 'too ugly'. Ouch. I remembered falling off the spinning roundabout.
I remembered being thirteen. Susie and I found a hole in the hedge where two people could sit comfortably and have a roof- well, a hedge- over their heads and still not be seen. I remembered staying out past my curfew to sit and talk to her.
I remembered being fifteen. Sitting on that park bench over there, drinking some beer that Aaron had nicked from his mum's fridge. I remembered Benji telling us how his dad hadn't come back yet and it had been a week already. I remembered how cold it was, being January, and how the five of us were all huddled up. Benji looked at us and said, "Good Charlotte are gonna be massive. We're gonna show them all- we're gonna show my dad, teachers, cops, everybody. We're gonna make it big if it's the last fucking thing we do. We can do it, we'll take on the world!" I remembered the fire, passion and energy in Benji's eyes.
Fire, passion and energy. Qualities that he applied to all the important areas of his life.
Talk of the devil. I saw Benji walking over, although he couldn't see me yet. I got up and hurried into the hole-in-the-hedge that me and Susie had found all those years before.
Susie's POV
Fuck. Shit. Bugger. Where was Skunkboy? I needed him to come home and tell me that Benji didn't mean it.
I couldn't love Paul. I mean, I did love him, but not in that way. It'd be too much like fucking your own brother.
I remembered when we were all younger. I had a huge crush on Joel. It would make me so unhappy, watching him get rejected by all the beautiful girls he asked out. Joel was a really good friend but nothing more. He didn't have a clue about my feelings for him at all. I remembered him telling me about his first pull. "Michelle stuck her tongue down my throat, Suse, and it was terrible!"
I told him that it would get better.
"Oh, Suse, you can say that. You could have any guy, easy. Why don't you have a boyfriend, anyways?"
I evaded the question and, in time, got over Joel. And when, later, during a tipsy game of Truth and Dare, Joel admitted that he used to fancy me back, we could both laugh about it.
But there was nothing to laugh about in my present situation. I mean, ideally, I could have Paul as a soulmate and Benji to fuck with. But even I could see that it wasn't going to work like that.
Paul's POV
I was right inside the hole-in-the-hedge. You couldn't see me from the outside. That's why I was so shocked to see Benji's head poke through- almost as shocked as he looked.
"Shit! Paul! What the fuck are you doing in The Hedge?"
I made room for him. "It's my hole. Me and Susie found it."
"No," Benji replied. "It's my hole. Me and Joel found it."
We both laughed, and then Benji put his 'serious face' on and looked at me.
"I'm sorry for running off this morning without listening to the whole story. Susie told me what the bet actually was."
"That's okay," I said, and I meant it too.
"Paul... I... you know what? You can have her. She asked me if I wanted a long-term thing and I said no. She's a beautiful girl and all, but friendship comes first."
"Benj, that means a lot to me. But..." I laughed wryly. "It probably won't do any good. I could never tell her. I'm far too shy..."
"That's why I did the hard part for you, and told her how you feel," Benji replied.
Shit. Was he serious?! I looked at his face. Yes, he was. So Susie knew now... How could I face her?!