Jessica and Lindsey glance at each other, smiling widely. Hillary and Elizabeth stand on either side of them. "That isn't all," Jessica says. "There's one last thing we have to tell you."

Mr. Clugston leans forward attentively, and the girls all glance at Elizabeth.

She rubs one of her arms, glancing down at the floor. "Well, um..." She then falls silent, and for several moments they wait for her to speak.

"Yes?" Mr. Murphy asks. "What is it?"

She still doesn't respond, so Hillary takes a slight step forward. "You've both heard the rumors about Ms. Cantrell and... certain students, I assume?"

The two men exchange a quick look. "Possibly," Mr. Clugston says.

"Well, the fact is that they're true. Not with everyone, just one boy. Liam Scott." She motions toward Elizabeth. "Her boyfriend."

Surprised, Mr. Murphy focuses on Elizabeth. "Is this true?"

Still rubbing her arm and looking at the floor, Elizabeth says, "Yes."

"And what proof do you have?" Mr. Clugston asks her.

She swallows, then waits a moment. "I've seen them. I've seen them... together."

For a moment everyone is silent. Finally Mr. Clugston says, "Well, if there's nothing else, I think we've heard all that we need to hear." He stands up, adding, "We will certainly take action, upon verification of the claims you've brought to me. I thank you all for bringing this matter to my attention."

"It was our pleasure," Jessica tells him. "I trust this can be dealt with without us having to take our complaints to the PTA?"

"Yes, I think we can handle it internally."

"Very good." She nods to them before the four of them turn and leave the office. Once in the hallway she says, "I think that went well."

"I dunno," Lindsey answers. "He said 'upon verification'."

"Pft. Don't worry about that. Popular opinion will beat out fact every time."

"I have to go," Elizabeth says, walking away down the hall. She turns a corner and retreats into the girls bathroom, once again into a stall, this time kneeling in front of the toilet. After a moment she knows that while she feels mildly sick, she's not going to vomit. She gets up and leaves the bathroom, walking slowly down the hallway. There's still a couple of hours left in the school day, but she doesn't want to go to class. She also doesn't want to see Liam. But she doesn't want to leave. Outside it would be too hard to keep her mind from wandering, and she doesn't want to think. Maybe it will have no effect, maybe it'll be of no consequence, but she lied. She lied about something that, if Jessica and Lindsey were right, could cost a woman her job.

Maybe she should go outside after all. It was no use trying to turn off her brain today. She steps outside and walks about a hundred feet before holding her stomach as she throws up on the school's grass. She stares down at it, then looks up at the sky. Come on rain, she thinks. I really need you today.

Liam is sitting in class, staring at the rain outside when the bell finally rings. Just my luck he thinks, gathering up his books. It has to start raining as soon as I'm about to go home. He goes to his locker and drops off his books, then heads to Elizabeth's locker, but can't find her. Probably outside doing cartwheels or something. He glances out at the rain again. He could conceivably take the school bus, but he'd really rather not. Might as well just get out there and bear it.

He waits at one of the school's exits, peering through the glass. The weather is getting worse fairly quickly, the day becoming dark and cloudy. He tries to strengthen his resolve as he watches the rain, but he can't quite muster the desire to step outside.

He then notices Jennifer's car in the parking lot, and looking closer sees that someone, presumably her, is sitting in it. For some reason the car isn't moving, just sitting in place in the parking lot, but he decides he'd better get there quickly before she drives off. Walking briefly through the rain he stops next to the drivers-side window, noticing that the engine of her car isn't even running. A small shiver of sudden apprehension runs up his spine before he knocks on the window and waits for it to roll slowly down.

"Hey Jen, I could really use a drive-" he begins before noticing tears on her face. "What's the matter?"

She glances at him for a moment before rolling the window back up and unlocking the passenger-side door, gesturing for him to get in. He quickly walks around the car and open the door, sliding inside and trying to ignore the wet clothes sticking to his skin. "What happened?" he asks.

Her hands rest on the steering wheel, and she brings one momentarily to her nose as she sniffles. "I was fired," she says quietly.

"How? What happened?"

"Well, not fired exactly... I've been put on some kind of probation, they've got some supply taking over on Monday, so for all practical purposes I'm gone. And I really don't think I'll be coming back; they were fairly clear that the delay before my full termination is only temporary."

"But... why? What did they fire you for?"

"There was this whole laundry list, but I think it really came down to them thinking I contributed a 'negative image' to the school. Everything else was just back-up to make sure they could fire me legally." She bares her teeth slightly. "It's just, it's such fucking bullshit. Maybe I wasn't the best teacher the school ever had, but..." She trails off, staring at her steering wheel.

Not knowing what to say, Liam eventually settles for, "I'm sorry."

She looks over at him, and a hint of a smile touches her lips. "You're soaked. Why don't you come to my place so you can get dried off?"

His heart jumps into his throat for a moment, and he wants to decline. He knows he should ask her to drop him off at his house, or just get out of the car right now. But the look on her face... she's almost pleading with him, her eyes have at least a small touch of happiness, and if he says no it will be gone. And he doesn't want that to happen.

He puts on his seatbelt, looking out the front windshield as he says, "Sure."

Elizabeth sits on a bench under the eaves of a grocery store, watching the rain. It's a bit too cold to really be comfortable walking in, so she just sits, absorbing the sound, slowly relaxing. The store is surprisingly busy despite the weather, and she watches people load their cars with groceries for awhile before standing and stretching slowly. She reaches her hand out into the rain – it's really not so bad. A tiny bit chilly. She takes a step out into it, letting it cover her, then starts to walk home.

Glancing around Jennifer's small house, Liam says, "Wow, this is really nice."

"Yeah," Jen says, wiping a finger across her cheek to make sure her face is dry. "I'm just renting it. Between this place and the car I haven't got an extra cent."

"So what are you going to do if you have to get another job?"

"I don't know. I really don't want to think about it right now." Walking into the kitchen, she asks, "Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks," he says, still glancing around the house.

She returns with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to have a drink. If you want to get changed there are t-shirts in my room, and I should have a pair of boxers or two. Feel free," she says, gesturing to a door at the end of the hallway.

"...Alright." He walks into the bedroom and turns on the light, closing the door behind him. The room is a combination of meticulous neatness mixed with a random pile of clothing at the foot of her bed and books and magazines scattered haphazardly across her floor. He pulls off his shirt and glances at the dresser before pulling open a drawer. Underwear, but not boxers – somehow, the first drawer he opened contains lingerie, silk panties... he curses silently to himself as he pushes the drawer closed.

Eventually he manages to find a pair of boxers and a v-neck t-shirt that was obviously intended for a woman, but will have to do. He slings his wet clothes over his arm, balling up his underwear and hiding them in his jeans, then walks back out to see Jen taking a drink of wine. "Cute," she says, spying his low-cut shirt with a small grin.

"Yeah, it's all I could find... what should I do with these?" he asks, holding his wet clothes.

"Here, let me throw those in the dryer." She takes them and leaves the room as he leans against her couch, exhaling slowly.

"So, do you really think this was the right thing to do?"

Jessica sits in a chair, eating potato chips in front of the tv. She glances briefly over at Lindsey and asks, "What?"

"You know what I mean. About Cantrell. Don't you think maybe we went too far?"

Jessica smirks. "Whether we did or not, it's a little late to worry about it now."

"Yeah, I know... I just didn't think we'd actually be able to do it."

"Me either, in a way... I mean, I thought we'd get her in trouble, but I think we did a whole lot more than that." She smiles. "We kicked her ass."

Lindsey finally breaks into a grin. "That's true. We really fucking did."

"Jennifer..." Liam's vocal chords seem to freeze, and he can't get any other words out. Jennifer's hand is running gently through his hair as she kisses him on the neck, the two of them sitting together on her couch.

"What?" she quietly asks, looking at him. His eyes move past her face and to her crossed legs, her skirt riding up as she leans against him. It takes a few seconds for him to look away, focusing back on her face, but that makes things even worse. She's beautiful, she's really beautiful, and he finds himself unable to move. He really wishes he were wearing something more substantial than a pair of boxer shorts.

Finally, he manages the will to speak. "I don't think we-"

She puts a finger against his lips. "Shh... don't talk. Just stay quiet." She carefully removes her finger, then leans slightly closer, and he closes his eyes. He feels her lips press delicately against his, and her other hand rests against his chest. His own arm moves, very tentatively, and he places his hand against the side of her body. He slides it slowly downward as she kisses him again, at the same time very conscientiously uncrossing her legs.

"Mom? You home?" Elizabeth calls as she walks through her front door. There's no answer, and she sighs. She could really use a little conversation, but resigns herself to getting changed and slumping down in front of the tv, flipping idly through the channels.

Liam's eyes move across the scene below him, completely amazed, down the skin of his stomach to the opening in his borrowed boxers, traveling up the length of his erect penis and to Jennifer's lips. His brain is scarcely able to comprehend how things had led to this point, and he glances at Jennifer's eyes, staring up at him. She removes his penis from her mouth, holding it in her hands, and she smiles at him...

"No!" he cries suddenly, scrambling backwards. She backs off in slight shock an he gets to his feet, slipping himself only semi-successfully back into the boxers. "I'm sorry," he says. "I just... I can't do this."

"Please," she tells him, still on her knees. "Don't leave. I really need you to stay here. We don't have to do this, just... Please don't leave me alone."

He stares down at her face, her lips curled downward, her eyes looking sad, concerned. He wants to kneel down beside her, he wants to hold her in his arms, to kiss her again... she looks so beautiful, and she wants him. She needs him. He feels his knees weakening, he wants to go to her so badly...

He looks away and runs a hand through his hair. If he looks back he's gone. One more glance, one more second here, and he'll lose himself. He has to get out... "I'm sorry," he says, turning around and walking quickly for the door. Before he has a chance to hear her reply or to see if she's coming after him he flings open the front door and strides off into the rain, crossing his arms against the downpour. He doesn't stop or look behind him until he's walked for at least five solid minutes.

Slowly his thoughts start connecting again and he notices that his heart is pounding. The rain begins to register and he stops, closing his eyes as he lifts his head to the sky. The danger has passed, the moment has been escaped, but he feels confused, until he thinks of Elizabeth. He did this for her, he fought his desire... he hadn't realized how much power it held over him, how much he had wanted it, and when the opportunity had presented itself he met it halfway without a thought. But he had stopped, he fought it off, he gave it up for her, for his greater desire. And with that thought his mind finally settles, his mouth moves into a smile, and after a moment he starts walking again.

It takes him awhile to arrive at Elizabeth's house, and when he does most of the house is dark. He decides to avoid the possibility of running into Elizabeth's mother by walking around to the back of the house and climbing up to her window. Even with the rain still falling heavily her window is open, and he climbs carefully into her dark room. "Elizabeth?" he asks quietly, and there's no answer. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust before he's sure that her room is empty.

Elizabeth lays on the couch, watching a documentary until she hears a creak on the steps behind her. She sits up to see Liam coming down the stairs, soaking wet and not wearing a whole lot of clothing. A little surprised, she asks, "How did you get in?"

"The window." He smiles. "I just did something good. Something really good. Come here."

Not understanding, she gets up and walks to him. He puts his arms around her and holds her in a close embrace, his eyes shut. "Ew, you're all wet..." she says, but doesn't pull away. After a moment she asks, "So what did you do?"

"Nothing, it was nothing." He's silent for a few seconds, looking at her. His expression drops slightly as he asks, "Did you know Jennifer got fired?"

"Already?"

He gives her an odd look. "What do you mean, 'already'?"

"I mean... what do you mean, she got fired? How did you find out?"

"She told me. She's not really fired, but she's been replaced, and it looks like it'll end up being permanent. She was in really bad shape."

Now Elizabeth does pull away from him somewhat. "You were with her," she says, almost accusingly.

"Yeah, she needed someone. She was feeling terrible. But... I might as well just tell you. She wanted to sleep with me, but I didn't do it. I held her off. I left!" He pulls her close to him again. "For you."

This time she breaks completely free of his grasp. "She wanted to sleep with you? What does that mean? What did she do?" With an extra measure of scrutiny, she asks, "Is that her shirt?"

"We didn't do anything! Well... I didn't let it go too far. There was no sex involved. Just... nothing at all, don't worry."

"Don't worry? Was she naked? Was there a lot of clothes-swapping going on? Sounds like she was fired just in time."

He furrows his brow. "You're glad she was fired?"

"Yes! Jessica and me were the ones who did it!" Off his wide-eyed expression she says, "Don't look at me like that, it wasn't just us. There were dozens of people, there was a petition. Everyone wanted her gone! Everyone except you, who were too busy flirting with her all the time to realize what was going on!"

"You helped them get her fired because you were jealous? What did you tell them?"

She slumps her shoulders, glancing at the floor. "It doesn't matter. It's done. Just forget about it."

He grabs her arm, causing her to jump slightly as her eyes meet his. "What did you say?" he demands.

Frowning as she looks away, she yanks her arm out of his grip. "I only did it to get her out of here. I told them the two of you were sleeping together."

For a moment the only sound in the room is the television, and she doesn't realize he's walked off until she hears the front door slam.

"Liam, wait!" He hears her voice behind him in the rain, and he finally stops walking when he feels her hand grip his arm. "Stop," she says, and he turns to look at her. The rain has made her face wet, and it almost looks like she's crying, but he doubts it. "I'm sorry, okay? I know I made a mistake, I've felt horrible all day. I'm sorry! I just didn't know what else to do! I couldn't stand the idea of the two of you being together anymore. It was making me insane."

"No kidding," he mumbles, turning back around.

"Stop! Don't go." Her grip on his arm stays firm and she shows no sign of letting him go, so he turns on her, feeling a new swell of anger.

"What did you think you were doing? Did you think it was all right to fuck with another person's life just for your own sake? She lost her fucking job! She didn't do anything wrong, you had no right to interfere with her life like that! And to lie! To fucking lie about me and her... what the hell is the matter with you?"

"Don't put this all on me!" she yells back at him. "This isn't my fault! She's the one who was always hanging off you, she's the one who canceled her classes, she's no innocent victim. And do you think it's coincidence that so many other students wanted to get rid of her? This wasn't just me! There were dozens! She was bad at her job, so she got fucking fired, that's all."

He looks away, repulsed. He realizes that her hand is still on his arm and swats it away. "Listen to yourself," he says in a more quiet tone. "Listen to this bullshit you're making up just because you think you're some superior being. Anything you happen to do is completely justified because you're so much smarter than everyone else, you're so far above." He looks her directly in the eyes. "All your philosophizing, all of your judging, all of your big ideas that make it okay for you to put people beneath you, they're bullshit. They're not the truth." He takes her chin in his hand, tilting her head up to look straight at him. "The truth is that you're not so fucking special."

Her eyes go wide with a look of absolute fury, and he prepares for her to slap him. Instead she pulls back and punches him in the side of the head as hard as she can.

He brings a hand to his face and stumbles backwards as she hits him again, yelling, "Fuck you! How can you fucking say that? I told you everything that was important to me, you of all people are not allowed to fucking say that!" She hits him one more time, even harder than the first two before turning and storming off into the rain, away from her house. Sitting on the wet grass he watches her walk away, seeing her raise an arm to wipe away some tears, despite the rain. He then falls onto his back and holds out his arms, laying still, letting the rain fall against his body while he tries to ignore the throbbing of his face.