Kevin Chalk was miserable. He didn't care what he looked like; he was too engrossed in sadly unfamiliar feelings of being second best, again. It had happened all his life. First with his biological parents, then followed up by the insane number of foster homes he had been dumped in and then inevitably pulled out of. Kevin had finally found genuine happiness with Chalky - the bloke might be a little overly enthusiastic at times but it made him likeable, and the two of them had a lot in common. He felt like a part of something now and because he thought for the first time in a long time that he had found somewhere to stay, he allowed himself to make friends properly, not just charming people with his cheeky quips and hiding his unbelievable intelligence.

The icing on top of the cake came when Dynasty Barry showed interest in him. One of the most beautiful girls in the school! At first glance they seemed incompatible, but when Kevin began tutoring her a while back, he realised he wasn't the only one hiding some degree of intelligence. They were brainy in their own little ways, and over time they grew closer. It was small things - they could be watching a film with Connor and Imogen, and both feeling like the uncomfortable friend, Dynasty would throw Kevin a little smile that sent his heart racing. But that was gone now, and again, he was relegated to second best, all because someone else had come along and swept her off her feet.

"Are you going to tell me what's up or do I have to sit and endure your miserable face all lesson?" Connor joked, hoping to lighten the mood a little. History was painfully boring today, and he really needed someone to take his mind off the guilt he felt over allowing his troubles with Barry extend to hurt his girlfriend.

"I think Dynasty has finished with me." Kevin said simply.

"Oh, mate.. I'm sorry." He said, feeling bad about bringing it up. "Is it 'cos of Steve-O?"

Kevin nodded. "He's got some sort of, like, affect over her. We were fine until he turned up."

"He's a family friend or something, isn't he?" Connor asked; he had to try and find out everything he could about this idiot without giving Imogen's secret away, and that was going to be tough. Just saying the guys name made his skin crawl, but he had to suppress the feelings of anger until Imogen decided she was ready to go to the police. Connor wanted her to go now. He didn't want her reporting the assault a way down the line and the police not taking her seriously, he didn't want that at all.

"Yeah, and he's just got out of prison. I reckon he helped their dad inside or something, that's why they have to keep him sweet. Why?"

"Just wondering." He mumbled. "So, you alright then? There's no point moping, you weren't even together for that long."

"Could have said the same to you the first time you split up with Imogen." Kevin said bitterly; he sighed. "Sorry. I dunno, I just.. I really care about her."

Their conversation was cut short by the bell. The two boys stuffed their books into their bag and Kevin wandered off, undoubtedly to mope in peace. It left Connor with a really, really hard moral dilemma. Steve-O was a rapist.. could he really let one of his closest friends be drawn into that trap, possibly endangering herself? If anything happened to Dynasty, he would never forgive himself but he couldn't say anything. It just wasn't his secret to tell.

...

It was days since Imogen had almost come face to face with Steve-O, and she was still shaken. There was nothing she could do, though, as she was still completely adamant that the police couldn't get involved. The seventeen year old was sat alone on the chairs near her locker, waiting for the bell for next lesson to go. She refused to go and find Connor, or any of her friends, for fear of bumping into Steve-O, who was still hanging around the school like some sort of lost dog, pining for his girlfriend. Luckily for her, her boyfriend was lovely enough to come and find her.

"Hey." He smiled, sitting down on the empty chair beside her. "You okay?"

Imogen forced a smile, that ended up a grimace. "I feel so bad about Dynasty."

"Yeah, me too. Kevin's miserable as well." Connor slipped his hand into his girlfriends, intertwining their fingers. "Listen, I know you don't want to go to the police but.."

"I'm not telling her."

"What if something happens to her, though? Would you be able to cope with that? I know I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Imogen pulled her hand from his. "Whose side are you on, Connor?"

"This isn't about sides, Imogen! I love you and I hate him, you know that.. I'm just saying, you know first-hand how sick he is, and Dynasty is one of our best friends. If you don't want to go to the police, fine, I'll try and understand your decision but at least tell her. She can get rid of him, nothing with happen to her, and he won't be hanging around school. I'm not stupid, I can see that you're hating him being around." He felt bad for being so forthright, she was clearly still struggling with the whole awful experience, but Connor felt he had to take it upon himself to do something. Too many times he'd sat back and let things spiral out of control; well, not this time.

Tears began rolling down her cheeks. She gratefully accepted when Connor threw his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. It was amazing how much comfort she could get from him without even speaking. She stayed in the clinch for a while, ignoring the series of strange looks being thrown her way. "I'm sorry." She finally choked.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for, babe. I hate him for doing this to you, I really, really hate him."

"Promise me something?" Imogen said, sitting up straight and wiping away stray tears. "Don't try and, like, get your own back or whatever. He's dangerous."

"Promise."

"And you're right. I have to tell Dynasty."

...

Dynasty was in the girls toilets, pushing floating strands of hair back into the bun on the top of her head. The rims of her eyes were bright red, her tears causing the layers of mascara applied this morning to smudge. She felt like such an idiot. Of course Steve-O hadn't changed. People like him never change. It brought back memories when she first seem him roll up to school with her brother; she was so swept up in the adrenaline and nostalgia that she completely brushed Kevin off without a second thought. Everything was a mess, so wiping the black marks from under her eyes, she left the toilets in search of the boy who quite obviously cared about just as much as Steve-O said he did; they showed their feelings in different ways.

She eventually found him in the library, his home from home. "Kevin, can I talk to you?"

He carried on typing, staring defiantly at the computer screen.

"Don't be like that." Dynasty said, sitting next to him. "I'm sorry, aright?"

"Why don't you leave me alone, yeah? Go back to your shiny new boyfriend."

"It's not like that, it's complicated! Steve-O was a massive part of my life so when I seen him it was a shock. I didn't know he was getting parole, did I? Anyway, it's finished." She explained, hoping that it would get his attention. It was a lie, she hadn't actually told Steve-O that she wanted out yet; he could be quite intimidating at the best of times.

It well and truly got his attention, and he actually dragged his eyes away from the computer screen. "What happened?"

"I thought he'd changed. He hasn't, and I'm not surprised. I suppose I was lying to myself."

"What was he even inside for?" Kevin asked tentatively, unsure whether it was a touchy subject. He should have been ignoring her, but it was as if all the anger had melted away from him when he seen her come over. Dynasty was head-strong; something must have happened for her to come back and apologise.

"Oh, you know, this and that. But he's a good mate to the family, and he helps me dad out occasionally. I was just a kid when we first got together.. I thought I loved him but like I said, I was only young. All he had to do was buy me some popcorn at the cinema and I'd have fallen in love with him." Dynasty sighed, reliving the memories. It was when they were back in Liverpool, a happy, if troubled, family. Barry loved Kacey more than anything in the world; how times change. "I was gutted when he got sent down, but then we moved up to Scotland."

The shrill sound of the bell for next lesson let itself be heard. The two of them walked together, in silence, until Kevin asked the question that had been playing on his mind since Steve-O arrived. "Do you still love him?"

"Kevin.."

"No, tell me. Tell me the truth. Because if you do, then I'll leave it. I'll forget about you, and you can be with Steve-O. We'll still be mates. But if you don't, well, I really care about you Dynasty."

That was it. The words tipped her over the edge. Dynasty, acting on complete instinct, pushed her lips to Kevin's, pulling him into the most genuine kiss she thought she had ever had in her life. It was reciprocated and the two were happier than ever, forgetting all memories of blips. They were back together, and that was how it was going to stay, if Kevin had anything to do with it. Dynasty, on the other hand, tried to convince herself that the butterflies in her stomach were coming from the kiss, rather than fear of what Steve-O was going to say when he found out.

hey! sorry this took a while. i'm trying to get back into it, not that i don't love writing it, it's just that i lost ~inspiration~ (eugh).

anyway, the next lot of chapters are going to be basically the steve-o, kevin, dynasty, connor and imogen storyline. it won't follow the show, but it will be similar. p.s how good was the ep on thursday? the best episode of series 8, in my humble opinion!

oh and was anyone else wondering why connor was bailed? if he's on probation, surely he wouldn't have been let out? i dunno really i'm not exactly a genius on laws but i thought the whole point of probation was that if you break it you go to jail..

hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading x