"I wish we could hold hands when we walked," Chester complained.

"Me too," Francie said. She'd been thinking this, but didn't want to say anything to make him feel bad.

They were at school, heading toward lunch in the courtyard with Veronica and Tyler, and possibly Jill. Even though Francie never said anything, she hoped Jill wouldn't be there, because all she did was raise the tension level by about a thousand, and make things really unpleasant.

"I'm sorry, Francie, I really am."

"About what?" He couldn't possibly be sorry about the possibility of Jill being there at lunch, could he? Had she said something out loud?

"About not being able to hold hands when we walk, about not being able to dance properly, about not being able to put my arms around you when we kiss--" Chester made a face and looked down at his crutches.

Oh. "Chester, don't be ridiculous," Francie said as they crossed the wide expanse of concrete and headed toward their regular table. "It's not your fault, and it's not like you suddenly sprang it on me or something." Francie shrugged. "It's like being sorry for the color of your eyes."

They reached the table and sat down. There was no Jill to be seen, Francie was glad to note. She happily unwrapped her sandwich and began to eat, able to relax at last. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun on her shoulders and back.

Chester saw her and smiled at the picture she made, though he quickly stopped when he saw Veronica grinning at him.

"Aww, it's okay, Chester, you get used to it eventually."

"Get used to what?" Francie asked, opening her eyes and taking another bite of her sandwich.

"He was looking at you looking all angelic and everything," Veronica explained, taking a drink from her water bottle. "You know, your nice, toned shoulders, your gorgeous boobs and all that? And then your blonde hair all in a halo and backlit from the sun and everything? You just look like a perfect little cherub, sent down from heaven to eat tuna salad with us mere mortals. Chester hasn't spent enough time with you to get used to being in the presence of such physical perfection, so I'm just letting him know that he will, eventually, and he'll no longer notice you sitting there looking like the Mona Lisa or whatever, that's all."

Francie picked up a blueberry from the container in front of her and threw it at Veronica's face. "Looks who's talking, Ms. gorgeous black hair and longest eyelashes I've ever seen?"

"Whatevs, Francie the B--"

"Don't finish that sentence," Francie warned, picking up another blueberry.

Chester looked at Tyler, just for somewhere to look, but Tyler just looked back and shrugged. "I don't get it, Francie looks like a total swamp donkey to me." He looked at Francie and was almost, but not quite, able to keep a straight face, and Francie gave him the finger. Then all four of them were laughing, and Chester put his arm around her, and Francie was about as happy as she could ever remember being, so happy she wouldn't have been surprised if the entire table had just lifted off and floated away above New York City.

Just then, a shadow fell across them. "Well, aren't we cozy." It was Jill's favorite opening line, and Francie looked up, her laugh dying on her lips.

"Hi, Jill," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

She sat down across from Chester, handing him a plastic bag. "I found some of that salve that you like for your elbows," she said. "You know, to help with the chafing from your crutches?" She turned to the others. "In warmer weather, he wears short sleeves, and his crutches are in direct contact with his skin, which causes a lot of rubbing and inflammation," she explained.

"Thank you," Chester said, taking the bag. "What do I owe you?"

Jill waved a hand. "Oh, please, it was nothing, honestly."

"No, I want to pay you back." He had his phone out. "I can Venmo you the money right now."

Jill was staring at him. "If you insist. It was about $30 after tax."

Chester nodded and punched in some numbers. He put his phone away. "Good, all taken care of."

"I don't see why you won't just let a friend do you a favor," Jill said petulantly as she took a bite of her sandwich. "I bet you wouldn't make Francie take your money."

"Francie is my girlfriend," Chester said. "It's a different situation."

"That's not what I heard," Jill said as she took another bite of her sandwich. She rolled her eyes as she chewed.

"What?" Francie gathered her containers back into her lunch box, which she put back in her back pack. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know, people talk, that's all," Jill said with a small smirk as she daintily wiped her mouth.

"Jill, what are you talking about?" Chester asked, leaning across the table a little.

Tyler and Veronica were busy putting their things away. They rose, quickly saying their good byes, talking over each other, both saying something about having to go to the drama department before lunch was over. It looked suspiciously like flight to Francie.

"Hold it right there, you two," she said, holding up a hand. "What the fuck is going on?" She moved her index finger between the two of them. "You know what she's talking about, don't you?"

They sighed and sat down, looking everywhere but at Francie, finally nodding at the table. Tyler took a deep breath to speak, but Jill got in before him.

"Wait a minute, I'll tell it," she said, taking a drink of her Snapple.

"I heard from someone in my Computer Tech Club, who heard from someone in Marching Band that this thing you two are doing," and here she gestured to Francie and Chester, "isn't a real thing."

"Someone in Computer Tech Club who heard it from someone in Marching Band," Chester repeated in disbelief.

Jill nodded, long braids twitching. "I don't know where that person got it, though."

Jesus.

"Why, though?" Francie's voice held frustration, and Chester rubbed her shoulder consolingly. "Why in the world would we be pretending to date each other? For what purpose?"

"Oh, he's not pretending," Jill said, pointing at Chester with the hand that held her Snapple. "I'm sure he's into your particular brand of hair and breasts, no doubt."

"Jill," Chester said in a warning tone.

"Chester, it's okay," Francie told him, shaking her head. "Don't bother, really." Then she spoke to Jill. "So I'm faking it? Just me? Why?"

"Pity," Jill said succinctly, and with a little bit of triumph in her tone. "You feel sorry for him, and you're such a goody-two-shoes, such a pathetic little bleeding heart do gooder that you couldn't stand the thought of poor little, crippled Chester all lonely and horny, so you decided to make him your spring project or whatever."

"Most people don't believe it, Francie," Veronica assured her, reaching out to put a hand on her friend's arm. "Honestly, they don't."

"But everyone's heard this?" Francie asked slowly, aghast.

Her friends nodded, slowly, again looking down at the table.

Chester looked sick.

"Francie? Is it true?" he asked, his voice soft.

"Of course it's true," Jill said smugly. "Look at her and look at you, Chester, why would anyone like her give someone like you the time of day?"

Chester took a deep breath. "The other night, when you left the room to make that phone call? Was that to Tony?"

Francie looked sharply at Chester, blue eyes focusing on him. "Yeah? So what?"

Chester took his arm from around her. "So what did you talk about?"

Francie shrugged. "Nothing. I mean, he wanted to know how long I was going to keep seeing you."

"He what?"

"He thought what they're saying, that you were some sort of 'charity project,' I think were his exact words, so I cleared everything up and told him he was wrong, and told him to stop calling or whatever, that's all." Francie turned to Chester. "What's wrong? Don't you believe me?"

"I don't know," Chester said. "Suddenly I feel really weird."

Tyler and Veronica looked horrified, while Jill continued to look smug and satisfied.

"Francie? There's more, okay?" Veronica pulled out her phone. "I guess it's from this phone call you're talking about? You should probably listen to it." She found what she was looking for, and held it up so Francie and Chester could hear. It was a recording, though it said it was also available as a YouTube video.

Francie recognized her own voice, then Tony's, and suddenly the sun, which had felt warm and welcoming moments before, seemed too bright. The quality of the recording was not the best, with suspicious crackles and odd pops and hisses here and there.

Francie: "There's been some sort of terrible misunderstanding. I really like Chester, he's my charity project, I swear. I thought you knew that, I thought you understood."
Tony: "So you don't like him? You're not physically attracted to him?"
Francie: "What do you want me to say? No, I'm not attracted to him at all."
Tony: "And you're not sleeping with him?" (sound of Tony laughing)
Francie: "My god, Tony, you make it sound like we were having sex under the bleachers! Of course not!"
Tony: "Okay, well, I was waiting for you to finish your project. I suppose I understand. I mean, I don't understand, not really, but if it's what you want, I suppose I have to be okay with it."

Oh my god.

Chester's face had gotten deathly pale.

Francie turned to him. "Chester, you can tell by the quality that it's been doctored."

"Did you say those things?" he asked her in a quiet voice.

Jill looked at them, her head turning back and forth as though she were watching a fascinating tennis match.

"Yes, but not like that. In a couple of sentences, the word 'not' has been taken out, you can tell, can't you?" Francie asked desperately. "Chester, you can tell, it's out of order and out of context and messed with and everything--"

Suddenly, it felt like everyone in the courtyard was looking at them. Had it been that way before, but they just hadn't noticed? Francie couldn't remember. She could only look at Chester, whose eyes were locked on hers, looking like she'd punched him in the solar plexus.

"Chester, Tony did something to the recording," Francie said again, struggling to keep her voice even. "He had all that night and all day yesterday to do whatever he wanted to it, don't you see?"

"All I see is that he's never called you before, and it's mighty strange that he called you at all," Chester said in an odd voice. "And what you talked about is pretty odd as well, I think."

Francie put a hand on Chester's arm, but he shook it off, none too gently.

Francie bit her lip and blinked back tears.

Chester began to rise, grabbing his crutches and back pack. Francie automatically began to rise also, but Chester stopped her, saying, "Please don't follow me. I have some thinking to do, okay? This is a little much for me to wrap my head around during a lunch period, so I need to be alone, if you don't mind. No, you either, Jill, thanks."

And he left, head down, and Francie could definitely tell this time that they were being watched by nearly everyone in the courtyard.

Jill sat back down, a small grin on her face.

"You need to wipe that 'cat with a feather in its whiskers' smile off your face, Jill," Francie said with more venom that she'd believed herself capable of. "This isn't over." Even Tyler and Veronica looked over at her in surprise. This was a new Francie. "Don't think I won't fight for him, because I will." She, too, began to gather her things as the bell rang. "I will," she repeated as she headed for class.

"I will."