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The weekend concluded quickly, far too much so for Amy's liking. But things were good again, as she and Stacy were back on speaking terms and friends again.
Too bad she was dreading her history class. The prospect of seeing Paul again, even in a crowded class setting, was enough to make her skin crawl. She knew Professor Calloway would look out for her, but what if the jerk tried to pull something outside of class, or the building?
"So, we're going to all meet up for lunch, right?"
The redhead looked up at Stacy's question. The leggy young woman was smiling brightly, already miraculously over her incident with Shane McMahon. Amy found her amazing. If only she could feel as resilient. Of course, the difference was that Shane, at least, hadn't stalked Stacy all over campus.
"Yeah, of course. The guys are expecting us. I spoke with Adam earlier." She abruptly grew quiet again as she worried about running into Levesque.
"Amy, are you okay?" the blonde asked. She placed a slender hand on her friend's arm.
"Yeah, well... Yeah, I'm okay."
Stacy's smile vanished as concern took over.
"You're worried about running into Paul, aren't you?"
The redhead sighed, nodding.
"Yeah," she admitted. "I really don't want to have to deal with him again. He's... creepy."
"That he is," the blonde agreed with a nod and shudder. "You know, there were always speculations about him across campus."
Amy's head shot into the direction of her friend's face. What was she talking about? She sensed inside that she already knew, but she had to hear it from Stacy.
"What speculations?"
The slender blonde sighed. This was difficult for her, and she had a feeling her friend might very well freak out, but she had to say it.
"Well," she explained, "she never really told me, but I think Nora..." She paused, closing her eyes as another shudder went through her.
Amy's eyes widened with shock and horror.
"What about Nora?!"
Stacy swallowed hard and concluded.
"I think Paul was the one who raped her."
"What?!" The redhead gasped, more horror gripping her.
Stacy reached out for her friend's arm in an attempt to calm her. After a deep breath, she said, "Amy, things are different now. The campus upped its security, and you've got Professor Calloway, and-"
"Stacy, my God! I can't believe it!" She bowed her head, stressed out as she stared at her friend's reassuring hand on her arm. Suddenly, a memory came to her, and pieces of some unseen puzzle snapped right into place. She raised her head to meet the blonde's concerned brown eyes.
"Is that why you freaked out my first day here?" she asked. "You know, when we went to the bleachers at the football field?"
Stacy bit her lip, her gaze falling. She felt guilty, and she couldn't deny the truth to Amy. Slowly, she nodded.
"Oh, my God!"
"Look... I'm not going to make any excuses for him," the leggy blonde said. Despite herself, she still couldn't help the guilt she felt coursing through her. "I just know that Nora had a guy she was sort of seeing - in secret. I have no idea if it was him, but..." She bit her lip again and then continued. "... it makes sense for it to be him. I see similarities."
"What do you mean?" the redhead asked, aghast.
"Well, Nora was all secretive and stuff, and being pursued by a guy." She shrugged. "And we both know Paul's been pursuing you."
"So?" Amy asked. "And Shane's been pursuing you."
Stacy blanched at those words. She was suddenly at a loss for a response. It was too creepy a thought that the redhead might be right, that Shane could have been the rapist. But if he were, he wouldn't have allowed her to get away. She didn't voice that aloud to Amy, fearing it would further scare her friend. Quickly, the blonde checked the time on the digital clock radio on the nightstand between their beds.
"Jeez, it's getting late. Come on, we'd better get out of here."
The redhead glanced at the time. Stacy was right.
"Great, I'm gonna be late for class!" she groaned.
With that, the two got up and raced out of their dorm.