Chapter 1

Angelina Peters tucked her hands behind her head, leaned back in her chair and swung her legs up onto her desk, crossing her feet at the ankles. There was one alarming moment when the thirty-something year old teacher thought she was going to lose her balance. Her hands came from behind her head and she waved her arms frantically for a bit until she regained her equilibrium. Once she had she returned to her intended position she closed her eyes and relaxed.

It had been quite a year here at Chilton but it was drawing to a close. She smiled. In some ways it had been one of the most hectic ones she could remember. Of course the majority of that could be summed up with just two names; Rory Gilmore and Paris Gellar.

Not that the dark-haired attractive woman disliked either of those girls. Far from it in fact. Rory Gilmore was a gifted, intelligent and charming young lady and a great student. She also showed great promise as an aspiring writer and reporter. Angelina had happily watched and hopefully assisted her growth over the last three years. Rory was the kind of student who made her glad she had gone into teaching.

Now Paris Gellar was completely different but in some ways the same. She was prickly and sometimes haughty; occasionally a self-centered "Queen Bee" type. But she was smart and sharp and quick-witted. More than that, Angelina had seen the loneliness that was deep inside the blonde girl, the desire for friendship and someone she could count on all the time, not just when the wind blew her way. Angelina had to take a completely different approach with Paris. She knew that the hint of anything resembling pity for the hard outer shell that her home life, or lack of it, had created would only make the young woman withdraw more. Getting her to open up had been a gradual process, always slow and sometimes frustrating, but very pleasing in the end.

She had been very happy when Rory and Paris had gone from bitter rivals to uneasy coworkers to finally friends. They complimented each other. Each had strengths that helped the other; each had weaknesses that were supported by the other.

The setup by Francine that had almost ruined that friendship ... Angelina nearly ground her teeth as she thought of that. Well, the duo had worked their way though that and came out on the other side stronger. Angelina had thought that anyway.

That was why she had been so surprised to hear that the pair was once more in Headmaster Charleston's office for fighting, or at least the next thing to it. It hadn't taken long for her surprise to change to concern. What could have set them off this time? As soon as her schedule permitted she had hastened down the long halls from her room to the office. Along the way she had encountered Charleston.

"Ah. Ms. Peters. Come to check on your prize pupils I wager," he had said. She had indicated her agreement and he had continued. "Probably some boy again I would suspect, even though they both denied that quite strongly." The man had droned on for sometime with his pet theory as Angelina attempted to smile and control her desire to roll her eyes and dash past the man. Finally he had wound down, informing her that he had locked them in his office to sort things out.

"I DO hope that more violence won't occur," he said piously.

Angelina used the last of her self-control to avoid laughing out loud. Yes, there had been the fencing incident, but beyond that the idea of Rory and Paris coming to blows was absolutely absurd. Once the Headmaster had moved on she quickened her pace. Whatever was going on with Rory and Paris she was sure of two things. First, it didn't have anything to do with boys and second, no fight had taken place.

The key was still in the massive wooden door when she arrived. She had listened and heard nothing. Shrugging, she had unlocked the door and pulled it open. The girls had seemed surprised but pleased to see her.

"Alright you two," she had looked them over and sighed. "What is going on? I get this report that the two of you have started up World War Three. In fact from all I've heard I'm surprised there isn't blood all over the floor in here.

"Ms. Peters the whole thing is blown out of proportion," said Rory. "It was just a little silliness that was completely misunderstood."

"Absolutely," nodded Paris. "Things have never been better between Rory and I then they are right now."

The words rang true. So why did something seemed more than a little out of kilter? Angelina looked them both over. They were both flushed but she felt sure it wasn't from fighting. SOMETHING had been going on though. The room seemed a bit out of joint, immediately noticeable to anyone who knew what a fanatic Headmaster Charleston was about "Everything in its place". But her attention kept coming back to the girls.

It was nothing major, nothing that shouted out to her. But the glances the pair kept sneaking to each other; their slightly disheveled uniforms; the state of their make-up, especially Paris' who generally was immaculate all spoke to her. Then she saw it.

It was very small, something that someone who didn't know them and hadn't already seen them that morning might not have noticed. But Rory's blouse, which had been in perfect order when she passed the brunette on the way to the last class before the incident, wasn't buttoned properly. One button was undone and the one above it had been placed mistakenly in the wrong hole. This allowed the teacher to notice that Rory's bra wasn't quite settled properly but rather was a bit askew on one side, giving the girl's breasts a lumpy appearance.

Angelina was not the type to jump to conclusions or reveal ones she had made before she had time to completely digest them. So she simply nodded and spoke as evenly as she could.

"Okay, I think that last statement is probably exactly right. So you both go back to class and I'll tell the Headmaster everything has been worked out."

The duo thanked her and headed out of the room. While she pretending not to be looking, Angelina had caught the look of relief that was plastered across both faces. Just as they were passing through the doorway she had spoken.

"Rory?" When both girls turned she continued. "Rory, the buttons on your blouse aren't fastened properly. You might want to correct that before you get to class."

She had stared at the desk because she knew if she looked at the pair she might burst out laughing. But she could see enough out of the corner of her eye to catch the look of mingled shock and worry on both faces. They had hurried out and she had been able to give in to the urge to giggle that she had been holding back.

Now sitting comfortably in her office she considered those events.

Angelina Peters was neither stupid nor naive. Still single at her age she was comfortable in her position. Helping the young women in her charge was her greatest desire and her most satisfying accomplishments were their successes. Like the majority of her underpaid and under appreciated profession she cared deeply for her students and was determined to help them in any way that she could.

So, did Rory and Paris need help? It was perfectly obvious to her that the pair was in a relationship that went well beyond friendship. That it was sexual was certain, that it was emotional was almost as much of a given. She had observed them. When no one was looking they touched in ways that only lovers do. The looks, the glances they gave each other spoke volumes to someone who knew what she was looking for.