When the Mills dropped Paul off that night, both Victor and Stephanie walked with Paul and Linda to his front door. Victor asked Paul if he could talk to his parents, and he said no problem.

Both Greg and Debbie came to the door, and seeing the Mills, stepped outside as Paul rushed to be with Linda. Victor asked both of them if they wanted to have dinner at their house on Thanksgiving. Both of Paul's parents replied yes in unison. And arrangements were made, but with one condition. Greg and Debbie wanted to help, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. It was agreed.

So the two weeks before the holiday flew by. Jill came back from her suspension and behaved, but everyone noticed the increase in the number of teachers walking the hallway. The only sad bit of news was the fact that Todd's parents were sending him to another school. As long as Jill was there, he wouldn't be safe.

And so, Thanksgiving came. The Bartons pulled up in the driveway and Greg and Debbie were staggered by the sheer size of the house. They had seen Alpha houses from afar, never this close.

After knocking on the door, Victor greeted them and they entered. The size and scope of the rooms couldn't be described in words. So, they just ended up nodding as Victor gave them the tour. 

Linda came out to give Paul a hug and kiss, and held his hand as she led him to the kitchen. Paul gave her mom a hug, and asked if he could do anything for them. They both said no. So Paul just stayed and talked to them.

15 minutes later, Greg and Debbie were finished with their tour of the house. To them, if someone had described everything in detail, they would have thought that they were either joking or on drugs. Now that they saw first hand, they would never doubt anyone ever again.

Debbie joined Linda and Stephanie in the kitchen. The men asked if they could help, but the women said no. Victor made the decision that the guys would set the table. Victor had built a brand new table from scratch. It was a Beta sized table that could seat six, but had a lever built in to raise a section of it for Linda. So he wheeled out a seven foot ladder and proceeded to gather plates and pass them to Paul and Greg. And he did the same with the cups, except everything was sized for a Beta. Only a few things were Alpha sized for Linda, and she found using them easier than the smaller dishes.

And a couple hours later, turkey dinner was served. Victor had the honor of cutting the turkey, and dinner began. The four adults talked like they were old friends. They talked about life and raising a family, and Paul and Linda thought that was their cue to leave the table.

Linda took Paul's hand and led him to the sofa. They just wanted a little peace and quiet. So much had happened since the first day of school that they needed time to relax. Paul rubbed Linda's arm, and she gave a warm smile. They had found each other. It didn't matter how, or why, but they were glad. 

Soon, it was time to leave. Paul promised Linda that he would call her tomorrow afternoon. And she said she would be waiting.

As promised, the house phone at Linda's rang in the afternoon. She ran to the kitchen. Her parents heard her laugh, and they immediately knew it was Paul. He called that day, then spent the next two afternoons at her house. They were happiest when they had each other.

Monday came, and Paul got on the bus. He said hi to John and Mindy, then made his way to Linda. He was a little sad that he and John weren't as close as they were at the beginning of the year. But neither wanted to intrude on the other's budding romance. And as long as John was happy, he was happy. 

He got to Linda's row and gave her a big kiss before making his way up the steps so he could sit next to her. He loved feeling her next to him. The feeling was indescribable. 

The bus pulled up to school. Out went the Alphas. Alice was holding George's hand as they exited. To Paul, she looked as happy as anyone he had ever seen. The group of friends that she usually hung around with, not so much. Apparently, Alice was in her own little world, and they weren't invited.

Once they reach the school hallway, it seemed odd to not see Todd. Paul grew angry at the fact that he had to leave because of Jill, not the other way around. Like could be unfair at times, and this was one of those times.

The morning was uneventful. Classes, quizzes, homework, projects. That's what school had basically become. But it was the school’s way of trying to prepare the students for real life.

Finally it was time for lunch. Paul, Linda, John and Mindy were about to enter, when Paul realized that he had left his homework folder in the classroom. He told the three to get their food and seats, and he would be back quickly. And he raced towards the classroom. 

The three of them got their food. The students in the cafeteria were taking an unusually long time in getting to their seats. Everyone seemed to be milling about.

But once a path was clear, Linda waited for John and Mindy to get situated, and as she waited, she felt a heavy tap on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself looking up at a face four feet taller than hers. 

It was Jill. Linda could see that Jill had a look in her eyes, and it frightened her. Jill blamed Paul for her suspension, believing that if he just kept his fucking nose out of her business, then she could take care of Todd. She knew that Paul and Linda were an item, and now she was going to introduce herself as a way of letting her know that she wasn't to be fucked with. Linda politely asked the bigger girl if she could help her with anything.

Jill replied that she wanted to get to her seat and that she was taking too fucking long, and she wanted her to hurry up. Linda apologized, but pointed out that the crowd finally moved enough for them to sit, 

Jill wanted to know why Linda was still standing then. And she stepped towards the smaller girl. Linda backed up a step. Jill saw the fear. She had never bothered with tweener girls, but this might be fun.

As Jill stepped towards Linda, Paul had arrived and saw the situation unfolding. He saw the terror in Linda's eyes, and without thinking, immediately made his way to the tables. He got up on the seat, then the table itself, and ran towards the girls. 

He reached the edges and leapt as high as he could, landing on Jill's upper back. He managed to grab a hold of her hair, and use it to bring his legs up and position them on her back for leverage. He pulled back on her hair with all his might. This caused Jill to let out a small ouch. She could feel something pulling on her hair. She shook back and forth, but Paul held firm. He just kept yelling at her to leave Linda alone. He was yelling at the top of his lungs to LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE! 

Jill finally swung her body with enough force to cause Paul to shift his position, allowing her to grab him. She positioned her hand so that she had the front of his shirt. She could see the rage in his eyes, which she thought was cute coming from a little Beta boy.

She told him that she was going to fucking break him, and she was going to enjoy it. While she held Paul, an idea popped into his head. It was his only play, his only chance. As Jill raised him up to her face, she had become arrogant and was too slow to react to what happened next. Paul decided to act. She was about to say something when Paul hocked a loogie and spit it into her mouth, causing her to release him and start gagging at the same time. 

Paul fell five feet to the floor, landing funny. By then teachers had shown up, and escorted both him and Jill to the principal’s office, where their parents were called.

Jill's parents arrived first. Paul noticed that they were exceptionally tall Alphas, and judging by the way they dressed, extremely rich. They entered the office first. By then, his parents had arrived, and he gave them the shortened version of events. 

After 20 minutes, Jill and her parents left. She shot Paul a glance which he returned. Next up, his turn with the principal. 

Once seated, the principal asked Paul to describe the events of what happened. Paul said that he came into the cafeteria and saw his friend being threatened. He just reacted. The principal asked him how he knew his friend was being threatened. Did he see Jill raise her hand towards his friend? Paul said no. Did he hear Jill threaten his friend? Again, Paul said no. Then how could…..

Paul cut the principal off mid sentence. He was angry. He said that he didn't need a god damned college degree to know when his friend was in trouble, and if he was going to suspend him, then do it. He had enough of this bullshit. And Paul left the room, despite the principal telling him to remain.

10 minutes later, his parents came out, not looking happy. Paul was getting suspended. 3 days for the altercation with Jill, and 1 day for disobeying the principal. 

Paul was heartbroken. He wouldn't be able to be here for Linda, and he wouldn't be able to protect her from Jill once her suspension ended. Life sucked.