Part 16 - Paul

We trickled one by one out of the van, emerging warily into the thin Scottish sunlight. The clouds overhead were a pale grey - so not too threatening - and the sun did its best to pierce them. There was no wind, no rain. Complete stillness. I glanced at James and Tom. In one conspiratorial sigh we knew it wouldn't last.

 Benedict and Michael were already working together to unfasten each bike in turn, having freed three so far. James and Jan, the remaining adults, stepped in to help.

 "Hey, where'd John Green go?" I asked.

 "The school called him," Benedict explained, grunting with the effort of swinging a bike off the roof. "There was an emergency with one of his pupils."

 Once all bikes had been freed and we were all ready to go, I gestured behind me towards the start of the Blue Route ascent. As I started to turn myself around to face in its direction, James cleared his throat.

 "The road," he murmured.

 I rolled my eyes. The road was just an endless slog of boredom that left you with an empty feeling when you reached the bottom. It was as if you'd cheated because you hadn't taken the tricky single track up the hill. Last time I took it, I got barely any excitement from the swooshing downhill berms. I wasn't here for excitement today, I reminded myself. Besides, the presence of James ought to take care of that.
 We powered up the steep, rocky hill. Even with everyone pushing as hard as they could, however, it still took us at least half an hour to reach Blue Velvet. We weren't even halfway to Betty Blue. Michael planted his legs on either side of the bike and leaned his arms on the handlebars. His forehead was shiny with sweat and the hair sticking out from under his helmet was matted. James walked his bike around between everyone. He smiled at each of us and there was desperation in his eyes.
 "I know yous're all tired," he said, "But we have to keep going. For Tara."
 We nodded as one, swung our legs over our crossbars, and continued onward. I groaned. This was where the road got really boring.
 I heard a scream from behind me.
 "Michael!" screamed James.
 I whirled around and saw a pale young figure holding a knife to Michael's neck. A little blood trickled towards his collarbones and his veins bulged from his skin like writhing snakes. James lunged for the youth, his eyes wide with terror. His brow was creased deeply and his teeth clamped down on his tongue.
 "James, no!" Michael bawled. Jan leapt for him and held him back.
 "Stay back," the youth hissed.
 "Paul," James whimpered.
 So this was Paul. This was the cause of all James' guilt, terror and stress. I wanted to hate him, but the terror in Paul's own eyes was just too clear. He dragged Michael off his bike and drew him backwards towards the tall heather that surrounded the cycle path. James shrugged Jan off and chased after them, disappearing into the forest.
 "James!" Hanien cried. She and Annisa barrelled off after him.
 I tried to follow but Tom and Isaac held me back.
 "We have to go get Tara," Tom murmured.
 I gripped his gaze with desperate eyes, pleading with him. He shook his head and glanced further up the hill. I nodded reluctantly and pedalled frantically upwards. I heard screams, but I had to ignore them. I was going to get Tara, even if it meant taking my eye off James.

Part 15 - The X-Men

 "Shall we take the van up to the buzzards' nest?" I suggested.
 "The what?" Annisa exclaimed.
 "It's the car park furthest up the hill," I explained, "My dad and I normally go from the Osprey up to the Buzzards' Nest and then up to Betty Blue but that would be pretty pointless considering the rather pressing time limit on our current mission."
 Some people nodded, others just stared into the forest through the windows of the van.
 "Be careful of all those cyclists, Michael," Lucìa warned anxiously, "Is that one doing a wheelie with the back wheel?"
 I tilted my head to the side and screwed my eyes up, fairly certain that was one of my friends from school on the bike. I snapped back to inside the van and forced my brain to work through a strategy for the fastest route up to the Stane.
 "How is everyone at cycling?" Benedict murmured.
 There were a few 'not bad's and some 'could be worse's but no 'terrible and likely to die's so that looked to be a good sign. The bikes - including one we'd borrowed for Pearl - were strapped tightly to various faces of the van. If you peered out the window at the right angle, you could see a seven gear cog threatening to decapitate you.
 A few zip lines flew high over our heads, where a Go Ape had been built above the Good Game section of the Blue Route. I sighed. I was not looking forward to having my memories of this place spoiled.
 "I wish I was Professor X." James sighed. "I could peer into his mind and tell him that everything was okay. I could tell him that he doesn't have to do this - that books belong to their readers, like John says."
 "Professor X couldn't get through to Magneto," Michael countered, "How's he going to get through to Paul?"
 "He's nowhere near as messed up as Magneto," James mumbled, "He's just a kid. Charles would know what to do."
 Michael extended a hand into the space in the centre of the van. It tensed and his face began to redden.
 "What are you doing?" James groaned.
 "I'm trying to tear some metal out of the van and turn it into a gun. For Paul." Michael shrugged. Something was different about his voice but I don't think anyone was sure quite what.
 "Violence is not the answer here!" James cried.
"Is that so?" The corners of Michael's lips quirked up and his eyes glimmered as he searched James' distraught gaze. "I seem to remember hearing those words before. A mansion in Westchester. A school perhaps. A former home. And I seem to remember that ten years later the species you wanted only peace with were ready to tear our entire race to pieces!"
"Erik!" James barked, "He is just a kid. He is a poor messed up kid. He's just like you were before Shaw got hold of you. What would you have given for someone on your side back then?"
Michael didn't reply. He leaned back in on the bench and crossed his ankles. He winked at Jan, who was directly opposite him, then turned back to James. "Professor?" he prompted.
  James grinned. "Okay then, X-Men, this is what we'll do. I need to be alone with Paul. I don't know what I'll do but there has to be something I can say to him. So, to get him alone, I'll need the rest of you to distract his army. You probably know some of them - that is, the army probably consists mostly of my, er, fan club. How many do you number, Jan?"
 "Over two thousand," Jan replied succinctly.
 "Good Lord!" James muttered, "I thought you were going to say a couple of hundred!"
 "Don't underestimate yourself," Hanien murmured.
 James nodded and gulped. "They'll all hate me. As much as you all ... 'love' ... me now. They all hate me that much."
 The air of anticipation in the van deflated and we glanced at each other. We couldn't even picture hating James. Loving him was a part of our identities. He defined our ideals and our hopes and what we thought were the best parts of the world. He was like a favourite television show to me. As much as I have based my teenage years off 'Doctor Who', I've had my perception of James to guide me through studying for my Highers. He got me through Fifth Year.
 I stared unflinchingly into his eyes. I remembered at McBusted, Tom Fletcher had caught me with eye contact and I'd glanced away. The guy shaped my entire music taste. He was so influential to me that I was infinitely intimidated. The feeling when I looked at James was at least five times more potent. I levelled my gaze and locked onto his eyes. I would never let him down. I would never hate him.
 "They're strong James. They can withstand him," Eliphia assured him.
 "I believe in you all," James replied, "Honest. I mean, you're in love with me; you must all be pretty smart. I just ... Something really weird has happened to Paul. This isn't like him at all. There's something bigger going on, something that I don't think we can withstand."

 "Do not lose hope, Charles," Michael murmured.

 James turned to face him, his eyes beginning to brim with tears. We could see the effort he was putting into barring their way.

 "I'm so sorry," he whispered, "Maybe if I'd paid Paul more attention..."

 Michael shook his head. "No. Do not blame yourself. You didn't see Paul when you weren't looking. He wasn't as calm and kind as you believed."
 "What do you mean?" James turned to face him. "Well, you know how his major fandom was the book series 'Divergent'? Basically that was just an excuse for combat training in Dauntless. He was preparing for something. None of us wanted to say anything. We were all scared that we'd set him off. He was so different around you. We didn't want to do anything to jeopardise that. I'm so sorry, James."
 James said nothing. He raised his hands in front of his face and let his head sink into his chest. The hope he'd found since Michael had provoked him into being Professor X seemed to flush out of him and he slumped into the bench. He murmured something that sounded vaguely blasphemous then was silent. Just as Michael was reaching over to comfort him, the van juddered to a stop. Benedict, who had switched places with Michael at the campsite, twisted round to talk to us.
 "We're here," Benedict murmured.

Part 14 - Betty Blue and the Klingons

 "We have to find him!" James exclaimed, "If we let him do this, I could end up wanting to kill my own wife and child!"
 It obviously hadn't occurred to him that the rest of us would be converted into an army of drones that would stop at nothing to destroy him. I suspected we'd go after each other too. It probably wasn't only romantic love that Paul could target. I gulped as I realised that I might find myself trying to burn some of my favourite books - particularly John's. I'm a nerd. My entire lifestyle depends on loving things excessively.
 "Where on Earth would we start?" Michael shrugged his scepticism and slumped his shoulders.
 "Well, Scotland," James retorted, "The county of Dumfries and Galloway! He can't have got that far. Jan, where was he when you last saw him?"
 Jan murmured something in her sleep and it was only then that we all realised that she was actually asleep. James placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She groggily slid her eyelids open and blinked a few times.
 "Jan," James repeated, "Where was Paul when you last saw him?"
 "Um ..." Jan whispered, "There was little cave ... and loads of bikes were flying past."
 "The mountain-bike trail!" I exclaimed, "It's just opposite the Go-Karts!"
 "No," Jan murmured, "Not here, Jo. I've walked for miles. I took a bus at one point. He's miles away. Did you really think he wanted to meet you here? Did you really think he was telling the truth?"
 "Why would he lie?" Eliphia asked.
 "Have you never heard of an ambush?" Jan returned wearily, "He has a bunch of drones out there. I think I might have known some of them from the JMFC."
 James made a strangled choking sound and staggered away from Jan. He paced around and circled back.
 "You're telling me that he has used my fans' happiness to make them hate me?" James spluttered.
 "Yes," Jan whispered, "Hold on ... I think I remember something. He said to tell Joanne and Tom to bring bat'leths."
 I snapped my head to face Tom, whose brow had furrowed into a deep 'V'.
 "The Klingon battle blade?" James asked, incredulous, "What does that have to do with cycl- Oh!"
 "The Seven Stanes!" I cried.
 Tom smacked his forehead and exclaimed, "Glentress!"
 James, Tom and I darted towards the tunnel, picking our way like mountain goats over roots and branches and stumps. It was only as we pelted into the tunnel that we realised we hadn't explained anything to anyone. James swirled round to face the group who, touchingly, had followed us blindly from the obstacle course.
 "It's a Forestry Commission game," James explained, "There are seven sets of mountain-bike trails arranged by the Forestry Commission around the country. In each forest there is a stone - or Stane - hidden on one of the trails. The one at Glentress is big and craggy -"
 "- And covered in Klingon," Tom finished, "That must be where Jan and Paul and the rest of his army are."
 "Who would have thought my Major Fandom could be such good use!" James cried, with a giddy grin streaking across his face.
 We skittered around the park, thundering along the bouncy bridge with such force that I felt sure we would shatter it. James signed a clipboard at the front desk to say he had taken his group back to the site and we bundled into the Internet School van. Michael drove and John Green sat in the front. James stayed in the back with us and Benedict to explain more about Glentress.
 "The routes are split into colour groups," said James, "But I've forgotten which colour is which."
 Tom spoke in a monotonous rumble and we could sense the nerves tumbling out of him. "Green is beginner. Blue is moderate. Red is difficult. Black is severe."
 "Severe?" Hanien asked worriedly.
 "Yes, many injuries," I confirmed, "But the Stane is on the ascent to Betty Blue - so moderate."
 "Isn't it just below Spooky Wood?" James asked. He cocked one eyebrow at an unnatural angle like he had with his infamous 'If anyone's giving... ' line. I smiled at him despite the knowledge that the very same gesture could soon make me want to kill him.
 "Yes," I replied, "But it's also just above Betty Blue."
 James nodded. We all gulped air and shuddered, waiting anxiously for the moment when, finally, Michael announced we had reached the campsite. James swallowed an allergy pill and we plodded out of the van, towards our bikes.

Part 13 - Love's Hate Behind a White Veil

 I felt myself gulp again, totally numb to the bob of my throat. When I closed my eyes, I saw it. I was reminded of when I read an Infernal Devices book for hours on end and saw the circular font of its text every time I closed my eyes. At least then I was picturing dashing Shadowhunters and a quirky warlock named Magnus. Now, I just saw Tara's face. She didn't seem to be in any physical pain but her eyes were strained with terror. Jan had explained what they'd been through but I just couldn't picture it. All I could picture was the terror.
 Jan had clicked a few buttons on her phone then thrust it towards us. I think Eliphia, Lucìa and I had the hardest time of it. We'd known Tara through JMFC longest. We had been seeing her as happy, posting pictures of herself - proud in front of the decorations of her room. That she could be reduced to such abject fear was something difficult to stomach.
 "Jan," I croaked, "Why is she so scared."
 Jan had been silent through our pained cries and shocked gasps. Now, she turned her head towards me and I realised that barely recognised her either. Jan posted pictures of herself less often than Tara did but I still had a fairly clear picture of her in my head. However Jan's eyes, too, had something dark hovering in them too, like a ghost of the horror in Tara's.
 Jan cleared her throat and replied, "Paul sent me the message when he realised I escaped. He captioned the picture with the sentence, 'Just told Tara what I'm going to do to James when I find him.' I thought for a while that if I went back to him he would relent but ... this won't be fixed that easily. You have no idea what the problem was he wanted to talk to you about, James, but I promise, even if you had I'm not sure you'd have been able to do much good."
 "What?" James muttered. He had his eyes angled straight down at the table and did not even turn his head to face Jan.
 "Something was happening at the school," Jan explained, "Something had gotten into the air in there and ... Paul wasn't the only one."
 "The only one what?" James pressed. Now he raised his head and pointed his gaze directly at Jan.
 Jan shuddered - though whether that was from what she was about to tell us or from James' piercing blue eyes, I don't know. She took a deep breath and continued, "He developed a power. He ... he mutated."
 "Um, Jan, is it?" Annisa mumbled, "Are you sure about that. I mean, James and Michael's acting is good but you do realise X-Men isn't actually real?"
 "But it is!" Jan exclaimed, "Paul has the power to pollute your thoughts!"
 "So he's a Nazi propaganda minister?" John Green asked with a raised eyebrow.
 "I am serious!" Jan exploded, "He did it to us. I am ashamed to say, James, that for a few days last month I actually wanted to kill you - for no reason!"
 "But ..." James began awkwardly, "You ... love me. Or at least who you perceive me to be. That might be me, it might not. I have no idea how you see me, so..."
 "See that's the thing, James." Jan clutched at his arm and he made no move to reel back. In fact, after the initial tensing of the tendons in his arms, he relaxed and even smiled. "The more you love something, the more he makes you hate it. The more enthusiastic you are about your feelings, the easier it is for him to torment you, to turn them against you."
 "Well, John's doomed," I muttered, "He's the biggest nerd I know."
 "Thank you." John nodded solemnly but added, "But I get the feeling you are not averse to fangirling over Doctor Who. And the rest of you ... If I logged onto Facebook and entered James' fan club, how freaked out would I be?"
 We glanced at each other hesitantly, suddenly seeing where John was going with this.
 "You are all obsessed with this man -" he pointed at James, "- and it sounds to me like this is going to doom you all."
 This time, we all gulped.
 "What about me?" James asked suddenly, "What's he plan to make me hate?"
 "Star Trek?" Hanien suggested, "Your family. I'm sure he can make all of us hate our families."
 Isaac scoffed loudly and exclaimed, "This is all ridiculous! For centuries, millennia, human beings have had the power to create hatred. It happens all the time."
 "He made us hate James, " Jan muttered, "No ordinary human can do that. It's simply impossible. I hated him as much as I love him and it nearly tore me apart."
 James reddened and cleared his throat. "You said there were others?"
 "None as powerful as Paul. He's the leader. Most of them have some sort of psionic power - telepathy, telekinesis or teleportation," Jan explained, "It's like he's got an army. And he's fuelling them on hatred."
 "It sounds like a poem I read for Higher English," I observed, "'Havisham' by Carol Ann Duffy. It's about how the passage of time completely destroyed Miss Havisham from 'Great Expectations'. There's a line that starts, 'Love's hate...' and the 'Love's' and 'hate' are in separate stanzas. The enjambment shows how quickly love can rot into hate."
 "So Paul's mutant name ..." James murmured, "Is Enjambo?"
 Benedict patted James on the shoulder and said, "Sure, James, sure."
 "Or how about 'Miss Havisham'?" Eliphia suggested.
 For the first time in ten long, long minutes, we all laughed. We laughed at Eliphia's joke; we laughed at the absurdity of X-Men coming to life; we laughed as James and Michael as they did their Professor X and Magneto poses. I felt like I'd been stabbed with an icicle as I realised that this was what Paul meant to destroy. The very richness of our happiness was what was going to destroy it.

Part 12 - Happy Birthday

 It was only as the smell of the smoke from the candles drifted towards me that I realised what Benedict's idea was. I almost tumbled off my rope ladder with the table and when a jolt as I realised what date it was, and what that meant. It was April 21st 2014, James's thirty-fifth birthday. I gazed through the rungs of the ladder at the climbing frame.was crouched under the boldest branches of the forest's furthest out trees, the leaves tickling it's upper supports. Benedict was sat on crossed legs in the main hut of the frame and sure enough, there was a birthday cake sat a few centimetres in front of him. It had eight candles, separated into one group of three and one group of five. I prime this was to represent three-five, thirty-five.
 I whipped my head around to face James, Annisa and Hanien, who were struggling up a vertical wall made of uniform logs. I had always hatred that wall. Most of the time I used to come here, I was a little kid. I haven't grown up or out of play-parks, at least on the inside, but I used to be far too short to struggle even halfway up that wall. I'm probably tall enough to do it now, but I still hold a grudge. With James, though, I reckoned I would feel like a gymnast.
 I turned back around towards Benedict, who winked at me and raised a finger to his lips.
 I nodded and mouthed "Help?"
 He smiled and nodded at me and made a mime of lifting the cake then dropping it. I scuttled down the ladder and glanced at James. He had moved around to a triangular prism shaped framework with a floor of a sturdy-roped net. It led up the short lip of the bowl in which the play-park was held. Eliphia was nimbly picking her way up it with the grace of a faerie. James was sat halfway up the lower-right slanted support beam, watching her idly. The smell of the forest drifted from their direction and almost dispelled the stink of the candles.
 Oh, candles! I thought. Right, the cake.
 I hopped onto the first step of the climbing frame and whispered, "What do you need me to do?"
Benedict scratched his head and screwed up his mouth.
 "Um," he murmured, "Just hold this above your head and stay there."
 He gestured for me to step back down to the ground. Once I had, he steadily handed me out the cake and motioned for me to stay completely still. My hands were rigid above my head and I felt that if I moved a muscle, the cake would tumble to the ground. Consequently, I didn't see where Benedict went but I presumed that he would take the money-hang out the other side. Sure enough, moments later I heard him drop to the ground with the soft padded sound created by pine needles.
He lowered the cake off my head and smiled at me.
 "You really like him, don't you?" Benedict asked with a hint of surprise.
 "What? Who?" I asked defensively.
 "You don't have to pretend," Benedict assured me, "It's okay."
 I smiled and dipped my head slightly. "Hey, you should be used to this kind of thing though. Loads of girls 'really like' you."
 Benedict shrugged in mock-modesty and groined like we were sharing a secret.
 "Come on," he murmured.
 We circled around through the edge of the forest, skirting around the leafiest trees in a bid not to let the candles get snuffed out. Once err neared the edge of the bowl, Benedict scrambled up the lip and I handed him up the cake. From there on he carried it and I scouted past the bushes to check where James was. As fate would have it, he was playing on the monkey-bars that Benedict had dropped from only moments before. I scuttled back to Benedict and informed him of this.
 "Okay then," Benedict urged, "Start singing."
 I nodded and shouted as loud as I could, "Happy birthdaaay to youuuu!"
 James thumped suddenly to the ground and scrambled to his feet. Eliphia swung off the net to face us and everyone else swivelled around to smile at us.
 "Happy birthday toooooo you," we all sang. I glanced at Benedict as we continued, "Happy birthday dear Jamesy! Happy birthday toooooo youuuuu."
 Benedict set the cake on a picnic table and embraced James. He turned to Eliphia and I next, wrapping us into a bear-hug. By now, everyone else had gathered around James and he gestured for everyone to join the hug. Then it felt like we were in the middle of a swarm of happiness.
It evaporated after a few moments and James moved over to the cake. He crouched down and gently blew out the candles, then reached for a knife that Benedict had set down and began cutting slices of cake. I have never liked cake and it turned out Tom didn't either, so Benedict handed us a tin of shortbread to share.

 We left James alone in the climbing frame to call Anne-Marie and Brendan, choosing a spot on the net that Eliphia had been climbing on. We sprawled out on the net, relaxing in the sun that was spurting through the trees. The heat pounded on me like a tight hug from my Grandpa and the scents of the forest and the smoke mingled to create the image of a barbecue in my mind. I lay back and tried to picture climbing around the 3-D maze with James.

 All I could think of was our meeting with Paul. James didn't deserve this, especially not on his birthday. He had made a mistake. He had ignored Paul when he needed him most. But surely the fact that he'd been there for Paul even when he hadn't been required counted for something. Yes, I was excited about meeting Jan and Tara but my fear was beginning to creep up on me. Paul was unpredictable ... and furious with James.

 "So are you playing?" Isaac asked. He had directed the question toward Annisa but it jolted me back to the conversation.

 "Sure." Annisa nodded, "How about you, Jo?"

 I faltered, "I - uh - um."

 "It's okay if you weren't listening," Lucìa assured me, "We're all a little ... distracted."

 I nodded in recognition that we all shared the same fears and asked, "So what are we playing?"

 "Extreme pass the parcel," Benedict announced with a smile, "Everyone is stationed on different obstacles and you have to run between them to get the parcel to the other people. It's classic so it's the type where you unwrap layers and to stop people from dawdling so that they get to unlock a layer, I have a timer that beeps every seven seconds and you have to get the package to the next person before it beeps or you forfeit any layer you win."

 "What music are we using?" I asked.

 "'Don't stop me now'," Benedict replied, "I have it on loop on my iPod."

 We all nodded in unison, an approving round of agreement that this was in fact James's favourite song. After a few moments, James strolled over towards us and, seemingly having already been informed of the game, asked who was standing where to start.

  I hurtled away from the monkey-bars and barrelled into the log wall. I dragged myself up and thumped the package into Annisa's waiting hand. She, in turn, rocketed off towards Lucia, who was stood under a large rope swing that I didn't recognise from my last visit here. The music had been going for at least forty seconds now and the package felt like it was down to it's last layer; I had felt the edges of a box's plastic almost bursting through the thin cocoon of wrapping paper. I resigned myself to not winning the prize and shrugged. It was James's birthday, not mine.

 Abruptly, and in the middle of an elongated 'now', Freddie Mercury's voice went quiet and Hanien, who had been running towards Eliphia, stumbled to a stop.

 "Well, go on," Benedict urged, "Open it."

 Hanien tore through the paper with enthusiasm and let it fall to the ground. She stared in wonder at the flat cuboid in her hand and turned towards Benedict, who was up the climbing frame. Her face split in a wide, wondering smile.

 "How did you... ?" Hanien tailed off.

 Benedict shrugged modestly and pointed beside him at the polaroid camera he'd used earlier to take a photo of us all.

 "What is it, Hanien?" Annisa shouted.

 Hanien brought it around the circle to each of us in turn. The cuboid was an A5 photo frame that appeared to be handpainted on the back with the school's coat of arms in bold red, yellow and blue. The picture contained was the one Benedict had taken of all of us just after the flying fox. The most impressive aspect, however, was the frame's thick edge. It was lined with words we had said of each other, words we'd said of James, words James had said of us. I saw my own words, about how glad I was that James existed because he'd unwittingly brought me together with some of my closest friends.

 I smiled at Hanien and she smiled back and moved on to James, who enfolded her into a hug. I sighed and turned to see Benedict standing beside me, beaming with glee.

 "That was amazing, Benedict," I murmured.

 "Well, I know that James is important to all of you, so I figured today was too," Benedict shrugged.

 "Yes but you must have been preparing that since we got here. Did you just note down everything we said?" I asked.

 "Sort of, yes," Benedict nodded, "To tell you the truth, I'm glad James didn't win. This was for all of you."

 "Well, thank you," I smiled, "That was an incredible gift. You're a great friend."

 "Hey, have you ever had a crush on me?" Benedict asked jokingly.

 Before I could reply, or run off to the next area to hide from the awkwardness, I heard a rustling in the trees. Benedict turned around to face the sound and screwed up his eyes to try to spot what had made the sound. He shot me a warning look and held his finger to his lips like he had when I'd spotted him with the cake. I didn't think he was planning a surprise for James this time.

 I pointed at the line of dense trees and moved my arms to mime going forward. Benedict bit his lip and looked towards James, who had moved forward towards us, apparently having also heard the noise. By the time Benedict made to reply with sine sort of gesture, everyone had moved forward into a crowd around us. We shuffled forward in a clump, still quite relaxed because it was entirely possible the noise was the result of a rabbit, or a fox.

 Then it came again and, collectively, we tensed. We were all rooted to the spot as a figure emerged from behind the trees. I heard Eliphia and Lucìa gasp with me as we recognised the long hair of Jan Warren. It was tangled and as she stepped out of the trees, a leaf tumbled from it to the grond, but her face was recognisable and this was undoubtedly Jan. She stumbled towards us, barely batting an eyelid as her gaze swept past James. I'd have joked that she must not be feeling well to pay that little attention to James, if I hadn't known that there was a much larger problem in Jan's life than an illness, or the sniffles.

 "Jan," Eliphia croaked.

 "Jan?" James repeated, startled.

 "I have literally dreamt of you saying my name," Jan told him, "But I wish more than anything that you weren't here right now."

 "Why?" I asked, fearing the answer, "It's me, Joanne,  by the way."

 "Hi." Jan smiled weakly. "Look, I don't know how to tell you. Let me just show you."

 We stood rigid and tense until Benedict cleared is throat and pointed mutely towards the picnic table on which James's cake had sat. Everyone trudged toward the table and when we reached it, James motioned for Jan to sit while the rest of us crowded round.

 "Wait," I frowned, "Where's Tara?"

 "That's what I'm going to show you." Jan gulped.

Part 11 - The Tree

 For the first obstacle course we came to, which is built for people half our height, we split into teams to reach the finish first. It was a maze, which, given that the last time I'd been here was only a couple of years ago, I remembered the route through. It's boundaries were constructed of thin blue rope which scratched you if your skin slid along it at all. James and I were disqualified, since we both remembered how to get through. We took opposite edges of the maze and scuttled back and forth, yelling help to the people within.

"Eliphia!" James called, "Left! Go left!"

"Dead end, Hanien," I warned.

 Annisa and Tom were the first to reach the end, quickly followed by Eliphia and Isaac. James gave Annisa a high-five and I saw her legs almost turn to jelly. I noticed abruptly that John Green was standing beside me.

"James told me about Paul," John mumbled.

"Oh," I whispered.

"I know you're all having fun and I think that's great but I do not think James should have brought you all. I can understand him bringing Michael and Benedict and, to an extent, myself. But you're all just kids. You shouldn't have to be part of this," John shook his head.

"He asked us if we wanted to come!" I countered.

"Oh, yeah, like anyone's going to say no to spending the day with their idol," John rolled his eyes.

"He doesn't see that. He doesn't understand how we feel about him. It's part of what makes him so great," I explained.

"Look, I get that. I have idols too. I have crushes. I don't, however, follow them into the traps of people who have kidnapped two innocent women!" John exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah, that's another thing. Me, Eliphia, Pearl and Lucía were all friends with the two women, Jan and Tara," I added.

"Oh, what site?" John asked.

"Facebook."

"Oh."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?!"

"Nothing. I have nothing against Facebook. I just think that Tumblr is way, way better," John giggled.

 I spotted James calling us back over and signalled to John that we should rejoin the group.

As we walked, I turned back to John. "Did James tell you about ... Paul's views?"

"Yes. He is clearly insane," John decided, "I mean, I can understand why he might be averse to certain ship fanfiction but ... to abhor the genre altogether? For some people it's the only way they like to write. You can't just stop whole fandoms from writing. And the idea that books are the property of their writers? Pah!"

"Books belong to their readers," I stated.

"Did you just quote me?" John grinned.

"You're an excellent person to quote!" I retorted. We rejoined the group and I could have sworn that John whispered 'DFTBA', the nerdfighter catchphrase, as he left.

 "Alright, then." James rubbed his hands together. He was standing at the far edge of the circle to John and I. "And the winners are ... Annisa and Tom! Well done, guys. Right, before we move on to the next play-park, Michael was suggesting we have some lunch."

 There came a chorus of 'yes' and 'definitely' and 'I'm starving!'. Michael pointed to a spot beside a tree a few metres away. We flocked towards it and formed a semi-circle around the stout trunk. Michael, Tom and Isaac were immediately locked into a 'Noughts and Crosses' battle. James leant right up against the tree and the rest of us sat facing him.

"Okay," James began, "One time only, ask me whatever you want and I will answer. Oh, except nothing about my wife or my son."

"What's your favourite song?"

"'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen."

"Who's the most annoying character you've ever played?"

"Tom LeFroy's a bit of an arse at times."

"Can you do any impressions?"

James smirked and then slipped into Patrick Stewart mode, "Engage."

"What are you going to do when you see Paul?"

 I'm still not sure who asked that question. Even later, nobody owned up to it.

James inhaled deeply, "I'm going to try to persuade him to stop this. I'm going to ask him to give back Jan and Tara. Actually, speaking of which, could everyone who has them as Facebook friends give them a message. If they get loads, maybe Paul will let them reply to one."

 Eliphia, Pearl, Lucía and I whipped out our phones and strolled around the bottom of the tree, trying to find some signal. Below us, Michael, Tom and Isaac looked up from their tournament and suggested we climb the tree. James and Michael stood at the foot of the tree and hoisted us one after the other onto the bottom two branches. We slithered around the branches and eventually we were all high up enough to gain two bars of signal each.

"What are we saying?" Eliphia called down to James.

"Just say something hopeful about maybe getting to meet them today," James replied with a shrug.

 I opened the JMFC and typed in a message: Hey there Jan, Tara! We're all really excited that we might finally meet you in the flesh today!

 Once I'd finished, I closed the window on my phone and glanced around below me. I think Tom was winning because he kept doing little 'happy dances' every few minutes, with John Green teaching him new techniques for this. Michael, John and James kept smiling at each other and then at all of us, as if they were proud of us. James had slipped his heavy jacket back on, thrust his hands in his pockets and was now jogging around the tree to keep warm.

 Shattering the feeling of calm that had been cultivated, their came a shriek from the branch below me. It seemed that Lucìa had been trying to reach forward for better signal but had leant to far. Whatever had happened, she was now hanging by one hand from my own branch. I scuttled forward and grabbed her hand, pressing it into the branch.

"Give me the other one!" I yelled.

 Lucía wiggled her left arm through the air, urging it toward the branch. I reached over the edge of the branch, with one leg on either side of it for stability. I snatched at her hand and helped her reach the branch.

"James, can you help us please?" I shouted.

 He was already on his way. He had whipped off the jacket and the fleece - giving way to a gold 'Lord of the Rings' t-shirt below - and was holding them in his arms like a basket. His eyes were focussed with a steely gaze on Lucìa's struggling figure.

"Lucía, it's a very small drop to me, about the length of your shin. What I need you to do is keep your legs forward, so that you land in my arms in a sitting position. Michael, could you give me a little support?" James's voice was calm and level, as if he'd trained for this.

 Michael zipped over to James and, with feet planted in a tennis 'ready' position, he pressed his hands into James's back and let James lean back into him. Lucía wiggled her hands into a firmer position, then dropped gratefully into James's arms. James stumbled backwards into Michael who, with the help of Tom and Isaac, kept James on his feet. James lowered Lucía into a standing position.

"M'lady," he grinned.

"Thank you, kind sir," Lucía returned.

 I smiled at them from my branch, with my feet locked in a ring around the branch so I could avoid a similar problem. Despite this precaution, I nearly fell from my branch when Benedict Cumberbatch's voice emanated from my phone. I'd forgotten that my text alert was a line from 'A Scandal in Belgravia', the first episode of Series Two of BBC Sherlock: Sherlock saying "It's a text alert. It means I've got a text."

"What was that?!" James exclaimed.

"What did it sound like?" I retorted. I gripped the edge of the branch and swung my head round the side to meet James's eyes. "I have a reply."

 I clambered around the branches to the other side of the trunk, where the ground was soft. The area that Lucía had almost fallen onto was webbed with the roots of the tree. On this side, the hill extended upwards so the roots were buried under the surface. As I dropped to the ground, the soft floor of pine needless compressed with me and bounced me into a sitting position. I shook my head to clear it and zipped in a circle around the tree.

"Who was it?" James asked once I reached him. His eyes had widened and his voice was urgent.

"I haven't actually checked yet," I admitted. I swiped my lock screen to the side and opened Facebook.

"So it could be anyone? Like, your network provider?" James chucked.

"Yes, I guess. Oh, maybe TalkTalk got kidnapped," I muttered, "A-hah! Here it is. It's from Jan!"

 Hi, Joanne, so glad to hear from you. We're not quite there yet but somebody keeps saying to tell all of you to meet at the top of the 3-D maze. See you soon :)

"So I take it 'somebody' means Paul?" James ventured.

"Yeah, probably," I mumbled, "I put it in the JMFC so he probably didn't want to let them tell everyone what was going on."

"So what should we do until it's time to go meet them?" Michael asked.

"I have an idea," came a deep, rumbling voice from the tunnel that led to the next section of the park. We craned our necks to peer into the murky depths of the tunnel and spotted a lone figure strolling towards us.

"Who's that?" Lucía asked, bewildered.

"It sounded like Smaug to me... " James mumbled, "Oh! Hi, Ben!"

 Benedict emerged lazily from the gloom with his hands in his pockets and a bemused grin on his face. His auburn hair curled in a smooth flick away from his forehead and his slightly gangly limbs moved with grace. He wore a thin grey hoodie and a blue body-warmer, with black walking trousers. As he neared us, he picked up his speed and jogged toward us.

"So what's your idea?" James asked when he reached us.

"Come on." Benedict gestured towards the tunnel. "I'll show you."

Part 10 - Cream 'o' Galloway

The clanging sounded through the canvas walls of the tent like a syren rising from the water, beckoning us to it's call. A few feet away I spotted the worm-like figure of Tom in his sleeping bag as he wriggled into a sitting position. I took a deep breath and followed suit. Tom smiled at me as I groaned with the effort and seemed to be stifling a giggle.
"What was that clanging?" I grumbled.
"It was your wake-up call!" called James's voice, which I would have recognised anywhere.
Tom dragged the zip of our compartment toward the tent floor and struggled out into the main living area.
"Morning, Tom," greeted Michael, whose voice sounded like it was curling around every syllable.
Tom yawned and beckoned with his left hand - which was still dragging behind in the sleeping compartment - for me to follow him. We staggered out of the tent and spotted James at a large metal camping table, pouring plate after plate of cereal. I selected a bowl of cornflakes and pulled up a folding chair beside Annisa and Hanien.
"So how did you two sleep last night?" I asked.
"Not bad," Hanien replied, "But I was in the compartment next to James and Michael and James kept sleep-talking about X-men."
"No way!" Annisa exclaimed, "What did he say?"
"He kept mumbling about how he wanted Cyclops to 'beam him up'."
"That sounds more like Star Tr- Ohhhh," I realised, "Cyclops is Scott Summers. It's Scotty that beams people up in Star Trek. He must have been having a great dream."
"Yeah, he sounded pretty happy," Hanien agreed.
James whirled around to lean on the other side of the table
"So, Cream 'o' Galloway, today," James announced.

"Yep," I agreed, "I've not been in ages."

"Do they still have that big barrack full of hay?" James asked hopefully.

"I think so. But I think I was too old for it last time I was there. Or too tall. I can't remember," I shook my head, "Oh! But have you been since they added that hatch chute?"

"No... ?"

"Oh, it's great. You'll love it," I smiled.

"Yahoo!" James cried as he sped away from us down the chute. He was couped up in a cylindrical container only slightly longer than himself and was now plummeting toward the go-kart track at the bottom of a small ravine. The tube that the cylinder hurtled down was almost vertical for most of the journey but levelled out sharply at the bottom. There was then a long, flat section that James was now rumbling to a halt on.

"Alright, who's next?" Fraser, the hatch chute controller, asked.

"I'll go!" Eliphia shouted excitedly.

Fraser hauled the next cylinder up and clicked open the hatch. Eliphia clambered up onto the step and hopped into the tube. Fraser smiled and gracefully set the hatch back into place.

"What's your name?" he called.

"Eliphia."

"Okay, Eliphia. Are you feeling scared?"

"Not really."

"Well, I'm going to count to three. One, two-"

Fraser calmly let go of the rope that had restrained Eliphia and she zipped towards the ground. Fraser winked at us - Hanien, Annisa, Isaac, Tom and I - and leaned against the frame of the bridge that led to the other side of the ravine.

"That guy I sent down before her," Fraser tilted his head to the side, "Was he James McAvoy?"

"Yeah," Annisa replied.

"And the guy before?" Fraser continued, "Michael Fassbender?"

"Yep," Tom confirmed.

"Cool," Fraser smiled, "Alright, who's up next."

"Me, I think," I mumbled and hopped up to the hatch.

 I sidled into the cylinder and snuggled into its depths, happy in the knowledge that the tube's last occupant had been James. It was slightly less thrilling than the last time I had been there, maybe because I'd grown about half a foot since my last visit. What really got my pulse racing, however, was the sight of James smiling down at me as he lifted the hatch of my cylinder.

"You coming up to the flying fox?" he grinned.

"Sure," I smiled.

 James gestured toward Eliphia, who had already started up the thin, bouncy wooden bridge. We jogged to catch up with her. What we hadn't noticed, however, was that Eliphia was wrapped in conversation with a woman in the middle of the bridge.

"James!" Eliphia called as we neared, "Come and meet someone!"

James crept forward hesitantly towards Eliphia and the woman.

"This is Pearl. She's in your fan club," Eliphia gestured towards the woman, who looked as if she was about to faint into a puddle of jelly, "Pearl, meet James McAvoy."

Pearl extended a hand, which James took warmly. His arm was tense but relaxed quickly. Clearly he still hadn't got used to people recognising him.

"Hi, Pearl," James smiled, "How are you?"

"Well now I'm having the best day of my life."

"Um, thanks," James stuttered, "I'm - uh - glad to be of service. Listen, um, we're heading up to the flying fox. Do you want to come with us?"

Pearl's eyes were bright and sparkling with glee. "Yes, please."

 James nodded and sprinted past her, waving with his hand for us to follow. We thundered up the bridge, our legs hell-bent on catching us up with James. It was odd to be chasing after him this way, since doing this in any other situation could probably qualify as stalking. His form began to slip away and I called out to him.

"Hey! Slow down!" I yelled.

James deccelerated gradually and looked for a moment as if he might stop completely. He then looked over his shoulder and grinned. He winked and whipped his head back around, kicking his heels back up to full speed.

"So long, suckers!"
We didn't catch James until the queue for the flying fox, where he was standing at the back talking to a young girl. James was leaning on the frame of a fence that guarded the edge of the ravine.

"Finally!" James grinned when we reached him, "This is Lucìa. She's in Benedict Cumberbatch and John Green's group. I didn't even know they were here!"

His mouth was smiling but his eyes were panicked. With a jolt, I remembered why it was that we were at Cream 'o' Galloway. It wasn't just a nostalgic day out for James and myself. This was the day for us to rescue Jan and Tara. With a second jolt, I realised whose group James had just said Lucìa was in.

"Wait, did you say John Green?!" I exclaimed.

Lucìa nodded.

"He and his brother are the leaders of my Major Fandom!"

"Cool," Lucìa smiled.

"Oh, I'm up," James realised, shuffling forward to the platform that led to the flying fox, now that the queue in front of us had run out.

The face of the woman who was strapping him into the harness was scarlet with blush as she reached around his back and tightened the straps of the harness. James seemed caught between finding this awkward and hilarious because he kept emitting this strange, giggle, cough sound. Soon, he was in the air and zipping over the mountain bike course. By the time he'd dismounted, our entire group had been reunited in the flying fox queue.

 I was next in line. I nipped up the steps and stared unashamedly at the back of James's head as he shouted to someone beyond the barrier of the flying fox area. He seemed to come to an agreement with someone, then jogged out of the area and leant on the outside of the barrier, looking back towards me. Even from this distance, his smile switched on an amplifier inside me and everything was suddenly better in every way. The dull grey sky was suddenly a pure, clear white and, as I hurtled towards him through the air, the sensation of flying had never felt so real. Once I was dismounted and had sent the harness back up to the platform, I darted out of the area and wrapped James into a tight hug. He felt shocked at first and I could feel that he was tense but then he softened and patted me on the back.

"Thank you," I whispered.

 James didn't ask what for. He held the hug for a few seconds longer then we disengaged and watched Pearl shoot towards us. I saw the smile on her face and glanced towards James. He must have known, mustn't he? He must've been aware of the fact that my hug was not just because I was happy, it was because he had made me happy. He must have known that Pearl was smiling because of him. He had to know that at least six people here thought he was one of the greatest human beings on the planet. And yet, I honestly don't think he did. If he did, he certainly handled it very well.

 James glanced towards me and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach do forward-flips. I thought I'd got used to him being around. I thought he was just another friend. He placed a caring hand on my shoulder and I knew then that while I still saw him this way, still thought of him as flawless and incredible and talented and inspiring, then we could never be on level pegging.

"Joanne?" James asked, and I got the feeling he'd been calling my name for a while.

"Huh?" I replied, snapping out of my daze.

"I said there's someone I'd like you to meet." James used his hand on my shoulder to swivel me around.

 John Green! He might not be of interest to you, but he was the man who made me proud to be a nerd. Without him, I wouldn't read or write as much as I do. I would be a totally different person without the Youtuber who was standing in front of me. He shaped my first year as a teenager, when I was just beginning my true exam courses at high school. And now, three years later, he's responsible for who I am now, about to sit my Higher exams.

 I slid my hands into the nerdfighter salute - hands crossed over like Wolverine except with Mr Spock 'live long and prosper' hand signs instead of adamantium claws. My head was bursting with happiness as he returned the gesture.

"What is that?" James exclaimed, his hands fumbling as they tried to arrange themselves into the shape of the salute.

"It's the sign that me, my brother and our fans do," John explained.

"Okay," James shrugged, as he finally got it. I had to exercise extreme willpower to stop myself from hugging him again. James was doing the nerdfighter sign!

"So are you all going to the next bit of the park?" John asked, pointing toward the tunnel that led to the start of the obstacle courses.

"Yeah," James nodded, "Oh, wait. Pearl, you don't go to the school so I don't know. Do you want to come with us?"

"Definitely!" Pearl exclaimed.

"Alright then," James slapped his thighs with his palms and began to walk towards the tunnel.

 I followed behind him. He had taken off his heavy waterproof jacket and tied it around his waist. I stared at the fibres of the pale blue fleece he wore underneath. To me, it shone with the enhanced azure of Leto's eyes in 'Children of Dune'.