Sean

"Sean Edgar Evans!" my mother shouted.

Her voice and the sound of my full name on her lips, caused my eyes to snap open. My mind and body suddenly wide awake, as if drenched in ice cold water.

"You better be out of that bed, Sean!" she shouted again.

I groaned, as I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I felt like complete shit this morning, and clearly couldn't catch a break considering I had my mother shouting at me. With a yawn, I turned to look at my alarm clock.

Finding that she was shouting at me with good reason, as we were late, or I was.

Grumbling under my breath, I jumped out of bed and headed over towards my closet. Grabbing and pulling on a pair of dark blue jeans, I paired it with a black shirt and my black and blue Nike sneakers, that were lying around somewhere.

Finding my sneakers lying close to my desk, I pulled them on, before rushing into my adjoining bathroom.

"Sean!' my mother and sister called, their shrill voices making me cringe.

"Sean!" they shouted again.

I rolled my eyes at their inability to figure out that shouting at me wasn't going to make me move any faster.

As I brushed my teeth, I simultaneously messed with my hair, trying to fix it into a presentable manner. I was almost done with both activities, when I heard them shout again. Rolling my eyes I spat out the toothpaste and shouted back, "I'm coming!"

Hoping that my answer would appease them for at least a minute, I rinsed out my mouth and chose to forgo doing my hair, as it seemed like a hopeless cause. Knowing that Milena was going to kill me for that choice.

Glancing in the mirror one last time, I shrugged and dashed out into my room. I grabbed my keys, phone and wallet off my desk and my backpack off the floor, before racing out of my room and down the stairs.

I was halfway down them, when I glanced up to find my mother and sister standing at the bottom. Both of them standing with their arms folded and with frowns upon their faces, looking almost identical.

Bailey – my sister, could be considered a duplicate of my mother, as they looked the same. Both of them had long blond hair, light brown eyes, a lean body build, a button nose and a tanned complexion.

For my mother, it would be like looking into a mirror, but instead of seeing her own reflection, she would see a younger version of herself.

A scary resemblance I tell you, scary.

The only discernible difference between the two was their height. Bailey had gotten at least some of our dad's genes, which resulted in her being tall, whereas our mother was short. Though for now, mom was taller than her.

"You're late," my mother chastised, narrowing her eyes at me.

"I know," I answered and grumbled, "Like the shouting wasn't an indication."

"What did you say?" she asked, raising a brow, her expression filled with irritation.

"Nothing, love you... bye," I said in a rush, as I leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

Grabbing hold of Bailey's arm, I pulled her along behind me as I rushed towards the door. Not seeing any reason to stay any longer as I didn't want to face the wrath of my mother. She was clearly in a bad mood, and I had no energy to entertain it.

We were out the door and halfway down the front steps of our house when I heard my mother call my name. Freezing in place I turned around as Bailey smirked up at me, "Ooh someone's in trouble," she teased.

"Yes," I called, turning to look up at my mother.

"You better not make a habit of this," she said in warning, before blowing me a kiss as she headed back into the house.

Shaking my head at her strange mood, I turned back around to find Bailey gaping at me. "What?" I asked.

"Unfair, if I was late, I would never hear the end of it," she grumbled.

"Well, learn to be a better daughter then," I chuckled as she stuck her tongue out at me, while we headed over to my car.

Late as we may be for school, I drove the speed limit on the way there. Not seeing the point in really breaking any more rules, as well as the fact that my mother would skin me alive if I got a fine. I drove on in silence, while Bailey was anything but, as she continuously whined about possibly getting detention and not having time to catch up with her friends.

Her constant whining was irritating me to the bitter end.

"Bailey, shut up!" I snapped, having heard enough of her complaining in the last five minutes.

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist," she retorted.

With a side glance at her, I rolled my eyes, "It's you who's got your panties in a twist. We're late, deal with it," I responded.

Bailey stared at me in slight surprise for a moment, her mouth hanging open as I usually didn't speak to her like that. Her shock though only lasted a few seconds before she huffed, "Fine."

"Why are you so grumpy anyway?" she asked a second later.

Rolling my eyes, I grumbled a response, as it was clearly a feat for her to keep her mouth shut for more than a minute. "I'm not."

"Oh sure, like I'm going to believe that," she said with an eye roll.

"Look I'm just tired okay," I sighed, as I focused on the road. Not in the mood for Bailey, and her antics, and definitely not in the mood for the day.

"Does this have anything to do with Milena?" she asked a moment later, her brow raised in question and curiosity shining in her eyes.

"No," I answered.

"You sure?" she asked with a frown.

"Yes, I'm sure. All of this has to do with a lack of sleep and nothing else, why?" I asked, irritated at her constant chatter, but also curious as to why she dared to bring up Milena.

"Well, Maya overhead her..."

"Eavesdropped," I cut in.

"Semantics Sean, semantics," Bailey insisted with an eye roll, which caused me to chuckle. "So Maya overheard Milena having an argument with someone on the phone," Bailey said with a shrug.

"And you just assumed it was with me?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Well yeah, who else could it be with?" she asked, a frown coming to her face.

"Not me, clearly."

"Yeah but they were fighting about relationship stuff. And you know how Milena can get, since she likes you and..."

"We're only friends Bailey," I said in a hard tone, not wanting to go down this road again.

Maya was Milena's younger sister, and Bailey's best friend, causing these two to be pretty much inseparable, having grown up together and having followed Milena around. Milena was my best friend and as it so turns out she has a liking towards me, one I don't reciprocate but one that my sister and her best friend keep bringing up as they have tried to set us up a million times.

Our friendship turning into a live reality show for the two.

The issue is, Milena has made it clear that she likes me, and I have made it clear that I don't see her that way. This having resulted in many fights between us, which in turn makes it understandable why the girls thought it was Milena and I arguing on the phone.

"Sorry, but you got the wrong guy," I shrugged.

"Well if it wasn't you then who was Milena arguing with?" Bailey asked, deep in thought as she tapped her finger against her chin.

Leaving Bailey to her thoughts, I continued to drive on in silence, thankful that she was now quiet. Like Bailey I was curious to know who Milena was fighting with about a relationship, not knowing she had one, but not so curious as to outright ask her.

Then again Maya and Bailey were so used to causing trouble between me and Milena, I really wouldn't put it past them to have made this whole story up.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I pulled into the parking lot of our school. Finding a free parking space, I pulled into it, only for Bailey to turn back towards me with a glare.

"If I get detention, I'm telling mom it's your fault," she huffed before getting out of my car and slamming the door behind her.

Scrambling out of the car at her audacity to slam my car door, I shouted, "You better apologize or you're walking home!" Before grabbing my backpack and heading towards the school building after her.

Once inside, I opened my bag to grab my schedule, which I had printed the night before, only to find that it wasn't in there. "Shit," I swore, under my breath, as I turned and headed back to the administration office.

"Late are we, Mr. Evans?" Mrs. Johnson, the school receptionist greeted as I walked through the door.

With a sheepish smile at her, I nodded, "Yeah. Uh- I kind of need a copy of my schedule, please?" I asked, scratching the back of my neck and hoping she didn't kill me.

She looked me over for a second or two, her hazel gaze making me stiffen before she turned in her seat. After rummaging through some papers behind her, she turned back with papers in her hand.

With strict instructions on where to sign for my papers, I did that and soon enough had what I needed in my hand. "Thanks," I said with a small smile.

"Just don't make it a habit," she said with a hard look.

"I won't," I called with a smile.

"Get going, or you're going to miss the first period," Mrs. Johnson said, just as the bell rang.

With a final glance back at the old woman, I turned and rushed out of the office. Hoping to catch my homeroom teacher in the class, before he or she left.

Making my way down the hallway, which was slowly filling up with students, I pushed my way passed people and headed towards my homeroom. People greeted me on my way, girls and guys alike, some friendly and some flirty, all of them wanting me to stop and talk.

I rushed into my homeroom class, my sneakers squeaking on the tile floor as I brought myself to a sudden stop at the sight of what I had just walked in on. A couple stood at the back of the classroom, the guy covering the girl with his body.

Their intimate moment destroyed, the moment I barged in and caused a raucous with my shoes.

"Uh-" I trailed off, uncertain of what to do.

Should I stay, should I leave? Should I say something, or should I stay silent? What the hell were the proper actions to take in such a situation? I mean, when you're at a party and walk in on such things, you just walk back out, because the music is so loud it covers your entrance. Here however, there is nothing but crickets.

"Sorry." I said, cringing at the word and the uncomfortable feeling that filled the room. "I uh- I guess I'm in the wrong class," I continued, clearly unable to shut my mouth, being the only excuse I could come up with.

Oh God, this is so awkward.

"Well Stone, I guess this means until next time." the girl spoke up, stepping out from behind...

Stone, did she just call him Stone?

My shock at the fact that the guy in the classroom was Cameron wore off in second, considering I knew my best friend's reputation with girls. He wasn't known as a player for nothing, so it wasn't really all that surprising.

When the girl stepped out into my view though, that's when the shock really hit. My eyes widened at the sight of her. My mouth dropping open for, none other than, Leah Mercer, Bad Girl of West Mount stood in front of me.

Leah Mercer, was the one who had been alone with Cameron in this classroom. She was the one who had been pressed up against the wall by Cameron... Her, Leah Mercer.

What the hell?

I stared on, in bewilderment, at the fact that she had just been up close and personal with Cameron. As those two were like oil and water, it was unlikely to find them in the same room, let alone up close and personal with each other. And yet, here they stood.

The thought alone was insane and yet it was right in front of my eyes.

What the hell is going on?

I mean, Leah was definitely not Cameron's type as well as the fact that I knew she wasn't one to fall for his tricks. What I just walked in on clearly proved me wrong though, since I had just witnessed something.

What that something was, I really couldn't say.

"You're catching flies," Leah said, breaking through my thoughts.

"M- M- Mercer?" I stammered, still stunned at the sight of her and Cameron together. Not forgetting the fact that not a moment ago, they had been pressed against each other about to do unspeakable things.

Leah Mercer was known for her reputation as the Bad Girl, but also by that of her brother's and father's. Her father had a pretty bad rap sheet when it came to West Mount City, which seemed to stretch to his kids as the siblings seemed to follow in his footsteps.

But even with such a bad reputation, Leah was still a sight to behold. Tall and strong, she was slender with slight curves. She had a square face with a button nose.

She had a light complexion with bow-shaped lips that were a natural pink colour, which contrasted perfectly with her skin. Pairing all that with her long jet-black hair and icy blue eyes, and you could definitely say that she was a looker.

You could even call her beautiful, the only downfall though was her personality. She may have the looks, and she may have the body, but the moment she opens her mouth, it all dulls out.

"As we live and breathe Evans, as we live and breathe," Leah said, brushing passed and heading towards the door.

I glanced over at Cameron to find him glaring at me before I turned to face Leah once more, needing to know what I had just walked in on.

"What..."

"Don't ask, just listen. The whole school is teeming with information on me," she said, cutting me off. "I mean one of their ridiculous stories should be accurate, right?" she asked with a wink at Cameron, before leaving.

I stood and stared after her for a full minute as I tried to wrap my head around all that I had just seen, still stunned at the fact that I had just walked in on Leah and Cameron.

"Your timing is fucking impeccable, Evans!" Cameron snapped, breaking the silence in the room and breaking me out of my thoughts.

I looked up at him to find him still standing at the back of the classroom, where Leah had left him. His emerald gaze on me and burning with frustration.

"What just happened?" I asked, my mind still not computing what it had just witnessed.

"Nothing!" he snapped at me, "Nothing because you interrupted, you fool," he carried on, his irritation palpable.

Cameron glared at me for a full minute, before hitching his bag higher up onto his shoulder and heading towards the door. I slowly followed behind him, as we were both now missing out on our first class.

"So, what was about to happen?" I called after him.

"What the fuck do you think, Sean?" he snapped again.

"What's your problem?" I grumbled back.

"I had her just where I wanted, then you interrupted. So my problem is you, Evans!" he snapped again.

Chuckling at his words, I shook my head. "Like you could win Mercer over," I scoffed.

"Well, it was clearly working. I mean look what you walked in on," he said, his signature smirk stretching on his lips.

I scoffed at his words again, shaking my head at the preposterous idea of him and Leah. As even the thought of them together didn't make sense.

"Again dude, it's Mercer we're talking about. You're more likely to score with a shark than her," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Ha! Listen to the news going around school, then tell me what you think," he scoffed, before walking off.

"Well someone clearly didn't get any over the holiday," I grumbled, as I headed after him and towards my first class. Wondering what he meant as both him and Leah had told me to listen to the rumours.

* * *     * * *

Classes flew by as I sat through them and listened to each teacher explain the year ahead. Each of them pointing out what they expected of us, like we hadn't heard the same speech at the start of every year for the past five years.

The moment the bell rang, for lunch, I moved. Grabbing my bag, I headed out the door. Ignoring the calls of my friends as I headed towards the back of the school where I knew I would find our coach.

Coming around the corner and into the hallway where the nurse's and coaches offices were, just as our soccer coach came out of his office.

"Good timing there, Evans," Coach Hicks said with a smile, when he noticed me.

Coach Hicks was a burly heavy set man, who was stout and muscular. He had an oblong face shape, with black eyes and a slightly crooked nose. He was a man who was good at sports, but not a pretty sight to see. Coach Hicks taught our gym class and was our soccer coach on the field, a team which I have captained for the last two years.

"Uh- yeah, I wanted to..."

"There are boxes in my office that need to be moved to Ms. Daniels' office," he said, cutting me off, "Here take these and do that for me, will you," he carried on, placing his office keys in my hand, before walking off.

Blinking in confusion, I stared after him in shock. Unable to fathom how I had gotten stuck doing the work of my coach. Standing there for a few minutes, I contemplated just leaving the keys in his office, before nipping that thought in the butt.

If I didn't do the work asked of me, he would kill me with practice drills. So with a heavy sigh of defeat, I opened his office and grabbed the first box. Hefting it up, I headed out and down the hallway to Ms. Daniels' office.

Balancing the box in my arms, I opened the door and flung it open.

"Are you fucking insane?!" someone snapped at me. My eyes widened at their outburst, not having expected anyone to be behind the door.

"Oh shit, sorry," I said almost immediately.

"Fucking look before opening the door, asshole!" the person shouted again, their voice taking on a hard note. Their voice, not deep enough to be a guy's, so I assumed it was a girl.

"As you can see, it's a bit difficult," I answered, rolling my eyes at her cattiness as I stepped into the office and hopefully headed towards Ms. Daniels' desk.

"That's your problem not mine, buddy," she said.

Feeling my leg brush against the desk, I gritted my teeth at the answer the girl had just given me as I placed the box down on Ms. Daniels' desk.

Turning around to face the girl, I snidely answered, "Well, I'm sorry for almost hitting you with the door, princess."

The moment my eyes connected with hers, they widened as I stiffened in shock. As the girl standing before me, was Leah Mercer. She stood there and stared back at me, just as she had this morning. The only difference being that I had just fucking called her princess.

Like, could things get any worse than this?

Her icy gaze stared into mine for a second longer, before they roamed over my body and then back up to my face. Her gaze holding slight shock within it, while still having that guarded look to it. No other emotion seeping through.

"Uh- what's going on here?" A soft voice called behind us.

The sudden intrusion of someone else in the room, bringing both of us back to the present. Looking at each other for a few seconds, we turned to find Ms. Daniels in the room. A frown creasing her forehead as she stared back at us.

"Nothing, Ms. Daniels. Just a misunderstanding," I said, scratching the back of my neck sheepishly. Knowing all too well that my sudden outburst had made what was going on between us look anything but innocent.

"Leah?" Ms. Daniels asked.

"It's whatever Golden Boy over here says," she answered with a shrug.

At the name Golden Boy, I bristled, as I turned to glare at Leah. Even though the name was befitting of the way I was and the way I acted, I didn't like the label and I didn't like the way Leah said it.

Ignoring her, I turned my attention to Ms. Daniels, a young woman who was the school nurse.

"What can I do for you two?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, before closing it again, remaining silent. As I glanced over at Leah in curiosity, unable to help my sudden need to know why she was here.

It was known that Ms. Daniels mostly got girls in here with sprained ankles because of their high heels. A fact I knew all too well considering the fact that I had to pick both Bailey and Milena up from here a couple times.

She also took care of the cuts and scrapes, we as athletes got while on the field. Although, since Leah didn't wear heels and wasn't into sports, it did make me curious to know why she had come to the nurse's office.

"I came for my general check-up," Leah said.

I frowned in confusion as I glanced over at Leah, who was making no sense at all. This wasn't a doctors office, so what the hell was she talking about.

"I'm guessing it's the usual hangover," Ms. Daniels stated a second later. Her words were unexpected and caught me off guard, as I glanced over to see how Leah would react.

Ms. Daniels dug around her cabinets, looking for something to give to Leah. While I studied Leah as I stood there, unable to figure her out.

"You know me so well, Vicky," she said.

I stiffened slightly at her words, but mostly at what I saw. I watched her in awe as she stood there and smiled at Ms. Daniels. The dark guarded look that was in her eyes was now gone, as they shone with friendliness.

I stared in awe at her, with her genuine smile, as she looked like a completely different person. Gone was the scowling short tempered girl, who prowled the halls of South Side High, replaced by someone far from her.

Ms. Daniels chastised Leah in some sense for using her first name, while Leah just shrugged it off. Watching the two of them interact for a little longer, I turned and started looking around the rest of the office.

My eyes drifted from the diagrams on the walls, to the hospital beds that stood in a row, to the curtains that surrounded them. Turning around, I took in Ms. Daniels' big desk, the cabinets behind it and then finally the door behind her.

"How did you know?" Leah asked, her voice breaking through my thoughts and musings as I turned to look at her. Standing there with a Styrofoam cup in hand as Ms. Daniels handed her a tub of ointment.

I frowned at the ointment, considering Ms. Daniels had said Leah had a hangover, and if I recall correctly, ointment doesn't help cure a hangover.

"They're one in the same Leah, and you never come in here for just a hangover," Ms Daniels said, looking at Leah with an unimpressed look.

Her words made me frown further, for that meant that Leah didn't just come here for a hangover, but also for something else. Something that Ms. Daniels knew all too well, hence her ability to hand Leah the things she needed without being told what exactly it was.

Leah turned on her heel and we came face to face once more. Her genuine smile turned back into a scowl the moment her eyes landed on me. Leah looked into my eyes for a second before she walked past me and headed towards one of the hospital beds.

Watching as the curtain closed behind her, I turned to Ms. Daniels as she asked, "So what can I do for you?"

"If she only has a hangover, why did you give her ointment?" I asked as I motioned behind me.

Ms. Daniels smiled sweetly at me before answering, "That's none of your business."

I was slightly taken aback by her words, but understood why she wouldn't explain it to me, as it really was none of my business. "So what can I do for you?" she asked again.

"Oh, uh- Coach Hicks said to bring in some boxes from his office," I explained.

"Oh, that man would use you kids for all his work if it were possible," Ms. Daniels chuckled, as she shook her head. "Thank you, Sean."

"Not a problem," I said with a smile.

"I'm going to leave in a bit, Leah should be fine so you can leave when you're done," she said with a smile, before disappearing through the door.

With a look back to where Leah had disappeared, I shrugged and headed out to once again start hauling in the boxes I was told to move. I had just brought in the second last box when what I had walked in on this morning came to mind.

The rumours that I had heard following close behind, since they tied in with what I had seen. As it may seem, I could have been wrong about Cameron after all, and he and Leah could actually be a thing.

Though I highly doubted it. But now was my chance to get answers to what I had seen and heard, since my best friend clearly wasn't so forth coming with them.

"So, what's the deal with you and Cameron?" I called out, placing the box down near the opposite end of Ms. Daniels' desk.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Leah scoffed. "Why?"

"Well it's not like it's much of a secret," I continued, freezing slightly as she burst into laughter.

Frozen in place, I listened to her laugh. As it wasn't the dark humourless laugh that she usually gave people and it wasn't a mocking one either. No, this laugh was light, and filled with actual humour, as if what I had said were truly funny to her.

My eyes widened slightly as I listened to her laugh, for it was a surprise to hear her like this. To hear anything other than a dry humourless laugh or a mocking tone out of her. It seemed that being in the nurse's office allowed Leah some freedom from being the bad girl. As I knew that in front of everyone else, we would never hear anything like this.

I was scared to speak up, scared to break through her laughter, but I needn't be because not a moment later it ended. As Leah seemed to remember who she was talking to, the room falling into silence once more.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked into the silence.

"Because, you've got things all wrong, Evans."

"How is that?"

"Because, Stone and I are definitely not a thing. The thought of that alone is absurd," she answered.

"Then what did I walk in on, this morning?" I asked with interest.

"Just a little game Evans, Cameron is known for them. You should know this," she said.

"If you say so Mercer," I called back, reluctant to believe a word she said.

"That's what I'm saying," she called, as I headed out the door once more. Off to fetch the last box from Coach Hicks' office.

I returned a minute or two later, and placed the box down just as Leah spoke up once again. "Vicky!" she called, once again using Ms. Daniels' first name, which at first came as a shock to me, but now I shrugged it off.

"Do you possibly have something for these risen ones?" Leah asked as she came out from behind the curtain.

As she walked into the middle of the office, my gaze landed on her. And at the sight of her, I couldn't help the audible gasp that left my lips, as I stared down at her midriff.

Surprise shone in her icy blue gaze for a second but I didn't dare stare into her eyes for too long, since her stomach and ribs caught my eye, with something more pressing.

Both her sides and stomach were covered in dark blues and purples, with some black in there too. The bruises seemed to criss-cross over each other as it matted her skin. I stood there, frozen in place as I stared at her in wonder, wondering what or who could have done this to her, as well as why.

The bruising on her body seemed like an uncalled for amount of abuse, and yet, that's what was right in front of me. In front of me stood Leah, the Bad Girl of West Mount, with an unbelievable number of bruises on her body, which was surprising. Yet to her it seemed sort of like another routine in life.

I could see in certain places there was some untouched skin, skin that went unscathed by the brutality that must have happened, to have caused all of this. And yet, they were so far and few in between that it all just blended together into the rest of the blue and purple skin.

"Like what you see, Evans?" I heard Leah ask, watching as she crossed her arms.

I glanced up at her for a second, before my gaze was once again on her bruised skin. I mean sure, I noticed she was standing in nothing but a black bra, but the fact that she was topless was kind of unimportant, considering how badly bruised she was.

I continued to stare as I stood there, unable to take my eyes off the damage. The sight of it was hard to look at and yet, I was unable to tear my gaze away from it. I mean, who could have done this to her? And why would they do this?

What kind of monster would do this?

What kind of person would condone such a brutal beating?

Leah must have said some things while I was stuck in thought, but I hadn't heard a word. And I could care less about what she had to say, because there wasn't any kind of explanation that she could give me right now to make me think that this was right.

That, what I was looking at, was rightly deserved.

No one deserved to be treated like this, no one deserved to have to go through this pain. Pain that I could see Leah was hiding, even if she had her damn emotions hidden behind that icy gaze of hers, I knew she was hurting.

I mean, who the hell wouldn't.

"Leah," I breathed, surprised at the sound of my own voice.

"Evans," she said in warning.

"Hmmm?" I asked, blinking and lifting my gaze up to meet hers. Her name falling from my lips in a breathless whisper, my eyes wide at what I was witnessing.

"W- W- Who..."

"Don't ask," she said in warning, as she narrowed her eyes. Having cut me off from asking questions.

"B- B- But..." I stammered.

"Don't ask, Evans," she sneered, "It's none of your fucking business."

She had once again cut me off from asking my question. I opened my mouth to ask her again, but before any words could pass through my lips, she turned and walked away from me, disappearing behind the curtain.

I stood there and stared after her for a second or two, before out of nowhere a burning anger took over.

Anger burned through my veins at the fact that she dared to be so nonchalant about what had happened to her. That she dared to not care about the fact that she was covered in bruises.

"Who did that to you?" I asked, as I ripped open the curtain she had disappeared behind, my anger pushing me.

Even though I had anger coursing through my veins, and even though I had seen her covered in bruises, I had not prepared for what I had just walked in on. As I took in another audible breath, I saw her cringe at the sound.

The sight in front of me had me frozen in place, the words meant to leave my lips now stuck between them. Both of us stiff, as she stood in front of me while I stared at her.

If the front of Leah's body was bad, then her back was far worse. She had some bruises along her back, but not so much as what had been in front. So how could her back be far worse?

Well, let's just say that it wasn't bruises that caught my eye on her back. And it wasn't bruises that made me suck in such a loud breath.

It had nothing to do with the current scrapes and bruises, that made me suck in such a breath. It had nothing to do with anything like that. But it had everything to do with the multiple scars that were along her back. Scars that were prominent and others that looked like they were etched into her skin. The sight of them was painful to see, and must have clearly been painful to experience if the damage was anything to go on.

I stared in shock at the sight, reaching out my hand as if to touch one, but pulling it back quickly as I gained some sense. Letting out a breath with her name on it, I watched as she cringed at my voice.

The sight of her cringing away from me, shocking me to the core. As the sound of my voice alone made her shy away from me, making her seem more vulnerable than I had ever seen her before. I stood there and watched her, surprised at the sudden vulnerability that she had.

For the Leah Mercer I knew was never vulnerable. The Leah Mercer I knew, the bad girl that walked through these halls like she owned the place, was never suddenly so shy and timid. And yet, that was the exact girl that stood in front of me now.

That was the girl that stood in front of me and who cringed away at my voice. And that fact alone, pissed me off.

I didn't know her as someone who cringed away. I knew her to fight back, to sass people, to be sarcastic, to be in control and yet, here she stood with none of that fierceness that I had seen before.

Here stood the bad girl who right now, seemed like a normal girl, with more baggage than she needed. A girl who I knew could throw a punch, who I knew could take on any one of the football players and yet, now she seemed like she could break like glass at a single touch.

I stared and stared, and the more I did, the more I felt anger pulse through my body. The more I felt a blinding rage build up inside me. For it angered me to see that this strong girl now stood here in front of me, dejected, with her back covered in scars and bruises.

It angered me that someone would dare hurt her like this and yet, no one would do anything about it. She wouldn't do anything about it, it seems, considering her silence.

"Leah," I said again, my voice barely above a whisper, watching as she cringed again.

My voice clearly scared her, and I didn't dare to say her name again, for fear that she might run. I wanted answers to what I had seen.

I watched her carefully as she moved slowly to apply the ointment to her skin. Showing no signs of pain, no shouts, no movement, nothing. Leah stood completely still as she worked, the silence around us filled with unasked questions and unwillingness to give answers.

She moved to close the ointment and slowly pulled her clothes back on. Seeming to pull herself into check as she did so, before she finally turned to face me.

I was expecting pain, I was expecting hurt, I was expecting some kind of emotion, but when she turned to face me, there was nothing. Her face was devoid of any emotion. Leah faced me with a tight-lipped look, her icy gaze guarded once more.

I stood there expecting something and got nothing, as I stared back at her with anger burning in my grey eyes. Shock crossed her face for a second as she tilted her head to the side, as if she were trying to decipher the feelings I had swirling within my eyes.

I was shocked at the rush of emotions I had been feeling towards her. The most prominent one being anger. I was angry at what I had seen, at what she had to endure. I was angry at the fact that she did nothing about it and I wanted to know why.

I wanted to know what happened too, but she clearly wasn't going to tell me anything.

And why would she? She didn't owe me anything.

The fact that she had taken the time to put on a brave face in order to face me, told me that she wasn't about to confide in me. And the fact that she had been surprised by my reaction, told me that she had expected something else entirely. Something I guess she had seen far too many times from other people, to expect the worst.

Even though I had surprised her with my reaction towards it all, she still wasn't going to open up to me. I mean why would she? I wasn't anyone to her other than the Golden Boy, I was just another rich kid. Just another one of the popular crowd that she despised.

And I guess she thought I would out her secret, that being one of her fears.

I guess that was one of the reasons why she wasn't going to tell me anything, and yet I wanted to know.

I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to know why it happened. I wanted to know how, but I wouldn't be allowed to because I wasn't anyone to her.

"Sean, are you still here?" Ms. Daniels voice broke through the silence within the room. Her voice snapping both Leah and I out of whatever trance we were in.

"Is anyone still in my office?" Ms Daniels called.

Her voice broke through the continued silence, making me realise that I had somehow moved closer to Leah. Standing closer to her than I had before, as I now had to look down to look into her eyes.

I took it as my opportunity to finally say something to her, to finally get some kind of an answer from her. Taking my chance to finally get her to open up, even if it was just a little. I opened my mouth, and it is as if something within Leah's head clicked.

She broke eye contact with me and moved quickly. Grabbing everything, she moved passed me and walked out from behind the curtains, leaving me to stand there with my mouth slightly open. My unasked question still lingering on my lips.

I heard Ms. Daniels talking to her as I stood there, deep in thought. Contemplating all that I had just seen. I knew that I should feel pity, that I should feel sorrow on some level, and I did, but along with those feelings I also felt anger.

Anger towards the people who dared to hurt her, anger towards whoever allowed her to go through that. I felt a burning rage that made me want to hunt down every person responsible for her pain.

After seeing that, after seeing her like that, I somehow felt responsible for Leah. I felt a need to protect her. To make sure that nothing like that happened to her again. I couldn't explain the feeling, it was just there.

Allowing all those weird and unwanted feelings that Leah had brought about to rush through me, I finally felt normal again. So with my mind cleared on what I had seen, I turned and stepped out from behind the curtain.

An audible breath of surprise being sucked in caused me to glance up, to find Ms. Daniels standing with her hand on her heart.

"Good lord Sean!" She screeched in shock, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

With a small chuckle, I apologized as I walked towards her desk. Ms. Daniels glanced at the curtain and then me and then at the door, a frown creasing her forehead.

"What happened?" she asked in a small voice, glancing back at her office door.

"Nothing," I answered.

"Something must have happened," she said glancing at me sceptically.

The scepticism in her voice told me that she knew I was lying. The frown on her face, a clear tell tale sign of that too. But even though she knew, I wasn't going to tell her what I had seen, nor was I about to ask her about it.

Standing there a little longer, I stared back at the bed where Leah had been, before I turned to Ms. Daniels to find her watching me carefully. "Nothing did," I answered, before walking out of her office just as the bell rang for the end of lunch.

* * *      * * *

Chapter 5 - Done and Dusted...

I hope it was a good read and kept you glued to the pages. I know nothing major really changes within the first few parts but things will be picking up... I have rewritten this story a lot and I'm sorry for it. But perfection is what I strive for...

Or the semblance of it...

So vote and comment your thoughts - I would really like to know them.

- Orlaith