***Misha’s POV***

                “Can I finish washing your face?” I asked Collie after a few minutes.

                He nodded and jumped back up onto the counter. I pecked his lips before wiping the rest of the blood off of his face.

                “Sorry about the hoodie,” he mumbled, pulling it over his head and holding it out to me.

                “It doesn’t fit me anymore anyways. I got too tall for it,” I said dismissively, taking it from him and trying hard not to stare at his naked upper half.

                No many how many times I saw Collie without his shirt off, I just couldn’t get over how incredibly gorgeous his body was. His abs, his muscular arms, and even the nasty scar that ran down his chest. I had asked him about the scar once, and he had told me the way he had been playing with his dad’s hunting knife and had cut himself badly when he was little.

                “You looked exhausted,” I said, offering him my hand.

                He took my hand and jumped off the counter. “I feel it,” he said, leaning against me.

                I kissed him and led him into my bedroom, inspecting his shorts to make sure he hadn’t gotten blood on those too. Well, technically those were mine too. They were just a little too long on Collie, hiding his knees.

                “Are you looking for a stain, or just hoping I have a boner?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

                I blushed. “Looking for a stain!” I cried, shaking my head at him.

                I smiled lightly, hugging him. I loved everything about Collie, even his sarcastic sense of humor. He was mean at times, but I don’t think it was always intentional.

                I released him and he flopped down onto my bed. “I’m going to lie down for a little. Go throw that shirt in the washing machine and come back,” he said.

                “Want to cuddle?” I asked with a wink.

                “Only if you’ll let me see those sexy penguin boxers again.”

                “Oh my god. Are you ever going to let that go?” I groaned.

                Collie gave me a tired smirk. “Nope.”

                I rolled my eyes and left my bedroom. I went downstairs and put my hoodie in the washing machine, turning it on and running a hand through my hair.

                I should probably warn my mom about the hoodie before she found it. She would probably think that it was my blood on it.

                Hm…I should probably lie for Collie. Maybe tell my mom that he had gotten a really bad bloody nose?

                I went back upstairs, trying to think of a lie to tell her. I walked into my bedroom and stopped, a small smile coming to my face.

                Collie was curled up, sound asleep on my bed. He looked so innocent and vulnerable when he was asleep.

                I frowned, realizing that his lip was lightly bleeding again. I grabbed a tissue and gently dabbed his lip.

                He moaned and rolled over, clutching my pillow. He settled after a few seconds and began to snore a little.

                I pulled my blanket over him and kissed his cheek, setting down next him. Seeing him injured drove me crazy. It made me angry, and I wasn’t the type of person who ever got angry.

                “Oh Collie. Why can’t you just trust me?” I asked his sleeping self sadly.

                He was such an independent person. He tried to handle his problems all by himself, and never told people when things were wrong.

                I knew something was very, very wrong at his house. But I didn’t know exactly what. I didn’t know if his parents were mean to him, or hit him, or something even worse.

                And now he was being attacked at school, and I couldn’t even protect him. He would never tell anyone who had hurt him.

                I sighed and laid down, pulling Collie into my arms. He moaned a little again, turning over in my arms and burying his face against my chest.

                I stroked his hair, trying to figure out what to do about him. He was an emotional wreck, and I don’t think he even realized it. His emotions would start pouring out in desperate anger, and then he would reel them back in, locking them up for the next time he lost his temper or became upset. It wasn’t good for him.

                I grabbed Collie’s phone and scrolled down his contact list. I dialed Colin’s number and held the phone to my ear, waiting.

                “Collie! Where the hell are you?” Colin answered, sounding alarmed.

                “Colin, it’s me, Misha,” I said, keeping my voice down so that I wouldn’t wake Collie. “I’m with Collie. He fell asleep on my bed.”

                “Misha! Is he okay? He just disappeared. He said he was going to his locker, and then he didn’t come back,” he said, which was the exact same thing Emma had already told me.

                “He’s here,” I said, wondering how much I should tell Colin. After a quick mental debate, I sighed. “He’s alright.”

                Collie would never forgive me if I got Colin hurt. So if Colin did go after whoever had attacked Collie, Collie would hate me.

                “Do you know why he left?” Colin asked anxiously.

                “No,” I lied, feeling awful for lying like this. “I’ve barely talked to him. I found him, went downstairs, and when I came back up, he was asleep.”

                “Alright. Please have him call me when he wakes up,” Colin just about begged.

                “I will,” I promised and hung up the phone.

                I set Collie’s phone down and went back to stroking his hair. After a while of laying with him, the front door opened.

                I kissed Collie’s cheek and carefully shifted out of my bed. To my relief, he didn’t wake up as I got out of my bed.

                I went downstairs, and Emma came running at me. I grabbed her and steadied her, looking down at her concerned face.

                “Where is he? How is he? What happened?” she asked in a rush.

                “Calm down. He’s upstairs asleep. Let him sleep,” I said, releasing her. “When he wakes up, he can talk to you.”

                “Dammit Misha. How long have you known he was here?” she asked.

                “Not long. I came home from class, and he was in my room. I have to leave for work in about two hours though,” I said, frowning over at the clock.

                “I hope he’s okay,” Emma said, frowning deeply.

                It was so strange. My little sister was head over heels for my boyfriend. I knew it, and Collie knew it, but it was something we never mentioned. It was just…weird.

                “I’m going to check on him,” I said, ruffling Emma’s hair and laughing when she pouted at me.

                I went back upstairs and into my bedroom. I looked over and let out a little yell, jumping backwards.

                “Jeez, am I that ugly?” Collie asked, lazily watching me.

                “I thought you were asleep!” I cried, slapping a hand over my rapidly beating heart.

                “I’m not some Disney princess. I don’t need true love’s kiss to wake me up,” he said, stretching and running a hand through his hair.

                “Would you like it?” I offered with a wink.

                He held his arms out to me and I moved into them, kissing him. Our lips began to part and reconnect, getting fired up quickly, as we so often did.

                “Collie,” I mumbled against his lips.

                “Now’s not the time for talking Misha,” he said, tangling his hands in my hair and pulling my face closer to his.

                I forced myself to break away from him and shook my head. “We need to talk about your injuries.” I told him about my conversation with his brother.

                “Misha, let it drop,” he said, sounding tired.

                “Collie, why won’t you just trust me?” I asked, feeling desperate.

                “Because I can handle things on my own!” he snapped, his emotions starting to creep out again. “I don’t need you or Emma or my brother to worry about me and try to protect me. I’m not five years old. I can take care of myself. This won’t happen again.”

                “Collie-”

                “Let it drop Misha! Just let it drop!” he yelled.

                I pulled him into my arms, his trembling giving away the fact that he was scared, not angry. He hugged me back, muttering curse words under his breath as he tried to get himself under control.

                “I’m just worried about you. What would you do if you found me covered in blood one day?” I asked.

                “I’d want to kick their asses and protect you,” he said reluctantly.

                Their asses? So it hadn’t been just one person who had hurt Collie. I tucked that away in my mind for later.

                “I won’t tell Colin or Emma if you really don’t want them to know. But if this happens again, I will ask them if they know anything,” I warned him.

                He kissed me and rested his head on my shoulder. “Whatever,” he mumbled.

                I kept my arms around him, wanting him to feel safe. He tried too hard to keep other people out of his problems, and now he was suffering.

                “Collie…you don’t have to tell me. I can’t force you to. But I just want to know why you won’t trust me?” I asked quietly.

                He looked up, meeting my eyes. His blue-green eyes were shining, the green standing out. It was something that had always intrigued me about the Archer twins. The way the blue in Colin’s eyes stuck out while the green in Collie’s eyes stuck out, as if to prove that the twins were opposites.

                He reached out, gently running his thumb across my bottom lip. He leaned up, kissing me lightly before pulling away.

                “I do trust you, Misha. The only person I trust more than you is Colin. And sometimes I think I tell you more than I tell him. But you don’t need to worry about me,” he said, taking my hand in his.

                I squeezed his hand and pressed my forehead against his, our lips nearly touching. “I worry about you more when you don’t tell me things, Collie.”

                “Misha, you don’t understand. There are just things I can’t tell you,” he said, his eyes darkening a little. “And again, you don’t need to worry about me. Just worry about yourself. I mean, have you looked in a mirror lately?”

                I frowned, pulling away from his face and looking down at myself. “Why? What’s wrong with the way I look?” I asked nervously.

                “Your shirt is tucked in again,” he said, reaching out and pulling my shirt free. “You dork.”

                I smiled softly. Ah, there it was. I didn’t think a day went by without him calling me a dork. And if a day did go by without him calling me a dork, I would be horribly disappointed.

                “Your dork,” I reminded, pulling him close.

                “My dork,” he said with a nod, kissing me.

                I laid down, pulling Collie with me. He cuddled up against me, a distracted look in his eyes. I kissed his cheek.

                “Are you sure you’re alright?” I asked in concern.

                “I’m positive,” he said. “Although my face is a little bruised now. Still sexy?”

                “Still sexy,” I confirmed, laughing.

                “When do you have to leave for work?” he asked.

                “About an hour and a half,” I said with a sigh. “I wish I could just spend the rest of the day with you.”

                “You need to save up money for that apartment,” he said, smirking a little.

                “Collie…do you think you’ll move in with me?” I asked him seriously.

                I wanted him to move into my apartment with me so badly. I had found a double bedroom apartment that I thought he would love, and almost had the money for it. Hell, I would probably get the rest of the money I needed for my birthday in less than three weeks.

                Collie and I could sleep in one room together, and use the other room in case I ever wanted Emma to spend the night, or if he wanted Colin and Ant to spend the night. I had specifically looked at two bedroom apartments for that reason. I knew Collie would have a hard time being away from his brother, so maybe Colin could spend the night every once in a while to make Collie feel better.

                The apartment itself was simple, but nice. A kitchen area, a living room area, and fairly large bathroom, along with the two bedrooms. It also had a balcony that we could sit out on.

                “I think I might, if you really want me to,” he said, making my heart flutter.

                “Of course I want you to! I can show you pictures of it online tonight,” I said eagerly.

                Living with Collier Archer…God, I couldn’t believe he was seriously considering it. I had expected him to say no because of Colin.

                But, it was also worrying me. If he was this willing to move in with me, things at home must be getting really, really bad for him.

                “Sounds good. I don’t care if it’s a cardboard box, to be honest. I just want to be with you,” he said, and blushed at how sappy he sounded.

                “Now who’s the dork?” I asked smugly.

                “You. The dork is still you,” he said, grinning and kissing me.

                “Collie, you know I love you right?” I asked.

                “I suppose I do,” he said, giving me a curious look.

                “Then will you please start opening up to me at least a little?” I asked, gently running my fingers over the bruises forming on his face.

                His expression darkened, and I knew I had said the wrong thing. He pushed my hand away from his face.

                “There’s nothing to open up about,” he said, his tone telling me that this conversation was over.

                But I wasn’t going to let this conversation be over. Bad, bad things were happening to Collie right now, at home and at school. And it was going to break him.

                “Do you think whoever hurt you will come after you again?” I pressed.

                “I’m ready for them this now. They caught me off guard today,” he said with an unconcerned shrug. But fear had flashed through his eyes, and I hadn’t missed it.

                “You’re afraid. It’s okay to admit that,” I said, leaning down to kiss him.

                He turned his head so that I was kissing his cheek instead of his lips. “I’m not afraid. They don’t scare me,” he said flatly.

                “Do I scare you?” I asked, deciding to lighten the mood before he lost his temper again.

                “Oh yes. You’re very terrifying,” he said, turning and poking my cheek. “Especially your face.”

                “Hey!” I whined.

                He chuckled and kissed me, rolling over so that he was on top of me. He pinned my wrists above my head and slowly kissed down my neck.

                “Remember when you asked me if I would have sex with you?” he asked.

                I blushed and nodded. Gah, I hated the way that word sounded. “Sex”. I had come close with Collie several times already, and it always made me sick with anxiety for the moment when we would go all the way.

                “What if I did right now?” he asked, nibbling my neck.

                My hands began to tremble as he pressed his body against mine firmly, sucking the soft spot on my neck. He moved his hands so that they were holding mine.

                “I…my sister is home,” I choked out. “And I have to go to work in an hour and a half.”

                “An hour and a half? Jesus Misha, how long do you think you can hold out for?” he asked, laughing and pulling his lips away from my neck, bringing them up and kissing my lips.

                I blushed harder. I always said stupid, embarrassing things in front of Collie. Things that would prompt him to call me a dork and laugh at me.

                He sighed and rolled off of me. “I was just asking. We always get fired up together so quickly. I know it won’t be long before we do sleep together. And yes, the thought is very appealing to me,” he said, kissing my cheek. “And you might want to cover that hickey before you go to work.”

                “What? Hickey? Collie, my parents!” I cried, slapping my hand over the spot on my neck he had just been sucking at.

                “Misha, you’re almost 20. Your parents don’t care,” he said patiently. “You freaking dork.”

                I sighed and smiled at him, kissing him. I took in his bruised appearance, and that terrified look lurking in his eyes.

                I had to find some way to protect Collie. From bullies and from his parents. But I couldn’t do that until I found a way to make Collie open up to me about everything.

                Suddenly, I found fear creeping into me. Everything Collie was keeping to himself was building up as a dangerous temper, and it was starting to break him. And I couldn’t stop the thought from pouring into my mind that Collie would ruin our relationship without even meaning to.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A.N.- Sorry if this wasn't very good! I've been getting sick, so I'm a little scatter brained at the moment.

Anyways, I was reading City of Lost Souls and I love, love, LOVE Magnus. So when I was reading one of the Alec/Magnus scenes, I was like "ALEC STOP BEING SO FUCKING STUBBORN AND JUST TELL HIM WHY YOU'RE UPSET. TELL HIM ABOUT THE QUEEN AND WHAT SHE DID. TELL HIM ABOUT CAMILLE. STOP BEING A STUBBORN LITTLE BITCH, YOU'RE ONLY MAKING IT WORSE."

...And then I realized that that's what you guys probably say about Collie XD  So, sorry about that, but now I feel your pain<3 

Hmmm, so do you guys think Misha is worrying for nothing, or do you think that Collie's sutbborness really could break them up? c;