I wake up the next morning, my head spinning. The events of last night come rushing back to me and I have to bite my tongue to keep from crying out. Sighing, I get out of bed and walk into the bathroom, quickly getting dressed. Mom greets me as I walk downstairs, her smile fading as she notices my expression. "What's wrong?" She asks, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"I need to tell you something." Taking a deep breath, I tell her everything. An hour later, I finish.

Mom stares at me, her face unreadable. "You need to stay away from Drake. It's for your own good. I promise."

"I will," I lie. A few minutes later, I leave my house, walking to school. As I walk into school, I see Drake. He meets my gaze and I look away, heading to my locker. He follows me, grabbing my arm. "What?" I snap.

Drake visibly flinches, the hurt in his eyes as clear as day. "Can we talk?" He asks quietly.

"I have nothing to say to you." I wrench my arm out of his grasp, a rush of dizziness hitting me.

He grabs my arm again, steadying me. "You okay?"

Black spots swim in my vision and I blink furiously to clear them. "I'm fine."

I avoid Ross as much as I can during class, which, admittedly, isn't as hard as I thought it would be. After school, I'm walking home when I hear a twig snap behind me. Whirling around, I'm met with a pair of familiar grey eyes. Ross.
"What do you want?" I ask, trying to keep the exhaustion out of my voice.

"I wanted to see what it was that Drake saw in you." He walks closer to me, running a fingertip down my arm. I bite back a cry as my skin tears and I feel poison enter my veins. Moving has become impossible as the poison quickly takes effect.

Ross starts to speak again, but is quickly cut off by a snarl as Drake appears in front of us, his expression angry. "Get away from her," he growls. Ross stands his ground, ever so slowly inching closer to me. Before he can even get close, though, Drake lunges at him, snarling. Ross tries to fight back, but is no match for Drake. Minutes later, the fight ends with Ross quickly limping away.

Drake rushes over to me, scanning my body. "I'm okay," I mumble, but he shakes his head.

"He's going to pay for what he did." The anger in his voice terrifies me. A shiver runs down my spine as I realise who he sounds like: Ross. Looping my good arm around his shoulder, he walks me home.

I'm vaguely aware of Mom surrounding us, her concerned voice making my heart hurt. Drake's strong arms support my limp body as he lowers me onto my bed. He lays beside me, his fingers laced through mine. "I'm right here," he whispers. I lose consciousness seconds later.

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