A Tina/OC fanfic. I really love reviews. They inspire me. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

xo, tori.

"Tina, tell me that you love me."

His voice was forceful, but that was nothing new. Mike had changed drastically over the past few months. His dad had left his mom and it caused a lot of tension within the Chang family. He would come to me for support, but when I wasn't able to fix things, he got angry. That's when it all started. He used to make me happy and feel safe. Now the only time I'm happy or safe is when he is far, far away from me.

"I love you." My voice was shaking and I fought back the urge to burst into tears. I couldn't show weakness. He fed off of my weakness. I guess he could tell I didn't mean it. Mike grabbed my arm, just like he usually did before he raised his hand to me. I felt his strong hand pierce my cheek, sending a sense of shock throughout my entire face. "Please, Mike. Please," I begged as I pressed my back up against the cold lockers, trying to escape being hit again. He grabbed me again. His grip was strong, all thanks to his years of dancing. It was times like this that I regretted the fact that Mike was a dancer. He was too strong to fight back.

His olive skin turned red; the anger in his eyes was obvious. "Tina, I have been absolutely nothing but amazing to you. I needed help and you couldn't help me. You brought this upon yourself," he said in a low growl. I brought this upon myself? This sounded like a cruel joke. Hell, my life was a cruel joke anymore. I couldn't escape him. I've tried. Every time I try to end it, he threatens me. After many failed attempts at leaving, I just stopped trying.

Finally, Mike started walking away. I no longer saw the guy that I fell in love with. I saw a monster. "I need to get to class," he said as he made his way down the hall. He turned back to face me, his eyes calm, just as if nothing had ever happened. "Oh, and Tina, if you tell anyone about this, you're going to be sorry."

He disappeared around the corner and I felt relief wash over me. I was safe, for now, at least. I let out a long cry that was somewhere between pain and terror. I slid to the ground and sat there, resting against the cream colored locker. How could nobody see how terrible he was? I mean, he had just assaulted me in the middle of the hallway during school! I contemplated telling someone able what had happened. Suddenly, Mike's words came into my mind. If you tell anyone about this, you're going to be sorry. I knew he wasn't over exaggerating. I knew what he could do, and it wasn't pretty. I had marks all over my body proving that he wasn't fronting.

I touched my cheek. It was burning from where his hand had been. I knew just by the warmth of it that it was bright red instead of my usual olive tone. I could tell that he didn't love me anymore and I was far from loving him. "What did I do to deserve this? Why me?" I asked myself out loud. I needed help and you couldn't help me. You brought this upon yourself. Mike's words haunted me like a ghost and I knew they wouldn't fade until his next attack.

"You haven't done anything," I heard a soft male voice call from down the hall. My eyes were blurry from all the tears and the voice didn't sound familiar. Had someone really seen what Mike did to me? What if he told? Mike would really hurt me if someone found out. The footsteps grew closer and the guy sat down next to me. "Here," he said, his voice gentle and kind. He handed me a tissue that he held in his hand.

"Thank you," I mustered softly, my voice broken. I wiped my eyes with the white tissue and looked at him. He still didn't look familiar to me. "Who are you?" I asked, not wanting to sound rude, but I wanted to know. After all, he was the only person who had seen the way Mike acted toward me and I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to tell anyone.

"I'm Penn Roth. I just moved here from Pittsburgh."

"I'm Tina Cohen-Chang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tina."

I pushed my jet black hair out of my face, revealing the hand mark that he printed on my cheek. Penn turned his attention to the large red mark. "He did that to you?" he asked, his voice surprised. I touched my cheek softly and noticed the sting that came over it when I touched it. Even the slightest pressure caused it to burn.

"Yeah, but it's nothing new." I pulled up my sleeves and exposed an uncountable number of blackish-blue bruises on my arm like a sleeve. Most were from when Mike would grab me. I don't know why I was showing him this. He was the first person that I showed them to. Nobody knew. I always thought that somehow this was my fault and I felt guilty. Maybe Mike was right. Maybe I should have done more to help him with his family. Maybe I did bring this upon myself. Without giving it a second thought, I felt my eyes starting to burn before a few tears fell, landing on my jeans. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I was scared for my life.

I let my head fall back against a locker that was behind me. Mike had finally cracked me. He pushed me over the edge. I don't know if he felt like he needed to or he just wanted to, but Penn put his arm around me, trying to consol me. "It's going to be okay," he whispered softly. Hearing his reassuring words made me feel safe for the first time in months. What was I thinking? I just met this guy five minutes ago. But he made me feel safe and I liked it.

Penn made his way to his feet and looked at me. His blue eyes were hooked on mine. I got a jittery feeling in the pit of my stomach. He extended his hand out toward me, his pink lips turning up into a smile. I slowly rolled down the sleeves on my cardigan and took his hand, standing up. "Why are you being so nice me to?" I asked him, shaking my head. He didn't know me, yet he was acting like he cared more about me than my own boyfriend was.

"I don't know… I could never let a pretty girl go though that alone," he said. I saw his face burst into a soft pink blush behind his tan skin. He's was absolutely adorable with his ocean blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. Wait, I couldn't think that. I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend was a boyfriend, no matter how bad he treated me. What if Mike found out that I was having a conversation with another guy? He wouldn't like that. He would get mad, and I avoided making him mad at all costs.

"I… I need to go," I stammered, realizing that my hand was still placed in his. I pulled away quickly and took a few steps back. I started walking down the hall quickly, wanted desperately to turn back to look at him. But if I looked back, I knew I wouldn't be able to leave. Penn was like a magnet. I had to pull away from him, and it took all of the strength I had left to do it.

"Wait, Tina, where are you going?" he called after me.

"I have no idea," I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear me.

I walked through the door of the school and started down the street, walking aimlessly with no direction.