Sighing as she looked out of her window, the young woman propped her head in her hand, focused on the passing blur of the street, she could hear her father talking to her, but she was hardly paying attention.
"Aya," she finally heard, jumping lightly. "Are you listening to anything I've said since we left the house?"
"I am sorry, Papa. My mind is occupied, and I will admit that I have not heard most of what you have said since we left the house," Aya said, a faint sheepish blush crawling up into her face.
Her father smiled, shaking his head. "It's alright, sweetheart. I was just saying that we're getting that new transfer student, from the Sapphire Academy, and I was hoping you'd show her around."
"WHat is her name?" Aya asked, tilting her head quizzically.
"Her name's Ghia'ta. Kind of a weird name, almost sounds Italian. You know, that like woman on the Food Channel," Hal said, smiling as they pulled into the parking lot of the school. He saw how anxious Aya was, and he sighed. "Aya, you know he doesn't know you exsist, right?"
"You are correct, but my goal before the end of this semester is to make sure that the anger he feels is misguided, and that he does not have to be stuck in that miserable lifestyle with the Atros gang," Aya said, turning a defiant glare to Hal. "Just because you refuse to help him, Papa, does not mean he is a lost cause!"
Hal looked down, reaching over and putting his hand on Aya's shoulder. "Aya. Calm down," he said. "Look...I know that boy seems like a fascinating case to work on, to try and break his shell, but sweetheart...you can't knock down what doesn't want to be shattered."
"It does not mean I cannot try, Papa," Aya said, looking up at Hal. "I sit next to him in my Advanced Placement Chemistry class. We work on projects as a team over seventy-five percent of the time. There is a kindness under the anger he exudes, and I wish to find out what it is. Perhaps...I can coax the person underneath out of the shell he hides in, if only for a moment."
Hal sighed, nodding. He knew that when his daughter put her mind to something, there was no changing that. "Alright. Just don't spend all of your time thinking about it," he said.
"Of course not, Papa. I would never do that," Aya said, opening her door. "I will see you at lunch." She leaned over and kissed her father's cheek, getting out of the car and walking towards the school, her book in her arms and hugged close to her chest. "Razer, I will find the good man under the anger."
_
And find the good man she did. But, three months before the end of their junior year of High School, Aya and Razer had begun a tense relationship with each other, neither knowing how to persue it. One night, after leaving the movies late due to their show not starting on time, members of Razer's old gang had cornered them.
"Zox, let us pass," Razer said, standing in front of Aya, the girl holding to his arm. "Please."
"Listen to that, Bleeze!" Zox laughed, grabbing a knife from his pocket, the glint from the streetlight reflecting off of the blade. "Mr. Tough as nails sayin' please. I don't believe that crap!"
"I heard him, Zox," Bleeze said, her velvety voice wafting through the street as she approached Razer. "And to think, this is the same man that six months ago treated me like an object in the bedroom. A far cry from the savage lover I knew."
"That was a life ago, BLeeze. And you were one of many mistakes," Razer said, pushing Aya backwards lightly. "Go home, Aya. Please. I'll find you there."
"No! I can't leave you!" Aya begged, running back up and grabbing Razer's arm again. "Please!"
Razer sighed, dodging a swing from Bleeze and knocking her backwards, hearing Aya move and slam into Zox, kicking him in the chest. "Aya, be careful!" he yelled, slamming into the ground as Bleeze tackled him.
"You know Atro wasn't happy when you left us for the goody-goody," Bleeze said, grabbing Razer and throwing him back, the young man standing up. She drew her own knife, rushing forward to stab Razer.
Razer closed his eyes, not wanting to fight back anymore. He heard the knife plunge into flesh, but never felt it. He opened his eyes and saw Aya, her white and green shirts becoming stained with crimson. "Aya...?"
"Foolish girl," Bleeze growled, slapping Aya out of the way before picking Zox up from the ground. "Ugh, Zox, loose some weight, you fat tub!" She pushed him forward, both running from the scene.
"Aya," Razer said, kneeling down and putting his hands on her stomach. "Aya, no. Come on, stay with me, please." He ripped his jacket off and pressed it to the knife wound, slowly drawing the knife out and setting it down. He reached shakily for his phone, dialing emergency services. After giving them the location, he kept pressure on the wound. "Aya, what were you thinking? Why did you do that?"
"People...always do...things for the...person they love," Aya whispered, wincing as a cough ripped through her. "I could not...let you die."
"Aya..."
"Razer, please do not be sad," she whispered. She smiled weakly through the pain, reaching up and putting her hand on Razer's cheek.
The sounds of the ambulance broke the night, Razer getting moved out of the way before being picked up by Hal, Aya being loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital. "What the hell happened?!" Hal yelled, shoving Razer into the wall, getting in his face. "What the hell happened tonight!?"
"BLeeze and Zox...the second and third in command of Atros' gang," Razer whispered, recounting the fight and how Aya saved his life. "And now...she's going to die because of me. And someone else I loved will die because I failed to act or acted too late..."
"No, she won't," Hal said. "You called 911 at the right moment, Razer. She's going to live. Otherwise, I'll kill you myself." He pushed Razer towards his car, speeding towards the hospital.
Several hours passed, Razer never sitting down for long, not even when Hal shoved him into a chair. The doctor came out, giving Hal a list of what happened with Aya, leading to Razer's face falling as he spoke.
"Is she going to live?" Razer asked, looking at Doctor Apsa.
"Yes," the Doctor said, nodding his balding head lightly. "SHe will, but she will be in considerable pain for the next months. THat stab wound went in deep. She'll be unconscious for a while due to the medication she's been injected with, but we see her being out of here in a few days. She's in room eight fourteen upstairs. You're welcome to go-"
Razer didn't hear the rest. All he needed was the room that Aya was in, and he was running full force down the hall, missing the elevator. "Gnartz!" He snapped, looking back and busting into the stairwell, racing up flight after flight of stairs, coming out on the eighth floor and blasting down the hallway again, skidding to a halt beside the door. He caught his breath, doubled over as his ribs and chest burned with the need for oxygen. "Should...not...have run that fast...oh..." He took a few deep breaths, walking into the room and seeing Aya hooked up to various machines that monitored her heart, breathing, pulse. He sat beside the bed, taking her left hand and being mindful of the IV in the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry I got you hurt, Aya. It was never my intention..."
He stayed beside Aya's bed for four days, leaving only to return to his own home and shower and change clothes, coming back immediately after. The fifth day after she was stabbed, Razer came back to hear Hal talking to Aya, hearing her giggling about something from the television.
"You know he hasn't left except for maybe an hour a day," Razer heard Hal say, imagining the look of surprise on Aya's face. "That boy...got the medics there and stayed here until I made him go home and shower and change. He should be back soon."
"I hope so," Aya whispered. "I took the knife, Papa, because..."
"You love him," Hal said, smiling softly. "I Know, Aya. Carol did the same thing once. You remind me a lot of her. Selfless, brave, willing to jump into danger for those you love."
Razer knocked on the door, walking in. He smiled softly, moving to Aya's right. "You're awake," he said, taking her hand again. "I was..."
"I know, Razer," Aya said, giving Razer's hand a gentle squeeze. "Papa was telling me you did not hardly leave my bedside."
"I couldn't," Razer said. "I'd try, but...I didn't want to leave." He sighed softly, resting his head against Aya's knuckles, closing his eyes. "I thought I'd lost you..."
"You will never lose me, Razer. I promise you," Aya whispered, lifting Razer's head to look into his eyes with her own peircing electric blue ones. "I will never let you lose me. I love you too much to let anything happen that could seperate us."
"And I love you too much to let you get hurt for me again," Razer said, tapping Aya's nose playfully, making her giggle before she winced and held her stomach. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't make you laugh."
"It's ok," Aya smiled. "Just some minor pain that I knew would happen." She laid back, sighing softly. "Though I will admit, the walls of white will get boring after some time."
"You get to come home tomorrow," Hal chuckled, smiling softly.
"And I promise not to leave you again," Razer said, smiling warmly.
"Thank you," Aya said, smiling softly.
Aya was released the next day, Razer being moved in to her house by Hal with not many protests from the young man. People talked about Aya and Razer in school throughout the rest of the Junior year, forgetting about it by the start of Senior Year. Life would hold many adventures for the straight laced coach's daughter and the Atros Delinquient, but it was nothing they could not overcome in time with each other's help.