KIM POV

Sugar and spice and everything nice

That's what little girls are made of

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails

That's what little boys are made of

Smoke and stalls and painful brick walls

That's what my life was made of.

The rigid brick wall of Seaford High pressed hard into my back. I learned to ignore it. He came over and leaned his mouth down to mine, and I didn't pull away. I learned not to resist. He puffed hot smoke into my mouth, his cigar still lit in his other hand. I didn't cough or sputter. I learned to behave. He slipped a hand under the hem of my t-shirt, and I didn't tense. It would only probe him to go further if I did.

"Say my name," he growled, his friends laughing and puffing cigars of their own. They carried on with their casual conversation, this was normal for them. He brought me here every day. Behind the school with his friends and their leather jackets. I spent long nights in the shower, the tub filled with more tears than tap water, trying to scrub the feeling off of me. The smoky smell eventually went away, but the heaviness never did. It was like dirt you couldn't see.

"I said, SAY my name!" he growled louder, pressing me painfully into the brick wall, even harder than before.

"Jerry…" I moaned, my breath catching as he roughly bit the tender skin at the nape of my neck. The sound wasn't supposed to escape, but I hadn't exactly mastered the skill of keeping quiet. Jerry's hands were looped around my waist, forcing us together. My hands stayed plastered, palm in, on the wall behind me.

"Touch me, Kim." He barked, and I slowly lift my hands and place them on his chest, as if to push him away. I know better than to disobey. "Around my neck." And I hesitantly move my hands from his chest to his neck, feeling the cool metal of his necklace. He kisses me again, his tongue like tar, and releases me. I stand still. Then, slowly begin to pick up my bag. He stops me before I can take off, his icy fingers curling around my neck, cutting off my air. He brings his lips to my ear, his breath mocking me. "Just don't forget who you belong to." He snips, his words venomous. His hand releases me and I fall to the ground, coughing and sputtering. I look back at Jerry and his friends once more before helping myself up and sprinting away.

Milton Krupnick was the kind of kid who had a great sense of knowing and figuring out things, but once he did he was at a loss. He could find out why you were down, or figure out the answer to an impossible math problem, but once he did he didn't know how to advance. Mentally, he was a genius. Socially, he was a dimwit. So when Milton started up freshman year with his best friend, Kim Crawford, he noticed she had started acting differently only weeks into the school year.

At first, he had suspected puberty. Maybe this was her maturing? He knew girls changed socially a lot different than boys. Maybe she was feeling insecure? Maybe, she was trying to fit in somewhere else, drop him for the popular kids. It would hurt, of course, but it had happened to him before. He wasn't sure what to think yet, it was just too soon.

~ MILTON POV

"Hey, Kim!" I flagged her down in the hallway, right after lunch.

"Milton," she said, smiling. But it was only mouth. Her eyes weren't smiling. "Haven't seen you all day."

"Yeah, well I stopped by your house this morning, like usual, but no one was home." I said, trying not to sound too suspicious. (I was referring to our usual morning routine of walking each other to school; my house was only a few over from hers.)

"Oh. Sorry, I had a…an appointment. For the dentist; they said I might need braces." It didn't take a detective to tell she was lying. Plus, her teeth were perfect. But I didn't question it. I'd picked up a thing or two in girl mentality by now; or at least Kim mentality.

"Ooh, that's rough. Well, welcome to the club, I haven't had popcorn in three months." I laughed trying to keep the conversation light. "But hey, you missed a killer essay we were assigned in science, its gonna take hours. I'm not tutoring today, so if you want to come over and work on it…"

"I can't." she cut me off, a little too quickly. "I'm really busy after school nowadays. But maybe I can stop by after dinner?"

"Kim, you should know I don't wait that long to do my homework. Especially an essay." I countered; trying to figure out more about what she was doing after school. She had dropped after school athletics to focus on drama, and they only met Wednesday. "What are you doing after school?"

"Just some family stuff with my sister. I have to run Milton, if Mrs. Jay catches me tardy that's another detention." She said, already hurtling down the hall. "I'm sorry. Maybe another time?"

Once she was out of eyesight, I turned to walk to geometry. But I couldn't focus on anything besides the fact that Kim was hiding something. Family stuff? Yeah, right. She barely even has a family. What are you up to, Kim?

~STILL MILTON POV

It wasn't all that hard, really. It didn't take a genius, just someone who was curious enough. All I did was follow her. Simple. If she's going to lie about it, then there must be a good reason she's hiding it. She never used to lie to me before.

Kim went out of the gymnasium door and took two lefts, kept going until she behind the school. She was in a nervous hurry, like coming home when you know you're in trouble. I slowed at the last turn, and thankful that I did. As soon as Kim rounded the corner, she was met with the druggies. Did she make a wrong turn? Why was she meeting up with them?

"Look, princess is here." Jerry Martinez slurred. So they were expecting her. Kim set her bag down and twiddled her thumbs, anticipating. Jerry stood up, stretched, and advanced towards her, roughly pushing her up against the wall and kissing her; and she let him! There was no way she was with that loser. As far as I knew she had a crush on Jack.

Jerry's back was to me, but Kim's head was facing my direction. She saw me and froze. She definitely wasn't expecting to see me here. "You like that?" Jerry rumbled, squeezing her. He was still unaware of my presence. She winced in pain. His nails dug sharply into her waist, and she let out a small yelp.

"Will you SHUT UP?" Jerry shook her. "I don't want to gag you. It's hard to kiss someone when their gagged." Kim's eyes widened. I shook my head, but continued watching. I couldn't step in and help, I was too weak for that, but I couldn't find it in myself to leave her there. I needed to think smart.

But seriously- Are you KIDDING me? She might not have been trained in martial arts like Jack and I, but we've seen her moves. She definitely knows her way around hand to hand combat, so why is she letting Jerry do this? She could have him on the ground in a couple seconds, flat. The only explanation was that she was letting him dominate her? But, why? She didn't seem to enjoy it. There had to be a reason.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing, loudly. The guys looked around, trying to figure whose it was. I tripped over my own feet trying to turn the ringer off, and fell into eye sight of the stoners. All of their heads snapped to me. No one had to tell me to get up and run. I was out of there as fast as my feet could carry me. But as I was running, I managed to glance at the caller ID on my screen. Wow, perfect timing, too.

Jack Brewer

Yes, Jack will be in the next chapter. With Kim. Together. Kissing most likely. OOH.

I'm the author of Worth it and Meet the Family, and yes both of those are completed now, thought they might be taken back into consideration for a proper ending if anyone requests it.

Reviews please :)