Found Love

Chapter 2: Bruises

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I'm going to try to finish this story, but I have a tendency to procrastinate. Sorry if you guys actually want to read and I'm taking forever. You just have to annoy me half to death so I can get a move on. Thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter! I appreciate someone reading this story, since it took me a while to think about it.

A HUGE thanks to ADashOfInsanity for lending me THe Boy WIth The Butterfly Wings. If not for her, I wouldn't have this story. All rights to THe Boy With THe Butterfly Wings go to her, so noone try taking it or I'll have a lawyer after you guys. I'm serious. And also, this story is dedicated to ADashOfInsanity, who inspired me to write this story. =D

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! Stop nagging me Nintendo! You just want me to feel bad! *sniffs loudly*

Enjoy and reviews are welcome! :D

Chapter two: Bruises

It was Peach's voice, quivering with apparent fright. "II d ... d ... don't have any money. Mymy parents didn't give me any. I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted some. If I ... I asked, maybe they'd give me some." One of the voices, a girl's by the sound of it, shrieked withlaughter. "You hear that? She's sorry that she doesn't have money for us to take!" The rest of the voices laughed along with the first. Agirl asked, "So what do we do to her?" The other seemed to consider. "Let's give her a proper welcome to the campus, shall we?." There was the sound of ruthless laughter and then Peach cried out in what could be only pain. The girls laughed again, and there was the sound of knuckles making contact with bone. The lockers rattled loudly as apparently Peach slammed into them. Marth couldn't bare to hear noises of abuse. He rushed around the corner just in time to see Peach receive another blow to the stomach. She was cornered by a pack of burly looking girls. Marth instantly knew these girls. These were the girls who roamed around campus, terrifying younger students. His dislike became evident when Peach slumped to the floor and curled up. One of the girls kicked her to the side, taking her backpack and dumping its contents onto the floor. All her books and other possessions fell out. After finding nothing of interest, the girls discarded the backpack. They were about to leave when Marth finally found his voice.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" At the sound of his voice, the group broke out into a run. They turned the corner, but Marth did not bother chasing them. It was useless doing that. They were bigger and stronger than him. Plus, there was five of them and only one of him. He ran towards where Peach lay, and knelt beside her. He gently touched her shoulder, and she seemed to instinctively flinch. She looked up and was met with a pair of cerulean eyes full of concern.

"Are you ok?" His voice was laced with concern. She nodded, unable to answer. Her throat was full of tears she was trying to choke back. "I saw what happened. It didn't look so well. And see, you have a bloody nose." He fished a packet of Klenex from his bag and handed it to her. She shakily took the packet, nodding her thanks. She pressed a few tissues to her nose, stemming the flow of blood. "Are you sure you're ok? You seem pretty shaken." She nodded, still not answering. Marth suddenly looked at her full in the face. He gasped at what he saw. She bore a bruised, swollen black and purple eye that was developing quickly. There were cuts and scratches across her face, and it looked like her jaw was broken. At the horrified expression on Marth's face, Peach finally burst into tears. She turned and ran quickly around the corner. Marth tried to catch up to her, but that girl was speedy. She was gone from his sight in a matter of seconds. He swore loudly before turning to retrieve his bookbag from the floor, where he had dropped it to help Peach. He was about to head for the cafeteria before he noticed that Peach had left her books and bag on the floor. He hesitated a moment before stooping down and scooping her things into his arms. He carried it with him, heading for the cafeteria and his friends, who were probably wondering where the hell he was.

"Where have you been?" Zelda demanded as he approached his friends' table a few minutes later. "You've been gone for twenty minutes. How long does it take you to go to your locker and back?" Marth shrugged and took a seat next to Samus, across from Zelda and Link. "I had to make another pit stop." He reached for a basket of celery sticks and munched aimlessly on one. His mind was still reeling from what he had heard and witnessed. Link raised an eyebrow. "Why? What happened? Did you have to run an errand for one of your teachers? You're a target for attension from your teachers, you know?" Marth shook his head. "It was nothing like that at all." He suddenly put down the celery stick he had picked up. He had lost his appetite. "Marth, we can tell something's bothering you, so tell us what happened." Samus spoke up from beside him, startling him. He had forgotten that she had been there. He had noticed that she was there when he had arrived, but it seemed to have slipped his mind. He wondered why she was even sitting with them. She never did. Anyways...

So, he told them. He recounted what he had overheard and seen. After he had finished, there was total silence amongst his friends. Finally, Zelda spoke up. Her voice sounded appalled. "And she didn't ask for help? From you, I mean?" Marth shook his head. "No. Whenever I asked her a question, she would just nod. Then, when I saw her black eye and all those cuts, she ran away. I think she started crying. I don't know." Link whistled. "That's tough. It's only her first day here, and she's already being bullied. That must suck." Everyone was silent and then, "I don't think this is the first time she's been bullied." Zelda had spoken yet again. Marth raised an eyebrow at her. "But Zel, this is only her first day. It's not like-" He was interrupted by Zelda, who sounded impatient. "I know that. I mean, maybe there's something going on at home or something. Yesterday, when I was going to sleep, I heard her crying. She sounded really bad." Marth frowned. "Or, she could have been homesick. I heard crying too, but I had thought that I imagined it." Everyone sat in thoughtful silence. Then Samus spoke. "Either way, we must not get involved." They all stared at her, shocked. "But-" Marth began to rebuff, but Samus cut him off. What was this, cut-off-Marth-day? He couldn't help thinking. "We must not interfere because we don't know who she is, or what her story is for that matter. She is new and it is her first day of school, so maybe she is just homesick like Link mensioned. We should not meddle, at least for now. Get to know her a little bit and try finding out her story. Then, and only then, we can act. But for now," she began collecting her things as the bell rang, "for now, just watch her from a distance." She left to her Phys Ed class, leaving everyone in silence. Finally, Link spoke up. "She's right, you know?" The other two nodded. Indeed, she was right. Marth suddenly noticed that Roy was missing from the group. "Hey, where's Roy?"

"He was recruited to help Ms. Kolt clean the lab for tomorrow's experiment." Link sniggered. "You should have seen his face. Priceless." The conversation moved onto lighter topics, but even when Marth left with his friends to his next class, Calculus, he had a slight headache. Before going to class though, he made a short stop at the dorm, where he left Peach's bag on the living room couch. He made a mental note to ask if she was ok later.

The rest of the day flew by in a blur, and by the end, Marth had a bigger headache. Roy had eventually joined them, shaking his head and looking irritated. Marth was quick to fill him in on lunch's events as they walked into their dorm and sat down at the kitchen table. "Samus is right if you look at it that way. We hardly know her, so we should get close and then pounce." Link laughed and Marth scowled. "Don't say it like that."

"Like what?"

"Like she's prey and we're the predators. She seems … different somehow. I just can't put my finger on it." Indeed, this thought had been nagging Marth all through class. It had occurred to him during a particularly boring Nintendean History class. Now, it wouldn't stop bothering him, and he was putting his thought to the test. "I mean, just from the way she has acted so far has proven that. She's not bouncing around the walls being happy and excited like every other new student usually does. Maybe, just maybe, there's something different about her that's an important factor." His friends agreed with him. Zelda stood. "I'm going to make dinner. So, all of you, get out. C'mon, out with you all." The rest cleared out before Zelda used her magic to personally remove them from the room. They had all experienced Zelda's personal removal from various places, and it wasn't a joyful memory. Marth particularly remembered, and was one of the first to leave.

As they entered the living room, Marth noticed that Peach's bookbag was still where he had left it. Had Peach noticed it? Had she even come here like he had thought she would? He picked it up, deciding to give it to her. Maybe she was in her room and hadn't noticed it.

"What are you doing?" Roy asked. He sprawled out on the carpet and opened his English textbook. "I'm going to give this to Peach. She probably didn't notice it." Roy rolled his eyes. "I swear, soon you'll become her personal stalker." Marth grimaced. "I'm not like that. I just want to make sure her first few days aren't rough like mine were." He headed upstairs. He knocked on her door, it being the third door down the hall. The plaque read: 'Zelda and Peach' . before knocking, he silently pressed his ear against the door. Inside, he heard the sounds of sobbing. Tentatively, he knocked on the door. He heard a gasp from within and the sound of fumbling fingers unlocking the door. Peach cracked the door, one light blue eye visible. It looked watery, as if she had been crying. Marth cleared his throat, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Err, Peach? I brought you your bookbag. I thought you didn't see it." He stood there, as she stared at him through the crack of the door. Slowly, the door opened and she stood in the dorrway. Her hair was messy around her soft face. Her eyes were puffy from crying and, her black eye and various cuts … weren't there. Marth stared. He could have sworn she had had a black eye earlier. But now, her face was perfectly fine. The bruise that should have been there from the punch to her face wasn't there. Actually, all signs of today's events should have been present. Not even the apparent broken jaw was visible. Marth couldn't help staring. It just couldn't be true. She wordlessly stretched out her hand for her bag. Marth handed it over in a daze. She quietly thanked him and closed the door. Marth stood there for a minute. It couldn't have been true. It just couldn't. He himself witnessed her receive the blow to the face that had given her the bruises. But now, now he didn't know.

Marth headed off to his shared room, deciding to miss dinner. He lay on his bed, head pounding with confusion. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. It was so confusing. Finally, he opted for going to bed early. Sleeping always helped him whenever he was confused or he had a headache. He prayed that everything would straighten itself out in the morning. Before he drifted off to sleep, Marth was pretty sure of two things. One of the things was that as Peach had opened the door, Marth could have sworn he caught a glimpse of an array of what seemed to be makeup on her bed. The second thing was, he hadn't done his homework! Damn, he was in trouble tomorrow.

_End of Chapter 2_

A/N: I know, it's kind of short, but I'll try to make it longer. See, I finally updated! THis is a big milestone for me, since I hardly ever update anything. Anyways please read+relax+review! :D

~FE