AN: I uploaded this earlier, but to the wrong story. MAJOR fail on my part. I apologize dearly.

xo, tori.

I came to school the next day, hoping to avoid Mike—and Penn—for as long as possible. I didn't want Mike to know I was socializing with other guys, and I knew that if I saw Penn, I would have to stay with him. There was something about him. I couldn't describe it, but he made me feel better. Penn made me feel like Mike wasn't going to be able to hurt me anymore. It felt like he could protect me.

"Hey, Tina." I froze at the sound of an all too familiar voice. I turned around and saw Mike looking down at me, a loving smile on his face. He looked as if nothing was ever wrong between us. I never knew how great of an actor he was until things started to go downhill. He had a perfect exterior but, inside, he was a mess.

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, gathering all the strength I could. "Hello, Michael," I said bitterly. I only called him 'Michael' when I couldn't stand to be near him. He put his arm around me and looked at me, a look on his face that said, 'what did I do'? I pulled away quickly and continued walking down the hall.

Mike ran after me. Why the hell does he always have to run after me? He doesn't give a damn about how I feel, so why must he chase me? "Babe, what's wrong?" he asked me, the fake concern in his voice was evident. His brown eyes looked down at me, searching for answers.

"Don't you dare 'babe' me!" eI yelled at him. The softness in his eyes faded to pure fury. Great, I really did it this time. Now I knew what was coming later. A few hits, maybe a punch or two.

"What did I say about yelling in public?" he growled in a low whisper.

"Mike, why do you do this to me?" My voice didn't sound like I was asking him a question, but begging him to not hurt me anymore. I learned months ago that begging him didn't work, but I figured I'd try one last time.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I don't do anything to you. I'm fucking perfect." He squeezed my wrist tightly, knowing that it was going to leave a large bruise. Finally, he let me go.

I'm not sure why, but I felt the need to cry. That's all I ever did, cry. I ran away from Mike. I ran away as fast as I could. I found myself speeding toward the choir room. I opened the door and stood in the middle of the dark room. After only a moment or two, I felt two arms wrap around me. I expected them to throw me across the empty, quiet music room. I expected them to be Mike. But the arms didn't throw me. Instead, the held me in a soft embrace.

I turned around and saw two deep blue eyes looking at me. A hand wiped away tears that I didn't even know I had cried. Penn. I know I shouldn't have, but I threw my arms around him, in desperate need of some stability. He ran his hand threw my hair jet black and landed on my upper back. "You'll be okay, Tina," he whispered to me, rubbing my back in a small circular motion. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and we stood there for a while.

"How did you know where to find me?" I asked finally, my words running together. My voice was slightly broken from crying.

"I saw what happened… I followed you here." His voice was understanding, sympathetic, and gentle all simultaneously.

I was scared and thankful at the same time. I was afraid that Mike would see us, but I just needed comforted. Penn was great at helping me forget about all my issues with Mike.

I wrapped my arms around him a little tighter, loving the positive energy he gave off. I had only met this guy yesterday, and I knew for a fact that he cared about me more than my own boyfriend, who I've been with for almost two years.

"You know," I started, my voice soft and gently. "I'm happy you followed me. I'm happy you know my situation." I pulled back slightly, resting my brown, almond-shaped hues on his eyes of ocean blue. "You make me feel so much better than Mike does."

Penn flashed a bright smile. Damn, he was gorgeous. Mike never smiled at me like that. Was I crazy for possible liking him? I knew it was dangerous. Mike would find out and hurt me. But at that moment, I honestly didn't care. "Well what can I say? I'm drawn to you," he said with a laugh. He looked down at the ground, his tan cheeks turning a light shade of red.

I smiled softly and let my fingertips graze his cheeks softly. "Like a magnet?" I questioned, a small laugh escaping my pink lips. That was how I described him when we first met, a magnetic pull.

Penn nodded gently, his chocolate brown hair lying on his forehead. "Well, yeah, you can describe it like that," he said, pulling me a little closer to him. His arms tightened around my waist. My heart was beating hard and I knew he could probably hear it. Was this really happening? It was happening, and it was perfect.

I stood on my toes, pulling myself closer to him. He leaned down slightly and, within a moment, I felt his lips on mine. I felt butterflies floating in my stomach. I saw fireworks. It all happened when he kissed me. This had to mean something, something big. People like this didn't just come out of nowhere. No, Penn came into my life for a purpose. Maybe that purpose was to save me from Mike.