I Sighed again as I began to apply the anti-biotic and bandages. Thinking about what got me here wasn't going to make this any better. I knew why he did this to me; I just didn't understand his reasoning. I hadn't told Soul anything; I didn't act too friendly; I even got him to leave me alone. I guess he just did it to remind me not to get too brave, or to try to leave him. I couldn't even if I tried, the leash was too tight. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't. He'd just find me again; or I'd grow so paranoid that he would, I'd lose my mind. He had me right where he wanted me, and he knew it.

I winced as I tightened the bandages around my ribs. He is normally more careful than this, I noted as I looked at my split elbow and bruised arms. I didn't need to look to know I had bruises appearing on my side and ribs. I'd have to cover them with makeup for gym the next day. The girls wouldn't ask questions; they could care less what happened to me; Sid might, though, if he saw them. He knew I didn't go on assignments that often; and, when I did, I didn't really come back with any more bruises than I had started with. He's the one teacher that's willing to question the "I'm just clumsy" theory, so I knew I had to be careful around him.

I pulled my shirt back down to cover the bandages, and pulled myself up to look in the mirror. A bruise was starting to form on my right cheekbone, and I had a split lip, but it was nothing I hadn't seen before. I limped into my bedroom and collapsed on my bed, nearly crying out when pain shot through my ribs. I curled into a ball and silently sobbed over the way things used to be between us, the way they are now, the pain coursing through my body, and, shockingly, the kindness shown to me by a boy that hadn't even known my name.

-

I must have drifted off, because I woke up the next morning to feel my arm being forcefully grabbed, and myself being yanked off the bed. I stumbled, still partially asleep, but stood, and forced my eyes open. He stood in front of me, calm and collected, his eyes scanning me, assessing the damages. By now, I was fully awake, fear making me feel cold and shocking me to my bones. I tried to keep a straight face, and didn't look him in the eye. He circled me once, looking up and down, before stopping in front of me. Without speaking a word, he turned and left, leaving me to wonder why he was here. I heard the door front door slam shut, and I sighed in relief, not realising I had been holding my breath.

I limped over to the closet, feeling each of the bruises and cuts "Aaron" left as I stepped. Wincing, I opened the door and pulled out a (f/c) shirt and (2/f/c) pants, looking them up and down, deciding whether or not to wear them. Knowing that hehated the color (f/c), I decided instead on a long sleeved (l/f/c) shirt with plain light-blue jeans.

'At least no one will notice me in this...' I thought, carefully pulling on each article of clothing, cringing at each bolt of pain that shot through my body. Once I managed to accomplish this twenty minutes later, I limped into the kitchen to grab a yogart from the fridge, then carefully made my way out the door, grabbing my bag as I left.

By the time I got to the school, class had already started, so I sat outside the door to the crescent room, trying to breathe the pain away while listening to the lecture through the door. A few people stopped when they saw me, one of them even asked if I needed help. I politely declined, and he walked away, shrugging. I took another deep breath, relaxing against the wall, shuddering slightly in pain. I closed my eyes, praying for it to stop, or, at least, for the bell to ring. The pain slowly dulled to a throbbing, aching pain, and I sighed in relief, becoming drowsy almost instantly. I fought against the urge to sleep, knowing that the bell would ring soon, and I would have to get up, but it seemed to have fought back, as everything grew blurry, and, as I felt my head lightly knock against the wall, everything turned black.

((Magical time skip of the happy dreams you had while you were out see, I'm not that mean to you!))

I slowly came back, the remnants of a good dream fading much too quickly. Everything was fuzzy, I could hear sounds, but couldn't make out if they were voices, or footsteps, or just the air moving. Sadly, while some of my senses were slow to come back, my sense of pain seemed to hit me like a bullet train. I lightly groaned, feeling the pain come back, though duller than before. I tried to turn into my side, but I felt something lightly holding me back by my shoulder, and I cringed slightly at the pain it brought. I thought I heard a voice, thought it was much to fuzzy to make out words or even the gender of the person speaking.

I felt a pain in my ribs again, I think someone poked them, and the sounds started to become clearer. I could make out four different voices, at least one of them belonged to a girl. I started to see pink, which I believe was the light on the other side of my eyelids. I tried to crack them open, but the sudden brightness burned, and I slammed them shut. I could make out the voices better, and made out two males and two females. One of the females sounded like Nygus, and another sounded extremely familiar. I only vaguely recognised the other two.

After a another moment, I attempted to open my eyes again. This time only gave me a very slight headache, and I blinked, trying to get used to the cream colored walls. I was immediately aware that I wasn't in my room, and that this wasn't my bed. Looking around, I indeed saw Nygus and, standing next to him, Soul. I felt confused, then bad, as I failed to recognise his voice. Looking at the end of my bed, I saw a girl with blonde pigtails nose deep in a book before I heard a voice to my left.

"(Y/n)! Thank god you're alright!" My blood ran cold, and I knew why that voice sounded extremely familiar. Looking over, I saw him.

"I was so worried when they called me down, what happened?" He asked, mock concern lacing his voice and gracing his facial expression.

I furrowed my eyebrows. " I was tired and late, so I sat outside listening to the lecture. I guess I must have dosed off," I said, trying to make it sound nonchalant. " I don't know how I ended up here, though."

The blonde girl looked up, then, revealing green eyes. "That would be thanks to Soul, here." She stood up and held out her hand, allowing me to see her outfit: a black jacket over a white dress shirt with a striped tie. On bottom, a plaid skirt that went about mid-thigh. I couldn't see her shoes. "Hi, I'm Maka, Soul's Meister. You're (y/n), right?" she asked, giving me a kind smile.

After a moment, I nodded, then looked at Soul, raising one of my eyebrows. He shrugged. "When the bell rang, Maka here almost forgot a textbook, and we were late leaving. Because of that, we were at the end of the mob, " he smiled. "Everyone was swerving once they got out the door, so I got out and saw you sitting there. I tried to say hi, but you didn't answer, so I looked, and you seemed to be asleep. I tried waking you up by shaking your shoulder, but you just kinda cringed, and shifted." He shrugged again. "I couldn't just leave you there with your head hangin' like that, it would Have killed your neck, and that'd be seriously uncool. So, I picked you up and carried you here so you could rest in peace. Once I got you in here, I was gunna leave, but when I put you on the bed, you yelled, like, really loud, and sounded like you were in pain, so Nygus checked you out, and was asking me questions on what happened."

With those words, My blood froze solid in my veins. Soul, oblivious as he is sometimes, continued talking. "Along with an impressive number of bruises, you have two ribs broken, one on each side." He looked at me. "What did you do to get that beat up? Insult symmetry in front of Kid?"

I managed a nervous smile. "I'm just clumsy, I guess." He didn't seem like he believed it, but he let it go. "Well, whatever it was, it got you good. Good news, is, you don't have to participate in gym for a while, so that's a plus," he said, chuckling.

"Right, lucky..." I did a small laugh, and went quiet. "Aaron" began to discuss care with Nygus, and Soul began talking to Maka, so I was free to sink back into my pillow, wincing for a moment, and look at the ceiling.

I took this moment to assess what I knew.
-I knew that Nygus wouldn't let me stay here for very long, a day or so at most, if she didn't just kick me out in an hour or two.
-I also knew that hewould do everything in his power to make recovery painful while still acting as though he's helping.
-i knew Sid would find it suspicious that i was put oit of gym on injury when i haven't gone on any missions recently.
-I knew that the red-eyed boy had helped me again, despite knowing almost nothing about me...

'Why does he keep helping me?' I thought. After a second of pondering, I noticed that the room was quiet, and I looked up at the people in the room. I looked at Nygus, who was looking at me intently, and i realised she had said something.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay? Do you feel nauseated, have a headache, trouble breathing?" She asked.

I considered telling her that I had trouble breathing, but I wasn't sure how "Aaron" would react, or what he would do if he thought I was lying, so I shook my head. "Other than an ache in my ribs, I feel fine."

She smiled, I think. "When you're ready to leave, then, you can go home."

I hopped up, wincing a bit at the pain in my ribs.

"Would you all excuse us for a moment? I would like to speak to my patient in private."

They all nodded, though helooked wary. She ushered them out the door, closing it firmly before turning to me.

"So what's the real reason you're hurt this badly?" She asked tilting her head slightly, her eyes hard, but caring.

I froze. "W-What do you mean?"

" I mean that I deal with clumsy students on a daily basis, and none of them have ever suffered the injuries you have, and, along with those that get hurt on missions, I also see abused students. Now, are you going to tell me who it is, or am I going to have to speak with Lord Death about this?"

Inwardly, I panicked, and I tried to keep my composure. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about, and I don't think Lord Death would be concerned about a clumsy student he's never heard of."

She sighed. "Have it your way, then. I am going to get to the bottom of this." She promised, before turning and opening the door. She smiled again. "Remember, get plenty of rest, don't overwork yourself, no missions for a while, and don't forget what we talked about. I'm here if you change your mind."

I hurried out of the room as fast as I could, and saw Soul and "Aaron" there waiting for me.

"Where's Maka?"

"She went to the library to return her book and get another to study." Soul sighed. "Some people just can't be as cool as me, I'm afraid." He turned back to me. "What about you, are you OK?"

Before I could speak, I was lifted off my feet. "I'm gunna take her home so she can rest. She seems pretty beat," "Aaron" spoke.

Soul looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright, then."

I jumped at a chime that sounded throughout the halls, followed by, "Soul Evans, please report to Lord Death at this time."

He sighed. "I didn't even do anything, this time." He looked back at me. "I'll see you around, I gotta go see what crime I committed this time." He waved a bit, then left.

"Aaron", still playing the good student, carried me out of the school and to our apartment. He then placed me on the armchair, being unusually gentle as he did so. I refused to relax, as I knew he was planning something. He disappeared for a few minutes, and came back with thick towels. Confused, I watched him as he methodically went though the apartment, covering each mirror and reflective surface. I then grew scared as he finished his task and turns toward me.

He circled the chair, much like he did this morning, he didn't say a word, and just looked at me. A minute later, he looked straight ahead, smiling and chuckling as he continued circling, making me feel like prey.

"Well, what do we do, now?" He asked, smiling, his cheerful voice betrayed by the look in his eyes. "You didn't snitch, so you proved that you are at least good for something, and that would normally make you a good girl, right?" He asked, playing with a few strands of my hair as he passed.

He stopped. "Then again, it was your fault that you were in that situation." He slowly walked back in front of me. "Let me guess, you couldn't handle your punishment that you know you deserve, because you're not strong enough yet, right?" He sighed. "Sometimes i don't know why i even put up with you. You're weak." He tilted my face to look at his. "You let your guard down, and I almost paid the price." His face inched closer. "I'm not going to be expelled because a little bitch can't handle what's coming to her."

Instinctively, I flinched, and I heard him chuckle. "I'm not going to hit you, I need you to heal, and injuries after something like this would seem suspicious. At least..." he gripped my jaw and forced me to face him. "Physical injuries would."

With that, he force his lips onto mine, shocking me enough to make me gasp. He took this opportunity to push his tongue into my mouth, exploring everywhere and chilling me to the bone. I tried to push him off, but he broke away long enough to grab both my hands and pin them above my head with his left, then he came back. I tried to wiggle free, but my ribs felt like they were being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles.

He forced me farther into the chair, strattling my lap, and grabbing my ribs just below my left breast. I whimpered in pain, he moved his hand lower, until he reached my pant line and started to loosen my belt. I panicked, and thrashed even more, ignoring the pain that shot though my body, tears streaming down my face. Without warning he broke away, still retraining my hands, and smiled.

"Now where would the fun be if I broke you so soon?" He then got so close, his nose was touchinging mine, and i was forced to look him in his cold, uncaring eyes. "I'm going to beat you down, piece by piece, until the only thing left is a shell. Then, maybe, you'll be obedient. But," he gripped my hands tighter, "if you ever slip so much, again, I will not hesitate to destroy you from the inside, and make you feel like the piece of shit you are."

With that, he climbed off me and let go of my hands, then walked into the kitchen. He came into the room again a few minutes later, carrying a bowl of (f/f) soup. He handed it to me with another of his fake smiles, then wrapped me with the blanket that was on the back of the couch. Then he left, hiding in his room, laughter seeping through the door followed by (l/f/s).

I stared the bowl in shock, still thinking about everything that just happened. Realization settling in, I set the bowl on the coffee table, tears still streaming down my face, before curling into a ball and sobbing. I wanted to leave, but knew i couldn't get far. I needed help, but didn't know anyone that would help me. Nygus tried, but nothing would get better until hewas out of the picture, and even I didn't have the heart to destroy the man that was slowly destroying me.

'Soul would help me,' i thought.

'No, he wouldn't.' I subconsciously thought back. 'He doesn't care about me, he just want to use me as an excuse, or as an object to make himself look cooler. He couldn't care less about me.'

I actually sobbed harder at that thought. No matter what happened, I would be alone, no one truly cared about me. I wondered again why I didn't just end it all.

'Because then he'd win. I may not be able to fight back, but I'm not a coward' I thought resolutely. 'But what if i am just a coward, and I'm just too scared to do it?'

I tightened my ball, and let my sobs quieten. The strain of the day exhausted me, and I fell asleep in the chair, the soup untouched on the table.