Just because I love you all so much :) Updates will probably occur once or twice a week in the future. And thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! Some of them were so sweet and they've been making my days brighter so thank you for taking the time to do that. You guys are the best!

Chapter 2

The scoreboard read 3-2 as the final whistle blew, ending the game. Kadic supporters burst into cheers and the team celebrated on the field.

St. Augustine begrudgingly filed out of the stadium and headed towards the team bus.

Yumi gave the signal for the two boys to follow her and they made their way towards the opponent's side of the stadium.

"You're Yumi?" The tallest boy asked her as they approached the group.

Yumi nodded. "You have the money?"

The head of the group looked over to a shorter boy. He opened a black bag and showed her a glance of the bills in the bag.

Yumi pulled the brown paper bag out of her backpack and held it out to the tall boy. Yumi gestured for the boy standing on her right to retrieve the money.

The exchange only took a few seconds and then both groups were on their way.

.

"Great work tonight, team! We'll do celebratory laps tomorrow during class! Make sure to get some rest!" Jim praised the players before sending them off.

Ulrich changed into tennis shoes and put his stuff in his soccer bag. A few of his teammates congratulated him on his winning goal before he headed out the back entrance of the stadium.

He walked through the parking lot and crossed the street, leaving campus to grab a sandwich from the little shop at the corner.

A group of guys was talking and standing against the wall of the sandwich shop. They quieted as Ulrich passed and he noticed that they were wearing the St. Augustine colors.

He tried not to think anything of it and went inside. Once he ordered and paid for his sandwich, he exited and walked back down the street.

The same group watched him walk towards them.

"Hey," one of them called to him.

Ulrich continued walking, refusing to turn his head.

They caught up to him. "I was talking to you!" A guy snarled, grabbing his soccer bag and pulling it off his shoulder.

Ulrich tried to stay calm and went to pick his bag up off the ground. Another guy swatted his hand away and grabbed the front of his jersey.

"You think you can just get away with tackling our players like that, punk?" He took the sandwich bag out of Ulrich's hand and dropped it on the ground before stepping on it.

"Leave me alone," Ulrich spoke through gritted teeth and tried to pull away from the other boy's grip.

The group of guys laughed. "Sure, we'll let you go. We're just going to teach you a lesson first."

.

"It looks like it's all here," one of the boys informed her.

"Very good. Take it to William's room before you go home." Yumi instructed.

The boys looked at each other nervously. "William was hoping you would deliver it yourself," one of them timidly spoke up.

Yumi sighed. Of course she couldn't expect William to keep their affairs private.

"Tell him that I'm going home. I'll see him tomorrow."

"Well... All right," the boy reluctantly let her go. "Night, Yumi."

"Good night." Yumi waved as the boys headed towards the dorms.

She crossed the street behind the stadium. Her apartment was only a block away from campus but it was much cheaper than paying for a room in one of the dorms.

A loud thud caught her attention and she noticed a group of guys huddled together at the corner of the block.

Yumi debated continuing on her way but then, they pushed the kid against the wall and punched him in the stomach again. They were St. Augustine students. Regardless of whether they were beating up a Skid or an X, Yumi still had a responsibility to help the fellow Kadic student out.

Yumi sighed and walked over.

So much for an easy night...

"Excuse me." Yumi spoke clearly. "You boys seem to be lost."

The three boys paused and looked at her. The kid dropped to the ground, coughing and holding his stomach.

One of the thugs crossed his arms over his puffed up chest. "Why don't you just get out of here? It's dangerous for little girls to run around at night."

Yumi smirked. "Maybe you should tell that to your soccer team. It seems that they're taking their loss pretty hard."

"You better shut your mouth before I make you shut it," the boy threatened.

Yumi tried not to laugh. "Just go on home. I don't want any trouble."

"We're not done with this punk yet. We'll leave when we're good and ready." Another one of the thugs held the kid on the ground by his hair and kicked him when he struggled.

"Leave him alone," Yumi spoke more urgently. She let her backpack fall off her shoulders and stood directly in front of the tall thug.

"What are you going to do about it?" He snarled.

Yumi reached for the boy on the ground and realized it was the brunette soccer player she had noticed earlier. Another boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

She dodged his grab for her neck and kicked him between his legs, making him drop to his knees in pain.

He let out a loud string of curses and the other two thugs turned their attention to her. Yumi ducked around the first and shot up in front of the second, forcing the heel of her hand into his nose. Blood gushed between his fingers and he howled.

The last one lunged at her and Yumi braced herself for the blow that never came. He fell to the ground in front of her and Yumi realized that the soccer player had wrapped his arms around the thug's ankles, tripping him.

Yumi pulled a small knife from her boot and knelt down to make eye contact with the thug on the ground. She pressed the edge threateningly against his neck.

"You're going to get out of here. Now. And if I ever hear of you bothering someone from Kadic again, you're dead. I know William Dunbar. If I can't get to you myself, have no doubt that he will take care of it for me. Understand?"

Recognition flashed in the other boy's eyes. "You're William's girl, aren't you?"

Yumi stood up and put the knife away. "Something like that."

The boy tried to roll onto his back and Yumi's boot connected with his head, forcing him against the concrete sidewalk.

"Don't move until we're gone."

The boy with the broken nose had already disappeared but the other two stayed silently on the ground. They glared as Yumi picked up her backpack and the soccer player's sports bag.

The brunette was leaning against the wall, still breathing heavily. She looked down at him.

"Can you walk?"

He took a deep breath and nodded. It seemed to be a difficult process but he finally made it to his feet.

"Thanks." His voice was raspy. He reached for his soccer bag but Yumi took a step back.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

The boy frowned. "I have to get back before they close the gates for curfew."

Yumi decided against telling him curfew had most definitely passed by now. "You're in no condition to walk all the way across campus to the dorms. Come on, I live just down the street."

Ulrich considered protesting, but his stomach and head were already protesting enough. He let her lead him down the street and around the corner to an apartment building.

They walked through a surprisingly nice lobby and Ulrich examined his reflection in the glossy elevator walls.

At least he didn't look any worse than he felt.

He realized they were getting off at the top floor and wondered why this girl wasted her time with William and the Skids when her family was so obviously loaded.

"Here we are."

They had stopped at a room at the end of the hallway and Ulrich fought the urge to throw up. His stomach muscles spasmed violently before contracting and relaxing.

The girl didn't seem to notice. Her face flushed slightly as she opened the door. "It's not as nice as your rooms at school but..."

Ulrich followed her inside and realized they were standing in only half of what was already a pretty tiny apartment.

His confusion must have been apparent on his face because she answered the question he was thinking.

"I get a discount on rent because this technically isn't a full apartment."

Ulrich started to nod, but that made his vision blur so he stopped.

"Sit down." She led him to a couch.

His closed his eyes and let his head rest against the cheap material.

"Don't close your eyes. You might have a concussion." Yumi sat down next to him with a bottle of water and a first aid kit.

Ulrich decided sleep was more important than a concussion and left his eyes blissfully shut. Then, he felt soft, feminine hands pulling up the hem of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" He exclaimed, moving much to fast for his body's comfort.

"Calm down. You're bleeding onto your jersey," the strict voice told him.

But Ulrich was distracted. "I'm going to throw up."

"Oh, God," Ulrich heard before he lurched forward. Miraculously, he found a trashcan in front of him as his stomach emptied itself. Bottles of water, dinner, and lunch all reappeared in the metal basket, and Ulrich briefly wondered if he was going to die.

"Are you done?" Yumi asked warily after a few minutes had passed.

Ulrich looked up to see her standing in the corner of the living room/kitchen with a disgusted look on her face.

He certainly felt done. "I think so."

"Good," she said. She gingerly nudged the trashcan away with her foot. "Take your shirt off."

Ulrich blushed again and realized that his jersey was, indeed, stained with red. "I'm fine."

The girl's eyes narrowed impatiently. "I don't have time for this. Just do it."

Ulrich tried to hide his embarrassment and pain as he pulled the jersey over his head. His chest was already bruising and the crescent cuts on his torso were still bloody.

"Hold still." Yumi cleaned each one with a disinfectant before sticking on bandages.

The icy liquid stung and Ulrich couldn't help but hiss each time she ran the cool clothe over his chest.

"I'm Ulrich." He said, trying to relieve the awkwardness.

"Yumi," she replied, apparently unbothered by the fact that a shirtless stranger was sitting on her couch.

"I know," he responded without thinking.

Yumi paused her cleaning to look up him strangely.

Ulrich cleared his throat and looked away. "I mean, you're William's girlfriend, right?"

She looked surprisingly sour and stood up. "Not anymore. I'll get you a clean shirt."

He watched her go to a dresser against the back wall and realized the half-apartment was lacking, among other things, a bedroom. She pulled out a white t-shirt and tossed it to him.

"Thanks." He forced the shirt over his head, ignoring the protest of his aching muscles. "So, what exactly happened to this apartment?"

Yumi smiled as she began putting things back into the first aid kit. "Well, the owner wanted to put a pool on the roof but the contractors told him that the floor would cave in under it if he didn't reinforce the roof. So, he put the extra walls in. The other half is storage now. I was just lucky enough to catch him before he made this half into storage too."

"Is that legal?"

The girl laughed. "Not exactly. That's why I only pay a fraction of the rent."

Ulrich frowned, "But don't your parents care that you're living in an unsafe apartment?"

Yumi stopped laughing and looked at him seriously for a moment before shrugging. "They're dead. I figure what they don't know can't hurt them."

Ulrich's jaw dropped. "I-I had no idea," he sputtered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she said nonchalantly. "Feel free to use the bathroom or whatever. I'm going to bed."

"Thanks," Ulrich nodded, before realizing a problem. He still didn't see a bedroom. "Where do you sleep?"

A playful smile pulled at Yumi's lips and she eyed the couch he was sitting on. "Have you ever slept with a girl before?"

Ulrich blushed furiously. "I'll sleep on the floor."

The girl laughed again. "Relax, I was just kidding. You can sleep on the couch; I'm friends with my neighbor. I'll sleep there tonight."

Ulrich tried to hide his alarm. "Right."

Yumi walked back over to the dresser, still giggling to herself. "Now, don't look," she teased. "I'm going to change and I wouldn't want to taint your virgin eyes."

Ulrich rolled his eyes and was about to reply when he realized that she was serious. Her black bra dropped to the floor, joining her shirt.

She slid a dark red tank top over her head and unbuttoned her pants. Ulrich looked away quickly and forced himself to begin breathing again.

"Need anything before I go next door?" Yumi asked him, clad only in a tank top and tiny pajama shorts.

Ulrich nodded silently.

The girl smirked. "All right. I'll be back in the morning. Sweet dreams!" She called as she closed the door behind her.

Ulrich took a deep, calming breath once she was gone. He tried to forget the image of her milky white skin and ridiculously long legs.

Instead, he focused on getting comfortable on the lumpy couch. Fortunately, exhaustion quickly swept over him and knocked him out cold until the next morning.

What do you guys think so far? :) Excited for Chapter 3?