Clyde came over to them and E turned to cling to him tightly. Her arms locked around his waist and she pushed her ear to his chest, which she barely reached. It was as if she was listening for something, relaxing only somewhat as she heard it. Clyde ran his fingers through her hair and cooed gently. "Esme, it's alright, sweety, everything's okay," he said, trying to calm her. Soon, she stopped shaking, standing frozen, clinging to her uncle while Zolo and Sanji watched her. Sanji looked as if he was about to burst into tears.

Sanji walked to Clyde's side. He lifted his hand and made to pat E's back, letting her know that he was there for her when she opened her mouth and - while she was still staring at nothing in particular - said, "You saved my life." Sanji froze a moment before he smiled and ran his hand down her back, then up it again. He didn't say anything, just kept rubbing her back, the action seeming to calm her even more.

After a minute or so, there was a small crowd and E was standing on her own, her hand locked around Zolo's, who didn't seem to care at all. Clyde gestured for everyone to be on their ways and asked Zolo and Sanji to take her back to the dorm in their car, whispering a soft thanks to Sanji for pulling Esme out of the line of danger. Then he turned back to the restaurant and hurried in, getting out of the cold. Sanji watched him before they turned to head to the car. Sanji unlocked it quickly and let them get into the back seat as he got in on the drivers side and started the car. E looked at him as she sat in the back with Zolo, her hand still laced tightly with his.

E watched Sanji drive back to the school, parking right by the door to their dorm. A woman was standing next to the door and walked closer to them as she saw E getting out of the car with the green haired man next to her. "Esme, love, are you all right?" the woman asked and E looked up at her with dazed eyes before she nodded and smiled weakly. "I'm great, Aunt Lady," She said and the woman wrapped her in a gentle hug. "Clyde called and told me what had happened. I rushed here so I could make sure you were okay." E smiled at her and hugged back before stepping back. "I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed, Auntie." Lady ran a hand over her hair and moved out of her way. She stood watching the trio walk into the dorms, Sanji holding the door for the other two before she turned to get back to the apartment.

The girl sat in the middle of the bed, her knees up against her bare chest. Her hair fell over her face, covering the bloody, torn flesh that made up the side of her face. Close to her side lay a man that claimed to be her father. But he was not a father at all.

The girl cried softly and slowly scooted toward the edge of the bed, keeping still as she thought that the man was moving on his side of the bed. She quickly slipped from the mattress and dashed to the bathroom. The girl lifted her blonde hair from her face with shaking hands. She held it back as she washed the blood off her face and looked at the gnarled lines that were carved there. She sounded out the letters as she saw them, backwards in the mirror.

s.s.e.l.h.t.r.o.W - Worthless. This was the word now branded on her face. The girl looked into the mirror and saw only that word. Worthless. That's what she was... Then she looked down to see the half healed word on her tummy, at an angle because she wouldn't hold still as it was cut into her. i.d.i.o.t Idiot. Another thing that she was. There was another word on the back of her shoulder, though she was unable to see that one. The girl looked at herself in the mirror, naked and broken, and cried silently. Endless tears rolling down her face and pooling in the sink, where the drain slurped them up and made them nothing.

She stood there for what felt like ever, until her father walked in and found her. He glared at her and grabbed for her, pulling her roughly to him and brought her back to the bed, where he beat her until -

E threw herself up into a sitting position once she was awake and lifted a shaky hand to the scar under her messy hair. She touched the rough tissue there and noted that it was wet from her tears. She rubbed the salty liquid into her skin and then moved to get up, looking for her glasses on her night stand and pushing them up her nose upon location.

The young woman ran a hand through her hair and checked the time on her alarm clock.

12:34 in the a.m.

Crap.

Esme turned on the light and then wandered to her desk. The large thing had a drawer with a lock on it, this drawer was always locked for the thing that was inside of it. She took her key chain from her bag and opened the drawer with the midget key. She took out an amber bottle of sleeping medication that didn't always work and took two. Then she got up and toted her pack of cigarettes up to the roof where the world was silent and lulling. She wandered to the railing and sat on it while she lit up and sat in the cold, her feet only covered in socks and her hoodie draped over her shoulders.

After two and a half cigarettes the woman made to get up, the medicine starting to take a little effect. The memories were hazing back into the back of her mind. She woman got up and began to walk back toward the stairwell to head back to bed. Esme walked slowly, her hands wrapped tightly around each other in front of her. Black hair fell over her face as she looked down, making it hard to see around her. And it made the person in front of her invisible to her eyes.

Sanji had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and on his way back to his room he saw someone walking down the hall. The prefects stopped making rounds at 12:30, so it wasn't a prefect. As the person got closer he noticed the ever shining metallic green hair and frowned. Why was E up so late at night. The woman was walking toward him and seemed to not even notice him. The male watched her and then noted that her head was down, nose parallel to the floor. He stepped to her as she began to pass him and asked, "Bad dream?" E jerked her head up to look at him, her hands clenched as if she was about to hit him, but she stopped herself upon recognizing his voice. Her head dropped and she sighed softly, "Yea, why are you out of your room?" Sanji smiled and turned around walking with her as they moved back toward her room.

"I got up to take a leak and it must have been fate that I ran into you, are you all right? You seemed really distant when we left you in your room." E looked up at his face as she listened to his words. The woman looked down and muttered so softly that he barely heard it,

"My father pushed me into the street as a child, he was attempting to turn me off of running into the road, I almost was hit, but a young woman saved me."

Sanji looked at her down cast head and nodded. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and turned the knob in the door of her room for her. He opened it and guided her to her bed. She sat and allowed him to pull the blanket up to her waist, but she wouldn't lay down. Her mind not hazy enough for that, but it was fast approaching.

The Love Cook made to turn away, but she stopped him by grabbing the elastic of his night pants. She kept her head down and just held on to his pants as he looked back at her and after a moment he smiled warmly and sadly at her hair and moved back to her, sitting on the bed next to her. E leant into him and her head landed on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair as she rested against him. The warmth of his body soothed her, relaxed her body and lulled her mind to sleep. Sanji gently lent her back so her head was on her pillow and removed her glasses. He tucked the blanket in around her arms and then he stood up to leave.

Sanji turned and walked past her desk to the door, a small amber bottle with a white cap catching his eye. He thought for a moment if he should look at it, his curiosity begging him to. But he shook his head and left the dark room, letting her have her privacy.

Back in the room he shared with Zolo, the Love Cook sat himself hard on his desk chair. He still felt her head on his chest. Felt her heart beating at the same his did. Sanji felt his cheeks flush with color and he placed his hand over them. His heart fluttered as he kept thinking of those moments where he was holding her. The blonde sat there for hours, lost in that memory, and fell asleep leaning back in his chair.