A/N- These chapters are getting harder and harder for me to write. Not because of writer's block, but because we're getting into some seriously heavy stuff and it takes a while for me to take a moment to not get too emotional.

Chapter 14

Clay tried his best to be as quiet as possible when he approached Hannah's house in the darkness of night, but it was difficult seeing as every step he took sent shockwaves of pain through his body. His breathing was heavy and labored, and the ice pack he took from Bryce's house had long melted away.

He limped up to Hannah's window, where he saw her crouched over her desk, probably studying or drawing. Clay stood there for a moment, feeling content to watch her for a moment. But then the thought of one of Hannah's tapes popped up. No, Clay really didn't want to be another Tyler Down.

He rapped his knuckles against Hannah's window, and she looked over to it. When she spotted Clay, her face broke out into a smile and she walked over to unlatch the window lock. He was partially hidden in shadow, so Hannah didn't see how bloodied and bruised his face was.

"Well this is a first," she said sarcastically before turning back to her desk.

Clay snickered to hide the grunt of pain as he pulled himself up through the window and into Hannah's room. He made himself comfortable and dropped onto the bed, sighing in relief as his head hit one of Hannah's many pillows.

"What brings you around here?" asked Hannah, not looking up from whatever she was doing.

"Can't I... visit my girlfriend in the dead of night?" remarked Clay as lightly as he could without giving anything away.

Unfortunately, Hannah knew something was wrong and she looked over at Clay, then gasped at the sight of his condition. In truth, Clay hadn't even seen himself yet, so he didn't know how badly Bryce had beaten him, but the constant aching certainly gave Clay a good idea.

Hannah dropped what she was doing and knelt in front of Clay so that she was looking up at him slightly.

"What the fuck happened Clay? Did you get hit by a car or something?" she hissed worriedly, her eyes wandering over his face.

"Sure felt like it," grumbled Clay, then hissed when Hannah's hand touched his chest.

Hannah frowned as her eyes drifted lower down his body, and Clay wandered whether his girlfriend had x-ray vision.

"Take it off," she said then.

"What?"

"Your shirt. Take it off now," Hannah demanded in a no-nonsense tone.

"But I-"

"Clay, if you don't take your shirt off right now I'm going to add to the bruises."

Clay stopped arguing then and complied with Hannah's request. He couldn't get his arms to work properly though, and Hannah was forced to help him. She gasped when she saw the extent of his injuries, and Clay looked down at his body.

It was almost completely covered in ugly purple and yellow blotches, like somebody had thrown paint on him without a care. The parts of his body that wasn't bruised, was soon about to be, for there were red marks all over his body as well. One bruise stood out in particular because it was so dark it was almost black, and shaped like a fist. Clay remembered that hit particularly well.

"Who did this to you?" Hannah choked out, and Clay held his breath to stop the howl from escaping as her fingers trailed over his marred torso.

"Bryce," hissed Clay.

"What were you doing with Bryce?" said Hannah, looking up at Clay with a fiery look in her eyes.

"Getting justice."

"Clay, honey, your Batman impression is terrible," said Hannah sternly, and Clay couldn't help but chuckle lightly, which immediately sent more spasms of pain through his body. "Seriously, what happened?"

Clay said nothing and instead reached over for his bag, which was laying on the other end of the bed. Seeing Clay's struggle, Hannah grabbed it and handed it to him, where he unzipped the largest pocket and pulled out a tape, marked with a blue '14.'

"Clay... you didn't," started Hannah.

"Bryce Walker's confession, right there," said Clay, grinning widely as Hannah grabbed the tape from Hannah's clutches.

"I- I don't know what to say," stammered Hannah, looking at the tape like it was something of huge value. Which it probably was, seeing as it could be the trump card to win Hannah's court case.

"How about a thank you kiss?" suggest Clay, wiggling his eyebrows. Hannah eagerly agreed and pressed a hard kiss on Clay's mouth.

"Ow!" said Clay loudly then, as his lip started to sting really badly.

"Shit! Sorry!" Hannah shrieked, pulling away from Clay.

Clay pressed a finger to his lips, and when he pulled it away there was a small smudge of blood left on it.

"You wouldn't happen to have a mirror, would you?" asked Clay. Hannah pointed a the large mirror attached to the wall, and Clay was surprised he hadn't seen it before. He got up, grunting from the effort while waving Hannah's help away and waddled over to the mirror.

He could hardly recognise himself. From the waist line of his jeans to the fringe of his hair Clay looked like a purple monster. His face was swollen and purple, and there were more cuts to his face that joined the large one from his bike accident. One of his eyes had turned a nasty red and there was a long gash that went across the bridge of his nose.

"Fuck, he got me good," grumbled Clay before going back to sit on the bed.

"It was worth it though?" asked Hannah.

"He confessed," was all Clay said in response.

"Damn it Helmet! I don't want you getting hurt on my behalf!" Hannah said, looking frustrated.

"I'd gladly get hurt if it means that sick fuck gets what he deserves," said Clay angrily.

"Clay..."

"We're not having this conversation again Hannah," cut off Clay angrily, and he stood up and grabbed his bag. "That there is all the proof you need to put Bryce behind bars."

He limped towards the window, fully ready to leave for the night without saying goodbye to Hannah.

"Don't go."

Clay froze halfway through the window at the sound of Hannah's pleading tone. He looked back to see her staring at him with so much fear for him. Clay pulled his leg back inside and dumped his bag on the floor. He closed the space between himself and Hannah in two long strides and kneeled before her.

"Please don't go," she whispered. "I just- you're hurting."

"I'll be fine," assured Clay.

"No. No you won't!" sniffed Hannah. "You went out and did all this for me, even getting hurt and I was ungrateful about it. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok," whispered Clay, and he meant it. "It'll be alright."

Hannah only nodded as she wiped the tears away. "I just don't want to see you get hurt anymore. You've been through so much."

"And I'll be okay. Just as long as you're still around for me to come home to."

Hannah gave Clay a small smile before she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Clay saw her open up hr music app and scroll through her playlist before clicking on a song, then put the phone on her bedside table. Clay's heart leapt in his chest when the haunting first notes of the song played.

"I am not the only traveller,

"Who has not repaid his debt."

"You remember this song?" asked Hannah as she looked up into Clay's eyes.

"Of course I do," answered Clay as memories from last year's Winter Formal came flooding into his mind. "For some reason I always thought that it was our song. Is that weird?"

"Of course not," assured Hannah. "I thought the same thing." She took a step closer to Clay. "Hold me?" she asked quietly.

"Take me back to the night we met."

"Always," came Clay's solemn oath as he wrapped his arms around Hannah's waist.

They swayed gently to the song, their eyes never leaving the others. They saw nothing but each other and the love that practically shone like stars from their eyes. Time lost all meaning as Clay leant his head forward and captured Hannah's lips in a soft, yet long and deep kiss that was fueled by a love that burned like a raging inferno that had no hope of being tamed.

Clay and Hannah eventually separated, breathing heavily.

"Stay with me tonight," said Hannah breathlessly, and it sounded more like a demand than a question.

"Take me back to the night we met."

"Okay," obliged Clay, and Hannah led him back to the bed once the song ended.

They hopped into the bed, clothes still on and Clay wrapped his arms around Hannah protectively to guard her from the darkness. Hannah turned herself around so that her forehead was resting against Clay's chest, and that's how the two lovers fell asleep, guarded by the bubble of love and devotion that surrounded them.

oOoOoOo

"Clay. Clay, it's time to wake up."

Clay blinked his eyes open slowly, and the first thing he saw was Hannah's face staring down at him. His mouth automatically broke into a wide smile that she returned.

"Morning Helmet," said Hannah affectionately.

"Morning Han," yawned Clay. Hannah grimaced when his breath drifted across her nose and Clay cursed himself. Damn morning breath ruining everything.

"It's time to get up. We got school," Hannah told him before she jumped out of bed and walked into her wardrobe.

"Ugh. how can you be such a morning person?" groaned Clay in annoyance.

"I'm not. I just woke up next to the cutest guy on the planet," came Hannah's reply.

Clay chuckled as Hannah came out of her wardrobe, wearing a long-sleeved denim t-shirt and beige coloured skinny jeans.

"Aren't you getting out?" asked Hannah slyly.

"I will soon I just have to uh..." Clay drifted off then because of the mischievous look Hannah was giving him. She didn't feel it pressed up against her, did she?!

"Okay then. I'll just be in the kitchen while you resolve your... morning problem," Hannah said evilly before skipping out of the room, her hair bouncing behind her, leaving Clay feeling very flustered and red-faced.

When he walked into the kitchen, he was greeted by the entire Baker family. Neither of Hannah's parents looked upset, so Clay took it as a good sign. It was weird though, considering that a boy just walked out of a girl's room with her parents watching.

That was until Mrs Baker let out a shriek of fright.

"My God what happened to your face?!" screamed Mrs Baker.

Clay was confused for a moment before the dull throbbing of his jaw reminded him of the events of last night.

"Oh uh... I uhhh," Clay said numbly, trying tot think of something decent excuse.

"He got beat up Mom," explained Hannah, she too looking at Clay with concern.

Mr Baker's face paled while Clay stood before them nervously.

"Come, sit down Clay. I'll get you something to eat then I'll have a look at you," Mrs Baker said quickly, ushering Clay into the empty chair opposite Hannah. Mrs Baker plopped some bacon and eggs onto the plate before him and urged him to eat.

He felt like a field mouse being watched by three hungry hawks while he ate, and he tried his best to ignore it while he shoveled his breakfast into his mouth. When he was done he gave Mrs Baker a grateful smile and thanked her for the food.

"Alright now let's see what's wrong with you," said Mrs Baker as she stood up from her chair and walked over to Clay. She looked at him with narrowed eyes as she investigated every cut, bruise and swelling on his face with the gentle touch of a mother.

"His torso's just as bad," Hannah pointed out.

"Hannah!" Clay hissed loudly, feeling annoyed at his girlfriend's betrayal.

"That's it. Young man, take your shirt off!" mrs Baker said sternly, brokering no room for argument.

When Clay hesitated, Mrs Baker glowered at him, and he was forced to obey the order. It took him longer to take his shirt off than usual, and every muscle he used protested painfully at the movement. Mr Baker scowled and he stood up, walking over to the kitchen cabinets and opening one while Mrs Baker gently prodded some of the bruises on Clay's chest and side.

Mr Baker returned, holding a bottle of some sort of salve and another bottle of painkillers. "Here, rub this on the bruises," he instructed, handing Mrs Baker the salve. Mr Baker then told Hannah to grab a glass of water while he shook to pills out onto his open palm before handing the pills and the glass of water to Clay. Clay didn't need to be told what to do, so he swallowed the pills and washed them down with the water.

He felt extremely uncomfortable allowing an older woman, particularly his girlfriend's mother, rubbing his body down with her bare hands. He would much rather have had Hannah do it instead, but then who knew what would happen if he allowed Hannah to get her hands on him. Most likely it would lead to things they both weren't ready for.

As weird and uncomfortable as he felt, Clay couldn't deny the soothing power of the salve and Mrs Baker's hands. It reminded him of that one time a few years ago when he went to a masseuse for a massage. He could feel the knots in his body loosen and the aching faded away slowly. It was still there, but it had died down to a dull throb.

Hannah came back carrying some bandaids, and she used them to cover the worst the cuts, namely the one across the bridge of his nose and another that ran along his jawline.

"If you put another bandaid on me, I might be tempted to audition for the next Mummy movie," drawled Clay with a smirk.

Mr Baker chuckled, but both Hannah and Mrs Baker's eyes narrowed at him in disapproval, so Clay kept his mouth shut while they tended to his injuries.

"There we are!" Mrs Baker exclaimed happily, leaning back from Clay. "All done. Now, do you mind telling us what you did to get your ass handed to you?"

"Uh..." was all Clay could say as he gingerly put his t-shirt back on.

"Mom, we can talk about it after school," interrupted Hannah. "I gotta drop Clay off at his house so he can grab whatever he needs. We'll explain everything later."

WE?!

Clay followed Hannah out of the house and to her car, then together they drove off to his place. Mom and Dad weren't home, so Clay was able to quickly sneak in, change his clothes and run back out to Hannah's car. She was playing some old 80's hip hop song, and by the look of it, she was quite fond of it.

School was annoying, to say the least. He arrived late to almost all of his classes that day because he had to constantly stop for a breather. Everyone he walked by, in the halls, the classrooms, they all looked at him strangely as they took in his battered form. When Zach and the others asked him what happened, he brushed it off, though he gave Tony a significant look which his best friend recognised with a slight nod.

Teachers asked him if he was fine, and he gave his generic "I'm fine," answer that had them giving him 'I don't believe you' looks. Hannah made it a point to make sure they avoided Bryce Walker at all costs; if he was in the cafeteria, Hannah and Clay would leave the hall entirely, if Bryce was walking in their direction, they'd turn around and walk the other way.

It felt a little cowardly, but who was Clay to argue- it took a girl almost dying for him to own up to a crush.

Hannah drove Clay back to her place after school, waving off the concerns of their friends. There was no music played this time, for both teens minds were elsewhere. For Clay, he was trying to think of something to say to Hannah's parents without betraying Hannah's confidence.

When Hannah pulled the car into her driveway, Clay saw her parents' car already parked.

"You okay?" Hannah asked worriedly.

Clay took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he said.

Hannah looked like she wanted to say more, but she shook her head and hopped out of the vehicle. Clay followed and when they stood next to each other, they clasped hands tightly together. It was together they walked into the small house, together they faced Hannah's parents, who were waiting in the lounge room.

Hannah and Clay sat opposite the older Bakers in the two person couch, their fingers still entwined together.

"Now, what happened to you?" asked Mr Baker.

Clay opened his mouth to explain his injuries but Hannah's voice beside him stopped him.

"Daddy? There's something I have to tell you."

A/N- Sorry I had to leave it on a cliffhanger. But, you know we haven't had a good one in a while so here we are.