The next day at school, Christian was quiet.

"You okay?" I asked in English.

He shrugged and rest his head in his arms. I scooted closer.

"What's wrong?"

"Told my mom about the party," he said quietly after a second. "She completely overreacted. Elliot's had a complete meltdown and now he hates me."

"Christian that's not true," I said instantly.

Watching his face however, I couldn't help but feel guilty. I was the one who had told my mom. He didn't answer so I tried again.

"What did your mom say?"

"Wanted to call the police," he murmured. "Dad managed to calm her down though. Said we didn't have enough evidence for the police. She's still insisting on telling the school though."

The police...I had no idea Grace would react so extremely.

At lunch, Christian and I sat together outside huddled up. Kate had a day off for a bad period so it was just us. He wrapped his jacket around my shoulders, and I leaned into him whilst he stroked my hair.

"Everything's gonna be okay," I assured him.

"As long as I've got you," he said quietly.

I pulled him down for a kiss and told him he would.

The next few days were a blur. Christian told me that Grace and Carrick had seen the principal and explained the situation. Apparently, since there was a lack of evidence, the school were putting staff members to keep a watch on Danny whilst they investigated more. They were also going to speak to other pupils about his activities. As for Leila, Carrick had convinced Grace that they should speak to her parents instead of the school. She'd reluctantly agreed.

Today was Friday and I had never been so happy to see the weekend. Christian and I were going to watch a movie later and I was super excited about it.

Christian came to get me from class before lunch. I noticed immediately that he didn't look so good.

"You okay?" I asked, taking his hand in mine as we started to walk.

"Danny's been expelled," he said quietly.

"Really?" I asked, shocked. "Did you find any evidence?"

Christian shook his head as we rounded the corner towards our lockers. "Teachers were all told to keep a close eye on him for any suspicious activity, remember? Well one of them found him dealing roofies in the smoking area to some freshman. What an idiot. Who would do that at school?"

"Somebody with no brain cells," I snorted. He had never stood out to me as particularly bright. "Still, that's great Christian. He deserves it."

He nodded as we reached his locker. As soon as he opened it however, a loud slam shut it back again as Christian was slammed into it. It all happened so fast. I jumped back with a scream as a tall figure, one I recognised immediately as Danny, punched Christian in the face.

Blood spurted from his nose as he was thrown back. Danny hit him again and this time he hit the floor.

"Get off him!" I screamed, trying to shove him. He was too heavy.

A crowd had started gathering, chanting 'fight.'

Danny went to hit him again, but I tried with all my might to shove him again. He discarded me like a doll, slamming me forwards until I also hit the floor. I felt a sharp sting on my face as it connected with the ground.

The crowd started to intervene then, outraged that he'd hit a girl. I sat up, looking for Christian. He was off the floor and hunched over Danny who was flat on his back, a bloody face of his own.

"You hit my fucking girlfriend!" He screamed. "I swear to god I'll kill you."

"Christian no," I shouted, making my way forward. "Please, Christian no."

I tried to pull him off but of course he didn't budge. At that moment, three male teachers made their way down the hallway and dragged Christian off Danny. Danny immediately stood up, aiming kicks at Christian. The teachers were yelling, students chanting. It was chaos.

"Principals office, right now," one of the teachers said, forcing Danny and Christian in the direction of said office.

I immediately followed.

It had been a long afternoon. As soon as the principal had seen us, he'd deduced what happened. The police were called for Danny. The principal then called both our parents to pick us up. Neither of us were in trouble, but he thought it was best we took the rest of day off.

Needless to say, our parents were both outraged. I was sporting a badly bruising face and Christian's nose was still bleeding, but thankfully not broken. His jaw was bruised and he'd taken some hard kicks to the ribs. Danny was a big guy after all, and I was livid that he'd hurt him.

"I want to go back with Christian," I told my mom as we were walking out. "He needs me."

"He'll be fine," she said.

I started to argue but she cut me off. "We're going home Anastasia."

I was seething the entire journey back.

At home, mom tended to my face. I was angry with her; all I wanted to do was see Christian.

After she'd finished, she made me a cup of tea as we talked about everything.

"I'm glad the school got rid of him," she said firmly. "Christian did the right thing, telling his parents."

"Why won't you let me see him?" I asked, changing the subject. "I need to see him mom. I need to check he's okay."

"He's with Grace," she said shortly. "He's fine. You can see him tomorrow at school."

I pulled a face at her and she laughed.

We were quiet for a few minutes before she spoke again.

"I need to talk to you about something," she said, putting down her tea.

"What?" I asked, not really paying attention. I was busy texting Christian; he was assuring me he was fine.

"I was wondering whether I need to book you a doctor's appointment," she said.

I immediately looked up and put down my phone.

"A doctor's appointment? Why?"

She raised her brows. "I'm not silly Anastasia. I know you and Christian spent the night down here together. Whilst I'm not insinuating anything actually happened, I know that it's natural for your relationship to be progressing. You're almost sixteen after all. I was wondering if you needed to go on birth control."

I was mortified. I felt myself turning crimson, but my mom wasn't abashed in the slightest.

"Of course, I still think you're too young, but I know what kids are like. It's going to happen whether I like it or not and I want you to be safe," she continued. "I want you to be on birth control. Condoms aren't always effective, especially with teenagers. Also, I don't want you thinking you have to sneak away to do it. At drug fuelled parties or backseats of cars. I want you here, safe."

Around the sheer humiliation, I realised exactly what she was saying.

"You want me to have sex with Christian here?" I asked, in pure disbelief.

"Of course I don't," she said, rolling her eyes. "I don't want you to have sex with Christian at all. However, I know it's going to happen and I'd rather you be safe at home."

I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"What about dad?" I asked.

"Technicalities Ana," she said, arching a brow. "You obviously wouldn't do it with him in the house would you? You know he's often home late, as am I. Look, all I'm saying is that I don't want you thinking you have to sneak off okay? And I don't want you to feel embarrassed about it either. Sex is natural."

"Okay," I said slowly, still embarrassed.

"I'll book you the doctor's appointment then," she said, getting up and ruffling my hair before disappearing.

I flopped back down on the couch, exhausted.

What a weird day.

A/N Sorry for the short chapter. There will be a couple of short time jumps in a longer chapter on the next update. If I don't move the story along a bit, they'll be like 100 chapters lol. Btw, to some of those asking, this story will end with them finishing high school. There might be sequels but I'm never too good with those, so we'll see. Depends on what you guys want. Love, Elizabeth x