A/N: HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS. SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. ANYWAY, ENJOY AND MORE REVIEWS PLEASE. I AM SERIOUSLY THINKING OF EITHER PULLING THIS STORY OUT OR JUST LEAVE IT HANGING. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ILL BE HAPPY TO HEAR THEM. THANKS FOR READING.

Jason watched the crowd of students in the hall. Belle was talking endlessly; Chloe too. The guys were right next to them, their arms around the girls supportively.

Mimi was back.

He walked over to them gracefully, his heart pounding. He hadn't seen her in so long.

"Jesus, what happened to you?" Jason gasped the moment he saw Mimi. She looked relatively fine, except for the arm on the sling and small cut on her forehead.

"Good to see you too, Jase." Mimi said sarcastically.

"No, really, what happened to you?" He asked, sounding more concerned than before.

"Just a little accident." She said quietly.

"When? Where?" He asked.

"Second week in France." Mimi replied. "How are you?" She asked suddenly, trying to change the subject.

"I'm okay." He replied. "How did this happen?" He asked, not caring that the rest of their friends had gone quiet and were looking at them now.

"Skiing. I hit a tree." She replied vaguely.

"You've skied all your life, Meems." He said dryly.

"Well, I was being careless as usual." She said with sudden bitterness that Belle decided to interrupt before they broke into an argument again.

"Meems, why don't we go to class early so that I can give you the notes?" She suggested, pulling her friend away.

"Thanks, Belle. I wasn't in the mood to argue with Jason again." Mimi sighed heavily, wincing when Belle accidentally bumped into her injured arm.

"Sorry."

"It'll be fine." Mimi said, trying to put on her best smile, despite the fact that the pain in her arm wanted to make her cry.

"I was so worried about you when you didn't call, Meems." Belle said, her eyes looking slightly sad. "I guess you had a lot of then, huh?"

Fun? No, it wasn't fun. It was hell, Belle. It was hell. Mimi thought but she didn't say it. Belle wouldn't understand.

"Yeah, I guess." Mimi said hesitantly.

"Well, we still missed you, especially Jason." Belle stated.

Mimi nodded quietly. Jason was one of the last people she wanted to confront right now. She knew she'd fall apart if she talked to him for more than a minute because he'd see that there was something wrong.

"Meems, you okay?" Belle asked when she noticed that her friend had a dazed look in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mimi replied, as she sat down on her chair, cursing silently. Her body was sore all over but that would never compare to what she felt inside her.

So much.

Too much to even mention.

"Are you okay?" Belle asked worried.

"Belle, I said I was fine. A skiing accident isn't going to kill me." Mimi replied, slightly irritated. She didn't want to talk about her aches and pains. She just wanted to forget it. Forget everything. She wanted normalcy back, whatever that meant.

"Sorry. I'm just worried."

"I know and I appreciate it but honestly, I'm fine."

Belle nodded, not fully convinced but decided to let it go. When she's ready, she'd tell her.

The bell rang and the students walked in, filling the once quiet room.

Mimi tried to focus on the teacher, to whatever it was that he was saying but she couldn't. Her eyes began to blur and she was hearing a ringing. She sighed heavily, shaking the uneasiness out of her mind.

Please, please, don't pass out. She thought frantically. She looked at the clock. Five more minutes. She'd just have to make it in the next five minutes and she'd be fine. She gently rubbed her temple to make the noise go away.

Stop it! She wanted to scream to whatever it was that was making the noise but she knew it was all in her head. In her little demented head and she didn't want to make a scene. Not in front of all her friends.

The bell rang and she let out a relieved sigh. She found that she couldn't stand up. Her knees were so weak and shaky. A strong hand guided her free arm and led her outside.

"You okay?" Jason asked and Mimi nodded, still leaning on him.

"Major migraine." She lied.

"Do you want to go see the nurse?"

She shook her head frantically. "I'll..be fine." Mimi managed to choke out. She knew she wasn't fine, she was nowhere near fine. "Take me to the girls' bathroom." She told him.

Jason nodded, not faltering for a second. He walked her over to the bathroom and hesitated on letting her go on her own.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I could always get Belle or Chloe to come with you, if you need help." He suggested worriedly.

Mimi shook her head. "I'll be fine. I just need to..I'll be fine." She smiled at him weakly.

Jason nodded quietly, as he leaned against the wall, watching her go inside. He was going to wait for her here, in case something happened. He sighed heavily. It didn't feel right. Something was wrong with her, more wrong than she let them on.



***In the bathroom***

Mimi looked at herself in the mirror and groaned. God, she looked horrible. Her eyes were bloodshot and she practically had no color on her face. She shut her eyes tightly, and despite her need to sleep, she forced them open.

She saw his face whenever she closed her eyes; see him breathing over her; see the grin on his face. She hated him. Hated him!

Mimi wanted to throw up. She never knew his name but she blamed him for all his unhappiness, for the pain she felt inside and out. She wanted to kill, to make him pay for what he did to her but she knew she couldn't.

No amount of vengeance would give her back what she lost.

She fought back her tears and reached for the pills in her purse.

Painkillers.

One of the many pills that she had taken since her so called "skiing accident". They weren't going to cure her. They were just going to make her numb just for a little while and Mimi was thankful of that.

She brushed her hair and took one last look at herself in the mirror before she walked out the door. She braced herself before she had to put on her happy face again and pretend that all was right in the world despite knowing differently.

"Hey." She smiled at Jason.

"Ready now?" He asked cautiously.

Mimi nodded as they started to walk back to class. She had most of her class with him except her last three.

"So, how was France?" He asked.

Mimi shrugged her shoulders. "Very French." She chuckled uncomfortably. "How was your Christmas, Jase?" She asked, not wanting to mention France or anything French ever again.

"Lonely. I missed you." He said leaning closer to her but Mimi backed away and Jason looked so hurt.

But she couldn't help it.

She didn't want anyone touching her. Not Jason, or her mother, or any of their friends. It reminded her to much of him.

"Okay." He mumbled, showing his hurt and disappointment.

"Jason.."

"When you're ready." He said mechanically. He didn't understand it, why she was so different all of a sudden.

Maybe it was him. Maybe it was the fact that they argued before she left. Maybe it was the "sort of cousin" she spent so much time with in France.

Jason didn't know who to blame. Himself or Mimi or some other guy. But he knew something was up.

She had a barrier around herself now, an invisible wall and he could feel it. She walked around with it, shielding her from the rest of them; maybe even hiding whatever it was that she didn't want to tell them. Whatever it was she didn't want to tell him.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see Mimi standing there, slightly shaking, tears threatening to fall.

"What did I do?" He asked, feeling somewhat guilty for evoking a reaction from her. He hadn't meant to be so harsh.

Mimi shook her head, tears spilling over her pale cheeks. "Not you..I..Jason.." She just trailed off and bolted.

She couldn't tell him. He wouldn't understand.

He wouldn't forgive her.



***A week later***

"Something's not right with her, Shawn." Jason confided quietly as he put on his skates. They were in Philip's enormous backyard, getting ready to play hockey on his frozen lake.

"Maybe she's still mad at you." Shawn suggested.

"No, it's not that. It's like she's guilty of something...even afraid. She's not like before. She's acting.."

"Different?" Shawn finished for him. Jason nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that too. But whatever it is that's going on with Mimi, you'll just have to wait until she wants to tell you."

"It's like she hates me. She avoids me. She can't even talk to me without hesitating." Jason said, frustrated.

"She doesn't hate you. She just has a lot on her mind right now."

"Right."

"Hey, why don't you just ask her what's up?" Philip suggested, overhearing their conversation.

"She's avoiding me like the plague. How the hell do I get to ask her if I don't even see her or talk to her?"

"She's avoiding all of us, Jase." Philip blurted out.

"What?"

"Yeah. Belle said something about it." Shawn confided.

"Okay. So, what now? She doesn't want to be friends with us anymore?" Jason inquired.

"Maybe she still misses France." Philip suggested.

"No," Jason said, shaking his head softly. "She barely talks about it."

"Speak of the devil." Shawn mumbled and Jason turned to see Mimi, Chloe and Belle walking towards them.

"We came to watch you play." Belle said to all of them.

Shawn walked over to her and gave her a soft kiss. Jason wanted so much to do the same to Mimi but he didn't dare.

They still weren't "okay".

"Hey," He said to her as she sat next to him. "How's the arm?"

"Much better." She said. "I don't need a sling anymore."

"Good." Jason said. An uncomfortable silence fell between them and thankfully, for both their sakes, their friends regrouped and the small chatter began again.

Mimi looked okay, occasionally smiling. But Jason could tell she was uncomfortable. Maybe it was the cold or maybe her arm was still sore or maybe it was him. Mimi just didn't look like she felt in place.

"Let's go." Philip said, motioning Jason to join him and Shawn on the ice. They played for a few minutes, the girls cheering on the sidelines. Jason almost forgot Mimi while he played, giving his best. They skated back to the girls when it was over but only Chloe and Belle were there.

"She's in the house." Chloe said quietly, when he looked at them questioningly.

Jason nodded. "I'm going to get some hot chocolate." He said after he untied his skates and walked over to the house.



***Inside Philip's house***

Mimi quietly sniffled, wiping her tears from her face.

"Hey," Jason said and Mimi jumped, startled, hitting her side on the corner of the table.

"Shit!" She hissed, clutching her side a little. "Why the hell were you sneaking up on me?" She insisted angrily as Jason tried to help her up.

"Are you okay?"

"Stop asking me that!" She said pushing him away. She walked over to the living and sat on the couch, still clutching her bruised side.

"Let me see it." Jason said.

Mimi turned her head to look at him. She looked annoyed. "Go away."

"No."

"Why don't you just leave me alone?"

Jason sighed. "I wanted to thank you for the present. It must have taken you a lot of time to get that. Sorry I forgot to thank you." He said trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, that." She had completely forgotten it. Before she went to France, Mimi had left him an autograph baseball hat of his favorite player. "Did you like it?"

Jason nodded, smiling slightly. "I love it. Thanks."

Mimi nodded absently, her hand still on her side. "Okay."

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked worriedly, scooting over to her. Mimi backed away by instinct.

Jason watched her. She wouldn't look at him. Her eyes were looking everywhere, at everything, avoiding him. And she had moved away from him; that hurt. "Is this how we're going to be?"

"What?" She asked, as if not hearing him.

"This. Uncomfortable silences; you avoiding me and our friends; always getting angry when I try to talk to you. Is this it?" Jason asked, somewhat bitterly.

Mimi shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so." She didn't really mean that but it just came out so easily.

Better to hurt him than tell him the truth.

"Why? What the hell changed so much that you can't even look at me anymore? That you barely speak to any of your friends?" He wanted to know.

She was acting to damn distant and strange that it finally got to him.

"Everything." Mimi gasped. She wasn't supposed to say that.

"Everything? How?" Jason asked.

Mimi shook her head. She couldn't tell him. She wouldn't.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind."

Jason groaned; he had only so much patience for her. "What is it with you and saying nothing? Is everything nothing now? Is that it? Are we nothing? Are your friends nothing?" He was practically yelling at her.

Mimi stood up, glaring at him, her eyes shimmering from the tears that were about to fall. "Don't you dare yell at me! You have no right!"

"I have the right to be angry, to feel hurt, Mimi! Have you ever thought of that? Have you ever thought that what you're doing is hurting others too? Belle, huh, remember her? And Chloe? Shawn and Philip? They're your friends. Our friends. They care about you. We care about you but all you've done is push us away, me especially, ever since that stupid trip you took to France." Jason's chest heaved. He was so angry, so hurt and confused. He had to let it out, to let her know how he felt.

Mimi looked away. Get away from me Jason before I do something we'll both regret, she thought sadly.

She opened her mouth to say something but Jason was staring at her, shocked.

"Jesus you're bleeding!" He said, looking at the small spot where the blood had soaked through. Jason instantly moved forward to look at her wound.

Mimi backed away again; putting more space between them. She looked somewhat afraid and it confused him.

"I'll be fine." She said; her voice calm and steady despite her panic.

"No, you're not. You're bleeding. Let me see it." He argued.

"I said no! I'll go and wash it off. I'm sure it's nothing." She lied, trying to walk around him to get to the washroom.

Jason blocked her way.

"Let me through!" She hissed.

"Not until you let me see it." He insisted.

Mimi sighed sharply. She was in no way going to show Jason. She knew she was bleeding and the pain was making her dizzy but she just wanted to get to the bathroom and then she can pass out.

"Jason..go." She started to feel faint, as if the whole room was moving back and forth and she couldn't find anything to hold on to.

Jason ran over to her and caught her before she hit the floor.

Mimi came to, groaning. Her head felt like someone hit her with a brick and her side was sore.

"Great." She grumbled as she tried to sit up.

"Hey, take it easy." Jason said calmly. "Your bleeding stopped." He added uncomfortably.

"You saw." Mimi whispered looking away. Now he knows and my world my about to come crumbling around me again, Mimi thought sadly.

"Yeah, I saw. I saw the long stitch on your side and the ten other bruises on your body." He replied angrily. Jason didn't know what to make of it. He was just so damned worried and scared. I million thoughts were racing through his head right now, a thousand doubts filling his entire body, making him want to pass out too from the theories that he was coming up with.

That's why she was acting so distant. Someone was hurting her. And she didn't want him to find out.

Who? Who would want to hurt Mimi? She was so nice, sometimes a little air headed but she was practically helpless.

"Don't tell the others." She said, almost pleading him.

"Give me a good reason not to." He said, not wanting to be cruel but he felt desperate-for himself but for her especially. He wanted her to explain so that he could do something, to make her better. To make those damn bruises stop coming.

He wanted to know. He wanted answers. Someone was hurting the one person her cared about a lot.

"Because they can't know, Jason. They just can't. It wasn't supposed to be like this." Mimi said frantically.

"Who did this to you?" He demanded.

Mimi shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"It does matter. Someone's hurting you. It has to stop." He argued.

"It's over, I swear. Jason, please." Mimi begged. She couldn't risk letting the others know because they'd say something and then everyone would know and Mimi wouldn't be able to face it.

So much shame and hurt and pity. All over again. She was humiliated enough when everyone found out that she was poor and homeless. She never wanted their pity. Once was enough.

This would be a scandal if anyone found out and it would ruin her, her family all over again. And she knew she couldn't bare that.

"Mimi."

"You don't understand." She said quietly, the tears falling.

"Then make me understand! I can't help you if I understand what you're going through." He said, trying to pull her into a hug but Mimi fought him off.

"Don't touch me! Just don't." She said. Her voice was full of anger and fear. A lot of fear.

"What happened to you?" He knew there was a horrible story that came along with her bruises and big stitch.

"Doesn't matter." She mumbled, hugging herself as if cold. She only had his sweater on. "Where are my clothes?" She asked somewhat frantically.

"In the dryer. Had to wash the blood off. I gave you my sweater."

"Don't tell them Jason, or I'll never forgive you." Mimi whispered hoarsely as she frantically wiped the tears away when she saw their friends come in.

"Did we miss something?" Philip asked, looking at both of them suspiciously.

"He spilled cranberry juice on me." Mimi lied flatly.

"Oh." Chloe said, not convinced. Something was going on but neither was talking. Jason looked very angry and torn. Mimi on the other hand was looking ashamed and afraid.

"Belle, can we go home now?" Mimi's tiny voice broke the silence that was chilling the room. Belle nodded quietly, not really understanding.

Jason watched Mimi walk away; her small body slightly slouched, still keeping her arms folded in front of her.

He gritted his teeth, feeling the pain in his knuckles as he clenched his fists tighter.

"I'll be damned if I let this go. I'm going to figure this shit out." He grumbled, walking on the opposite direction, leaving a very confused Shawn and Philip.