Sunlight shone through the window, waking a sleeping Shelby. she slipped over Scott, and went for a shower. She still had some dry blood from when Walt had raped her. When she'd returned to Scott's house, the previous afternoon, she'd fallen asleep immediately. She was so drained from her hysterical ft with daisy and from what'd happened with Walt that she'd gone out like a light, until he came home. For once, she showered without crying about what she'd just done--or had done to her.

Man, I can't believe I woke up smiling. And, as a plus, I was fully clothed, and warm under his covers, with no cuts or bruises that he caused (that's cause he never caused me any.) they say there's a first for everything, they're right… this time. For once I woke up loving myself. For once I woke up and I wanted to be me. For once I was happy, she thought as she got out of the shower.

"Hey, Shel, can I come in?" Scott asked through the door. After a few seconds she admitted him. His breath caught in his throat. "You look beautiful," he breathed. She looked at him with an are-you-alright look, but didn't say anything. After a while of him staring at her, she broke the silence.

"You'd better get going, you have to get ready for school," she said, leaving the bathroom.

"Not going," he said, shrugging.

"Uh, yes, you are!" she said, or rather, ordered him.

"No, I'm not," he replied stubbornly through a mouthful of toothpaste. He spat it out, dried his mouth and faced her. He could tell by the look on her face that she was wondering why not, so he saved her the trouble of asking. "Last time I went to school, something terrible happened, forcing you to go and find Daisy. I'm going to prevent all that, and stay here and keep you company."

"Scott, nothing's going to happen to me here!"

"Are you trying to lose me?" he mocked.

"Yeah," she replied, playing along. "By the way, does you dad know I'm here?" Scott nodded.

"My evil stepmother told him," he said, grimacing. Shelby laughed. "What?" he whined.

"Nothing," she said trying to keep a straight face. "That was just so Cinderella of you! The evil stepmother."

"Well, she is!" he protested. Shelby nodded, knowing he didn't want to go into that again. "Anyway, I think she got mad when she couldn't get to me anymore because you were always sleeping in the same bed." Shelby smirked. "So, she told daddy-dearest, and he told me that you could stay--"

"What?" she cut in, completely shocked. Scott looked devilish. "What did you do to convince him?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Oh! Nothing drastic! I just said I'd quite the football team if you didn't stay."

"You didn't!" Scott simply nodded. "Oh! I bet he didn't like that."

"Well, I can't say he did." Scott sat on the bed beside her. Suddenly, his face became more serious.

"What is it?" she asked, very aware that she wouldn't like what was coming.

"Shel, if I wouldn't have stopped, yesterday, how far would you have gone?" he whispered the last part. She looked at him as he looked down at his bare feet. She sighed.

"Scott…" she said, trying to avoid the question.

"Would you have had sex with me?" he asked, surprised at his forwardness. She looked down at the floor. He looked at her. "You would have wouldn't you?" She nodded ever so slightly. "What happened on the streets?" he pried further.

This time she looked up, and her eyes were impassible, her face wiped of any trace of emotion. Scott looked a little scared of this seemingly dead look.

"That, Scott, is none of you fucking business. I'm going to breakfast," she said, getting up and heading to the door. He caught her arm, right before she reached it. She spun around but her face was no longer blank. She looked at him, horrified. Jeff had done the same thing to her, two nights ago, right before he started hitting her. That scared look made him release her instantly. He didn't know what caused that fear, but he knew one thing: it was powerful enough to break through those walls and show just as strong as ever. She left.

Okay, he thought, time to put the pieces of this puzzle together. He took out a pad of paper and a pen. He had too many thoughts to put it all together in his mind. Well, I know it has something to do with the streets. And I know it's big. It has something to do with a guy, because that's who hit her when she ran. It's night oriented: she was in the park at 2 in the morning, wandering. Makes enough money… she would've had to find a motel… but maybe Daisy gave her the money… or she had it before. Still…. And… oh my god… it's sexual. The way she thought it wold solve the problem of telling me her secret. And Walt ruined it for her, just like Elaine did for me.

Looking down at his list he had "streets, big secret, running, guy, night, money, and sex" written down. He gasped as realization dawned on him. He picked up his school bag. He was going to school after all. With one final word added to his list he left the room. He ran down the stairs and was leaving when Shelby came out from the kitchen.

"Scott, you're going to school? Well, you need break--" but before she could finish, the door had slammed. She looked, puzzled, at it, almost as if it explained his behaviour. Nothing. She went up to his room, maybe there'd be a clue there. On his bed, she found it: the list. She scanned it. She covered her mouth and shook her head, knowing that he figured it all out. A lone tear traced a path down her cheek at the final word on the page: whore.

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"Daisy?" David asked the next morning, after having dropped Jess off at school. "How high was I yesterday?" she chuckled.

"Pretty high. Let's just say that you went a little far. What were you on?"

"E. There might've been some alcohol added to my system at one point," he said. Daisy looked angrily at him. "What did I do? I can't remember. Wait! I didn't do handstands again, did I?"

"Not once I got there. You spaced off a lot. At one point you had a thick English accent."

"What did I say?"

"You rambled about pointless shit for a while."

"Oh!" he sighed. "Is that all? Then we're okay."

"Actually," she said, "David, that's--that's not all." He stopped walking and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You… you… David, you told me about your father," she finally said. He looked shocked at first, then plain mad.

"What about him?"

"About how he physically and verbally abuses you," she said softly. He looked so angry she backed away.

"Oh, fuck! No! I couldn't have said that! No! I'm not that fucking stupid…" he mumbled. Rubbing his face with his hands.

"David?" she asked, touching his shoulder. He whacked her arm off him.

"Don't you fucking touch me!"

"David, I won't hurt you!" she said soothingly.

"Don't give me that shit! Just stay the fuck away from me! And if you ever tell anyone, I'm…" he paused. He was going to somewhere he didn't want to go, so he checked himself quickly. "I'm going to hate you," he said calmly. At that he ran the rest of the way to school. Daisy stood there, looking at his shrinking form.

**************************************************************************************

"Okay, today, we're reading some Oscar Wilde," Juliette said perkily at the beginning of her tutoring session with Auggie. He nodded. As she pulled out the book and opened it to the right page, he couldn't tear his eyes off her. Then he noticed it: an ever so small red mark was forming on her long sleeved grey shirt at the crook of her elbow. He looked closer at it.

"Jules, is that blood?" he asked, pointing to it. She reacted quickly… maybe a little too quickly.

"No… it's… uh… uh… just some ketchup I spilled at lunch."

"If it's ketchup, how come it's getting bigger?"

"Uh… um…" she stammered, racking her brain for an excuse. He grabbed her arm and pulled up the sleeve. A newly formed cut was bleeding rather profusely beneath a Band-Aid, which wasn't doing much.

"Jules, that ain't good. You gotta get that checked."

"No, it's nothing, really," she said, yanking back her arm, and pulling down her sleeve.

"What do you mean, nothin? That cut's bleeding bad!" She looked away. "Come on, I'll take you to the nurse," he offered.

"No!" she protested.

"Why not?"

"Because… because… I … did this."

"Yeah, by accident, so we'll go get it fixed up."

"Not by accident, Augusto. I'm… I'm a cutter," she whispered.

"A what?" he asked, confused.

"A cutter. I cut myself to make the pain leak out where I can deal with it. I take control over the one thing I have: my own pain. I make it mine. No one else's. Mine! No one causes it but me."

"What are you talking about? What pain?" She looked at him with such sadness in her eyes that it made him feel awful for her. As a tear slipped down her face, he got up, walked to where she sat, and hugged her.

"Aw, Jules, don't cry! It's okay, now," he tried to comfort her. She looked up at him and a sudden urge overcame her in her moment of weakness and she kissed him. He was shocked, but kissed her back, slipping his hands around her neck. The kiss deepened and soon she found herself pushed up against the nearest wall, Auggie's body pressed against hers. He let go of her mouth and trailed kisses down her neck. She opened her eyes, that's when she pushed him off her gently. He looked puzzled, but she shot a look behind him. He tuned around to the stunned face of--

"Shelby! What're you doing here?"

"Looking for Daisy, when I saw you. What're you doing?" she asked, eyeing Juliette suspiciously. Wasn't she the homecoming queen?

"Tutoring," he replied hoarsely.

"Really? What's the class? Making out 101?" she asked sarcastically. Juliette looked uncomfortable and excused herself, saying something about the bathroom.

"Shel! Why'd you stop us?"

"Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if it wasn't me who stopped you?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. What're you doing at school?"

"Well, I go here, as does my best friend, whom I'm looking for."

"I talked to Daisy and she said you were staying at Scott's."

"So?"

"Is it true?" she nodded. "Are you alright? You have a nasty cut on your cheek."

"I know."

"He didn't do that to you, did he?" She shook her head. "Why do you need Daisy?"

"Arrangements for Jess. She's sting at Daisy's house."

"Uh… okay, she should be in the cafeteria," he said with a shrug.

"Thanks, Aug, see ya later."

"If you actually come to school."

"Not yet."

**************************************************************************************

Shelby walked into the cafeteria, looking for Daisy. She didn't think anyone would notice her or question her absence, but she was sadly mistaken. Nearly all the guys' heads turned as she entered and followed her with their eyes as she walked around, searching for her friend. One guy strutted up to her.

"Yes?" she asked coldly, as he was blocking her way.

"Wanna go have some fun?" he asked seductively, and showed her some money. She looked at him in horror, then her eyes drifted to a table hind him where Scott sat amidst a bunch of laughing guys. He was the only one who wasn't laughing. She walked past the guy and right up to Scott. She grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked furiously.

"Well, I was eating lun--" but was cut off by her hand slapping him.

"You told them?" she spat out.

"You told them I was… I was…" she couldn't say it.

"A slut? A whore? A skank?" he supplied. She slapped him again, her eyes shining madly.

"How dare you? I…I trusted you! I trusted you and you betrayed me! You're nothing better than the pigs who pay me, and I'm no smarter than the slut you make me out to be for trusting you! I will never--NEVER--" she yelled, "forgive you. For as long as I live," she said quietly. She ran out of the cafeteria, out of the school, and straight back to his house. She packed all her stuff and left, leaving one note behind, written below the word "whore" on his list. It read: "I thought you were different. I thought you'd finally change my view of men. I thought you'd be the one to stand out. I thought wrong. I trusted you and you betrayed me. That's the worst thing ANYONE has ever done. Congratulations." With one last glance around, she left that house.

This time, she thought, I'm not coming back.