Author's Note – Sorry for such a long wait to get this chapter out. I guess you could say I took a break from writing fanfictions. Any ways, hopefully, now I can get back into the swing of things and release a new chapter regularly. Anyways, read and review people! Your words are always appreciated:-)

Chapter 14

Assignments Can Be Fun

"Ok, now class, I know how much we all LOVE assignments!" exclaimed my drama teacher, Mr Plate, who had already begun handing assessment sheets out to the class.

The class did nothing to suppress their groans but let their annoyance be expressed to the world. After all, we were in drama class.

"Oh hush! It isn't that bad, this is drama remember, no funky little equations or surds in this assignment. No, we're going to study a play. The great Shakespearian work of 'Romeo and Juliet', to be exact. I will set you off in pairs, you will read the play, and please, you can't pass this semester if you watch Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo Plus Juliet. Please people, go to the library, pick up that book and read it, it will be of great help to you. Now as I was saying, partners. I'll pair you off, you will, in two weeks time hand up to me one report that answers all the questions on the sheet. Any questions my little dramatic ones!"

Mr Plate stood up straighter and looked around the room, eagerly awaiting a question.

"No, no questions? Ok, well, I guess I'll tell you who your partners are."

He walked back to the front of the classroom to his desk and started searching around for his list of names.

I picked up my assessment sheet and quickly scanned it. It seemed easy enough, even if my partner was lazy, I'd gladly do the work for them, it seriously wasn't that hard. I don't even understand why we had to have partners in the first place.

"Ok, Marissa Cooper, you'll be paired with Jane Hathaway. Ryan Atwood, you're with Seth Cohen. Ginger Matthews, Peter O'Connor," by now Mr Plate had gotten tired of using last names and just said firsts, "Marie and Kitty, Anna and Louisa, Summer and Mykalena, Sam and Christian, Daniel with John, Clayton with Chelsea…"

At that moment, my heart started beating a thousand beats at once. This was my chance. Oh! What would I wear, where would we meet? All these questions! I phased out and stopped listening to Mr Plate. I was absorbed in my own worrying that I didn't even notice that the bell had rung and that the love-of-my-life tapping me on the shoulder.

"Chelsea? Chelsea?" I phased back in and realised Clayton had been saying my name for a while, trying to get my attention. I shook my head and blinked my eyes.

"Sorry, I was somewhere else for a moment."

"Obviously." He chuckled to himself. "So, as I was trying to ask you, when do you want to meet up to do this assignment?"

I just stared for a few seconds. I felt as though he was asking me out on a date, but when I realised he was just talking about meeting up for the assignment I quickly snapped out of my daze.

"Uhh," Was all I could dumbly say.

"How about you come over to my house, say, this Sunday at around 1 pm? Is that ok with you?"

"Uhh, sure, yeah, I'd love to,"

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!" I thought to myself, why did I have to say that I would 'love' to? Argh!"

But no, he didn't react in a disgusted way, I guess, now I was starting to believe this whole 'he likes you thing' that Seth was saying earlier. I just find it so hard for me to grasp that concept, that I forget all the time.

He just smiled at me instead. That smile that just makes your heart beat faster, that smile that make your knees go weak because you know it was meant for you.

"Ok, cool see you then, ok?" I started packing away my things when he turned around once again and came back.

"Sorry, I forgot to give you my address or phone number, silly me." He bent his head lower to write down his address and number and I could clearly see a pink tinge in his cheeks. He handed me the slip of paper and waited for me to finish packing my stuff away.

"Come on," he instructed, "we better get to lunch before the others start wondering where we are.

I followed his lead, as I had no idea how to get to where everybody else was sitting.

I lost him for a few seconds. I turned around on the spot. He was nowhere in sight. I was panicking internally. How was I supposed to get back to the group?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a lunch tray was thrust into my hands and a smiling Clayton was standing in front of me.

"Sorry about leaving you, but the line was temporarily short, so I quickly went to get us some lunch. I hope you like pizza."

I finally looked down at the contents resting on the plastic slab in front of me and looked up again with a smile on my face.

"I love pizza," I acknowledged and he took my hand and led me to the direction of where everyone else was sitting.

Oh gosh, his hands were so nice and warm. He held onto me so tightly. Not tightly, but firmly, he didn't hurt me or anything. But I could feel his protectiveness of me. Just by the way he walked, the way he held my hand. I'm just hoping that Seth was right, that this all wasn't some kind of 'new girl' prank.

We arrived at the table where everyone was sitting down already eating their food. Sadly, he let go of my hand, but I didn't look back at him. How embarrassing would it be, if he knew that I missed the feel of his hand on mine?

I absorbed myself into the food in front of me and prayed a silent prayer that no one could see, hear or feel. My silent plea to my Lord, the only thing that has been, and who I hope will always be there for me. My only option to take for some sort of cathartic release.

CHINO FLASHBACK SESSION 2:

START OF FLASHBACK

"Come on!" he called back playfully. I was lagging behind. I kind of knew that I shouldn't be here. I mean, I was 13. 13 year olds don't usually have 18-year-old boyfriends who take them to bars.

But, what was I to worry about? We were out of town, nobody would catch us, I was wearing my new dress that Eddie had bought me for the occasion and I had Eddie to protect me. He wouldn't let me get hurt.

I quickly caught up with him, my stiletto's clicking the pavement as I jogged as fast as my shoes would permit, towards my boyfriend.

We were in Los Angeles. As far as Ryan knew, I was at home with Mom. As far as my Mom knew…wait, Mom didn't know, she didn't care

I clutched onto his arm and we walked together towards the bar. It was about 12:30am and we had just been to a party.

We arrived at the doors of the bar and the security guard let us in because he was a friend of Eddie's. Eddie had friends everywhere it seemed.

I took off my coat as I entered the smoky bar that reeked at times of stale cigarettes and armpits, and found myself a stool to sit on near where the bartender was.

"Sugar, I have to go and talk to this guy for a while concerning some business, just stay here and order whatever you like ok?" He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and walked away.

I looked around the room. There were some guys playing pool at a table in the other side of the room. Various people were sitting in booths. One woman looked as though they could commit suicide at any second. She was playing with a knife, slowly bringing it down in an attempt to cut herself, then quickly bringing it away. I could see small cuts and scars on her arms and legs and a little bit of blood on her knife.

I turned away from this scene to look at the people a few booths away from the suicidal woman. My feelings of sadness and pity left as quickly as they came as I saw a man and a woman having sex in the dirty, graffiti covered booth. In the next booth over, a few kids, maybe about 16 years old were smoking a joint and a few others were snorting cocaine who I assumed they had purchased off the sallow-faced, scabby woman. She was doing an obvious transaction in the corner with another helpless soul, whose life would be flushed down the toilet with the addictiveness of her produce, or perhaps an overdose.

I averted my head away from these depressing people and ordered a Coke from the bartender. Why did Eddie have to meet this guy in such a seedy place?

I inspected the glass for any anthrax any other visible signs of disease before I obtained a straw and sucked. I finished drinking and sat there swinging my legs about and playing with the bracelets on my arms. I looked back to where Eddie and the man were sitting. The man looked really sleazy. There was a sick feeling inside me that told me that I shouldn't be here. I wanted to leave, I really did, but I knew that I would disappoint Eddie. I didn't want to disappoint him.

I came to the conclusion that he wouldn't mind if I just went outside for a bit, so that I could be away from the smokiness of this dodgy place. I wrapped my coat around my small, frozen body as I went out of the doors. I walked to the side, and rested my body against the wall near the entrance of the alleyway. Closing my eyes, I breathed in and out.

My safety was now in risk. I didn't realise it then, but the next few minutes would become life changing moments. I hated those moments. I still hate those first moments today, but now I've come to accept that it must have happened for a reason. At first I blamed myself. "It was all my fault," I used to say in my head, over and over again. He made me believe it was my fault, but luckily, it was only him and I who knew. Him and I were the only people who could blame me.

"Hey there honey-buns," said a man in the darkness of the alleyway. He had a drunken-sounding, giddy tone. A tone that I didn't trust for a second.

I froze up as I saw him walk into the view of a streetlight. It was Eddie's new business venture.

"W-where's Eddie?" I asked as calmly as possible.

"Honey-buns, don't worry, I'll take care of you. You'll be safe with me." He placed a tight hand onto my arm and forced my body onto him. He pressed me to the cold, hard wall of the alley way and started feeling me up.

I screamed and writhed but he just became more angry and slapped me. I fought for my life, I fought for my virginity, he couldn't rape me. He couldn't take that away from me! Or so I thought.

I felt so humiliated as he started to. I cried. My most vivid memory of that night was the feeling of my hot tears on my cold face. My stinging tears or humiliation and pain. I was being degraded by this sleazy excuse for a man and I couldn't stop him.

I felt his disgusting, alcohol-reeking breath in my mouth as he tried to kiss me. I struggled to swat his face away from me. I was screeching now. An immense pain inside of me was taking over. I was helpless and useless. How could someone do this to a person? To a 13 year-old-girl?

"Shut up bitch!" he whispered angrily into my ear. He pressed a knife up to my neck and threatened to kill me if I didn't stop crying and drawing attention to myself. Didn't those people care about me? Those random people driving their cars care about me? They could see me. But nobody came.

I closed my eyes, suppressed my yells and succumbed to his purposeful, evil humiliation when the pressure on my body suddenly moved away from me.

I opened up my eyes and saw Eddie beating him up. I fixed up my dress and coat and ran away towards Eddie's car. I was still crying by the time Eddie came back, but I got no reassuring arms. I didn't get any kind words like "it's ok, he won't hurt you anymore."

Instead he slapped my face and told me to get in the car "you slut".

He dropped me off at the bottom of my street and didn't wait until I got to my house like he usually would.

"You will pay, you will be punished" he said.

And I did.

END OF FLASHBACK

Author's Note – Ugh! That was really emotionally draining to write. I feel so horrible now:-( But, the story must go on, and this is what happened to Chelsea Atwood before she came to The OC. I'd just like to add, that real life cases of rape like this always makes me incredibly angry. I have so much sympathy and support for those people who have to go through such horrid things, and hopefully, this chapter has shown a possibly accurate portrayal of might happen in Chelsea's situation.