A/N: I changed the mistakes in Crash and Burn, so if you want to re-read it. This one might get confusing, because there is a lot that I want to happen.

ScorpiaS: I like this chapter! The way you described the sex scene was awesome (lol that sounds weird, but the whole satin sheets/ candles thing was good) and you made the story seem realistic and believable. Awesome, Jas :) Thanks so much! That means a lot to me. I worked really hard on that scene. I wanted it to show that Emma had imagined how her first time would be, and reality was nothing like what she had imagined, and that maybe, that's how her future would be. Also, I loved the 'instead there were blankets that smelled like the sex of a dozen other couples' part. I thought the wording was really good on that. I'm so glad its realistic, thank you! Thanks for faithfully reading this story.

Green Lemonade: Aw, its so sweet...I think anyway. But I kind of see where this might go. Emma's going to get pregnant? I'll never tell. But thanks for saying that its sweet. And thanks for faithfully reading this story.

StoryWriter92: Wow...that was deep. Great chapter! You have a great way of showing that Emma's changing drastically without making her out of character.
My only advice would be to make Emma resist more when she's with the counselor. Let her let out her emotions little by little, and maybe have some sessions where she doesn't speak at all. It'll really help develop the story. Yay! I love it when my stories are deep. And it means so much to me that Emma is still in character. I have a problem with the Emma and the counselor scene, too, but they won't always be like that. She'll resist in future scenes. Thanks! The only thing I didn't like was that Spike seemed a little out of character. But it was only one paragraph, so it was no big deal I hate that part of the story, too, but you're right, it is only one paragraph, so I shouldn't have a meltdown, right? Haha. Anyway, expect an IN CHARACTER Spike soon…

"I told you one thousand times, I am fine," I said, aggravated at the Emergency Room doctor. "There was no need to call my parents, I could have taken a cab."

"That's nonsense. They'll be here any minute anyway," the doctor said. "Now, tell me again, what happened?"

"I told you!" I exclaimed. "Why do you make me repeat myself?"

"Tell me one more time."

"Jay and I were arguing, and he was speeding. He didn't see the other car, and when he did he swerved and I guess we ran off the road."

"Jay? Is that your boyfriend?"

I looked away. "No, he's just a friend."

"Okay. We need to run some tests," he said. "Are you sexually active, Emma?"

I was confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm just required to ask," he said.

"Yeah, I am."

"When was your last period?"

"At the beginning of the month," I told him. "Like, the 3rd through the 8th."

He nodded. "We need to take a urine sample, and the nurse will be here to take you to X-ray."

Putting up with Mom and Snake was horrible. All of the questions were annoying.

"What were you doing skipping school?"

"Why were you with Jay?"

"Why were you on that road anyway?"

"Are you okay?"

School wasn't much better. Manny thought she had a right to 'parent' me too.

"Why are you still hanging out with Jay?" She ambushed me at seven thirty in the morning. She'd been standing by my locker, her hands on her hips.

"It's none of your business," I told her, pushing her aside so I could open the door to my locker.

"Do you ever learn?" She said, asking the familiar question I had always asked myself. "He cheated on Alex with how many girls? He gave you gonorrhea. He went back to Alex, and then he almost hit her in the hallway the other day!"

"He was defending me!" I told her.

"Is what Alex said true? Do you go to see him every night at the ravine? Do you sleep with him?"

"Manny that is none of your business."

"So that means that it is true? Is it like with the blowjobs?" she asked, tauntingly, making fun of me. "Does he give you bracelets if you do a good job?"

"You think that the blowjobs were about the stupid bracelets?" I asked her in a hushed, almost frantic voice. "It was so much more than that, Manny. You're just too freaking shallow to see it."

"And the sex? Is that more?"

"Manny, I already told you that it's none of your business!" I said to her, losing my patience.

"Are you sleeping with him, Emma? Are you turning into a slut now?"

"Yes, I'm sleeping with him, okay?" I screamed at her at the top of my lungs.

Everybody in the hallway turned and looked. Snake included.

"Are you happy now?" I asked her, tears coming to my eyes. "Are you fucking happy now?" I walked past her and to English class.

I didn't stay in class long, though, because minutes after the bell rang there was a knock on the door and Snake stuck his head in. "Can I talk to Emma for a few minutes, please?" he asked Miss Kwan.

Miss Kwan nodded and said, "Go ahead, Emma."

I didn't want to move. I knew he had heard my screaming at Manny in the hallway. I knew he had heard my confession.

I walked over to the door as quickly as I could. I could feel my classmates eyes on me, questioning what was going to happen, wanting to see me get yelled at and grounded.

"My classroom is empty right now," Snake said, leading the way.

"Is this important?" I asked, before following him. "I don't really have the time to—"

"Yes, Emma, this is important," he snapped.

I solemnly followed him to his classroom.

"Emma, what's going on with you?" he asked once he'd sat on his desk. I leaned against the table opposite of him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do, Emma," he said. "You're sneaking out late, every night, you're skipping school. You got into a car with Jay; you got into an accident with him. Now I hear you screaming that you're having sex with him?"

I looked away. "I was just telling Manny what she wanted to hear so she would shut up."

He nodded. "I don't believe you, Em. I want to know what I can do to help. Just tell me what I can do to save you from all of this."

"I'm sorry, dad, but what you see is what you get. This is how the shooting affected me. This is how it changed me. You saw Rick being teased; you knew what was going on. You could have gone to Raditch. But you didn't. Instead everybody ignored what happened, and he came to school with a gun. He tried to kill me, Dad," I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible. "Now there is no saving me."

"I don't believe that," he said. "There is always hope."

Somehow, his words pierced the barrier that I had built around me. Hope. I'd forgotten that the word even existed. The words repeated inside my head. There is always hope. There is always hope. There is always hope.