A/N: Thanks for the reviews! FYI, Sean won't get in trouble as the fight took place off of school property (Sean & Jay knew that, that's why they dragged him outside). They're sneaky, huh? Haha Lots of talk in this chapter, a little short, maybe a little boring. Hopefully more action in the next chapter.

The ride home was agonizingly silent. Emma stared out the passenger window, refusing to give Sean even a glimpse of her face. It killed Sean not to be able to see her eyes, the one thing which had always given her away.

"Emma, I…"

"I don't want to talk about it. Not now, not ever. It's done." Her reply was hollow, and sounded foreign even to her own ears. She didn't look at him.

"Alright.. ok. I just wanted to apologize… for you having to see, to see me like that. Doing that. To Peter." He carefully worded the apology.

"Don't say his name. Don't ever say his name again." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"GOD DAMNIT EMMA! ITS NOT ABOUT HIM!" the ferocity with which the emotion burst forth took them both aback. He pulled the car over on a quiet street a few blocks from her house and raked his hands through his hair, as if he wanted to rip it all out at the roots.

"I'm sorry he hurt you. Of course I am. But I'm more sorry that you saw me lose control like that. That I scared you. It… It makes me no better than him." He explained desperately.

At her questioning stare, he continued, "I came back, thinking I was a better person. That I had a handle on my anger. I thought I was in control. But," he locked eyes with her "when I saw him hurting you.. it all came rushing back. Something took over. I lost control. I don't even remember any of it. If it hadn't been for Jay having the presence of mind to take Peter off school property, I could have been expelled. I can't afford to lose my student aid, but in that instant, I didn't care. Not when it was…" he was struggling to understand the emotions himself, let alone voice them. "…you. I scared myself, and I scared you. And I'm sorry for that. Please accept my apology."

Emma looked at him incredulously "Your apology? Sean I.. you saved me. If you hadn't gotten there when you did I… I don't know what he would have done. Yeah, seeing you beat up Peter was scary, but I wasn't scared of you…never of you. "

Sean let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "I just assumed.. you were shaking… and you asked me to stop hurting him.."

Emma took a shaky breath "Don't you get it, Sean? I asked you to stop for your sake, not his. I didn't want you to get in trouble. I know how important it is for you to finish school." She reached over and absently brushed a stray hair; which he'd let grow since he left; out of his face. She smiled sadly and said the thing that had been weighing so heavily on her mind "That's why… that's why I need you to stay away from me, Sean. You've been nothing but a great friend to me, but I keep getting you in trouble somehow. I must be quite the damsel in distress, it seems like every time I turn around you're saving me from something. Or someone. It's not good for you, Sean. I'm not good for you. You need to focus on yourself for once. Be selfish. Not that you'd know how." She let out a small laugh.

"What? Emma, no, I – this isn't what I want." He felt his chest tighten at her words.

Again she smiled without humor "I know Sean. But I do. Please. Let me do this one thing for you. I haven't been a very good friend to you. Please, let me be one now." She was crying at this point. Looking at her pleading eyes, realizing what she was asking, made him want to burst into tears himself.

"I don't know how to stop caring about you, Em. I never have. I don't know if I can be around you and not want to look after you." His breathing had grown more frequent, his heart racing.

Emma strengthened her resolve. She straightened in her seat. "You need to finish school. And I need to prove I can look after myself; that I can heal - myself. This is what's best for both of us for right now, ok? Please Sean." She felt herself weakening with each passing second, so she opened the door to the car.

Sean sensed he was losing the battle, and the overpowering grief he was already feeling was so apparent; even to himself; that it left him wondering what the hell he was doing letting her walk out of his life.

"Emma" he pleaded desperately "I don't think I can do this. How am I supposed to see you and not talk to you? Just pretend? Pretend I don't care? That you're not…my… not you? How do I do that? I can't." his eyes swam with unshed tears.

Emma swore she could feel the tattered threads holding her heart together give way.

"Pretend… pretend I broke your heart." She said sadly, and softly closed the door.

"I think you just did." Sean said to the interior of his car, which now seemed entirely too empty.