"Ren!" Tawny shrieked, her eyes welling up with tears and her heart clenching. Jason was standing over her limp body, his chest heaving up and down rapidly, his rage evident. In a matter of moments, the two had crossed the street. Miles tackled Jason to the ground, the blonde stunned at his sudden opposition, as Tawny ran to Ren's side, kneeling down and gently talking to her, hoping to calm her, wiping her tears away, trying to help her up. The older girl rested her head in the crook of Tawny's neck, tears flooding down her cheeks. Tawny held her protectively as the older girl sobbed, both of their bodies shaking. Tawny took off her coat and wrapped it around Ren's shoulders. They weren't shaking from the cold.

Jason tried in vain to get the older man off of him as he was forced into the ground. "Get off of me, you asshole!" He shouted but was quickly silenced as Miles punched him in the face, Jason's whole body feeling the impact. While most people wouldn't guess it—though his body definitely showed it--Miles liked to keep in shape and Jason, even with his 'acting abs', was no match for him. Miles eased off of Jason just enough so the boy could breathe before pulling the blonde to his feet and pushing him back.

"Get the fuck out of here." Miles growled, a deathly serious look in his eye. Jason looked from Ren, who was shaking in Tawny's arms, to the man in front of him.

"And if I don't? This is between me and her! You have nothing to do with us!"

"We have a lot more of a right to be here, with her, than you do, you bastard! We have more of a right than you ever had! So how dare you say we have no right?!" Tawny growled, still holding Ren tightly in her arms. Ren felt slightly stunned when she heard the venom in Tawny's voice. She had never heard Tawny so…angry—in fact, Ren was pretty sure she had never seen Tawny angry at all, unless she was slightly peeved at Louis.

"You don't even fucking know her!" Jason glared at Tawny, who was unmoved by his attempt to make her back down.

"I know her better than you ever will." Tawny had to hold herself back from marching up to him and tearing him from limb to limb. The feeling of Ren's body shaking against her, damaged and hurt, made her want to do something she rarely ever wanted to do…it made her feel something she never felt towards anyone—rage. Tawny was usually considered a peaceful person…and she always resorted to something else before violence. However, right now, she wanted to kill the man who had harmed the girl in her arms.

"What are you even going to do?! Do you know who I am?!" Jason's stance moved to its original cocky one that he sported everywhere. "In a couple of seconds, I could call the cops and instantly spin this my way."

"Yeah. But how would this look to the magazines, eh, Jason?! How would it look to the people who are constantly searching for a star's flaw?! They'd definitely find it when they found a worthless creep beating up his ex-girlfriend!" Miles glared at Jason, and he saw Jason visibly flinch. This would not look pretty to the papers. All Tawny could think was that, not only was Jason a complete bastard…he was insanely stupid, as well.

"It doesn't matter! This is between me and her!" Jason growled, advancing towards Ren. Tawny pulled Ren closer and Miles punched Jason in the face, one more time, forcing the younger man to stumble back into the alley.

"Not anymore!" Miles screamed. "I will beat the living shit out of you. Go, pretty boy! This is not a fight you want to take!" Miles shouted, his voice breaking through the deadly night, and Jason hesitantly turned and ran away before the cops showed up, knowing the paparazzi—which surprisingly hadn't followed him to the restaurant—would be soon behind them. And that would be hell for him.

Miles looked back towards Tawny, who was gently trying to soothe Ren down. "Th…ank…you…" Ren shakily groaned. Tawny was barely able to hear her. Tawny nodded and closed her eyes, pressing her lips gently to Ren's forehead.

"You're going to be ok. Everything will be ok." Tawny whispered, pressing her lips once more to Ren's forehead. It was a gentle kiss. A promise. And Ren seemed to relax against her touch. "I won't let him hurt you again. We'll be here. You'll be ok." Another gentle kiss and Tawny could feel Ren's tears slow slightly. "You're safe." Luckily, the older girl wasn't hurt as badly as she could have been. It could have been a lot worse. It wasn't pretty…and Tawny wished that it had never happened…but it could have been a lot worse. Who knows how far Jason would have gone? He might have even killed…Tawny stopped her train of thought. No. That wouldn't have happened. They got there in time. And Ren was ok. It looked like Jason had really only hit her in the face once…maybe twice…though the other blows were probably more damaging to the rest of her body, which probably wasn't good. That was, unless he hadn't hit her much. But, from the looks of it…he had. Tawny gasped as she saw the gash on the back of Ren's head from the impact of the ground.

Maybe it was a bit worse than she thought.

If only they had gotten there sooner, maybe they could have saved this whole fight completely. Tawny knew, however, that it was better later than never in this case.

"Can you help me get her up?" Tawny whispered, her voice cracking slightly. Miles nodded and took Ren's right side, helping her to her feet. Ren leaned on Tawny as she stood on shaky legs, the tears still gently falling down her cheeks and, when she was standing, she didn't let go of her tight grip on the younger girl. "My God, Ren…that…that bastard. We have to…come on. We have to get you cleaned up." Ren nodded wordlessly against Tawny's forehead as they started guiding the wounded girl towards Tawny's house, not exactly sure where else to go. "Mi…Mi I need something to stop the bleeding on the back of her head." Tawny whispered, frantically looking for anything to wrap around Ren's head. She would have ripped off a sleeve, but she had already wrapped her coat around Ren's arms.

Ren felt strong arms wrap around her and her body being hoisted up into the air, and she was glad, even in her exhausted state, that she didn't have to use the energy to walk anymore. It hurt too much. Ren couldn't help but be thankful that she didn't have to face her family, like this.

In fact, Ren hoped she never had to go home again. Because she knew that not only would her family's disapproving faces be there…but she knew that so would Jason, with another one of his stories. Another one of his lies.

"You put up quite a fight though, before I got there, huh, Ren?" She heard an unfamiliar voice reach her ears. It was from the man carrying her. "He was already a bit bloody before I punched him." He chuckled and she knew he was trying to calm her down…maybe make her feel good about standing up to Jason, for however long she had. No matter if she gave up, in the end. She ignored the fact that she didn't know who the man was…all she could think was that she was extremely thankful that he was there, with Tawny. If it weren't for them…she wasn't sure if she would still be breathing.

Ren's eyes gently closed and they walked for a couple of moments before she heard Tawny's soothing voice, lulling her into a comforting sleep. She felt her breathing slow and the pain seem to numb as Tawny's soft voice floated through her ears. It was almost angelic.

"Yeah…" She heard Tawny's gentle voice next to her as they moved along the road, everything else, all of the voices in the night around them, blurring together into the silence. She felt Tawny's soft hand move the hair, which was damp from her tears, in front of her face behind her ear. Did she think she was asleep? It would make sense. Her eyes had been closed for a couple of minutes now…and her tears had stopped. But, Ren was sure, that was just because she could feel Tawny by her side. "My Ren is a strong one." She felt Tawny's lips press against her forehead one more time and Ren felt her heart soar. Something about Tawny saying 'My Ren' made her feel like she could go through all of what she had five times more, just to hear those soft, gentle…meaningful words from Tawny's mouth.

With those words, and the pain eased greatly, Ren fell asleep in a stranger's arms.

oESoRoToESo

It was kind of ironic that the storm that was heading in hit right in the middle of the walk back to Tawny's house.

It was also kind of ironic that, at the last minute before they started off towards the pizza parlor, Tawny and Miles figured that it would be 'nicer to walk'.

They started to regret not taking the truck.

While it was only a couple of blocks away—around ten blocks--it had started pouring around five blocks away from the Dean household, which really wasn't good for the three stuck in the rain. Ren groaned and shifted in Miles arms. Tawny bit her lip. She knew Ren didn't like the rain. They started to jog down the road.

"Shit!" Tawny normally loved the rain…but right now…it was highly unneeded. "We're not that far…but it's a 10 minute walk from here. Maybe five if we ran the whole way…how are…we can't keep her out in the rain like this! It'll only make her worse."

"This is just…this sucks!" Miles grumbled, trying to keep Ren up in his arms, losing his grip slightly from the pouring rain. "I…can't really run with her…in my arms…I don't want her to…get hurt more!" Miles shouted over the pounding rain. They couldn't afford to stop. There was a crash of thunder and Tawny felt her heart stop when she heard Ren sob softly against Miles chest; Ren was scared to death of storms.

"I know…we…God…she's soaked." Tawny looked frantically over at Ren. The coat she had given her was thick…but it was completely soaked through. Tawny, luckily, was wearing her signature 'layered' look and she pulled off her long-sleeved shirt—which was also soaked through—to reveal another long-sleeved shirt, which she pulled off and laid both of the shirts on top of the older girl. "We have to keep her warm."

"Jesus, Tawny…how many layers do you wear?!" Miles tried to keep the humor light and Tawny half-smiled back at him. "You can't…you have to be freezing, T. At least take my jacket." Miles looked worriedly at the girl next to him as they continued to jog towards her house.

"I usually wear more layers. I wish I did. I figured I could tough it out tonight. And I didn't really have much time to put anything on." She yelled over the rain, her breath running slightly short. The cold definitely wasn't helping. Miles went to take of his coat but Tawny stopped him. "Thanks but…I don't really need it. I'll be ok." While she tried to hide the freezing cold that was biting at her, her teeth still managed to chatter while she spoke and Miles was extremely unconvinced.

Tawny saw a flash of lightning and automatically reached her hand out and put it on Ren's back, wishing to comfort the girl. When the thunder crashed through the sky this time, with Tawny's hand gently rubbing circles on her back, Ren didn't whimper.

oESoRoToESo

It had taken them seven minutes to get to the house, and all three of them were soaked to the bone, all of them shivering. However hard Tawny tried to hide it, she was definitely the worst off…she was shaking to death. The temperature, they discovered as they walked into the house, outside was barely above freezing temperature: 33 degrees. They stumbled into the nearby living room, Miles gently easing Ren onto the sofa. Tawny ran into the bathroom, frantically searching through the medicine cabinet to find the gauze they kept in the house, in case of an emergency.

"She's lost a bit of blood, Tawn. But, to be honest, not as much as I would have thought she had, from that impact." Miles said nervously, checking over Ren's wounds. She groaned as he rolled her over on the couch. The one on the back of her head was the worst. Hopefully she wouldn't have a concussion. Tawny scrambled out of the bathroom without the gauze in hand, not caring about the mess she left behind.

"That's good, right? Damn it…I can't…I can't find the gauze." Tawny sighed as she looked over at Ren's shaking form, which was soaking wet. "She has to…we…we have to get her out of these wet clothes." Tawny whispered and Miles nodded. They gently maneuvered the wounded girl up as Tawny grabbed the clothes she had laid on top of her and threw them to the floor, quickly pulling off Ren's long-sleeved shirt, carelessly throwing it to the side as well. Tawny was sure that, on any other occasion, she would have melted from the possibility of doing this to Ren—she had already had a couple of agonizing fantasies about it—but, as of right then, she was just scared out of her mind. She looked over at Miles and shook her head. "You've been a lot of help, Mi…but…well…I think maybe you should look away for a bit." Miles nodded and turned around as Tawny pulled off the remaining layer…a t-shirt, leaving her in nothing but a bra and pants. "Actually could you go get her a blanket?" Tawny asked, looking thankfully over at Miles as he stood up without a word and jogged up the stairs. "Ren…you're going to have to help me, here." Tawny whispered gently to the older girl and, groaning, Ren nodded slightly, raising her hips—she barely had enough strength to do even that—as Tawny's hands moved from her waist down to the bottom of her ankles, sliding Ren's jeans down her wet legs, a breeze replacing where her warm touch had been. It made Ren shiver. Miles rushed down the stairs with a blanket just in time to hear Tawny's comment. "Damn…these are still wet, too." Tawny motioned towards Ren's underwear. And then Tawny's eyes widened as she realized that she just might have a naked Ren Stevens on her couch.

'Tawny…no…stop thinking. I have…I have to stop…thinking.' Tawny thought to herself as her eyes slowly slid over Ren's exposed form. 'I have to stop thinking of her…I have to think of her well-being…not of that gorgeous body…' Tawny nearly slapped herself.

"Ren…I think…you have to…," Tawny stopped in the middle of her sentence to take the blanket from Miles' arms, draping it over Ren's shaking form. "Thanks. She's freezing."

"Is there anything else I can get?" Miles asked, his face full of concern.

"Yeah…can you get the gauze?" Tawny asked. "I searched all through the bathroom and I couldn't find it." Miles nodded as she turned back to Ren. "Ren…we might…I might…you might have to…um…your whole body is wet." Tawny had to force the words out. Miles turned around to face her, a knowing smirk on his face as he head up the stairs. She shot a glare at him. "Ren…I might…you're soaked to the bone. I might have to," Tawny gulped, "You might have to take off your…under…garments." Oddly enough, Tawny wasn't sure what word to use in that sentence. It was funny if you thought about it, how little, in a conversation, someone said the word 'underwear' or 'undergarment'. Both of the words seemed completely stupid coming out of Tawny's mouth.

Ren simply nodded, not in much of a mental situation to think of much. Honestly, at that moment, any advice that Tawny gave her, Ren would take. She trusted her 100. "O…kay." Ren shivered, not really able to move.

"Uh…Ren." Tawny noticed Ren's eyes gently slipping closed. Wait. No. No. Ren was not making her do this, of all things! "Ren?" Ren simply grunted as her eyes opened slightly. "Ren!" Tawny said nervously, her eyes as wide as saucers. She was not going to do this. Yet, she found her hands slowly moving across the distance as she leaned forward, pulling Ren into her arms. "Fine…be stubborn." Tawny shakily whispered, hoping that the humor would throw Ren off from the nervousness in her voice. Tawny moved slightly so that she was straddling the older girl, since she was already kneeling next to Ren on the couch, so that it was easier for her to move around Ren's freezing body. She looked into Ren's half-closed eyes as her hands moved down from Ren's side to her hips, grasping the thin, soaked fabric hanging around her waist. Their eyes were still connected and Tawny couldn't help but find her heart clench from the look in Ren's eyes. Ren trusted her. She 100 completely trusted her. But there was something different in the older girl's eyes…and she couldn't quite place it. Tawny took in a deep breath. This was it. She slowly slid the fabric down Ren's hips, trying her hardest to ignore what was happening beneath her. However, Tawny couldn't manage to pull them off completely. God. This was totally and completely agonizing.

"You're gonna have to help me a little here, at least." Tawny barely managed to choke out and Ren groggily nodded, their eyes never moving from each other's. Ren raised her hips as Tawny finished pulling the fabric off of Ren's slender legs, throwing it out from under the blanket. Fortunately, Tawny couldn't really feel that part of Ren's body pushing against her, since she was wearing jeans—even though they were soaked through. Unfortunately, however, the fact that Tawny couldn't see any of it only left more to the imagination.

'You can do this. You can do this.' Tawny chanted to herself. 'One down…one more to go.' Tawny's hands twisted around Ren's back as she tried to focus on the task at hand as hard as she could, ignoring the fact that Ren's half naked, slender, curvy, gorgeous body was pressed against her. And, considering the fact that Tawny was in a wet tank-top herself—which was damply clinging to her body—her senses were heightened as she felt Ren's body pressed tightly against her own. Mainly, she felt Ren's breasts pressed up tightly against her own damp chest. Oh, God…this could not be good for her mental health.

'Oh God…Oh God…Oh God…' Tawny closed her eyelids tightly, trying to keep her breathing at a steady pace. Hopefully Ren, in her barely functioning state, wouldn't notice Tawny's obvious tension from having to do the task in front of her.

Tawny's fingers wrapped around Ren's bra clasp and she nervously undid it, taking a deep breath before feeling the fabric loosen around Ren's damp body. 'Ren…is…half…naked…' Tawny thought, taking a deep breath, her eyes still closed shut. 'Ren is half naked…under…you. And, once you remove her bra…she will be totally and completely naked. Naked. Ren Stevens will be naked…and under you.' Tawny hesitated only for a moment before dropping the bra off the side of the couch. Tawny closed her eyes again and took a deep, shaky breath.

She could feel Ren's body pressed up against her, and, Tawny noticed, the older girl wasn't shaking anymore. Without even thinking about it, Tawny gently lowered her head to Ren's shoulder, placing a gentle kiss there. She felt Ren's body freeze for a moment but relax against her touch.

"Tawny…" Ren whispered, her voice hoarse. It took a lot of effort to talk. Tawny pulled back and met her eyes once more, Ren's eyes, once again left unguarded, flooding with emotion. "You're…freezing." Ren's hands gently moved up Tawny's arms, making Tawny's flesh break into gooseflesh. It was then that Tawny realized that she was still shivering like crazy, and was still soaked to the bone. Her hair was wet and dripping small drops of water onto Ren's bare skin, but neither of them paid much attention to it. Both of them were too busy being painfully aware of how close they were. Tawny was now fully straddling Ren—who was totally and completely naked—and their faces…their lips…were so close. "You're…shaking…to death." Ren whispered, as her eyes glanced down Tawny's form. She vaguely remembered Tawny putting more clothes on her in the rain…but she hadn't realized that she had left the girl practically bare. She was wearing a white tank-top—which, Ren noticed, that you could see completely through--with a black sports bra that was visible through the thin fabric. She also noticed the outline of that Goddamned navel ring that seemed to constantly fill Ren's thoughts. Ren let her eyes trail back up to Tawny's.

Her eyes were completely unguarded…and she could see so much in them. She was obviously worried for her. And, was it just her, or were they darker? Ren could feel Tawny's breath against her face and she wondered how she even had the strength to keep thinking. She really wasn't in a state to keep thinking. She wasn't in a well enough state to take off her own clothes—she had to have Tawny do that. Or…was she? No. Of course she wouldn't. She would never, even subconsciously, make Tawny take off her clothes for her…at least…Ren never thought she would. And then it hit Ren—she was naked. But…oddly enough, and even more odd for a person like Ren Stevens, she felt completely comfortable. She felt safe under Tawny. In fact…Ren couldn't think of a single time when she didn't feel safe with Tawny. Yes, she was naked…but she didn't care. Ren Stevens was completely naked, lying under Tawny Dean, and completely turned on.

She wasn't sure what it was.

But she was most definitely turned on.

Maybe it was Tawny's wet body being pressed so tightly against her naked one.

Maybe it was that Godforsaken bellybutton ring.

Hell…maybe she had a concussion.

Ren knew she should be feeling so many things right now. The pain of her pounding migraine—which surely came from the blow to the back of her head. The cold from the freezing weather outside—though Tawny's warm body pressing against her had definitely made her warmer. The heartache from seeing Jason again—though she did feel heartache…but a different kind of heartache at the moment.

But Ren felt nothing like that.

She felt that self-destructive feeling she got when she was fighting back against Jason. She felt that self-destructive feeling that she always felt when she was around Tawny. She felt that self-destructive feeling that put her on top of the world. She felt that self-destructive feeling that she had been looked for for this whole time...that perfection. She felt that self-destructive feeling by being so close to the younger girl it almost burned.

And all she could feel right now was that looming sense of self-destruction...and perfection tangled in the web.

Both of them were breathing slightly heavily, not sure what was about to happen, and not even sure what they wanted to happen. Ren still felt Tawny's body shake beneath her fingers as she gazed into the younger girl's eyes. There was something so intimate about the connection they were sharing between each other. There was something so intimate about the way they were laying together, tangled on a sofa, both of them soaked. There was something so insanely intimate about the way their breaths came and went, each breath leaving a lingering feeling on the other's skin. Slowly, they both found themselves closing the distance between each other. Their eyes gently closed right before their lips touched and-

"Tawny! I found it!" Miles shouted from upstairs. Tawny froze. What was she doing? She pulled back, not noticing the look of loss that slipped over Ren's face. Even if she thought that Ren wanted what was soon about to happen…Ren was in no state to make a decision like that. A life-altering decision like that shouldn't happen when one of the people taking part in that decision could possibly have a concussion. No. Tawny looked into Ren's eyes with regret. Tawny was taking advantage of Ren.

Tawny rolled off of the couch and wrapped the blanket around Ren before smiling softly at the older girl, trying to act as if nothing happened. Ren tried to smile back, but found herself becoming extremely nauseous. It was almost like the same feeling of bile rising up in her throat that she seemed to have every single time she looked at Jason. The rain pounded outside as Tawny gently tucked the blanket around Ren's sides, making sure that Miles wouldn't see any of the older girl's flesh when he walked back downstairs. Tawny stood up and looked out the window, taking a deep breath, before looking back down at Ren, trying her hardest to smile.

"It was under your bed! Don't know how it got there but--" Miles laughed as he jogged down the stairs, noticing Tawny's depressed face. "You ok?" His voice was full of concern and Tawny tried to use her acting skills to her advantage. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was cry.

"Yeah. I'm ok. Just uh…can you…the cut on the back of her head…can you…" Tawny took in a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "Can you clean it up?" Tawny tried to sound upbeat, but knew that it sounded completely fake. Miles nodded.

"Of course."

"Good. I think…I really need to get out of these clothes." Tawny whispered, looking back at Ren before looking at Miles. "I'm really cold." Miles nodded as Tawny started walking up the stairs. She stopped on the middle stair and watched the pounding rain for a moment.

God…she really needed a cold shower, now.

Then again, maybe she could just go back outside. It was cold enough out there. Wordlessly, neither Ren or Tawny sure of what to say to one another, Tawny headed upstairs to change clothes.

oESoRoToESo

(A/N: Don't you just love that sexual tension? You know you do! Since you guys were good and reviewed...I updated the NEXT DAY! how AWESOME is that, eh?! There ya go! See what happens when you're good an review? Now all that's left is to get the review button to take you to Vegas...)