A/N: SHITS ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN! Sorry, it might get kind of confusing near the end.

Emma got ready for school that morning like it was any other day. No one had to know what was going to happen that night, not her mother, not her former friends. No one had to know until it happened.

Emma's mom had seen the bathroom last night. She knew that all of that blood didn't come from the injuries that Gabe gave her.

Emma thought about how this was the last morning she would have to put make up on to hide the bruises left by someone who swore he loved her. It was the last time she would have to worry that someone would see the cuts on her arms.

It felt like she was about to be set free.

Emma came down the stairs like it was any other day, but it wasn't any other day to her mother. Her mother saw that something was wrong.

"Emma, honey… What happened last night?"

"What are you talking about?"

"There was a lot of blood on the bathroom floor…"

"Oh… yeah, that was from my lip." Her mother didn't believe it. She knew that her daughter was covering something up. She rolled up the sleeve of Emma's shirt before Emma could stop her.

Her mother couldn't help it as she began to weep. "Emmy, why?"

"You wouldn't understand, Mom." Emma said, quietly.

"This is all my fault. I should have seen how much you were hurting. I should have seen how he was hurting you. I was supposed to protect you."

Emma hurt someone in her life again. What else was new? "No, really, Mom. This isn't your fault."

"I have to get your help." She said, circling the kitchen, talking to herself more than Emma. "I have to take you somewhere that you can get help."

"No way. I'm not going to one of those places. I refuse."

"Well I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. One day I have a perfectly happy and healthy little girl and now I see this. How long has this been going on?"

"For a while… Since I got into that fight with Terri and Will."

"Terri. I should have known ." Her mother said continuing to cry. "I always knew that there was something awful about her."

"I don't want to go, Mom."

"You have to. It's the only thing that I can think to do."

"How about I go to school today. I have a big math test, and then we can go after you get out of work." She could see her mother was thinking about it.

"We'll go as soon as I get out of work."

Emma nodded, a smile on her face. That gave her nearly two hours to end it. That was all the time she needed.

-xxx-

Will hadn't talked to Terri since he over heard her a few days ago. He over heard a conversation between her and Emma that disturbed him to the bone, and he was still trying to understand exactly what had happened.

Emma had been telling the truth. About Terri cheating on him and all, and he was so awful to her, he hurt her so bad, when Terri was the one who had been lying all along.

How fucking stupid was he.

He'd avoided Terri. He didn't want to see her until he found the right way to let her know how disgusted he was with her. And how was he supposed to tell Emma how sorry he was? How did he expect her to forgive him when he didn't even forgive himself for the way that he treated her.

Avoiding Terri didn't work well though, because she found him that morning, that usual sick smile on her face. She was always smiling, especially when others weren't. He never noticed before how sick it made him.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you didn't want to see me."

"I don't want to see you." He said, slamming his locker shut and walking away.

"What's your problem?" She asked, going after him.

"I don't want to be with someone who lies."

"What are you talking about, Will?" She asked annoyed.

"Emma didn't say any of those things that you said, did she?"

"What?"

"You were lying all along. I heard you two talking the other day."

"Well okay, I guess she didn't say those thing exactly, but does it even really matter now?"

"Yes it matters. Emma is my best friend, Terri. She was your's too at one point. Remember?"

"Seriously? You're going to chose her over me? Are you stupid?"

"Absolutely." He said, "I'm stupid for ever choosing you in the first place." He walked into his classroom, not bothering to look back at Terri who stood bewildered as she saw that all of her lies were finally crashing down on top of her.

-xxx-

Emma went straight home after school. She had it all planned out. She found a bottle of pills in the medicine cabinet from when her dad had surgery on his arm last year. It was a strong dose of pain killer, not that she knew much about drugs.

Meanwhile Gabe stormed into Will's house "You have no idea how pissed I am at that little bitch."

"Emma?"

"Yeah. She had charges pressed against me. My parents had to fucking bail me out."

"Charges?"

"Yeah. Assault or some stupid shit."

Emma opened the bottle and poured a few pills into her hand, everything was starting to feel real. More real than it had felt this morning.

"What? Did you do it?" Will asked Gabe back at his house.

"I didn't assault her. She was my girlfriend. I smacked her a bit when she got out of line but…"

"Gabe? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Oh come on. You know how Emma can be."

Will had never hated anyone as much as he hated Gabe in that moment. He'd never been in a physical fight, but he came so close in those moments when Gabe had told him what he did to Emma.

"I know that she's a beautiful person and she doesn't deserve that."

"Since when do you think that?"

"Why would you even think that that's okay? I… I don't think I can stand to look at you anymore?"

"Seriously? You don't want to be friends because of something that happened between me and Emma? Why is it even any of your business?"

Will's eyes began to sting as he realized why he wanted to beat the shit out of Gabe right now. "Because I love her." He said softly.

Emma had a hand full of pills. She never liked taking pills when she was sick, but this was different. She didn't even need a glass of water, she just put them all in her mouth as if they were candy, and swallowed.

She wasn't sure how many she had swallowed, but it wasn't long until everything began to fade.

Will paced his bedroom floor, thinking about everything that was coming to light today. Terri was the one who had hurt him, Emma had done nothing but try and protect him. Emma was beautiful, Emma was wonderful, and he hurt her.

How could she ever forgive him?

Emma looked in the mirror that sat across from her bed, reminding herself why she did this, reminding herself that it was for the best and she couldn't back out now. She couldn't call her mom and tell her what she had done. She had to go through with this. It was her only option. The pills were kicking in, she could feel herself fading faster and faster.

He needed to tell her. He needed to tell her today. He couldn't let her go another day thinking that he hated her.

Why had be been such a dick to her?

Emma had never lied to him before, what was he thinking believing Terri over her? He loved Emma. He knew that he did for certain. He knew this because he felt the exact opposite for Emma that he did for Terri.

He always had.

"Emma, I love you." He practiced out loud in the privacy of his bedroom. "Emma, I love you." He closed his eyes as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "Emma, I love you."

And with a bang as powerful as a thousand gunshots, Emma hit the floor