Thank you, thank you, thank you! You give me many big smiles! :) Enjoy!

.::.

I never made it there that night. Instead, I found myself waking up the next morning in the hospital with twelve stitches in the outer corner of my eye and seven on my head. It was the worst dad's ever been, and that's really sayin' somethin'. Needless to say, I had decided to take Jimmy up on his offer and called shortly after waking up to ask him if his parents would be alright with me stayin' at their place for a little while. They obliged without any hesitation. It made me feel real good to know that I would have a break from the bullshit in my life, at least for a little while.

I had told the police at the hospital that I had been mugged on the way home from school. I hated my dad with just about every fiber of my being at this point, but I knew if I pressed charges against him for takin' a bottle to my head he'd really have it out for me. Thankfully, the officers believed me and I was released around noon.

I rode my bike home, made sure the coast was clear, and headed straight to my room to gather as much of my stuff as I could fit in my book-bag, which only turned out to be a couple shirts and an extra pair of jeans. I'll have to come back for the rest later. Minutes later I hightailed it out the door and decided to meet up with Jimmy at school. If I rode fast I could make it in time for the last ten minutes of lunch and that would give us some time to talk about things.

.::.

Sure enough, Jimmy and Klara were sitting in the same spot as yesterday, laughing and scarfing down their sandwiches and snacks. I only had a few seconds until the bell rang so I sat down quickly.

"Damn." Jimmy's face went ghost white upon seeing my abused appearance. I had nearly forgotten my scrapes and bruises. I had nearly forgotten it all, except for my lingering migraine. I guess I was sadly used to it all at this point. Upon further glances around the cafeteria, I noticed I was getting several peculiar, concerned, and curious looks from those around me.

"You feel alright?" Jimmy questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine.

"What happened to you?" Klara asked. Her thick German accent made it almost difficult to understand her question, but I eventually just shook it off.

"He, uh, got mugged yesterday on the way home." Jimmy covered for me. "Here." He said, handing me half of his sandwich. I half-smiled a thank you.

"Oh, god! Did they catch who did it?" She had a hand clasped over her wide mouth quite dramatically.

"Nah. He got away." I answered. "Jimmy, you sure it's cool for me to crash at yer place?" Eagerly, I took a large bite of the sandwich.

"Yeah, my parent's are totally fine with it. Mom's already got the spare room set up for you."

"Awesome. I'll be sure to thank them."

We spent the next few minutes making small talk. Rather, I watched as the two of them talked about some horror movie coming out next week and we made plans to go. The loud ringing of the bell vibrated throughout my skull and intensified my aching migraine. I clutched my sore temple but quickly pulled away from the pain. I watched the crowds around me disappear into the corridors and up the stairs on their way to their last class of the day. I wondered if I should go today, too. I wanted to tell Ms. Robert's that I didn't intentionally stand her up, but I knew she'd have one look at me and go Oprah on my ass and I really wasn't in the mood for her bullshit today.

I sighed and laid my head down on the lunch table. I glanced at the sporadic crumbs in front of me, and quickly I drifted to sleep.

.::.

I rapidly awoke what felt like only a few minutes later to the loud ring of the bell. I sighed with exhaustion and stretched my arms in the air before standing to my feet a few seconds later. I slung my book-bag over my right shoulder and sprinted outside, through the corridor, and finally up the stairs to room 101.

I tapped on the door frame lightly after checking to make sure the room was empty. Ms. Roberts tilted her head from a stack of papers on her desk and her eyes widened immediately. She waved me in with a look of concern. "My god, what happened to you?"

"Nothin'. Just came by to tell you that I didn't mean to stand you up last night."

"It's...fine. Daryl, I don't even..." She shook her head, unable to find words. My heart lurched at the sound her soft voice saying my name. She's never called me that.

"I, uh, got that stuff for you if you still want it." I leaned into her and whispered cautiously, in case people were meandering throughout the hallways like they always did.

She licked her lips and nodded hesitantly. "Yeah...sure."

"Same place, same time?"

"I'll be there." I watched as she tore a small section of paper from a notebook and scribbled something down. She handed it to me a moment later and said, "there's my number. If you run into any trouble this time let me know."

I nodded and glanced down at the paper. Lana. "That's yer first name?"

"Mhm." She nodded and opened her mouth to speak but settled for a small sigh.

The curiosity got to me almost immediately. "What?"

"Hm?"

"You were gonna say somethin'."

"It's nothing."

"C'mon."

She sighed again, anxiously. I watched her chest rise and fall as she exhaled. "I really just wish you would let me help you."

Jesus. Here we go again. "With what?"

"Look at you." She narrowed her eyes. "Who keeps doing this to you? Everyone is starting to get really concerned."

"Well you 'n everyone else need to stay out of it. Ain't none a yall's business."

"I'm your teacher and I'm concerned for your safety, Mr. Dixon." What happened to callin' me Daryl?

"Ya don't need to be. Now quit askin'. I'll see ya tonight at 7."