Kotone made her way down the street, her pace uneven. She couldn't help but feel nervous, and it showed in the way that she walked; treading with angst until she would suddenly speed up, as though to leave unpleasant thoughts behind.

Not being the type to go outside often, a simple errand for her mother allowed her a golden opportunity: To get herself hopelessly lost in a neighborhood she was unfamiliar with.

The sky was overcast, and the air was moist. Kotone could tell that it would rain soon, so she began to hurry along the dimly lit, narrow city street.

She was very small for her age, petite, even. She was at least a foot shorter than the average fourteen year old. Her face was lovely, with gentle, brown eyes and chestnut-colored hair that was done in pigtails. She wore a baggy red jacket, and a pair of jean shorts with white stockings underneath. She had no makeup on, giving her face a clean and healthy look.

Kotone continued along the dirty, cracked sidewalk, trying to find something that looked familiar, something that would lead her back home. She was having no such luck, and she was beginning to regret letting her mother talk her into going to the store.

Now, don't get the girl wrong, she didn't dislike going outside. She just didn't always feel comfortable with doing things her mother's way. After all, if her mother's way meet being cooped up in the same house all day for almost ten years of her life… well, admit it. You probably wouldn't want to take her advice either.

It was getting darker now, and she could hear thunder. Kotone began to wonder what to do next. In her haste, she had left her phone at home, and so far she hadn't met a single person who was willing to (Or could), give her directions to her neighborhood. And if things were bad now, it was about to get a lot worse.

Kotone was so caught up in her dilemma, that she failed to notice a trio of older men wearing matching leather jackets across the street, watching her every move. Now, these three were that funny type of bunch that sit on the doorstep in broad daylight, drinking alcohol, and talking smack from a distance to passersby. Usually. But on an empty street in the dead of night, with all the booze gone…

Well, they had all at once decided to be become more…friendly.

Silver Mason was having a piss-poor day. As usual.

It was bad enough that he had gotten a two hour detention with his least favorite staff member, but now it was starting to rain on his way home!

"What a pain in the ass." Silver said quietly to himself.

He wasn't a stranger to roughness. The seventeen year old was well built, with strong limbs and muscle to spare. And he knew how to use it, to. The boy had several scars on his arms, all from fights. (They were always hidden, though.)

With this and his foul temper, blazing red hair that grew to the nape of his neck, and pricing grey eyes, it's no wonder that people often avoid him.

He wore his black & red jacket and long jeans today, his only accessory a small gold locket, one that he kept hidden at all times.

Passing by a series of apartment buildings, he noticed an alleyway at the end of the empty street. Upon reaching it, he noticed a small, rusty piece of sheet metal towards the back of the alley. It was balancing on two posts, and it seemed like that perfect place to get out of the rain.

Silver knew that no one was likely to be home now, or tomorrow for that matter. Why not rest until the pouring stops? He walked down the alley and under the steel 'canopy'. He allowed his book bag to slide down his arm and unto the dry patch of concrete. He sat on the ground and rested his head on his hand, thinking to himself.

Silver was always a thinker. The only trouble is that he never uses it for the right reasons. Instead of using his vast intellect it talk his way out of trouble; he just lashes out with no rhyme or reason.

At least, that's what everybody said about him.

Suddenly, Silver heard the swift tapping of feet on the wet sidewalk; he opened his eyes and listened intently to the footfall. It sounded like they were tiring, because the rhythm of the footsteps was rushed and uneven. Silver saw a small figure stumble in front of the alley, stop, and then collapse onto the ground. Through the rain he saw that the person was breathing heavily.

At first, he did nothing. But better judgment got to him eventually, and he made his way over to the motionless body. When he was close enough, Silver saw that it was a young girl, probably no older than fourteen or fifteen. He bent down for a closer look, and made out her appearance completely.

The first thing he noticed was that her face was very red, no doubt from both tears and exhaustion. She wore a red jacket, but it was falling apart at the seams. Under her shorts was a pair of slightly ripped white stockings. Silver saw a small trickle of blood running down her arm. Carefully, he lifted the shreds of her jacket to revel a series of small cuts, and he could tell from the wounds that that they were caused by a rouge knife.

The girl continued to breathe heavily, too tired to notice Silver's presence over her. Her eyes quivered from time to time, releasing a series of fresh tears down the side of her face. An occasional cry of misery would creep out of her mouth, and she would sniff and try to choke back sobs. Right then and there, Silver felt something that he thought he would never feel again: Pity for someone else.

So of course, it only seemed natural to scoop her into his arms and carry her out of the rain. He did so, and set her down beside him. She was shivering violently, so he took off his jacket and put it around the girl, not bothering to take off what was left of hers. When that didn't work, he brought himself to place her in his lap. Silver was embarrassed, but he would do it as long as no one else was around.

"Mother fucker…" He couldn't help but feel angst about this whole situation. What was he going to do when she was awake? 'I haven't seen her at classes', he thought, 'but she'd probably still scream if she woke up in my arms.'

Silver felt her move in his lap. Uh oh. She slowly opened her eyes, which were still puffy from her crying. Silver said nothing. He only waited for her to notice him. It would be all over then.

Her eyes wondered upward.

The two made eye contact.

He attempted to soften his look, but it didn't work. She stared at him with her big brown eyes, shivering every now and again, but never taking her gaze away from his. Suddenly, she began to tear up again, and Silver sighed lowly. Why wouldn't she cry? Out of the frying pan and into the fire, RIGHT?

Just as Silver felt like losing his mind, he felt her press into him.

Silver didn't know what to make of it. In the past three hours, he had had detention, got completely soaked, and saved a freezing girl…

And now he found himself holding her in his arms. She had fallen asleep after sobbing uncontrollably into his chest for about ten minutes.

He looked down at her while he patted her shoulder. "Just what the hell am I supposed to do about this? I'm not a shrink, right?" He mused to no one in particular. "I can't stay here with you all night, and you won't even talk to me."

The girl was now sleeping soundly, curled up against him. Her face was calm and serene. She looked almost doll-like. Silver couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't afraid of him. Even more so, Silver wondered why he even cared if she was.

He carefully tightened his grip around her as she slept quietly in his lap. "God. You're so little." He rubbed his thumb gently across her cheek. "So fragile."

Silver stopped moving, and it seemed as though the entire world stood still.

Someone could break you…

"I believe you have something of ours, kid."

Silver looked up with a start. He saw three older guys, standing directly in front of him, all grinning devilishly.

The one in the middle spoke up as he brought out his switchblade.

"You shouldn't take things that don't belong to you."