Teresa felt numb. Both her body and mind felt numb. Sprawled out on the dirty carpet, she counted her injuries. The girl's ribs ached with a dull pain. The skin around her rare violet eyes felt swollen. Her lip was busted open, leaking crimson, and she knew the purple and black bruises on her torso would be back afresh.

The ebony haired teen couldn't move a muscle without rippling pain shooting up her spine. Lunch would be ending soon, and she didn't want to be stampeded by dozens of 15 and 16 year olds. Questions would surely be asked if someone found her like this, all beat up.

And, funnily enough, someone did find her.

"H-Hey!" a soft tone from farther down the hall called out. "Are you alright?!" Teresa forced her swollen eyes open to find a duplicate of Alfred standing over her. She drew back in instinctual fear, only to notice the usual cowlick was replaced with a bouncing curl, and the boy's eyes were a deep violet instead of a baby blue. "I'm okay," she mumbled, trying to stand up.

"No, you're not," the Alfred look-alike argued quietly. "You're all covered with bruises! Eh, here, let me help you get up." Teresa took his outstretched hand, and after a few moments, she was standing on her two shaky legs. "I'm Matthew," the blond teen introduced himself.

"I'm Teresa," the girl mumbled, carefully wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Thank you. And, um, sorry, but I mistook you for Alfred at first, if you know him...?"

"Oh, yeah, right. He's my twin brother. I get mistaken for him a lot." Teresa's jaw dropped like a cartoon character's. This seemingly quiet and shy boy was the brother of Alfred? Almost unbelievable, only made so by their almost identical looks. Matthew chuckled a little, reading her expression. "Yeah, it is a bit hard to believe. Especially for two as different as we are. Eh, how do you know him? And what happened to you? Don't tell me it was nothing."

"Um...well...it's sorta a long story. For another time, I mean, it really isn't-" Just then, the bell interrupted their conversation. "Sorry, I need to go clean up before class," Teresa panicked, finding her purse on the floor, surely missing the few coins that would've been her lunch. Matthew gave her a look. "I'm going to expect an explanation tomorrow," he stated softly but firmly.

"Yeah, at lunch?" Teresa offered. The Canadian nodded with a smile. "I'll see you." They both parted ways, the girl turning and looking for the nearest private restroom. As soon as she found it, she slipped in and closed the door, just as the first rush of students flooded the hallway. Sighing in relief, the girl turned to the mirror only to reel back in horror. No matter how many times it happened, it was hard to look at herself so injured. Blood trickled from her nose, smeared on her lips where she wiped it. The skin around her eye was swollen and inflamed. Lifting her shirt, the girl stared in horror at the harsh violet bruises replacing the older yellowed marks. How Matthew managed not to wince at her injuries, she had no idea. Makeup would barely cover this.

From her purse, Teresa drew the necessary tools. She coated her face with one, two, three layers of powder and foundation, until the redness was barely seen. Long sleeves covered the marks on her arms. "Heh," she said bitterly to herself, looking in the mirror at the seemingly normal girl there. "Practice makes perfect, I guess."

When she came out a couple minutes later, the least she looked like was a girl who'd just cried her eyes out in the bathroom. No one paid her any mind.

"Hey there, Teresaaaa!"

Other than Alfred. ESP, Teresa, ESP…

The obnoxious American slung his arm around the girl's shoulders, sending a bolt of pain through her body. "I really enjoyed my lunch today! Teaching really makes me feel better!" he grinned falsely.

"I'll bet," Teresa muttered sarcastically. Alfred's smile grew bigger. "What was that, Ter-ass-a?" he asked cheerfully, squeezing her a bit harder. How someone like this could be Matthew's twin brother, she had no idea. Alfred was acting in a way that no one in the crowd of students around them would know what was going on.

"Nothing," she sighed quietly, reining in her frequent anger. No good to get beat up again. "Great! So we won't have to deal with problems like this again, right?" Alfred passive-aggressively chirped. Teresa responded with a small shake of her head. Of course this was going to happen again. With her temper, it was destiny. "Awesome!" the teen yelled loudly. "Catch you later!" 'Catch' indeed, she thought sarcastically as Alfred ran ahead to find his cronies.

One day this'll all be over. That day I leave high school, I'm not ever dealing with this again. But for now, I'm alone. I'm poor, friendless, and alone.

I can't wait for this damned day to be done.

...

Stupid alliteration.

The last bell of the day rang, sending Teresa sprinting as if running for her life out the door with a small bag carrying her few school supplies. At last…

Nothing else major had happened throughout the rest of the day, other than the usual small shove or hate note. But now the girl could forget her school problems and focus on other ones. Like how Mom needs more money for her meds….

Teresa trudged along the familiar sidewalk, turning down a different route than the other students walking home. Around a corner, and her destination came into sight.

The ice rink.

All the worry in Teresa was flooded by calmness. The rink always did that - calmed her volatile nature down. The cool air was a relief as she stepped in. "Yo, Tess," Otis, the skate rental guy, greeted her. "Here ya go." The older man handed her a pair of skates with a wink, Usually, Teresa wouldn't be able to afford going skating as regularly as she did, but Otis let her in for doing some work around the rink.

"Thanks," the girl smiled, at ease. Otis nodded. "Oh, yeah, thought you should know," he stated. "I'll be taking some assistants to help me around the rink so I can plan the expansion happening in a couple weeks. Didn't want ye to be confused when a teenager lets you in instead of me." Teresa dipped her head a bit, faltering. "I'll be sure to remember," she said, hefting the heavy (f/c) skates up.

As she walked to a bench and sat down, Teresa thought. Assistants? Does that mean I might not be necessary anymore? What teenager would want to clean ice off the floor instead of going straight home to their large houses? She laced the skates with expert hands and stood up. I guess I shouldn't worry about it for now…but if I lose ice skating, I could lose my mind too...

Teresa stepped on the ice. The cold bit her bare head and fingers, but she pushed off anyways. She drifted as soft pop music played overhead. With a small smirk to herself, the girl began to stroke carefully, concentrating on the techniques she had learned long ago, from a mother that hadn't been so occupied with a disorder that she ignored her daughter. After gaining some speed, she made a sharp 180 degree turn to skate backwards. Steadily, on two legs, then one as she lifted a skate off the ice. The other few people stared at her twirling and skating around the rink. However clumsy she was on land, that was made up for when she was on ice.

An hour later, Teresa's face was flushed and she was sweating, but happy. She shot a glance at the clock. 4:30 sharp. Her mother would be expecting her home now. Cinderella at the ball. After returning the skates, Teresa wiped her forehead and walked towards the exit. She took a deep breath with closed eyes as the sun's rays hit her. Time to go home now...I hope Mom isn't-

"Oof!" the girl yelled, colliding with someone. Her injuries from earlier in the day roared again with pain. "Ow, sorry!" When she looked up, she was met with a brown haired crying teenager who was trying to apologize while blubbering. I know him, but from where...? Wait a second, that curl!

"Lovino?!"

Hello internet peoples, this is the author speaking! I just want to say I hope you're enjoying this story as it develops! I do realize the chapters are somewhat-ish-maybe short, but I'm trying to end them all on cliffhangers and it just sorta works that way, sooooo, yep.

Feel free to review, and don't forget to favorite this story!