Thank you kind reviewers! Now, in chapter three I got a review from AussieTayla with and idea the I am finally getting to use - I think if you are still reading you will recognise ;-) if not everyone else enjoy! The reviews mean so much to me, thanks so much. Note: Georgia - I loved your review and it helped a lot, thanks :) Well well well, I know who will end up with who, but I'm interested in what you think/want (Nothing with me is set in stone, lol!) and there may be some...distractions along the way ;)

On with the story,

Read, Enjoy, Review!

Note: I advise the before/during/after this chapter you listen to the song Alyssa Lies. I won't say too much here, but that is the song ****(its a surprise) sings and to get the full gist of it you can read and listen at the same sorta time if you want! It's how I wrote it :P

Chapter Ten#Alyssa Lies#

"I'm worried about Sara." Tali announced as she flew into A11 at recess.

Nick, Warrick, Ryan and Archie dropped the cards they were holding onto the table.

"Why? She has the flu, she'll be okay." Nick said reassuringly. "I asked Grissom in homeroom.

Tali sighed and put her hands on her hips. "You are so blind, Nick. Have you not noticed anything?"

Warrick glanced at his hands. "I have." He admitted.

Archie sighed. "Me too."

"I didn't want to think about it." Ryan said glumly.

"About what?" Nick frowned.

"You never noticed the bruises?" Tali asked sarcastically.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I did. But she told me they were from wrestling with Tyler."

"Oh, come on, Nicky." Warrick looked at his best friend. "You ever get bruises like that from wresting with Ethan or Robert?"

Nick rounded on Warrick. "Actually, yeah." He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a black bruise in the shape of a fist on his upper arm. "I've had broken bones, split lips, bloody noses, bruises...the works. Been to hospital a couple of times, too. It's what brothers do."

"Do your sisters get bruised?" Warrick asked, slowly realising he may have been defeated.

"They used to! Before Ethan came along Bobby would wrestle with Joanne, Katie or Lily, but they mainly stopped fighting the girls when Ethan was about six. Then they just bullied me." Nick shrugged offhandedly. "When there's one boy and one or more girls, everyone gets bruised, because boys will wrestle. But when you have more than one boy the girls get left alone. It's just the way it works..."

"Okay, you gotta point." Warrick admitted.

"Besides, if I went for MJ I'd get my ass kicked." Nick added.

"Still..." Tali said. "It's serious."

Nick nodded. "I agree. But she doesn't want us to pry..."

"Let's see when she comes back. If it was just the flu then we're worrying about nothing. Besides, we could just ask her..." Greg wondered.

"No!" Tali shook her head vigorously. "If you ask her too soon she'll get offended. Trust me."

CSIVCSIVCSIV

Come Monday, everyone was back at school. Greg drew quite a few stares, but he just ignored them. Rick Stetler did try to trip him up, but true to Archie's word Morgan lunged at him, and hearing what she had done to Casey, the bully backed off quickly.

The day passing seemed almost too normal to Nick. Teachers, students...everyone acted as if nothing had ever happened. But a lot had happened.

Greg hobbled along on one crutch, his broken left arm preventing him from using two. The stitches were still visible in his head, and he seemed slightly more wary of life.

Morgan got a sheepish, embarrassed look on her face every time she saw her English teacher or Brass, and she saw Brass quite a lot.

And Sara looked as if she hadn't eaten at all over the weekend and she walked stiffly as if she was in pain. She had big black eyes and a quiet manner Nick had never seen before. Not that Sara was overly talkative – merely that she wasn't usually so withdrawn. Every time she looked at Greg, guilt flashed in her eyes.

He had never seen the flu that bad before.

No, Nick wasn't happy. He sat glumly in his seat at homeroom, tracing doodles into the wood of the desk with his finger. He barely noticed when Grissom walked into the classroom.

"Nick? Niiiiiiick?"

A loud piercing whistle snapped Nick's head up and his eyes met Greg.

"Finally. I said...oh never mind." Greg rolled his eyes.

"Sorry." Nick apologised automatically.

"You okay, man?" Warrick muttered in concern, and Nick forced his trademark smile onto his face.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Right, everyone listen up." Grissom called. "Today we've been given something slightly different to do. Ecklie has shoved it into everyone's face, so I'm sure that you all know that as of this Monday every two weeks the school is going to teach you about a different issue which will be introduced with a various stimulus. This week, the stimulus is a song. Now, who here has heard of Jason Michael Carroll?"

Grissom's eyes surveyed the sceptical class. Nick had raised his hand with a couple of other students. He glanced back down at one of the many useless lists that he wished he didn't have and did a cross reference. He called Nick up to the front.

Warrick watched his best friends face change from confusion, to enlightenment to horror.

"No, no, no!" Nick held his hands up. "I don't want-"

"Nick. This isn't optional. You are a music student."

"But-"

"You took the subject!"

"But-"

"Okay, everyone." Grissom interrupted. "One of the main aims of this school is to develop talents in various places. When Nick finishes we will discuss this."

Nick glared at Grissom, blushing furiously as music started playing. The class watched with distaste, disinterest and boredom.

Nick opened his mouth and began to sing slowly, still glaring at Grissom.

"My little girl met a new friend just the other day, on the playground at school between the tyres and the swings."

As she listened, Sara couldn't help but admire Nick's singing voice; smooth and strong, but gentle, carrying so much emotion even in the first two lines. Not to mention that it accentuated his accent even more.

"But she came home with tear filled eyes, and she said to me 'Daddy, Alyssa Lies'."

Warrick swallowed with slight the ominous tone.

"Well I just brushed it off at first, 'cause I didn't know how much my little girl had been hurt, or the things she had seen. I wasn't ready when I said 'you can tell me', and she said..."

Catherine sat up in her chair.

"Alyssa lies to the classroom, Alyssa lies everyday at school, Alyssa lies to the teachers, and she tries to cover every bruise."

Morgan's eyes flickered to the floor sadly.

"My little girl laid her head down that night to go to sleep, as I stepped out the room I heard her say a prayer so soft and sweet. 'God bless my mom and my dad,'" Nick couldn't help but glance at Sara as he continued. " 'And my new friend Alyssa, oh I know she needs you bad because Alyssa lies to the classroom, Alyssa lies everyday at school, Alyssa lies to the teachers, and she tries to cover every bruise.'"

Ryan ran his hand across his jaw uncomfortably.

"I had the worst night of sleep in years, as I tried to think of a way to calm her fears. I knew exactly what I had to do. But when we got to school on Monday I heard the news."

The once sceptical class held its breath.

"My little girl asked me why everybody looked so sad. The lump in my throat grew bigger with every question that she asked. Until I felt the tears run down my face, and I told her that Alyssa wouldn't be at school today."

Greg didn't even bother raising his hand to the tears pooling in his own eyes.

"'Cause she doesn't lie in the classroom. She doesn't lie anymore at school. Alyssa lies with Jesus because there's nothing anyone would do."

As Grissom blinked quickly and looked at the class, he noticed that most of the girls and half the boy had tears in their eyes or on their cheeks, and the disinterest and distaste was gone from every single face. Instead the class were stunned and solemn.

"Tears filled my eyes, when my little girl asked me why, Alyssa lies."

Sara finally cracked. She leapt up out of her seat and raced to the door. She could feel everyone's stares boring into her back as she flung open the door, feeling slightly guilty for Nick. She could hear him still singing with the complete emotion.

"Oh Daddy, oh Daddy tell me why..."

She slumped against the wall outside of the classroom as Nick finished.

"Alyssa lies."

Across the hall another door opened and slammed and Sara looked up at the boy angrily rubbing his eyes – one of the last people that she would have expected to see.

"Hey," the popular senior wiped his eyes quickly. "You're Sara Sidle, right? Tali David's friend?"

Sara nodded, wiping her own eyes with a quick sniff.

"I'm Tony DiNozzo."

"I know..." she said softly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, walking slowly over.

She started to nod, but finally decided to be honest and shook her head. "Not really."

"Alyssa lies?" Tony asked, and she nodded. "That's what drove me out."

She frowned slightly. Tony DiNozzo was known for being many things, but soft wasn't one of them. He shrugged uncomfortably.

"I was eleven." He explained quickly. "My best friend Ollie was a victim of child abuse. I didn't notice. He died..."

"I'm sorry." Sara stammered. She could hear Grissom making excuses to follow her out of the classroom, but a teacher was the last person she wanted to talk to.

Tony glanced through the window. "Walk with me?"

Confused but quickly considering her options, Sara jumped up and swiftly followed DiNozzo out of the corridor to a little hidden alcove just outside.

"What are you doing?" Sara asked with a frown, and Tony shrugged.

"I found this place the third day skipping maths. Maths." He shuddered. "Anyway. I just thought it's a good place to hide from prying teachers asking questions you may not want to answer."

Sara smiled wryly. "Thanks."

"It kinda reminds me of that scene in that film-"

"Haven't seen it."

Tony frowned, and Sara grinned. "How do you know?"

She chuckled slightly. "It was a joke."

"Oh." He frowned.

She rolled her eyes. "Carry on."

"Never mind." Tony sat down against the wall and patted the ground beside him. Hesitantly, Sara sat.

"I've never exactly been abused, but my dad's a pain in the ass." Tony sighed. "It's always the little things, you know? 'Junior, what the hell is wrong with your grades? You stupid or something?' or 'Why the hell aren't you captain of the sports team?' or sometimes it's even 'what the hell is wrong with you that you can't keep a girl for more than two seconds? Are you a DiNozzo or what?'"

"He says that?" Sara frowned.

"Oh yeah. About five times a conversation." Tony shrugged offhandedly.

Sara sighed. "Dad's suck."

"Yeah. What does yours do?" Tony asked.

She bit her lip. "Same as yours."

"And? Is there something else?" Tony frowned. Then he shrugged. "You don't have to tell me. I understand why you wouldn't want to. I mean I am a jock and completely top of the food chain, and devilishly good looking and smart and witty and-"

"You can't help yourself, can you?" Sara remarked with a smirk.

"Well...no." Tony admitted with a cheeky grin.

"I'm fine." Sara insisted. "Really."

Tony looked as if he wanted to argue but he shrugged. "Well, that is why we left the corridor."

Sara nodded, and winced slightly as her back hit the wall.

"You okay?"

"I had the flu." She said quietly.

"Okay... you hungry? Cause no offense but you're a bag of bones."

Sara just gave him a death glare. "I...I was ill. I couldn't hold anything down over the weekend."

"Oh, so you don't want this then?" Tony held up a donut.

Sara swallowed down the fact that she's been locked in her room with nothing to eat but an apple a day since Thursday and had no lunch or money that day and shook her head. "Nope."

"Oh really? Because I got two..."

Sara's lip quivered. Being starved for three going on four days wasn't fun. "I..."

"You want it?"

Sara closed her eyes. It was easier to say no when she couldn't see the donut. Or him.

"Sara?"

She opened her eyes. God he's hot, she thought, I'm I sure as hell am starving.

"If you're offering." Sara wavered. He passed her the donut and she greedily took a bite. Her eyes closed in pleasure and she finished it quickly, licking her lips automatically afterwards.

Tony smiled slightly.

"What?" she asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No. You're just the first girl that I've seen naturally lick their lips just to get food off in a while."

"Really?" Sara blushed, and Tony nodded.

"It's cute. You do look very hungry though. Here." He chucked her a chocolate muffin, and she stared at it in shock before forcing herself to throw it back.

"I can't eat your lunch." She insisted.

"Why not? I'm not hungry, I'll just buy something else if I get peckish." He threw it back.

"Why are you giving me your food?" she murmured.

He thought for a moment. "Because you're hungry, and your bag's in the classroom."

Sara stared at the muffin. Tony grinned. "Eat it."

She smiled slightly and ripped open the wrapper, taking a massive bite. In a few seconds she was done, and she licked her lips deliberately. Tony laughed, and she snorted. The bell rang and they looked at each other for a lingering moment.

"You didn't have to give me that." Sara glanced at the floor.

"Like I said, I wasn't hungry, you were, and your bag is in your classroom." Tony smiled and Sara got butterflies in her stomach. He reached down and wiped a smear of chocolate off of her face. He went to walk past and leant down to whisper in her ear. "And because I think you're beautiful."

Sara smiled shyly and stared at the floor. As he left the alcove Sara distinctly heard his stomach rumble.

CSIVCSIVCSIV

"I feel like an ass!" Nick ran a hand over his face. "I looked right at her when I sang that."

"I didn't." Warrick admitted bitterly. "I couldn't even think about anything apart from the story. I knew a kid called Alyssa once."

"In my head, Alyssa was the spitting image of Sara. No, Alyssa was Sara." Greg said miserably.

"If we're right, she could get killed! We need to do something!" Morgan insisted.

Greg nodded with a shudder and his crutch slipped. He slipped almost to the floor and someone who had just slipped in and out of the classroom caught him.

"Do something about what?" Sara asked innocently. "Are you okay, Greg?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Sara turned to Nick with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry I walked out Nick. You're a really good singer."

Nick went red and shook his head. "Are you okay? Why'd you go?"

She took a deep breath. "When I was little, my best friend Olivia...you could say she was an Alyssa. One day she wasn't at school."

"Sara, are you sure that's it?" Warrick asked, and Sara scowled.

"What, you don't trust me?"

"No, we're just worried Sara-" Nick frowned.

"Worried that I'm lying? So you don't trust me." Sara shook her head bitterly. "Fine. Fine. I don't care. And even if I needed your help, which I don't, I wouldn't like it."

She turned to leave, and Tali came out of nowhere behind her. "Sara. They're just shaken up from the song. We trust you, okay?"

She sighed, and rolled her eyes, following Tali away. Tali turned back to look at the others and mouthed angrily at them.

They hung their heads slightly guiltily.

"Too soon!"

CSIVCSIVCSIV

"Uh oh." Archie frowned as Greg took him through what happened.

"Exactly. Now she thinks we don't trust her. She hates herself so much and I don't know why." Greg said in frustration.

"Sanders, Johnson, shut up!" Mckeen, their math teacher snapped. They dutifully kept quiet for the rest of the lesson, each wrapped in their own thoughts. By lunch, Greg knew what he wanted to do.

"I'm going to be in the library." He announced. The others looked at him as if he was insane.

"Why? You never go to the library." Archie narrowed his eyes.

"Of course not, they're way too quiet." Greg nodded. "But I need to do something."

"Okay." Morgan shrugged offhandedly. "C'mon guys. See ya, Greg!"

"Bye!" he called sadly, heading off to the library. He had kinda hoped that Morgan would want to come with him.

When he got there he looked for a computer, but to his annoyance they were all taken. He sat down at a nearby desk to wait, drumming his fingers quietly on the table.

"Excuse me, can you help me? I'm lost." A sweet voice asked sheepishly. He looked up to see a gorgeous teenage girl he had never seen before standing looking down on his, biting her full red lip. She had pale skin and dark hair and reminded Greg of a beautiful Snow White.

"Well, um...You're in the library." Greg replied with a slight grin.

She laughed softly. "I know. But I'm looking for the science block. I'm Ellen. Ellen Whitbridge. I'm new."

"Oh, okay. I'll help." Greg hopped up. His project could wait. He led her to the science block and they talked to whole way.

"Thanks for your help, Greg. It was very sweet." Ellen fluttered her eyelashes and headed off.

"Uh, hey!" Greg called. "Can I have your number?"

Ellen smiled shyly. "Sure." She took his phone and entered in her number, before taking a picture of herself and typing her name. "There. Call me!"

She flounced off and Greg raced back to A11. He burst through the door and everyone looked at him.

"Fun in the library, Greg?" Nick asked with humour.

"What? No! I was going to do this thing, but there were no free computers and this girl came up and she was new and lost and really hot and called Ellen and I got her number!" Greg said in one breath.

Nick grinned widely. "Awesome!"

"She took a picture!" Greg smiled.

Nick, Warrick, Archie and Ryan crowded around, followed quickly by Sara and Tali. The boys whistled and Sara and Tali agreed on how she was quite hot. No one noticed as Morgan slipped silently out of the door.

CSIVCSIVCSIV

"...and she's cute but so real, y'know?" Tony continued.

"You in love, DiNozzo?" Don asked, rolling his eyes. "That'll be what, the third time this week?"

Tony hit him round the back of the head.

"Hey!" Don protested.

Danny Messer, a sophomore and Don's good friend pushed Tony playfully. "So how come you won't tell us her name?"

"It's because he actually likes her, Messer." Don grinned, and Tony just shouldered Don again. Don laughed as they passed Tony's alcove that he'd sat in with Sara.

Suddenly, Don stopped. He turned and fury filled his face.

"Willows, what the hell are you doing?" he yelled.

The whole of that part of the school turned to see Eddie Willows break an embrace with cheerleader Maxine Valera. She blushed, and Don dragged Eddie out of the alcove and smashed him against the wall.

"Get the hell off me, Flack!" Willows smashed his foot into Don's shin and pushed him off.

Don groaned, and followed the other boy. "You lying, cheating piece of filth!"

Eddie turned around. "You stupid hypocrite! Besides, Cath cheated on me first!"

"Oh yeah? With who?"

"Yeah. With you!"

Don frowned. "What the hell are you talking about now?"

Eddie spat out the words bitterly. "I know all about your movie nights, Flack!"

"We're friends. We have been for like three years; she's like my sister you retard!" Don yelled.

"Shut your mouth!"

"Stop screwing Cath around!"

"Why do you want to know about our sex life?"

"That's not what I-"

"You want Cath all to yourself? She is a great little f-"

Eddie Willows was cut off by Don Flack's fist in his mouth. Suddenly the two boys were in a full on fight that made Morgan and Casey's fight look like a scrap between two babies.

Blood splattered over a nearby wall and Catherine and Jess screamed.

"Oh my god, Don!" Jess cried.

"STOP!" Catherine screamed, close to tears.

Jess nodded. "Don, stop, please!"

Don halted at the sound of the two girls and stepped back. He spat at Eddie and backed off.

"LOOK OUT!" Jess yelled suddenly.

"Eddie, no!" Catherine wailed as Eddie's hand smashed into the back of Don's head.

Don hit the pavement with a thud and didn't move. A whole bunch of girls screamed and Jess lunged at Eddie Willows. They fought for a second before Danny Messer, Tony DiNozzo, Eric Delko and Jesse Cardoza ran to help her.

Catherine raced over to Don and taped his shoulders. "Don? Don?"

He moaned, and she hooked her hands under his shoulders and dragged him away from the fight as he woke up.

Rick Stetler and a couple of friends ran up and joined in. He grabbed Jess by the hair and pulled her off of Eddie, throwing her to the floor. He raised his foot to kick her face, but as she threw her hands above her head to protect her face a small bundle of force knocked Stetler onto the floor.

Fourteen year old Lindsay Monroe pushed Stetler out of the way and started pulling Eddie Willows and his friends apart from the others.

Shane Casey, who had happily joined in the growing brawl, was shocked to find himself three feet away on the floor, pushed aside by the tiny girl.

"Stop it!" she called loudly. "Cut it out!"

Russell ran around the corner and muttered under his breath as he saw a smaller-than-average fourteen year old girl in the middle of a fight. "Not again..."

He took a breath and hollered out to the nearest teachers. "Gibbs, Taylor, Grissom, Danville, we got another fight!"

Within seconds the place was swarmed by teachers and the crowd instantly shrank down to only those involved, who didn't get away so easily.

"Anyone who needs to see the nurse, line up here!" Jo Danville, a chemistry teacher called. When she saw the state of Don, Jess and a few others, she snapped into action. "Right, Flack, Willows, Angell, DiNozzo, Flynn, you guys come with me right now!"

The students meekly obeyed, and Don heaved himself off the floor, holding his pounding head. Jess put an arm on his and he half grinned at her, but then he saw why Catherine had been called over. She hadn't been physically hurt to his relief, but she looked shattered, as if her whole world had been struck by an earthquake. She was shivering and sniffing, trying to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks.

Jess' face fell and she put an arm around her friend. As they reached First Aid and the popular English school Nurse Peyton Driscoll began with Don and Eddie after throwing Tony a box of tissues for his heavily bleeding nose, Jess pulled Catherine into a full on hug.

"That liar! That stupid liar!" Catherine burst into sobs, and Jess hugged her friend tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Cath. You're too good for him anyway." She said softly, knowing it wouldn't help much.

"I never did anything with Don." Catherine insisted.

"I know, Cath, I know." Jess nodded. "I know."

Catherine just shook her head and hugged Jess tightly. Then she frowned in concentration. "Is that a siren?"

Jenny Shepherd, the school counsellor came over to the two girls. "We've called an ambulance for Don as he has a head wound, just in case. Are you two hurt physically?"

Catherine shook her head and Jess massaged the back of her head. "I'm a little bruised. I was on the floor, Miss Danville panicked, Jenny."

"Can either of you tell me what the fight was about?" Jenny asked softly. She was happy to be on a first name basis with the students, it made her feel like she was doing her job properly.

Catherine let out a small noise that the counsellor thought could be a laugh or a sob.

"Me..." she hiccupped.

Jess took a deep breath. "Don caught Eddie cheating on Cath with Maxine Valera. He and Cath are good friends so he got angry. He shouted at Eddie and-"

"That prick shoved me against the stupid wall!" Eddie interrupted, waiting for Peyton to get to him, and Jenny held her hands out, motioning for Jess to continue.

"Don held him against the wall, Eddie kicked Don...then he accused Cath of cheating on him with Don, which never happened. Then when Don told him to stop messing Cath around, Eddie twisted his words and blurted out about Cath being..." Jess shook her head, and Catherine swallowed.

"He said I was a 'good little f' then he got interrupted by Don charging him." Catherine whispered. "I thought they were gonna kill each other."

"Then we screamed at them to stop and Don tried but Eddie smashed him to the floor and he wasn't moving...So I charged him." Jess admitted, glancing at the floor.

"Catherine?" Jenny asked. "What happened next?"

"Um... some other kids tried to help Jess, Stetler and his lot tried to help Eddie. Then Stetler nearly smashed Jess' face but Lindsay Monroe stepped in and broke up the whole thing."

"Lindsay Monroe?" Jenny asked with a frown.

Jess nodded. "She lives near Don and their moms are really good friends, so they kinda are too and her brother Jake and I dated a while back, we became friends then. She's really sweet." She turned to Catherine, whose eyes were fluttering shut. "Catherine? Cath?"

Jenny put her hands on Catherine's shoulders as the teen's slumped in her seat. "Did she hit her head? Catherine, can you hear me?"

"Catherine!" Jess said fearfully.

Don looked over, holding the ice pack to his head. "Catherine!" he called in horror.

Her limbs relaxed and despite Jenny's grip she sunk into her chair.

"I think she's in shock!" Jenny called. "Peyton!"

Peyton raced over, helping Jenny carry Catherine's limp body onto a bed.

"What do you mean 'shock'?" Jess cried, running to her friends side. "Oh my god!"

"Don, Jess, sit down, she's going to be fine." Peyton insisted. She turned back to the unconscious teen and tried to banish the irritating little voice in her head that kept on repeating itself.

She's going to be fine. You think.