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Chapter 2

What Schuyler saw when his class started after that weekend almost made him wonder if Friday's events had really been some horrible nightmare; if it weren't for the faded but still visible bruise marring Starr's otherwise perfect skin, he might actually believe it had been.

The difference between her behavior then and now was like the difference between night and day; Starr was practically glowing with joy as she walked into his classroom, a brilliant smile lighting up her face, and her eyes were awash with peace and contentment. She looked like she was walking on air, like nothing could possibly bring her down, and Schuyler practically basked in the sight of her like that, unable to help grinning because just the sight of her in that state overjoyed him too. Starr should always be that happy, she deserved nothing less.

"You seem to be feeling better, Miss. Manning," he couldn't help but comment as he passed while gathering their homework, hoping to hear her usual bright tone for the first time in what felt like ages.

"What? Oh, yeah, so much better, you have no idea," she said with a light laugh, without the slightest bit of anger or resentment in her tone; it was just the way she used to talk to him, and Schuyler's heart was lifted even further.

Maybe he'd been wrong after-all and that was why Starr had gotten so upset; maybe she really had just gotten into an accident in gym and her behavior had only been because of him. Maybe she was just…forgetting about him, letting go like he'd wanted her to, and that was why she was getting back to her old self. If it meant Starr being happy again, then Schuyler was thrilled to be forgotten, he really meant that.

"Oh, uh, Mr. J, I'm sorry, I don't have the work done," she said quickly when he came to her desk. "I understand that's an automatic fifteen points off, I'm sorry, I won't make it thirty."

Behind her, Langston looked as surprised as Schuyler felt. The only other time he could recall Starr not having an assignment ready on time was the day she'd told him she'd gone to visit her baby's grave and had spent all night thinking about her. He frowned curiously; logic would say that was what had happened again, but Starr certainly wouldn't seem so joyful if that was the case.

"That's fine; just make sure you have it in tomorrow, okay?"

"Of course."

Schuyler shot her a quick smile, and to his pleasant surprise, she returned it. For the first time since she'd left his classroom on Friday, Schuyler had a clear head and felt like he could breathe easy. As he walked back to his own desk, he couldn't help overhearing the quiet conversation behind him.

"Hey!" Langston said, poking her friend in the stomach with the eraser end of her pencil to get her attention. Starr just laughed as she pushed her hand away. "What is with you today? You're practically dancing and singing in the halls, and somehow, you just seem to get happier every five seconds. You're killing me, what's up?"

"I told you that I can't tell you yet, but I will let you know the second I can, okay?"

"This better be good," she grumbled playfully. Starr just laughed again, shaking her head.

"A million times better than good, trust me."

To say Schuyler's curiosity was piqued was a vast understatement; he was desperate to know who or what had made her so happy, so he could personally thank them if it was a who or made sure it happened often if it was a what, but that wasn't his place anymore. Starr was happy without him, as she should be, and it was more than enough for Schuyler to have this knowledge and get to see her beaming face as he taught the class.

Starr and her friends usually lingered a minute and were among the last to leave, but this day, the girl shot of her seat the second the bell rang, and was out the door before anyone else was even close. He stared after her in surprise for a moment, then just chuckled, shaking his head affectionately as Langston and Markko shared a bewildered look before leaving themselves.

Schuyler was still at his desk twenty minutes later, reading a student's assignment in utter befuddlement (someone had obviously not done the assigned reading and just tried to fake their way through it, never a good idea) when he heard footsteps outside the door and glanced up in time to see Starr hurrying past, heaving a sigh of frustration and muttering to herself. His brow furrowed slightly and he stared out the doorway, wondering what was going on, only to have his silent question answered a moment later.

"Cole, oh my God, there you are!" he heard her shriek joyously, unable to see the pair from here. Ah- so that must have been what she was so happy about, Cole. His stomach twisted uncomfortably, but Schuyler ignored it; he'd wanted this, he'd told her to do this. "Where have you been?! I called you about a thousand times last night, I went over to your house, I called you a thousand more times today, I looked for you everywhere-"

"Oh, so now you actually want to talk to me?"

"Cole, I'm sorry about everything, but you need to be quiet and listen because I have something to tell you that's way more important, okay?" she ordered, though somehow, the happy note didn't leave her tone. "Look, I have the most amazing news."

Starr passed by the doorway once more, walking in the opposite direction and tugging Cole behind her. As their footsteps faded away, Schuyler frowned deeply. He wasn't jealous, he wasn't, he couldn't be, but…he had intended for Starr to go back to Cole once he was clean. She couldn't possibly be thinking about getting back together with him now, could she? Cole had only been attending court ordered rehab sessions and getting drug testing done for a couple of days; and Schuyler knew from experience that drug testing was easy enough to get past if you had the resources; Starr wouldn't take a chance like this when the boy could still be messed up, would she?

Schuyler felt an intense, powerful surge of worry as he remembered the night of the dance; he recalled telling Starr not to come near Cole and truly believing it would be dangerous if she did, practically tackling Cole when he'd made a move to follow Starr and Langston, seeing far too familiar a gleam in the young boy's eyes- it was the same look Schuyler used to have during his own drug induced rage fits. He should have left the moment Starr kissed him, before other teachers could hear the commotion and come along, but Cole's behavior had been the whole reason he hadn't- at that moment, he truly hadn't trusted the kid's state of mind enough to leave him alone with Starr.

Schuyler contemplated for all of three seconds before making his decision, rising from his seat and walking to the door where he hovered around, listening carefully. He couldn't hear them, but that was a good thing; everybody in the entire school had been able to hear Cole the night of the dance- if there was a problem, he'd know.

There was nothing but silence for a good ten minutes, and Schuyler had just started to suspect he was just being overprotective, considering how much he cared about Starr and how worried he'd been all weekend, when he suddenly heard a faint shout and perked his ears up, listening for any sign that this was more than a lovers' quarrel. God only knew he had no business getting involved in student affairs, especially when it came to this student, but he knew without a doubt he'd interfere if he had to.

"Why not, Starr?! Give me one good reason!" Schuyler tensed, gripping the doorframe tightly.

"The way you're talking to me right now says it all!"

"Oh, please, we both know this has nothing to do with me!" Starr lowered her voice, and Schuyler couldn't hear her response. "Yeah, I'm talking about him; you're obviously already thinking about him, we might as well get it out in the open! This doesn't have a damn thing to do with me, this is about you being messed up and having the hots for Mr. J- what, didn't get enough the first time he rammed his tongue down your threat?"

"You don't even know what you're talking about Cole; how many times do I have to tell you that wasn't his fault, that I kissed him?! And this is really what you're focusing on, now?"

"Yeah, I'm choosing to focus on you and your perv teacher scre-"

"Don't you even finish that sentence, and don't say that about Schuyler!" she snapped.

Schuyler's heart ached; she would defend him to Cole of all people, even after what he'd done to her? What the hell had he ever done to deserve her? That was it; Cole's voice left little room for doubt that he'd broken the agreement he'd made during his sentencing to stay clean, and Starr obviously didn't want to deal with him- he was getting involved, boundaries be damned.

Down the hall, Starr was staring at Cole- she hated even calling this version of him by his name, he may as well have been a stranger- in disbelief, taking deep breaths to try and calm this pounding anger inside of her. He had ruined this; she'd given him the most spectacular news the two of them would ever hear, and he managed to act decent for a few minutes, sure, but then he turned back into this monster. After what he'd done Thursday night that had made Schuyler freak on Friday, after swearing how sorry he was, here he was again, screaming at her, blaming all of his problems on Schuyler, intimidating her with that manic look in his eyes…

That look said it all. Starr's stomach twisted fearfully as she realized he was high yet again, and tears of frustration spilled over, blurring her vision and burning her eyes; what the hell was wrong with him? After what had happened before the weekend, after what had happened with Matthew, after being warned that if he didn't quit drugs cold turkey he was going to jail, he still got high. Was he just beyond saving now? The thought caused a quiet sob to escape her.

"Why not?" Cole thundered, stepping even further into her personal space. She nervously stepped away until her back hit the lockers.

"He doesn't deserve that, he's a good-"

"Why are you defending him to me?! Would you do the same for me?"

"I wouldn't have to, because Schuyler would never say anything bad about you!"

"He shouldn't be saying anything about me at all!" Cole exploded, throwing the books in his hands carelessly; they hit the wall with a loud bang, and Starr shrieked in surprise.

"Cole, please calm down," she begged quietly. "You're high, and-"

"Oh, what, did 'Schuyler' tell you that?" he demanded, shooting his fist out and punching the locker next to her, leaving his hand there so she was effectively caged in. Starr shrank back, biting her lip as she fought not to cry any more. She couldn't believe she had ever known this person, ever loved them.

"You and I are supposed to be together, Starr!" he hissed, gripping her arm tightly. "Why can't you see that?! Everybody else does!"

"Cole, stop it, you're scaring me!" she shouted tearfully. The worst part was, that was absolutely true; Cole was scaring her.

"Maybe you need to be scared, maybe that'll finally wake you up from this fantasy you're having! We have a child together, Starr! You and I fought so hard to be together, what we have is real, and you're throwing it away for your teacher! What is wrong with-"

Suddenly, Cole was cut off as somebody grabbed the back of his shirt and flung him violently into the lockers behind them. Starr's head whipped around in shock, and her eyes widened, stunned, when she saw that it was Schuyler who had ripped Cole away from her. He was breathing heavily through clenched teeth, starring at Cole with a look in his eyes Starr had never seen before, that she couldn't name.

An intense wave of relief crashed through Starr, and without even thinking or realizing what she was doing, she suddenly flung herself into his arms, an anguished sob escaping her as she buried her head against the crook of his neck, clinging to him desperately as every ounce of worry and fear she'd been bottling up since she'd been unable to turn to him came pouring out.

The tension instantly escaped Schuyler's body as he focused solely on Starr, drawing her in closer and holding her to him tightly and safely in a protective embrace as he quietly murmured words of comfort in her ear, his hands rubbing soothing circles on her back. He could feel her tears on his neck and nuzzled his cheek against the top of her head, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair as he mentally thanked her for throwing herself into his arms; right now, he didn't know what he would have done to Cole if she hadn't. After seeing him towering over Starr, screaming at her as she looked terrified and like she wanted to disappear into the lockers, Schuyler didn't trust his self-control one bit. If he found out his current suspicions were right and Cole had been the cause of her injury on Friday, he was going to need Starr by his side 24/7 to guarantee he didn't do something to Cole that would get him thrown in jail for life. How could he not have suspected on Cole on Friday? After his behavior at the dance, Cole should have been the first person to come to mind! Why the hell had he been so convinced Cole had been a good guy for her?

Speak of the devil- he heard Cole's footsteps and he glanced over the top of Starr's head at the boy with dangerously narrowed eyes. Cole was staring at the two of them with an utterly stunned expression; he slowly glanced from them, to the forgotten books on the floor, to the lockers he'd had Starr caged in against, and his eyes grew wide with disbelief as his breathing shortened. Schuyler knew this phase, coming down from the high and realizing just what the hell you'd done, all too well. His heart would usually go out to anybody struggling just as he had, but after this, he was no longer capable of sympathy towards Cole.

"Starr," Cole breathed, starting to move towards them as he shook his head. "Oh my God, I'm so-"

Without even thinking, Schuyler instinctively twisted his body to shield Starr further, keeping one arm tightly wound around her as he reached out and gave Cole a violent shove back, sending the boy stumbling back once again. Starr remained pressed tightly to his chest, never once looking up; her shoulders continued to tremble as soft cries escaped her lips, and Schuyler comfortingly stroked her hair.

"Don't, Cole," he hissed, his eyes sending a clear warning as well. "Just don't."

"Mr. Joplin?"

Schuyler quickly glanced behind him and saw Mr. Travers and Mrs. Lane, two other teachers at the school, staring at the scene in confusion. Mrs. Lane's eyes slowly drifted over him and Starr and narrowed as they did so- obviously, she was recalling the night of the dance and the agreement he'd made when he'd been given his job back.

Schuyler knew the last thing he should be doing was touching Starr in front of anyone at this school, let alone other teachers, but she didn't make a move to pull away, so neither did he. To be blunt, Schuyler didn't give a shit about the other teachers right now, he didn't care if he lost his job. Starr was the only thing that mattered, and she needed him, and he'd be damned if let her down again; he dared someone to try and pry him away from her before she wanted to let go.

"Mr. Joplin, what happened? The students in the music room said they heard a big commotion."

"Mr. Thornhart seems to have used drugs on school grounds, in direct violation of his sentencing and probation, and was harassing Miss. Manning when I came along," he answered, his voice not betraying the furious anger he felt at those words; he kept his tone even, not wanting to scare the girl nestled in his arms.

"Is that so, Mr. Thornhart?" Mr. Travers asked tightly, walking over to the teen. Cole's gaze lingered on Starr for a moment, and he appeared torn, but a second later the drugs won yet again and he swallowed roughly as his eyes hardened.

"No, I'm not high," he spat. "I got into an argument with my ex-girlfriend, big deal. Not my fault teach here is obsessed with Starr and felt the need to butt in and make a big deal of it."

"Hmm; you're not high, really?" Mr. Travers asked, already seeing the answer in the boy's eyes. "Well, then you shouldn't have a problem giving a urine sample, right here, right now, should you?"

Cole opened his mouth to protest, appearing on the verge of another blow-up, and Schuyler instantly interjected.

"Mr. Travers, think you could take him somewhere else to talk about this?" he asked quietly, giving a slight nod to Starr. The other man flashed him a look of understanding and steered Cole, already beginning to protest, away.

"Starr, honey," Mrs. Lane said gently, tentatively stepping closer. "We're going to need to hear your side of the story, it's very important. Think you can come with me and do that?"

Starr slowly took a deep breath, pulling away from Schuyler just enough to look him in the eyes and allow him to see that her own were filled with anxiety. Schuyler instinctively cupped her cheek and brushed at her tears with his thumb, smiling reassuringly. She seemed calmed and turned to the other teacher, still not leaving the safety of Schuyler's arms.

"I can't just give a ditto to everything Mr. Joplin said?" she asked hopefully. Mrs. Lane laughed gently.

"I'm afraid not. I promise we won't take up too much of your time."

Starr bit her lip and slowly nodded, reluctantly stepping out of Schuyler's embrace; he instantly felt just…empty without her. She glanced between the two teachers silently for a moment until Mrs. Lane got it; she frowned, her brow furrowing, but stepped a few feet away even though she looked far from happy about it.

Starr looked up at Schuyler nervously, unable to help feeling embarrassed by her meltdown, but he just gazed at her patiently.

"Are you okay, Starr?" he murmured, too low for Mrs. Lane to hear. She smiled a little too quickly and nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine, I just um…I don't want to go in there alone," she confessed in a rush before bowing her head, already bracing herself for his rejection, for another reminder about student and teacher boundaries now that she had calmed down enough to listen.

It was just…she had gotten so used to turning to Schuyler, being able to rely on him, that not having him had made her feel acutely lonely throughout the struggles of the last week, and now that she'd had him by her side again, even just for a few minutes, the isolation was going to feel more pressing than ever if she had to go in there and talk about Cole, Cole, getting high and harassing her (which she still couldn't fully believe had just happened), all by herself.

"Then you won't."

Starr looked up sharply, startled by his warm reassurance, expecting him to take it back at any second. He did no such thing, and slowly, she managed a tiny but genuine smile.

"Thank you."

Schuyler's heart was growing heavier with guilt every second; she shouldn't have to thank him for that. He knew Starr better than anybody, better than he knew himself; he knew damn well she could have handled it if he had just been honest with her and told her why he couldn't be with her. Why had he been cruel to the point that she had to look terrified to ask him to keep her from having to face this on her own? Why the hell had he pushed her on Cole and created this hideous situation that she never should have had to face at all? He'd told himself he was trying to convince her to be with Cole because it was safer, because he didn't want her to get hurt- well, a whole lot of good that had done.

No, the truth was, Schuyler was a coward, and his history with addiction had left him terrified over his level of self-control, of his ability to maintain something good. So, he'd let fear get the best of him and he'd taken the easy way out with Starr by just not facing her at all so he wouldn't have to risk hurting her. Ironically, it was his attempt to protect her that had led to her being hurt worse than ever, and his attempt to keep from destroying the only good thing in his life had been what led to him doing exactly that. Why did Starr even want him around her anymore?

"Please, don't thank me," was all he managed to quickly choke out. He needed to be honest with her, she deserved that, finally, but he couldn't exactly do it with Mrs. Lane standing five feet away. "Starr, before we go in there, I need you to tell me something- is Cole the one who did that to you?" he asked gently, eyes pointedly drifting to the bruise on her skin. She sighed.

"Yes and no. Yes, he caused it, but no, he didn't hit me. It was an accident, and I don't think they need to know about that. We both know he's gonna fail that drug test anyway," she spat. "That's going to seal his fate no matter what I say."

"Okay, but…I just want to make sure you don't feel like you need to protect-"

"Trust me," she interrupted, her voice becoming heated. "Protecting Cole is the absolute last thing on my mind right now."

He opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it; she'd said to trust her, and he did. Besides, Starr wasn't the liar here; that was his position, not hers.

"Okay," he repeated simply. "Are you ready for this?"

"I guess," she sighed uncomfortably.

They both turned, and Starr flinched when she saw Mrs. Lane's eyes darting between the two of them with clear discomfort. Why had she even been hurt when Schuyler had called her a problem when it was obviously true?

"Starr, can you go on ahead to the office?" she asked kindly. "I'll be there in just a moment."

"Oh, um…okay," she hedged, looking at Schuyler nervously once more; like she'd just been thinking, turning to him had just become instinctual. Even now, as he was likely at risk of losing his job once again because she'd been stupid and clingy, he tried to soothe her with the look he shot her over Mrs. Lane's shoulder. With a deep breath, Starr began to walk down the hallway, talking small steps.

"Why aren't we going with her, what do you want?" Schuyler asked impatiently once Starr was out of earshot. He usually would never dream of talking to a colleague like that, but he'd told Starr he'd be right there with her, and he didn't want to let her down all over again.

"Joplin, I think it'd be best if you stay here."

"No," he said instantly, calmly but firmly. It simply wasn't an option.

"No?" she repeated, cocking an eyebrow. "Schuyler, I think I should remind you that it's your relationship with Miss. Manning that you got you suspended, and they only let you back after you promised to have no private contact with her. You've clearly already broken that, based on what Mr. Travers and I walked in on." Schuyler stared at her in disbelief, shaking his head in frustration.

"My student had just been harassed by her strung-out, angry ex-boyfriend, she was scared and desperate for reassurance; what would you have had me do? Tell her to stay away from me even though she was in that state?"

"Of course not," she sighed. "Look, Joplin, it's not bad to care about your students, but you have to understand that you and Starr Manning are not in the same situation as the rest of us. I understand that she needed somebody at that moment, fine, but I don't think you need to make it worse by accompanying-"

"She needs somebody now too!"

"I'll be there."

Schuyler barely managed to keep himself from blurting out what he was thinking- that she wasn't him, and that for some insane, completely illogical reason he couldn't understand, Starr wanted him, and after all he'd done, it was the absolute least he could give her. Mrs. Lane studied him carefully for a moment, her face giving nothing away.

"But that won't be enough for her, will it?" she asked quietly, cocking her head to the side. Schuyler didn't answer; damned if you damned if you don't question right there. "Joplin, what is going on with you two?"

"Nothing," he answered sharply. "She's my student, and I'm worried about her after the scene I came across- she was terrified; you'd feel the same way." Mrs. Long was quiet for a long time after that, but Schuyler didn't have it in him to worry about whatever she may have been thinking; his attention and worry were all far too gone on Starr to care about himself.

"I probably would," she finally spoke in a quiet voice. "Okay, look; I understand why you two seemed so close today, why she needs you so much right now, and…and I don't think admin needs to hear about it. But I'm not going to feel this way twice. Understand?" Schuyler gave a short nod, exhaling roughly. "Okay, come on; let's get down there before you have a heart attack."

"Thank you," he breathed, not even bothering to pretend that wasn't how he actually felt. The woman almost smiled in spite of herself but quickly caught it.

The two of them quickly reached the office, where Starr was anxiously waiting for them. The girl proceeded to spend the next thirty minutes telling her story to the principal, the guidance counselor, someone from the court involved with Cole's case, and the drug counselor assigned to him.

Schuyler remained near her the entire time, and though he tried to help, jumping in to answer as many questions as possible so she wouldn't have to, Starr found that his mere presence was the most comforting thing to her. The time felt like it was passing agonizingly slowly, particularly when they were on the topic of just what they'd been fighting over that had caused Cole to blow up, but it did pass and finally, it was over, and Schuyler thankfully didn't seem to be in any deeper trouble because of her, everybody believing Cole's jealousy was just a drug induced delusion, nothing with any basis in reality.

Nobody would answer her questions about what was going to happen to Cole now, and soon enough, everybody filed out of the room to 'deal with the situation', as they'd all put it, leaving Starr and Schuyler alone, with the reassurance that someone had been called and would be there to pick her up soon.

There was an awkward silence settling into the room now that they were alone; that was unusual for the two of them, but neither was quite certain where to go from here, and both knew they were in a more sensitive place than ever right now. The last actions the two of them had taken towards each other clearly seemed to be the wrong ones- Schuyler had been suspended from teaching and Cole had completely lost it in the first place thanks to Starr kissing him in the middle of the crowded school, and Schuyler's choice had to led to all of this- and now, the two of them were just afraid to make a move at all, for fear of miss-stepping again and making things worse yet.

"Sc…Mr. J," Starr corrected herself as she began hesitantly, nervously eyeing the surrounding rooms. "I think we, um, need-"

"Oh, Starr, sweetie, your step-dad is here to pick you up," the secretary of the office interrupted as she breezed into the room.

Schuyler felt a cold rush of disappointment that she hadn't been allowed to finish, but it was overshadowed seconds later as he processed what he'd just heard- Starr's step-dad? What the hell was she talking about? Starr didn't have a step-dad.

"There you are! Starr, what happened, are you okay?"

Schuyler blinked and did a double take as John poked his head into the room, speaking to Starr, and he was further stunned as Starr stood with a forced smile, walking over to him. What? Since when the hell was John Starr's step-father? How had this even happened in the time that they hadn't been speaking? Only now did Schuyler truly begin to understand how much Starr had been left to process on her own, and his fury with himself just grew.

"Hi, John. I'm fine, it's a long story; I'll tell you in the car." Starr turned and gave Schuyler a small smile, hiding her frustration over the fact that all she wanted was to stay with him. She could tell he was concerned, confused, and every bit as mixed up as she was right now, but all he could do was return the smile. "Good night, Mr. Joplin."

"Night, Starr," he replied quietly, watching with longing eyes as she walked out the door.