"I have found the paradox; that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only love."

- Mother Teresa –

Marley walked into her history class the next Monday being very careful not to draw too much attention to herself. It wasn't that hard considering she had never been one to demand attention anyway. It was a theory of hers that if she were to walk in naked or in a neon outfit, nobody would even glance at her. She was truly a wallflower.

But there were two people who saw her; who looked right at her and recognized her as a person, not just some nobody that floated through life. Maybe that's why she had been drawn to both of them, because they saw her, or maybe she really was just the attention whore that Kitty claimed she was.

"Hey Marley." A boy practically whispered as he took his assigned seat in front of her. Without thinking, she looked up and offered him a small smile, only realizing the error of her ways when his smile fell into a frown. "What happened?"

Marley self-consciously grazed her finger tips over her bruise before looking down at the books in front of her. She knew somebody would eventually notice her cheek; she had just hoped that it'd be after she had enough time to think of an excuse. "Oh I just- well it's really a pathetic story. I was-."

"Alright guys, take out your homework and pass it forward." Mr. Schuester commanded upon entering the room. Normally, she would have been annoyed by his tardiness considering she had been written up last semester for the exact same reason, but now she was thankful for his interruption. As much as she was relieved, she was also entirely annoyed with herself for forgetting to do the assignment. "Marley, no homework today?"

"I uh… well…" She started to mumble. Why was she having such a hard time lying today? First with Ryder and now with Mr. Schue. It didn't make sense. She always lied, or at least embellished the truth. It's partially why she was able to keep to herself in the first place.

"I have her homework." Ryder interrupted, turning around to show Mr. Schuester the piece of paper that was in his hands. As his teacher looked over the sheet of paper, Ryder shot Marley a small smile. "I thought we were passing it to the front."

Mr. Schuester looked between the two before nodding his head. Neither of them had ever given him a reason to doubt them. "Alright. Where's your homework?"

"I left it at home." Ryder mumbled quickly, watching as his teacher frowned. "I can bring it in tomorrow though."

Sighing, Mr. Schuester rubbed his forehead. "Ryder, your grades are already low. You need to complete your homework so I can level it out and at least give you a C."

Marley looked down at her books again feeling ashamed that she let Ryder lie on her behalf. She knew he struggled with his grades. She knew about his dyslexia. And what if he spelled words wrong in his homework that she had now just claimed? Then they'd both get in trouble for cheating.

As if sensing her worries, he turned around and whispered, "Don't worry. You can just do the assignment during free period and we can switch it out with mine during Glee rehearsal. You just have to type it so it looks the same as mine."

"Why are you being so nice?"

He licked his lips and shook his head making her wonder if he knew the answer himself. With a shrug of his shoulders he mumbled, "Because I owe you" before he turned around to listen to Mr. Schue start his lecture on the history of Mexico.

Marley, though, couldn't force herself to pay attention. She was stuck wondering why Ryder and Jake did the things they did. Ryder had just been led on and she was to blame for that. But why was he being so nice now, even after she had been honest with him? It didn't make sense.

And Jake claimed he loved her but then hit her, which she was ready to take blame for as well. His wants were innocent and normal but her fear was irrational. It wasn't his fault that she was such a prude. That was all on her. What didn't make sense though was why he was continually texting her begging for forgiveness.

He deserved better than she could ever give him.

Somehow, enough time passed and the bell sounded, dismissing them from class. Mr. Schue assigned an optional homework that he said had the power to boost anyone's grade if they wanted it. Marley was sure it was just for Ryder, though, and considering the circumstances, she decided she should help him complete the extra credit assignment.

"Hey Ry!" She called after him in the hallway. He stopped almost immediately and turned to give her a smile, one that was difficult to return. "I just wanted to say thank you again for what you did in there."

He smirked slightly and shook his head. "You didn't say thank you a first time."

"Oh well, then thank you." She giggled, finding it slowly getting easier for her to joke and kid around with him again. They used to do it all the time before things got all messed up. She wondered if her joking with him was what made him think he could kiss her in the first place. With a shake of her head, her smile disappeared. "I want to make it up to you by helping with the extra credit assignment."

He chuckled and shook his head, slightly. "You don't have to do that. It's just a poster board. Even I can't mess that up."

"Well I have some art stuff at my house so if you come over after school we can make sure your poster board is nice and pretty." She smiled at him and turned to walk away. Down the hallway, Jake was currently standing at her locker staring at them with a look of jealousy in his eyes. Quickly, she turned back to Ryder and offered him another smile. "That's an order, Mr. Lynn."

She heard him laugh before turning to walk the other way and she could picture the dorky smile that was most likely on his face. But all thoughts of Ryder vanished once she approached Jake. Softly, she pushed him away so she could put in the combination to her locker in order to retrieve her gym clothes.

"What the hell was that?" Jake demanded, the tone of his voice causing goose bumps to form on her skin. "I accidentally nudge you at my house and you go and fuck him right away?"

Marley gasped and looked around at all the people who could be potentially listening. She was not one to have sex with random people and she didn't want her peers to think that. "I was just being nice to him, Jake." She whispered as she slammed her history textbook into the back of the locker. "And you didn't nudge me. You smacked me… on purpose."

He chuckled dryly as he shook his head at her, waiting for her to finish grabbing her gym stuff. "If I smacked you it would have left a mark."

"And what do you call this?" She challenged, pointing to the discolored patch on her cheek bone. Instantly, his face softened and he reached out to softly rub his thumb over it. She wasn't mad at him and she hated the fact that she just yelled at him. All he was doing was being her boyfriend, a caring, loving boyfriend. He didn't deserve to be yelled at. "I'm not mad at you."

"I'm so sorry, Marls." He whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. "I just don't like seeing you with him."

"Don't you trust me?" She asked while shutting her locker quietly. As if they had no care in the world, they laced fingers and walked with smiles on their faces all the way to the gym.

"I did," he responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "until you kissed him."

"I'm not going to let that happen again," was all she could say because that's the truth. Ryder was her friend. That's it. Friend. "I love you so much it hurts sometimes."

He flushed red before his eyes wandered towards her cheek. "I really am sorry, babe."

"It doesn't matter to me anymore." She whispered as she leaned up towards his lips. Smiling, she kissed him sweetly before pulling away. "It's just proof of how much you love me."

"I love you a lot." He mumbled against her forehead before he turned around and started jogging towards his health class. She watched him until he disappeared behind a door not too far away.

"Miss Rose, you have two minutes to get changed before I have to mark you late!" Coach Bieste bellowed as she passed Marley to get into the locker room. With a slight roll of her eyes, she followed after her and got changed as quickly as she could.

All was right in the world, at least for a while.

X X X

So is Jake really sorry enough to stop being such a jerk? Hmmm… who knows? Well I do but whatever.

Thanks so much to everyone who reads and reviews! It means to world to me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reviewing :) I honestly makes my day.