Welp, it's Saturday, which means it's time for an update! This chapter was a doozy and a half because I wanted to get it just right. See you lovelies again on Tuesday, and hopefully you enjoy! ~Shaymie

Alex's POV

I watched Lorin's wavy hair bounce as she led me to the food court-I wasn't even aware that aquariums had food courts-and looked down at our conjoined hands. I felt my face grow hot as I realized that I had kissed her again, but this time it was on the lips. And that apparently wasn't enough, because I gave her another one on the cheek. God, I had to control myself around her better. I was going to end up scaring her away at this rate.

"Alex, please don't tell anyone what I told you." Her voice was quiet and broken, and I had to strain my ears to hear her. She had to be insane. How could I not tell anyone about this? How had she not told anyone about it?

"What the hell do you mean?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low enough to not gather attention. She squeezed my hand and quickened her pace. I could feel the burn mark rub against my skin slightly and wondered what exactly had caused it. Odds were, it wasn't pretty. "Lorin, those fuckers raped you. We should tell the police."

"Like anyone's going to believe that," she scoffed. I could imagine her rolling her eyes as I stared at the back of her head. "It's old news. It's in the past. And James' dad is one of the richest guys in the city, and probably an even bigger asshole than his son. Even if he did somehow get arrested, he'd be back out in a few hours with a pat on the back and a new car."

"But Lorin-"

"I can just hear his argument now. 'She didn't say no. She didn't break up with me. I thought she was cool with it.'" Her voice took on a deeper quality as she imitated the voice of her ex, spitting the words out with a venom I had never heard before. "I'll become the laughingstock of the city."

"So you're just going to let them get away with it? James and Maria-"

"Don't say her name." Lorin's grip on my hand was impossibly hard now, her knuckles turning white. "What part of 'I want to forget this' don't you understand?"

"This isn't something you can just sweep under the rug, Lorin! You have to talk to someone about this or it'll eat you up until there's nothing left!"

"You don't know anything about what I'm going through."

"Try me. I've been with some… less than pleasant people in the past. People who only wanted me for my body. They didn't care about what I wanted and only cared if they got off. I know it might not be exactly what happened to you, but I know what it's like to be used as a cheap plaything for sex. Lorin, you can talk to me."

She ground to a halt and let go of my hand. Looking up, I saw that we were at the food court, indicated by a flashing neon sign. Lorin took a deep breath and looked back at me, tears shining in her eyes. She sniffled and wiped at them with the sleeve of her-no, my-jacket, which fell a little bit below her knees. Sometimes I forget just how tiny she really was.

"Thank you."

I followed her into the food court and flinched at the furious look on Angelica's face when she saw us. Lorin squeaked and grabbed my arm as she stormed over to us, followed by everyone else. Hell, even Jefferson and Madison were here, holding hands and making googly eyes at each other. They sobered up when they saw us enter the food court.

"Lorin Meredith Haywood, what the hell were you thinking? You had us all worried sick!" Wow, Angelica was pulling the full name card. I looked down at Lorin and saw that she was hiding behind me, tears in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something, her mouth opening slightly, but no words coming out.

"Sometimes I just freeze up," she had told me earlier. She wasn't even looking at any of us as her lips moved silently and her eyes focused on a menu on the wall. Angelica stared at her expectantly, her eyes narrowed.

"I… didn't mean to worry everyone." Lorin's words were slow and unsteady, and she started chewing on the ends of her hair. Her hands were trembling."I started to feel sick, and then before I knew it, I was by the turtles… Alex found me."

That was it? She wasn't going to mention the texts? She wasn't going to mention what he had done? She couldn't possibly keep this a secret! It would kill her. It would kill me. But if she wasn't ready to tell anyone, who was I to force her to? She'd had enough of being forced to do things as it was. She would tell everyone when she was ready. I hoped.

"We're not mad at you, Lori," Laurens said gently. Lorin looked up at him and spat her hair out, the ends now slightly darker than the rest. Some of the nervousness in her face faded, and she sighed in relief. So that's what she had been worried about… But why would she think that her friends would be mad at her?

"We just worry about you," Eliza frowned, stepping over and running a hand through Lorin's tangled hair. Her nose crinkled slightly as she touched the saliva-coated ends. "You never tell us anything. It's hard for us to know if you're having a bad day."

Lorin apologized softly and curled her hands into fists at her side, her nails digging into her palms. I was scared she would break through her skin at that rate and felt relieved when Eliza grabbed her hands and gently pried her fingers free. She frowned as she saw the burn on Lorin's right hand and ran her index finger on it lightly.

"Where did this come from?"

"Cooking accident," Lorin said shortly. pulling her hand away and shoving it in her pocket. The look on her face screamed that it was anything but, her eyes darkening as she glared down at the ground. "Can we go home now? I'm tired."

Lorin had been attached to me-literally, she was clinging onto my arm-ever since we left the aquarium (she hadn't been hungry and refused to eat at the food court, claiming that she was full even though I could hear her stomach rumbling), and we were now stood in front of our house, watching Laf fumble with his keys. Everyone else had gone home, with the exception of Laurens, who was spending the night for whatever reason. Wasn't it a school night? Surely his parents would be wondering where he was.

Lorin dragged me upstairs the second the door was unlocked, muttering a quick greeting to George and Martha as we passed them. She pulled me to her room and locked the door behind us, her cheeks pink.

"What's going on, Lo?" Her blush deepened as I spoke, and she chewed the ends of her hair nervously as she looked away. I realized that this was the first time I had called her by the shorthand version of her name (at least while she was conscious).

"Y-You kissed me earlier…" Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at a stuffed turtle on her bed. A gift from Laurens, I assumed, since it took priority over the other stuffed creatures that occupied her shelves. It even had a pastel bow tied around its neck. "I… don't understand… That means you like me, right?"

"Well, yeah," I spluttered, sure that my face was about as red as hers. She stared up at me, her beautiful eyes wide and her perfect lips pouting. This girl really was the cutest thing on the planet. "I mean, you don't normally go around kissing people you don't like, do you? I… Uh… I really like you."

"Why? I'm too short, too pudgy, too nervous, and nothing but a bother."

"First of all, I happen to like short girls, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a bit 'pudgy', you can't control your nerves, and Lorin Haywood, you are anything but a bother." I gently tugged her hair from her mouth and brushed a few stray strands back from her face. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me.

"You deserve better than a used-up slut like me." Her voice was quiet and tearful as she rubbed her arm awkwardly. If I ever met James or Maria, I swear to God, I would kill them. I couldn't stand the sad look on her face. I couldn't stand knowing that someone had hurt her.

"I could say the same thing to you," I frowned, hating that she saw saying such terrible things about herself. I hated James and Maria for making her feel this way, and I made a promise to myself that I would do whatever I could to restore her confidence. "Lorin, don't you ever say that about yourself again."

"Back at 'cha-"

She squealed as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer. We were so close, I could have counted every freckle on her face. Her blush came back full force as I leaned in and kissed her. She stiffened in my arms, and for a brief second I was terrified she was going to push me away. But then she relaxed and rested a tiny hand on my shoulder, pulling me even closer, our noses mashing into each other.

I wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted (I personally never wanted it to end), and we were both breathless as we pulled away. Lorin's face was the color of a tomato as she looked up at me, her chest heaving as she caught her breath.

"Well, that was somethin'," she blushed, the hints of a southern accent coming out. She gasped and covered her face as she looked away. I smiled at her as I grabbed her chin and turned her back towards me.

"Sure was, little miss southern belle. I thought for sure you were going to push me away or kick me in the balls or run away." She chuckled awkwardly and removed her hands from her face, revealing her precious freckles and pink cheeks.

"I… like you, too, Alex… God, this is happening so fast. You haven't even been here a week and you've already won me over." I had to admit, this was the fastest I had ever admitted my feelings for someone. Most relationships I had been in took at least a week to start, not four or five days (most of which I hadn't even seen her for). Was love at first sight really something that existed? Looking down at Lorin's adorable face, I decided that it must exist. It was the only explanation for how I felt about her.

"I tend to do that," I grinned, grabbing one of her hands and planting a kiss to the back of it. "So what does this make us?"

"Typically people who like each other start dating," Lorin stated sarcastically, her mouth curling up in a catlike grin. The accent was still there, but not anywhere near as exaggerated as Jefferson's. It was barely even noticeable. She giggled and curled a bit of hair around her finger. That laugh was music to my ears.

"I like the sound of that," I murmured as I planted a peck on her cute little freckled nose and held her hand, reveling in the feeling of it in mine. I was going to do everything in my power to keep this girl happy.