I'M BACK! Thank you for being so patient, and sorry again for delaying this update. As a treat, I will be editing little mistakes on previous chapters, so ignore any sporadic updates. See you later!

Summary: We go back to the AU of younger Ruby and Liam as students. This time, a new student named Clancy Gray joins Ruby's class.

Ruby Daly was popular.

Not popular in a bad way, not like being known for kissing half the grade (unlike, Hina, a dark-haired girl in the grade above her) but she was known for good grades, and she was an overall nice girl.

She had friends; she talked to everyone, had older friends (courtesy of Liam), and waved and lent a smile to everyone. People liked her, and she liked nearly everyone.

Nearly.

In the middle of seventh grade, a new student joined her class. He was cocky, sly, and a mind sharp enough to cut through metal. His name was Clancy Gray.

Ruby Daly was trustworthy.

Her friends could count on her to give advice and protection. Although she was a normally cool-tempered girl, people knew not to get on her bad side. (Once in fifth grade, she drove off a high school student bothering one of the younger kids with a single glare.) She was respected, and she respected everyone.

Her teachers trusted her to be a source of answers for when no one else raised their hands. They sent her on copy runs, to send a paper to another classroom, and to do other domestic tasks that were reserved for the well-mannered students.

The staff trusted Ruby, so they gave Ruby the new student to guide around the school for a month or so.

Ruby really wished they hadn't.

Ruby Daly was strong.

Once, when she broke her arm when a high-schooler accidentally ran into her, she hadn't shed more than five tears. Calmly, she lifted herself from the ground (with the help of a panicking freshman) and walked the way to the nurse's office.

When a drunken college student once stumbled over, she called the police without as much as a flinch.

So everyone was surprised when they watched her silently break down when Clancy told her something only she could hear.

Ruby Daly was becoming undone.

Clancy Gray had a way to drive words through the toughest of skin like a scalpel, precise and clean-cut. Simple, to the point, and exact. Handled easily, but with extreme accuracy.

"You have no control over your emotions, Ruby. I can read your face like an open book, you see. And you can't do anything about it." He told her once as he pinched the sensitive skin on the back of her forearm.

You can't do or say anything negative regarding Clancy Gray. His smile was just too charming, too friendly, making all grown-ups scoff at the thought that him, the perfect, endearing boy could do any harm. Leaving everyone at the mercy of his will.

For that reason, Ruby withstood the torture. Put on a brave face, hid the sorrow and pain where everyone but him couldn't see. She was Ruby Daly! The popular, trustworthy, strong girl who waved to everyone. She held it in and let him talk and hurt and burn and hiss-

Until the day she didn't have to anymore.

Liam Stewart loved Ruby Daly.

He hated that since he was an eighth grader, he didn't see Ruby anymore. He loved everything about her- copper hair, striking eyes that peeled away layers of barriers until she could see the very core of anyone and still loves them despite. She had a sort of confidence that was so easily spotted but painfully evident she wasn't aware of it herself. Hands neither dainty nor calloused, the hands of someone who gave gentle touches but still wasn't afraid of getting their hands dirty. One of the things he loved the most was how she could make any subtle movement simply Ruby, from the flick of a stray hair to the scrunch of the nose. But gods it would take him years to describe every single aspect of Ruby Daly, and even then he wouldn't hit upon them all.

It was almost too easy to see the changes that took place once the new semester started.

She too often had a frown on her face, eyes doubtful of herself and head titled down rather than chin raised up. He also knew she was trying to hide it from him. People seldom gave Liam the credit he needed, but he was very observant.

Her words weren't as confident, movements less sure. Tiny mistakes like a slip on a sidewalk had Liam seeing Ruby constantly, silently, berating herself. When she once forgot a homework paper (the teachers loved her so much they didn't even care,) Liam could almost hear Ruby yelling at herself mentally.

Liam was determined to find the source of the problem. He would take care of it, and Ruby would laugh and smile and giggle freely again without having to worry if she was doing the right thing or not. He would find it, and nothing would stand in his way to make Ruby happy again.

"Are you Clancy?"

Liam looked at the boy a year younger than him a nearly as tall. Surprised, Clancy spun around and turned his back to the "conversation" he was having with Ruby. Dark, bottomless eyes quickly assessed him before resting to meet Liam's blue ones.

"Yes, I'm Clancy Gray. May I help you in some way?" Clancy took a innocent, friendly approach shifting to deliver a winning smile.

In the past couple weeks, Liam had paid close attention to this "Clancy Gray." It take him too long to put two and two together to figure out that Ruby's shift in demeanor was almost directly after Clancy joined the school. He had stopped by the school when it got let out, an hour after his.

"Well, I've heard that you've been bothering Ruby for a while now." Liam saw Ruby throw warning alerts via the look in her eyes. There was something else there too, a deeply embedded fears lurking just beneath the surface.

"Why, I have no idea to what you may be talking about." With giant rounded eyes, Clancy tried to pull of the "I'm an innocent child!" act.

Suddenly enraged, Liam leaned forward and hissed in Clancy's ear. "You listen hear kid, if you ever bother Ruby I will not beat you up, I will not punch you. I will ruin you. All your friends, family, I will burn it to the ground. If I catch you even looking at her, I will find that pretty little head of yours and put it on a stake. Oh, and ever mention this conversation, well, you probably don't want to know, right?"

Pale faced, Clancy shakily nodded and turned on his heel.

As the dark-haired boy walked away, Liam's eyes lost the icy gleam and looked tired.

It's like, Ruby thought. He's never been mean to anyone before.

Turning to Ruby, he looked upon her with worried eyes. "You okay darlin'?"

Nodding mutely, Ruby opened fists she didn't even notice she had clenched. Wrapping an arm to touch the small of her back, Liam looked into eyes the color of grass in the spring and watched as they relaxed and began to brighten again.

Smiling, Liam moved to curl his hand across the other side of Ruby's hip.

"C'mon, let's walk you home." They walked together.