"Demi?!" Nick exclaims, hurrying inside the house.

Demi looks up at Nick with scared eyes. She's lying on the floor.

"Leave, Nick!" she says. She struggles to get up but winces in pain and sinks back down. She's on the verge of tears. "I don't want you here. Please leave."

Nick hurries over to her and grabs her elbow. "What happened, Demi?"

"N—nothing." She pulls herself free from Nick's grasp. "Leave, please!"

"You're hurt, Demi." He reaches out to touch the bruise that was forming on her cheek but she cowers away from his hand. "What's the matter?"

"Don't touch me!" she cries. She tries to get up again but cries out in pain again. "Leave me alone," she begs him. "Don't touch me."

"Demi," he starts. That's when he notices the blood coming covering her jeans. "Oh my God. Demi." He reaches for her again.

"Don't touch me," she says once more, her voice a small whisper.

"Demi, it's me. It's Nick." He sits down next to her. "What happened? And don't say 'nothing' because it's something."

Demi shakes her head, closing her eyes.

"Demi, please." He tries to get her to look at him but she won't. "Did your dad do this to you?"

Demi finally turns her head to look at him. "My dad does not hurt me, okay? He does not touch me."

Nick looks at her and hesitates a moment before asking, "Who are you trying to convince, me...or yourself?"

Demi shakes her head again. "He doesn't hurt me," she says again quietly.

Nick sighs softly. "Is your cheek okay? We should put some ice on that."

Demi looks at him once more. "I still want you to leave, Nick."

"Why? Are you going to tell me what I did?"

Demi lowers herself onto the sofa. "I heard you and Taylor talking," she says.

Nick's eyes widen. "What did you hear?"

"How you said I was nasty, how Taylor said that I needed to get laid." She closes her eyes and forces the tears away. "Is that really what you think of me? Is that really what you guys talk about?"

"Demi, I just said that because I was talking to Taylor. You weren't even meant to hear that!"

"But I did. He said so many horrible things about me, and you didn't even tryto defend me. Just don't come over here anymore, all right? I'll finish the project myself."

"But I need a good grade—"

"Don't worry," Demi interrupts. "I'll say that you helped me. You obviously care more about being friends with those jerks than you do about being friends with me. But it's okay. I'm used to it by now. I'm a loser, a loner. Always have been, always will be."

"Demi…"

"Now you're free to sleep with whoever you want, whenever you want. You can be the obnoxious jerk we all know you are."

"Demi…" Nick says again.

"Leave, Nick." She never once looks at him. "We both know you don't want to be here, so why are you? Just walk away."

"You know, you and I aren't that different."

Demi scowls at Nick and hits his chest, ignoring the pain shooting through her body. "Don't say that! Don't you dare say that! I am nothinglike you. I don't use fear as a weapon. I don't make people feel bad just so I can feel better about myself. I don't pick a fight with someone just because they looked at me the wrong way. I don't fall for someone, and tell them I like them, only to make fun of them in front of my friends." She stares hard at Nick. "You are a bully, and a jerk. I am not like you, Nick. Not at all."

Nick stares at her for a second. "Demi," he says quietly. But she stares straight ahead, so he sighs and gets up and leaves.

"Dude, what's wrong?"

Nick looks across the table at David and Taylor the next day at lunch. "Nothing," he says. "I just didn't get much sleep."

"Banging his sex toy, no doubt." David laughs, and Taylor high-fives him.

"Ew, heads up, Nick. Here comes little Miss Nasty." Taylor nods toward the entrance of the cafeteria.

Nick turns around to look at her.

"She is so fugly," Taylor comments and nudges Nick's arm. "I can't believe you had to put up with that." He shivers. "Pure torture, if you ask me." He raises his voice so that everyone in the cafeteria can hear. "Ew, look, it's Demi. She's so ugly, who would want to fuck her fugly ass?"

Demi looks at David and Taylor and then at Nick. He sees tears in her eyes, old, unshed tears as well as new ones. He knows he should stick up for her. He should tell Taylor to shut up, to stop talking about her. He should say something, anything, to defend her. He should stand up on the table and tell the whole cafeteria how he really feels about Demi. But he doesn't do any of that. Instead, he watches the tears fall. He watches her stumble as she tries to run out of the cafeteria. He sees her shoulders shake as all of the kids laugh harder. He sighs and closes his eyes.

You'reahorribleperson, he thinks.

Demi makes her way out into the parking lot, her sobs overtaking her whole body. It's a miracle that she could even stand up. She starts to walk. She doesn't know where she's going. The only thing she knows is that she has to get the hell out of here. Her best friend is gone, Nick is gone. What else does she have to live for anymore?

"Demi!" Nick exclaims.

Demi turns around, her vision blurred by the tears. "What?!" she cries. "What the hell do you want from me, Nick? Did you come out here to make fun of me some more? Because I'm really notin the Goddamn mood!"

"I didn't say anything, Demi. It wasn't me…it was them."

"I don't care who the fuck said it! You didn't do anything to stopit."

"Demi, what's wrong? You're obviously upset about something else. Tell me what happened."

"Why the hell should I tell you? You don't care." She turned her back on Nick.

Nick grabs her hand. "Now that's where you're wrong. I care about you. I care about you a lot. Tell me what happened."

"That's a lie," she says, turning around once more. "You only care about me when we're alone. When you see me in school, you act just like everyone else does."

"I'm sorry, Demi," he says. "I am. I just...I'm messed up, okay? I don't know why I act like such an asshole when I'm with my friends. But I do care about you, Demi. A lot. You're so different than any other girl I've ever met. I think I might actually be...falling in love with you."

Demi finally turns back around to face him. "R—really?"

Nick nods. "Yes."

Then she scowls at him. "You sure have a funny way of showing it."

Nick grabs her hand once more. "I'm sorry! What can I do to show you that I really mean it? That I really care about you?"

"You can start by actually being nice to me in public," she says, her eyes softening just the littlest bit.

Nick bites his lip slightly but then nods almost instantly. "Okay," he says finally. "Okay, I can do that."

Demi looks up at him. "You mean it? Really?"

Nick nods once more. "Really," he promises her. He looks behind him and sees Zac and Taylor watching him. "I'm going to show you how much I really care about you, right now." He takes a deep breath, brushes hair away from Demi's face, and leans down, kissing her softly, yet passionately, on the lips.