Noah liked his trachea where it was, but sometimes breathing needed to take a back seat. For the first time since meeting Gia, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He wasn't like the others. His staring wasn't out of romantic interest. He was watching her because he had a reason to be concerned. She had lied to Emma.

Unless her father was only a couple of years older than she was. Noah had seen the guy she had been talking to in the hallway and he knew it hadn't been a friendly conversation.

So he watched her. He tried to figure her out. She was nervous all day from second period to lunch. She tapped her pencil on her desk, which she had never done, and in their third period pop quiz, she took all seventy-five minutes and handed in her paper with the rest of the class.

Half complete, and from what Noah had seen when he placed his paper on top of hers, all wrong.

But she had been a little honest. She was leaving campus for lunch. Noah saw her walking with the same guy who had caught her in the hallway. He went after her and pushed his way between Gia and the guy.

"Gia, I forgot my lunch money at home," he looked to her, "Think I can tag along? I'll pay you back, I promise."

"Go ask Jake…" Gia whispered. The older boy grabbed Noah's shirt and pulled him away. He pushed him off the path.

"You're kind of third wheel, dork," he said. "Can't you see we're on a date?"

Noah looked curiously to Gia, "But you don't date."

"Only Cliff," Gia whispered and looked down at her feet, "I only date Cliff."

"Leave us alone, four-eyes," Cliff tried to shove Noah away again and the blue Ranger stumbled back. As he fell on his ass, Cliff grabbed Gia's arm and pulled her roughly towards the parking lot. Gia let out a whimper, which Noah had never heard her do. He decided for once in his life he would take the risk. He jumped to his feet and roughly grabbed Cliff's arm. He tried to pull the older boy away from Gia and then surprised even himself when he punched him in the jaw.

Noah had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Cliff returned the favour and smashed his fist into the side of Noah's face. The Blue Ranger fell to the ground and Cliff jumped on top of him. Noah had no way to protect himself against the beating he received from Cliff. The older boy was bigger and stronger, and Noah was still getting used to being a Ranger. He didn't think he could take on someone almost twice his size without his powers.

"Cliff, stop it!" Gia screamed and grabbed his arm. She pulled him away. Cliff got up, gave Noah a kick for good measure and then pushed Gia towards a car. She stumbled into the door and then looked over at Cliff. This was his car. He wanted her to get in. When she hesitated, he grabbed the back of her neck and opened the door for her.

"Let's go, babe."

Gia shook her head and decided she wouldn't go with Cliff today. He tried to push her into the car but she wouldn't move. Instead, she turned the tables. She pulled her elbow back, smashing it into his ribs. As Cliff doubled over in pain he let go of her neck. Gia pushed him into the car and then ran back to Noah.

At that very moment the vice-principal of the school came out and she didn't look impressed at all. In his car, Cliff recognized her and decided the school wasn't the best place to hang out anymore. He climbed into the driver's seat and drove off.

"Miss Moran, Mr. Carver what is going on here?"

Gia knew what it looked like. The vice-principal had only just stepped out. As far as she was concerned there was no Cliff. And even if she mentioned his name, Cliff had been a star athlete and a star student. He was fondly remembered by most of the upperclassmen as well as the teachers and the rest of the staff. No one would have believed he had been involved in any of this.

"He deserved it," Gia said, taking credit for Noah's beating. The school had a zero tolerance for violence and if she said she beat up Noah, they were sure to suspend her, which would get her out of school for several days, maybe as long as a month. Her story was believable too. While she had never taken things too far, she hadn't been the model student when it came to behaviour. Sometimes, a guy needed a swift kick in the ass before he left her alone. It had already earned her a couple of detentions and a note home. None of which Gia had ever shown her parents. She had forged their signature – not wanting them to know there was something wrong with their perfect daughter.

"I thought this streak has ended," Ms. Chesterfield looked down at Noah, who had discovered his nose was bleeding heavily. "Mr. Carver go to the nurse's office. She'll have a look at that. Miss Moran, come with me."

Gia followed Ms. Chesterfield into the school and then to her office. She took a seat in front of the desk. Ms. Chesterfield sat down across from her and leaned forward.

"It is the first time you've taken things this far, Miss Moran. Care to explain yourself?"

"No. Just suspend me and get this over with."

"First, I would like to know why you did it. What did he do to you? I've been hearing from some students that you and Mr. Carver have been spending more time together."

"He's been bothering me. He wouldn't leave me alone. I'd do it again. Can we just…"

"You're one of our best students, Miss. Moran. Suspending you is the last thing I want to do. Your grades are going to suffer terribly. I'd hate to put your future at risk for this incident."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm not blind, Miss Moran. I see the looks the boys give you. It gets annoying, doesn't it?"

Gia rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat, "Just give me the suspension, please…"

"I'm taking a different approach this time, Miss. Moran. The school board has a specialist and I would like for her to follow you around."

"Are you kidding me? A babysitter? I don't need a babysitter."

"Miss. Moran, I've seen what goes in in this school. Maybe having a trusted confidant will help bring you out of your shell. You have so much potential. It's a shame…"

"I have my best friend. I don't need anyone else…"

"You don't have a choice. Tomorrow morning, report to my office first thing. I will introduce you to…"

"My babysitter? Can't I just get…"

"Enough. Go to class. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gia groaned as she got up from her chair and walked out of the office. That certainly didn't go as planned.