"You stupid bitch!"

Trini cried out as Khoa's foot connected with her stomach. She rolled onto her side and curled up in a ball, trying to protect herself the best she could. It was the only thing she could do in moments like that. He was too strong, and it wasn't for her lack of trying. Trini could fight when she needed to and was evenly matched—if not a little better—than Jason on a good day when they were sparring. But there was something to be said about biology, Khoa was stronger than her and that was that.

The moment he came to her that day, finding her in the Youth Center—of which she had no idea how he knew she was there—he surprised her. She sat at the Youth Center, waiting for Jason. Better yet, waiting for news about Jason. She had heard rumors from around that he'd been suspended for the rest of the day. And for what? Fighting. He'd never fought anyone in his life that wasn't supposed to fight. She went to ask her friends and they were as baffled as she was, but she sensed there was something going on with them.

They kept looking at her strangely. As if her head was about to start spinning around or something. Even when Kimberly asked if she wanted to go to the mall with her and Avalon that day to go shopping, Trini could tell there was something loaded about the question. Normally Kimberly didn't ask, she told Trini they were going to go shopping. She'd skip up to her friend, looping her arm through the crook of Trini's elbow, and go on and on about some sort of sale that she just had to go to. And Trini would go along with her, always enjoying spending time with her best friend. Just as much as Trini's doing different activities in the community she asked for Kim's help with. It was sort of expected. They never had to ask.

But Kimberly had asked and it made Trini so wary she said she was going to get some practice done at the Youth Center instead.

Imagine her surprise when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder, making her jump and let out a yelp so loud that Ernie looked her way. Turning away from the coverage of the most recent power ranger save of Angel Grove to look at her questioningly.

"I'm sorry," Trini apologized, glancing at Khoa while speaking to Ernie. Could he hear her voice shaking? "His hand was just cold."

"No problem, Trini," Ernie replied. "Just let me know if you're going to do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Trini smiled before Khoa tightened his grasp on her shoulder. Trini muffled a whimper of pain as his fingers painfully dug into her skin, practically dragging her to the men's locker room. He looked around for a moment before turning to face her completely. Trini couldn't help but gasp.

His face was a mess. Nothing short of a mess. His hair, which was normally as perfectly coiffed as his good boy impression, was in disarray. He had a black eye, bruising around his jaw, a split lip, and from the way his shoulders hunched forward, Trini could tell he was suffering some sort of pain to his chest and stomach. He'd been beaten up pretty badly, but not enough so that the glare on his face was lessened by any degree. There was still an angry fire burning within him, flickering in his eyes that made Trini immediately know she was in trouble.

Khoa hadn't said anything when he started to beat her up. That was the scariest part. That he was so angry he went right into beating her up, not bothering to waste his words on her. He shoved her against the lockers behind her and started to land hard punches and slaps to her. He was smart not to hit her in the face and only focused on her chest and stomach. Easy to hide. She tried to fight back. At first. Tried to hold him at bay. He overpowered her easily, his anger spurning her on. Then he had her on the ground and continued to wail on her, all the while ranting and raving.

"You stupid bitch! You're running everything. You're a slut who can't keep their legs closed. I'm trying to do something to help our families and you're making me out to be a fool! Do you know how angry that makes me?"

Over and over again.

Trini wasn't sure how long he continued to beat her. Her mind wandered, taking her to a safe place that she could mentally check out of. And as she lay, curled up on the dirty, grimy locker room floor, she willed herself not to pass out. Willed herself to stay awake and keep going. To not cry. To not give him the satisfaction of what he wanted. To see her break.

She wasn't going to break.

But she was getting damn close.

Jason pressed a bag of ice against his hand, wincing, before wrapping a towel around it. How many times had he gotten into actual fights? He could probably only count it on one hand. Every other fight had been a sanctioned one with rules and guidelines or was a monster fight. Things he could easily justify.

Part of him was ashamed for what he had done to Khao, allowing his temper to get the best of him. But he couldn't stand the smug way Khoa smiled and smirked at him, as if he knew there was nothing Jason could do to stop him. Khoa hadn't truly admitted to everything, Jason knew that. But the simple way he had said, "It's too bad I had to beat it into her," was a simple implication. The moment Jason got that clarification, the one thing that would've made Trini do a 180 in personality and happiness was that he was beating her in some way.

Hurting her in some way.

And that pissed him off more than anything in life. The feeling scared him, honestly. He hadn't felt anything so intensely before. Even sitting in his bedroom, icing the split skin of his knuckles made him shake with rage. There was only so much he could hold back, to keep calm through his training of self. At some point he knew it'd break, he just wished it was from Rita or Zedd, the guys he was supposed to defeat, not a human. Not someone without any powers.

Not someone who was as much of a monster as the real monsters.

Jason heard the doorbell ring but didn't move to get it. His parents would answer and if anything, it was for them anyway. A school official or something. They weren't happy to see him they got back from work—it was a strange sight, he typically was out until late afternoon—just to find out he was suspended for the day from fighting and that he may be suspended longer. He was surprised when he heard his mother call that Trini was there to see him.

His heart leapt into his throat and he became nervous. In a good and bad way. Trini made him nervous in a good way. He liked being able to see her every day, was a little scared of how nervous she made him but also looked forward to it. It was strange, he was so confident in a lot of area of his life but having a girlfriend and doing boyfriend-girlfriend things was hard. Were they even boyfriend-girlfriend? Did holding her hand and kissing her a few times mean they were in a relationship? All he wanted to do was make her smile and see her smile.

It certainly was not what he got when Trini walked into his room that day. As a matter of fact, she looked partially angry and partially scared. That was never a good combination. Trini angry in any capacity wasn't a good thing.

I don't understand, Jason thought, watching her close the door behind her. Why would she be so mad at me? This was the part he didn't like about being nervous around her. Where he wasn't sure what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," Trini said. She leaned back against the door, keeping her hands shoved into the pockets of her yellow jacket. She didn't come closer. "I wanted to talk." Her eyes shifted to the side. "I heard you got suspended."

"Yeah," Jason replied. He nodded, leaning forward to rest his hands between his knees. "I got into a fight."

"So I've heard. It's all over the school." A sarcastic laugh escaped Trini's throat. "The great Jason Lee Scott got into a fight with someone. And from what I've heard, you really beat him up, too." Jason's lips twitched. Something about the way she was speaking was weird. It didn't' sound like her at all. "Why'd you do it Jase?"

Jason lifted an eyebrow. "You're acting like I just went out and beat someone up."

"Didn't you?"

"I would never do that."

"Right."

Now Jason was sure she knew something he didn't. "Trini, what's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem, Jason."

Jason pressed his lips together. "I don't believe that." He stood up and took a step towards her, eyebrows coming together when Trini pressed herself further away from him. "Trini, what's going on?" He asked. Trini looked back at him. "We're all worried about you. We were talking it he library—"

"—You were talking about me?" Trini demanded, snapping her head towards him. Jason took a step back at that. She hadn't punched him but she certainly had a bite like a true Saber-Tooth Tiger when the time came. "I knew everyone was acting weird with me today. Do you always just wait until I'm gone to talk about me behind my back?"

"Trini, we're worried about you."

"You don't need to. I can handle things myself." Trini reached up a hand and ran it through her hair. Then she closed her eyes and let out a long, calming breath. He could see her shoulders slump as she relaxed. He'd seen her do that many times before. She was moving into a meditative state so not to lose her temper and to keep centered. It was always impressive to him how she could do it, something he often went to her for advice on. "It's…I just…"

"Trini, sit down please?" Jason asked, moving to sit on the floor. She shook her head. "I just want to talk."

"I can't stay," Trini said. "I've already been here too long. He…my mom and dad will be wondering where I am."

"Tree, please?"

"I can't."

Trini started to respond then broke off, looking away. She started to pull at her hair, moving it into a ponytail to ply with the ends, as she always did when she was deep in thought. But stopped halfway, wincing. Jason looked closer at her then. She wasn't holding herself the way she always did. Up straight, as if nothing could touch her. It was like leaning against the door, was the only thing keeping her from collapsing.

"Why did you beat up Khoa?" Trini asked instead.

Jason's fist tightened. He could feel the skin of his knuckles split open even further. "How did you know it was Khoa?" He stared at her. "Did you see him today?"

Trini's eyes shifted. "I see him every day, Jason. You know that."

"He was at school," Jason said slowly. "I went to your house to see if I could find him, during my free period. I went back to school and he was leaving it. Like…like he was checking up on you or something. Why wouldn't he have been at school?" Then everything fell into place for him. "He said he knew we were dating. And he was really mad. Because he's always mad at you, Trini. Isn't he? He's always looking for some reason to hit you? We figured it out. We know he's hurting you."

"He's not hurting me," Trini weakly denied.

"Why else would I have done this, Trini? If he wasn't hurting you? I don't fight people because I feel like it." Jason got off the floor in a surge of energy, nervous energy. Angry energy. "I know there's something going on. You can deny it as much as you want but we're all here for you. You know that. You know that. But this…fucking asshole comes into your life and suddenly everything changes. It doesn't make sense unless he's controlling you in some way."

Trini shook her head.

Jason continued toward her and grasped her shoulders. "Trini, I can help you. My dad…we can get something worked out. All you have to do is go to the police and—"

A barking laugh escaped Trini's lips. "Like the police are going to help."

"You've gone to the police before?"

Fear washed over Trini's face then. Jason saw it the moment it came. She messed up and he knew it. There was no coming back from it. "I have to go." She started to pull away. "Let go of me, Jason."

"Trini, just tell me what's going on. I promise, I just want to help you."

"Let go!" Trini pulled away from him, the sleeve of her jacket sliding off her arm. And Jason stared at the bruise on her shoulder, peeking out from her sleeveless blouse. The ugly black and blue splotch marring her skin. Before Trini could stop him, Jason unzipped the rest of her jacket and his eyes widened. She'd worn a crop top to school that day, he remembered being unable to look away from her flat stomach that morning, but now the muscle definition she'd worked hard on was covered in a massive bruise.

Blue, black, purple, red, green, yellow splattered across her skin. He could tell from the way she was breathing she had to have had either a severely bruised rib or a broken one. Trini started to shake and she buried her face in her hands before sobbing. Jason reached out and grasped Trini's shoulders. This time, she didn't pull away. This time she allowed him to pull her against his shoulder and wrap his arms around her.

His heart hurt. He was angry. He wanted nothing more than to kill Khoa, but knew it wasn't what'd work, wasn't what would help Trini in the long run. If Jason could've beaten him that badly and Khoa turned around to beat up Trini, who knew what else he would do.

And so Jason stood, hugging Trini as she sobbed into his shoulder. He waited until her sobs subsided before he gently pushed her back, lifting her chin. "Trini, I promise you, I promise you that I'm going to keep you safe. He's not going to hurt you again." Jason pressed a kiss to her lips, a pleading one, then to her forehead and hugged her again. "I promise. We just need to talk to my mom and dad and your parents."

Trini shook her head. "My mom and dad won't listen," she said. "I don't want to…I don't want to…" and she started to cry again, holding onto Jason as tightly as she could. He wrapped his arms around her, a protective shield. He wasn't going to let go until she said he could, and even then he still probably wouldn't.

He wouldn't let go again. Not when Khoa would take the opportunity to do something worse.

There was a knock on his door and Jason's mother, Melissa, poked her head in. "Jason, sweetie? Is everything okay?" She looked at her son and his friend and concern shifted over her face. She wasn't concerned over her teenage son in a room alone with a girl. There was something else going on. She could tell by the look on his face when he turned to her. Tranquil fury and the determination he was well known for.

"Mom, there's something we need to tell you," Jason said. He continued to rub Trini's back as she sniffled quietly. "I know it'll sound weird, but it's the truth." Then he swallowed hard. "Trini's staying here tonight," he said firmly. "She's not going home. Not until everything's been figured out."

"Okay," Melissa said quietly.

Jason nodded back and lowered his chin to rest atop Trini's head. Trini continued to hold him tighter, tighter as the seconds passed. Her sobs subsided but she continued to hold on. It was just as well.

He wasn't letting go.

A/N: A little bit of a lover's spat but at least all of them are now on the same page. But it was still so sweet, right? But what'll happen with Khoa now? Nothing good, I can tell you that.

Do I still have Trini and Jason in character in terms of their voice/characterization? In situations like this, it's always a bit difficult to figure out how the characters would react in a human way but in a way that still sounds like them. Please, let me know.

~Av