Sorry about yet another delay! I've been very busy but I am now back in England on holiday for over 3 week! I will be working but I will hopefully be able to finish the story (!) quickly now! Also sorry if the formatting for this chapter is weird, it was also mostly written on my mobile.

TW: Use of transphobic language.

Ryder had always had a very privileged existence, so in comparison the next week was definitely the worst of his life. He spent every minute at school learning how his victims had felt when he had been a bully. Now that he knew how it felt to endure name-calling, shoves, punches and kicks, he wished he could track down every single person he had ever belittled or hurt and personally apologise. To make matters worse, he and Marley were still fighting...or rather, not speaking at all. He had gone over to her house the evening after their argument to say sorry for overreacting but Marley had still been offended about his accusations of lies and deceit. He had told her she was being unfair and overreacting herself, and had sped home without another word. Amongst the torment at school, he had been trying to reach out to her again, with little avail. The only silver lining to the dark cloud that was his life right now was the fact that he, Jake, (who was one of his main tormenters), and the third hopeful had had a meeting about the one Lima football scholarship on offer to them, and at the end of it, the head scout had taken him to one side and quietly suggested that he was the front-runner of the three, and that as long as he didn't majorly screw up any exams or get into any trouble, the scholarship would be his.

The one downside this opportunity involved was the fact that Ryder knew that if he fought back the bullies so much as with one single punch, then his future would be over, which meant that curling himself into a tight, protective, hedgehog-like ball was the best he could to do defend himself. It wasn't much help. Sometimes, when a particularly hard kick went crashing into his head, he wondered if he would even survive long enough to get to Lima University...

Graduation is only six weeks away, he told himself, as he walked into the school building exactly 7 days after it had all happened. Six weeks left to endure without fighting back. But six weeks felt like an awfully long time away.

Ryder was snapped out of his thoughts by the familiarly beautiful sight of Marley walking towards her homeroom. She caught sight of him and sped up her walking pace, weaving in and out of other students in an attempt to avoid him.

"Marley!" he called out, borderline shoving people out the way as he jogged after her. "Marls please talk to me! You can't keep this up forever!" He received no reply; instead, Marley pointed her nose up and darted into her homeroom without a word. Ryder groaned, but realised that he had seen a silver heart dangling around her neck. She was still wearing the necklace he had given her for Christmas. That was hope, right?

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Ryder had managed to dodge the bullies for the entire day...but he had also had to endure another English class next to Marley, who had spent it acting like he wasn't there, no matter what he had said. The only reaction he had gotten was when he had asked her if she was ever going to speak to him again. She had shrugged.

All Ryder had to do was navigate his way out of school before any one saw him. Jake Puckerman, however, caught him as he came out of his English classroom, but, as he was going for the same scholarship that, unbeknownst to him, Ryder was leading the way for, he couldn't afford to lay a finger on him, so had to stick to verbal abuse, which Ryder could shut out and ignore. What he couldn't shut out and ignore, however, was Rick the Stick, who was striding towards him, ready to strike.

"Hey Ryder," he started, his voice laden with sarcasm. "Didn't Mommy ever tell you it's rude to ignore people? I believe my boy Jake was talking to you." This got Ryder's attention, and he summoned up the courage to laugh right in his face.

"You two are friends now?" He scoffed in disbelief.

"Think that's funny, do you?" Rick asked menacingly. "Huh?"

"I think he does," Jake chimed in smugly, unable to throw a punch but free to egg on Rick.

"Huh?!" Rick shouted this time, raising two hands and shoving Ryder into the lockers. He fell to the floor with a thump, wheezing slightly. "ANSWER ME, IDIOT!" Rick roared, and Ryder obliged, but probably not in the way Rick wanted.

"I do," he started defiantly. "I think it's fricking hilarious." Rick retaliated by kicking Ryder several times in the chest. Jake decided to get out of there quickly before any teachers could connect him to bullying, but Rick continued his assault, Ryder curling himself up into a ball as Rick kicked him in the stomach and face, making his nose bleed heavily. He wondered how long it would be before he slipped into unconsciousness and got a temporary release from the horrific pain he was enduring, as Rick didn't look like he wanted to stop, not until a quiet but firm voice interrupted him.

"Leave him alone!"

Ryder couldn't believe his ears. He summoned up all his strength to open his eyes to see if it was real. Sure enough, Marley stood above him, hands on hips, a lot shorter than Rick the stick yet staring him down with a level of absolute fury and disgust that, until now, Ryder hadn't known she was capable of.

"Ooh!" Rick started mockingly. "If it isn't the boring frigid old maid, come to rescue her deadbeat, tranny-banging boyfriend!" His group of neanderthals roared with laughter, but Marley maintained her poker face, before retorting with cutting sarcasm.

"Congratulations. You just managed to bully three people in one sentence. Mommy must be so proud," she sneered. Rick took a step towards her.

"School's out for the day. Go home, little girl," he whispered patronisingly.

"Oh I will, so long as you don't kick him again," she replied. Rick stepped back towards where Ryder lay helplessly on the ground, pulling back his leg almost in slow motion, enjoying the idea of making the girl watch him kick her boyfriend to a pulp.

"Do that and you'll regret it," she warned him sternly, clenching her fists.

"Marley..." Ryder choked out through the blood that filled his mouth. "...don't...NYADA..." Rick grinned and slowly shoved his foot into Ryder's face, hurting him and taunting her.

"Oh dear," he grinned sarcastically. "My foot slipped."

Through the pain and disorientation Rick's latest kick had brought him, Ryder didn't see much of what happened next, but he did notice Marley's right hand connect hard with Rick's face, not in a slap, but a full blown punch, and he heard both the smacking noise induced by the contact and Rick's welp of pain, not to mention the stunned noises of the watching crowd.

"What's going on here?!" Ryder heard the shrill voice of Sue Sylvester, the no-nonsense cheerleading coach, call out.

"That girl!" Rick whined. "Marley Rose! She punched me!"

Ryder sat up just in time to watch Sue point at Marley.

"Principal Figgins' office. NOW."

Shit.

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Five minutes later, Marley was, for the first time ever, sat in her principal's office, waiting for her mother to be fetched from the kitchens to discuss her 'serious breach of school discipline'. Marley gulped. She was probably about to get her vey first detention and knew her Mom wouldn't like that, but she remembered that Ryder had got away with full on fighting Jake before the Sadie Hawkins dance with just a verbal warning, which soothed her somewhat. Millie arrived, and Marley felt her disapproving glare burn into her as she sat down, before Figgins began.

"Miss Rose, you are aware that punching a regional hockey champion is against school rules," Figgins half asked, half stated.

"I know, and I'm really sorry, but he kicked my boyfriend in the face! If it's anyone you should be talking to it's him..." she argued.

"This school has a zero tolerance policy for violence," Figgins continued, clearly ignoring her. "I have no choice but to suspend you and give you a mark on your permanent record."

Marley froze.

"Wait, what?!" Millie screeched. "Half the football team are on their tenth warning for suspension, and my daughter doesn't even get a single chance?!"

"They are star athletes!" Figgins tried to justify pathetically. Millie started shouting things about bias and sexism, whilst Marley sunk back into her seat, gulping heavily to stop herself from throwing up.

"Principal, please," she begged, once her body had just about regained the ability to function. "...I'll lose my scholarship to a prestigious performance school..."

"My hands are tied, Miss Rose," he continued, whilst Millie ceaselessly went on with her protestations, until a weak voice interrupted the argument.

"It was me."

Figgins looked up, and Marley and Millie span around in their chairs. Ryder stood in the doorway, his right eye beginning to bruise, his lip and nose having just about finished bleeding.

"Mr Lynn," Figgins began, before being waved quiet by Ryder, who continued. "Rick was kicking me, and I held back, but then he harassed my girlfriend and I snapped," he lied. "She's taking the fall for me because she's never been in trouble before and I'm on my last warning," he explained falsely, highlighting the biased unfairness of Figgins' decision to suspend Marley for her very first offense.

"Ryder, no-" Marley started, but she was very firmly hushed by him.

"Mr Lynn, you realise that you are also on your last warning, and if you commit to it being you, I will have no choice but to suspend you and call the scout at Lima University, telling him your recent disciplinary record has been compromised and that you may no longer be considered for selection for the football scholarship?" Figgins asked.

"I understand." Ryder stated, ignoring Marley's guilt-filled cries of 'it was me!''

"You may all leave," Figgins announced, also ignoring her. "Mr Lynn you are suspended for the rest of the week, I'll call the scout at Lima now," he informed Ryder, who was crying silently. Marley was crying rather less silently, being dragged kicking and screaming from the office by her Mother, who, once in the corridor, pulled her into her arms. Once she had calmed down and pulled away, she noticed Ryder limping forlornly down the corridor to leave the now practically empty school. She ran after him.

"Ryder wait!" She yelled tearfully, speaking to him properly for the first time in a week. "Why did you do that?!" She asked, when he had turned around. Ryder simply shrugged as if it was obvious.

"Because I love you."

With that, he turned away and began to traipse towards the door again. Marley stood there, door dropped, realising it was the first time either of them had said it. Ryder loved her. And not just that...he loved her so much that he had sacrificed his entire future so that she could realise hers, even though she had been the one in the wrong. Only one thing was going through her mind, and she had to let him know before he left.

"Ryder," she croaked out hoarsely, and he spun around again to hear what she had to say. "I love you too."

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN

Let me know what you thought guys! Lots to process from that chapter!

To my beautiful reviewers from the last chapter:

TeaAndGlee: I know, I'm sorry, all about angst at the mo! So glad you love the story and hope this chapter lives up to your expectations

Ember411: Ahaha, sorry! Hope you liked this chapter!

LittleMusicalOwl: Even more assertive Marley in this chapter! Yeah…so that was the plot twist…hope it didn't depress you too much! Thank you for that book rec, I need more books to read :)

Savannaramirez35: I hate Unique too! Well, in this story. She's kinda grown on me in season 5, not that she'll be around for much longer :/

RocioMelinatic-Ryley15: Me too! At least they said 'I love you' here :p

Guest1: Aww, you know it's a ryley endgame ;) it's leading on to a sequel though, so it won't be a 100% closed ending.

Guest2: I guess this chapter was even more intense! Sorry about the updating delay!

Gleek555: I know, Unique's pretty monstrous in this story! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Until next time, lovelies,

Lauren xxx