Thanks for the review(s)! I don't own anything. I gotta remember to put the disclaimer in. I only own the storyline.

Lunch time has began. Namine has been on my mind all morning. I hope she's all right. I haven't seen her all day, I wonder is she even showed up at school today. As I walked down the hall to get to the cafeteria, I saw a girl walking out of the office. It was Namine. Her blonde hair is a mess and her clothes are uneven, she looks like a mess! She looks kinda cute that way. I made my way over to her. "Hey, Namine."

She looked at me with hurt in her eyes. I wonder if that son of a bitch hurt her! "Namine, what's wrong?"

Tears filled her blue eyes as if she remembers this mornings event. Something did happen to her. She wiped her eyes with her hands and she took a deep breath. "I... was beaten this morning."

I... was beaten this morning. Echoed through my mind. My heart ached and I was filled with shock. Who would want to hurt this sweet loving girl? "Who beat you?" The word made me feel sick, nobody shouldn't get beaten. They didn't do anything wrong.

Her eyes dropped to the floor. "My... stepfather."

I knew it! That son of a bitch is gonna get his ass kicked! I placed my hand on her shoulder. She flinched and backed away. "Did you tell anybody?"

Her eyes looked into mine. "Yes, I did. I've been in the office all morning."

"Are they going to take care of the problem?"

She played with her messy hair. "They didn't believe me. They did talk to my dad, he lied to them. Now I have no one else to turn to and help me."

I flipped a piece of hair out of my face. How could they not help her? Why didn't the school believe her? Is it because he's the principle of the school; and he's so perfect and they think he wouldn't hurt anyone? Nobody's perfect in this damn word! "I'm here for you, if he ever hits you again. I'll kick him where the sun don't shine."

Namine let out a small giggle. "Thanks, Roxas you're the greatest friend I ever had!"

"Doesn't your mom know about this?"

"She's hardly home, she works two jobs I never get a chance to talk to her."

That's just sad. Who in the world want two jobs and never spend time with their family? It seems like her mother doesn't want anything to do with Namine and Ansem. "Can't you talk to her on the weekends?"

She shifted her weight. "I could try, I don't need my dad to know."

Suddenly we heard a deep male's voice coming from behind us. We both turned, it was Ansem. "Namine, go fix yourself, you look like a mess. I don't need my daughter looking like a mess at school. I don't want to look bad."

Anger was boiling inside me."Just leave her alone!" I shouted. I don't care if I get another detention I just want Namine safe.

"It looks like you get another detention." He said with a smirk. "Namine, get cleaned up."

"No, I don't care if I look like a mess. I am a mess, my life is a mess! You make me a mess! I don't care if it's going to look bad! You're a bad father!" Namine barked.

Wow! Namine sure knows how to stand her ground! I never seen her this way before. "So fuck off!"

Ansem had shock written all over his face. Students never confronted him like this. His eyes grew with hurt. The words that Namine said made him hurt. It's true he isn't a good father. He turned on his heel and he walked back in the office.

Namine and I smiled with glee. We won the battle, he gave up to easily. "Namine, you can really hurt people."

"Everyone thinks I'm sweet and quiet, I do have a mouth and I know how to use it!"

"You sure do!"

Namine's smile faded away, as if she remembered something terrible. "What's that look for?"

"My dad might beat me again, he does look angry."

"You can come over to my house!"

"That will be a great idea! But my dad," she said softly.

"Just tell him that you're going to be over at a friends house. If he says no, you walk away."

The bell rang lunch is over. Namine and I didn't get a chance to eat, I didn't care. Namine is more important than food. We walked down the hall together, beating the crowd of students.

School got out. I didn't bother going to my detention, it's a waist of my time. I waited by the doors of the school for Namine. I hope her dad is okay with her coming over. Even if he doesn't she'll be over any way.

The door of the school opened and Namine came out. "Let's go, before he chases me."

I nodded and we walked down the sidewalk. "I think you'll like my mom, she's really nice."

"Thank you for inviting me over," she said with a smile and a breeze blow up us.

"Anything for a friend."

As we got there I opened the door and we walked in. My mom was in the kitchen getting my after school snack. She opened the microwave and pulled out a popped bag of popcorn. "Hey, Rox. Who's your friend?" She always called me Rox since I could remember. She's the only person who calls me that. My dad he calls me dude, I don't mind that as well.

"This is Namine, she needed to be over. I hope you don't mind uninvited guests," I said hoping she was okay with it.

She smiled as she gave me the bag of popcorn. "It's fine, she can stay as long as she wants."

"Thank you, uh what's your name?" Namine asked with a smile.

"I'm Tifa."

I waked Namine into the living and we sat down, and I flipped on the TV. Namine took the bag out of my hand and she opened it and popped popcorn in her mouth. "Hey, that's mine!" I gave her a teasing smirk.

My mom walked into the living room and she sat in a recliner. "Tell me about yourself, Namine."

"There isn't anything really happy in my life."

"Oh? That's a shame."

"My stepfather is the principle, he's awful. He hates me, I don't know what to do." A sob was starting to form in her throat.

"Talk to somebody who cares about your situation."

I sat there in silence letting them talk and I munched on the popcorn. I'm shocked that Namine is opening up to a stranger.

"I talked to the school, they don't believe me that he hit me this morning." Her blue eyes are filled with water. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"That's unfair! The school is suppose to take care of problems like that. Does your mom know?"

"She works two jobs, she doesn't have any time for me. I'm afraid to go home, he's going to beat me!"

"Her and I battled with the principle," I budded in munching.

"You can stay the night. What did you mean by 'battled'?" She asked with her brow raised.

"We basically confronted him," I said.

"You didn't get a detention?" She asked with shock.

"Yeah, but I skipped it, it was a waste of my time."

"Well, I'm going to make dinner. Rox, mind showing where the guest bedroom is?" My mom asked as she rose from the recliner and she walked in the kitchen.

We hopped off the couch, and we walked down the hall. "Your mom seems nice."

We walked up the stairs. "Yeah, she doesn't really care for uninitiated guests." I led her in a room that had a queen sized bed and it had a wooden dresser. "Here it is."

She walked in, her eyes looking around the room. "Did somebody sleep in here?"

"My brother Vanitas, he moved out last year. We deiced to make it as a guest bedroom. If need anything from us, my bedroom is right across from yours and my parents is down the hall. Oh and you can barrow my clothes."

She smiled. "It's perfect, and thank you Roxas."

"No problem. Oh and there's a bathroom down the hall and there's one down stairs by the stairs." It seemed like she was going to live with us, but it's only for one night. "The rule is, I can't have girls in my room and you can't have boys in your room."

"There's a boy in my room now," Namine pointed out.

"My mom asked me to show you, it doesn't count. Let's go back I think dinner is almost ready," I said as we left the room and walked downstairs. The reason I said that was I felt kinda awkward being in a room with a girl, I guess I'm not use to it. I better be, in case she needs something in the middle of the night.