Uhh, what is happening again?

Anya Forger found herself pinned to the wall by - what's his name again?- Yes, James… James Eldon. It was supposed to be the end of what was a long, dreary day at school again, and she was supposed to meet Becky after this class, one that she was taking herself, and they were either going to chill or shop when James called out to her and asked if he could speak to her. She followed him along blindly to the classroom at the end of the hall. Eden Academy's student pool size has never really grown, and Anya was somewhat familiar with James, who was one year above her. They have spoken a few times before during school events, and while Becky would beg to differ, Anya thought he had come across as decent. Instead, Becky said he gave her slimy, scheming vibes. A few months ago, James had tried to ask her out, but Anya had declined it politely, just as Becky had taught her to. She thought things would die down a little, that is, until James approached her suddenly once more, shoved her a box of chocolates, and literally begged her to have some as a 'closure' for him as he talked on and on at what seemed like a final try at his luck on Anya Forger. Wanting it to be over quickly before it became even more uncomfortable, Anya downed half the box of chocolates at once while attempting to manage some broken feelings.

The chocolates tasted alright, but soon she found herself losing focus on what James was saying. Her vision was starting to blur and the room was starting to spin. James' mouth was moving but the words were not registering. She could not focus well enough to read his thoughts either. Before she knew it, James was stepping closer and closer to her as she tried to back away from him. Heart racing, she found herself backing into the wall behind her as James towered over her.

"J- James. I'm not feeling too well. I'm sorry, I need to go." She tried to say.

"I'm not done speaking!" James protested, a hint of anger in his voice. Anya flinched at his sudden change in tone. Things were not looking good.

"It is so difficult to talk to you, with Blackwell and Desmond always being in the way. Now that you're here, you have to finish listening to what I am saying." He stepped closer to her again and Anya shrank further into the wall, trying to resist. James held out his hand so that it rested right beside her cheek while his left hand gripped her shoulder tightly, pinning her against the wall.

"You're hurting me! James, please stop. I already made myself clear last time." She breathed, heart racing. Whatever James gave her in the chocolates is making her feel weak in the knees. If not, she would have just easily defended herself with the self-defence taught by Mama.

"Just go out once with me, and I can make you change your mind."

"You're scaring me. Please." She pleaded weakly, knowing that she is at her limit soon.

His face darkened and he held up her chin forcefully. "You think you are so great and all, don't you?"

"Huh? What are you saying?"

"You're just a lowly commoner, Imperial Scholar or not." James spat at her. "Strutting around with your little group of friends, overlooking us. You should be grateful I even gave you any attention."

"Get away from me already, you disgust me!" She tried to push him off, but he pinned her into the wall with his knee. She winced in pain as she felt James shift his body weight onto her further and he leaned in closer to her. Her head was pounding and the room felt so hot. It was taking all of her to just remain standing. She could feel James' face getting closer and closer to her and she wanted to scream but she didn't have the strength to.

Bang! The door to the room flew open. James froze momentarily at the distraction, and before she knew it, James was already thrown to the floor and off of her in quick motion. Her knees finally gave way and she slumped onto the ground. There was a lot of shouting - she could hear Becky and Ewen and Emile and Damian and - that was all she remembered as she blacked out.

When her eyes opened again, Anya was lying in a comfortable bed in the infirmary, the fan whirring above her, the sky outside dark. Her head still pounded and her throat felt dry and parched. She couldn't remember much, but the sweet, sickly taste of the chocolates lingered in her mouth and she felt disgusted. She pressed on her temple as she tried to crawl out of bed, only to feel an arm supporting her. She sat up and saw Damian quietly sitting next to her, a deep frown in his face.

"What do you need?" His voice was gentle although his face was dark.

"Water." Anya managed to croak. Damian passed her a cup and she downed it at one go. He turned and sat on the edge of her bed, his back facing her. "How long was I out for?" She asked.

"Almost 4 hours. It's 8.30pm now. It's not poison, just alcohol. Very high contents of alcohol for normal chocolates. Seriously, it was more alcohol than chocolate."

Anya let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I figured the chocolates tasted funny. Where's Becky?" She looked around the room.

"She went to save you some food from the hall, in case you woke up and felt hungry. Dinner service is almost over." Damian answered. Anya realised that he was avoiding her gaze.

"Where's James?" She murmured, voice soft as a whisper. She could feel Damian's anger just by sitting next to him. His fist was clenched tightly and looked red and sore.

"That bastard? Mr Henderson took care of it. Ewen said they are discussing disciplinary actions against him. He better not dare to even show up in front of us again."

She reached out and put one of her hands on his. "Did you hurt him?" She asked. Damian did not respond, and neither did he turn to look at her, but she knew. The minute James was thrown off of her, she knew it had been Damian.

"Are you mad at me?" She said again, her voice soft as a whisper. "I'm sorry for being stupid and careless."

At this, he finally turned to look at her, the girl whom he had been madly in love with since the day he laid his eyes on her when they were barely 6. Her soft body frame was slightly shivering, and her head was kept low. He caught sight of the slight bruises along her upper arm, from that sickening bastard's grip on her. The very thought of it made him so furious, he nearly lost his mind when he flipped the room door open earlier and saw James on top of Anya, closing in, the fear wide in her eyes with tears. He might have seriously wounded the guy if not for both Emile and Ewen restraining him, and he only stopped when more people gathered to hear the commotion and Mr Henderson broke up the fight with his steely presence. He only realised that he wasn't even breathing when Becky snapped him out of his thoughts and asked him for help to bring Anya to the infirmary to get checked as she had passed out by then.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself." He let out a deep sigh. "Blackbell told me to keep an eye out for Eldon. She said he's been trying to make a move on you recently and something didn't feel right. We've been taking turns to limit his advances. We were supposed to come get you after your last class, but you ended early so your classroom was empty by the time I got there. Blackbell texted me to ask me if I have seen you, because she couldn't find you, and that's when I knew something was up, and then I tried to ask your classmates if they have seen you, and then someone said that Eldon came by to speak to you, and then I just…" He stopped, letting out another sigh.

"I'm sorry I didn't get there in time, you must have been scared." He shifted so that he was facing her, and now his hands were on top of hers.

"But all of you came for me in the end. Thanks. I didn't even know this was happening. It must have been hard on you guys, why didn't you guys just tell me?"

"We didn't want to jump to conclusions so quickly. And we didn't want to get you hypervigilant or anything." He shrugged.

Anya slowly broke into a smile and she laughed gently. "It's like having my own secret bodyguards. Thanks. I really appreciate it. But I can defend myself better if you guys have alerted me earlier. You know that, right?" She held up her fists to punch him playfully in the arm.

Damian looked down at the pink-haired girl and wondered how and why she had the ability to always make him feel better, no matter how bad the situation was. He gave her an affectionate pat on the head. "Yeah yeah, I know you're strong. Except, please do not eat anything strange offered by people again. I can give you all the chocolates you ever need, don't get it from some other men." She pouted and nodded.

"I'm still sleepy." She lay back into bed, but her hand never left his. "Stay with me?" She whispered.

"Of course."