Seymour walked into the room for his first class of the day, his usual AP Calculus AB anxiety only increasing as he saw that Audrey wasn't in her seat. She was usually there before him… but sometimes she came after, so surely that didn't mean what his overly dominant pessimistic side was telling him it meant… did it? …But she had only ever came after him when she had had a game the previous day, and she hadn't mentioned anything about a game yesterday… By the time the bell signaling the start of class rang, Seymour had resigned himself to the truth, but not to having a passive, cowardly role in how it turned out. He abruptly got up from his seat, exiting the room even as Mr. Martin shouted something about a bathroom pass behind him. Seymour's sudden courage but not his anger dropped as he realized he didn't have a game plan beyond getting to the left wing and Audrey; he knew he should've brought something sharp like garden shears or a knife with him for the next time Orin had stooped low enough to tie her up like this, he had just hoped against hope that there wouldn't be a next time, and that Orin's abuse of her wouldn't get to the level of necessitating objects that were highly forbidden on school property.

Who was he kidding, Orin probably had some of those with him too… Seymour reached the auditorium, hesitating at the entrance for a moment in horror at what he was about to see, and who he was going to see it done to, before managing to continue his brisk pace towards and up the stairs to the stage and to the left wing. Sure enough, there was Audrey, tied to a rung of the ladder Orin had oh so disgustingly showed him by her hands so that they rested at her back between her shoulder blades. She moved her dejected gaze from the floor up to him upon hearing him come in, staring at him in shame and desperation as he internally screamed at himself to do something. Eventually, in a blur, he was standing beside her, rambling something that even he wasn't listening to but was hopefully at least a little reassuring while desperately looking around the cramped space for anything he could use to cut the rope bounding her to the ladder. Something to cut her ties with Orin would be helpful too, he was just much less likely to find that… Audrey followed his scattered gaze, and, after a contemplative pause, started to speak shakingly.

"...There's a box cutter in the top drawer of that cabinet." She tilted her head towards it, and Seymour saw the one she was talking about. "Trying to untie it doesn't work, he always makes sure to put it at too awkward of an angle for that…" Seymour, having scrambled to get the box cutter while she was still adding that last part and knocked something over more than once in the process, rejoined her with it in his possession. "D-don't worry, I've got you- this! I've got this…" He wasn't sure that he had earned the trust that was now in her eyes as he stared at his hand, shakingly holding that sharp blade right at her wrist… what if he… hurt her somehow… He heard Audrey repeat "You've got this" as if from a distance a long moment later, inspiring a strange mix of embarrassment and regained confidence in him as he nodded and carefully started working on the rope. Eventually… really, he had no idea how much time had passed… the rope fell free, not a… new… scratch on her… and he suddenly felt her pressed up against him a moment later, her elegant arms tight against his back, her face buried against his shoulder, her intoxicating warmth and presence seeping into the core of his being and making him forget any problem he'd ever experienced… he managed to get his arms around her as well, never wanting this miracle of miracles of protecting her, of being with her so completely to end…

She pulled back slightly to look into his eyes, the fear and guilt in hers bringing his awareness of the problems she and by extension he faced back to him. "...I-I'm sorry, you're missing your classes because I just had to go and say that I didn't think Orin was pronouncing l'chaim correctly…" Despite his horror at the situation and the million other emotions threatening to draw and quarter him, Seymour felt slightly vindicated that he had been right about that and Orin had been wrong. "...Audrey, it's not your fault; he shouldn't be doing anything like this to you." She shook her head dejectedly, moving away from him slightly. "...There's a lot of things that're my fault you don't know about…" Seymour tried and failed to get himself to move back to her side. "...What? …I-It's okay… it's still not okay what he's doing to you, and you're a-a very nice person, I always knew you were." After a long pause, she sighed, looking up at him resignedly. "...Was it nice of me to bring him here? To subject everyone to him?" Seymour tilted his head in confusion, struggling to process this.

"...Y-You didn't bring him here, he was expelled from his last school… right? That's what Mr. Mushnik said…" She shook her head, looking back down at the ground and away from him. "I think most people here think that, but that's not what happened. He would've found a way out of it if that was the issue…" Audrey paused, sitting down on a bench and gathering her strength before continuing while tearing up slightly. "He saw me at a game between the Pink Lilies and his girlfriend at the time's team. The first adjective he described me with… to my face, anyway… was 'docile.' The next thing I or any of us knew, he had transferred here. I think… I think he picks targets to bend to his will… sometimes literally… and when he finally has them exactly how he wants them, he gets bored and looks for a new lump of clay to start manipulating… if I hadn't been so… well… malleable and weak-willed after Daddy left and we ended up here, he wouldn't have picked me, and none of us would be suffering him right now…" She continued after a pause, barely audible over the tears she could no longer suppress. "...And he doesn't even come to my games…"

Horrified, Seymour managed to force himself to join her on the bench… and then couldn't figure out what to say after that to make this situation better for her… or at least not make it worse… "...Audrey… it's, uh, it's okay… here…" He remembered the existence of the packet of Kleenexes in a pocket of his backpack and dug it out, carefully removing one before presenting it to her gingerly. Slowly, she looked up at him gratefully with teary eyes before taking it and dabbing at them, giving him the courage necessary to continue. "No one would blame you for that, for his actions. I certainly never would." He paused, trying to put his next sentiment into the right words. "And I don't think he… went after you… because you seemed weak to him; you're the strongest person I've ever met. I think… I think he wanted a challenge, as horrible as that is…" She nodded slowly for a long moment before looking up at him questioningly. "...You really think so?"

Their heads were… so close now, after she had moved hers… he just hoped he could answer her without stammering too badly… "A-Absolutely… none of us have been able to tell him he's pronouncing l'chaim wrong." She laughed slightly, the sound sending pure exhilaration reverberating through him… which was quickly followed by something even more indescribable as she kissed him. After a far too long moment of shock, he managed to find his bearings, returning her kiss and hovering his hand over her side awkwardly before eventually resting it against her. As she returned this gesture, placing a graceful hand against his side before deepening the kiss, AP Biology or whatever class he was supposed to be in right now had never seemed less interesting to him.