A/N This chapter's title was inspired by the song Waiting For Superman sung by Daughtry. Please read, review, and follow. I want to hear what everyone thinks. Also, bonus points if you get the reference :D

Solas looked out over the classroom full of students from his desk. Each student was working diligently in their sketchbooks on their latest project. His attention was focused on Elyssa. He desperately wanted to speak with her. He had so many questions he hadn't been able to ask since the Scream project. However, the chance to speak with her hadn't arisen. He hadn't been alone with her since the evening at his house. He'd given Elyssa his phone number in hopes that she would contact him that weekend but she hadn't. He'd had the meeting with her parents the following Monday during lunch so he hadn't been able to speak with her then. Solas had expected Elyssa to come to his class for lunch the following day but she hadn't shown. Nor had she any other day during the week. It had been a full three weeks since Elyssa had turned in the Scream project, and Solas was no closer to figuring out what it meant or how to help her.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the school week, all the students rushed out of the classroom, including Elyssa. She seemed in a hurry to leave school for once. Solas's chest ached with the knowledge that Elyssa was so eager to flee his presence. What had he done wrong? When the final student left and the door swung to a close, Solas rose from his desk. It was Friday, the day of the homecoming football game. He needed to go meet Salem and Bull at the football field to help them prepare. He scanned the room, checking to see if anyone had left anything behind, and his attention was drawn to a small black hardcover book on one of the student's desks. He retrieved the book and opened it, intending to see to whom it belonged. What he saw was a picture of himself he knew to be Elyssa's handiwork. She was the only one in the class with the level of skill to be able to draw a detailed face such as the one he was looking at now. The picture was drawn with a light, warm feel of something the creator found aesthetically pleasing. The pain that ached in his chest earlier was eased with each picture Solas found of himself in her sketchbook. Maybe he hadn't done anything as wrong as he had thought. He sat down at his desk with the book. He intended to wait a short time for the parking lot to clear and enjoy the treasure he had found.

Elyssa rushed excitedly through the double doors leading to the parking lot. Anders was supposed to pick her up today from school. She'd hardly seen him since he went away to college a few months ago. He hadn't gone too far, but he'd claimed he was too busy to come home on the weekends as he promised her he would before he left. Elyssa rarely commented on the fact that his social media was filled with pictures of him at some party or another, with Justice and plenty of other women around. Anytime she did, he would brush it off as something that didn't matter or didn't have time to discuss. Elyssa worried that she was being too paranoid and possessive. Guys partied while they were in college, right? It didn't mean anything. Still, she couldn't silence the voice in the back of her mind that told her he was already lying to her about why he wasn't coming home, so what else was he lying about?

As she looked out amongst the sea of vehicles parked in the lot, she didn't see the familiar old blue Civic that Anders drove. A long procession of various cars and trucks of both students and teachers leaving to get ready for the homecoming game had formed around the building. He must be stuck in the line, she thought to herself. She waited with fading hope until the line had dwindled to a few stragglers. When the lot was cleared of every vehicle except a small powder blue Prius, Elyssa gave up hope. With a huff, she snatched her cellphone out of the pocket of her jeans and dialed Anders's number. She wasn't surprised when he didn't answer until 13 calls later. It wasn't unusual for him to ignore her calls until he realized she wasn't going to stop calling. Elyssa knew this annoyed him to no end, but how else was she supposed to get him to talk to her?

"What do you need?" his baritone voice snapped from her receiver.

"What do you mean, 'what do I need?'" she asked irritably, "where are you, Anders?"

"What do you mean?" he spat back, sounding confused. Had he forgotten he was supposed to pick her up? Had he forgotten what this weekend was? He was supposed to come home so they could go to her homecoming dance together.

"You were supposed to pick me up today," she tried to explain calmly. She couldn't help the sharp pain in her chest. Was she so easy to forget? Did she matter so little?

Elyssa heard him sigh deeply. She knew she wasn't fixing to like what followed. He always sighed like that before launching into an irritated rant with her. "Elyssa, why do you always do this?"

"Do what?" she asked, flabbergasted. What had she done?

"Get mad at me for things I can't help?" he answered, "You know I'm busy at college, yet you always insist I be there for you like I'm not,"

"Anders, you were the one that suggested picking me up!" she argued, "How is that depending on you?"

"You know life in college is unpredictable!" he exclaimed, "You should have had a backup plan. You're so irresponsible!"

Anger and hurt burned through Elyssa's veins. He was the one who left her to walk home without so much as a call, and he dared to tell her she was the irresponsible one? "Is that what all of those girls in your pictures on Fadebook are?" she asked with a low bitter voice, "Your 'backup plans?'"

"Are you serious right now?" Anders growled, "I don't have time to deal with you and your insecurities."

"It's not insecurities when this is the fifth weekend in a row that you decided not to come home without so much as a call!" Elyssa's voice rose along with her temper, "Yet every weekend so far, you or Justice post pictures of you at some party with random chics hanging on you!"

"Do you ever think that maybe I don't come home because it would just be easier to stay away than be with someone who is so damaged and hard to deal with?" Elyssa's breath caught in her throat. Her heart froze in her chest, and she couldn't find her voice to say words she couldn't even think of. She was blank and numb, just like she always was when he brought that up. He was right of course, she was damaged goods and it wasn't fair to expect him to deal with that when he could have better.

"I'm sorry," her voice sounded weak and cracked in her ears. Moisture pooled in her eyes. She hated it when he said that. She hated it when he used something she'd had no control over against her. She hated herself even more for it being true. She was - and always would be - damaged goods. Nothing and no one would ever change that.

"It's okay," he sighed soothingly, "just try to remember that I'm still with you despite that,"

Elyssa nodded though she knew he couldn't see it. Nor could he see the tears that spilled onto her cheeks. "Look, I promise I'll make it home by Autumn break, okay?"

"Okay," she murmured.

"Okay, I'll see you then. Love you." Anders said.

"Yeah. Love you too," she whispered. He hung up before she could say anything more. Elyssa started with a vacant expression at her cell phone. How could someone that claimed to love her throw something they knew hurt her in her face? Elyssa felt like Anders didn't love her at all. She couldn't blame him though. How could anyone love such a broken girl?

Solas had lost track of time looking through all of Elyssa's sketches. He was fascinated by the depth of emotion put into each piece. Elyssa's projects for the class had begun to lack that since he had confronted her on it all those weeks ago. Aside from the Scream project, her assignments had felt stiff and forced. He missed the way she had freely expressed herself. Even though the art had been dark, it had been real. Regret like an angry wolf gnawed at his gut. He shouldn't have confronted her the way that he did.

Solas didn't notice how long he had been sifting through the book until he had seen all the sketches and glanced at his clock. He hastily gathered his things, slipping the small black book into his bag, and rushed out the door. He bounded through the double doors that led to the parking lot and stopped immediately in his tracks. Elyssa stood with her back turned slightly to the doors, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Her voice was low and full of bitterness and pain as she argued with whoever was on the line. He could see just enough of her face to tell that she was far from pleased.

"Is that what all of those girls in your pictures on Fadebook are? Your backup plans?" Solas took a few steps forward, his initial instinct being to protect her from the pain he heard in her voice. But he couldn't. It wasn't his place. He was her teacher, not her boyfriend and from the sounds of it, her boyfriend was who she was speaking to now. "It's not insecurities when this is the fifth weekend in a row that you decided not to come home without so much as a call! Yet every weekend so far, you or Justice post pictures of you at some party with random chics hanging on you!"

Solas stared at the young woman lashing out in anger. It didn't sound like she was happy with the person on the other end of the call. From what he could hear, it sounded as if she had every reason to be. Pride flowed through him at the fierce strength Elyssa was showing now. She stood firmly, the hard set look of determination on her face. Then, as if someone had died right in front of her, her expression turned cold. Her beautiful green eyes gazed unseeing into the distance. The soft curves of her lips fell open in a moment of shock, and her alabaster skin turned pale in horror. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost - a terrible ghost she couldn't escape from. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Solas could hear the tears in her voice. A fierce heat burned inside him as he saw the moisture trail down her cheeks. "Yeah. Love you too." She didn't sound like a girl who was in love. She sounded like a broken woman saying those words out of obligation and habit. Protective anger clawed at him. He didn't know who it was that was making her sound so sad and defeated, but when he did there would be hell to pay. For now, he would do the only thing he could and try to comfort her.

Elyssa didn't hear the footsteps approaching softly behind her. She was so lost in the numbing pain of what Anders had said. "Elyssa?" That soothing Ferelden accent could only belong to one person - the last person she wanted to see her crying yet again. That would only lead to more questions she just didn't have the strength to answer right now. Quickly, she tried to wipe away the evidence of her tears. She could tell when she turned to face him that it hadn't worked.

"Hello Solas," she forced the corners of her lips to turn up in an attempt at a smile.

"What are you still doing here? Are you all right?" Solas asked her, "You rushed out of the classroom so quickly earlier, I had assumed you would be one of the first students to leave," There was a slight edge to his tone almost as if her actions had upset him somehow. That couldn't be right, Solas had no reason to be upset at her leaving with the usual hastiness that most students had at the end of the school day on a Friday, especially homecoming Friday. No, she must be imagining that there was more than teacherly concern in his deep voice.

"I seem to have lost my ride," she choked out a laugh, trying to brush it off. She didn't want to tell Solas how or why she had no ride home. She just wanted to crawl under a rock and hide from him and the questions she still hadn't answered for him. "It's fine," she sighed, "a little walk never hurt anyone."

"I could give you a ride home if you'd prefer?" he suggested.

"In what?" Elyssa asked with a snort. "The only vehicle here is that baby blue Prius," One of Solas's eyebrows rose and the corners of his pink lips turned upward. Elyssa looked between the suave figure of her art teacher and the light blue car sitting in the lot, piecing together what he was saying. "No way!" she genuinely laughed, "That's your car?"

Solas chuckled with her and nodded. "Yes," he answered with no shame, "a Prius is a practical and reliable car,"

"Yes but a blue one?" Elyssa teased, "Isn't that a little feminine?"

"What can I say?" Solas grinned wider, "It matches my eyes," He batted his long lashes for emphasis.

"Someone has no issues with his masculinity," Elyssa commented.

"I assure you, da'len, that my masculinity is quite secure. I can assure you of that." Elyssa's breath caught in her throat and her heart drummed loudly in her chest at his playful suggestion. She knew he was just joking with her as she had just been with him. She knew it, yet she couldn't help but get drawn in by the smoldering look of his grey flecked blue eyes. The curve of his playful smirk drew too much of her attention to how soft and full his lips looked. To how his bottom lip pouted out just a little more than the top one in a way that filled her head with thoughts of how the shape of lips would feel molded with hers. Anders was always so distant, gone, even when they were together. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be with someone else. To feel wanted by someone.

She took a step forward, not knowing why she was following the voice screaming at her to get closer to this man. He looked down at her, his eyes a stormy grey now. Something was clouding them. Something deep and heavy and intoxicating. Desire fluttered through her stomach. A passionate hunger, deep and sudden, took complete control of her. Without thought or warning, she found herself pulling his head down to hers. She felt the incredible warmth of his mouth on hers. The kiss, while short, was filled with unspoken doubts and fears.

She pulled away in horror at what she'd done. She'd just kissed her teacher! A man ten years her senior. He did nothing more than show her concern and kindness and here she was forcing herself on him like the whore her mother always accused her of being.

"Solas I'm so sor-" She was interrupted by the crushing weight of feather-soft lips once more against hers. This time, she was the one taken by surprise as his mouth prodded hers to move in satisfying union with his. Solas wrapped both his arms around her, keeping her a welcome prisoner against his lean chest. He crushed her tightly to him, deepening the kiss. The firm press of the tip of his tongue danced across her bottom lip. She sighed deeply, letting Solas in further. He was certainly full of unquestionable masculine experience. He seemed to know exactly what to do to keep her wanting more than just a simple kiss. The weight of his long slender fingers pressed against the small of her back, pulling her tighter against him. A low moan vibrated in her throat. A small groan sounded from Solas in return. Then just as suddenly as he had descended upon her, he retreated from her.

It was as if someone had flipped a switch and the fog of blissful desire that was clouding her mind lifted. "We shouldn't," Solas said, taking a step back from Elyssa, "It isn't right, especially not here," He gestured to the empty school parking lot. Luckily no one had been around to see them, but if they had… Solas could lose his job because of her wanton actions.

"I-Solas-I…" Elyssa stammered and stumbled to find the right words, to say anything to make the situation better.

"I apologize," he murmured, "the kiss was impulsive and ill-considered. I should not have encouraged it,"

"You say that but you're the one that started with tongue!" Elyssa mentally kicked herself. Seriously, a joke at a time like this? Could she make things anymore worse?

"I did no such thing!" He protested with a small laugh.

"So that's your story huh?" she chuckled. "You deny it, so it must be true?"

"You're rather cheeky for a student," he teased.

"And you're a good kisser for a teacher," she shot back without thinking. Her eyes widened at the error in the jokes she had made. "I'm sorry. I know that's not at all appropriate. I mean neither was kissing you, obviously, but I can't take that back now," She began rambling, trying desperately to make the situation less awkward.

"Elyssa, stop," Solas ordered. She immediately stopped talking and focused on him. "What happened here was a mistake," he said gently, "One I cannot make again,"

"I know," Elyssa nodded, "I'm so sorry," For the second time that day, moisture pooled in her eyes.

"Please don't be upset," Solas soothed, "I enjoyed it much more than you could ever know. But you are vulnerable right now, and it isn't right for me to take advantage of you in such a way,"

"I understand," Elyssa sighed. She understood all too well the troubles of someone like Solas getting involved with someone like her. Even if she weren't seventeen and his student, she was still a broken damaged girl. Anders could attest to the fact that being with her in the best of circumstances was a handful. He pointed it out every time they fought, just as he had on the phone. She was just a damaged little girl that Solas didn't need to complicate his life.

"In another world… " The thought Solas had begun to trail off. Elyssa understood why he didn't finish his sentence. What was there to say? That he wanted to be with her but couldn't? That if he were not her teacher they could be together? Even if these things were true, they made no difference in the here and now. That was without factoring in her personal history that made things that much worse.

"One where I'm not so broken," Elyssa muttered more to herself than to the man standing next to her.

"You are not broken," the words were hard, filled with certainty, and left no room for argument. Elyssa turned to meet his fierce blue eyes. The depth of anger there shocked her; no one had seemed to care about her self-hatred before. She shifted her eyes from the heavy weight of concern for her that Solas was demonstrating. She didn't know what to say to make him understand what Anders, her parents, and everyone else who knew her past, saw. Part of her didn't want him to understand. She didn't want the concern to fade to irritation as it had with Anders. She didn't want the kindness to turn to distaste as it had with her mother. She couldn't bear to see Solas's gorgeous blue eyes, so full of care, look at her with pity.

"You don't know the half of it," she scoffed, "you wouldn't be saying that if you did,"

"You're right," Solas agreed. An intense pain stabbed Elyssa's heart. She thought hearing someone agree that she was broken couldn't hurt any more than it did coming from Anders. That was until she heard them from Solas. "I don't know what you've been through," he clarified, "but I would like to,"

"Why?" she scoffed with bitterness, "Why does it matter?" She stared down at the boots on her feet. Elyssa didn't know what scared her more, the thought of Solas deciding the truth didn't matter, or what it would mean if he did.

"You have a rare and marvelous spirit," he answered, "I don't want to see it crushed under the weight of a burden you needn't bear alone. I want to help you, Elyssa," She felt the soothing warmth of his hand under her chin. Gently, he guided her face up to look at him. "I meant what I said before, about you not going through this alone,"

"I haven't cut since then," She let herself lean into his hand. He didn't pull his hand away like she had assumed he would. Instead, he let his fingers unfurl and rest against her cheek. They stood this way for a long moment, each enjoying the simple caress. The line between teacher and student becoming dangerously blurred once more.

"I meant life," he explained, "you don't have to go through life alone."

"Oh…" she murmured. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to respond to that level of kindness. She spent a long time thinking not just about Solas's words, but his actions as well. He had proven at every turn that he cared about her. It may not be more than the concern of a teacher for their student, but it was still more than anyone else had ever shown her. He deserved the truth, and she knew deep in her heart that she couldn't keep dodging him much longer. But if she told him the truth, would he still care about her? Did she even have the strength to be brave enough by taking that chance? She had told Anders and it had turned into an insult he used against her every time he was angry or upset with her.

Once more, she found herself staring into blue eyes gleaming with kindness. They were so different from Anders's brown ones. Not just in color, but in the level of emotion they displayed. Anders wasn't even half the man Solas had already shown her he was. It wasn't fair to compare them like she was, but she knew Solas was a better man and she was going to have to trust that he wouldn't treat her the way Anders did. "Okay," she agreed with a heavy sigh.

"Okay?"

"Take me somewhere safe to talk," Elyssa answered, "I'll tell you everything."