Ashley took a deep breath and exhaled as she rose. Her decision had been made, consequence or not.

"Where are you going?" Diane asked, but she ignored her.

Her feet were moving toward the fight starting to unfold without having any clear thought of how she was going to stop it. All she knew is she couldn't allow Maddox to get into more trouble for her. He had already been suspended for his fight with Logan. She had no idea what the consequence would be for another fight which looked like it was going to escalate into a group fight. Jasper had a hand to Logan's chest and Ross held Carson by the front of his shirt.

The whole cafeteria was starting to circle around them and they were starting to draw attention to it.

She pushed her way through the last of the onlookers to reach the arm that still had Jim pinned to the wall. Her hands wrapped around his flexing bicep.

"Stop Mad," she said, desperately. She tugged against his arm as his eyes focused on her but his hand held Jim in a vice like grip. "He isn't worth it."

"Trust me, it will be once I'm done with him." His eyes blazed with an anger she had never see before.

"I need you to stop. Please," she whispered, aware they held everyone's attention.

The intensity of emotion in his eyes waned. Their gaze held for a few moments.

There was no more hiding it from everyone. How she felt about him and how he felt about her. It was in the way she looked at him and him her.

His eyes moved back to Jim. "If I even hear you breath her name I will make you regret it. Do you understand?"

Jim glared at him resentfully but he refused to acknowledge Maddox's threat.

Teachers were starting to break up the crowd. Maddox released him and thrust him away from them and he stumbled slightly.

She held onto his arm and he turned to her.

"The teachers are on their way. I don't want you caught up in this." He moved her toward the edge of the crowd.

She nodded and let go of him to slip back in amongst the crowd as he turned to face the teachers who descended.

There would be no hiding what was going on between them now. Her clearly trying to stop him from a fight would be enough confirmation that there was something.

She was shaken as she returned to her table.

"I think the cat is out of the bag now," Sally murmured softly.

"I think you're right." She could feel the stares as she sat back down. Any appetite she had was gone. She had done the right thing, even if she was nervous about making public their relationship.

"Man that was hot." Diane wiggled her eyebrows at Ashley.

It made her smile. "You are terrible."

But there was something indescribably attractive about a guy who was willing to stand up for her, even if it got him into trouble. There had been no hesitation on his part when he felt he was doing the right thing.

Her heart fluttered at the memory of him confronting Jim. It was difficult not to feel her pulse race when she thought back to how his eyes had meshed with hers, kicking her feelings for him into high gear.

She couldn't help fearing the repercussions he would face for doing that for her.

Deep in thought she listened to her friends discuss their future and she fought not to feel the sadness that she wouldn't have a future like theirs. But she would get out of the house and that was more important than anything else.

No more fighting parents, no more screaming or throwing things. She was just looking forward to an environment without conflict. The constant atmosphere at home was chipping away at her until she feared there would be nothing left of her.

Just a few more months didn't sound like a long time but when you broke it down to every hour of everyday it felt like much much longer. But what about Maddox?

How could she wish what little time they still had together? The truth was she couldn't.

She didn't see Maddox for the rest of the day. She assumed he had been suspended for the rest of the day.

By the end of the day she couldn't wait to get home to crawl into her bed and sleep. She had messaged Maddox but still hadn't had a reply. She had seen glimpses of Jasper and Ross. They hadn't been suspended.

But when the school bell rang she had to get some books from her locker.

She got the combination to her locker wrong twice. Her mind just couldn't seem to concentrate on the smallest task. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Can I help?" Jasper asked from behind her.

Her heart slammed into her chest and she spun around.

"You scared me," she said, trying to get her heart to calm down. It was still racing.

"Sorry." He shrugged.

"What happened?" she asked. He would be able to tell her what had happened to Maddox.

"No one wanted to talk so they punished the only person they saw do anything. Maddox got suspended for the rest of the week."

Her intervention hadn't helped at all.

"I wanted to say something," he said.

Her curiosity was peaked.

"I saw you in the cafeteria, before the altercation."

This time she shrugged. She didn't want him to know it had gotten to her.

"It isn't anything. Macy isn't anything to him." He studied her as he spoke the words softly.

"How do you know that?" She pushed.

"I just do."

She did believe him, it was the insecure part of her that got jealous.

"Why do you care?" He hadn't liked her in the beginning. What had changed?

"He really likes you." He whispered it.

"I like him too. A lot," she admitted.

They were both in it together. No one had the upper hand, no one could walk away unscathed.

"Do you think he is going to get into trouble with his parents?" she asked.

"His father wont be happy but his mom is pretty easy going."

She still remembered the uneasy feeling she had gotten around his mom. For some reason she just felt his mom wasn't a fan.

"I met his mom briefly. She didn't seem that easy going." She heard herself admit.

He studied her. "Really?"

She nodded.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Maddox and his mom are really close. If you make him happy then that's all the counts."

She didn't have that same belief but she kept her thought to herself.

Jasper insisted on walking her out the school. She suppressed a yawn.

"You didn't get much sleep last night?" He asked the obvious.

"Nope." She sighed.

"Why?" he asked as they walked side by side.

She bit her lip. She didn't usually open up about her family life but his interest made her do something that surprised her. Or maybe it was because she felt too tired to keep the facade up.

"My parents are going through a rough patch." She didn't tell him that patch was years. "They were loud and it was difficult to sleep. I'm hoping they'll finally decide to call it quits so I won't have to listen to them anymore."

It felt like some weight had lifted from her shoulders. She couldn't explain it. Perhaps keeping it so tightly to herself had caused her a bigger burden than she needed to carry. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I told you that."

He stopped and she did to. He had an unreadable expression. Had she gone too far by confiding in him? They weren't friends. He was her boyfriend's friend.

"I get it." His words were soft spoken but there was more in his expression.

Did he? How could he? She remained quiet.

"My parents have been threatening to divorce for as long as I can remember."

Was he the one Maddox had been referring it when he had said she hadn't been alone in the fact her parents had issues and were fighting so much?

"Do they fight a lot?" A lot of parents divorced without the level of animosity that made them fight almost all of the time. The only time they seemed to not fight was when they were avoiding each other.

Divorce was permanent avoidance.

"Yeah...almost every night." He sighed. She recognised that same level of defeat in her own situation. For the first time she didn't feel as alone. There was someone else going through something very similar to her own situation.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I know what that's like. It sucks." It had drained her of all of her hopes and dreams. It was now just about survival.

"It is what it is." He shrugged.

"Well at least when you go off to college you'll get away from it."

He nodded.