"I really am sorry I took you there," Trent said as he took a drag of his cigarette. He had driven us to a local park, and we were sitting on the swing set lazily next to each other.

"It's okay." I was looking down at my hands in my lap as I swung, too ashamed to meet Trent's eyes.

"You know, if you were any of the girls I've been with, we'd have found a bedroom at that party, I'd be high out of my mind while we fucked." He flicked his cigarette butt into the wood chips beneath us.

"S-sorry to disappoint, you should have j-just gone with one of those girls then."

"You see, the problem with that is that since I met you, I haven't thought about any of them," he smiled coyly at me.

"W-what are you saying?" I asked, eyes wide as I tried to process Trent's words.

"I don't know, I think I might be drunk." Panic washed over his face.

"You b-barely had one drink?"

"I'm just really confused right now, and I should get you home, it's getting late." I stared after Trent in confusion as he walked across the playground to his Truck. "You coming or what?" He called after me when I didn't get up and follow him. I slowly stood and made my way back to the truck, getting in without any help from Trent, who was already seated in the driver's seat with a cigarette dangling between his lips.

The drive was silent, and Trent chain smoked the whole way back to my house. He seemed irritated and on the verge of a breakdown, a feeling I knew all too well. I didn't want to push him because I knew what an angry Trent Rodriguez looked like. I was also terrified of what he might admit, of how it might make me feel, of what I might do. The thought of letting someone that close to me was terrifying, but part of me wanted more than anything to fall into someone's arms and have my whole past just disappear.

"A-are you picking me up on Monday?" I asked as he pulled into my driveway.

"Uh, I can't," he lied. "But I'll see you around," I got out of the truck, wincing in pain when I accidentally landed on my right ankle. I slammed the door and ignored the slight pain in my ankle as I stomped toward the front door, not looking back as I walked inside.

"Hey honey, how was your date?" Mom asked as I passed the kitchen.

"It wasn't a date." I grumbled as I stomped up the stairs, slamming my bedroom door shut behind me.

I barely slept that night, tossing and turning and seething with rage over the way Trent was acting. I was sacrificing so much just by talking to him, just by letting him near me. He had no idea how hard it was to put aside the thought that he could just turn around and shove me in a locker and trust him anyway. The angry thoughts continued all weekend as Trent continued to ignore me, and on Monday morning I dreaded going to school. Trent's truck wasn't waiting for me outside my house and I stomped the whole mile to school. I was hurt, I was annoyed, I was pissed off by Trent's fragile masculinity and inability to even articulate his feelings. Maybe I was really just mad I let myself entertain the fantasy that he might have liked me back?

"What's the matter Tinkerbell, did Peter Pan dump you for Wendy?" A familiar voice mocked as I was dragged backwards by my backpack. I let out a cry of pain as my head collided with a locker, and through blurred vision I could make out the form of Kyle and his posse standing over me.

"He's not so brave without his boyfriend around, is he?" One of Kyle's friends laughed.

"What the hell did you just say?" A familiar rasp called out from behind them. As they stepped aside, I saw Trent stalking towards them.

"Well, well, I thought there was trouble in paradise," Kyle laughed. Trent kept walking forward, closer to Kyle and then punched him in the stomach, and then punched him again in the face as he fell to the ground. By this point a crowd of students had formed around us, watching as Trent beat the absolute shit out of Kyle. I watched in horror as Kyle's friends ganged up on Trent, punching and kicking him as Kyle struggled to get up, blood gushing from his nose.

"What is going on here?" Dr. Murphy, our principal shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd. This could not end well. "Someone get Mr. Johnson to the nurse! Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Daniels, Mr. Martinez, and Mr. McCormick, my office, now!" He shouted while pointing sternly towards the direction of his office.

I was in the early stages of a panic attack as we walked toward Dr. Murphy's office. I had never been in the principal's office before, unbelievable, I know. The thought that all of this was over me was not helping this situation either. Why was Trent literally trying to kill Kyle for me? Especially after last night. I was both terrified and touched by the idea that he still cared. Terrified because, well, if he's capable of doing that to Kyle, what could he do to me if he got that angry? On some level having someone who would go to that level to protect me was nice. But the part of me that was afraid of Trent at this moment won out. Maybe I was still angry at him for last night too. I mean, he acted like he was never going to speak to me again and then he practically kills for me. I watched him with fear in my eyes as we followed Dr. Murphy. He turned and our eyes met, and his face dropped instantly. Again, he was so in tune to how I was feeling, or maybe it was just so obvious on my face, but he could see the fear.

"Now, who wants to tell me what happened?" Dr. Murphy asked once we were all seated in his office. He scanned over our faces before landing on Trent, expecting him to speak up. I dared to look at him and saw that he had a black eye forming and a split lip from Kyle's friends, who I learned were named Jacob and Ian.

"Kyle was picking on Grayson," Trent explained. Dr. Murphy looked at him expectantly, urging him to continue explaining the situation. "He's been picking on him for years, beating him up, he even sprained his ankle last week. I was just defending him."

"Did Kyle hit Mr. Daniels or yourself first, Mr. Rodriguez?"

"Well, no," Trent sighed.

"Mr. Rodriguez, we have a zero-tolerance policy for violence. If Mr. Daniels was injured by Mr. Johnson last week, he should have reported the incident. As for this morning, you violently attacked Mr. Johnson, and that will not be tolerated. You will be suspended for five days; I will be calling your father to come sign you out." Jacob and Ian snickered from their seats on the other side of the office. Dr. Murphy turned to them with a sly smile. "I don't know why you two are laughing. You may not have thrown the first punch, but you still engaged in the fighting. Each of you will receive a three-day suspension, and I will be calling your parents shortly as well."

"Wh-what about me, sir?" I asked. Other than the fact that they were fighting over me, I couldn't figure out why I was there.

"Was Mr. Daniels involved in fighting with anyone?" Dr. Murphy asked as he looked to Trent, Jacob, and Ian. They all shook their heads no and Dr. Murphy turned back to me. "Then you may go. Remember, if you are having an issue with another student, let us deal with it. Don't enlist a hooligan to fight your battles for you," Dr. Murphy warned as he glared at Trent.

"Th-thank you, sir," I said as I quickly got up and left the office. I walked as quickly as my ankle would allow to the nearest bathroom, locking myself inside the first empty stall I could find. I dropped my backpack and sunk down to the floor, letting the tears fall freely from my eyes. Trent got suspended for a week for me, which was horrifying, but now I was all alone for a week. Kyle was going to kill me.