John Bender had seen his father exactly once in the almost-week he had been living with Laura and Angela Simms. It had been yesterday when the women excitedly dragged him out of the house and to the mall to take him shopping for new clothes. His father had been at the mall, no doubt drunk. Bender didn't miss the shopping bags hanging from his arm, and he doubted seriously that his old man had paid for them himself.

He had tried not to bring any attention to it. The girls were so excited, and he was honestly having an okay time too up until that point. He was even pretty sure Chuck Bender hadn't seen him. Besides, he was occupied trying not to blush at all the attention Angie and Laura were showering him with. This wasn't something he was used to. Ever.

Of course, Laura just had to notice when his mood seemed to shift, even though he recovered quickly. She looked over toward the food court, and, though she'd never met the man, she knew by John's reaction that she was staring at the man that had made his life hell. Quietly, and so discretely that even Angie wasn't aware that something was wrong, she pulled them toward the back of the store and out of sight, noting a nice pair of sneakers on the back wall.

She terrified him. Not like he was scared of crossing her...though he kinda was scared of her in that way too. It was what she was capable of doing to him. He was a man of control. He was a man of composure. He had a reputation, and when he was around her all it took was one knowing look from Laura Simms and his facade crumbled. She cared about him, genuinely. She wanted him to live a full and happy life and she was sincere about it. He knew it was unhealthy of him, but he was just waiting for her to change her mind, as he had been since he met her.

But she hadn't.

Laura was doing things to him that he'd never experienced before. He'd get nervous around her sometimes, which was ridiculous because c'mon...it's Laura. He lived with the girl, for crying out loud. Still, sometimes when he'd walk into a room, she'd look up from whatever she was doing and smile at him like he was the best thing since sliced bread...like there was no one in the world she'd rather see. It made him feel like his heart would stop and he'd die happy, right then and there.

Right now, he was by himself, laying on his bed, staring up blankly at the ceiling. It was Friday afternoon. School had been much more bearable, he even found himself enjoying it...slightly.

Tomorrow was Saturday. The pair of them had detention. Two more for Laura, six?..seven? more for him. Honestly, he'd lost count.

He groaned.

"Cramps?" Laura said from the doorway, one brow raised, and she had showered and changed into the clothes she slept in...loose, baggy pj pants and a tight nearly strapless tanktop tucked into them. He could have melted if he hadn't just been scared to death. Still, the little freckles on her shoulders that were peeking out from the lightly damp, tousseled waves of hair were taunting him.

He cleared his throat,

"Yup. You know how it is," he began, flashing her a smirk and patting his stomach, "cramps, mood swings, cravings, the whole nine."

She scoffed at him, rolling her eyes before coming to sit on the edge of the bed, "Seriously though, penny for your thoughts?"

"Detention," he said, raising himself up on his arm, "Lot's of them."

He could smell her now, clean. Like shampoo. It wasn't like she used the floral, fruity stuff he was used to girls using. She just smelled nice. Fresh.

His mouth could've watered.

What the hell was the matter with him?

"Maybe Vernon will get tired of you. Let you off early," she mused, "But then I guess he's as stubborn as you are. So maybe not."

He hardly heard her. He was busy trying to calm himself. He felt his blood rushing, coursing hotly through his veins. He thanked any god that was out there that his jeans fit well enough to hide anything that might...occur.

Laura observed him, mesmerized by the lines in his forehead and the curve of his lips, and the veins that popped out on his arms, lining his skin. She hadn't really let herself look at John Bender before. He was...actually kinda beautiful, in a rugged, wild, masculine way.

They caught each other staring. Their eyes locked.

He thought her gaze seemed laced with admiration, like she was at a museum appreciating the sculptures, but then again he'd never seen anyone stare at a statue quite like she was staring at him...

His gaze was confusion, a little frightened, and intense. Almost hungry. Like the desire to reach out and touch her, even just to trace the outline of her jaw was going to drive him mad.

She'd never been looked at that way before. Not by anyone.

They looked away, both a little overwhelmed, and a lot embarrassed.

It was her turn to clear her throat, and she reached for his arm and pulled him up.

She felt her embarrassment fade as confusion crossed his face, "Trust me?"

He hesitated, but nodded. He did trust her, surprisingly enough.

Suddenly he couldn't see. Her hands over his eyes and the rest of her pressed against his back, giggling, "Move it, John, careful! Don't forget about the stairs."

She led him down into the main part of the house, shooting down his grumbled protests until she stopped him.

"I'm gonna uncover your eyes now, ready?"

He nodded.

Her hands came away and he blinked at the onslaught of light before taking in the living room. Balloons and streamers were taped messily to the ceiling and furniture, and there was a banner over the TV that said "Happy Birthday!"

"Surprise!" four voices shouted at once. John's wide eyes landed on Angie, peeking at them from the kitchen, and Brian and Allison (also in pj's) sitting together on the couch, and Laura, practically vibrating with excitement right in front of him.

He slowly started to recover, and his mouth twitched up into a timid grin, "It's my birthday, isn't it? I didn't even realize."

"What kind of dummy forgets his own birthday?" Brian teased from the couch, "Happy Birthday, man. The big 18. You're like...a grown-up now."

Angela had, of course, made sure to squeeze the information out of Bender as soon as he arrived in her household, and when she realized that he only had a week before he turned 18, she scrambled to put together a little celebration.

Angie walked out into the living room then, slowly, as to not drop the little cake or extinguish the candles, quietly starting to sing the birthday song before everyone else joined in.

Bender blew out the candles, sure to make a wish beforehand.

He tried to wave away presents when the time came, but no one was having it, and so he was forced to accept the pocket comb from Brian, the pen from Allison, and the new dress shoes from Angie.

When it was Laura's turn to give him her gift, she grinned before pulling out a small box. John's eyes widened, "You proposing to me, Simms?"

She laughed heartily at that, and he found he was glad to have caused it, "No, John. This is a little from all of us."

"Mostly from her though. Her idea, and she payed over half." Angie boasted of her daughter.

Allison nodded, watching him in excitement, "We noticed you didn't have one. So we thought we'd help you out."

Bender looked toward Brian, "You know anything about this?"

The blond boy grinned, rolling his eyes, "Just open the box, Bender."

Slowly, timidly, he lifted the lid. Inside was a ring, made of silver, with a large stone set in the center and an inscription of the year he'd graduate...1985 since he'd been held back a year. It was a class ring.

He never thought he'd get one. He could never afford it.

He stared at Laura, stunned. Over half? For him?

She just looked at him, smiling lightly. Everyone's eyes were on him, but he didn't really care. He was too busy trying to wrap his head around this girl. You just don't meet people like her.

"Try it on." she urged softly, "See if it needs to be resized."

He was about to, a little choked up, but then a knock came from the front door.

Angie answered it, and was roughly shoved aside by a drunk, heavily breathing, enraged Chuck Bender.

He stepped into the room, "Happy birthday, Johnny Boy! Time to come home!"

"He's not going anywhere, Mr. Bender. Please get out of my home." Angela said calmly from behind him.

Without warning, Chuck whirled around, landing a sharp slap on Mrs. Simms's cheek, "Shut up, Bitch!"

Brian and Allison, who were closest to Laura's mother, quietly slipped over to be sure she was okay, followed shortly by Laura herself, who had been across the room and had taken longer to get there.

John tried to shove his dad out of the door, but Chuck punched him so hard in the face that he was knocked to the ground, the room spinning, slightly, and the skin on his cheek busted.

After that, things seemed to happen very fast.

Mr. Bender tried to yank his son up from the ground to force him home. Laura hurriedly whispered something to Allison, who nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Brian took one look at the expression on Laura's face, and pulled the slightly bewildered, but otherwise okay Angela out of the way, and Laura, eyes ablaze and furious, stood up from where she'd been kneeling next to her mom.

If John hadn't seen it himself he wouldn't have believed it.

Laura Simms wrenched Chuck Bender's hand from the grasp he had on John's shirt and did not let go. Her other hand caught Chuck's free one when it came to push her away, and before he could wrestle himself out of her grasp, her knee came up and struck him right where it hurt most.

He doubled over, naturally, and she took the opportunity to let his arms go, put one hand on the back of his head, and brought her knee up once again, this time to slam into his nose.

He fell to the ground, nose gushing, out cold. Laura nudged him over to lay on his side so he wouldn't choke.

"About three minutes, Laura," Allison called from the kitchen.

Laura turned her back on Chuck Bender to stoop down in front of where his son sat with his back against the wall, staring wide-eyed at the man on the floor.

Laura sighed, "I'm sorry you saw that."

John was not sorry he saw that. He was in awe of her.

The man began to groan, starting to move. Laura went over to him, putting pressure on his shoulder, calmly, sternly, telling him to stay down.

For once in his life, Chuck followed someone's advice.

The police arrived about three minutes later, and took Mr. Bender away to sober up in a cell, and stayed just long enough to take statements and verify that his son was old enough to leave home, and it was over.

That's when the shame started to sink in for John Bender.

After Brian and Allison had left, assuring Bender that they were fine, and that they would see him at lunch on Monday, John made his way up to his room. Laura helped her mom clean up for a few minutes, giving him his space, before being shooed away by the older woman who handed her an ice pack and a damp cloth before pushing her toward the stairs.

"I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now. God knows what's going through his head," Mrs. Simms said gently. She watched her daughter dutifully climb the stairs, her young, grown-up, daughter.

Laura knocked twice before peeking into the room, observing him. He was standing at the edge of the bed, packing an old, worn-out bag.

"...John." She began, closing the door behind her, "Stop."

"Angie got hurt 'cause of me," He muttered, still packing.

"What? John, this isn't your fault. Your dad-" she started.

He interrupted, "My dad would have never come here if I had just stuck it out at home."

She circled to his front, sliding in between him and the bag, dabbing at the cut on his face with the damp cloth, "You think we didn't consider what we were getting into? We want you here, John."

"I just...keep messing it up, Laura. And I can't have you and Angie go through my shit out of pity. Look, I get that you feel sorry for me and I appreciate it but-"

"If mom heard you say you were here because of pity she'd smack you," Laura argued, "Aren't you listening? We want you here. I want you here."

He shook his head, frustrated, "Doesn't change the fact that this wouldn't have happened if I'd have stayed away from you in the first place, but I couldn't do that, could I? I'm too damn selfish."

"Selfish? I thought I annoyed you until you were practically forced to be my friend," Laura teased, before getting serious again, "I care about you, okay? A lot. That week that you disappeared from school drove me crazy. I was so worried that you were hurt or...worse. If you leave now...if you go back..."

John was stunned at the tears that had slipped from her eyes. He'd seen her near tears only once in the time he'd known her, and she'd been upset for him then, too. Laura was the toughest person he knew. She was really that frightened for him. She really did want him safe. And he couldn't guarantee that he would be if he went home.

"Okay," he whispered, his hands reaching up automatically to wipe away the moisture, "I'll stay, okay? I'll quit packing, I promise. C'mon Laura, just please quit crying."

"You can't just run away when bad stuff happens," she sniffled, catching one of his hands, "You don't get anywhere like that."

He sighed, "Yeah, I know."

"You know I'm just trying to help, right?" She asked quietly, turning his hand over almost unconsciously.

"Yeah."

"You won't go?"

"No."

"Promise?" she pressed, her watery eyes meeting his, also beginning to fill against his will.

He squeezed her hand and mustered up a grin for her, "Promise."

She studied him, trying to make sure he meant it. John watched her too. There was still a part of him that thought the Simms's affection for him would wear off. It wasn't something he was trying to dwell on, it was just habit by now.

He didn't think he deserved it when good things happened to him, and Laura Simms had brought nothing but good to his life. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to repay her.

Laura still felt like something was off. Maybe it was something he wasn't saying. Maybe it was something going through his head.

Then again, maybe it was something she hadn't said.

Something she wasn't quite ready to say, and something John wasn't quite ready to hear.

She was open to it, sure, especially with John Bender. But she wasn't ready to say it.

So she took in a steadying breath, nervous out of her mind for once in her life. John looked at her, confused at the odd change in her mood. She put the hand she was holding on her waist and wrapped her own around the back of his neck, pulling gently.

In theory, John knew what Laura was trying to do, but in fact, he couldn't believe it. Laura was gonna kiss him? Laura was gonna kiss him? No. Maybe she'd plant it on his cheek. That would make more sense.

He stared, oddly frozen.

But then her lips barely grazed over his, timidly and completely unsure.

He pulled back, stunned.

Laura would be lying if she said she wasn't a little hurt by the gesture. She looked down, trying to figure out how she was going to handle the awkward situation she just got herself into.

John realized what she must be thinking after he pulled away from her like that, and at the risk of letting her think he didn't want her to kiss him, he reacted out of panic and lurched forward.

Laura found herself tackled unceremoniously onto the bed, the bag falling to the floor with a thump.

She let out a breathless, startled laugh before John's lips found hers, desperate and intense. It was like he'd never kissed somebody he actually cared about.

Little did she know, he hadn't.

He pulled away again, not for long, only to say one thing in a tone that suggested he was as shocked to be saying it as she was to be hearing it.

"I care about you a lot, too."