Ava awoke to the sound of her alarm, her phone on the pillow beneath her. She quickly took her phone from under the pillow and turned off the alarm; fortunately, it was still a university week, so she was able to get an excuse slip and was told to just rest for the rest of the days.

Ava felt an arm pull her closer against them despite telling her department that she would still volunteer for the carnival event. Ava was taken aback by the unexpected situation; her mind began to wonder if JC had arrived the day before and the two of them had made it up and slept in the same bed.

She quickly turned around to see a beautiful bruised girl sleeping soundly beside her, and her expression softened when she noticed the older girl sleeping peacefully beside her. Ava could feel herself blushing as she got a better look at the beauty.

"How many girls have prostrated themselves at your feet and spent their days with you? I'm envious..." Ava muttered something. Ava scoffed softly before reaching for her phone and taking a picture of the sleeping girl to avoid waking up the older girl. Even with a bruise, Beatrice's beauty was not deceiving; she was truly beautiful, and Ava noticed it.

Ava was giggling softly at the photos she had taken as she took a few more and then checked them. Ava was simply smiling and giggling until she felt the older girl muffled and moved, at which point sleepy Beatrice drew Ava closer.

Ava remained motionless, and their faces were inches apart. Ava swallowed hard as she became aware of her breathing before turning around and attempting to calm herself because she was panicking for reasons she didn't understand.

"Why do you keep moving?" Beatrice asked the younger girl, who was taken aback. Ava turned to face Beatrice, taken aback by how deep the older girl's voice was, as well as the fact that she was awake; it made her feel strange but pleasant on the inside.

"I'm sorry, but I had to... Today was the last day before the carnival on Friday, so I needed to help out at the booth," Ava explained. Beatrice opened her eyes and looked at Ava, whose sleepy eyes were glued to hers, before closing her eyes and drawing Ava closer to her.

"Five minutes more, Ava," Beatrice said.

"Nope! Missy, you are the president of the council, and you are not expected to set a bad example for your children." Ava tries to persuade Beatrice to leave, but the older girl is adamant.

"Please..." Beatrice said aloud as she shifted positions, laying her head in the crook of Ava's neck, instilling fear in the younger girl as she felt the older girl's hot breath on her skin.

"Fuck," Ava muttered under her breath.

Beatrice made a humming sound and said, "Hmm?" Ava didn't say anything after that and gave in; she stayed because the older girl was acting like a big baby. Ava let go of Beatrice, and she let go of her, falling asleep in each other's arms once more. Ava, on the other hand, remembered what happened the night before and was curious about the small busted wound she had.

"You still haven't told me what happened; you came home with your lip swollen and bleeding, your eyes exhausted from crying, and all you did was hug and eat with me without saying anything, and then we fell asleep instead of discussing it," Ava said quietly. Her eyes were filled with concern as she looked at the older girl.

"Mom and I had a fight that didn't end well, and this is what happened," Beatrice said, sneering as she remembered what happened at the party the night before.

"However, she should not have harmed you." Ava lightly raised her palm on Beatrice's right cheek and muttered something to her. Beatrice locked her attention on her, and the two females simply exchanged glances.

"Ava, we're an Asian family. It's normal to be hit by your parents, and I'm feeling much better now, Ava." Beatrice said, a warm smile on her face as she looked at the younger girl.

Ava's stomach butterflies began to flutter again; she couldn't explain why she felt them the instant Beatrice's eyes met hers, but all she knew was that she felt warm and nervous at the same time. The younger girl felt strange, but she had to put it aside to comfort the older girl, so Ava cleared her throat and sprang out of bed fast, which perplexed the elder girl, who pouted at the moment, which Ava caught a glimpse of and chuckled a little.

"Can you tell me where you're going?" Beatrice questioned calmly, closing her eyes for a moment to catch her breath.

"We need to clean up your wound, we can't afford to let any infection beat us in a single shot." Ava proudly replied, which elicited a laugh from the elder girl, which drew Ava's attention once more; it was a gentle side of Beatrice that she hadn't seen in a long time.

Ava looked beneath her bed for the small medical bag she usually had with her in case something like this happened, and she quickly returned to Beatrice's bed, where she discovered Beatrice laying down with her eyes closed, sweetly sleeping once more.

She sat gently on the mattress and opened the medical kit as she slowly made her way to the bed, making sure she didn't wake up the older female. She delicately wiped the wound on Beatrice's face with a piece of cotton and a small drop of alcohol on the wound on Beatrice's face.

"I suppose I shall go back to being a gangster slash disappointment...:" Beatrice said something gently.

"And why is that?" Ava asked.

"So you'd take care of my wounds until I passed out?" Beatrice responded. When she spoke to the younger girl, her voice was quiet and gentle.

"Well, I don't want you to be harmed all of the time, so no. But you can come to me if you get hurt." Ava remarked. Beatrice blinked open her eyes and locked them on Ava's. Beatrice grinned and immediately made the concept of doing something today while she was considering. Beatrice sprung to her feet, startling the younger, who was perplexed.

"Let's go there today," says the narrator. There's just you and me." Beatrice was the one who talked.

"Um, where exactly?" Ava asked.

"Trust me, it's just you and me and paradise. " Beatrice responded.

"But, Bea, we have events to attend. We can't just depart the university without warning and leave everything behind." Ava remarked.

"Come on, Luna and the others can handle it! I'll be here waiting for you, hm?" Beatrice remarked. After getting out of bed, Beatrice needed to shower and change into something more comfortable and confident.

Ava was dumbfounded and perplexed, but even though she wanted to decline the offer, there was a part of her that wished she could have the older girl to herself with no interruptions or work to keep them both occupied.

If this is how her closest friend copes and makes her talk, so be it. Ava hurriedly raced through her closet, looking for the appropriate clothing to wear, but she has no idea because Beatrice hasn't said anything.

She finally decided to wear something simple and comfortable, so she went through her closet and found her large sweater and black skirt. She then went through her accessories box and decided what to wear. Ava was ecstatic at the same time, and it seemed to come out of nowhere.

A faint knock on the door startled Ava a little as she was looking through her belongings, so she moved up to the door and unlocked it. Those familiar brown eyes gazed into hers as soon as she swung the door wide, a smile painted on his lips that she had seen every day.

"JC?" Ava spoke out, perplexed as to why he was here.

"Hey, there, baby. I just wanted to see how you were doing. I mean, I'm sure you're having a hard time with what's going on between us." JC responded.

"Yes, of course. I'm managing somehow, and Beatrice, as well as my friends, are helping me. Dana and Sam for example."Ava remarked. JC agreed with Ava's statement and nodded his head.

"We need to talk if you have the time. I'd like for us to return to where we used to be." JC responded.

"I'll contact you when I'm ready to talk about it, for the time being, please give me more time." Ava said.

"Ava, you can use the bathroom— Mr. Lawrence." Beatrice said the sudden change in her tone was noticed by Ava.

"I'll be out in a minute; I just have to finish this." With a hesitant smile, Ava replied.

"Then I'd better get going. The president does not appear to be in a good mood, and she appears to be battered. Is she alright? " JC said.

"Family. Her mother... But she's alright now. I'll text you as soon as I'm available, okay? Please don't do something dumb." Ava retorted.

"You know I'll do anything for you." JC expressed his thoughts. Before JC left, Ava nodded her head, and JC approached her, gripping her waist and kissing her. When Beatrice saw all of this, the disgust on her face was soon replaced with her abrupt icy demeanor, which she always wears when she is in front of people.

Ava shut the door and turned around to see Beatrice half-naked in her sports bra, and the younger girl's gaze moved all the way down to the older girl's abs. She had to look aside immediately and choked on her own saliva.

"Are you all right?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes, I am... Yes, I'm going to take a shower. Yeah. Okay. Sure. Bye." Ava responded, questionable by her own actions. She was on the verge of stammering in front of Beatrice, and the prospect of embarrassing herself in front of the elder girl made her cheeks flush.

Ava took her time obtaining what she needed before going to the bathroom to shower.

.

.

.

"Really, Bea, where are we going?" Ava asked the elder female, who was preoccupied with driving.

"Paradise." Ava shook her head but found herself blushing and admitting to herself that she was excited after all. Beatrice spoke softly, a smile curved on her lips, and Ava shook her head but also found herself blushing and admitting to herself that she was excited after all.

They drove far away from the campus, and she subsequently discovered they were on their way to a city she had missed visiting every time she drove around with their pals. Ava cast a peek at Beatrice, who was concentrating on her driving, but Vaa could tell she was worried and unhappy from the elder girl's expression.

They had to drive for three hours. They were on their way to a place Beatrice used to frequent throughout her high school years, which she refers to as her "hideout."

"Does it imply you skip classes and go hours away from your school to your ostensibly safe haven?" Ava asked.

"Yes. I'm not sure if it's my vacation home or not. I simply enjoy spending most of my time there since I get to see the sunset." Beatrice responded.

"Oh okay..." Ava said, nodding her head slowly.

"I want to be alone because it allows me to ponder and re-establish my sanity, so I skip classes and visit that place." Beatrice spoke up once more.

"Or you're giving off a serial killer vibe, kidnapping victims and pretending we're going somewhere, then hitting me over the head, pulling—" Ava came to a halt as soon as she noticed Beatrice chuckling gently while keeping her eyes on the road.

"I can never lay a finger on you, Ava." Beatrice said.

"I know..." Ava whispers back, reaching out Beatrice's free hand and interlocking their hands together, the two females smiling at each other and going on for another quiet moment.

While on the road, Ava's stomach growled loudly enough for the both of them to head and all Ava could do was hide her face from embarrassment. Beatrice had a tiny smirk curved on her lips as she chuckled a little bit.

"Someone's hungry." Beatrice spoke.

"We left the university without eating anything, Bea. We've been driving for an hour." Ava responded, pouting at herself while placing her hand on top of her growling stomach.

"Alright, alright. Let's feed the little whale inside your stomach, there's a Chick-fil-A around here." Beatrice said.

"Little whale. tsk." Ava muttered. Beatrice only smiled and continued driving until she finally got a glimpse of the fast food.

"Do you want to dine in or take out?" Beatrice asked.

"Let's dine in. I want to stretch my legs." Ava replied. Beatrice nodded her head in agreement and proceeded to find a parking spot, which she did.

Beatrice pulled over and turned off the engine. Ava took off her seat belt and stretched out her arms before she opened the passenger door and hopped off. Beatrice did the same, Beatrice gestured to Ava to walk with her already to head inside the restaurant.

Beatrice, the gentlewoman that she is, opened the door for Ava who just smiled and mouthed thank you to the older girl. Ava and Beatrice find a table and the older girl asks the younger girl to sit down and wait for her while she orders their food.

Ava nodded her head and sat down, going through her phone because she received a text message from her twin sister, telling her sister that she's safe and that she is with the council president. Beatrice placed their order, telling the crew what she wanted to order for the both of them. She gave her black card and waited for the cashier to return the card.

The younger girl was so busy with her own world that she didn't notice a group of men were eyeing her and one of them had made their way beside her. Ava flinched a little as soon as she felt the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"What's a cute girl like you sitting alone here?" The man in the black leather jacket asked as he tried to snake his arm around Ava's shoulder. Ava pushed his arm away and showed how uncomfortable she was.

"Please don't touch me..." Ava pleaded but the man was not listening.

"Oh come on baby, I'm sure you don't mind having company. Don't be shy, what's your name baby?" He asked again, grabbing Ava's bare thigh which caused Ava to flip and push him off, causing him to fall off the chair.

"This dumb whore—" Before he could finish his sentence, he felt his head banged on the near table real hard causing his nose to break and bleed.

"Didn't mommy teach you not to touch a girl like that? or daddy was not able to teach you to be a real man?" Beatrice asked.

"You broke my fucking nose!" The man yelled back to Beatrice.

"You touched my girl inappropriately. That's not very nice." Beatrice calmly replied. But her eyes were flaring up in anger, her clenching her hand into a fist. She was ready to swing anytime if he decided to throw a punch at her.

"Is there a problem here?" A police officer who suddenly came and questioned them.

"This bitch broke my nose!" He said to the officer.

"He was harassing a girl, officer. And because she was tiny compared to him, I did most of the work. I'll go down to the station with you and face my consequences as long as he goes down with me. I can call my lawyer as well." Beatrice spoke confidently, staring straight at the man who harassed Ava.

"Beatrice..." Ava called her attention, grabbing her upper arm, giving it a gentle squeeze indicating that she was somehow scared.

"It's you again, David! You just got out of the damn jail and here you go again." Another officer said who seemed to know the harasser.

"You know this man, Tyrone?" He asked his partner.

"He just got released last Tuesday for harassing a woman in the street. Now you're doing it again man, what the hell?" Officer Tyrone spoke.

"B-but she broke my fucking nose!" David shouted but the police officers didn't listen to him, they quickly cuffed him while he still pushed them to also arrest Beatrice who did nothing but protect Ava from him.

"We are very sorry to interrupt your day ma'am." the officer said to Beatrice.

"Just make sure that this will be the last time he will be harassing a woman. Who knows he might kill one, be cautious about it." Beatrice calmly replied and approached Ava who was looking at her filled with worry and pouting.

"You look like a lost puppy." Beatrice said in her usual tone, cupping gently the younger girl's cheek.

"Are you okay?" Beatrice asked this time in her soft voice. Ava just nodded her head and sat down on the chair while Beatrice just pats her head as she headed back to the counter to get their food.

"Your girl, huh?" Ava teased. Beatrice rolled her eyes and scoffed, the lady in the cashier called out their number.

"Sit down and wait for me. I'll go get the food." Beatrice said to Ava, more like a command to which the younger girl just nodded her head and sat down.

Beatrice came back with the tray in her hands. Ava clapped like a child who was excited to see her food. The two females started eating as soon as they fixed their food on their table. Ava was quietly eating her meal. Beatrice threw small glances at the younger girl.

"It's a miracle that you don't say a word while eating." Beatrice said.

"That's because I'm hungry, dummy." Ava replied, sticking her tongue out to Beatrice to which the older girl just chuckled softly at the young girl.

"I think we both know that. Your stomach made its point earlier." Beatrice said. Ava looked down at her own stomach and gently patted it while pouting at the older girl.

"Enough about my tummy, what about you? What happened to you last night?" Ava asked. Her tone suddenly changed to a soft tone. Beatrice fell in silence, gathering all her thoughts before saying anything to the younger girl.

"You don't have to say anything or answer my question if you don't feel like saying anything at all." Ava reassured the older girl.

"Ever since Quinton happened, things between me and my mom have changed. It's like the trust that they once gave me was gone, mostly it's just mom. She became... Violent towards me." Beatrice replied. Ava didn't say anything just yet, she waited for the older girl to continue telling her story.

"Last night was something. I spoke up my mind and my mother didn't like it and so here I am. With a busted lip." Beatrice continued.

"I'm so sorry..." Ava said, grabbing Beatrice's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to let the older girl know that she is listening to her. Beatrice just smiled at the younger girl.

"Come on. We need to buy something from the store before we head straight to where we're going." Beatrice replied and smiled at Ava. The younger girl nodded her head and continued eating. Ava had a thought and quickly took her phone out. She started taking pictures and videos of Beatrice.

"What are you doing?" Beatrice asked.

"Making memories with you." Ava replied.

"Oh," Beatrice said.

"Because I don't know when are you going to be all cold and superior again? Might as well make the most of this cause of no interruptions and no hindrances because I'm all yours today," Ava replied as she continued taking videos and pictures.

"Stop." Beatrice warned.

"Nope, no can't do. Besides, you're beautiful!" Ava replied while continuing to take pictures.

The two girls continued teasing each other until they finished eating and headed straight to the nearest store to buy snacks they'd be eating later on. They drove for another 45 minutes before they reached a cabin house near the beach. Ava couldn't contain her happiness after seeing the view.

She quickly hopped out of the car and ran towards the beach. She was happier than ever after seeing such scenery. Ava was giggling like a child, running towards the white sand beach. It's been awhile since she stepped on a beach and enjoyed the sunlight.