When was the last time she had felt responsible for anyone, including herself? Allison wasn't sure, but since having seen Tim with those guys, she hadn't stopped watching him. Was the concern she felt for him or for herself? She couldn't really tell, but whatever the case, it opened up old wounds and made her nervous. Still, she didn't want to question Tim. She hated it when people interfered in her own life, so she didn't want to do the same to someone else. It wasn't her business. She did not care.

Also, questions might make him suspicious. She didn't need anyone digging around in her past.

Allison's eyes followed him as unobtrusively as possible.

"You're distracted."

Allison turned away from Tim to look at Eric. They had been studying for almost two hours, but not much had registered with her. Her mind had been all over the place. "Hm?" she questioned, "what?"

Eric shifted his eyes towards Tim, who was making himself a sandwich, and back to Allison. "Everything alright?"

"Fine," Alison scoffed, "I just need a break."

"Alright," Eric relented, "I guess we've been studying for a while. Let's take a walk around the block." When Allison gave him a stare, he raised an eyebrow. "What? You're allowed to go outside, aren't you?"

"You're joking, right?" Allison said, "it's freezing outside."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Put on a coat and bring a blanket or something. Fresh air is good for you." He pushed back his seat and stood up.. "Coming?"

Allison sighed heavily and followed him towards the door. Perhaps he was right. It would be good to be out of the house for a while.

Valerie smiled where she noticed them leaving. "Are you two going out?"

"Just a walk around the block, ma'am," Eric said.

Valerie shook her head and waved a finger at him. "None of that 'ma'am' stuff, young man. Just call me Val. They all do." She looked at Allison. "Dress warmly, dear. I don't want you to catch a cold."

Allison rolled her eyes. "What am I, five?"

Valerie raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips. "You are when you're rolling your eyes at me, young lady. Is your friend staying for dinner?"

"No," Allison replied before Eric could say anything.

Eric smiled at Valerie. "Maybe some other time."

"Hmm," Valerie mused while giving Allison a look of disapproval. "Well, have fun you two."

"She seems nice," Eric said as they moved down the street.

Allison shrugged. "I guess."

Eric hesitated a moment. "Can I ask you a question?"

Allison sighed. "You probably will anyway."

"If you live in that group home," Eric continued, ignoring her comment, "and your parents aren't in your life... who is that guy that sometimes picks you up from school?"

Allison gritted her teeth. She should have known this was coming. At some point someone would start asking questions. This was exactly why she didn't want to make friends. "No one you should worry about," she said stiffly.

Eric sighed. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it..."

"I don't want to talk about it."

He sighed again. "You don't trust people easily, do you?"

"I can't afford to," Allison answered. Trevor had picked her up many times the past few days. She still hadn't found a physical therapist. There was one making weekly visits to Dandelion, but he and Allison didn't exactly see eye to eye. She found him annoying and last week it had come to an outburst. Ever since then, Trevor had dragged her around to find a suitable therapist.

So far they hadn't succeeded. Two didn't have room for more clients. One lived too far away to visit frequently. There had been one willing to take her on, but after one session he had told her not to return if she didn't change her attitude. Needless to say, Trevor was not amused. Allison didn't think she had been rude at all. The man had been the one with the attitude problem.

Whatever the case, Trevor had told her she had one last chance to find a therapist herself before her next court review, which was right after midterms.

Eric sighed. "Okay. As long as you talk to someone if something's going on. It doesn't have to be me."

Allison sighed too. Sometimes it was all just too much. Why couldn't she just have a normal life?

Eric tilted his head. "Want to grab something to eat? My treat."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You're paying?"

Eric smirked. Don't worry. You can pay me back by getting a B on your English test."

Allison raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said a B would be a miracle?"

Eric chuckled and steered her towards a small diner. "Then this is your chance to prove me wrong."

...

"So, how is school?" Archer smiled at Chase while holding the punching bag for the boy as he hit and kicked it.

"Fine," Chase huffed between kicks, "exams are coming up."

"You have enough time to study?" Archer asked, "I don't want your job here getting in the way of schoolwork."

Chase put his leg down and winced. "I'm good. I can study during free period and after work."

"Hm," Archer mused as he studied Chase carefully, "I want you to let me know if you need some time off. School work comes first, you know that."

Chase wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a few deep breaths. "I still need to pay the bill. I'm responsible for myself now. I'll be fine."

"And I told you that if you need anything, you can ask. You can make up for lost hours during winter break." He nodded at Chase's leg. "Is that knee still bothering you? You should have Kai take a look at it. I don't want you to risk permanent injury."

Chase gritted his teeth and gave a stiff nod. The injury was a result of another one of his father's beatings. He had been afraid it was a torn ligament, but Kai had assure him he would be fine with some rest. It had been a few weeks and he had slowly started training again. He had been fine until moments ago. Perhaps he had overdone it.

"Alright," Archer said seriously, "let's call it a day. Have that leg checked out. You have a student coming in at five. And then it's time for you to study."

A small grin slipped on Chase's face. "You're such a mother hen sometimes, Archer. I told you school's fine. Don't worry."

Archer chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. "I'll always worry about you, Chase. Now get out of my sight. I have another class to teach."

Chase smiled and headed for the showers and looked for Kai afterwards. Kai Young lived at the edge of town, but had his office at Archer's facility. The twenty-five year old was a licensed physical therapist but also served as a sports masseur at the Donnovan gym.

Chase knocked on the office door and peeked inside. Kai was behind his desk, filing papers. When Chase entered, he looked up. "Chase? What can I do for you?"

The teen cleared his throat. "Archer told me to go see you about my knee." He still felt a little awkward around Kai. Kai was a good guy, but Chase had always had trouble letting people in, especially when it came to his home situation. And Kai knew how he had injured his knee. And how he had cracked a rib before that, or sprained his wrist before that. Kai had been the one to encourage him to talk to Archer.

Eventually he had. Unfortunately, his father had given him one last farewell present before all the paperwork was made official.

Kai leaned back in his seat. "Is that knee still bothering you?" When Chase nodded, Kai motioned towards the examination table on the other side of the room. "Hop on. I'll have a look."

Chase sighed as he pulled up his sweatpants to reveal his knee and sat down.

"Did you tape it like I told you?" Kai asked while feeling around the boy's knee.

Chase nodded. "I did. It felt better so I stopped taping it a few days ago."

Kai nodded in understanding and smiled amused. "And you went straight back to your old routine, didn't you? You need to build up slowly, Chase."

Chase sighed. "I know." He winced when Kai prodded a tender spot.

"Does it hurt when you walk on it?" Kai asked.

"A little," Chase admitted reluctantly, "it's gonna be fine, right? I can train again?"

"Stretch and bend your knee for me," Kai instructed. He felt around the knee again. "I think you just overdid it," he continued, "give it some rest for today and if it's still sensitive tomorrow, come see me again." He looked at Chase sternly. "Only if you can bend it properly tomorrow can you start training again, but slowly. You need to give that leg time, Chase. Only exercise. Start with running. Don't jump right back in with kicks and all that, got it?"

Chase gave a stiff nod. Kai had told him exactly the same thing before. He knew he should have listened, but he jut wanted to get back on track as soon as possible.

"Alright," Kai said, "get out of here then. And I'll make sure Archer knows it too. He won't let you train until you're cleared."

"I know," Chase said stiffly.

"We mean well, Chase," Kai said kindly, "none of us wants this to turn into something serious. What would you do it you could never train again?"

Chase closed his eyes and sighed. It would kill him if he had to give this up. This was the only place that had ever made him happy. His mind drifted back to the girl in the wheelchair. What if he could never train again? "Yeah," he muttered, "I'll take it slow this time."

...

Eric smiled as he watched Allison wolf down her burger. "Wow, when's the last time you ate?"

Allison swallowed her food and glanced at him. "This is real food. Val's a health freak. Lean meat, vegetables and tofu. Everything fat free and reduced sugars. Junk food only allowed on special occasions, or when we manage to sneak it in."

Eric chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to have been of service then. Anything specific I can get you next time?"

"Lasagna," Allison said without hesitation. She took another bite.

"So you like Italian food?" Eric noted.

"No," Allison said, "just lasagna." She stuffed two fries in her mouth.

The little bell above the door rang and three girls entered the diner. Talking and laughing loudly with each other, they took a seat at a table not far from Eric and Allison.

Eric flinched and ducked his head. A deep red appeared in his neck. Allison raised an eyebrow and looked over at the girls.

"Don't look!" Eric hissed, "they'll see us."

"Yeah," Allison said flatly, "cuz you ain't acting suspicious at all." She tilted her head. "So which one you're into?"

Eric spluttered. "W-what?"

She rolled her eyes. "You obviously like one of 'em. So which one?" She smiled slyly. "Or should I go over and ask?"

"The one on the right," Eric hurried to say, "with the ginger curls."

"Lennox?" Allison asked surprised. She hadn't expected that to be Eric's type.

"You know her?" Eric asked equally surprised.

Allison rolled her eyes. "Just cause I don' socialize don' mean I don' know anyone. She's in my Art class."

Eric perked up. "You talked to her?"

"No," Alison scoffed, "I don' socialize, remember? 'Specially with girls like her."

"Why not?" Eric asked.

"Because," Allison sighed as if it were obvious, "she's a pack animal and I'm a lone wolf."

"Right," Eric rolled his eyes, "imagine having friends. The world would come to an end."

Allison kept quiet and looked away from him. Instead, she studied Lennox and her friends. If she had grown up in another life, would she have been carefree like that? "Why don't you go talk to her?" she asked.

Eric gulped and shook his head vividly. "I can't."

Allison tilted her head. "I don' see fangs or claws. You should be alright." When he shook his head again, Allison rolled her eyes. "Ain't you in Debate Club? Ain't talking like your thing?"

"That's different," Eric muttered. He flinched. "She's coming this way."

True enough, Lennox had gotten up and headed for the restroom, passing their table. Allison smirked and knocked her fork off the table, right in Lennox' path. The girl stooped to pick it up and looked at Allison confused as she recognized her.

"Hi," she said surprised, "I'm sorry, aren't you in one of my classes?"

"I guess," Allison said vaguely.

"Right," Lennox nodded unsure. She shifted her eyes toward Eric. "Are you two on a date?"

"Nah," Allison said, "he ain't my type. You can have him."

Eric choked on his drink upon hearing he words and coughed.

Allison shifted her eyes towards him. "You okay?" she asked casually.

He coughed again and wheezed. "Perfect."

"Are you sure?" Lennox asked him. "You seem a little flustered."

Allison snorted and ignored Eric's glare. "He'll live."

Lennox let out a short laugh. "Good. Well, see you around. Bye Eric." She gave a small wave and continued towards the restroom.

Eric wheezed again to get rid of the remaining fluid in his lungs and glared at Allison.

"What?" Allison asked innocently, "at least you know she knows your name."