(Selene's POV)

"Ouch! Can you not do that!?", Selene yelped as she struggled to stay standing. Balanced on one foot, the other up on top of the sink in the bathroom, Selene attempted to keep it together with her eyes screwed up in pain as she clung onto her dad for support. Her fall on the way to school had caused her a bit more damage that she had first thought as her dad now attempted to prise open the cut on her knee with some tweezers.

Several hours earlier that same day

Slipping on the glass in the alleyway and cutting her knee and forehead, she'd limped the remaining distance to school, where soaked through to the bone and covered in dirt, had collapsed into her seat in class. She didn't have to wait long before the bell rung and she waited for next lesson to pass before daring to journey through the packed corridor to her locker. Grabbing a spare tshirt out of her locker, she limped along to the changing rooms, not wanting to continue on with the rest of her lessons in this state. Luckily there were no gym classes today, otherwise the girls coming in to get changed would soon be screaming and fainting at the squeamish sight. Checking the door was locked and no one was inside, Selene shuffled over to the shower cubicles. Drawing the curtain back, she hung her clean tshirt up before taking off her dirty one, tossing it onto the floor. "Ah, shit", she muttered as she plonked herself down on the little wooden stool in the cubical, looking at her knee.

A piece of dirty, broken glass could be seen sticking out of it from between the gap in her ripped jeans. Biting her lip, she carefully took hold of the shard, making sure not to cut herself on the other end of it. As slowly as she dared, Selene began to pull, and gradually, the pain in her knee began to lessen as the shard withdrew. Millimetre by millimetre, each second torture as she resisted the urge to vocalise her pain, not wanting anyone to hear her. Eyes streaked with tears and impatience growing, Selene let out a yelp and yanked the remaining glass out of her leg. Breathing heavily and shaking, she looked at the painful culprit in the harsh white lighting, it's razor edges like knifes, glistening with her blood. "Damn. That hurt", she cursed, tearing her eyes away from it as she shoved it under the stool out of the way.

It was then that she noticed the slight pressure still inside her knee and cursed aloud again. Of course there was still a piece left inside, nothing would ever be that easy or simple. It was impossible to even see where the actually cut was now, due to the amount of blood running down her leg. Fumbling with her jeans, she somehow managed to slip them off and toss them aside. Her leg resembled something she'd seen in a Saw film, black and purple bruising already forming underneath a skin of gushing red blood which ebbed out of the slashed knee. Reaching up, Selene turned on the valve to the shower, making it splutter into life, releasing a torrent of freezing cold water. Using the wall as leverage, she stuck her leg into the shower, screaming at the sudden coldness and shock of pain at anything touching against her leg. Eventually, the water warmed up, and Selene just sat there, letting the water wash away the blood as it endlessly flowed from her wound. "I should be in a bloody psycho film", she muttered, watching her blood splatter and swirl on the faded white shower tray. Even she admitted that, even though stuff like this didn't gross her out, it did make her feel a little sick.

After inspecting that most of the dirt and blood had been cleaned up, she turned off the shower and reached for the towel on the rail above. Tearing off a strip, she then proceeded to wrap around the gash, making a make-shift bandage before getting dressed again. Unsteadily limping over to the sinks, Selene was hit with an overwhelming wave of fussiness. She knew she'd lost too much blood, but there was very little he could do about that right now. Gripping the sides of the basin like her life depended on it, she nearly screamed looking at herself. One side of her face was covered in blood from the small cut above her eyebrow, whilst the other side was streaked with dirt, only washed away by her tears. Shakily turning on the taps, she tried as best as she could to wipe it all away whilst the ringing in her ears grew more unbearable. Her breathing was erratic as she now limped towards the door, realising that at any second she was going to pass out. If she collapsed in here, it would be hours, maybe even the next day before anybody found her! Her vision blurring alarmingly now, Selene stumbled out into the empty corridoor, collapsing against her locker. Fumbling with the door, she threw in her dirty tshirt and managed to grab her phone. "Help", she croaked, as finally her mind clouded over and she collapsed down onto the floor in the empty school corridor, before her eyes fluttered closed.

Back home

"Look, if you keep wobbling around and yelping down my ear this piece of glass is never going to come out", he groaned as he again pulled on his daughters leg as she tried to put it down again. "It was a lucky job your friend came out of class when you texted him that blank message, otherwise who knows what rotten scoundrel would have found you", her dad muttered through gritted teeth whilst trying to peer inside Selene's wound through the trickle of blood that still ebbed out. Thankfully, Padraig, Selene's only 'boy' friend, understood the morse code of the empty text message. It was something they used a lot when they wanted to meet outside of class for a few minutes, just to get out of that stressful environment. As much as Selene secretly fancied the pants off him, unfortunately he was already spoken for with a girlfriend, so she could only dream. 6ft tall, cool fashion sense, blonde haired and built like a brick house, he parted the sea down the corridors like a hot knife through butter. But appearances can be deceptive, as even though you'd never want to cross him, he was actually more like the gentle giant than the typical high school bully. He'd helped Selene out a few years back when she'd been having a rough time settling in, and ever since they'd been good friends.

"Dad, nothing would have happened. Boys don't even come near me, remember?", Selene groaned, annoyed that they were having this conversation again for the billionth time. "Yeah, well you keep telling yourself that when you end up getting attacked. Don't say I didn't warn you", he tutted, staring up at her over the top of his glasses. Too tired to reply, Selene just rolled her eyes and bit her lip, letting her dad get on at trying to fish out the remaining glass currently still imbedded in her knee. After she'd been found unconscious on the floor at the school, they'd called home. Luckily, it had been her dad home, who'd immediately rushed over to the school. Surprisingly, he was strong enough to carry her from the car all the way up to her bedroom, where she'd woken up a few minutes later in a daze. Given that her dad nearly at retirement age, she was always surprised when he did almost superhero things like that. Maybe it had something to do with the Superman underwear she'd bought him for Father's Day?

"Agh! Why didn't you just take me to hospital?!", Selene yelped as pain shot down her leg as her dad dug the tweezers deeper into the cut. "Because, if I did that, your mother would have caused more drama than the apocalypse", he chuckled, making Selene smile. He did have a point. "Besides, I'm trained to operate". "Yeah, on cars. Not humans dad. You're a mechanic!", Selene pointed out, trying to steady herself as she began to wobble again. "Same principle. And as a matter of fact, I'm more qualified that those stupid first aiders at your school. They'd insist on putting a single little plaster on a broken leg, they are that clueless! You forget that I trained with the army in my youth, young lady". All through this, Selene could only watch, almost seeing the younger version of her father laughing at his own comedy through the growing grey hairs and the slightly sagged skin. Sometimes she did forget how much her father had done, and how much he'd actually given up to start a family. Although she wouldn't admit it to him, she admired him, and loved him for it.

"There's the bad boy", her dad muttered as he slowly withdrew the tweezers from out of her leg, a long slither of glass held tightly on the end of it. "Bad boy? What makes it male?", Selene asked, giving a sigh of relief as she could finally put her leg down. "Well, a man is always deceptive. They will lure you in with their good looks, wit and charm, then when you need them the most, they'll stab you in the back". Selene sighed as she perched herself down on the corner of the bath, listening to her dad ramble on. As much as she loved him, he was always lecturing her about 'boys'. "I'm sure you mean women. Women will stab their husbands in the back. That's usually how it goes", Selene interjected, watching her dad carefully put the glass slither in a plastic box, before grabbing some bandages. "Yes, true. Your mother being such a culprit. I can still feel her viper grip on my wrist from her dragging me to the alter", he joked as he proceeded to wrap up her knee until he was satisfied.

"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?", he asked, standing up after finishing with his patient. "Oh no? Is it serious doctor? Am I going to live?", Selene mocked, throwing her hand to her head in a diva pose, much to the chuckled of her dad. "Haha, of course you will little drama queen. Good news is that I think you need rest, so no school tomorrow", he said cheerfully, putting an arm around her shoulder, helping her to stand. "And the bad news?", Selene asked as she limped out of the bathroom through to her bedroom with the help of her dad. Practically collapsing onto her bed, Selene immediately sat back up, looking up eagerly into her dad's eyes, trying to predict what dreadful news he was about to impart to her. "Don't tell your mother that I'm letting you stay off. She'll kill me. One thing I can't stand is being on the receiving end of her dragon fury", he said sternly, waving a finger at her. Selene just rolled her eyes laughing as she fell back against her pillows. She knew exactly how strict and stern her mum could be, which is why she was always a daddy's girl. "Your secret is safe with me", she whispered, holding up her pinky finger, which her dad grinning too, sealing their pinky promise. "Righto. Now, best you get some rest lovely. Goodnight", he said softly, kissing her forehead before leaving. Selene smiled, before reaching over to her phone, having a quick glance to see what the time was. 9:46pm. I guess she was kind of tired, even though going to bed this early seemed bizarre. As if on cue, her phone buzzed in her hand with a text message, which made her smile.

Hey, just checking you're okay. You gave me quite the scare. I thought you were dead. You in tomorrow? Give me a call
- Padraig

Practically grinning from ear to ear, she hastily texted back.

Yeah, sorry about that. Didn't mean to be all dead-like. Did manage to get out of science though ;)
No, not in tomorrow. Doctors orders. Will give you a bell later, kind of tired. Night x
- Selene

Almost as soon as she hit send, she regretted it. Why on earth had she put a kiss? Letting her mind get carried away with her again. Yes, he'd found her and been all hero like in making sure she got help, and he did have all the hero looks, charms and the muscles! She could feel herself just getting into a hot flush just remembering the time she'd seen him take off his shirt. Captain America eat your heart out, she'd thought. Her phone buzzed again, bringing her out of her pleasant daydream.

True, you win. Just don't do it again ok, you had me worried. I'll get your homework and bring it round tomorrow. Sleep well.
- Padraig

Sighing, she put her phone down, rubbing her eyes. She felt tired, drained, but she didn't want to go to sleep, not yet anyway. Picking up her book, she turned to where she'd stuffed her bookmark in between the pages. She could always get in a few chapters before she'd fall asleep, she thought as she settled down, making herself comfortable, as she dived into her favourite novel, Dracula. It wasn't long however, before the book slipped between her fingers, falling onto the floor as her head dropped, as she fell into an exhausted sleep, filled with blood, shadows and vampires.

[A/N :
I am so, so sorry that I have neglected this, as well as all of my other stories. 2 months! I should be shot for crimes against fanfiction. I am determined to not get so bogged down with work and stick with my writing, as it always kills me when I leave all my wonderful following hanging.

So, Selene got a hell of a injury. I know how that feels. And I think we all have a guy who just doesn't see us in the same was as we see them. Maybe something might happen that draws them together, or apart?

Please leave your thoughts, feedback, comments. I love reading them.
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