*warning* has some swearing in the chapter.

Paul had put in a frozen pizza in the oven, then started to get the salad out of the fridge. Ash walked into the kitchen yawning and rubbing his eyes, waking up from bing hungry again.

"Hey Paul, what time is it?" Ash asked, blinking rapidly to clear his vision.

"It's about 7:35 stupid, check your phone." Paul replied boringly, as he decided to go on his phone while he waited for the pizza. He'd make the salad in a few minutes.

Ash sniffed the air, smelling delicious pepperoni pizza in the oven. "It smells amazing!!!" Ash yelled excitedly, only to be loudly shushed by Paul.

"Shut up! You're too loud!" Paul said as he ran a hand through his hair. He hoped that Ashs' loud voice hasn't woken her up, if she was even asleep. He hasn't checked on her since, to give her some privacy.

Ash looked at him funny "Why do we need to be quiet?" Paul groaned, how stupid was he? "First, you're annoying the crap out of me. Two, you're going to piss everyone else near us off, and three, because Troublesome is here."

Ashs eyes widened slightly "Wait..... Dawn's here? Can I go say hi!! I saw her today in homeroom and I didn't really get to-"

"Can you shut up?!" Paul yelled, making Ash stop in his never ending blabbering again. Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Whoops, I forgot!"

Paul rolled his eyes again as he started making the salad, sighing. At least Ash had shut up, so it was silent besides the salad being tossed around in a large bowl.

He waited until the oven beeped, signaling that the pizza was done cooking. He pulled it out and set it on top of the oven to let the mouthwatering food cool off. Ash had already started to drool, inching closer to hopefully snatch the whole thing.

"That's not for you, when's the last time you made dinner?" Paul asked as Ash rubbed his head trying to think. "Uh.... Maybe a few months ago?"

"Exactly. So don't touch it." Paul said as he walked back to his room. He heard Ash groan and cry from not being able to devour the pizza, or else he would be killed by Paul.

Paul slowly and silently opened his door and glanced at his bed. He saw that Dawn was curled up in a ball on the very edge of his bed sleeping. He didn't want to wake her up, but she had to eat. He walked over and ran his fingers through the few midnight blue locks that fell out from being stuffed in her beanie. Her face looked so relaxed right now, even from the bruises and cuts he thought she still looked beautiful.

Paul froze instantly after he thought that. Did he just say she was....beautiful? He ran a hand through his bangs and gripped them, why was he being so soft?!? At school he was always the one popular guy who just didn't talk to anyone, but this girl was changing him, and he realized that a few months ago when school started. Paul had known her since they were in 2nd grade, when she was the new kid that everyone made fun of for being different, small, quiet. There was always something different about her, and he had always wanted to find what that was. She was a special person to him. He let go of his bangs and just accepted his thoughts of the tiny girl in front of him. Maybe someday she'll be able to come out of her protective walls and barriers and show the world who she really was, instead of locking everything up, bottling the emotions and pain.

If she wasn't going to do that, he just wanted her to crack the door open a bit to let him help her.

Paul finally decided to wake her up, so he squatted down to her level and gently tapped her shoulder a few times."Troublesome, there's some food ready to eat, and you can lay down afterwards again."

Dawn stirred slightly, pulling her knees closer to her face as she winced from the pain stinging and aching inside her body. She bit her lip, being a reaction to waking up everyday to her immense pain. Her eyes were terribly dry, and she felt her eyes sting horribly when she attempted to open them. She started to slowly stretch out, anticipating the utterly horrible, aching pain from all her muscles and wounds.

"Ow!" Dawn barely cried out in a high pitched voice, almost like a whisper. She bit her lip harder, attempting to hold back from her eyes getting watery from the horrific pain she was in again. Swinging her legs out from the bed, she sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves, still half asleep.

Paul watched her slowly get up, and bit his tongue when she had barely cried out in a whisper, not knowing what to do. "Come on" he mumbled as he walked slowly, noticing that she was trudging right behind him. Paul led her to the kitchen and pointed to the food as he handed her a plate and salad bowl.

Dawns eyes widened, feeling her stomach almost do a flip from the sight of a meal. She tried holding back a smile as she bit her bottom lip, but she couldn't help it. She was too excited.

After a few seconds, Dawn shook her head, setting the plate down on the table. "I can't. You've helped me so much already, I feel terrible." She looked down at her feet, feeling like she was a burden to him; just a friend in their group who was a loner for life.

Paul breathed heavily through his nose, closing his eyes for a second and opening them. He grabbed the plate and held it out to her "Stop being stupid Troublesome. I'm pretty sure friends are supposed to help each other, and I'm at least trying. I'm the one who'd feel terrible for just leaving you back there at the school." She looked up at him with big eyes, with a little bit of hope swirling in them.

"We're....friends? I just thought that it was a coincidence you had the same friends as I did that's all." Dawn replied questionably. He considered her as his friend?

"Oh." Was all Paul said. Dawn realized that he took it the wrong way, thinking that she didn't want to be his friend. Before she could speak, he spoke again.

"If you don't like me then get out." Paul suddenly replied sharply, an angry tone in his voice. He jerked his head to the door and grabbed his plate and started getting his food, ignoring the blunette who was frozen in place. What was she supposed to do now?!

'This is why I can't have friends too close to me!!!' Dawn screamed in her mind as her body started to shake a bit and slowly leaned against the wall, sliding down it till she sat on the floor. She messed everything up. She had one chance and fucking blew it. Dawn was about to lose it when she felt her crappy phone buzz in her pocket. She read the many texts, and instantly froze. Oh hell she was so fucking screwed......

Dawn read the texts from her father with wide eyes, feeling her heartbeat pick up rapidly, hearing it pound loudly in her ears.

(A/N: Be prepared to read a bunch of cuss words FYI heads up!)

'Where the hell are u bitch?!?'
'Get ur ass out here right now before I fuckin kill you!!'
'THE FUCK YOU AT YOU RETARDED PIECE OF NOTHING!?! IF YOU DONT GET HERE YOULL REGRET BEING BORN YOU UGLY SHIT!!!'

Dawn felt herself barely breath from her body shaking so much. She felt sweat start to appear on her skin as she instantly shot up and ran to grab her bags.

Paul turned around to see Dawn running to grab her bags, her face full of fear on it. He instantly set his plate down and right before she ran by him, he grabbed her by her arm.

Dawn felt herself being held back and kept tugging, only to find Paul gripping her arm tightly. "Please, let go!! I-I have to go now!! Whatever you do, just don't follow me!" Dawn replied, her voice shaking as she finally ripped her arm from Paul and took off out the room.

"Wait! What?! Why?! Don't leave! Dawn!!" Paul yelled as he grabbed his keys and shoved them in his pocket as he ran out chasing her. She had already started down the stairs as he ran down the hallway, hearing her rapid footsteps against the stairs. He was not letting her get away this time no matter what. He leaped down the stairs as fast as he could, barely keeping her in sight as she was almost a floor ahead of him.

"Paul!! Just go back!!! Please!" Dawn cried out as she kept running, hoping to outrun the boy. She finally hit the bottom floor, feeling her legs burning as she sprinted to the doors, slamming them open and taking a sharp left, praying that he'd give up from not keeping her in sight.

Paul kept sprinting after her as he jumped 7 stairs onto the bottom floor and to the doors. He quickly looked to the right, then to the left to see Dawn sprinting to the school. Why did she run from him?!? Was it something he said?!

Paul realized that it was something that he'd said. He ran after her, hoping to catch up. How the hell was she this fast?! He breathed heavily, sucking in air to keep his lungs open.

"DAWN!!!" Paul yelled out as loud as he could, not realizing how loud his voice could actually be. His voice echoed throughout the air, bouncing off the buildings. He was honestly surprised at himself since he hasn't yelled like that except for in football games when he could barely hear himself on the field.

Paul chased after her until she had arrived at one of the parking lots, so he watched her from a little ways away. She started approaching a black van, with the windows tinted almost pitch black. His eyes widened, she could not actually be going in that huge Van?!

He watched Dawn start to shrink up a bit as he heard the driver door aggressively snap open, revealing a man that had expensive clothes on, but were all wrinkled up. His white dress shirt was terribly wrinkled, his collar sticking up as the top few buttons were unbuttoned and the shirt only halfway tucked in. He was much taller than Dawn, at least being 6'4 to Pauls eyes. He had blue hair, but a little bit lighter colored, but extremely messy.

Dawn felt her whole body shaking so badly as her father approached her with hatred, despising, furious eyes burning into her soul. He towered over her and gripped the front of her jacket with one hand and lifted her up off the ground a few inches, feeling her airway close from the choking. Dawn struggled in his grip as she tried finding a way to gasp for air, but he clenched harder.

"Why the FUCK would you be late you brat!" He screamed in her face, feeling tears start to prickle in her eyes. Dawn gulped dryly, then took a tiny gasp of air that was available.

"I'm.....so-orry...." Dawn gasped out, her lungs burning for the need of air. She struggled again, only to be slapped in the face brutally. Her right cheek stung her whole face, as she got another slap on her left.

"You'll get what you fuckin deserve you bitch! GET IN THE DAMN VAN!!!!" He screamed as he violently opened the door and slammed her inside on the vans hard floor. She winced in pain, trying not to cry out. Her father had grabbed his bat and swung it back, but was stopped by a voice she knew all to well.

"DON'T YOU DARE!!!"

Dawn froze as her father stopped and instantly chucked the bat inside and snapped his head back to see who had caught him in his act. She slowly looked out to see an enraged Paul quickly approaching them with fire burning in his eyes as he glared at her father.

"Don't tell me what to do you stupid kid!!" Her father yelled at Paul as he slammed the van door shut, so she looked out the window to see Paul so furious, it even scared her a little bit. She's never seen him so mad before. Her thoughts swarmed her head, her body shaking with fear. Why did he follow her?!? She didn't want him to see this, not at all!

"Shut the fuck up you old bastard!!!" Paul yelled, feeling anger and hatred burn inside him from the so called man in front of him. He despised that shithead with a burning passion, feeling more hatred towards him than anyone else in his life. The man quickly ran back to the other side of the van and started to open the driver door, which made Paul sprint towards the van.

Paul swiftly ran to the other side of the van as he saw the door slam shut and heard the doors click, signaling they'd been locked. He slammed his palm against the window aggressively with all the arm-strength he had, and slammed it again as he heard the tires start to skid on the concrete.

"DAWN!!" He screamed as he tried to look through the window, barely even seeing anything from the windows being tinted so dark, and the night darkness wasn't helping either. He felt the window pound a little from underneath his palm on the inside of the van.

"Paul!" He heard her cry out from inside, and he knew she needed him more than ever right now. He looked down to see a small footstep connected to the van, so he planted his feet onto it and gripped the door handle tightly. He jiggled it, hoping it would open somehow, but it stayed locked. The van started moving fast, the tires screaming as they skid, making Paul wince from the deafening sound. He tugged once more, and heard the door click faintly, hoping that it had been unlocked. He pulled on the handle fiercely, and he saw it open a quarter until it jammed.

The van swerved and jerked in all directions, trying to make Paul loose grip and fall off. Paul kept pulling, but the door was stuck in place.

"Dawn!" He yelled as he reached his left arm into the small gap that was open.

"Paul!" Dawn cried out as she felt his hand pull her to the gap. His expression had worry written all over him as his eyes pierced into hers.

"Get the hell OFF!!" Her father screamed, then violently swerving a sharp right into almost a circle.

"NO!" Dawn cried out as Paul's body instantly jerked from the force and lost grip on the van, and tumbled to the ground at full force, his right shoulder screaming with pain from landing on it.

"Fuck!" Paul yelled as he got up and watched the van already out of his sight speeding off. He clenched his fists together, feeling his whole body tighten as he shut his eyes, feeling his body shake with anger and failure.

"GODDAMMIT!!!" He screamed as he gripped his hair with both hands, pulling his purple locks. His body started to give into numbness as he shakily fell to his knees, feeling too many emotions burn through him. He angrily growled as he punched the ground, feeling his eyes swell up making his vision blurry.

Paul saw it. He saw everything, he saw too much. That's why she didn't want him to chase her, because she feared he'd see this. Why didn't she say anything?!? Why couldn't she ask someone for help?!? Why did she accept her life like this?!? WHY? Because she was afraid, too afraid of letting someone get too close to her, so she closed and cut them off before they could see her. And he had gotten to close to her, so she ran from him. All she can do is run.

He realized that she couldn't be able to trust, to believe anyone from her heart being broken too many times in the last, and she refused to let anyone try to help rebuild back the shattered pieces of her heart that has been crushed, stomped on, destroyed.

Paul let out another angry growl as he felt a tear slide down his face, dripping onto the pavement, leaving a tiny dark spot of where it landed. He swore and cursed at himself as he just stayed there, until he had the strength to finally stand up and slowly walk to his apartment, feeling weak from not being able to help her when she needed him. He couldn't bear the thought of what was happening to her right now.

He opened his door and closed it behind him and looked at the untouched pizza that had gone cold. He ignored it as he aggressively walked to his room and laid on his bed, closing his eyes while letting his thoughts swarm in his mind. She had been sleeping on his bed last, and when he put his head on his pillow, he felt it slightly cold and damp.

Paul looked at his pillow and clenched it in his hands when he realized that they were her tears, still spilled on his pillow. How the hell was he supposed to sleep tonight? Dawn was the only thing on his mind the whole night, as he drifted off to sleep after many hours of thinking, and the last thing he remembered was that he promised himself to help her.

JC: Wow, another chapie done!! YAY!!

Gary: So much suspense! I thought Paul was gonna die!!!

Paul: *walks in* What?

Gary: In the story you almost died trying to save Dawn! So heroic!

Ash: The action is realz!!!

Paul: I don't care.

Dawn: *tears up* you don't care about me?

Paul: What? That's not what I meant!

Dawn: I don't wanna hear it!

Paul: I was talking about-

JC: How about you guys read the chapters?!?!?

Dawn and Paul: -_- okay....

JC: That's what you said last time you chickens!! Ba-CAW!!!

Gary and Ash: *start making chicken sounds*

Paul: -_- whatever