Nota bene: Wow! Thanks so much to everyone for the reviews! You all are the best!

Chapter 7

Anne's POV

The rest of the next week or so went by fairly smoothly and as usual. Nothing too major happened and nothing had still happened with Pendanski so I decided to not worry about it (or try not to) anyways. We were in the rec room after a particularly long day when Pendanski brought the mail.

"Anne, here you go." He set it on the table we were sitting at and I read the address. It was from London, from my grandfather! I grinned. I was so ecstatic. I frantically began to read the letter, but then I stopped because I wanted to open the small package. It was a book! The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to be exact. And nail polish! I was thrilled.

"Whose it from?" I looked up at the guys at the table, eying me curiously.

"My grandfather in London!" Squid smiled and shook his head when he heard how happy I was. I got up and headed to the tent.

"Where you going?"

"To read and paint my nails." They all nodded and shurgged and I didn't notice Squid's eyes trailing after me as I left.

I was glad to be alone in the tent, the guys hardly ever gave me privacy. So I basked in the glory of being alone. Usually, I loved being alone with myself, I guess I am something of a loner type.

Squid's POV

I felt a bit apprehensive about letting her go alone, but I realized that she probably really wanted some time to herself. She was definitely an introvert and needed to be away from people for a bit, and we've all been so protective that we haven't been giving her any space. I didn't have time to think any more about it though, because all of D-Tent was subtly hounding me about her. Damn, why couldn't they leave me alone!?

"C'mon, at least admit that you like her."

"We all know it's true."

These types of comments continued on for a good fifteen minutes until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, enough already! Fine you know what..." I lowered my voice so no one else could hear except D-Tent, "I might like her."

They all laughed and got really excited. They're worse than girls!

"Atta boy. It's about time." Zig slapped my back. They all congratulated me. This is stupid and really embarrassing. I could feel my face getting really warm. Great, now I'm blushing or whatever that is.

"Now you have to ask her out on a date!" said X. Since when did they care about my personal life.

"I'm in a juvenile detention facility. I mean, I'll say hey Anne, wanna go out? I know a great place to go digging. No. That's stupid."

"Nah man, we'll help you out!" Oh no, Magnet wasn't doing this.

"No, and stay out of it." I was pretty pissed by this point, mostly cause I was embarrassed. I knew they wouldn't leave me alone so I decided to leave. I mean, it's been a long time since I checked on Lady and you know, I was kinda paranoid. It's been almost an hour. So I stood up and headed out. I walked in the tent and she wasn't there. Her book was on the floor. I knew something was wrong so I ran outside.

"Anne?!" I was frantic and panicking. There was hardly anyone outside cause it was so hot, but I ran around all the tents and buildings. I was thankful when I did because that's when I found them behind the cafeteria. I froze for a second. It was Lump, he was trying to, to...to rape her. Her shirt was off but she still had her bra on and her jumpsuit was still tied around her waste. I didn't even think when I saw him backhand her so hard she went flying back and landed on the ground. I don't really remember what happened except that I heard her whimper and I felt my fist connect with his body over and over. I didn't even notice the throng of people that had gathered around us. I only regained my senses when someone pulled me off Lump. I struggled against them.

"Don't fucking touch her!" I yelled and spit at him. Eventually I calmed down enough that Magnet and Zigzag let go of me. X, Pit, Caveman and Zero were shoeing the crowd away. Lump rolled over in a bloody heap. And lastly I looked at Anne, who was curled up against the side of the building, with her head in her hands, sobbing quietly. Her tank top was back on, I assumed one of the guys helped her out. I almost lost it again when I saw how upset she was. Instead of losing my temper though, I crouched down in front of her and I almost cried when I saw her so upset. It was tearing me up. Without saying anything I picked her up bridal style and immediately she wound her arms tightly around and buried her face in my neck. I hated feeling her tears travel down my neck. I just wanted her to be ok. I would do anything for her to be ok. I said a silent prayer in my head that she would be alright. I didn't even care about myself. D-Tent didn't follow me into the tent, which I was grateful for. I wanted to be alone with her.

I set her down on my cot and had to pry her lose from my body so that we could both sit. Immediately though I pulled her back in my arms and onto my lap. The only thing I could think to do was hold her as close as possible. I was still so furious that I couldn't talk. Her quiet sobbing hadn't subsided much and I desperately wanted to make her tears go away. I kissed the top of her head and relished burying my face in her hair. Eventually I gained the ability to speak.

"Shh shh, it's ok baby girl. Don't cry. He's never gonna hurt you again. I swear I won't ever let anyone hurt you." I repeated this over and over, all the while whispering shh in her ear. Her sobbing eventually quieted but she still kept her face buried in my chest. Not that I minded of course. But suddenly I remembered that he hit her.

"Hey, Anne. Look at me." I gently nudged her to try to get her to look up at me but she merely buried her head deeper into my chest and snuggled closer. So I hooked my finger under her chin and lifted her face up. I could feel her stop breathing for a second.

"Aww sweetie." We both winced when I grazed a finger over the already dark purple and monstrous bruise on the side of her jaw. In an instant I was furious all over again. "I'm so sorry. I swear I kill him. I swear. I'm so sorry." At some point I didn't even realize what I was saying, words were pouring out of my mouth. I felt her hand graze my face and then a cold cloth press up against my nose.

"You're hurt." She said very shakily, still crying. But she obviously said it like it was her fault which couldn't have been further from the truth.

"It's fine. I didn't even notice."

"I'm really sorry." She started crying harder.

"No no, hey. It's not your fault." I wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumbs, kissed her forehead and made her look at me again. "Don't you ever think or say it was your fault, understand?"

She nodded her head but immediately made sure my nose wasn't bleeding anymore. I was touched that after all this she still wanted to make sure that I of all people was ok. I took the cold cloth from her hands and pressed it to her bruise. The whole time she never took her beautiful eyes off mine.

"Squid?" Her voice was so shaky, so unsure, timid and so quiet.

"Yeah?"

"I uh, um...thank you." And I received the best award of all when she reached up to kiss my cheek and once again bury herself next to me while I wrapped my arms as tight as I could around her.

Anne's POV

I was so scared and shaken, but I felt so safe at the moment. And Squid, god I can't even. That boy is amazing.

I still couldn't stop crying but I definitely had stopped sobbing. I felt Squid pull away again and hook his finger under my chin. I loved it when he did that. It was the most romantic gesture in the world.

"Hey Anne, please don't cry. Listen, I really care about you, like a lot, and I hate seeing you cry. Please, please tell me what I can do to make it better. I would do anything in the world. I want to make it better so badly." He was pleading with me, which at some level almost made me cry more.

"You...you really care about me?"

"Yeah, I uh, I guess I shoulda told you sooner, huh? And now I tell you at the worst possible time." He chuckled and shook his head. He looked away for a few moments then looked me right in the eyes again. "I really do care about you, and like you, a lot. And I understand if you don't feel the same way. You don't have to say..." He was so adorable when he rambled.

"I do care about you too. Quite a bit." Even though I was happy at the moment, I still couldn't stop crying. I was still really shaken up. I couldn't look at him, mostly because I was really self conscious. He didn't seem to mind because all he did was pull me into his arms again and held me awhile longer. Then he did the most unexpected thing. He leaned his head down, cupped my face with his hand and kissed me very softly and gently on the lips. His lips were a bit rough and chapped, but that made it all the better. It was simply brilliant. I can't think of any other way to describe it. When it ended, neither of us said anything. I couldn't help but smile though, despite everything.

"There it is." He was looking at me.

"What is?"

"That smile." He smiled softly, not his usual grin, and kissed my forehead again. I could definitely get used to this.

Squid's POV

I can't believe I actually worked up the guts to do that. I was pretty impressed with myself at the moment to be quite honest. And the fact that she cared about me too was too amazing for words. I am still trying to comprehend it. God above knows how stunning and wonderful that girl is. The weird part was that I had all these nice feelings, yet at the same time I still felt such a rage. I was so angry. It was weird, to be sure.

I still felt her sniffling, so I set out to reassure her.

"Everything is going to be ok. It's ok baby girl. I won't let anything happen to you."

After awhile I noticed that she had finally stopped crying and had fallen asleep. And it was the kind of sleep that you get from being so utterly exhausted. She literally cried herself to sleep. I don't blame her. I mean, an hour ago she almost got...well you know. And she was still so shaken up. Even in her sleep she clung to me for dear life, like she was still terrified. Not that I minded her clinging to me in such a way, but I hated knowing that it was because she was scared. At the same time, I felt honored that I was the one she clung to when she was frightened.

Eventually I too must have fallen asleep, because I woke up to shaking by Magnet and the guys staring at us.

"Aww look how precious."

"Someone get a picture, quick!"

"Is she ok?" Armpit said rather loudly.

"Shh, you'll wake her up." I whispered back to him.

"We brought you guys some dinner." X-ray set two sandwiches on the table next to my bed. Realizing how hungry I was, I grabbed one and scarfed it down. She still hadn't woken up which was surprising considering she was such a light sleeper. She really must have been exhausted.

I untangled myself from her and let her stay sleeping in my cot while I wandered over to the other side of the tent to talk to the guys. I basically gave them a run down on what had happened, except for the part where I finally admitted how much I cared about her and when I kissed her. They were all really worried.

"You should wake her up and make her eat something." X was usually right in these sorts of situations so I returned to where she was sleeping and gently shook her awake.

I leaned in close to her so the other guys wouldn't hear. I almost expected them to crowd around her as soon as she was awake, but luckily they gave her space. "Hey sweetheart, you need to eat something." I handed her the sandwich and she shook her head no.

"Yes, you have to." She half sat up and nibbled at the sandwich. Eventually she ate the whole thing. By that point most of the guys were already in bed and asleep. The rest were nearly asleep.

"Hey Squid? Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Of course. You don't ever have to ask." I crawled into bed next to her and wrapped my arms around her petite little frame. I realized then what a huge relief it was to be able to now act upon my feelings. It's not like we were dating, but at least we know knew how we felt. The official titles and what not could come later. Besides, I was now obligated to do this dating thing right since I had to go and spill all my feelings on her at the worst possible moment. Not that I minded that much. I kissed her quickly goodnight and for a last time reassured her that everything was going to be alright.