Forever Love

"I'm guessing those girls at the party had something to do with it," Lightning grumbled. Snow was such an idiot, treating Serah so poorly. She deserved someone better. She deserved someone like...Riku. Maybe if he didn't want her, he would date Serah. She would appreciate his protective nature, and his handsome looks.

Lightning nodded and looked ahead, glad that some of the street lights were on--unlike the one she happened to be under when Chase showed up. "...I'll have to text Serah," she mumbled. "She's probably wondering where I am." But she couldn't face her sister, not like this. Lightning wasn't...Lightning. Not anymore.

Lightning had her arms covering her stomach—not only because she felt sick but also because she didn’t want anyone seeing her attire. It was one of the reasons she was assaulted in the first place. “...Can you stay? At least for a little while?” She looked up at Riku as they walked. “If that’s okay...” She didn’t want to keep him if he had somewhere else to be.

Lightning sniffled and pulled back slightly. “Okay,” she replied quietly. She wanted to wash Chase’s touch off of her. She felt disgusting. With Riku there she would feel safe. Would he stay for a while? Or would he get her to her dorm and then leave?

Lightning gripped Riku more tightly at the words. He was right, she guessed, but that didn't make her any less apologetic. She was trained to defend herself, and she couldn't. Maybe she wasn't as strong or independent as she thought... Like now, she depended on Riku. Not that it was a terrible thing, but it still embarrassed her. She hoped he didn't think less of her.

Lightning sniffled. "I'm sorry," she mumbled into his shirt. She didn't want to ruin his night, but he held her securely, so she assumed it was okay. And his words, they comforted her. If he hadn't shown up, Lightning's world would have been turned upside down. What would she have done? It didn't matter, not anymore, because of Riku.

Those words overcame her, as did that intimate gesture, and Lightning's tears fell. She leaned forward and hid her face in Riku's chest, clutching his shirt as she cried. She didn't cry, not ever, and to do it in front of a guy? How humiliating.

Your heart? Lightning's eyes softened at the confession. How did his heart...? She lowered her gaze to his chest. "...Thank you," she whispered. If Riku hadn't shown up... Lightning bit her lip and closed her eyes, fighting sudden tears. Things could have gotten really bad.

Lightning looked up at Riku, his hand on her cheek warm in the cooler night air. "Don't be," she insisted, voice soft. She lifted her hand to hold his wrist by her face. "How did you even find me?" What had him heading this way? She left him with Sora and Kairi.

Lightning winced faintly. "It's tender," she told Riku quietly. Now that the jocks were gone, the area was silent. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but she still couldn't see that well. She couldn't even tell if her wrist was bruised. But...feeling Riku's touch, it settled her troubled heart a little bit. His fingers were gentle.

The adrenaline slowly wore off, which meant the pain became more apparent. Lightning felt her wrist, which was tender to the touch. And her head pounded from hitting the brick wall. "...I'm fine," she answered, just like before. Truth be told, she wasn't sure how she was. How was she even supposed to be?

Lightning watched in silence, her back still against the wall where Chase had thrown her minutes ago. What happened? What did Riku do to suddenly change Chase's mind? "...Riku?" she called softly. The three bullies were leaving.

Since Riku's back was to her, Lightning couldn't see what exactly happened. But she could see Chase's expression. The two other jocks that came with Chase looked at Riku like he had grown two heads. What's going on? she wondered. Did Riku do something?

Lightning planned on telling Riku that Chase wasn't worth it and that they should just leave. She didn't mean to cause all of this trouble. She wasn't even sure how Riku managed to find her; he had been with his friends when she left. Light saw the bully attempt a cheap shot. "Look out!" she cried, reaching a hand out toward him instinctively.

Light was at a loss for words. Stunned. How did Riku dodge all of those punches, from all three guys? He couldn't be superhuman, there was no way. She glanced at the four guys and called to the silver-haired one. "...Riku," she said, voice soft. She figured this fight was over, unless Chase wanted to push his luck. He clearly wasn't going to land any punches.

Lightning looked up in alarm, eyes wide. What?! Chase was really going to fight over this? She couldn’t let Riku get hurt because of her. She looked to him. Would he fight or would he leave?

Light briefly glanced at Riku, but she couldn't face him for long. She massaged her wrist and glared at the ground. "Fine," she mumbled. The third jock went to help Chase to his feet, and she briefly wondered if a fight would break out. She would help, maybe--she wasn't too confident in herself right now. She felt sick.

Light squeezed her eyes shut at the holler and tight grip. The fear lingered, as it was most prominent, but she also felt anger. Lightning opened her eyes and spit in Chase's face. She wasn't giving in! She couldn't! She was already near her breaking point, so if that didn't work, she wasn't sure what she could do to stop them.

Lightning felt sick. Tears sprang to her eyes. The mention of Riku hurt, which was probably Chase's intention. If Riku saw her like this--if anyone saw her like this--she wasn't sure what she would do. "I said get off!" Lightning cried, stomping her foot down on Chase's right in front of her. He was too close for her to lift her knee.

"Mm-hm," the third jock agreed. He sidled up next to Chase and let his fingers trail the skin of Lightning's thigh, exposed by her shorts. Lightning ground her teeth together, turning her head away from Chase and grunting in disgust when the other guy touched her leg. "Stop it," she grimaced. She fought to ignore the fact that another was filming this whole thing. This is humiliating, and disgusting, and... Someone fingered the tips of her ponytail after she turned her head and sniffed her hair. It automatically made her stiffen up. Chase had her pinned, and it was three against one. She couldn't take on all of them! "You think anyone's coming for you? No one's around, sweetcheeks," Chase's friend said, still fingering her hair. She smelled like honey. "Everyone's at the festival, but you're gonna help us have our own good time."

Light winced when her head hit the wall, Chase’s grasp on her wrist not helping either. She sucked in a breath and went to push him off of her, but one of the other jocks grabbed her free hand. “Let go of me,” she growled. She writhed, trying to break free. She had to get out of this!

Light put a hand to her hip. “Excuse me?” she asked in confusion, the words low as she fought the urge to shudder at the way the three eyed her. Again they saw her as nothing more than a piece of meat for them to enjoy. At the mention of Riku she stiffened, but she had to play it cool. If they knew they got to her, it was over.

Lightning hated to admit it, but she felt her natural fight or flight response kicking in. Did she face these creeps or make a run for it? No, she had training for situations like this. She could handle it. She stopped where the street light had gone out, but that only seemed to intensify her feeling of dread. "Look, buddy," she said, turning around to face them. "I don't 'want' you like that, okay? All I 'want' you to do is leave me alone." These guys were...incredibly drunk. Wasted. This wasn't good.

Kairi bit her lip at Sora's expression. Right... Noel. She shouldn't have brought him up. Stupid, she scolded herself silently. But...didn't he realize that she wasn't with Noel, technically? Wait...why was she hopeful for Sora in this? I'm so confused... Light rolled her eyes and kept walking. "Not hardly," she grumbled. This guy again? She should have known. What, did he want to talk to her about how he embarrassed her in front of everyone? She wasn't interested.

Kairi tilted her head. "Well..." she started in disagreement, "I wouldn't say that's exactly how it works, Sora. Noel and I are 'dating' but we aren't exclusive." They never really discussed it. He never officially claimed her as his girlfriend nor did she ever call him her boyfriend. The dating scene could get pretty technical. "It's...complicated." Lightning decided a shortcut was necessary in this case, so she cut through the festival and across the darker lawns of campus to get to her sister's dormroom. It was a bit...creepy, she had to admit, since the campus was practically a ghost town with the festival going on. She looked behind her and stopped short upon thinking she saw a shadowy figure, but after a minute she figured it was just her imagination. So she kept going. Another minute later, laughter--sinister laughter. Drunken laughter. She bet it was a group of lightweights from Snow's frathouse nearby. Idiots.