These faults in me.

The air had a certain bitterness to it that evening, one which brought goosebumps to any foolishly uncovered skin. Alexandra Torbeck ignored it though, more intent on her destination which was just a mere ten extra minutes away. She'd already been walking for fifteen, but she hadn't counted on it being so cold which was why she was only wearing her ratty old jeans, a t-shirt and a hoody that was two sizes too big for her.

The hoody belonged to the boy she was on her way to see and she noticed, as she pulled it closer to her frame and wrapped her arms around herself, that his smell still lingered on the fabric. It was a small comfort, or rather an indulgence, that strayed her mind away from the reason she was about to show up at his house.

Not long afterwards she came to his street and caught sight of the familiar black impala parked on the driveway. His brother had brought it down for him a few weeks previous but he never really used it. Everything in Huntsville was pretty much within walking distance. Still, she enjoyed the times he'd indulge her constant pestering and maybe drive her to the beach or wherever else she begged him to take her.

Seeing the light on in the living room, a sign that his aunt and uncle were still awake, she ducked beneath the windowsill and made her way to the back of the house. Beneath the bedroom window trellis lined the wall and made a makeshift ladder that she often used to get into his bedroom. Tonight was no different and she scaled it with practiced ease, seeing that he was lounging on the bed when she reached the top.

Sliding the window open quietly and catching his attention, she felt her heart skip a beat when his amber gaze matched her icy blue one. The fact he waited until she was in his room and closing the window before saying anything gave her the hint that he knew why she was there.

Keeping her back to him for a moment she sighed, "I know you'll argue, Oscar. But I have to try at least."

----

His bedroom window sliding open, seemingly of its own accord, was no surprise to him anymore since it was such a regular occurance. Usually it was either one of his friends coming to hang out, one of the gang calling on him or it was Alexandra. The latter was more frequent than the other two, mostly because she came over when she and Aidan had fought and she needed comforting.

Why did she come to him? She knew he was probably the highest on Aidan's most hated list. For her, he'd figured out, it was about the best way of knowingly getting under Aidan's skin. He never knew, of course, but it was the satisfaction of knowing he'd flip his lid if he did. Oscar wasn't going to complain since he could take Aidan any day, but he knew it wasn't healthy.

Either way, once he saw the head of red hair appear over the sill he knew it was her. He also knew why she was there and what she was going to say. He'd already gone over it a thousand times in his head so he knew what would probably happen when he went on his little jaunt to the school. Aidan would have a few of the guys waiting to jump him, he'd wait a while and then he'd call the cops while he was in there. Oscar wasn't stupid.

Her sigh and quiet statement only made him feel slightly guilty but he tried not to let it get to him. He didn't need to feel guilty; he had to do it for the sake of the kid he'd just saved from a beating.

"I have to. If I don't...Benny wouldn't be able to take the beating Aidan would give him. I'll be fine."

----

"It's not a case of being fine or not!" She retorted, trying desperately to keep her voice down so he wouldn't get in trouble. As she spoke she turned to face him, an angry frown creasing her brow but it was tainted with the upset she felt twisting in her chest. Why didn't he get it?

"Look, just...don't go, okay?" Alex started, taking a step closer to him and wringing her hands in front of her. "Benny will get shoved around a bit, and I don't like it any more than you do, but it'd be over." Her expression turned pleading and she started to pace. "Aid will just forget about him and start on the new ones. You don't have to get hurt for the sake of one kid."

----

As much as Oscar appreciated her apparent concern, Alex seemed to be looking too much into it. If he could think of a better way of dealing with Aidan then he'd have done it already. Things just weren't that easy. The guy had a pretty warped mind and if he zoned in on you as his target... Well, you either did what he asked or you suffered the consequences.

Oscar knew better than most if he was honest. The countless bruises and minor injuries he'd had to hide from his aunt were testament to the fact. He knew that it was Aidan's way of trying to break him in and get him to fall into line but Oscar had his own reasons for being in the gang. He wasn't there to get pushed around by their supposed leader.

"It's not just one kid though, is it." He answered, watching her pace for a moment before he shifted to sit himself on the edge of his bed. "He's not the first and he won't be the last. I just... If I can save him even an ounce of humiliation at the hands of that tool then I will." Oscar shrugged and ruffled up his hair slightly, a habit he had yet to drop since being younger.

----

Alex pulled at her hair in exasperation. If he could only see how stupid his logic was he'd think he was a moron himself. Frustrated tears bubbled towards the surface but she forced them back down brutally. She wouldn't cry. Not right now.

"Stop trying to play the fucking hero!" She hissed, though the anger in her voice wasn't as firm as she would've liked. Moving in front of him she dropped to her knees and took his hands in hers, "I know you want to do good and I know you don't like seeing Aidan push people around..but now isn't the time stand up to him, okay?" Her blue eyes looked up into his, searching for something that would let her know she was getting through to him at least.

She knew what Aidan was like. If anyone stepped out of line he'd make them regret it in the worst ways. A few months ago he'd put a kid in hospital just because he'd almost fucked a job up, though it wasn't his fault. Nobody had counted on the silent alarms and Ethan, Aidan's right hand man, had said it himself; there was nothing they could've done differently.

Aidan had his anger issues though and he didn't just take them out on the gang. No, she'd been dating him for a year and a half so she knew his darker side well enough. In fact, she'd been over to his place before she came to see Oscar and they'd had yet another fight. He'd left his mark as usual and when he was through with her she'd sloped off back home to lick her wounds so to speak.

----

For all of his effort, Oscar couldn't actually bring himself to look at Alex. Upsetting her was never high on his list of things to do and right now wasn't an exception. His gaze flitted to the side when she dropped to her knees in front of him and he frowned as she spoke.

"If not now then when? He's a bully, Alex. Someone needs to-" He looked back to her then and cut himself off, the fresh looking bruises o her face catching the words in his throat. The atmosphere hushed as he took in the rest of the marks and bruises that littered her skin, his expression softening as he tried not to look at her with pity. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her like this after her fights with Aidan, but this was the first he'd seen it so badly.

Fingertips grazed her cheek and his touch lightened when he realized they may still hurt. For the moment words escaped him and Oscar found that the most he could do was pull her forwards to press a kiss to her forehead. The gesture was supposed to be comforting but, as always, there was far more emotion laced through it than he'd care to admit.

"Leave him." Though mumbled against her hair, Oscar's words were clear and he closed his eyes in thought. "He doesn't deserve you and you don't deserve the things he does to you."

----

Shame. It was all Alex could feel when Oscar looked at the ugly marks Aidan had left on her. The worst part was that she felt the urge to defend him and his actions. Just like he'd want her to.

"He didn't mean to." She mumbled, knowing he wouldn't believe it but trying anyway. She flinched, just barely, when he reached out to touch her and she closed her eyes to hold her tears back. Oscar was being so gentle with her, he always was, and she hated that this was something else she put him through. She hated that he tried to shoulder her burdens too but she knew... She knew that if he wasn't there to help her she'd have been crushed under the weight of it all.

There was no resistance when he pulled her forwards and she practically fell into his chest, sliding her arms around his torso and holding herself to him. He was safe. Alex knew that, when she was with him, he'd protect her from anything no matter what and selfishly she craved it. The kiss he pressed to her forehead was enough to break down the last of her walls and she couldn't fight it anymore.

"If I left him I'd have nothing." She muttered, looking up at him through her lashes when she pulled back slightly. "Aidan..the gang..they're all I really have, Oscar." Admitting it pained her because it was the truth no matter how much she wanted to deny it. It showed on her face, as clear as day, but she chose not to say anything more. Instead, she leaned up slightly and stole a light kiss from him, lingering longer than she should have as she spoke softly against his lips. "Help me to forget it all. Just for a while."

As she spoke her arms slid back from around his torso, where her hands then settled on his chest and started to push him backwards onto the bed. She knew it was wrong of her and, if she actually followed through with it, she probably wouldn't be able to stop after just that one night but... Oscar was like her release from everything shit in her life. He was the one good thing about being in her crappy little town and she was going to take advantage of it.

----

He knew that she was right, when she told him that the gang and Aidan were all she had. Alex came from a broken home where her mother walked out when she was a kid and her father turned to alcohol. He never noticed if Alex never came home, which was why she took such an attachment to Aidan when he picked her up. He gave her the affection she craved and his distorted view of "love" was all she'd known for the longest time.

It made Oscar angry, when she told him that is, but there wasn't much he could've done at that point. He tried to be there for her, as a friend and an alternative source of..well, anything. At first he'd just wanted to be there for her but she was so much like- No. He couldn't compare the two girls, not when she and Rave were so different in different ways. But the feeling was there. The feeling of wanting to just wrap her up in his arms and hide her away from all the bad in the world.

Rave Sommers was just the same to him. She was his first love and childhood crush; there was just no replacing her, nor did he ever want to. He loved her, he always would, but Alex was there and she seemed to reciprocate feelings that Oscar knew would eventually manifest anyway. Hell, he didn't even know if Rave felt the same way about him, so would it be fair on him to wait on a girl who may well have moved on by the time he went back home? That is, if he went back home...

He pushed the thought from his head once Alex stole her kiss but he didn't return it until after she'd asked him to help her forget. He knew it was wrong, he knew she probably knew too, but...he wanted to help. If this was what she wanted and he could do this for her, then... He was going to.

Pulling her up to straddle his waist while she pushed him back, he leaned up into a kiss that was harder than he'd intended. Deft hands worked their way beneath the stolen hoody she was wearing and then further again to slide under her t-shirt, warm fingers ghosting over the smooth skin of her stomach and around to her back where he pulled her flush against him.



The room was unfamiliar at first, but after Alex took a moment to take in her surroundings everything started to come back to her. Sitting up from her place snuggled into Oscar's pillows, she held the covers around her and glanced to her side hoping to see the boy in question. Unfortunately he wasn't there but there was a note left in his place. Opening it gingerly she skimmed it over and sighed heavily, flopping backwards and frowning.