"Guess what?" Nick asked as he approached Maya and Monica at lunch.

"Is it the Queen concert that's happening in the next town over?" She asked with a knowing smirk.

Nick smiled at her and took a seat across from them. "Hell yeah, and I️ got a buddy than can get us tickets for $80," he adds. "We should go," he tells her enthusiastically. And Maya was so happy to see his face light up or once ever since they started dating.

Which is why it pained her to tell him no. "I️ can't sneak out," she tells him. "My parents would kill me."

"Omg Maya," Monica speaks up besides her. That concert sounds like it's gonna be totally bitchin'. You have to go," she encourages her.

She looks at them both, Nick giving her puppy dog eyes, and Monica giving her an enthusiastic nod. "I️...can't," she shakes her head, making them both groan. "I'm sorry," she says as she stands up to throw away her trash. "I promise, I'll make it up to you another day, okay? I️ just...there's no way my mom and dad will let me go to a concert an hour away with a boy he hasn't even met yet," she tells him as she makes her way back over to her spot at the lunch table.

Nick throws his head back and groans. "Fine," he huffs, "but you owe me like, a thousand kisses," he tells her, making her grin as she leans in and presses a kiss on his dimpled cheek. The bell rings and everyone separates to go to class.

Later that afternoon, Maya rides her bike over to Nick's house to let his mom know that she's unfortunately quitting. She practiced what she was gonna say repeatedly, creating scenarios and answering any pretend questions she might have in her head. "It's not you," She thought, "it's my family. They just don't want me working here anymore..."

As she nervously knocked on Nick's front door, she was surprised to see his step-dad answer instead of his mom. "Mr. Chandler?" She questioned.

He scowled at her but not before scanning her up and down, his eyes sticking particularly on her exposed legs as she decided to wear a high waisted jean skirt like she's seen Kelly Kapowski wear many times before. Feeing self-conscious, she shifted slightly before adjusting the backpack on her back. "Is...is your wife here?" She asked politely, catching his attention again.

"No, she's still stuck at work. What do you want? You're not supposed to work today," he says as he turns to walk back inside. "Hey, come in and shut the door, will ya? You're letting all the cold air out," He scolds, making her hurriedly step in and shut the door behind her.

"I'm sorry to bother you on your day off," she apologizes, "but I️-"

"You got a boyfriend Maya?" Mr. Chandler asked all of a sudden, catching her off guard.

"W-What?" She splutters. "Excuse me?"

"Pretty girl like you, I️ would assume you have a boyfriend," he shrugs casually, either ignoring how uncomfortable she is or just doesn't care.

Maya shifted uncomfortably. "No...I️ don't. My dad doesn't let me date," she quickly explained. "Mr. Chandler-"

"Would you stop calling me that? You're making me feel old," he snapped. "Harry is just fine."

Maya nodded quickly. "Right, Harry," she corrects herself before continuing, "I️ just came here to-"

"You know something Maya?" He interrupts her once again, making her shut her mouth and annoyingly glare at him. "I️ agreed to let you babysit for us because you seemed like a really good girl," he reached into his pocket for a cigarette and a lighter. Maya timidly watched from a distance, not liking where this was going. "But I️ can tell you have a little bit of bad in you like my step-son does. Like all teenagers do," he said as he lit his cigarette, taking a puff. "And you know what teenagers do a lot, Maya?"

She shook her head no.

"They lie," he tells her, unsettlingly calm. "And Nick's a notorious liar," he says, "can't trust a word that comes out that boy's mouth."

"Maybe he had a good reason to," she mutters under her breath, catching his attention.

Instead of getting angry, he just laughed. "That's what I️ like about Maya. You're truthful," he points at her, slowly making his way towards her. "So now I'm gonna ask you this, just this once," he stands in front of her now, making her take a step back, her back hitting the wall behind her. "Hopefully you'll be the one to be honest with me. What's going on between you two?" He asks curiously.

Fed up, Maya scoffs and shoves him away from her. "None of your business! And by the way, I️ quit!" she hissed before reaching for the door to get out of there. But as soon as she opens it, he reaches out and shuts it from behind her, making her shriek in surprise as he spins her around and shoves her against the door, knocking the wind right out of her, making it difficult for her to breathe.

He wraps his hand around her throat and she claws at his hands, trying to break his grip. "Get off of me!" She screams.

"You think I️ haven't seen the way you tease me with your short skirts and playing all innocent?" He shoves her into the couch now, getting on top of her. Maya screams as she defensively kicks her legs out while trying to scratch him, but eventually he catches her wrists and pins them down above her head. "I've always wondered what it would be like to fuck a black girl. You're probably a virgin too huh?" He taunted. "Unless...you and Nick already-"

That's when the door slammed open behind them, making them both stop and look behind them. Nick stood at the door, taking one second to analyze what was going on. Once he realized what was happening, he lunged at his stepfather, dragging him off of her before choking him out. Maya quickly shuffles back against the couch as she watched the violent scene unfold before her eyes.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Nick roared, as he repeatedly punched his stepdad in the face, adrenaline and rage fueling every single hit he landed. His stepdad grabbed his wrist and twisted it, making him cry out in pain. Using this as a distraction, he pushes Nick off of him and kicks him in the chest, making Maya's hand fly up to her mouth with a gasp.

"You think you're better than me you little shit?" Harry hisses as he pulls him up but the collar and throws him against the wall. "You weren't even supposed to be born, you fucking mistake!"

"Stop it!" Maya cried out, rushing over to help him. But all that did was earn her a hard slap to the face by his stepdad, making her fall over.

"Fucking pathetic," he spat. Nick growled and head butter his stepdad, making him cry out in pain as his nose bleeded out as a result. He then knelt down to Maya and helped her up. "Get out of here!" He pushes her towards the door.

"No! Nick he'll kill you!" She cries.

"Get out of here Maya! And don't come back!" He barks as she shoves her out the door and slams it behind her.

"No! Nick!" She bangs on the door behind her. "Nick!" She cries as she hears more grunts and moans, meaning they're still fighting. Maya let's out a frustrated cry and turns towards her bike, picking it up and biking her way home. Once she reaches her front door, she rushes in, hoping to reach the house phone to call the police when she stops herself, remembering what he told her if she did.

But before she could finally decide on whether or not she was calling the police, her mother came out the kitchen. "Maya, you're home early-" but her sentence was cut short once she took in her appearance. Disheveled hair, clothing, tears running down her face and hand print marks on her neck and face. "Maya! What happened?!" Her mother screeched, alerting father and brother.

Her brother was the first one to respond. "I️ knew it! I️ knew this would happen! I'm gonna kill him!" Chris immediately went for the keys, when his father stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere until someone explains what's going on," he sternly orders. "Maya, who did this to you?" He asked her.

"It was her new boyfriend, Nick," Chris quickly accused, making her eyes snap up. "I️ bet he put his hands on her. Everyone at school says he's violent and a jerk, and I️ tried to tell her to stay away from him but she wouldn't listen!"

"You have a boyfriend?" Her mother gasped.

"It wasn't him!" Maya spoke up. "And you don't know him like I️ do!" She points at him. "I️ love him, and he loves me! Not that you wild get that because you just have sex with every girl you meet!"

"Enough! Both of you!" Her dad yells over the both of them. "Maya, I️ want this boy's name and address. I️ am calling the cops-"

"No! You can't call the cops! He didn't do anything!" Maya fiercely shook her head.

"Then who did?!" Her mom desperately wants to know.

Maya just turns around and books it up the stairs, ignoring their pleads to come back down and talk to them. She shuts herself in her room, and breaks down against the door, tears rushing down her face. She never has she ever felt so useless. She couldn't help him, her parents wouldn't let her help him, and he can't help himself no matter how hard he tries. And then there was the assault...

Maya simply locked her door behind her and slipped into bed, both physically and emotionally drained from the day she just had. And within a matter of minutes, she fell asleep.

* * * *

Tap...

Tap....

Tap...

Maya opened her eyes to some annoying light taps against her window. They kept going and going and going and going, until finally she gets up and walks over to her window to find out what was making that noise. She moves her curtains aside only to find Nick down below, tossing pebbles at her window. She opens it and looks down below. "Nick? What are you doing here?" She whisper-yells our to him. "Oh my god, you look awful."

He had a busted lip, bruises down his jawline, a cut on his upper eyebrow and purple bruising on his right eye. "Don't worry about me! But we don't have much time!" He tells her, making her scrunch her eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"My mom called the cops on me," he says, making her gasp. "I ran before they could get me but I'm a fugitive now," he explains. "Look, I️ barely have any money and I️ know there's not many places I️ can run and hide. But there's one thing I️ wanna do before I️ get taken to jail and I️ want you to come with me," he says.

Maya looked behind her to see if anyone was still awake. "Right now?!" She asks.

"Yes, now!" He urges. "It's just for the night! We'll be back by 5 A.M!" He promises. Maya contemplates for a moment before agreeing. "I'll meet you down there in one hour when everyone's asleep. Okay?" She tells him before shutting her windows and sliding the curtains back into place. She heard the floorboards outside her bedroom door creak, meaning someone was walking past. She quickly jumps into bed and throws the covers on herself, pretending to be asleep when someone knocks on the door.

"Amaya?" Her mom calls out, "Are you awake?"

"No," Maya responds, her voice sounding muffled. "I'm asleep."

She hears her mom sigh from the other side of the door. "We're gonna talk about this tomorrow whether you like it or not Maya," she states. "Goodnight."

Maya listens for the door to her parents room open and shut one last time before getting up and changing her clothes into something different, seeing as she was still in her clothes from earlier. She then packs a couple things before go to her window and opening it back up again. "Nick? You still out here?" She calls out quietly.

Nick appears out from the bushes. "Yeah, I️ just had to hide quickly," he says. She waves her bag in front of him to show him what she has and says, "catch!", tossing her bag down into his arms. She then retreats into her bedroom, shutting the windows as quietly as possible. She then opens the door and tiptoes down the hall, shoes in hand, trying not to make a sound. She successfully manages to sneak out the dining room window, shutting it close behind her.

She puts her shoes on as Nick approaches her with her bag in his hands. Once she stands up, he holds his hand out for her to take, and smiles, taking it into hers. He pulls her closer and presses a light and sweet kiss against her lips. "Ready?" He asks.

"Ready," she nods.

_______________________________

Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter?

The 80's got one more chapter last and from then on, I'm gonna be focused on the present story for like a good couple chapters.

Thank you guys for reading! I️ truly appreciate it :)