I stare outside the window, trying to feel a bit better by distracting myself with the beautiful flowers on the garden- orange, yellow, pink and all. They have butterflies around them, appreciating their beauty. But the flowers will wither and die.

And, the butterflies will find other flowers, young and pretty ones to appreciate. Then butterflies will die too.

"Pst," I hear. My eyes snap to the front. Mr Charles is busy explaining some stupid theory about the evolution of life, that makes absolutely no sense at all.

"Pst," I hear again. I face to my left side.

"Hey," a guy whispers. He's sitting next to me and I hadn't even noticed it. The class is about to end.

This guy, he has a boyish grin on his face. With green eyes and brown hair falling on his forehead, he looks good. How come every guy in this school looks good?

"I am Noah," he says.

"Venus," I tell him. I again avert my eyes outside. My eyes falling on the particular yellow flower that has little specs of white in them. It looks beautiful. But it will die someday.

Everything does.

Death.

I am going crazy.

"What's bothering you?" Noah whispers again. I know he is trying to be nice but, it's kind of annoying.

"Nothing," I give him a tight-lipped smile. I sigh in relief when the bell rings, indicating the class is finally over. Passing Noah one last smile, I rush outside.

My mind goes back to what happened during lunch. I wish I hadn't told Ace anything because I'm afraid of what he will think of me. I know I shouldn't care what other people think of me, but I do. It's something I can't control. Or maybe I could control it, I've just never really tried.

Just as I am about to enter the next class, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I take it out. It's a message from Ace that causes my heart rate to increase.

Meet me by your locker.

I put the phone back in my pocket and look at the classroom for one last time. Sighing, I turn around and walk to my locker. I find Ace standing next to my locker with one of his hands on his pocket and a serious expression on his face, one that causes chills to pass down my spine. If I weren't as nervous, maybe I would find it hot.

I'm going crazy.

"Hey," I say softly. His eyes find mine and he searches for something in my face. After a moment, his hand finds mine. Taking my hand in his, he walks me to the direction of the classroom I know very well.

The same classroom where Jackson and I met every morning.

His hands are warm, unlike my cold and sweaty ones. He doesn't seem to mind it as he holds them firmly yet gently. The kind of hold that causes your stomach to clench and your heart to explode.

Ace opens the door. He looks at me once before opening the door wide enough for me to enter. My eyes widen at the sight in front of me and I freeze.

Ace pushes me inside and closes the door next to me. I am pretty sure my jaw is hanging and my eyes are wide.

"Do you like it?" I hear Ace's voice behind me. I close my mouth.

In front of me is Jackson. He is tied in a chair. The skin around his eyes is black and his face is bloody. His lips are cut and blood is trickling down his face. His shirt is torn in the front. I notice a guy standing behind Jackson. I think I have seen him before. He is heavily built, even more than Ace.

I turn back to face Ace for some kind of explanation.

He smiles down at me.

"Do you like it?" He repeats again.

"D-does t-the other guy kn-know?"

"He doesn't know a thing."

I look at Jackson again. Jackson looks back at me and his pleading eyes scream defeat.

"You wanna mess him further, kitten? Maybe a punch or two? Or ten? Maybe thirteen." Ace grins, showing his teeth. I look back at Jackson. He looks like he's about to die and he's bloody.

"No, Ace," I smile shakily, "What next?" I finally find my voice.

"Don't worry, baby. We'll take care of him. No one will know. He's most likely to end up in prison."

"The v-video?" I whisper. Ace points to the floor. I gape at the completely damaged phone. Ace smiles at me and as rare as the sight of Ace with a smile is, he genuinely looks happy.

"Are there c-copies?"

"No, Andrew there tortured the hell out of him, he didn't make one. Who doesn't make a copy? I'm so fucking glad that he's dumb." I sigh in relief.

Ace motions something to the other guy and he nods. With that, he takes my hand and we walk outside. Once we're outside the room, I look at Ace. Happy tears cloud my vision and I feel like a free bird.

"Thank you," I tell him through quivering lips. Ace wipes a stray tear from my cheek and smiles again. I look at him in admiration. I seriously don't know what I would do without him.

I take him by surprise when I wrap my hands around his waist and hug him. I feel ecstatic. I am about to pull away when his arms come around me and pull me to him. I feel him kissing my hair and that causes me to feel butterflies on my stomach. We stay like that not caring people were looking at us.

"Venus?" I hear a surprised voice that causes us to jump apart. My cheeks heat up.

"We keep running into each other, don't we?" Noah says as he eyes me. I pass him a small smile. I feel Ace behind me, too close might I add. I can almost feel him touching me.

"Who the fuck is this?" Ace says in a cold voice. I see Noah gulp.

"Uh.... hey. I am Noah," Noah says in a small voice, clearly scared. Poor guy. I take a step away from Ace.

"Are you her boyfriend or something?" Noah pushes, his voice still scared. My eyes widen and my cheeks heat up.

"Uh, no. Ace is just a friend," I tell hurriedly, looking at Ace nervously. His eyes are hard and his expression looks murderous.

He eyes the two of us and with a glare at Noah, he walks away. Giving Noah an apologetic smile, I walk after a pissed off Ace.

What is his problem?