/* DONT FORGET TO REMEMBER ME

[DANIELLE WHITNEY CURTIS]

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Fighting back? you had to be out of your god damn mind! Danielle's father's arms were at least twice the size of her cousin's arms, and her cousin was a extremely large man. The one time Dannie hit back was the one time her father taught her to just let him beat the living hell out of her and be done with it, and to not fight back. Yes, Dannie was an extremely strong girl for her size, but there was no way in hell Danielle would ever fight back against her father. Well, at least now she would not fight back. When the abuse first started? Yeah, she'd fought back against him once or twice, but she finally realized the pain wasn't worth it. It just wasn't worth having more pain then what was already being thrown at you.

Danielle grabbed her father's arm, pushing it away as her hand balled in to a fist and slung it to wards his face. It was the hardest she had ever hit anyone, and immediately Dannie regretted her self defense action. Her father stumbled back wards, putting his hand to his lip and pulling it back, looking down at the blood at covered his fingers. Dannie put her hands against the wall, using her feet to push against the carpeted floor in order to stand back up where her father had shoved her down. Her facial expression shoved the fear, and a part of apology in her eyes shown through. But her father seemed to not see it, and immediately his face burst red with anger and rage. He stepped forward, Dannie quivering slightly as he grabbed his daughter's shirt.

He picked her up, his 5'0" daughter finally face to face. her father was a good 5'11" man and bulky in size, so his daughter look like a flower standing beside a rhino. I'll teach you to never fucking hit me again.. he growled, slinging his daughters sideways and slamming her up against the railing of the stairs. She let out a loud groan as she hit it, blood slowly seeping through the back of her shirt as a nail that had been poking out stabbed her in the back. She leaned forward, the nail ripping her skin as she pulled it out of her. She groaned, sliding down the railing. Blood trickled down her back and on to the floor, and her hands trembled with fear. Her father just laughed to himself as tears cascaded down her face, mixing in with blood to become red tears. She slowly stood up, bloody hand prints covering the wall and fresh blood staining the carpet. She walked in to the kitchen, grabbing a rag and pressing it to her back. She knew her father would not remember this and just tell her to clean it up like the night before.

That was the very last night that Dannie had ever fought back against her father. of course, except for the night he stabbed her in the arm with the butcher knife. She still has a scar from it, if you get the chance to look past the bruises and cuts that currently cover it. She knew that the cuts that covered her body would become scars and there was no keeping them from doing so. Her features, instead of being beautiful like her mothers was, would be covered in scars and hints of her past for the rest of her life. When ever she looked in the mirror she broke down in to tears, knowing that each scar on her arms, stomach, legs and everywhere else would just make her that less appealing to anyone.

The only thing that was not covered in cuts, scars and bruises was probably her face. The delicate face that always held a frown. Her eyes were constantly full of fear and pain, and never once had you seen Dannie smile since the night she had been raped. Sure, maybe once in a blue moon you'll catch a smile coming from Dannie. But mostly it'll only be because she didn't want to come across as rude when someone waved or smiled at her. She was shy, not rude. Which is what made Dannie saved Justin's life in the first place. She would feel heartless and cold if she had not done what she had, and so she just wet over and saved some stranger's life. She had come far out of her shell when she had done that.

Now she will be the first to tell you, if she ever talked to you, that blood was not her thing. It absolutely sickened the young teenager and she never wanted to deal with it. Of course, it's a hard thing to admit when you were always the one to fix someone's injury when they got hurt but.. she just did not work well with blood. her and blood were not a good match. It would be likely that she would have passed out if she had not been so concerned on keeping the teen alive. She was completely out of her element. Helping someone she didn't know and talking to them was something she didn't do on a normal day basis. She didn't even talk to anyone at all. So this was something totally unnatural for her to do.

As soon as his hand touched her side, she was lost and completely caught up in the moment. She was not even thinking straight, and she hated that. Being confused was one think, but being completely unable to think right was a whole other level. As she pulled back she immediately regretted her actions, and she watched as his hand went back to the knife wound. Blood slowly came from the wound, and that meant his heart rate had slowed down in order to stop from losing more blood. And well, even a idiot would know that your heart rate slowing down was not a good thing. She had to get him to Jeremy's house, and it wasn't but a couple feet away now.

She saw a smile crawl across his face and she smiled back, but looked down in the process. She never looked in to anyone's eyes or at anyone's face for a long time, just because that was not how she was now. She could not hold a gaze for a long time because she found it rude, and for some people it could come across as a threat. That's like staring a dog in to it's eyes - it takes it as a threat. That is never a good thing to do, and it's not good to look in to someone's eyes who takes things like that as a threat. The last thing Dannie wanted to do was to anger anyone - especially someone with Justin's size - and so looking up at their face or in there eyes was something not to do. And never to even consider.

Jeremy lived in the upper part of Pismo Beach, California. The houses were extremely nice and well kept to, and a lot of the people were filthy rich. She hated being in this part of the town, but she knew her father would never look for her here. She lived in the lower side of town, where all the violence and shit happened at. Where the people who barely got any money from their pay checks or were even struggling to survive lived, and since she lived there there was three choices you had. Either fight to live, don't fight and die, or not even go outside your home. Dannie had never really been messed with and the only person that ever threatened her was her father. She wasn't sure what kept people from messing with her. Maybe it was the fact her father was a criminal, or just his size.

As she knocked at the door, she suddenly realized what time it was. It was early in the morning, about one or two. It only made her question why he had been out so early, but she knew why she was out at night at this time. To escape the wrath of her father, and to keep herself from getting killed by his vicious ways. She knew she would get it hard when she got home later in the day, but she'd rather have it later then right now. Her body still ached with the pain of the beating from last night, and by now she thought her body would be numb and not feel the pain. Boy was she wrong. A part of her wished that her father would just go ahead and kill her off already rather then putting her through his pain and misery. But she knew that when she turned eighteen she could move out, and be as far away from her father as possible.

As soon as Jeremy arrived at the door, her head jerked up wards in order to look at his face. She knew Justin had to be incredibly uncomfortable, because even Dannie at her 4'11" or 5'0" height was extremely uncomfortable with him being so tall, and Jeremy was her friend. She let out a breath, waiting him to panic and freak out. Anyone who saw two teenagers completely covered in blood and one in bruises and cuts would be concerned and freak out. No doubt about it. She just wished that he would not make such a big deal about it. She watched as his smile disappeared, and she let out another deep breath. It was odd to see him without a smile, since he was constantly smiling. it was that happy-go-lucky part of him, and it kind of made her feel weird and awkward around him. Dannie was anything but a happy girl.

What the hell happened? he asked, and Dannie simply shook her head. As he stepped aside she groaned and stepped forward, taking Justin with her as she stepped inside his house. I'll tell you later, Jeremy. I just need to sit him down somewhere. she said, looking down. It was an extremely awkward situation to bring someone you had just met and saved in to your friend's house. Neither of boys knew each other, or at least Dannie didn't think so. Awkward just did not fit this situation. It was an understatement in the least.

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POST STATUS complete!
TAGGED Benji a.k.a Kyle && Jer/Jazzy/TinTin a.k.a Jess
WORD COUNT 1722 without codes.
BANNER me.
TEMPLATE me.
NOTES doneee. tintin, hehe. XD text banner credit goes to Corinna.

[JASMINE ELISE SCOTT]

Justin Novak was all too familiar with fighting. His whole life he had been fighting for something, and most of the time, he didn't even know what it was that he had been fighting for. When he was a kid, he was fighting for a love he hadn't ever known, fighting to find it, fighting to know it. As he got older instead of fighting for love, he started fighting just for survival. When he entered high school, he started fighting for acceptance. After his brother died he started fighting the law, and fighting the world as his own way of taking revenge on the world for killing his brother. After his arrest and release a year later, he started fighting because he was good at it, and because when he was in the ring, surrounded by people who were betting money against him, faced against another man... that was the only time he was ever respected as a human being... and when he won, that was when he found his immortality, where he rose to the top, where he was revered as a king.

Anything and everything that he had he had fought for, and no battle was won easy. Physical as well as emotional pain was inflicted deeper into him with every fight. Old wounds that hadn't healed were often reopened time and time again, never being given the chance to close up and leave nothing behind except the scars to show that it had been there. Justin always had been, and always would be a fighter. Like an infectious disease it had been introduced into his blood in a most painful way and since then had come to take over every aspect of his life. He had fought more battles than he even cared to remember, and to be honest, he hadn't won any of those which were of the emotional sort. Physical fights... oh those were easy. He had yet to lose a fight where he was pitted against another man, but the emotional fights were the ones he seemed incapable of overcoming.

Unfortunately, tonight he had finally met his match in a physical fight, though his opponent did cheat. Faced against someone that he had pissed off by giving their name to the police, he'd had a good chance of winning, but when the other man realized it, he called in his buddies to help him, and it was all downhill from there. One of them pulled out a gun and fired, fortunately for Justin, the bullet only struck and embedded itself in his arm, but it was enough to give someone else an opportunity to strike, and a knife was plunged into his abdomen. Unable to breathe properly and in excruciating pain, Justin collapsed to the ground as the knife was jerked out of his body, and lay half unconscious, well on his way to death, as his attackers walked away, quite proud of their accomplishment.

Justin was quite certain the last thing he was going to have heard on this earth was the sound of their laughter fading into the distance, and it would indeed have been true were it not for chance bringing Danielle Curtis to his side. He was losing blood fast, and wouldn't last long out here unaided. As luck would have it though, Dannie happened upon him lying there dying in a pool of his own blood, and her quick action essentially saved his life. He had absolutely no idea who she was, but blood loss was impeding his ability to think clearly, and anything he attempted to say just came out wrong, so after he had managed to get out a semi-decent introduction, he just stopped trying to say anything. It took some doing, and was more than just painful, but they managed to get him up unsteadily onto his feet, with Dannie bearing most of Justin's immense weight since he simply didn't have the strength to hold himself up.

Before Justin even knew what was happening, Dannie's lips were pressed suddenly against his, but he found himself not rejecting to it in the least. After a bit of awkward conversation they continued on, but just shortly before they reached their destination, Dannie stopped again, and for the second time, he found himself kissing her. It felt like it lasted for an eternity, that single moment, and for the first time in at least two years, a hint of a smile made an appearance on his face, but a moment later it went right back to being awkward again. Shortly after he found himself on the front porch of a very high end home and standing in front of them answering the door was the quite locally infamous Jeremy Scott. Yes, Justin knew who he was, but you couldn't live in Pismo Beach and not know who Jeremy was.

Justin's heart rate had slowed drastically as his body attempted to slow the blood that was still flowing from the wound. At this point, he was barely coherent, and it was a miracle he was still standing. He had no idea what was said between Dannie and Jeremy, but he didn't really care at the moment. She escorted him in past Jeremy who looked rather flustered like he'd never seen someone who'd been stabbed before... and he probably hadn't. Not many people ever had, aside from in the movie and on TV, but this definitely wasn't the first time a knife had drawn Justin's blood, though it was the first time one had nearly killed him. His vision was beginning to blur as he was pushed into a chair... he was guessing in the kitchen... and he knew it wasn't a good sign. If he went under now they would have no choice but to take him to the hospital, and he hated that place more than anything.

Being as street smart as he was, Justin knew that pain was definitely one way to keep himself conscious and get his heart rate up more. Sure it meant he would bleed faster, but he needed to get oxygen flowing to his brain again or he would go unconscious in about thirty seconds. He slowly pressed his fingers more firmly against the wound, and instantly everything in his body told him to stop. Pain seered up through him, and he almost pulled his hand away instinctively, but he managed to keep it there, inflicting more pain upon himself until he stopped feeling like he was going to pass out. He somehow managed to suppress a groan of pain that might draw more attention to himself than he already had. He hated all eyes being on him, especially when he was without a shirt. People always asked about the number tattooed on his shoulder, and occasionally someone would ask about all the scars, and let me tell you he was very unwilling to talk about either of those topics.

The feeling that he was going to pass out went away, but he still couldn't focus on much of anything but the pain he was in, and trying to stay conscious. He knew he looked horrible, and this was anything but a good impression... but then again even Justin's best first impression usually wasn't a good one, so he wasn't too concerned about that. I mean really, he was a street fighter, an ex-convict... even if he hadn't done anything to give a bad impression, just his history would give people a bad impression about him. People seemed to believe in the "once a criminal always a criminal" concept, and no one ever gave him a chance or believed he could change. He was just street trash, always had been, and most likely always would be. It was a vicious cycle he had gotten himself into, and unfortunately at this point, it didn't look like there would be any getting out of it.

He struggled to get by every day of his life. He had no roof and four walls to call home, and he was fairly sure this was the first time since his arrest two years ago that he had been inside a house. He'd been in plenty of other buildings, but not once had he set foot inside someone's house until now. No one would want someone like him in their house, and he had no reason to go in anyone's house. He didn't have the luxury of friends, and he wasn't going to rob anyone's home. No, he would never stoop that low. He might strongly dislike wealthy people, but that didn't mean he was going to take from them. Even though he didn't realize it, he was better than that. He'd done a lot of stupid things in his life, but he sure as hell wasn't stupid enough to attempt pulling something like that. The last thing he needed was getting arrested for a second time. He was trying to stay out of trouble that might attract the police, and that was quite a bit easier said than done, as he had discovered tonight.

He could have died out there in the streets, but somehow, for some reason, it wasn't his time. He wasn't going to say anything about it, but he was honestly glad that it had been Dannie who found him. Anyone else would have just called the ambulance and had him brought to the hospital. He didn't know why she didn't, but he was definitely grateful. The last time he'd been in a hospital he'd come to cuffed to the bed with no memory of what had happened to put him here in chains. Even though he was extremely uncomfortable in the high end home, he would have been far more uncomfortable in the hospital. He hated that everyone there remembered him as "that kid that tried to fight the law." He wasn't that kid anymore... he had changed, but no one believed him, and no one gave him the chance to prove himself. If he came into the hospital bleeding and in this condition it would only make his reputation worse, and he was trying desperately to fix it.

Of course being a street fighter wasn't helping him fix it, but that was the only way he could make any money. It was a rough life, but he needed to be able to provide for himself or he really would just die. He wasn't going to steal what he needed to get by... he wasn't a common criminal like that. He was just a 19 year old guy trying to survive in a world that was determined to destroy him. It would undoubtedly have been easier if he had someone to help him along the way, but that wasn't going to happen. Dannie and Jeremy were the first people to give him so much as a second glance... the first ones who didn't instantly push him aside as a lost cause. They had no idea what that meant to him, and he was fairly intent on not telling them either.



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Jeremy Scott... what was there to say about him? He was so unlike any other human being on this earth it was almost ridiculous. He was so outgoing that he had a tendency to scare people. He was so fearless he had a tendency to make people think he was insane. He was so obsessed with music that people thought there was something wrong with him. He was so friendly you couldn't help but love him. He was definitely a unique case, but it was his uniqueness that made him who he was. Without the music, the friendliness, the outgoingness, and the fearlessness he just wouldn't be Jeremy Scott. Occasionally people would be annoyed by him, but as soon as they realized that it really wasn't as annoying as they thought... well then he was incredibly easy to get along with.

Though most people wouldn't ever imagine that deep down there was something gnawing away at Jeremy slowly and bringing him immense pain... there really was. Only Jeremy's little sister and parents knew anything about it, and only his sister knew that it still hurt him. Losing someone he cared for was the hardest thing he had ever gone through, and the fact that it was his life long friend, girlfriend, and soon to be fiance absolutely killed him. For weeks after her death, he didn't touch his guitar or the piano. For weeks after her death he wouldn't even listen to music, and if there was music playing, he would leave. Brittany had been his inspiration for his music, and without her, he hadn't wanted to have anything to do with it. For just those few short weeks no smile had played across his face, and he hardly spoke a word to anyone. It was definitely full force depression.

Then, for reasons that even Jasmine didn't know, he suddenly changed back into the old happy-go-lucky Jeremy everyone knew and loved. He started doing his crazy fearless things again. He started making friends with everything that breathed again. He started driving people crazy again. He started listening to music again. He started writing and playing music again. He even started recording his own music again. Everything that he had done before he did again, and though people wondered, no one questioned it. They all liked this Jeremy much better than the depressed Jeremy that was on the verge of breaking down and killing himself. After that, it seemed almost as if nothing had ever happened to him, but most people knew better than to ever bring that up, and no one ever mentioned anything about him needing to get a girlfriend either.

Today had been a day just like any other day. He was up at the crack of dawn writing music and lyrics to the music. By mid day he was playing and perfecting the song, and by the evening he was down in the studio recording it. No one ever denied that Jeremy had a talent for music. Everything he heard could have a music not attached to it, or would form a beat... everywhere he went he heard and even saw music. When he heard people talking he could take what they were saying and turn it into a song. To him, everything was music, and he was better at turning it into music than most people could ever imagine being. It often astonished people, his skill for writing and playing it, but to him it came more naturally than walking or even sleeping. By the time he was 10 years old he'd been better at music than his teachers, and his parents stopped his lessons simply because he wasn't getting anything out of it except showing up people more than four times his age.

Anyway, he'd gotten into one of his "trances" and had done literally nothing but music all day, and hadn't even realized that it was now 2:00 in the morning. He was starting to get frustrated with something that just wasn't right about the song after he'd recorded it, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Just as he was about to drive himself insane trying to figure it out, he heard someone knock on the door. Normally when he was like this, he didn't hear anything, but for whatever reason, he heard it tonight, and figured he should probably answer it, still not realizing what time it was. The people that met him at the door definitely shocked him. A rather large, shirtless guy being supported by little tiny Dannie, both of them covered in the guys blood which was coming from both his arm where it looked like he'd been shot, and his mid abdomen.

He wasn't quite sure what to do, considering if there was one thing Jeremy was bad at, it was dealing with blood. But he let them in, more than happy to accept Dannie's answer to his question. He was beginning to think it was probably better if he didn't know what had happened. He still really didn't know what to do though, and he really wasn't fond of the blood at all. Do you uh... need anything? he asked, doing his best to not focus on the blood all over both Justin and Dannie. He didn't find the situation awkward at all... but that was typical Jeremy... it was impossible to make him awkward in any way, he was too good at laughing at himself and the situations he was in. That was why people loved him so much.



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Jasmine was anything but the same as Jeremy. While he was an impressive 6'4", Jasmine was only just barely 5'4." While Jeremy was overly outgoing, Jasmine was shy and reserved. While Jeremy was blue eyed with light brown hair, Jasmine was brown eyed with almost black hair. While Jeremy was loud and boisterous, Jasmine was quiet and stayed out of peoples way. While Jeremy literally took 15 years before he went out with someone, Jasmine fell in love quickly on a regular basis. Essentially the only way the siblings were similar in any way was their talent for music. Of course Jeremy was quite confident in his skill, and Jasmine didn't think she was very good, but still, they were both extremely good at it. They were quite the opposite, and were it not for living in the same house and having the same last name, no one would ever assume that they were in any way related.

Anyway, Jasmine had fallen in love again... much to her brother's dismay, but this time it was different. Benji wasn't anything like any of the other guys Jasmine had fallen for in the past, and though Jeremy didn't really know him, he supposed that he was okay with them being together. Jazz honestly couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy, and whenever she was with Benji she felt like there was nothing in this whole world that could go wrong. When she was around him she lost all track of time, and it seemed like there was no one else around except her and Benji. Such was the case on this particular evening. She'd brought Benji home with her after hanging out with him all day. He had been attempting to teach her to surf, though so far it had been rather unsuccessful thanks to her poor coordination and balance. She definitely wasn't a very graceful person... much more clumsy.

She couldn't even remember half the things they had done today, since all that mattered to her was spending time with him. She always got so lost in him that a lot of times she would completely zone out and not even realize what they were doing or even what he was saying. Mostly they'd just been talking in her room, and she'd shown him a few of the songs she had written, but then someone knocked on the door. A quick glance at the clock made her realize that it really was 2 in the morning, and she had essentially spent the entirety of the day with Benji. Considering she hadn't seen Jeremy at all, she figured he was in one of his music moods and wouldn't have heard the door, meaning she would have to answer it, but since it was two in the morning, she was sort of afraid to. Jasmine was much too timid for her own good.

So she grabbed Benji's hand and pulled him downstairs with her. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, what she saw absolutely shocked her... and sort of freaked her out. Two people covered in blood standing next to her brother was the last thing she expected to see. Oh my god... She whispered, tightening her grip on Benji's hand, eyes locked on the blood seeping from Justin's body. It was bad enough that Justin was a big guy since Jasmine was slightly afraid of men, particularly big men, but the fact that he was covered in blood just made it worse. She was the sort of person who wanted to help anyone who was hurt, but she was sort of frozen in place at the moment. She hadn't ever seen someone bleeding that badly in real life, and she even tended to avoid movies where people bled profusely. She never in a million years would have expected someone looking like that to be standing at her door.

[BENJI TIMOTHY LESSART]

Don't stand by if you don't like what you see.

So unsatisfied,
No I won't take what you say to me

Benji had actually had a terrific day. When the day first started out, it had started like all the others. His step-father screaming and his mother crying. Benji was sick and tired of it and could remember that he had said something to piss Gerry off but he couldn't really recall what. He was sure that it was something that defended either his mom or Sam, but whatever it was it made Gerry mad. He remembered seeing the hand come down and the stinging sensation that soon followed after. He knew that what Gerry was doing was wrong and if he could get up he courage to report it, it would soon be over but he just couldn't do that to his mom. As hard as it was to accept it, she loved Gerry and Benji didn't want to ruin her happiness so he just accepted the fact.

School hadn't been much better. As per usual, he was ignored for basically the whole day and just couldn't bear to sit by himself in the cafeteria so instead he decided to go to the gymnasium to practice his basketball. When he got there he didn't even notice that there was another person there, one that would soon alter his day. They had hit it off immediately and even though Jasmine was a bit shy and timid towards him, she soon opened up to him. His day had suddenly became a great day and all the drama that had happened in the morning was forgotten. The day at the beach had been amazing, they had played in the water, "attempted" surfing and watched the sunset. They had even actually kissed and told each other that they liked each other. Yes, it had been a pretty awesome day.

When he got to Jasmines house, he was a little surprised when she invited him. He took her up on the offer however because it would give him a reason to stay out later. When he got in, he noticed a taller guy on the house who he guessed was her brother. He was a bit intimidating and he quickly introduced himself and was then whisked away by Jasmine in a bit of a hurry. He wondered why she would hurry him into er room, was he n danger if he lingered in her brother's company too long. He decided not to ask and just followed her like a obedient little puppy.

Now he found himself in Jasmine's room being shown her fantastic songs and just enjoying each other's company. It really didn't matter what they did, if he was with Jasmine it was going to be enjoyable. The time had flown by and before he knew it, it was 2 in the morning. He knew that he would have hell to pay when he returned home and would most likely be the new owner of a fat lip and black eye. It would be hard to explain to Jasmine when he saw her. Suddenly he heard a knocking and before he knew it, Jasmine grabbed his hand and lead him down the stairs. When they got to the bottom he heard Jasmine whisper and grip his hand tighter. He looked up and what he saw made his jaw drop. There was two people, a guy and a girl covered in crimson blood with Jasmine's brother next to them. He squeezed Jasmines hand, reassuring her that he wouldn't let anything happen and just stared into oblivion. " Whoa..." was all that managed to escape his mouth.

[DANIELLE WHITNEY CURTIS]

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Dannie couldn't say she had anything worth fighting for. What was there to fight for in the first place? Acceptance, love, life, survival? She'd had acceptance but lost it, she'd never experienced love, her life was a living hell, and survival was something she was barely hanging on to. Her father beat the life right out of her, so she just thought she might as well not hope for something. If she did not hope for something, maybe it would come when he least expected it. She was what you called a "pacifist" of the sort. She did not fight chose not to, and instead let someone just walk all over her whenever they wanted to. But if she had to fight, she would. If you knew she was abused you'd ask her why she didnt fight back, and she'd tell you all about the two nights she did fight back.

Emotional fights were always the hardest to overcome. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldnt seem to escape them. You could drink yourself in to the worst drunken stupor known to man, but as soon as you were sober again and your head quit throbbing the motions would flow right back to you all over again. Dannie'd faced more emotional fights then physical, and it always seemed she could never win the fight. She'd always break down or let her emotions fall out infront of everyone, despite how hard she tried to fight them back. She'd never won a physical fight, which of course she had never been in one or anything. And since she didnt get in to physical fights, scars would litter her body from her father and him only.

Danielle couldnt begin to describe the feelings that rushed through her body when she heard that gun shot ring out through the late midnight air, to walk past the large gang with broad smiles on their faces like they had completed the most amazing mission in the world. And then, finally, seeing that limp body with his own blood pouring out from his body. It made Dannie absolutely sick inside, mainly because she hadn't seen that much blood since she had been stabbed. And the sight of seeing someone dying made her sick to her stomach too. She knew she had to help him, tog et the bullet out of his arm, to fix him back to help. She wasn't sure if it was something isnide of her that bad her go help him, or if it was because she knew that she'd be cold hearted if she left him to die. All she was that she just had to help him, and that was it.

She couldnt think of anything else but trying to save his life, to keep him from meating the death was that waiting for him. It couldnt have been his time to leave, and as cliche as this sounded, she didnt want him to die. She barely knew him, but Dannie didnt want him to die. Of course, that really was not anything special considering she didnt want anyone dying if she could help it. She'd put her shirt over his cut and wrapped her hoodie above the bullet wound to stop the bleeding It hadn't helped much, but it was better then nothing. She beared most of his weight on her own two feet, but she couldn't say it was bad. She could handle it, but she wouldnt have been able to walk him to a hospital like that. She didnt want to take him in the first place, since she despised hospitals.

She had kissed him, and the first time was completely unintentional. But the second time? Well, she could not say the same thing for that time. She did not exactly hate kissing him, but then again she didnt exactly like it either. Or that was what she had told herself. The conversations after the first time had been extremely awkward, but the second she kind of relaxed and everything. He was not rejecting them, so she wasn't sure what exactly made the entire thing so uncomforable and an awkward situation. A small smile had made it's way on to justin's face after the second kiss, and a smile appeared on Dannie's pale pink lips as well. It had been so long since she had smiled, but it sort of felt nice. But as soon as they had reached where they intended of going in the first place the uncomfrtoableness came back again.

His heart beat had slowed, and that begin to worry Dannie. She knew if her went under right now, they either wouldnt get him woken up again or they'd have to take him to the hospital. She wanted to keep that option out of her head as long as she possibly could, and right now when the hospital would be the first option someone else would've thought of, it was not going to be an option if Dannie could help it. She had sat him down in the chair, and she knew she had to do something quickly before he passed out from blood loss. She looked at his face, knowing that his vision had to be blurred by now. it was not a good sign when it was becoming blurry, anyone knew that. She had to stop the blood, and now.

She watched as his fingers moved to his knife wound and he pressed down, putting himself in pain. He was trying to keep himself conscious and Dannie knew that, but her stomach tightened and churned as she watched him put himself in terrible pain. She wanted to grab his hand and make him stop, but she didnt. She listened to jeremy ask if he could get them anything. She nodded her head, looking at him. Towels, and thats all. Well, that and alone time with Justin. Unless you'd like to see a bloody bullet come out of his arm. she said, and sighed. She had to get the bullet out, and she wa the only one that could do it. Jeremy couldnt, since she knew he had to hate blood as much as she did. His fingers were much to big as it was, and so she was the one put to the task of inflicting even more pain on Justin and getting the bullet out.

I really wish you wouldnt of put yourself through more pain. Me trying to get the bullet out will be enough to keep you conscious as it is. she whispered in his ear, running her fingers over the bullet wound in his arm. She bent her knees, looking at the wound. She couldn't help but notice the numbered tattoo that rested below it, but she didnt ask him about it just yet. She sighed and closed her eyes for a second, then pushed against the bullet wound. Her index and thumb entered the wound, and immediatly she felt the tip of the bullet. She pulled her hand back quickly, fresh blood dripping from the tip of her fingers. Well, at least its not that deep. she whispered.

Dannie was not the kind to judge. If you had murdered somebody she didnt see you as a criminal or a murder, but just someone that had some something that was a big mistake on their part. Sometimes, she didnt even worry about the crime they had done. That they were just someone who had done something and that was in the past. That it was something to be forgotten about, and not to be used against them. Everyone made mistakes in their lives but sometimes those mistakes were bigger then others and were used against people to hurt them and make them feel like they werent worth shit. She wasnt the kind to do that. If you had been in jail, big deal. It did not bother her. her father had been in jail as well, so it didnt worry her.

She heard footsteps behind her, and she knew that more people had arrived. It made her incredibly uncomfortable to be standing in a kitchen, surrounded by only six people and helping another. But then again, the boy she was helping had to be more uncomfortable then she was. He was shirtless, and a girl at least half his size was helping him. He was covered in scars and a tattoo was on his arm, so Dannie knew he was uncomfortable. She looked up, smiling lightly at Jasmine and the boy that stood beside her. Their hands were locked tight, and their expressions were priceless. Hey Jazzy. she said to her, and then looked back at the wound she was trying to get the bullet out of.

Now, hold on a second okay? Im going to try to get the bullet out. she said, speaking mostly to justin but towards everyone else as well. She did not want them freaking out if blood dripped from her fingers. She tried once more to remove the bullet, the slimey feeling round tip continuing to slip out of her grip. She almost got it out, but quickly pulled her hand back with a disgusted look on her face. She didnt say anything though, but simply stuck her small pink tongue out with disgust. It sickened her that she was messing with so much blood. She wiped the blood on her shirt, though it really didnt do much since her shirt was soaked with blood.

Guys, could you give me and Justin a minute please? she asked them, her voice sweet and kind. She didnt want to appear rude, but she knew if she had to get a bullet out there would be a lot of blood, and probably a couple curse words here and there as well. But it had to come out, and soon. She sighed, running her hand through her hair. It was long, brown and wavy, though in the light it was tinted auburn. But you couldnt tell what color it naturally was, mainly because crimson blood stained her hair as well. She knew she'd be getting it bad at home. if she ever went home in the first place.

- - - - - - - - - -

POST STATUS complete!
TAGGED Benji a.k.a Kyle && Jer/Jazzy/TinTin a.k.a Jess
WORD COUNT 1693 words. finallyyy.
BANNER me.
TEMPLATE me.
NOTES done. finally. text banner credit goes to Corinna.

[JUSTIN THOMAS NOVAK]

It was strange to think that just moments ago he had been lying on the ground, soaked in his own blood, completely ready to die alone... and now here he was in the kitchen of one of the more upscale houses in Pismo Beach, being helped by a girl half his size, and being stared at by three people that he hadn't ever met. He knew who Jeremy was... but everyone knew who Jeremy was... and he was guessing the girl that had come down the stairs was Jeremy's sister, and from the way she was so desperately clutching the hand of the guy next to her, he figured that was her boyfriend. Great... so much for dying alone. Yeah, Justin wasn't exactly a very optimistic person, but then again... could you blame him? After all, so far, there was absolutely nothing that had happened in his life that he could look back on and smile about... with the exception of when Jacob and Emily got married and when they had Andie... but that didn't really count since that had happened to them and not him.

Never in a million years would he have imagined himself dying in the kitchen of one of Pismo's most wealthy residents. This wasn't exactly the way he wanted to die either. Most people knew who he was thanks to his mugshots being plastered all over the news when he was shot and arrested. For a few weeks that was the headline story on every channel, every newspaper, every Pismo Beach blog... the fate of Justin Novak... the guy who tried to fight the law, and the law sure as hell won. Since everyone knew who he was... he knew that if anyone found out about his death he would again make the news... especially if it was murder he went down for. Everyone would want to know who had killed him and why... why a worthless convict like himself would mean enough to someone to murder him. Of course no one would really look for his killers... it would be a waste of money, and no one really cared that much about him. They would just be curious.

He didn't want people to know he had died. He wanted to just pass in peace where no one would see... no one would know... no one would deem that justice had been served in his death. He just wanted to be alone when he died. He had been so tortured, so misjudged in life... he wanted to at least be left alone in death. He often wished he could just die so that no one would point fingers at him for the things he had done wrong, and maybe... just maybe someone would miss all the things he had done right. Sure maybe he hadn't done much of anything right, but there were a few things here and there. He knew that if he was killed and buried, the only thing put on his grave marker would be his name and the year of his birth and death. Most people would hope for the whole "loving brother, son" sort of thing, but since Justin had no family left... and most people didn't think he was capable of love... there would be nothing besides that to tell the story of who he was.

He could barely hear what Dannie was saying to Jeremy, but he really didn't care too much what she was saying to him at this point, but then he heard her saying something softly to him, and although to him it sounded like she was a long ways off, he could still make out what she was saying. She said she wished he wouldn't put himself in more pain since the pain she was about to inflict on him was going to be enough to keep him conscious, but Justin just shook his head slightly. Can't... take my chances... on this... He said slowly and somewhat quietly, his speech broken up because of the pain he was in... the pain he was deliberately putting himself in. I'm not... that lucky. He kept his fingers pressed to the wound, but didn't press any harder than he already was. He knew what Dannie was saying was true... he just hoped it wouldn't be enough pain to knock him out and she would get it out quick enough that she could stop the bleeding before he lost too much blood to stay conscious.

Pain seered through him a moment later as she made her first attempt at getting the bullet out, and he just barely managed to restrain a groan of pain. He didn't want to be any more humiliated than he already was right now, and letting on to the pain he was in would only make it worse. Sure, he knew that they knew he was in a lot of pain, but it was that stupid guy pride thing... if he made any sound or movement to indicate the pain he was in, then it would just injure his already low self esteem. Every instinct in him was telling him to pull away, to get away from the pain, but he forced himself to stay still. Of course he didn't have enough will power to keep every muscle in his body from tensing... which he knew was only going to make it harder to get the bullet out, but he couldn't help it. He was already fighting every instinct he had by even being here and accepting help, he couldn't really help the ones that were involuntary like that.

Then she greeted someone and announced that she was going to try to get the bullet out... great, here they went again. He could tell she didn't like the blood, and he couldn't blame her. If he hadn't been around blood from the time he was three years old he wouldn't like it either... but since he had bled practically every day of his life since then... he was sort of immune to the effect blood had on most people. He also had a feeling that she didn't like putting her fingers in the bullet wound, and he had to admit, even he wouldn't willingly do that, it was just too... the whole concept of inserting his fingers into a bullet wound through the muscle and down to the bone... he couldn't handle that, and he could handle a hell of a lot of blood and guts sort of stuff. Of course, Justin probably wouldn't ever run into a situation where he had to do that... it would just be too ironic to be real... and he wasn't quite that kind to do that.

He was desperately trying to occupy his mind with other thoughts and ignore the pain he was in so that he would relax and make getting the bullet out easier for her... but that didn't appear to be happening anytime soon. The moment she slid her fingers into the wound again, the pain raged through him again, worse this time, and unfortunately for him he couldn't stop the groan this time. He knew they probably wouldn't judge him for that, considering he was sort of bleeding everywhere and had to be in a lot of pain, but still, he didn't like the situation he was in. He was quite certain that he was being introduced to a ton of infection right now, and that would undoubtedly be a problem later. He wasn't really one to judge people... but he was guessing a couple of rich kids who never had to worry about anything in their lives wouldn't have any wound antiseptic in their house, and he'd learned the hard way that alcohol didn't really help at all... and odds were they wouldn't have any straight alcohol here either, so no matter which way he looked at it... infection was looming in the near future.

Then again... infection wasn't that hard to take care of... for him anyway. With all the fights he got in... both organized illegal street fights and just every day two guys who hate each other on the street fights... he was always getting busted up and getting dirt and other bacteria ground into the wounds. So of course he got infections quite regularly. So long as he took care of them quickly... which generally involved using a knife to drain the wounds and seering them shut with a heated knife... he never got the fever or any of that other shit that came along with getting infections. He was plenty street smart, and he'd stitched himself up more than once using just regular old sewing thread and a needle he'd been into a sickle shape. He was pretty good at taking care of himself, unfortunately this one was a little worse than what he could fix on his own.

It goes without saying then, that Justin was a tough guy... but what most people didn't realize was that he really was a nice guy too. He really only had one other friend in the world... his former cell mate, but the guy was still into doing hardcore illegal things and had warned Justin that they wouldn't see one another often. He came to Justin's fights occasionally... but other than that they rarely say each other. It was better that way anyway... that way if he got arrested again Justin wouldn't be listed as a possible accomplice and the police would leave him alone. Justin had enough problems as it was, he didn't need other people's problems being stacked on top of his own... and although it would be nice to see the only person that he actually called a friend more often than once a month, he knew it was for the best and never made a complaint about it.

For some reason, when she asked that they be left alone, he sort of liked the sound of that. Not in a perverted way at all... no he wasn't even thinking about that right now... but in the way that he, though he wouldn't admit it to Dannie, to anyone else, or to himself, he really did like her... even though they'd only just met. She was the only person he'd met in his life besides Jacob that didn't care enough about him to help him. And sure, maybe she was only helping because it was in her nature to help people who were hurt and dying... but even so, most people didn't care about him in that way. Most people saw him as a criminal, and didn't want to help him anyway... even if he was dying. Like the last time he'd been in the hospital... when he got shot. The doctors and nurses didn't think he could hear what they were saying about him... but he definitely could, and none of it was good. He knew they didn't want to help him, and if the government weren't paying for it, they wouldn't have done so.

When everyone else had left the room he moved his hand shakily to hers. Thank you... he said for the third time, his voice still hushed and edged with pain. He was much more comfortable without all the prying eyes on him. He wasn't exactly comfortable, and he wasn't going to be in this house in this condition, but this was much better now. Dannie had already seen him in his weakness out there on the streets, and one person was bad enough... he didn't need three others beside her wondering about the scars and the tattoo. He knew they were too.. all eyes were on him since he was the injured one, and if they stayed long enough they would start to notice all the details like that as well... so being alone was a hell of a lot better.

------------------------------------------

Yeah Dannie was right... Jeremy was not into blood at all... in fact, quite the opposite. Seeing it didn't make him feel sick or anything, but there was absolutely no way in hell he would ever touch blood, even if it meant the world wouldn't freeze over. Okay maybe if it meant the world not freezing over he would touch it... but what Dannie was doing yeah no... never ever in ten billion lifetimes would he get that involved with blood. He wouldn't be afraid to admit that she had more guts than he did. He may be a totally cocky ass, but he would willingly fold under the accusation that he had no guts when it came to blood and guts. Blood was meant to stay inside the body, and when it was outside the body... uh no. That just wasn't good, and it wasn't meant to be touched with bare hands, and it wasn't meant to be touched by musicians period.

He didn't give a damn if blood was the most natural sterile substance there was... he wasn't going to come in contact with it if he could help it. He didn't mind getting his own blood on himself so long as it was in small quantities... Justin was bleeding all over the place and was pretty much soaked in it and so was Dannie, and that was just no good. He'd help her in any way she needed him to so long as he didn't have to touch the blood. Yeah... Jeremy could be a bit of a wimp sometimes, but he was just a musician, he wasn't a doctor. He could do just about anything he wanted to, and he was pretty much unafraid to do anything or make a fool out of himself doing those things... but he wasn't touching blood.

Right... towels... he said and turned to go find some towels. He didn't doubt that there was going to be quite a mess in the kitchen with all the blood, but he wasn't really worried about that. Of course he could just pay someone to come and clean it up, but then they would want to know what had happened and how the blood got there to make sure they weren't cleaning up a crime scene, and Jeremy was just going to take a wild guess and assume that first, Justin didn't want anyone knowing what had happened or that he had been here, ans secondly, they probably wouldn't believe him anyway... so he would just do it himself and make Jazzy help. He had a feeling Dannie was going to want to clean it up, but he wasn't going to let her... the same way he wasn't going to let her go home all covered in blood. She would argue with him, he knew, but he would at least talk her into washing her clothes and taking a shower to make the damage a little less intense.

He had seen the bruises on her arms, and he had a feeling he knew where they came from, so he didn't want her to get hurt. No, I know what you're thinking, but no... Jeremy didn't have a thing for her. He liked her as a friend, and only as a friend... the same way he liked everyone else in the world as a friend. It had only been two years since Brittany had died from cancer, and he wasn't ready to like anyone more than that... and even if he did want to like Dannie more than that... they kind of couldn't. Considering 5' even and 6'4" didn't match up too well they would have a very serious problem. No, Dannie and Jeremy were just friends, and they never would be anything more.

It took a few minutes, but Jeremy found some towels and brought them down to Dannie and Justin. He felt really bad for the guy... he had to be in a lot of pain for the amount of blood he had lost, and he looked completely miserable. Justin was the sort of guy who was always strong, always guarded, and seeing him unable to stand on his own was sort of... well Jeremy knew that it wasn't good. He had a feeling that Justin would need to just stick around for a while after this so that he could heal up properly, but he also knew that a guy like Justin would downright refuse, and as soon as he had enough strength and energy to walk out of here he was going to do so and there was nothing Jeremy could do to stop him. Sure Jer was taller, but Justin was most likely a hell of a lot stronger... and Jeremy really wasn't the sort of guy who would stand up to someone like Justin.

He nodded when Dannie asked if they could leave so that she could have a minute with Justin. He didn't really want to stick around to see her pull the bullet out... that was almost as bad as the touching the blood thing. Yeah... if you guys need anything else I'll just be in the studio downstairs... He said and turned to head out of the kitchen, shooting Jasmine a "get lost" look. He was no reader of people, but he had a hankering feeling that there might be more between Dannie and Justin than either of them were willing to admit. So he headed back downstairs to continue trying to figure out what was wrong with the song he'd just recorded... that is if he could focus again after seeing that.

-------------------------------

Jasmine had a tendency to fall in love fast, but she hadn't ever fallen for someone in one day before... at least, not before Benji. She'd met him in the gym, he'd made a total fool out of himself by hitting himself in the head with the basketball unintentionally and knocking himself flat on the floor. Jasmine, of course, being the shy timid girl she was, didn't say anything to him, but then he came over and introduced himself to her, and asked her if she'd like to play basketball with him. She had declined the offer, but a few minutes later when he asked her to go to the beach with him after school, she readily agreed, even though she knew Jeremy was going to object. She loved that he wanted to protect her, but she had to take care of herself sometimes, and right now was one of those times. She would rather have loved and lost than to never love at all.

The day at the beach had been absolutely amazing, and she had a ton of fun... even though she made a fool of herself falling off the surfboard a million times. Jeremy had talked her into doing so many crazy things that Jasmine didn't really get humiliated all that easily anymore. I mean really... after being dragged into an elevator to sing and play music while people rode the elevator at the same time and having Jeremy talk the yacht security people into believing that they were the entertainment for the yacht party that night so they could get onto the boat and then being talked into at least playing the keyboard and actually being the entertainment... there was really no way she could be totally humiliated by falling off of a surfboard. She would blush at things like compliments or teasing, but falling off a surfboard had almost no effect on her.

She couldn't seem to take her eyes off the blood that was strewn all over Dannie and Justin... and unlike Jeremy, it was giving her a queasy feeling. Part of it was the pain Justin was in too. His expression and voice were both defined by pain, and she hadn't ever seen anyone in that much pain. Hey... she said almost absent mindedly when Dannie greeted her, she hadn't ever seen that much blood in one place coming from one person before, and it sort of scared her a bit. Finally when Benji squeezed her hand she managed to tear her eyes off Justin and Dannie, and looked up at Benji. He was so nice to her, she just loved it. Most guys didn't ever consider her in the matter, but Benji did, and just that difference made him stand out above the rest... the lily among the thorns.

She caught sight of Jeremy's look, and knew that she and Benji should get out of there too. Considering she was a bit shaken by seeing bleeding man standing at her door covered in his blood and a girl with him also covered in his blood... she sort of wanted to stay in close proximity to Jeremy. Sure she felt safe with Benji, but before now Jeremy had been the only one who protected her, so it was natural for her to want to be closer to him when there was a rather large rough looking bleeding guy in her house. Maybe she was a little paranoid... but what if whoever did that to him came looking for him to finish him off? She didn't want to be around people who could just shoot and stab a guy and leave him to die... she couldn't imagine the things they would do to a perfectly defenseless girl.

Yes, she had wanted to keep Benji from being around Jeremy too much before... but that was to avoid the Spanish Inquisition being carried out on Benji... now all the questions didn't seem so bad. She pulled Benji towards the basement where Jeremy had disappeared, unwilling to let go of his hand. As they walked downstairs, she looked up at him, Welcome to the Scott home... she said with a slightly nervous smile. She was trying to lighten things up for herself so that she would stop thinking about what could happen if someone showed up and would start thinking about what could happen with her and Benji in the future. She really liked him, and she didn't want to ruin what was left of the night by being all paranoid.

[/size]

[BENJI TIMOTHY LESSART]

This was definitely a sight he did not expect to see in real life. Maybe on crime shows like C.S.I or Law and Order, but never in a upper class part of Pismo Beach. The whole sight altogether was making him feel rather queasy but the main reason for that was probably he knew that the blood that covered the both of them was the real deal and not some Hollywood prop. He didn't know what happened to the poor guy and honestly, he wasn't sure he wanted to. Some crazy stuff had obviously gone down and the less he knew about it, the better. What if the police questioned him? If that happened, he knew Gerry was going to go nuts and when Gerry was angry, Benji was often the target of his wrath. He wouldn't report this and he hoped that the others wouldn't either. It wasn't that he wanted the guy to die and he hoped that he could be helped but he just hoped that if something was reported, his name wouldn't be dragged into it.

The girl had greeted Jasmine which meant that she knew her somehow. Did this kind of thing happen often? Were their nights usually filled with people covered in blood knocking on their door, looking for a place to stay? Honestly, if thats what Jasmine's life was filled with then Benji would tough it out. He wasn't going to stop hanging with Jasmine because of this little ordeal. He liked her far too much to give up that easily. Benji was scared to talk, worried that somehow he would mess something up so all he could really do was stand there and look like a complete idiot.

What was he supposed to do in this kind of situation anyways? It wasn't like he could just say "Don't worry everyone, I know what to do!" and miraculously save the guy. He was a seventeen year old kid still in high school, not even sure what he was going to have for lunch tomorrow. Besides, he wasn't that great with blood but hey, a lot of people aren't. Not many people he knew would shout out in joy and excitement when they saw someone bleeding. He wasn't even sure how doctors could put up with seeing it almost everyday but if Benji was paid like them, he was sure he could put up with it too. He tried his hardest to keep a chuckle fro slipping out, how sick would he look if he just starting laughing in the middle of a situation where a guy was bleeding vigorously.

The girl asked them for a minute alone and when Jasmine pulled him away, he didn't fight her alone. He was actually quite relieved that he was out of that situation. He was a nice guy and would help anyone in need but anyone in that girl's position would hesitate. Jasmine brought him down to their basement and it was a pretty cool area. It was bigger then his basement and a lot less creepy. He couldn't believe that they had a recording studio in their basement. "This is so cool!", Benji exclaimed. He was trying to lighten the mood and make Jasmine feel ore comfortable. He could tell that she had been nervous upstairs, just like he was and wanted to make her feel more relaxed and calm.

[DANIELLE WHITNEY CURTIS]

- - - - - - - - - -

So many things were running through Danielle's mind that it was not even funny. She was thinking about how bad she felt for busting in on Jeremy and Jasmine at 2:00 in the morning, about how her father would react when she got home that morning, how she knew Jeremy wouldn't let her leave covered in some stranger's blood, and how exactly she'd get out of that. You could never win an argument if Jeremy was the one you were arguing with. it was mentally and physically impossible. She was also worried about what would happen to her in the end. If the guy she was saving would leave her once he healed and not even give her as much as a second glance and another last thank you, or if they'd grow close as friends and he'd be the one to protect her.

He had to be uncomfortable, surrounded by so many people while he was slowly dying. Dannie was extremely uncomfortable, and she was not the one without a shirt and dying. The one who was sitting in someone's kitchen in the upper side of town, blood covering every inch of your body. Okay, so maybe she was the last two things. She hated that she was getting blood over Jeremy's used to be spotless kitchen floor. She would have to convince him to let her clean it, considering she was used to cleaning up blood. By now you would think this teenager would be used to the sight of blood, considering she saw it every day of her life and had been for the past seven years. But she just couldn't get over how the liquid that was supposed be on the outside poured over your outsides. it sickened her, to say the least.

If Dannie had anything to do with it, Justin was not going to leave the world that easily. Sure, they had just met. But something about him made him different. She did not know exactly what made her so desperate to want to save his life, but it was there. The urge to keep him alive, and do whatever was needed to do so. It was one thing to push someone out of the way of a knife wound, but it was a whole different level of saving lives when it came to actually saving them. To stop the bleeding and let them heal up, and make sure that he kept them from opening up again. What could you say? Dannie was an extremely stubborn girl, and she got that from her mother and father. or so everyone that knew her mom said.

As he said that he had to and that he wasnt that lucky, she simply shook her head. When jeremy returned with towels, she took one and ran it across Justin's torso. Immediately blood sank in to the towel, leaving it damp with the crimson liquid. She sighed, making sure she got off what blood had dried on his skin as well. She set the towel on the floor, letting it soak up what blood that had dripped on the floor as much as possible. When she tried to remove the bullet the first time, she felt his muscles tense around her fingers. Her nose scrunched up, obviously showing how much she hated having to do this. It kind of sickened her, knowing that the bullet had reached his bone and that she had to reach through pink and red muscle to get to it.

Dannie was a rather strong girl. By now she would of passed out already by the amount of blood she had seen, but something kept her conscious. She grabbed another one of the towels, walking over to the sink and turning the water on, running her hands under it to remove the blood. She then ran the towel under the running water and twisted it, draining the extra water from it. Walking back over to Justin, she laid the towel down across her arm where there was, surprisingly, not an ounce of blood on it. She tried to remove the bullet from the wound for the second time, but no avail. Part of her began to worry that they would never get it out. She ran the cold, damp towel over his knife wound, cleaning it before running it over the bullet wound as well. She needed to have a clear view of both wounds if she was going to fix him up.

He let out a groan, and immediately she pulled away. Shit, fuck. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Really sorry. she said, mumbling the two cuss words before saying sorry about four times. She said, and looked over at jeremy and Jasmine for a second. As they left, her felt a hand be placed on top of hers. She looked up, a small smile across her face. Hey, don't worry about it okay? You don't have to thank me. Im just doing it. Not worrying me. Keeps me from going home for a while. she said to him a smile, taking his hand and putting it back on his lap. She was trying to think of a way to ease the pain, to take it away so that he wouldn't have to feel it.

A smile crawled mischievously over her lips after a second, and she stepped in front of him. Hold still a second, okay? she whispered to him, a seductive tone in her voice shining through even though she didnt try to sound that way. She bent her knees, crouching down low until she was face to face with him. I promise. I'll try not to make this hurt.. she said to him, leaning forward and pressing her lips against his. Her hand reached up, touching his neck tenderly once more. She scooted closer to him, putting a little bit more passion in to the kiss in order to keep him from thinking about the pain she was just about to put him through by trying to remove the bullet again.

Her left hand reached up, putting it over the bullet wound in his right arm. She slid her fingers in to the wound yet again, getting a good grip on the bullet in his arm. She continued to keep her lips pressed against his, slowly pulling the bullet out. Just before getting it all the way out, she pulled back from the kiss and stood up, pulling the bullet quickly out of the wound. A innocent smile crawled across her lips, a smile that had a forgiving hint to it. I got it out. she said, knowing a long string of curse words would be flowing from his mouth any time soon. She walked over to the trash can, dropping the bloody bullet in to the trash. She would hate to leave it out on the floor or something and they see it when her and Justin had already left.

She walked back to him, taking the damp towel and running it over the bullet wound again. Well, at least the bullet is out now. she said to him, leaning over and kissing his cheek as if to apologize for the pain she had put him through. She let out a small yawn, covering her mouth as she did so. Danielle left the kitchen for a short second, reaching the right hand forward, the one without the blood on it, to turn the door knob to the basement. She walked down the steps, rubbing her arm slightly in an awkward kind of manner. Umm.. you guys can come up if you want. I got the bullet out, and he's pretty much cleaned up. I'll clean up the mess if you'll just show me where the mop is. And as soon as Justin is better we'll leave. she said to them before walking back up to justin. Well, that wasn't awkward at all. Oh no, no where near awkward at all.

- - - - - - - - - -

POST STATUS complete. FAIL.
TAGGED Benji a.k.a Kyle && Jer/Jazzy/TinTin a.k.a Jess
WORD COUNT 1320 without codes.
BANNER me.
TEMPLATE me.
NOTES FAILLL. text banner credit goes to Corinna.

[JUSTIN THOMAS NOVAK]

Most of the time when Justin got himself hurt it was nothing very serious. Sure on occasion it required stitches... but he'd stitched himself up so many times he didn't need a doctor to do it anymore, he was just as good at it as they were, and so long as he had wound antiseptic he wouldn't have to worry about infection. Normally though, they weren't this bad... normally he didn't almost bleed to death... normally he could take care of himself... but not this time. No, if it hadn't been for Dannie, he would have died this time. It seemed just far too ironic to him that the one night when he was actually looking forward to the next day he would almost be killed. He was really starting to think that the world did have it in for him... I mean really. Most of the time he wants to die because he has nothing to live for... then he actually has something to live for and he almost dies. What was up with that?

Anyway, the only other time Justin had come this close to dying, he'd gone unconscious and hadn't felt any pain thanks to all the drugs the doctors had pumped into him... but this time it was totally different. His whole body was hurting. It was like the pain from the wounds was pulsing up through him and was just making everything hurt. For the first time in a long time the pain was making him almost feel sick. Of course considering the fact that Justin regularly went without eating anything at all, since he simply couldn't afford to, the odds of him actually getting sick were quite slim, but that uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach was definitely there, making the situation even more uncomfortable than it already was. Serious pain, feeling sick, being started at by a bunch of people you didn't know... yeah, he was definitely not having a good night.

Dannie told him not to thank her and she was just doing it... but she definitely didn't understand. He had to thank her, no doubt about it. She had saved his life... she deserved a thanks. But when she said it kept her from going home for a while, he sort of understood. He knew what it was like to not want to go home... to fear being in the very place that was supposed to protect you from your fears. He knew what it was like to be hurt by the two people who were supposed to save you from hurt. He understood exactly what she meant when she said it was keeping her from going home... and somehow, it made him angry. Dannie was the nicest person he'd ever met, and she seemed to care a hell of a lot more than most people did. How come someone possibly hurt her? She, much like him, had probably never done anything to deserve the pain, and that made Justin really want to find whoever was hurting her and let them know that if they ever hurt her again he would kill them... he owed her that much.

After everyone had left, Justin looked back towards Dannie just to find her very very close to him telling him to hold still and crouching down so she was level with him. Then she said that she was going to try not to make it hurt... and he was thoroughly confused. He wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but whatever it was, it didn't look like it was going to hurt at all. Next thing he knew, her lips were pressed against his again, and this time, there was feeling behind it. More than just feeling... passion. Once again the pain stopped, and the whole world stood still. Time completely froze, and all that mattered in that moment was that kiss. He didn't feel it as her hand touched the injury, he didn't feel it as he fingers slipped into the bullet wound and grasped the bullet there. He didn't feel it as she slowly started to extract the bullet from his arm. But the moment she pulled back, and feeling returned to him... damn did he ever feel it.

She pulled the bullet out quickly, and sickening pain shot through his body. She was correct in assuming that a long string of cursing was going to follow after he could talk again as the pain became manageable. Dammit Dannie he growled painfully after he had thoroughly exhausted his entire vocabulary of swearing... which was saying a lot considering Justin was one of the most fluent people on the planet in cussing. That definitely hurt like hell. could you possibly have made that hurt any worse? he asked, somewhat grouchily. You couldn't really blame him though, after all, he was in some very serious pain, and people tended to get crabby when they were in pain... and Justin was no exception to that generalization. It was understandable that he wouldn't be in the best of moods after all that had happened to him tonight, and the pain he was in definitely wasn't helping.

He cringed as Dannie ran the damp towel over the bullet wound. Even something so gentle as that hurt horribly. He was almost tempted to pull his arm away from her, but he didn't. He knew she was helping, and doing more for him than he could do for himself, so he was going to have to deal with the pain and just let her do her thing. He was trying to be grateful, but so far it was incredibly difficult. It almost felt like he'd just been shot all over again, and boy let me tell you that was a hell of a lot of pain to go through twice in one night... or morning, whichever you preferred to call this ungodly hour.

Yeah... at least. he muttered under his breath as Dannie walked away to go down to where the other three had congregated. He was left alone for a few moments, and in those moments he realized that Chaos and Razzle were probably wondering what the hell had happened to him. The two dogs had been Justin's constant companions since he had gotten out of prison... the only things that had ever really been faithful to him throughout his life... aside from pain and betrayal of course. Those things had been with him his whole life and he didn't expect them to ever go away. He knew he probably looked like hell right now, considering how much blood he had lost, and how much pain he was in... but right now, he really didn't care what he looked like, he was just glad he was still alive.

------------------------------------------------

Jeremy didn't seem quite capable of taking his mind off what he'd just seen. Each time he thought he'd gotten his mind off of it, he somehow ended up going on a rabbit trail and ending up in the same exact place as before. He was just starting to realize how tired he was, since he'd been up for more than 24 hours and his mind had been working overtime since he'd been up. So it was only natural that he be rather exhausted. Still, he wasn't going to let himself sleep until this whole thing had been figured out. He still really did want to know what happened, simply because he had always been the obnoxiously curious person who couldn't stand not knowing... and right now, he was the cat that got killed by curiosity... but he also had a feeling Justin didn't really want to talk about it, and it almost seemed like Dannie didn't quite know all that had happened either... so he just might have to go without knowing.

He started to walk into the booth part of the recording studio when he suddenly heard Jasmine and Benji behind him, and it about gave him a heart attack. He pretty much had a one track mind, and when he was thinking, he completely tuned everything else out. Multi tasking wasn't really something he was good at unless it involved mindlessly playing an instrument and talking to someone at the same time. Other than that... he could only do one thing at a time or he'd end up botching it horribly. Jesus Christ, all his holy saints combined, and maybe toss a demon or two in there just for kicks... He said turning around to face Benji and Jasmine, You two trying to kill me sneaking up behind me like that? Of course Jeremy wasn't totally serious... he was never totally serious... usually... unless someone had either hurt Jasmine or he was talking to someone about something very serious or someone showed up on his doorstep at 2 in the morning bleeding everywhere.

If there was one thing besides music that Jeremy was really good at, it was lightening the mood. He was the sort of guy who was easy to laugh at, and no one ever felt bad for laughing at him because he was laughing at himself too. He was fun to be around, and most people completely adored him... some of them because he was "cute" some because he was "hott" some because he was good with music, and some just because you couldn't help but love everything about Jeremy Scott. He was without a doubt the nicest guy on the planet. He was probably the only guy who didn't have sex on the mind every time he was in the presence of a hot girl, and he was probably the only guy in the entire area over the age of 17 who still "hadn't gotten any." Most people didn't understand why a guy like Jeremy wouldn't have landed a girl in bed by now. What wasn't to love about him?

What most people didn't realize was that Jeremy wasn't like most guys because he didn't want to be like most guys. He had fallen in love with his best friend, who had been a devout Christian, and a firm believer in waiting until you were married, and he had promised her that he would wait. Of course, his promise had been that he would wait until they were married, since they had both loved each other, and knew they would spend their lives together... but it wasn't to be. Brittany died from cancer, leaving Jeremy devastated, but he managed to get back up on his feet again, and he was still holding to that promise. He would wait until he found someone else to love unconditionally. He wasn't quite over losing Britt yet, but he knew she wouldn't want him to just mope around and not let himself ever feel again, so he was doing his best to move on, but still hold to his promise of waiting until after he was married. It was what set him apart from the rest of the world, and always would.

Dannie appeared shortly after they had arrived downstairs and informed them that she'd gotten the bullet out and they could come back... and that she was going to clean up. Jeremy of course would have none of that. He walked upstairs just after her, still making sure to keep a good distance between himself and Dannie so as to not come off as a threat with his towering height. I'm very particular about who uses my mop. he said, obviously not serious, but telling her in his own special Jeremy way that he wasn't going to let her do the clean up, in fact, I'm so particular about it, that I hid it, and I've forgotten where it is. Don't worry about cleaning up... it's not like the president is coming tomorrow... and if he was I wouldn't let him in my house. He could stay outside on the porch for all I care. Nobody ever comes here except me and Jasmine... and Benji.

-----------------------------------------

Jasmine was still clutching Benji's hand in hers as they walked downstairs. She still couldn't believe she had found someone as amazing as him... and she still couldn't believe there was a half dead man in her kitchen at this very moment getting a bullet pulled out of his arm. Every time she thought about that it just gave her the chills. She couldn't imagine getting shot or losing as much blood as Justin had lost. The pain would probably have killed her long before the blood loss did... but she was kind of a wimp like that. She was a girl though... and a cute shy innocent one, so she could get away with stuff like that. Jeremy could too... but that was just because he was the tall skinny guy who made everyone laugh, and he didn't really count. Most guys though were a lot more tough than Jeremy. Being a wimp sort of ran in the family.

Jasmine jumped slightly when Jeremy turned around so suddenly and accused them of sneaking up on him. Jeremiah Ezra Scott, don't you go accusing us of sneaking. she said in the sort of matter-of-fact way that only little sisters could, you know as well as I do that if you didn't have your head in the clouds you would've heard us a long time ago. She finally let got of Benji's hand and crossed her arms challengingly, but the only response she got from Jeremy was him rolling his eyes. Eye roll duly noted. she said with a sigh, and turned to look towards Dannie as she came downstairs to announce that they could come back upstairs. Jasmine had heard a distant string of cursing from upstairs, and it had sounded painful. She really didn't want to go back up there just yet... she was afraid all the blood was going to make her sick.

So instead, she pulled Benji over to the couch at the back of the control booth section of the recording studio that took up the entirety of their basement. You're not going to get in trouble for staying out this late are you? she asked, hoping he wasn't going to get hurt because of her. She'd heard the yelling earlier when she'd stopped at his house, and she had a feeling that things didn't always go over very well at home for him. She hated thinking about that. Benji was so nice... so perfect, she didn't understand why anyone would want to hurt him.

[BENJI TIMOTHY LESSART]

Love. It was a four letter word that seemed to have an endless amount of definitions. In the dictionary, it was defined as a feeling of endearment towards something. Back in the early years, the word actually meant something but as time went on, the word began to lose meaning. Stupid guys would use it loosely if it meant that they would get lucky. Girls would often believe them and then get hurt because once the guys got what they wanted, they left the girls in a broken heap just looking for their next bed mate. It sickened Benji to actually believe that most guys thought with their dicks until they got to be at least 30 and that was even a maybe. Some guys never grew out of it. He knew this first hand, he had a perfect example for a step-father. It wasn't like he could change how those guys acted but he could always be the exception.

When Jeremy started babbling about them sneaking up on him, Benji couldn't help but chuckle. Jeremy definitely seemed like a real character and Benji hoped that Jeremy would start to like him. Suddenly Jasmine started shooting answers back at him and in an instant they almost resembled a comedy duo. Benji couldn't believe how they close they were and soon all the memories from his childhood flooded back. James and him had been almost inseparable but when Gerry came into their life, James changed. Benji didn't know why or how, maybe it was because Gerry took an immediate like to him. For whatever reason James' attitude began to change and Benji hated what he had become. He treated girls like they were trophies, the more he got the better he was. He treated Benji and Sam that they were nothing at all and that drove Benji and Sam closer together. Benji missed all the great times that he had with James but nothing he could do would ever change him back into the brother he used to be.

Suddenly the girl told them that they could come up if they wanted. He was sure that if he went up there and saw all the blood he would embarrass himself, either him puking or passing out. He was pretty relieved that Jasmine whisked him away towards the couch in the back. It was like she knew him already, and he gave her a large smile. He couldn't believe that she was still single, she was just so awesome. He could still kind of remember what some guys had said about her being easy to mess with and now that he met her, he wanted to punch all their faces in. How could they treat her like that, it made him sick. Benji was growing very protective over her and would be sure that nothing like that happened again, while he was around. If he ever heard about another guy doing that to her, the guy would definitely end up hurting.

Jasmine asked Benji if he would get in trouble staying out this late. He wasn't really sure of the time but Benji was almost certain that when he got home, he would get wailed on. If he was lucky, maybe Gerry would be asleep and he could avoid the beating until the morning. He cocked his head and gave her a childish smile. "Yeah don't worry about it." OK, he kind of avoided giving her an actual answer but he didn't want to worry her. He was the last thing that should be on her mind, even if she was the first thing on his. He didnt want to make her upset and maybe he would tell her but not now and especially not in front of her brother. He felt bad keeping something from her but it was for her own good. The less she knew about his family life the better.

[DANIELLE WHITNEY CURTIS]

- - - - - - - - - -

This was the last thing Danielle had expected to happen to her tonight. She had only left the house in order to get away from her father, to not be home when he got home and to avoid the abuse as much as possible. Did she expect to find a blood bleeding to death in an alley way, have to bring him to a friend’s house and fix him up? To end up secretly having feelings for him even though she didn’t want to admit it herself? No, she had not expected any of it. She only left the house in order to just stay away for a few hours, find shelter in some run down apartment and stay there until it was about six in the morning and go home, pretending that she had been there all along and he just had not found her that night. Of course, she knew that when she went home that she would get it worse then she would have the night before. Her father would be so pissed that she had left, and the fact that she had come home covered in some stranger’s blood would not help with calming his anger. No, it would only make it worse. She still wasn’t sure why she was helping this guy in the first place, but something inside her told her to not just leave him when he was healed, to just stay with him and be there for him if he got hurt. She wasn’t sure how she was going to benefit from this or anything, but she was going with her guts and sticking with him.

Dannie felt so bad for putting the poor guy through his much pain. Sure, she was helping him get cleaned up and all. But it was obvious he was in a lot of pain, like he was going through hell. Which, this probably was like hell on earth for him. Being helped by some random person that you didn’t know was a situation where awkward and uncomfortable were words that just did not do it justice. The boy, Justin, that she was helping, he was quite fit. His body was toned and his arms were what most called “chiseled”, meaning that they had a lot of muscle to them. The first thing people probably did notice when they looked at him was his bad boy image. Scars littered his body, as well as a couple bruises here and there. But one thing Dannie did notice that most people probably didn’t was that Justin didn’t eat very often. How could she tell? When she had gone to check his pulse, she could automatically feel that his sugar was low. How could she tell? Dannie just had skills like that. He had to be hungry, and if he hadn’t eaten recently it was putting him in danger of having to go to the hospital after all. The last thing she wanted as to have to take him there, since it brought back terrible memories. Memories of when she had been stabbed, of the night her father was arrested. She just wouldn’t be able to go in there without having a melt down, and she didn’t want to do that in front of anyone.

She had told him not to thank her, that she was just doing it. She knew he wanted to thank her, and that she rightfully deserved it, but she just did not want to accept it. She always had been the kind to willingly help someone, especially before the “incident”, so she wasn’t worried about being thanked. She could tell he somewhat understood what she meant by it kept her from going home, and that scared her. She didn’t want anyone knowing that she was being abused, but it was kind of hard to hide the evidence now. She had bruises, cuts and scars covered over her entire fragile body. Most people would think she got in to some pretty bad ass fights, but she wasn’t. She was being beaten because of her mother’s actions, something she had no part of. She was being beaten because she was Danielle Curtis, his daughter and the so called reason that her mother left. She was being punished for no reason. All because her mother left and her father was just an alcoholic with no idea that he was the reason his ex-wife left, not Dannie. But he hadn’t realized that, and what scared Dannie was that he would never realize it. And that she would die a slow and painful death all because of her father.

Dannie had bent down close to Justin’s face when everyone had left the room. She would never kiss him in front of Jasmine, Jeremy or Benji. It would be incredibly awkward, and it just wouldn’t look right. This didn’t look right to begin with – a small, innocent girl like Dannie taking care of a large, dangerous man like Justin. Two people who lived in the worst part of Pismo Beach, California finding themselves in the richer parts of the town, a place they just didn’t belong in. And then to have a man, one of which was almost two feet taller then Dannie and about four inches taller then Justin, let them in the house and in their kitchen. Jeremy’s height was one that made Dannie extremely uncomfortable. It wasn’t that she was scared her would hurt her. Oh hell, she knew Jeremy wouldn’t harm a fly on purpose. Just that their height different scared her. He was so tall, and if she ever stood close enough to him she’d have to bend backwards in order to look at his face. Four foot nine and six foot four was not a good match. Dannie was like a midget, and she wasn’t sure where she got her shortness from. Her dad was extremely tall, and from what she remembered of her mother so was her mom. Her dad was a whopping 6’1”, while her mother was 5’8”. Where she got her shortness from was a mystery Dannie wasn’t able to solve. But if there was one benefit to other people, it was that if you stood beside her you would automatically feel incredibly tall.

As their lips touched and her fingers slipped in to the bullet wound, she accidently put a little bit more then just feeling in to it. She added passion, and she really didn’t want to do that. She was giving off that she liked him, and she just didn’t want to give him that kind of idea. Her hand had touched his neck, and a part of her told her to take the kiss just a little farther. To part her lips and see where he took it. But she held back, not wanting to him the idea that she was having feelings for him. But as she pulled back, she quickly pulled the bullet the rest of the way out. She would have continued to kiss him when she pulled the entire bullet out, but she felt that if she kept on that she would end up taking it farther then she wanted. And as she pulled back pulling the bullet out, she could see the expression on his face turn sour. He had felt that.

A long string of curse words flowed from his lips like it was some kind of language he had been speaking all his life, like it was a language he was fluent in. She bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh as she looked at his pained expression. The curse words were making her want to laugh, not the fact that he was in pain. Dammit Dannie he growled at her, his voice showing the he was in obvious pain. She looked at him, cocking her eyebrow and waiting for him to continue. could you possibly have made that hurt any worse? he asked her, and she thought for a second. She nodded her head, not exactly liking how he was cussing at her. Yeah, I could have. Would you have rather me just pulled it out slowly? That way you could cuss at me some more? she asked, her tone showing that she was less then pleased. You should be lucky I was even willing to get it out in the first place. she growled at him, turning her back to him.

She watched him cringe as she ran the cold damp towel over his wounds, ignoring the fact that she was hurting him. He had pretty much pissed her off now, cussing at her like that. If there was one thing Dannie didn’t take well, it was someone cussing at her. She got enough of it at home, and she didn’t want to take it from anyone else. She knew that helping him was probably something he wasn’t used to, but he would have to put up with her if he wanted to not die tonight. If it wasn’t for her in the first place its more then likely he would be dead by now, so he really couldn’t complain. Of course, Dannie couldn’t blame him for being so crabby right now. He was in terrible pain, probably hadn’t had much sleep, and was getting help from some stranger. Besides, it was about one or two in the morning. Anyone up this early would be in an extremely crabby mood. She almost wanted to question why he was out this late, but she held back her questions. She would ask him later when no one was around.

As she walked down to the basement, announced that they could come back up and made her way back to Justin, she still had this upset look on her face. The expression she had on her face ever since he had cussed at her, complaining about the pain she had put him through when removing the bullet. She had talked to Jeremy about the mops, and as they reached the kitchen he spoke to her. I’m very particular about who uses my mops, he told her, and she looked up at him with this look that told him “I’m not buying it”. In fact, I’m so particular about it, that I hid it, and I’ve forgotten where it is. Don’t worry about cleaning up… it’s not like the president is coming tomorrow… and if he was I wouldn’t let him in my house. He could stay outside on the porch for all I care. Nobody ever comes here except me and Jasmine… and Benji. he told her, and Dannie rolled her eyes. Oh please, Jeremy. Just give me the mop. I know you know where you put it, so don’t go acting like you don’t. Besides, I made this mess so I’m cleaning it up. I am not leaving your kitchen a mess like this. You either let me clean it up.. or I’ll cry. she said, crossing her arms. Oh, and I’m not showering here either. I’ll get a shower at home. she told him, turning around and looking at Justin.

As she turned around, she noticed that Jasmine and the boy she was with had not followed her and Jeremy upstairs. It was probably because of the amount of blood on the floor, on the towels and covering two people. It was a lot of blood, Dannie would admit that to anyone, but she wasn’t going to freak out over it. She was kind of used to it by now, since she had been looking at it for long enough. She crossed her arms, looking at Justin with a stern look. But you, on the other hand, will need a shower. Your cuts will need a good cleaning, and I’ll be more then glad you take you to the bathroom if Jeremy will show me where it is. But you can clean your cuts yourself. she said, walking over to him. Bending down, she picked up the towels that were drenched in blood and tossed them over her shoulder. Yes, Dannie was being a tad bit bossy. But she wasn’t going to let either of them get their way. Jeremy needed to give her the mop and Justin needed a shower. That was just that.

- - - - - - - - - -

POST STATUS complete.
TAGGED Benji a.k.a Kyle && Jer/Jazzy/TinTin a.k.a Jess
WORD COUNT 2040 without codes.
BANNER me.
TEMPLATE me.
NOTES DAMN! where'd that muse come from?! text banner credit goes to Corinna.

[JUSTIN THOMAS NOVAK]

Justin knew all too well that he owed Dannie his life... he would have been dead for sometime by now if it wasn't for her, but that was part of why he was appearing less than grateful. He had only ever been grateful to one person and since that person had been dead for two years, he didn't really know how to show gratitude. He had tried several times to thank Dannie, but she told him not to... and he didn't know how to show it aside from saying thank you. He was sort of confused at the moment to be perfectly honest. First she was telling him not to thank her because she just did it and no thanks was required... and now she was mad at him. He hadn't cussed at her because he was mad at her... and he hadn't even put any thought behind it. That was just how Justin spoke... he was like all the other guys from the street... they cussed at everyone just as a regular part of their speaking... even the few people they called friends.

Justin had grown up with his parents tossing cuss words around without any meaning behind them because they were just so drunk they couldn't even think about what they were saying. So naturally Justin had picked up the same thing. Really he was just saying the same thing anyone else in his situation would have said, just in a more vile and unappealing way. He couldn't help it... to him, it really was his language. Some people spoke British English, some American English... Justin just happened to speak Street English. He hadn't ever known any other way to talk, and since he hadn't really taken much English in his two years of high school, he hadn't learned any better. Plus in prison there wasn't a single person there who wasn't fluent in cussing. The more you cussed the tougher you were... so naturally since Justin was the youngest one on his cell block, he had to come off as exceedingly tough.

Life had taken a bad toll on Justin Novak, and most people didn't realize that all things considered, he should be a lot worse than he was. Most people, had they gone through what he had would be much more crude and violent than he was. If anyone cared to look a little closer than most people, they would see that Justin really was a good person and he had just been hurt so badly and scarred so deeply that he literally didn't understand the "rules" of the social circles in society. He didn't realize that the way he said things came off as rude and abrasive or that his appearance made him look like the sort of person that you wouldn't want to associate with or that when people saw the way he sort of avoided other people it made him look suspicious. All he knew was that when people found out who he was or when they saw the scars or when they discovered he had a record... they looked at him differently.

All he knew was that his past, everywhere he went, haunted him and he couldn't escape it. All his life he had been searching for acceptance into society, and all his life people had turned away from him in disgust. He really was trying to fit in... he really was trying to get people to see that he wasn't the same guy as that 17 year old who had gotten mixed up with the wrong people and strayed down the wrong path. That had been two years ago, and he really had changed, but it seemed no one was willing to believe that, and he didn't understand that it was his appearance and the way he spoke that was aiding in their failure to believe that he had changed. Unfortunately... the more people shunned him, the less inclined he was to try to conform to their ways and the more crude he became. All he really needed was someone to give him a second chance and to be brutally honest and tell him that he had to change some things about himself before society would accept him.

As Dannie finished cleaning the blood away in silence he started to feel guilty again. He didn't know why he was feeling guilty, and he didn't know what he had done to make her mad... but he knew he had done something. He didn't know how to apologize though, since he didn't know what had made her mad. He was in tremendous pain at the moment and all his efforts were focused on suppressing the sick feeling in his gut. Probably no one here knew what it was like to be in this much pain. Being shot and stabbed within thirty seconds of each other was just plain awful. At least when he'd been shot three times he'd gone unconscious and hadn't felt it... or at least didn't remember feeling it... but this time he felt the pain alright. He almost wished he had gone completely unconscious just so he wouldn't have to feel the pain he was in at the moment. He had high pain tolerance, but he wasn't a super hero, and this was definitely getting to him.

When Dannie left to go talk to Jeremy that slight hint of acceptance he had thought he might have felt from her started to dwindle. It wasn't because she left, but because she was angry with him, and he knew it had something to do with what he had said. He knew all too well that she didn't have to help him... but he had dared to hope that maybe Dannie was just a little different than most people, and that perhaps she had understood him more than most people... now he was starting to get the feeling that he shouldn't have ever even considered hoping that there was someone out there who was a little different. Dannie had probably only helped him because letting someone just die like that would weigh on her conscience for the rest of her life... she probably didn't really care. She probably wasn't really different than anyone else. There was no one out there who was willing to try to see him from a different angle... try to see past the gruff exterior and into the hurting and abused interior.

She returned a short moment later, with Jeremy following along behind her. By now the blood loss, the pain, and the exhaustion cause by all of this was really starting to take hold of him. He could hear what they were saying, but somehow none of it was processing in his mind. Not much of anything was processing in his mind. He was definitely on the verge of passing out. Not in a way that would require him to go to the hospital, but in a way that his body was telling him to shut down for a while so it could be reset and he could relax while he was out like he so desperately needed to. He definitely didn't look very good at the moment. The color had drained from his face, and his hand which had before been pressed against the knife wound to keep himself conscious had fallen almost limply into his lap. His normally rigid and powerful posture had been reduced to an exhausted and powerless position, and as much as he was trying to fight the "sleep" that was coming in the form of passing out, he seemed incapable of fending it off completely.

He caught something being said about him and needing a shower, but just as he did so, he lost his fight with his body, and his cold eyes closed. Justin's body completely relaxed the moment his eyes closed, and his weight, which had been somewhat unbalanced because of the way he was leaning slightly on his good arm, started to be taken a hold of by gravity and he slowly started to fall towards Dannie and Jeremy. As soon as he was passed out, it gave his body the opportunity to do some catching up with everything that had happened, and the pain stopped registering in his mind. The last thought he had before he was out was that he was supposed to meet JJ tomorrow... and if he died tonight, not ever meeting his son would be the only thing that he would regret in his life... that was all that mattered to him now. If he survived to tomorrow and died the next night he would be content and fulfilled... but tonight was the one night when he actually didn't want to die.

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Dannie had no idea what she was attempting to deal with when it came to arguing with Jeremy. He really wasn't good at very many things, but the few things he was good at, it was better at doing than just about any living person on the planet. Among those things were anything involving music (singing, writing, playing etc.), being outgoing and a friend to everyone, and being the biggest stubborn ass you'd ever have the pleasure of meeting. He'd had to take debate junior year, and just because he was so good at confusing people but sounding like he knew what he was talking about and having a comeback/rebuttal for everything anyone said... he won just about every time. It drove people crazy sometimes, especially Jasmine. He was pretty good at being an obnoxious older brother, but you couldn't help but love him. Half the things he said and did were outlandish and ridiculous and no one in their right mind would ever even have so much as a fleeting thought about it... but that was just how the ADD mind of Jeremy Scott worked.

Dannie's "I'm not buying it" look was one he got on a regular basis, both from his sister, parents, friends, and complete strangers. He was definitely used to it by now, and it never stopped him. Hell, nothing could stop him. Once you got Jeremy going, it was like a subway with a broken break and he'd go flying right past any and all boundaries and places where he really should have stopped. That was part of the reason people liked going to his gigs. It wasn't just a bunch of music and singing... it was music, singing, and a comedic act all rolled up into one package deal. He knew how to draw in the crowds, and the best thing about that was that he didn't have to really do any acting. He would just start talking about the first thing that came to mind and usually it came out in a rather entertaining fashion. I suppose you could say that Jeremy was just a natural entertainer, and he loved doing it.

I think not. he said when she insisted he give her the mop. He wasn't about to let Dannie clean up the mess. if you're not leaving until I've given you the mop and let you clean up then I'm just not going to give you the mop until you decide that you can't handle being all bloody anymore and take a shower... and while you're doing that, I'll clean it up. You can't win this Dannie. I'm not letting you leave looking like you just swam through a pool of blood, and I'm not letting you clean the kitchen. There was no way for Dannie to get her way so long as her way clashed with Jeremy's way. He definitely had the upper hand in this situation... then again he had the upper hand in most situations. First of all, arguing with someone nearly two feet taller than you automatically gave you a disadvantage, and arguing with someone like Jeremy who never lost an argument automatically gave you an even bigger disadvantage.

He was definitely good at living up to his stubborn reputation. The sooner people learned not to argue with Jeremy the better off they would all be. It was mostly just a waste of time... unless of course you were interested in finding out just how exactly he would refute your argument. It could get rather interesting, especially when people thought they had a completely concrete and irrefutable argument. The strange thing about Jeremy was that he almost never thought about things before he said them... it just happened. It was like his mind went on auto-pilot when he was arguing with someone. It wasn't very helpful in most situations, but in ones like these it definitely helped him out. Most people knew that he generally wasn't all that great with words except when he was writing lyrics... but somehow in a debate he always made sense.

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Jasmine could hardly believe her luck with meeting Benji. Most guys were only interested in her for one thing, but Benji really seemed to be interested in the things she liked to do. He seemed truly fascinated with her for her, and not just for sex. It was a strange feeling to her... being actually cared about by a guy she wasn't related to instead of just used. The things people said about her being easy to mess with were all true, unfortunately. Jasmine was the sort of girl who was innocent and too trusting for her own good. She didn't see the betrayal coming and because of that it always hurt her. She just wanted so badly to be in love with someone and for someone to be in love with her that she found herself in less them acceptable situations more than once. Of course she always had Jeremy to cry on, but it just wasn't the same.

Given a bit of time, she knew that Jeremy would start to like Benji. Hie approval really did mean a lot to her. He had always been that over protective brother who got on her nerves and annoyed her but in the end was always the one who was there for her. She loved her parents, don't get me wrong, but they were gone so much she couldn't really go to them. So, with Jeremy being an extremely grounded individual who could cheer anyone up, give good advice, and occasionally beat the shit out of some jerk, he was the one she turned to. It was a natural relationship really. Even if they weren't related, he would probably still be the one she looked up to. There was just something naturally protective about Jeremy, and not just over Jasmine. Anyone he was close with could feel it too. It was like he was everyone's big brother, and there was no task too large for him to accomplish if it meant keeping you out of harm's way. The two of them had always been close, and probably always would be.

You should play something. She said, rather randomly. That was one of the few things that she and Jeremy shared... being random. She was definitely not nearly as bad as he was, but on occasion it slipped out, like now. He had told her earlier right after they met that he played guitar and sang, though he'd said he wasn't very good. Jasmine wasn't convinced. She had insisted that she wasn't very good, but he kept telling her that she was, and she was going to return the favor. Of course, anything that Benji did in her opinion would be good. Heck, she even saw him as the best basketball player she'd ever seen, even though he practically killed himself out there before he'd realized she was there on the bleachers. He was the first guy who had showed any interest in her as a person and not just a sex toy, so naturally she saw him as completely perfect in every way. Yes... Jasmine Scott was love struck... she couldn't help it, that was just the way she was.

[BENJI TIMOTHY LESSART]

Benji hesitated at first when Jasmine asked him to play a song. He hadn't used his guitar in at least 2 months and never actually played in front of anyone. Benji was just too scared to even try, especially after all the criticism that he received from his brother and step-dad. When they weren't home, Benji would occasionally pick up the acoustic his father had bought him and just play a few of the chords he actually memorized but it wasn't anything serious. He definitely didn't think he was good or anything like that. His mother and sister were always supportive of him, urging him to take up guitar but Benji couldn't muster that. At least with his sports he could get a scholarship that could take him away from his broken home. Music didn't promise that which was one of the main reasons the acoustic was gathering dust in his room while he was practicing shots on the driveway.

" Are you sure you want me to? I don't want your ears to bleed." He slowly rose from his spot on the couch and walked over to the first guitar he saw which happened to be an acoustic that resembled his own. He turned back towards Jasmine. "Hope it's ok if I use this guitar." He grabbed it and walked back over to the couch. Which song should he play? He didn't know that many and the ones he did know, he wasn't that great at. He was sure that Jasmine wouldn't mind what song he played for her, at least he hoped she wouldn't. He sat down close beside her and smiled. " If it gets too unbearable to hear, just let me know and I'll stop." He knew what song he was going to play for her and just prayed that he could remember all right chords. When he was sure that the guitar was properly tuned, he began the song.

She's got style - Never Shout Never

Benji could feel the heat on his cheeks as he strummed the last chord. He had made a couple mistakes and just knew that Jasmine being the musician that she was, picked up on them right away. " I'm really sorry... I haven't practiced in a while so I know I must of sounded awful." He got up to put the guitar away and then rushed back to his spot once again. Somehow, playing in front of Jasmine wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. Maybe it was the fact that he felt safe around her, which is a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. Even though they had only met today, he felt like he could trust her and she would become his most trusted friend. It would feel good to tell someone about his family issues and not worry about being judged.