**edited 21/01/2021**

Elle's POV

Friday 23rd November 2018

It had been a long week of classes that week with trying to heal from the injuries, plus having an entourage of people following me everywhere I went, I was lucky I was allowed to pee without Kit or Delilah breathing down my neck. "What are you up to this weekend then?" Jordan asked as we walked out of my final class that week, photography.

"I'm going to watch crappy reality TV, sleep, do homework, and sleep," I told him with a light laugh.

He chuckled. "That sounds like a productive weekend. Well, I'll see you round yeah?" He said and waved, walking towards Carrie who was waiting to walk home with him. I waved to both of them and then wandered over to Kit, who was waiting to walk me back to the dorms.

"Hey Gorgeous, good day?" Kit asked as we started walking in the direction of the dorms together.

"Hiya," I smiled lightly. "Long day, but it's the weekend now!"

He nodded. "About it being the weekend... How do you feel about going on a date, with me?" He paused before saying the last part which made me chuckle, he was nervous. We hadn't spoken about the kiss since it happened, and I never told him how I was feeling either because of how confused Ace had me. But now, after he told me he didn't want anything, I was clear to pursue anything I wanted with Kit.

I nodded. "Yes, that sounds nice. When?" I asked.

"How about tonight?" He asked and I raised my eyebrows.

"Tonight?" I asked.

"Yes, I'll let you go back to your dorm and do whatever girls do before a date and then I can pick you up a bit later? If you want?" He asked hopefully.

"You know what? That sounds great, what time will you pick me up?" I asked as we approached the dorm block, Kit opened the door for me and I walked in, thanking him as I did so.

"How about we say seven?" He asked.

I nodded again. "And what kind of thing should I wear? Casual or dressy?" I asked, he looked at me in confusion. "A girl's gotta know this, if you're taking me to crazy golf then I don't wanna show up in my best frock, but if you're taking me to a restaurant I don't wanna wear jeans. It's a whole process," I explained and he laughed.

"Sounds it- uh, how about I say somewhere in the middle? Jeans and a nice top?" He suggested and I nodded with a smile. After climbing the three flights of stairs and walking down the hall, we were in front of my dorm room door.

"I'll see you at seven then," I say whilst looking away, I wasn't used to be asked on dates or having guys interested in me.

"See you then," he kissed my forehead and then turned and started to walk away.

"Don't be late!" I called after him, he spun around but continued to walk backwards down the hall.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he winked and then turned back around. With a giddy smile on my face, I pushed my dorm room door open, almost screaming when I saw Delilah sat in the dark on her laptop.

"Jesus, you scared me," I said with my hand on my heart. She looked up from her computer screen and smiled at me.

"I mean, I do live here," she joked as I flicked on the lights.

I looked at my phone, frowning when I saw no message or anything from Ace. All week I had expected him to update me on Theo but nothing came through... Not even a text. "Hey, Delilah? Do you know if Ace did anything about Theo? He said he would when I was up and okay again, but he hasn't said anything."

"Oh-um, yeah. He's sorted," Delilah said and avoided my gaze.

"Don't lie to me, Lil. What happened?" I asked and she groaned, looking up.

"Why am I always the bearer of bad news?" She mumbled, pushing her laptop away from her so she could sit up on her bed. "Ace broke Theo's legs," she said quickly.

"What?" I shrieked and she flinched slightly at the sheer volume of my voice.

"So he won't be an issue, for now at least. I don't think he can do much punching whilst in a wheelchair," she shrugged, scanning my face to try and gage my reaction.

I ran my tongue along the inside of my cheek, trying to process this news. "That's dangerous of him, he went there all by himself to beat his brother up. He could of got hurt, and how did he even break his legs?" I asked with a stressed voice.

"You really don't wanna know..." She shuddered and my heart dropped. "And he wasn't alone, he told Kit he was going and Kit tagged along. They both did it."

"What?" My voice was barely a whisper at that point.

"I keep telling you, Elle, these guys aren't just your typical high school bad boys. They're genuinely dangerous people, they've done far worse things than you've seen or heard. I want you to think about what you're doing before getting involved with either of them," she said in a serious tone. "Yeah?"

"I'm going on a date with Kit tonight," I said whilst running a hand over my face.

"Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me?" She squealed happily, jumping to her feet. "We need to choose you an outfit and do your make-up. Oh my God, so little time!"

"He asked me just now... Should I go with him? If he's so dangerous?" I asked.

"Do you want to?" She looked at me with one of my tops in her hand, I nodded.

"I like Ace a lot, but he told me he's not interested. Kit's a nice guy, I want to try it with him before writing it off completely," I told her and she nodded.

"Makes sense," she held a white lace vest forwards for me to take, and then some black ripped jeans. "And one thing about dating a bad boy," she paused and picked some shoes, before standing and turning back to me. "They'll never let you get hurt," she said and handed me the shoes.

I took them off of her and collapsed back onto my bed, I was still a little shocked about the news of Theo having his legs broken. "They might hurt me themselves," I mumbled and she looked at me in shock. "I don't mean physically! God, don't look at me like that. I mean, I really liked Ace and I thought he liked me back. He really fucked with my feelings, so they don't protect you from all hurt," I said and she looked at me with sympathy.

"Ace is a character and a half," she said and sat next to me on my bed. "He's the most sweet and caring person I've ever met, but he's also so broken. The shit his parents put him through, the shit they did to him was something a kid should never go through. He's fucked, like fucked beyond repair but he just needs someone to be patient with him."

I looked at her and thought about what she said. Ace had only told me his parents were still together, and that he had siblings. He had never said what they were like or what they did, Delilah told me ages ago that they fought a lot and so it was ingrained in Ace's mind that fighting and hurt was what love was. I didn't know the pain went further, and I wanted to find out what happened.