Rescued by...

On and On and On

Gemma's POV
I manage to wake up and get ready extra early today without waking Danielle. I needed to be early because there are a few sheets I left at work that need to be completed. I knew Danielle would be up at the school in a few hours anyway so I'd have to properly catch up with her then for now I just give her a kiss on the cheek and I'm on my way.

Lily's POV
Luckily my school opens (even to the students) dead early so I start getting ready dead early as I know it'll take me even longer than usual after last night. I stalk to the mirror in my bathroom and have another shower just to be doubly clean and see that I am bruised from head to toe and there are a few cuts on my face that I don't think I'll be able to cover up but I put a lot of concealer on trying to hide as much as possible and if anyone questions some of the cuts I'll just come up with a good excuse (I always do). I make sure to wear a turtleneck jumper , a pair of jeans and my high black boots and anything else to hide my fragile and weak broken body. I grab my bag that I somehow managed to pack last night and text Kira 'bestie needs bestie' so that way she knows it's urgent and even though it's an hour until school starts she'll be there. I manage to sneak out completely unseen by my mom as she is completely passed out on the couch but she brought it on herself. I decide to get a snack from school as sometimes they do fruit and cereal bars in the mornings so I'm fine with that.
By the time I had reached school luckily Kira was outside waiting for me but soon she noticed me limping and her tired smile turned into a frown
"I'm so sorry about waking u this early kizzie"
"That doesn't really matter to me I'll always be here for you. Lilz, are you okay?" She immediately reply's
"Could we j-just go inside please? Then I pr-promise I'll tell you everything Kira"
"Thank you for being so supportive" I thanked her as she agreed and held onto me as we walked to the cafeteria inside
"Think nothing of it lily I'll always be here for you and I know you'd do the same for me" she replied with tears starting to form in her eyes
"Of course I would but I'm just glad this isn't you. I'd rather suffer a million more times than ever have this happen to you. Your the sweetest and kindest person I know Kira". I said as we were in the cafeteria now and no one was here (or so I thought)
"But you shouldn't have to have this happen to you in the first place. Ugh, it's just so unfair Lilz most of all to you" she frustratingly sobbed with a couple tears rolling down and that's when I turned to tightly wrap my arms around her as she returned the hug and now I had tears and was slightly sobbing as well. "I know Kira, I know, life isn't fair but it's ok I'm strong and I'll make it through this" I comforted her
"I know lily, your already way stronger than the rest of us will ever be for getting this far but I also know your just saying that to comfort me" she slightly chuckled at that last part. "Well I can't help it Kira I don't know what I'd do without you, in fact I've made it this far because of you so thank you so much for never giving up on me and for always being my bestie"
"How dare you think I would ever give up on you?" She mocked offensive while I just laughed "and I'll always be your bestie, sorry kid but your stuck with me for life" she reassured me
"I wouldn't have it any other way" I said between chuckles as we embraced once again. I honestly don't know what I would do or where I would be now without Kira and as I talked about last night she gave me all of her undivided attention and support she just listened to me without judging which is honestly exactly what I needed right now and I'm grateful to her and I appreciate her all the more for it.

Gemma's POV
I had completed the worksheets and just come out of the staff room when I saw two of my students Lily and Kira walking down the corridor towards the cafeteria . I wondered why they were here so early and was about to say hi to them when I noticed Lily was limping and Kira seemed to be supporting her and for some reason it reminded me a lot of me and Danielle when we were that age. I was going to leave them to it as it looked like they were deep in conversation but unfortunately my curiosity just had to get the better of me so I went to get a snack from the cafeteria but I was hidden near a corner so no one would notice or see me. When they came in Lily didn't look ok and was limping for some reason but was trying to comfort Kira who was in a lot of distress and they seemed to be talking about how lily 'shouldn't have to go through this' and after a while lily started to tear up a little when they hugged each other and I didn't know why but for some reason when that happened these urges flooded through me to go and hug her right there and then but I knew I couldn't so while they kept embracing and both their eyes were closed I sneaked out of the cafeteria to go back to the staffroom which I knew would be full by now. I've tried to deny it but I know something really bad seems to be happening to Lily and I am determined to find out what it is because my students well being has always been very important to me and that won't stop now.

Lily's POV
Luckily as students started to come in me and Kira had stopped talking about my depressing shit and we were actually laughing instead about a random TikTok I sent her last night (it was like an enemies to lovers thing but with gorillas in a zoo haha). Anyways we didn't even realise how long we'd been laughing and chatting away until the bell rang and it was super crowded now as we all headed off to our first lessons. Everyone looking tired as hell but nothing compared to us (as we'd waken up so early) but especially me since I'm sure I'm the only one getting beaten by my mom and her lover/drug boys every day.

Gemma's POV
Finally, Danielle was here and as soon as she arrived I gave her a 'this is super important and we need to talk in private' look (whatever that looks like) and about two seconds after me she followed me to my office.
"How come you left so early babe? And the text sounded super urgent so what's up?" She quietly asked me.
"I'm so sorry I left so early Danny" I gave her a quick peck on the lips. "But that was just for work not about the urgent text I sent you. It's just... there's something bothering me about her... like something super strange but terrible is going on"
"Ok gemz I love you but I'm going to need a little more help here, what's bothering you? And who is it about?" Danielle replied in her usual soft tone that I love.
"Alright it's about a student I have, lily walters, do you know her" I started
"Yes I do. I teach her for history actually she's quite and really shy but she does really well and is one of the brightest in my class actually"
"That's actually how she is in my class as well but lately she's been even more quiet and more reluctant to answer questions and I've even caught her flinching a couple times"
"Yeah, I've noticed that too so keep going Gemma what else is bothering you about her?" Danielle replied
"Well you know how I went to the school earlier today? , A couple of minutes later as I was walking out of the staffroom I saw lily there and she was limping with Kira supporting her" I told her
"Oh I actually teach Kira too. Also their friendship reminds me a lot of us at that age." Danielle said
"That's what I thought!" I said as I got distracted for a moment "Anyway I heard Kira say to lily how she and I quote 'shouldn't have to go through this' and I get the feeling it wasn't a broken nail as Kira seemed to be in a lot of distress while saying it. I don't know, I just have a really bad feeling about whatever is happening to her."
Danielle just stared at me for a few moments, trying to process what I had just told her but she didn't look as surprised as I thought she would. "How come you don't seem more shocked?" I asked her as I had a feeling there was something she wasn't telling me. "Well - Sweetheart - the thing is, I did see her sleeve slightly roll up in my class yesterday and there was a bluish looking bruise there but she and Kira just rolled it back down and when I asked lily about it she just said she had fallen at work but now that your telling me this I'm even less certain that that was the truth." When she told me tears started to prick my eyes but I forced them back down again and gulped as there was a lump starting to form in my throat. I had a look even more determined on my face now "Oh no, I know that look, Gemma you know we can't force the truth out of her right?" Danielle said
"Yes I'm aware Danielle but we can support her enough for her to trust us and maybe, possibly open up to us?" I slightly asked her. She thought about it for a few minutes before saying "ok, we can help her I mean, I helped you so maybe we can do the same for lily just try not to intervene too much, please, for me honey". Danielle chuckled at my excitement as I said " I swear I won't but thanks so much Danielle. I hope this isn't true but you might literally be a lifesaver for this, twice". "Your welcome honey, but it's five minutes before the bell goes now and we're in private so I want you to do me a big favour" she implied. I flirtatiously smirked and kissed her gorgeous lips before saying "Gladly".