You stare at the mirror, biting your lower lip as you try to think of what to do. You can't let Niki see you like this.
He's so protective over you that if he knows about it, he'll go insane. Then he'll do something he might regret and it will all be your fault.
Niki has a scholarship and you don't want him to ruin it because of you. So, you avoid him.
The day at school isn't stressful yet you're stressed as fuck because you're trying to do anything but meet Niki.
However, your plans all go to fail when you feel a hand grab your arm and pull you inside an empty classroom.
Your heart is racing inside your chest while you try to free yourself from his grip, yet he pins you to the wall and sighs.
When you glance at him, his eyes are filled with concern, and he looks like he hasn't slept in days. "Why are you avoiding me?"
His voice is gentle yet firm, and you slightly look down, letting your hair hide the bruise on your face.
You try to pull away again, but he holds onto you tighter. "Please, just let me go," You whisper, your voice barely audible.
Niki's grip on your arm loosens, but he doesn't let go. "Not until you tell me what's going on," He says, his eyes searching yours.
"I don't-" You start, but when his hand holds your chin and he makes you face him, you gulp and turn to face the other side.
"Y/N, look at me." You can hear the worry in his voice and your heart sinks to the ground. "What's this?"
His thumb brushes the bruise on your cheek and you flinch, pulling away from his touch. "It's nothing," You mumble, avoiding his gaze.
Niki's expression hardens, and he grabs your wrist again. "It's obviously not nothing if it leaves a mark on your face," he says sternly. "Who did this to you?"
You hesitate for a moment, feeling a lump form in your throat. You know you shouldn't tell him. "It's not a big deal-"
"Y/N." His tone leaves no room for argument, and you know that you won't be able to keep the truth from him any longer. You take a deep breath, steeling yourself to speak.
"It is a big deal. Look at your face, who the fuck did this to you-"
"It was... Changmin." Your voice is barely over a whisper while his eyes flutter, his tongue pushing the inside of his cheek.
You can see the muscles in his jaw tighten when he runs his fingers through his hair. "Did he hit you?"
"He punched me." You admit, feeling embarrassed somehow. "I didn't want to speak to him and he just- I didn't know he was going to hit m-me."
"Y/N..." His eyes soften when he sees the tears in your eyes and he reaches out to gently touch your cheek. "I can't believe it. I'm so fucking mad."
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you-"
"This is not your fault." He mutters, pulling you into a hug. "I'm here for you, always. You don't have to go through this alone."
You bury your face in his chest and let out a sob, feeling the weight of everything you've been holding back finally release. It's a relief to have someone to lean on, someone who cares about you.
He holds you for a while longer, rubbing your back and murmuring soothing words. Eventually, you pull away and wipe your eyes.
"Don't do anything." You know very well how Niki loves the eye for an eye plan, but he always does more, making it pretty fair for both sides.
"I won't do anything... too bad. It won't be too bad." He smiles at you, although he feels guiltier every time he sees the bruise on your face and wipes your tears.
"But your scholarship..." You mutter, and he stops.
"Do you really think that's what I care about the most right now? When that fucker left this huge ass bruise on your pretty face?"
You shake your head, feeling a pang of guilt for even bringing it up. "I just don't know what to do."
"I'll take care of it all, for now, let's focus on you." He looks down at his hand and intertwines it with yours. "Let's go to the nurse and get you some ice."
And before you know it, you're sitting in the nurse's office with Niki placing a pack of ice against your cheek.
He insisted on staying with you so you can feel comfortable and safe.
"Feel better?" He peeks at you, brushing away the strands of hair on your face.
"Yes. Thank you. I feel bad I made you skip class, though." You say, looking down a little. He chuckles, shaking his head.
"Skipping class with you is much more worthy than me attending it alone. So don't worry."
You smile at him, his words warming your heart. Then he keeps silent, looking at the ground. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just thinking about what's going to happen to Changmin. It should be just enough to teach him a little something."
Changmin is your ex-boyfriend. You broke up with him because of how toxic he is, but he can't seem to accept it.
"What?" You watch as he stands up and reaches his hand for you to take.
"It's lunch break. He should be there." He smiles. "Come on."
You frown while he holds your hand and the two of you walk out of the nurse's office and to the cafeteria.
It feels a little bit embarrassing to be seen in public with a bruise like that, but Niki's presence and touch make it all better.
As you approach the cafeteria, your heart starts to race. Niki is looking for Changmin in the crowd, and when he spots him laughing and joking with his friends as if nothing happened, his blood boils.
The two of you walk to his table, already drawing attention to you with the way Niki is holding your hand.
"What the hell?" Changmin stands up when he sees you approaching him, the smirk on his face making your breath hitch.
"Apologize." Niki's tone makes a shiver run down your spine and the way he stares coldly at Changmin takes you off guard.
"Did you go to him after I-" Changmin tries to grab your arm when Niki pulls you behind him and sighs heavily. "What's your deal, fucker?"
"What's my deal?" Niki chuckles lowly, grabbing him by the collar. "My deal is that I have zero tolerance for scumbags like you. So here's what's going to happen, you're going to apologize to her right now and then crawl back to whatever hole you came from."
"What?" Changmin looks away, laughing. "You're pretty dumb, aren't you?"
Niki's eyes narrow and his grip on Changmin's collar tightens. He leans in close, his voice low and dangerous.
"You should be on your knees begging for her forgiveness, but instead you want to act like a tough guy? You're nothing but a pathetic coward."
"She's just a little bitch-" Changmin can't even finish his sentence when Niki punches him in the face.
The sound echoes through the cafeteria while everyone looks at Changmin while he's on the floor holding his bleeding nose.
Niki doesn't let you look at him anymore when he pulls you out of the cafeteria and brings you to a quiet corner.
"I was going to beat the shit out of him anyways, I just didn't want you to witness it. Sorry."
You just smile softly and hug him, resting your head against his chest. "Thank you, Niki. I really mean it."
And before you know it, his lips are on your forehead. When you look up at him with wide eyes, he chuckles.
"You looked like you needed one."
