Immaculate

A bruise is a bruise

Okay, some of this one was born from my own ignorance and my five minutes of "oh hell".  Authors's not at the end might help clear things up.

Thank you so much for reading and voting, commenting etc.  It really is the nectar of the soul. :)

Sang's POV

"What the fucking...." Gabriel ground to a halt as I settled onto his lap. The others had already gone on home, North and Luke were staying with Uncle anyway and it was just Gabriel and Nathan staying with me tonight.

I looked at him but he was looking down at my throat, his eyebrows almost meeting in the middle he was frowning so hard.

"So that's why you had shit all over your neck and face... who did it?" he asked and looked up at my face.

I realised he had seen the marks littering my chest and throat. I had washed off the make-up in the bath I had just had and thought my sleep top would hide most of them, but it had sank forwards slightly. The marks weren't really that bad and would fade quite quickly, but I still felt uncomfortable about it. I remembered the last time I had this conversation with them, Gabriel had enjoyed it, but Nathan? Nathan had been unable to wrap his head around it.

"You didn't have any make-up in your bag," Gabriel added and I knew he was more concerned with the "who" rather than "why".

"The girls," I said. "Alice, Karen, Devon and Tracey," I said quietly and he nodded.

"They saw the marks?" he asked and Nathan came over, he slid one finger under my chin and lifted my face, his eyes on the marks. His face darkened but he just walked back to the game he was playing on the xbox saying nothing.

"Yes, I hadn't realised how they stood out," I said my eyes on Nathan still. I heard him snort and I bit my lip harder. I knew he didn't like it when he had seen my skin like this before. He didn't understand it.

Gabriel jiggled his thighs under me to catch my attention and when I looked at him he shook his head, his expression telling me to leave it. I knew there was nothing I could say to make Nathan realise that I was fine with this, had even instigated it, again. He just didn't get it and I didn't know how to make that better. I could stop, never do it again, but then North enjoyed it and needed it on some level I think. If I was to stop for Nathan, that was unfair on North. If I carried on with North and Nathan had to see it, it was then unfair on him. I was damned if I did and damned if i didn't.

"Don't worry about it," Gabriel whispered in my ear and then added loudly. "You didn't let them put any mascara or eye-liner on, did you?"

"Mascara I think," I said and he frowned at me, shaking his head.

"For future reference don't share eye make-up with another girl, not mascara or eyeliner, you can get conjunctivitis from it. Only use your own. I'll put together a little kit that you can keep in your bag for you."

"Would be better if she hadn't needed to cover it up!" Nathan snorted, his car crashed into the barrier and he threw the controller down and got up. I reached out to him, catching his hand as he went passed me.

"I hate it, Sang, ok? I hate seeing bruises on you, no matter how you get them," he said harshly and shook his head.

"It's not bruises from anger, Honey," I said softly.

"A bruise is a bruise, Peanut," he replied sadly and then smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm not mad at you, Peanut, I'm not even mad at him really. It just twists me up inside. Especially when you've still got bruises and scratches on your face..." He stroked a hand over my hair and went towards the door.