Vaughn p.o.v

Out of breath and panting, the three of us stood in a vacant lot about a block away from Magnolia Villa High School. Leigh and the red head were all but fist bumping each other, meanwhile my eyes were as wide as dinner plates as I tried desperately to catch my breath. What happened was nothing but a blur to me, a string of events that had long since fallen out of my hands and was now spiraling out of control. I watched as the two of them cheered between gasps of air before I looked back in anticipation of a uniformed officer chasing after us with a baton.

"Holy shit, haa... Leigh I can't believe you kicked him in the crotch and just ran!" The girl laughed and wiped sweat from her brow, sweeping her raspberry colored hair into a ponytail.

"He wouldn't let go of me, and campus security started to show up, haa... what else could I do?" Leigh suddenly glanced my way while I was still trying to catch my breath, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"I couldn't do it without Fonzie here walking up to them like he was hot shit. You were a perfect distraction, good job." The teen praised mockingly and nudged my side with his elbow.

I resisted the urge to grit my teeth, deciding instead to look over at the boy scoldingly. "Yeah, you made us run from them!"

The brunet recoiled a bit at my response, something I never wanted to happen with my patients. Unfortunately, I was too pissed to be rational with him.

"It was natural instinct! What, should I have just stood there and gotten in trouble? You followed us too, you know!"

"Oh don't try to pin this on me, you're already in trouble! I followed you because I couldn't exactly leave you alone in that situation!" I countered, the two of us bickering and glaring each other down in the empty field. We must've been quite the spectacle to behold as I noticed the red head furrow her brown in confusion.

She seemed to mull over the idea of interrupting us before just piping up out of sheer awkwardness. "Um, Leigh who the hell is this? Babysitter? Your sugar daddy?"

The brunet paused, turning to face her with a slight twitch of his eye. "Fucking- what? No." He hissed. "Kat, this is... remember, my therapist?"

Kat? Ah. This must be Katalina then.

After successfully identifying the mysterious best friend, I realized it should have been obvious from the very beginning. Anyone would have guessed once they saw how far Leigh was willing to go to protect her. I glanced at said friend to await her reaction and wondered if I should introduce myself formally. However, the girl looked stunned, her large blue eyes widening for a bit before she let out a laugh.

"Oh shit I was joking, but he really is-!" She got out between giggles as she clutched her stomach, shuffling over to an agitated Leigh. "Ooh, he came for you!" She uttered teasingly and shook the boy's shoulders.

"Shut up, my dad told him to." Leigh growled and rolled his eyes, his cheeks tinted pink as he pushed her off lightly.

"Are you sure he's your therapist? He isn't dressed like one."

"Yeah, Vaughn, what the fuck are you wearing?!"

I made a face at their little back and forth before shaking my head in disbelief.

"Can we FOCUS HERE?! Your-" I paused as what the other said only just seemed to register with me. "I'm sorry, did you just call me Vaughn? Since when were we on a first name basis?"

The teenager shrugged lazily and glanced off to the side. "I dunno, calling you Dr. Ackerman feels weird when you're dressed like one of our dipshit classmates."

I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not, but looking at the smirk on his face immediately caused me to disregard it. Pinching the space between my eyes, I let out a brief sigh to calm myself before speaking.

"Leigh... your father sent you to school perfectly intact. He asked me to pick you up, and now his son looks like he fell out the back of a Jeep in the Serengeti. Do you know how bad this looks?"

"It's just a couple cuts and scrapes, give me some credit! Didn't you see what I did to the other guys?"

"Do you want me to go to jail!?" I exclaimed in exasperation.

"Say you fell down some stairs..." Kat suggested, eliciting a snicker from Leigh.

"That'd never work, shut up."

My brow twitched in irritation as I eyed their playful interaction. Both of them were banged up to hell, but they were both smiling and laughing.

How could they treat this situation as if it were normal?

"Relax, let's just get to your car." The brunet suggested dismissively and casually began to walk back towards the school. "Don't worry, this isn't anything new. It hurts like a bitch but i'm used to-"

"Promise me you won't fight anymore."

The words left my mouth before I really took the time to consider them. Before I could think about whether it was a smart decision to add my two cents. I just knew I didn't want bruises and cuts to be a common occurrence in his life.

The teen stopped in his tracks upon hearing this and turned to face me. Katalina froze up as well, concern etched across her face as she looked between the two of us.

"What?" Leigh scoffed somewhat indignantly, "I don't gotta promise you anything."

My fist clenched tightly at my side, I hesitated a bit before firmly steeling my tone. "This is precisely what your father wanted you to go to therapy for. This isn't normal, and you could get seriously injured."

"What- how could you say that?" The younger demanded, looking absolutely scandalized. "You don't even know what those guys said to Kat- what they DID!"

"It doesn't matter." I asserted, not allowing him to get caught up in his own feelings of resentment. "When you get angry, lose your temper, and throw your fists; the bullies win. So please, promise me."

My gaze was now unflinching as I locked eyes with the other and conveyed my disappointment. The brunet clearly swayed under my watch and scowled at the ground. Even Katalina went quiet as she placed a tentative hand on his back, remaining silent for a long while before biting her lip and speaking in a soft tone.

"Listen, I don't agree with everything he's saying..." she began, her voice a comforting whisper. "Though, i'll say he is right about one thing. I don't exactly like seeing you all beat up. This was technically my fight, you just got involved with it because of me."

With Katalina's obvious worry hanging in the air, we both looked pointedly at Leigh. The other had his head down, his chestnut colored bangs hiding his face as he tensed and looked up at us in an instant. His expression undoubtedly screamed outrage... but his eyes, they seemed almost forlorn and acquiescing.