[b] 1995[/b]

Dean furrowed his brow a bit at how much the bullying had affected her, to the point that she was missing class, simply from losing track of time.  It worried him, and honestly made him want to be violent, if not just to keep her from hardening up, like Sam.  He slowly lowered himself to the gravel, beside her, staying leaned forward a bit, to remove his jacket as she sighed.

The air on the roof was a bit colder than the crisp air on the ground.  If he was cold, he knew she was probably cold.  He wrapped his jacket loosely around her shoulders, before leaning his back against the wall, “Mika…”

He let her name roll of his tongue in the middle of a sigh, trying to find the words to make her feel better about the situation, one that he helped cause.  He wasn’t the best at handling flirting or telling girls ‘no’ when they flirted with him.  That’s how all the problems started.  

Since he had lost interest in making out with the more popular girls in school, or hiding out behind the bleachers with them, it had become an obsession for most of them.  Not that he wasn’t flattered, but it was honestly pathetic.  But Mika.  Mika was exciting.  She had been exciting to him since the day he had met her, six or so months prior.  

In fact, just his hand brushing the back of her neck as he pulled away from giving her his jacket caused a jolt to hit his heart, taking his breath for a second.  He decided to speak up, to hopefully reassure, as best he could.

“I could take care of that.”, he said plainly, turning his face to hers briefly to smile, “But seriously, stand up to them.  A lot of them are only doing this crap because you’re friends with me, and they’re boring.  Hell, if I hadn’t gotten under their skin out the gate, here, they would probably be beating me up, too.”

He knew it was vague advice, and every part of him wanted to just tell her to kick their asses, or bust their skulls.  But he knew that wasn’t Mika’s way, either.  She was more gentle than he was, and it was part of what made his heart jump out of his chest, when she looked at him.
“But I’m here now.  Your knight in shining armor…”, he finished with a laugh, glancing down at her lips briefly.