She's ten when she sees him.

It's recess and the rest of the fifth graders are going crazy on the playground, pushing each other off swings, wrestling on the monkey bars, chasing each other round and round and round until they got dizzy.

She's sitting off to the side a bit, under a tree. Every joint and muscle in her body aches, and though she wants to be out there playing too, sitting down seems like the better option for now.

And then she sees him.

On the other side of the playground, under the other tree there's a boy who looks just as miserable as she feels. Tears are falling off his face and his whole body is racked with shuddering sobs. She waits.

No one comes to comfort the boy. She doesn't know if it's because he doesn't have any friends here today or everybody is just being distracted by the chaos on the playground or a mixture of both, but he's all alone.

Her feet are walking to the other side of the playground before she can tell herself that this is a very bad idea.

The boy doesn't notice her, doesn't look up once as she draws near and sits down next to him. Even when she wraps him in a tight hug he doesn't – can't – react. He sobs heartbreakingly into her shoulder as she traces circles into his back. It seems to help.

His sobs quiet down after some time and then he pushes away, looking at her with tired, red eyes. "Thanks" he mumbles quietly, wiping at his face.

"I'm Sang," she offers.

"Nathan." He uses his shirt to clean up his face, and she turns away to give him some privacy.

******

He follows her around like a lost puppy at lunch.

Marie isn't hovering around, so she figures it's okay. She'll just have to get rid of him tomorrow when her big sister comes back.

"Are you new here?" Nathan asks quietly. "I don't think I remember you."

"I've been here for a while."

"Really?" he looks dejected. "I'd think I would remember you since you're so nice. And your name is Sang. That's really unusual."

"Well, I've only been here for like two months, and I don't talk to a lot of people" she tries to console him. "Maybe we've just never talked before."

"Maybe." He perks up a bit at that. "But you talked to me!"

"You looked like you needed it."

He nods, quietly. But when lunch is over and they have to go back to their respective classes, he grabs her hand, squeezing it firmly. "Thank you."

******

Nathan doesn't show up again the next day. Sang spends her lunch sitting alone at her table, Marie's suspicious glare burning holes into the back of her head. Maybe he left. That's what they always do after a breakdown like that.

******

He didn't leave. She sees him slowly walking into school Monday morning, his books held protectively to his chest. He's limping ever so slightly, wincing with each movement. He's covering it well, but not well enough for her not to notice.

"What happened?" she asks, pulling him to the side, knocking his books out of his face slightly. "Oh."

His lip is thick and puffy, a bright red gash standing out glaringly. "Oh! Come on, we'll get you an ice pack."

He follows her reluctantly, trying to wiggle out of her grip. "No! No, I'm fine, Sang, I already put an ice pack on it, I..."

She shushes him, then knocks sharply on the nurses door. "Ms. Dearmon? Can we have an ice pack please? The teacher said you had one."

"But of course!" the nurse holds the door open wide and they shuffle in. She does a double take when she sees Nathan. "Are...?"

"There is a bully on the bus," Sang huffs out angrily. "And no one would believe him. Well, now they do. The teacher said he was handling it and we should go get an ice pack."

"Yes, yes, of course. Why don't you sit down here for a moment, sweetie, I'll get that ice pack in just a moment." Sang forces Nathan down onto the cot as the nurse bustles away. "Which teacher's handling it again, darling?"

"The supervisor" Sang says. "Right, Nathan? I don't remember his name."

"Oh, that's all right, darling. Here's the ice pack. Do you two want to stay a moment?"

Sang nods, carefully taking the ice pack from Ms. Dearmon and applying it to Nathan. He hisses uncomfortably.

"Aren't you sweet, taking good care of your friend like that" the nurse coos. "Can I leave you two alone in here for a moment? I just need to get myself a cup of coffee, I'll be right back." Sang nods and the nurse leaves them alone.

The moment she's out of sight, Sang drops the ice pack and begins riffling through drawers. "Take off your shirt" she commands.

Nathan blinks stupidly at her.

She huffs, shoving the drawer closed again and goes over to tug at his shirt. "Come on, Nathan, take it off."

"N- no" he shakes his head, curling into himself protectively. He winces.

"Come on, please Nathan? I know you can't reach your back, I don't want anything to get infected."

He stares at her, scared.

"I know what's going on, Nathan" she tries softly. "I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me."

"Tell what?" he sniffs.

She stretches out her leg, showing him her shin. It's covered in scrapes and bruises. "They're not all from playing" she confides in him.

Nathan is still dumbly staring at her, but he allows her to take of his shirt and gently take care of his back. By the time Ms. Dearmon comes back with her coffee they're back to the position she left them in.

"Do you think you're good to go to class, or should I call your parents?" she asks gently.

Nathan shakes his head. "I'm... I'm good."

"All right. I'll give you two some late passes then. Come back right away if something gets worse."

They nod dutifully, and she lets them go to class.

******

Sang places herself strategically at lunch, blocking Nathan from Marie's sight.

"Here" she says, pushing a tube over the table.

Nathan picks it up, looking at it blankly.

"It's for bruises." 

He nods, slipping it into his backpack.

******

Nathan does Taekwondo, Sang finds out. He can do really awesome kicks and is learning how to break a board.

He is also very, very smart once he's out of shock.

"I know you're hiding me from your sister" he tells her at lunch the next week. "Sit over there."

Sang sits.

Nathan sits at the table next to it so they're back to back. "See? We can still have a conversation this way." Then, as an afterthought: "And no one can creep up on us. One of us will always notice."

She squeezes his hand.

******

Thankfully, gym class has always been Sang's last period. All her aching joints and bruises aren't really hurting by that time, so she's okay.

Jumping on trampolines is fun, especially when she scares her teachers by turning saltos. The others think she does gymnastics. She doesn't, but she's not scared.

Cats always land on their feet after all.

But sometimes they sit them down and have them do weird exercises while kneeling on the floor.

Sang hates those days.

She's shivering, dying in the cold room, and nobody sees. Nobody sees the way the bruises on her shins and knees are in just the right position to be really painful. How sitting on her knees for hours is the last thing her joints need. The way sitting still in general is not what her instincts tell her to do when they kneel.

Nathan swats at his still tender nose, and blood comes gushing out. They leave to get another ice pack for him.

******

"My dad doesn't like me" Nathan says quietly. It's recess again, and they're sitting under their tree. "I don't know why, but he's never liked me. It's okay. He doesn't like my mom either. But... but I always thought she loved me. That's what she said every night. 'Goodnight, Nathan. I love you.' But... But..."

Sang pulls him into a hug, letting him hide his tears in her shoulder.

"She left" he gasps out between sobs. "She left. She ran away and... and... and she didn't take me with her. She left me all alone with my dad. She does... doesn't love me."

She holds him tight.

******

They smuggle him on Sang's bus that afternoon. And there, in the forest behind her house, she shows him what she can do.

"Wow" he breathes. "You're a cat." A short pause. "So does magic exist, too?"

"Yeah."

"And your parents...?"

"My dad can't do it, but he doesn't care. I think... I think my real mom could do it, but I don't know. He doesn't talk about her. And mother – well, she's only Marie's mother, actually, not mine – well, mother doesn't like it. It reminds her that dad cheated on her, I think. I don't know what Marie thinks, but she does what mother says."

"So the bruises...?"

"My mother, yeah."

They curl around each other on the forest floor. And if they sneak into her bedroom, later, and curl up under her covers, well, no one knows.

******

When Nathan comes limping into school again she takes him home and fixes him up properly with her stolen stock.

"Before..." he hisses as she dabs at his wound. "It wasn't so bad before. Maybe... maybe he did it to her, and... and then... then she ran away so now he's doing it to me. Why didn't she take me too?"

"You can run away with me" Sang says softly. "Run away to me. We could be gone in two days."

"I... I can't... I..."

"You already almost live here" Sang says. "It wouldn't be hard. And... and at least I don't have scars."

Nathan sighs.

******

"Mother!" Marie shouts. "Sang's been stealing again!"

The woman turns on Sang, gripping her wrist tightly with her thin, bony hand. "You evil child!" She screeches in a voice more fitting of a harpy. "I thought I'd finally beaten that habit out of you, but apparently I was mistaken!"

Sang is quivering, silently crying as she's dragged into the bathroom.

Marie proudly displays her loot: rubbing alcohol, a few bandages, cream against bruises.

"And where did you get that from, you evil child?" Mother yanks her closer.

"The... the nurse" Sang chokes out. "I... I got hurt in gym and she gave them to me. Please! I didn't steal anything, I promise!"

"And now you're lying, you witch-spawn?!" Mother shakes her, enraged. "Get me the stool!"

Marie scrambles off.

"You ungrateful child" Mother pinches her cheeks, forcing her to look up into her face. "I took you in, knowing you weren't mine. I put up with you, trying to save you from the devil when I could just let you burn in hell. I cook for you, clothe you, and do I get any thanks?!"

Sang's head is slammed into the counter, making her scream.

"Don't think that Marie hasn't been telling me about you. You were sitting with a boy at lunch! Are you planning on seducing him with your evil ways, Satan?! And now you're stealing... Too much is too much!"

The woman takes the stool from Marie, placing it in the middle of the bathtub. "Sit!" she commands, and begins to tie Sang to it, tight knot over tight knot.

"Please! I'm sorry mother, please! Please don't do this! I promise I'll get better! I..."

A hard slap has her spacing out for a moment.

"That's what you said the last time, witch's child! And apparently, you didn't learn your lesson. But this time, I'll make sure of it."

She turns to the counter, fingering Sang's medical supplies. "This is precious to you, hm?" She chuckles. "Well, then, let me show you how it's used."

She opens the rubbing alcohol, dripping it on Sang's face, her open eyes, her nose, her mouth, forcing her to swallow, laughing over ragged screams. The bruise cream comes next, and then she's taping her mouth shut, forcing it to go down and stay down. Marie turns the shower to a boiling temperature and then they leave her, locking the door behind them.

******

Sang floats back to consciousness wrapped up in blankets and sheets and a warm body.

"Sang" Nathan sighs, relieved, ever so relieved when she opens her eyes and blinks at him. "Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me?! They're... they're crazy! They just left you there, no one ever came to check on you, no one noticed that I'd gotten you out of there! You can't do that!"

"It's father's job to release me from my punishments" Sang croaks weakly. "That's what mother says. Don't worry, I'll heal. I'm a cat, remember?"

"Don't do that again", Nathan whispers, burring himself into her. "Please, don't ever do that again."

******

They move the next day. Pack their suitcases, move the furniture into the moving van and then drive away, to a new school district, a new life. And okay, maybe Sang's suitcase is heavier than usual. And fine, Marie had to pack most of their shared clothes. But they don't know, and that's perfectly fine with her.

*****************************************************************************************************

A/N: So, this is something new. I wasn't really in the mood for sweet, and well, this happened. Not horror, even though my cover looks creepier every time I see it. I'm going to try get through all the boys, but who knows what will happen. Anyway, I hope you all agree about my first monster being a monster. The next one will be a little more... classical, I guess.