The motions of the car were enough to make me fall asleep on Mike's shoulder. The day's events and conversation were all that were still on my mind, I guess it was enough to trigger my subconcious into making me dream about it again.

It was late September of 2001, and I was walking along the beach reflecting on the past month I spent at high school. I wasn't supposed to go to Mission Bay, but we moved houses when my Dad went back to rehab. My mom couldn't afford the big house anymore, so she bought a small one for her, my brother and I. I was glad that I could finally go to school with my best friend, Abbey, but Mission Bay was living hell. I guess it wasn't a normal thing for a freshman girl to make it onto the varsity cheerleading team. So many people hated me, and I hadn't even talked to them. I minded my own business, Abbey being really my only friend other than a few girls on the cheer team who were nice to me. The captain of the JV team, Stephanie, was a sophomore and had decided to tell a bunch of people that I was a whore and a huge bitch because I made it onto varsity before her. I kicked off my flip flops and held them in my hand as I walked down the beach, sighing at the feeling of the sand beneath my feet. All I wanted was to move back to my old house and neighborhood; to go to school with the people I had been going to school with since first grade, people that actually liked me. I wanted my Dad back. I wanted to feel accepted. It had only been a month at this school and I already skipped a week and a half of classes because I couldn't handle the bullying and rumors.

I felt tears prick at my eyes as I looked at the sunset. I let out a shaky breath as I threw my flip flops down and pulled my knees to my chest. I saw a familiar face walk onto the beach; one of the most popular guys at Mission Bay. His name was Mike Fuentes. All the girls were in love with him, and a lot of the guys wished they were him… which I always thought was weird because it's not like he was a jock or anything, he was like your little rocker bad boy. I had never talked to him, I just saw him around and heard a lot of things about him. I heard he slept around a lot, never really dated anyone. Girls pretty much threw themselves at him; which I found to be pretty gross, even though he was extremely attractive. I even knew that Stephanie had a giant hard-on for him.

I watched him as he walked along the shoreline, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. His messy dark brown hair was sticking up everywhere. He had one hand in his pocket, the other reaching up to grab his cigarette. He had on a Nirvana shirt and a tight pair of black jeans. He walked towards the rocks that were placed around a pier that came off the beach. His long legs took him up the rocks in a few strides, never once slipping. When he got up on top of the pier he threw his cigarette into the water. He sat down and let his legs dangle off over the edge, on top of the rocks. I saw him pull something out of his pocket, and my jaw literally fell open. I stood to my feet and ran towards the pier as fast as I could.

He didn't notice me at first as I ran over. I watched him look back and forth from the water to the object that was sitting in his lap. I was able to climb onto the rocks when his head flew up and his eyes caught mine. I never expected my first interaction with him to be like this. His big brown eyes that he usually played on girls emotions with were bloodshot, his tanned cheeks stained with tears. His big lips were dry and cracked, his bottom one being chewed on by his top teeth. His long, skinny fingers were toying with the object in his lap.

"You're not really going to do that, are you?" I said quietly while getting onto the pier and sitting next to him. He didn't say anything and I looked at his arm, a bunch of scars scattered across his left wrist, a few fresh cuts with a bit of dried blood around them. "You don't want to do this," I said and wrapped my arms around him. I had expected him to push me away, but he did the opposite. He leaned into my embrace and placed his head on my shoulder, a cry escaping his throat. "It's okay," I rubbed his back as he cried onto my shoulder.

I lifted his head up and held onto his shoulders, making him look at me. "Look, I know you may not know or like me, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. This is something you should never resort to. I've lost two people in my life due to suicide. It's never the answer. Think about all the people that you'd be leaving behind, how sad they will be. Think about how you have the rest of your life to be happy and have a great future. I know I'm just some stupid freshman, but I refuse to let you put a bullet through your brain."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose, then opened his eyes and looked into mine. "T… Thank… Thank you…" he stuttered out in between sniffles.

"You're welcome," I smiled when he held his arms out for a hug. I hugged him tightly. "You should really get rid of that gun. It's only going to give you bad thoughts or get you in trouble."

He nodded and stood up, "Come with me." I followed him to a secluded area on the beach, one of the grassy areas that was hidden by bushes. He dropped to his knees and dug a hole in the sand, then emptied the gun of it's bullets and buried them in the sand; he then dug another hole and did the same with the gun. He sat there staring at the holes he had just covered for about fifteen minutes. Finally, he stood up and looked at me; he was about a foot taller than me so I had to look up at him. He gave me a weak smile, "I… You… What's your name?"

"Cassandra Merjos… you can call me Cassie…" I said quietly, looking down, not wanting to meet his eyes because I was sure he had heard lies about me.

He reached under my chin and tilted my head up towards him, "You're an angel, Cassie." He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine before whispering, "Thank you for saving my life."

I felt myself blush after he pulled away, "I'm glad I was able to be here to stop you."

"Mike!" I heard someone yell as footsteps came closer. A boy who looked like Mike, but was a little shorter showed up to his side. "I found your note; Mom and Dad have been searching for you everywhere. Thank god you didn't do it!" He wrapped his arms around him, "There is no way in hell I'm going to lose my little brother."

Mike embraced his brother in a hug, a tear fell from his face as he sighed and pulled from him, "Cassie was able to talk me out of it."

His brother looked at me and then grabbed me in a huge hug, "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. My name is Vic." He pulled away from me, "Mike, we should get home and find Mom and Dad, so they can stop freaking out."

"I think they should meet my little guardian angel," Mike said while placing my hand in his, linking our fingers.


That night, I had met Mike's parents and they both fell in love with me instantly for saving their son. Mike had asked me to hang out after I ate dinner with all of them, and he opened up to me about his depression and other problems that he had. He told me about the girls he's been with, and why he slept with so many girls. He also told me that he was going to be sixteen and getting his license soon, and that he was held back in the first grade. We talked until midnight, just him spilling out a bunch of things to me that he was never able to tell anyone else. He couldn't get over the fact that I actually wanted to help him, that I was really there to stop him from shooting himself. He got my phone number and kissed me again after walking me home, telling me that he swore I was his guardian angel. He took me out on a date a week later, and started the beautiful relationship that we had today.

"Baby, we're home," Mike's voice pulled me out of my half-asleep state. I groaned. "I'll just carry you in and put you to bed," he chuckled.

Notes

Second chapter of the day,
So if you didn't read the one before
Please do so you know where this is coming from.
This is a continuation of the last chapter (in the car).

Thank you for all the feedback.
I wasn't too happy with the last chapter
So I wanted to add this tonight.

Next update in a few.
xoxoxox