Marshall collapsed on top of Lataya, both were out of breath, sweat covered both their foreheads. He kissed her briefly on the lips, and then rested his head against hers. She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through his thick black hair, and patted his head gently. He swallowed a breath and kissed her neck slowly. She smiled and squirmed a little, pulling him closer to her. He grinned and buried his face in her neck for a few seconds. When he looked up at her, he stared, his mouth half open, his eyes gazing into hers.

She looked so beautiful. Her hair was messed up, it was in a pony tail but the pony tail had come loose, and some strands of hair fell around her face. Sweat covered her forehead, and her eyes were soft and vulnerable, something he hadnt seen in her before now. She smiled at him, her lips and teeth looked perfect, and it drove him wild. She was so perfect.

"Your beautiful." He whispered. She smiled and blushed bright red.

"Stop hitting on me." She whispered back jokingly.

"Im not even fucking around. Your beautiful. Your the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen in my life." He said, his voice soft. He meant every word that he was saying. He never meant anything more than he did right now.

"Thats so sweet." She smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. He tasted so good.

It was then that he realized, he didnt just like her. He didnt just have a crush on her. He loved her. He loved everything about her, he loved the way she talked, the way she held him, the way she kissed him, the way she did everything. She was so...her.

He stared at her, and she fidgeted nervously underneath him. He didnt bother moving, he was still laying between her legs, not wanting to move. He felt an overwhelming amount of love wash over him, filling his whole body with an unbelievable feeling that he couldnt even begin to explain. So this is what it felt like to be in love?

"I love you." He said, after a minute. She stopped trying to move out from under him, and her jaw dropped, her mouth hanging open in awe.

No one ever said that they loved her before, not even her own parents. They never showed emotion towards her, no one had. She was always left on her own, all alone, feeling so unloved her whole life, and now Marshall says that he loves her? She wanted to cry. Something in his eyes let her see that he meant it. That he really loved her. He was sincere about this.

She wanted to say it back, because she did love him, more than he would ever imagine. Loving him was so easy, it came naturally to her. But for some reason she couldnt. She couldnt let herself believe that. She wouldnt. Love was nothing but trouble, and eventually one of them would end up getting hurt. Or maybe both. She didnt want to hurt Marshall, and the last thing that she wanted right now was for him to hurt her. She wasnt going to admit to herself that she did love him. She wasnt going to admit to him either.

"You dont have to say that Marshall." She said with attitude. He looked at her, he was still breathing heavily.

"What?" He asked, shaking his head. He was confused.

"Your doing this backwards." She said, pushing at him to try and get up. He rolled over against the back of the couch, letting her get up, and watched her grab for her clothes that were on the floor. She put her shirt on and reached for her pants.

"What do you mean?" He asked again, not understanding what was going on.

"You fuck me, then tell me you love me. Its backwards. Your supposed to tell me you love me, and then when we fuck, your done with me right? Damn. But you aint even have to tell me you loved me." She said, pulling on her clothes. "Im easy huh? You gonna go tell everyone how easy I am?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, frowning. She sounded crazy. He must have done something, but he didnt know what. She was fine a minute ago, now she was mad. "Im not just saying that so that I can fuck you Lataya. I didnt plan this, you know I didnt plan this. You would have known if I did."

"Please." She rolled her eyes. He had stood up by now, and was pulling on his boxers. "Your probably gonna go to school now, and tell everyone that you got some ass this weekend, and then dump me for the next thing that walks past you." She slipped her shoes on and walked towards the door.

"Wait, wait." He said, reaching out and grabbing her shoulder. She tried to shrug him off, but he didnt let her. "Wait a second." He said, turning her around to face him. She raised both eyebrows challengingly.

"What?"

"You think, now that we fucked, Im gonna break up with you?" He asked carefully. She nodded and looked down. "And you think that I only told you that I loved you, because..." He trailed off.

"I dont know."

"You dont know why I told you that I love you?"

"No." She whispered.

"Well tell me how this sounds, okay?" He asked. She nodded. "I told you I love you, because, I do." He said softly.

She felt tears well up in her eyes and she kept her head down, so he could only see the top of her head. Not her eyes that were filling themselves with tears. Slowly she raised her eyes to look at him. "You do?"

He smiled. "Yeah." He led her back over to the couch, and they sat down. "I thought I had this, this crush on you, yanno? But then like, the crush started getting stronger, it aint even a crush anymore. Tonight, I realized that I really do love you. I wouldnt use you for pussy and then dump you after I get it."

She just stared at him for a second, and then leaned against him. "I," She hesitated, she should tell him, right? "I love you too."

He laughed and put his arm around her. "Ya see? We went through all this shit, when you feel the same way. Why didnt you say so?"

"Because." She shrugged.

"That aint an answer." He said, grinning at her. It felt so good to hear her say those words. It felt amazing to love someone, and then have them tell you that they love you too. It was the best feeling in the world.

"Well, its gonna have to do. Because thats the only answer I have for you right now." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Do you have to go home tonight?" He asked, hoping that she didnt.

She thought for a second. She didnt know if her mom was gonna be home, she didnt want to risk going home and having her dad be there. She wanted to stay with Marshall, she felt safe with him, because...She trusted him. And she had meant it when she said that she loved him too. After a second she shook her head. "Nope. I can stay tonight."

He sighed with relief and hugged her to him. She smiled. "Its late, you tired?"

"God, YES." She sighed.

"Aight, lets go upstairs then?" He said, standing up.

"Yeah." She stood up too, and they shut the lights off and started towards the stairs.

After they had gotten upstairs and got ready for bed, they laid down on Marshalls bed. Marshall put his arms around her, and she laid back against him comfortably. He felt so happy, just holding her, that he couldnt even explain it. He wanted to hold her forever. But something was bothering him, something in the back of his mind.

"Laya?" He asked quietly.

"Marsh?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Do you really love me, or did you just say that?" He asked carefully.

"Marshall, I really do love you."

"Oh." He said, his hands were on her stomach under her shirt, rubbing in small circles against her skin.

"I was scared to say it at first." She whispered.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I just, no ones ever said that to me before, and I didnt know how to react. And I also loved you back, but was afraid to say so, because that would set me up to get hurt."

"Im not gonna hurt you." He said, kissing the top of her head softly. "Ever."

"Its not you that Im afraid of. Its all guys. Its really hard for me to trust guys, the only guys that I trust, are you and DeShaun."

"Why?" He asked again.

"Well, I never told you this, I never told anyone this, except D." She moved up beside him and laid on her side, facing him, her head propped up in her hands. Her other arm was tracing the collar of his shirt. He watched her hand distractedly. "My dad, is an asshole."

"I knew that." He said, looking up at her.

"No, I mean, he..." She took a deep breath. "He did alot more than hit me and yell at me. He abused me, more than physically. Ever since I was just, really young. He raped me. He still does. Thats why I never want to go home." She explained.

"What the fuck?" He said in disbelief. He didnt know how to process the information she was giving him right now. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do? He felt really bad, all of a sudden. "Wait, when you said that, I wasnt your first, and that it was someone else that I didnt know, did you mean...?"

"Yeah, my dad was my first, as sick as that is. I just, but, besides my dad, you were my first." A few tears escaped her eyes and dropped down onto Marshalls shirt, leaving tiny wet marks. "Its not easy for me to talk about...you know?"

He nodded and reached up, wiping her tears away with his finger. "Why didnt you tell me before?" He asked softly.

"Its just," She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second. "Its not easy, to talk about." She shook her head. "Its really embarassing. REALLY embarassing. I dont like talking about it, and I didnt know how you would react, you know? I didnt know if you would still like me or not."

"I'll always like you." He said quietly. "No, I'll always love you. Nothing will change that, okay? Listen, I wanna help you, ok?"

"Theres nothing you can do. Theres nothing anyone can do." She said miserably, laying down beside him, her head on his chest, her arms around his waist. He sighed and rubbed her back in tiny circles, soothingly.

"Well, why dont you tell your mom?"

"I- I cant."

"Okay, well why not?" He asked.

"I just cant, okay?" She said defensively.

"Whoa...okay." He said slowly.

"Dont tell anyone, about what I told you, okay?" She asked.

"I wont, but I dont want anything to happen to you. If something serious happens, Im not going to pretend like I dont know anything. Got it? I'll have a guilt on my conscience like you wouldnt believe. So, you be careful, deal?"

"Deal." She grinned at him through her tears, and he wanted those tears to go away. He didnt want her to be sad, he didnt want her to be hurt, he wanted her to be happy all the time. And he wanted to be the one to make her happy.

He put his arms around her, holding her against him, as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling and then snuggling closer to him again. She felt alot better telling him, having everything out in the open. She hoped that he could help her, and she hoped that he meant everything that he said.

"I love you." He whispered against her hair, kissing the top of her head softly.

She smiled, her eyes still closed, and melted into his arms. "I love you, too."

He smiled and rubbed her arm. "Haha!" He laughed suddenly and she looked up, confused.

"Marshall, are you hearing those voices again?"

"Naw." He smirked. "Thought of a rhyme from a song I heard the other day."

"Your always thinking of lyrics from a song..." She sighed. "Which one you think of?"

"Your lover, your friend," He started.

"I got your back, to the end." She finished for him. He nodded and grinned.

"Thats it." He laughed.

"I like it." She said sleepily.

"Me too."

He sighed contentedly and hugged her tighter, pulling the blanket up over them. After a few minutes, she fell asleep. She was so tired that it didnt take her very long. Usually he would move away from her, cuddling wasnt his thing. But tonight, he didnt. He stayed close to her, held her the rest of the night. Cuddling wasnt so bad, he decided, when he was cuddling with Lataya.

Lataya and Marshall spent the whole weekend together, and it was the best weekend of Latayas life. She loved being with Marshall, she loved talking to him, she loved the way that he tried to make her laugh when she was upset, she loved the way he kissed her, the way he touched her, the way he looked at her. She loved everything about him.

Marshall felt the same way about Lataya, it was the best feeling in the world to love someone, and it was even better to know that they loved you too. His heart nearly skipped a beat everytime he heard her say that, and he continuously told her that he loved her, not only to hear it back, but also it just felt so good to say.

"Marshall, PHONE!" Marshalls mother screamed to him from the other room. It was sunday afternoon, and he was trying to sleep, he, Lataya and DeShaun had been up all night at DeShauns house, and he had just gotten in early Sunday morning. He groaned and picked himself up out of bed, and stalked into the livingroom to where his mother was standing, hands on hips, phone held out to him.

"Surprised you could pay the fucking bill." He mumbled, taking the phone and walking away.

"What?!" She exclaimed.

"Nothing." He sighed and walked into his bedroom, slamming the door behind himself. He put the phone to his ear and threw himself down on the bed. "Lo?" He asked tiredly.

"Marshall?" The voice on the other end whispered through tears.

"Laya?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." She said quietly.

"Whats wrong?" He asked, sitting up a little bit, suddenly wide awake.

Lataya was silent for a few seconds, not knowing how to tell him what she wanted to. "Marshall..." She trailed off.

"What?" He asked.

"I-My-Um." She hesitated.

"Are you ok?" He asked when she didnt tell him what was wrong with her.

"No, Marshall, Im not."

"Do you wanna tell me whats the matter?" He asked slowly.

"No." She said quietly again. He could barely hear her.

"Ok..." He cleared his throat. "Um, you just called me to, tell me something was wrong, but you dont wanna tell me what it is?" He asked.

She didnt answer, just kept crying into the phone. "Come over here?" She managed out, between sobs.

"Okay. 5 minutes." He said.

"Okay." She hung up and threw herself down on her bed, sobbing hysterically.

Five minutes later, as he had said, he knocked on Latayas back door. It was quiet around here today, an eery silence almost, and he switched his weight from his left leg to his right uncomfortably. After a second he saw her peek through the window on the door, and then unlock the 3 locks inside the door. The chain lock, the dead bolt, and the door knob. Slowly the door opened, revealing Lataya

Her hair was messy, and her eyes were red. Her nose matched her eyes and her tear stained face looked so upset that it made him just want to die right then and there. Slowly she raised her eyes to look at him, and their eyes locked.

For that split second, he felt her pain transferring into his body, swirling around and messing up his insides, making him feel sick and depressed. Her eyes were always so sparkley, and full of life, but today there was somethin different about them, something sad inside them.

Immediatly, without saying a word, he walked forward and put his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her head on his shoulder, and cried into his neck. He just held her tightly for a few minutes, let her cry.

"Shh, its ok." He whispered in her ear. She shook her head. It wasnt ok, it would never be ok. Never. He had no idea. "Whats the matter?" He asked after she had calmed down a little bit.

"Marshall, my mom died." She choked out, bursting back into tears.

"Oh my god." He muttered, feeling absolutely horrible. "Come on, lets sit down, tell me what happened."

She pulled away from him and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, trying to stop crying, and shoved her hands into her pocket. "Kay." She whispered. She turned around, and led Marshall upstairs to her room. He walked in, stepping over the piles of clothes on the floor, and she shut the door behind him.

Usually, he would say something about the cleanliness of her room, and how it was a mess, and tease her about it, but today it wasnt appropriate. For the first time, he didnt say anything about it.

She walked over to her bed, and sat down, leaning against the corner and bringing her knees to her chest, and putting her arms around them. She looked up at Marshall as he sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

She leaned against him and took a deep breath. "Marshall, oh my god." She sobbed.

"Hey, what happened?" He asked. She didnt answer him for a few minutes, and then once she had calmed down enough to talk, she looked up.

"Well, last night, you know how we slept over at DeShauns?" She asked, still crying, just not as bad. He nodded. "Well, I came home this morning, and my dad was sleeping, right? So, I went to use the bathroom, and I opened the door, and I saw my mom, laying on the bathroom floor. Pills were all around her, and, she wasnt breathing. She overdosed on pills Marshall." She choked back a sob and he took a deep breath. "She killed herself. She couldnt stand my house, my dad, detriot, she couldnt stand any of this shit."

"Im sorry." Marshall said, rubbing her back. She shook her head and got up.

"No. Look at this. My life SUCKS." She yelled.

"No, it doesnt." He said, standing up also.

"Yes it does. I know it does. My mom knew it does, she was just smart enough to get out of it. Look around you Marshall! I live in a shithole house, with my dad who doesnt work, my mom just killed herself because she couldnt take her life anymore, and can you blame her? I mean, I cant." She shook her head and looked down. Marshall didnt know what to say. He felt horrible for her, and he wished there was something he could do to make her feel better but he knew there wasnt anything he could do. "I just, dunno." Lataya sighed and sat down on the side of the bed.

"Look, Im really sorry. If you need me, Ima be right here for you. Remember that." He said, sitting beside her and massaging her shoulders.

"Thanks." She sniffed and closed her eyes.

"Just, dont do anything crazy ok? I know your real depressed, but shit can get better. Just, talk to me before you do something stupid ok?" He said, kissing her cheek. She nodded. "Promise?"

"Promise." She said softly.

"Good. Things will get better, I promise." He said reassuringly.

"I wish someone had told my mom that." Lataya sighed.

"Me too. Wheres your, dad?" He asked carefully.

"Who cares?" She replied. "He said he was going down to the hospital, and he didnt know when he would be back, but he probably went out drinking or something. I wouldnt be surprised if he never came back." She looked at the floor, and sighed. "Marshall, why the fuck does my life have to suck?" She asked.

"Everyones lives suck. You just gotta, deal with it I guess." He shrugged. "Everyones lives suck equally, its just a matter of how you deal with it that sets it apart from others."

"Well, thank you, Dr Joyce Brothers." She said sarcastically.

"Glad I could help." He grinned. She sighed, and laid back on the bed.

"Marshall!" She whined.

"What?" He laid back beside her and turned his head to look at her.

"I dont know." She shook her head and a few tears escaped her eyes. Slowly he reached over and touched the tear drops with his index finger, smearing them gently away from her eyes.

"Its alright." He said softly. She shook her head, and more tears fell.

"No Marshall, its not." She sniffled. She moved over beside him, laid her head on his chest and put her arm around his waist. He patted her back slowly, and she cried.