"Not so convincing, Dragonslayer." She unzipped her jeans anyway and slid them off revealing the countless jagged slashes on her thighs. Some were quite deep and, but most of them were shallow and long.

She hoped he wouldn't feel terrible. It was just who she was, and even though she had been so much better with him, sometimes the self-loathing broke through. It wasn't his fault. He was the reason it didn't happen more often. "Just don't freak out?"