* The above video is Hanna Trigwell, performing "Stay With Me" and I imagine that this is how Talia would sound when she played her new acoustic for the first time and sang this song.*  * Because the video was already slated as my header, check out the cool cover @inspiredrlh created down in the Author's Note*

I secluded myself away from everyone and walked towards the back of the gym, to where the school ended and the forest began. It was a spot that now held a special place in my heart. It was quiet and reminded me of my favorite spot behind my house in Minnesota. 

Behind my old house in Minnesota was a large grass field and in the early months of spring, once the snow had melted and the sun had kissed the ground, the field would burst into a grand display of wildflowers. Pinks, purples, blues, and reds paired with the dark green blades of grass and then they intermingled with the browns of the weeds. It was like looking at a Monet painting for the first time and wanting to swim in the lily pond. We had a small stream that was back in the wooded area and in the dead of summer you could hear the sounds of the water crashing along the little rocks. 

It was a place that I would go and play when I needed to be alone with my thoughts. I remember the first time my mom came and sat next to me in that field, the tall grass bending in order to make room for the amazing bond we shared. My mom was my everything. She loved to hear me play and always made sure that she was free from commitments to come see me perform. If it meant walking a hour to get to a gig because our car had broken down, she did it no questions asked. She was my Number 1 fan in the whole world and my heart broke for a second when I remembered that she wouldn't be standing in the back of a dark club in London, perched up against the dirty wall with a drink in hand, cheering me on.

The sun had started to set and the campus was eerily quiet; maybe students had gone home for the weekend and not yet emerged back and ready for a new week. I slowly slipped my new Taylor guitar out of its case and set off to tune it. I had never been the type of musician that needed to use an app or a tuning devise; I let my ear act as my faithful assistant. It was a gift that Seth had helped me perfect and for a moment, I felt really terrible that I had been so horrible to him and ignored his calls.

I would call him tonight and apologize. I needed Seth in my life as much as I needed air in my lungs and I couldn't let our interaction last night spoil the love I felt for my best friend.

The sounds of the strings tightening, the resulting tones of the guitar shifting, was euphoric. The sounds it made were like a drug and I was officially addicted. Once it was tuned, I pulled from my pocket my pick and ran it along the strings. The sound the guitar made was magical and for a second, I was right back in that field and my mom was sitting right next to me, eager to hear what song I had picked out to serenade her with.

Claire... You will be Claire, in memory of her...

Not to disappoint her memory, I searched my internal file and closed my eyes. As my fingers began, I thought about her face. Her perfectly soft features and bold brown eyes which were often obstructed by her brown rimmed glasses. I thought about her short ringlets of fire red hair and how every strand was always in place, usually pinned up with a million bobby pins.

"Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand
But I still need love 'cause I'm just human
These nights never seem to go to plan
I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?"

The song that escaped the moment, had been her favorite Sam Smith song, and every time it played on the radio she got lost in it. Her head would sway from side to side and she would act like she was dancing close to the one she loved. Maybe when it played she thought of Killian, thought about him holding her close and dancing the night away. Maybe she thought about being lost again in their love.

"Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me"

Every note that sounded made me see her face even more. That bright smile that lit up a thousand stars. A smile so big that her cheeks would squish, causing lines to rest around them. The flash of pure love in her eyes when my fingers touched the strings. I felt the touch of her hand on my face when she would look into my eye and tell me how beautiful my soul was.

"Why am I so emotional?
No it's not a good look, gain some self control
And deep down I know this never works
But you can lay with me so it doesn't hurt"

Why couldn't she have stayed? Why, did she have to leave me all alone? The tears began to slowly spill from my eyes. I was so lost in the moment and the last time I saw her face before she died. I was so lost, that I didn't realize he had been watching me. I didn't realize that he always watched me. He watched every tear leave my eyes and crawl slowly down my pink cheeks.

"Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me"

My fingers instinctively moved along the neck of the guitar; the strings felt like ripples in water under my fingertips. He watched every movement of my fingers and he listened to every word of the song that left my lips. He listened while I sang to her and saw every tear that escaped my face. He watched and I didn't even know he was there. 

"Wont you stay with me......"

When I had finished and set down my guitar, I heard the rustling of the leaves beneath his boots. My eyes moved in his direction and I saw him standing there, in his leather jacket. His black rimmed glasses caught little specks of the sunset, causing the colors of his eyes to dance slightly. He shoved his black beanie in his jacket pocket, revealing a really disheveled head of dirty blonde hair.

He walked towards me, relieving ourselves of the distance we had once been so fond of keeping between us. His strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me up and into his firm chest. His scent was a mixture of lavender, geranium, and citrus. It was a calming scent and I found myself burying my face in his chest, soaking his t-shirt with my tears and a little bit of my eyeliner.

When I pulled away, embarrassed that I had smudged his blue t-shirt with my cheap Wet n Wild ninety-nine cent eyeliner, he didn't seem to care. He brushed the tears off my cheek with his strong fingers and cupped my face. He bent down and placed his forehead against mine. I could feel his hot breath against my face, which added a warmth to an otherwise cold evening. It was a feeling that made me feel safe, even though it was from a boy who I didn't know if I could trust.

"You're beautiful, Talia Grey. Everything about you is beautiful," his voice was deep, but soft.

He leaned in and placed his lips to mine, my hands wrapped around the back of his neck and rested in his hair. His mouth pressed harder against mine and I opened my mouth for him, his tongue sliding in. His grip tightened on me and his hands moved to my back, where he clenched the back of my jacket in his strong fists. His hair wasn't close clipped like Paxton's and I found my fingers running through the short strands. They felt like waves of silk and I could have run my hands through his hair for the rest of my life and been happy.

I didn't even hear the click of the door behind us, but Damian's eyes shot in that direction and he pulled his strong lips away from mine, leaving me to stand there confused. Then, I saw what he saw. I saw those chocolate eyes looking at me, looking up over every inch of me and I expected them to be furious, but they weren't. They were calm and collected.

Damian grazed his hand against mine as he walked in Paxton's direction. He clasped him on the shoulder as he walked past him and into the gym. I gathered up my guitar and case, zipping it up and hoisting the shoulder strap over my arm. I turned to briskly walk away in the direction of campus when I heard him clear his throat behind me.

I turned to see him standing in close proximity. He lifted his hand and brushed my face gently.

"You should stay away from my brother, Talia. He will only break your heart. I on the other hand, well, you'll find out soon enough."

He turned and walked back towards the gym, disappearing into the building. A sense of confusion swept over me.

What was I getting myself into?

.....................

I hid for the rest of the evening, tucked away in my dorm room, my face buried in the middle of The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins. I didn't want to be out in the dining hall and potentially run into the Reever brothers. What I was beginning to feel for Damian was something I couldn't explain, but it scared me, especially after what Paxton said.

Would he really break my heart? I wasn't even sure what a broken heart would have felt like if it did happen. I knew the feeling of him walking away from me tugged at something and made my heart stall for a second, but then a wave of relief set in, knowing that I would eventually see him again. 

I must have fallen asleep while reading, because I woke to the sound of the alarm on my phone, the pillow was over my head and the book had come to rest on the floor next to my bed. I rolled out of bed and landed on the book, cursing myself for not looking before rolling, while rubbing the small of my back which now slightly throbbed. 

Lizbeth wasn't in bed, but a note on the white board by the door told me that she had a tutoring session before first block. I took a quick shower, throwing my hair up into a high ponytail and getting ready in my horrible school uniform. I threw my combat boots on and grabbed my backpack off of my desk, along with my book. I had decided last night that in order to separate myself from all Reever drama, I would just find ways to occupy my time.

I actually got to Government class early for a change and took my seat next to a smiling Angie. Angie and I had become friendly in the last week. She ate lunch with me a few times and I found out that she really liked music. She could sing every Nirvana song by heart and had dreams of one day going to Cleveland, to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Angie's dad had been a drummer for some 1980s hair band before a motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed from the waist down. Now he worked as a financial advisor for one of Forbes' top five companies of 2016. Her parents lived in New York City, but her mom, a retired model, traveled extensively overseas promoting her beauty product line. They owned a home in town and every few months would come up and visit. 

I felt like I could relate to Angie in a way, with the whole not having your parents around thing. Before class started, we casually chatted about books. She was rereading Hunger Games and was telling me how she secretly wanted to start writing fan fiction. I encouraged her to try it, it wasn't like she had to put it online if she didn't want to, but there was no harm in trying. 

I knew that he had entered the room before my eyes had a chance to glance in his direction. His dirty blonde hair looked overly chunky and he wasn't wearing his glasses. His uniform was neat and hugged him in all the right spots. Behind him was Paxton in tow, looking equally put together, except that his tie was loose, giving him a somewhat casual appearance. Paxton flashed me a wink before he set down his backpack on the table next to Damian.

Damian turned his head ever so slightly and gave me a half smirk, just as my eyes settled on the boy that came to sit next to them. I heard my mouth gasp as the breath escaped violently from my body. It was that face, with its ugly smile and bloodshot eyes, except now he was sporting a firmly swollen eye, that looked like someone had played a really horrible joke on him while passed out, where they drew on him with a Sharpie. His bottom lip was swollen almost two times its normal size and it was possible that he was missing a few teeth when he struggled to open his mouth to talk to his companion.

A huge stitched gash rested on his deep purple colored cheek, a possible broken cheek bone sitting beneath that bruise and his arm was in a cast up to his shoulder. Jack looked like a truck had hit him and dragged him for blocks. I looked around for Colin, but he wasn't in the group. Jack's eyes found me and he smirked a really ugly smile in my direction, revealing a wired jaw. 

Yep, he was missing a few teeth, three to be exact. Missing teeth and a broken jaw...

I placed my middle finger up to my mouth and kissed it while looking at him. His expression was pure shock and he fumbled for his notebook in his backpack. I saw the smile form on Damian's face, then he just lowered his head and shook it in amusement. The question had finally been answered as to what business the boys had taken care of.

I didn't need a savior, but that didn't stop Damian and Paxton Reever from defending my honor.

....................

I hurried to my locker after block and shoved my books in, grabbing my Anatomy book in the process. I slammed my locker shut and turned, to find Colin standing in front of me. He had a massive set of black and blue eyes and his glasses sat uncomfortably on a terribly broken nose, which had been packed with cotton packing. He looked like he had gone a round with Mike Tyson, except both of his ears were still intact.

"Um, hey, Talia? Can we talk?" he asked, his voice was nervous and from over his shoulder I could see Paxton staring in our direction.

"Listen Colin, I'm not interested. You know what, yeah, I am actually. I thought you were a nice guy, maybe even someone I could be friends with, but you know what? Shit, why even bother. It looks like you know how big of a piece of crap you are and you have the broken nose to prove it." I went to push past him in order to take the stairs, but his hand shot out and grabbed my arm, stopping me.

I saw Paxton and Damian out of the corner of my eye and they had stopped what they were doing and were headed our direction slowly. I turned to Colin and relaxed myself before speaking, "I'm going to ask you just once to remove your hand from me, before I give you a broken jaw to match your broken nose." 

"Please, Talia. Before you hit me, which I probably deserve at this point, let me say something." he begged. His Australian accent was thicker than it normally was and you could hear the fear in his voice when he turned and saw the boys headed our way.

"You have one minute before I put you on the floor, or they do." I motioned in the direction of the boys who were now standing within earshot of us, waiting to see if there was a problem.

"Talz, I didn't know what Jack had planned. He said it would be funny to play a little joke on you because of how you acted toward him. He told me he was going to offer you a ride home and then ditch you. He made it sound like it was all in fun, that nothing bad was going to happen because of it. I thought it was innocent fun. When I didn't see you around, I figured you were with him so I told Lizbeth you left."

His eyes looked sad as he released his grip of my arm. I looked straight into his eyes before responding, "First off, you lost your right to call me Talz, when you thought it would be funny to screw with me. Secondly, you played into a game meant to hurt someone who you wanted to be friends with. A game, where had I been a weak girl, I might have been really hurt. That makes you a pussy and not a man. Thirdly, while you are just a pussy and not a real man, you will refrain from even thinking about touching me in any way. Lastly, I forgive you."

His eyes shot up at me when he heard my last statement, a smile formed on his beaten face. It was short lived, because I wasn't in any way finished with him. He toyed with my friendship and my friendship was something that I didn't easily give to others. It was precious and reserved for people who enhanced my life and made me want to be a better person.

"Don't smile just yet, Colin. While I forgive you, I will never forget what happened. We are not friends anymore. I will decide if and when that friendship will begin again. Right now, a simple apology hasn't earned my trust and I'm never friends with people I don't trust."

I turned on my heels and headed up the stairs to my next block. The only thing I wanted to do right now was to cry. I had really liked Colin and felt like we had a great connection that could have developed into a great friendship, but all that was shattered when he toyed with me.

.......................

Damian didn't go to Anatomy block and the time was spent being miserable, with Mrs. Collins staring at me over her shoulder while she explained the inner workings of fetal pig dissection. She assigned us a crap ton of reading three minutes before the bell signaled the end of the block. That woman was a sadist and enjoyed inflicting her torture upon us.

I threw my Anatomy book down on the small table in the dining hall and placed my bag in the empty chair. I grabbed my lunch and headed back, setting out my plates in a triangular design, which allowed me easy access to both my food and my book. I got down to making notes, while I munched on the daily hot bar selection of chicken strips, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. 

I heard his tray set down across from me and I looked up to see his beautiful face and messy hair. He set his arms down at the sides of his tray and grabbed the pepper shaker at the side of the table. When he was done he just started digging in.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up at me with his signature frown and massively gorgeous blue eyes with specks of green in them, "Eating. Remember, it's our thing."

"We don't have a thing and what you're doing, I definitely wouldn't call eating. More like shoveling food into your big mouth, but not eating. Eating requires chewing." He flashed me a smile with his mouth full. "Classy, Damian."

I went back to making some notes in my Anatomy book when I heard him slap his large textbook down next to him as well. As I was writing down some important facts, I heard one of my plates slowly slide towards him. I instinctively reached out and stopped it, "Hands off my food, ape."

He chuckled and released the small plate which held a plethora of sliced strawberries. Just then I heard a familiar tapping of Louboutins come to stop next to me. I could feel Damian's demeanor shift suddenly as he sat up, then leaned back in his chair.

"Talia, I've told you before you shouldn't play with the animals." Lizbeth's demeanor was cold when she spoke. I looked up at her face and could see that she was staring daggers at Damian. If looks could kill, she would have been burying him six feet under. I heard Damian's guttural growl springing from his throat.

"I'm doing homework and eating, Lizbeth," I said, as her eyes came to set upon me, a look of urgency on her face.

"Well, well, Lizbeth. Aren't we pleasant this afternoon? Did daddy not pay you enough attention this weekend or was he too busy ruining someone else's life?" Damian's words were cold and his face showed a rage that I hadn't seen since that first day we met; the day we slammed into each other at the elevator. You could feel the hate dripping off them both and I was stuck in the middle, between a sister no one knew I had and a sort-of boyfriend that no one could know I wanted. 

"You're evil! Just evil, Damian Reever." If Lizbeth could have jumped over the table and killed Damian, that would have been her opportunity to do it.

"Evil recognizes evil, dear Lizzy. And for your information, Talia, is my lab partner so I have a right to be sitting here working on our project. Plus, you have no claim to her as just her roommate, unless of course you had her sign her name in blood to your little soul stealing contract, Demon." His eyes were fierce and for an instant, they were so filled with hate, that they appeared slightly black.

"You know, all this tension makes me rather uncomfortable. If you'll excuse me, I'll just go to library and forgo lunch." 

I got up to gather up my stuff and abandon my half-eaten lunch when Lizbeth spoke up, "No, it's fine, Talia. I'm sorry, please go back to helping Satan, we all know he needs it. I'll see you later." She turned and walked in the direction of the food area to grab her lunch.

I shot my eyes over at Damian who had just casually gone back to eating, like nothing had happened. "What the hell was that Damian? Couldn't you just shut your mouth for five minutes instead of opening up your wrapped-up shit sandwich, essentially forcing the whole room to smell it?"

He laughed at my comment. "I love the way you describe stuff. It's very graphic, but it gets the point across. You're really sexy when you're angry."

"I've had it with this whole thing. Enjoy you lunch, Damian. Thanks for ruining mine." I slammed my plates onto my tray and grabbed my backpack and book. I slammed my tray onto the conveyer belt and threw my silverware into the wash bins. Outside the dining hall, I felt his arm grab mine from behind and drag me into an alcove between the two buildings.

His hands found their way to my face, his forehead pressed against mine. "I'm not interested, Damian. I told you I was done with... whatever this is." I waved my hands above my head in an overly dramatic fashion.

"I'm not done with it though. Please, don't be mad at me for how I acted. I can't help it, if you really understood the history then you wouldn't be so quick to get mad at me."

"I don't need to understand anything to recognize when you're being a monster."

He just pressed my body closer to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around me.

"Talia, I really am trying. I am trying to be better, for you..." 

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A/N: Hey guys!

Hope you liked the chapter :) comment and vote

I really wanted to give you guys a taste of the bond that Talia and her mom had. It's a small taste and we will see more stories in the future :)

Thoughts on Paxton's behavior when he caught Talia and Damian kissing?

So we get a taste of what happens when you put Lizbeth and Damian in the same area. I can taste the HATE all the way over here. 

Check me out on Twitter for story updates and utter randomness @amina_leeds

Till next time!

<3 Amina

Big Thanks to @inspiredrlh for the cover!