Thalia

Rhys ducked as I kicked at him again and expertly rolled out of the way. "Too slow!" He grinned. I scowled and charged at him attempting to throw a punch, but he easily caught it.

"You're good at defense, but not offense." He muttered. "I'm sure Fiona helped with that."

Fiona had indeed only taught me how to counter attacks. She taught me the basics and I was able to mix and match until I could stand on my own against her by the end of last week. Now it was Friday, signifying the last day of Rhys week and although we'd made progress, I still wasn't at the level of expertise that Rhys had wanted me to be at. But Rhys was still determined to teach me more basic self-defense.

"Alright. For starters. Your fighting ability is still shit." He said

"Wow, thanks." I huffed.

"But I'm sure If we squeeze in a bit more time before the end of the week, we'll have you kicking ass in no time!" Rhys grinned. "So, how flexible are you?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me. How flexible are you? Can you do any flips or twists? Maybe a handstand or two?" Rhys asked, motioning with his hands

"Nope." I said.

"Not even a cartwheel?" I shook my head in response. "Well, damn...That makes this hard." Rhys tapped his chin in thought.

"Okay!" He said clapping, "We're going to start off with a simple little exercise. So, repeat after me."

Rhys got into his starting stance. "High kick, punch, low kick, punch." He said, slowly demonstrating each motion. He turned to me. "Your turn."

I gulped and tried to copy Rhys' form to the best of my ability. My high kick wasn't too high, my punches were weak, and my low kick wasn't actually that bad!

"Okay, that low kick was painful to watch." Rhys stated with a wince. I huffed and glared at him. "What? I call them like I see them. Again." He stated.

I started with the high kick. "Stop!" Rhys called. I paused in my position. "Firstly, your feet aren't planted right. Look at me." Rhys did another high kick and held his foot in the air. "Imagine I have a line of action. I put all my balance on the foot that's planted on the floor for more support and then," Rhys kicked outward in one fluid motion. "Bam. You've got yourself a high kick."

I blinked in confusion and looked down at my feet. Gosh there was no way I was going to be able to mimic that.

I took a deep breath and planted my feet on the ground, shifting all my weight onto my left leg as I was instructed to by Rhys and kicked. The kick wasn't that high, but it felt a lot more solid and powerful.

"See? That's so much better!" Rhys smiled with his bright grin. "Now for the punches!"

_ _ _ _

It went on like that for a little while, me doing the exercise and Rhys correcting me whenever I let my form slip. In no time, I was able to not only maintain the form but put power into them as well! Rhys also challenged me to a basic sparring session, and I put what I'd learned to good use! Of course, I didn't win, but I lasted longer than I thought I would have.

Rhys extended his hand out to me and I took it as he hauled me to my feet. "That's good! You did awesome!" He said supportively.

"You kicked my ass." I deadpanned, planting a hand on my fist. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen and I winced. It was then I remembered that Rhys had kicked me there and sent me flying.

Rhys noticed and instantly rushed over to me. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? I didn't think I kicked you that hard! I'm so sorry!" He said with a soft look in his eyes.

"I'm fine Rhys. I just need an ice pack and I'll be good as new by tomorrow." I reasoned.

"But what if it bruises? Peter would kill me!" Rhys jumped back and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Peter won't find out if we don't tell." I said with a smirk.

Rhys gave me a deadpanned look. "He's going to find out."

"How-" I stopped suddenly as I realized what Rhys was hinting at. "Oh my gosh, shut up, you ass!" I hissed hitting Rhys on the arm. He let out a loud boyish laugh and grinned cheekily at me.

"So, I'm assuming training is over for the day?" Rhys and I both turned to see Peter leaning in the doorframe.

"Yeah, man. She's improving really fast! You should be proud of her." Rhys said, clapping me on the back. I gave him a pointed look for the action then turned around to see Peter raise an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" He asked. "Surprising."

I scoffed and threw up the middle finger at him, which he returned. "Well, anyway, I'd suggest you two get cleaned up. Today is Friday, which means its Fiona's wedding reception. Considering the fact that Lea is a bridesmaid, I'm sure she's a very important part of that."

That's right. Due to all the hustle and bustle of the week, I'd forgotten about Fiona's wedding, which was tomorrow.

"Oh yeah!" Rhys gasped. "I'd forgotten about that!"

"Of course you did." Peter said with a small smile. "But anyway, I'm here to take Thalia to Fiona so she can get ready with her. Fiona insisted on it."

"Oh. Really?" I asked. "I thought there were other bridesmaids too."

Peter nodded. "There are. Fiona just insisted on helping you though." I nodded. Sometimes it was hard to remember how close these people held me in their hearts.

Especially Peter.

Peter held out his hand for me to take and his honey orbs twinkled as I placed my hand in his own. "This way, miss VIP." He joked.

I smiled softly as we walked down the long hallway together. "So," I began, hoping to start a conversation, "I don't suppose Ricardo trusts you enough to make you his best man or anything?" I asked with a smile.

"Oh, God no." Peter scoffed. "I barely got invited to the bachelor party, according to him. And don't even get me started on how much Fiona had to do to get him to let me be a part of his Groomsmen." He shook his head, a small smile tugging at the side of his lips. "The prestigious position of Best man belongs to his best friend. He's an only child."

"Ah, a fellow brother in arms." I joked. "Although, I don't think he'd be very happy to be clumped in any category with me."

Peter smirked. "That guy is so haughty I don't think being in the same category as the President would satisfy his ego."

"I don't know, maybe if the President was slightly below him, then he'd be accepting." I replied.

Peter chuckled softly and shook his head. "We really shouldn't be slandering Fiona's fiancé like this."

"But even you have to admit, it's funny!" I pressed.

That mischievous glint returned to Peters eyes as he said. "A little yeah."

"You mean a lot."

"Yeah I mean a lot."

The two of us were laughing silently as we arrived at Fiona's door. It seemed as though she already knew we were there because before Peter could even knock on the door, Fiona had it open. She was dressed in a beautiful long black tulle gown with a tasteful V-neck. Her hair was pulled up atop her head in a neat, fat bun. She was beautiful. But then again, she was beautiful in everything.

"Ah! Thalia! Finally!" She cheered. "Come on. I have a wonderful dress for you to wear at the wedding recital." Her eyes landed on Peter and she raised a perfectly arched brow. "Peter, dear, please tell me you aren't going to wear those sweatpants to the recital."

Peter scoffed. "Of course I'm not!" He protested. "I was just bringing Thalia over here for you. I haven't had time to get ready, yet."

"You've had all morning to get ready. The recital is in an hour! Get the hell out of here and get ready!" Fiona demanded.

"Damn! Okay then, Miss Bossy-pants." He huffed. He turned to me with a smirk. "Guess I'll see you at the recital, then?"

"I guess you will." He shot me flirtatious smile before leaning in and giving me a long, passionate kiss. I wasn't expecting the gesture, so I barely had time to register the action before he pulled away grinning at my shocked expression. Without another word, he left.

I stood there staring at his receding form, my hand hovering over my lips, hoping to recollect the feeling of his upon my own. A small smile crept upon my face.

"Gross." I heard Fiona deadpan. "Anyway, come here! I have this gorgeous dress for you to wear!" Fiona dragged me over to her closet and held out her arms towards the sky blue dress hanging up on the door. My eyes widened as I saw it.

"It's a mini A-line dress with a V-neck. It kind of looks like a homecoming dress, but I think it would fit you perfectly. Especially since the color matches your eyes."

I got the dress down from the door and Fiona lead me to her bathroom to change. Once I'd gotten the dress on, I looked at myself in the gigantic mirror. I found myself smiling. Fiona was right! The dress did look wonderful on me. And it was comfortable too!

I brushed my hair over to one shoulder and smiled prettily. Yeah, this felt good.

"Everything good in there?" I heard Fiona call.

"Oh! Yes! I'm coming out right now." I replied. I picked up my discarded training clothes and opened the door. Fiona's eyes lit up and she grinned at the sight of me.

"Tal, you look beautiful!" She said looking me over.

"Thank you." I smiled. "But don't you think we're a little overdressed? I mean, it is just a recital."

"Tal, I'm a Ronan. There is no such thing as overdressed in my book. Also, the dress code for this event is formal. Not semi-formal. Straight up formal. We're going all out. Mom is the event coordinator, so she's pulling all the stops to make these next few days something straight out of a fairytale for me. Not that I'm complaining, or anything! I love being spoiled!" She laughed and shook her head.

"Anyway, we're not done with you yet! We still have hair and makeup to worry about! I was thinking waves for your hair or at least something curly."