"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Rhys asks, continuing to draw on my hand with a sharpie. "You don't have to."

"I don't have to but I want to," His eyes are focused on the pattern he's drawing on me. "Besides that it's one practice and it won't kill me."

He finishes the design of a ying-yang filled with intricate patterns in it. My eyes remain on his face as he scans it, tilting my hand in the process. He looks so concentrated when he's drawing and I find it adorable.

Rhys looks up, doing a double take when he notices me staring. "What? Don't you like it?"

"I love it," I smile and he returns it, putting the sharpie back into a small metal box he pulled from his bag. "What do you keep in there?"

He tilts it towards me showing various sharpies, pens, pencils and obvious art materials. "I always have it on me when I have art," He slips it back, tensing as he bites the inside of his cheek. "Do you remember when Brian mentioned something about your mother hating smokers, implying that I did smoke?"

I nod hesitantly after thinking back. "That was the prank. You called him strawberry shortcake, right?"

"Well I haven't smoked. I did once but almost choked."

"And you're telling me this, why?" He shakes the metal box with a chuckle.

"Because the only reason I was caught smoking was so nobody actually knew that I enjoyed art," I feel so confused right now and noticing my expression he continues. "I used to hide around the back of the gym last year. People assumed things, it was actually Lachlan that smokes and one day a teacher was coming so I stole the smoke from him so he wouldn't get in trouble with his parents. He kept my secret hidden so I protected his, he only does it when he's stressed."

"Does he still smoke?" I drop my voice with a crease in my eyebrows. "I'll have to talk to him about that. . ."

"Not as much as he used to and a pack lasts him two months."

"I feel like there was a point to this story."

"I just wanted to clarify something that isn't necessarily true," He drops the metal box inside his bag. "I carry the box with me and I used to take a notebook with me until I decided to stop. Do you know why I stopped?"

I hesitate in responding. "Because you stopped caring what others thought of you?"

"Yep. That was the point of my story and I thought if people knew it would affect me personally but it didn't," His eyes flicker behind me and I do the same as I notice a group of the girls walk in while laughing with one another. "You can choose whether you want to do this for Blair's sake or you can do it for yourself because it's your passion."

I look back with a small smile as he gently plays with my finger tips. He holds eye contact as I resist the urge to kiss him for the sweet words. Rhys always knows what to say to ease my nerves and his actions soothe the thoughts momentarily as she invades them. He makes everything okay.

"Are you staying?" I ask hesitantly having him furrow his eyebrows. "I mean you don't have to, I don't blame you for not wanting-"

"I was going to stay to make sure you're alright. As in you don't have some kind of panic over dancing again," His hands move to my knees, thumbs moving in mindless circles. "Besides I wouldn't mind seeing what you're capable of, from what I saw I was impressed."

"I'm here now and everyone needs to get your butts on the floor," Blair yells while walking into the GYM. Some of the guys on the basketball team flinch but the girls quickly obey her orders and when she drops her bag, she looks to me while narrowing her eyes. "Before I drag you by your hair."

She turns to head over to the girls and I glance to Rhys. "What's wrong with her?"

"I have no idea," I bite the corner of my lip, looking back to Rhys. "I better go before she gets angrier."

I use his knees to push myself up and as I do his lips brush my cheek. The movement was subtle and by the grin on his lips he knows it. I ruffle his hair before jogging down the stairs and over to the rest of the team. All of them seem to look at me but don't say anything before Blair snaps at them.

"Kira is going to be practising with us today because she's reconsidering joining," The groans and scowls are obvious that they don't want me back. "Nobody is to treat her any differently, in fact, anyone who doesn't will be sitting out until I say otherwise."

Something is definitely wrong with her and I don't know why.

Throughout practice Blair is moodier than usual. I even coped a few insults or more so a reminder to keep up. Each time one of the girls would giggle or make a comment, that meant practice dragged out for longer.

I brace myself for impact as I hit the wooden floor upon my ankle tweaking. My chest rises and falls frantically as I inhale through my teeth in pain. I rub it, hearing Blair's voice seconds after the music cuts off.

"You shouldn't be struggling with this, " She walks towards me from the front of the group. "For an experienced dancer you should be picking it up with ease. Get up and try it again."

Her eyes burn with fire that I know is more than her just being in a bad mood. She's never like this, ever. Pushing myself up I visibly cringe when I put pressure on it, stretching it I look to Blair as her eyes flicker down to it.

"I hurt myself when I fell."

"You'll live," She sneers, heading back to the front as I continue to stretch out my ankle. "Okay this time I want double the energy and don't mess it up!"

Blair yells while making a hand signal for the music to start. I test the flexibility knowing how badly this could end if I push myself. When the music picks up I reach for the left and as I turn to the right I hit the floor again, despite it being a simple shift in weight.

I clench my fists as my nails dig into my palms out of frustration. Taking a deep breathe I force myself up to my feet, having Blair watch me before I pick up with the dance a few beats later. I grit my teeth to push through the delicate structure of my will power wanting to cave in.

Most people would just cave in but I have a point to prove. Even though it's not necessarily anything major. I need to know that I can do this for myself. So far I haven't had any flashes or felt immense guilt, the hardest part has been the physicality.

I'm out of shape to sustain more than ten minutes of dance practice. I guess that will be something I need to work on. That is, if Blair snaps out of her foul mood because I don't appreciate being on the other end of it.

The section of movements cut off and I place my hands on my hips, drawing in as much oxygen as I can while trying not to put pressure on my weakened ankle. I glance to Rhys, doing a double take as I notice Nate sitting beside him who waves with a tight lipped smile.

What are the odds he saw that fall?

"That's it for today. Grab a drink and hit the showers," Her eyes move to mine and by the look I know she wants to talk to me. "What is your problem? Usually you aren't so distracted and if Rhys being here is affecting you he needs to leave. I want you to be the best you can."

"He isn't the problem," I clarify, knowing he heard from the way he shakes his head. "I'm just not physically in shape as the others. It's been a while after all."

"I don't want to hear excuses just make sure you're better."

She goes to walk away and I latch onto her wrist with a clenched jaw. "What's going on? Don't say nothing because I know very well this isn't you."

"Ask your boyfriend to get his work colleagues to stay the hell away from my brother," My lips part and she shakes her head with a glare. "It's tempting to go to the police and have Derek back me up but I know very well that you would hate me. But he's my family and I don't care about loverboy."

She tries to pull away but I yank her back, not allowing her to get away with it that easily. "I wouldn't be the one accusing my boyfriend with the acts of your loverboy or are you forgetting he was his dealer once upon a time?"

Within seconds she rips her arm from my grip and steps closer to get in my face. I don't cower back like I normally would, nor do I drop eye contact. She won't intimidate me. Not when I know there's worse people than Blair in one of her moods after me.

"Rhys isn't innocent when it comes to criminal activity and I could quite easily tell your dad," She smiles wickedly, tilting her head to the side. "You can do better than a psychotic-"

"You need to stop talking before I say something I'll regret," I snap, noticing that both of the brothers are now on their feet. "I will never forgive you if you do say something to my dad that could ruin what we have."

Blair's eyes widen in the slightest as her lips part in shock. "You're either stupid or ignorant to the truth that he's going to get you hurt."

"Same can be applied to you."

I walk away while keeping my hands curled into fists. Avoiding eye contact with either boys I take my bag from the grandstand just as I hear a laugh. I close my eyes silently praying she won't say anything that will piss me off further.

"At least I know what I'm getting myself into while your sweet innocence won't last very long," I open my eyes, making eye contact with Nate who seems somewhat confused. "Innocence doesn't last long in a world like his, especially when you're naive as you are."

I spin around raising an eyebrow at her. "Don't talk to me about naive when you were the one thrown in a jail cell for a night because of your oh so perfect boyfriend."

The hurt flashes in her eyes and I storm out while biting on my tongue. I can feel my ankle throbbing but my anger has reached a limit. I don't get angry over nothing and when Blair constantly triggers it, I can't help but snap.

I know she's trying to protect me but I'm certain Rhys wouldn't let anything happen to me. He wouldn't let me become corrupt like Derek let her. There's a difference between them despite being involved in the same business as each other, Rhys wants out and a fresh start but it's creating chaos for everyone.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Nate yells out to me, skidding as he holds out his hands to stop me. I smack his hands away and side step him to continue in my stride. "Kira!"

"Kira would you stop?" Rhys snaps and his tone just irks my annoyance further.

"I'm not a dog, you can't tell me what to do."

"What did she say to you?"

"Leave me alone."

"No!"

I throw my hands up in the air and spin to face him. "Leave me-"

Screaming I hit the linoleum hard with a whimper. My eyes squeeze shut while holding the throbbing area. Even when I was dancing I had troubles with my ankles because of the heels I wore. I usually had to strength them with exercises or strap them before practice.

It was stupid not to strap them today.

"Kira," Rhys crouches down beside me and I avoid looking at him. In my peripheral vision his eyes scan me until he tugs my bag from my shoulder. "I'm going to help you up, Nate will drive your car home while I take you."

"I can drive-"

"No you can't," He throws my bag to Nate who struggles to catch it. "Where are your keys?"

I finally look at him with a straight face. "I'm perfectly fine to drive myself."

Rhys nods slowly once before reaching for my ankle. He abruptly squeezes it causing me to yelp and try to move back. He raises an eyebrow as he proves his point while I glare at him. There was no need for him to do that.

"Try driving with a sore ankle," I swat his hand away with a huff. "I'm not trying to be mean to you."

"It sure feels like it."

I sulk, reaching down to remove the shoe from my foot. As I do so I take notice of the bruising around my ankle and reluctantly look to Nate. "The keys are in the side zip. Be careful with it because I have to pay for any damages."

"Hold on," Rhys puts his arm around my waist while mine goes over his shoulders. He hauls me up to my feet with ease and I squeal when I hover in the air for a moment. "Make sure you put your weight on me to stay off of your ankle, it'll probably need to be strapped when you get home."

Nate walks ahead of us while searching for my keys and I reluctantly use Rhys for support even though he's crouching. "It's not good for your back, I am capable of walking by myself."

"Would you shut up and let me help you?"

"I don't need-"

"Stop trying to push me away," He raises his voice and stops walking. I feel like a child being scolded under his eyes, Nate stops ahead and glances back. "I get your need for independence but I'm here so you don't have to be so guarded anymore. You can rely on me."

"I can walk myself."

I snap and remove my arm from his shoulders. I'm sick of being treated like I need to be babied. Rhys looks furious with me and I chose to ignore the way his jaw clenches. I'm not as fragile as everyone thinks and my level of stubbornness comes from my father.

"Can you meet us there?" Rhys asks although it's not really a question.

I glance to Nate who seems hesitant. "I think you need to calm-"

"I'm not going to hurt her," He yells, turning his anger onto his brother. "I have better control than to physically harm the person I'm dating."

"Nate please go," I whisper, noticing the soft spot Rhys obviously hit with his brother. He nods timidly and leaves while I look to Rhys with a frown. "You're mad at me, not your brother so don't take it out on him."

"Why do you both seem to think that I'm incapable of controlling myself? I'm not a mons-" He vents and I shift, flinching at the pressure which stops him from his rant. "And I'm yelling at you when releastically I should be helping you. Will you please let me take care of you for once?"

"You always take care of me," I frown as he steps closer. "I don't want to rely on you all the time because it feels like I can't take care of myself. . ."

He nods, fingers tips brushing the surface of my hand. "I'm teaching you how to defend yourself and clearly it's not just the physical sense. You don't usually fire up against Blair."

"She was being a bitch and threatened to tell my dad about your past career." He blinks and retracts his hand from mine.

"She knows?"

"Derek told her about your criminal activity," I exhale, noticing how he seems to be fidgeting more. "Dad isn't going to find out about this and even if he did I'm sure he'd understand."

"He can't find out. Kira, he can't find out because then-" He stops himself, worry etching onto his face. I feel guilty watching him pace slightly while trying to speak. "He won't, I won't be able to-"

"Hey, Rhys don't worry about-"

"I don't want to lose you already. We've barely been together-"

"You're not going to," I lunge at him only for my ankle to tweak in the process. Hissing I fall but luckily get hauled up by Rhys. "We don't have to worry about what my dad thinks. I thought my opinion was the only one that matters, huh?"

He swallows and nods once. "I'm not going to go behind your fathers back, Kira."

"Hopefully he never finds out," I exhale and glance down at my ankle that's throbbing with pain. "Now can you help me get home?"

"I thought you didn't want any help?"

I look up as he smirks, enjoying the fact I'm gaping at him. "Fine then I'll just-"

I barely get three steps before Rhys is capturing me from behind. His arms tighten around me while he chuckles lightly. Spinning around he leans down, eyes a bright shade of green.

"I'll always be here to help you, don't forget it."

I nod stiffly and he leans down, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. Inhaling deeply I wrap my arms around him and underneath his jacket. His kiss is addictive to the point I don't care who sees us and that's a massive step considering how much I hate attention.

But when it comes to Rhys, his attention is exactly what I want. Regardless of the situation.

The first part of this chapter was adorable. But I guess this is the calm before the storm

Question; favorite song at the moment?

Thoughts? Feelings? Predictions?

-inspiredrlh 💕