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My eyes widened at his words but they clicked in place before Xavier had even opened his mouth.

"I can explain. Just hear me out," he asked, his eyes flickering between Natasha and me. The others had filtered into the room and Jace came to stand by me, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. He knew me too well not to notice the fear that had enveloped me.

"Luc, let's leave them to sort out their issues. Go call off the party. I have some calls to make," ordered Sebastian before walking out the door, followed by Luc. The tension in the room eased the slightest and I realized just how intimidating Sebastian's presence actually was.

"Xavier you're part of a gang? Oh my god did you get kicked out of Danforth because of this? What the hell were you thinking," cried out Natasha, seemingly on the verge of hysterics the minute the door had slammed shut. With the amount of shit that had happened today, I wouldn't be surprised if she lost it.

"Wait you got kicked out? I thought you said you transferred," I asked, recalling our prior and only conversation. He took a breath before he started to talk.

"You guys know Danforth is a military academy right," he asked and we nodded collectively.

"Well, our parents enrolled me there when I was 10. I was brought up being taught to fight for justice, to fight for good. To help people. When I turned 16, I realized all we'd actually done was learn but nothing more than that and god I wanted to. I wanted to actually improve society, not just train. It was the reason I joined the academy in the first place. That's when a group of us formed a gang, not to terrorize but to provide protection," he said in a steady voice, his eyes fixed on Natasha. She looked at him like she didn't even know him anymore.

"Why didn't you tell me," she asked softly. He moved forward to pull her into a hug but she shook him off.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me," she snapped, now fully glaring.

"I, I didn't know how you'd take it," he said, fumbling on words. She went and sat on the bed, her head in her hands.

"God this is just too much for a day," she said, sounding drained. Amelia pulled her into a hug in an effort to comfort her. That's when Jace noticed the pictures on the desk.

"What are these," he asked as he fingered through them. I quickly explained, and by the end of it, Natasha was practically shaking on the edge of the bed. Xavier's mouth was set in a hard line and Jace looked like he was ready to punch someone.

"I'm assuming you've finished talking and can now leave," announced Luc as he entered the room, followed by Sebastian.

"Wait, what are we going to do next," I asked.

"You mean what are you going to do next," Sebastian countered before walking towards me and placing both hands on either side of my body, his eyes boring into mine.

"Is that the slightest hint of fear I see," he muttered, cocking his head to one side, his lips curling up in feral amusement. His face was barely an inch away from mine.

"Your gang put my life in danger. Is it wrong of me to expect some kind of protection as well," I asked, trying to put some distance between us. I sounded like a spoiled brat at this point. 

"So far you've done nothing but anger me darling. I don't see why I should waste my time on you," he said casually. He wanted me to apologize I realized, wanted me to beg for his help and then he would consider it.

"If you're expecting me to grovel at your feet you can go f*** yourself cause it's not going to happen," I whispered low enough so only he would hear. His jaw tightened at my words, but something like interest sparked in his eyes.

"Very well then you can get the hell out of my house," he growled out, moving to the side. I marched past him, followed by the others, praying to god that that would be the last I saw of him. Something about him had my heart thundering in my chest and my nerves on edge.

"What do we do now," asked Theo when we left the house. We'd all piled into the car, ready to leave, until we realized we had no destination.

"We head home for the night. We'll talk more tomorrow at school," said Xavier and we all agreed. It was already around 1 in the morning and I slowly drifted off in the car itself, completely exhausted.

I woke up to find Xavier inches away from my face, his hands gently nudging me awake.

"We're here," he said and I nodded before getting out, slightly unsteady from sleep. His hand caught on mine as I started to walk up the path to my house. I turned to see his intense eyes locked on mine, more serious than I'd even seen them.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you Blaze. Give me a chance," he asked quietly, his eyes begging me to trust him. I gave him a small smile.

"Alright," I said and his lips turned up into a grin that had my heart racing just a bit.

"I'll see you tomorrow beautiful," he said before getting back into the car. A smile lingered on my face as I turned away and headed up to the house. It was around 1 in the morning and I knew I was screwed. I hadn't even called to let them know where I was. God I was so stupid. Before I could even ring the doorbell, the door burst open and Parker pulled me in, his hands covering my mouth.

"What the hell," I yelled out in a muffled voice, glaring at my little brother.

"Mom's furious. I've never seen her this mad Blaze. Just sneak upstairs. Hopefully her anger will die down by morning," he furtively whispered, his eyes panicked. His efforts to save me from our mother's wrath went in vain however when the lights came on to reveal her standing barely 2 feet in front of us, glaring at me.

"Mom I'm," I began, trying to apologize. I didn't get to finish. Pain exploded across my cheek and I fell to the ground. I looked up at my mother in absolute shock. What the hell! She'd just hit me. She'd never laid a finger on either of us ever in the past. Her hands were trembling and her eyes were filled with irrational anger. For a second, I almost didn't recognize her.

"Mom what the hell," cried out Parker, moving to stand between my mother and I. The anger faded in my mother's face and tears began to slip out.

"Oh god I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Blaze. God I don't know what came over me. I thought, I thought you'd left me like your Dad did and I just, I got so mad cause people keep leaving and I just can't, I can't take it." she stuttered, tears streaming down her face as she sunk to the ground. Her whole body was shaking and my heart squeezed in my chest as I pulled her into my arms. Parker knelt in front of both of us, his eyes filling with tears as well.

"It's okay Mom. You didn't mean it. It's okay," I whispered over and over as she clung to me, shaking with sobs. Another figure knelt down before us and I looked up to find Rick. He gently took my mom's hands in his.

"None of us are going to leave you Lucy. I promise," he said before wrapping us all in a hug. I realized how much it must have hurt him then, to know that his wife wasn't over her ex-husband yet, to know that he didn't really have her heart. Yet, in that moment, he put it to the side. Not just for my mother, but for us as a family.

"Thank you," I whispered and he held me tighter, pressing a light kiss to the top of my head. 

That's the end of the 5th chapter! It's a bit of a filler but you also get a peak into Blaze's family dynamic. There's more action coming up in the next few chapters.  

If you liked the chapter comment below or click the vote button. I'd like to know whether I'm on the right track or not so far. Any constructive criticism will be appreciated (:

-ASH