"This is your house?"

Nick's voice is filled with awe, as he stares around the empty mansion, his eyes wide.

His words bring a slight quirk to the edge of her lips and Madison turns to shut the door. Instead of celebrating with her friends, as Madison had been unable to even stomach the thought, she had made Nick come over to her house for the first time. He looked worse than her, but all she could think of was that she didn't want anyone beside her, but him.

"I thought you were worried about your staff," Nick says, arching an eyebrow.

"I got rid of them for the night," Madison tells him, smirking with some smug satisfaction.

She grabs his hand and pulls him towards her, reaching up to the tips of her toes to kiss him senseless.

Nick reciprocates eagerly, but Madison can feel him wince a little, as he reaches to embrace her tightly. His large form almost dwarfs her and for some strange and silly reason that she doesn't want to delve into, she doesn't want him to let her go. They crash together as he grabs her waist, sweeping her up into his arms and lifting her off her feet.

Her legs already around his waist, Madison moans with pleasure, gasping hotly into the feverish skin of his shoulder. Her hair tumbles around him and Nick is a vision before her, tangled up within her in a mess of limbs.

But then he winces again, and Madison pulls away.

She drops to her feet and hurries.

"Hey -," Nick begins, but Madison is already back with the first aid box.

"Sit," she orders him, as she points at the chair.

Nick does as she says, seating himself quickly, as his gaze lifts to her. Madison bites down her concern and sits on his lap, her legs tangled up within his, as she examines his cut lip and bruised face. Her fingers are soft against his skin and Nick closes his eyes, lifting his big paw of a hand to hold her own.

"Who told you to attack him?" Madison mutters chidingly, as she tends to his face.

"His face," Nick mumbles, hissing slightly in pain. "It was just crying out to be punched - ow, that hurts."

"Is that better?" Madison murmurs, hurrying as she fumbles with the plasters and bandages. "I don't know how I'm going to deal with him, now."

"You don't have to," Nick says, his jaw clenched tight and his tone grim. "I think he's got the message. I'm happy to send the message a couple more times, if that's what it takes."

"Alright, macho man," she says distractedly, but Nick's fingers tighten around her own.

"I'm serious, Madison," Nick says, and he stares at her solemnly. "Sometimes just having people expelled won't work. Sometimes you've just got to punch them in the face."

There is no trace of his usual spark of humour and it hurts Madison to not see it.

Madison rests against the seat of the chair, half of her body against Nick's own, as his arms come around her. She stares at him, feeling as though she might cry, her stomach flipping slightly, because she's never had anybody so fiercely ready to protect her like this, before. It's utterly terrifying and completely new, so she quickly gets up, backing away.

"I won't have him expelled," she tells him, packing away the first aid box.

"That's a first."

Now, that sounds more like the Nick she knows.

Madison aims a scowl at him and her heart lightens, at his grin.

"Ash needs help," Madison says, as she seats herself in her own chair, looking at him. Nick fiddles with the plaster. "Stop fiddling with that - you'll tear it off. I'll get Ash some psychiatric help and have people look into his family's business. He'll be punished for trying to attack me, of course, but I'm not ignoring someone who got pushed too far, because of me."

Nick straightens and stares at her. When he speaks, his voice is filled with purpose and firmness.

"What he did wasn't your fault," Nick tells her. "Madison -,"

"I know," Madison says, and she tugs at the corner of her shirt. "Ash attacking me is all on him. But I had the school ostracise him, for what he tried to do to Audrey, I had him put in hospital, I let his mother's business fail, even though he kept begging me to help him. In the end, he's just pitiful and I shouldn't have done what I did to him."

Nick is staring at her, wonderstruck.

"What?" Madison asks, her brows furrowing.

"Nothing," he says quickly, before turning around to stare around the mansion. "This place is so empty. What do you do here, for fun?"

"Well, usually, I -," Madison begins, before she breaks herself off, frowning to herself.

What does she do for fun?

Nick is laughing at her.

"Do you even know what fun is?" he teases.

"Yes, I do," she snaps back. "I just - I - well, what do you do for fun?"

Nick's eyes are sparkling, and he reaches for her, grabbing her hand to pull her up.

"Let's go exploring."

*

Madison doesn't know how she ends up chasing after Nick, laughing as he dances through the first floor with her old Barbie socks, to some old hits on her father's radio, when Maria comes knocking loudly.

"Madison?"

So startled she almost stumbles over herself, Madison leans over the bannister, her eyes wide. She reaches to throw a pillow at Nick, who has already opened his mouth, his eyes glittering teasingly, and scrambles to hurry, slamming a hand on the radio. Her breaths are fraught with panic, as she paces frantically.

"How is she here?" Madison hisses. "If she sees you or that stupid motorbike -,"

She breaks herself off to see Nick languidly sitting on the sill of the window, watching her, amused.

"This isn't funny, Nick," Madison says. "You ride a motorcycle. God, I've fallen so far."

Nick snorts at that, unable to help himself.

"Nah, you just fell on me."

Her lip twitches before she can stop herself and suddenly, her panic is fading away, seeming so irrelevant in the light of how funny Nick has made the situation. Madison is laughing with him, her eyes bright. There's something easy about being with Nick, she realises, and it's the lightest she's ever felt, whenever she's with him.

When Maria continue to knock on the door incessantly, Madison hurries to the door.

"Madison?" Maria says, embracing her tightly. "Sweetie, you said you were going to go home. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Maria, I swear," Madison says quickly, hugging her back. "I was just really tired."

Maria stares at her, lifting her face by putting her fingers against her jaw. The Spanish girl eyes her carefully, her brows furrowed.

"Did something happen?" Maria asks. "Your eyes are a bit red."

"Allergies," Madison lies, before she shakes her head. "Sorry, that was a lie."

She explains her predicament with Ash to Maria as quickly as she can and watches, rather nervous, as Maria's face goes almost entirely as dark with fury as Nick's own features had. She doesn't say a word about Nick coming in, very aware of Nick in her house. Maria is practically shaking, her jaw set in sheer anger, and her grip around Madison's wrist is turning tight and almost painful.

"That puta madre," Maria breathes hotly, her eyes blazing. "I'll kill that son of a bitch -,"

"Maria, it's fine, really," Madison tells her. "I handled it."

Then Maria's face is cast over as she turns to her, something strange and sad flickering in the light of her eyes.

"You shouldn't have had to," Maria says, her voice turning soft. She continues, explaining. "Madison, you do so much and sometimes I don't think even you realise it. You take care of everything and everyone around you, and we're supposed to - I'm supposed - God. We should have been there to kill him, is all I'm saying, sweetie."

"It's alright," Madison says, though her voice cracks a little under all the sentiment, and overcome with emotion, she reaches forward to hug Maria again. "Thanks. I don't think I've ever thanked you for being my friend."

"I'm not going anywhere, silly," Maria says, chuckling lightly into her hair. She pulls away, frowning a little. "Unless you want to be alone? I understand if you do."

"Yeah," Madison says, and the guilt turns in her stomach. "Yeah, I think I'm just going to be alone for a bit. I'll be okay, Maria."

After she sees off Maria, Madison shuts the door and leans against it, frowning to herself. It's a good point that Maria raises up, she thinks to herself. She does take on more than she can handle. This year is a good enough example of that. Maybe it is time to just take a step back and to relax a bit. When she opens her eyes, Nick is there, looking back at her.

Her heart does this funny little jolting thing that it's been doing, far too often.

For a moment, all they do is look at each other.

Nick, with his dark eyes, so expressive in ways that the rest of his face never is, and his sharp jawline, cut so fine. The bruise around his cheek is still a painful red, but it's fading lightly, against the slight smile crinkles. He's still in her school uniform, as is she, but he's rolled up his sleeves and his collar is pulled apart in a way that makes her mouth go dry.

"Are you really okay?" Nick asks, his voice a bare murmur, as he steps forward.

His fingers, broad and safe, cup her face and Madison finds herself leaning into his touch, automatically. She has to stop herself from closing her eyes.

"He scared me," she admits, before she can stop herself, and to his credit, Nick doesn't falter. "But I'm okay," Madison tells him, and then she grins as she reaches forward to grab her old Barbie socks from his slack fingers.

Nick bursts out laughing, a deep and booming chuckle, as he lunges for her, grabbing her by the waist, as Madison laughs with delight. When he lifts her, he does it easily, as though she weighs less than a feather, his broad arms wrapped around her, so she doesn't fall.

"I'm hungry," Nick tells her, and for a moment, Madison thinks he's hungry for her, but his gaze is sliding to the kitchen and she chuckles to herself. "Do you even have food here? Is that a thing for the top one percent?"

"Are you asking if rich people eat?"

"Well, I met you, didn't I?"

"Ha, ha. So funny."

Madison drops to stand, but she stays beside Nick, as he moves to the kitchen.

Her gaze rakes the large room carefully, because she's never actually taken a step in it, or even remembered it. Nick is already rummaging through the cupboards, as Madison leans against a counter to watch. She loves watching Nick cook. There's a rare ease to his shoulders that she loves to see, that always comes whenever he's in a kitchen.

"What are you making?" she asks, humming under her breath.

"What are we making?" Nick corrects, as he pops his head out from the fridge, brandishing several items of food. "Chicken parmesan. Mostly because I can't find anything else in here."

"What about red velvet cupcakes?"

Nick's lips quirk.

"I've made a monster. Whatever will your mother say?"

Madison sticks her tongue out at him.

He reaches for her and lifts her to sit on the kitchen counter, as Madison begins to peel and cut the onions. Nick switches on the radio and soft pop music filters in through the kitchen, as they begin to cook together. He sings badly too, making her laugh so much that her chest hurts. It's such a relaxing moment that it makes Madison forget that she's not supposed to sit on the kitchen counter.

Nick has a way of simply letting all her worries fade away, she thinks to herself, as he pulls funny faces at her to make her laugh.

"Okay," Nick says, as he begins to help plate the food up. "Bastien said to spin and then dip, right? Because I keep getting it mixed up."

Madison shakes her head.

"It's spin and lift," she tells him, as she jumps off the counter, and spins, to show him.

Nick grumbles, "Sure, the ballet student can dance easily," but he's smiling to himself, and when Madison spins into his arms, he reaches to lift her easily.

She lets a small smile lift her lips in fond remembrance.

"I loved ballet," Madison admits. "My dad used to come and watch all my shows."

The reminder of her father brings a shadow over her face and Nick clears his throat quickly, clearly not wanting to probe. There are certain things they can't speak about, to each other, that Madison knows is completely clear to each other. Her father is off limits, as is his mother, Madison knows. But she doesn't want to think, tonight.

"You ever made a fort, rich girl?" Nick asks, and when she frowns at him, a blinding grin lights up his face.

*

They flop together on the blankets and pillows that Nick and Madison have messily piled up, in her sitting room.

Madison is in a fit of giggles, because Nick won't stop tickling her, as she collapses against the soft, furry blanket. Her cheeks are flushed pink and Nick can't help but think how beautiful her smile is. There's something about her that entices him completely, overwhelms him. He never thought he'd be so happy and content to find someone exactly like him.

Sometimes Nick thinks he'll never get enough of Madison.

She can't stop herself from laughing, when he reaches to kiss her nose and pull her close, tickling her. It's so silly and goofy, but Nick is grinning at Madison, pretending to playfully bite her nose. Madison rolls her eyes at him, but her lips lift in spite of herself, as she presses her lips to his.

"You're such a dork," she says, but she can't stop herself from smiling.

He's heady and Madison laughs against his lips, as he lunges impatiently for her.

Nick mumbles, "And you're tiny."

"You can talk," Madison gasps into his mouth, grinning as she wraps her arms around his broad shoulders. Nick hitches her up onto his lap, as she wraps her legs around him. "You giant dork."

When they break apart, they do so, because they're both starving, and, in the end, after they eat, they're both so stuffed they simply flop against each other on the ground. Madison leans against his shoulder and Nick wraps an arm around her, pulling her close, as the music falls all around them softly. He's so sleepy, his eyes dropping shut, but Madison's sharp inhale scares him and he all but lifts himself, alarmed, realising faintly that he could never refuse her anything.

"What is it?"

Madison grazes her fingers against a curled piece of flesh on his bare shoulder, her eyes wide. Her lips part in horror.

"What's that?"

Nick leans back down again and shows his teeth, in a bared smile.

"My dad burned me."

Her fingers still.

"Keep doing that," he murmurs to her. "It feels nice."

Madison reaches forward and presses her lips to his shoulder.

It sends a sudden rush of warmth spinning through him.

He's overcome with a fierce sense of protection and warmth over the girl in his arms and Nick holds her close, his eyes dropping shut. They're a tangle of limbs on her sitting room floor and there are remnants of food scattered all around them, and this is Madison Sutton next to him, but even so, something about this just feels so right.

*

When she lets herself into the Sutton mansion, it's the crack of dawn.

An array of golds and pinks spill against the sky softly, limning the mansion in beautiful colours, and Becky forgives her own stupidity for forgetting her purse, if it's to just see such beauty as this. Her fingers are cool, with the morning air, and really, Becky thinks to herself, she'll just be in and out, that's all.

She's supposed to be in bed, Becky thinks, annoyed, enjoying her day off, thanks to Madison.

Instead she's back here, where she had hated the Suttons at first sight, but now they've grown on her. Or rather, Becky corrects, rustling her keys impatiently as she attempts to find the right one, Madison has grown on her.

Why does she have so many keyrings?

She'd never expected herself to actually like Madison, having expected another rich brat of a girl, with too many Louis Vuitton bags and Kurt Geiger shoes. Though the household staff had been loyal, Becky was not stupid. She had heard the rumours. Even her friends had warned her against taking the job, having heard many rumours of the Ice Queen of Redwood, that Madison Sutton was colder than the Redwood River, that Madison Sutton was as cruel as death's grip.

But the pay had looked good and Becky had been desperate.

And when Madison Sutton had continued to scold her, as though she was a thoughtless child, Becky had thought this job would be the end of her. But it had taken some time, as all things do, until Becky realised that Madison Sutton was an easy job. It's easy to cater to Madison, because the girl demands very little, though that very little must be perfection, and she does so much.

Instead, to her horror, Becky's found that she rather cares for Madison.

This sentiment had been completely solidified when Madison had clumsily offered her the "internship programme". Even without talking to Louie, Becky knew that the internship programme had been something Madison had made up on the spot. She's got degrees, she's not stupid, and Madison's a young liar.

But it had touched her heart.

Here was this young girl, seeing that she was in trouble, and attempting to do something about it. She's heard more tales of how Madison's helped the other household staff, often taking their troubles as her own, and Becky finally realises why Madison's staff are more loyal to her, than any other staff she's seen.

That's why it's a resounding and shared feeling around the entire household staff, whenever Mrs Sutton comes to stay. None of them like her, for the sake of Madison alone. God, Becky thinks, angry even now, she doesn't think she's hated anyone more.

How could Madison's mother break the heart of her little girl like that, so easily?

Becky can't imagine her own mother being so callous and cruel.

Madison had looked forward to her mother coming back, had worked so hard, only to have Mrs Sutton rush off in the night, without a look back. Becky thought her heart would crush when she saw the crumpled look gracing Madison's face, when she had to tell her to take down the fresh bouquet of flowers that they had spent an entire afternoon decorating the house with.

She would do anything for the girl, Becky thinks to herself, feeling a fierce protection over the slight young thing. Which is why she has to do something against this stupid diet Mrs Sutton has put Madison on. Not only is it stupid for such a young girl to adhere to such a strict diet, but Madison is literally wasting away.

Louie had confessed to her his own concerns about how Madison's been working herself too hard and Becky thought she might go out of her mind with worry over the young girl.

When she finally gets the door open, Becky glances up at the sweeping staircase, before hurrying to the lounge, as quickly as she can. She reaches to pick up her purse, breathing a quick sigh of relief, before a soft sleepy moan reaches her ears and Becky freezes.