The bell rang and everyone piled out of the room. Tyler and Lucas left without looking in my direction, which was a nice surprise. I needed a break from their suffocating attention.

"So, will I see you at Collin's party tonight?" Steve lingered as he watched Justin walking my way.

Justin stopped next to me and waited patiently.

"I don't know. Maybe." I shrugged. "Thanks for the invite."

"Yeah, no problem. If you wanna go, Lucy knows where it is, and I'll make sure to save you a room, just in case." Steve sent me a goofy smile and waved before he disappeared. What a nice guy.

Loading my stuff into my backpack, I smiled when Justin grabbed my box of roses. I desperately wanted to know if they were from him, but I didn't want to ruin what was happening.

Justin didn't say a word as we made our way out of the room. His silent presence was strangely comforting.

"Hey," Lucy found me in the hall before throwing a confused look at Justin. "Are you riding with me to practice?"

"Justin's giving me a ride today, but thanks for checking. I'll meet you there, okay?"

"Okay." A big smile spread across Lucy's face as she sent me a knowing look before stopping to talk to one of her friends.

Tyler and Lucas were standing just outside the doors when they spotted us, and of course, all the cheerleaders surrounded them. They both grimaced.

Justin suddenly closed the distance between us, bumping my hip playfully. I smiled and bumped him back. A huge smile crossed his face as he released a laugh and bumped me again.

His laugh was contagiously fun as I started laughing too. Knowing him as only the quiet, stoic type, I reveled in this new side of him.

Tyler and Lucas watched us curiously until their frowns slowly transformed into smiles.

Jessica broke away from the cheerleaders, jogging to Justin's side. "Hey, Justin. Are you going tonight?"

Justin completely ignored her as he lightly knocked his elbow against mine.

I smiled, but it faltered slightly with our new company.

"Justin? My car isn't working right. Can you give me a ride home after practice?" Missy asked as she appeared beside me. Her tone of voice was nice until she sent me the glare of death. Her car wasn't working? Who was she kidding?

I didn't know why I was letting her get to me, but Missy's evil looks were beginning to take their toll. She was treating me like I was actually evil, and she was making it wildly apparent that I really didn't have anyone that truly loved me.

In Florida, I knew my boyfriend and best friend cared about me, but everything was always a fight with my family, and Missy was a constant reminder of that horrible truth.

Before arriving in Colorado, I'd stupidly assumed that Missy had grown up. I'd pictured us becoming close like sisters, but that had been a stupid, pointless dream.

"Like I told you before, I only deal with Ember from now on. If you want something from me, you have to go through her." Justin threw his free arm around my shoulders, causing Missy and Jessica to gasp in shock.

I could've pulled away from him, but I didn't want to.

Justin tugged me into him, dipping his lips to my ear. "Fuck them, Ember. You got me. I'm your family now."

Smooth tingles of exhilaration swept through me. Justin pulled back to look me in the eye, making sure I understood him.

For that one sweet moment in time, a knowing came over me. Somehow I knew, Justin was telling me the truth, and that he would always be here, no matter how bad things got. He would never leave me and he would do anything to protect me.

As Missy and Jessica walked away, Missy whispered only loud enough for Jessica to hear, but I still heard her. "Stupid gutter slut. They'll drop her soon. I'll make sure of it."

What the hell? Why was she so cruel? I was just trying to live my life. I wasn't hurting her or anyone else.

With his arm still around my shoulders, Justin spun us to face Missy and Jessica. "That's it, Missy. I warned all of you earlier and you know I'm not Tyler or Lucas. I don't do second chances."

"What?" Missy spun to face us as her perfectly penciled eyebrows flew up. "But I didn't say anything."

"I heard you." Keeping his arm around me, Justin set down my box of roses and pulled out his phone, dialing Tyler. "Missy's group and the cheerleaders are out. I've fucking had it. I never should've let you run the show. They're hurting her. Walk away. No one fucking talks to any of them again."

Gigantic elephant tears erupted from Missy's eyes as she dropped to her knees and pressed her hands together, begging. "No, Justin, please. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. It won't ever happen again."

Justin ignored her, watching the front doors until he saw Tyler and Lucas walking toward us.

"Justin, please. I'm so so sorry. I promise I didn't mean it." Missy was still crying and I couldn't find it in my heart to feel bad. Everything Missy did was fake, and I was actually happy to see her doing something real for once.

"He's not listening, you stupid bitch. I can't believe you did this! This is all your fault!" Tears streamed down Jessica's face as she screamed at Missy.

I didn't know what was going on, but I knew Justin just made a major decision for me. After he picked up my box of roses, Justin tugged me toward the parking lot. "Come on."

"Hey," I pulled him to a stop as we got to his motorcycle, trying to find the right words. "What just... happened?"

Justin's golden gaze studied my face. "I can't let their poison be around us anymore. I've put up with them for years, and they've always been awful. I never said anything before because I didn't care enough to do anything about it until you got here. No one will ever treat you like that again. I know you heard what she said."

"Yeah, but..." I examined his soft gaze as he patiently waited for me to ask my next question. "I'm sorry. I'm just confused. What just happened? You told Tyler and Lucas what to do and they just did it? You can do that?"

"Of course, I can. I'm the future King." Justin smiled, bringing his adorable dimples to life before he retrieved a helmet from the secret storage compartment.

"Wait. What? You can't just say that and not explain." I said.

"We have all the time in the world. I don't want you to be late. Your practice starts in twenty minutes and you still have to change, don't you?" Justin tugged his helmet over my head. His fingers tickled my jaw as he grabbed the straps, sending goosebumps cascading down my chest.

I leaned my head back so he could get better access as he attached the buckle. "Yeah, I just want answers."

Justin sent me a crooked smile. "I know. And you'll get them. You trust me, don't you?"

I studied Justin's face, and I knew I trusted him with my life. "Yeah."

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Justin laughed. "You're finally telling me the truth."

My gaze roamed his face, and I became fully aware that he'd been listening to my thoughts. Ashamed for lying to him about my feelings, my gaze roamed over the clouds as he continued to tighten the straps.

"I love the clouds," Justin whispered as he worked.

"Me too. Why do you like them?" I asked.

"They can do whatever they want. They can change and morph as they move with the wind. So much freedom." Justin spoke his thoughts in a way that made me sad.

"You don't have freedom?" I searched his face. Who was this introverted guy? He was a mystery to me, and all this time, he'd let me believe Tyler was the leader, but in all actuality, he was.

Justin scoffed as he shook his head. "What do you think?"

"Hey, man." Tyler walked up to his Challenger and leaned against it while Lucas leaned against the black truck on our other side.

"You ready to ride this crotch rocket?" Lucas joked. "Don't let him go too fast. He's a maniac on this thing."

"I like it fast. I've ridden a motorcycle before." I said.

Justin smiled.

"Really?" Tyler asked and all three of them waited for my answer.

"Yeah, my best friend's boyfriend has one." I nodded.

"So, you rode on the back of your best friend's boyfriend's motorcycle?" Lucas asked curiously. "That sounds like an interesting story."

"Yeah. So?" I glanced at Justin, hoping he'd save me from having to tell the story.

"What she did before doesn't matter," Justin spoke the words like it was law. "All that matters is what happens now. She took care of herself and kept herself in one piece, didn't she?"

Both Tyler and Lucas studied me, contemplating as they nodded.

"Lucas, will you hold on to these until later?" Justin handed over my box of roses.

"Who are they from, anyway?" Tyler's brow furrowed as he inspected the box of roses in Lucas's hands.

Justin spun on Tyler. "It doesn't matter."

Tyler threw his hands up defensively. "Okay. I was just asking a question."

"I don't know who they're from. The lady from the office said there was a card inside, but it wasn't signed. I didn't want to open the box during class." I crawled onto the bike.

"Can we open them and take a look?" Lucas asked in a sweet voice.

I shrugged. "Sure. I don't care."

"She's gonna be late. We need to go. I'll scoop them up later." Justin said.

"You got it." Lucas opened his passenger door and set the box inside before pulling out a gym bag.

"Thanks," I said to Lucas as Justin mounted his bike.

"My pleasure, Gorgeous." Lucas smiled and winked before his eyes began to glow brighter. "See you later?"

"Maybe." I gave him a tiny smile.

"Isn't your boyfriend gonna be pissed when he finds out you're riding on the back of Justin's bike?" Tyler angrily yanked open his trunk and pulled out a gym bag.

"Probably." I nodded with a deep sense of remorse, knowing that Josh would be pissed about a lot of things when we spoke later.

Tyler squinted and furrowed his brow as he searched my face, taking in my meaning. He analyzed the ground before sending me a small grin. "See you later, Shortie."

"Later." I hollered as Justin brought the motorcycle to life and revved the screaming engine.

I waited until Justin was sitting comfortably before I delicately wrapped my arms around his stomach and molded myself to his every curve. Justin leaned back into me, snuffing out any extra space between us.

Being this close to Justin was unlike anything I'd ever experienced in my life. I gave myself permission to enjoy the moment as I noticed how defined his muscles really were.

A giddy excitement washed over me. I couldn't help but grin at Lucas and Tyler.

Something dark and lustful filled their eyes as they watched me. Was that envy?

Tyler said something that looked like, "lucky fucker" before Justin's body vibrated with laughter as he nodded.

We got to my dance studio with ten minutes to spare.

"Is it still okay if I watch?" Justin gently removed my helmet and looped a loose strand of hair around my ear, sending chills all over my body. "I promise I won't bother you."

"Yeah." I was actually excited for him to watch my practice. No one ever wanted to watch me practice except Dad.

Before I went inside, Justin caught my elbow. "Hey, thanks for letting me give you a ride. I know you've been through a lot. I'm glad you're giving me a chance."

"You're a good person, Justin. We still have a lot to talk about, but I want you to know, what you said earlier really meant a lot to me."

Justin's eyes searched mine. "I wasn't lying. You got me. I'm not going anywhere."

Pressing my lips together, I gave him a warm grin before I left to change.

Jenny was a no show. I hoped I wasn't the reason, but I was thankful to have a break from my hate club.

Nancy Trillo turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. She was a fucking strict instructor, but damn, compared to Nina's lax-a-daisy training style, Nancy was doing me a huge favor. She yelled at every mistake and made me feel like I was the worst dancer ever to be born. Life was good today.

"Damn, Ember. You were perfect and Nancy was still screaming. I wanted to bitch slap her for you." Lucy joked as she opened the front door for me.

I chuckled. "She was just doing her job. I'm used to it."

Justin stood outside waiting for me and his face lit up when his eyes met with mine. "You were fucking awesome. Nancy Trillo was impressed too. I saw her face. She was yelling just to yell."

My cheeks heated at his compliment. "Thanks, but she was on my ass for a reason. I messed up a few times."

"No, you didn't. You're an amazing dancer. You're too hard on yourself." A girl with pigtails commented as she walked by. "See you guys next week."

I glanced at Lucy. "Who was that?"

"Meredith. She's a sweetheart. She keeps to herself though. Her home life is... difficult." Lucy said as Meredith got into her car.

"Huh... maybe we should reach out." I watched Meredith start her car.

"I've tried. She's a loner, and she likes it that way." Lucy shrugged.

I smiled because I could relate. "To each her own, I guess."

"She's in one of my classes," Justin said offhandedly. "She's always been that way."

I nodded.

"So, I know you guys are probably going to that party tonight, but Ember, what about the clothes we talked about this morning? I don't want to mess up your plans, and I think I'm gonna go to the party too, but I don't know yet." Lucy glanced at Justin with a worrisome look on her face. He obviously intimidated her.

"Oh, shit. I'm glad you reminded me. Yeah, let's go. You can take whatever you want." I glanced at Justin. "Do you... uh... wanna come to my house for a while?"

Justin's entire face lit up as his eyes took on a shimmering golden glow. "And see your infamous room covered in old lady flowers? I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

My heart rate sped up in anticipation. "Okay. Um... I'm gonna ride with Lucy. I'll see you there?"

"Yeah. I gotta make a stop first, but I'll be right behind you." Justin glanced between us as a huge smile crossed his face.

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