Michelle didn't get much sleep last night with him holding onto her.

His touch used to comfort her, but now all it did was make her uneasy.

It was like he was two different people.

He could go from being gentle and understanding to an out of control monster.

It was she was living her life walking on eggshells.

One wrong move could spell disaster.

She gazed over at him ,as he slept silently next to her.

For a moment there was peace.

No cold words, no punishing hits, just calmness.

Her mind wondered to what the day would bring.

They were susposed to present the choreography to Justin later in the afternoon, but with her twisted ankle, she wasn't sure if she could manage.

She chuckled at the obsurd thought that lingered in her mind.

"Not sure if I can manage? Yeah right. Like Wade would let me off that easy."

"Did you say something?" Wade asked, as he rolled over to face her.

She was unaware that he was waking up.

"No. I'm just talking to myself." she said, as she pushed the sheet down and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well, we have to meet Justin around 1:00. Whenever your ready I'll take you back to your apartment to get dressed." 

"What about my car? It's still at the club."

"After we meet Justin, I'll drop you off to get your car. Just make sure you stay out of trouble."

"Trouble is being involved with you." she thought to herself, as she stood up and hobbled to the bathroom.

She couldn't wait to get back to the comfort of her own apartment.

Atleast there she felt free.

She didn't have to worry about saying the wrong thing, or wearing the wrong thing.

She could just be........ herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing Michelle did when she got home was shower.

She needed to try and rid herself of the guilt that haunted her mind for staying with him.

She believed that the first time he hit her was an accident and that it would never happen again.

Now it was haunting her.

How could she allowed herself to remain in a relationship that was unsafe.

Emotionally she was dying inside, but if she left him, she would surely pay the consequences.

Stepping out of the shower, she headed into her bedroom to get dressed.

She threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and headed downstairs to make some coffee.

Her nerves were a wreck and she needed to calm down before Wade got there.

She would be spending a good portion of the day with him and she worried at some point she would do something he disapproved of.

She hated living her life like that.

Fear and worry now filled her life, where happiness and joy used to be.

A single tear ran down her cheek, as she filled her coffee cup and walked over to the couch.

Sitting down, she contemplated calling Jenna, but knew the second Jenna heard her voice, she would know something was wrong.

She didn't need to get upset, she needed to relax, so she just sat on the couch staring out the window.

When she finished her coffee, she got up and placed the cup in the sink and headed back upstairs to the bathroom.

Reaching in the closet, she pulled out an ace bandage and tightly wrapped her ankle.

It wasn't as bad as she thought it was.

It was still sore, but it wasn't to the point that it would hinder her dancing.

She was atleast thankful for that.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the phone rang.

Grabbing the phone off the table, she pressed the button and placed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Are you ready?" Wade asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Ok. I'll be there in ten minutes." 

"Ok. See you then." she said, as he hung up the phone and placed it back on the table.

She grabbed her gym shoes and headed back to the couch to put them on.

When she finished, she stood up and went to grab her bag.

Throwing a couple bottles of water inside, she grabbed her keys and headed outside to wait for Wade.

She was hoping the fresh air would settle her down.

Five minutes later, he pulled up to her apartment.

She opened the door of his 4x4 and got inside.

"Why were you waiting outside?" he asked, as pulled back out onto the road.

"I just needed some fresh air, that's all."

"Well, I just spoke to Justin. He's running a little late and said he'd meet us back at my place in about an hour."

"Ok." she said nonchalantly, as she reached into her bag and pulled out a water.

"Well, since we have some free time, do you want to go get your car?" Wade asked, as he looked over at her.

"Yeah." was all she said.

She kept the conversations with him short.

The less she had to interact with him the better, she thought.

Her main focus of today was going to be to make throught the day without upseting him.

A tough task, especially considering his temper lately.

She titled her head back against the seat, and a soft sigh escaped her mouth.

That was the only sound heard in Wade's truck, until they pulled into the parking lot.

"We're here." Wade said, as he pulled up next to her car.

She sat up and reached between her legs to grab her bag.

"Ok. I'll see you back at your place." she said, as she opened the door and got out. 

He watched her as she got inside and started it up.

Once he was sure that she would be fine, he pulled out and headed back to his house.

After a long exhale, she started her car and searched through her CD's for some music to listen to.

When she finally found one, she put it in and pulled out of the parking lot headed to Wade's.

She was slowly starting to take comfort in the fact that Wade would most likely be on his best behavior with Justin there.

It was obvious, that he restrained himself at the club because people were around.

Everyone thought that Wade was this genuinely nice and sweet guy.

Hell, originally she thought that too.

Now she knew different.

It was all an act.

"I guess his violent temper is his dirty little seceret." she said to herself, as turned onto the road that led to Wade's house. 

A few minutes later, she was there.

She threw her water bottle back inside her bag and pulled into the driveway.

Wade's truck was in the garage and a silver Cadillac Escalade was parked behind it.

No doubt it belonged to Justin.

She parked behind him and grabbed her stuff.

As she was walking up the steps, the front door opened.

She glanced up and saw Justin standing there holding the door.

"Hey. I'm Justin. You must be Michelle." he said, as he reached for her bag with one hand and extended the other for a handshake.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you Justin." she said, as she shook his hand.

"Wade's in the studio. He got a call he needed to take and he asked if I would keep an eye out for you." 

"Oh, ok." she said, as she glanced over Justin's shoulder and saw Wade walking towards them.

"So, I guess you've met Justin." Wade said, as he joined the two of them.

"Yep." 

"Well, let's get started then." Wade said, as he turned and walked towards the studio.

"Here. I got that." Michelle said, as she reached out for her bag that Justin was still holding.

"OK." Justin said, as he handed her bag back to her and watched as she followed Wade to the studio. 

"Damn!" Justin thought to himself, as he followed behind her checking her out the whole way there.

When they got to the studio Wade walked over and set up the CD that had Justin's music on, while Michelle started to stretch.

Once the two of them had finished stretching, Wade hit the button on the remote and started the CD.

Justin took a seat and watched as the two of them went through the choreography.

She could tell by the look on Justin's face that he was pleased with what they had come up with.

He was obviously feeling it.

When they finally finished, Wade hit the stop button on the CD player and turned to Justin. 

"So. What do you think?" he said, as he bent down and grabbed his water.

"I think we're good to go." Justin said, as he stood up to shake Wade's hand.

"Great. Now you just need to decide what dancers you want and we'll get to work."

"Ok. Sounds good. I'll stop by tomorrow and let you know." 

"I thought you had to leave town for a few days?" Wade asked, as he twisted the lid back on his water.

"I was susposed to head to NY to do some publicity photos, but the photographer had some personal emergency he needed to tend to."

"Oh..ok."

"Well man, everything looks good so I'm gonna take off. I have some shit I need to care care of. I'll catch up with you later." Justin said, as he extended his hand to Wade. 

"Ok. I'll be around. You know how to get in touch with me."

Justin nodded his head in agreement as he turned toward Michelle.

"Michelle...nice meeting you. I look forward to working with you." Justin said, as he winked at her.

"Alright man, I'm out of here." Justin said, as he waved goodbye. 

With that he turned and walked out of the studio.

CHAPTER 22

As Wade walked Justin to the front door, Michelle started to worry.

Did Wade see him wink at her?

She hoped not.

She knew it was nothing, but with Wade, nothing was always made out to be so much more.

When Wade finally walked back into the studio smiling, she knew he hadn't seen.

"Well, it's official. We'll start teaching the choreography the beginning of the week."

"That's great. I'm glad he likes it."

"So what do you want to do tonight?" Wade asked, as he headed into the livingroom.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" she replied, knowing they wouldn't do anything he didn't approve of.

"How about..." he started to say, but was interupted by the phone ringing.

"Hold on." he said, as he walked over to the table and picked the phone up.

Hitting the button, he placed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, it Justin."

"Hey, what's up?"

"I forgot to tell you. I'm having a party later at my house. If you guys aren't doing anything, why don't you stop down." 

"Ok. Sounds good." 

"Alright man, I'll catch you later." Justin said, as he ended the call.

Sitting the phone back down, Wade looked over at Michelle.

"That was Justin. He said he's having a party later and told us to stop down if we weren't busy."

"Well I guess we know what we can do tonight, huh?" she said, as she sat down on the couch.

Wade walked over and sat down on the cushion next to her.

"Well that takes care of later, but we do we do right now?" he said, as he turned sideways to face her.

She knew exactly what he had in mind.

That look was unmistakeable and it could only mean one thing......sex. 

He leaned forward and brushed her hair aside, kissing her neck softly.

She closed her eyes trying to block out the sensations he was causing to rush through her body, but it wasn't working.

It felt too good.

So good that, all sense of reasoning of why she should stop him, went out the window.

Slowly, she tilted her head back to allow him more access to her.

A soft chuckle escaped his mouth, as he leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"Care to join me in the shower?" 

All she could manage to do was nod her head 'yes'.

Wade took a hold of her hand and stood up.

As they were walking toward the bathroom, a weird feeling came over her.

Quickly her sense of right and wrong was coming back to her. 

God, why was she letting this happen.

She knew making love to Wade was wrong.

After everything he put her through, every tear she shed because of him, every punishing blow she endured,

How?

How could she allow herself to feel anything but distain when he touched her.

As she was trying to make sense of it all, Wade stopped and pulled her toward him.

Placing both of his hands along side her face, he passionately kissed her.

It wasn't a lust driven kiss, it was more.....genuine.

Atleast that's how she interpreted it and again she let herself forget the past.

Before she knew it, they were in the bathroom and Wade was starting the shower.

"Come here." he said softly, as he removed his shirt and threw it on the floor.

As she was walking toward him, he removed his pants and kicked them to the side.

When she got close enough, he reached out and pulled her t-shirt up over her head, tossing it on the floor with his.

She wanted to say something...anything, but the words wouldn't come out.

She just stood there while Wade removed her shorts and pulled her into the shower.

Right or wrong, she knew it was going to happen. 

She also knew that a small part of her actually wanted it to.

As hard as she tried to not let herself get caught up in the moment, she couldn't

The sight of him standing naked under the water, as he ran his fingers through his hair was more than she could handle.

Without thinking, she stepped closer and placed her hands on his chest.

Instantly, he looked down at her and shook the water from his hair.

"Mmmm. Come here." he said, as he pulled her under the water with him.

Sliding his hands up her back, he grabbed onto her shoulders and tilted her back.

As the water cascaded over him, he kissed a path from her neck down to her breasts.

She could feel him hardening against her and a soft moan escaped her lips.

"You like that don't you." Wade said, as he pulled her back up to face him.

"Uh....huh." 

Turning her around, he slid his hands down her arms and grabbed her wrists.

"Then I'm sure you going to like this too." he said, as he brought her hands up and placed them against the wall in front of her.

Chills ran through her body, as he slid his hands back up her arms and down her back.

Firmly he grasped her waist with one hand, while he slid the other back up her back.

In one motion he pulled her waist toward him and pressed her back down so that she was slightly bent over in front of him.

Once he had himself lined up with her, he placed both hands firmly on her hips and pressed inside her.

Her body responded to his presence and she arched her back, pulling her hands away from the wall. 

"No, no. Keep your hands on the wall." he said, as he again placed his hand on her back and bent her over.

With her hands braced against the wall, he proceeded to work himself into her.

This time his thrusts were harder and quicker.

"God, you feel so good." he moaned, as he painfully tightened his grip on her waist.

"Wade...stop! Your hurting me!"

"Shhh."

"Wade, I'm serious. Stop!" she yelled, as she removed her hands from the wall and tried to pull his fingers from her waist.

"Jesus Christ! What the fuck is wrong with you!" Wade yelled, as he released his grip, shoving her into the wall.

"Didn't you hear me tell you, that you were hurting me?" she asked, as she looked down at the marks left by his grip.

"Yeah, I heard you." Wade snickered, as he turned the shower off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around him.

"Then why didn't you stop?" 

"I didn't want to." he arrogantly stated, as headed over to the sink.

"I just don't understand you. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

"Excuse me?" he said, as he turned around to face her.

"You heard me. I'm sick of this shit. I'm out of here."

As she bent down to grab her clothes, he reached over her head and slammed the door shut.

"Where the fuck do you think you are going!?!"

"As far from you as possible."

Wade's eyes filled with rage as he reached down and grabbed her by her hair. 

Bending down, he looked her straight in the eyes.

"Go ahead! I dare you to leave! Let's see how far you get!" he said, as let go of her hair.

Standing up, she threw her clothes on and opened the door.

As she headed down the hall, she expect him to follow, but he didn't.

When she was about to walk down the steps, she turned around and looked behind her.

"Go ahead!" he yelled, as he stood in the hall just outside of the bathroom. 

She stood there hoping to build up the courage she needed to walk out, but it never came.

Instead, tears streamed down her face and she slumped to the floor.

He was just waiting for the opportunity to put her in her place again and she knew it.

She was in her own personal hell and there was no way out.

She watched, as he walked down the hall towards her.

Fearing she was about to pay for her little outburst, she pulled her knees to her chest and covered her face with her hands. 

She shook in fear as she waited for him to unleash his fury, but he didn't.

Instead, he passed her up and headed downstairs.

A few minutes later, he walked back upstairs carrying her bag and keys.

"Now, you can leave! I'll call you when I'm on my way to pick you up." he said, as he dropped her stuff next to her.

Looking up, she watched as he walked back into the bathroom.

The second he shut the door, she grabbed her stuff and ran downstairs.

She couldn't wait to get out of there.

Once she got outside, she opened her car door and tossed her bag inside.

"This has got to stop." she told herself, as she pulled out of the driveway crying.

CHAPTER 23

Picking up the phone, she dialed Jenna's number.

She could always trust her for advice, and now more than ever she needed some.

Unfortunetly, when she called, all she got was her answering machine.

She hated leaving messages, but decided to anyways.

She had to face it.

For now, she was on her own.

Glancing up at the clock on the fireplace mantle, she realized that soon Wade would be calling.

She debated on whether or not to skip the party, but she knew Wade had an image to keep and he wouldn't do anything stupid to tarnish it.

Most likely, he would be on his best behavior, and for that she was grateful.

Locking the door, she headed upstairs to look for something to wear.

She wasn't sure what attire was appropriate for Justin's party, so she opted for a basic black dress.

Pulling it out of her closet, she hung it up on the back of her bedroom door.

She still needed to get a shower, seeing that the one at Wade's ended abruptly. 

Shaking the thoughts of earlier from her mind, she took off her clothes and stepped inside.

She reached forward and turned the water on, letting it run down her body. 

After about 20 minutes, she finished showering and turned the water off.

Opening the shower door, she stepped out and wrapped her robe around her.

It wasn't exactly the comfort she was looking for, but the softness of it against her skin made her feel good anyway.

She threw a towel over her head and began to dry it, as she opened the bathroom door and walked out.

When she pulled the towel off, she screamed.

Wade was standing right in front of her.

"How did you get in here!?!" she said, as she held her hand over her heart in an attempt to slow the pounding.

"With these." he said, as he dangled the set of keys in front of her that she had given him earlier in their relationship.

Never in her life had she felt this uncomfortable.

The thought that he could enter her apartment at anytime had her a nervous wreck.

"I thought you were going to call when you were on your way?" she asked, as she headed over to her dresser.

"I did try to call, but your line was busy." he said, as he walked over and sat on the edge of her bed.

Instantly her mind flashed back to earlier when she was trying to get in touch with Jenna.

"That must have been when he tried to call" she thought to herself.

"So how long till your ready? I told Justin we would be there within the hour." he said, rather annoyed. 

"Not long. All I have to do is get dressed and do my make-up."

"Ok then. Hurry up." he said, as he kicked his feet up on her bed.

"Are you just going to wait in here?" she asked, hoping he would say no and head into the livingroom.

"Yeah. I have to make sure you don't fuck around."

Letting out a heavy sigh, she grabbed her make-up bag and headed back into the bathroom.

When she was finished, she slipped into her dress and headed back into her room.

She didn't look at him, but she could tell he was watching her, as she bent down to grab her black heels off of the floor.

It was never ending with him.

Even when he wasn't doing anything, his presense was enough to alter how she acted.

It was like she didn't even know who she was.

"Ok. I'm ready." she said quietly, as she slipped into her heels.

"It's about time."

"Sorry." 

"Yeah, I've heard that before." he said, as he headed into the livingroom.

She followed behind him, watching, as he grabbed his keys off the table.

"Let's go or we're going to be late." he said, as he opened the door and motioned for her to exit.

Once they got to the bottom of the steps, she opened the door to his truck and got inside.

She had no idea where Justin lived and hoped that it wouldn't be a long drive.

The sooner they got there the better.

Not a word was said the whole way to Justin's. 

It was obvious that he was still really pissed from earlier.

She was hoping that things would be alittle more relaxed than they were, but of course, that wasn't the case.

When they pulled up to Justin's house, they saw cars parked everywhere.

"Looks like a pretty big party." she said, as she straightened up in her seat.

"His parties always are." Wade responded, as he pulled his truck behind the row of cars.

A few people were arriving when they got there, and of course he put his act to work.

Walking around to her side of the truck, he opened the door and helped her out.

She couldn't help but laugh to herself.

It wasn't funny, but the fact that he could go from being one way to being another without even blinking an eye was amazing.

He was such a joke.

If his friends only knew the real him.

Shutting her door, he took a hold of her hand and walked toward the house.

"Hey man, glad you made it." Justin said, as he walked up behind them extending his hand to shake Wade's.

"What are you doing out here?" Wade asked. 

"Man...so many fuckin' people found out about this party. I just came out here to check on parking."

"I guess you were expecting a smaller crowd, huh?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah, you could say that." Justin laughed, as he motioned for Wade to follow him.

"You have a really nice house." Michelle commented, as Justin opened the door to let them in.

"Thanks. Would you like a tour?"

Hesitantly, she glanced over at Wade.

"Girl......believe me. He's seen the place already. Come on." he chuckled, as he extended his arm to her.

He had thought that she was asking if Wade would like to join them, but in reality, she was asking for his permission.

Of course, Wade had to keep up his act.

"Go ahead." Wade said, smilimg as he watched her take a hold of Justin's arm and walk away.

As Justin's headed upstairs, he yelled back down to Wade.

"Hey man, you know where the bar is, help yourself."

Wade shoved his keys in his pocket and headed over to the bar.

He needed a drink.

The fact that she left his side to go with another man was eating him alive.

He couldn't actually tell her not to go, but at the same time he knew that she should have stayed put.

She knew better.

Grabbing a beer from the bar, he headed out to the courtyard where alot of people were gathered.

Scanning the crowd, he noticed a lot of familiar faces.

One of which was walking toward him.

"Hey.....Wade."

"Hey Marty. What's up?"

"Can I talk to you out front for a minute?" 

"Uh....I'm kinda waiting for someone. Can it wait?" Wade asked, as glanced back into the house.

"Michelle?" 

"What?" Wade asked, as he turned back around to face Marty.

"Michelle? Are you waiting for Michelle?"

"Yeah, why? Wait, how did you know I was waiting for Michelle?" Wade asked, bothered by the fact that Marty knew about the two of them.

"Oh, I know more than you think!" Marty blurted out.

"What the fuck is that susposed to mean?" Wade asked, as he sat his beer down on the bench.

"Look, I don't want to get into this right here. You want to join me out front like I asked or not?" Marty asked, as he noticed that people were starting to stare.

"Yeah whatever! Let's go!" Wade said, as he stormed through the house with Marty following behind him.

When they got outside to the driveway, Wade spun around to face Marty.

"What the fuck's your problem?"

"My problem!?! Your the one with the problem!" Marty yelled. 

"Oh really!?! And what's that?" Wade asked, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I know you hit her." Marty said calmly, as he watched the expression change on Wade's face.

"What?" 

"I know the marks she had on her the other day were from you."

"Why don't you mind your own damn business Marty!" 

"Dude, I'm telling you right now. I don't care if we're friends or not. You lay another hand on her and I'm going to fuck you up!"

"Your going to fuck me up!?!" Wade laughed, as he stepped closer.

"Yeah, you heard me."

"I'll do whatever the hell I want to her." Wade said, as he stood there arrogantly.

"We'll see."

"You know what......Fuck you!" Wade yelled, as he threw a punch, catching Marty right in the jaw.

Marty rushed toward Wade, knocking him to the ground, as the crowd of people watching from inside, ran out.

Hearing the commotion, Justin ran downstairs with Michelle close behind.

"Man, what the hell is going on?" Justin asked, as he tried to push through the crowd.

Once he got outside, he saw Marty and Wade being seperated.

"Wade, don't think I'm kidding, you prick!" Marty yelled, as Michelle walked toward them.

"Jesus Christ, Marty! What are you doing!" 

As she glanced over at Wade, she knew exactly what had just happened.

"I told you I would take care of it." she said, as tears started to fill her eyes.

"We're leaving, let's go!" Wade yelled to her, as he turned around and headed to his truck.

"Now!"

"I'm sorry." she whispered to Marty, before following after Wade.

Everyone stood there in shock as Marty pushed through the crowd and headed back inside.

"Can anyone tell me what just happened?" Justin asked, as he watched Wade drive away.

"Anyone?" he asked again, as the crowd slowly went back inside.

"Man, forget it. Let's go party!" Trace said, as he shoved Justin back inside and shut the door.

CHAPTER 24

"You wanna tell me how in the fuck Marty knows about my personal life!" Wade yelled, as he pulled out of Justin's driveway.

That's what she wanted to know.

How did Marty find out?

"Oh shit. The club the other night!" she thought to herself.

(flashback two days earlier at the club)

"Look Marty, I know you are concerned, but trust me.......I'm fine."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Marty asked.

"Yes.....I do. It's the truth."

"You know, I don't know WHO hit you, but I know SOMEONE did. Why won't you tell me what is going on?"

"I am not going to have this conversation with you. Thank you for being concerned, but like I said before....I'm fine."

And with that, she pushed past him and headed back to the front of the club.

When she walked back up to the bar, Stephanie was standing there with her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"What the fuck is going on!?!" she asked, as she watch her friend start to fall apart right before her eyes.

When Michelle didn't answer, Stephanie sat her drink down on the bar.

If she wasn't going to tell her what was going on, she was going to find out from Marty.

(end flashback)

Everything was slowly start to make sense.

Stephanie and Marty had obviously put two and two together that night at the club.

When Wade didn't get a response to the question he asked moments ago, he pulled his truck over.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Wade yelled, as he shoved her against the door.

Startled from her thoughts, she looked up at him.

"What the hell did you tell him!?!" 

"Nothing." 

"Your such a fucking liar!" he yelled. 

"Wade, I swear!"

Instantly, he reached over and grabbed her by her throat.

"I can't believe you put me in this situation!" he yelled, as he tightened his grip.

"Do you know how much shit this is going to cause me at work!"

She struggled desperately to pull his hand from her neck, but couldn't.

"What's wrong!?!" he chuckled, as he watched her fight for air.

She could tell she was coming close to passing out and that she needed to do something fast.

Turning slightly sideways, she brought her foot up and kicked his leg, causing it to slip off the brake.

Quickly, he let go of her, as he put his foot back on the brake and scrambled to put the truck in park.

Seeing her opportunity, she reached for the door handle and jumped out. 

He tried to reach for her, but got caught up by his seatbelt.

"Michelle! Get back here!" he screamed, as he struggled to unfastened the buckle and get out.

Without looking back, she ran as fast as she could back toward Justin's house.

As he was headed down the sidewalk after her, he remember that he left his truck running. 

Glancing back, he debated on whether or not he should continue running after her or head back to his truck.

"Fuck!"

As much as he hated it, he knew he couldn't leave his truck unlocked and running on a busy LA street. 

"Don't think this is over!" he yelled, as he watched her disappear around the corner.

He knew where she was headed.

She was headed back to Justin's. 

Mostly because they only made it two blocks before he pulled over, but also because she knew Marty was there.

As much as he wanted to head back to the house and get her, he knew that wasn't a possibility.

It was bad enough that she tarnished his image with Marty.

He definetly didn't need everyone else at the party finding out about his personal life. 

Shaking his head in fustration, he walked back to his truck and got inside.

"Enjoy yourself tonight baby, because when I get a hold of you, your gonna pay." he told himself, as he slammed the door shut and pulled away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(back inside Justin's)

Marty walked back into the house and headed over to the bar.

Grabbing himself a beer, he sat down and tried digest what had just happened.

He couldn't believe that she was dating Wade the whole time and he didn't know.

Even if he did know that she was dating him from the beginning, he would have never thought that Wade could do something like that.

He was hoping that it was all some misunderstanding, but from Wade's reaction outside, he knew it wasn't and that she was in trouble.

"Oh shit!" Marty yelled, as he sat his beer back down and ran toward the front door.

In all the chaos, he completely forgot that Michelle was following behind Wade.

"How in the fuck did I let her leave with him!" Marty said to himself, as he opened the front door.

Grabbing his keys from his jacket, he ran out the door to his car.

He knew Wade was pissed and that he most likely going to take his fustration out on her.

He needed to find her, and fast!

As he was opening the door to his car, he spotted her walking up the driveway.

"Marty." 

"Jesus christ! Michelle, are you ok?"

Sobbing, she shook her head yes.

"Come here." he said, as he shoved his keys into his pants pocket.

"Where's Wade?" he asked, as he took a hold of her hand. 

"I...... guess he went home." she said, as she nervously began to look behind her.

"What do you mean, you guess?" 

"I mean, I guess. I'm really not sure where he is."

"Didn't you leave with him?" Marty asked, as they walked back toward Justin's house.

"Yeah, but I managed to get out."

Stopping, he turned around to face her.

"You managed to get out? What do you mean you managed to get out?"

"Marty, can we please not talk about this and just go back inside." she said, as she glanced behind her once more.

"Look at me. Did he hurt you!?!"

Fustrated that he was now involved in this nightmare, she flipped out.

"Please! Just let it go! Your only making things worse!"

"How can you expect me to just stand by and watch him do this to you?"

Before she had a chance to utter another word, the front door opened and Marty turned around.

"Hey man, Trace said he saw you come out here. Before you leave, I need to ask you something." Justin said.

"Ok. No problem." Marty said, as he nodded his head.

"Hey girl, I thought you left with Wade." Justin said, as he caught sight of her standing behind Marty.

"I did, but I came back." 

"Ok, well maybe I can finish giving you the grand tour then. Are you still interested?" Justin said, as he smiled at her.

"Definetly!"

Marty shoved his hands in his pockets and looked back at her.

"I didn't interupt something here, did I?" Justin asked, as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

Immeadiately she answered.

"No. We're finished." 

She would do anything to get out of the conversation she was having with Marty.

"Well then, c'mon!" he laughed, as he opened the door for them to enter.

Marty shook his head in disbelief, as he watched her walk inside like nothing was wrong.

How could she think that he was making things worse.

Staying with Wade was making things worse, in his opinion.

She needed to leave him.

"Man, you coming in?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." Marty said, as he stepped back inside the house.

"Is everything ok?" Justin quietly asked, as he studied the look on Marty's face.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Marty simply shrugged his shoulders and headed back to the bar.

Guilt flooded through her mind, as she watched him walk away obviously upset.

She hated the fact that Marty got involved in all this.

She tried to keep him out of it.

Why did he have to keep pushing.

"Ok. Now where were we?" Justin asked, as he shut the front door.

"I think you were going to finish showing me this beautiful house." 

"It is quite beautiful, isn't it?" he chuckled.

"Yes, it certainly is." she said, as her eyes scanned over the large rooms.

"Yeah, I have a weakness for beautiful things." he said, as he winked at her and held out his hand.

Laughing, she placed her hand in his and followed him back upstairs.

CHAPTER 25

When Justin finished showing her the rest of the house, they headed back downstairs.

"You want a drink or something?" he asked, as he headed over to the bar.

"Yes. Please." she said, as she walked over to the bar to join him.

"So.... Is Wade picking you back up?"

"Actually, I don't think he is. I will probablly get a ride home with Marty." she said, as she searched through the crowd for him.

Spotting Trace at the other end of the bar, Justin yelled down.

"Hey Trace! Is Marty still here?"

"Who?" Trace asked laughing, as he walked toward Justin, beer in hand.

"Marty?"

"Yeah, he's out in the courtyard."

"Can you excuse me for a minute?" Michelle asked, as she sat her drink down on the bar and headed into the courtyard to find him.

"Sure." Justin said, as he seductively watched her walk away.

"You know that is Wade's girlfriend, right?" Trace asked, when he noticed the look on Justin's face.

"Yeah. I'm well aware." Justin said, as he turned to face Trace.

"Well then, what is up with that look?"

"What look?" Justin asked, as he headed around the bar to grab another beer.

"You know what look. That look you get when you are eyeing up a piece of ass!" 

"Just because she is Wade's girlfriend doesn't mean she is off limits." Justin snapped back.

"Dude, don't even go there! You guys just patched shit up!" 

"So what! He didn't give a shit when he screwed Britney behind my back. Let him see how it feels."

"Man, your asking for trouble. Didn't you just tell me you gave him the go ahead to do the tour?"

"Yeah, so. I don't have a problem mixing business with pleasure" he snickered, as he leaned forward to take another look at her.

"And by the looks of her, it should be quite the pleasure!"

"You know what. It's your life, but don't say I didn't warn you." Trace laughed, as he walked back down to the other end of the bar.

Justin stood there watching her, as she engaged in conversation with Marty.

There was something about her that he found completely mesmerizing.

He would have no trouble at all, using her to pay back Wade.

As a matter of fact, he was going to enjoy it thoroughly.

A few minutes later, she returned to the bar beside Justin.

"Ok. Sorry. I just had to make sure I could get a ride with Marty."

"No problem." Justin said, as he glanced back down at Trace who was clearly showing disapproval with Justin's choice to persue her.

"You wanna dance?" he asked, as he motioned to the group of people in the room across from them.

"I'd love to." she responded, as she stood up and followed him. 

He found a good spot on the dance floor and they started dancing to Pharell and Jay Z's song "Frontin"

She giggled, as he slowly moved closer to her while singing the lyrics to the song.

It wasn't hard to see why all the students at MC were fascinated with him.

He definetly wasn't who she thought he was.

He continued to sing and dance around her and she couldn't help but notice how relaxed she was.

It seemed like it had been such a long time since she felt that good.

She wasn't sure if it was the liquor or Justin's antics, but either way she was enjoying herself.

When the song ended, she thanked him and started to head off the dance floor.

Immeadiately, he took a hold of her arm and tugged her back.

"Please don't leave me out here to fend for myself during a slow song." he said, as he hung his head.

She couldn't help but laugh at him.

He looked like a little boy who just lost his puppy.

"Please! This is one of my favorite songs." he added, as he slowly pulled her closer.

"Ok. Just this one." she laughed, as she rested her arms on his shoulders.

"Thank you." he said, as he gently wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.

The laughter quickly faded, as she felt herself becoming overwhelmed with emotions.

Why was her heart racing so fast from just dancing with Justin.

She barely even knew him.

As she gazed up at him, she felt him slid his hands up her back. 

She didn't say a word.

Lost in the moment, she just stared at him and enjoyed the gentle feel of his hands against her.

Leaning down, he whispered in her ear.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

At a loss for words, she simply shook her head 'no.'

He continued to hold her close, as one song ended and another began.

Slowly ,she found herself returning the gestures, as she trailed her finger tips down the back of his neck.

"Do you want to take a walk with me?" he asked, as he stepped back to put some distance between them.

She knew what he was asking, but somehow she managed to agree to it anyway.

Letting go of her waist, he took her hand and guided her down the hall and into the den.

"Can I ask you something?" Justin asked, as he sat down on the edge of his desk and pulled her between his legs.

"Yeah, I guess." she answered, as she quickly began to question why she walked in there with him in the first place.

"What would you do if I kissed you?" 

"I don't know." 

"Can I see?" he asked, as he stood up in front of her.

"Uh...I don't think...." she started to say, but was cut off.

Justin bent down and gently pressed his lips to hers, as he kissed her.

Leaning back, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked, as he ran his thumb across her glistening bottom lip.

Slowly, she reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling it away.

Not one to give up that easy, Justin turned his wrist around so that he now had a hold of her hand. 

Licking his lips, he brought her hand up to his mouth and gently began to suck on the tip of her finger. 

Closing her eyes, a small moan escaped her mouth.

"Do you still want me to stop?" he asked, as watched the look of desire sweep across her face.

"Wade doesn't have to find out, you know." 

"Oh god! Wade! I'm sorry. I can't do this!" she yelled, as she pulled her hand away from him and ran out the door. 

Justin stood there in shock, not sure what to make of her reaction. 

Frantically, she searched through the crowd of people trying to find Marty.

She had enough, she wanted to go home before things got any more out of hand than they already had. 

Spotting Marty across the room, she made her way over to him.

Walking up behind him, she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Marty ,can you take me home now?"

"What's wrong?" Marty asked, as he turned around and saw the pale color of her face. "Is he here?"

"No. I just don't feel well. Can you?"

"Yeah sure. I'll take you home."

Saying his goodbyes to everyone, he placed his arm around her and walked her to his car.

Opening the door for her, he watched as she slid inside with a blank look on her face.

"Is everything ok?" he asked, as he got inside and started the vehicle up.

"You seemed like you were fine alittle while ago?"

"Yeah, I know. I just needed to get out of there and get home." she replied, as she gazed out the window.

She didn't say another word the whole way back to her apartment, and he wasn't about to push her.

When they finally pulled up to her apartment, he put his car in park and turned towards her.

"Do you want me to walk you up?" he asked, as he reached toward his keys.

"No, I'll be fine, but thanks for asking." she said, as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks again Marty. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm right here."

"I know." she said, as he opened the door and got out.

Once she was safely inside the building, he drove away.

It had been a long night and all she wanted to do was go to bed.

Pulling her keys out of her purse, she unlocked her door and walked inside.

Slowly ,she made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom.

As she turned on the light, she heard a noise come from behind her.

"It's about fuckin time! I was beginning to wonder!"

Quickly, she spun around and saw Wade sitting on the chair in her bedroom, holding a bottle of tequila.