T E M P T E D

T E M P T E D {ch 10 - Frustration, Fears and Foes}

"You're dead, Amherst." I advanced on him with a scowl.

"I think I still like him," I heard someone say from behind me. I didn't have the energy to turn and glare.

Blake's teasing grin did not even falter. "What are you gonna do? Attempt to unman me like Haezel did Greg? Be a little more original!"

"I could do that. Or I could have a surprise attack up my sleeve." I stepped forward again and had to pause as I felt a rush of dizziness, my vision darkening for an instant. Then it faded as Blake spoke.

"I'd like to see you try."

"I'm not kidding when I say I'm going to beat you into small morsels that even ants could digest in one swallow."

He laughed, the jerk. I clenched my hand into a fist.

"I wasn't joking." I punched him low in the gut, just avoiding his block. His breath hissed out of his teeth.

"Jeez, you violent little punk. You should probably check into some anger management class."

I drew my arm back to swing again but he straightened and gave me a level look.

"I'll warn you now that I'll accept the first one but try it again and I will respond in kind."

A warm hand wrapped around my wrist and I looked back to see Rhyley behind me.

"We need to talk anyway," he said to me sternly and then looked to Blake. "Nice meeting ya, and I have a warning for you. Despite my inclination to like you, if you hurt my sister in any way I will kill you. And I don't mean that the way Lee just did. I mean it literally."

Rhyley turned me around. "Is there some place we can sit? The school corridor is hardly the place to hang around and chat."

"Erm..." Did he just play the 'protective big brother' for me? Was this the same Rhy who told me to lose the baggy clothes while we were at a gig so that the band would attract more guys? "We could go to my room in the dorms? Oh! And I could show you guys the studio."

Rhyley tucked his hands into the pockets of his baggy jeans. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you without the guys. Just family."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to think of something that I could've done to warrant a 'family' talk. Was it about my call last night? Did he think I was homesick?

"Aw. What are we supposed to do?" whined Jack. "We've wanted to see Leah and her college since we left."

Both Rhyley and I rolled our eyes. "You guys are twenty-one, not little kids. Me and Lee won't be talking for that long. Get this guy to show you around." Rhyley gestured towards Blake.

"Oh, just go right ahead and volunteer me," Blake laughed. The sight made my heart flutter. He looked so utterly gorgeous when he smiled naturally. If only he were ugly, then I could hate him completely. He was being surprisingly carefree for someone who had just been threatened. There was a smile on his face and his grey eyes were sparkling, though they seemed a little wary. He looked to me and I quickly looked away.

Then Kurt punched him lightly. "You'll do it, or we'll unleash our little Leah terrier on you and you'll be nothing but ant food."

I groaned mentally. Lack of sleep plus temper equals plenty of embarrassing moments for me. Stupid, infuriating Blake. And what was with these guys taking a liking to him? Did he hypnotise them or something?

"Come on. Let's go, Lee." Rhy poked me in the back.

"Ah, okay. Dorms are just next door." I started off in that direction.

"Don't forget to give her a scolding for the detention!" Kurt called out teasingly.

Ugh. No doubt Rhy WOULD have a go at me for that.

The first thing he did when we entered my room in the dorms was flop down onto my bed.

"Ow."

I sniggered. "Yeah, the beds here aren't exactly cushy."

"I think I realise that now..." he groaned and pushed himself up. "Come. Sit." He patted the bed beside him.

I sat and scooted over the mattress so that I could lean against the wall beside it.

"So, are you going to tell me or am I going to have to call you out?" he asked casually.

"Eh?" I scrutinised his calm expression. What was this question? "What are you talking about?"

"The real reason why you called last night."

Oh. Now I didn't know what to say. Did I tell him the truth or try another bluff? Did he really know? Surely not. I'd hid the reoccurrence of these nightmares from him. He couldn't really know.

"Lee. I'm not blind." His expression was now sorrowful and I felt guilty for keeping it from him. "After you had a nightmare, you'd always be quite clingy the next day... As well as extremely grumpy towards everyone else."

He knew. "I didn't want you to worry." I lowered my head. "I didn't want to be that annoying little sister you had to take care of."

"It's my privilege to worry about you, little, annoying sis. And the only thing that's allowed to hurt you is me." He grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "You make me feel so much better," I muttered. Inwardly I was glad that he'd lightened the conversation.

He reached over and messed up my hair. I could feel knots forming.

"Rhy!"

He laughed. "Oh, oops! Not the Hair!"

____________________________________

Blake Amherst

______________________

"So... What did you guys want to see?" I said in a bored tone as I watched Leah and her brother walk away. My stomach still hurt from her punch. I had purposely kept my abs loose so that the punch wouldn't hurt her hand. Unfortunately that meant that my gut hurt even more. I could still feel the imprint of her fist. She had a good, hard uppercut.

"We don't really have anything we want to see," said Kurt, scratching the light stubble on his chin.

"Besides Leah," added Jack with a grin. "And while we're on the topic of Leah... I'm wondering how you can be so at ease when you lied to us and are obviously NOT a friend of our girl."

"Yeah." Kurt smirked. "We're pretty protective of our little fox."

I chuckled. "I don't really hate her. It's just fun to see her so riled." And I really meant that. Now I was seeing her as a mystery. She was in a band. Had lost her parents. Was in a performing arts college. Was super protective of her friends. And had one of the most explosive tempers I'd ever seen. And I wondered how it would feel to actually be her friend.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kurt nudge Jack with a sly grin. I turned to them with narrowed eyes. "I'm bored. Let's go to the studio."

Jack pouted. "I wanted to see it with Leah."

I grimaced, my patience slowly ebbing. "Well I'm not going to stand around here so you can either follow me there or stay here like dorks. If you really want, you can text Leah and tell her to meet you there."

Kurt shrugged. "Yeah whatever. Jack wasn't really that serious, man." He laughed. "We're not four year olds."

I shook my head, feeling somewhere in between exasperation and amusement. "Alright then, let's go."

It turned out that the studio was in use. We filed into the control room and I found Faye, a girl in my senior music class, and the guy that hung around with Leah. They were both laughing over something, Faye's slim face flushed red. The guy looked over to us, frowned for a moment and then his eyes widened.

"Jack and Kurt. What the hell are you two doing here? Hold on a minute. Is Rhy here? Holy shit! Faye, you could totally record Leah's band if they're all here!"