"I'm not going anywhere, papa," Bella spoke, unfazed by her father's intrusion. On the other hand, the corner of Alard's mouth twitched, his scowl deepening into straight out displeasure.

"Qu'est-ce que tu as dit?" he growled, making Bella repeat herself.

The men cloaking him from the public view remained still. Only a flicker of emotion passed through them, that too when Alard let out a frustrated grunt. His disapproval was etched into the lines of his face, his chest pumping up and down in a much faster pace than anyone else. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at no one in particular, and turned on his heel.

Around Bella, the men beckoned her forward, towards Alard. I tried to step in, but Bella shot me a look, and then repeated in a louder voice, "I won't go with you."

The rhythmic click of Alard's shoes stopped. He turned. His face was impassive, masking his earlier dent in expression with cutthroat business and emotionlessness. "If not by will, then by force. You're coming with me."

The cold words sent a shiver down my spine. I wasn't seeing a father and daughter in front of me. Theirs' wasn't this kind of relationship. What I saw was a man and a woman, standing, as an individual, disconnected, emotionless, and with no pity. None understood the other one. It was selfish. No middle ground and no sympathy. A fight for power. Cold, absolute and relentless.

When did they start putting a price tag to relationships?

It was disheartening to say the least.

Bella skidded to a halt as her father's men made her follow him. "Don't touch me."

They didn't listen.

I clenched my teeth and turned to Alard. "Sir?" I had wanted it to come out strong but I could only manage a small squeak, as if a mouse was trying to impersonate a lion.

"Sir?" I called out louder when he didn't listen the first time.

He pretended to ignore me. That got me raging. Stalking forward, I blocked his way in three big strides. I spread my arms around me in an attempt to hinder his path. He stopped, his eyes comparing me to the likes of a flea that was irritating him. Little did he know that this flea bit a little too well.

"Don't you think this is an outright abuse of power?!"A lot of heads turned at my raised voice.

A muscle on his jaw twitched. "Don't involve yourself in this, young lady."

I snorted. Not involve myself in this? My whole spring break had turned into the biggest drama ever and he suggested me to get out when the climax was building up? As if!

"I hate to be rude, Sir." With the sweetest voice possible, I glared at him. "But don't you think Bella should be joining the competition with us right now?"

Our little drama had attracted a small crowd. They kept their distance. Feigning ignorance, camouflaged their interests under their inflated egos or just maintaining polite distance. But each had their ears strained in on our conversation. Be it the rich or the poor, no one missed gossip. I smiled. I knew it was easy to take advantage of Alard in this position. If there was one thing that famous people hated, it was... bad publicity.

Alard struggled to maintain his composure. Pure loathing filled his eyes. He scanned the surrounding crowd from the corner of his eyes, gauging their expressions. "Bella wouldn't want to shut down the competition, would she?"

"Why--?"

"Do you see the reporters outside?" he hissed, "Would they let the competition go on in peace?"

"I'm sure we can handle it."

He stared me in the eyes, and my knees wobbled under his ruthless gaze. "This is not a choice."

He sidestepped, easily avoiding the breadth of my arms and walked forward. Competition? He was worried about the competition? He wouldn't care less about a measly competition compared to the years of work he had spent on on building his public image or his company. It was a blatant lie. A lie to please the ears of the eavesdroppers. And a lie to save himself from disgrace. I couldn't believe there could be someone more manipulative than Francis at this moment! But I was proven wrong. The example was right in front of my eyes.

I heard the sounds of tussle going on in the background. Giulia was trying to pry the hands off of the men from her arms, who were keeping her apart from Bella. Alard saw this, his eyes not missing a speck of commotion.

Pointing to his men, he said, "Take both of them."

Bella shrugged off the hands holding her in place, and demanded Alard's attention. "Papa!"

Another fear struck me. Alard couldn't know that Bella dated Giulia. I couldn't fathom what would happen then.

Her cry was left unanswered. Silence stretched between all of us. No one dared to speak a word. A look of horror dawned on her face, the emotional turmoil inside her laid bare for all of us to see.

He knew, Alard knew. At least now. And the unimaginable possibilities left me chilled.

Alard didn't turn back. And neither did he hear any of their protests. I thought of myself as a useless bystander. It was happening right in front of me. Pure injustice and abuse of authority. It made my blood boil. But no one spoke up. No one stepped forward.

How could we?

We were powerless after all.

***

I was in a daze. The whole bumpy ride on the backseat of the bus, all I could think about was the image of Bella, with her unshed tears and hauntingly determined face, being dragged out of the hotel after her father. She had looked at me before the car door had closed behind her. I couldn't forget her eyes. They had begged out to me to help her, to take her out of that situation. She trusted me. Trusted me to help her. Why? I wasn't someone who had power. I wasn't someone who could fight against someone like Alard. Neither I had the courage. But I had another power. Power of the truth. Power of the media.

And power of Kiki.

Or at least I hoped.

That was enough courage I needed, and enough time that I had wasted.

"Stop the bus!" I shouted, standing on my toes. Brandon who had been brooding in silence as well, stood up, startled.

"What?" he hissed, as heads turned towards us and one of the crew members stood up to settle the commotion.

"We can't just go to the competition and bake, Brandon! Not when Bella's life depends on us!"

"I think you're exaggerating--" He stopped himself.

"You were saying?" My chest heaved up and down, result of my heated up thoughts and new found excitement to set things right. We stared at each other. I couldn't see what he was thinking. But he looked into my eyes, hard and long for a minute. The he blinked, nodding.

"I think you're right." He flashed me a smile, and with a deep breath, shouted, "Stop the bus please!"

The bus reeled to a stop. The sudden break sent a violent jolt and we both staggered, Brandon's arm linking around my waist to keep me up in case my knees buckled. Murmurs, and whispers filled the space around us as they tried to understand what was happening. People sleeping woke up, unaware contestants took earphones out of their ears. The lack of Bella, Francis and their partners left a hollow space in my chest. Sarah patted me on the back, probably thinking the same, and gave me a small smile.

A frustrated middle aged woman plowed through the end of the bus, glaring, until she found her target -us- and stopped a few seats away. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, yes. A very big problem!" I said.

Her stance changed when she heard that there was indeed a problem, and not some prank. "What is it?"

"Uh..." I stammered.

What do I say? Just spill the truth?

Brandon squeezed my waist. "Can I tell you in private? She's embarrassed."

The woman frowned. "Oh-okay."

Brandon beckoned her forward, and she lent him her ear. He whispered for quite some time, making me nervous about what nonsense he was spouting. Others stared at me, trying to figure out what was wrong with my body. Hell, I didn't know what was wrong with my body!

At last he finished, detaching his mouth from her ear, and giving her a spectacular smile. What was this? I made a face. Was he telling her a reason or seducing her? Brandon squeezed her shoulder, and I could see her gulp, her cheeks and ears turning red. I wanted to snort, but held it in, at least I knew that this drama was for me.

Brandon pulled back, giving her a smile. "Aren't I right, Tyler?" He stretched his mouth into an awkward grin, and blinked his eyes furiously to make me say yes.

"Yes." I nodded furiously.

She smacked her lips, and then bit them. "This is not a joke, right?"

Brandon shook his head, and I followed his lead.

"What will you both do for the competition?"

"This! Can't we use this?" I pulled out the safety pin I had received in the first round of competition from my pocket. It gleamed under the rays of the sun, and she had to blink to focus on the pin.

She was silent for a moment. "I guess so..."

Reluctantly I handed her the pin, hoping that this would solve the problem and we could still remain in the competition.

"Are you sure you want to use this?" she confirmed my decision by asking me again.

I nodded. "Yes."

"Let me talk to my senior." She walked back to the front of the bus, and we followed her. The other contestants gave us curious glances, but I wasn't in speaking terms with any of them, so they didn't ask questions and neither did I explain myself.

We both climbed out of the bus where the woman was talking animatedly on the phone. She pointed us to wait there, and continued her talk.

"What did you say to her?" I whispered. It was a windy day, and my voice drowned out into the howl of the wind. My dress flew with it and I put a hand on it to not end up with a Marilyn Monroe moment. Brandon chuckled beside me, noticing my struggle. "Don't you laugh."

"Let me help you." He slid his hand out of my back, and taking a step back, pressed his body against me.

Heat crept up my neck. "What are you doing?"

His wrapped his hands around my torso, resting them above my belly button. They were warm, and tickled me as the cloth rubbed against my skin. Behind me, he took small steps forward, his thighs touching mime, closing the distance between us. The only thing that separated our skin was our clothes. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he whispered, "The dress won't fly now."

His breath tickled my ear, and I shot my shoulder up, brushing it away.

"We are in public, dude," I whispered, "Do you want me to die of embarrassment?"

It was my attempt to simmer things done, because right now, I was feeling hot. It might be a casual thing to him, but with the pace my heart was pumping, or the fact that my twisting stomach was making a reappearance didn't sit well with me. The outside of the bus's windows were covered in a layer of black film. So, though we couldn't look inside, I had no doubt that everybody was looking outside. And what a spectacular sight for them, right?

I tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he tightened his hands around me, firmly pressing his thighs with mine. Oh my goodness.

"Well, I am not really keen on having you flash your underwear, " he mused, "unless it's in private, of course."

The balls of this man!

"Ahem." The woman cleared her throat and Brandon detached himself from me at the speed of light.

"I was just checking if everything was okay," he explained.

The lady frowned, and an expression of disgust crossed her face. She carefully masked it by a polite smile instead. "The director says you can go back to the hotel for a checkup."

I nodded, flashing her a sincere smile.

"Also, you'll have to do a short interview on using that safety pin for the broadcast."

"Sure, we can do that." I nodded once more, all too complying.

"Great. That'll be scheduled for tonight, then." She started to walk away, but then stopped. Opening up her bag, she pulled out some cash. "Here, since it will be uncomfortable to walk back."

I scratched my head, flustered. "Huh?"

"For the taxi, here."

Brandon took the money, laughing in an awkward manner. "Thank you."

The moment she boarded the bus, I turned to him, my eyes narrowed. We let the bus go ahead to the competition arena, leaving us behind on an unfamiliar road, and a cab ride worth of cash.

Hands on my hips, I asked the question I was dying to ask, "What the hell did you tell her I was suffering with?"

Brandon laughed, avoiding my eyes.

"Well?"

He continued to laugh.

"Brandon!"

"Don't be mad at me." He chuckled, then sobered up. "I just told her you had a horrible rash."

*****

A/N

New update! Keep reading, voting and commenting! And I swear if you reread the second half of the chapter after knowing the *horrible rash* part, it's going to be 10X funnier.

Comment me on what you think is going to happen next!

Thank you for the chapter name stressedsince1998 Where my Brazilian readers at?! ;)

Aanchal xx