Rule 12 (Not proofread so please ignore any mistakes, I'll fix them all at the end!)

            Ash's bruises were starting to fade a bit and so were his grunts of pain. That was nothing to say that he still wasn't milking the hell out of his injuries. Dev had been running around for him all week, making sure that he was comfortable. I didn't know if he lived alone or with his mother when he disappeared for the weekend, but I hadn't heard from him since Friday night when he left.

            "Have any of your parents clicked on about college yet?" Sid asked as she served around the side of the bar. I grimaced, not really knowing the answer.

            "Well, Melinda seemed convinced that I was going so I suppose she went back and told them that. I'm just worried about the college sending my parents a letter or something, telling them that I haven't been turning up." Sid nodded at my words and put her glass down on the counter.

            "Not trying to be captain of the negative here, but it's likely that they'll do that," Matt cut in, looking up from what he was doing on the till. I shrugged and sighed.

            "Well, as Dev said, if they do send an email or whatever home, we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it," I reasoned. Sid nodded and Matt looked back at the till.

            "You've got a job now and you're almost eighteen. You can legally move out and live with Dev up here then," Sid responded, taking out another tray of drinks.

            I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a bit worried about everything blowing up in my face. My dad would do his nut if he found out I was living with two boys, let alone living with two boys, working in a pub and dropping out of school.

            "Perk up, kiddo. You get to go in half an hour," Matt chided, writing the takings down on a sheet of paper. I blew through my fringe and looked at him with a sad look.

            "I'd rather stay here. I think Ash is coming home today and I seem to be stuck on babysitting duty when Dev works," I grunted. Matt let out a bark of laughter.

            "Smart guy. Put it this way, if you got yourself seriously injured and you lived with an attractive guy, wouldn't you want him at your beck and call?" he asked. I threw a straw at him and smiled.

            "Don't try and make this right," I retorted. Matt threw the straw back and started to take the papers into the office.

            "I just tried and succeeded. You can go now, if you like," he said, glancing at the clock. I nodded and grabbed my jacket from behind the bar.

            Sid was getting off her shift at five so apparently, was going to be popping in to see me after work. It would be a welcome break if Ash was still playing around like he was the week before.

            I still needed to work on a prank to get back at him with, something better than dye in the shampoo. It was an old school trick, but effective and definitely took more than three washes to get out. My hair was still tinged when I arrived at work Friday morning and Sid helped me strip it out during our break.

            Ash must've been home as the door was unlocked and when I pushed through, I heard raised voices from the living room.

            "Why would I cut your brake lines when I know that I can beat you with you at your best?" Ry asked calmly.

            "Because you're a dickhead who likes to have his own way. You work at the garage and nobody saw you at the time I got the note," Ash hissed. I took a deep breath and appeared in the doorway.

            "Ash," I started. He noticed my presence and then held up his hand.

            "Stay out of it, Alex." He used my full name, which meant this was some serious shit.

            "No. It wasn't Ryder," I interjected and Ash turned to me fully now, anger dancing behind his eyes. Ry stayed silent, watching me carefully.

            "You're defending him now?" he asked and I flinched at the hurt tone in his voice.

            "No. I just want you to worry about who actually did it rather than some arrogant arsehole that just wants to win the championships," I answered. Ash stood back and folded his arms over his chest, signifying that he clearly felt better.

            "How do you know it wasn't him? He had the motive and the ability," Ash responded, giving me a blank look. I couldn't help but feel he was more disappointed in me than he was angry that Ryder.

            "Because yesterday he was in the bar buying cans of drink from me around the time Dev said he note arrived. It wasn't him," I said. Ash growled and cursed under his breath, moving to walk out of the flat.

            He barged past me and slammed the door behind him. Ry smirked and let his arms fall by his side.

            "Thanks for the defence, darl," he cooed. I rolled my eyes at him.

            "Don't think for one second that I did this because I care about your defence," I snapped and dropped onto the sofa. It took quite a lot in me not to run after Ash. Over the week before, when I'd had to nurse his back several times, we'd bonded and gotten along a bit better. I couldn't help but think that this would put us right back to square one.

            Ry sat on the arm of the sofa and sat awkwardly. I didn't know why he was still there but if Dev came home to find him, he wouldn't be happy.

            "Was your bike tampered with?" I eventually asked. Ry shook his head and ran his hand up and down his arm.

            "No. I'm glad of it, too. The crash looked bloody painful." I nodded and sunk down against the cold cushions with a grunt. There was no way we could find out who did it unless something else happened. The races had been postponed and Ash had said that as soon as everything was fixed, he was getting back on the bike. Much to both Dev and I's annoyance.

            "If something happens next time, doll, I'll be a shoulder to cry on," he drawled before getting up and leaving without so much as another word. To make the evening more boring, Sid had sent me a text to say that she'd be working overtime so might not get over.

            So far, it looked like I'd be spending the evening alone. Most people would be doing something fantastic, like throwing the world's best party. The most adventurous thing I'd be doing is peeing with the door open.

            On my way to the kitchen to grab some food, I heard something come through door. One look to the left and I noticed a bit of paper on the floor. Without a second thought, I sprinted to the door and swung it open, looking to the left and right but there was nobody there. They were either majorly quick like sonic the hedgehog or they'd found a nearby hiding spot.

            I moved outside and started towards the lift but saw nobody and when I checked the other way, the only person I saw coming was Ash. He looked like he'd let off a bit of steam but was also holding his elbow like he'd hurt it again.

            Instead of waiting for him, I went inside and picked up the bit of paper on the floor. There was  an untidy scrawl across the lines.

            'Take that as a warning. Quit racing.'

            Ash came in a second after, shutting the door behind him.

            "There's another note," I said quietly, following him into the front room. He ignored me and continued on his way. "I'm talking to you," I repeated, louder.

            Ash turned and gave me a sour look.

            "Now you're batting for my team?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

            "I was batting for your team, as you so call it, when I defended Ryder! Instead of throwing around accusations at the person we know had no part in this, why don't you work on finding out who really cut the brakes?" I asked, putting the note down on the sideboard.

            "Just because Ryder didn't put the note through the door doesn't mean he didn't get one of his croonies to do it for him. Al, I'm trying to put a stop to this crap so I can get back on my bike and win what's rightfully mine," he argued. I let out a deep breath through my nose and turned my back on him.

            "I'm not going to argue with you about this. Either read the note or don't. I really don't care anymore," I responded and carried on my route into the kitchen.

            I heard Ash curse and then his footsteps came closer. I didn't realise quite how close until I felt his hot breath on the back of my neck.

            "I didn't come back to argue with you," he whispered. I turned quickly to talk to him, too quickly, in fact. What neither of us expected was for my head to collide with his nose. I heard him curse and take a step back, causing him to catch his lower back on the handle of the door.

            "My god," I exclaimed, putting my hand to my mouth. "I'm so sorry," I blurted. Ash leaned against the side board, no longer cradling his elbow, just his bloody nose.

            "If you're not puking on me, you're breaking my nose," he said through his hand. I let out a relieved but nervous laugh and grabbed a wad of kitchen roll.

            "I haven't broken it, you idiot," I mumbled, passing him the tissue. "But that was a horrific chain of karma events," I added. Ash moved into the kitchen and grunted as he leaned over the sink, attempting to stop the bleeding of his nose. While he sorted himself out, I awkwardly waited by the door, making sure that he was okay.

            "Karma?" he asked, his voice muffled by the tissue.

            "For dying my hair blue and then yelling at me." He said nothing else until he'd stopped the bleeding and cleaned up his nose.

            "I won't apologise for the hair, but I will apologise for the yelling," he answered and I sighed, running my hands up my arms. I noticed that Ash was still holding his elbow in an awkward positon.

            "What happened?" I asked. Ash let out a deep breath and sighed.

            "I punched a wall."

            "You punched a wall?" I repeated.

            "Yes."

            "Why?" I pushed. He raised an eyebrow and grumbled his response.

            "Because I was irritated."

            "Well, that was silly, wasn't it?" I replied sweetly. Ash flipped me off with his free hand and wandered into the front room.

            He didn't say anything else as he stretched his arms out and laid them over the top of the sofa behind me. His thumb trailed the skin at the top of my neck and he glanced at me when I turned to look at him, squirming.

            "Rule 12, no tickling," I warned. Ash grinned, leaning forwards.

            "You know what I'm like with the rules, love," he warned and I yelped, moving backwards.

            "Your ribs hurt, I don't recommend this," I said and he let out a bark of laughter.

            "I'm on strong painkillers. You don't recommend it?" I nodded vigorously and jumped up from the sofa. Ash soon followed, tackling me to the floor. Another strangled scream came out of my mouth as Ash hovered over me, pinning my arms above my head.

            I felt the blood rush through my veins as he looked down my body and then up to meet my eyes again. I swallowed when he looked at my lips and leaned closer, so close that I could feel his breath on my cheeks.

            "Gonna puke on me this time?" he breathed out and I shook my head gently, leaning up to meet his lips. A few precious seconds later and the kiss would've worked out.

            The door to the front room slammed and I heard Dev clear his throat. Ash scrambled off me and straightened. Dev had one eyebrow raised as I sat up and attempted to look like I wasn't doing anything wrong.

            "I was, just, erm, looking for Alex's earring," Ash blurted and Dev's eyebrows shot up.

            "On top of my cousin?" Dev exclaimed and I grimaced. Ash shoved his hands in his pockets and Dev turned to me, obviously expecting an explanation.

            "There was another note," I said quickly, attempting to change the subject. Dev's raised eyebrows immediately knotted together and he sighed.

            "Where is it?" he asked. Ash and I both pointed to the sideboard. When Dev picked up the note he ran his hand down his face.

            "This is different handwriting than the last one," he informed us and I felt my jaw hit the floor.

            "There's more than one?"

            "Seems so," Dev said through a sigh, causing Ash to tense up next to me.

            This wasn't good.

A/N: Please vote and comment, lemme know what you think. Thanks!