As I walk from my last class of the day to the studio, the painful twinge in my ankle makes me clench my teeth together tightly as a distraction. I don't even realize that I'm limping until I hear "take it too hard last night, Alexander?" The familiar voice uses my last name to summon my attention, the only person to do so.

My head turns the slightest amount to see the face of my tormentor, but the pain in my ankle flares up again, so I continue walking, not wanting to prolong this walk. "You and Charlotte ever go for the same guy?" Dean asks and I press my lips together. His words don't usually get to me, but he seems determined to get a reaction from me, and has been like this since Charlie rejected him last year and found out that we're related, hence why he refers to me solely by my last name.

"Get my sister's name out of your bloody mouth," I growl as I walk, still not facing Dean, but he continues to trail behind me.

"Maybe you can get one of your ballerina friends to make me, fag." He spits and I turn around, forgetting about the pain in my ankle only for it to be replaced with a throbbing in my knuckles after they make contact with his cheek. I swing blindly and only once Dean stumbles back, and I'm close enough to throw another punch, do I realize that we're roughly the same size.

My loose clothes hide my muscles, and though they aren't honed for fighting, I do pretty well in my haze of anger. Tattooed hands pull me off of him and I manage to land a solid kick to his side, but I don't fight the person behind me. When I turn around to look away from his bloody and bruised face, the adrenaline lingering in my blood seems to pulse at the sight of her.

"Maddison." I breathe, my chest heaving from the previous exertion. This draws a cheeky smirk to her face and my eyes lock onto her plush, pink lips.

"I never told you my name, Aaron." She drawls, and the teasing way she says my name makes my heart race even more than it already is. Looking around, I notice that she's dragging me away from the scene, away from Dean, and I refuse to look back allowing her to take me anywhere else.

"Oh god, what did I do. He's going to press charges. I'll be kicked out and have to go—" She cuts off my nervous rambling.

"You had about four nosy witnesses, including me, who saw him following and provoking you. He won't do shit if he knows what's good for him. Especially now that he knows you can kick his ass." She laughs, running her thumb over my knuckle and my eyes widen when I see her hand holding onto mine. I don't draw attention to it, because I don't want her to remove it, and I let her drag me to wherever she wants.

There hasn't been a day since that one in the diner that I hadn't thought of her, whether I was dancing, studying, or sleeping. She wasn't anything like I thought she would be, having heard about her reputation, but this is just one more item to add to my mental pros and cons list about her.

"None of what he said was true," I tell her and she shrugs but doesn't let go of my hand.

"Doesn't matter if it was. I'm glad you didn't let that dickhead walk all over you."

"I would have if he didn't bring..." I trail off, knowing that her and Charlotte's relationship is civil at best. My sister, though she doesn't say anything overtly rude or judgemental about her, isn't able to hide her lack of warmth towards Maddison.

"Charlotte, into it. Don't worry, you can say her name. I'm sure she's told you all about me though." She says and looks slightly crestfallen at the thought, although she wipes the expression off of her face in an instant so it's hard to tell.

"I prefer to make my own observations." Is all I say, not able to stop myself from looking down at her and admiring the dark curls against her olive skin, the ends of her hair tickling the top of her tattooed chest and the sight brings a blush to my face.

"I see that." She teases, making eye contact with me and I look straight ahead. As the adrenaline fades, the pain in my ankle returns, and my limp becomes more pronounced. She stops us with a strong hand pressed to my chest. "Are you hurt? Shit." She says and looks down at my legs before kneeling in front of me, the sight too provocative to be held.

"No no, I'm fine." I rush out, helping her back up with a hand on her elbow and she narrows her eyes. "I really should be getting to the studio. I booked a slot..." I trail off and she purses her lips but it doesn't do a good job of hiding her smile.

"One of these times I'll run into you when you're not busy. And you won't be able to run away from me then, Aaron." She says it like a promise. I won't want to.

I nod. "Next time."

"Go get that checked out, Rocky." She says and walks away with that as her only goodbye. I have to stop myself from watching her tantalizing figure walk away until my sight doesn't stretch any further, focusing on the pain and getting to where I'm supposed to be, not where I want to go.