Hey guys! I do believe that this is my favorite chapter so far! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've currently got four chapters more after this one saved, already written, but I'm posting them so slowly because I'm receiving next to zero feedback. So, no feedback: no submitting. C'mon, don't you want me to pick up the pace? xD

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Braiden found Ruby sitting in her room, reapplying her make-up in front of a mirror. He watched as she smoothed a dot of foundation under her eye and then blended it into her skin. She worked quickly, and expertly to cover up the marks that now graced the sides of her face. Bracelets jangled on her wrist as she reached out for the bottle, squeezing more onto her finger. She froze as she caught his eye in the mirror, and then continued with her routine.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Watching" was his reply as he sauntered over to her bed and sat down.

"Go home" she told him bluntly. There was silence as she picked up her eyeliner and drew it across her eyelid, making a perfect Cleopatra effect.

"I'm sorry."

He was ignoring her previous comment, hoping that she wasn't too angry at him and was willing to accept his apology.

He knew that what he'd not-so-subtly accused her of downstairs had been wrong. He'd stepped out of line and spoken of things which he had no knowledge about. Ruby was wary of his words though, and just shrugged.

"If you say so" she muttered.

He rolled his eyes; he'd guessed she wouldn't be accommodating.

"I had no right to assume what I did, and I understand that your walls are back up Rube."

"Yes, you had no right. Yes, my walls are back up. Go now" she ordered. She was trying to hide the fact that she was just so tired of this all. She was putting eyeliner onto the other eyelid and her hands were shaking, so the line was jagged and not at all right. He didn't notice this though, what with him not wearing makeup...ever. Or so she hoped. Ruby had indeed felt her walls slam back into place. She hadn't been surprised either. There was a vicious circle to her life; she would find someone she liked, they would grow to trust her, she would then ruin it and force them to hate her. Every time, every damn time, those walls would come back down around her heart, smothering her, stunting her. At that moment, she knew it was over. The walls were there to protect her, but damn it, they hurt nearly as much as the fresh revelation dawning in the other person's eyes.

Braiden had that look in the kitchen, so she didn't understand why he hadn't left yet. Maybe he felt obligated to stay and apologize?

"Ruby I'm not going to just leave. Can't we forget that picture? I get that it was two years ago, I do" he murmured, looking right at her.

"Taylor...It was after Brody, you know" she suddenly blurted, giving up on the eyeliner and slamming it down onto her dresser. His eyes widened."It was just a mistake. I knew it was wrong, but at the same time, I needed it. I needed him. He couldn't say no, he was still getting over the horrors of his previous lifestyle. He needed me too" she said, staring into the mirror, seeing beyond the glass, beyond her reflection, into the past. Braiden could see the blank look she had in her eyes, and he mulled over her words.

She saw herself coming home from school, unbuttoning her shirt as she walked up the stairs, kicking off her shoes. The house was quiet, giving the illusion she was the only one there, which wasn't unusual seeing as her family was always so busy: her parents with business, Taylor with girls and parties. She was in her bra and skirt by the time she reached the landing of the second floor, padding down the hallway to her room. She'd just reached her room when Taylor's door swung open and he stumbled out, yawning. His eyes widened when he saw her state of undress and his neck flushed red.

"Shit! Sorry, uh..." He muttered, turning around hurriedly. She was curious as to why he was so embarrassed. He'd seen her in a towel before, several times. Ruby put a hand on his shoulder and turned him back around, watching him stumble. His eyes had been fixed to her pierced navel, and he found it hard to look away. A thought hit her, and she smirked. He was attracted to her! She could feel the amount of heat coming off him, what with how close she was standing to him. That was when she'd felt the first stirrings of what made Ruby so cold in the future. She'd felt the need to take, and take, and take, and do so with a sense of detachment. She wanted to be cold and ruthless, and make others want to please her. She wanted to hurt Brody, but she didn't know how to, so she settled for trying to forget him and prove a point. She closed the gap between them, and kissed him.

She came back to the present and blinked, trying to get the scene out of her mind. "In the end, we learned to cope without each other."

Braiden was surprised by the way she said that. Her voice was emotionless, blank, but he could tell that she loved Taylor. In what sense though, he didn't know.

"Well you can always depend on me" he told her, bringing her out of her trance. She frowned and picked up her lipstick, slicking it over her lips.

"Why? Why do you still want me? My life has more drama than a soap opera." She finally turned to face Braiden, seriously confused. She'd never let her guard down before, not like how she had with him. She'd never let anyone see so far into the mess that was her life before either. For the very fact that she didn't want to go through another Brody situation again. She'd let Braiden in though, and he hadn't even bolted yet. It made no sense to her, and she needed him to give her a reason why.

He scratched the side of his head as he thought of how to answer that. If he was being honest to himself, it was because he didn't want to leave. She was so different when she was with him compared to how she was with others. There was a side to her that he wanted to be the one to unlock. He just didn't think she'd let him.

"You don't see it Rube, but you're an amazing person. That's why" he answered.

Ruby said nothing as she stared at him, but he noticed that the corner of her mouth was twitching. She twisted around to pack her makeup away, letting her hair cover her grin. He saw it though, and he lay back on her bed, exhausted from trying to make her melt.

Ruby was such a challenge. He thought over this only to be whacked in the face by a teddy bear.

"Stop grinning and help me clean the kitchen before mum sees it, she'll kill me" she ordered. He got up and followed her downstairs. They'd just reached the staircase when Lacey's scream cut through the house.

"RUBYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

They exchanged frightened glances before rushing to the kitchen. Lacey was standing by the island, looking down at the mess on the floor. She hadn't noticed the frame on the island and Ruby's eyes bugged out when she saw it was only centimeters from her arm. Braiden bounded in and distracted Lacey with a grin, 'accidentally' sliding the frame across the island to the other side in his excitement. Ruby was there in seconds, snatching it up and tucking it into the waistband of her skinny jeans and under her vest. Lacey took hold of Braiden's chin between her talons and forced him to look at the shards of china on her lino.

"Why are you so happy?! Look at it!" She screeched. He winced and extricated himself from her grip, rubbing his jaw.

"It's just a bowl."

She snapped her glare towards him.

"It scratched my lino! Where is she, that little minx?" Lacey asked. Braiden glanced behind her to see that Ruby had disappeared and left him to face her dragon mother alone.

"Oh don't worry Lacey," he smiled sweetly "She's gonna get her comeuppance."

He was so going to make Ruby suffer when he caught her, but for now he had to calm Lacey down. She was rambling on about how expensive her kitchen had been to set up in her previous house, and that was why Ruby and Taylor had never been allowed in there until they'd turned a mature age.

"Obviously they will never mature" she laughed. Braiden agreed, glad she was loosening up and no longer freaking out about Lino for God's sake. Somehow though, he knew she wasn't really that upset about the floor. He could tell that it was just her way of trying to forget Phillip, by focusing on other things. Her eyes twinkled with amusement and her cheeks were pink, but he could see the fatigue beneath it all; as if she hadn't been sleeping well.

"You wouldn't mind helping me clean this up, would you? It's just that the maid isn't meant to be on duty past 4 o'clock, and I don't like to bother her over stupid things" she asked, reaching down for a piece of china. Braiden dashed forward and stopped her, gently grabbing her hand.

"I'll do it Lacey, you go and sit down" he told her. Lacey patted his arm with a smile on her face.

"Ruby told you I'm pregnant didn't she? Bless your little heart Brandon."

Braiden looked at her in surprise, ignoring the mistake with his name. Actually...Ruby hadn't. He tried to peek at her stomach slyly but she was wearing a free-flowing, off the shoulder dress which ended somewhere by her knees. It was zebra striped, and while it showed off legs nicely toned (for a middle aged woman), it did not divulge any secrets. For the first time he noticed she had on gold sandals totally inappropriate for the kitchen floor in its state. He urged her to let him clean it up, nudging her towards to door.

He watched her leave, delicately picking her way over to the door, thinking about what she'd just told him. He found a broom in the pantry and swept all the pieces into a pile by the bin. After a long search, he found the dustpan and brush was under the sink. The method in his actions as he got rid of the china helped to calm his mind, and sort through it.

If Lacey was pregnant, and Ruby knew, how did Ruby feel about it? He wasn't close enough to her to guess how she'd react; she was too much of an enigma to do that. He settled for assuming that she was alright with it, there had been, after all, no raging fights ripping through the household. He finished cleaning up and brushed spaghetti sauce off his jeans. He remembered seeing some cloths under the sink and went to get some, bending over to reach them as they were hiding in the back. A wolf whistle sounded out from behind him and he grinned into the cupboard.

"What are you doing Rube?" He asked, instantly knowing who it was.

"Why, I'm simply staring at your ass" she laughed, hopping up onto the counter beside the sink.

He grabbed onto the cloths and pulled them out, standing up and ending Ruby's fun. He smiled at her, glad she was in a better mood now.

"You don't get that privilege anymore seeing as you felt it funny to abandon me to your mother's wrath."

Ruby laughed again, nearly toppling over with the intensity of her giggles. He watched her, amused.

"The look on your face! It was like 'uh oh' when she grabbed you!"

"Hilarious, I'm sure" he chuckled, starting to wipe sauce off the floor by the island. Ruby's eyes were glued to the concentration on his face, and then shifted to his arms as he scrubbed. The muscles...all interlocking and bulging...

He has such a nice body, she noted. When he sat back on his heels, done, she slid off the counter and went to the fridge. She poured him an orange juice and gave it to him, squirming at his surprise.

"What? I know how to pour liquid into a glass" she huffed, rolling her eyes. He said nothing as he gulped it down, but he didn't look away from her. When he finished, he pulled her down to sit in front of him, and she crossed her legs so that she could fit. Silently, he tugged her hands towards him and laid them in his lap. Then he traced little patterns into her skin, slowly and softly, barely touching her. The effect was inexplicable, but Ruby closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. He was doing something weird to her insides and it was a new feeling for her, one that she liked more than she could put in words. No one had ever done anything like this before; just sat there and focused on her, and driven her crazy with touch.

She kept her eyes closed; scared to open them because she knew what Braiden would see. She didn't want him to know the sheer power he held over her. At that moment, she was his. She would have done anything that he asked at that moment. And that was what terrified her, shook her to the core. She didn't ever react like this, hadn't ever. So why was he able to get inside her mind and paint it white? His fingers were halfway up her arms now, still dancing across her skin, dragging what felt like electricity along with them. Then, drawing a gasp from her, she felt another soft touch at her neck. His lips. He mouthed words against her collarbone, noiselessly at first, then picking up to a whisper.

"... sick of sitting here writing songs

Lyrics that just sound so wrong

So wrong, that they're right

I'll be with you by the end of the night

Singing sweet melodies

To my love"

Ruby realized that it was a song he was singing against the pulse pounding in her neck. She tried to keep a hold of her sanity, desperately, because he was driving her mad.

"You might tell me that I'm crazy

For daring to call you my baby

But it's fine by me

Because you're all that I need

Singing sweet melodies

To my love"

Her chest was rising and falling with an alarming heaviness, her heart beating at a rate that surely, wasn't normal? His hands were still working at her skin, but they were now on her shoulders, and she could tell he'd shifted forward. His crossed legs now touched hers, denim against bare skin.

"And there's no guarantee

That this is all we'll be

There are stars above us shining

You wouldn't know it really

But they're singing, twinkling for us"

His words were shooting up and down her spine and fizzing along her lips. Somehow she managed to stay upright but she was dragging in ragged breaths.

"Oh yeah

Oh yeaaah

They're singing for us..."

His lips moved up her neck, dragging, shocking, as he sang this last bit. Warm breath fanning across her sensitized skin. Her eyes flickered open and she stared right into his. She didn't know what he saw but it caused his gaze to widen. She didn't get a chance to ask either because any control she'd had a minute before broke majestically. Her mouth smashed down onto his and she kissed him fiercely, arms of jelly coming up to loop around his neck, fingers threading through his locks. He responded just as hungrily, gripping her waist and pulling her back onto his lap, leaning against the island. Her hair swung down, making a curtain around their faces. She nipped at his bottom lip, causing him to shudder. She couldn't help but smile against his kisses as he framed her face with his big hands. He made her feel so torn up. He pulled away for a second and looked her in the eye.

"I don't know...why...but I feel like I can't...like I need you" he told her, his voice hoarse yet so full of raw emotion.

Ruby froze momentarily, her heart giving one last pound before it sped up unhealthily. He couldn't do this to her. He couldn't! She'd only ever heard that from Brody and look what had happened then. She blinked, her mouth empty of words to say, words to give him, words she knew he wanted to hear. She didn't want to believe him. She'd stopped believing a long time ago. Instead, she did the only thing she knew how to. She kissed him again. This time it was soft, and sweet, and meant to convey a message. Tears slipped out from under her closed lids and rolled down her cheeks, becoming his tears too as he moved his lips in sync with hers.

'Forgive me' it was meant to say.

Ruby had so many conflicting emotions raging inside, all of them confusing her. She just didn't have the energy to do anything more. She pulled away from him and just looked at him. At the way his hair fell across his forehead, the way his cheeks had a pink tint to them, the way his eyes sparkled. Braiden wiped her tears away, a sense of Dj Vu striking him. He didn't know why she was crying, and he knew she wouldn't tell him. So he wrapped his hands around hers and smiled.

"That was your song" he whispered against her forehead as their fingers interlocked.

And that was when Ruby knew. Damn him, but he'd torn down her walls and taken residence inside her.