• Alright. Warning, guys. I've been cautious to uploads this chapter due to what's happening in the world lately. We are gonna have some angry, triggered people in this chapter and that's okay. And yes, that means we touch base with some racial stuff, so hang on tight, because it lasts for about three chapters, but I promise it's for a good purpose. Cheers. •

When Moses parted the Red Sea, it wasn't even half as shocking as when Fiona's mom had given in to Adam's request of letting him take Fiona out on a date.

Fiona had watched, gobsmacked, as Adam had followed her home the night before and then talked to her mom for a solid ten minutes alone in the living room while Fiona waited with her ear pressed to the door. It was then both her mom and Adam had come back out to the kitchen, Adam looking rather pale, but nonetheless victorious. Her mom had then proceeded to tell Fiona that the agreement would be that the date would be no longer than two hours long and there would be no alcohol, no partying or any kind of behavior that wouldn't pass in church. Both of them had nodded and agreed, and that's how Fiona found herself going on a date with Adam tonight.

Standing in the DanceDec, in the girl's bathroom with Kalo working on her makeup, Fiona felt nervous ants crawl through her stomach for some reason. She didn't know why she was so nervous all of a sudden—or maybe she did, because this was her first actual real date with a boy, if you looked past the night where they went dancing together.

Tonight would be completely different, wouldn't it?

"You look so fucking nervous and cute," Kalo grinned at her as Fiona tried to breathe without accidentally choking on the ball in her throat. "Relax, girl. Adam's got you covered. I'm sure it's just gonna be a nice, quiet evening."

To that, Fiona couldn't help but send a flat stare back up at Kalo who bit her lip not to crack. Nice and quiet didn't go in a sentence with Adam.

"Okay, you're right. He's probably got something big planned and you're gonna need all the help you can get."

"Oh, God," Fiona let out a shaky breath and started picking at her bottom lip. Kalo quickly flicked her forehead to make her stop.

"Hey, don't ruin the gloss. You look perfect right now and so help me God, I'm not doing your whole makeup again. Girl up."

She was right. Fiona tried to take a calming breath, but the nervous butterflies stayed in her stomach.

After a long day of dancing and rehearsing the new routine Adam had come up with for her audition, the clock had struck 5.30pm. Kalo had burst in and announced it was time to get ready for the big date night, whereafter she had stolen Fiona away and locked them inside the girl's bathroom. The following thirty minutes had been filled with Kalo stuffing her into different outfits (all sponsored by Kalo herself) and doing her hair and makeup, which then finally brought them to now.

"Alright, you're done," Kalo announced, pulling back after coating one last coat of mascara on her lashes. "Jeeeesus, you're gonna knock him over. This I gotta see."

She grinned smugly while Fiona only managed a strained smile. Her hands were clammy and her knees felt oddly wobbly. Was the air in the bathroom becoming thicker?

"Come on," Kalo pulled her up from the floor and then dragged her to the door, where, on the other side, Adam had been waiting impatiently for them to finish up. His frequent knocks on the door and irritated outbursts of "what's taking so damn long?!" had only made Kalo work purposely slower. She had said it was good for him to learn some patience.

But now, as Kalo opened the door, Fiona suddenly felt another kind of nervous as they stepped out and found Adam leaning against the rails, checking his watch. It was the moment he lifted his gaze and laid eyes on Fiona, his whole face went slack.

"Here you go," Kalo grinned and pushed Fiona towards him. "Have your girlfriend back. Don't mess up her hair."

Adam shook his head and slowly cupped his mouth, just as Fiona nervously stepped closer. He didn't tear his eyes off her, but drank up her low-cut, ripped jeans and the tube top that Kalo had borrowed her. Her hair was styled freely with her curls loose and bouncy. Her makeup was kept simple, just some dark liner and mascara with a bit of concealer here and there. A transparent gloss had finished the look, along with a pair of gold hoop earrings.

"Christ," Adam kept shaking his head, his eyes gliding over Fiona until she felt her cheeks redden. "No, no, no, holy shit. You gotta give me a moment here. I gotta call God real quick."

And then he proceeded to fall to his knees and pick his actual phone out of his pocket, pressing it to his ear with a dramatic glance towards the sky. Both Kalo and Fiona rolled their eyes when he then let out a deep holler.

"Yo, God, my man," He spoke into the phone, clutching his chest. "It's Adam. Why the fuck is my girlfriend so hot, man? Seriously? What are you doing to me?" He whined dramatically into the phone. Kalo let out an exaggerated groan, but Fiona couldn't help but burst into laughter and blush. "I'm only one man here, God. How am I supposed to handle all of this? How? Oh shit, I gotta talk to you later," He then finally said, shaking his head and climbing back up to his feet. "I've gotta go kiss her now before she realizes she's way too good for me."

"You're too much." Kalo flatly grunted as Adam stuffed his phone away and ended his little performance with a grin. When he stuck his tongue out at her, she grunted again and then mumbled something in Spanish before turning and walking off. "Too much!"

Adam chuckled after her, but then turned towards Fiona with a little smile, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "As long as I'm not too little," He then added in her ear, smirking.

Fiona couldn't help but grin when he pulled back. "You definitely are not," She assured him. Knowingly.

Adam gave a last naughty grin, but then sighed and let his face form into a soft expression. "You look so beautiful, baby."

Fiona's cheeks and insides instantly warmed. She smiled a little, but then looked down, shyly. "Thank you."

"Ready to go?" He asked, to which Fiona instantly nodded. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles, then started leading her down the stairs. "Let's go, princess. I've got a big night planned for you."

~~~

The "big night" turned out to be dinner at the best pizza place in the area. When they showed up, Adam had reserved them the best corner booth, where a vase with a single red rose stood. They had since then sat down and ordered a pizza to share with a few cokes.

Fiona knew that with Adam's salary and the fact that he had even been able to do this at all meant he had to have put aside a lot of his savings, if not all of it. He paid for their whole meal, and along with the red rose he had clearly bought for her as well, she knew this was the best he was able to offer her.

And that's why Fiona ate every last bite of the calorically dense pizza and finished every drop of her soda, simply because she knew how much this really truly meant. Her heart ached when he had asked if she wanted dessert as well. She had politely declined.

After finishing their meal, they had then taken a walk through a park to burn off some calories and enjoy the warm night air. Someone was playing music somewhere and Adam had purposely steered them in that direction. They talked the whole way through, getting to know each other on topics they had never talked about before.

"So that's when grams brought me to the DanceDec," Adam told, telling the tale of how he first met the whole gang. "Kalo was already there with Rani, and the second I walked in, they looked at me like they knew I was gonna be trouble," He grinned. Fiona couldn't help but grin too. "Anyway. So my grams drops me off, and that's when Kalo walks straight up to me and pokes me in the chest."

"She poked you in the chest?"

"Poked me in the chest," Adam laughed and shook his head. "And told me if I didn't come here to bust moves, then I should just keep on walking that skinny white ass along to somewhere else."

"So did you? Bust out, I mean?" Fiona asked.

"I did what anyone would've done in that situation," Adam told with a grave expression. "– I laughed my skinny white ass off."

Fiona let out a laugh herself, picturing Adam doing exactly that and a stunted Kalo staring at him like he was crazy. Fiona had been around Kalo enough now to understand what Adam meant when he had said that she was "too much" for him. She acted all high and mighty on the outside, but when you got close to her, it all turned out just to be an act she played to always stay on top of bullshit. No one was gonna pull shit over on her, and the only way she stayed immune was to control the room. The fact that Adam had laughed at her words back then must've done something else to her.

"So what happened then?" Fiona curiously wanted to know, just as they came to a water fountain in the park where a few people had gathered to sit and eat or talk with their friends.

"Well, she got over herself and let me in on her and Rani's dance routine," He told. "Remember the twerk routine?"

Fiona would never forget that; The first day where he had started to teach her and tried to get her to throw it back. When she hadn't, he had proceeded to bring in Rani and Kalo who then showed her, with Adam's unforgettable help, how to throw it back, African style.

"I remember," She affirmed, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Well, they taught me that only to test how far I would go—they even taught me how to whine. When they realized I wasn't half bad and had a few moves of my own, they started to dance more and more with me for real. Then Dimitri came along and wanted to push up on Kalo," Adam grinned, smugly. "So I stepped aside and let him get his ass burned. Or so I thought until... well."

– Until they had walked in on them together in the bathroom less than a week ago.

Fiona bit her lip and felt herself blush, remembering how they found them... she had seen much more than she needed to.

"Anyway, that's how we became friends," Adam told, giving a grin.

Fiona grinned back, but then let a comfortable silence fall as Adam took her hand and braided his fingers with hers. They continued to walk through the park, simply enjoying the night air.

There was a question that had been burning in the back of Fiona's mind for days. Ever since they had had that talk together, that evening in her bedroom, about... his past. About... his "celibacy". She wanted to know what he meant about 'having done some stupid shit in the past he wanted to make up for'.

"Adam?" She carefully asked. He hummed back. "Can I ask you something personal?"

He looked down at her with a little smile. "Of course. What's up?"

Fiona bit her lip a little. How did she start? "I... I just wanted to know... when you told me back in my bedroom... that you had done some stupid shit... what did you mean by that?"

Adam slowly stopped walking. Fiona instantly looked up, afraid she had pushed a bad button, but to her surprise, she only heard him give a little sigh.

"I meant I... did some unchristian things I'm not proud of," He replied, tilting his head down a little. He cut a grimace, but then shook his head. "You need to understand something before I explain. You see, on the street, the only thing that keeps you safe is your rep."

Fiona frowned a little, but listened. "Your rep?"

"People respect you if they know certain things about you. How much cash you've got, which friends you keep... how many girls you've been with," He eyed her out slowly just as Fiona's face fell. "I was just trying to fit in, Fiona. I was so young and dumb and desperate, I did some stupid, stupid shit I regret so much."

"What... did you do?" Fiona gulped, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Adam sighed again and brought a hand to the back of his neck. Taking a deep breath, he then shook his head. "I slept with this girl. The guys told me you couldn't be a virgin in this whole shit or you'd be a fucking joke, so they... set me up with this chick who was a few years older than me."

Fiona processed his words. The message hurt a little, but the thing that hit her the hardest was how much she could hear the regret in his voice. He had been peer-pressured into sleeping with someone he didn't want to sleep with, all so he could earn the respect of a fake family.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, lifting her hand to his cheek.

Adam shook his head a last time, then sighed and took her hand. He kissed the top of it. "I made my own choices and they weren't good. I never went back to her and I never went in with someone else. I was ashamed of myself... I still am, but... I'm working on it."

Fiona pressed her lips together. She could see the real repentance on his face as he glanced down at her, trying to give her a smile. It seemed half-broken, but she knew there was something good in there as well.

"I think you're amazing," Fiona whispered, stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You came back from something bad and you came out a better man. Just look at how well you've done."

He smiled faintly, but then leaned down and softly kissed her lips. "I am. I'm holding the proof in my arms."

Circling his arms around her, Adam then dipped down and kissed her lips deeply, causing Fiona to tremble. His lips were tender, but so passionate, she stopped breathing and simply dwelled in the sensation. It took what felt like several minutes before they finally pulled apart.

"For what it's worth, though," He then said, taking in a deep, shaky breath. "If I had known I was going to meet you, I would've waited. I would've liked to have been with you... as my first."

Fiona felt her heart melt. It pounded so hard in her chest, it almost hurt. She looked up at Adam and saw his gentle face smile so softly down at her, and right then she knew. There was no doubt in her heart any longer.

She lo—

"Shit," Adam then suddenly cursed, taking a step back. "I broke your mom's rule. I'm not supposed to be kissing you."

The bubble burst, and Fiona couldn't help but let out a breathless laugh when Adam, of all people, was suddenly following the rules. What in God's name had her mother said to him in the living room? "Since when do you care so much about the rules?"

"Since your mom will castrate me if I try and get in your pants," He laughed back, taking a step back. He carefully took her hand and started walking again. "And believe me, she meant it. I might not fall asleep tonight."

Fiona laughed again. She couldn't believe he was actually sticking to his promise. That just wasn't going to work. "Hey Adam? Can I ask you one more question?"

"Sure," Adam said, giving her another smile. Fiona took a deep breath, feeling her heart pound. Do it.

"Are you horny?"

Adam immediately stopped walking again and stared down at her in disbelief. Then, after several seconds of shock, he finally let his head tilt back and burst into laughter. "Oh, God."

And then, just as Fiona broke into laughter as well, Adam slapped his hands over his chest and started rubbing himself with a loud, high-pitched moan.

"Oh, God yes!" He hollered, causing the other people in the park to abruptly turn around and glare after Adam who was gyrating on the spot. "God, yeah, I'm so horny, baby, I'm gonna bust so hard! Give it to me, awhhh!"

Fiona was a flaming red color, but couldn't stop laughing as Adam continued his high-pitched moaning. Several people were now glaring after them as Adam finally came down from his fake orgasm.

Turning towards her, he then laughed with her and shook his head, before leaning down and capturing her lips with a surprising hunger. Fiona squealed, but let him tuck her into his body and kiss her passionately. When his tongue swept across her lips, she had to fight not to moan herself.

"I'm such a bad influence on you," He then chuckled lowly against her lips. "Minx."

Fiona grinned and pecked his lips back, but then shrugging innocently. Her little plan had worked though, hadn't it?

"I am horny, though," He then added, cocking a slow, challenging brow at her. "The question is... are you?"

Fiona's eyes slowly widened. He wasn't asking her to... was he? "Adam. I can't."

"Yes you can," He encouraged, grinning wildly at her. "Come on, tiger."

"No, really, I can't," Fiona protested, feeling her heart pound nervously. She respected Adam for not giving a damn, but there was just so many people around, it was too embarrassing. She didn't have his confidence. "I can't."

"Just one big moan," He dared, smirking against her lips. "One big, horny moan and then we'll run. On three, alright? One..."

"No, Adam!" Fiona panicked.

"Two..." He smirked wider.

"Adam!" Oh, God, she couldn't—

"Three!" He shouted.

Fiona felt her cheeks burst into flames. Then, without letting herself have time to think, she expelled her best impression of a loud moan.

– Adam howled, but Fiona didn't get a chance to see his face, because she was already bolting. She was gone like the wind, hearing Adam speeding after her behind her, but still laughing like a mad man. She couldn't believe she had just done that.

She didn't stop running until she was several blocks away, absolutely certain that anyone who could've heard or seen her was at least far enough away to not be able to see her red face now. She hadn't even stopped to check if anyone had turned to look at her, but she also didn't take the chance; She was positive she was burning up, heat practically coming off of her cheeks.

"That—" Adam finally caught up with her as she leaned up against the wall of a building in a fairly deserted area. "Was... the best thing ever! Jesus Christ, I can't believe you actually did it!"

"Shut up!" She flushed, cupping her mouth. Her heart was still racing, still caught on adrenaline. "Oh my God, oh my God..."

"Come here," He said, still out of breath from running. She shook her head wildly, still too embarrassed to function. "I said come here right now and let me kiss those lips."

Adam didn't give her a choice as he pulled her to his chest with a grin and then dipped down to her lips. Fiona squeaked embarrassedly, but felt as the angst melted away from her body as Adam kissed it away with a deep kiss. She slowly loosened up and let herself melt into his touch, moaning quietly as his tongue teased the seams of her lips. That brought on a whole new sensation inside her body.

Standing in the deserted street, Fiona felt herself shiver with warm when Adam then suddenly turned the kiss softer. He cupped her cheek and gentle stroked her cheekbone with his thumb, before pulling back and resting his forehead against hers.

Fiona didn't think this night could've been any better. Everything was as perfect as she could possibly have imagined it. Right until...

"I love you," Adam breathed shakily against her lips. Her eyes flew open and saw him looking down at her, nervously.

Fiona's mouth fell open. Not out of shock, but out of pure... happiness. She replayed the words in her mind, making sure she had heard them just right. He really loved her?

"I love you, too," She whispered back, squeezing her hand into his shirt, right over his heart. His eyes widened just like hers, but she saw the fireworks burst alive inside them.

"Really?" He asked, breathlessly. He sounded as amazed as she felt. How was this even possible?

"Really," She assured him.

It was when his face suddenly became blurry, she realized she was welling up with emotional tears. Adam instantly leaned down and pressed his lips over hers, pulling her tightly into his arms. Fiona didn't hesitate to wrap her own arms around him, clinging to his body.

This was the first time since her father died that any man had told her he loved her. To have Adam's warm arms wrapped around her, to feel his heart beat so rapidly against her own...

Fiona felt as if a part of her that had been missing finally got found. Not in a creepy way, but as in... she finally found what she had been needing all this time. She had loved ballet desperately for years, but ballet was a cruel love, so unforgiving.

But Adam... he loved her unconditionally.

Her father would've loved to meet him.

Smiling happily, Fiona managed to stop crying and pulled away from Adam long enough to give him a bright, if not a stupid smile. Adam smiled back down at her, then slowly chuckled, just as Fiona shook her head. They were being so silly.

"You've no idea how long I've been waiting to say that," Adam then finally said, sighing contently. "Shit, I was so scared it would be too much for you. I was scared that you would..."

"Run away?" Fiona offered. She couldn't believe there had ever been a time she tried to run from this guy. "I'm not going anywhere."

Adam smiled slowly, but then leaned down to place a final kiss on her lips. His mouth lingered a second, simply just dwelling in the closeness...

"Hey!"

Both of them broke apart, but Adam was the one to jolt his head and turn abruptly. Fiona looked confused and followed his gaze, when, suddenly, she realized what had had him startled.

Down the street, a group of four guys came walking down the road, heading their way. The guy in the middle looked familiar and seemed to be pointing at Adam. And that's when Fiona realized why Adam's face suddenly paled.

– It was Grip.

"Yo! It's the ballet boy!" He hollered at Adam, to which his friends snickered loudly like that was the joke of the year. "Damn, I almost didn't recognize you without your tights on! What's doing, twinkletoes?"

Adam clenched his teeth and instantly looked away from them, grasping Fiona's hand. "Come on. Just ignore them."

He started walking her down the street and Fiona followed with a sudden knot in her chest and a lump in her throat. He was walking faster than normal. "They're not gonna try anything, a-are they?"

When she nervously glanced over her shoulder, she noticed they were still following them – also seeming to have sped up their pace.

"Adam," She stressed.

"Just keep walking," He warned. But he couldn't hide the panic in his voice as well.

"Yo, twinkletoes, where are you going so fast?" Grip shouted after him. Fiona whimpered when she heard their voices get louder and closer. "Yo, wait up! Looks like you've got some company."

Fiona felt the terror in her stomach roll over her when Adam clenched her hand tightly. He let out a breath, but then lowly spoke her way.

"Don't speak to them," He whispered. Anxiety bubbled inside her when she saw his face twist in a way she had never seen it twist before. "And whatever happens, don't provoke them."

Fiona quickly nodded, only seconds before they both felt the four guys finally catch up to them. Adam breathed slowly, but kept his hand firmly clenched around Fiona's.

"Hey, twinkles," Grip mused with a big grin, clasping his hand on Adam's shoulder and stepped up beside him. "Out for an evening walk?"

"Come on, Grip," Adam slowly spoke his way. Fiona kept her head down when she noticed a muscle in his jaw work.

"And you've got your girlfriend with you," Grip commented, now stepping in front of Adam. Adam halted in his steps and now Fiona felt as he clenched her hand so tightly, she almost felt her bones crack. "I never caught her name. Why don't you introduce us, Adam."

Adam glared up at Grip while Fiona became acutely aware of the fact that the three other guys had circled them. Her eyes scanned the area for any other people around to help, but the street was still deserted.

"Her name's Fiona," Adam reluctantly pushed out, before pulling her closer to his body. "Now let us through."

"Whoa, whoa, what's the rush?" Grip mused, pushing Adam back when he tried to walk around him. Fiona swallowed a gasp. "We're just talking here. Where'd you find her? Fiona," He spoke out her name slowly, then let his eyes slide up and down her body. "I think we should definitely be friends."

"Come on, Grip," Adam lowly spoke again. He stared up at him, giving him a serious look. "Please. Not tonight."

"We just wanna know where you found her," Grip insisted, once again pushing Adam back when he tried again to walk around him. This time, Adam ground his teeth tightly. "Or should I say, how much are you paying her to stay with you?"

His friends all snickered lowly, passing around low high fives and shoulder bumps. Fiona suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, only because she knew it would only piss them off more.

"We just want to be alone," Adam harshly replied, meeting Grip's eyes. "Just leave us be tonight, Grip. We can do this after school."

"You wanna be alone?" Grip voiced, raising his voice a little. He then glanced over at Fiona who squirmed in her spot. He then let out a dry snort. "You wanna be alone? Shit, poor girl. Maybe we stay and keep you company. Make sure she's properly looked after."

"That's enough," Adam snapped, stepping up to Grip. "I'm not biting tonight, so whatever you wanna say, just leave it. Or better yet, we're leaving. Come on, Fee."

Adam had barely pulled on her arm before Grip shoved him back violently. Adam stumbled a few steps and accidentally backed up into one the guys behind him, who shoved him forward again. He managed to catch his footing, whereas Fiona felt like her knees were gonna give out. God, no, this wasn't happening.

"Please just leave us alone," She feebly said, despite having promised not to say anything. Grip turned his eyes towards her and cocked a sharp brow. "Please?"

"You really wanna be with this pussy?" He lowly spoke, stepping closer to Fiona. "This sorry ass, rat-mouthed little snitch who can't even keep his woman safe?"

"I didn't rat," Adam snapped, but that was apparently it.

The guy behind him reached out and grabbed Adam before he had a chance to see it coming. Yanking his head back by his hair, he then shoved a knee into his back, causing Adam to grunt painfully and fall to the ground. Fiona let out a scream and instantly jumped towards him to help him, but she never got that far.

One of the other guys, a guy with red-dyed hair, gripped her arm and yanked her back, just as Adam jerked his head to the sound of her screaming. He instantly got to his feet again and glared at Grip who was smirking at Fiona.

"Don't touch her. Please, this is between you and me, Grip. Don't bring her into this," He tried to reason with him. Grip slowly turned his eyes back to Adam and watched him press his lips together. "Don't do this while she's here."

"I wasn't talking to you," Grip sneered back, pushing closer to his face. "I was talking to your girlfriend." He turned his head back to Fiona and shot her a smirk. "What do you say, baby? You want some good company?"

"Back off of her," Adam barked when Grip stepped real close to Fiona, who noticeably shrunk down.

In one fluid motion, Grip swung around and rammed his fist into Adam's face. Fiona screamed out loud and watched in horror as Adam collapsed to the ground with a terrible crunching sound. When he looked up, she saw that his eyebrow was severely bleeding and his eye was swelling up. "A-Adam!"

"I said she can speak for herself!" Grip roared down at Adam. "Unless you think she needs your little white ass to speak for her? Is that what you think?"

"Please!" Fiona shouted when the two other guys suddenly grabbed Adam and pushed him down when he tried to get up. Panic rose in her voice, just as her entire body starting shaking with fear. "Please just leave us alone!"

"Fiona, run," Adam groaned out, just as one of the other guys kicked him.

"No, she fucking stays!" Grip yelled, just as Fiona cried out, watching Adam let out a holler of pain. The guy's shoe hit him directly in the stomach and made Adam curl up. "She gonna stay and watch what kind of white scum she's dating. The kind of shitpiece that stabs his family in the back because he's a little fucking spineless coward."

"I didn't rat!" Adam shouted back from the ground, just as another boot landed in his stomach. He coughed hard and finally twisted with a painful grimace.

"But you got out," Grip snarled into his face, leaning down to him. "You fucking got out and continued life like you ain't fucking owe us all a debt. They just put you in a fucking school, give you a nice little job and let you walk around without a leash like you're some harmless fucking poodle. And then you take our women, too?"

Fiona's eyes widened. She couldn't believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. He did not just say...

Grip's fist smashed into Adam's face again, and Fiona screamed at the sight and tried to lunge out. It only resulted in the red-headed guy pulling her back and keeping her pinned to his chest. "Stop! Stop hurting him, please!"

But they didn't. Adam curled up in a ball as all three of the guys pounded Adam while the fourth guy made her watch. When Fiona started screaming for help, he clasped a hand over her mouth and shut her up, only to keep her head turned towards Adam who was moving less and less with every punch, kick and blow. He stopped grunting after a few minutes, and that's when Fiona feared the worst.

"PLEASE STOP!" She cried hysterically, pure panic, fear and hopeless anxiety coursing through her body like a never-ending rollercoaster. She was shaking everywhere and couldn't control her sobs, not even when Grip finally landed the last blow in Adam's face and stood up. She noticed his knuckles were bloodied.

Adam didn't move on the ground, but rather laid lifeless, looking beaten and bruised. He was bleeding from his mouth, ear, brow and nose, not to mention the swollen eye that had swelled so much, his eyelid was stuck shut. Fiona cried hysterically at the sight and twisted and turned to get free.

"Please," She cried, when the redheaded guy finally let go of her mouth to let her speak. She was so busy never ripping her eyes away from Adam's unconscious form, she didn't notice Grip walking up to her.

"He deserved all of it," Grip spat at her, gripping her chin and turning her face his way. "He had it fucking coming. You should be ashamed to be fucking seen with him."

Ashamed? Because of what he had done? Because of his white privilege or the fact that he had chosen to do better than come back to these assholes that claimed to be his family?

"What the fuck's the matter with you?!" Fiona cried, wrestling the red-headed guy who still wouldn't let her go. "He wasn't hurting anyone! You're fucking animals!"

Grip instantly dug his fingernails into her chin and glared harshly down at her. "You said something to me, bitch? You wanna join your boyfriend on the fucking ground?"

"Don't... touch... her..." A weak voice suddenly rasped from the ground. Fiona jolted towards the sound and saw Adam stirring softly on the ground, his face twisting in pain as he did.

"Keep your mouth shut, ballet boy," Grip barked at him, turning to kick him one last time in the stomach. Adam wheezed out a breath, wincing once again. Fiona let out a sob, but didn't get more time to cry as Grip once again turned towards her. "When you're ready to be with a real man who's gonna protect you, you know where to find us. The street's got your back."

Fiona only pressed her lips together to stop herself from saying anything else. She wanted to say a million more things, but knew they would do no good out in the open. She therefore lowered her eyes in defeat, whereafter Grip finally let go of her, same as the red-headed guy. Fiona instantly lurched towards Adam, who once again had stopped moving.

"Let's roll out," She heard Grip announce.

Fiona didn't even bother turning around to watch them run off, but kept her eyes on Adam who looked to be barely breathing. She still couldn't stop crying, but desperately shook all over as she carefully touched his hair.

"A-Adam? Adam, please," She cried, just as she heard him hiss out a pained breath. She immediately went for the phone in her pocket, not hesitating to dial 911. "Just hang on."

He begun coughing up blood and tilted his head to the side, blood dripping from his mouth. Fiona cried out and tried not to panic, but rolled him onto his side so he could breathe.

"F-Fee..."

Deja-vu. Fiona was sucked into her past and suddenly knelt besides her father. "Adam..."

"Am...bu... lance..." He wheezed out, closing his eyes and wincing again when he tried to move. Fiona nodded frantically, already getting passed through to the emergency responder who wanted to know what had happened. He was too far gone to register what was happening.

"I-I need an ambulance immediately," She cried into the phone as the operator asked what had happened. "I-I think he's dying, my b-boyfriend was attacked by s-some guys and I—"

"Not dying..." Adam rasped, quietly. Fiona felt her heart get knocked out of her chest when he then sighed out, closing his eyes. "Not going... anywhere, Fiona..."

• • •

– Deep breaths, everybody.

I was nervous to uploads this chapter because of what we touch base with, but if you're willing to keep reading, we get more info in the next chapters that should clarify a few things that went down here and why. Don't judge till all the facts are on the table.