Dog Days are Over by Florence + The Machine 

So you better run. Run fast for your Mother, run fast for your Father run for your children for your sisters and brothers. Leave all your love and your longing behind, you can't carry it with you if you want to survive.

"Heighten your leg Rooney!" My teacher calls out furiously. The music continues playing. I'm sweating so hard I could explode. My face is red and my hair is sticking to my forehead. 

Everyone in my ballet class watches as I rehearse my solo in the show. The music pauses and I start to bring my leg down from above my head. 

"No! You stay there." She orders fiercely. I blink and keep my leg up.

My teacher approaches me, "Stretch!" She yells right in my face. I flinch and force my leg up straighter.

"I can't go any farther." I insist. I'm on pointe which makes this harder, and the fact she isn't letting me use the barré. My leg is already straight in the air extremely high. 

She takes my heel in her hand and my opposite shoulder in the other, she pushes both hands in like magnets. I let out a whimper of pain at the painful stretching.

"Hold it." She orders, letting go of my leg now directly vertical to my body without my body bending. 

I bite my cheek to hold it. I feel tears clouding my vision at the pain. I blink quicker until they disappear. 

She makes me stay like this for a total of two minutes, has people take photos to show her other students in the years above to embarrass them.

She finally lets me come down and the second I close my legs everything aches. I let put an audible wince at the burn but continue my solo when she plays my song.

"Stop! What are those turns." She yells. I hide my frustration when she tells me to do turns.

"You know in Swan Lake, Odile performs 32 fouettés? I want you to do 50 at minimum." She doesn't even let me breathe before playing the music.

I take a deep breath, get into position, prep and begin. My turns are probably my weaker point. I'm not awful but they're not as good as they could be. I get to 12 before doubting myself. My whole class cheer for me. The classical opera music sings in my ears.

I try to focus my balance and breathing. When I reach 25 I almost give up, "Change spot." My teacher calls out.

So instead of facing the mirror I turn my spotting towards the wall behind me. 30. 31. 32.

I'm going to pass out. I know it. I'm dizzy and ready to drop.

I reach 45. My classmates start counting down the last five. "Keep going." My teacher instructs once I reach 50. So i do. I even get to 64 before almost sliding so I finish it off with simple pirouettes. 

The second I come to a stop everyone begins cheering and screaming, "Impressive." My teacher comments, which means a lot from her. Some students start posting and texting out the videos they took.

I hold my stomach in attempt to refrain from vomiting. The loud telephone starts ringing and whilst our teacher answers it I get the chance to finally breathe and wipe the sweat from my face.

"Miss Rooney." My teacher calls out remorsefully from the telephone.

I look over and furrow my brows. "Unfortunately I have been informed there has been a family death and you will be flying home. I have 'Xander' on the line here?" She says compassionately. 

My heart sinks and I run towards the telephone. "Xan? What's going on?" I demand the second I get the phone.

"Paris? Is that you?" He asks sternly, "yeah." I say briefly.

"Why'd she call you 'Miss Rooney', awfully fancy isn't it." He mocks.

"Xander, who died." I demand desperately. "Oh fuck, sorry nobody. That was just the excuse I used to call through this phone. You weren't answering your cell." He laughs.

I let out a sigh of relief but realize everyone is watching so I retract it and continue with the conversation cautiously.

"Well i'm in a ballet class." I remind him. In my tone I say 'i'm busy, this call better have a good reason'.

"And this is important. Okay so, Avery found a bag under a tile in the pool that said 'Margeaux, France in 1973' so we all went down to the wine cellar and found a bottle which had a hidden drawing of a crystal. Same crystal as the one on a chandelier in the house. We found a message in the chandelier telling us not to trust anyone. Avery was fully convinced it was about Eve. Eve met up with Mallory to ask about Toby's Father Liam. Liam was older and they were secretly hooking up. Liam left when he found out she was pregnant. There was a small fire, rumours may now be spreading that Avery and I are together-" Xander rambles quickly.

"A fire?" I gasp abruptly, everyone in the room frowns sympathetically believing someone I know just died.

"Yeah a fire. Avery got another envelope, the new message said '363-1982'. Long story short we figured out Luke is Vincent Blake, your Great Grandfather. We found out my Father Isaiah worked for Blake at one point so we met him." He tells me. 

"You met him?" I ask proudly, trying to show a different facial expression when everyone watches.

"Yeah I did. He owns a mechanic shop so we visited. He says he wanted to fight for my custody but didn't have the money. We can talk about that later.  He said that working with Blake he started to realize people around him were dying. He said the disk was a sort of calling card giving anyone owning one the ability to utilise his fortune– which is a lot in case I never mentioned. The disk we have was stolen by the old man. Blake had a son called William who disappeared. William... Liam... Toby's Father... that means Blake is Toby's Grandson and you're his great granddaughter. Avery called Blake and said knows who he is. We found out in return for Toby, Blake wants Liam's remains. This is all insane isn't it? I can't be the only one thinking this." He sighs dramatically.

"Yeah. Completely." I agree. 

"Look Pear, I think this is all going down. And I don't know what happens when it does, but I know we need you. Which is why I called. I know you're living your best life but we need you." He tells me.

"I can be home in 5 hours at the very least. Are you sure?" I say quickly. At the first glimpse something bad may happen I rush to say i'm coming home.

"I'm so glad you said that. I'm so sure. Something's off. We're all against each other. It's crazy. There's no way we can do this without you." He tells me.

So I leave, after sympathetic frowns and words of sympathy from my class and obnoxious texts on the group chat from my confused and concerned friends.

I hopped onto the quickest flight I could, keeping updates with Xander the whole journey.

I land in Texas and rush home in an uber.

I get to the front gates and security immediately lets me in, knowing exactly who I am. 

The uber drives straight in, pulling to a stop outside the entrance. I fumble with my cash to pay and jump out, slowly stepping up the stone stairs before the large porch. Paparazzi crowd the gates a mile away, zooming extra close to watch me enter. The uber pulls away.

My phone starts to ring before I can enter. "Xan?" I ask.

"We're in the Hawthorne Chapel." He tells me. "Okay." I say. Xander puts me on speaker whilst I make my way through the house, smiling at maids and security i know. 

"Shit." I hear Xander murmur, "She has a gun." He whispers. The line goes flat. He hung up. Someone has a gun.

So immediately I head into the kitchen, grabbing a gun I know is always hidden there. Its small but it can help me defend myself and my friends.

I start bolting to the chapel. Running full speed. 

Oren stands outside, he doesn't look remotely alarmed. Maybe it was a false alarm? 

I make eye contact with him, he gives me a friendly but stern nod. I creep through the wooden door, he grabs my wrist suddenly. 

"What do you think you are doing?" He gestures furiously to the gun in my hands. "I just got back from shooting practice." I lie. 

He furrows his brows at me, "I swear to god Paris. If you put that gun on anyone in that chapel I'm gonna have to put mine on you." He warns.

"What? Why would I shoot someone?" I gasp, completely acting. He believes me though and lets me past, trusting me. I shove the gun into the bottom of my leopard, it's not exactly subtle but it's practical and as long as nobody sees my back they won't notice.

When I get inside Eve has a gun pointed straight at Avery. 

I do what I always do best. I play dumb.

"What the fuck?" I ask with disbelief. All heads turn to me, including the gun which is now aimed at me.

I throw my hands up in the sky, "Woah! What the fuck are you doing with that thing?" I pretend to be alarmed.

"Give me the USB Avery, or I kill your sister." Eve orders. Eve turns her body towards Avery, keeping the gun aimed at me but not looking. I quickly pull the gun out my leotard and aim it at her, stepping closer.

So now I'm right behind her with a gun ready to blow her brains out. I cock the gun so she becomes aware of it. She flinches, having not expected it. 

"Drop it." I warn fiercely, she now aims it for Avery.

"Do it. I fucking dare you, shoot my sister and this bullet will be through your skull before you can even see if you hit her." I warn, purposely yelling so Oren hears and runs in. "You don't have the balls." Eve sneers. "Yeah, maybe not. But he does." I smirk. 

Just as anticipated, a set of footsteps run inside. "Put the gun down!" Oren yells. I step back, keeping my gun up just in case.

"Are you really going to let your bodyguard shoot me Avery?" Eve steps forward towards Avery, I stand beside Xander.

"Thought this was meant to be a chapel? This isn't very sacred." I snark sarcastically.

"You helped Blake abduct Toby, didn't you?" Avery questions. Hearing those words out loud makes my grip tighten on the gun.

"I wouldn't have had to if Toby had opened up. If he'd just agreed to bring me here. But he wouldn't." Eve replies sharply.

"This is the last time I'm going to tell you to put the gun down!" Oren shouts.

"I'm still Toby's daughter. And honestly, Avery, how do you think Grayson will feel if Oren shoots me? What do you think will happen when that beautiful, broken boy walks in and finds me bleeding out on the floor? It'll be even worse if Paris shoots me. God, could you imagine that?" Eve laughs cynically.

Just hearing his name makes me want to kill her, then myself. How dare she talk about him. 

"Don't bring him into this!" I yell, causing the gun to turn to me. Now both of us have guns pointed at each other, neither of us willing to put the weapon down.

"Put the gun down." Avery tells Oren and I.

Eve smirks, she got what she wanted. 

"She puts hers down first." Oren agrees. Eve hesitantly agrees, lowering her weapon only to be tackled to the ground by Oren.

"You want Toby back, and I want whatever you found in that tomb." Even lying on the floor defeated she still has the upper hand, and she knows it.

"Mallory." Avery realizes. "She told me Liam didn't leave. I believe her exact words were 'there was so much blood'." Eve smirks. "So where's the body?" She asks.

"Is that really all you care about?" Avery asks.

"Caring is a recipe for getting hurt. And I haven't let anyone hurt me in a while." Eve grits.

"In all fairness, I did warn you Avery. I told you, if I were you I would never trust me either. I told you I am a person who will do anything, anything, to get what I want. I told you invisible was something I will never be." She tells.

"And Toby wanted you to hide." Avery realizes, her voice sounding just as hurt as I feel.

"Blake wants me by his side. I just have to prove myself first." Eve tells us. "You don't have one of his seals yet, do you?" Xander speaks up.

"I'm going to get one!" She barks at him furiously. "Give me that USB and maybe you can get what you want too... Toby." She smirks, her words cutting deep into my heart.

My grip tightens around the gun aimed down at her, its only now I remember i'm still holding it at her.

"How could you do this? He trusted you!" I raise my voice. The photo Avery was sent of him bruised and bleeding. 

"You can spend your whole life trying not to hurt. But making people hurt for you? That's the real power. It's easy to make people trust you if you let them see you bleed." Eve replies with a proud smirk.

"That what you did with Grayson?" I fume, my hands shaking with how tight I'm holding this gun to her.

"Nah.. All I had to do was sleep with him whilst he was crying about your little breakup and soon enough I had him wrapped around my finger. Helped that I look just like you." She stares right into my eyes whilst she taunts me.

My eyes soften, welling up with tears. "You hooked up with him?" I ask painfully.

"So many times. He couldn't even look me in my eyes. Almost made me think he didn't want it. Oh but he took it, I made sure he did." Eve shrugs delicately, her grin so menacingly pointed.

I storm forward, ready to kill her. I would fully murder her without remorse hearing her words. She took advantage of him. Grayson was vulnerable and she took advantage of him. My Grayson. I'm going o kill her.

Avery grabs me and holds me back. "Toby." Avery whispers, reminding me that if I kill her we won't get more information about Toby.

When I left for Massachusetts last week I was fighting with Avery, but now I realize she isn't my enemy, not now anyway. Whatever happened between us we can work through at a later point.

"Give me the USB." Eve reiterates. "And you don't ever have to see me again. I win my seal and you can have this place and these boys all to yourself. Win-win." She persuades. 

"You aren't getting anything but a bullet through your mouth unless you shut the fuck up!" I yell, my voice echoing through the chapel.

I see movement in my peripheral vision. My head whips to the door where Grayson Hawthorne stands. He looks to me with shock for a moment that i'm back so soon and then immediately turns to anger.

"Let her go!" Grayson insists angrily. "She's a threat. She pulled a gun on Avery. The only place i'm letting her go is far, far away from all of you." Oren explains.

Grayson steps towards us.

"Gray, it's not what it looks like." I tell him, my voice wavering vulnerably. 

"Help me! Get that USB from Avery, don't let them take this from me too." Eve begs.

Grayson takes the USB straight out of Avery's hand because of how numb she is in fear of what he'll do.

My stomach hurts. He's choosing between his girlfriend and everyone else. He's choosing between Emily and us. And I'm scared I won't win that battle.

"Grayson-" Xander, Eve, Avery and I all say in perfect time.

"I heard." He interrupts. 

"Whatever you heard, you know i'm not the villain here, Grayson. Your Grandfather- he owed me better. He owed you better, you and your family owe Avery and Paris nothing." Eve sneers.

"I owe her everything I have." Grayson looks up, finally making eye contact with me, his eyes somehow saying a silent 'sorry'. 

"You're as bad as your Grandfather was. Look at me Grayson. Look at me." She tries. 

He struggles and fights with himself to pry his eyes away from me, but he manages and looks down to Eve as instructed.

"If you let Oren kick me put of here or call the police, if you try to force me to go back to Vincent Blake empty handed, I swear to you, I will find a cliff to jump off of." Eve warns. Something about how menacing and crazy her voice sounds makes that threat all the more believable. 

"You already have Emily's blood on your hands. Do you really want mine there too?" She taunts.

I step forward yet again, ready to murder her for emotionally manipulate this man yet again. But Grayson's arm shoots out and grabs my bicep which is very tensed right now. He holds me back firmly, telling me to stand down.

I step back again, allowing him to deal with this on his own. 

"You're a big girl. You make your own choices. Whatever you do when Oren sends you packing- thats on you." He fires back politely. 

A proud smile perks up on my lips, he glances at me and smirks too realizing I am. 

"This is your chance. This is redemption, Grayson. I'm yours, and you could be mine. It's your fault Emily's dead, you could have stopped her-" Eve persuades.

"I shouldn't have had to." Grayson snaps, taking a step forward. 

"And this would be useful to you." He gestures to the USB in his hand. 

"You can't know that." She insists. 

"Assuming that this USB is my Grandfather's handiwork, you would need a decoder to make sense of any of the files. A Hawthorne never leaves any knowledge of value unprotected." Grayson informs her matter of factually.

"So I'll break the inscription." Eve decides like it's no issue. 

"Not without a second file." He breaks the news. 

"You can't do this to me Grayson. We're on the same team." She pleads desperately.

"Not anymore." Grayson smiles sarcastically. Grayson being sarcastic, he's picked that up from me because before I met him he wouldn't dream of sarcasm.

Right on cue, Oren's men come piling through the doors. "How do you want to handle this Avery?" Oren asks my sister. 

Pointing a gun at us is a crime, though she could use the excuse I pulled the same move which counters it. Lying isn't a crime. Manipulation isn't a crime. Being a bitch isn't a crime. Emotionally manipulating a broken Grayson to have sex with her is almost definitely a crime. So in the name of the law, technically we have nothing to go off except that and we have no evidence. And as evil as she may be, shes not the most evil person we're facing in this scenario.

"Have your men escort Eve off the estate. We'll deal directly with Vincent Blake from now on." Avery dictates.

Eve is dragged off the ground and she openly starts walking away, not letting them drag her. "You've not won. He'll keep coming, and sooner or later, and sooner or later you will wish this ended with me." Her final words echo.

And we watch as she leaves once and for all. 

Grayson and I finally have the chance to turn to one another.

"I need to go call Max." Xander notices we're about to have a moment and subtly slips out. "Yeah I'll join you." Avery nods her head and scurries out of the chapel.

Grayson place his hand over the gun still gripped firmly in my hands and slowly he takes the gun out my hands. My firm grip softens immediately when I feel his fingertips brush over my hands.

He un-cocks the gun, tossing it to a security guard who catches it with a manly nod of the head. He leaves with all the other guards and we're all alone.

"Did she hurt you?" Grayson asks immediately, his voice a comfort to my ears.

"No." I answer. "Why are you wearing your ballet stuff?" He asks. 

"Xander called mid class and told me I had to hurry home because everything was about to go down and they needed me. I didn't have time to pack a bag or get dressed. I just went straight to the airport and flew home. I got an uber back here and came straight out here when Xander said Eve had a gun, I didn't get the chance to get dressed." I explain. 

He starts taking his jacket off and passes it to me, "Here." He doesn't bother offering, he just gives me it.

"Thanks." I don't argue because truth be told I am freezing and don't know how I feel about being half nude with so many people around.

I don't mention the voicemail he sent. He didn't reply to it, which is enough of an answer for me. He isn't interested. No need to make it awkward.

"I'm gonna go check on Ave." I excuse myself, walking out. His face drops like he isn't done with me yet, but I go anyway.

(a/n. I'm so glad to have a huge chapter again. Little extra upload for you guys since I was bored. Crazy that next chapter will be the 100th chapter and this fic is almost at 100k, genuinely scary how huge my tiny little fanfiction has become. Thanks for reading)