“Pen! Fuck! It’s so good to see you!” Clancy says the second she sees me standing on her doorstep the following Monday.
Before I can even respond, she throws herself into my arms, almost knocking me over from the force. Fortunately for the both of us, York is standing directly behind me and places a steadying hand on my lower back.
“I’ve been worried sick. I’ve missed you so much!”
“I’ve missed you too, Clancy,” I whisper, my throat thickening with tears as I hug her back.
The guys have been really supportive, wonderful even, but I’ve missed her friendship, advice, and her special brand of quirkiness that always manages to put a smile on my face.
“When I heard what happened, I wanted to come see you straight away. If you asked I would’ve been there for you in a heartbeat,” she says, pulling back and searching my face.
“I know you would’ve, but I needed time to wrap my head around everything, and I had to be there for Lena.”
“Of course you did. That’s what incredible big sisters like you are for. How is she doing?” Clancy asks, then pulls a face. “Sorry, stupid fucking question.”
“She’s… sad,” is all I can say in response.
“And you?”
“I guess I’m doing better than Lena,” I lie, and when it comes to the grief side of things, I am. “You know how it was between me and mum, we didn’t exactly have the best relationship in the world.” I shrug, but that feeling of guilt for not feeling more, still burns my gut.
“No need to explain. I understand.” She gives me a warm smile then flicks her gaze to York standing behind me, as if only just noticing him. “Hey, York.”
“Alright, Clancy? For a minute there I thought I was invisible,” he responds with a wry grin. “Miss me, too?”
“Not nearly as much as Pen. River’s been amazing and all, but he can’t replace my bestie… I’ve been lonely without my Pen.”
“Thanks a bunch, Clancy,” River says, stepping out of his flat on the opposite side of the hallway. Clancy giggles and blows him a kiss and I know he’s forgiven her in an instant. Besides, we all know that they adore each other.
“Hey, River,” I say as York moves to the side and he gives me a warm, friendly, hug.
“Hey, Pen. I’m sorry about your mum.”
I nod tightly, gritting my teeth on the response I want to say: I’m not. “How have you been?” I ask him.
“Aren’t I meant to ask that?” He smiles at York who nods his head back in greeting.
“Yeah, that’s why I asked you first. Saves me from the pity.”
He gives me a wry smile. “I’ve been good. Spending time with Clancy, trying to avoid the evil stepsister.”
“What’s she been doing now?” I ask.
“Ugh, she’s been extra since you’ve been away. Jesus, that girl has it bad for you.”
“Yeah?” I sigh, needing her shit like a hole in the head.
“Just swerve her as much as possible. She’ll get over her infatuation eventually,” he suggests, then looks at his wristwatch and pulls a face. “I’m so fucking sorry. I gotta run. I’m late already for my class.”
“That’s okay. We’ll talk later, yeah?”
“Definitely.” River gives me another quick hug before turning to Clancy and grasping her cheeks, kisses her thoroughly. She makes these little whimpering noises, then grins when he pulls back and slaps her on the arse. “Catch you later, Little Tapper.”
“Catch you later, sexy,” Clancy responds, and with that he’s gone. She turns back to face me, pulling a smiley wide-eyed face. “Seriously though, that man packs all the goods and knows how to pleasure a woman. Last night he did this thing with his cock that blew my mind—”
York bursts out laughing. “You girls really do dissect everything together, don’t you?”
Clancy wrinkles her pretty, button nose. “Too much information?”
“It’s totally fine,” I reply with a grin. “And in answer to your question, York, girls really do dissect everything. So you better make sure it’s good because Clancy here won’t be impressed if it isn’t.”
“That’s right, lover boy,” Clancy responds, leaning against the door frame. “I need to know you’re a ten out of ten every time otherwise I’ll be disappointed.”
“Well, I can assure you, I’ve most definitely got that covered.”
We all burst out laughing and I feel my heart lift. Being around Clancy is like a breath of fresh air. It’s only been a minute that I’ve been in her company and I already feel as though I’m a normal twenty-year-old woman just chatting with her bestie about life stuff, and not a girl fucking terrified of her evil older brother no matter how much she tells herself that she isn’t.
“Have you settled in with the guys okay? When I saw Dax and Zayn emptying your flat they told me you were moving in with them and wouldn’t be at the Academy for a while. I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, honestly,” she blurts out, her words coming out in a concerned rush. “But I’m so glad you’re here.”
“We should take this conversation inside,” York suggests when Sophie and Tiffany step out of Tiffany’s flat at the end of the corridor. They both give me a blank stare, no empathy or kindness, not even any of the usual disdain. Just… nothing. It’s kind of creepy and fucked up. Then again, what did I expect? Why should they care if I’ve lost my mum? We’re not friends. Never will be.
“Fuck, of course! Look at me keeping you talking on the doorstep. Where are my manners? Come in. We can have a cup of tea before lessons start.” Clancy waves us into the flat, heading off to the kitchen. York shuts the door and gives me a sympathetic smile. He knows I want some alone time with Clancy, but also won’t leave my side.
“You don’t need to be here, York,” I say, whispering under my breath. “Clancy isn’t a snake. She’s my friend and she’d never hurt me.”
York grabs my hand. “I know she isn’t, but the guys would cut my bollocks off if they knew I left you alone even for a second, and honestly I’d do the same to them. We’re not taking any chances when it comes to you, so you’d better get used to it. Besides, our tap class starts in twenty minutes anyway, so I thought I’d stick around and catch up with Clancy too.” he says, squeezing my hand.
“I get it,” I say, because I really, really do. I think I’ve called and texted Lena every five minutes since we left the flat this morning. The rational part of my brain knows that she’s safe with Gray and the ghosts protecting her, but I can’t help but worry.
“She’s gonna be okay, Titch. Lena has the best men watching her,” York says, instantly understanding what’s on my mind.
“This is even harder than I thought it would be.” Sighing, I step into his arms as he hugs me close, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
Behind us Clancy coughs, breaking up our brief, intimate moment. “You two really are so fucking cute together. Seriously, it’s sickening.” We all laugh, and it’s like a warm balm to my aching heart.
“I really have missed you,” I say, giving her another hug the second I’m close enough. She squeezes me back then grins, handing us both a mug of tea. Glancing around the room, I notice a pretty dance costume of gold and black, hanging over her armchair.
“That’s from last weekend’s show at Tales,” Clancy explains. “Grim’s a pretty amazing woman. She lets us keep the costumes, and her pay is really generous.”
“She really is,” I agree. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you for covering me at Tales. You’ve been incredible, and I know for a fact that Grim’s been really impressed with you.”
“It’s no problem at all! I love dancing there. It’s such a rush! You never quite know what’s going to happen. Last weekend Beast had to knock out this guy who was catcalling me and the girls during a show. He was drunk as hell and forgot who’s club he was sitting in. I don’t even think Beast punched him all that hard, but he went down like a sack of potatoes. It was brilliant!” she says, enthusiastically. “I’m going to miss working there.”
Her face drops, but she hides her disappointment with a smile, and I decide then and there to have a conversation with Grim when I meet up with her later this week as planned. We’ve been meaning to have a conversation about me coming back to work at Tales, and even though we haven’t outright discussed it, I know the guys aren’t keen. Truth be known, I’m not sure how I feel about it myself. Despite my promises to the guys and to myself, I still feel anxious about dancing in any capacity right now. I know I need to sort my head out, but it’s easier said than done. Today is basically a test to see how I cope, and honestly I’m ninety-five percent certain I’m going to fuck it all up. Regardless, I need to just push through all these warring emotions and get back to some kind of normalcy. Like Grim and the guys have told me countless times, I can’t let David get into my head.
“Titch?” York questions, his voice pulling me back to the present and away from my thoughts. “You okay?”
“Sorry, for a moment my head was elsewhere.”
“Thinking about how nice it would be to have some alone time, yeah?” Clancy asks with a wink.
“Actually, no. I was thinking about the fact that I’m heading to Tales later this week to speak with Grim about getting back to work, and wondering if you wanted to come with me? Maybe between us we can persuade her to take you on permanently too.”
“Really?” Clancy’s eyes widen in surprise. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course I would. She’d be mad not to offer you a job. You’re an incredible dancer, Clancy. Plus, it would be good to divide up the weekend shifts. I don’t want to be working both weekend nights. It wouldn’t be fair to Lena.”
Squealing, Clancy places her mug on the side and does a little happy dance. “Oh man, I hope Grim agrees! How cool would that be to get to dance with my bestie all day at the Academy and then work with you at Tales! It’s a dream come true.”
I laugh at her exuberance, but York just frowns. “You didn’t mention anything to us about this.”
“I only decided last night. Grim needs me back at work, and I need the money to pay you all back for everything.”
“Titch, you don’t owe us a thing—” he begins, giving me the same look he did at the funeral when I said that I would pay them back. I know they hate me even bringing up the subject but it’s something I just need to do.
“I want to,” I reply, cutting him off.
“We’ll talk about this later…” York says, clearly not wanting to get into a heated discussion with Clancy looking on. I know this isn’t just about the fact I want to pay them back. He’s concerned for my safety too, but the security at Tales is tight now so he doesn’t need to feel concerned about that side of things anymore.
“Anywaaaaay,” Clancy says, pulling a face. “I am so looking forward to getting back in the studio with you guys. It hasn’t been much fun rehearsing for the show with bitch-face one and two for company.”
“Let me guess, Tiffany and Sophie have been giving you and River a hard time too?”
“Yep, they’ve been their usual catty selves, of course. River was gonna knock Tiff out last night after she mouthed off about you guys.”
“What did she say exactly?” York asks, his voice darkening.
“Oh, just the usual shit. She was bitching about you all having time off. That kind of thing,” Clancy says, waving her hand in the air, but I can tell she’s holding back. Knowing Tiffany, she would have had a lot more to say about the situation than that.
York takes a seat on Clancy’s bed. “I bet she did.”
I perch on the mattress next to him whilst Clancy leans against the counter of her little studio kitchen. “I really don’t get what her issue is with me.”
“I do. You’re talented, beautiful and dating the four hottest guys in the Academy,” York says with a smirk.
Clancy leans her head to the side, as though thinking about it. “Hmm, three of the hottest,” she says with a wink. “I’m not sure about one of them…”
“You best be talking about Dax being the ugly one because we all know I’m fucking stunning!”
Clancy rolls her eyes, and I laugh. “So River didn’t punch Tiffany then?”
“No. D-Neath stepped in and broke the two of them up.”
“D-Neath has been at the rehearsals?” I ask, surprised. I figured he’s been busy with Hudson, Grim and the guys. I cast a look at York who nods to confirm it, and I wonder why he hasn’t been at the meetings with the rest of them, or why they haven’t mentioned that.
“Yeah, but he’s been distracted. I’m pretty sure D-Neath and Madame Tuillard are on the rocks.”
Frowning, I turn my attention back to Clancy. “What makes you say that?”
“Well…” Clancy says, her eyes lighting with mischief. “The other day I passed her office, and they were having one heck of an argument. Like, they weren’t screaming at each other or anything, but it was that reigned in kind of argument when they know that someone might hear and they’re whisper-shouting.”
“Oh yeah? Did you hear what they were arguing about?” York asks nonchalantly, placing his mug of tea on the side table. He’s acting like he’s not really interested when I can tell that he very much is.
“Bits and pieces. She was going on about him being all secretive and shit. She mentioned that it felt like the first time, or something, and that she deserves to be treated better. I’m pretty sure he’s having an affair. It would explain her anger and the fact he’s always on his phone. In rehearsals the other night he barely looked up from his bloody phone. It was really annoying actually.”
York shrugs. “It’s not really any of our business what he gets up to. Tuillard knew what she was getting into when she got together with him. He’s hardly got a glowing resumé when it comes to relationships and shit.”
“Oooh, Yorky, sounds like you know way more than you’re letting on right now. Want to spill?” Clancy grins, pulling the most ridiculous face.
“No more than anyone else,” he fires back. “D-Neath has got a reputation. He’s a player. Always has been, always will be.”
Clancy huffs. “Urgh. Is this some kind of bro-code or something? You do realise that D-Neath, though totally hot and dangerous and all that, is a complete dicknugget of the highest proportions, right? No need to protect him.”
York laughs. “I’m not protecting him. I just don’t know anything.”
“Whatever,” Clancy retorts in a faux American accent, dragging out the r before heading towards the bathroom. “I need to pee and sort out my hair before class. Give me five minutes.”
As soon as she’s locked the door, I turn to York. “Spill!” I demand.
“What?”
“You know what? Is he having an affair?”
“How the fuck would I know? We’re not that close.”
“Then why have him and Tuillard been arguing?”
“I suspect it’s to do with what’s going on,” York surmises, lowering his voice and flicking his eyes towards the bathroom. “But, honestly, I really don’t care what’s up with their relationship, so long as it doesn’t fuck anything up for us.”
“But he’s your friend.”
“No, he’s an acquaintance. We’ve all been thrown together for the soul purpose of taking down Santiago,” York whispers. Not that he needed to bother as Clancy has just started singing Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake at the top of her voice and is doing a good job of crucifying the song. It’s all I can do not to laugh out loud. I’ve really, really missed her.
“So why has he been overseeing the rehearsals and not meeting with you guys then? Do you suspect D-Neath?”
York shakes his head. “He might be a prick at times, but he’s not a complete fool. That would be suicide. Beast would carve him up into little pieces before we ever got close to him.”
“Then why?”
“Xeno asked D-Neath to cover the rehearsals. He didn’t want things to get behind whilst we were away, and despite the fact that Clancy is right and he’s a douche when it comes to matters of the heart…”
“Matters of the dick, you mean?”
“…We trust him,” York continues, ignoring my snarky comment. “Besides, Hudson feeds back all the relevant details so he’s kept in the loop. That’s probably why he’s been so distracted on the phone, not because he’s having an affair. Though I wouldn’t put it past him to be honest. He is a player.”
“Then maybe you should’ve thought of someone else to oversee the rehearsals, because according to Clancy he’s been doing a terrible job.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Probably wasn’t the wisest decision. Xeno’s not going to be happy when he finds out D-Neath hasn’t been pulling his weight.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“I mean I get that it’s frustrating for everyone, particularly for Clancy and River who are getting pulled into all this bullshit without even knowing it. This performance we’ve all been working towards is to showcase their talents as much as mine. I can even understand Tiffany and Sophie feeling pissed off, even if I don’t like them. But for Xeno…? He’s got bigger things to worry about right now than the end of year show at an Academy that he never wanted to be at in the first place. You run your own businesses alongside everything else, this is just another distraction you don’t need.”
“Believe it or not, this end of year show is important to him, to all of us.”
“Because of me?”
York shakes his head. “Yes, of course because of you. This is your chance to shine, Pen. The show will be broadcast across the entire UK. It’s going to launch your career. I know it.”
“You have a lot of faith in me.”
“Of course I do.” York sighs, taking my hands in his. “Listen, we came back into your life and fucking steamrolled all over your dreams. We’ve brought trouble right to your door and we owe it to you to make sure that nothing gets in the way of that.”
“David has always been trouble. You didn’t bring anything that I didn’t already have,” I point out.
“We both know that you wouldn’t have been back under the spotlight of his attention if we hadn’t shown up here. His jealousy has always ruled him when it comes to you and us.”
I shake my head. “That’s bullshit. He would’ve turned up and ruined my life eventually.”
“No, it’s a fact. Why do you think we were all so determined for you to return to the Academy? It wasn’t just because of our needs—because honestly we could dance with you anywhere—it’s because training and learning the craft here at the Academy was always your dream, Titch. We owe it to you to make sure that you see it through.”
He hugs me then, pulling me into his arms, I press my nose against the crook of his neck, breathing him in. “I just hope we haven’t made another huge mistake returning to the Academy, and rubbing his nose in it. David’s unpredictable. There’s no telling what he’ll do next.”
York is prevented from responding when Clancy steps out of the bathroom mid chorus. She stops singing and places her hands on her hips. “You two really are fucking beautiful to look at. Are you certain you don’t need an extra member in your harem?” she asks, a huge grin lighting up her face.
York grabs a pillow from the bed and throws it at her. “You really don’t give up, do you?” he asks with a shake of his head and a smile on his lips.
“I’ll take that as a no then, shall I?”
“Yes, Clancy. That’s a no,” he confirms as we head out of the flat.
“You don’t sound that certain. A girl could get mixed messages here,” she jokes. I throw my arm around her shoulder, laughing at her antics, and try my best not to let the low level anxiety in my stomach bring me down. Stepping back into the studio is going to be as hard as I thought.
