The tense atmosphere was shattered when clapping echoed from the doorway of the performance hall. Everyone startled and looked to see Mr. Vega standing in the doorway, grinning and clapping with enthusiasm. 
                              
. "Mrs. Moodie, your class grows more talented every year. I am very impressed with with discipline." he complimented the teacher. She flustered and smiled at him, as charmed by the handsome teacher as his female students were.
                              
The rest of the class scattered but Alice took her time, knowing that if Mal had come looking for her, the weather was terrible. Ever since they'd fought in detention, he would drive her to Salali's to make sure she wasn't forced to walk in bad weather. Considering that the weather had sucked all week, that had made some tense and quiet drives. Neither one had apologized for the things they'd said, and even though he had texted her that night, their friendship was still tentative.
                              
She waited until Mrs. Moodie had left before she said anything directly to Malcolm, and as soon as the door swung shut behind the dance teacher, he beat her to it. "I heard that song and just knew it was you. I cannot believe you picked that song to dance to." he stated. Alice was expecting him to be mad but instead he seemed amused.
                              
"I didn't." Alice huffed, the anger she'd pushed aside earlier flaring out now. "Lexi put it on. Some of the guys she hags with saw me perform that night too." she explained tersely.
                              
The smile dropped off his face as he took in her upset anger. She wasn't looking forward to shopping anymore, and was annoyed with herself to feel the prick of tears in her eyes. She rubbed a thumb roughly between her eyebrows, trying to push the emotions back again. It would be a terrible idea to break down in front of Malcolm. He had his own issues to deal with and his responsibilities did not include handling the emotional breakdown of a seventeen year old stripper turned student, Ace reminded herself rudely.
                              
"You ok?" Malcolm asked, and Alice was surprised to find that he had crossed the room and was now standing right in front of her.
                              
In fact he was close enough she could feel the heat swirl off his body. "I'll be fine. You know me, I'm always fine." she gave a fake smile, not wanting to burden him.
                              
Of course she wasn't taking into account the fact that Mal wasn't an idiot. He could see for himself that she wasn't alright. There were bags under her eyes, signs of strain around her mouth and her body language screamed 'I'm not alright!' He pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin.
                              
"Sure you are." he agreed with her, still hugging her.
                              
Alice gave an unhappy little laugh and humiliated herself when tears started to slip down her face to soak into his jacket. Her body shook softly as she fought to stop the crying, but he didn't seem to mind, just holding her, offering her a safe place to let down her guard and only let go when she stepped away. With a shakey hand she wiped the last of the tears off her face. "That wouldn't have looked wrong if anyone walked in." she admitted with a laugh.
                              
"True, but everyone left awhile ago Ace." Malcolm agreed with a soft smile. Alice looked at the clock and was surprised to find that it'd already been nearly an hour. Between the dancing and the crying, she'd lost complete track of time.
                              
"Oh no, I was supposed to meet Salali at the mall a half hour ago!" she exclaimed and searched frantically for her phone.
                              
"It's alright. Actually one of the reasons I came to find you here was that she called me and said she had to cancel tonight. The farmer she works with for the large animal rescues called in and asked for her help with one of his horses. She's closed the shop for the night and another worker has already come in to tend the animals." Malcolm interrupted her.