King of Hearts (House of Card...

West stomped into the school Monday morning, a dark scowl on his face making students and faculty alike scurry out of his way. They'd heard long ago about rumours of his past and no one wanted to see if the Cubano had lost his violent temper or if it was just held in reserve. Then again, after last week the cat was pretty much out of the bag on how violent he could be in a very short period of time. That poor girl, Alice, had been drugged and attacked by three dumba** students so they could try and rape her. It made him ashamed of his gender that this was probably not the first time they'd done that to someone though it was certainly the last.

Chirs was in the hospital still, not so badly hurt as the other two, just they'd had to put a pin in his arm to get the elbow in the right position again. The other two were still in the ICU, Eddie had a fracture in his neck and the other kid's skull had cracked open. And West hadn't even been trying. At least his conscious was clear, he hadn't accidentally killed anyone this time around.

He knew that Alice would be coming back into the school today, though his entire concept of her had changed. First of all he had realized that the beautiful Alice had already been swept off her feet by Reaper, and West still held too much respect for the once fellow gang member to ever poach on his territory. Secondly, after rescuing her last week, Alice had gone from sexy-girl-he-wanted-to-bang to little-sister-he-needed-to-protect. Not that he wouldn't jump all over that if she were to suddenly become single, which he doubted.

"Who pissed in your cornflakes?" Romeo asked West, the only person not terrified of West's black mood. Not that Romeo was brave, no, he just knew that West wouldn't fly off the handle at him unless absolutely necessary.

"My father." West growled back. He didn't need to say anything more, Romeo had met the oh-so-proper West Sr. Westly Sr had somehow gotten it into his head that West had been in the wrong last week. His father had given West no chance to explain that he hadn't attacked the other students, they had attacked him, and he only got involved because they were trying to assault a female student. All Westley Sr had seemed to care about was that his illegitimate son had been involved in another 'altercation', this time at school. So somehow, the hero West, had ended up grounded. Until the police officers came by to take his statement and his father had been there to see the Officers commend him on his bravery.

To say things were awkward between West and his dad would be an understatement. Their uneasy relationship was only further complicated by the fact that Westley Sr had been an unmitigated a** and now had to apologize for it, something the elder Westley almost never did. So instead of actually saying six simple words 'I am sorry, I was wrong', Westley Sr had decided to try and make amends by buying his son a new vehicle to replace the beat up k-car West had bought with his own money. Though West could admit to himself that he loved his new Hummer, he refused to let the old man know this.

Romeo left West to his foul mood and the Cuban snarled his way through Philosophy. For once the teachers didn't harp on him in Maths Block, seeming to realize that the Los Santos was one wrong word away from an outburst. He heard a few students whispering about what had happened to the new girl and he lost all sembalance of calm.

"If you people don't leave her the f*** alone I will hunt each and everyone of you down and show you just how unfriendly I can be. Do you understand me?" he shouted at the group discussing Alice. Everyone in class turned to stare at him, eyes wide with fear. Even the teacher looked ready to piss himself. "You tell everyone you have to that she is to be left alone. You can be nice, or be dead, your choice." He warned, grabbing his bag and walking out even though class wasn't finished.

He tore open his locker and slammed the door shut, storming into the gym. The locker room had been taped off all last week, but the police had finally cleared the scene and let the school reopen it. West made it outside without hearing anyone needing his help this time, and lit the cigarette as soon as he made it outside. The nicotine rushed to his head and he blew the toxic smoke out, making a face at the horrible taste. "Not worth it." he spat, trying to get the nasty flavour out of his mouth while he crushed it under foot. He pulled out his 'emergency' smoke and lit it instead. It looked like a cigarette, but most certainly wasn't.

West tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck and trying to loosen some of the knots out of his shoulders. He knew he shouldn't have snapped at the class like that, but he needed some kind of outlet. Maybe he would feel better after getting to see Alice for himself. The police had reluctantly told him her injuries, and they had only told him because he had wanted to know if it was safe to hug her. He was more touchy feely than people expected, a product of his culture, and now that she'd started to enter the world his half sisters occupied, he knew he'd be hugging her at some point soon.

The lunch bell rang and West tossed the butt of his need-to-calm-the-f***-down smoke to the floor, heading back in. A few students gave him looks, word of his outburst already all over the school. He didn't care, the smoke giving him a slight blunting of his bad mood. West walked to his locker and dumped his bag, not needing it for the class after lunch. Romeo was waiting for him and kept silent, just giving a pointed sniff so West knew he smelled like illegal substances. Again West didn't care, so what if a teacher busted him for smoking cannabis? Right now he'd relish a reason to fight with someone.

"Dude, you gotta tone down the hostile. Chicks love the knight in shining armour routine and I have a chance to snap up your discards. Don't ruin that for me by scaring all the tasties away with your nasty glare." Romeo cajoled, and West was never sure if his friend was serious or joking. Romeo was a good looking fellow West supposed, but he never seemed to have a girlfriend. Not that West really cared about his friend's sex life or lack thereof.

West just grunted at his friend and walked with him back outside. It was cold enough that no one else really wanted to use the outdoor benches, but the Cuban didn't mind the chill. He figured that he could always put on more layers if he got cold. Romeo passed West the flask he always had and the Cuban swallowed the warm and metallic tasting scotch whisky, absently noting that at least Romeo had good taste in liquor. The Johnny Walker burned as it slid down his throat but seemed to burn away some of the foul mood hanging around West like a storm cloud.

"I need a distraction. Think you're up for going out on the town tonight?" West finally, knowing Romeo would understand what he really meant. West needed a good fight, not a pity brawl like those cabrons had gotten. Romeo looked thoughtful but nodded, game to go out and find a brawl. The bell to haul a** back to class rang and both boys headed in to the performance hall.

"Where's West?" he heard Alice ask her friends. Seeing her at the school filled him with a sense of relief, just knowing that he had arrived in time to stop her from being hurt worse eased the vicious anger in his gut.

"Right here." he said from behind her, and put a smirk on his face so she wouldn't know how close to violence he'd been all day.

"I hear I owe you a thank you." she stated, almost making it a question. But he didn't want to her a thank you from her, she should never have been in that situation. It was all those carbons' fault.

"You don't need to thank me." he replied, not trusting himself to tone down the anger if he gave an explanation as to why he felt that way.

"Alright I won't." she replied but instead of shrugging it off, she suddenly hugged him around hte waist. West froze, seeing Malcolm walk in at exactly the wrong moment. He wanted to call out to Reaper, assure him that he wasn't trying to steal his girl, but Malcolm just turned around and walked right back out. F***.

"I knew it, chicks dig a hero." West smirked, deciding to just go along with it.

"And then he opens his mouth...." Alice sighed and everyone laughed. West noticed that her two friends seemed a little flustered with him around and he couldn't help but wink at the nerdy girl who'd told him about Alice a while ago. Justine that was her name! He always forgot.

Even thought she was injured, Alice insisted on working on the easier choreography, so West spent a lot of time dancing with her, and he shamelessly flirted with her, feeling an easy, relaxed friendship start to fill the space between them. He still watched out for her like a hawk, but he didn't make it obvious. And the anger and tension that had made him foul and miserable all morning drifted away as he was finally assured that she was ok. Even if she wasn't his girl, she was one of his now, someone he would kill to protect. Alice Spade, you are now my little sister, West thought, wondering if she would understand how that worked.

As all the other students wandered home, West knew he still had far too much volunteer work left to do before he could even think about the freedom of collapsing into his own bed. So he trudged to the library and got started on helping the old man do his next round of useless tasks. Thankfully it was an easy night so by 4:20 the librarian was sending him home, nothing else to do. West grinned at the old man, gave him a gaunty wave and walked out. His locker was close enough to the performance hall that he could hear music echoing out from it. With a frown on his face, his curiosity once more propelled him forward to look through the door and find out what was going on.

"What the hell?" West couldn't help the words from escaping. Because there stood Reaper, kissing someone. Maybe West had been completely wrong, Malcolm wasn't with Alice?

But then Alice jumped back and blurted out, "Don't tell anyone." West felt the deadly glare he was shooting Malcolm fall from his face as he realized his mistake. It hadn't looked like Alice because her long hair had been tied into a bun.

That night West got to confer with Reaper and Alice, getting it out into the open that yes, West's instincts had been right, these two were definitly sleeping together.

#####

Maddison put the finishing stiches into the dancer's leotard, trying not to cuss under her breath as the troupe head wandered by. She had been forced to keep off of her feet for the rest of the week, and to slowly start increasing the use of her foot after that. Since she had JUST been cast into into the lead character of Beauty and the Beast for the upcoming tour dates, she knew that she could only afford that one week's time off. Today was her last day of sitting down and relaxing. Though her troupe leader put her to work so it was about as relaxing as repairing old dance leotards could be. Maddison smiled a falsely bright smile, knowing it would irritate the haughty Irena Gibson.

"Maddison Avery, it'll be a pleasure to work closely with you. When you're finally able to dance again, we shall have a lot of work together, tweaking your skills until you're just perfect for Belle." Irena cooly stated, implying to all within ear shot that Maddison needed a lot of work to be made into a good dancer.

The small Irish woman's eyes narrowed, Maddison hated it when people thought that they could insult her like that. But she held her snappy comeback in check, knowing that Irena would kick her out of the troupe faster than she could blink if Mad mouthed back. So she swallowed her pride and beamed at the taller, willowy woman.

"Oh Miss. Gibson, I look forward to getting so much time with someone so experienced. It's a real honour." she replied, gushing just enough so that the dance troupe leader couldn't call her on the insult. Because Mad had just subtley reminded everyone trying to eavesdrop that Irena Gibson was the troupe leader because no show wanted to cast her in the lead anymore. She'd hit the big 4-0 and was no longer as.... appealing to the directors as the younger, fresher faces like Maddison.

That definitely set the tone for the day though, Maddison got to sit and watch, deflecting insults lobbed her way from the snarky dance leader. Thankfully her male co-star, Rafe was decent enough. If a little egotistical. One of the few male dancers who was undeniably straight and almost in your face with his.... night time activities, Rafe had enough looks and charm to convince the media that he was making Ballet the new sexy. He had this aww-shucks bashful look he'd pull out whenever caught doing something less than role model-esque, and promptly get away with whatever it was he was doing. And he could not help but try and convince Maddison that he would rock her world so hard she'd convert. Then again he was also convinced that she 'batted for the other team'. It was easier to let him think she was gay than to constantly be turning him down. Not that she minded the ego-boost once in a while, it was just the all-the-time thing that bothered her.

Rafe came over and sat down next to her, as if he was summoned by her thoughts. "Hey sexy squirt, how's gimpy life treating you?" he asked, sitting close enough that his shoulder bumped hers and his hip brushed against her leg.

"That nicname sounds so very wrong." Maddison replied, wrinkling her nose at him.

Rafe leered at her. "If you're girlfriend ain't cutting it, I can show you how fun it is to earn that name." he offered.

"You're a pig." Maddison stated, shoving his shoulder to try and push him away.

Rafe snorted at her like a pig and snuffled at her shoulder, trying to worm his way to nibble at her ear but she wasn't falling for it. Maddison pulled away, getting to her feet despite the pain in her foot. "I see you're already in character for the Beast." she taunted him, seeing the easy smile on his face.

"In all seriousness though, how's your foot?" Rafe asked. "I like working with you. You, you're tiny. But if you're sidelined, I'll have to dance with The Cow." he pointed a thumb over his shoulder, making Maddison giggle.

The Cow was none other than Esmeralda Higgins herself, the buxom European beauty that had somehow not gotten the lead role. Instead she was hilariously cast as one of the 'jealous sisters' which was fitting because Esmeralda was, in fact, jealous. Rafe had some to call Esmeralda The Cow because she was always obsessing over her weight. Cow was obnoxiously focused on following every trend and fad the diet world had to offer, all in the hopes of 'keeping her perfect figure perfect'. Maddison had some sympathy for it, but Rafe had none. But in her past, Mad had her own bouts with both anorexia and bulemia, and knew that weight was an extremely touchy subject for most dancers. But her sympathy ended when Esmeralda had started to harp on Maddison for being a cow because Mad had eaten some chocolates where the European beauty could see. Thus how Rafe had chosen The Cow as Esmeralda's nicname because that's what she'd called Maddison.

"I'll be fine to dance. Don't you worry about a thing, you're still stuck hauling my stubby butt into the air." Maddison reassured with a laugh. Although most ballet dancers were petite, she was considered 'bulky' because she wasn't a size 2. But Rafe had said he liked working with her best because she wasn't 'dainty and breakable'. Too bad he just wasn't her type. He hit on her often enough that it was a shame she would never take him up on it, he was just..... off somehow. She liked her men tall, dark and handsome and he certainly fit the bill but... that was the thing. There was always a but following her thoughts when she considered his flirting seriously. But he was a player...but he was egotistical... but he was just not what she was looking for.

By the end of the day, Maddison was frustrated and grumpy, which left her with a serious craving for ice cream and an action movie. She sat on the couch with her little sister Siobhan and watched Doom while scarffing Ben & Jerry's and listening to her eighteen year old sister wax on and on about wanting to go check out a new dance club. Shiv was.... a little more ferociously social than her older sister, but Mad felt the need to back her up, so she was talked into going out, even though her foot was too sore for dancing.

Jigsaw was a macabre place to go. It shamelessly used the celebrity from the horror movie franchise to draw in the curious and twisted. The walls were all done in sheet metal, stained with fake blood and blowtorch burns. The tables were all giant saw blades, laquered and the edges blunted to a safe dullness. The bartenders wore disturbing costumes and makeup and people writhed in gothic, horror movie driven splendor. Maddison felt more than a little out of place in her simple black pants and yellow smiley face t-shirt that read: I smile because I have no clue what's going on. The cheery shirt earned her more than a few odd looks for sure. Siobhan looked right at home though. The younger Avery sister took after their father more than their mother. What that meant was that she had dark auburn hair, creamy pale skin with no trace of freckles and she was tall enough to go on ALL the rides at Canada's Wonderland. She'd dressed in a tight black sheath dress that had artful tears in it, exposing her pale flesh.

"You stay here and mope, I'm going to go break some hearts!" Shiv exclaimed and melted into the club. Maddison laughed, knowing that the id the bouncer had let the underage teen in on had been her own.

Mad sipped at her cocktail, enjoying the fruity taste of the jolly roger while she crowd watched. Until a very handsome, familiar face caught her attention. It was there in a flash only and when she caught it, she turned, wanting to make sure she'd seen him. No... there! That handsome guy with the accent from the hospital. Wade...no West! His name was West and he'd kissed her. She blushed with a happy smile on her face, remembering his boldness with favour. She liked guys like that, not the whole kissing without permission, but the playfulness and restraint he had. He walked the edge of going too far and just being outrageous enough to hold her attention.

With a wicked smirk in place, Maddison hopped off her stool and ingored the pain in her foot so she could hunt his hot a** down. She found him swigging a dark drink, talking with a brown man next to him. Before her alcohol fueled boldness could leave her, she walked up to him, catching his eye and seeing a surprised but happy smile spread across his face.

"I came to give you something back." Maddison almost had to yell to be heard.

West frowned a little, not understanding what he had given her that she needed to give back. So she grabbed his shirt and pulled him the rest of the way down to lock her lips to his. Why the h*** not?