Taken and Misused.

My phone ringing interrupted my dreams, the bland ringing pierced through the sweet silence that I was engulfed in and made my piercing blue eyes open even though I so desperately wanted to keep them closed. I shuffled around under the covers of my bed and finally got up, tugging my fingers through my light hair to get it in a somewhat neat array. The phone was still ringing and I reached over to my nightstand and picked it up.

“Yes?” I asked groggily, I checked the clock next to the phone to see it was eight in the morning, I didn’t have dance class until eleven o’clock. I was not a morning person so this had better be good.

“Hello miss De Maur, someone is here with a delivery…” the receptionist was quiet for a moment and I heard a male’s voice in the background. “It’s from a mister Vaughn Hart, would you like me to send the delivery man up?” she asked, sounding slightly confused.

Vaughn Hart, I mused in my thoughts, it had been two days since I had heard from him and I had thought he wasn’t going to be true to his promise but I guess I was wrong.

“Miss?” the receptionist prodded and I realized I had fallen into a silence.

“Oh, sorry, send him up please” I said and I hung up once she said she would. When I had replaced the phone back on its cradle my eyes caught my reflection and they widened considerably. My hair was tangled everywhere and I knew I had to brush my teeth; morning breath was never a good thing. I scrambled out of bed, all traces of sleepiness gone.

“Oh mon dieu, Je suis une épave! (oh my god, I’m a wreck)” I said as I tugged a brush through my hair, cursing its length and tendency to knot up. I decided I didn’t have time to brush my teeth so I settled for mouth wash. As I was counting to thirty my doorbell rang, I spit out the mouthwash into my sink and dried my mouth off with a hand towel before rushing out of my room. The doorbell rang repeatedly as I hurried up to it.

“Cut it out Vaughn!” I yelled and the ringing stopped and I opened the door to a laughing Vaughn, he took in my appearance and sobered immediately, his dark eyes widening.

“You forgot something Princess” he said, snatching his eyes away from my legs and smirking at me, not in a creepy way but in a amused way.

“What?” I muttered looking down. I had forgotten to put on pants. I always slept without them since they just twisted and gave me a wedgie every time I shifted in bed. I had just answered the door without pants on, this was sure to get me wearing pants to bed; thank god I didn’t sleep in the nude I thought. “Oh Mon Dieu” I said for the second time that morning, my face turning a bright red as I hurried away from the door and into my room, closing the door behind me and shutting my eyes tight in an attempt to wipe that memory from my mind. I pulled a pair of solid black tights out of my suitcase and pulled them on, they were normaly for dance practice but I had gotten new ones so I just used these for wandering around the house, I fixed my white shirt before leaving my room again.

Vaughn was lounging on my couch, flicking through television channels on the flat screen TV mounted on the wall. His eyes caught mine and he grinned. “Maybe I should stop by at this hour more often” he said and burst into laughter at the sudden reddening of my cheeks.

I chose to ignore his comment and looked at the box sitting next to him. “What’s the package for?” I asked curtly, sitting down in the reclining chair next to the couch.

“It’s an empty box.”

“Why did you bring an empty box and say it was for me?”

“So they’d let me in, you live in a strict place you know.”

“They’re supposed to keep creepers like you out” I muttered, glancing at him.

He just pulled an expression of mock hurt onto his face and grinned again, “that hurt Princess” he said.

“Why do you keep calling me Princess?” I asked curiously.

“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked, changing the subject quickly.

I frowned at him but decided I’d drop it, I’d just give him a nickname too.

“How about eggs, délinquant (delinquent)” I said, my French accent sounding fitting as it wrapped around the French word. I had chosen that because he seemed to emit that vibe, he looked like the kind of guy you wouldn’t want to anger and his dark, disheveled appearance helped the image. Oddly, his persona interested me, most men I had met were very proper and feminine. Of course most of the men I had met were in ballet. Thoughts of Stephen intruded into my mind, that was one dancer who wasn’t feminine, or nice for the matter.

“Pet names, I like it” Vaughn said as he went into the kitchen, I frowned; obviously Vaughn wasn’t a very curious person.

“So you came over to cook me breakfast?” I asked, following him into the kitchen and sitting on the island as he searched for a pan in the cupboards.

“I thought I should drop in since I haven’t seen you for two days” he said, setting a pan on the stove and turning the heat up. I watched him as he cooked, a question popping into my mind.

“Where have you been?” I asked, I didn’t want to sound desperate but he was the only friend I had and I had missed him, although dance class had kept me more than busy.

“I had things to do that would surprise you” he said, his voice holding a spark of humor.

“I’m up for a surprise” I urged, tilting my head to the side. He had never said anything about himself, I thought the realization sparking curiosity in my system.

“Maybe one day if you’re feeling rebellious I’ll show you” he said, flashing a smirk at her as he cracked an egg in the pan. “But I wouldn’t want you to break a nail so maybe we’ll just do something less severe” he said, turning around and facing her as he said the last part.

I scoffed, sudden bravery erupting inside of me. “I’m not a wimp, I wager I could handle anything you do without breaking a nail” I said, knowing it was somewhat a bluff.

“Oh really?” he questioned, putting his hands on either side of my legs where they dangled off the edge of the island, he leaned forward so our faces were close together. “I think you’re bluffing” he said, cocking his head to the side.

I stammered for a moment, his sudden closeness startling me. “T-the eggs are going to burn” I studdered, unable to break away from his gaze. A crooked grin broke over his features and he moved back over to the stove and stirred the eggs. I took a long breath, slowing my heart rate.

“You should get a look at what the other part of society does though, might do you some good” he said, completely normal again.

“Would you show me?” I asked, the rebel in me stirring to life. I had a moment to think of how reckless I was beginning to act, what if I got arrested, he hadn’t said what he did was legal.

“Are you being serious Princess?” he asked, laughter mingling with his words as he scooped the eggs onto a plate and handed them to me then pouring a glass of water and handing that to me as well.

“Well…” I said, trailing off for a moment, Vaughn looked at me with a “I knew you were too chicken” look and I brought my confidence back. “Of course I’m sure” I said haughtily. I started eating my eggs, they were much better than the burnt mess I always created.

“When do you get out of twinkle-toe practice today?”He asked, a thoughtful look on his face, as if he were considering something.

I frowned at what he called it but answered anyway, “five o’clock, and you go on and on about being mister tough guy, dancing takes a lot of toughness too” I said, taking another bite of my eggs while giving him a dirty look that he just grinned at.

“Then I’ll be waiting for you, and I understand it takes a lot to twirl around like a little girl” he teased, raising an eyebrow as if provoking a retaliation.

“I would love to see you try and dance like I do” I retorted sarcastically, mocking his expression and raising an eyebrow.

“Alright” he said, his smug looking focused on me.