If You Only Knew

Kaley's POV

"No! No! No!" Chris exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "It's step, jump, turn, step, jump, turn!"

"Come on, Kaley!" Leah teased. "It's not that hard!"

"Speak for yourself!" I grumbled. "Need I remind you that I am the Finn Hudson of our group? I can't dance!"

"We should go steal Cory's shirt for you," Leah giggled. "That'll give anyone near you a fair warning about your dancing skills."

"Or lack of," Chris joined in her giggles.

"Oh, you guys are just hilarious!" I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes at them.

"I was being serious," Leah replied, her face suddenly dropping to a very serious expression.

"I know where you sleep," I glared at her.

"Oh no, Leah!" Chris gasped loudly, dramatically clinging onto her side as he hitched his leg up seductively in front of her, which Leah quickly caught in her hand to help hold it there. "She's onto us!"

I had to struggle not laugh. I was mad at them and I didn't want to even crack a smile, but I could feel the corners of my mouth start to twitch. I knew that I had to get away from them. I couldn't let them see me smile.

I quickly turned and walked out the door.

"Where are you going?" Leah called out after me.

"To find Darren!" I replied without looking back. Once I was sure that I was out of their line of sight, I allowed the smile to form on my lips. It was impossibly hard to stay even fake mad at my friends.

Well, I wouldn't have to get mad at them if they would stop criticizing my dancing! I argued with myself as I continued walking down the hall. Chris had been teaching us the exact choreography for Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead, which looked relatively simple, but was apparently not as easy as we thought... Or rather as I thought. Leah was having no trouble at all picking up the choreography quickly. I may have been the stronger singer of the two of us, she was most definitely the stronger dancer. I couldn't dance to save my life.

I'll have to get Darren to help me learn it, I decided as I got closer to the hair and makeup department where Darren was most likely getting what he called 'Blaineified'. That way I can show those two up the next time that they want to do that song.

"Knock, knock!" I called out as I peeked into the room. Darren looked up at me through the mirror's reflection and smiled.

"Hey, Kales," he grinned, his eyes locking on mine.

"Oh, so you're Kaley!" the short, auburn haired woman who was slicking back Darren's thick curls smiled. "We've heard so much about you!" She gestured to the two other women in the room, a tall blonde and deeply tanned brunette.

"Kaley, this is Zayna," Darren said, noticing the surprised look on my face. "And that's Camille and that's Laura. They are like my wizard gods. I come in as Darren Criss and magically leave as Blaine Anderson."

"It's nice to meet you," I smiled politely at all of them, trying not to laugh at Darren's unique choice of words. Every so often, I'd catch him referencing something from one of his StarKid shows, though the number of times had started to increase dramatically since his surprise visit from his old show mates the previous day.

"Such a charmer, isn't he?" Zayna laughed. "You've got yourself a good catch here with this one!" She gave me a playful wink as she continued working on Darren's hair.

"He is," I smiled, leaning up against the door frame. "I got lucky with this one."

"You mean I got lucky," Darren grinned, making me laugh.

"Ever the charmer," I laughed. "How much longer till you're done being 'Blaineified'?"

"He's done," Zayna answered, sliding her hand one last time over his now slickly gelled hair. "Tada! May I present to you, Blaine Warbler!"

Darren stood up and turned towards me, holding his hands out as if to say 'Well? What do you think?' I grinned as I walked over and wrapped him arms around his neck, going up on my tippy toes to place a light kiss on his lips.

"You look amazing, Blaine Warbler," I grinned, pulling away slightly to look him in the eyes.

"Eww! Girl cooties!" Darren exclaimed, pushing me away slightly as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "Where's Kurt? I need to get this girl taste out of my mouth stat!" I let my mouth drop open with a shocked and offended expression as I stepped away from him.

"Fine, no more kisses for you then!" I huffed, turning to leave. But he wouldn't let me, quickly grabbing my arm and pulling me back into his embrace again.

"Wait, maybe I was wrong," he teased, nuzzling his nose against mine. "Maybe this ex-Warbler isn't gay. Maybe we should try that kiss again..." He slowly leaned down and pressed his lips against mine, sending a wave of butterflies crashing through my stomach. No matter how many times we kissed, I still got jittery whenever it happened.

I slowly closed my eyes as he deepened the kiss. I loved the taste of his mouth and couldn't get enough of it. But then, his lips were suddenly gone. I slowly opened my eyes to give him a questioning look. He just grinned at me, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Yep, I'm definitely gay!" he declared. "One hundred percent gay!"

"Jerk!" I exclaimed, shoving him away, or rather attempting to. But he was too strong for me and kept me locked in his embrace. When I realized that I wasn't getting away from him, I crinkled my nose and glared at him, sticking out my tongue in a very childish manner.

"Better keep that in your mouth," Darren warned playfully. "I'm not afraid to bite!"

"I dare you to!" I retorted, just as playfully.

"Ahem!" someone coughed, alerting us to the fact that we were still standing in the room with the three older women.

"Opps," I could feel my cheeks starting to turn fifty shades of red. Camille just shook her head, a smile on her face, while both Laura and Zayna struggled to suppress their laughter.

"I believe this is why people use the term 'get a room'," Zayna teased.

The comment was innocent enough, but it suddenly made me uncomfortable, as it reminded me of James' comment from a couple nights ago. Just the thought of him made me shudder. He had been giving me weird looks since that night, staring at me for uncomfortably long periods of time.

I didn't bother mentioning it to Darren because I knew that it would upset him and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the show again. I did not like seeing Ryan's angry side and did not want to have to see it again.

"Come on," Darren said, pulling me out of my dark thoughts as he led me towards the door. "Let's go 'get a room'." This resulted in the laughter of the three ladies as we walked out the door.

"See ya later!" Darren called back over his shoulder. "Thanks again, Zayna!"

"Any time!" she called back.

"So where are we really off to?" I asked once we were out of earshot.

"I don't know," he chuckled. "I just thought that it might be nicer for us to have a bit of privacy when you're trying to sway my sexuality."

"Oh, you still need swaying?" I laughed, stopping and turning towards him. "Perhaps you need a bit more persuasion..."

"Yes, please," he grinned as I pressed my lips to his again. But alas, our kiss was interrupted yet again.

"Kaley!" a familiar, high voice exclaimed. "Are you flirting with ma man?!"

"Sorry, Kurt," I grinned, stepping away from his 'boyfriend' and turning to look at him. "I just couldn't help myself." I struggled not to laugh at Chris' stance when my eyes fell on him. His hands were on his hips, which were jutted out slightly, and he had a very jealous, unamused expression on his face as he glared at me.

"Alright, but I better not catch you two agai-" he started to say.

"Baby, where'd you go?" a messy haired Leah suddenly appeared beside him. "Come back to bed, love." She grabbed his arm as if to pull him away.

"Kurt, who's this?" Darren/Blaine demanded from beside me.

"I, umm, this is, uh," Chris/Kurt stuttered, panic and guilt flashing through his eyes.

"I'm his one true love," Leah answered for him, suddenly turning him towards herself and planting one right on his lips. Darren/Blaine and I both gasped at the sight. Leah suddenly pulled away, unable to contain her laughter anymore.

"I can't believe I just did that!" she exclaimed, hiding her face behind her hands.

"I can't believe that you just did that!" I laughed. Beside me, I could feel Darren relax, the charade having been broken.

"I couldn't help it," Leah giggled. "I was consumed by my love for Chris Colfer!"

I felt a sudden twist in my stomach. How easily she said that word, love. I snuck a quick glance over at Darren. When would I be ready to say that word to him? To say it and truly mean it? Was I already ready? Or did I still need time to figure out how I really felt?

I wonder how he feels, the thought flickered across my mind. When will he be ready to say the 'L' word? Will he ever be ready? These thoughts made my stomach churn uncomfortably.

I'm not ready to think about that yet, I decided, lacing my fingers through Darren's and giving his hand a light squeeze. I just hope that when I am ready, he'll be ready too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darren's POV

I refused to stop teasing Chris about his kiss with Leah for the rest of the day.

"You know, it was really such a coincidence that her hair happened to be messy like that right as we were fooling around," I grinned at him. "Or maybe there was more fooling around going on than we thought." Chris' cheeks flushed with heat at my comment, making me wonder if my joke was actually more serious than I thought.

"Leah and I are just friends!" Chris argued, hanging his clothes from the first show back up on the rack in his dressing room. They were all freshly washed and ready for the next show that started in half an hour.

We unfortunately didn't get much time to hang out with the girls because they had too many jobs they had to get finished before the next show started and, according to Leah, we were being a distraction to them. I secretly thought that Leah was more so implying that I was the distraction, as Kaley and I kept sneaking glances at each other from across the room. Finally, Leah had had enough and kicked us out.

"We aren't going to be able to get all of our work done if you keep distracting us!" she had scolded as she shooed us out the door. Kaley just gave me a shrug that said, "Sorry, she's the boss. What she says goes." So, unwillingly, we had left, deciding to go practise our songs to help pass the time.

"Curtain in twenty!" someone called out as they passed by the door.

"We should probably get out there," Chris said, still avoiding my gaze.

Why? I wondered. Is it because I'll see the guilt in his eyes? I snickered to myself at the thought of Chris secretly having feelings for Leah. It was a crazy idea! ...right?

"Alright," I nodded, following him out the door after quickly peeking into my own room to double check that my outfit was ready for the next number.

"Watch it, fairy!" I heard someone snap as I exited the room. I looked down the hallway to where Chris had stopped and felt a flare of anger flash through me as I saw who had spoken.

"James," I growled, quickly hurrying over to them. Chris' back was against the wall, like as if he had been shoved against it, while James stood in front of him with a threatening stance.
As soon as he heard my voice, James turned towards me and scowled.

"Oh, of course!" he exclaimed wickedly. "Here comes your dashing prince, here to save the day, as always! Come to help your Fairy Princess, Lover Boy?"

"Don't talk to him like that!" I snapped, grabbing the front of his shirt by the collar and shoving him up against the wall.

"It's so amusing to see you get mad, Pretty Boy," James chuckled, indifferent to the fact that I had him pinned against the wall. "It's no wonder why you've never been able to keep a girlfriend! I wonder how long it'll take Kaley to wise up and dump your sorry-"

"Shut it!" I growled, pushing him harder against the wall. "You stay away from her and from Leah and you stay away from Chris!"

"You think I'm intimidated by you?" James scoffed, an amused laugh slipping from his lips. "You know you can't hit me. If you did, all I'd need to do is go running to Ryan. You've already got a couple strikes against you. What do you think Ryan would say if he found out that you were abusing your power over another employee? Or have you already forgotten about how you treated Kaley on her first day here? No, I don't think Ryan would be impressed at all."

He flashed a wicked grin at me, making me even more angry because I knew he was right. I couldn't lay a finger on him unless I wanted to risk losing my job.

"Kaley was right," I said, letting go and stepping away from him. "You're not worth it. Come on, Chris. We've gotta get to the stage." Without saying another word, I quickly turned and walked away. My fists clenched at my sides as I struggled to control my anger.

"I'm not done with you, freaks!" James called out after us. "We're far from done!"

"Tell that to someone who cares!" Chris snapped back. I glanced over at him and caught the slight grin on his face, which made me smile too. It appeared that Chris was proud of his sharp comeback.

"Hey, Dare!" Kaley was suddenly in my arms as we reached the stage door. "Break a leg! Last show of the day! Then maybe a movie at our place tonight?" An even bigger grin spread across my lips. We hadn't actually been to their place yet. We'd dropped them off, but we'd never been inside.

"Sounds like a plan," I replied.

"Everything okay?" she asked suddenly, giving me a concerned look. I gently unclenched my fists and smiled.

"Just troublesome people being idiots," I replied, gently cupping her face with my hand. "But I know what will make me feel better." Kaley smiled, knowing what I implied, and quickly tilted her head up so that I could lean down and kiss her. But just seconds before our lips touched, she pulled away, stepping back out of my arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she smirked. "Did you want something?" I couldn't help but grin at her adorableness.

"Come here!" I laughed, stepping forward to grab her. She quickly ducked under my arms, alluding me again.

"What's the magic word?" she grinned playfully.

"Please?" I pouted my lip slightly and gave her puppy dog eyes.

"Errrrr! Wrong!" she shook her head, still grinning.

"Pretty please?" I batted my eyes at her and stuck my lip out a little further, as I slowly began inching closer to where she was standing.

"Getting warmer," she teased, crinkling her nose slightly at me. "Only one more guess!"

"How about... Gotcha!" I quickly closed the gap between us and caught her in my arms, locking her in a tight embrace. I grinned triumphantly as I looked down at my trapped captive before leaning down and nuzzling my nose against hers.

"Gotcha!" I whispered playfully.

"You win," she sighed, though her lips still held a small grin. "You can claim your prize." Smiling, I quickly leaned down and gently pressed my lips against hers.

"Feeling better now?" she asked when I pulled away.

"Much better," I smiled, slowly letting her go as I moved to pass through the door. " I need to get out on stage now. I'll see you after, okay?"

"I'll be waiting," her soft answer slipped into my ears as I turned away, making me smile.

Once through the door, I quickly got my mic checked one last time before taking my spot center stage. I took a deep breath as the curtain slowly started to open and the music started to play. The roaring screams of hundreds of adolescent girls quickly filled my ears and I slowly looked up and smiled as a rush of adrenaline filled me.

Man, I love that feeling!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaley's POV

Time passed a lot quicker than I expected it to, and suddenly the show was nearly over.

"They're on Need You Now," Leah confirmed, walking back into the room. "Only eight more songs till they're done! Oh and speaking of done..." The buzzer suddenly went off on the washing machine, signalling that it was ready to be switched over.

"At the rate that we're going, we won't have too much to do once the show's over," I grinned, folding the white Born This Way t-shirt that was in my hands.

Can't Dance. I read the words printed on the shirt, rolling my eyes at the irony.

"Leah!" Chris' frantic voice preceded him into the room. When he entered himself, he looked just as frantic as he sounded.

"Chris, what's wrong?" Leah asked, instantly at his side.

"My sai!" Chris huffed, slightly out of breath. "I can't find my sai anywhere and I have to go on in like a minute! I swear they were in my dressing room but now I can't find them!"

"Did someone else pick them up for you?" I suggested, setting the shirt down and walking over to him as well.

"No," Chris shook his head. "Everyone knows that no one touches them but me or Jack, and Jack doesn't have them and neither do I!"

It took me a moment to realize who Jack was. He was the one who would bring Chris' sai out to him on stage during his I'm The Greatest Star performance. Chris did not trust many people with his sai since they belonged to him personally and, after learning that Jack had experience with them, Chris had chosen him to handle them for him.

"Ok, take a deep breath and tell me when you last saw them," Leah said softly, attempting to calm him down.

"Last time I remember seeing them was before I left my room before the first Act," Chris replied after a moment's thought. "I didn't bother to check for them until now because I was too busy changing to notice."

"All performers for We Are Young to the stage now, please," a voice announced over the speaker system.

"Leah, what do I do?" Chris' eyes widened with panic. "I've never done my number without them!"

"Relax, Chris!" Leah said, moving him towards the door. "Me and Kaley will find them, okay? You need to get onstage. We'll find them, Chris. I promise." Chris gave Leah one last hard look before nodding and turning towards the door.

"Okay," he sighed. "I trust you, Leah." And then he was gone.

"We've got to find those sai," Leah exclaimed softly. "Now."

"Ok, let's check his room again," I suggested as we hurried down the hallway to his room. We tore through everything as quickly as we could, but had no luck.

"What are you doing?" Darren's voice suddenly asked from the doorway.

"Looking for Chris' sai," I answered, not looking at him. "They're missing!"

"Oh!" Darren exclaimed softly. He knew how much Chris' sai meant to him. "Let me get changed and then I'll come help you look. I bet some idiot accidentally moved them and didn't tell anyone." I heard the door close to the room next to Chris' and knew that Darren had left.

"Dang it!" Leah cursed suddenly. I looked up at her in surprise. "If he's back here, that means they're already on to Chris' song! We're running out of time! Think! Where would they be?"

"That's it!" I suddenly exclaimed, Darren's words quickly connecting in my mind. "Darren said that they had had some trouble with an idiot before the show. Who do we know that would have a problem with Chris?"

"James," her response was instantaneous and filled with anger. She bolted out the door and I quickly followed her.

"Where are they?" Leah demanded, bursting into the green room. I was a few steps behind her, but I could still hear every word.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," James chuckled. "Took you longer than I expected to clue in though."

"James, give me his sai," Leah snapped. By this time I had reached the door, stopping just outside it as I looked at the scene in the room. James had his back to me and the doorway and was slowly advancing on Leah, who held her hand out, waiting for him to turn over the sai to her.

"What, these?" James laughed, holding out the sai. Leah moved to take them from him, but he quickly moved them behind his back, out of her reach.

"Nuh uh uh!" he grinned, wagging a finger at her. "You want them? Well I want something too. Something that you owe me." He tapped his lips seductively.

"Screw you!" Leah yelled, attempting to grab the sai again.

"Everything has a price, Leah," he laughed. "If you want these, you're going to have to pay."

"We don't have time for this!" I exclaimed, quickly moving into the room and snatching the sai from his hands. He turned around, with a look of surprise on his face.

"Go, Kaley!" Leah snapped. "Run! Chris needs those now!" With a quick nod, I turned and bolted out the door. I could hear Leah's footsteps behind me as we ran down the hall and towards the stage door. I stopped suddenly and shoved the sai into Leah's hands.

"I can't go onstage," I said, pushing open the door for her. "My outfit will pull focus. You won't. You're wearing black." Leah quickly glanced at both of our outfits and, realizing that I was right, nodded and bolted through the door.

Onstage, Chris was singing his heart out, though I knew his heart must be pounding.

I can make 'em cry!
I can make 'em sigh!
Someday they'll clamour for my drama

I watched from the wings as Leah quickly, but yet slowly hurried onto the stage, just in time to pass the sai off to Chris.

Have you guessed yet!

She placed the sai in his hands and a quick look of relief flashed across his face. He smiled as he turned back towards the audience and continued his song, proceeding to do cool tricks with the sai in his hands as he did so.

Who's the best yet?
If ya ain't, I'll tell ya one more time
You'll bet your last dime
In all of the world so far
I am the greatest, greatest
Staaaaaaaaar!

The music ended and the audience cheered like crazy. Chris smiled at them before hurrying offstage, while Lea, Heather, Jenna, Amber, and Dianna took his place onstage to sing the next song.

"Thank you!" Chris exclaimed, crushing Leah in a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Where did you find them?"

"Actually-" Leah started but I quickly cut her off.

"Someone moved them that wasn't supposed to, but we were able to figure out where they'd been moved and got them to you as quickly as we could," I replied quickly, earning myself a questioning look from Leah. "And it looks like it was just in time too."

"Yeah," Chris grinned. "I was about to have a heart attack on stage until Leah walked out with them. I had never been more happy to see you in all my life!"

"Never?" she frowned, stepping away from him.

"You know what I mean," Chris laughed, pulling her back to his side as he started moving more backstage. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go get changed!" He quickly left us, but not before throwing another ten thank yous our way.

"Why did you do that?" Leah demanded as we returned to the laundry room. "Why didn't you tell him that it was James who took his sai?"

"Because," I sighed. "There's already enough bad air between them and if Darren were to find out, then I'd be afraid that he'd lose it on him."

"Would that really be such a bad thing?" Leah remarked with a slight grin.

"Yes, Leah, it would," I sighed. "Darren's still on Ryan's bad side so he has to tread carefully. Remember, Ryan is his boss, so he can legally fire Darren whenever he wants."

"But aren't they signed onto a contract or something for the show?" Leah argued.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I've never had a contract, so how would I know? I just don't want to take that risk, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess," Leah sighed. "But I'm not happy about it. I'd personally love to see James get what's coming to him, especially if it's a punch in the face. I think he's well over due for one of those." She grinned, to which I just rolled my eyes, but she finally succeeded in getting a small chuckle out of me as well. The image of James getting punched in the face was one that I highly approved of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darren's POV

The moment the curtains closed, I wanted to book it back to the laundry room to see Kaley. Chris had told me what Kaley had said, but I didn't believe a word of it, especially since I had heard her and Leah talking through the door when they had figured out where Chris' sai were.

Why would she lie about that? I wondered as I headed towards the stage door.

"One moment, everyone!" Ryan's voice suddenly called out, making us stop. "Meeting in the green room in ten minutes! And don't be late! In other words, go change and then get your butts to the green room!"

Dang it! I inwardly cursed. My questions would have to wait. Once I got to my dressing room, I quickly texted Kaley and let her know that Chris and I had to go to a meeting so we might be a little while, knowing how Ryan liked to talk.

I quickly changed and made my way to the green room, finding an empty seat between Chris and Lea. On Lea's other side sat Cory, who kept exchanging quick, seemingly unnoticeable glances with her.

Maybe Chris is onto something about them being an item, I smiled to myself as I sat down. Feeling a buzz in my pocket, I smiled, quickly looking at Kaley's response.

Kaley <3: Alright :) don't be too long! We want to make popcorn for the movie tonight! :)

Darren: Yum! Can't wait!

"Phones off and eyes up here!" Ryan's voice suddenly silenced the room. With a sigh, I reluctantly slid my phone back into my pocket as Ryan began his dull, and probably unnecessary speech about things that we could fix for the next show.

I quickly zoned out as he continued talking. An image of Kaley cuddled up beside me, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and a smile on her face quickly filled my mind and I found myself smiling, wishing that Ryan would hurry up and finish so that I could go cuddle with my girl. I liked the sound of that. My girl.

Kaley is my girl, I smiled. My only girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaley's POV

"Are they done yet?" Leah asked for the third time. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Darren hasn't texted me back yet, so no, they're probably not," I replied with a shrug. "As soon as they're out, they'll let us know."

"Fine," Leah huffed, turning back to the clothes that she was folding. Suddenly, my phone started buzzing on the table where I had set it down.

"They're done!" Leah exclaimed, jumping up happily as I picked up the phone.

"No, it's my dad," I laughed, flipping the phone open to answer the call, knowing very well why he might be calling.

"Hi, dad," I said into the phone.

"Hi, sweetie," I could hear the smile in his voice. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I rolled my eyes at Leah. He was going to start with the typical questions and work his way up to what he really wanted to talk about.

"I'm gonna take this outside," I mouthed to Leah, covering the phone slightly. She nodded and I quickly turned away and left the room.

"So how are things back home?" I asked, pushing open the exit door that lead outside. "And how's mom?"

"Things are good," he replied. "And your mother is doing well. She had a bit of a surprise the other day when she went to the grocery store though."

Here it was.

"Oh?" I replied, playing along.

"Yes, apparently she saw her daughter's picture on the front of several magazines when she was at the check out," his voice was growing more serious. "Care to explain?"

"It just happened, dad," I sighed, running my fingers back through my hair. "I was going to tell you guys as soon as I knew if it was serious or not."

"Well," he replied. "Is it?"

"I-I-" I was at a loss for words. Was it serious? I was beginning to think it was... I hoped it was.

"I think so," I replied after a moment, smiling slightly. "Daddy, he makes me feel so special. I really care about him. He's... He's like no one I've ever dated before. When I'm with him, it just feels... right. I think... I think that I'm falling in love with him." There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Dad?" I said softly. "Daddy?"

"He hasn't made you... do anything, has he?" his voice was quiet, almost as if he was afraid of the answer.

"No, Daddy," I replied. "He's a real gentleman. We've never ventured any further than kissing and I know that he'll respect my wishes if things move further. I stand by the promise I made, Dad. I will stay pure until I'm married. I would never give myself away to anyone, no matter how famous or good looking they may be."

"I always knew that I raised a smart girl," I could hear the relief and pride in his voice, which made me smile.

"I had a smart daddy," I grinned. "I love you, Daddy. I miss you and Mom so much."

"We miss you too, sweetie," he cooed. "Remember, you can come visit us at any time. We're just a plane ride away."

"I know," I nodded, though I knew that he couldn't see me. "Maybe I'll have to make a special trip up soon so that you can meet Darren."

"We'd love that," he replied.

"I should probably get going," I said, rubbing my arm slightly. I had forgotten to grab my jacket and it was a little chilly outside. "I have to help Leah finish the laundry for tomorrow."

"Alright, sweetie," he sighed. I could tell that he was reluctant to say goodbye. It was not easy for them having their baby live so far away. "You be safe now. We love you."

"I love you guys too," I replied, biting my lip to keep from crying. It was just as hard for me to be so far away from my parents. I really did miss them. "I'll come home for a visit soon, okay?"

"Alright," he said. "Good night, sweetie!"

"Bye, Dad," I said before closing the phone and sliding it back into my pocket.

"Well, wasn't that just so sweet!" his voice suddenly sneered behind me, sending an uncomfortable wave of chills running down my spine.

"What do you want, James?" I demanded, turning to face him. He stood in front of the door with a huge, terrible grin on his lips.

"There are many things that I want, dear Kaley," he said as he slowly advanced towards me. "But what do I want from you? Oh, there are so many things I can think of."

I started taking a couple steps back as he drew closer to me, and suddenly, I felt my back hit something solid. A wall. My eyes darted around wildly for an exit, a way to get away, but James now stood right in front of me, blocking any chance of escape. My eyes darted back towards the door, hoping that someone would come out and help me, but the door stayed shut.

"No one comes out this way," James laughed, noticing where I was looking. "And your Prince Charming is too busy to come to your rescue now. It's just you and me, Kaley." He grinned as he stepped even closer and reached his hand out to stroke my face. I flinched at his touch.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, slapping his hand away.

"Oh, so feisty!" he exclaimed, leaning closer to whisper in my ear. "I like that."

"Leave me alone!" I shoved him hard, pushing him far enough away from me to make enough room for me to slip past him, which was what I did. Or at least that was what I tried to do.

His hand roughly grabbed my arm, pulling me back and slamming me hard against the wall, slightly knocking the breath out of me.

"I'm not done with you yet," he hissed, pressing me up against the wall, his hand still tightly gripping my arm. "I've barely even begun. You see, Kaley, you took something away from me. You took away my chance to get what I wanted from Leah. What I deserved! So now, you're going to give me what I want."

He leaned closer and brushed his lips against my cheek as he whispered in my ear, "Everything has a price, sweetheart, and now it's time for you to pay up!"