The Scientist (Tag: Oliver/Arianne/Liam)

Elizabeth peeked out from her door, looking down the hallway. The house was silent, as expected. Her parents both already left for work, Rosie went out to be with Damon, Jasper left a few moments ago for Arianne's Dance rehearsal, and Liam was asleep in his room. In result, it left Elizabeth alone to accomplish her mission. She stepped out from her room and made her way down the hallway, her feet not making a sound on the wood. Once she got to her designated door, she turned the knob silently and opened it, the door not making a single sound as she slipped into the room.

Elizabeth found her target easily, narrowing her eyes at him as he slept. Her brother Liam didn't sleep in this late, not ever since he screwed things up with Helena. He moped around the house and the instant their family brought it up, he shrugged it off and said he was thinking. They wouldn't never know the difference, even Elizabeth was almost fooled if she hadn't been involved. That's what ticked her the most. She knew why Helena and Liam acted weird lately and she contribute to it like an idiot! No way that this will just slide in her book of Good Intentions. Elizabeth needed a record to keep!

With that, she sneaked over to his sleeping form and inspected anything she could talk. Luckily, Elizabeth is the only person that could move around Liam without waking him up. A talent she gained from both of her parents. Small and quick, you wouldn't see Elizabeth in a mile away. Elizabeth tilted her head, seeing Liam's cellphone next to his head. She took it swiftly and unlocked it, instantly seeing a half written text message to Helena about apologizing. Smirking, Elizabeth took his house keys and made sure he was fully dressed. Elizabeth than placed his slip-ons in front of the strategically. He would step into these when he chased her.

Elizabeth pushed the door wide open and leaned against the frame before clearing her throat. "Dear, Helena." She started, loudly enough to where he could defiantly hear her nice and clear. "I'm sorry for everything that I did. I really am a complete idiot. But you are nothing what you said, at all. I don't know how many times I've wrote this same message, I feel pathetic honestly." Elizabeth read before looking up at Liam with a smile. "You rally nailed the pathetic loser, I must tell you that." She winked before escaping the premises. She ran fast enough to where he could catch up to her easily but he wouldn't ever capture her even if he tried his hardest. Elizabeth ran down the hallway, stairs, and out the door, not before keeping it wide open and locking it. The Rider Children learn since they could walk to always, always close the door before they leave the house, something their parents were really anal about. Once Liam shut the door, he would be locked out of the house for good.

Liam was in one of his dreams -- the same ones he had been having lately. The ones where it was just him and Helena, back before things had turned into a mess. He wanted to see her. To text her. No. He wanted to hear her voice. Her laugh. To see her smile. Feel her warmth. And, he'd fucked those chances and flushed them down the toilet afterwards like a prom baby. Maybe a baby would be better -- it at least made noise. Maybe he could talk to Rose about that -- take her baby and just put it in the elevator and send it up to Helena. Surprise! I'm sorry. Could be on a little note attached to the basket the baby was in.

Hell, his logic wasn't even making sense anymore.

But, what did he care? He could play off anything. Even his family believed that. Which, was good. Mostly. Sort of. They had better things to deal with than him. However, the one person who he knew he didn't fool was Elizabeth. So, when he was startled awake by her high voice in his doorway, he was quick to bolt up in his bed. He didn't trust her. He loved her, but he had learned to not trust her. And so, when he saw her with his phone, he knew she as up to no good. And yet, he chased her. Why? Because his phone was his only connection to Helena. He wouldn't give that up.

He barely noticed how his shoes seemed to magically slide onto his feet right beside their bed. Or how she knew the path he would take to get her. He did not that when he shut the door behind himself, he could feel the knob was stiff. She'd locked it. He patted himself down quickly and scowled. She had his keys. And it was freezing out. He wasn't going to sit around out there. So, he took off running after her. "Elizabeth! Get back here!" He called out, clumsily putting on his glasses so he wouldn't run into any trees.

Elizabeth continued running, looking at his phone. "Hmm, you should really finish this! Want my help? Let's see, You're beautiful, smart, amazingly perfect, and I've been in love with you since I could learn how to masturbate... Eww, Liam. TMI much? We'll take that part out~." She yelled out, pretending to type on his phone. Elizabeth actually turned off the phone, just so she didn't send an accidental text to Helena.

She continued running, however their house was a few miles away from the dance studio. So, they would have to take the bus right? That's why, Elizabeth planned ahead. Knowing that they would leave at approximate time the bus would arrive at the local bus stop, that's where Elizabeth was headed. As she predicted, the bus was right on time. She ran ahead of Liam and hopped on the bus, giving the bus driver two bus tickets. "One for me and one for the boy with the glasses coming in soon." She said with a smile before maneuvering her way through the crowd. The bus was a Double Decker, so instead of heading to the top as she normally did, she sat herself down right before the stairs and ducked her head, pretending to tie her shoe so he wouldn't notice her.

Sure, Liam was fast. But, that really only counted for his reflexes. He was in shape, though, so running wasn't too difficult for him. She had speed -- she'd gotten that from their parents. Just like Jasper and Rose. And not him. He shook those thoughts and focused on trying to keep up with her.

"LIZ!?" He nearly barked when she started to type on his phone -- as far as he could see. "Oh, you are SO dead," He practically whined. He was vulnerable and she knew that. If it weren't for the fact he loved her, she would be dead the second he got his hands on her. Or, at least, mildly... verbally punished.

He panted as he climbed onto the bus he saw her disappear in. "Take a seat," The bus driver sighed, shaking his head. Liam knew where she sat. He was good at figuring things out. So, he knew if she normally sat on the top, she wouldn't do that now. And so, as he plopped down onto the seat beside her, he was focused mainly on trying to breathe. "You know. Anyone else would hate you," He pointed out calmly as he sat, hunched over and trying to get his vitals to line up.

"Annnd he's smarter than he looks ladies and gentleman!" Elizabeth announced, clapping even though no one paid any attention to her. "Ew, you have veins popping out." She poked at one of his veins before shaking her head. "When was the last time you worked out mister? For-shame... For-shame on you, for-shame on your cow, and... for-shame on your dragon lizard thingy!"

The bus stopped at it's first stop and that happened to be close to their destination. Elizabeth grinned, placing her hands on her brother's thighs and throwing herself out of the seat, "Come along now twiggy, we've got a Damage Control to achieve!" Elizabeth bounced off the bus steps and headed out in a direction. She continued to this direction before she was faced with a familiar building. She looked back at Liam and grinned, waving his phone in front of her before disappearing through the front door.

Liam scowled at her, but couldn't help not to chuckle. He rolled his eyes and relaxed into the seat. He knew he couldn't get home without her, so why not play along? He pursed his lips and looked around, trying to figure out where they were going. But, his mind was still drawing blanks, as it had been the last few days.

When the bus stopped and Elizabeth got up to get off, he furrowed his brows. He climbed off the bus with her and arched a brow. But, then she was taunting him with his phone again and he scowled. "Elizabeth, that's not funny!" He pouted cutely at her before jogging over to where she had disappeared in -- paying no attention to where they were -- and went inside. "Elizabeth, give it.... back...." He trailed off, instantly knowing where they were by a simple scent in the air. Perfume. Flowers. Cherry Blossoms, to be exact. "Oh, you're the devil," He scowled at his sister.

He did not look around. He didn't dare. Instead, he found Jasper and scurried over to his side. "What's going on?" He asked, not sure of what Elizabeth would bring him to see. "Oh, Lili! Did you come to see me dance?" Arianne teased as she came over to them. He chuckled slightly and hugged her as she wrapped her arms around his middle. "Not... exactly. Lizzy stole my phone, and my keys, and locked me out of the house," He said dryly, arching a brow over in Liz's direction.

Across the studio, Oliver took a sip from his water bottle, then turned his hues onto Helena. "Want me to ask him to leave?" He said quietly. He knew the issues there -- he knew it upset Helena. He didn't want her upset. So, he could handle showing his less than nice side at times to protect someone he cared about.

Jasper raised his eyebrows as he saw both his sister and brother walk into the room. "Dance Rehearsal? You know, the one Helena, Arianne, and Oliver attend every weekend, coached by Uncle Al and Miss Olympe?" Jasper told Liam with a questioned gaze. Once Liam explained what Liz did, Jasper looked over to Liz who sat there, eating his chips. "Liz... what are you planning this time?"
"Damage control." She simply said with a grin.

"Hm?" Helena asked as she stretched her leg across the bar, concentrating on her breathe. "Ask who to leave?" She stood back up, her leg leaving the bar and her eyebrow arched. Before he could answer, Aurora's voice boomed through the room. "Alright, my little Chiclets. We have much work to do before the huge dance show in just a few short weeks. Today, I'm going to warm your asses up till your feet can no longer touch the floor with a screaming pain through all your muscles and then, you guys are going to show me your routines that you hopefully took my critiques to heart from last time. If not, well then I hope you don't mind crying home tonight. Places!" Aurora snapped her fingers and everyone filed into their places for the first warm up.

The way Aurora split up her class, groups lead by her star pupils performed full routines while the other groups continued to do the moves in the background but they stayed in place, making it abnormally difficult. The first group, lead by Helena, performed the most advanced technique Aurora could teach them. This included the Tango, parts of the Salsa, and a mix of other ballets. As the music started playing, the group started to perform with flawless perfection. However, Aurora didn't look impressed watching it. Once the group finished, Elizabeth went to go clap but Jasper stopped her before she made a fool out of herself. Liz made a face at him in question before he nodded his head in Aurora's direction.

Aurora didn't saying anything as she moved closer to the group, each of them standing perfectly still. "The choreography... superb. You guys didn't miss a beat, have a hair out of place, or breath at the wrong time. However one thing very important is missing. Would anyone care to volunteer to tell me?" Aurora asked though everyone knew in the room it was a rhetorical question. "E-motion. Emotion, emotion, emotion, emotion, emotion! What is a dance if the dancers lack passion, drive, charisma, a want?! Nothing. It's a piece of shit that should have never been seen. Ever. I am very, very disappointed in you. You are my most advance group and you just threw that dance away like it was nothing. Get back in line before I kick you out. Oliver, you better redeem."

Liam smiled sheepishly at the explanation Jasper gave him and nodded mutely. He sat beside his brother and slouched down. He jumped slightly when Aurora took such an authoritative tone over the group. She never sounded like that around just Helena and Hercules... Either way, he knew he was slight scared of her now. Great.

As the dancers started, he was captivated. It was hard to catch his attention, but they did. Or rather, Helena did. She moved so perfectly. He'd never seen her dance, had he? Well, not fully. He'd seen her little performances for fun, but never when she was actually trying. And, so, when Aurora shot it down, he almost gave her his two cents. But, he figured that would be the worst decision of his life. Or at least, one of them. So, he sat quietly.

Oliver smiled cheerfully as always and nodded. "I want Arianne for this one. She knows the routine best," He shrugged, even though she wasn't a part of the actual routine. She popped up from her seat against the wall and removed her jacket. He pulled a chair to the center of the room, then smiled. She sat down and crossed her legs, placing her hands on her knees in a dainty little pose. He chuckled under his breath and nodded for the music to start. At the start, he simply circled the chair with smooth, soft steps. As it stepped up, Ari got up and joined in, professionally sweeping the chair away with her foot. The dance was faster and honestly more intimate than she wanted to be with Oliver, but she loved the dance. So, why not go for it and attempt to impress Aurora for once?

Oliver and Arianne moved together perfectly -- there was no flaw. The only slip up was that Arianne wouldn't let him kiss her. She played it off in the dance as her character only letting him kiss her cheeks, or get dangerously close to her lips before dipping. When it was finished, she was on the ground, looking up at him from where she laid propped on her elbows with him standing with her between his legs. And, honestly, that was the tamest of Arianne's routines.

He grinned and took her hand, pulling her up before turning his eyes onto Aurora and smiling expectantly. He liked Aurora. And, he knew she tended to take it a little easier on Arianne when they were paired together. Saved everyone their ear drums. "Well... If it makes any difference, I think the whole no-kissing thing was kind of... cute," Aladdin piped in from where he was perched on the railing at the ceiling. He preferred being out of the way -- and he had the best view up there.

Elizabeth watched the performance but deviously looked at Jasper as he conveniently brought a book with him to read, not watching Arianne's performance with Oliver. She swiped the book and accidentally kicked it away from him. Jasper gasped quietly and tried to get it back but Liz slapped his hand and made him pay attention to the dance. He huffed and crossed him arms, not happy that he had to watch an intimate dance between Ari and Oliver.

Aurora watched with an unimpressed look, a general look she had on during performances. Once they were done and they looked at Aurora, she let Aladdin give in his intake. Aurora merely shrugged as she stood up and clapped once, "Brava, you managed to pull off a pretty cute dance. Sadly that's all I have to say for it. Oliver, darling, this dance is a seductive, intimate dance. You, pull off this seductive, intimate vibe from you which is spot on perfect. However, the next time you pick a partner, make sure they have the equal amount of vibe and talent as you do." Aurora hums, circling around the two before sitting. "But please, Arianne. Let me know there is some kind of talent that is stuck in there something."

Arianne narrowed her eyes and practically jumped at the woman from behind her back -- to which Oliver gently pulled her back by her waist. "Brittney," He said simply. She smirked a bit and nodded. "Brittney," She said with a smile on her lips -- like what Aurora had said didn't phase her. Aladdin smirked -- he knew what she was doing. He'd cooriographed this one. Arianne shot him a wink and then the lights went out. Arianne was in center attention on the stage. The others merely roamed around her as the song started.

The strut that Arianne did around the stage was seductive -- showing off that she did have that vibe that Aurora spoke of. Her eyes were focused on Aurora up until the song came to the climax of the beginning where Oliver joined her. If the last dance wasn't intimate enough, this one was. Considering Oliver had to have his hands in places she did not want them -- at least, not anymore. But, she could live with it if it meant not being cast aside in the glory of Helena. Even the parts where she had to sit on a table and open her legs wider then anyone should ever do -- she did it. Who knew a table could be sexy? The song itself focused more on the female's sexuality. The male was just there to move the tables around and add to the whole romance people looked for in dance. However, the strong sexuality Arianne managed to dance to was potent in the room.

When the dance was done, even Liam shifted in his chair and forced his eyes away. "Damn, Jasper," He muttered under his breath, his tone respectful, but still admiring. Arianne laughed under her breath as she panted and pulled her hair up into a loose bun. "Arianne... Well done," Aladdin smiled, pleased. "I mean... really. Aurora, if you find anything wrong with that, it's only because you're a female. And that's coming from a gay guy," He pointed out, smirking down at her. Liam laughed slightly and chewed on his bottom lip. He glanced at Helena, but his mind quickly refused to even process that the idea of what she might look like doing the same dance.

Jasper moved uncomfortably. It wasn't Arianne's dancing, he'd seen it a bunch of times before, but the mere face of how Oliver was touching her. He cleared his throat and rolled his eyes at Liam. But, he couldn't agree more with them. It did look rather, tempting more than anything.

Aurora watched as usual with the same usual expression and the same pose on the chair. She didn't move an inch during the song nor a few seconds afterwards. As Aladdin talked to her, Aurora simply stood. She clapped slowly, "Brava, Arianne. Brava. You have successfully made this routine into a Burlesque show. With the fancy props, lighting, and everything. Just, Bravo to you. However, this isn't a stage... Now is it? Is this... Musical Theater Class? No. This is Advance and Intermediate Dance class. And here, we actually dance. And in this case, the tables, Oliver, and oh, everything else upstaged you in that category. If you were trying to show me the vibe, there's a clear difference between acting seductive" Aurora said, throwing her stick to the side, Helena there to move it out of the way. Aurora to grabbed one of the guys dancers and as he moved to get closer her, Aurora twisted downwards. Her actions guiding him to support her body with one arm as her one foot kept her from sliding down. As he pulled her up, Aurora bend her body upwards before she untwisted away to the left of him. "And being a Siren." She let go of the boy's hand and Helena gave Aurora back her stick.

"Either way, if you want to talk of the little dancing you did. Your timing was off, your foot work was sloppy, and Oliver had to carry you through just to make yourself look a little decent. Arianne. I made you a leader for a reason, you better stop giving me reasons to regret my decision." Aurora said before she sat down in the chair. "Utterly disappointing and such a waste of my time. I'm honestly afraid to see your routines that you designed. Five minute break."

Arianne clenched her fists at her sides. Her temper was rising, along with her already accelerated heartbeat from dancing. Oliver tried to take her hand and calm her, but she jerked it away. "Waste of time my ass..." Arianne muttered as she grabbed her towel and marched across the studio. She plopped into the seat and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She curled up and leaned into Jasper's side. "I wasn't that bad, was I?" She muttered, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

"She's just pushing you, Arianne," Aladdin sighed, kneeling down beside Liam. "You're an amazing dancer. You're just trying to hard. You need to find your passion. And, that's not with Oliver. Come on, Arianne. What do you love?" He asked, arching a brow. "Jasper," Ari answered, like a reflex. Liam smiled a bit to himself, happy for his brother to have someone like her.

"Ew. Gross. You're like mum and dad. Ain't no one want or got time to see that." Elizabeth said, scooting a chair away from them. Jasper shook his head lightly, snaking his arms to her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers. He kissed her knuckles lightly, "You're an amazing dancer, Ari."

Jasper chuckled lightly at her quickly response, nuzzling his nose on the side of her head, whispering 'I love you too.' "You'd know what would be cool?" Elizabeth chimed in, "If Ari and Jazzy danced their special dance. Did you know he could dance? He turns more girly everyday." Jasper frowned at his sister before turning towards Liam. "Remind me to buy a muzzle later for that one over there." He whispers to Liam.

"Oh, trust me. If I could chain her up in the backyard, we'd have that dog mom won't let us have," Liam sighed over dramatically and pulled Liz onto his lap, snaking his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head. "But... I think it's a good idea. I've seen the routine. It wouldn't hurt," He shrugged a bit. Arianne bit her lip and smiled slightly. "Thank you, by the way," she mumbled to his compliment towards her dancing. "Do you think it would be okay, though...? I mean... Helena's here," She reminded him, pursing her lips a bit and wrapping her arms around his middle to hold herself closer to him.

Liam scoffed a bit and chewed his bottom lip. "Don't worry... Oliver seems to have her occupied," He mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. He played aimlessly with a strand of Liz's hair. "But, Jasper? I prefer girly, in love you to the little mopey boy with his sketchbook," he mumbled playfully.

Elizabeth flailed, trying to get away from Liam. "Get off of meee!" She whined, trying to reach for Ari or Jasper. Jasper's eye twitched a bit at Liam's response. Before he stood to take Ari out from the room, he tickled Liz in her very sensitive spots on the sides of her stomach and he harshly poked Liam at points of his stomach where the bruising from the broken ribs wasn't completely healed yet and tender. "Shall we, my darling?" Jasper asked with a smile to Arianne.

Liam whimpered at the poking, but merely pouted at his brother. "Ass," He chuckled slightly. Arianne giggled softly, then turned her golden hues towards Jasper. "We shall," She hummed, smiling. She got up and held his hand still as she tugged him over to the rehearsal area. "If you think my dancing is cliche and too theatrical, fine. No, I don't have the right spark with Oliver... But, I know who I do have a spark with. He's just... not one of your dancers. But, too bad. And, if you shoot down his dancing, I will rearrange your face," Arianne smile sweetly towards Aurora. She did have a bit of an upper hand, no matter what the others thought. Ari had Meg. Meg had Hercules wrapped around her finger, still. That all converted to Ari having Herc. And everyone knew Herc changed Aurora. It was all fun and games until someone pushed Ari's buttons.

"Oliver, move. Please," Ari smiled towards the other male. "Right, right," He sighed, moving out of the way and over to Helena. "We'll be up next, you know," He pointed out to the blonde. Arianne focused on Jasper and smiled. She let go of his hand to walk over to the radio and plugged her song in. As it started to play, she walked casually back to him and took one of his hands, while the other rested on his shoulder. "I'll let you lead this time," She whispered, smiling a bit. Aladdin crouched next to Aurora this time, as he even he hadn't seen this one before.

Aurora looked at Arianne and Jasper as Arianne began to speak of using Jasper as her partner. She raised her brow and crossed her arms, thoroughly interested. Helena looked at Oliver with a nod, twisting her finger as she focused on her mother's critique.

Jasper nodded slowly, winking at Arianne. As the music started playing, Jasper lead them into a simply waltz, nothing more and nothing less. This waltz became famous due to many high school students performed this waltz at Prom. Jasper and Ari started to learn this out of simple enjoyment and happiness from their hearts, with a little help from Aladdin on the side. However, they changed a few things to the dance. Most of the song didn't involved lifts and it generally went in a circle in unison.

Jasper kept his blue eyes locked with her warn hues as the song began to pick up. The moved together through the song, as if the movement was natural to them. Including the several of lifts Jasper performed with Ari, making her look like a beautiful swan in the sky. Jasper placed her on the silver of performance stage that was high enough that if you didn't see it, you would surely fall flat on your face. They performed around the space for a bit, even Jasper jumping on top of it himself but their eyes never remained off of each other. After the second dip Ari does, Jasper lets go of her hand, leaving her on top of the stage by herself as he looked away for two seconds. But as the music picked up again, he turned back around, his hand grabbed both of her hands. He turned her so her back faced him and when she leaned into him, he carried her off of the platform with two swift twirls, slowly letting her down and untangling her. He pulled her to him and half dipped her, before bringing her up again.

They moved in a waltz again, slowly, but as it started to gain speed, they moved out of the typical waltz. Each corner they'd fall into, they opened their embrace, their hand pointing to the corner before they twisted away from each other only to perfectly embrace each other again. They did this several of times before making it back to the middle where Jasper swiftly captured Ari bridal style and letting her down to perform the rest of the song with effortlessness. As the song began to end, their dance ended also, leaving only both of them standing still, foreheads against each other and breaths interconnecting.

Arianne smiled at the end of their dance, her heart beating in sync with his. She giggled gently and leaned into him, kissing his lips tenderly. Aladdin smiled from beside Aurora and gave her a look -- Jasper was good. Stronger than he looked, too. Arianne leaned back from the kiss and smiled before hooking her hair back behind her ears and looked towards Aurora and Aladdin. "So...?" She murmured quietly, tilting her head to the side lightly.

She took Jasper's arms and wrapped them around herself as she stood in front of him, leaning back against his chest. This was mostly to keep him close, and as a precaution in case Aurora decided to scratch at her dance. He was usually good at holding her back.

Aurora twist her cane around before she pulled herself up. "Arianne.... Do you want to know why I'm always hard on you? Why I always bitch at you, throw insults at you, and make you feel like you're not a great dancer? Because it took you, three long months to figure out who you really are as a dancer. It took you three long months to tell me yourself, Fuck you Aurora, I'm going to do it my way regardless of what you say. Those sexy dances you try to do, sure you're great, but you hide behind those, thinking that's all you can do. Clearly, you can obviously do phenomenally better. Your footwork, style, balance were untouchable. And as I say to any of my students that break out from their shell and turn into an exquisite dancer, Congratulations." Aurora says, looking back at her with a smile before bowing her head to Arianne. Aurora returns to her seat. "Oh and by the way, Mr. Rider. You should really put time into your natural talents." Jasper smiles, "Only for the ones that I love."

Aurora winked at him, "Great answer. Next up, Helena and Oliver."

Arianne blinked a few times. Was she actually being... Told she was good at something? It felt... strange. She tilted her head to the side a bit and furrowed her brows. Sure, she hid behind her more revealing dances because she was known as the slut -- thankfully, now she was breaking out of that thanks to Jasper. But, that was what she had grown used to for years. It was something she knew she was decent at. However, what she had just done with Jasper felt even better. Closer. More real.

"I... Thank you," Arianne smiled a bit, then giggled softly and kissed Jasper's cheek gently. She tugged him back to his seat and sat onto his lap, curling up against him. She was happy from a dance rehearsal. Had that ever happened before? She wasn't positive of a time. "I love you," she mumbled to him, smiling a bit.

Oliver smiled, nodding his head. He leaned towards Helena and smiled. "Come on, beautiful. We can beat that," He said with a confident smile. He took her hands and gently tugged her to the center of the floor. He cued the man at the radio and kept his eyes only on her.

Liam swallowed a lump in his throat. He knew this song. Far too well. And, as it progressed. He found he didn't want to look at her. At them. Sure, they moved flawlessly. But, the way he looked at her... Liam wanted to be the only guy to look at her with that kind of gaze. One of admiration and love. He shook his head and set Liz aside before he got up and moved from the building. He walked outside and into the alley behind the studio. He leaned on the wall and ran a hand through his hair as he took off his glasses and stared blankly at the brick wall in front of him. What was he still doing there? He could have taken the keys and gone home... And yet, he wanted to see Helena. He couldn't deny that. And now he was just hurting himself. Badly. But, no one would see that.

Jasper smiled back, "I love you too."

Helena swallowed a breath, not knowing how exactly she should connect. She hated being scolded by her mother in dance class and she knew if she pull off this emotion thing, she would hear about it at home. The last thing she wanted was to worry her parents even more. Helena closed her eyes for the second that Oliver turned away from her, it seemed like eternity for her, and she imagined the one person in her world that could bring out such a thing before she could blink.

Once she opened her eyes, Oliver turned complete into him, Liam. All she could imagine was them two, dancing to this with such effort, such passion, such... love. Oliver's touch, smell, smile all turned into Liam's, making her feel at ease. Making her feel alive again after two days which also seemed like an eternity. How many times did she check her phone to see if he called, perk her ears every time the elevator dinged, and watch her door to see if she'd see his face. But he never came for her like he usually did when she was upset, and that mere thought plagued her dreams each night. And even now, when the choreographed kiss came into her mind, he wasn't there with her, but Oliver. It thrust her so quick back into reality, that she almost felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

The dance was over and she could dully hear her mother praising them both. Even though Helena looked at her mother, her thoughts went back over to the chairs, searching for him. When she watched her mother wave them off, Helena instantly looked back to where she knew Liam sat the instant he came in, even before Oliver said something. He wasn't there though, panicking her levels of control. Her desperate violet eyes came in contact with Elizabeth's face and the girl mouthed, 'He went out the back.'

Without a second hesitation, she let go of Oliver's hand and ran out of the Dance rehearsal room and to the back exit. As she threw the back door open, the rain started to pour down at it's timely hour. Helena looked around rapidly before finding a figure in the far corner. She hopped down the stairs and ran to the figure, stopping a few feet away.

"Why didn't you come back to me?! I waited! You didn't call, you didn't come up the elevator, you didn't come to my room singing like a dead walrus on crack! You left me, alone! By myself, crying each night! I don't cry ever! But you're the only person who makes me feel this way! You make me cry when I don't fucking want to! You make me feel irritated, frustrated! You make me feel fucking Happy when I don't deserve it! You make me smile, you make me laugh, you make me love! I. Love. You. Liam. But you never came back and you promised that you always will!"

Liam looked over at her as she burst outside. When had it started raining? He wasn't sure, but honestly, he didn't care, either. He was slightly glad for it. Maybe his reddened eyes weren't so noticeable now. He shook his head at her words and bit his bottom lip.

"Helena... shut up," He said simply,pursing his lips. "I did'n't come back because..." He tried to find the words to tell her to get past him -- to go on. But, he couldn't. He didn't want that. He wanted her to himself. To have her close and to know that Oliver wasn't kissing her. That he was. "I'm sorry." What else could he say? "I... I know. I fucked up. Even Liz knows that... I love you, Helena... I've loved since I was a kid. You just didn't notice me," He shook his head. "I've waited through countless guys... Through my own brother... and, did you ever know? Nope," He laughed bitterly.

"I've run from this because I don't want to be the cause of your pain! The crying and the irritation and frustration... I just... I just want you to be happy and smiling and laughing -- like you always were when you were talking to me about your problems. I'm good at listening... But, to have to be the one to kiss you and talk and be... at least remotely normal? I don't know how to do that," He shook his head and ran his hands back through his hair.

"And yet... the crazy thing is, I really want to try. I've been sleeping -- a lot. Dreaming. I dream about when you first let me come to your home and you wouldn't let me leave. You just talked and talked and talked about Arianne and Jasper and everything else... Most guys would mind, but I love the sound of your voice, so I didn't care what you were talking about -- as long as you were talking to me," He murmured. "I'm just... scared. I don't know how to be normal like my siblings -- well, the twins, at least," He shook his head. "You need normal. Your parents are perfect... I'm no Hercules," He shook his head.

Helena looked at Liam, her violet eyes meeting his goldens, and she could easily tell why his eyes matched the redness of hers. "I'm sorry..." She whispered, walking to the wall across from him and sliding down to the ground. She tucked her knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"My worst fear in life... is to be alone, forgotten, broken. The main reason why I act like a bitch to everyone, so they'd at least remember me for a bit, right? In result, I felt empty inside. Empty of any emotion, care, or love at all. Hellena, the heartless bitch is the most accurate name I've ever been given. After the Arianne incident though, I realized that I didn't want to feel that way anymore, I wanted people who cared for me, loved me, and not unconditionally. But, before I could fix what I'd done, it was too late. When I dated all of those guys, they didn't want me, they wanted my face, my body... And Jasper... well, we already know who he truly wanted the whole time. I was pretending to be happy with him at the most, but I wasn't... If it was up to me, I would really just stop going to school all together, curling in my bed all day, and mope about my problems."

Helena shrugged before looking up at him, a smile hinting on her face. "However, this guy by the name of Liam just wouldn't have it. Everytime that I thought of remotely becoming sad, he'd come in, bursting through my door with a sound of a tone-deaf peguin getting ran over constantly, ordering me to get up and tell him what's wrong. His head bobbled constantly, he made a stupid grin on his face, and he's pretty clumsy." Helena shook her head lightly with a giggle. "But, the more that he came, the more I felt less emptied... cared for... loved. And as these things play out, I fell in love with him. The more I thought about it, the more I panicked. Even though he knew me more than I knew myself, I still felt scared of losing him. So, I made that boundary between friends and love abnormally huge. Everytime that my mind sensed his prescence in the room, I turned the other way, 'pretending' to ignore him, when I really wasn't. I acted like a small brattish child and I didn't know how much I really did hurt him by doing that. Pretty crappy friend, huh?"

Helena scoffed at herself before leaning completely back on the wall. "I fucked up pretty badly when I finally told him I loved him. Instead of letting him leave, I should have told him all of the reaons why I loved him." She shrugged lightly before looking back a Liam with a smile. "I should have told him that I love his goofy grin because it made me feel goofy, happy, carefree. I should have said that I love the way he tried to pull a cassanova each time that he fall or trip because it made my life more interesting and helped me feel like myself. If he could go, everyday, saying that he's a klutz with a happy face then why couldn't I do the same? His 'imperfections' made him all the more perfect, aspiring." Helena hummed lightly, a smile playing on her lips. "I love the way he is tall and slender, easy to relax on and cuddle to. Do you realize how painful it is to sleep on a rock? Quite painful... I love the way his glasses look on him, making him amazingly and unbearably handsome because he didn't look like the typical boy in Seattle, but he looks like himself. Even though I will never tell him that to his face." Helena said the last phrase with a hint of playfullness as she turned her gaze away.

Helena look back towards his golden eyes, crawling to to him. She opens his legs and moved in the absent space. Her finger traced down his cheek with a light touch. "I also should have told him that I don't need someone like your siblings. I don't need someone that are like my parents. I don't need someone who is perfect. And I sure don't need someone normal. Me? Helena Olympe dating someone normal. Think about it." She said, a smile on her lips. She placed both of her hands on his cheeks, "I need you, Liam. The one person that never judge anythnig that I do. The one person that knows me better than me. The one person that I want to shed tears with, or feel irritated, or feel frustrated with. I. Love. You. Liam Rider."

((typedthisoutthreemofotimes.apncnfpasfdafpn))

Liam listened to her as he sat onto the ground in the alley, not caring that the ground was soaking wet. He just listened to her talk. Her words made him smile, no matter how badly he felt right now. He just wanted to hear her talk. He smiled and shook his head. How could she think so highly of him? He wasn't worth all this praise... He'd never been praised like this before. His mother tried, but she didn't get through. He just smiled and let it go.

Now, as he saw her smiling over there in the rain, his heart was beating in his chest faster than he expected. He wanted to hold her. To tell her he was sorry over and over and just be with her. So, when she came crawling over to him to sit between his legs, he was met with her warmth. He loved her warmth.

He watched her talk, the way her lips moved with each word. He bit his bottom lip and grinned slightly as she said she loved him. He leaned into her hands and chuckled a bit. He didn't say anything. He just pulled her towards him and kissed her lips, deep and passionate. He didn't want to think about how stupid he had been to leave, after years and years and years of wanting to be the guy she said she loved. He just wanted her. Even if he was scared of screwing it up, he was more scared of losing her.

So, he rested his hands on her waist and held her close, refusing to put space between them as their lips moved together. "I love you," He whispered into the kiss, simple and sweet. "I love you," He whispered again as he kissed her jaw. "I love you," he murmured next to her ear before kissing down her neck and shoulder.

Helena places her hands on his chest, her fingers clinging onto the wet material. She kissed him fervently and let out airy giggles as he said her favorite words. "And I love you." Helena whispered.

Elizabeth peaked out from back door and made a face seeing the position her brother and Helena was in. Gross. She walked out into a rain, puffing out her umbrella and the second one. She placed the second umbrella against the wall next to the door before placing Helena's bag underneath it, containing Liam's phone, his house keys, and Jasper's car keys. "Don't have too much fun now~!" Elizabeth chimes before going back inside of the building.