Page 64 of Greased

I quirk my brow, “Are you sure?”

Shelly just nods, coming over to place her hands on my shoulders, “If I knew that your parents wouldn't have my head, I’d be writing your name down on my roster.”

“Really?” I stare at her in disbelief. I never would have thought dancing would have been something I was considered natural at. My only real experience has come from nights out.

I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t lost myself countless times over the past few months since the boys left me. Finding the bottom of the bottle in some dingy ass club seemed to just take the pain away, even if it was only until the morning when I would wake with a raging hangover and regret all the choices that I had made the night before.

But it didn’t stop me. Everyone could see that it was a nasty downhill slope to nowhere, but it was better than any other vice I could have partaken in.

Yet, it has given me something I can actually use today.

Shelly nods before pulling me back towards the dressing rooms, “I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. Now, go backstage and get dressed before the horny old Birds come strolling in and getting an eyeful of you. If I’m only going to have you for one night, you bet your ass I’m going to make a spectacle about it.” she laughs as she pushes me towards the dressing rooms.

I quickly get dressed, carefully storing the lingerie set in the locker set aside for me for when I want to come here and practice. I decide to bring the shoes home with me. While Shelly may have said I looked like a natural, I could feel myself wobbling and throwing caution to the wind, I know I will need to practice in them.

I walk out of the club with my heels in my hand surprised to see Pike leaning next to a blacked out Harley. I slowly take him in while he is busy scrolling through his phone.

He’s out of his school uniform from today, dressed in black jeans and a dark grey henley. His blonde hair is a perfectly tumbled mess on his head. His face is pulled down in a scowl as if whatever he is reading on his phone is bothering him.

Even looking pissed off, he’s still perfect. It pisses me off a little bit about how effortless he is and yet is able to look like he just stepped off a Calvin Klein photoshoot.

He snaps his head up when he hears me walking his way, “Hey Princess,” he smiles bright, the earlier frown completely forgotten.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” I give him a questioning look.

“I remembered that you said you had to see Shelly this afternoon and I just thought I'd give you a lift home,” he replies, an almost bashful look on his face.

I raise an eyebrow, immediately seeing through his attempt at being nonchalant. He grimaces as he reads the expression on my face. He lets out a sigh before kicking some of the loose gravel on the road before meeting my eyes.

“I know that you said we had to give you until Saturday but I just thought I could squeeze in a little bit of time with you, even if it's just taking you home.” Pike shrugs, dropping his eyes back down to the road.

It's strange seeing this kind of defeat on someone like Pike. Someone that always seems so sure of himself. Not in a cocky way, but in the kind of way that he has confidence in himself, even if at times he makes mistakes.

But seeing him like this, eyes full of regret, his shoulders slouched low as he absently draws shapes with his boot; I curse myself for feeling broken for him. I shouldn’t, but alas, I do.

The man before me is not the man I feel so deeply in love with, that still months later, he is able to crumble my resolve.

I close the distance before us, coming to stand in between his spread legs. He doesn’t look up for a moment, instead taking a few breaths, almost as if he is bracing himself for whatever he thinks I’m about to say. Preparing for the worst.

I reach up, grabbing his chin in my hand before slowly tilting his head up to face me. His eyes glisten as they finally reach my own and I feel my heart crack slightly at the sight.

“Take me home?” I whisper. His eyes search my own. Like he needs to be certain I'm not just playing with him.

He eventually nods as I take a step back, giving him room to swing his leg over his Harley. He grabs his helmet off the handle bars and instead of fixing it on his head, he places it on mine, fiddling with the chin strap.

He looks at me, his eyes serious, “I don’t particularly feel like being murdered by Dacre.”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. That man is deathly serious about helmet safety. My laughter seems to snap Pike out of his self deprecating thoughts as a small smile graces his face. I absently bring a hand up and cup his face, slowly tracing my thumb over his clean shaven face.

“We will be okay, Pike. You hurt me…” I trail off, watching as his face falls. I continue on, knowing my next words will put him out of his misery. “But, I hope to God that you will be there to fix it.”

His eyes instantly brighten. The hope that was lost returns to his eyes as he stares into my eyes. He straightens, cupping one of my cheeks in his hand, replicating the current hold I have on him.

“I swear to whatever higher power is out there, I will fix what I broke. You deserve the fucking world, Scarlett. If it takes until the day I die for you to forgive me, I will be on my knees everyday grovelling. Reminding you just how important you are to me. Telling you every day just how fucking lost I am for you. I meant what I said. There is no me without you.”

Unable to find the words after Pike’s declaration, I nod. He holds me steady for a moment as he takes me in. From anyone else this kind of moment would be uncomfortable but it's not with him.

With him, it's like the world just fades away. It is just him and I amongst the chaos. Two souls so drawn together that even if the world was fading away around us, we would still be lost in each other. Just like we are in this exact moment. Because while he believes there is no him without me; there is no me without him.

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