Cain had never danced. The two things on his side were his uncanny ability to copy people from observation and his fit body. With every move Jessica made, he mirrored in his own way, with his own crude and more straightforward style. Every turn was sharper, more controlled than the way Jessica's and most of the other girls' moves were.

He turned with the others and only a light smattering of sweat peaked at his brows, along with a damp part on his neck where his locks had heated his neck. He ran his hands through his white-blonde hair and stopped with the other dancers. He didn't bother looking at Sky, really not wanting her to give him another chance to be hated. Still, when he looked among the other dancers, his eyes skimmed over hers and he swallowed when he saw her eyes on him, looking at him in the mirror.

Strange, he mused to himself. He wiped his forehead, the right side of his shirt lifting up to reveal some of his hip and a section of his abs. He waited for Jessica to either dismiss them or send them into another bout of twirls and movements that Cain would perfect to his own style.

Sky felt herself blush even more. She turned to the side of the room that her bag was at, and opened it up, grabbing a bottle of water. Is he teasing me? Sky thought.

She gulped down the water, and used her arm to wipe her forehead, where only a few drops of sweat had gathered. Surely not.

Jessica looked around to the others. "You guys can go home now. We'll be practicing every day after school at the same time," she said between breaths.

Sky pulled her bag over her shoulder and hesitated. She didn't want to leave. She would only come face to face with her father, who would most likely be drunk and crazy as hell. She sighed, and got up. She walked over to the group of others; the belly of the beast for her. She could already feel herself getting nervous and shy.

Think of Rachel. She would be so proud of me, trying to socialize for once, she said, staring at her feet.

Cain went to the back of the room to stuff his sweat shirt into his bag. Once he did that, he slung his bag over his shoulder and yawned when Jessica told them they were dismissed. One brow cocked upward as he saw Skyelar approach the other groupies, his crimson eyes following her backside for a moment before he grew disinterested and began to walk away.

I wonder which one of those she's targeting for a fight this time, Cain thought to himself as he pushed open the doors of the dance room. He exited the building quickly and stopped by the vending machines to grab himself a water. He took a swig from the Aquafina bottle as he walked outside, setting his bag down on the concrete sidewalk and leaning against the building as he did so. He honestly didn't want to leave just yet, though his car was parked and waiting for him in the student parking lot.

Sky soon found herself to be the only one left in the room. She sighed, and walked out. She hadn't said a word to the others. Mark and Dara tried to get her to talk by complimenting her on her hair and her clothes, but she simply couldn't speak. Words wouldn't come out.

She exited the building, only to be met by her father at the door. He was the one person she couldn't fight or run from. He had an empty beer can in his left hand, staggering around.

"Skyelar," he said, his voice slurred. "Why didn't you come home on time, you little... you little ditch." Skyelar's dad tried to curse, but he was so drunk that he couldn't get his words right. "You should have at least called me or something, you stupid girl," he spat.

Skyelar looked down, and walked up to her dad. "C'mon, Dad. Let's go home and get you cleaned up," she said reaching out to grab his hand reluctantly.

Skyelar's dad snatched his hand away, whacking it across Skyelar's face. "I don't need any help, you stupid little thing." He staggered, stretching his words out, falling onto the ground with a large thud. He had passed out, and Skyelar had to drag him home or wait for him to wake up.

She was a bit scared that if she touched him that he would wake up and hit her again. She could already feel the stinging sensation on her cheek fading, but she didn't want to risk getting her nose broken.

Sitting down on the grass of the school, Skyelar watched her father's motionless figure silently.

"Skyelar." The voice of an older man followed by a few slurred words had Cain grabbing his bag and running to the source of the noise. Whether it was Skyelar or some other kid, he was going to find out what was going on. He rounded a corner of a school building just as Skyelar's father hit Skyelar herself across the face.

He blinked once and sighed when the man hit the ground. He approached both of them, giving Skyelar a wordless look, void of sympathy, before reaching down to sling the man's arm across Cain's shoulders. He hefted the heavy man up and blinked once before turning his crimson gaze back to the girl that hated him.

"I have a car in the parking lot," he said and waited for her to either tell him to get lost or accept his help.

Surprisingly, Sky felt tears sting at the corner of her eyes. It wasn't the fact that her father had just hit her. It was the fact that the boy that she had just hit earlier in the day was willing to help her. It made her feel guilty and sad.

Sky sniffled, and wiped the corner of her eyes, nodding. She couldn't speak. If she did, there was no telling what it would come out as. For all she knew, her voice could come out even more unintelligable that her father's. She swallowed a lump in her throat, and prayed that her father wouldn't wake up. The last thing she needed was for her father to hit the one person that offered to help.

Skyelar got into the car also, swallowing again. She reluctantly said, "707 West Springfield Road." She looked forward, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear and out of her eyes. She was officially embarassed. She had to have someone carry her drunk father to their car and then drive her home. She would probably have to fish around in her dad's jacket pockets to find the keys, anyway, which wouldn't be the best part of her day, given that the man smelled like a walking liquor store.

She waited for the car to start moving.

Skyelar got out of the car, multi-colored eyes looking at nothing but her father's sagging jacket pocket. She reached into it and pulled out the keys, walking up to the house and jamming the key in and unlocking the door, all the while trying not to break down. Her hands were shaking, and she walked into the house, motioning for Cain to follow. She didn't like this place. The only thing she had to look forward to was her dog, who might seem vicious to others.

"Fenrir," Sky called into the house, her voice a bit hoarse. The jingling of metal hitting metal sounded as a large doberman walked into the living room, looking out of the door that Sky had left open for Cain and letting out a low growl.

"Be a good boy," she said, reaching out to stroke her loyal hound's head. He welcomed her touch, and leaned into her hand, letting out a long, dog-like sigh as he did. She looked at Cain, her eyes darting nervously from him to Fenrir.

Skyelar felt chills go down her spine. Whether it was from the feeling she got when Cain touched her or the fact that she could feel the tension building in the room every time her father twitched, anticipating when he would wake up and try to hit something in a drunken rage.

She felt Fenrir's amber eyes go to hers, and she reached out, grabbing Cain by the shoulder. She cleared her throat and let out one word; "Thankyou." She let go of his arm, and turned around. She wasn't going to bother closing the door. She had a feeling that Cain would do it as he left.