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Roxie's POV

This work is killing me.

I've been in Miami a month and, no matter how psyched I am to be here, I can't keep pushing myself the same way I have been for the past four weeks. I haven't eaten a solid meal in two days, slept for more then five hours at a time and Ally often had to wake me up on the job but she never got mad, just told me to watch what I was doing.

This brings me to today. I've just started my shift at Sonic Boom and I'm already falling asleep, my stomach growling so loudly I'm afraid it might start eating itself.

"Roxie?" I jumped, turning to look at Dez. I smiled tiredly, straightening up.

"Yeah?" I asked as I surveyed the shop for a customer in need.

"Are you ok? Every time I walk in here you're either asleep or a zombie," he said, putting his little Dez spin on the concerned question.

"I'm just tired. My rent forces me to work two jobs remember?" he nodded, giving me a sorry smile.

"Yeah. Is that why you haven't come out with us recently?" he asked. It was true, I haven't joined them on a night out since the first time they asked. Everything was just piling up and I didn't have the time, the money or the energy to have a good time.

"I'm sorry Dez, I just can't afford it at the moment." he nodded sadly.

"Well that sucks. If you ever want to have fun for free then come up to the practise room sometime. We always have the best time up there," he said with a smile before walking over to look at the Tuba's.

I glanced up at the door to the upstairs. I had watched all the guys go up there, sometimes not coming down for hours. They always come out looking happy though, Ally smiling at the front with a book held tightly in her arms. I shook my head, smiling sadly. I don't think Ally would want me there anyway.

A crash made me spin around to see Dez, lookin sheepishly down at one of the Tuba's that was lying dented on the floor, a sandwich in his hand.

"Put it on your tab?" I asked and he nodded before dashing up to the practice room. "Dez come back! I can't lift that thing on my own!" I shouted, running after him.

Storming into the practice room, I stopped short as I stared at it.

"Wow…" I breathed, my eyes instantly drawn to the piano and rows of guitars. I walked over, my fingers skimming over the keys of the piano as I walked past.

"Yeah, Austin and I designed and built it for Ally as a way to say thank you for getting Austin's career started," Dez's voice said from behind a door. I walked over and opened the door to see him hiding behind some coats in what I presume is a closet.

"Get out of there," I said, smiling at his quirky nature. He slowly walked out, his head hung. I giggled, patting him on the back. "Come on, I need your signature on your special broken items form," I said as we walked back down.

The form was something I had created to keep track of everything Dez and Austin broke and was proving quite effective. Austin had seemed to stop breaking things altogether when I was on my shift because he never got away with it anymore. Dez's list was substantially longer but it has gotten better from when the form had first started.

"What were you guys doing in the practice room?" I turned to see Ally, behind the counter. She must have come in while I was gone and taken over.

"Dez tried to get out of signing the form again and he hid in the practice room," I explained and Ally nodded.

"Right well, only authorized personal are allowed in the practice room," she said sternly. My eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh…ok I'm sorry," I mumbled. Ally sighed.

"Don't be it's just…that room is a little personal," she explained in a softer voice. I nodded, smiling this time before yawning, swaying slightly as the action took a little more out of me then I expected. "Why don't you go home Roxie, I'll cover your shift and I'll tell my dad that you went home sick so you still get paid," she said. An exhausted smile spread across my face and I raced to hug Ally. She stiffened before hugging me back.

"Thank you," I mumbled. I felt another pair of arms wrap around me from behind and turned my head to see Dez hugging me from behind. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just feeling the love," he sighed, squeezing me before letting go. I giggled before grabbing my stuff and heading outside.

Now that I have a free day, what should I do? Maybe I should go home and lie down, considering I'm seeing spots at the moment.

"Hey, are you alright?" I heard a voice ask as I swayed to a stop by the slushy cart.

"Wha…? Y-yeah I'm fine," I mumbled, suddenly feeling very hot as well as dizzy. I felt a hand on my back.

"Do you need some hel-" before the voice could finish, I passed out.

I groaned as I pried my eyes open, my head pounding. "Wha-What happened?" I groaned, moving my legs. That's when I realised that my feet weren't on the ground and that I was suspended in the air. I screamed, struggling wildly.

"Hey! Hey calm down! I've got you!" a voice yelled, not helping my headache.

"And who the hell are you?" I snapped, turning my eyes on my captor. All conscious thought left my mind as I stared into the amazing brown eyes of my saviour. He had a strong jaw with wavy brown, almost black, hair. His skin was slightly dark, more tan then anything and he was holding me in his arms bridal style as he walked. I gulped, instantly relaxing in his hold. I could feel the muscles in his chest, not to obvious like in a body builder kind of way, but more in a lean, firm way.

"Are you calm now?" he asked and I nodded dumbly, staring up at him. He smiled and my heartbeat sped right up. "Good, my name's Dallas," he said.

"I'm Roxie," I said, lifting a hand up to rub my temple.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Didn't you already ask me that?" I groaned as my head continued to ache. He chuckled.

"Yeah, but you passed out," he said. I giggled before moaning in pain. "Man, you must be really sick. What were you doing out?" Dallas asked.

"I was coming home from work. Do you know Sonic Boom?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, I worked there for a while with Ally." I noticed his cheeks tint pink as he said Ally's name. Great, everyone wants Ally. Oh well, I'm not here for relationships anyway.

"Yeah, well I was supposed to work until 6.00pm but Ally sent me home because I could barely stay awake," I explained. Dallas nodded, his eyes forwards. That's when I realised something. "Speaking of home, where are you taking me?" I asked. Dallas smiled.

"When you passed out, a little book fell out of your bag. I picked it up and noticed an address written in the cover. When I asked someone about it, they said it was an apartment complex so I'm guessing you know someone there," he said.

"Oh…did you read anything else in the book?" I asked timidly. Dallas shook his head.

"That would have been an invasion of your privacy," he said sternly. I smiled, blushing slightly at his chivalry.

"Oh, well thanks. Anyway I think I can walk from here," I said, attempting to get out of Dallas's arms before it became anymore awkward. He only tightened his grip on me.

"No can do, I'm a part of this now. I'm involved," he said. I blushed brightly.

"You sound like that guy from Titanic," I mumbled and I felt him laugh.

"Well that doesn't matter cause we're here," he said and I turned to see my apartment building.

"Great, thanks well I got this from here," I said but Dallas held tight.

"You're not safe in your apartment yet," he pointed out, opening the door with his foot.

"Yeah but the elevators broken," I said and he paused slightly before continuing towards the stairs. "Well aren't you a little show off," I mused.

"Anything to impress a pretty girl right?" he said in a deep voice. I laughed again before groaning, my hand going to my head. "You know if you check in your bag there should be something to help," he said. I gave him a confused look but did as he said, fishing around in my bag that was sitting on my stomach.

"A cherry slushie?" I asked as I pulled out the plastic cup filled with crushed ice and red flavouring.

"Yeah, I thought the cold would help your head once you woke up, you banged it pretty hard when you fell," he said sheepishly.

"So you didn't think to catch me?" I asked, placing the cup against my temple. The cold instantly helped and I sighed contentedly.

"Well it was kind of a shock…you know that's not how you drink a slushie right?" he asked, giving me a confused smile. I shrugged, taking a sip.

"It helps both ways. How did you know cherry was my favourite?" I asked.

"Everyone loves cherry. It's my favourite too," he said. "By the way, which one is your floor?" he asked as we started towards the third floor.

"It's on the coming floor. Once up head for 3B," I said. He nodded and continued on in silence, his eyes darting around worriedly. "I know this is a sketchy place but I'm fine here," I confirmed. He nodded but didn't look to convinced.

"Alright…here we are," he said, coming to a stop outside my door.

"Great, now you're going to have to put me down," I said with a smirk. He sneered playfully back before putting me down, keeping an arm wrapped around my waist for support. "Touché," I said as I fished in my bag for my key, opening the door and walking inside.

"It's one room," Dallas said in surprise.

"Yeah? And?" I asked.

"Seems kinda…" he trailed off, not finding the write words.

"Scummy?" I asked and he nodded. "Yeah but it's the best I can afford at the moment," I explained.

"How do you and your parents fit in this one room?" he asked.

"I don't live with my parents. I moved here from England once I finished school," I explained.

"Oh…are you sure you're goanna be alright?" he asked and I nodded as I sat down.

"Oh yeah. This place may seem gross and unsafe but that's just s front. It's actually kinda nice when you ge-"

BANG

Dallas jumped but I just stayed sitting on my bed, barely fazed. "What was that?" he cried.

"Gun shot," I said simply.

"What? You can't be serious?" he said, sounding distressed.

"You get used to it. Normally it's just someone trying to show off. No ones been killed so far," I said. Dallas still looked unsure. I smiled. "I'll be fine Dallas, I promise," I said. He sighed, heading for the door.

"Ok, bye Roxie," he said.

"Bye Dallas…and thanks for everything," I said with a smile, taking another sip of the slushie. He smiled before heading out, closing the door behind him.

So that was Dallas's intro to the story, hope it was ok I just needed someone to help Roxie who was in the circle of characters I'm using.

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