A/N: Ahh how annoying/embarrassing. I forgot that she already celebrated her eighteenth. . . if you don't mind, pretend that what they were celebrating was just two months of being together. . . and her eighteenth has only just passed, which will be discussed in this chapter. Sorry guys. . . .

Dustfinger: Wow. This amuses me greatly. You were wrong.

Me: ..thanks Dusty! How about some drama for you?

Dustfinger: Your threats are boring.

Me: I wouldn't say that when it's the middle of the story...

Meggie curled her fingers into her fist and hid them behind her back, afraid that if she saw them she might comply to what the vibration through her was telling her to do-punch the crap out of Roxanne. She had no real issue with her before, but just by that sly comment and the smug look in her eyes, and by Dustfinger's confusion-which was so clearly displayed on his face that it hurt-Meggie now had one. And she guessed Roxanne had one with her.

Dustfinger finally pulled himself together.

"What do you want, Roxanne?" he asked dryly, not really liking how she just openly offended his lover.

Meggie looked over at Mo, whose lips were pulled in a thin line, and then briefly at Resa, who was staring down at her shoes. None of them stood up for her.

She glanced over at Dustfinger, who was avoiding her gaze.

Meggie decided to speak for herself.

"I don't play games and I am no child. I'm eighteen, which some of you forget that that makes me an adult!" Meggie snapped. Dustfinger glanced over at her, his eyes widening.

He had forgotten that it was the other day. Meggie looked at him evenly, and then glanced at Roxanne, trying desperately to hold the tears, born from the sharp pain in her chest.

"If you've come to insult me, then I'm leaving." She went to step past, but Dustfinger took her arm.

"Wait." He said gently. Roxanne looked at Meggie, and sighed, losing the nasty look. Meggie's heart softened for her-she had taken her husband away.

"Why are you here?" Dustfinger looked back at Roxanne curiously.

"I thought she could talk some sense into Meggie." Resa spoke up, not meeting Meggie's eyes.

Meggie wanted to scream, but she held her cool, knowing if she lost it, what it would look like.

"I'm not interested in what you have to say, okay? I know what I know. And the fact you won't hear these people out is-"

"The people that helped Jeremiah escape, right?" Dustfinger cut in. Mo's eyes widened, and Resa turned the other way. Meggie glared at Dustfinger, who met her gaze evenly.

"Oh?" Mo said, his voice cold. Meggie gulped and looked at her dad.

"I didn't know till I...anyway despite that it doesn't change the facts."

"How do you not know they are lying to con you into something else that will get not only you hurt, but everybody else!" Meggie flinched not only at the harsh words, but who they had come from.

"That was my fault, Mo." Dustfinger said quietly. Mo ignored him.

"Because when I told mum about it, she had that look on her face that confirmed the accusations to be true." Meggie responded so quietly that they barely heard her. Mo looked at Resa, and she expected it, and met his gaze evenly.

"And what do you think Roxanne would do, huh?" Meggie continued. Roxanne smiled smugly.

"Tell them the truth. About you and Dustfinger. About your secret relationship."

Dustfinger froze, and Meggie glared at her. Resa didn't look surprised, she'd known it all along, but Mo hadn't.

"I have to sit down," he squeaked. Resa put an arm on his back and led him to the couch, past Meggie and Dustfinger.

Meggie turned to watch, while Dustfinger glared at Roxanne.

"This wasn't their battle. This was ours. Are you a sore loser, Roxanne?" Dustfinger advanced on her, and Meggie turned to watch, wide eyed.

Roxanne stood her ground.

"There's still some sexual tension, I see." She smiled, and Dustfinger stopped.

"Not between us." He growled. Roxanne flicked her eyes over to Meggie and then met Dustfinger's angry gaze again.

"Between you two? Please! I know you miss me. Miss what we had!"

"How do you even assume that? I am happy with Meggie! I haven't even seen you since that night!"

"Are you satisfied?" Roxanne asked slyly. Dustfinger's eyebrows narrowed, and Meggie turned away. She didn't even want to hear the response to that. She walked over to her father and mother, not sure of what to say, not sure how the situation would play out.

"I'm sorry dad." She whispered. Mo looked up at her blankly.

"You've been lying to us for so long, how are we meant to trust you?" he whispered, and then turned from her.

Meggie stumbled back, as if the words had been a physical blow. It felt like it, her chest ached and groaned under the weight of the words.

"Mo...how can you not trust me after everything we have been through?" Resa dropped a hand on Mo's shoulder.

"You're not the only girl in his life anymore Meggie." She said quietly. "I'm sorry if I'm just as important to him as you are."

The words cut, and Meggie gasped. She looked at Mo, expecting him to get upset over her cruelty. But Mo seemed to agree with her, and that possibly hurt more than anything, because she expected this from Resa, but not from her father. Meggie turned around, and almost ran into Dustfinger.

"We need to talk."

She couldn't agree more.

She looked up at him expectantly and Dustfinger paused, the words right at the tip of his tongue. But her purity, her innocence, wrapped around him and suffocated him, and he knew he could break that with just his words. Words were important to Meggie.

But she surprised him. She broke him.

"I think we should take a break. Clearly you're still hung up on Roxanne, whatever, and you don't trust me, and age matters to you." She looked away and focused on the door. Dustfinger knew that when she focused on something, and wouldn't look at you, she was trying to hold everything in. He hated when she did that, but now he welcomed it, because he couldn't comfort her when he needed the comforting.

He agreed, but he loved her too much to want to go on a break. But maybe the fire was too much for both of them, and it just needed time to settle down.

He hated the fact that he had always been able to control the fire, but now that Raine was in his picture...and he was the opposite, it was a constant battle. And he was drained.

She was too.

"I love you." He whispered, dropping a kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes, staying perfectly still. He leaned away, looking at her carefully, knowing he wouldn't see her for awhile.

She didn't say anything, though she ached to cling onto him and never let him go.

"Stay safe. Please." She was his gravity in his world.

She nodded, and Dustfinger looked over her once more before he walked out.

And Meggie let the tears fall.

Dustfinger: I hate you so much right now.