Hiding From the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Shake it Up, but I also don't own "Malevolence"

A/N:


Chapter 12 (Live for Today)

Cece spun on the dance floor, smiling throughout her rehearsal, becoming so in tune with the movements that she was able to free herself from the troubling thoughts she'd been having lately. To her, dancing was all about getting away from stress, relaxing. When she got into it, she truly got into it, more than many of the other dancers on the stage, even Rocky. Gary once said she reminded her of someone like that, a sibling or someone. In fact, he had a sister, he talked about her all the time but nobody ever met her.

Now that it seemed he was this Julian guy, then it was likely that the witness protection kept him from seeing his sibling or his parents, which was a shame. She couldn't think about this now, not during the rehearsal.

As she danced beneath the warm lights, her movements like water and her head clear as the sky, she started to envision her own world around her. She didn't see a stage with walls or light, she saw a field of lush green grass. A fence that surrounded her, and a heavenly sky above. This was her world, her life, the greatest feeling in the universe. There were days like these, she'd come and dance all on her own, long after rehearsal was well finished. Her escape, as she called it, the only thing that made sense.

Her eyelids lifted halfway as she started to smile and swing her arms in an upwards arc, visualizing the same sense of calm that she always strove for. No one was in her world now, no one that she didn't allow in there. "I could live in the country," she thought to herself. She once heard Gary say how he and his fiancé wanted a home in the country, how lucky their child would have been. "If he is Julian, then that means he was forced to rob a bank…I understand being forced, so I don't think it's something to be mad about. Not like it's my business."

Rocky had been sticking her nose everywhere these days, which annoyed the hell out of Cece. Georgia still was as aloof as ever. Every time Cece even hinted for her mom to tell her the honest truth, her mother would state James was her father and no one else. Only, this would be said with a distinct fear in her voice.

"What are you so afraid of, Mom?" She spun several more times, then fell into a split, placing her palms flat in front of her. Her hair fell in front of the right half of her face and her left eye remained open, gazing out at nothing in particular. She threw her head back, letting her hair fly like fire over her, then she pushed herself up without missing a beat. "To dance is to live, to live is to soar, and to soar is to touch the skies." Rocky had already gone home, at her request. She was going to get working a little more on her bridesmaid dress, which was fine.

However Cece was still greatly concerned about her mother's coming marriage. How could she get married, if she was holding secrets back from people? Or was it just her that Georgia was being dishonest with? Her eyes shot open and her dancing ceased. She casually brushed her hair back over her shoulder with a light scoff, for some reason, even dancing was unable to scare away her more rambunctious thoughts.

"I hear things have been pretty hectic lately," A familiar voice reached her causing her to flush and spin around with sudden haste. Gunther was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and smirking with pride. Her heart skipped a beat and her feet began moving towards him. They may not have gotten along in the past, and she argued with him purposely, but she was more than glad to see him back home, perhaps the one good thing to happen lately.

"Gunther, you're back? I thought you had like another day or two left?"

"They let me hop on a plane and get back here. Tinka kept sending me all these emails and texts about random shit going on so I figured I had to come back and see what was happening."

"Tinka huh?" Not much was being said to Tinka that she knew of, but by now, she did know about Georgia's infidelity. At least, that's what Cece was calling it until she learned otherwise. "What'd she tell you? I know Rocky and I told her about Mom lying to me about certain things…"

"Yeah, she mentioned that. Can't say I'm surprised. You and your father? Nothing alike." He swept his hand through the air and held his charming smirk. "You care about people and have heart, your father doesn't seem to give two cents for his family. Yet, I can't picture your mom having an affair."

"Well there doesn't seem to be any other explanations. At least, none that anyone is offering. To be honest, I'm not sure what else the truth could be, if it is anything else."

"Take it a step at a time, I'm sure it is nothing to fret over. If it starts to become something, then I'm sure you'll have people helping you out."

"Yeah, that'd be nice if it wasn't all so distracting." It was easy for anyone to say 'relax', but to actually do that was an impossible feat. He rubbed his chin and lifted his eyebrows. "What are you thinking, Gunther? Don't get involved, Rocky's already more than involved."

He waved his hand in the air, chuckling softly, "It's not that. I'm just thinking about everything I missed out on. You're still a great dancer." She did a double take, feeling her heart skip a beat and her cheeks begin to burn. Did she hear a compliment out of his mouth?

"What was that all of a sudden?"

"Not sudden, I've missed you guys. Rocky told me you were here, and I thought I'd come by and ask how you were. That, and, perhaps ask if you'd like to go out to dinner." Where was this coming from? She didn't tell Tinka she liked him or anything, did she? Rocky knew, but probably wouldn't tell Tinka, who would have told Gunther. Or was it more than that? Did he actually like her? She was flabbergasted, stammering for words.

"I uh…I don't know what to say. I guess it would be nice to get away from all the stress I've been going through, and then, there's a lot to tell you."

"I'll say. Gary's gone, Ty's hosting, and all these other things are going on. I believe Tinka said your mother's getting married?"

"There is that. I don't feel very congratulatory though…" Her shoulders slumped and she walked over to a nearby round table where her water bottle was sitting. "How can I when I have this feeling inside that my mom's been lying to me about something all my life? I don't question she loves me, but…I'm beginning to question things that, well, things I shouldn't even be questioning."

"Like what?"

"My father, for instance. Who the hell is my father?" She uncapped her bottle and brought it to her lips. As she guzzled down the cool liquid, she began thinking back to the visions of that woman. Was she somehow related? How absurd of a thought would it be to think Georgia could even lie about motherhood? She didn't believe that, she didn't want to think about that, because that would be the ultimate lie. If that were the case, it would be hard to come back from it.

"Your father is the man who raised you."

"I wasn't raised by anyone. My dad never spent time with me, only pretend. He confirmed that he'd been impotent all my life, and initially, he's not my dad. I want to know who my dad is, but asking mom is like trying to drive a nail through concrete…Anyway, I think I'll take you up on dinner. What do you have in mind?"

"Luca's, downtown. I know it's a pretty pricy place, but it could work right?"

"Yes, but one thing…" She pointed to the flashy outfit he was wearing. He looked down, chuckling nervously. He was wearing a similar flashy outfit to what his dad wore the day she met their parents. "I won't try to change you or anything like that, but…"

"Luca's is a formal type place anyway…You realize I wear these outfits for Tinka's sake, right? I mean someone has to make her feel like she's not the only one in the world like that." Cece smirked and began walking past Gunther, patting his shoulder.

"Don't blame it on your sister, Gunther."

"Hey!"

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked to him with a wide grin, "I'll be ready at six?"

"Awesome."

The night was quiet, and when Cece arrived at the restaurant with Gunther, she was overwhelmed by how beautiful the place looked. The ceiling was open, with only a glass window stretching over it to let people see out into the sky but to keep weather conditions out. Tables were placed strategically about the place, lights were dim, and a violinist set the scene with beautiful peaceful music.

Gunther wore a nice navy blue suit over a light blue dress shirt and a dark blue tie. Cece wore a purple dress with blue gloved arm warmers. "So this is where you take me on a first date? Are we looking at this as that or…" Gunther rubbed the back of his head and slowly nodded, his cheeks grew a hint of red. She delighted in seeing this, but it made her curious as to when he started thinking of her this way. "You want to tell me when you decided to ask me out?"

"I kept thinking about you when I was back in the old country. Thought about our spring dance a couple years back, and well…I wanted to make up for that."

"Really?" She barely remembered that! It was one of the most humiliating moments of her life, and oddly enough, she seemed to remember Gary giving Gunther a stern talk about it afterwards. Not her mother, but Gary. "I haven't really thought about that in a long time…"

"Tinka said you might not, but yeah, I felt bad about it. I had feelings for you then, but I was younger and less mature." She started to smile and put her head to his shoulder, grateful for what he was saying. It had to be hard for him to say such things to make her feel so good, and if she had her way, he'd say them all the time. She almost had to pinch herself, to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "It's funny. You know what Rocky said to me when I got home?"

"What?" When did Rocky meet up with him? Likely whenever Ty and Tinka were hanging out, which they'd been doing a lot lately.

"I got home and Ty was over with Tinka and his sister. I announced there I wanted to ask you out, and well…" He let out a nervous chuckle. A server guided them to their seats and handed them menus, stating he'd be back with water shortly. The table had a candle centerpiece and soft leather seats. Gunther pat his hand on the table and closed his eyes, smirking slightly. "Rocky gives me this look and says, 'if you screw with her or hurt her in any way, I will drop kick you off the face of this earth'."

"Best believe her, she'll do it too!" She laughed openly and Gunther grinned, nodding his head.

"I believe it. Ty says she still practices martial arts, so I know when I'm outnumbered in a one against one match." After they both stopped laughing, Gunther glanced into her eyes and breathed in slowly. She was amazed, and surprised, to see him so nervous. He was always confident, always. "Anyway, I missed our talks and meetings and everything…I'm glad to be home and glad you're here."

"Yeah, I'll be honest, I'm glad you're here too." He really did take her mind off the more frustrating things, and that was always a great thing. Her mom wasn't sure what to think about her going off on a date, but she didn't say much. It was Flynn that did the talking, making sure she'd be all right and that he wanted to see Gunther whenever he got the chance. "So maybe we give this a chance, see where it goes? I'm willing, if you're willing."

"Definitely."

"I'd ask if I need to ask my dad's approval, but I'm not sure who my dad is, so who cares?" She laughed again and Gunther smiled, slowly shaking his head. She didn't mean to make a joke out of such a tense topic, but it was the only way she knew how to deal with her current situation.

"You know what it sounds like to me, Cece? It sounds like your mom's hiding from something…She knows something and doesn't want to let it out."

"Yeah she's hiding from something. We call that, the truth. Rocky's dead set on figuring out what it is, apparently, and I guess I shouldn't have a problem with it. Mom and I aren't exactly on the best of terms right now…"

"I understand. I'm sorry for that."

"Don't be. There isn't anything you, or anyone else can do about it. Thanks for bringing me out to dinner though."

"Well." She watched him smile, causing her to smile back and to allow herself to be warmed by her emotions. She didn't want this night to end, although it would eventually. "Tonight can only get better, right? So let's focus on where we are right now, and worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes."

"Yeah…yeah, that makes sense. Thank you, Gunther." The server came by with their water and asked if they had any thoughts to what they'd like to drink aside from water. They were fine with that and had yet to look through the menu, so the server acknowledged and went off to return later. Cece picked up her menu, giving Gunther a subtle smile before looking down at the food options. He was correct, the night could only get better, she wasn't about to let the current ongoing events ruin this moment.


So what do you think? Seems Gunther has some good advice. What are your thoughts and whatnot?