Flames of Love

Disclaimer: Don't own Shake it Up.

A/N:

Chapter 21 (Getting to Know You)

Cece glanced back from her desk as Gunther climbed in through her bedroom window, she'd called him over to help her out with her homework. It was a risk she was going to take, but if they were going to be in a serious relationship, there were still things he needed to know about her. One of those things, as much as it scared her, was her dyslexia. Although it wasn't as bad as it used to be when she was a kid, she still had some difficulty reading, and it did affect her grades.

"You called?" Gunther landed on his feet and started walking over, dressed in some almost ridiculous outfit that Tinka drafted up, or at least that was what he said. She didn't care, she just wanted him to be happy. He didn't seem happy to wear those outfits, but the reason he wore them, she knew was because he was afraid of Tinka. So, she wasn't going to force him not to wear them. "Doesn't Rocky usually help you out with your homework?"

"Yes, but she's not available today. Plus, she's not too good at helping me with certain subjects…" Gunther hummed and moved over to the desk. She stared down at her textbook and pulled the corner of her lip back. A little over a year ago, Rocky found out she was dyslexic, and it had troubled her deeply. Henry helped her greatly, so she was actually able to do that at a normal level. It was reading that was still, somewhat difficult. The letters were messed up in some places, the 'B's' looked like D's, and sometimes she couldn't get her Q's with the P's or the G's, so it took her a little bit of time to read that word over again with each letter to see what it could possibly be. It was frustrating as hell, and it actually made her English class a living nightmare. No longer was math the difficult subject.

"So what do you need help with?"

"Sadly. English." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her heart was already beginning to pick up speed, mostly due to the anxiety of having to tell him about her Dyslexia. It was like Rocky said all that time ago, everyone has some kind of baggage they'd have to carry around with them. He would understand, because he had a sister with a disorder, though it was completely different. Tinka's was a personality disorder, hers was just a learning disorder. Still, both could be hell.

"Okay. You've never asked me to help you with homework before, so I'll try my best."

"Truth, it's not so much that I need your help, as it is, there's something I think you should know about me." She spun around and propped her elbows on the desk as he sat on the edge of her bed. Her chest rose and fell as she titled her head back and exhaled. She crossed her leg over and started tapping her foot, trying to figure out if she should just tell him straight up or not. The problem wasn't as bad on her self esteem as it used to be, but she still didn't like people knowing about it. "This is the one thing you can't tease me about. It's serious." She thinned her lips and leaned forward, clasping her hands together between her knees. His brow meshed together and a slow crease formed along his forehead.

"Cece, whatever it is, I won't tease you over. I care about you, if it's something bad, I'll support you." Her heart lifted for the moment and she slowly nodded her head.

"I know. That's why I trust you with this. There's a lot of trust involved here, so you can't tell anyone else." He reached over and put his hand over hers. She smiled and lifted her gaze up to his wondrous eyes. They were so full of trust, of concern, and most of all, love. "The only other person that knows is Rocky, and she found out a while back. I didn't want her, or anyone else to know, because…people can definitely be cruel. Gunther…" She closed her eyes and took a bit of time to let it sink in what she was about to do. There was no turning back now. "I know you won't leave me because of this…"

"Of course not."

"Okay. Gunther, I have a learning disorder." She opened her eyes and he gave her a gentle, affirmative nod. He didn't appear shocked, horrified, or turned off in any way. It was a bit surprising, but at the same time, she was relieved. "I'm dyslexic. It isn't as bad as it used to be, but sometimes I still have trouble reading. Once I had people who knew how to help me out with my subjects, I was doing great, but like I just said…still have some trouble. And sometimes, it does affect my dancing. The directions can get a bit confused, but I just…I have to suck it up."

"Thank you for trusting me with that." He hugged her, once more taking her by surprise. "I'm not exactly sure what to say, besides, I'll always be right here for you." She smiled at him and put her head to his shoulder.

"So, you're not worried about dating someone with dyslexia?"

"Well…while we're on the subject of disorders…My sister has bipolar disorder and some other thing that makes her clingy as hell. My cousin Klaus has childhood schizophrenia, my dad has an extra toe on each foot-"

"The clingy thing is called Dependent Personality Disorder, by the way. She hasn't learned to depend on herself and needs a safety net, if you will. It means the person shows an extreme need to be taken care of, which leads to fears of separation, as well as passive and clingy behavior."

"Right. Well…I am obsessive-compulsive." She lifted her eyebrows with shock and shifted to the right a bit. He was OCD? It didn't seem like that was so bad. "I'm more or less in control of it, but when it comes to certain things like the placement of dishes, they have to be placed a certain way. The forks go on one side with the knife, the spoon goes on the other. When I make my bed, it takes a little while, because I have to have the blanket lined up just right, they have to be even on both sides. If it's not neat and tidy, I have to perfect it."

"Well that explains a couple things." He raised an eyebrow and curved up the corner of his lips.

"What does that explain?"

"Why you always look so damn neat, without a hair out of place. Would you ever go crazy if you saw something out of order?"

"Go crazy? No…Hell, my own bedroom isn't one hundred percent clean. Not nearly as clean as Tinka's is. No one really knows this about me, though. I actually do make a bit of an effort not to tell my family every single thing about me."

"Well your dad seems to know you're not happy with the way your life's been going. Hell, they all seem to know it, except Tinka." He scrunched his nose a bit and she exhaled. "Talking to your grandma, your mom, and your dad…they all say you're not happy with your life, and they each seem to think you've met someone who is making you happy 'finally'."

"Well…I have." He poked her ribcage and she quickly flinched, laughing once as the poke tickled her side. "Oh hey, I forgot you were ticklish." Her eyes widened and she put up her hands, laughing slightly.

"Oh don't you dare. I'm going to have to kill Rocky for revealing that to you, aren't I?" He wagged his eyebrows and started to tickle her sides, so she quickly leapt from her seat, but landed on the bed beside him. "That's not a nice dodge."

"Hah." He continued tickling her sides, causing her to laugh even more, increasing her volume. After a bit of time, she silenced herself, knowing Flynn or her mother might come in wondering what was going on. The two of them lay beside each other on top of the covers, gazing up at the brown ceiling fan above them.

Cece had on a goofy grin, pleased that Gunther was okay with her having dyslexia. Of course, he did just reveal that disorders really didn't bother him, as various members of his family each had something wrong with them.

She turned onto her side and curled her fingers in on his chest. He looked to her, meeting her eyes with a smile. "I love you, Cece." Her heart slammed into her ribs and the air around her grew silent. She leaned in closer, putting her head just beneath his chin, and closing her eyes.

"I…" Her heart became heavy and her eyes filled with pain as she recalled both Travis and Frankie. Her forehead twitched as she recalled Frankie slapping her across the face and telling her what to do, and Travis threatening her with that knife. It was strange, Rocky briefly dated Frankie herself when she went all "cool" mode, then Frankie dated Cece after she became "cool" enough to push everyone out of that party. Basically all it showed was he was a manipulative jerk, hence, Rocky kicked his ass. She wasn't sure if she could trust her emotions, but she did care about Gunther. Enough to say that she might even love him, and she trusted him not to hurt her. The second she felt his hand on hers, the memories of the other two guys vanished in an instant, and then there was only Gunther.

"You don't need to say it. Not now. Just, whenever you're ready to."

"Thank you…" She breathed out and looked up at him. "Gunther?"

"Yes?"

"Has Tinka ever gone to a doctor or a therapist for her bipolar?"

"Uh, no. She's only been to a doctor twice and both times they diagnosed her. She's never received anything after that. You think she should?"

"At least a therapist, yes. A doctor can prescribe something like Cymbalta that can help balance out that depression. Although, a therapist would be better than an anti-depressant. She needs someone to talk to that can understand her, you know."

"So why can't that be you? You understand Bipolar Disorder better than any of us, thanks to that cousin of yours." She chuckled nervously and closed her yes. She was pretty sure it was not so easily said or done.

"Gunther, Tinka does not like me. Period. Sure, we've conversed, but that's only because she was vulnerable and needed someone both times. Plus, a licensed professional can help her so much more than someone like me. "

"I suppose. I will talk to dad about it."

"Good. Oh, and at what point of time did you realize you wanted to be your own person and not basically be conjoined to your sister at the hip?" Gunther chuckled slightly and put his arm around her. He lifted his eyebrows and glanced down at ther.

"Puberty. Teaches more than just the physical lessons in life. One thing is, it's considered weird to look like your girlfriend is…" He paused and shuddered. Cece had to gag at the mental image she just received.

"Okay, let's never discuss that again, shall we?"

"Good idea. And while we're on the topic of clingy, or, protective people…your best friend has truly beaten up every single boyfriend you've had?" She chuckled and her cheeks started to turn red. She remembered the day she saw the moves Rocky learned in karate class those many years back, and she was still taking classes.

"Oh-ho yes. Rocky dated Frankie when she turned into that 'bad-girl', then he dumped her after she went back to her normal self, started dating me…got all manipulative, and Rocky kicked his ass." Gunther looked to the side and slowly shook his head, probably thinking about how he'd like to dropkick the guy himself. "But I wouldn't worry about him anymore, I haven't seen him in a long time. So, yeah, Rocky's pretty much beat all my boyfriends. Except maybe you, but she doesn't know you're my boyfriend yet, and you've not done anything to warrant her kicking your ass. I promise you though, if you ever hurt me, she will kick your ass. Plus, my mom is a cop, so…you'll have three people after you. My mom, my best friend, and my little brother…" Eh, sure, again Georgia wasn't her mother, but she wasn't ready to divulge this yet. She would soon enough, as soon as she knew that he wouldn't just 'pity' her.

"Ah yes, Flynn may just be the scariest of the trio."

"Sometimes, not even I know what he's got under his sleeves. He's like an evil little boy."

"I will keep that in mind." She closed her eyes and snuggled closer. His chest was soft, yet firm. He did have strong arms and legs, but that was a given from someone who was a dancer. Dancing was exercise and it made the arms and legs stronger. Either way, he was better than some of the stuffed animals she had stashed away in her closet. She could get used to this.

What a sweet moment, hope you all liked it.