Flames of Love

Disclaimer: Don't own Shake it Up.

A/N:

Chapter 25 (Rocky's Bias)

Cece leaned back on the floor, her palms planted firmly behind her, and her left leg arched over her right. She was in Rocky's bedroom, watching as her friend practiced some karate moves on an old upright punching bag. She wanted to practice some of the dancing with her, but Rocky was in no mood for it. She had to figure out what it was that was making Rocky so damn frustrated lately, because believe it or not, it was affecting many things. Their friendship hadn't waned any, but her frustration wasn't helping the friendship to grow.

"Hey Rocky?" She tilted her head as Rocky performed a side kick into the Everlast Bag. It was attached to a heavy black weight, which Rocky had to slide in and out of her closet space in order to use. "I know we don't talk a lot about our families and all, but…never mind." She shook her head and stared down as Rocky turned away from the bag and looked to her with concern.

"What? You don't usually ask about my family." She grabbed her water bottle from next to the bag and started drinking. Cece stared in disbelief, had Rocky seriously forgotten every single time she blew off her questions regarding the family drama?

"I've asked before, you usually tell me you don't want to talk about it."

"Oh…" Cece rubbed her hair and glanced off to the side. Her friend moved over and sat next to her, resting her arm on her knee. "Well, you know Ty. He's never around, always avoiding the house. No big deal. Dad, he always goes on those business trips, and I swear he's doing it for two reasons. One, he's always meeting some girl and having an affair, and two, he's just trying to get away from mom, who does nothing but scream and yell at all of us because we're not doing something the way she wants it done." Cece scrunched her face and felt an air of animosity, she never knew things were that bad. Rocky appeared both dull and irritated, as though she'd just spouted all that off to get rid of her pissed off attitude. "Look, I'm sorry this has been affecting things, but in the last few months, things have been terrible."

"You don't mind me asking…how terrible?" She put her hand to Rocky's hand, giving her a comforting gesture, hoping she could at least calm her friend. She felt like she was staring into the eyes of a bull, though. Rocky's nostrils were flaring, her chest was puffed out, and her eyes were filled with anger.

"Well, let's put it this way. Every time Dad cheats, he feels the need to air it to Mom by telling her how she should be like 'Rosalita' or 'Cheyenne', or 'Marigold'." With each name Rocky spouted off, she mocked and waved her fingers in the air, shuddering. This truly hit home for Cece, considering when she thought about Travis. "Every time he does this, Mom flies off the handle and starts taking out her anger and aggressions on us, making me literally scrub the walls and every inch of the house, and making Ty do just about everything else. God forbid we mess up or avoid doing it her way." She crossed her arms and leaned back against her bed, sighing in exasperation. "I also forgot to point out that Dad has this thing about him…He absolutely cannot stand anything less than his standards, either. So while they're not good for each other, Mom and Dad are perfect for each other! Dad does nothing but harp on me, on Ty, telling us that under no circumstances are we to do anything that doesn't involve the medical field. Whenever he's home, pots, pans, and whatever else they can get their hands on, goes flying. In the long run, it's pretty much Ty, and myself. Siblings have to look out for each other."

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" She smiled softly and reached over, hugging Rocky. "I wish you didn't have to put up with all of that. I really do." Now, if only she could bring herself to tell Rocky about her family. Rocky knew already what a deadbeat her father was, there was no question there. The only thing was, she didn't want to depress her friend even more.

The truth that her mother died during a bank robbery was correct, but there had been more to it. Her mom had the assailant, or one of them, up against the wall, their hands behind their back. When she reached for her handcuffs, they were gone. It was the second time this ever happened, and it was due to Rocky and Cece having an argument. Cece told Gary she wasn't going in to do the show on a particular day, and it was deathly important to Rocky that she be there, so without thinking, Rocky took the mother's handcuffs and chained herself to Cece. Forcing her to go to the show with her. Once they got there, Rocky freed her, remembering the key this time, but it didn't matter.

Once she got the call, things were different. Rocky presumed the reason she left that day was because she was pissed at her, so they didn't talk about it again, but that had never been the case.

The officer told her that her mom, missing her handcuffs, and being the first cop on the scene, had been struck in the leg by the bandit she was arresting. The man moved away from her and grabbed her in a vice-grip. The arriving officer attempted to rescue her, a second robber had been hiding nearby, aimed a gun at him and fired. Ms. Jones managed to break free and push the rookie officer out of the way. She took the bullet to the neck, and died on the spot.

Cece never wanted to tell any of this to Rocky, because she knew the girl would only blame herself. It wasn't her fault, she couldn't have possibly known what would happen. "Cece, have you ever heard 'family portrait', by Pink?" She nodded and tilted her head towards the right. "My favorite song, I'm thinking of doing it for a blind dance."

"You should. Dancing is a language, you know. Music is the best way to express things, I think." Rocky chuckled and smiled slightly. She put her head to Cece's shoulder and sighed.

"Yeah it is." Cece beamed and quickly rose to her feet. She tapped the punching bag with her finger, then rubbed her chin, trying to figure out if she could make it rock back and forth like Rocky. "Uh Cece? What are you doing? Or, better yet, what are you about to do?"

"Well you know how you make the bag rock?"

"Uh huh, it happens by adding a little power to each strike."

"I want to try." She leaned back and Rocky raised an eyebrow, her face twisted into skepticism. She moved forward and punched, letting out a shout as Rocky always did. She struck the bag with a grunt, frowning as it barely budged. "Really?" Rocky laughed and moved over to her.

"Nice try, Cece."

"Come on! That isn't fair! I'm stronger than that…"

"You had bad form. Dancing and Martial Arts go hand in hand. Whenever you strike, pretend you're dancing. Watch me. Pump your fists…" Rocky pushed her fists forward, striking the bag. "Pump your first." She pulled back, then punched forward, striking again. "Now dip." Cece watched as Rocky squat down, moved her body sideways, swerving slightly, then rose back up, delivering a swift uppercut into the air. "Now dodge." She leaned backwards, rotating her shoulders and arms. "Kick." She threw her foot through the air, striking the top of the bag, flipped her body onto the ground, pushing off with her palms while moving her other leg towards the bag and bringing her first foot back down.

Cece was in awe of her friend's moves, surprised to see just how well she was doing. Clearly, she had a point, dancing and martial arts definitely seemed hand in hand. "Okay, I wish I could do that." She clapped her hands together and slowly shook her head. "See, I just can't move like that. You're going to make a great dancer some day."

"What? You're not going to be a dancer?" Rocky brushed her hair from her face and pulled her lips into a frown. Cece slowly shook her head, her heart just wasn't where the stage was. Not anymore, anyway.

"I'm just there to support you and have fun, though the money's good too." As time went on, their pay had increased, but the pay Cece got differed greatly from the pay Rocky received. Since she was emancipated, she was considered on a much higher pay tier, making double what Rocky did, and was just barely having enough to manage each day. "Rocky, promise me something…" She put her arm on top of the bag and met Rocky's now relaxed gaze.

"What?"

"That as long as we can, we'll always be friends, no matter what. Promise me that nothing will ever separate us."

"Cece?"

"I'm serious, no matter what happens, we'll always be best friends."

"Always."

"Slap swear?" She never enjoyed the slap swear, but it usually hit home. Rocky sighed and lifted her hand up with Cece.

"Fine, slap swear, but Cece…we'll always be best friends, no matter what." She smiled and began the ritual, of course her mistake was forgetting Rocky had extra-powerful hits. After the ritual was over, she was rubbing raw skin and cringing while Rocky shook her head at her. "That happens every time…"

"Yeah, I know." Her jaw ached and her head pounded, the same throbbing sensation she always received. She let out a soft exhale and lowered her hand. She had to wonder, just what would Rocky say if she told her about Gunther? "Hey I've got a question for you…"

"Shoot." Rocky moved in front of her bag and spread her legs out, squatting slightly and moving her closed fists to her sides. Cece lifted her eyebrows and moved to the bed, a safe distance away.

"Well hypothetically speaking of course, if I got a boyfriend, what would you say?" Rocky let out a loud exclamation and slammed a hard fist into the bag, nearly knocking it all the way to the ground. Before it could bounce all the way up, she delivered a swift kick, roaring viciously. Cece's eyes widened and her heart began pounding as she envisioned that bag as Gunther. Rocky narrowed her eyes and glanced over.

"Well, which seems better to you?" Rocky's expression grew dull and bored, her eyes lackluster. "Oh, great, another one? You're kidding, right? Or…" She narrowed her eyes and growled, slamming a closed fist into her open right palm. The sound of her knuckles popping sent a chill down Cece's spine. "Great! Fresh meat!"

"Wow…"

"Come on Cece, you know how these men are. They're all the same! Your dad, my dad, Travis, Frankie, every last one of them…Dirt, scumbags, they never seem to do anything right."

"They can't all be alike, Rocky." Gunther wasn't anything like that, he was a true and blue man. Deuce seemed to treat Dina well, Kashlack was extremely loving to his wife. So there were definitely some good men out there. It was almost mournful, seeing just how warped men had made her friend's mind. "There are some good ones out there."

"Yeah, well you find one, let me know." Rocky smashed her fist into the bag once more and Cece's eyes grew. Perhaps it was best that Rocky not know about Gunther, or else she may be seeing the man she loved in a crumpled mess on the floor.

Yikes, girl's got some moves. You guys are going to love this in the future, let me just say, when it gets into the real distant future, you will see epicness and drama. Haha, hope you liked this chapter