Flames of Love

Disclaimer: Don't own Shake it Up.

A/N: Note that the lake episode, the entire second half does not occur.

Chapter 35 (Deuce Knows)

Cece was lying on the grass, her head in Gunther's lap, they were still seated behind his vacation cabin and gazing up at the stars. It was so different than the city, where the city lights blotted out the stars of the sky. This night was like a brilliant, starry blanket, and she was enjoying every minute of gazing upon them. "Gunther, it's so beautiful out here. I don't want this to end." Well, a picture probably would last a lot longer. Surely the others were going to be getting worried about their not coming back. "We should get back, but I don't want to leave…"

"I can understand that. We'll probably have to have a talk before we go, though." She raised an eyebrow and looked over to him, he was staring off at the trees. He was speaking so softly, she could barely hear him. "Don't freak out or anything, but I think Deuce is hiding in the trees." Her jaw fell and she quickly sat up. When she turned to the eyes, she saw someone move. Gunther coughed and closed his eyes, speaking loudly. "Deuce, we see you. No sense in hiding." No sense in pretending like they weren't together either, if he'd seen them.

Deuce slowly stepped into view, smiling slightly and waving nervously. Cece closed her eyes, feeling a bit of panic, but managing to keep her composure well enough. "Deuce, you can't tell anybody what you're seeing here." She slowly moved to sit beside Gunther, twiddling her thumbs at her waist.

"It's fine, I just wanted to be the first to say 'congrats'. They sent me to come find you guys when you didn't start coming back." He lifted a broken bottle and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. Cece's eyes bugged out at the enormous size of the bottle, she wondered where he had found it. "That thing was out near the shore, hard to see, someone could have gotten seriously injured if they stepped on it." He looked to them and nodded. "Are you two going to come back anytime soon?" She stared at him, studying him cautiously. How was it he wasn't overreacting? At the same time, he didn't react to the news about her mother's passing.

"Yeah, but can I ask a question, Deuce?"

"Sure, shoot."

"You just found us cuddled up together, and you're not reacting at all. Why?" She watched him rub his neck, then crossed her arms over. Gunther looked from her to him, and wagged his eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm interested in knowing this too. Of everyone here-" Deuce interrupted with a frustrated groan, waving a hand in the air.

"Don't bother. I know where I stand with everybody. I'm Deuce, the dopey, brainless friend, right?" She frowned and put her hand to her chest. She hadn't really thought of him like that, sure there were moments, but she never thought he was brainless. "I've known from the get go, to be honest." Her eyes widened and her heart froze as shock overcame her body.

"Y-You knew? What do you mean you knew?"

"I might be dumb at times, but I also find out the scoop on things before anyone else ever does. I have my ways. How else do you think I can get a brand new video game just weeks before it comes out, and so much else? I have connections, I have my ways…you guys were no different." He folded his arms back across his chest and raised his eyebrows. "A little birdie told me that two of Shake it Up, Chicago stars were acting differently, so smelling a scoop, I investigated it. I found out you two were both sneaking around, doing those blind dances which seemed oddly connected, and then I discovered you two were dating in secret."

Even Gunther was in a state of shock, unable to say a word. Cece slowly shook her head and began rubbing her right temple, trying to piece it all together. "So, when did you figure it out? Clearly you haven't told anyone…"

"Yeah, I can respect a secret. As for finding out…Mr. Hessenheffer comes to the apartment after your ex breaks in, says that Gunther came by with me and left with Flynn…not hard to piece together what could have happened." She had to admit, he was right about that. "I also already knew about your mom…and that wasn't something that had to do with sleuthing." Her heart sank at the mention of her mother. Why had he never said anything about it? "I figured you'd talk about it when you were ready to, but I knew about it because one my oldest brother was the rookie officer that she took a bullet for."

She gasped and brought her hand to her mouth, she couldn't believe there was a connection like that at all. Tears sprang from her eyes and she slowly rose, meeting Deuce's wavering gaze. "I never knew that, I didn't even know the officer's name. Deuce…"

"Your mom saved my brother, so I became indebted, but I didn't want to say anything. Obviously I didn't think it was right to bring up at the time." She didn't want him feeling like he owed her anything, "And of course, you wound up introducing me to Dina, so I figure I'd repay you by keeping your secret. I actually tried to help you when Frankie came over that one day because you're a good friend."

"Here I thought you would have run the other way when he showed up."

"On any other day, anyone else besides Dina, I probably would have ran…" He bowed his head and Cece laughed. She was happy that Deuce had managed to keep her relationship with Gunther on the down low. It was surprising, but a relief. "I'm glad you told everyone about your mom, are you handling everything okay?"

"Yes Deuce, thanks." She looked to her right as Gunther stepped beside her. He put his hand on the small of her back and grinned at Deuce.

"So Deuce, does this mean you're finally accepting me?" The boy paused, then started chuckling. He pat Gunther on the back and smirked at him.

"Just keep in mind that my family, as well as Dina's, appear to have ties with Cuban mafias. I may think you're a decent guy, when you're not stuck under your sister's clingy grip, but keep this in mind: Even though you and Cece are pretending to hate one another, don't go too far. You're lucky to have a girl like her in your life, and if you hurt her, you're going to see more than just Rocky come after you. I know how you and Tinka like to insult everyone…don't go overboard. There's a fine line between your sister, and your girlfriend."

"You're right Deuce, I'd never hurt Cece. I love her too much." Cece blushed as he leaned over and kissed her right temple. "Now speaking of my sister…is she seriously still at your cabin over there?"

"Yes, and surprisingly she and Rocky are actually talking. I think it's just boredom, because Ty's talking to Georgia. He's ready to go forward with the emancipation, and he's trying to learn all he can about it."

"It'll be difficult, but it may be for the best," Cece commented. She knew Ty was working one job at an auto parts shop. Autozone, to be exact. He may want another job, but at least it paid well enough. "When Rocky turns fifteen, she should look into a job herself. At least she can stay with Ty, not having to deal with her parents anymore. "Let's get back to the cabin, I want to check on Flynn and see if he's doing okay."

When they made it back to the cabin, Flynn jogged over to Cece, looking frantic as ever. "You're alive! The lake monster didn't eat you!" Cece raised an eyebrow as he hugged her waist.

"Uh, yes, I'm very much alive."

"Good. Do you know how many horror movies there are out there where the couple bites the dust first?" He stepped back and tapped his chin. Cece was holding Gunther's hand and listening eagerly. "You weren't making out were you? That's a golden rule, the monsters will go after those who make out!" Her cheeks flared up once more and she slowly looked to the cabin, no one was outside. She smiled subtly and folded her arms over.

"Flynn? What's going on?"

"What's going on? What's going on?" He threw his arms in the air and began pacing. "While you were gone, Deuce went looking for you and Ty started talking to Georgia, so that left me with Rocky and Tinka, who started talking about how the lake monster likes little eight year old boys that misbehave! I'm a natural troublemaker, I don't want to be eaten!" He pat his chest and Cece laughed again. She was a bit irritated that anyone would fill his head with these kinds of thoughts, but at the same time, she could appreciate the humor behind it.

"Flynn, there is no lake monster. You're not going to be eaten."

"How do you know that? He could very well be hiding in the lake right now!"

"Flynn. There is no monster." She knelt beside him and gazed into his wide, frantic eyes, then gently swept her fingers through his spiked hair. She spoke in a soothing voice, to calm his anxious spirit. "You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because…this lake has a guardian, an angel that protects it. She protects us all." His lips thinned and his eyebrows rose, hoping and guessing. She smiled at him and put her hands onto his arms. "That spirit is mom, and she won't let any monster exist here. This is her territory, Flynn, and you know how much she cared about you. If there ever was a lake monster, it doesn't exist here anymore. Just the spirit of the lake…watching over us, protecting us." Flynn smiled slightly and quickly turned around.

"That feels better, now I have to get back at Rocky and Tinka." He stormed off to the cabin and Cece watched with a loving gaze.

"It's easy to forget he's just a little kid sometimes. He can be so independent on one hand, doing everything himself, and then there's the other side of him that says he needs to depend on someone." She moved for the cabin, feeling a cool breeze rush past her. She never doubted for a minute that Flynn needed her just as much as she needed him. Her father was still clearly an ass, since that's what the man's fiancé said when she talked to the woman before. There was a thought generated in her mind, how honest would his fiancé be in a custody battle? She wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and whatever she said could very well incriminate him.

She brushed her father from her mind and breathed out slowly. As she took another step, Frankie and Travis came to her mind, and she quickly growled in frustration. She brushed them from her thoughts and shook her head, there was way too much going on in her life right now.

When they made it into the cabin, they were met with hugs and concerns from the others. She looked at Rocky and curled her lip into a smirk. "Rocky. Why did you scare my little brother and make him think the lake monster would eat him? You know I don't want him getting all jumpy." Rocky bowed her head and chuckled nervously.

"Right, I figured I should have stopped while I was ahead."

"Should have? Yeah, you definitely should have. No problem though, just try not to do it again. He's now plotting and scheming a way to get you back. So…good luck with that." She snickered and pat Rocky's shoulder, then walked on past her to where Georgia and Ty were seated on the couch. Georgia looked up at her.

"Cece, I'm glad you managed to tell them. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better now. Thanks." She took a seat on the far cushion, ready to give Ty any advice he needed about emancipation. Although, she would prefer sleeping right now.

Did everyone notice the bottle? Tell me you noticed the bottle XD. It, along with various other things serves as a symbol/indicator of how this story is changing and becoming it's own individualized tale. You'll notice many things, gradually becoming bigger and bigger until voila the story is completely severed from its ties to the show.

So what did you think of the chapter? Deuce is pretty insightful, he kind of has to be with the line of work he's going into XD