"That's not Iris, that's a sick fucker playing a sick fucking game. I have not slept with Colton; they have not broken up and she is not dating that crazy fucking stalker." Lou made it perfectly clear to Shelby and anyone within earshot that she was pissed.

Lou tried to get onto her Facebook and check out Iris's profile but she had to request to follow him and she refused to give him any victories, she doubted she'd be accepted anyway so she asked Shelby to show her and take screen shots of the entire thing. All the conversations, all the photos and the fact that it said she was in a relationship with Xavier Bolton.

All the photos of her had been taken from the internet from a few charity dinners she'd been too and the one Alfie had briefly posted of her in San Francisco, there was even a photo taken from Lou's Instagram before she blocked him. She had been cropped out and they were in their bikini's. His comment had almost made her vomit. 'Imagine tapping this every night? Jealous boys, I'm living the dream.'

She was appalled by the comments from her friends, who he had befriended under the guise of being Iris asking what happened to Colton. According to fake 'Iris' she had found out that he was sleeping with Lou. 'Iris' had called her a skeevy fucking lesbian and that she hopes she chokes on his dick'. Colton also didn't use Facebook so never would have known this was going on. She couldn't believe that none of their friends thought that it seemed off? Why would Iris suddenly get Facebook when she'd never shown any interest in it?

What freaked her out even more was the few photos that were taken of Iris, obviously without her knowledge, of her around campus. It was terrifying.

It made her feel sick. She reported the account as fake but who knew how long it would be before Facebook did anything about it. Lou contacted a few friend's she knew who had followed 'Iris' and told them it was a fake and to block the page. Shelby wanted to write on every post she could that it was a fake profile and that Iris did not have a Facebook profile and say a lot more but Lou stopped her. They didn't want to spook him. She wanted to tell Iris first and she knew her Uncle would know what to do.

Rather than tell Iris over the phone she went around to the house. They had been surprised when she turned up looking all agitated and Lou being who she was got straight to it. "He's set up a fake Facebook profile."

"Of what?"

"Of Iris, he's claiming to be you. He's got photos from the Internet and taken some photos of you at college, he is claiming you are in a relationship with him and you dumped Colton because he was screwing me."

Iris snorted, it was more nerves than anything. As if Lou would sleep with any guy, let alone Colton. She trusted both of them. Colton wasn't so calm. "This is fucking sick; I will kill the fucking asshole."

"Don't" Iris whispered as the reality hit her. "Don't. Just stop."

That was the final straw, they went to Gus for help.

Iris just burst into tears and Gus wrapped her up in his arms, at that stage she hadn't said a word. They had just turned up and as soon as Iris saw him she cried. He had no idea what was going on. Colton was standing beside her, his hand on her back, he gave Iris the chance to speak but she was silent, so he did. "We need your help. Iris is being stalked." Colton informed him and Iris just started sobbing. Their precious little Bug.

"What? What the fuck?" Gus exploded and instantly regretted once he say how distraught Iris was.

"Okay, talk to me." Gus started grilling Colton while Rhiannon made them all a coffee. Iris had gone to the bathroom to catch her breath and wash her tear stained face. They were here, it still wasn't easy though. "How long?"

"A few weeks. Just little things, creepy little things but it's starting to get seriously weird and I am worried about what's next. It's gone from nothing to seriously fucking creepy in a very short space of time." Colton didn't want to get into the details until Iris was there. "I've wanted her to talk to you for a while, anyway…" he shook his head, that didn't matter anymore. "…here we are. Asking for your help. Please help her Gus, I've tried getting through to her how serious this is, I need you to do it, she'll listen to you." He was begging her Uncle. Colton was terrified that Iris was going to get hurt, seriously hurt.

Colton showed him some of the screen caps of the comments that both he and Alfie had deleted. Iris hadn't seen them either and she was pissed at her brother and Colton and a little horrified by what he had written. They shouldn't have kept it from her and she made sure he knew how pissed she was with him. He just took it though, he was adamant he had done the right thing.

The comments were getting worse, they were putrid and the more he didn't get any response the fouler he got. His comment on Lou's Instagram on a photo of them in bikini tops and shorts that was taken about a year ago was revolting. You could just make out that Iris had a tattoo on her side but couldn't see it clearly. The comment was that he left on Lou's Instagram was that he couldn't 'wait to come all over that body and sink his teeth into that tattoo'. The thing is it was only that Lou caught it and took the photo that they knew about it because he deleted it the next day. She had sent it to Colton but they had kept it from Iris.

He was playing games and getting bolder and bolder and it set Gus on edge. He was annoyed that he knew nothing about it until now but it wasn't worth going there. This was hard enough for Iris.

Colton wasn't a huge fan of tattoo's in general, more so when people, guys and girls were covered in them and had never found them particularly sexy although he could admire the work that went into them. He had no idea, however why people wanted them on their calf, thigh, necks and everywhere in between and had been surprised when he first saw Iris's one on her inner arm. It had been at the party they caught up at and really hit it off. "Not a fan?" It wasn't a deal breaker but he would never get one himself.

"Just surprised that's all."

"It's a sweet pea and gum leaves."

"Your favourite flower?"

"No" She left it at that, this was not the time to talk about her parents, she didn't want to kill the buzz that she thought they had. He had made a beeline for her at the party when he saw her, his face lit up and he was surprised she was there. When he arrived his mate pointed out Iris, not realising that Colton had already been on one date with her and was more than interested in getting to know her better. "She's cute. I might see where she is at." Colton put his hand on his buddy's shoulder.

"Her name is Iris and I know where she is at." He laughed and caught her eye, she waved and excused herself from the conversation she was in and made her way towards him. "Hi, nice surprise." He reached for her hand and Iris kissed him on the cheek. "It's so good to see you again."

"I'm glad you are here. They were doing my head in." She nodded in the general direction of the girls she was talking to and then Iris introduced herself to his buddy, Mal. Colton offered to get her a drink and chatted to Mal while Colton got them drinks. They didn't stray far from each other all night. When Iris decided it was time to leave Colton waited outside with her until her ride turned up.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"No plans yet."

"How about we do something?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Hadn't thought much beyond that to be honest." He smiled and kissed her, a little needily. "Say yes."

"Yes." Iris kissed him back, she loved the way he felt and tasted. She was a little smitten.

The next day when they had caught up again and had a picnic lunch she told him about her parents she explained the tattoo but never mentioned that she had another one.

"That's what my Pops always called my Mom. Sweet Pea. I just wanted her close and the gum leaves are for my Dad, he loved the Australian bush, he took us there so that's for him."

By the time he found out about her other tattoo, barely a week later they'd just had sex for the first time. He'd pulled her top over her head and had seen it but they had other things on their mind at that moment. "I get the feeling you don't like tattoo's?" He had his hands under her arms as he lifted her onto his naked lap and ran his hands down her sides and rested them on her hip.

"Not a big fan, I'd never get one myself."

She went to move off him, which he certainly did not want her to do, he was so close to being ready to get into her again and he held her hips steady. "Where are you going?"

"I get it."

"Get what?" He dug his fingers in a little. "Stay Iris. I want you to stay." He sat up a little and kissed her. "I think you are incredibly sexy, you are turning me on. I want to fuck you again."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, can't you feel it?" He pulled her hips down into his lap and she could certainly feel the start of another erection pressing against her inner thigh.

"I can." Iris forgot all about it as she leant forward and he lifted his head and sucked a nipple into his mouth, followed by the other. It may have been quick and who knew how far this was going to go but the sex was hot and it was a wild night.

He woke her up when the sun was well and truly up by starting to nuzzle her neck and then kissed his way down to her stomach and around to her side. He was very happy that she was in his bed and the memories of the night before got him going again. The skin was sensitive down her side but she liked it. "Tell me about this? Is this for your Dad too? He was a zoologist and you've got a zoo tattooed on your side."

"It's the four of us, my two sisters and brother. We all got an animal given to us when we were born." He looked a little bemused. "Not at real one. Like a security blanket, except we had animals. Lola got a leopard, Mae got a Rhino, Alfie's was a giraffe…"

"And you are a…what the hell is that?"

"That is a wombat."

"What the fuck is a wombat?"

"It's a native Australian animal. Alfie picked it for me."

"Fuck, suddenly I am very interested in wombats." He kissed it sucking some of her skin into his mouth gently. Iris found it very sensual. "Like very interested."

"Steady on."

"Is that what they call you?"

"No, they call me Bug."

"Bug?"

"Yep, I'm their little Bug, pretty much they always call me Bug."

"Why?" While he was talking he was playing with her, touching her, kissing her body and feeling her out, feeling her respond to each touch.

"When Mom was pregnant they nicknamed me Bug, not sure why really." She shrugged and ran her hands down his back. "Anyway, it kinda stuck. Mom and Dad were not supposed to have any more babies. Dad had a vasectomy after my brother was born because she was really, really sick with him, like in hospital every month vomiting kind of sick so they decided not to have any more. Then one day Mom got pregnant, she was like 40. I was very much a surprise."

"Thank god for that. They made you perfect."

"You are sweet."

"Hmmm." he nipped at her ear lobe. "I'd like to be a little not so sweet right now." They got very hot and heavy and very sweaty. The empty condom packets were piling up.

Eventually Iris found her clothes where they had hastily discarded them and pulled her shirt over her head. Their pants were probably still in the lounge room because that's as far as they got the first time. "Is this like a one night thing?" she asked him shyly.

"No. No I hope it's not."

"Good."

He grabbed her behind neck, tangling his fingers in her long hair and kissed her slowly. "I really, really like you Iris. I have this feeling there is something about you."

By the next day Colton had researched Wombats, they were suddenly his favourite animal and Iris thought it was cute that he bothered. She was just as smitten as he was.

They hadn't really looked back and he loved her tattoos and that she shared one with her siblings. He often talked to his wombat and made Iris laugh when he did. He was cute when he would tell it a secret.

She will always remember when he was kissing her wombat and he whispered to it, "Hey wombat, let's not keep this a secret anymore but I've fallen in love with you." He kissed it gently and when he looked up Iris had her hands over her face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He pulled her hands away from her face and made her look at him. "Hey Bug, it's true, you know. I am so in love with you."

She just nodded tearfully and started kissing him but it wasn't until they were in the final few moments of some very passionate sex that Iris told him that she loved him too and those last few moments blew their heads off.

Right now though no-one was making jokes about anything. "What do we do now?" Colton was getting desperate, he could feel Iris wilting beside him. It was getting too much for her to handle and he was scared that this guy was going to do something out of left field. "Can we get a restraining order?"

"On what grounds?"

"What does that mean? On what grounds? He's stalking her. What the fuck are we waiting for? For him to attack her?"

"Stop talking about me like I am not even here." Iris snatched her hand away from Colton. The stress was getting to them and Iris knew he was just worried but it wasn't helping her stay in control. It was putting stress on their relationship and they didn't know how to manage it anymore. The little flares were happening more and more often.

"Look, you've done the right thing. Engaging with them, letting them know you are bothered by their behaviour and attention is one sure way to incite them in 90% of cases." Gus tried to explain.

"And the other 10%?" Colton feared he already knew the answer.

"Ignoring them makes them more determined."

"Fucking fantastic."

"Look I'm going to check him out. Can you send me all the messages and photos you have? And I want you to go through everything with me. From the start."

Colton let Iris do the talking, he wanted to butt in but every time he tried to say something Iris would glare at him. It was overwhelming her and Gus was trying to keep them both calm. He wasn't happy in the slightest when he found out that this Xavier guy had been to the house. Rhiannon sat calmly beside Iris and said nothing, it was the quiet, strong support she had always bought to the kid's lives and Colton knew that Iris would appreciate it.

Iris had come home one day to find that he had 'dropped' something off for her while he knew she was in classes. Adam had mentioned that 'apparently you are doing an assignment together and he must have got the times wrong and thought you'd be home by now.'

Adam had been surprised by the knock on the door but he was smart enough not to let people in who he didn't know. That's why they had a security door, especially since Mae's disaster. Iris would have told him if someone was coming over. "No, she doesn't get home until late on Wednesdays."

"Oh my mistake. Tell her I am sorry I missed her and I will try and catch up with her soon." He had wanted to wait but the old man was a little cagey. He told him that Iris wasn't home and wasn't due home anytime soon. He was waiting for his son to come once he got off shift. Xavier knew he was a cop, he'd done some research and he also knew the old man used to be a cop too. He thought he'd be too old now to think straight but he seems quite quick minded still.

He just smiled at the old man. "Tell Iris I came by."

Iris had been visibly shaken by that. When Colton got home Adam told him that she was up in their room and hadn't come down all night, she told Adam she had a migraine but he was thinking it was more than that. Colton took the stairs two-by-two. "What's wrong?" She was curled up on the bed with her eyes closed. When he sat on the edge of her bed she opened her eyes and just looked scared.

"He was here?"

"Who? Xavier? When?"

"Earlier, I wasn't home I was still in classes. He came here and talked to Pops, said we were doing an assignment together and he must have got the days wrong."

"Enough, enough Bug. This has got to stop. We need to talk to Gus at least. If not him then the cops."

"No." Colton refused to listen to her, he told her in no uncertain terms that the time for them trying to deal with it alone was over but Iris refused to budge.

"What did you tell Pops?"

"Nothing."

"He needs to know Bug, what if he comes back. Pops has to know." He pulled a card he never wanted to play. "What if he comes back and Pops gets hurt, you will never forgive yourself." It had been harsh and Iris was angry but she finally relented although she didn't forgive Colton that easily and he'd got the cold shoulder for a few days.

Adam was unimpressed. He gave both of them a serve and Alfie too when he got home. Once he calmed down though he gave them some advice on how to handle things. It seemed to settle down a little. They had a few weeks of nothing, Iris didn't even see him. Both Lou and a few of her other trusted friends were always around her and she spoke to the Dean and stopped attending the lectures of the class they shared but Iris watched them online. It was a move that they had discussed quite vigorously, it would be letting him know that he was getting to her but Iris was making herself sick worrying about it on the days that she took that class. She was so close finishing that it didn't matter too much.

They couldn't wait for the summer break. Iris was going up to the Beach House, she needed to get away from Chicago for a bit and the house always relaxed her. Colton had some concerns about her going up there, he wondered if Xavier knew about it. Plenty of Iris's friends knew about it and had been up there and they really had no idea how Xavier was finding out things about Iris. The cop in Adam had reminded them of that. "You don't know if someone is helping him. Someone you know and trust may be feeding him information. You can't discount anything at this stage."

Colton also organised a week off and would head up with her and they would assess the plans after that. Alfie could rearrange his work schedule and spend some time with Iris if they felt it was necessary, they had always enjoyed the house together.

Gus now also increased his presence around Iris. He would pick her up from College, go have lunch with her, never in uniform and he would get his buddies to drive past the house a few times a day. It was all subtle but that's what they wanted. Whether that was the reason Xavier backed off they weren't sure but Iris did start to relax a little.

Maybe too much.

She looked at her phone. It was a message from Lou. "Sorry Bug, I've got a flat tire. I'll be there soon." Iris felt a little uneasy. She looked around the bar constantly trying to take note of everything, she was suspicious of everyone lately. Seeing a couple of people she knew she made her way towards them and soon relaxed. Heading to the bar for another drink, she had refused to take a drink off anyone else she ordered a margarita. She wasn't drinking much at the moment but decided one wouldn't hurt.

Heading back to her group she checked her phone again and Lou was still 'on her way'. Suddenly she felt hot, her skinned crawled and her palms started to sweat. The room swam before her eyes and she tried to put her glass on the table and managed to spill it down the front of herself as she headed towards the bathroom, her legs felt heavy. Her phone beeped with another message and she tried to look at it but all she could see were lights.

"Are you okay?" She felt arms around her waist…