Sitting in her room the next day, Aria stared down at the keyboard that Brax had bought her a few Christmas' before and ran her fingers across the keys. It had been a while since she had played, but her music teacher had asked the class to perform something and she really wanted to get at least one good grade.

Studying the sheet music for the song she had chosen, she started playing and smiled as it seemed to come to her naturally. Like riding a bike, she thought to herself, stopping at the end of the verse and returning to the beginning.

"I have no heart

Just ice and stone

Made up of nails

And teeth and bone

And I know exactly what I'm for

To hurt and destroy

And nothing more

And if it's true that I was made

I still don't know if I can change."

Singing the first verse through, Aria continued straight onto the chorus and added the lyrics as well.

"But something has stirred

A beast has awakened

Opened a door

There's no mistaking

Waging a war

It's fighting inside of me

So hear my battle cry

I'm out for blood to claim what's mine

Finally

Questioning

If I am my own worst

I am my own worst

I am my own worst enemy"

Hearing someone knock on the door, Aria looked up to find Ricky watching her and smiled.

"Can I come in?" Ricky asked, earning a nod from Aria and taking a seat on the bed, "That sounded really good."

"Thanks," Aria replied with a smile.

"I heard about you and Romeo, do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" Aria inquired with a shrug, "He thinks that we're better off as friends and I agree..."

"Doesn't stop it hurting though, right?"

Shaking her head, Aria felt her bottom lip tremble as she fought back her tears and let them fall when Ricky pulled her into a hug. Letting her emotions out, she felt some of the stress lift from her chest and stayed in Ricky's embrace until she had no tears left to cry.

"I'm sorry," Aria mumbled, sitting up and wiping away the tears that were on her face.

"We've all been in this type of situation, baby girl," Ricky promised, "It's nothing that a movie and some ice cream can't fix though, come on."

Taking Ricky's hand, Aria followed her into the living room where Bianca and Ruby were waiting. Smiling over at her, Ruby patted the seat next to her and Aria sat down.

"The boys headed out for a guy's night, so we decided that a girl's night was exactly what you needed," Bianca explained, kissing the side of Aria's head and nudging her shoulder.

"Us girls have to stick together," Ruby added.

Nodding in agreement, Aria settled in and smiled as Ricky handed her a tub of her favorite ice cream. Focusing on the screen as Bianca pressed play, Aria realized that they were watching Twilight and relaxed into her seat.

Finishing the movie, Ruby left with Bianca and Aria decided to tackle some of her homework. Looking up from the kitchen table as her brothers returned home, she smiled at them in greeting and focused back on her work.

"What you working on, Nugget?" Heath asked.

"Just English homework," Aria replied with a shrug.

"Need any help?" Kyle added as he walked over to take a look.

"I think I got it, but could you check it over for me?"

"Of course," Kyle agreed, taking a seat and reading through what she had written, "This is really good."

Smiling, Aria packed everything away and headed to bed. Waking up the following morning, she put the sheet music for the song she wanted to sing into her bag and smiled as she joined the others at the table for breakfast.

Accepting the offer of a lift from Brax, Aria said goodbye and followed him out to his Ute. The school day dragged and she found her anxiety growing as the final lesson approached, knowing that all eyes would be on her as she performed. Sitting at the piano, she took a deep breath and performed as if she were alone in her room.

"Good job," Liam said as she played the final note, teaching the rest of the class and holding her back as the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, "That performance was something that I've never seen from you before, have you ever thought about entering the Summer Bay Talent Festival?"

"Kyle tried to convince me to sign up for it last year, but... I'm nowhere near good enough," Aria told him.

"You most definitely are good enough," Liam argued, retrieving an application form from his desk and handing it to her, "All you need to work on is your confidence and I can help you with that, but it's your choice at the end of the day."

"I'll think about it," Aria promised, taking the form and smiling as she left.

Exiting the school, Aria realized that her friends had already left and froze slightly as she spotted Pirovic waiting nearby. Knowing that she had no choice but to walk past, she swallowed nervously and made her way home.

"Looks like daddy is planning to stick around," Jake commented as he fell into step beside her, "Of course, that leaves me with a problem because Danny and I have unfinished business..."

"Then go take it up with him and quit bothering me," Aria snapped angrily, unable to reel it in and turning to face Jake as it boiled over into pure rage, "Do you know how pathetic you look? You're a grown ass man with a reputation for being violent and yet, here you are harassing a teenage girl..."

Turning to walk away, Aria was stopped when Jake grabbed her arm and slammed her against the wall.

"If your dad doesn't fix things and fast, then I may need to up my effort to get what I want," Jake whispered, letting her go as a group of students emerged from the school, "I'll be starting with you, Aria, so I suggest you start working on getting me my money and quick."

Author's Notes: Just want to say thank you to everyone reading this and for the comments!