AN: Merry Christmas to everyone! Well, for me it's over by about 2 hours...but I hope you all had a great day. I also hope you enjoy this chapter...please review! Thank you to those who commented on last chapter, you made me smile :) x

Bloodstained Friendship

"That was awesome, honey!" Jen screamed over the cheers as she clung on to the edge of the stage to stop being pushed away by the crowd.

"I hope so." But Becca was grinning; she knew they'd done well. "Look, honey, I'll see you later, I'm going..."

"Found your soda boy, then?"

"I'll tell you about him tomorrow." Jen's smile only widened to match her friend's.

"All right. Promise me you'll keep your cell on, okay?" she called back as Dan dragged her off into the crowd.

"Becca." The smile dropped off Becca's face as she turned to face Matt, whose brow was wrinkled with the smallest frown – she might have missed it, if she didn't know him so well. "You were great, Ryan..."

There was something he wasn't saying. Suddenly angry at him – for ruining her post-performance high, for calling her Becca, for being there – she straightened and faced him with arms folded across her chest defensively. "What do you want, Matt? If you've got something to say, just say it. We've been friends long enough, haven't we?"

He stared at her, seemingly completely ignorant of anything he might have done to upset her, but the injury in his eyes only infuriated her more. "I –"

"What, Matt?"

"Becca, I –" She turned and stalked away from him, past their startled bandmates who exchanged worried glances, but Matt caught up, fingers closing around her wrist. "Goddamnit, talk to me, won't you?"

She twisted her arm loose of him, but remained where she was. "All right. What did you want to say?"

His lips tightened into a thin line. "Who's soda boy?"

One of Becca's eyebrows lifted, and she crossed her arms again to hide the blush. "How do you know about him?"

"Jen just said something now. Look, I don't think –"

"It's none of your business. You shouldn't have been eavesdropping, anyway."

"Of course it's my business. You're my –"

"I'm your what, Matt?"

He didn't reply, merely stared at her speechless while the music throbbed around them and neither was aware of anyone else. Inches apart, their eyes met and held; but Becca was the first one to break, tearing her gaze away so he wouldn't see the tears blurring her vision. Quietly, she added, "I won't be your whore, Matt."

He reeled back as if slapped. "You're not...I never..."

"Um, Ryan? Are you okay?" Jack looked almost nervous as he interrupted. "You were incredible, by the way, everyone's saying..." He glanced helplessly between his two friends. "Anyway, I brought you a drink..." The boy handed her a bottle which she took numbly.

"Thanks, Jack." She forced a smile which didn't quite reach her eyes. "You weren't too bad yourself."

"Thanks, Ryan." Jack shuffled uncomfortably, obviously not sure what to say. "Well...I need to go find Amy, she was waiting for me."

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow. Well done!"

"See you, Jack." Matt's smile was about as genuine as Becca's.

Jack nodded curtly, his eyes growing steely as he looked at his friend. "Yeah. Look after our little sister."

"I don't need to be looked after," Becca snapped as Jack disappeared into the crowd. "Not by you, not by anyone." She took an angry swig from her bottle, regardless that they would be playing again later. "Just leave me alone."

"I don't like you going off with this guy you don't know!" Matt replied hotly. "You can say it's none of my business, but it is because I –" He stopped abruptly, not entirely sure what he was going to say but knowing that he had to stem the flow of words. "Becca, baby –"

It was like a demon leapt up in her eyes as Becca rounded on him, furious. "Don't call me that!" she hissed. "Don't you dare call me that."

Something akin to pain flashed across Matt's face, but neither noticed. "Ryan, then," he murmured. "But know that you have never, never, been my...whore."

The girl stared at him with massive eyes for a moment. "It's funny how things turn out, then," she whispered.

"Becca!" Matt called after her as she hurried away. "Bec – shit, Ryan!"

"Fuck off, Matt!" she replied angrily without turning. A couple of people turned, stared as she pushed past – her friend close on her heels – but both Matt and Becca ignored them as the boy stormed after her, catching up in the corridor to the bathrooms where the music was slightly quieter. Cornered, she stopped, not turning around; she could hear Matt moving behind her, but she couldn't look at him.

"I'm sorry." He spoke softly, but Becca still didn't look at him as he came round to face her.

"God, I'm so stupid." For sleeping with him, for falling in love with him, for sitting back and saying nothing – for letting this happen.

"No, you're not." He reached out to take her hand, but she recoiled.

"Don't touch me, Matt." Her voice was low, and she hated that it shook. "Just don't come near me."

Something in Matt snapped. "For God's sake, Becca..."

The girl turned on him, eyes bright with rage and unshed tears. "Don't call me that! I'm Ryan. I'm one of the guys in the band, so don't call me Becca." Her words hurt him, she could see by the pain which flickered in his face, but in that moment she didn't care. She wanted him to hurt as she was and yet hated that she was causing him pain. "I'm always here, Matt, like some sort of damn dog which you've had so long it's just become part of the furniture, and I won't be that, Matt, I won't! And now I meet someone I like, but God only knows why you're trying to ruin that for me too! I – don't touch me, I said. Get away from me, Matt!"

"Let me talk, Becca!" He caught both of her hands, pinned them up above her head even as they curled helplessly into claws, the bottle she had still been clutching falling to smash on the floor. Matt barely flinched, the anger in his eyes making Becca freeze and she quickly looked down as he spoke quietly to her, voice full of barely contained fury. "Or Ryan, then. Is that what you really think of me? Have I ever treated you like a whore, Ryan?" Rage vibrated in every word, and there was a raw violence in him which Becca could feel straining in his muscles, could see in his clenched jaw as he fought to control it.

"Let go of me, Matt."

"Have I?" he demanded.

Grey eyes met dark brown ones clouded with anger, so that Matt saw her fury and panic. "For God's sake, let go of me!" It was the tiny flash of fear that made him stop, made the anger cool as he realized what he was doing. Becca saw it drain out of him, leaving his eyes suddenly hopeless and full of grief. They stared at each other a moment longer before Matt let his best friend's hands slide out of his, stumbling back against the opposite wall and sinking down so he was crouched on the floor, suddenly so small and vulnerable.

"I'm sorry." He glanced up anxiously, tone cracking with concern. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine." Her voice shook, but the fury and fear had been washed out of her. She stood absolutely still, looking down at him, before slowly sliding her back down the wall to mirror the boy. "Shit, Matt." Then, in an entirely different tone, "Shit."

She'd forgotten the broken glass scattered across the floor from where her bottle had smashed, was now staring at the blood oozing from the cut in her hand with open-mouthed astonishment. "What –" Matt began, but then all of the colour drained out of his face where anger had painted it and his eyes widened. "You're hurt. Shit, fuck, you're bleeding." He scrambled to his feet, flew across the distance between them to lift her upright and away from the broken glass. Her uninjured hand fluttered automatically to his shoulder to steady herself, while she cradled the other close while tears ran in silent rivulets down her cheeks. "It'll be all right, baby. I promise it'll be okay." Whether he was talking of her hand or of the situation the two of them were in was unclear but it didn't matter. "I'll go and get –"

"Don't leave me," Becca whimpered into his chest. "Don't go. I'll be all right in a minute."

"I'm still here, baby." He'd always be there, Matt thought bitterly. Despite Sarifina and the 'soda boy', whoever he was, he would never be able to walk away from her.

"Thanks, Matt."

"But your hand..."

"Don't fuss. It'll only make me cry." The tears came harder and faster with this admission, even as Becca tried to smile.

"You deserve to be fussed over." With his arm around her, he helped her towards the girls' bathroom, following her in after only a moment's hesitation. "I'm sorry, Becca." Their eyes met in the mirror over the basin as she ran her bloody hand under the tap, gaze holding for a long moment. "I've been a...a..." he struggled for words.

"Asshole? Complete fucktard?" She turned to face him, laughing now as he hung his head, but it came out a little bitter and the hurt returned to her face all too soon. "I'm sorry for being so mad with you." Becca spoke in a small voice, looking and sounding abruptly vulnerable as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"No. No, baby, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have…I'm so stupid. I'm so, so sorry. I –"

"Stop it. It's not all your fault, either. We're both utter fucking idiots." The girl looked back at their reflections in the mirror, let out a little groan which sounded a lot more like her normal self. "I've got blood all over my shirt! Damn..." She shook her head slowly, wiping absently at the tears but only managing to smear blood down her cheek. "Such a bloody mess."

There wasn't much Matt could say to that. "Here." He pulled a tissue from a dispenser, handed it to her and watched in silence as she pressed it to her palm, as the blood soaked through it. "Is it stopping at all?"

"Slowing down, I think. It looks worse than it actually is, but it hurts like a bitch." Becca forced a small smile. "I'm such an idiot sometimes, aren't I?"

Unable to help himself, Matt reached out a hand, brushed it lightly down her cheek; half to wipe away a smear of blood, half out of a desire to touch her. "No more tears, Becca. We'll sort it out, I promise."

She turned her face, ever so slightly, so that her clouded grey eyes met his earnest brown ones, stepped closer so that he could wrap his arms around her and hold her close. "We'll work it out."

They stood like that in absolute silence, arms around each other as they sought comfort in the other's closeness. "Becca, you're my best friend," Matt whispered after a moment, his voice oddly husky. "Why does it feel like I'm losing you?"

She couldn't answer.

"Jesus, Ryan! What have you done to yourself?" Jamie took hold of her arm, pulled her into the light so that he could see more clearly the bloodstains on her shirt. "Fuck, what did you do?"

"It's just a cut, Jamie," Becca replied, rolling her eyes at him. "Don't freak out over it."

"What happened?"

"I cut it on some glass. I..." She glanced quickly up at Matt. "I tripped over." For some reason, she didn't want Jamie to know that they had argued. "But it's all better now, see?" She wiggled her bandaged hand at him.

Jamie gave a snort of amusement. "Where the hell did you get bandages from, Ryan?"

She fixed him with a steely stare. "I put it in my purse after somebody tripped over and screwed up their ankle one time."

The girl at Jamie's side – who had so far remained quiet, which was in Becca's opinion an improvement on a lot of the girls Jamie often spent time with – now burst out laughing. "She's got you there, Jamie."

"Thanks, Aub." The boy rolled his eyes, but threw an affectionate arm around the girl's shoulder. "This is Aubrey, my real baby sister. Sorry, but you've been replaced for the week, Ryan."

"I don't mind." Becca smiled warmly at the younger girl. "I'm Becca, this is Matt."

"Nice to meet you, Aubrey." Matt's smile was slightly forced; for some reason, Aubrey's expression was oddly cold as she glanced at him.

"Um...we should probably head off now." Jamie interrupted their glares. "Are you sure you're okay, Ryan?"

"I'm absolutely fucking fine," she replied with some exasperation. "I'll see you around, Aubrey? Jamie, I'll see you when we play later."

"Be careful!" he hollered after them.

Becca rolled her eyes. "I'm going to get that all evening, aren't I?" she groaned. "God, Matt, this is such crap. I look like shit –"

"No, you don't," he argued. "You look very pretty. You always do."

"Yeah, right. But thanks." She slapped his arm affectionately, and he grinned despite the ache he felt at her blindness to his sincerity. "But seriously. I can't look like this and go find..." Becca stopped, suddenly unwilling to bring up the subject which had prompted their former disagreement.

"Soda boy?" Matt cocked an eyebrow. "Shit, Becca, you don't even know who he is." What other argument could he come up with? I'm as jealous as hell. The thought surprised him so much that the words almost made it onto his tongue, but he swallowed them just in time. How could he say that, when she saw him as her best friend – and he had Sarifina?

"I've met him before." Becca folded her arms stubbornly. There was something about Shade...right then, she doubted that she'd stay even if Matt begged her to. Blow off her best friend for a guy she barely knew? "He was at Hamish's party, at Jen's..."

"Do I know him? What's his name?"

The girl laid a hand on her friend's arm. "Matt, don't," she told him quietly.

Neither spoke for a long moment. Then –

"You can borrow my shirt," Matt broke the silence, resigned and aching inside. "I've got a t-shirt on under it..."

The way Becca's face lit up hurt him even more. "Oh Matt, can I?"

"Sure." Hating himself even as he did it, he unbuttoned the shirt and handed it to her. "Just don't...don't..."

"Don't what?"

"Nothing."

Her hand came up to brush across his cheek. "Thanks, Matt. You're the best."

He nodded, trying to ignore the desire to turn his face to kiss her palm. "It's okay." It's not okay! his mind screamed, but it was too late.

"I'll see you later. I hope..." Becca swallowed. "I hope you find Sarifina."

"What? Oh. Yeah." Matt watched as she disappeared back towards the girls' bathroom with his shirt over her arm. He had to force himself to turn away, to muster up any enthusiasm at all as he scanned the crowd for any sign of his girlfriend – his girlfriend, he reminded himself. Candy and Chris, Hamish, some tall, blonde boy he didn't recognise...the stranger's eyes flashed almost red in the lights as his gaze flickered briefly towards Matt, who looked quickly away. Where was she?

"Matt." And then she was standing next to him, her dark eyes even deeper than normal. Her face was so serious, but the boy tried to smile light-heartedly. He liked her, he really did, but –

"Sari, I lost you."

He went to take her hand, but she pushed him away. "Don't, Matt." Her eyes were cold, and somehow sad.

"What's wrong with everyone tonight?" The boy threw up his hands in sudden exasperation, anger he had kept tightly controlled in the face of Becca's sadness suddenly loosed. "What have I done? Becca –"

"Becca." Sarifina cut him off. "There's your problem, Matt." Her gaze softened and she took one of his hands in both of her own, kissed it. "I like you, Matt. I really do...but it's too hard when you're in love with someone else."

"I..." But he couldn't deny it. He was in love with somebody else.

Matt was in love with Becca.

"You see?" Sarifina's smile held enough bitterness that it was almost a grimace. "You know how hard this has been for me? When all of your friends can see it, when it's as obvious to them as day and they won't even give me a chance because I'm not her.

"I wanted to hate her, Matt. Wanted to think that she wasn't good enough for you, that she didn't deserve to stand against me for something I want. Wanted," she corrected herself wryly. "But when I talked to her...shit, Matt, she's as crazy in love with you as you are with her, and just as damn ignorant. So I'm out, Matt."

"You..." He couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Sarifina wanted it to be over...because Becca loved him.

Even though he couldn't get the words out, she seemed to know what he meant. "Yes," the dancer murmured. "Go on. Talk to her, tell her, because otherwise you'll be stuck in limbo forever. Or she'll find someone else, Matt – or someone else will find her.

"Talk to her," Sarifina repeated as she stepped back. "Before it's too late."

He would. He would tell her soon, tonight, before that damn soda boy got a hold of her too tightly. He'd talk to her. Before it's too late.

Please let me know what you think! What do you think of Matt here? And Sarifina?

I can guarantee a lot more drama next chapter...and a lot more Shade...

It'll be up sooner if you review! (hopeful face)

Love, Jude ;) x