Hey guys! So school has been keeping me super busy and I haven't had time to write much...I'm sorry this took so long to update!

Anyway, on a lighter note, thanks to all of you who reviewed this story in person and the one who left me a review online! I really appreciate it! Feedback helps motivate me to write and it lets me know that you guys like what you are reading! And without further ado, here we go!

Warning: Sexual Content, Coarse Language, nudity, lots of flashbacks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own characters and plot. The Chapter title is inspired by the Kiss song of the same name.

Chapter 5

Rock Hard

9 years ago, Cleveland, Ohio, 1969

The sun was setting and the alley was dark, filled with the sounds of fearful sobs and antagonizing growls. The black and white pitbull gnashed it's teeth, it's eyes like two bottomless pits without mercy. Lex shielded the small form behind him as he stared down the vicious animal, his entire being gripped with fear.

"Lexie..." The girl behind him whimpered, her little hands fisted in his t-shirt. He turned around to adhere to the sound, keeping an eye fixed on the angry dog. Sherrie was crouched down in a hiding position behind him, her body wracked with tremors as she looked up at him wide-eyed with her doll-like gaze, "I'm scared!" She cried, tears flowing down her face as she wrapped her arms around his leg in a death-grip. Lex turned back to the dog with a glare of determination, his small, childish form taking on a fighting stance,

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you Sherrie! I'll protect you..." He said, closing his eyes and bracing himself as the dog reared up and charged him...

Lex sprung up in bed, his body covered in a cold sweat. He gasped for air, shivering as memories of that day came back full force. Fear and anxiety welled up inside of him and he found himself searching his dark, basement room for signs of the black and white pitbull that haunted his psyche. He pushed the thin, printed sheets away from his sweat-slicked body, once again coming face to face with the shallow grooves that marked his right thigh. He gently fingered the grotesque scars, remembering the intense pain as the dog's teeth tore into his skin, the pressure of it's jaw as it had bitten down harder when he'd attempted to free himself. 'Fucker...' He thought, hating the creature with all of his being. He figured he must have had the dream because of Sherrie's reappearance, it was her fault that he had ended up in the situation in the first place. He grimaced as he remembered what had happened earlier that afternoon...

1969 earlier that afternoon, the day of the dog attack

"What are you doing dummy? You know Brutus doesn't like kids..." Lex admonished, trying to coax Sherrie away from the picket fence. Yeah, the dog's name was Brutus, it was a damn fitting name considering what the bastard could do to a human limb...

"Maybe he just needs a friend!" Sherrie said hopefully, pulling away the board that he imagined she had worked all day to loosen. Sherrie had always wanted a pet, but her mom could never afford to keep one, she could barely afford to keep her and Sherrie fed. He watched as she stuck her head through the hole in the fence and called out to the dog, "Here Brutus!" She called, whistling for him, "Here boy! I've got some tasty treats for ya!" She smiled happily, holding up a box of dog treats that she had obviously taken from the owners' front porch. Lex had a bad feeling in his gut as he watched the small but powerful dog appear out of the shadows of it's rundown doghouse, a long, thick, silver chain attached to the brutal studded collar it wore around it's neck. Lex watched Sherrie as she held up a dog treat, the animal staring back at her with it's soulless black eyes, seemingly sizing her up to see whether or not she was friend or foe. Lex's heart was pounding in his ears as the dog got closer, it's lips pulling back over it's razor sharp teeth as it let out a snarl and ran at his foolhardy friend at full speed. Lex lunged at the small form still wedged in the fence, scraping her arm against the wood of the picket fence as he tore her away from the dangerous animal. The chain was stretched to it's limit, the dog only able to stick it's head through to growl and snap it's jaws at them. Lex sighed in relief, looking down at Sherrie to make sure she was alright. Besides the bloody scrape on her right arm, she was fine. She was shaking in his arms as she stared back at the angry dog, her lips trembling as tears flowed down her cheeks. She couldn't understand why the animal didn't like her...she wanted a dog so bad. He looked up when he heard a loud cracking sound and realized that the chain had broken and the dog was trying to break through the fence! He pulled up his distraught friend and flung her ahead of him,

"Run!" He shouted, sprinting after her as the monster dog wriggled it's way through the small entry.

Lex fell back into his pillows, checking the time on his clock, Gene Simmons stuck his tongue out profusely above the glowing numbers, 3:20 a.m. A rush of air left his lungs in frustration as he stared at his ceiling. There was no way he'd be able to sleep after a dream like that...

Her silken sheets were damp with sweat as they became tangled around her supple body. Her blonde hair matted to her forehead with perspiration as she rolled languidly in the sheets. Her lime green chiffon nightgown lay in a heap on her bedroom floor. Sherrie moaned as the smooth material of the bedclothes chafed against her bare skin...

Sherrie gazed into the soft brown eyes that smiled down at her as she smoothed her hands over his bronzed, muscular chest. Her nails caught up in the waistband of his distressed jeans as she struggled to undo the Kiss belt buckle. His large hands wrapped around her wrists, pinning them back against the rumpled cotton sheets of the small bed. She gasped as she realized she was entirely exposed and completely vulnerable. He covered her body with his, trailing hot kisses from the crook of her shoulder to the shell of her ear. He parted her legs with his knee, the rough material of his jeans creating a friction against that sensitive bud. She mewled, her nails digging into his shoulders as she begged for more. "Mmm...please stop teasing me..." She pouted, her knees weakening as his teeth gently grazed her earlobe. He pulled away from her, his dark hair falling around his eyes as he stared down at her predatorily.

"Stop teasing? This is your punishment for teasing me with all those tight, revealing outfits you wear to school. Have you any idea how many hard ons you've given me in the middle of English class?" He whispered huskily and she watched him hazily as he cupped her firm breasts in his warm hands. She groaned when he lightly ran his thumbs over her hard pink nipples. His lips met her glossy red ones as he trailed a hand down towards the apex of her thighs. Her cherry lipgloss stained his face as he fought her for dominance, earning her submission when he dipped his fingers into her honey. She cried out softly as he teased her sensitive bud with his thumb, threading her fingers through his soft black hair as she begged him for release. "Ah, Lex please..." She whispered against his lips.

"Please what?" He asked teasingly, keeping her right on the edge. She was helpless as she looked up into his playful visage and was about to answer him when a loud ringing interrupted her thoughts...

The antique alarm clock on her nightstand shook violently, driving Sherrie out of her dreams and back into reality. Her hand shot out from underneath the sheets, smacking the expensive gold filigree clock onto her floor. The glass on the clock face shattered, the fall from the walnut nightstand effectively shutting off the alarm. It was no problem for her grandmother, when something broke she usually just shrugged and told their butler to go out and purchase another one. Sherrie groaned in frustration, wishing she was still in the dream. She pushed the covers down over her body, exposing her bare skin to the cool morning air. She sighed as she looked down at her nearly naked form. Why didn't he like her? Were her breasts misshapen? She thought as she pressed them together and examined them, shivering when the action brought back the erotic sensations from her dreams. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, that couldn't be it! Didn't he feel the same way she did? She figured from his avoidable behavior that he didn't. whenever they were together he seemed to make it a point to put emphasis on the fact that they were 'just friends'. She didn't get it! It wasn't like he was tied down or anything! Then she got to thinking about the past. When they were younger she was treated like his kid sister and at the very most, one of the guys. She had adopted the latter persona just so she could hang out with them, they were like family to her after all. Now years later, she realized that her need to fit in was born from a wish to become closer to Lex. She had admitted to herself that even then she had a crush on him, but now it had blossomed into a maddening desire, an almost physical need that left her body aching for something her fantasies couldn't give her. She wandered over to her walk-in closet, throwing the shuttered doors open in disgrace. She pushed aside fur coats, bejeweled ball gowns and expensively tailored blouses to reach the back of her closet, a place where she kept the things she held most dear. She reached for the small converse shoebox in the shadowed corner of her wardrobe, nearly ripping open the lid in distress. Atop the childhood treasures and mementos from her mother lay an old photograph of her and Lex. Lex was clothed in a hospital gown, his right leg bandaged as he pulled an arm around her shoulders. His smile was one of relief as he pulled her close. She was blubbering like a baby in the photo, her face stained with tears as she clung to him for dear life. She had never been more grateful to have him as her friend than she was that day. Sherrie remembered the dog attack all too vividly as she had cowered behind Lex as he fought the dog off to protect her. She had but one scar from that day, merely because of her own stupidity in baiting the angry pitbull. If it weren't for Lex, she'd have more than just the ghostly white slash across her shoulder, she figured that her entire face would have needed to be reconstructed. After that incident, they were both fiercely terrified of dogs. Looking at the photo years later, she supposed that maybe they didn't need to be any more than friends, maybe that was enough...

-(CB)-

Sherrie slid behind the wheel of her brand new car, grinning as she looked over the pristine white leather seats. The beauty was a black 1970 Chevelle SS complete with white racing stripes and a convertible top. Her Grandmom gifted it to her the night before as an early birthday present. She frowned, thinking of the conversation in the moments before it was given to her.

The night before, 8:00 p.m.

Her uncle burst through the double doors of the elaborate dining hall, the crystal chandelier that hung over the newly polished oblong table shaking in protest to the sudden entrance. The blonde man had a shit-eating grin on his arrogant face as he glanced back at his nuisance of a niece whom was silently eating New England clam chowder; her grandmom's favorite. Sherrie looked back at him with a look of confusion,

"Why are you so happy?" She asked, it was unusual for Uncle James to smile at her, let alone be ecstatic about her presence. Her grandmom looked up at him as he came over to her side and produced a manilla folder holding the telephone records from the previous day. The elderly woman took them, looking them over before looking back at her granddaughter in concern,

"You got detention your first day of school?"

'Shit!' Alarm bells went off in Sherrie's head. She looked up hesitantly from her soup, a resolute look on her face.

"It's true, I was in detention but-"

"Sherrie darling, why didn't you tell me?" Her uncle could barely contain himself as he bit his lips to keep himself from laughing. 'Fucking prick.' Sherrie thought in annoyance.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would be disappointed-"

"Disappointed? Of you? Never!" Sherrie's expression was one of bewilderment as she stared at her grandmom. Her uncle looked confused as well, hoping he'd misheard her,

"...what?" He asked, his smile turning malicious. "Didn't you read the telephone records mother? She was in detention for kissing a boy during class! One of those filthy little friends of hers no doubt!"

"That wasn't my fault!" Sherrie argued. 'Dammit Hawk...now you've gotten me in trouble with my grandmom!' Her grandmom looked upon her kindly, gently patting her shoulder,

"I know it wasn't your fault dear, it was one of those horrible heathen boys from that dreadful public school. I understand that they don't have the same mannerisms as us dear." Sherrie couldn't find it in herself to argue that point seeing as she wasn't in trouble and technically it wasn't entirely untrue... "I'm sure that many of the young men you've met must find it hard to keep their hands off of you, and I'm sure that what they offer you may sound delightful, but you must persevere and remember to look to God for strength when those horrid boys tempt you with sins of the flesh!" She finished her grand speech, an appalled look coming over her face. Sherrie knew her grandmom was super religious and she smiled wryly, nodding her head in agreement, though the idea that Hawk was tempting her with 'sins of the flesh' was incredibly hilarious to her,

'Yeah, he wishes...' She thought, pursing her lips to keep herself from laughing. Her uncle was beyond angry with how the conversation was going,

"How do you know Sherrie didn't tempt the boy herself?" He asked spitefully. Sherrie glared at him. Grandmom laughed,

"Oh come now James, look at this face!" She grabbed Sherrie's cheeks, pinching and pulling at them so they made her face resemble a blowfish, "Does this sweet face look like it belongs to someone capable of doing something as dreadful as that?" James burst out into laughter,

"Spare me mother! I'm sure that your sweet little angel has done things that would make someone like you keel over and die of shock!"

"James mind your language! There are ladies present!" Grandmom scolded. "And yes I realize that in the past my lovely Sherrie was rough around the edges, but now she's my perfect little darling!" Sherrie cringed at the cutesy nickname,

'I hope the guys never hear about this...' she thought, dreading the thought of Trip and Hawk finding out about the horrible nickname. It was worse than being called Miss Cherry Pie and she knew she'd never hear the end of it. Uncle James sneered,

"Whatever, just take her out of that place already if you're so worried about her!" Sherrie's eyes went wide with fear. Was this it? Was she really going back to Massachusetts after only a few days? It hadn't even been a week yet and she was supposed to demonstrate her superior singing skills to Hawk tomorrow! Her grandmom must have sensed her fear and looked back and forth between Sherrie and her son,

"Now, now, I promised Sherrie I would let her continue school here as a reward for passing her debutante training. However, if a few more incidents like this happen, I'm taking her back to Massachusetts for good!" Sherrie recognized the warning in her grandmother's eyes, "I will give you three more chances Sherrie, as the saying goes, three strikes and you're out!" Sherrie smiled, relieved,

"Thank you Grandmom." She said, throwing her arms around her devout Christian grandmother. Sherrie had gotten up to excuse herself when her grandmom said that she had an early birthday present for her...her uncle was pissed to say the least.

Present day, 1978

The guys would be so jealous when she pulled up in this. She thought excitedly, suddenly frowning when she thought about what she said she'd do when she got her dream car: install huge ass speakers and blast rock n' roll music at top volume. None of that was happening anytime soon, not when she was a minor and under the care of her strict grandmother and her hypocrite uncle. She sighed, there was a part of her that wanted to emancipate herself from them entirely. She didn't care about the money nor the recognition it got her, not if she couldn't be herself or hang out with friends who liked her for herself versus friends who only liked her for her status. And it all meant nothing if she hadn't earned it herself, it sort of felt like cheating. She looked around at the car she was driving, even this, the car that she had wanted forever, didn't feel like it belonged to her. On the other hand, she couldn't leave her poor Grandmom, not after hearing how her mother estranged herself from the family. The old lady wasn't half bad, she had grown on her. The sweet old lady had done something her mother didn't, disciplined her and taught her manners and etiquette. She'd learned the essential life lessons she needed to make it in the real world. You know, just in case her music career didn't exactly go the way she'd wanted it to... Oh yes, she still secretly harbored plans to become a rock n' roll star. It was her lifelong dream, she'd follow through with it even if it killed her. She'd try to make her Grandmom understand, it's not like Sherrie could leave the woman with her bastard of an uncle...

Mind wandering, Sherrie failed to notice that she had run a stop sign and was about to t-bone a shiny new Volvo that had come from her left. The driver swerved his car into the next lane, almost coming into a head on collision with a pickup truck in the opposite lane. Sherrie slammed on her brakes before she hit the Volvo, ducking her head shamefully as she heard the driver of said Volvo shout at her angrily, his voice cracking with the adrenaline rush that comes with every near death experience,

"Watch where the fuck you're going asshole!" Her eyes, which had been shut tight in humiliation popped open when she recognized who the voice belonged to. She reluctantly peaked her head over the dashboard, smiling sheepishly, as she spotted him glaring at her beneath his dark aviator sunglasses,

"Good morning Lex, beautiful day today isn't it?" She laughed nervously. She could tell by the tension in his jaw that he was less than pleased.

"Yeah, it was until you almost destroyed my mom's car! What the fuck Sherrie!?" He shouted, his heart still pounding erratically from the ordeal. The pretty blonde flinched away from the violent expletives, though she boasted a short temper herself, that kind of attitude sounded scary coming from the normally quiet, reserved Lex.

"Look, I'm sorry I only looked away for a second-"

"Yeah, well you could have killed me in that second!" He shouted.

" I slammed on my brakes didn't I!?" She yelled angrily, her fuse had been lit and Lex sighed, knowing if he didn't back down now it would get ugly. 'Calm down Lex, it was an accident, she reacted appropriately and you're mom's car is still in one piece. Just gotta make it to school...' It was then that the other drivers started to get irritated.

"Hey, stop flirting with each other and get the hell out of the road!" The guy behind him shouted. Lex looked back at him with a deadpanned expression and shifted the car into gear,

"Find me when you get to school, we need to talk." He said seriously before speeding off. She sighed, her stomach a pit of butterflies as she thought about what he might want to talk about. Sherrie had never seen him get so angry, he was usually calm and collected but for the slight underlying anxiety that he always carried with him. He'd never shouted at her like that before.

=={CB}==

Lex was rattled, anxiety caused his palms to sweat and a nervous fluttering in his stomach. It was the first time his mom had given him permission to drive the Volvo to class and he'd almost gotten into a wreck a few blocks from his house! And because of his best friend no less! Best friend...he didn't know what to think of the label after the past few days. He was agitated, frustrated, and for more than one reason. The feisty blonde seemed to tease and tempt him every chance she got. He'd held her at arms length all week, bringing up events from their past all in an attempt to remind her that she was no more than a kid sister to him. Though he didn't really believe that statement held much truth at all to him anymore. Not after he spent his last two English classes thinking about how hot she'd look in a catholic school girl uniform-gah! She was driving him insane!

He pulled the Volvo into a parking spot in front of the school and turned off the engine, sighing audibly. Today was the day he'd tell Sherrie about Christine. Jam had been bugging him about it all week, warning him that it might be disastrous if the two of them ever came in contact with each other. Come to think of it, he'd never mentioned Sherrie to Christine either, it had never really come up. Lex's thoughts were interrupted when the gorgeous Chevelle pulled up next to him, it's premium paint job sparkling under the light of the sun, the top pulled down to reveal the hot leather seats that occupied the interior of the vehicle. He would have praised the car earlier, if she hadn't almost murdered him with it. Sherrie cut out the engine, looking over at him in trepidation.

"Sorry for not paying attention, I realize I should be more careful when I'm driving a car." She didn't meet his eyes and he could sense from her stiff posture that she was worried about what he wanted to say. Lex removed his sunglasses, suddenly feeling bad for shouting at her earlier,

"It's okay, I lost my temper back there and I'm sorry, just keep your eyes on the road next time." He exited the car and Sherrie slumped in relief, she had braced herself for a fight but instead she had been gently reprimanded. She got out of the Chevelle and met him on the sidewalk. 'Okay, this is it,' he thought, 'I've got to tell her now.' He opened his mouth to speak when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, telling him over and over how sorry she was, this girl of his dreams pressed her body against him and he was met with resentment and jealousy from the passing football players whom he merely smiled at. She pulled away moments later, genuinely apologetic and as he looked her in the face he realized he couldn't do it. He liked all the attention she was paying him and he liked how much closer they had become over the past few days. But if he couldn't tell her about Christine, what were his options? Should he dump Christine and date Sherrie instead? Or would that only ruin their friendship? Christ! What was he supposed to do!?

-(CB)-

Hi again! So this chapter was mostly filler and flashbacks I promise I will get to Sherrie's bet with Hawk next time! I know this one took a while and honestly most of my chapters are probably going to take about a month to write based on how busy my schedule gets. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading! Leave me a review and tell me what you thought!