Chapter Five already! Wowser.
A big thank you to all of the followers, old and new, you honestly make me smile every time I get an email to say that you've joined the followers.
However, I love my reviewers that little bit more because you're all so lovely.
Lena – There is more! A lot more; I pinky promise!
HeyItsKerry – Update at the ready. Here it is, just for you.
By the way, as much as I hope everybody is in character, I thought writing Dynasty's bits like, 'Wh's tha go' to do with any o' you?' would get a bit distracting, so please feel free to read in your best Dynasty impressions. I know I do.
Chapter Five
"Ah, Dynasty, take a seat," Michael instructed, smiling at the young woman with what he hoped was encouragement.
Dynasty sat down slowly. Her eyes were hooded and by the gentle pout of her lips, Michael began to worry that he was confronting a very different Dynasty Barry to the one he had come to know. The way she sat back in her chair, legs cross and eyes shining with concealed fire was reminiscent of the rebel he had met the first time the Barry family walked through his gates.
"So, what it is?" Dynasty asked, half brusque, half bored.
Taken aback, Michael faltered before leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his desk.
"Dynasty, you're attendance today has been irregular, as I'm sure you know. At Waterloo Road we expect all students to be punctual and yes, present. Where were you?"
Dynasty shrugged.
"In the toilets; I wasn't feeling well," Dynasty replied thickly.
Michael studied the pale cast of his student's skin and the bright red rings around her eyes, undercut by dark grey smudges.
"I can see that. You haven't been to see the Nurse I take it?"
Dynasty shook her head. Michael couldn't be sure but he thought he saw panic in her eyes before she looked down, avoiding his gaze. Michael had had his fair amount of arguments with Christine and if his recent experiences had taught him anything it was that a broken heart was a sickness in itself, especially at seventeen.
"You see, Dynasty, I won't pretend that I'm not aware of your separation from Mr Chalk and-"
Dynasty's head shot up and her features were twisted in disgust.
"What's that got to do with any of you?" she snapped, dragging herself to her feet and scowling across the desk.
Michael stood and walked around to her. His eyes widened as she took a step away from him, like his presence made her uneasy.
Dynasty surveyed the room anxiously.
"Kevin is a good lad. I'm only concerned that Steve-O perhaps isn't a good choice of substitute for-"
Dynasty chest heaved with anger.
"Look, me and Kevin or me and Steve-O have got anything to do with you, so why don't you all just keep your noses out of my business, alright?"
Before Michael could react, Dynasty had snatched her bag up from the floor and slammed the door to his office closed behind her. Through the window to his left Michael could see Sonya calling after Dynasty with a disgruntled expression before she turned around and mouthed, "What's her problem?"
The repetitive click click of heels approaching forced Kevin's head away from Macbeth. Dynasty's hair looked wild as disobedient strands fell down from the crumbling pile atop her head but Kevin couldn't help admiring the innocence it gave her. This was the Dynasty he had woken up to; feral hair and naked skin. There was no mascara thickening her soft brown lashes or creamy makeup that smudged on his shirts. Just Dynasty.
"Dynasty," Kevin called as he gathered his bag from the rough steps outside the school and grasped her arm.
Dynasty jerked away from him before fixing him with an apologetic grimace.
"Look, Dynasty, I know that..." he began but Dynasty shushed him, glancing fearfully around her.
The main gate. The bike lock. She studied each of Steve-O's usual spots.
"Not here," Dynasty whispered.
She took Kevin's arm and dragged him away, ignoring his protests and didn't speak until she had pulled him out of the back gate of Waterloo Road.
"Why do you keep trying to get yourself killed? He will kill you, Kevin, don't think he won't," Dynasty said angrily, stomping through the undergrowth towards the small woodland that would hide them from the roads.
Once they were under the cover of the trees, Dynasty threw her bag down in frustration, facing Kevin with an expression he had never seen before. He tried to place it, deciding it was a mixture of desperation and something else he couldn't describe, something tragic. Love and pain.
Dynasty laid down her coat and sat down. Her shoulders slumped and when she spoke her voice was thick with emotion.
"Please, don't make it all be for nothing."
Kevin's brows furrowed and he sat down on the dry earth beside her. Tentatively, he took her hand in his and wound their fingers together.
Dynasty examined their hands, entwined together loosely and shook her head.
"I led him on. I made him think I wanted to. I just thought if I could get him to Liverpool then you'd be safe but if you provoke him, let him hurt you, then what was it for? If he gets to you then what he did to me doesn't mean anything. Don't you see? As long as he thinks he has me, he'll leave you alone. You have to be safe; I can accept it if you're safe."
Dynasty clutched Kevin's hand tighter and drew it into her lap.
"Dynasty, he doesn't think he has you; he does have you. It's not right; you don't belong with him..."
"And what? I belong with you?" Dynasty shot back.
Kevin's heart pounded in his ears just having her so close. He could sense her fear but also her trust and it kept him focussed just knowing that she wasn't afraid of him. Kevin was determined.
"Yeah, you do. I love you."
Ooft, I may have got a little impatient and pulled out the big three but who cares, they only went ahead and did it in episode 26 so I guess I can too! X
