Calore Dance Academy// Red Queen AU

Chapter 75

Nat is back on the grid and here at last with a new chapter! To all that are here reading today: thanks for sticking with me. It's been a wild two months of college applications. 

I have been writing fanfiction for nearly five years. It has always been what I turn to when I need to escape into a world of my own making. My readers' support and the community that you all have created mean more to me than you can guess. So if I don't say it enough, thank you all for your continued support. <3

As I get back into the swing of things, please DM me or join the Discord if you have any questions about CDA plot. It's been a while, so it's easy to forget about little things going on in my fanfiction. 

As always, enjoy! 

And star and comment!

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A man is in my room.

Somewhere between sleep and consciousness, I hear the click of my door, the quiet padding of feet across marble. I draw closer to sentience when he peels my covers back, puts one of his knees down on the mattress.

In sly movements, he shifts closer, closer until his chest presses against my back, until I can feel the vibrations of his breath against my skin. Beneath the covers, his arm loops over my body, hand settling against the mattress on the other side of me. He gets closer still, until I feel his hips press up against my ass.

The feeling sends butterflies to the bottom of my stomach. With my eyes half-open, I peer wearily at my bedroom's shadows. Another crisp, clear morning pierces the curtains that have appeared from thin air. It's too early. My head still swims in its delirious state, forehead pulsing even as I enjoy the feeling of Cal's body against mine.

"Hey," I murmur, not quite awake.

I smile against the pillow, pushing my own body closer yet. The man in my bed chuckles, now searching for my hand with his. When he finds it, his skin feels cool.

"Hey."

My eyes fly all the way open, lurching me into total, indignant consciousness.

I'm twisting around while simultaneously putting some distance between me and the boy in my bed. Maven.

My boyfriend.

"Hey!" I say again, this time shrieking. I force a smile to my face, even as I feel it heat up. "You—you surprised me, Maven."

With a clever, fox-like grin, Maven props himself up onto his elbow, resting his jaw in his hand. He peers at me through the darkness, across the two feet of air that I've cleaved between us. "Did I? Maybe I deserve another slap for it."

He inches closer again, and I find myself fighting with a tangle of sheets in attempt to extricate myself from the bed. The bedding falls away from my shoulders, revealing Cal's clothing. Everything about the warm, soft, ridiculously-big sweatshirt makes it feel wrong to be in bed with Maven.

A cool hand closes around my wrist, pushing the sweatshirt cuff away. I force myself to look at Maven again, feeling like a deer in the headlights. I feel like I'm drowning as I try to gather my bearings, eyes stinging as they adjust to the room's dim light.

Even through the curtains, I can tell that it's well into the morning, though my head still pulses with the ache of last night. The bruise on my back pulses with every twist in the sheets. The pit in my stomach returns with full force, though the warmth of steak lingers.

My boyfriend regards the clothes on my body with a dirty, annoyed look. Cal's clothes seem to remind him of something and grate on his nerves. He forgets about whatever he wanted to do with me, but when his eyes return to mine, they soften. His grip shifts to my hand, clasping my fingers between his.