Bad Dreams //mgc

81.

*Cara's POV*

As soon as the song ends, Michael releases me from his comforting grasp, but remains behind me.

The class seems to have liked it. The clapping hasn't stopped. I look back at Michael and he's staring at me with pride. I take his hand in mine behind my back and Miss Williams settles the class and asks if anyone has questions.

"Did you actually wrote that?" someone asks.

"I wrote it, and then Michael here helped turn it into lyrics."

"Did you take those pictures?"

"All the ones of the band, and all the video clips, I did"

"The other people who flashed through, were they your demons?" The girl quickly looked at TJ then back to me. I knew someone would catch that. TJ looked away.

"Yes, in some form or another, they are the issues of my past that I've had to work through."

"And Michael is your burst of color?"

I look to him quickly, squeezing his hand. "Yes"

"How difficult was it to work through?" a quiet voice asks from the back.

"Extremely hard. I had a lot of trust issues, a lot of shame. I'm still working on some of these now, but I found someone to help me through it, someone who has stayed by my side and keeps me strong." I squeeze Michael's hand again.

"Why was Trevor in there?" TJ. Oh fuck! I glance to Miss Williams and she intercedes,

"Fantastic job Cara! You have set the bar really high for the class. Any last questions about the lyrics?" No one speaks up. "Alright then. Cara, as soon as you pack your stuff up, you are free to go."

Just then a voice sounds from somewhere in the room, "will you follow me back on twitter Mikey?" The voice that asked if he was my burst of color. I freeze and I feel Michael tense up and shrug. Fuck fuck fuck. This is what I was afraid of. Shit's about to get bad. I look at Miss Williams as she discreetly signals me to leave. We dart out the door to the parking lot.

Once we reach my car, I bury my face in his chest. "That is what I was afraid of," I cry into his chest. He wraps his arms around me.

"We'll get through it."

****

*Michael's POV*

Cara's at work now, so I head to the band house to talk to the guys.

"So how did it go?"
"Everyone loved it, didn't they? How could they not!"
"Did they say anything about us?"

"They loved it guys. But we may have a problem." I said. "One of our followers is in her class." All three of them realized the implications at the same time.

"They know you're together now." Calum said. I nodded.

"Look, I've talked to Modest about it, but not Cara. I've been stalking fan accounts and there are death threats out there already. Luckily not directed to her yet, but once they know we're actually together, it won't take long."

"Then we need to get a step ahead of them. And fast." Ashton says, pulling up Skype. Moments later, we're connected with Modest.

"We need to announce Cara to the fans," I say as soon as we are done greeting each other. No point in beating around the bush.

"We actually wanted to discuss Cara with you, regardless. We're skyping in John right now. One minute please." After a few seconds, Johns face pops up on the screen. We all say hello and get to business.

"We loved the video you sent us Ashton. The one Cara made." John agreed with them excitedly. "The file John had sent us has been approved for the EP cover and will be released digitally on Friday. She has some amazing talent for photography. We've taken your request into consideration and given the circumstances, along with her talent, we think that she should come on staff as tour photographer. At least for the summer, and we can see how it goes from there. If she's interested." This is music to my ears.

"After today, I'm pretty sure she'll be up for that," I tell them and explain about the fan in her class. They seem concerned and state they'll add extra security to the house. They suggest one of us being nearby her at all times, and if we can't, then she needs to take a guard with her. "We take death threats very seriously. Now that there may be an insider, added measures need to be taken." She is not going to like having to take someone with her to classes. But if it has to be done, oh well.

We end the call and I leave to go talk to Cara at work. I'm so excited about taking her on tour! This will relieve so much stress!

*****

*Cara's POV*

Will you follow me back on twitter Michael? I keep running this through my head. So many bad things can come out of this. I'm really nervous and that makes me jump when I see TJ standing in front of me.

"You never answered my question today," he says. I don't want to get into this with him. "Why was Trevor in there?"

"You would already know this if you had ever fucking answered my phone calls. Oh, that's right, you were too busy fucking someone else! My bad! It's none of your business TJ. It's over and done with and I never have to see him again. At least not for another 8-10 years!" Oops. I didn't mean to say that last part. Shit! Things just keep getting worse don't they?!

"8-10 years? What the hell did that asshole do to you?" His eyes widen as the realization hits him.

"Just leave TJ. I have enough shit going on in my head right now without you making it worse."

"But you and Michael looked so cozy today. Trouble in paradise already?"

Trouble in paradise? Before I can even register what I'm doing, my fist connects with his jaw.