Caught (Camren)

•7•

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"They left because we ran out of drinks," he groaned. "Maybe if you wouldn't have taken an hour to get four cases of beer they would still be here."

He took the cases from Andrew and Lauren stepped in behind us, raising her eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Of course," Austin laughed sarcastically. "I should have known."

"What's the problem?" Lauren demanded.

"Evidently, you are," he snapped. "I'm an idiot for believing Camila actually wanted to do something nice for me. She was just chasing you."

"What are you talking about?" she laughed.

"Come on, Austin," I cooed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "don't be a dick because Lauren didn't want yours."

He sat the cases on the ground and Andrew stepped forward, pushing me behind him and raising his hands in front of him defensively.

"Look man, we don't want any trouble," he assured Austin. "You got your beer. We'll just go."

Jacob and Micah peered around the corner to observe the scene, only making things worse from Austin's perspective.

"You already asked for trouble when Camila brought that slut into my house," Austin shouted, nodding in Lauren's direction.

"Excuse me?" I said quietly, taking a step forward.

"Camz, it's okay. Let's just go," Lauren protested, grabbing onto my wrist and holding me back.

I pulled out of her grasp and pushed past Andrew, closing off the distance between myself and Austin. He was only a few inches taller, still at eye level, and I stepped closer until there was only about an inch of space between us.

"Don't talk about her like that," I warned.

"Why not? It's the truth. Why else would she go after you of all people?" he spat.

"Hey, we don't need to do this," Andrew insisted. "We can leave right now if-"

"Shut up, Andrew," I interrupted.

I took a step forward and Austin took a step back. He was only a few feet from the nearest exit, but we both knew that he wouldn't get much further if he didn't keep his mouth shut.

"What's the matter?" I asked in a mocking tone. "Are you mad because she would rather hook up with a girl than you?"

"I'm not mad," he shrugged. "In fact, I feel sorry for you. Your standards are way too low."

I balled my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. I should have turned around and walked out, but I almost felt like it was my job to protect Lauren. It wasn't, of course, but no one else was stepping up to the plate, and I wasn't going to let Austin degrade her. It was too late for me leave. He picked a fight the moment we walked through that door, and he should have known better than to light a fire near a short fuse.

"Why did you pick her of all people?" he asked menacingly. "You're just as worthless as she is..."

My fist connected directly with his nose and he stumbled backwards, trying to find the exit but finding the wall instead.

"Camz!" Lauren gasped.

I heard her shuffle towards me but Andrew held her back despite her shouts of protest. I stepped closer to Austin and bunched the collar of his shirt up in my hand, glaring at him as the blood began to drip out of his nose.

"Say anything else about her and I'll ruin you," I threatened, pushing him into the wall and releasing his shirt.

I stomped out of the house and my friends followed, meeting me in the front yard as the door slammed behind us. I ran a hand through my hair and tried to calm down but I was too wound up. I paced back and forth along the driveway and kicked the door to Austin's car, leaving a dent in the metal.