Reputation: Book One

Qrow

Bury A Friend- Billie Eilish

Don't Let Me Down- Chainsmokers

Mo Bamba- Sheck Wes

As I walked up to the front porch of Ezme's house, I could feel the beat of the bass in the song reverberating through the ground and travelling around within my whole body before I was even seven feet from the door. When I reached for the handle, it popped open, making me flinch in surprise. Ezme was standing on the other side to greet me.

"Heeeey," She slurs over the music. I give her a nervous smile, immediately snapping to my suspicion that she was already drunk, or getting there pretty soon. She let me inside and as soon as I saw the enormous crowd, my instincts took over and I wanted to just turn around and leave. There were so many people there; at least 100 bodies at least. The ceiling lights were out in every room but the kitchen and there was a floor disco ball spinning around, projecting the small, dim, multi-coloured lights all over the walls of the room. The furniture was pushed up against the wall to make room for all the fools that danced around on the tables and the living room floor, which was already covered with beer bottles and cans.

I beelined through the crowd and wandered outside to the yard and pool area. I hoped to find somebody to talk to, but I only found what a pervert would want: hot, half-dressed girls on top of beaming teenage boys as they all drunkenly bobbed around. My eyes widen and I nervously let out a giggly grumble, spin around on my heel and quickly go back inside before I was dragged into the nude pool. I run through the kitchen to avoid the living area and saw a dozen filled bottles of beer placed neatly on the counter, waiting to be taken. I skidded to a stop, snatched one off the counter and bashed it against the corner, popping the lid off.

"Never seen anyone open a bottle so fiercely," A male voice laughs beside me. I snap my head around, startled. A tall, cute, olive-skinned young man, probably about college age, stood there against the wall, grinning at me with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't see an opener," I point out, laughing along with him. His brown eyes flickered a sense of familiarity.

"Hey," He starts, pointing a long, slender finger at me. "Aren't you the little vigilante prince that runs around with those other wannabes?"

My eyes narrow in disbelief. Did he seriously just say that?

"Wannabes?" I echo. "You mean the people who save more lives than the PPD?"

His smirk fell and he sets his jaw. "That's a little stretch, don't you think?" He sneers, pressing his own dark green glass bottle to his full, pink lips.

I hold the sharp stare for another beat, trying to look as intimidating as I could. He gives me another sly smile, stands upright and disappears into the crowd. I look to the floor, blinking. What the hell? I stomped out in anger, sliding along the wall to avoid being slammed.

Before I could reach the staircase to go upstairs and hide, somebody grabbed my shoulder. I turned around to smack them, but they pulled me through the loud crowd and shoved me into the large, pitch-black closet under the staircase, my head clobbering the small door frame as I was pushed further inside. My vision went black for a few seconds and my hearing was echoing and ringing. I winced, reaching up and grabbing the back of my head. I couldn't even think straight. I groaned. "What the-"

The closet light flicked on and my eyes locked onto his. They narrowed as he studied my face with such fury I could feel it through his facial expression.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tripp snarls, shutting the closet door and spinning back around to face me. I let my eyes fall over his exposed arms that bulged out of his Harley Davidson tank top. I set my eyes back on his. "What the hell makes you think it's okay to grab me and hurl me into a utility closet?" I shoot back, wincing as my loud voice made my head throb even more. He took in a patient breath. "Qrow, you need to go," He says in a low voice.

"Why?" I ask, voice raising again.

"I'm not asking you, Qrow, I'm telling. You need to get out of here before something happens to you," He says sternly. My eyebrow raised.'Happens to me'? What am I, a child?

I studied his face with angry eyes. "I don't need you always on my case, okay Tripp? I'm twenty-one years old, I can take care of myself! I don't need you following me around and telling me what to do and what not to do, trying to take responsibility of me as if I matter to you," I shoot, throwing my hand to my side. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I try to avoid you but you just pop up everywhere I go and it's so unfair!"

Tripp sets his jaw. "Because I don't want you to get drunk and do something you'll regret. And I don't wanna get any higher than I already am with you here and do something to you, okay? I'm trying to protect you," He tells me.

"Well I don't know why you do that because one: you're not my mom and two: I'm not worried because like I said five seconds ago," I take in another deep breath to try and calm myself down a bit more. "I can take care of myse-"

Tripp suddenly reached forward, grabbing the sore part of my skull with his huge hand and yanking me forward, pushing our lips together. I make a surprised sound, his grip making my head hurt even more. He held my face there for a second before slowly pulling away. He lets me go, the sound of our lips parting making my stomach knot. I swallow, staring at him numbly, the touch of his soft lips still lingering on mine.

Tripp held our gaze for another beat before his lips mouthed something, probably something I'd just ignore anyway, but I couldn't hear anything over my pulse pounding in my ears. His silver lip stud caught the dim, yellow overhead light not too far above our heads and winked at me. I watched his bicep muscles slightly move and turn beneath his exposed skin as he gestured around with his hands. My eyes locked back onto his lips. His amazingly warm, kissable lips...

Without warning I threw myself into him, reaching up and pulling his head down so I could kiss him again, although I kind of failed because I had to stand on my tip-toes so I could reach him. He overlooked my stumble and immediately went along with it, lowering his head and setting his hands on my lower back to pull me into him. His hands slid down and around my waist as he opened his mouth to kiss me again, gripping it tightly as I snaked my arms around his neck to draw him closer. 

"Can we go upstairs?" I ask eagerly. His eyes widen and he raises his eyebrows.

"If you insist," He replies, fighting a smile. Yes! I win!

"You'd have to show me how to do everything," I whisper. "because I have a total of no experience with men."

He smirks, leaning down to whisper in my ear.

"That's not a problem, Prince Charming."

(Credits to Jack Johnson, my GBF <3)