Love At First Bite

chapter five

      Duncan's alcohol-addled mind couldn't exactly remember how he knew where Courtney's house was. But he did. For whatever reason.

As he pulled into the driveway, something about the New England-style home struck him as oddly familiar. Putting the car in park and quickly turning off the headlights; though he then remembered her parents weren't in town, he turned to look at the girl in his passenger seat.

Courtney was fast asleep, but the unintelligible muttering and the fact that her eyes were roaming beneath her eyelids alluded that she was dreaming hard about something. She was beautiful, and Duncan took a moment to appreciate the strong panes of her face and her slightly parted full lips.

Duncan hated that Courtney hated him. He knew that he had brought it on himself but it didn't make it suck any less. They'd known each other since kindergarten, and he'd always done anything he could to push her buttons. She'd resented him ever since, and he wasn't going to risk his bad-boy reputation by being nicer to her and making everyone think he'd gone soft. Besides, she probably wasn't even worth it anyway.

A light coming on in an upstairs window abruptly drew his attention away from her.

"The hell?" He muttered to himself, unlocking the car doors and stepping out the driver's side. No one should have been here. Did he have the wrong house?

Leaving Courtney passed out in the car, Duncan re-locked the car doors with the key-fob and approached the front door. He raised his fist to knock, which seemed like the logical move, but before his knuckles made contact with the wood, locks clicked and the door cracked open. Duncan squinted at the figure in the dark through the gap, making eye contact with a foggy green eye. After a few moments, the eye widened and the door swung fully open.

"Duncan, what the fuck are you doing here?"

It took him a moment to register the face he was looking at. But after a few awkward seconds, it donned on him.
"Trent!? What the fuck are you doing here?"

Trent blinked, stepping forward out of the door and onto the porch, closing the door behind him.

"I live here dumbass." He said, crossing his arms against the chill night air.

Duncan's head cocked to the side, a confused scowl setting across his sharp features, "I thought this was Courtney's house."

Trent stiffened. The dark-haired senior remained silent for a few moments, seemingly arguing with himself in his thoughts. Having apparently come to a conclusion, he shook his head slightly, "It is."

Duncan, who was now even more incredibly confused, looked back at the car, and then back at his friend.

"Then why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"What's going on?" A tired voice sounded from behind the shorter boy as the passenger side door clicked shut.

Trent flew off the porch to catch Courtney as she stumbled up the driveway, making Duncan's inebriated brain dizzy.

"You promised me you weren't going to drink," He muttered to her, looping his arm around her back. She chuckled in response and simply waved at Duncan as Trent hauled her up the steps and into the house. Without glancing over his shoulder, Trent gestured for Duncan to follow him in.

The entry led right into the living room, where Trent gently laid Courtney on the couch, turning on the lamp on the side table.

"I still want to know why you're in Courtney's house," Duncan said, leaning against the arm of a chair.

Trent plopped down in the seat opposite him, glancing in his periphery at the brown-haired beauty now snoring on the sofa, "It's my house too idiot," He groaned, turning his attention back to the green-haired delinquent on the other side of the room, "she's my sister."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: So sorry this chapter is so short! I've actually had this sitting in my docs for ten months and rewrote the entire thing a few days ago. This is kind of a segue into what really has to happen next, so I apologize for its short length and abrupt ending, but I hope to have the time to continue writing quite a bit soon. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy in self-isolation. Love you guys!

-Taylor <3