I laughed along as music thumped into my ears, I raised my hands up and started dancing along to the music. I took another swig from the bottle I have in my hand and emptied its contents. I lost sight of my friends about an hour ago but I didn't care, they could find me anyway if they wanted and ruin my fun but now, I just want to live life and party like there's no tomorrow.
"Hey babe, you came alone?" A guy who was beside me flirted.
I gave him a flirty smile and just started to dance with him, I didn't care if he was drunk or sober, if he was a pervert or not, I just wanted to dance with someone and he came just on time. He pulled me closer towards his body and I laughed and pressed mine against his. He placed his hand at the small of my back and trailed kisses down my neck when someone pulled me away from him. I snapped my head towards the culprit and whined. "What now? You're such a party pooper Dylannn!"
"And you're drunk, doing dirty dancing with some random douche." He spat out as he led me towards the kitchen. "The rest are also drunk and I managed to stay sober, luckily.
I pulled away from his grasp and stomped my feet on the floor. "No!"
"What do you mean 'no'? You're not a child so stop acting like one, come here so I can give you something that'll make you sober." He started to reach for my hand again but I pulled away.
"I am sober! You're the drunk one!" I pointed at him.
"C'mon, stop playing around before you do something really stupid." He managed to grab my hand and pull me towards the kitchen.
I dug my heels on the floor to slow him down. "But mommy!! I don't want to go to the dentist!"
I saw the edge of his mouth quirk up in amusement but he still looked serious. "C'mon Steph, before I tell the scary dentist to bring out his sharp stuff and pull out your teeth!" He threatened.
I gasped and frantically clawed at his hand. "No! No! No! Let me go you big meanie!"
Dylan sighed. "You need medicine and you're coming with me whether you like it or not." I was suddenly floating in midair and I was way taller than before.
I hit Dylan on the back. "Put me down! I will call the police for a case of rape."
"You wouldn't even be able to lift the phone before you knock out cold." I heard him say behind me as we climbed the stairs. I just sighed and closed my eyes as I waited for where my journey will take me. We reached upstairs and I heard a door behind me open, I was put down on something cold, flat and ceramic. I noticed the shower and toilet and a walk-in closet so my guess is that we were in the bathroom and I was sitting on the counter beside the sink.
My head started to throb and I placed a hand on my temple to keep it from being pounded by an invisible stick like a drum. I groaned which caught Dylan's attention and he placed his hand on top of mine which was on my temple. "Are you okay? You look like shit."
I moved my head which was neither a yes or a no, I just want the throbbing to stop. He placed his hand on my forehead. "Steph, your burning up, do you always get sick when you drink alcohol?" He grabbed a small towel hanging beside the sink and turned on the faucet to wet it. I could hear my pulse beating in my head and I just want to lie down on something soft, something I can rest my head on.
Dylan came stood in front of me between my legs and started to dab my forehead with the wet cloth. "You should rest, you might have a fever tomorrow."
I shook my head furiously. "No! I want to party!" I whined. "Don't be such a party pooper!" I pouted.
He rolled his eyes but continued to dab my forehead with the cloth. "Remind me to look after you during every party, just think of this as my return favor for your help during Axel's party. You're so childish when your drunk." He placed the cloth down and started to look through the medicines beside me, my head felt heavy so I rested it on his shoulder while I heard shaking tablets like a salt shaker beside me.
I groaned and closed my eyes to stop the throbbing, where was I again? What did I do to cause this pounding in my head? "Dylan....make the drumming sound stop..." I whined.
The salt shaker sounds continued. "Unless I have a superpower, you're on your own kid....found it."
I lifted my head and turned it to my side to look at what he's talking about, he gave me two tablets of medicine that looked like Advil and a bottle of water. "Here, this'll stop the throbbing."
I blinked a few times before I grabbed the bottle and Advil and gulp the medicine down, finishing the bottle. "It still hurts!!" I whined and rested my head against his shoulder then wrapped my hands around his neck. "Make it stop!"
"Relax, the medicine takes a little time to take effect - "
"Make the throbbing stop! Dylan, stop it!" I whined.
"What do you want me to do?" He sounded impatient.
"Bring me to a bed and sleep with me.." I mumbled and turned my head to the side so my lips pressed against his neck. "Bring me to a bed..." I mumbled, trailing a kiss to his jaw, my hands moved to stroking his hair.
He stiffened but didn't push me and my mouth lifted to a smile as I nibbled on his ear, I heard him groan then he tightened his grip on my hips. "Dylan...please make the hurting stop..." I whispered in his ear although the throbbing lessened a bit. I heard him let out a shaky breath as I pulled him closer.
I breathe in his scent and trailed a kiss to his cheek then the tip of his nose, he let out one last groan before he pushed me away. "Stop," He whispered.
I smirked. "Why?" Then the throbbing returned, I placed a hand to my forehead. "Owww...."
"Yeah, that's what you get." He mumbled before grabbing the same cloth and placed it on my forehead. His face was flushed and his hair was a mess, he wouldn't look at me as he continued to wipe my forehead. The throbbing stopped a bit and I can start to move my head without it hurting.
"Dylan?"
"Yeah?" He looked up then shook his head. "You need to sleep, you might be sick by tomorrow morning."
I pouted. "I don't want to sleep alone, I want to sleep with you!" I whined.
He ran his hand through his hair. "Why me? I'll call El or Hailey to accompany you to bed or something."
I tilted my head to the side and gave him a confused look. "Don't you want to sleep with me?"
His baby blue eyes widened then he started to blush a deep shade of red. "What the hell? No I don't - that's it, I'm calling Hailey." He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the contacts.
I snatched his phone and stuck my tongue out at him. "Now you can't call Hailey without a phone."
"Steph, stop being such a child and give it back, no way in hell am I sleeping beside you." He tried to snatch the phone but I slipped it into my back pocket.
"Go ahead! I can squish the phone with my butt if you refuse." I taunted.
"Oh please, you're not that heavy now give it back." He stuck out his hand while I stuck out my tongue. He sighed and grabbed the slightly wet cloth. "Fine, let's go."
I stuck out both my arms and gave him a sweet smile. "You weigh like a ton." He complained, looking at me.
I pointed at him. "Liar, you said I wasn't that heavy, now carry me." I demanded.
"God, how old are you?" He said as he walked closer and placed one hand behind my back and one behind my knees. I wrapped my hands around his neck and nuzzled my nose against his neck and closed my eyes.
After what seemed like seconds later, my back touched something soft and Dylan let me go but I still had my hands wrapped around his neck. "Steph, let go, you're like a fucking leech." He tried to pry my hands away.
I pulled him closer. "No, you said you would sleep beside me."
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright, alright." I let go and he took of his shoes and crawled in the bed beside me. "Now go to sleep before I knock you out myself." He said once he lie down and placed the wet cloth on my forehead. I rested my head on his chest to be sure he doesn't escape and once I managed a comfortable position, I was covered in darkness.
~.~.~.~.~.~
I slowly opened my groggy eyes once the sunlight hit my eyelids. I looked at the ceiling and sat up, I scanned the room. This isn't my room, it looks more like a guy's room. Holy shit! A guy's room? What happened last night? Please tell me I just knocked out on a convenient bed and did nothing embarrassing last night.
I screamed when I saw a familiar shade of blonde beside me and calmed down. It's just Dylan...okay...wait, Dylan? Did we do what I think we just did? I looked down at myself and let out a sigh of relief when I still had my clothes on, so did Dylan so nothing happened last night...right? Someone please tell me I'm right.
"Mmrgph.." Dylan grumbled beside me, catching my attention. He lifted his eyelids, revealing his bright blue eyes. "You okay already?" He asked, slowly sitting up.
"Dylan? What happened last night?" I asked cautiously.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Oh, last night? Not much, you were in terrible pain and I gave you Advil and let you sleep, that's it. I guess I also fell asleep on the spot." He yawned.
I started to feel dizzy and let my head fall back on the pillow. "If you gave me Advil, how come my head still hurts?" I groaned.
I felt him press the back of his hand against my forehead. "That's cause you have a fever, you caught one last night. You're lucky I found you before anything happened, Matt and the rest were drunk off their ass, speaking of Matt and the rest, I better go find them."
"Who's room are we in anyway?" I asked.
"Matt's, I don't know where that guy slept last night, if I catch him in the nude with some chic, I'm not gonna help him clean up this place." He started to get up and head for the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, he came out and gave me a tablet. "Here, this is for your fever, I'll bring you a glass of water, hold up." He walked out of the room.
I sighed and felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I want to know the full episode that just happened last night. I don't believe that Dylan told me everything, I feel as if I did something really embarrassing but Dylan just won't tell me what it was. What if I was vomiting when Dylan found me? What if I was stripped naked before Dylan found me? There are so many possibilities that could have happened last night. I'm just glad that the only outcome of the party is a mild fever.
Dylan came back with a glass of water. "Here, I found Tyler knocked out on the floor, but that's just it. The whole place is a mess and I can't find the others."
I thanked him for the water and medicine and washed it down my throat. Something cold and wet was pressed against my forehead and I looked up to see Dylan placing a piece of wet cloth on my forehead. "I'll go downstairs and clean up." He said before leaving again and leaving me at peace to go back to my slumber.
~.~.~.~.~.~
I awoke and felt my forehead to feel it a bit cooler than before. I got up and blinked a few times to clear my head, once it did, I walked out of the room and walked downstairs. I heard the clanking of dropped cans and plastic cups being swept against the floor. I walked in the living room to see everyone up and running to clean this place.
Hailey was the first to see me. "Hey, you okay already? Dylan said that you were having a fever."
I nodded. "Yeah, I think I'm fine can I help with clean up duty?"
"Yeah," Matt said, dropping a plastic cup in a black trash bag. "I think the backyard is not yet clean."
I nodded and El followed me to the garden to help since the inside was nearly clean already. We reached the garden and was thankful when I didn't see much trash that looked unidentified to my eyes, just a couple of red cups and plastic wrappers. I picked them up and dropped them in the nearest garbage bag.
"Hey, did you know that Dylan is joining the Battle of the Talents?" El asked as she handed me another full bag.
I grabbed the other bag and looked at her. "You mean the talent show?" She nodded. "He said he'll think about but I didn't know he already made a decision, what convinced him to join?" I asked.
"Not what, who. Hailey managed to convince him and he joined without a second thought."
I felt a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, like jealousy. Hailey was actually able to convince Dylan to join by only words while I still have to try to persuade and argue with him just to get the answer of him thinking about it. "Did he say what he was doing?" I asked instead.
She frowned and shook his head. "Not really, he just said he's joining, that's it. I didn't ask anymore what he was planning to do. Hailey and Dylan said that it was a surprise."
"I think I know what he's gonna do." I said.
~.~.~.~.~.~
"How the heck do you do this?" I asked, moving the skateboard back and forth with my foot.
Dylan shrugged. "It's hard at first but you'll get used to a few scrapes and bruises."
I scrunched my nose and kicked the skateboard towards him. "I don't think I want to get a cut right now." He picked up the skateboard and I sat on top of a low halfpipe. "Oh yeah, I also heard that you're planning to join the talent show, why didn't you tell me you will join already?" I lightly punched him on the shoulder.
He grinned. "I was planning to, but I guess you already know. Hailey convinced me to join so....I did."
"Out of curiousity, how did she convince you?" I asked casually.
He gave me a skeptical look but answered. "Nothing much, she just talked me into it, why?"
I just smiled and shrugged. "Nothing, just me being curious."
"Well, your curiosity is weird then." He said, getting up on the halfpipe. He hopped on his skateboard and tilted off the edge of where I was sitting. He skated towards the other end while doing a 50-50 grind, I watched in awe. I wish I could do those tricks without feeling scared to do so.
He skated back and landed beside me, he sat down. "Actually, I was going to ask you if you could help me pract - "
"Of course!" I immediately said then caught myself, I cleared my throat and said a bit calmer. "I mean, o - of course."
He chuckled in amusement then nodded. "How about after tutoring? I'm planning to start after christmas break." As he said that, Clyde came by and greeted us. "Dylan, there's this match later tonight, prize money is 10k, want to join?"
He shrugged as if it were nothing. "Yeah, sure."
I snapped my head towards his direction. "What? Dylan, you can't go around and pick fights in the middle of the night, what if the police caught you or something? You'll be thrown to jail with no one to bail you out." I warned him.
He waved his hand dismissively. "Relax, I've done this hundreds of times and I've never been caught, I also don't pick the fights, fights come to me - random dudes find out about me and want to pick a fight, so technically this wasn't my idea."
"Yeah, but you'll be seriously injured." I tried reasoning.
Clyde grinned and patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I've seen Dylan fight ever since he was fifteen, he can handle himself, you have nothing to worry about, and if anything does happen, I'll call you firsthand." He reassured.
"You don't need to call me cause I'll be there myself." I told Clyde.
Now Dylan is the one to protest. "What? Steph, no, you can't and you won't go. It's too da - "
I gave him a pointed look. "Don't give me that 'it's too dangerous for a girl' shit, I've heard of that dumb speech a guy gives to a girl and let me tell you - I don't give a fuck." I said confidently.
But he wouldn't believe me, he turned to Clyde. "Could you give me a minute to think about it?" Clyde nodded and went back inside, Dylan looked at me again. "Steph, these fights happen in the middle of the night - "
"I know that - "
" - and there are a lot of thugs watching hungry for a girl around, I don't want to go around and fight while you stand there defenseless surrounded by perverted douches that'll not hesitate to knock you out. I can't protect you and go fight at the same time."
"You don't need to be my bodyguard, I can protect myself - "
"I don't want anything like that to happen again!" He snapped, I flinched at his voice. He sighed in frustration and ran his hand through his hair. I struggled to find the right words. "A - Again? What do you mean?" I asked in a quiet voice since Dylan is really sensitive when he's angry.
He propped his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. "M - My ex-girlfriend..." He mumbled. "She came to one of my fights without me knowing. After my fight, I decided to call her to tell her I'm done but she wouldn't pick up, Clyde came over and told me he saw some hairy guy carrying a familiar looking girl. I asked around and one of my friends there told me the name of this guy, I called the cops and looked all night until early before dawn, I found her."
I looked down, I didn't want to ask where or what was her condition because I didn't want to know. But he said it anyway. "Luckily, she was alive and still breathing, but scarred on her arms and she was crying when I found her. Ever since then, I stopped fighting for a while to make sure she wouldn't do anything like that again, after two months, I continued again.
"So ever since that happened plus my mom passing away before that, you can see how protective I can get. I don't want seeing anyone hurt around me so I try to minimize the number of people I hang out with. Trouble follows me wherever I go and it takes my friends as punishment."
I sat there and stared ahead as I listened to his words, really reconsidering if I should go to his fight or not. I'm starting to feel scared myself and I pitied his ex-girlfriend for having to go through that night. Dylan has a long broken untold story that has been kept buried inside, and it pains me to see him having to live through everything.
I know Dylan doesn't want to live through that reality twice with me this time. He said he's done this lots of times and he guarantees that nothing will happen but in all honesty, I was also curious to what a real street fight would look like. I actually imagined a fight like that to be like the one in Street Fighter or Tekken.
"I'm still going." I said firmly. "Dylan," I turned his head to make him face me. "I don't want you to get hurt in the middle of the night with no one to look after you, if something happens, I can call the hospital or cops. Trust me, I can handle one night - "
"What about your parents?" He cut off.
I haven't really thought about what I will tell my parents, they obviously won't allow me to go alone at night. They'll probably put me under house arrest once they find out where I'm planning to go. "I'll take care of it, just tell me what time."
~.~.~.~.~.~
I popped my head into my parents' room. "Night mom, night dad, love you." I called, earning the same response from both adults.
I walked into my room, changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed. I grabbed my phone from my bedside table and texted the only reliable person I know at this time at night. Mom and dad have a habit to check up on me to see if I'm sleeping or just lying in my bed playing with my phone. Believe me when I say that I've been caught hundreds of times, which is why they still do late-night check-ups in my room. Hailey was already snoring away on the other bed, she must be tired from God knows what.
I stared at the ceiling to keep me awake, letting my thoughts fly around the room so that'll have something to think about that will keep me awake. I looked at the clock and sighed, it's still quarter to eleven and Dylan's fight will start in fifteen minutes. I know my parents stay up late at night but they only check on me once, and if I'm asleep on that one time, they'll stop checking.
I heard padded footsteps down the hall and I shut my eyes just as a stream of light entered my room. I tried to stay as still as a rock as possible. Once I heard the familiar click of the door being shut, I sprang out of my bed and quickly changed into a black pair of jeggings and a long blouse that has a slice of watermelon on it, I tried my best to not make a sound as I went through my closet for shoes and it doesn't help that it's dark in here. I was careful not to wake Hailey when I closed my closet.
My phone chimed and I looked at the message.
I'm right outside, hurry up I'm freezing my ass off here >:(
I mentally chuckled at this and placed my phone in my back pocket, I slipped on my brown boots and grabbed my jacket near the window. I unlocked the latch of the window and pulled it up. I spotted Amber outside and grinned as I saw her annoyed expression but it feel when I saw the two-story height I have to jump down, my legs started to tremble as I placed one foot on the window ledge.
"Place one foot on the branch of the tree." Amber instructed in a whisper. "But be quiet or your parents might hear you."
"You don't say." I mumbled as I did as she instructed. I placed another foot on the branch and squeaked when I felt the branch dip a bit due to my weight. I steadied my breathing as I tried not to look down.
"Lower yourself with your hands and I'll catch you." I heard Amber's voice below.
I nodded and gulped the warm sticky feeling in my throat. I put one foot over the of the branch and closed my eyes when there was inly air beneath my feet but I had to keep going. I did the same with my other foot and now I'm hanging on the branch with only my hands.
"Okay, now drop."
I shut my eyes even tighter - if that was even possible - then let go. Not even half a second my body made contact with Amber's and the wet grass of our lawn. My body brought both me and Amber's body down to the grass and I rolled off her as soon as we landed on the floor. Amber's catch lessened the impact of my fall but I got a small cut on my left arm that'll probably heal tomorrow.
"Thanks," I said as I got up and helped her up too. "You know, for coming all this way to help me with Dylan."
She dusted the soil off her thighs and tightened her ponytail. "No prob, Dylan owes me for the cab ride though."
~.~.~.~.~
I heard the cheers of the people like a block away from our supposed destination. I'm surprised no cops can actually hear their scream and howls of cheers. Now I know why they chose to fight during this time of night.
About an average size of a circle is formed at the end of the block and Amber and I walked faster, I guess we're on time. I sped walked closer and some guys looked our way but didn't acknowledge us, I'm a bit thankful that these aren't some of the perverted ones Dylan told me about. I spotted a few hookers clinging onto a few thugs, some were walking around trying to catch the attention of one of the fighters or men. Amber and I are the only decently dressed girls around.
"Now, this is the most anticipated match tonight!" Someone in the middle of the circle announced. Both of us pushed past the big beefy bodies that made the circle. I spotted a familiar thug and called his attention, Clyde turned around and flashed a smile filled with slightly yellow teeth, at least it's someone I know.
"Steph, Amber, just in time. Follow me." He said as he pushed a through the thick - and I mean thick - crowd of people swarming around what I think is Dylan and his opponent. Some protested due to being shoved around but Clyde didn't seem to be bothered by the profanities being thrown at him.
"I've been coming to some of Dylan's fights for a few years now eversince I moved away, that's why some of these guys know me, that's why Clyde knows me." Amber explained as she nodded to one guy who looks only a bit older than us, he nodded back.
Once we made it pass the crowd, Clyde tapped the shoulder of a blondie in front of us and he turned around. His eyes widened when he spotted me behind Clyde. "Steph, what the hell are you doing here?" Dylan asked.
I placed my hands on my hips. "Was your head in the clouds the entire time we were talking at the parkour house? I told you I was coming."
"But I didn't think you were serious about coming here for real!" He exclaimed dramatically. "I told you it's not safe for a girl to be here."
"Amber is here!" I argued as the said girl shrugged beside me.
"But she's not a girl!" He said, Amber pulled back a fist to which Dylan held up his hands defensively. "Don't kill me please." He squeaked. I chuckled at how cute he looked.
"Dylan, your match will be ready in five." Clyde said, I totally forgot he was here. He tossed Dylan a thick roll of gauze. "Your gonna need that." He said as he walk away from the inner circle.
Dylan pulled the end of the gauze and started to wrap it around his right fist. "I'm serious Steph, this place is really dangerous for you." He tried again but not bothering to look up from his fist.
"I'll be fine, beside, I got Amber with me." I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"And these guys will be busy with the free hookers around this area so she'll be safe with me." Amber added.
"They're not for free." Dylan corrected as he started wrapping his other hand.
"Oh, please you wouldn't know that." Amber said, rolling her eyes.
"I know more than you think." He winked us before putting down the remaining gauze but then he became serious again. "Scream if you need anything." Dylan said, directing his gaze at me.
I just bit my lip and nodded as someone stepped in the middle of the crowd and shouted. "Alright, the biggest and probably fan favorite match of the night - the all-time champion, Dylan" --a roar of cheers erupted in my ears, making me cover them-- "and his challenger, Thunder!!!" Another roar of shouts entered my nearly damaged eardrums.
I turned my head to the opposing side of the circle and saw a huge beefy guy who looks like a pro wrestler and who is twice Dylan's size. I flinched when the thing who is supposed to be a person shouted, spit flying from his mouth. "You're going down, Pretty Boy!" He taunted.
Dylan seemed unfazed by his threat and pulled off his shirt. "Uh oh, that means Dylan's game face is on! Woooooh!!" Amber cheered, making me flinch again. "Sorry," she chuckled. A few hookers managed to push their way through the crowd and was checking out Dylan.
Dylan gave one last glance at me and stepped forward while Thunder also did the same. The referee stood between them. "Alright boys, you both know the rules of this fight - any fighting technique is allowed; no using of any weapons; winner gets the 10 grand and there are no rules about death" --my eyes widened at this-- "now...fight!"
Thunder immeditely lunged for Dylan just as Dylan sidestepped, letting Thunder fall to the ground. I heard Amber trying to stifle a laugh beside me while my eyes were glued to the ongoing possible death match in front of me.
Thunder got back up and threw a right jab which Dylan successfully countered with a left hook, landing straight on Thunder's right eye. Dylan threw punch after punch seeming that Thunder can't seem to block any of his punches. Thunder threw another punch, Dylan caught his oncoming fist and pulled Thunder towards him while Dylan held out a fist towards his face. Dylan did a swipe kick thing and Thunder fell flat on his back.
Dylan straddled him and repeatedly punched his face. Thunder managed to turn them around and he was now on top of Dylan. My feet were itching to step forward but I glued my feet in place as I watch Thunder throwing beefy punches towards Dylan's face. Dylan kicked Thunder in his unborn children, making him reel back and clutch his family jewels, I laughed as his face turned bright red. Dylan got up and kicked him in the gut, Thunder crouched down and curled up like a centipede on the floor.
"Fucking pussy! Get up!" Dylan spat out at him.
"Does the challenger give up?" The referee annouced, looking at Thunder.
"Never!" Thunder got up but Dylan immediately went for a him and wrapped an arm around his neck, blocking his airway. Thunder choked and gasped to get free, he kicked and thrashed as his eyes started to roll back. After a few seconds, Thunder went limp. I gasped as Dylan let go and I saw Thunder fall to the floor.
Amber placed a hand on my arm. "Relax, he's unconscious, Dylan has never killed a fighter before." She reassured me.
The referee examined Thunder's face and raised Dylan's hand. "Winner!" The crowd erupted in cheers and so did Amber and I.
The referee handed Dylan a wad of cash and placed a medal around his neck as people started to surround him and congratulate him. I held back as I watched everybody shout their cheers for them.
"Hey, lookie here, new meat." Someone said behind me. I turned around and saw a hairy thug scanning my body up and down. I clutched onto Amber's arm beside me, she stepped forward. "Hands off Trent, Dylan won't be happy if you lay a hand on her." She snarled, curling her fist.
Instead of looking threatened, the hairy dude - Trent - just looked pleased. "Oh, so she's Dylan's special new friend? I just wanted to say hi and give him my congrats to his win, even though Thunder was my best friend." He gave us a yellow teeth smile before he started to walk towards us.
Amber placed an arm in front of me. "I said back off!" She gritted her teeth. I looked back to the huge crowd surrounding Dylan, no way will he see what's happening, much less hear it.
Trent grabbed both of Amber's arms and pushed her aside, landing a few feet away from us. "Why don't we get to know each other?" He gave me a creepy smile before covering my mouth and wrapping an arm around my waist. I kicked and screamed but it was muffled by his dirty hand. He started to drag me away from everyone when I really started to panic. I thrashed around but my arms were pinned down, I spotted Amber regaining consciousness, I felt a glimmer of hope but it deteriorated when Trent whispered in my ear. "Don't worry love, I won't hurt you." He licked the tip of my ear and tears stung my eyes.
"Steph!" I heard Dylan's voice from a distance as we neared an alleyway. I mustered up all of my strength and shouted, until my throat burned and I was getting dizzy.
"Your little boyfriend won't hear you from here." Trent grinned as he pushed me against the wall and my head smacked onto the brick wall behind me.
I screamed one last time now that his hand is off my mouth when Trent covered my mouth again. "You little whore! Shut up or I'll be forced to knock you out!" He snarled as he fumbled with my pants.
I bit his hand and he screamed in pain. I scrambled out from him and ran towards the direction where we came from. Trent caught my ankle and I fell, my chin scraping against the asphalt on the alley way. He pulled at my hair, pulling me up forcefully. He threw me against the wall, I coughed out blood, I felt pounding in my head when he grabbed my shoulders again. "I told you to shut up and now you pay the price."
The hard wall pounded the back of my head before everything fade to black.
~.~.~.~.~
I paid for the spaghetti and spun around, I looked for my friends in this crowded cafeteria and spotted Elena waving her hands frantically to get my attention. I smiled and walked over to them. "Hey guys, how was the first day of being a high school student?" I asked as I took a seat.
Axel just shrugged. "Eh, not much, biology was a bit boring; math was even more boring but I spotted this hot girl in my history class which made history a bit more interesting." He grinned as he bit into his sandwich. "How about you?"
"Well, all of my classes were boring and my teacher in art has this awesome long mustache that looks like Mario's and he's also wearing the french hat...I forgot what it's called." I said then faced El. "You?"
She grinned so wide, I think it would crack her face any second. "All my classes are same old, same old," she waved off dismissively but her giddy expression told me something else happened. "But," she added. "In my gym class, I saw this really hot - as in smoking hot - guy that makes my hormones rage plus he's just a freshman too." She giggled. "So he's not too old for me."
Axel groaned beside me. "May I remind you that I am a guy, and I don't want to talk about your lady hormones so tone down the estrogen running in your system."
"Then why do you still hang out with us? Shoo." El flicked her hand to which Axel ignored and just rolled his eyes.
"Anyway...so this guy..." I hinted for her to continue.
"Oh right, back to topic, anyway, I heard that this guy is like the well-known prince in this school, everybody knows him - freshmen, sophomores, juniors and even seniors. Although," she started to frown a bit. "I heard rumors about him while I was walking in the hallways. So he may not be your typical everyday prince charming."
I started to get really interested. "Like what kind of rumors?"
She shrugged. "Some say he's a druggie; or that he picks random fights on the streets late at night; some say he runs this prostitute service - I don't know. The real big downside is that they say he really hates girls for some unknown reason. He only hangs out with guys and no girls. Weird huh?"
Axel chipped into the conversation. "I've heard some of those rumors but they can't entirely be true, I mean running a prostitute service and he hates girls? Those two statements basically contradicts each other."
"What's this guy's name?" I asked, twirling my fork in my spaghetti.
"Dylan Reed," El answered.
Wow, it's just the first day of being a freshman and this guy is already known around the school. I'm starting to pity him since rumors started to spread around school like wild fire. I finished my spaghetti and the bell rang, the cafeteria started to empty out as I dumped my tray at the cleaning area.
El grabbed my hand. "C'mon, next class is biology, we don't want to be late now, do we?" She pulled me out of the cafeteria after we said bye to Axel. I looked at my watch and panicked, only two minutes left!
I started to run a bit faster with El at my heels, I turned the corner and ran into something, El gasped behind me. I rubbed my head and got up. "Sorry," I mumbled before looking up. A boy with tousled blonde hair and baby blue eyes glared at me, El grew quiet beside me. He scowled. "Watch where your going next time." He said before rudely walking past me not before shoving my shoulder with his, I stumbled back and turned around.
I glared at the back of his head. "What crawled up his ass and died?" I snarled and turned to a shocked El. "Who the hell was that?"
"Dylan Reed."
~.~.~.~.~.~
"Dylan?" I mumbled as I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings, everywhere was white - white walls, white plastic chairs, white cabinets - I blinked a few times to adjust to the bright light. I felt a soft material beneath me and realized I was in a bed. I groaned when I felt a pulse pump in my head. Am I in a hospital?
I heard frantic voices outside and the door swung open. "Doctor, I think she has enough - "
"Dad?" I said when I heard the voice.
My parents snapped their heads towards me and ran towards my bed. Mom smothered my face with kisses as Dad was nearly crying beside me. There were tears running down mom's eyes as she mumbled soothing words. "We thought you weren't gonna wake up soon..." She mumbled at last.
"Huh? How long was I out?" I looked at my parents.
"Just three days, you hit your head pretty hard but it didn't hit your brain thankfully." Mom informed.
"Sweetie, do you remember what happened?" Dad asked as he sat in a chair beside my bed.
"I - I think so..." I stuttered, trying to jog my memory of what I last remembered. A huge crowd of people; a referee shouting about a fight that's gonna happen; Dylan ready for a match -
I bolted up which shot a pain through my head, my head fell back down on the pillow. Mom and dad rushed to my side. "Be careful." Mom said, fixing my pillow.
I groaned. "Dylan? Where's Dylan and Amber, where are they?"
Right on cue, the door swung open which revealed Dylan in a red flannel button down shirt. He flashed a smile when he saw me awake, I heard a something beeping beside me beep faster and I looked at my wrist to see an IV stuck to it, I calmed down and hoped nobody saw my pulse quicken.
Nobody did because my parents' mood darkened when they saw him. "Get out!" My dad shouted.
"What?" I asked in disbelief as my parents stood up with angry expressions on their faces. "Mom, dad, why are you sending him out? He didn't do anything!" I argued, even though I'm helpless on this bed.
"Didn't do anything!?" My dad snapped as he pointed at Dylan. "That little delinquent is the reason why your at this goddamn hospital! We got a call from the police saying they found you with this - this son of a bitch near an alley way! Once we knew it was you, we drove all the way here with cops surrounding your room!" He spat out.
"Hey! Listen pops," Dylan was enraged at my dad's choice of words. "Your daughter was nearly raped, if it weren't for me, you'd be finding her in a ditch, not in a hospital bed! I found her being manhandled in an alleyway and knocked out the guy, I called the cops to tell you and brought her to the hospital!"
Mom turned to me. "You are forbidden to ever see this boy ever again! Do you understand?"
I struggled to find my words. "Bu - But mom, dad, it's my fault I was even in that situation! Dylan didn't do anything wrong!" I shouted as the memory of disgusting Trent flashed in my memory, I broke down as I remembered his hands on the hem of my pants, his tongue near my ear. "I was s-so stupid! I sh-should've listened to Dylan....I was being selfish b-by going to his fight. Dylan warned m-me not to g-go but I was being stubborn and didn't listen." I stuttered between tears.
Mom went to sit beside me and rubbed circles around my back to soothe me, but I was beyond soothing, I only wanted to hold the blonde boy standing by the doorway, arguing with my dad. Holding him will make me feel safe and better. He's the only one that can heal my dirty scars, not my parents. He saved me and I will never forget what he did.
"You are still not allowed to talk to him or ever see his face ever again, you understand?" Dad shouted then turned to Dylan. "Get out, you don't deserve to ever be near our daughter again!"
After a silent moment, I heard the door slam shut and I burst into tears again. "Why?" I mumbled.
"What?" My mom said beside me.
I looked up them. "Why did you let him leave!?" I snapped even with tears streaming down my cheeks, I didn't bother to wipe them off, I just glared at my dad. "He helped me and you made him leave! Can't you at least be grateful!?"
Dad's face started to turn red with anger. "Grateful?! Why would I be grateful to him when he caused you danger? He's a delinquent that has no right to be your friend! He's the reason why you're in this bed!"
"He is the reason why I'm in this bed because he saved me! It's my fault I was in that alley way! It's my fault why I nearly got raped! My stupidity nearly got me raped! So if you want to blame someone, blame me, not him!" I shouted at dad.
"Steph! That is no way to speak to your father!" Mom scolded beside me.
"That was no way to speak to someone who helped me either!" I fired back. "You used to love him, what happened?"
"This happened! How were we supposed to know you're hanging out with someone who is a thug in the streets that could harm you if he wants." Mom said. "And now that we know the truth about him, you aren't allowed to ever see that boy again, you are only to stay in the house until we allow you to."
"Ugh! Get out!" I threw a pillow at them to which my dad dodged. I buried my face in my hands. "Just get out.." I mumbled softly.
A moment of silence then I heard the door swing open and close with a click, meaning they did leave. I know that was wrong, I know I should be thankful that they still cared for me, but I was mad at them because they didn't show a single gratitude towards Dylan. It was my fault we were in that situation in the first place, Dylan told me not to go and I was being stubborn and didn't listen, and look how that ended up.
This is probably the biggest fight I ever had with my parents, I never shouted at them, never lied to them. They must really think Dylan is a bad influence on me, which is probably true.
I heard the door creak open. "Mom, I said get out, I want to be alone right now.." I said, not bothering to look up.
"How about the exception of being you cousin?" A familiar voice said. My head shot up and I saw Hailey walking towards my bed, I smiled at the familiar sight of her.
"Hey you, Dylan told me you were in the hospital and when I saw your parents' car gone in the middle of the night I drove straight here, what happened? Are you okay now?" She asked, taking a seat on the chair beside my bed.
I nodded. "Long story," was all I said because I was tired from shouting.
Hailey got up from her chair. "I'm going to the cafeteria, want anything?" She asked. I just shook my head and pulled the covers over my body. Hailey stroked my head. "Get some rest, you had a long night."
~.~.~.~.
A nurse came in my room by dawn and fed me my prescribed medicine, telling me that I'll be out the next day. I fell asleep the rest of the night and woke up to find Hailey asleep on the chair. Mom and dad didn't come back and I didn't know whether to be happy or sad about it, I guess they were giving me some space.
Somewhere by afternoon, Matt, Tyler, Dalton, El and Axel came by to give me their christmas gifts since Christmas was like four days away. They all asked what happened and I explained everything to them now that I got some energy back, a doctor came by after I finished my story when he said that the cops are going to interview me about what happened last night. Everybody said goodbye and Hailey told me that she'll see me tomorrow.
Two cops walked in and each took a seat on a chair, they began to ask speak.
"Ms. Coleman, we have Mr. Garcia in our custody and we were wondering if you would like to press charges." One cop asked.
I nodded and felt rage towards Trent. "Yes, please."
They both looked at each other and nodded. The other cop wrote something down on his notepad. "Ms. Coleman, would you please tell us anything that Mr. Garcia did during his assult."
I shook my head. "He grabbed me, pulled me towards an alley and pushed me against a wall until I knocked out." I said, not wanting to relive everything.
"One last thing, is Mr. Reed in any way involved with Mr. Garcia's assult?"
I shook my head. "No, he was the one who found us and hit Trent."
They both nodded and the second cop wrote something down on his notepad before both officers stood up. "Thank you for your cooperation Ms. Coleman." The first cop said and they left.
Aunt Marie and Scott visited after the cops, Aunt Marie didn't look the least bit angry, Scott was happy when he found me awake. He told me that mom and dad were worried sick while I was asleep. He said they've been angry at Dylan and badmouthing him. Aunt Marie didn't change the way she thought about Dylan, she's just glad I was awake and thankful to Dylan. After a while, they also left saying they'll see me soon.
I suddenly felt tired and lie back down on my pillow when I heard the door swing open again, I sighed in annoyance and looked up. I nearly burst into joy when I saw Dylan's face by the doorway. "Dylan!" I greeted joyfully.
"Hey, your parents aren't anywhere in this hospital are they?" He asked as he took a seat on a chair.
I shrugged and I felt tears at the brim of my eyes. God, I'm such an emotional ball of tears. "Thank you, Dylan...I didn't think I'd be in this bed if it weren't for you."
He waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing, I heard you scream then I found you being thrown to the wall when I followed the sound. Amber was bruised but no big injury - "
The door swung open, revealing a smiling Amber. "Speak of the devil," Dylan said, looking at his friend.
She rolled her eyes and sat beside Dylan, she had a yellowish bruise on her temple but other than that she looked fine. I felt guilty for bringing her into the mess I caused and also guilty for the bruise on her temple. She noticed I saw and chuckled. "Don't worry about that, it'll heal. Dylan told me you had a heated argument with your parents, are you alright?"
I sighed. "Yeah, I guess but it really was my fault I'm here, not Dylan's." I gestured the said person.
"It's fine if they hate me, most parents hate me anyway, that's why I was surprised when your parents grew fond of me." He joked.
"I was just curious about a street fight and I guess curiosity does kill the cat. I should've just listened to you, I feel so stupid for even going there." I said, looking at Dylan.
"I feel hungry, I'm gonna go to the vending machine to hunt for snacks, any suggestions?" Amber stood up.
"Just don't stick your hand in the place where the food drops, I tried that when I was a kid and my hand got stuck." Dylan said flatly, turning to face Amber.
She nodded. "Thanks for the advice," and sent me a wink before shutting the door. What was that for?
"I'm really sorry about what happened, I should have brought you back the moment I saw you there." Dylan said, looking at me. "You're parents are right, it is my fault you were nearly raped."
I began to feel soft when he said that, here I am sitting in a hospital bed for my stubbornness and stupidity and Dylan is right here, admitting him having a fault in all this when I should be the one apologizing for causing him trouble. He has always been there, helping me, comforting me and I barely did anything to deserve it. Here sits a broken boy with barely any parental guidance and he's comforting me when my parents are like a couple of blocks away, waiting for my release.
Maybe I shouldn't have sent them out. I felt wetness on my cheek then I realized I was crying.
Crying because I fought with my parents, crying because of what just happened last night. Crying because of the pain in my head, crying because I realized that my life is so fucked up right now. But most of all, crying because Dylan is right here. So many emotions in a few drops of tears.
Dylan cupped my face and wiped my tears with his thumb. "Shhh...it's okay, you're safe here, Trent is behind bars and I won't let him touch you.." He soothed.
Now I realized that I agree with mom and dad except it's not Dylan that doesn't deserve me, I'll just be baggage - like what Natasha said. Dylan has enough problems in his life and I'm just adding to it. I don't want to drag Dylan down. It is I who does not deserve him - his care, his touch, everything that is him. He has cared for me even though I know I'm adding his troubles.
I covered his hand with my own and closed my eyes to stop the flowing. "I-I'm sorry.." I mumbled, not enough for him to hear.
"It's fine, you're safe now." He said quietly.
My eyelids started to feel heavy and I closed my eyes to fall back into dreamland.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
So that's finally done :)
Lot's of terrible shiz happened in two chapters and I'm really sorry to Steph for having to give her problems. I really hate doing that to our characters but it was part of the plan
As said, the next one is still under construction but it's almost done :)
I really love all the lovely people still reading this book, you guys actually take some time to read some of our chapters :)
I'm still helping Aira to work on that other book of hers but my main goal is to finish this book by this summer and once it's done, I'll be editing Aira's book since she needs help fixing the grammar :))))
Things will start to become more serious in this book so I'll be really happy and jumping if any of you still stuck to this book
As always
Stay awesome! (Brofist) XD -staph stealing Pewds line ):
Hai Aira butting in here :D
so here's a preview of the upcoming story that I'll be making.
PLOOP
Picture on the right side :D AND IF YOU'RE ON MOBILE YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN IT BY NOW
This was the second cover that i made but Hannah liked the first one better soooooooo.
kk byeeeeee --Aira--
~Hannah (-.-") ⬆️
ik I'm that awesome \(°×^)/
-Aira