Ashton's POV:
"Ashton! Man! It's been ages brah!"
"WOOO!"
"You go man!"
"Yeah!"
I really couldn't focus on anything anyone was saying, all the blood was rushing to my head but I loved the feeling of alcohol induced adrenaline. The burning in my arms was so familiar that it didn't even register and it didn't matter that I'd been upside down for over a minute now, this was my game. I was pro at it and no one is going to beat me at this.
"Calen you won't beat him man." someone from the sidelines laughed,
"It's been two minutes!" Another person shouted enthusiastically
"What's the record?!" Someone else screamed
"3 minutes 42." A girl replied and I gave them props for being able to actually remember that but they obviously weren't drunk enough to be considered a partier, that would have to change.
I chanced a glance at Calen to see his face red like mine probably was and his arms were starting to shake,
"Getting a bit tired there Cale?" I questioned a smirk on my face, although it probably looks a bit odd upside down,
"Not even... a little bit" Calen replied with a puff of air,
"It's been 3 and a half minutes guys!" another nameless person shouted, it could have been Xavier but then again it could have also been Finn , everything was a bit too fuzzy by now to really tell.
"Give up!" I urged with a grin, sweat beginning to stick to the sides of my face,
"I'm gonna ....beat your ass ...this time" Calen stated, briefly looking up to smirk at me
"In your dreams... man" I taunted, "Ain't ever gonna happen"
"40 seconds!"
"41"
"42!" The whole little crowd was now joining in to shout out the numbers.
"43!"
"44!"
"45!"
"Give up!" Calen shouted,
"Never!" I shouted back
"Oh fucking hell" Calen muttered in defeat before his arms gave way and he face planted into the ground with a thud,
"Hell yes!" I shouted in triumph lowering my body gracefully to the ground, muscles tensing from the pressure as I moved into the worm, before sitting back on the ground. I glanced to the left to see Calen shaking his head in amusement,
"Show off." He smirked and I grinned
"Can't blame me man."
"Tch" Calen shook his head in amusement "I'll beat you one day man."
"Doubtful." I smirked before grabbing my beer off of someone nearby and sipping on it leisurely
"You're such a cocky shit aren't ya." Calen laughed, "We'll have to do something bout that I recon." and with that we both ended up play brawling on the ground as the crowd of on lookers cheered.
*
"Guys Truth or Dare!" some random screamed, no scratch that, Jasper shouted, an absolutely sloshed girl hanging off his arm.
"Fuck yes!" Some actual random guy shouted beside me and I smirked drunkenly. Truth or Dare is the perfect way to get that frigid girl to open up or the more bold ones to strip and honestly I haven't missed a game of truth or dare since I was 14.
So naturally I made my way over to the group of drunken teenagers sitting in a circle and took my place in-between a pair of hot blondes. Position is key in this game and right now I'm at the perfect position to see right down blonde number 2's shirt.
"I'll start!" Some guy probably high off his arse shouted, "Never have I ever..." Well so much for truth or dare — people are too drunk to actually focus on the game at these things. But never mind a drinking game is still fantastic for helping loosen people up and by the looks of it that was Xavier's plan for Soraya and himself considering the first statement off the bat they both downed a shot.
"....slept with someone in a school classroom"
I didn't doubt that Xavier had done it really, I mean hell, even I'd done it, although I'm pretty sure Soraya probably hadn't. But who was I to get in the way of a girl that wants to drink?
The statements continued to roll in and by no time the two blondes beside me were giggling and laughing all over me and I had both my arms wrapped around their waists carelessly.
"Never have I ever fallen asleep on a roof after sleeping with someone." No one took a shot. Well until I leaned casually forwards, grabbed one of the small glasses and threw it back like it was apple juice.
"Woah man, when?" One of the guys asked with a laugh,
"I don't know, last summer sometime, was with some ginger chick, she was fucken hot, we went a couple rounds and ended up on the roof somehow." It was a fuzzy memory but still a damn good night. It seemed to impress the blondes enough though, as they were suddenly standing and tugging on my arms to get me to stand. I didn't hesitate, complying too their wishes with a smirk on my face as I sent a wink in Xavier's direction, he raised a shot glass in salute.
"It was lovely playing with you guys, but as you can see, I'm spoken for." and with that I chanced a glance at the pastel haired girl, who was clearly more than tipsy, ignoring the bad feeling eating at the back of my mind and allowing the girls to pull me up the stairs.
Everything was a bit of a blur, smudged on the sides by the influence of alcohol, but we all managed to climb -with extensive help from the banister — the steps and make it to a room.
*
I didn't remember much after that, only the soft feel of bed sheets, but I'd somehow made it to one of the bathrooms. It was slightly disorienting. The girls were nowhere to be seen but that didn't bother me much. My shirt was unbuttoned and I'm sure I was wearing a belt when I came to the party, but I couldn't quite remember what happened to them both.
Instead I decided to venture out of the bathroom and into the hallway. The music was still blaringly loud, but the shouts of people partying had lessened substantially. It was probably time to go home, after all it was really only the sloppy partiers left, milling around in the early hours of the morning.
However just as I was about to descend the stares a distinct shouting could be heard, it was different to the normal partiers and I immediately tensed at the sound. Something was definitely not right and I stayed still in hopes of locating where the sound had come from. It was not a particularly easy task, mind you.
The shouting started up again, more desperate this time and I turned on my heels and marched back down the hallway. It was coming from one of the rooms but I couldn't tell which until a loud thumping and the shattering of glass came from my right. I wasted no time in throwing the door open, preparing myself for the worst, but not quite expecting what I was seeing.
Inside the room is was dark, the lights off, but the distinct sound of movement could be heard and at first I thought I had misjudged the situation.
Until I turned on the lights.
There were two figures on the bed, one clearly masculine and the other most likely female. The girl was struggling against the guys hold as he attempted to restrain her hands above her head. It was obvious she was in distress but the guy didn't seem to care as he ripped at the black shirt the girl was wearing. I couldn't quite see from here but it might have had silver on the front, but that was all the motivation I needed to break me out of my shocked state.
"Oi!, What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" I shouted, stepping forward into the room with a scowl,
"Fuck off." the other guy grunted in annoyance, he didn't even bother turning around.
I ignored the statement completely, storming into the room with a look that could kill. I could barely control my anger as I grabbed a hold of the back of the guys shirt and ripped him back, my fist landing squarely with his jaw as he whipped his head around to shout at me.
"How dare you try to fucking r'pe her!" I yelled harshly, my hands fisting at my sides as I turned to face where the guy was now standing. The thought of this guy touching a girl like that made me sick to my stomach. What if it had been Janice? Or one of the twins? I couldn't stand the thought. R'pe was never okay.
"What the fuck?" The guy cried in protest, his hand cupping his jaw. His lip was bleeding but I didn't care.
"You're a fucking piece of scrum!" I was probably being incredibly loud but I could not find a single part of me that didn't want to beat the crap out of this person.
He went to speak again but I didn't give him the chance as my fist once again collided with his face. Something broke, I'm sure of that much, it might have been his nose, probably was, but unfortunately I don't think he felt it. His body dropping to the floor in an unconscious heap seconds later.
I turned my attention back to the girl on the bed and it was then I noticed the waves of brightly coloured hair that had my stomach dropping. This wasn't just some random girl that had been attacked.
It was Soraya.
The thought was icy and left an awful taste in my mouth.
Where the fuck was Xavier? HE was meant to fucking be with her! I didn't understand how this had happened. She was fine last I remembered, how had she ended up here?
I cut the thoughts off abruptly, I couldn't think about that right now. Soraya was shivering, her skin covered in goose bumps, whether it be from fear or the cold I couldn't tell. Her shirt was almost totally ripped open but the thought that she was partially naked didn't even cross my mind as I immediately stripped my own shirt off.
She flinched at the movement, edging away on the bed with tears in her glossy eyes. She was drunk. It was probably selfish to hope that she was drunk enough to not remember this encounter in the morning, but I couldn't help but hope she didn't.
"Hey, Ray... It's me Ashton, you're okay now." I spoke softly, like talking to a wounded animal, she looked so fragile, a complete opposite to her usual fierceness. She looked questioning for a moment, like her mind was trying to process the situation, but she didn't answer, only wearily taking the shirt from my outstretched hand cautiously.
"It's okay now, everything's going to be alright." I whispered quietly, waiting patiently for her to drunkenly dress herself in the too-large shirt. It covered her lithe form completely.
She seemed hesitant at first, to trust me, her gaze skeptical. But then, almost like a switch, she was crawling over to me, her movements cautious at first before she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck and buried her face in my chest. I was startled by the movement at first but when I felt the dampness of her tears my arms wrapped tightly around her.
We stayed like that for a few minutes, her holding on tightly as I tried to convey the fact that she was safe now. That the man couldn't hurt her. I think she understood that eventually, the tears finally stopping, she mumbled something quietly but I couldn't understand it.
"How about I take you home now?" I asked softly, she nodded briefly in response but refused to let go. "Hey, if you're not going to let go at least wrap your legs around me so I can carry you" I said it lightly, hoping it would come across humorous, perhaps cheer her up a little bit. She didn't laugh but she did jump lightly off the bed, her legs wrapping around my waist and I rushed to catch her, completely thrown off by the fact that she had actually done it.
She didn't move after that, or say anything so I just ignored the subtly oddness of her actions and penciled it under the fact that she was using me for comfort. It was understandable considering the circumstance and I began exiting the room, my arm holding lightly under her thighs as the other wrapped around her upper back to keep her from falling.
The house was basically void of people now and I realized it had apparently been longer than I had originally thought and the trip to the car went uninterrupted by the sleeping teens. However when we reached the vehicle I realized that Soraya had basically fallen asleep in my arms. It made things vaguely difficult getting her into her seat but I'd done this enough times with my sisters to know how to do it gently and not wake her.
Searching for her phone was another story.
The skirt did not have pockets and I'd been around girls long enough to know exactly where they kept their things when the need was there. I did not, however, particularly want to frisk her for the device. But unfortunately I had no other way of finding where she lived and so began the awkward task of retrieving her phone from her bra.
Now I may be able to unstrap a bra in less than five seconds with my hands and teeth but none of that prior skill had prepared me for the task at hand. Because I cannot stress enough how awkward it is to get a phone from a sleeping person, without being labeled a pervert. Luckily since she's asleep and I doubt she will even know this, nor does she need to know that I know what kind of bra she wears.
Eventually I was able to secure the device and re-button the shirt she was wearing without waking her. The fact that she didn't have a lock on her phone and the fact that her contacts were clearly labeled made everything easier. Well it would have if she had actual details on who the person was. Instead I opted for the person at the top of the list, some guy called Zeke.
The phone dialed 7 times before a voice groggily answered,
"What do you want Soraya?"
"I generally don't go by Soraya." I replied dully, my mind already starting to tire now that the situation was less dire.
"What? Who is this? Why do you have her phone?" Zeke immediately sounded more awake,
"Calm down, Soraya's fine, I'm a friend, I just need her address so I can take her home." I asked, hoping she didn't live to far away.
"What happened to her?" He asked suspiciously,
"She's just a little bit drunk and asleep in my car."
"...I'm sorry what?"
"Just dude, what's her address?"
Zeke seemed reluctant but eventually gave the address and before I could remember the rest of the conversation I was driving in the right direction.
About 15 minutes of questionable driving and the near miss of a dog later, I pulled up outside the only house with the front porch light on. I didn't bother checking the address as I went around to the passenger side, it was a pretty safe bet that this was her house. After all everyone in the neighborhood was generally asleep at 3 in the morning.
By the time I had pulled Soraya up into my arms for the second time that night, the front door had opened and who I'm presuming was Zeke, now stood on the steps with a worried expression.
"What happened?" He asked as soon as I was in earshot, his stance incredibly protective,
"She fell asleep at a party." I lied easily, the less people that know the better, she can tell whoever she wants if she remembers but I'm not going to be saying anything on it.
"Oh... well thanks, I guess." Zeke shifted out of the way to let me in, curiously eyeing the pair of us. We were most likely a spectacle considering she was currently wearing my shirt, but he chose not to comment, instead pointing in the direction of what I'm assuming is her room.
I nodded in reply and carried her to the room, alcohol making my limbs feel heavy and numb. I placed her lightly on the bed, debating leaving her like that for a moment, before removing her shoes and pulling the blanket over her like I do when my sisters fall asleep.
When I turned around Zeke was leaning against the door with his arms folded and I shifted awkwardly for a second before pulling a casual smirk onto my face with practiced ease, despite the shitty mood I was currently slipping into.
"Well if that's all..." I stated, passing him in the doorway as he continued to watch me with narrowed eyes, "I'll just be going."
I made it into the living room before he decided to speak up,
"Are you drunk?" He asked skeptically and I shrugged,
"Not at all, fully sober" I lied yet again, ignoring the small specks off black dotting my vision, I really needed to sleep.
"Huh...sure" He stated, it was completely obvious he didn't believe me, but then again I don't remember anything other than the softness of the carpet after that.