both.
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saturday.
"tell me about your family." luke asked and fiddled with her necklace. "the rest of your family, not your parents or crystal."
"you dragged my ass to this party, only to talk about my family?" andie raised one eyebrow and gazed at him.
"no, i wanted you to have fun." he corrected her and licked his lips.
"i don't–"
"–do fun on parties, i know. but you can have fun with us." he finished for her.
"who's us? britney and ashton wandered off twenty minutes ago, and michael and diana disappeared too." she tilted her head to the side and glanced around them.
"we still got calum." he said doubtfully and peered up at her.
"no, because he left five minutes ago." she laughed and seized his hand to stop him from playing with her necklace any further.
"what?" he frowned and looked around himself. "huh. didn't even notice."
"wow." she mumbled and rolled her eyes stupidly. "he went to talk with some girl. if i know him well enough, he'll come back in three minutes, tops."
"why would he do that?" he asked curiously and laced their fingers together.
"because calum doesn't know how to talk to girls. and drunk girls talk way too much. besides, he doesn't want a relationship like that, so when the girls starts blabbering, he'll come back. i mean, he only wants to have sex." she shrugged and drank from her cup, which consisted of pure raspberry soda.
"why is he such a lonewolf?" luke continued questioning and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.
"i don't really know. i guess because he doesn't want to focus on a proper relationship right now. maybe when he's stable and all that. and all he's been doing the past three years is sleeping with me, so..." andie trailed off, looking down at her lap.
"wait. he hasn't slept with anyone else but you?" he was quite surprised since he never thought calum had a problem when it came to girls.
"well, there was a girl that he lost his virginity to, but they broke up. but that's all." she shrugged again and pressed her lips together.
"i can't blame him, though. you're quite amazing in bed." he smiled and then felt a bit stupid for saying such a thing.
"please, we haven't even been rough yet." she scoffed and took another zip of her drink.
luke widened his eyes a bit and suddenly felt a bit flustered. andie almost choked on the drink when noticing his expression, and she covered her face with her free hand.
"anyway, your family." he changed the topic with a weak smile.
"right. i have three cousins on my mom's side, but i rarely meet them. i've seen them, like, four times in my entire life. then there's my uncle on dad's side, but i haven't met him. he hates my dad, because of some stupid card game they played years ago. money was probably involved too. so i don't know if he has any kids, and that's pretty much it. my aunt doesn't fancy me very much."
"oh. sorry to hear that." he said quietly and tucked some hair behind her ear.
"it's okay, doesn't bother me." she smiled assuringly and then averted her eyes towards the person nearing them.
"hey guys." calum joined them and scratched his jaw. andie checked the time on her phone and discreetly winked at luke.
"hey. what's up?" she asked and pulled her fingers through her hair.
"not my dick, that's for sure." he mumbled back and briefly raised his eyebrows. this time, andie did choke on her drink an coughed against the back of her hand.
"why, what happened?" luke laughed and slid his hands down his pockets.
"she kept talking and talking, then she almost cried over her ex, so i sneaked away." calum chuckled and almost got crinkles by his eyes.
"awesome." andie smirked and bit on her bottom lip. calum glared at her before folding his arms together and glancing around himself.
"where's the rest?" he asked, referring to the two pairs.
"right. i'm gonna' go look for diana and see what she's up to. i have no idea where britney and ashton are, and frankly, i don't think i want to know either."
andie put her finished cup away and pecked luke's lips quickly, before walking away and searching for diana in the big house the party was at. she crossed her arms together and checked the kitchen first, the bathroom — which she wished she hadn't, seeing a girl vomiting in the toilet — and then the hallways.
she absolutely didn't want to knock on bedroom doors, so she went outside instead and scanned the backyard. diana was standing with michael and talking, seeming to be a bit absent. andie carefully approached them with an awkward smile and caught michael's attention instantly.
"hi." michael greeted her and drank from his drink. "sorry we took off, but we needed to talk."
"diana?" andie mumbled and poked her arm to get her attention too.
"mhm?" diana raised her eyebrows and probably forced her smile.
"look, i'm sorry i just blurted that out during lunch. i didn't mean to tell anyone." andie apologized and glanced down at the ground.
"oh, don't worry about that. we were just talking about us, so we would've told you guys."
"so... what're going to do?"
diana and michael exchanged a quick look and smiled, genuinely. andie licked her bottom lip inside her mouth and almost smiled herself.
"we're gonna go for it and try." michael answered and pulled his fingers through his hair.
"that's great." andie grinned and flickered her eyes between them.
"is luke and calum still by the couch?" he asked and motioned behind his shoulder with his thumb.
"yeah, they were when i left." she nodded and watched him disappear into the house.
luke was scrolling through his phone when he could swore that he glimpsed dylan passing by. he frowned, but didn't bother any longer since michael returned to them.
calum started a conversation about kiwis to occupy them and scratched his upper arm. kiwis led to food, to music, and so on. it was really easy for them to just change the topic in a smooth way.
diana sat down beside luke and gazed around them. michael frowned and leaned his body forward, looking at her until she looked back.
"where's andie?"
"bathroom. she couldn't hold herself any longer."
"lovely."
andie literally had to breathe through her mouth due to the extreme smell of puke. she washed her hands quickly before exiting the bathroom and walking down the hallway.
her eyes caught the sight of dylan hurridly walking by, but disappearing just as quickly. her feet sped up her pace so she could catch up with him, but a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, turning her around, and then another one against her mouth.
instinctively, she tried to jerk herself away, but was soon pressed against the wall in another room. after that the slight ache in the head had vanished, she widened her eyes and felt her face harden.
"what the hell are you doing here?" she spat when he removed his hand.
"looking for you, obviously. you didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily, did you?" he chuckled amused with a hand harshly gripping her hip.
"you're such a prick, chad." she snapped and clenched her fists. "let go of me now."
"that doesn't sound like fun." chad raised one eyebrow and came closer.
"step away or i'll scream." she warned and stared at him.
"i hear you're back with blondie."
andie couldn't control herself; she raised her hand and slapped his cheek with force. chad looked to the side in surprise and then back at her.
"i can't believe you threatened him." she muttered and gazed at him with pure disgust. "you're so pathetic."
"oh, andie. are you trying to provoke me here? not working."
"no, i'm just stating facts." she said coldly. "what do you want anyway?"
"isn't it obvious?" he laughed a bit and traced his fingertips from her temple, down to her arm before peering up at her. "i want you."
luke paced back and forth in front of his friends while biting his fingernail and sighing. he was a little worried, considering she had been gone for minutes now. he knew she was tough though, that wasn't the problem, he just wanted to know that she was alright.
"mate. you're making me nervous." michael stated and leaned forward in his seat.
"why isn't she back yet?" luke asked no one in particular, but had his eyes on diana. she just shrugged and looked around them.
"maybe she's cheating on you." michael joked, receiving a glare from luke and an elbow against his side from calum.
"i'm gonna go and look for her." luke proclaimed and folded his arms together.
"i'll come with you." calum smiled and stood up. luke returned the smile and was about to walk away when dylan appeared in front of him.
"where's andie?" dylan asked bluntly, seeming to be in a rush.
"we don't know." luke answered slowly and frowned. "we were just about to look for her, why? and why are you here?"
"chad's here." dylan mumbled and put his hands against his hips.
andie quickly pushed chad away and scoffed. she intended to leave the room, but he grabbed her wrist and shook his head.
"i'm serious, if you don't let go off me, i'll hurt you." she said through gritted teeth and glanced back at him.
"i taught you everything that you know about fighting." he reminded her and pulled her closer.
"i know you're a jerk, but a rapist? a harasser? really?" she deadpanned and pressed her bent arm against his chest.
"what makes you think that?" he frowned and tilted his head to the side.
"chad, i'm really not in the mood for this shit. let go off me." she muttered and punched his stomach.
"what a shame it is that i don't really care."
"see? rapist." she spat and punched him again, this time managing to push him back a bit.
chad sighed heavily before pushing her back against the wall. andie whimpered out of surprise and raised her hands to hit him back, but he quickly grasped her wrists and had them forced beside her head.
she groaned in frustration, not at all wanting to deal with this again, and kneed him between his legs. he bent forward in pain and grabbed his crotch, which gave her the perfect opportunity to collide her clenched fist with his jaw in a fast motion.
"ow, fuck!" he exclaimed and almost stumbled backwards.
"ow, fuck." she mimicked him in a whiny voice and scrunched up her nose.
"i'm not a rapist." he stated and stood properly again. "i would never sleep with you without your consent."
"oh, really? then why did you force me up against the wall, saying you want me?" she scoffed and folded her arms together.
"you know what i want?" he smirked and raised his eyebrows. "i want to see you fight."
"you're insane."
"probably." he shrugged carelessly and took a step closer to her. "but i want to see if something got stuck in you."
"i won't fight you, for fuck's sake." she muttered and eyed him quickly.
"if you do, i won't bother you anymore."
"have you completely lost the very few brain cells you still had? you're crazy if you think i'll actually fight you at a party."
"god, you're still so stubborn."
"shut up."
andie stared at him and contemplated on just aiming for the door and leave already. but knowing him, he'd probably stop her before she could even reach the handle.
chad raised his hands a bit by his sides, as if gesturing for her to give in. she shook her head slowly and then released her arms. this was just plain weird.
"just attack me. i want to see if you can still fight." he said, causing her to scoff again and roll her eyes.
"you truly are psycho."
"well, i do put the hot in psychotic."
"wanker. you stole that from me."
without any warning, chad raised his hand and was just about to connect it with andie — but she seized his wrist harshly and held it firmly, her deadly eyes staring straight into his.
luke walked beside dylan and chewed on his lip ring. he peered in through every room they passed and sighed in disappointment.
"if there's one thing i know about that girl, is that she can take care of herself." dylan tried to ease the mood and looked at the blonde boy.
"exactly why is chad here?"
"i don't know. i just know he's here."
"how comforting." luke mumbled and took a turn to another hallway.
"okay, you look unnecessarily nervous and worried. andie's smooth, alright. she used to shoplift, and she can knock a person out in a split second. she knows every defence technique there is, and she punches hard. believe me, i know." dylan exhaled and caressed his own cheek briefly.
luke unconsciously smiled and exhaled through his nose, that way laughing quietly. he continued walking until something got in the way.
andie grabbed chad's collar with both her hands, lifted him up and then quickly pushed him down against the floor on his back. she let go off him and tucked some hair behind her ear, only then realizing that two boys were watching with wide eyes.
chad groaned on the floor and put a hand against his stomach. she exhaled a deep breath and flipped her hair to get a better view of the other two.
"dylan? what are you doing here?" she asked bluntly and frowned.
"well... i came to tell you that chad's here. but obviously, you already know that." he answered quietly, with confusion.
"what's going on?" luke questioned the weird situation and looked down at chad.
"wait, how did you know chad was coming? are you still hanging out with this jerk?" she turned her eyes to dylan and raised her eyebrows.
"no, of course not. he visited me at work and hinted this whole party thing, so i wanted to tell you."
"guys! you just knocked him down on the floor. why?" luke butted in and glimpsed at her.
"what? he asked for it." she shrugged and folded her arms together. "he wanted to see me fight for some mental reason, so i did. and he only has himself to blame."
"that's why he came here?" dylan almost laughed and covered his mouth with his fist. "to get his ass kicked by you?"
andie snorted at the comment and poked chad's side with her foot. he didn't budge though, so she repeated the action and glanced up at luke, who was fiddling with his ring and staring at them.
"oi, sleeping beauty." she mumbled and kept poking him until he sat up. "you know, this whole look after getting beaten up really suits you."
"oh, screw you." chad muttered and held onto his stomach. "fine, i'll leave."
"good. now." she retorted when he stood up again, and placed herself beside luke. chad rolled his eyes and walked by them, giving the blonde boy a cold look.
luke was still intimidated by the guy, but he tried his hardest not to expose that in any way. so instead, he remained still and slid his hands down his pockets. andie watched chad until he was out of sight and just then exhaled properly.
"well... my work here is done. see you at work." dylan smiled to the both of them before turning around and walking away.
"hey, dylan?" she called, causing him to look back at her again. "thanks for coming."
dylan waved with a smile — which she returned— and left the house. andie turned her attention to luke and calum, and hugged her own elbows, not knowing what to say at all.
"this is probably the weirdest thing i've ever experienced. honestly." luke laughed and shook his head.
"i don't get his problem. the whole 'fight me' thing was so strange, and he seems so bipolar." she mumbled and walked with him back to their group.
"where the hell have you been?" diana asked with a worried look and stood up from her seat.
"ex boyfriend picked a fight. almost like in that p!nk song." andie responded and felt the sudden need of fresh air. "can we leave?"
calum shot his eyes up at her and gave her a look. she just closed her eyes while barely shaking her head, silently telling him to drop it for now. luke laced their fingers together and exited the house with her, smiling over the fresh air, and so did she.
"want to go home? i'll give you a ride." he suggested and eyed her quickly.
"yes, please." she sighed with a head nod and followed him to his car. they seated themselves, and luke sent a short text to michael, informing him that they're leaving now. "wait. didn't you drink?"
"no, i didnt." he smiled and ignited the car, driving off onto the rode. she quirked her eyebrows and started staring out the window as always.
"chad must be mental." she thought out loud and frowned slightly. "like, completely, utterly, fully, entirely, mental."
luke laughed a bit and glanced at her, trying to find some humor in the whole situation. her strange calmness probably radiated over to him, so he didn't feel bad for laughing. in fact, she did the same and shook her head slowly.
"can't disagree on that one."
andie turned her eyes back to him and smiled softly, even though he wasn't looking. she played with her necklace and gazed down at her lap instead.
"i hate parties."
"i know."
"then why do you keep asking me if i want to come with you to one?"
"because even if you want to deny it, at some point, you do have fun. and i want to spend as much time with you as possible."
"we see each other every day at school." she laughed and pursed her lips. "how are you going to survive when you go off to uni and i–" andie stopped herself before she could finish and looked away.
"you what?" luke asked and glimpsed at her with a frown.
"never mind. i was going to say work regularly."