The motorcycle ride was freaking awesome.
But I wasn't going to tell Ashton that. Hell to the no.
When we had arrived at the party, music was pumping through the house so loud that I had been surprised the cops hadn't shown up yet. Drunk and high teenagers were scattered across the front lawn and when I had spotted my friends inside, I had looked behind me and found out that Ashton had no longer been following me.
I had been relieved.
Now, Jiao was screaming hysterically at the drunk people who were ruining her mother's flowers in her backyard whilst Hailee was making out with Matt against the wall. Tori and I were gyrating on the dance floor to Nicki Minaj-Feeling Myself feat. Beyoncé, where the girls jogged the space and the guys' cat whistled at us.
Once the music was over, I was sweating and feeling as hot as ever. I quickly took my pink leather jacket and threw it in someone's face before flipping my hair back and fanned myself. I looked down to find myself wearing a singlet where it exposed half of my cleavage. I only shrugged and followed Tori to the back.
We decided not to drink because I didn't want to wake up with a pounding headache on a Saturday.
"I swear to the fucking flying pigs, I'm going to shoot your fucking head off if you don't stop eating the fucking soil!" I heard Jiao shout at a drunk jock who was indeed eating soil from her mother's favourite pot plant. "Holy fucking hell!"
"There are too many fucks in one sentence," I spoke up with a chuckle as I walked over to the jock and kicked his ass. I raised an eyebrow as he glared at me but when I hissed like a snake, he immediately backed away with wide eyes. "Why are men so stupid?"
Jiao sighed in relief as she turned to us. "I regret hosting this party."
I laughed. "That's not my fault, boo."
She rolled her eyes. "What time is it?"
I looked down at my wrist watch and my eyes immediately widened at the time. "12:30 am."
"We're getting these fucktards out of here," Jiao cursed under her breath as she reached behind a rather unusual large bush and tossed us each a microphone. "You know what to do, girls."
It spent a whole ten minutes to walk around the house, holding the microphone to our phone as the police sirens blared through the entire house. I was assigned upstairs, Tori was downstairs and Jiao was hauling her ass almost everywhere. Curses and shouts of teenagers immediately flooded out of the house and by the time we met up with each other, cars roared to life and zoomed away.
"I'm making the worst life decisions right now, I swear," Jiao said, shaking her head as the three of us looked around the disordered house.
When I was upstairs, Matt had carried Hailee out and I had saluted him as if to say to take Hailee home safely or I was going to beat his ass.
"We'll help clean up, don't worry," Tori offered, laughing as she took off her cardigan and disposed it on the sofa. "Let's get to work."
"We'll join," a new voice spoke up.
My eyes widened and my jaw unhinged as I slowly turned my head to the side to see Jiao and Tori both look at me, their faces contorted in shock and confusion.
I cleared my throat and straightened my back before spinning on my heel to see Ashton and a familiar guy, leaning against the doorframe. My eyes narrowed in on the familiar male who had dark brown hair and hazel eyes that glinted in amusement. He wore a black tank top that showed off his athletic build.
"Landon Nicks," I spoke up as I smirked. The one and only two of two delinquent boys. "Haven't seen you in a long time."
Landon shrugged. "Like you said to Ash, we're irrelevant to you."
I cocked an eyebrow at Ashton who smirked mischievously. "So what is this? You guys gossip?"
Ashton rolled his eyes. "Do you want us to help or not?"
"Oh, fucking bless you!" Jiao shouted in response as Landon and Ashton chuckled. I turned my head in Jiao's direction as she winked in my direction. "The cleaning tools or whatever they're called are in the kitchen. Hurry up!"
As I crinkled my nose and dumped all the red plastic cups into the huge black garbage bag, I sighed and carefully picked up a red stiletto-filled with vodka. I gagged and tossed it inside the bag before looking around the kitchen again and realised I wasn't going anywhere with the pace I was going.
"Need help?" a masculine voice questioned.
I snapped my head to the side to see Ashton chuckling as he grabbed the bag from my hand and picked up each and every rubbish with ease. "I was fine doing it by myself."
"Yeah, we'll be forced to wait another hundred years for you to finish."
I rolled my eyes. "Why did you offer to help Jiao?"
He shrugged, his blue eyes flickering over to mine before returning to his duty. "Well, I'm your ride back home so if you were cleaning this whole shit up, it'd take a long time."
I raised an eyebrow, confused. "I could've asked Tori to give me a ride home."
He chuckled. "Let's admit it, the motorcycle ride was fucking awesome."
I rolled my eyes and bit my lips from grinning. I couldn't admit that because that would only boost his ego. "You don't seem like the helpful type."
He laughed before tying the garbage bag, tossing me the cloth which I caught swiftly. "And you don't seem like the girl who would disobey her parents. I guess we both thought differently."
I sighed as I began to wipe down the counters. In the corner of my eyes, Ashton threw the garbage bag over his shoulder and walked out to the back, dumping it all in the bin.
I've heard rumours on the delinquent boys. They were rumoured to be viscous, fowl, terrifying but Ashton and Landon weren't all of those listed above. Yes, they were cocky, smart asses and had a dirty mouth but they weren't that bad.
I remembered catching a glimpse of Ashton's scowl and I had remembered a shiver crawling down my spine and goosebumps appearing on the back of my neck. Well, I guess Ashton's scowl could send people to their own deaths. That, I could admit.
"Come on Aurora, we have to help the others clean the rest of the house so we can get the fuck out of here," Ashton said as he walked past the kitchen.
We spent another hour or two cleaning the whole entire house and putting things back to where they were. I was exhausted as well as Tori and the two delinquent boys but Jiao was prancing around in happiness. She sprayed some sort of perfume in the air and smelt it whilst the boys gagged, burying their noses in their shirts.
"I want to go home," Tori whined like a child.
I couldn't help but nod too.
"Why don't you sleep over?" Jiao questioned, her eyes lighting up as they flickered over to the boys. "You guys too."
She was definitely drunk or insane. I couldn't tell.
"I snuck out," I admitted confidently. "My mom doesn't even know I came here so I'm going home before she rips my head off."
Jiao formed a pout on her lips and nodded before facing Tori who immediately nodded, crashing on the sofa as her eyelids fluttered close.
"I'm out," Landon voiced as he stood up, saluting Ashton before leaving the house.
"I'm taking her home," Ashton said flatly, pointing to me.
Jiao raised a questioning eyebrow. "Is there something going on between you two that I need to know about?"
I shook my head, a yawn escaping my lips. "No, Jiao. I'm going to jet, see you whenever."
Too tired to fight Ashton, I allowed him to help me up as he carried me over to his motorcycle that was waiting for him in Jiao's driveway.
He placed me on his bike, quickly retrieving the helmet before placing it on my head gently. My eyelids were starting to get heavy as I could tell my brain and my body was shutting down.
"Shit," Ashton cursed under his breath as he caught me, shaking his head in amusement before punching me, hard.
"Ow!" I whined, forming a pout on my lips as he immediately got onto the bike and chuckled. I sighed and leant my head against his back where I felt him stiffen but I didn't give second thoughts about it because I was just too tired and wanted to sleep like a baby.
"Come on, Aurora, you have to hold onto me because if you don't, you're going to fall off," he whispered with a hint of concern although, I wasn't sure.
I yawned again and snaked my hands around his waist, interlacing my fingers before embracing him.
"If you fall off, I'm going to fucking kick your ass," he threatened.
I didn't doubt that.
↡
Birds chirped loudly through my windows as I groaned and rubbed my eyes, chasing sleep away. I slowly opened my eyes, allowing my eyes to adjust in the process before yawning again as I began to stretch.
My eyes danced around my surroundings and I finally realised that I was back home. In my bed.
I frowned as I scratched my head, wondering how I got here since the only last memory I had was hopping onto the bike and Ashton threatening me.
Oh.
It was him who brought me home. In one piece.
I groaned and immediately got out of bed as I sauntered over towards my en suite and completed my morning routine. Like a zombie, I walked over to my closet and changed out of last night's outfit before changing into a denim blue skirt that reached down halfway of my thigh and pulled on a cropped grey sweater.
"Aurora!" a familiar feminine voice shouted from downstairs.
I rolled my eyes and walked over to my vanity as I began to apply some light makeup just to hide the fact that I have two black ugly non-branded bags under my eyes.
Once I was done, I descended down the staircase and glided into the dining room where my parents and my sister was enjoying their breakfast.
Right. And they couldn't wait for me.
I turned over to my father who had piercing blue eyes and blonde hair that still made him look younger than his actual age. He looked up at me and smiled lazily as I shook my head in amusement and kissed his cheek.
The only person who I could put up with was my father. He showered me with gifts and didn't compare me to my little sister like my mother did but at the same time, he was always away at work so I hardly ever got to see him.
"Good morning, Aurora," my father greeted as he shoved a pancake in his mouth.
"Good morning to you too, father," I responded as I went to claim my chair beside Dakota, sitting opposite of my mother and quickly shoved a pancake in my mouth in order to satisfy my stomach.
"What are your plans for today, Dakota?" my mother questioned as she smiled sweetly in my little sister's direction.
She shrugged and sipped on her orange juice. "My friends and I are meeting up to do watch a movie then maybe go shopping later if we have time."
"Good, good," my mother responded before turning to me, her smile wiped away in just a heartbeat. "What about you, Aurora?"
I shrugged nonchalantly. "Hit the alleyways and see what's good with the boys." I only said that to annoy her.
My mother clenched her jaw as I saw her eye twitch. I cocked an eyebrow as she took in a deep breath before putting on a strained smile. "Why? You could always join Dakota and her friends."
I gagged. "They only gossip, shop, talk about boys. I don't do those sort of things."
"Aurora, I demand you to show me some respect!"
I chuckled humourlessly. "I'm only stating the truth, mother."
Dakota grinned awkwardly. "It's okay mother. Aurora and I have different interests."
I rolled my eyes. "What she said."
My father shook his head and looked up. "Aurora, your mother cares a lot about you. She doesn't want you to get hurt."
I shrugged. "I'm much stronger than you think I am."
When my father saw that there's no point in arguing, he nodded and returned to his newspaper.
As I began to lose my appetite under my mother's deathly gaze, I cleared my throat and saluted my father who only chuckled before strutting out of the dining room. I walked past the foyer and made sure I grabbed my keys and my phone before heading out the front door.
My phone made a ding noise that made me feel like I had friends. I smiled and looked down at my phone, sighing.
Jiao bitch: yo yo, I ain't going nowhere. Someone left their g-string in my dad's office so I'm currently under their watch. Hell, they don't even believe that it's mine.
Tori&Fries: My mom wanted me to go have a pregnancy test. She's fucking crazy. So, whatever plans you have, I'm outtie, loves.
All Hail Queen Lee: My dad decided to have a family day because I hardly hang out with them.
Gorgeous Luna: new phone who dis?
Jiao bitch: stop playing, Luna.
Tori&Fries: You're on your own today, love you long time!
Gorgeous Luna: Luna who?
All Hail Queen Lee: someone hijacked her phone. Fucking hell.
Tori&Fries: No, she's trying to be funny, you dumb bitch.
Jiao bitch: I may be Asian but I can see that her phone's not hijacked. Y'all are fucked up.
Gorgeous Luna: Bitch, wear the g-string and ask your daddy to give you a wedgie.
All Hail Queen Lee: LMAO GOOD ONE.
Jiao bitch: My daddy don't wanna talk to me right now. I'll try again later.
I let out a laugh as I locked my phone shut and looked up, my heart skipping a beat and a scream escaping my lips.
"What the hell!" I shouted, placing a hand on my beating heart as I took a step back from a towering figure who smirked down at me. "You don't just sneak up on someone like that!"
He shrugged, dusting the imaginary dirt off his black leather jacket. "Oh well, I just did."
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you doing here, Nixon?"
He smirked. "I came here to get my thank you."
I cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"I spent a half hour stopping my bike every five seconds to make you didn't fall off because you were sleeping," he pointed out flatly. "I then spent another hour finding a fucking ladder which concluded in me having to jump over the bushes. I then spent another hour climbing the ladder with you on my back then hauling your ass over the window."
"I-"
"I even brushed your teeth for you and took off your makeup which I spent another half an hour doing," he finished, his chest heaving up and down and I could already feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment.
I had never felt embarrassed in my whole entire life.
"Why?" I whispered, rubbing the goosebumps that had appeared on my arm when he was talking.
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Why did you do all of that? You could've just dumped me in front of the door then leave."
A breath hitched in his throat as I saw him gulp. He scratched the back of his neck nervously and shrugged. "I'm a gentleman."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Thank you."
He seemed shocked. "Woah."
I chuckled. "What?"
"I feel honoured," he answered, bowing his head immediately.
I swatted his hard chest. "Stop it."
He took out his phone and turned on his lock screen as I squinted. I cocked an eyebrow as my eyes slowly widened at the close-up picture of me sleeping, my mouth slightly hanging open with a strand of hair that had fallen on my face.
"You have that as your lock screen?" I questioned, clenching my fists.
He smirked, his blue eyes flickering down to my fists and mocked, "hey, you are Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty."
"I'm going to get you, you bastard!" I shouted as he flashed me a boyish grin before bolting for his bike.
a/n: what do you think of this chapter? I've been trying to make it super long for you guys but I also want to leave you wondering and everything. Don't forget to leave a vote!
Ariella xo