(unedited)
Tonight I'll call you,
After my blood is drowning in alcohol.
No, I just wanna hold you.
Give a little time to me or burn this out,
We'll play hide and seek,
To turn this around.
"Give Me Love" –Ed Sheeran
I definitely wasn't comfortable getting drunk around the Elite.
After Kaden had, for lack of better word, kicked me and Ashton out of the house so he could talk to Detective Fallon, Ashton had suggested going to his house- which, was actually more of a mansion. It wasn't as big as Vanessa's, but it was bigger that the Fleming house/mansion. Keira and Nathan had already been there when we arrived. Skylar, Jacen and Vanessa had decided to come as well, making it another 'Elite-hangout-nights'.
And Skylar had decided it would be a great night to get drunk.
Yeah, on a Sunday night.
I wasn't sure what she was thinking.
I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, and I didn't want to get plastered around the Elite, so I had been faking it for the past hour or so. I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one, though no one seemed to really care. Skylar and Vanessa were the only ones who were really drunk. Nathan was a little buzzed, I think, same with Jacen, but that was it. Ashton looked sober, even though I had seen him finish at least two bottles of beer and Keira hadn't touched the alcohol.
I have a feeling this is how it usually is.
"Let's have a sleepover!" Vanessa exclaimed.
"It's not middle school anymore, Vanessa," Ashton said drily.
She pouted. "We used to have them all the time!"
Vanessa was a crazy energetic drunk, which probably wasn't a very good idea with the cast on her arm. The doctors had told her to keep it in for a couple days just to make sure the stitches didn't rip. At least, that's what Nathan had said since Vanessa apparently hadn't been listening when they had explained it to her.
"I think it's a good idea," Skylar said.
Skylar wasn't really any kind of drunk. She acted more or less like she normally did though you could tell she was drunk by her glazed eyes and unsteady feet. She had been drinking more than anyone tonight, which I was pretty sure wasn't normal, since I had caught Ashton's surprised look when she reached for her fifth bottle.
"Sure, why not?" Nathan agreed.
Vanessa whirled on me, grasping my arm with her free hand. "You'll stay, right?"
"Uh, I can't." No way would Kaden let me, and I wasn't sure how I felt about sleeping in the same room as someone who had shot up two people with Methanonel- once to kill and the other to seriously injure.
She pouted. "Why?"
"There's school tomorrow." Wow, your excuses are amazing, Lena.
Skylar raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"I didn't bring anything," I replied.
"Neither did we," she snapped. And when Skylar was drunk, she was also a little more snappy than usual.
I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could Keira cut in. "I think you should stay, Elena," she said. I glanced at her, trying to figure out what she was playing at, but she only raised an eyebrow, giving me a challenging look.
I glanced at Ashton who was carefully avoiding looking at me. I sighed. "Fine. Let me just make sure my parents don't wait up." I pulled my phone from my pocket and stepped out of the room, moving a little down the hall so they wouldn't be able to hear me. I checked my call screen and realized I had several missed calls from Kaden, a couple from Raine and even one from Devon.
Oops.
I dialed Kaden's number and waited for him to pick up. He did, after two rings. "Lena? Where are you? It's past midnight! When are you getting back?"
I took a deep breath. "I'm staying at Ashton's tonight."
"No," he said immediately. "Absolutely not."
"It's not like you haven't let me before," I reminded him. Without me knowing, but that's not important. Not like I would've tried anything if I had anyway. Not like I'll try anything or do anything today.
"That was because it was necessary."
"It's not like it's just me and him," I protested. "The rest of the Elite will be there too."
"That's even worse!" he replied.
What? So it's alright for me and Ashton to have an impromptu sleepover without anyone else but it's bad if there are other people there? Does he think I want to be part of an orgy or something?
"How?" I demanded.
"Because you could end up in a body bag," he said.
"I thought you said Ashton would be able to protect me," I reminded him. Not that I'd rely on him to do so, but since he apparently made Kaden feel better about me being around the Elite.
"He could be sleeping."
"They've had plenty of opportunities to hurt me and they haven't yet." Except trying to drown me, but Kaden doesn't know that. At least, I didn't think he did. Hopefully Ashton hadn't told him.
"Just because you haven't gotten bitten by the shark yet, doesn't mean you should keep swimming in front of it," he said.
I blinked. "Kaden?"
"What?"
"Leave the metaphors to Devon," I told him. "And I can take care of myself. I'll wear shark repellent."
If the Elite were drunk, then maybe it would be easier to get answers from them. I could get actual answers, or at least a little closer to what was going on. Jacen, Keira and Ashton were the ones who seemed to know what was going on, but that didn't mean the others were completely clueless. Maybe they knew something about it, but didn't think it was important, or didn't make the connections.
"The answer's still no," Kaden said. "It's a school night."
"It won't affect school," I reassured him.
"It's your senior year, Lena," he replied. "I don't want you getting distracted by the Elite."
"I won't. I've been doing fine." So maybe I had skipped class a little more than usual, but I was still getting nineties on assignments and tests. My grades hadn't dropped.
"Len-"
"I'll be fine, I promise. Don't you trust me?" It was a low blow, but if the Elite were going to get any more drunk, then I wanted to take advantage of it.
He sighed. "Fine." Yes! "But you better not-"
"I won't drink too much, do drugs or get pregnant," I interrupted. Kaden, overprotective as he was, had given me this talk several times.
"I was going to say you better not get caught if you're going to snoop, but it's nice to know you won't do any of that either." He sounded a little amused now, though still worried.
"I'll be okay," I repeated for the third time. "Thank you."
"Be careful," he said anyway. "Love you."
"Love you too." I hung up and pocketed my phone, heading back where the Elite were.
"We're gonna play hide and seek," Vanessa said when I walked in, clapping her hands together.
"What?" Hide and seek? Why?
"Vanessa acts like a seven year old when she's drunk," Jacen told me.
Vanessa reached out and smacked him in the back of the head. "I do not!" She paused and glanced at everyone. "Ashton's it! Count to a hundred!"
He sighed. "No outside and no offices. And I'm counting by tens."
"That's not fair!" Vanessa exclaimed.
"Ten. Twenty-"
Vanessa took off running.
I stared. "Are we actually going to-"
"Humor her," Nathan said, before grabbing Keira's hand and taking off as well.
"Thirty. Forty-"
I sighed, and walked out of the room. I was with the most exclusive, and richest group of teens in the country and we were playing hide and seek.
"Ready or not, here I come!" Ashton yelled.
Well, shit.
I took off running.
I didn't know my way around Ashton's house, at all, so I went down random hallways, stopping occasionally to see if I could hear anyone around me. Ashton had said that his parents were out for the night and that he had sent all of the staff, except some guards, home for the night so it was just us in the house.
I heard footsteps coming, so I pushed open a door and ducked inside, then closed the door behind me. It was dark inside so I had no idea where I was. It wasn't until I turned on my phone's flashlight that I realized I was in an office.
Oops.
I turned to leave, but then I heard footsteps coming towards the door. I quickly shut off my phone and moved a little father into the room.
I wasn't supposed to be in an office, yeah, but I wasn't going to just walk into Ashton. It was a childish game, but I still didn't want to be first one caught. I held my breath until the footsteps passed the door and faded away.
Then I turned on my phone again and used it for light, almost expecting something creepy to jump out at me. Taking a closer look now, it didn't quite look like an office. It had a desk, and a computer, and bookshelves and everything, but something about it made it look less professional, orderly, whatever you wanted to call it.
Does it matter? You shouldn't be in here.
I was about to leave when something caught my eye. My name. On a large sheet of paper on the desk. Some sort of mind map, from what I could see. I found the desk light and flicked it on, no longer caring if I got caught.
There was my name, and Skylar's, and Olivia's, and Ashton's... And Detective Fallon's.
On a sticky note under Skylar's name and her list of accidents.
N suggested Det. Fallon
213-578-0902
N? Who was N? The only person I could think of whose name started with an N, was Nathan. Whose office was this?
I glanced around.
There was a picture of Nathan, Ashton and their parents, Sebastian and Madeline Sinclair. A picture of Nathan and Ashton. A picture of all of the Elite. A picture of Keira. A picture of Nathan and Vanessa. And lastly, a picture of Ashton, Nathan, Skylar and Vanessa from their grade eight graduation, I think.
I have a feeling I knew whose office this is.
The door banged open, making my jump. "You're not supposed to in here," Ashton said.
I slowly turned around. "Whose office is this?"
"Why?" he asked.
"Just tell me."
"It's Nate's," he replied. "Now tell me why it matters."
I pulled the sticky note off the desk. "Is it Nathan?"
He stared at me. "What?"
"Is Nathan the one doing everything?" I clarified. "Did he kill Olivia?"
"No!" Ashton yelled. "Why would you suspect that?"
I held up the sticky note. "Who's N?"
"Why do you think it's Nate?" he demanded.
I shrugged. "Maybe N is Nathan. And he has multiple personalities and his alter ego-"
"Whoa. Wait." He grabbed me by the shoulders. "Where are you getting all this?"
"Devon said the killer has a mental illness. When we went to Una Noche Bella, you brought up Multiple Personality Disorder," I explained. "You didn't really expect me to believe that you did a project on it and remembered all the information from it so you could whip out facts when someone accused you of having it, did you?"
He sighed. "It's not Nate."
"How are you so sure? Because last time I checked you and Kaden didn't really seem sure of anything yet," I said.
"It's not Nathan, I'm sure of that," he repeated.
"Then who's N?" I asked.
"I don't know." He took the sticky note from me. "But he has other friends, you know, whose name could start with N."
"Have you asked him why he hired the detective?"
He shook his head.
"Does he even know that you know?"
Another shake of head.
"What are you going to do, when he finds out just how involved you are?" I demanded, glancing up at him.
His jaw clenched. "He won't."
"What if he does?"
"He won't!" Ashton repeated. "I know what you're going to say, it's not just about keeping him safe anymore."
"What else now?" So he was being a bit of an asshole, but I was finally getting a Q&A with Ashton.
He sighed. "I don't need another complication."
"What the hell does that mean?" Complication? What kind of complications were there already? Other than the dead bodies and potential lunatic that enjoys killing people, that is.
"If Nate knows, he'll get involved," he explained.
"What other complications are there?" I asked.
He glanced at me. "Not everyone involved is at fault, Elena. I don't want to get them all arrested."
"People can make their own choices." It was something Devon and Kaden had drilled into my head. No matter the situation, it was up to the person to choose what was right, even if it meant giving something up, even if it wasn't easy.
Ashton shook his head. "The world isn't that black and white."
Before I could ask him to be less cryptic, Nathan appeared at the doorway, Keira in tow. "Everything okay? I thought you said no offices."
Ashton glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah. Elena just doesn't know how to listen."
"I don't know my way around your house," I said, part playing along, part telling the truth. "Sorry."
Nathan shook his head and gave me an easy smile, making me feel a little guilty for suspecting that he could kill someone. Truthfully, I couldn't really see any of the Elite killing anyone. Even Keira or Jacen.
"It's fine, we'll show you around sometime," Nathan replied. "We all kinda gave up on hide and seek, though, with how long you were taking."
Had Ashton and I really been arguing for that long? I checked my phone. It had been over half an hour since we started hide and seek. It was past one now.
"We should probably head back to the living room and sort out sleeping arrangements," Nathan suggested, glancing between us. "Jace, Sky, and Vanessa are already there."
"We'll be right behind you. I just have to talk to Elena," Ashton said. Nathan nodded and he and Keira headed back down the hall. "Where'd you find this?" Ashton asked, holding up the sticky note.
I pointed to the blank spot under Skylar's name on the map. Ashton quickly looked it over before returning the sticky note to its original position. "He's not close yet." He pushed me out of the office, one hand pressing lightly on my lower back.
"He trusts you a lot," I remarked. "I mean, you could've found the map, but he didn't care."
Ashton shrugged. "He's trusting like that."
I couldn't tell if he meant that like a bad thing, or a good thing. When we got back to the living room, they were discussing sleeping options. Skylar had ruled out sleeping bags, saying they killed her back. Vanessa didn't want us to sleep in the many extra bedrooms the Sinclair's had, insisting that it wasn't like a sleepover, then.
"We can get four mattresses," Nathan suggested after a moment of silence. "One person sleeps alone and everyone else pairs up."
"Well, Keira and Nate are given," Skylar said. "Ash?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
Vanessa bit her lip. "I should probably sleep alone, or someone's gonna get gutted."
Nathan laughed. "You play soccer in your sleep, 'Ness."
She blushed and stuck her tongue out at him.
Wait, if Vanessa's alone, and Keira and Nathan are sharing one, and same with Skylar and Ashton, that leaves me with...
Jacen glanced at me and grinned. "Looks like it's me and you, Elle."
Ashton's head snapped up. "Don't call her that."
"Why?" Jacen asked, raising an eyebrow. "You do."
What the hell? Was he actually trying to provoke Ashton? Why? And was Ashton actually letting it work?
"Alright, you guys can stop with the pissing contest," Skylar interrupted, wrinkling her nose. "It's grossly uncomfortable to witness."
Jacen rolled his eyes, but let it drop. I glanced at Ashton to see him grab a bottle of beer off the table and pry off the top. He met my eyes, then looked away as he tipped the bottle back, draining the contents.
Ashton slammed down the empty bottle. "Come on," he said to Nathan and Jacen. "We should get the mattresses. There's another one in the room next door."
The guys disappeared throughout the house, along with Keira and Skylar, while Vanessa and I headed over to the next room to grab the last mattress. Keira and Skylar returned as we were laying it down, each with blankets and two shirts. Skylar dropped her stuff on the mattress, then tossed a shirt to me, keeping the other for herself. Keira did the same, but gave her extra shirt to Vanessa.
I turned the shirt over in my hands. It was big enough that I could probably wear it without flashing everyone my panties or something. It was also Ashton's, I think. I was pretty sure he had been wearing it a week or two ago.
I glanced at Skylar. "Is this-"
"Yeah," she cut in, apparently already knowing what I was going to say. "Don't be weird about it," she added before I could open my mouth to protest, apparently already knowing I was going to do so. "Would you rather one of Nate's or Jace's?"
I bit the inside of my lip and shook my head. I headed into the bathroom to change, not comfortable doing so in front of everyone like Keira, Skylar and Vanessa apparently were. I tugged at the edge of the shirt lightly after pulling it on, wanting it to be longer, but not wanting to accidentally stretch out Ashton's shirt or something. It came to just below my butt, barely covering the essentials.
When I came back, the guys had returned with the mattresses, and organized them form a square so we'd all be close if we slept with our heads facing the middle. I set my things on the mattress Vanessa and I had brought in, and Vanessa claimed the one across from it. Nathan and Keira took the one beside hers which left Skylar and Ashton beside Jacen and I's mattress.
Right. I have to share a mattress with Jacen.
Awesome.
"No sex, you guys," Skylar told Nathan and Keira.
Keira rolled her eyes. "I'm not an exhibitionist, Sky, sorry to disappoint."
I glanced at Jacen when he made a choking noise, to see him mimicking throwing up. He looked at me and met my eyes, then chose that exact moment to pull off his shirt.
I averted my eyes awkwardly and flopped onto the mattress, pulling the cover up to my torso. I still felt awkwardly exposed in just an oversized t-shirt that wasn't even mine.
Why did I let myself get talked into this again?
Right, because I thought I would get answers.
I hadn't. Just more questions. Like who had suggested Detective Fallon to Nathan. Who the hell was N?
Someone turned off the light, pulling me out of my thoughts. I blinked a couple times, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark. There wasn't much light in the room, so even after they had done so, I couldn't make out very much.
I felt the mattress dip as Jacen lied down on his side. I glanced at him to see him on his back, hands behind his head. I could ask him why he had been at Olivia's funeral without anyone hearing if I was quiet enough.
"We should share secrets," Vanessa whispered.
Skylar snorted. "What secrets? It's not like we don't already know everything about each other. The only secrets are the ones no one wants to know like what new Kama Sutra position Keira and Nate decided to try."
A strange noise escaped from Jacen's throat, part groan, part scream, I think. "I have heard way too much about my sister's sex life for one night."
"Yeah, Sky," Keira teased. "You know I'd let you join but Nathan won't let me."
A strangled groan came from her direction, Nathan, I think, but he didn't say anything.
"Shut up. It's, like, two in the morning, and I can already feel a headache coming on," Skylar said.
A quiet laugh came from Ashton. "You guys should probably listen, Skylar's grumpy when she crashes."
"You guys are no fun," Vanessa replied. I was almost certain she was pouting, from the tone she had used.
There was only the sound of steady breathing for a couple minutes, making me think everyone had fallen asleep. Then Jacen spoke.
"So you should know something," he whispered.
I glanced at him.
"I sleep naked."
I stiffened. "What?"
Tell me he's not naked. Tell me I'm not actually on a mattress with a naked Jacen Winston next to me.
He rolled over to glance at me. "I'm kidding," he said. "You have to earn nudity, you know."
I shook my head, annoyed that I had let him get to me, and changed the subject. "Why were you at Olivia's funeral?" I demanded, keeping my voice low.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied without missing a beat.
Was he really going to play this game?
"What are you guys whispering about?" Vanessa asked before I could respond.
"I'm informing Elena of our future," Jacen said. "Eleven kids, a poodle, a Siamese cat and two mini-vans. I think we'd make beautiful babies." He nudged me. "What do you say?"
He's quick. Even when he's drunk.
I wrinkled my nose. "Eleven's a lot."
"Well, I am irresistible."
I rolled my eyes. "I think I'd give up after the first try."
He shifted closer to me. "I'll prove you wrong."
"Ew, guys, no!" Vanessa cried.
"Go to sleep." Skylar groaned.
I slid away from Jacen, almost falling off the mattress. "Stop trying to touch me!" I slapped his hand away. I think I prefer cruel, cryptic sober Jacen to drunken, touchy Jacen.
Skylar -or at least, I think it was Skylar since she spoke next- sighed. "I'll switch with you."
I glanced in her direction. "Are you sure?"
I think she nodded, though it wasn't easy to tell in the dark. "Yeah, because Jace knows if he tries anything, I'll kick him in the balls and take away his ability to ever have kids. Here that Jace? There goes your beautiful babies," she said. There was a quiet rustle as she stood up, then footsteps as she came to stand at the edge of the mattress.
"Thanks." I sat up.
"Aww, Elena, don't leave me," Jacen whined in a mock hurt voice, grabbing onto my wrist.
I rolled my eyes, even though he probably couldn't see and pulled my arm from his grasp. I stood up, and glanced around, trying to make some stuff out in the dark. The curtains were shut tightly and it wasn't at all light outside so I didn't have any help there.
Alright, so Ashton and Skylar's mattress had been next to the one I had been using, and Skylar had been on the far side. I didn't want to walk over Ashton, so I had to go around. I took a couple steps down and passed Skylar, then turned to the right. I followed to the far end of the mattress then turned right again. But I hadn't gone far enough, and my foot caught on the edge of the mattress, causing me to topple over.
Landing half on the mattress and half on Ashton.
"Oof," he said as I fell into his chest.
His bare chest.
I felt it move as he laughed. "Smooth."
I scrambled off him, thankful it was so dark because my cheeks were probably bright red. Then again, this wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been so dark. "Shut up." I moved onto my side of the mattress and grabbed the cover, pulling it up to my chin as I pressed my hands to my burning face.
I felt a shift in the mattress as Ashton flipped on his side to look at me, and in the process, yanked the blanket away from my head. "If you wanted to feel my abs you could've just asked."
I bit the inside of my lip. "What abs?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I believe that was a challenge." Before I could react, he grabbed my hand and pressed it to his stomach, causing my cheeks to flame again.
Okay, so maybe he did have abs.
"You're drunk," I whispered.
"Just a little bit," he admitted. It must've been the extra beer he had drank a couple minutes ago, since he had been pretty much completely sober in Nathan's office.
"Seriously, you guys?" Skylar demanded.
I bit back a smile. "Goodnight, Ashton."
"'Night, Elle," he replied.
And then, of course, there was Jacen. "Why are you allowed to call her that, but I'm not?!"
Skylar let out a quiet screech, which was quickly followed by a rustle.
And a couple seconds later- a pained groan from Jacen.
-- ♡ --
Teaser: "You messed it up enough the first time around... She's dead because of you."
QotC: Who's your favourite in the Elite?