A/n: 'Ariadne' is pronounced 'Ari-anne'. Enjoy.
Chapter 11
Obviously, Arsen's loyal bodyguard had to follow us.
I'm pretty sure he'd follow Arsen to Disneyland if he had to, because of the "trouble" there. But knowing Arsen, I'm quite sure there'd be trouble anywhere he goes.
Including Disneyland.
Once we reach the house, though, his bodyguard, Sarge, parks a few cars away from us and stays there. Which is a relief, because he would not suit a partying atmosphere. Trust me on that.
He's a fricking muscle man.
"This place is huge," I breathe, getting out of Arsen's Jaguar and looking towards the house.
It is huge. Unlike Arsen's house, which is a cozy mansion, this house is sharp. And enormous. It's like a terraced home, except, it's all supposed to be one, making it look like a palace.
And the water fountain in the middle of the circular driveway is just an addition to the house that seems to be screaming 'I'm rich as fuck!'.
I wonder who's house this is.
"Shanaya Longwood's," Arsen says as if reading my mind.
Or I could've said it out loud, knowing my history with thoughts.
After I don't budge and stare at the house for a while, Arsen grabs my hand and pulls me towards the huge double doors, which I'm assuming are the front ones since there are way more doors than I could count.
So, it's Shanaya's house.
Of course, it is!
All rich girls live in a house that's not a house. She's probably got another four homes in fifty different countries.
I'm assuming she's them wicked, green-eyed-mean-girl-monster-thing whatchamacallits.
Surely every school has to have a mean girl, whether she's pretty, or not, whether it's you, your sister, your cousin, your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, or not.
"I'm so not looking forward to this," I grumble, making Arsen arch his eyebrow.
"Neither am I," He mutters, glaring at the house with his fire-coloured eyes so hard I'm almost concerned for the house.
His eyes are legitimately glowing in the dark. It's freakishly beautiful.
"I'm so looking forward to this!" Ameena squeals, literally coming out of nowhere.
She grabs my arm, pulling me forward, which causes Arsen to jerk forward since he was still holding my hand, and he comes crashing into me, causing me to shriek and topple over, and almost fall to the ground.
But Arsen's quick, and with a snap, he's grabbed onto my waist so fast that my back bumps into his front, automatically pulling me close.
"Watch out, Ameena," Arsen growls from behind me, his body rumbling against mine.
Ameena throws a sorry smile and a wink over at us and then turns to rush towards the house. I wonder if she did it by purpose.
"She's such an idiot," I hiss, narrowing my eyes at her retreating body.
"That's why I regret letting her join us. Now stop wasting time," And with that, he steps out from behind me and with one last nudge, strides towards the house in his long, confident steps.
God dang it, his arms were warm.
I definitely, under no circumstances, at all, did not miss his touch. At all!
They just felt nice.
I shrug off my thoughts and walk off towards the front of the house, and when I'm closer, that's when I realize that there's quite a lot of people in Shanaya's front yard.
Some are taking selfies with their red plastic cups, some have full vodka or beer bottles in their hands, and some are just sitting around, talking or laughing.
Some are puking.
I cautiously follow the gang into the house, noticing how everyone gives us at least some kind of respected look. I meant just the gang, not me. I get weird looks, the type that says 'get the fuck out of here, newbie'.
Some are confused because they're drunk - and puking.
Almost as fast as lightning, both of Killahead's gang has scattered, some making their way around to the - I'm assuming huge - back garden, some staying out front to chat with the students that I'm guessing they haven't seen for a while, but most of the gang goes into the loud house.
In fact, the music is so loud and heavy I can barely hear myself think.
Ameena and Arsen are beside me, and Ameena has linked an arm through mine, throwing me a smirk and looking towards Arsen.
I roll my eyes at her, and we all walk into the booming house. Almost immediately, I'm surrounded by bodies.
Not dead ones, don't worry, just drunk, dancing and completely crazy teenage bodies, grinding and bumping against each other to the constant beat of the music.
The lighting is dim. Very dim. So dim, in fact, that I almost didn't see Arsen slipping his hand into mine, and tugging lightly.
God, I definitely felt it, though.
"So you don't decide to run away," He growls icily in my ear, and I shiver, even though it's fricking one hundred and thirteen degrees in here.
I think I get what girls mean when they say that electricity shoots up their arms when they're holding somebody else's hand.
Because at the moment, my hand legit just burned, and I had to purposefully hold on tighter, thinking it would stop.
It made it worse.
Besides, I wouldn't run...
Actually, I would.
First chance I got.
I'd probably run to Paris or Rome or something. Be a free bird.
Although that doesn't exactly sound very appealing to be doing on my own.
"XANNY!" Ameena screams in my ear, causing me to jump, which causes Arsen to snap his head towards us, and glare at Ameena.
A slight shock runs up my arm as Arsen's arm brushes against my own.
"WHAT?!" I scream back.
"I'M GOING TO GET A--"
"WHAT?"
"I SAID I'M GOING TO GET A DRINK!"
"YOU'RE GOING TO GET LINKED?! WITH WHO?!"
"UGH, NO!"
"JOE?!"
"XANNY, CAN YOU DIE?!"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, CAN I PIE?!"
"GAH!"
Suddenly, my good friend Ameena shoves me and walks off towards the bar.
I try to comprehend her words, but once again, I'm shoved into Arsen, and he's just as quick to catch me. Again.
"This is becoming a habit, isn't it?" I hear him murmur in my ear, and my face burns scarlet, heart starting to beat just a tiny bit faster.
Great, he probably thinks I'm a pervert now.
I'm about to pull out of his arms and follow Ameena over to the amazing built-in bar when a loud throat is cleared from somewhere.
Whoever cleared their throat, knows Arsen, because suddenly, he stiffens from behind me, and slowly takes back his arms.
I turn to see the silhouette of a tall girl standing in the door frame of a different room.
One that looks quieter.
She gestures for us to follow, and Arsen grabs my wrist just as I'm about to walk away, dragging me in with him.
Jeez, does he actually think I'm going to run?.. because he should.
This room is, surprisingly, much quieter than the main room. In fact, it's practically soundproof. And there are fewer people here, talking quietly in hushed tones.
You can still kind of hear the music, but not so loud that you have to scream.
Because I'm quite sure Ameena didn't ask me if I can make "pie". She knows I can't cook.
Probably why no one wants to marry you.
Ah, you're back, are you?
I never went anywhere!
Of course.
"Hey, Arsen!" The girl suddenly squeals, ripping me away from my thoughts.
I move my gaze to the tall girl, and how she's excitedly looking at Arsen.
"Shanaya," Arsen greets, nodding his head. My eyes widen in recognition.
Shanaya? Shanaya?! The Shanaya Longwood? This is her?!
The girl in front of me is nothing I had thought of her to be.
The girl I was imagining had long blonde hair and big green eyes. But the girl standing in front of me was completely different. And way prettier.
Goes to show you shouldn't assume instantly.
She had medium lengthed hair, wavy and hazel-brown. It wasn't as short as mine, since my hair is shoulder-length, and her eyes were a shining brown colour.
Just like mine, except she made the plain-look so trendy.
She was definitely taller than me, by two inches at the least. Standing next to her, I guarantee you that I would be compared to a minion.
Even without heels, she towered above me. Still a few inches shorter than Arsen, but she fitted him perfectly.
They looked destined to be together.
So why, exactly, didn't I like it?
"OMG, you're actually back! Where were you?! When I heard you'd returned, I just had to call a party for you! You'll be coming to my school, now, right?!" She asks excitedly, and Arsen nods.
Actually, it's his school.
"Yeah, I will," He says, and Shanaya, oblivious to the girl standing right next to Arsen, giggles.
"Great! Everyone's going to know my boyfriend's ba--"
"Boyfriend?! You're her boyfriend?" I spit, and finally, Shanaya's face snaps towards me, including Arsen's.
Glad to know I'm seeable.
"She's not my girlfriend," Arsen growls, glaring at Shanaya, who smiles sheepishly and turns to me.
I breathe out a little.
"Um, you must be..." Shanaya's eyes narrow, as if she's contemplating whether she should be nice to me, or not.
I decide to play the good girl.
"My name's Xan--"
"Ariadne. Her name's Ariadne Sayers," Arsen immediately calls in, and I look over at him and raise both my eyebrows, surprised.
Oh, so all of a sudden I'm Ariadne?! Did he forget my name?
But one look from him shuts me up.
"Oh. Hello, uh, Ariadne. You're new, right?" Shanaya asks, looking uneasy, but she smiles anyway, stretching out her hand nonchalantly to shake mine.
I reluctantly take it, expecting her to squeeze it or probably pull it right off, but she just shakes and drops - the hand.
Okay, maybe she doesn't want to make my life a complete misery just yet.
"Yeah, I'm new. Moved here a few weeks--" Again, Arsen jumps in.
"Days, she moved in just a few days ago. From Eugene," Arsen nods firmly, giving me a sharp nudge. I jump momentarily.
Okay, this is confusing, my name isn't Ariadne and I'm definitely not from Eugene, and I know nothing about it!
Except for the fact that it's in Oregon.
But it seems to be a good enough dupe for Shanaya because her eyes light up.
"Oh! That's so cool! I've always wanted to visit there! Is it nice there? How's the weather?" She asks excitedly.
Now, how exactly do I answer those questions when I'm not from Oregon?!
Thanks, Arsen.
"She's not been home for a while, she was living in Toronto," He says smoothly, and Shanaya nods curiously.
"Okay...so who are you staying with now?" She asks, eyeing me for a second. I narrow my eyes at Arsen.
Is he going to butt into this, too?
"With me."
Yes, he is.
At least he didn't lie, this time.
"Ah," Shanaya nods her head slowly, her face morphing magically into a snarl. She fake smiles. "What about your parents? Where are they?"
Yeah, she was definitely going to ask that. I saw that coming.
"They're..." Okay, this time, I definitely need Arsen's help.
"She doesn't know where her mom is. Dad passed away. No siblings." He answers, and Shanaya's face contorts into pity, then turns into an eye roll.
"Does she talk?" She asks, finally giving me that dirty look I'd been waiting for, and I furrow my eyebrows at her.
Idiot.
"I do, actually. And I just wanted to say that, you wanting to know everything about me is not helping with the fact that I want to enjoy the party you're meant to be hosting," I hiss, glaring at her.
Shanaya's eyebrows shoot up with surprise, and when Arsen isn't looking, Shanaya mouthes 'slut'.
Suddenly, something flares in my stomach.
"Bitch," I mutter, brushing past her and walking towards the door.
But what I hear Shanaya call from behind me makes my blood freeze.
"Great. Another fucking Xena."
I turn. Arsen stops in his tracks. Shanaya snorts. I walk up to her.
"What did you say?" I growl, my voice low, eyes narrowed. Shanaya's smirk widens.
"Oh, nothing. I mean, Xena used to go around living in boy's houses too and she'd make out with every guy she saw - that's what most people would define as a slu--" But she doesn't finish.
Because I punched her jaw. Hard. I was about to go at her again, but Arsen had grabbed me from behind, exceedingly strong since I was still thrashing about, trying to make this witch bleed.
Oh, man, was she going to get it!
How dare she talk about my sister like that?! She knows nada about Xena, and she's probably fifty times worse. What a bitch!
"Talk about her like that again and I'll pull your teeth out with my bare hands!" I pant, trying to get her.
Once I know Arsen won't let go, I calm myself down a little until he loosens his hold, then I push out of his embrace and walk over to the door, too angry to care about where I'm going.
I yank the door open and stalk out, seething.
In fact, I was so angry that I didn't notice the men walking toward the door we were in, bumping into the guy upfront.
"Watch where you're going," I snap, looking up at the guy. I turn to leave but his face catches my eyes.
Or lack thereof.
Apparently, the guy decided that it would be nice to hijack a party with his friends, in skeleton masks over their faces. And as much as I'm scared, I find it interesting, too.
In the way this guy's grey eyes crinkle at the corners, I'm guessing he's either smiling or smirking.
Probably the latter.
"Hey there, feisty. To what owes me the pleasure of meeting you?" I hear him snarl from underneath his mask. His voice is surprisingly smooth.
Upon hearing him, the people dancing and making out around us slowly come to a stop, finally realizing the men in maks. I hear someone scream to the DJ to turn down the music, which he, surprisingly, does.
Suddenly, I feel someone's presence behind me, and their hands come to rest on my waist.
My heart flips multiple times when I realize I know exactly who it is.
"Alec," Arsen's cold voice says from behind me.
"Ah, I was looking for you," Alec says, his accent very interesting sounding.
His eyes drift back down to me. "And who is this lovely young lady?"
Arsen's hands tighten around me, and he pulls me harshly closer to him.
"Don't even look at her," Arsen growls dangerously, but my eyes are glued to Alec in front of me.
His eyes are so scary, I feel like I can't move an inch. I'm afraid if I look away I'll be dead in a matter of--
"But she won't stop looking at me. Right, love?" Alec says, winking. And if it's possible, Arsen's hands tighten even more.
Although it feels extremely uncomfortable, for some unknown reason, I don't want him to let go.
This man doesn't exactly look like he came for a glass of Rosé - which makes him unsafe.
"Stop. Looking at her like that." Arsen hisses, and Alec raises his eyebrows, lifting his gaze from my eyes which causes me to finally snap out of the stupid little trance.
"So, Arsen, when you throw her away, too, do you mind dropping her in my trash can?" Alec jests.
I think this finally makes Arsen snap because he harshly pushes me behind him and lunges towards Alec, punching him square in the jaw.
Even with the mask, I'm pretty sure Alec felt that. Arsen's punch was pretty impressive.
Suddenly, all the guy's in Alec's gang rush forward as Alec loses his balance. One of the men, the one without a mask and astonishingly jet-black hair, scowls at Arsen.
"You made the wrong move!" The man says, and almost out of nowhere, Arsen's gang are crowding him, and so is Don's.
Don takes the lead next to Arsen.
"Ameena, get Xanthe! Don't let them get her. Both of you, stay out of it, especially you Xanthe!" Arsen commands, his eyes still glued to Alec angrily.
"Come on, Xanny, we're not exactly fit to--" But I cut Ameena off when a man comes up from behind Xander.
"Xander, WATCH OUT!" I scream, but Xander doesn't hear me. And neither does the guy, unfortunately. So I do the next thing I can think of.
Ignoring Ameena's cries of protest, I jump onto the guy's back, taking him by surprise as I tackle him to the ground.
This small helpful gesture of mine seems to turn everyone on because suddenly, the music blares and everyone starts punching everyone else.
Arsen and Alec.
Don and the jet-black haired dude.
Jax and a man with platinum blonde hair, Kade by his side.
Logan and a man just as lanky as him.
Xander with the guy I'm currently fighting.
I see Ace trying to help Noah out with a big burly man.
Where, exactly, are Ally and Kaitlin? Those sly snakes.
"Get off me, you little bitch," Mister I-Think-I'm-All-It growls, banging my back against the wooden wall, where drunk girls scream and run away.
They don't know how much that hurt.
"No!" I growl back, pulling his hair and trying to punch him.
My back sears with pain and my arms start to tire out, and with one last kick, I fall to the ground, the dickhead on top of me.
My eyes widen as he lifts a fist, about to punch me, but somebody quickly grabs his wrist and tuts.
"That wouldn't be wise, pal," Don says, yanking the man off me and punching him. I stare wide-eyed, paralyzed as this keeps happening, back and forth.
As I get up, a man taps me on the shoulder and I whirl around to see someone with a vase in their hand, and I'm quick to duck. But that was a bad idea.
Because the vase smashes on Xander's head.
I scream, dashing to Xander to save his fall.
Everyone freezes.
When Arsen turns, he's met with quite a scene.
Me, knelt next to Xander who's unconscious with a bloody head, glass all around me, and a man with his hands still half-raised.
The blood's all over my hands, and I feel bile rush to my throat, but I quickly swallow it.
Arsen's eyes find mine, and for once, I'm scared to look in them.
Because they're raging with fury I've never seen.
I mean, hey, it's not my fault. It was the man with the vase's fault!
But this is Xander we're talking about, and the feeling of guilt I'm getting is something I totally deserve.
Also, I completely disobeyed Arsen.
Again.
Almost sensing the anger radiating off of Arsen, Alec nods to his men, who immediately get the memo and half run, half limp out of the - now-empty - mansion.
Everyone comes over to kneel beside Xander, next to me, who opens one eye slightly and meets mine.
"Sorry," He wheezes out quietly before completely blacking out. I gulp.
What if he dies?! No, he can't die. He won't die.
"Take him to the hospital," Arsen says to everyone, his voice dangerously low. I get up to go with them.
"You," He spits, his eyes glaring at me.
I stop in my tracks, and he holds me in place long enough for everyone to exit the house until it's just us two left in the huge living room.
But I can't admire the place, since I've got much bigger problems at hand, sadly.
"I clearly remember telling you and Ameena to stay out of it, Xanthe," He tells me. I gulp.
"But the guy was about to hit Xand--"
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME WHAT THE GUY WAS ABOUT TO DO!" He yells, and I visibly flinch.
He never raises his voice. When he's angry, he goes quiet and dangerous. Which only means one thing.
He's not angry.
He's disappointed.
And trust me, that's a million times worse.
"I was just trying to help," I mutter timidly.
"Look where that got him! Look where the fuck your little hero act got him! He's being driven to the hospital, because of you! Were you that careless?! Trying to save him practically got him no-fucking-where! And what about you? What if that could've been you?" Arsen continues, his voice getting louder and louder.
I look away, trying not to meet his eyes.
God, dang it, he's right about it being my fault. He's always right.
And it's always my fault.
Way to go, Xanny! The one day you could've run away, or maybe escaped somehow, you ruin it.
"Get in the car, we're leaving," Arsen finally says, venom laced around every word.
"What about--"
"Don't ask about him, Xanthe. You're not going to meet him at the hospital, so get in the fucking car," He snarls and walks out of the trashed house.
I swallow and follow after him.
Once we're in the car, and Arsen's driving - no, speeding - back to his house, I decided to speak up.
"Arsen?" I ask. He doesn't answer, but a bone in his jaw ticks.
Of course, he's not going to answer, you asshat, he's really mad at your fucking ass.
I take a deep breath and carry on.
"Look, Arsen, I'm really sorry, I didn't know the guy was going to come up to me with a flipping vase! And, if I'd known, then--"
"Then what, Xanthe? What could you have possibly done?" He cuts me off, his voice is as cold as ice.
Right. Now he's angry.
"I could've beat the shit out of him. I can, you know," I say. Arsen gives me a death glare, and I immediately shut up.
"Sorry," I mutter.
"You couldn't have done anything, Xanthe. You couldn't have magically teleported yourself and Xander to another part of this earth. None of this would've happened if you had just listened to me!" He growls.
"Damnit, even if I had stayed in my place, Arsen, the guy would've got him! I warned Xander, I swear to God I did! But he didn't hear me!" I tell him.
Arsen shakes his head, his hands clenching tightly around the steering wheel.
"Apologizing isn't going to fix him," He hisses, and I roll my eyes, glaring out of the window.
We arrive home, and Arsen parks his car, but not in the garage. His bodyguard, who was just behind us, also parks, and Arsen glares at him.
"Get some sleep, Xanthe, we're waking early tomorrow. I've got something to say to Sarge," He tells me, his voice back to it's impassive and cold self, just slightly sharper.
I nod silently and get out of the car, walking into the house.
I told you this party wasn't going to turn out okay.
I know you did. Like four times.
Just once, actually.
Shut up.
____________________________________________________________________
3814 words.
Whoa, Arsen's pretty mad, man. Let's see what happens in Canada, shall we?
And remember...
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