"Aspen no, you're not going." Aster demanded as him and Evangeline stood in the the doorway of my bedroom. After I told Aster I was going to the party, he had basically had a heart attack and is now refusing to even let me leave the house.
"I'll be fine." I rolled my eyes as I snapped my gold hoop earrings in before standing up straight and turning towards them "How do I look?"
Aster jaw dropped and he immediately started shaking his head "No. Absolutely not. That top is see through. Get changed now, Aspen. You are not going to walk out of here looking like a stripper. Nope, not doing it."
"Oh hush." Evangeline smacked his arm before beaming at me "You look great Aspen, one sexy mother fucker." I chuckled and smoothed out my clothes, it was something I hadn't put on in a long time due to nowhere to wear it to. Although it was a black mesh shirt you could see right to black bra, it was still cute. And with a pair of high wasted jeans and a black belt, it was something straight out of a fashion nova ad.
I heard a horn honk out front, and I looked out one of my windows to see it had been Finn, right on time as promised. I grabbed my phone throwing it in my back pocket and hugging Evangeline then Aster.
"Bye, love you. I'll be home by midnight." I promised as I walked out of my room, and headed downstairs towards the front door before Aster could protest anymore. I was seventeen and with no real parents, it was time for the freedom now. I walked outside and Finn had parked across the street, but had gotten out of the car himself.
As I crossed the street, I heard a screech of tires and I almost jumped out of my own skin when I saw an all black challenger with black tinted windows. It was Pierce and he was an inch away from hitting me, on purpose of course just to scare me. I looked directly into the windshield and at the drivers side before giving a death glare then heading over to Finn's car where he asked if I was ok.
* * * * *
After the car ride, we arrived at a huge mansion which had been about 20 minutes away from my house. I texted Aster the address the minute I got there, and promised to be home by midnight again. Finn on the other hand was sweet, the car ride was just small talk about getting to know each other. He was very gentleman like which was a relief after being surrounded by guys who spit on and choke me.
It was your typical cliche party, go figure. Light's flashing and music blaring with teenagers on top of each like their life depended on it. Red plastic cups were scattered everywhere, and it was one those places where your time just seem altered.
"Want something to drink?" Finn asked and I nodded, before he took my hand and I followed him through the house as we made our way to the kitchen. There was every drink you could imagine from miller lite to pinot grigio wine. Finn poured two shots of straight whiskey, before handing one to me and I shook my head and decline "No, I don't drink."
"Really?" He gave me a shocked look "You striked me as a party girl."
I shook my head, giving a small smile "No, Seattle didn't have as many raging parties." I joked before I walked over to grab a can of soda and cracking it open. I knew all the rules of parties, as my dad drilled them into my head once I became a freshman when really parties for me in Seattle were just a bunch of kids playing 7 minutes in heave and spin the bottle like we were still in middle school, but it was better than doing lines of coke in the bathroom.
1) Never put your drink down
2) Never take drinks from anyone else
3) Never go alone/stay with your date
4) Always let someone who's not at the party know your address
5) Do not put your guard down
"Come on I want to introduce you to some people." Finn flashed me a pearly white smile before taking my hand, leading me out of the house and towards the pool area. He led me over to a group of people sitting in the hot tub all in bathing suits. I was in shock, not expecting that considering in was November in New York and people were really swimming but it had been on the warmer side lately.
"Hey guys." Finn announced as we approached, turning all their attention towards us "This is Aspen Ambrosia, she just moved here from Seattle. Aspen this is Jack Wilder, Teagan Whitley, and Harper Greene."
"Hey." I smiled, giving a small wave and Teagan spoke up first "Oh my god you're that girl that yelled at Pierce Gunner in the cafeteria."
"Uh yeah..." I trailed off, scratching the back of my neck uncomfortably. Was that really how people knew me now? My first impression to the entire senior class was getting spit on by Pierce Gunner, and flipping out on him.
"I thought that was totally bad-ass." She smiled, and I gave her a shocked look "I mean no one has ever stood up to Pierce Gunner, everyone's terrified of him. I mean even the girls that sleep with him think that he might kill them while fucking them."
"A little bit too hard of a thrust." Harper chuckled. "So Aspen, how did a guy like Finn score a date with you? I mean have you seen him?" Jack joked.
"Oh shut up." Finn rolled his eyes, before shrugging off his pants leaving him in boxers and then taking his shirt up and hopping into the hot tub next to Jack "You coming in?"
"Uh no." I said "No bathing suit, but I'll stick my feet in." "Oh come on you don't need a bathing suit." Finn laughed "I mean we could turn this into a skinny dipping thing if you know what I mean-"
He stopped when Teagan smacked his arm and told him to leave me be. I rolled up the bottom of my jeans and sat on the edge sticking my feet in. "So why'd you move here from Seattle?" Harper asked me curiously.
"Oh my dad got a new job that causes him to move around every 3 months, and he decided that wouldn't exactly be ideal for my senior year so I moved in with my older brother Aster." I explained.
"What about your mom?" She questioned. "Uh, she died three years ago in a motorcycle accident." I sighed before Harper profusely started to apologize for asking, not wanting to make me upset but I just shrugged it off instead.
"You thinking about joining anything? I mean get involved?" Finn asked "I mean like sports, clubs, etc." Teagan immediately spoke up in response "You should so join the cheer leading team I mean, Harper and I are on the squad and it's so much fun."
"Cheerleaders not really my thing." I shrugged "I mean school activities aren't really my thing, always just laid kinda low instead."
They all nodded, and carried on with mindless conversation just to pass the time. It was that point of the party where I regretted coming, and missed my bed and laptop instead especially after being locked in the house by Aster for the past couple days.
* * * * *
Time passed by and it was about eleven and I had promised Aster I'd be home by midnight so I had an hour left. Finn had convinced to me to dance, within the crowd of people surrounded in the living room where the music had been blasting. As much as I did miss my bed, Finn had kept me distracted and I ended up having fun and got to know all his friends with the hopes that I would stop being targeted by Pierce and his goons.
"Ok, ok." I laughed as Finn spun me then dipped me "I got to go soon." He nodded in agreement for yelling over the music "Just let me use the bathroom first."
With that he took off in the other direction, and I decided to go to the kitchen in order to get a water bottle. I took one last sip of the soda can I had, before tossing it into the trash. I stopped for a second when my head had been pounding and I grabbed it in pain, but brushed it off as all the caffeine I had drank tonight.
Walking over to the cooler I grabbed a water-bottle and looked up. "Finn?" I questioned, as I saw Finn and Pierce talking in the side room off the kitchen. They didn't see or hear me but I had decided to watch instead, having no idea what Finn would have to do with Pierce. They both looked around to make sure no one saw them before Pierce took out a stack of cash from his pocket and placed it in Finn's hand.
My jaw dropped in response, and I couldn't believe what I had just saw. Pierce paid Finn to take me out was the conclusion I came to. Finn walked away, and came into the kitchen but looked startled "Aspen, I didn't know you were there."
"The bathroom huh? Last time I checked it was upstairs." I scoffed, not believing I really had been played by the first real guy from Northeast. It was all a sick joke, and I wanted nothing more but to go home.
I turned around and started to walk away when my eye sight became weary, and my legs felt weak to the point I felt where I was going to fall over. My stomach turned in knots and I felt like I was going to be sick and my head was spinning in circles.
"Aspen! Aspen wait! I can explain!" Finn yelled after me but I ignore him and made my way to the front of the house as much as I could before I pulled out my phone to call Aster, but could barely look at my screen. Searching through my contacts, I looked up when I felt a presence near me.
"P-pp-ierc-e" I slurred, not being able to get my words out straight. Starting to back up from the door and soon fell back onto the stairs. My stomach turned and I started to puke, everything had spinning and then it all went black.
* * * * * *
"Ah." I groaned, as I slowly opened my eyes, grabbing a hold of my head which had been in immense pain. I blinked repeatedly as their was a light over top of me, that shined down right into my eyes. Rohynpol is the first word that came to my mind and I couldn't believe I had been drugged.
I sat up, and I was in a a bedroom. It was very old to say the least with the walls practically falling apart and the bed cover that was once white now a stained cream color as well as dusty sheer black curtains with boarded up windows behind them. Rubbing my head, I examined the room a little more and noticed the chains attached to the bed.
Was this someones fucked up red room with a love for vintage?
The door soon opened and I was not in the slightest bit surprised to see Pierce's face. I remembered everything up to blacking out and still could not believe that Finn only took me out so he could get paid. I glared at him as he walked up to me, looking down towards me as he hovered over the side of the bed.
"Drink this." He ordered putting a glass of water out to me with three pill tablets. I looked at the pills in his hand then back up at him with a shocked expression.
"You think I would actually take pills from you?" I scoffed "I don't know if you've noticed but you drugged me with the most infamous date rape drug Pierce."
"Fine. He slammed the glass down onto the rusty old wooden nightstand "But when those side effects start hitting, I don't wanna hear about it Ambrosia." With that he turned around starting to walk out, but I immediately shot up "Um where the hell do you think you're going?"
He stopped in his tracks turning around and looking me with a clenched jaw and an obvious face of annoyance "How about you learn to shut the hell up and not question everything. Learn to bite your tongue sweetheart cause that mouth of yours is going to get your ass bit."
"I am not your sweetheart." I crossed my arms over my chest, standing up straight "And I think I deserve an explanation as to where I am, why you drugged me, and WHY YOU PAID my date to go out with me!"
I was practically yelling at this point and yelling at Pierce never went over well but I could care less what would happen at this point. "Oh please." He rolled his eyes at me "You don't ACTUALLY think Finn would want to go on a date with YOU? And last time I checked I did not need to answer you."
The door bursted open and there soon came in the gang while my very pissed off brother and very concerned Evangeline walked in. Aster's face was cold and pale, his eyes were dark and you could see how tense he had been and looked like he would soon explode. He tried to walk up to me but Pierce stepped in front of me.
"Get out of my way Gunner." Aster gritted through his teeth, his hands clenching into a fist. But Pierce didn't budge. They glared at each other and both stood tall, both being the same height. Aster was practically shaking at this point with anger and before I knew it, he raised his fist punching Pierce straight in the face, making him turn his head.
I jumped at it and before I knew Pierce threw one back and they were beating the shit out of each other. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" I screamed, my words getting caught in my throat and tears rolling down my face in fear for what they would do to Aster.
Xander and Evangeline pulled them apart and I could see Aster's face was all messed up and he was bleeding from his head while Pierce was too but also had a busted lip. "Aspen let's go." Aster said, and I could tell he was out of a loss of breath.
"Aster you know we need to recruit her." Archer sighed, turning his attention from me to him. Aster's face fell at those words, and pressed his lips together and stared up at the ceiling. There was something more that Aster wasn't telling me, and I could tell he was scared of something.
"I told you I can protect her myself." Aster said stern. There was silence for a moment and it made my skin crawl at how uncomfortable I felt.
Xander spoke up, coming how from the back of the door way "Aster you know they will go after her. And you know you won't be able to protect her. She is in so much danger if she's not with us, and Pierce will watch over her-" He paused before looking at Pierce "..More gracefully. She doesn't stand a chance by herself."
"Who is they?" I spoke up, so confused as the they that they were talking about. I knew for fact there more than the RSP and gang rivals. Something a lot worse considering how I could see Aster accept the fact of defeat.
"Fine." Aster sighed "I can't protect her on my own. You can recruit her..but I swear to god I'll kill you if she gets hurt. And Pierce can't lay a finger on her."
The gang all looked at each other, exchanging looks before looking at me and Archer's lips were blasted in a smirk "Welcome to the gang, Ambrosia."
"Um no!" I yelled "I am not joining a gang. And don't you think it should be my decision, not my brothers for god sakes?"
"Aspen, there are dangers I cannot protect you from and with Westwood gone, you need numerous people to have your back before they get you."
"Who the hell is they?" I asked for the millionth time, still not getting an answer as to who this 'they' is and why I was now being forced into a gang for protection by my older brother.
Pierce turned around to face me. He inched his face closer to mine and I could feel his peppermint breath falter on my skin. "Enough with the questions, Ambrosia."
* * * * *
A://N Another Thursday, another update
This chapter is dedicated to afinazir you commented the most on chapter 5!
Tell me what you guys think about this chapter..
Did you expect that with Finn?
What do you think Pierce is up too?
And how do you feel about Aster finally agreeing for the gang to take protection of her? Any ideas of protection from what?
Answer all of these questions as well to make sure to comment a lot on the chapter and you will receive a dedication!
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~ Ash
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