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PART I.
II. TROUBLED YOUTH.
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SETH ISN'T even remotely surprised as he casually passes the repulsive sight of vomit spewing out from a teen's quivering lips and onto McKay's front lawn. It was deemed quite normal, given the excessive amount of booze and alcohol they consumed at parties. Lana, on the other hand, immediately felt nauseous—just the display and stench of heated and intoxicated teenagers sprawled out in front of the grand house made her want to leave already. Yet, she doesn't. Instead, she soundlessly shuffles behind her brother, withholding any of the distasteful and several comments she had regarding the reckless behaviour surrounding her—after all, she reckons she's annoyed Seth enough during the car ride there. She didn't need him thinking she couldn't handle being at a high school party—so she sucks it up.
Now Lana was well aware of how popular and celebrated her brother was amongst the students of East Highland ( Why? She's not sure either. ) But this was a lot. The minute the pair pass the threshold of McKay's residence, numerous teenagers practically fling themselves at Seth—some bringing him forth into a casual handshake, others ( well, girls ) waving rather flirtatiously at him, and many just plainly nodding in his direction. Seth almost forgets about Lana's lingering presence, as he almost gets lost in the emerging crowd.
"Remember what I said." He practically shouts over the music, turning to face her, before resting his hands against her shoulders. "If anything—"
"If anything happens, don't hesitate to call you—I know, Seth." Lana groans, loosening his soft grip on her shoulders. "For the tenth time, I'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about." She reassures, softly poking his sides as she continues, "Look at you, being all caring and shit. You turning soft on me, Cruz?"
Seth swats away her fingers from his ribs, "Whatever." He mumbles, manoeuvring his way around Lana, practically leaving her stranded near the doorway.
He doesn't miss Lana's merry remark to his departure. He shakes his head in amusement, the corner of his lips slightly curving upwards as she blithely yells, "Love you too, Sethie." Rougishly attempting to humiliate him in any way.
"Yo." A voice calls, slightly tapping Seth against his forearm, causing the tanned boy to come to a halt.
He instantly notices his towering friend, leaning against the counter, accompanied by a random blonde swaying against his bare chest. Her hands hang loosely around his neck, practically yearning for his attention, yet he seemed occupied smirking lightly at his hotheaded best friend. Seth wears a puzzled expression as he stares back at Nate, soundlessly questioning the amused appearance. Nate simply juts his chin in the direction of something in the far distance, causing Seth to swivel around cautiously.
His gaze flickers from her roaming hands, to her captivating hips, to then her glistening eyes never once leaving his own. Nate had come to the conclusion, the pair were perhaps against each other ( for what reason, no one knew, not even Seth ) only because, normally Ingrid would most definitely be all over Seth the minute he appears—not some random guy pressed up against her.
"Trouble in paradise?" Nate teases.
Seth laughs at this, "You're one to talk." He doesn't bother to spare another glance at the alluring teenage girl as he turns entirely to face his friend. "I could care less who she decides to fuck. She ain't my girl."
"Does she know that?" Nate quips, causing Seth to let out a groan.
"Why does everyone ask that?" Seth grumbles, recalling Lana's previous comment regarding Ingrid's assumed attraction towards him. Nate simply raises his hands in surrender, observing as Seth directs himself towards the counter close by, crowded with alcoholic beverages.
Seth could barely hear himself thing over the intense roar of music blasting his eardrums. Instead, he pours shots after shots, continuously tilting his head back as he downs every bit of the intoxicating liquid down his throat. He relishes in the sour and vile that slips into his mouth, triumphantly stealing away the complex reality that burdens his mind every passing second. Thoughts of his deadbeat, drunken father and his deteriorating consciousness finally dials down, the strong tonic easing his troubles.
"Whoa, there!" Seth hears, "You may want to take it easy or that hangover's gonna be a bitch."
Seth's hands grip onto the counter, his eyes swivelling to his side to catch sight of the lingering reminder of his childhood. His chestnut, unruly curls are much longer than he recalls, overshadowing his narrow face, and somehow managing to slightly cover his green pair of eyes. He takes notice of this, and pulls it back, almost out of habit. The common faded, denim jacket still succeeds in engulfing his lean figure, exaggerating his skinniness yet still managing to make him appear more fragile and gentle than ever. Elliot Hart still resembled the exact same person he was, at the age of five. Shy, uncomfortable—he couldn't say the same for Seth. It'd seemed like all the gentleness that was once a part of Seth had been replaced by piercing edges and chiselled lines. It was only due time before the pair were separated, Seth ditching the hushed child for Nate and Elliot preferring to steer clear from any sort of attention.
"Something troubling you, Cruz?" Elliot queries, "Not drinking your problems away, are you?"
His rigid eyes narrow, pushing off the counter whilst maintaining his burning hard stare. Seth couldn't help the burning rage that hisses through his body at the realisation of Elliot's words. The brunette boy was well aware of Seth's chaotic past—his wrecked family, his mother abandoning him, his father's drinking problem, the reason why he was so afraid of commitment, the constant promises his father tells him about changing and becoming better—Elliot knew all of it and Seth loathed him for it. He simply didn't appreciate the feeling of seeming vulnerable or broken, yet, Elliot's words only reminded him of the comparison between him and his father. And, he hated it.
"The fuck do you want, Hart?" Seth demands, standing to his full height.
Elliot raises his hands in surrender motion, "Just thought you might want to see your friend out there."
Seth stares back at him with borrowed eyes, his expression giving away his sudden confusion before following his line of vision. There, in the distance, lingers a immense crowd of teenagers surrounding the outdoor pool, incessant chattering alongside boisterous yells fill the air. Seth's frame slightly staggers as he stumbles towards the ever-increasing noise. He distractedly nudges a guy aside as he nears a rather disgruntled Nate glaring down at the pool.
The cacophony of voices and splashes greets his ears as stands alongside a furious-looking Nate. His narrowed, weakened eyes held so much fury and malice, his face contorted with the vicious outburst. Anger simply wasn't enough to describe his emotions.
"Maddy?" Seth splutters, his lips parting slightly to express his stunned expression.
There, before him, lingered Maddy Perez—curled, rouge lips, deep, earth brown eyes twinkling with confidence and pressed up against an unknown blond, half-naked. To pretty much everyone surrounding the scene, it appeared the pair were having sex in McKay's very own pool. In her arrogant triumph, Maddy's smirk instantly increases as she acknowledges her friend's arrival.
"Seth." She greets, purposefully neglecting Nate's hardened gaze.
"Yeah, that's real classy, you fucking whore." Nate seethes.
Maddy abruptly pulls away from the passionate kiss, swivelling around beneath the blond's firm grip, softly parting her lips.
"Suck my dick." She calls, causing a chorus of exclaims and expressive chatter to erupt.
Nate's jaw clenches, swiftly glancing around him, before storming off in a vicious manner. Seth bites his tongue, attempting to restrain himself from either smirking or saying something that would tick off his friend even more. So, instead he directs his gaze onto the brunette giggling hysterically as she lightheartedly throws her head back, allowing her dark locks to dip further into the crystal, azure water.
"Come on, Maddy." Seth sounds, "Before you do something you'll regret." Retrieving a towel from afar, he strolls to the edge of the pool whilst the dark-haired beauty swims in his directions.
"A little late for that." She giggles, letting Seth securely drape the towel around her frame before gripping it firmly herself. A moment passes, before a giggle builds up inside of her again, and she's leaning into Seth's side for support, "He was so mad."
"Yeah." Seth sighs, "You're going to end up making that grown ass boy cry, you know that right?"
"A girl can dream." She smirks, her lips pulling into a dangerous smile despite the fact she was practically shivering in the towel wrapped around her figure.
After insisting the brunet to go on without her, Seth stumbles back into the crowded home, with the addition of the strong scent of booze and sweat invading his senses once more. Seth blinks, taking time to adjust to the blinding strobe lights igniting the dark, eventually becoming a steady beam of red and blue hues. At almost an instance, silence caresses his skin, surrounding and engulfing him in a uneasy and strange embrace, leaving him with many questions as to why the once ongoing music had come to a scratchy stop. Ahead, he spots the flowing crowd. Their still, emotionless eyes set on one thing, and one thing only. Much like a magnetic force, Seth doesn't resist the urge to follow the source of trouble. Inching closer and closer to the strident timbre of voices, he makes out the cacophony of what seemed like an argument—more like a single, thunderous voice overtaking everyone else's, as if it had territory over every living soul in the room.
Nate.
"Do you guys know the fuck this is?" Silence. "Does anybody know who this is? Does anybody know who the fuck Jules is? Anyone at all? You, do you know who the fuck Jules is?"
"Nate, the fuck you doing man?" Seth asks, emerging from the muted crowd.
Surveying his surroundings, the Cruz boy notices Jules? pressed against a wall, already wanting to disappear from all the unwanted, ghastly attention she was receiving. Her faded blonde locks almost look white in the dim lights that mock her stunned expression, gradually merging into the pinkish strands that cascade down her frozen shoulders. She doesn't feel herself move a muscle, as she takes in the scene before her, and the tanned boy that glances at her with an unreadable expression that she so desperately wants to look away from.
"Oh, Seth." The towering brunette acknowledges, swiftly moving his shoulder away from his friend's cautious hand. "Do you have any fucking idea who this is?" He inquires, barely giving his friend enough time to answer. The confused expression is all he needed before he amusedly continues, "So, who are you?"
"I'm just minding my own business. I'm not trying to start anything."
"Yeah, dude. Come on, just chill." Seth soothes, attempting to steer his friend away from the terror-stricken girl.
"Chill?" He scoffs, a humorous sound erupting from his throat. "Nah—nah. I'm not going to chill." He directs towards Seth, a cold glare crossing his expression before swivelling around to face Jules once more. "Nobody that looks like you is minding their own fucking business." He hisses, gradually getting close and close until their faces were only a few cms apart. "I know what you are." He grins, "Yeah. Yeah, I see you. So what do you want? You want some, some fucking attention—?"
"Dude." Seth steps forward, noticing the tears pooling in the eyes of the enraged girl. He soon releases a huff, grabbing firmly onto the shoulders of the immature teen. Nate allows his friend to pull him back, yet this doesn't stop him from continuing.
Jules swiftly reaches into the nearest draw, instantly pulling out a knife before firmly aiming it at the pair. The cold steel twisting in the blinding lights, glaring menacingly at the shocked pair. It snapped and snapped, almost as if it had a mind of it's own and a mission set at hand—to protect Jules from the wicked men of the world.
Almost instantly, Nate jumps back, instinctively placing an arm in front of his friend.
"You wanna fucking hurt me?" She seethes, backing both of them further and further across the kitchen.
"No, I was fucking kidding!"
"Why is it pointed at me? I didn't even do anything!"
"Back the fuck up!" She screeches, relishing in the newfound sense of confidence that courses through her body.
"What the fuck is your problem?"
"She's on fucking crack—right? That has to be it." Nate gives Seth a quick look, that practically reads Do not push her. "Just put the knife down, okay..."
"Yeah, it was just a joke." Nate shouts.
"You have no fucking idea—" Jules screams, raising her arm into the air alongside the knife before dragging the threatening blade against her skin.
"Shit—What the fuck?!"
"You're psycho!"
"I'm fucking invincible!" Jules corrects, shifting her bloody arm into the face of a sickened Seth.
"You're a fucking freak!"
She studies the identical horrified expression on the popular boys' face, as she slowly backs away from the pair. The smallest grin appears on her face, almost as if she was pleased with the reaction she created. Their hard eyes enlarged, and their mouths parted as adrenaline courses through their system. With her arm still raised, ocean eyes scan the various expressions etched on the faces of the grand crowd, barely holding any regards to the trail of intense red that drips down her ivory skin in a slow and taunting manner. Once she breathes in the stillness, she gives a swift nod before pulling her arm back down to her side to almost inform everyone that it was over.
"By the way, I'm Jules." She shifts, inching closer and closer to the exit whilst every living soul watches her every move. "I just moved here."
Seth and Nate remain in their positions, almost too shell-shocked to notice the music had started once more.
"Well, shit." Seth finally says, a laugh erupting from his throat. He turns to find the crowd of teens that surrounds them. "Did y'all see that? Nate almost got his ass kicked by some Tinkerbell chick—"
"Seth I fucking swear—" Nate warns, glaring at the smirking boy in return.
author's note: as you can see i wasn't sure how to end this chapter! but my bb lexi may or may not appear in the next chapter😌 &&& i'm currently working on a rue x lana fic that will be connected to this, which i'm very excited about, so stay tuned lovelies!!