Kit was finding that it was harder to pick out Marshall from the crowd than she’d thought it would have been. Was he even here? She wasn’t sure and she had no way to find out. Plus, those pills were starting to kick in. The colors beneath her feet were brighter and more intense than she remembered, and she kept her eyes trained to them as she wandered around. It might have been easier to find Marshall if she wasn’t looking at the floor, huh?

With a great surge of effort, she peeled her face from the ground slowly, but surely. She found herself nose-to-bar with… the bar. Kit pulled herself up onto a barstool and spun slowly, while one of the bartenders behind the counter shook his head. “One alcohol please!” Kit said brightly, and the bartender leaned onto the bar.

“What kind?”

“There are kinds!?” Kit asked, apparently blown away. Oh man, now she had to make decisions. Hopefully some kind of hero would swoop in and help her decide…

Brynn leaned against the bar casually-slightly for support and more so she could observe the party. She watched as her classmates danced around like idiots, high on drugs and drunk off of expensive alcohols. Wasn’t this fun! She checked her phone for the tenth time in the past five minutes, having heard nothing from Sean. Was he ditching her already?

With a sigh, she motioned to the bartender, who she’d become quite acquainted with during the past half hour she’d been standing there. He handed over her poison of choice- Sex on the Beach- hoping that it’d give her some good luck for later in the evening. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed a familiar, short, blonde struggling to order a drink, which made her laugh. This girl was so young, and so naive. Stepping towards her, Brynn made eye contact with the other bartender.

“She’ll have a gin and tonic. Thanks.” She smiled her signature smile and turned to the Freshman. “A little flustered, are we?”

As the bartender prepared the drink, Kit turned to see someone she knew, and nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, a little bit. I didn’t know there were differences. I thought you just asked for an amount, and the amount was how much you got. Like, one alcohol, or two alcohol… To be honest? I’m like really high right now, so I thought if I got a drink, it’d make me better.” She explained her logic, which to her made perfect sense, “Hey, don’t you have a boyfriendly boy somewhere?” She asked Brynn, before accepting the glass the bartender offered her, which she excitedly lifted to her lips. Her first alcohol!

She tipped it back, fully intending to chug it. She got about two gulps in before she slammed it down and stared at the glass, “dude! Nobody said it was gonna taste like butthole!”

The brunette smirked at Kit’s preconceived notions about drinking. Oh, to be a freshman again, with so much to learn. Brynn would teach it to her; all of it. “Well for starters, when you order from the bartender, you need to look him straight in the eye, that way he’ll see how competent you are. It’ll prevent you from getting cut off later. Second, there are many types of drinks, but when in doubt, ask the bartender their favorite drink and get them to make you that- saves you from having to think of what to get on your own.”

At Kit’s disgust of the drink, Brynn swooped in, stole it from here, and finished the last few sips. “And third, never leave your drink next to me. Cause I will drink it. Every. Single. Time.” She sighed, motioning to the bartender once more. “Gin isn’t exactly her speed, I’ve learned. Maybe something fruity?”

She turned back to the younger blonde. “Sean is on his way… hopefully.”

“Righhhht.” Kit nodded, making mental notes about everything that Brynn was saying. At the mention of a fruity drink, she perked up — she didn’t mind if Brynn finished the gin one, if she was going to get some kind of juice. After a few seconds, the bartender sat another drink down in front of Kit — this one was pink! “Thanks! What’s this?”

“Sex on the beach.”

“Who names these things?” Kit shook her head, before taking a less excited sip. She smacked her lips and was then satisfied. This was okay. She took another drink, and looked over at Brynn. “I be he’s here somewhere. He’d be dumb not to be, you’re pretty cool. From what I hear, you’re pretty loose too, but I still think you’re cool.” Another sip of the drink.

“If he doesn’t come, tell me, and I’ll hit him with a shovel.”

Brynn couldn’t help but laugh at Kit. Watching her discover alcohol for the first time reminded her of a younger version of herself. The brunette was absolutely clueless when she got to high school, as she’d never had a sip of liquor due to spending all of her nights alone. But, when she became a Candy, she got to drink for the first time and that was an interesting evening. Brynn wanted to make sure that Kit had the same experience. “I don’t know who names the drinks, but I don’t care cause I drink them anyway.” She smirked devilishly. At Kit’s comment regarding her reputation, Brynn laughed again- this girl was funny- and discreetly looked around again for Sean. “Well thank you, but sometimes people do dumb things. I’ll believe it when I see it- Don’t hit him though, that’s not wise.”

“Well, I guess I’ll take your word for it. You probably know him a bit better than I do…” Kit muttered, taking another sip from the tasty drink, Kit twirled some of her hair around her finger. “Oh, look.” Kit peered off into the distance, before looking over at Brynn and giving her a grin. “I see the Sterling twins! The one you kiss and the one I really, really want to kiss.”

Brynn felt her heart flutter. He actually showed up. She didn’t trust easily, and was worried that she put her trust in Sean too soon, but those fears fell into the ocean the moment she spotted him. Brynn was so relieved that she didn’t notice what Kit had said at first, but once the wheels clicked, her head turned faster than it ever had to the young blonde. “You want to kiss Selena? She has a heart of ice, I don’t recommend getting close to her.” Brynn sipped her drink patiently, still stunned that Kit desired to get close to the girl who she very much disliked.

“That’s what everyone tells me! But yes, I really do. I have for like a whole year now, but now that I got this close — see, I changed my whole personality and deal, cuz I’m not really all that girly, and I like soccer and video games and like pizza. And weed. But I know that Selena doesn’t, but I thought maybe she’d like me more if I was closer to her type? Marshall says I’ll never kiss her though, so I’m kinda bummed.” Kit said, with a sad shake of her head and another sip of the deliciously intoxicating drink.

“Sweetie, you should listen to what everyone tells you. Especially Marshall. Maybe set your sights on someone else! You’ll have a better chance…” Brynn gulped down the rest of her drink, nearly slamming the empty glass on the bar. With a simple finger wave, she got the bartender’s attention, who knew she was requesting another drink. Within seconds, a full glass was in her hand. That was Brynn’s favorite type of magic. Poof! New drink.

“If I listened to what everyone told me, I don’t think I’d be on this boat, and I’d definitely get way more sleep. Come on, you’re supposed to be the encouraging one. Don’t you think I should kiss her? Because I think I should. At least, like, to try? Because if I never try I’ll never know and if I never know, I’ll be a pussy. Do I strike you as a pussy, Brynn?!” Kit demanded, leaning forward and squinting at Brynn questioningly.

Brynn rolled her eyes at Kit’s push back. She was only trying to help her, but clearly this Freshman seemed to know better than her- or so she thought. The brunette had dealt with Sel for years, and knew exactly what she was all about and who she was all about, and that was definitely not Kit. Deciding that this argument wasn’t worth her time, especially since her man was now on board, she shrugged. “No, you don’t strike me as a pussy, Kit, but I’m telling you right now that you’re not her type. So do what you want- but don’t come complaining to me when she doesn’t take the bait.” One of Brynn’s signature qualities was her brutal honesty. If Kit couldn’t deal with it, that was her problem. Looking over at Sean across the room, a smirk grew. “While you go court her highness, I have an audience with her brother. Let me know how she rejects you, will you?”

“Hey, that’s good enough for me. Try not to end up pregnant,” Kit swigged down the last of her drink, hopped off of barstool, and slipped into the crowd, trying to find out where the Sterling princess was headed.

Dixon had once heard people talking about how hell has multiple circles. He wasn’t totally sure of the specifics, as he was never a very religious boy — neither were his folks — but, he was quite sure that he heard someone mention that once before. He was also quite sure that the car ride he’d just endured was one of those circles. The worst one. How the fuck did he wind up in that position? A position… on top of a boy, in the backseat of a car. Jesus Christ, he still felt all sweaty because of it. Fuck Damian and his stupid ass speaker. And fuck Katie too for inviting him to this stupid ass party. And fuck Noah for — no, don’t fuck Noah. Definitely don’t fuck Noah.

The thoroughly pissed off boy boarded the boat with his fists balled up so hard in his hoodie pockets that they threatened to burst through the seams. To make matters worse, they had arrived ridiculously early to this party. Why did he have to go and get a ride here with his not-brothers? He should have just been honest and got a ride from his Dad at a more appropriate time of arrival. No… he should have just stayed home, that’s what he should have done. It was too late for that now, he’d have to find something to do to occupy his time. Hopefully something enjoyable. He sure as hell hoped he wasn’t expected to help out with set up, because he certainly did not sign up for all of that business.

While the rest of the car ride crew went about adjusting lights and ensuring that the boat was party-ready, Dixon went exploring. He had never been on the Helmsley’s boat before, and the thing was fucking massive. It was damn near the size of a strip mall and, if he didn’t have such a good understanding of physics, he probably would have questioned how the thing even managed to float. There were a lot of rooms, the more private ones had little signs posted outside them to indicate if they were occupied or not… Dixon was pretty sure those were entirely designed as fuck rooms. He could dig that. The most interesting place he found was the game room below deck. It had a pool table, air hockey, darts, tables for beer pong and other drinking games, and a bunch of couches situated around the video game station, which was mostly set up for Guitar Hero. JD plopped himself on one of said couches and pulled out his phone.

The young teenager lost track of time as he sat there, viciously tapping at the device in his hands. Watching Jareth play Fortnite earlier had inspired him to do the same. The best place he had gotten so far was seventh. Dixon was normally pretty ace at video games, but playing on mobile was a severe handicap to the gameplay. There were the sounds of people upstairs, lots of people, and there were even folks crowding into the game room itself, but JD paid them no mind. It wasn’t until his phone screen dimmed and flashed a “Less than 10% battery life remaining!” message that Dixon looked up from what he was doing.

Holy crap… this was a big crowd. JD sat up slowly, as if he was trying not to draw any attention to himself, and he slid his phone back into his pocket. He should probably preserve the rest of his battery life in case any emergency came up. Though… they were in the middle of the ocean, so he wasn’t sure what good a phone call would do if there was an actual emergency. Wait! They were in the middle of the ocean now, at least they probably were, it seemed like enough people were here! This gave Dixon an idea.

Wandering his way further into the depths of the labyrinthian yacht, Dixon finally found it. The control room! Better yet, he found it, and it wasn’t locked. Oooh… JD looked around at all of the buttons and controls with wide-eyed amazement, closing the door behind him. “You shouldn’t be in here, please return to the festivities. The captain’s room is off limits to party guests.”

“Whoa!” Dixon jumped as the sudden voice of the ship’s AI system filled the room. He looked around, and found that he was very much so alone, so the voice definitely had to be AI. “Says who?” He replied.

“The captain.” The feminine voice responded curtly.

“Well… I don’t see him around…” Dixon tested the computer. He was going to try to convince her to let him drive this thing. And to keep it a secret.

“I am the captain.” She replied, the inflection of her tone indicating that he’d struck a theoretical nerve. A… circuit chip? He wasn’t sure of the name of the physical component that gave Assistant’s their ability to express emotions and have personalities. What an annoying part that was, AIs could be real dicks these days.

“Oh… well, in that case. I am sorry, captain. Can I please drive the ship?”

“No.”

“Come on. Pleaassseeee? There are definitely manual controls here. I promise I won’t fuck it up. Sailing a ship is on my bucket list. This is going to be the only party story that I will have to tell. I don’t drink or do drugs or anything like all of the other kids here are doing. This could totally make my night, so… please?”

There was a moment of silence. Dixon raised his eyebrows curiously and looked around, as if there was going to be a physical manifestation of someone to talk to and convince. There wasn’t. But… after a few quiet seconds, there was a response. “Fine. You have five minutes, and I will act as co-pilot to counteract your inevitable human error.”

Geesh, she didn’t have to be so rude about it! Either way, JD agreed to those terms and received instructions from the computer on how to manually pilot the ship. Truth be told, it wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world, the boat was hardly moving above a snail’s pace, but it sure felt cool to Dixon! His five minutes passed, and he thanked the captain for letting him do that before leaving her in peace. He heard the door click locked as soon as he exited the room. Clearly she didn’t want to have anymore non-Helmsley-staffed visitors. Whatever… at least he got to have his fun!

Now what? He should probably try to find Katie. She was the reason he came, after all. Well, her and her friend. It was more of the friend that did the heavy-lifting part in convincing JD. Noah wanted him to come, and he’d never really even talked to the boy before. He couldn’t really say no to that. Dixon chewed at his lip ring and decided that he needed a drink first. Not a drink drink, just a normal one, because he was thirsty. Remy’s salty snack foods that Damian had pilfered, and Dixon had doubly-pilfered, were probably to blame for his thirst.

JD weaved his small frame through the crowds of high schoolers with ease. Up the stairs, down the halls, passing the dance floor (and avoiding the dancing entirely), Dixon finally made it to the bar. The large male bartender looked at him directly and Dixon suddenly felt a little bit intimidated. “What’ll it be, kid?” The man asked, wiping a glass with a linen cloth before stowing it away in a cabinet with others of its kind.

“Juice.” Dixon responded coolly. That went much easier than expected. So he thought…

The bartender raised an eyebrow at JD, looking him over and not even bothering to hide the judgement in his eyes. Dixon felt each and every label that the man was tossing upon him: kid, street rat, troublemaker, punk. The list went on. JD stood his ground defiantly and kept his gaze locked on the bartender. “Listen, kid. I don’t know what kind of party you think that this is, but there isn’t any jungle juice here. The Helmsley’s are offering up the best, and I’m under instructions not to card anybody. You can take your pick of anything. We’ve got top shelf,” he gestured behind him with his thumb towards the bottom row of bottles. He cast his thumb upwards again and again after the next two statements. “And the shelf above the top shelf, and lastly, the shelf so damned high, it practically comes from the attic of a royal castle. So… what’ll it be?”

The green-haired boy stared at him dully. Was this guy for real? “Just… juice. Please. I like pineapple the most, but if you really want to make it super fancy.” Dixon held out his pinkie finger, high and proud, mocking how a pretentious person might sip their tea. “You could put a splash of mango in it, a bit of club soda to make it fizzy, and a couple of cherries. I mean… if we’re being really fancy, you know.” Dixon smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. He was proud as a peacock with his very extra request.

The bartender chuckled and shook his head. “I actually think I like you, kid…” He remarked before turning and making JD’s non-alcoholic beverage. Dixon’s slowly dying phone buzzed in his pocket while he waited for his drink to be finished. He fetched the device and unlocked it with his finger pattern. It was Katie, and she was probably looking for him. Dixon supposed that was perfect timing.

From: Katie
i am in dire need of assistance and if you don't come i need you to have a very good reason

Well that wasn’t ominous or anything. Jesus, what did she get herself into now? Maybe she actually murdered Scott this time, and needed help hiding his body. Good thing they were on a boat, the ocean makes for more than a decent-sized watery grave. The bartender slid the finished product in a glass towards Dixon, and JD politely thanked him without any of the sass from earlier, before he responded to the text.

To: Katie
kk
where are you?

Jamie was perched near the bar, a martini in one hand, a glass of champagne in the other. As much as Jamie liked a good party, he didn’t feel the need to be completely plastered when he tried to win Marshall back. He’d skipped his normal drink for the champagne and decided that if by night’s end everything had gone according to plan then he’d treat himself, and have a real good cocktail.

He saw Selena approaching the bar through the crowd of people, her silvery blonde hair hard to miss. He locked eyes with her and grinned, raising her martini to signal her over. “Welcome to the circus. Over there is Becca Helmsley, dancing sluttier than normal, if you can believe it. The rest of our friends have yet to arrive, so you haven’t missed too much,” he noted, handing her the glass, and keeping his eyes trained on the dance floor, hoping to catch a glimpse of one partygoer in particular.

Honestly, what was Sean thinking? What kind of character did he assume that his sister had these days? Of course she wasn’t going to go home with someone else. She wasn’t some slag. She was… probably unloveable. Definitely a virgin. And she was totally shook by his assumption. Selena decided that she needed that martini now more than ever. Making her way through the crowd of high schoolers — some of them stepping out of the way to give her a wide berth, as if she were some kind of plague — Sel arrived at the bar.

Her blue eyes followed Jamie’s gaze to Becca going all out on the dance floor. Yikes, apparently not much had changed since the last time the Helmsley’s were home. Sel sipped on the drink her best friend had handed her. It was perfectly dry, and very high quality, as she would expect from the Helmsley’s stock of alcohol. “It’s like watching one of those nature documentaries where the animals do elaborate mating dances. Yet, far more primitive… and even less classy.” She took another judgemental sip of her martini.

“I’ll give them one thing. The Helmsley’s sure as hell know how to get people drunk,” Jamie said, taking another sip of his champagne and turning to face Selena. “What’s up? You seem...off,” Jamie inquired. He’d known Selena for a while now, and as excellent as she was at hiding her feelings, every now and then Jamie caught hold of something genuine. Tonight was one of those times.

Ahh, so her party face had failed. That was… unfortunate, but Sel had expected that given the conversation and events that transpired prior to her arrival. Selena sighed and took another big sip of her drink. Swallowing down the pleasant burn, she put on her best stunning Selena smile. “Perceptive… I do hope that it’s Jamie asking, and not Rita.” Sel teased and arched an eyebrow up at her journalist friend. She knew him well enough to know that sometimes he couldn’t turn that off, and she didn’t really feel like being interviewed right now. “The same could be said for you. Champagne tonight? That’s unusual.”

Jamie grinned. She knew him too well sometimes. He took another sip of the champagne, holding it in his mouth for a moment before swallowing, savoring the taste. “I’m sure you saw the video from this morning of me and my oh-so-wonderful ex-boyfriend,” Jamie said, rolling his eyes at the mention of AJ. “I need to win Marshall back tonight. Well, if it’s possible. I don’t suppose you’ve seen him?”

“Yes, I saw the video and I was not happy about it. AJ’s grossly slimy, and you deserve better. I thought you were over that phase.” Selena crossed her ankles as she stood and leaned back against the bar as they chatted. This wasn’t so bad, talking with Jamie made parties a bit more entertaining. It was becoming quite obvious that he intended to be spending his time with other people tonight… and she… she really couldn’t blame him there. “I haven’t seen him, unfortunately. He kind of… ditched school and didn’t show for the rest of day. I heard he left with some pretty girls on his arm. Here’s hoping that little kiss incident didn’t turn him straight.” As if that was possible.

Jamie sighed, leaning his head back for a moment to look up at the starry night sky. “What are the chances we swear off men all together and run away somewhere glamorous? I hear Paris is nice this time of year,” he said, finishing off what was left of his drink and setting it down on the bar behind him. “On a lighter note, can we take a second to discuss the new arrivals in homeroom today? That freshman that Cassie and Ophelia adopted? A menace! And since when are Hana Park and Hailey a thing? I mean, why on earth would she want to be friends with any of us? We suck!” Jamie said with a laugh. The champagne had calmed his nerves and loosened his lips. Maybe this party wouldn’t be the worst event of the year.

“Paris is great any time of the year. I’ve really been meaning to cross Ibiza off my bucket list, though. Say the word, and I’ll plan us a getaway whenever you want, my dear.” It had been a while since she’d gone on a vacation. She could use one, and she certainly had enough money to afford to go wherever she wanted. When Jamie brought up the newcomers, Selena’s eyes widened. “Oh my goshhh, tell me about it. Kit is one of the newest members of our cheer squad, and my god, she never shuts up. Hana is also a new member… though… she didn’t really try out or anything. Maybe Hailey’s really good in bed? I have no idea how that happened, honestly. And—” Sel gave him a sassy glare that was more playful than it was vicious. “Speak for yourself. I never suck.” Sel smirked and tapped her pointer finger against the base of the glass in her hand.

Jamie shook his head, smirking. “Oh, well excuuuuse me,” he said, chuckling and looking out over the crowd. “Sel, who’s that?” Jamie asked, nodding his head towards a boy, tall, and rugged, a ruffian if you will, that was very clearly checking out Selena.

Selena once again followed her friend’s gaze into the crowd. Her eyes found a boy. No… a man. The mysterious one she spoke with yesterday. They locked eyes for a moment before Selena looked away towards Jamie. “Prince. Er, Connor Prince. I met him after tryouts yesterday, he’s new in town. Is he… is he still staring?” Sel asked, her cheeks turned just the faintest shade of pink.

Jamie looked up at the boy, who was alternating between looking away and looking back at the duo. Once he noticed Jamie watching, he quickly looked away. “Not anymore. So, who is this mystery man? He’s fine as wine,” Jamie said, smirking and looking back to Selena, intrigued by this possible new development.

“He’s no one.” Selena responded quickly. He wasn’t, really, right? She’d hardly talked with him. If anything, he’d just pissed her off by calling her pet names without even the slightest modicum of respect. “I made him carry chairs for me. And he kept calling me blondie. Ugh. I’m sure he’d do the same for you, if you think he’s so fine as wine… have at it. I thought you were all about winning someone else over tonight, though.” Sel gestured her chin towards the dance floor, where Trixy and Marshall were currently drawing the attention of more than a few sets of eyes. “Speaking of…”

Jamie smirked. “I can still window shop,” he said, before following Sel’s gaze to one Marshall Radley, putting years of dance classes to good work. Jamie’s jaw clenched, a clear effort on his part at trying not to show a reaction. He looked to Trixie and rolled his eyes. “Trixie has a habit of ending up in the exact positions I want to be in,” he said, before turning to the bartender and signaling for another, much needed glass. He had window shopped and found the only item worth purchasing having a very good time without his company. “I need a distraction, stat.”

Luckily, a distraction came in the form of the very thing both Selena and Jamie had come to hate. Coming straight from the crowd, and approaching the pair without a care in the world, Kit Thomas stepped up to Selena. She tapped the slightly taller girl on the shoulder, and when she had Selena’s attention, she grabbed onto the back of Sel’s head and pulled her down so that their lips met.

Given that Kit was trying to decide whether or not Selena Sterling was the one or not, the kiss was surely something. It wasn’t a quick peck on the lips — it was a kiss. Once Kit was satisfied, she broke away and looked at Selena with pure, visible disappointment on her face. She shook it off after a second, “Ehhhhh… not for me.” Then, Kit disappeared back into the throngs of people, off on another adventure.

“What the fuck?!” Selena was stunned in place. What just happened? Who did that little freshman think she was? Sel’s cheeks flushed red, not with embarrassment, but with rage. The usually well-put-together blonde uncharacteristically slammed her glass down on the bar counter and actually wiped at her lips with her now-free hand. As if she could erase the kiss that way. “What was that? Jamie? Did that just happen? I’m…”

Jamie stood, paralyzed by shock. Did that really just happen? It must’ve. They couldn’t have had the same hallucination, could they? And did Selena just curse? She never cursed. Kit would be lucky if she made it to tomorrow night. “Ophelia and Cassie need to leash their hamster,”

“I’ll…” Selena sputtered, overcome with a mixture of emotions. She’d only kissed one other person before, and it was her choice then. Kit just came and… she quite literally stole a kiss. Selena was pissed. No one gets to take a Sterling’s choice away. No one. Especially not mouthy little freshman. “I’ll end her. That was assault! She’ll be lucky if the least I do is get her kicked off the squad, and out of our table, for that.” Selena seethed before turning to request another drink from the bartender.

Jamie nodded. “She brought it on herself. Ophelia really needs to revamp her recruitment process if that’s the kind of rabble they’re bringing in now days,” Jamie said, taking a sip from his new glass of champagne. “It may be worth noting that Mr. Prince, also known as, ‘No One’” Jamie began, using rather emphatic air quotes before continuing, “is rather amused by that whole little fiasco.” Jamie gestured across the deck at Connor, still alone, but now clearly amused, a big grin on his face, shaking his head in disbelief.

This time, Selena did not follow Jamie’s gaze. She wasn’t going to look back over at Connor. Nope, absolutely not. She felt… embarrassed? That was a new emotion for the silver princess, and she did not like it. Her teeth were ground tight together and she did her best to keep her expression even. “I’m not amused. That wasn’t amusing. Who does he think is— and why did you just use air quotes at me, Jamie?” Sel felt suddenly attacked, by the one person she thought she could trust on this boat. Honestly, first her brother, and now Jamie too?

Jamie smirked at his best friend, taking another sip of his drink. “Selena Sterling, you may be very smart, and an excellent liar, but I know something when I see it. And that staring was something,” Jamie said, before looking back to see Connor moving through the crowd. Jamie, turned back to Selena. “Now, don’t panic, but he’s coming over now, so act natural. And don’t get pregnant. The world doesn’t need more Scorpios,” Jamie said, before giving Selena a thumbs up, and disappearing into the crowd. She’ll thank me one day.

Selena gaped as her bestie walked away. Was he serious? He was just going to tell her not to get pregnant and then abandon her here — as if she would ever be that stupid. She didn’t have enough time to fully react to that, because if what Jamie said was true, Connor was coming over here, to where she was standing, and there was very little she could do to stop it. Selena did the only thing that she could think to do, she took a huge gulp of her second martini, and prepared for the worst.

While Scott was at the top, AJ was grumpily at his post by the dance floor. Sober. He may have looked composed and jolly in appearance, but he was irritable on the inside. Everyone enjoying themselves were like flies surrounding him that he wanted to swat. Everything they did, from their stupid drunk words to their stupid drunk games, infuriated him. His shades were hooked on his shirt, as per usual, his arms were crossed, and his back was leaned against the wall beside the DJ. Jax was good. He knew a good tune that would make everyone want to be all over each other like sex on the dancefloor.

AJ would give him that.

In addition to Jax being cool with his gear and head bobs, a girl was checking him out hard. Even if there was hardly any room for anyone to move on the floor, therefore making everyone mesh together, AJ’s stare fell on the slender, dancing queen at the right time and the right moment. Right when she looked over her shoulder just so she could get a glimpse of Jaxxy-boy. Not obvious at all. The dude was too into the vibes of the club scene to notice the hottie.

Sucks to suck, babe.

Hopping up on the stage beside Jax, AJ swayed his body to the tune to make it seem like he was enjoying himself and ‘partying’ like errrrbody else, rather than being a damn watchdog on the alert for the Weekend Warrior. He thought to himself: You know what would make the DJ better? If I could shoot up a 151 and start making out with some random hottie because FUCK BOUNDARIES. As fun as his irrational thought was, his swaying stopped when his eyes fell on the heiress herself, Bailee Helmsley, playing the field like she was Becca Helmsley. Her twin that she could never be, even if she tried. Like she was doing now.

Fucking really?

The rando was feeling up her body, pulling her closer to where the ‘arms-length’ rule was shot out the door. The worst part of it all was she, the most stuck up, no fun, overbearing girl he knew, was allowing it. Her hips pivoted and for the first time in AJ’s life, he noticed all the curves that made her a divine Helmsley. Her limbs matched the night, young and full of energy, and honestly? She was probably that rando’s wet dream right now.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Her eyes were on fire and there was no way in hell this Bailee was sober. She was dancing like no one was watching and the adrenaline she was displaying for some fucking RANDO made him hold his breath behind pursed lips. She was smiling. Giggling. Rubbing herself on him, like it was dark and they were at second base. Then the guy groped her ass.

Ah, fuck this shit.

Bailee was definitely not herself and AJ had to intervene.

Hopping off the stage, AJ strided through the crowd, his shoulders hitting those he passed roughly. When he arrived at his destination, he balled his fist up. What a fucking scumbag. Tapping the rando’s shoulder, not acknowledging Bailee at all, AJ plastered the fakest smile he could muster — it was fucking Kyle on the basketball team. Just another dumb jock. “Kyle? What’s good!?” He patted the guy’s back. “Sorry, I know you’re in the zone and this girl is DTF, but the freshmen, man. The freshmen.”

“It’s good, AJ! Real good. What about the freshmen?! Do we need to tell ‘em who’s boss?”

Although Kyle’s attention was on AJ, he still held Bailee, which if AJ wasn’t trying to be civil, would’ve ended the moment he got there. “Yeah, dude. They’re drinking all the whiskey! I was gonna’ stop them, but I’m helping B out. You know how it is.”

“Aw fuck that shit. I got you, bro.” Kyle turned to Bailee and gave her a drunk simper and a charming, not so charming, wink. “You, me, later. Room. I’ll find you, girl.”

The boy looked like he was going to lean in and kiss her when AJ yelled over the music, “The whiskey, dude!” Oh yeah. The whiskey. In a matter of seconds, Kyle was out of sight and out of mind. “How does it feel? Pretending to be a slut.” AJ hovered over Bailee, still irritated as fuck.

For the first time ever Bailee Helmsley was drunk. She was only three shots in and the colors on the dance floor all seemed to blur together as she danced with the random boy she had chosen from the bunch. The attention that Kyle gave her was unparalleled to the way any boy had ever treated her, and the way they moved together on the dance floor made Bailee feel some type of way. Confident. Sexy. Fun. For once in her life she was having fun- not spreadsheets and business deals fun, real fun. Why had she never done anything like this before? The feeling of being free from obligations, work, and conflict was exhilarating.

Well, she was free until she felt someone hovering over her.

Looking up, she was met with a familiar mop of slightly curly brown hair, and eyes that had disgust and disapproval written all over them. His words were sickeningly friendly and deceivingly kind towards Kyle, but Bailee knew that his intentions were far from being good-natured.

Fucking, AJ.

And just as things were moving in the right direction, the GPS recalculated and the boy she was dancing with vanished, his touch and grasp disappearing as fast as he did. Bailee seethed, possibly even more angry with her so called “friend” AJ than she was before. Her guilt flew out the window as she replied to him, the demeaning words he used ringing in her ears like alarms. “Well I’m clearly getting more action than you are, so I’d say it feels pretty great.” The sass was unleashed, fueled by vodka, and nothing was stopping her now. “It felt even more fantastic before you opened your mouth and ruined it.”

“Clearly you lost your goddamn mind!” He shouted over the music, so she could hear him in her drunk state. God, she was an eyesore and ever since she got back, she’s been driving him insane. “I bet it did feel fucking phenomenal being seen and treated like a piece of meat. Just how you like to be treated. Who cares about your name! Or your intelligence! Or the fact that you’re more than a pretty face. Nah, man. You want a guy to grab you —” Knowing he had more power in the situation, since he was the sober one and not her, he displayed his words and took her by the wrist, then jerked her to him, close. “—Touch you in ways you’ve never been touched before—” He brushed his finger on her cheek, letting it trail down her face, gingerly making its way to her chin, before lifting her head up for her to look into his adamant eyes. “—and take you on an unforgettable adventure you’ll regret when you’re sober.” He leaned in closer to her face and deviously smirked. He knew how the game worked.

“Of course!” He released her and pulled away. “What do I know? You want to be Becca for the night, then be my guest, be Becca for the night.” He gestured toward the crowd and pointed at a couple dry humping on the dancefloor. Miss Bailee wanted to live and experience. Be a true teenage girl which meant deep throating some asshole! That sounded fantastic.

Bailee’s breath hitched as AJ pulled her towards him. If she had been sober, she would have resisted, but she definitely wasn’t in the right state of mind to do so. She was not stable in the slightest, her center of gravity faltering dramatically at the introduction of liquor to her system, so the force of his pull caused her to fall right into him. She flinched at his actions and his words, the way he eerily touched her cheek sending shivers down her spine. Bailee didn’t like the way that he was in control; she was always in control, and no one else, especially AJ was going to take that from her. She was a Helmsley, goddammit.

Once AJ released her wrist she chose to step back towards him, nearly nose to nose as she gave it right back to him. Bailee couldn’t tell that her words were a little more slurred than normal, but what she didn’t know couldn’t kill her. “What do you know, AJ? The way anyone else treats me tonight can’t be any worse than the way you’ve treated me today. I’ll take a drunk regrettable adventure with some random who doesn’t know my name over you any day.” Bailee spat her words, a glare blazing in her eyes.

Oh my god, mother. Give me strength. AJ was so tempted to go off on her, but after thinking about things thoroughly, since he was right of mind, he didn’t want to make a scene that caused misunderstandings. He didn’t want to put Bailee in a position where she made it on the next Weekend Warrior. He knew what her brother wanted and if it meant using her, Brian would be content because he was one step closer to his goals. AJ, however, didn’t want to hurt her like that.

Why was he up her ass anyways? She was doing what everyone would do at a party where alcohol was being provided to a bunch of teens. He had no right to judge her or even protect her. If she wanted to put herself in a compromised position, that was her own prerogative. She was her own person and should be allowed to make her own mistakes, for better or for worse. He should tell her she won, but he was too prideful for that. That would’ve been the fastest way to end things on an ‘ok’ note. But instead, he displayed his true emotions and blurted, “What do you mean how I treated you?! How would you like it if the first thing I said to you, after a fucking long ass time, was you’re a fuck up, Bails! I get it. I need to get over Jamie and I need to be less of an asshole, but it is not my fault those two haven’t started dating yet. If me being honest ain’t the kind of friend you want, why are we even friends?”

His lips turned to a pout, “To add insult to injury, you played a card when you know that’s the one thing I ask my friends never to do.” He spent the entire day on a cliff because of her and now she was trying to play the victim when she was at fault too!

Bailee was stubborn and she knew it. What made matters much worse was that AJ was also stubborn, and when they argued, neither of them would let up. Which was what was occuring now. Bailee knew that he had a point, but she also knew that he was being a pain in the ass, and that wasn’t going to fly with her. Her reasoning skills were gone, and thus she yelled right back, “I never said you were a fuck up! I was the one being honest, and clearly, you can’t handle that!” She kept her eyes locked on his. “Maybe I shouldn’t have played that card, but it got your attention and I don’t regret that. Not at all. Why are we friends? I don’t know!”

Bailee took a step away from him, wobbling tremendously. Man, Vodka definitely won this round.

Bailee was insufferable and drunk. Very drunk. He crept close, so that just in case she were to tumble over, he could catch her. “You want to know why we’re friends? Because I won’t give you the satisfaction of leaving you alone! You’re stuck with me, Bails. Whether you like it or not. S-T-U-C-K. STUCK.” Tonight and the rest of her life! He would admit defeat by breaking their friendship.

She rolled her eyes. “I guess if that means I’m going to hell, you’re coming with me. Great.” Bailee sighed, and gazed over towards the bar. All of this arguing was sobering her up. She needed another drink, stat. Without any hesitation or warning, she marched towards the bar, meeting the gaze of her new bartender friend. “Two shots of the Goose, one for me and one for that asshole who claims to be my friend.”

“Says the bitch who claims to be my friend.” AJ pulled up beside her and then shook his head, “Don’t you think you’ve had enough? Do you even know your limit?” The bartender slid the shots toward them.

“I’ll have had enough when I say I’ve had enough.” Bailee nimbly grabbed her shot and looked over at AJ with a raised eyebrow. “My limit? I don’t know what it is, so I guess we’ll just have to find out, won’t we…” Tipping her head back, Bailee took the shot with ease. Becca was right, it did eventually begin to taste like water!

While she did that, AJ quickly dumped his shot out and then as her head went down to look at him he slapped the glass on the bar. If there was one thing about AJ, he didn’t break his word. No matter how much he wanted to. Brian said no drinking. He would not drink. “Woo! Well, sweetheart, if you want to party, you’ll have to keep up with me. This is my scene.” Might as well play along, but really, he was watching her like a hawk. AJ no longer cared about his duties of looking out for the Weekend Warrior. If he caught sight of the mystery person cool, he was sober, so he’d notice, but his main priority of the night was: make sure Bailee didn’t do something too stupid. It was his job, as her so-called friend, to play big brother.

She looked at him and let a drunk giggle escape her lips. So much for being mad a few moments ago, her emotions were all mixed up. “Oh, I’ll keep up. You up for another round?” She asked, a look on her face that was challenging him to say no. Bailee would keep up. Tonight she would.

“Make that two. Have you had a 151 Ways to Die shot before?” AJ smirked. Oh, he was going to have fun tonight.

Oh how Fawn regretted every minute of the drive to the pier. Her face was burning in embarrassment and the one to blame for it all was her ‘friend’ True. True had decided to stay and hang around with Fawn until the party and thus ended up in the car with Fawn and Lucky. The car ride was horrid, True being who she was just talked and talked the whole time, embarassing the little deer multiple times as she did. But it all came to a head when True let it slip that Fawn liked the boy currently driving the two. That is what currently had Fawn’s face burning a brighter red than her hair wondering what she’d done to deserve this.

How could you blame True? She didn’t know where her mom and brother’s feud was standing, so she was determined to avoid it at all cost. On top of that, her friend was getting a ride from this cool dude, who had a casual charm about himself, as he drove a dark honda civic. A car that was surprisingly nice for someone she heard was on the bottom of the ladder. Affordable but nice. The car for poor people to feel rich. Owned by Lucky, the infamous troublemaker.

No one knew much about him besides the fact that he was a riot and wore things like that smart watch on his wrist, that made people think he was ‘just like everyone else’. True had been multitasking. One, she had been searching the entire web on her phone to find out if Wyatt was going to this party or not, only to result in finding out NOTHING. Two, she had been probing the stranger that was chauffeuring her to see how he felt about her dear Fawn. She had to make sure he deserved her, but this guy was a blank canvas. Hard to read, no substance because he chose to filter himself, or maybe he was not one to talk unless absolutely necessary. “Soooooooo, do you like her too?”

The midnight blue car parked beside the sidewalk, a short distance away from the boat. Rather than answer her question, Lucky turned the ignition off and looked into the rear view mirror to see True giving him a focused, looks-like-her-head-will-explode, glare, “We’re here.” From the distance, Wyatt and Rose were signing the tablet and getting ready to enter the party. Too bad True was too focused on interrogating Fawn’s crush to notice.

Luckily for True, Fawn did take notice of Wyatt and Rose. They would be her saving grace. Taking out her whiteboard she quickly wrote a message for True and held it up in front of her face, blocking Lucky from her view. “Wyatt is here with Rose. He just signed in.” She continued to hold it in front of True’s face, the only way she’d put it down would be when True finally got out of the car. Fawn didn’t need True interrogating Lucky anymore, she loved her friend but she had embarrassed her too much within a short time span.

“OH MY GOD!” True gasped. “Please do not tell me Rose is his girlfriend! I’ll shank a bitch.” What was she doing still in the car?! True hurriedly unbuckled her seatbelt and threw the door open, “I’ll catch you two later. Byeeee.” She jumped out of the car and started scurrying away. However, before she got too far, she turned back and rushed to the car to Lucky’s window, “Don’t get my friend pregnant! She’s a baby.” There. She was satisfied. Now, she could leave.

After a moment of silence, the only sound that was heard was Lucky tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel. Breathing lightly, the Hound turned his head to look at Fawn, finally. He made sure to not stare at her during the car ride because he knew her friend was killing her on the inside. He did find her adorable, though. There may have been a few instances he took quick glances, but fortunately for him, she was to distracted by her embarrassment to notice him staring.

“Thanks again, for the cookies.” He broke the silence with a better thank you than his text message from earlier. “For a girl who looks like she hardly gets a decent meal, you can bake.” Perhaps he was looking too deeply into it, but her figure was incredibly scrawny and something told him that her diet wasn’t the best. “Oh, and don’t fret about your friend. I can tell her filter isn’t the best, but she means well.” He turned his body to face forward, watching people enter the boat from afar, as he leaned back in his chair — in no rush to leave his car. “It’s nice.” To know someone liked him, yet her standards, in his opinion, were questionable. To know that for a moment, she saw pass the asshole that he was. Even the car ride with True, he didn’t mind. Her friend made the car ride lively. It was enjoyable and if she was looking at his face close enough, he did have a faint smile.

A sigh of relief blew through Fawn’s lips as True finally left the car. Luckily, for the sake of Fawn’s face not overheating, she wasn’t looking towards Lucky’s window when True told him not to get her pregnant. When she did finally look to him she ended up having perfect timing as she looked just as he began to speak. His thanks meant a lot to her, she really wasn’t one to be thanked all that much, especially not at home, so when she was thanked it was special to the girl. But then for a moment it seemed the Hound had sniffed out a bit of her hidden life when he brought up that she didn’t look like she got much of a decent meal. And for a split moment she thought he may start asking questions and her stomach began to flip, but then he moved on. The topic passed within seconds, him moving on to talk about True again. When he finally finished talking Fawn kept her eyes on him, but with a soft gaze, only looking so as to not miss anything he might say, although a small part of her was looking for any signs regarding her small secret that had gotten out about her liking him. He hadn’t brought that back up and it was making her a bit nervous, which could be seen as she messed with the ends of her cardigan that hung over her hands. She did have a soft smile on her face, one that had formed upon noticing Lucky’s own faint smile. It gave her the slightest bit of hope.

Lucky looked at the boat and thought to himself. Was the party worth it? It was just another party thrown by different rich kids that thought they ran the place. He could get away with missing one. Who cares if this one was being thrown by the Helmsleys; they were simply making a statement.

Roz would understand.

With an immediate change in mood, having come to a decision, Lucky drummed the steering wheel, before turning his head toward his interest, “Want to ditch this party? You, me, get lost and have an adventure. Your friend did say you like me, yet she thinks I’m the type of guy to get you knocked up on our first date. Let’s prove her wrong. And —” His faint smile turned into a charming smirk, as he leaned closer to her, the predator wanting his prey, “—Allow me to give you better reasons to like me.” He let his words settle in, making sure he moved his lips slow enough so she could read him. “Whatta you say?” A change in scenario would be good for him.

The little deer’s eyes widened at his proposition, then as he continued speaking and brought up what True said the blush began to creep back onto her face. It only intensified at his sudden leaning in, Fawn freezing from how close he was. But the girl responded by nodding in agreement, it was the only movement her body was capable at that time as she locked her eyes with his. She was intrigued by this boy and there was no turning back now.

“Perfect.” He turned his body and started the ignition. He needed this. This girl enticed him and made him… feel. Why run away when he could explore this unknown territory? He didn’t know the probability of them working out, but it was worth a try. He had enough things he was fighting. His want to be close to her wasn’t something he wanted to add to it. This could be good for him. Or it could be the worst thing he’s ever done in his life. Only time could tell. “Tap the dashboard once if you want me to make you dinner at my place, twice if you want me to take you to a couple of places I’m fond of, that includes dinner, or thrice if you want to be surprised.” When he said ‘once’, ‘twice’, and ‘thrice’, he used his right hand to showcase what he wanted.

He’ll leave it up to her to decide.

Putting her full trust into him Fawn reached forward and tapped three times on the dashboard before sitting back in the seat, excited and a wee bit nervous for the night ahead.

“As you wish.” Surprise, it will be.

The Hound would take the Deer on an adventure.

They drove off, disappearing in the night.

At long last, they had arrived to the party. Truly, it hadn’t been that long. Marshall quite enjoyed his extended day with Trixie and the girls, getting pampered and dolled up. He hadn’t really ever skipped school for a spa day before, but damn, it was pretty nice. Maybe he’d play hooky more often, ‘new year new me’, right? While he wasn’t dressed to kill as much his femme fatale friend was, Marshall made his own outfit work. Black wasn’t his usual color choice, but he matched his girl, and something about the dark mysterious look of the ensemble gave him confidence, and he needed that extra confidence going into tonight. It was all or nothing, baby, he’d made a deal with Trixie and he’d be damned if he wasn’t a man of his word. Marshall would tell Jamie how he felt tonight, he would. He just had to find him first... if he was even at this party. The not-couple arrived to the doors, where there were two muscular men standing guard. Marshall took note of them, and their muscles, which could be seen even through the suits.

“Oh wow, that’s a bit extra.” Marshall remarked without reservation. The day drinking had already loosened his lips and lowered the very few inhibitions he had. Despite his blunt assessment of the security personnel, he happily accepted the tablet to sign himself in. He used his index finger to scroll his name out in in a series of pretty loops and curls before passing the device to Trixie.

Whilst Marshall waited for his friend to sign her name, like a blonde bat out of hell, Kit rushed over to him in a flurry. She offered him a tiny pressed powder lego-looking thing, explained that it was her favorite flavor, and that Ophelia insisted that Kit give one of them to him. Her words ran together in a rush, and Marsh’s inebriated mind could hardly keep up. Before he could ask her what exactly it was, she was off into the crowd once again. He looked down at the little tab in his palm and then over to Trixie. He shrugged, if Ophelia said he should have one, he’d try it. Ophie was his bestie, he trusted her to not lead him astray. Not too far, at least.

Marshall popped the pill in his mouth… and then what? Was he supposed to swallow it? Chew it? The answer came as soon as it hit his tongue. It was sweet and fruity — it tasted like cherries! He loved it. Marsh turned his gaze to his raven-haired friend now. Trixie was smirking at him, already moving her body to the music the DJ was spinning. Most men would kill for the invitation to dance that the Kingsley kitten was offering him, and all of those men would have to stand in line behind Marshall and wait for an eternity, because they didn’t have a chance in hell. Marsh took her hand and gracefully led the way to the dance floor.

Beatrix Kingsley, with her best friend at her side, accepted his hand and prowled to the dance floor like she was the songstress Evelyn Harding during the early days of East of Eden. In translation, the amount of ‘sex’ Trixie was able to emanate simply by presenting her essence was strikingly noticeable. Eve was a sex symbol of the symphonic metal and rock scene — still is, even though now she’s a full time mother for Hailey, Henry, and Cyndi Green.

“Let’s dance before we go about wooing our boys, shall we? We’ll make the whole boat jealous.” He smirked and spun her around, letting her put those latina hips to good work.

“You read my mind.” Trixie purred. Being a tease was child’s play.

Their bodies moved in time with both each other, and the beat of the song. Pressed closer than a not-couple had any right to be in one moment, and dramatically separated from each other in the next, they monopolized their own little section of the floor. Marshall was beaming, the troubles of this morning were the furthest thing from his mind now that he was choosing to live in the moment, doing one of the things he loved most with one of the people that he loved most. Life was good.

For Trixie? She was ready to show the world she wasn’t weak or defeated. No. She was reborn. The heart of her femininity was in every subtle movement that she knew made those that stared crave her. It was no secret that Trixie was hot. Combine latina spice, Kingsley pride, and a firm decision to not succumb to sadness, Trixie was ready to make her comeback.

Since she broke up with Owen, she’s done plenty of self reflecting to see that the girl that she was, was scared, and clung to those that made her feel safe, secure, and sexy.

Owen. Hailey. Ophelia.

Or was that the alcohol talking?

As much as people wanted to touch her, they knew she was off-limits. Owen would find out. He always found out, regardless if he was at the party or not. Was he at the party? Trixie, with her femme fatale outfit, teased those around her to madness to prove a point. On the surface, it may seem like she was only having fun with her GBF but she was a woman who multitasked. She was here to get Jamie to see what he was missing out on.

Marshall was a diamond, baby.

In addition, she wanted to remind people that she was still a power player. HOT may have crumbled due to lack of communication and her own self avoidance with her cousins, but Trixie felt a new feeling within her and no one, especially the Helmsley Three, would take that away from her.

Out of all the power players, she was the one who was the most involved with the school. The one who cared about more than her success and happiness. It took her reaching her all time low to see that she wasn’t the evil bitch people assumed she was. The fact that she didn’t want to commit social suicide by disobeying Hailey covered up all her deeds she has done for the school. Jump started Riley’s show. Networked with a decent amount of her classmates so she could refer them to other students for help. Attended every major event, from sports, to theater, to art showcases, all to show her support and help with their club’s growth. Hammered teachers with her venomous words to get points across for the benefit of the school as a whole. She cared. She knew she cared. And yet the high of being popular made her horribly ugly.

Not today, Satan.

This was the dawn of a new Trixie. The true Trixie.

Or… this may be the alcohol talking.

As she stood inches away from her best friend, her right hand rested on her slender neck and her glorious bodice swayed to the rhythm of the night. Her hand trailed down her arousing body and her chest popped to the intoxicating bass. Her ravishing hips, her tall legs, her gorgeous dark strands… Trixie was bewitching and her eyes were solely on Marshall as she simpered playfully. She was absolutely elated.

The two had totally forgotten about the Locke twins beside them, also complimenting their moves with their own. They hadn’t even noticed the two blondes disappear into the crowd, since they were far too distracted with one another. For someone who drank all day, Trixie felt like her balance was on point. At least that’s what she thought. Her drunken state made her dance moves more lewd than she intended… hehe. Who are we kidding? She was feeling the music and that was the Espinoza in her! She was shaking what her mama gave her and not regretting a damn thing.

“The DJ is really good!” She shouted over the music so her best friend could hear her. Her body was glistening now with heat and sweat.

Trixie wasn’t the only one working up a sweat. Marshall had to sneak away from their dance for a moment to ditch his jacket. He would find it again later, maybe. The music and the lights were intense on the dancefloor. Marshall’s movements began to feel a little… blurred. He danced through it, of course, but something felt off. Marsh snapped out of his dazed mental state briefly when Trixie shouted over the music. He looked over to the DJ booth and raised his eyebrows. “Gorgeous too…” He mused with a bit of a swoon. “Gosh, blond boys are such a gift.”

“HEY! What about Jamie? Hmmmmm.” Trixie teased, internally agreeing that the DJ was a looker. But she preferred broody brunettes in the form of one man.

“What?! He fits in that category too!” Marshall giggled at being called out like that. Jamie wasn’t just a gift… he was like, the whole holiday. He was fucking Christmas. Marsh turned to face Trixie again and the whole world spun. The lights were really bright. He didn’t remember there being this many colors before, did they turn more on? As he struggled to focus on his friend’s face, something clicked in his brain. “Oh wow… that wasn’t candy, Pixie. I feel weeiirrdd.” His dancing slowed a bit as he grabbed her hand more for stability now than for dramatic dance moves.

Holding her friend up (to the best of her capabilities), Trixie pouted, “Do you need me to get you something? I can’t believe Kit drugged you without any warning!” Not one to indulge in drugs, only alcohol, Trixie felt his head because, for some reason, she thought that would help.

Having her hand pressed up against his forehead, especially given the difference in their height, made him giggle even more. He tried to bite off the sound to no avail, whatever it was that he took was making him feel silly. It wasn’t bad or anything, it just wasn’t normal. The giggles could not be contained. “I’m not sick, Mommm. To be honest, I shoudaguessed... Kit doesalotta drugs. She isss the
warning.” Marshall’s eyebrows stitched together in concern. He was pretty sure he was slurring his words, but he couldn’t stop that either. He licked his lips, his mouth suddenly felt drier than Nevada’s deserts. “I’m thirstyyy.”

“Oh my god. I just realized something.” Truth be told, they both were slurring their words. Trixie paused for a second, having forgotten her train of thought for a moment, before jumping in bafflement. Marshall was still in her hold (what an odd sight). “I GOTTA PEE!”

Marshall nodded. Yeah, that too. He could use a trip to the restroom too. All of the things, all at once. “SAME! Okay… let’s do that. I’mma getsome water, and potty, and see you right after?”

“Of course! You’re my man for the night and I got-to help you get your man. Okay, okay. I really gotta’ go. See you!” Trixie ran a random direction, assuming the bathroom was in that direction. Hopefully. Ideally. She had to GO.

They would not see each other for the rest of the night.

The party had barely begun and Katie was already crying. This was unusual. Katie Callaghan didn’t cry in public. She barely even cried in private. Katie was of the firm belief that crying was an inside job. As the tears rolled down her face, she screamed out over the ocean. What had she been thinking?

She’d dragged Noah to this stupid party, and when he’d done what any reasonable person would do, she screamed at him. That was beyond fucked, especially because she knew how damn insecure he could get. “Why am I such a bitch?” she asked the sea, getting no response, as expected. She wiped her face dry, and took a seat on one of the chairs by the railing. She was near the front of the boat, a couple of feet away from one drunk couple playing Titanic. Dixon was supposed to meet her here. Her plan was to fill him in on what had happened, and then to find Noah. After that, well, she hadn’t quite decided.

Dixon weaved his way through the crowds of drunken high schoolers. He was small, so things like this usually weren’t that hard for him, but he had a beverage in his hands now, which made it more difficult. He didn’t want to risk spilling it, not after the sass he had endured to get it in the first place. The short boy shoved his way through as best he could with a few ‘fuck you’s and ‘back off’s thrown in for flavor. Once free of the crowd, he was closer to where he could find Katie, at least according to the text.

Fucking Katie.

The green-haired boy remembered that he was mad at her earlier. His anger had mostly subsided by now, the car ride was long enough ago. If he dwelled on it, though, surely the flames would reignite. As if to quell the fire before it started, Dixon took a sip from the blue straw in his mocktail. Oh, that was tasty. Sassy bartender deserved props, JD would give him that much. He looked up from the drink to see the familiar form of his theatrical friend sitting in a chair. JD marched over towards her, taking in a breath as if he were about to start a rant about why he didn’t want to be here. He would have done just that, had something not caught his eye. Was she crying? An immediate wave of discomfort washed over him. He was not equipped to deal with crying people. Especially not crying girls. Abort mission!

“Oh… uh…” JD stammered awkwardly. He sat down beside her, because that seemed like the right thing to do. Then he chewed at his lip rings nervously. “You… okay?” He asked, glancing at her sideways through a curtain of hair in his signature way of talking to acquaintances or strangers. This was Katie though, his friend… but, this situation was strange enough that his more comfortable, friendly mannerisms were thrown overboard.

Katie, startled by JD’s sudden appearance, inhaled sharply, wiping her face away again. Fuck. He’d seen her crying, that was for certain. With a sigh, she sniffed and looked back up at JD, her eyes red and her cheeks puffy. “I’m… I’m good, just, this stupid party, and I got into a fight with Scott that I’m sure the whole fucking school will have seen by tomorrow, and I yelled at Noah, and now I can’t find him, and oh my fuck, I’m far from okay!”

Katie let her head fall back, tilted up toward the sky, an effort to keep any tears that threatened to fall, in. She was upset, and when she got upset, she became way more volatile than usual. Sighing, she finally let her head fall back to meet JD’s eyes and chuckled at the absurdity of the situation. “I probably seem insane right now, don’t I?”

“Yeah, a little.” Dixon never sugar-coated his words, he got that from his parents. His words were more often acidic than not. That being said, he was still studying her with concern. JD didn’t know how to fix a crying Katie, but he certainly didn’t like seeing her upset. She was still his friend. “You lost bible dude? Why’d you yell at him?” Dixon didn’t bother asking about why she’d gotten in a fight with Scott, that was obvious — expected, even. But Noah seemed nice enough from the one time JD had spoken with him.

Katie smiled softly and shook her head, taking a deep breath. “I was fighting with fucking Scott, and, I just, I got so wrapped up in it, like I always do, and Noah was just trying to get me away from him, and calm me down, and I flipped. I was just, caught up in him,” Katie explained, shaking her head at her folly. “I just need some help finding him. He probably won’t even want to talk to me, but I can’t just let him wander around this circus. He’s delicate y’know?” Katie said. Noah was like a brother to her, and she worried about him, now more than ever.

“Caught up in him, huh?” Dixon raised an eyebrow at her, which she couldn’t really see from behind his emo fringe, but he did it all the same. Did she really not realize that her and Scott had that “I bully you because I like you” thing going on? They were like a damned TV trope come to life. She went on to discuss finding Noah, which was likely the reason that she texted Dixon in the first place, he was gathering. Wait, did she just call Noah delicate? Oh wow, JD wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he stored that nugget of knowledge in the back of his mind for safe keeping. “He… doesn’t want to be at this party either… does he?” Dixon inquired, his eyes squinting at her suspiciously.

Katie sighed in defeat. “Not exactly. I dragged him along cause I thought it would be fun, but then Scott happened and well… okay, I know! I fucked up! I shouldn’t have even brought him here in the first place. I’m the worst.” Katie shook her head for a moment, before standing up and brushing herself off, as if she hadn’t been crying moments earlier. “Now that I’ve admitted defeat and been humbled by my losses, everything’ll work out. That’s like the laws of the universe. Now, let’s go find my painter, before I have another breakdown.” Katie’s mood had flipped, from guilt to determination. How she did it, she’d yet to discover, but that wasn’t important. She could deal with the shitty feelings later, now was the time for action.

The violist quietly sipped at the fruity drink clasped between his hands as he watched every shade of Katie’s personality play out in rapid succession. That seemed like an exhausting existence, he wasn’t sure how she managed it. Probably the same way that he did being angry all of the time… not well. “‘Kay.” Dixon replied simply, ever a boy of many words. He stood up beside her and looked around. Jesus, there were still a lot of people. He hated it. “Well… he’s your friend. Where do you think he’d go?” JD reflected on where he might end up if he was upset in a place like this. Scratch that. It was where he had ended up, earlier in that night. “There’s a game room downstairs, would he be into that?”

Katie shrugged. “He’d want somewhere quiet. I don’t even know where that could be on this thing. It’s like a floating rave. I guess the game room is as good as any place to start though,” Katie said, heading off to begin her search. “Come on, Mr. Moody, we have a boy to find.”

“Moody? ^{I’m not the one who just had a public meltdown…}” Dixon grumbled as he followed behind her. They had… a boy to find.

Sean sighted Brynn only a few seconds after he split away from his sister, and he couldn’t help but smile. It was strange to him — someone that wasn’t family making him smile, but here he was. As she came closer to him, he smiled more as he saw how she was dressed. As beautiful as ever. Sean wasn’t quite as well dressed as she was; he never tried that hard, but he was happy to see her. Once they’d cleared the gap between each other, Sean reached out without a word, and put a hand on her lower back. He pulled her closer, into his arms, before he pressed a kiss against her lips.

He let it linger, before he broke away, smiling down at the girl. “Hey, Brynn… What’s up?”

Brynn leaned into Sean, deepening the kiss, but not too much. Taking a good look at him, she smirked, knowing that now he was here, things would be oh so much better. “Glad you could make it.” She replied, taking another sip of her drink, the alcohol beginning to take its effect ever so slightly. Brynn looked around at the events occurring around her and then turned back to him. “You know the last time I was at a party like this, I met this really hot guy who took me dancing, but I haven’t seen him since. Would you possibly know where I could find him?”

“On the dance floor.” Sean said, hooking an arm around Brynn’s waist as he moved around to be beside her. He eyed the drink in her hand, and kissed her on the cheek, “finish that, so we can go dance.” Sean said, pushing her gently toward the dance floor. He wasn’t sure what his plan for the party was, but hey. He was trapped on a boat now, the only way out was an icy trip through the pacific ocean back to the dock. And he wasn’t really interested in getting his car wet.

“Let’s make it a special night.” Sean said to Brynn, leaning close to speak softly into her ear. He gave her a grin, and again tugged her toward the dance floor. Did Sean have a plan for this night? Not really, but he figured it might be fun; especially since this time he didn’t have to focus on keeping Owen from killing Marshall.

Sean didn’t have to tell Brynn twice to finish her drink quickly. When a hot boy tells you that he wants to dance with you- you listen. With ease, the remaining alcohol vanished into her system, leaving an empty glass and drunker brunette behind. With a giggle, she put the cup on one of the side tables where people had thrown their empty drinks and followed the blonde’s lead to the dance floor. She tripped over herself slightly, and laughed at her own clumsiness. “May have finished that one too fast- oh well.” Brynn leaned into Sean and smirked, “So what changed your mind about coming tonight? I thought you didn’t want to.”

“I changed my mind. I don’t like parties, but I guess it’s time to change — if I don’t force myself to do new things, then I’ll never be a better person. That, and you and Selena both guilt tripped me, so I felt I didn’t have much of a choice.” Sean explained, glancing over at her. “Are you going to be able to dance? You did almost fall on your face, after all.” Sean commented, taking a quick note of how drunk she was.

“Maybe we should jump in the ocean. Might sober you up some.”

Brynn smirked devilishly. “Then I guess my persuasion definitely worked.” She replied, referring to the lovely little photos she sent earlier in the evening. “Surprised your sister out of all people guilted you into coming- I thought she’d use every excuse in the book to prevent you from seeing me.” In regards to her drunken state, she laughed, “Of course I’ll be able to dance, I’ve got this.” Brynn pulled Sean even closer to her, “Maybe we can go for a dip later. Right now though I want to see those dance moves.”

“Dance moves? You flatter me — I got nothing.” Sean teased, kissing her on the lips as he pulled her onto the dance floor. “Especially, in this kind of scene. I’m more of an intimate dancer. You know, like ballroom and stuff? If we’re gonna bump and grind, you’re gonna have to walk me through it.” He explained, giving an apologetic smile.

Oh Brynn would walk him through it alright. She smirked as she pulled him closer to her (if that was even possible at this point), wrapping her arms around his shoulders and beginning to rotate her hips in a way that was definitely not ballroom dancing style. A drunk giggle escaped her lips as she tried to gauge a reaction from Sean as she continued to dance not just with him but on him. The alcohol only made her move easier, and Brynn was definitely enjoying herself.

But the enjoyment only lasted so long as she noticed out of the corner of her eye someone walking towards the two of them. She couldn’t tell who it was until he grew closer, but it clicked as soon as he was nearly breathing down her neck. Tom Michaelson, the kid who she humiliated in the supply closet this morning. Oh no, here comes trouble.

“So what, you can nearly dry hump this kid right now in front of everyone, but you can’t do the dirty with me this morning? God, you really know how to put on a show, don’t you.” He spat, intoxication seeping from his pores. He turned to Sean. “Don’t do it man, she’s not worth your time. Fucking slut.”

Sean frowned at the newcomer, who was bringing a very sudden damper on his night. He wasn’t sure he liked dancing like this — in front of a bunch of people, anyway. He definitely enjoyed it, but then it very suddenly came to an end. Sean gently pushed on the drunk boy, to create a bit more space between him and Sean’s girlfriend, before Sean attempted diplomacy, as he always did. If you can avoid a fight, avoid it.

“Thank you for the tip, but I’ll be fine. Why don’t you keep it down? We don’t need to make a scene.” Cool your jets, boy.

The drunk girl pursed her lips. This was a typical sport douchebag move- calling her out in front of her new man. For not putting out, of all things! She rolled her eyes and advanced one step towards Tom, a challenging look in her eye. “Excuse me, but I am worth his time, you are definitely not worth mine. Get the hell out of my face before I make you.” She spoke menacingly, something she wouldn’t have dared to do sober. Tom was nearly two heads taller than her, so she looked up at him as she spoke. It was David vs. Goliath.

Tom feigned a nervous laugh. “Oh no, and what are you going to do about it, skank?

Brynn shook her head angrily. “This.” The girl lunged for him, ready to rip him a new one.

Sean let out a short breath, putting a hand on Brynn’s shoulder and pulling her back to him before she could hit the guy, and make something happen when it didn’t need to. “Don’t,” he said in a soft voice, looking into her eyes. “Please?” With Brynn spoken to, he looked at Tom, and spoke in a firmer voice.

“Walk away. You don’t want this to go any other way. Not with me.” Bravado coming from someone who had never even met him. Sean knew this one wasn’t going to go like the Owen situation. This was going to end with his fist in this guy’s face.

She tried to fight Sean, but Brynn wasn’t strong enough to shake herself from his grasp. With a huff, she looked back at him and sighed, knowing that he was somewhat right, even though she’d love to kill the guy right then and there. She looked back at him and glared, and watched as Tom laughed and took a step towards the pair.

“Try me.”

Sean wasn’t okay with this, he really wasn’t. He’d given the other man two chances to leave them be, and he was refusing to take them. Sean gently nudged Brynn off to the side, letting her stand a short distance away from them — he didn’t want her caught in the crossfire if it was avoidable. “Last chance. Go to the bar, get a drink. Find some other girl. Have a nice night.” Sean said to Tom, in an almost pleading voice. He had read the stupid blog entry. He didn’t want to end up the star of one.

Brynn wobbled to the side and prepared for the worst.

“And leave you and your slut alone? No way.”

Sean should have known something like this would happen. It was bound to happen eventually, people were just too angry here, he’d realized. With a silent prayer that his sister couldn’t see him — and maybe she couldn’t through the forming crowd of people, Sean stepped forward and slammed his fist into Tom’s stomach. Tom tried to respond with punches of his own, but whether through aid from Tom’s drunken state, speed and skill, or sheer dumb luck, Sean bobbed and weaved to the left and right to duck out of the way of each of them.

He followed up the final weave with a left hook to Tom’s jaw, knocking him backwards. The other guy staggered, but came in with another right hook, and this time Sean responded by sliding his whole body to the left side, and swinging out with a powerful kick, throwing Tom back into the crowd. Sean’s face was grim as he reached out and gestured. Come get me.

Tom stormed at him this time, and this time he even jumped to try and hit him. Liquid courage. Sean ducked out of the way again, and unloaded with a series of punches to Tom’s stomach, finishing with one to his head. He straightened up and cocked his leg back, throwing a kick to Tom’s chest that sent him sliding back again, before he tripped and fell. Sean looked at the unconscious form, with a swollen face, and a bleeding nose, and looked at Brynn.

“We should go now.”

Brynn stood there, absolutely dumbfounded and shocked. Her wobbling ceased as she processed exactly what had just happened. Sean literally just fought for her. It was kind of hot. But once he spoke again after stepping away from Tom who looked deceased, she nodded her head vigorously.

“Yeah, we probably should. But can I get another drink first?”

Anyone who’s drank enough alcohol, is well aware of what Cassie Clark liked to call, The Vodka Blues. That sinking feeling of regret and sadness that can sneak up on you when you’re already feeling pretty shitty and you’ve had enough alcohol to make an elephant tipsy. Ophelia had left, Cassie couldn’t quite remember where she’d gone, and Cassie had been left to her own thoughts, and after snagging a bottle of vodka, she’d taken to wandering.

Cassie Clark had found her refuge tonight on a secluded area of the ship. The party was in full swing, yet over here, the music was a muffled as it could be, and the partygoers were few and far between. She sat near the edge of the boat, her feet dangling off the edge, swinging as the ocean spray speckled her legs. Her heels rested on one side of her, a bottle of Smirnoff on the other. She looked out over the waves, and took a swig from the bottle, wincing as it passed down her throat.

Noah Nichols was looking to be anywhere but this boat, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. He’d settled for wandering around, trying to find a secluded area, when he stumbled upon Cassie Clark, mid swig. He froze, and was about to turn back when she turned, her eyes locking with his. Noah knew who Cassie was, everyone did, but he was damn sure she had no idea who he was, and having a stranger interrupt your binge drinking session couldn’t be anyone’s idea of a good time.

“Well well well! Welcome to the pity party,” Cassie said, sighing and offering Noah a sad smile. He stammered, not knowing quite what to say. “Come on kid, take a seat,” she said, grinning and moving her shoes aside, her eyes half closed thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol in her system. Noah,, lacking any reason not to take a seat, nervously shuffled over, sitting down next to the clearly drunk girl.

“I’m Cassie. But you probably knew that already. Everyone knows who I am. But nobody really does. Isn’t that funny? Funny, funny, funny.”

Noah looked at the girl in amazement. He had no clue what to do here. He’d never been around a drunk person, hell, he’d never even been drunk himself. He was out of his element. Was it too late to leave? Just as he was pondering this question, Cassie pushed the bottle of Smirnoff into his arms, and gestured to his mouth.

“Drink, kid. I’m not gonna be the only pathetic one here,” she said, fixing him with an expectant stare. Noah looked down at the open bottle, chewing his lip nervously. Finally, he brought it to his lips, letting the liquor flow into his mouth. He swallowed the vodka, and retched for a moment, coughing and threatening to send it all back up. After he’d calmed down, Cassie offered him a pat on the back.

“First time? Don’t worry, it gets easier. Promise,” Cassie assured him. Noah turned to her, a look of disgust on his face. “People drink that garbage?” he asked, shocked.

Cassie let out a laugh, shaking her head and leaning back. Once she’d settled down she wiped tears from her eyes and placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “Oh yes they do mysterious boy. Yes they do.”

They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the gentle bump of music, and the lapping of the waves on the boat. Finally, Cassie spoke up. “So, what brings you over here?” she asked, reaching over and taking the bottle from Noah. Noah, eyes still focused on the sea, was starting to feel the warmth of the liquor spread through his core, the calm that came with the drink. “I came with my friend but, she ditched me,” he said softly as Cassie took another sip from the bottle and passed it back to him. He stared at it in silence for a moment, before taking his own swig, this time without the retching.

“Doesn’t sound like a very good friend.”

Noah shrugged. “I guess I’m not exactly perfect either,” Noah said, passing the bottle back to Cassie.

Cassie chuckled. “Here’s a life lesson for ya. No one is. Look at me, I’m a giant liar. I’m lying to my friends, my mom, my...girlfriend. Honestly, this is probably the first time I’ve said any of that out loud. Woah.” Cassie took another swig and continued speaking. “I’m not who I say I am. Everybody thinks my mom is some big music producer in Japan but she’s not. She’s a nurse, at the hospital. I’m poor. Like, super poor, and my mom gives up everything so I can have a good education, and have opportunities she didn’t get, and the way I repay her is acting ashamed of her. None of my friends know who she is, she doesn’t even know where I am right now. I am the worst.”

Noah looked at Cassie. This was...wow. This girl, one of the most well known figures on campus just spilled everything to him. She turned to meet his gaze, and laughed. “Your turn,” she said. He chewed his lip and grabbed the bottle, taking one big swig, wincing at the burn, before looking out over the ocean and saying what he’d come to know as truth for some time. “I’m gay. I think I’ve known for a long time, but, well, I don’t know. I’m just...I don’t know what to do. Nobody knows and, I don’t know what they’d say if they did. I don’t know if they’d still think I was me, and I just…” Noah’s speech trailed off into silence. Cassie chuckled and looked out over the waves.

“Two liars and a bottle of vodka. Whatpair we make.”

Scott was pissed. He was furious, he was enraged. Katie had this effect on him, she had basically since the day they’d met. He honestly didn’t think it’d ever stop, they fought every day and every class and it always ended with him in a bad mood. And now he was in one, again! He had found an empty hallway, and he was having a moment, freaking out in the direction of the camera, knowing that Brian was probably watching it.

“We’ll get together, have a few laughs! It’s gonna be a party, bro! Nah, fuck it, ya don’t need no alcohol. What, Katie? PFFFTTTT, she’s not gonna ruin your whole fuckin’ night in less than ten goddamn minutes. Ya, just verbally spar, duder, you know, dude. Fuck it! Let the whole world see you and her try to run through each other. Yea, bro, I’ll owe you one. You’re really gonna come through with the clutch for me here, ya know, dude? Just with the clutch! Scott Lyon, he always COMES THROUGH WITH THE CLUTCH. Best player in the goddamn game. Who can get everyone to look at him and that bitch who threw chess pieces at him? Scott, duh. Who can stir up a little drama at the expense of his own damn night? Scott motherfuckin’ Sebastian Lyon. WOOO! Friendship!”

Scott paused to look at one of the cameras. “I know you see me, dude, I know you hear my ass out here bitchin’ up a goddamn storm because of this bitch, so eat this, fucker.” Scott held up his middle finger at the camera, sneering. “I hate her so goddamn much that stupid blonde bimbo bitch, can’t do nothin’ fun without her RUINING IT. And I can’t even use a shot of jack — actually a bottle since she drives me so up the wall — to ease the pain because you MADE ME PROMISE NOT TO.”

He was shouting at a security camera now, and he had half a mind to go let himself into the bridge and give Brian a piece of his mind. Scott went to take his hat off, so he could run his hand through his hair. How he normally chills himself out… only to realize that it wasn’t on his head. This reignited the flame of his rage, and Scott snapped, “I THREW MY HAT AT HER!” He was naked, he was exposed, he was without his hat. He probably looked like he was acting a goddamn fool too.

“FUCK!”

Scott kicked the wall, and then his face contorted into the pain of instant regret. That hurt, that actually hurt. “I blame Katie,” he snapped, before stomping back down the hallway, headed toward anywhere but this godforsaken area. Away from the camera, and hopefully away from Katie. If he never saw Katie again it would be too soon.

It was days like this, experiences like this, and people like her that made him wish that his parents had just kept him in Australia. At least there he would have never ran into an aesthetically pleasing woman that he could stare at for longer than any person should stare at another, right up until she opened her mouth. It was grating, like nails on a chalkboard. And it wasn’t that her voice was shitty to listen to, it was more like the words she said were shitty to listen to.

She went out of her way, he felt, to blend and devise sentences usings words he was quite fond of to do nothing but upset him. She was ruthless, cunning, and even tactical in the way she made him hate her. In fact, just thinking about it made Scott feel a certain way. “Goddamn, what is wrong with me?” He asked no one in particular. Was he into screaming matches? No, he hated them. He was into screaming matches with Katie.

Scott chose to ignore this thought, and instead focused on something else. He was very, very hungry. He found his way to the food table, and looked it with a hunger rising in his stomach. Yes, eating this would cleanse all the thoughts he was having about Katie. He would be able to comfortably reset his evening, and go about the rest of his night happily.

Scott loaded a huge, turkey dinner size plate with food. He covered it with sweets. Scott had a sweet tooth, and a lot of things here would help him scratch that itch. He put a piece of cheesecake (strawberry), a chunk of Oreo mud cake, a chunk of peanut butter pie, several cake pops, then he balanced that plate on one hand, and grabbed a bowl, scooping ice cream into it from the selection that was spread out from them. He took two scoops of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, and two scoops of cinnamon roll ice cream.

“Alright, here we go, dude.” Scott said, before dipping. He was heading to somewhere no one would bother them, somewhere he knew no one would ever go: the stern. There, he could eat his food in silence and peace and quiet.

No Katie. Perfect.

The Locke twins stood out among the masses, as they danced beside the Hottest-Not-Couple, Marshall and Trixie. Two out of four greatest masterpieces of the night. They did a good job and now it was time to enjoy themselves. Thoroughly. Although models were a common stereotype at Beverly Hills High, Stella and Luna, especially when they were together and their presences brought out the best of their other half, were atomic. The mere fact that they were rare faces throughout the school halls made their beauty far from understated. Their beauty was blaring, blinding, and neither seemed to care that eyes were on them and the Not-Couple beside them.

They were better than two dimensional photoshopped models. The exuberance of Stella’s youth and naiveté complimented the sharp and steadfast temperament of her twin. Both beautifully elegant, but one with energy out of this world, whose twin’s wit, cleverness, and insight contained such energy from overflowing. Stella’s audacious desire to do things without thinking about the consequences ahead needed someone like the closest person to her, Luna. Her moon. Her guide and the one who puts rationality in her dreams.

The party was electric tonight, everyone feeding off of the good vibes and the fast dancing. Stella wore an elegant red embroidery dress that went to her knees. It had an eastern Asian aesthetic to it and like a robe, it covered her simple, black one piece. Luna, on the other hand, wore a flowing, white summer dress, but the feature that stood out the most for her was the striking red lipstick to bring out her snow white features, as well as match her sister’s ensemble. Her bathing suit was the same color of her dress so nothing would seep through.

Everything around them was spinning, including the music, as they held each other’s hands and they danced like it was their last night on Earth. They had pregamed before they arrived, in daddy’s car, and since then they’ve been feeling wonderfully amazing. The way they touched each other showed they were extremely close and weren’t afraid to display that. The strobe lights only made their synergy that more magnetic. The music was a drug and they were high, high, high on cloud nine.

Pure ecstacy.

Luna grabbed Stella’s hand and twirled her. As Stella twirled slowly, her smile shined and made her glow, her aura undoubtedly visible. As if time slowed down, she caught sight of a boy staring at her. There was probably more people staring, but the way he looked at her caused her attention to be taken away from the moment with her sister and solely on him. Her body continued to move like an uncoiling rope and her eyes kept returning to his face.

She wanted to talk to him.

Hyde had been talking non stop since he and Lee had arrived at the boat. The Lord of Dogtown was desperate to make some quick cash but it hadn’t taken Leighton long to realise that his darker half’s desire would not be met tonight. The party, of course, came stocked with all kinds of refillable drugs, meaning the boys weren’t exactly gonna move much merchandise tonight. Nevermind, that wasn’t what was on Lee’s mind. Not tonight. Tonight he was focusing on the delectable blonde in the red robe. There was something in her eyes, something naive it was more than enticing, it was enthralling. She was looking his way, looking right at him and something stirred. He had never been looked at like that before. What was that sensation in his fingertips? What was this feeling that was coursing through his body?. All he could think about was his want to talk to her. "Hyde, go find a whore to lay on top of. I got a game to play.” Cameron said nothing, doing as he was told not because he was told to but because he wanted to.

Stopping in her tracks, to catch her breath, Stella beamed at her twin, “Luuuuuuuu, can you get us something to drink?” With puppy dog eyes, she waited for her twin to reply.

Luna, actually not looking too into her sister’s words, shrugged and smiled back, “You got it, babe. Anything in particular?”

“Surprise me!” Stella lively shouted over the music. With that, Luna was on her way to the area of food and beverages. Whether or not she was onto Stella had yet to be determined. Immediately after her twin disappeared in the crowd, Stella turned on her heel and with a bounce to her step, she boldly walked toward the boy that looked at her like her mother looks at food being served to her while she's still in bed. Not being subtle at all, she went straight to the chase, closing the distance between them, “Excuse me, handsome, are you a magician? Because when I look at you, everyone else disappears.” She playfully, and cheesily, teased. Stella was never one to be anyone but herself. Adorkable.

Lee’s lips curled into the rattlesnake smile that had become his trademark. God, she was even more mesmerising up close. "Well beautiful, I’m no magician but…” he reaches behind her ear, his fingers lightly brushing against her warm, silky cheek as he did so and pulling a silver dollar from behind it. "...I do have a few tricks up my sleeve.” The American Psycho places the dollar in her palm, placing a hand on either side of Stella’s, he closed her fingers to secure the coin. "If chance dictates I never see you again, carry that coin and remember tonight that luck is on our side.”

“Or, like, I can give you my number?” Stella had a light bulb moment. Exchanging digits would solve the problem of never seeing each other again. She could call him, he could call her, she could see him, he could see her. The options were endless if they were connected. That being said, the Beauty let his charismatic words fly over her head. Her luck was purely based off of her honesty and innocence. “Here. Give me a sec.” Stella patted her body in search of her cellular device. Suddenly, she came to the daunting realization that her sister had her phone.

This was absolutely dreadful. How would she give this fine boy her number? This was the end of the world as we know it. Might as well count her losses. Farewell, stranger. In another universe we could’ve worked something out. In another world, we could’ve been sweeter than candy. On another day, we could’ve been together. The sad life of Stella Locke. No love. Forever.

“Looking for this?” Speaking of the devil! And hero (Sadly, Stella had yet to memorize her own number)! Luna placed Stella’s phone in her free hand. The one not holding the coin. There was a reason it didn’t take Luna a long time to get the drink and return to her twin, in the nick of time. Her twin radar could find her sister quicker than most people and well, she had somewhere she wanted to be. In other words, there was someone Luna Locke wanted to see. Someone that wasn’t her sister.

She held a single drink in a plastic cup. The bartender called it ‘happy juice’. Luna initially was going to share this drink with her twin, but someone at the bar caught her eye and she decided that maybe today was the day she’d loosen Stella’s leash. Let her explore her horizons and live for the night. The challenge was not so much letting her go and have fun, but more so worrying about her too much. Worrying about her getting in messes. Worrying about her getting hurt. Worrying about her. “Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?” The platinum blonde shrewdly scanned the boy with her green eyes and gestured for Stella to take the drink out of her hand. It was her’s.

As her twin did her judgy thing, Stella slipped the coin in her bathing suit top, snuggled against her chest, and then took a sip of the juice. Mmmm, this tasted really good. Happy juice! Stella looked from Luna, then to the mystery boy, back to Luna, then back to the mystery boy once more. He was already meeting family! This was a good sign.

Was luck truly on her side?

Lee watched as Stella stashed his coin in her top before his attentions turned to the newcomer. She shared a similar facial structure to the girl that was giving him that awkward feeling in his gut. Body Language was key here. Leighton’s time as Beverly Hills resident hustler had allowed him to develop a skill for reading people, their voices, facial expressions and yes, their body language. This new girl has a tremendous aura. It was strong, powerful and protective, especially of the mystery girl. It was a familial bond, that’s all it really could be; sisters. Same age or thereabouts.

The game had to be played damn carefully here. One wrong word and any kind of magic that could play out would be squashed by the alpha twin. He searched mercilessly in his knowledge for any bit of random information he could pull out to use to place them. He did not recognise these girls...no they weren’t from BHHS. That helped matters. If they weren’t classmates, he didn’t have to know anything about them, tonight would be the learning experience all first meetings are. Would it be a meeting of legendary proportions? He certainly hoped so.

"Apologies, of course I should introduce myself. Leighton McCarthy. Most people call me Lee. And prey tell what do I call these two marvels standing before me? He took a mouthful of his own drink immediately following his question. There was something familiar about these girls, maybe he knew a relative? It didn’t really matter. They were both gorgeous and easy to spot in a crowd but it was the angel in red, she was the one he was desperate to know. There was a fever growing in his head and to treat it, he needed to its name, her name.

Stella glanced over to her sister expectantly. Waiting to see if it was alright to give her name. As a sign of permission, Luna nodded at her hopelessly devoted twin, whose eyes displayed only that of hope. Genuinely and sweet, with a radiantly warm smile, Stella met his light brown gaze, which reminded her of latte, with her own. She had eyes like hot chocolate with tiny flecks of gold for marshmallows. “I’m Stella—”

“Last name is irrelevant.” Cutting her sister off, Luna tilted her head to emphasize her scrutiny. Her stare never left the stranger’s face. The Locke name was easily associated with the Greens, since their father, was the father of all the Green children. Also, Hailey’s last name was in fact ‘Green-Locke’. Luna didn’t want this boy to treat her sister differently because of their stature. “And I’m Luna.”

Shrugging at her sister’s want to keep their surname a secret, Stella wrapped her arms around her sister, all the while still holding her drink, and exclaimed, “We’re twins. Could you tell?”

“Fraternal. We have our similarities but we have even more differences.” Luna added.

“The twin gene is strong in our family. Our mom is a twin, whose twin had twins.” Trixie’s mom, Isabel, is Julianna Locke’s twin and two of Trixie’s brothers, out of four, are twins, Emmanuel and Elliot Kingsley. “And ma's cousin had twins!” Selena and Sean Sterling.

“Okay, Stel. I think he gets it.” For a second, her sister was getting lost in their family’s success with twinning the world up, forgetting where they were and who they were talking to.

Bringing things back on track, Luna assertively cut to the chase, “I’m not going to ask you 99 questions. Maybe, if you intrigue my sister enough for her to mention you to me after tonight, we’ll come to that. But, for tonight, I’m here to have fun. And.” She paused and looked at her sister, sighing to herself. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not. “I want her to have fun too.” That meant no helicopter twin.

Getting out of her sister’s grasp, she broke the distance between her and Lee, “I want your number so I can check up on her. And it better be your actual number or I will hunt you down and castrate your ass. I don’t care about who you are as a person because as far as I’m concerned, you’re just a boy my sister wants as company, at a party filled with drunk and hopeless kids. IF you guys become more than that, then we’ll talk. Until then, you will respect her or I swear to god.” The menacing words contrasted her gentle complexion but they were still extremely real and razor sharp. Luna was trusting her sister for one night, to take care of herself, and she was trusting this stranger to not take advantage of her. ”My gut never lies to me and I will know if something is wrong. Give her a good time or I’ll keep my word and ruin you.”

Stella was quiet throughout her sister’s word spew of threats and confliction, nervously drinking some of her juice. This was exciting and scary, all at the same time. A night where she and Luna were doing their own thing? That should end well for the both of them! Right? The taller blonde didn’t know how to feel. Her sister was okay with her spending a night with… Leighton. Leighton McCarthy. A soft smile fell on her face when she replayed his name in her head. “I like your name.” She thought out loud.

Lee stood almost aghast. This was a lot to take in, a lot of pressure. He had said maybe ten words to the girls and already the expectations of giving Stella a night to remember was high. Lucky for him, he would thrive under the pressure or at least he hoped he would. "By all means, this is my number,” Lee took the phone and typed in his digits and handed it back to Luna. "I promise I’ll do my best to give your sis a night she’ll enjoy.”

The mere presence of Stella had shifted Lee’s priorities for the evening. He had planned to come to this party, have a few drinks, pop a few pills and make some proper bank. That wasn’t happening anymore, not at all. The night was warm, the moon was high and the neon lights of the stupidly expensive boat they were in illuminated Stella’s soft features perfectly. Little specks of stardust shone brightly in her dark eyes, an otherworldly beauty. Every second that went by and the longer he looked at her, Lee felt himself becoming more and more mesmerised with her.

It was make or break time. Lee has never truly felt fear before, it was strange really. His life had never really been terribly easy, the constant verbal assaults, the football injuries etc, even the day he was told he had Huntington’s and probably wouldn’t live beyond thirty, he still didn’t feel terribly afraid. This moment, this was different to that. Something instilled in him a sheer panic, or washed over him like a wave from the ocean below. He had to summon all the moxy and hustle that a little Jewish kid from Manhattan had in him. He took her hand gently into his, glancing over to Luna as he did so. "I feel like we need to start this night off right then, you wanna dance?”

With Luna having given her permission already to spend time with the boy, Stella was no longer on hold and she didn’t need to wait for her sister’s reply, “I’d love to!” She squeezed his hand in playful admiration and passed her drink back to her sister.

Before they left, Luna had quickly dialed his number and called it to make sure it ringed. After it did indeed light up and ring, she nodded her head. Okay, he listened. “Have fun you two!” She shouted, before leaning in, whispering something in her sister’s ear. Okay. Now, it was time to bid them adieu and walk away. The hardest thing to do for her, honestly.

“Let’s rock the house, Lee!” Stella giggled, as she looked into his eyes.

"You got it, gorgeous,” Lee followed Stella out onto the dance floor and pulled her close to him. Breathing her scent in gave him goosebumps to the touch. As they danced the night away his eyes darted over her shoulder and he could see Hyde in the distance, holding some freshman over the railing and threatening to drop him in the water if he wasn’t paid. In that moment, the yuppie boy made the decision to keep Stella away from his dark passenger. She couldn’t see what he really was. She couldn’t know everything. Secrets. Already he was keeping secrets. He pulled himself back to reality and towards Stella, the world felt warm again after the past moment where it fell briefly cold.

Meanwhile, there was one place that Luna wanted to return to, as she sauntered through the crowd, in hopes a single person was at the final destination still. After placing her sister’s drink on a random table, she adjusted her white dress and placed her light blonde strands over her shoulders. Opening her hand purse, that was hanging over her shoulder with a silver chain strap, she took out her hand mirror to do a makeup check.

Still on fleek.

Snapping her hand mirror closed, Luna decided it was time to make her move of the night, like her sister did with Mr. McCarthy. Returning to the bar, Luna’s face shimmered under the lighting (yes, she had faint glitter on) and a smirk fell on her face when she saw the girl that she desired hadn’t left her post. Taking the stool beside the lovely girl, Luna ordered a drink, specifically a classic Margarita, before bringing her full attention to Verónica Mendez.

“I seemed to have overheard that you have a type.” Pause for dramatic effect. She looked at the brunette with mischievousness in her eyes, “Your type could range, since in my experience—” Her finger carefully swept some salt off the rim. Flirtatiously, she licked the substance off her finger, before continuing, “—There’s different ‘types’ of fish in this big, deep sea. Enlighten me, dear, what is your type? But before you shed some light...” She turned her body, to face the girl, while putting herself and her white dress on display, her legs crossed, and her face graced with a tantalizing gleam, “I’m Luna, one type out of many. Care to tell me the name behind such a pretty face?” It’s been awhile, since someone caught Luna’s eyes. This girl here was definitely eye-catching. At least, for her and that boy she declined.

Butler wasn’t used to assignments such as this. He wasn’t used to being told, quite plainly, that he was going to be a babysitter and a moving mule. He could not, however, find a way to decline. Miss Green seemed preoccupied with her new friend — they were having a ‘LAN party’ in her room, whatever that amounted to. And, unfortunately, Mister Green’s Butler was still on vacation. He’d have to call her to make sure that this never happened again.

That left James, Hailey’s Butler, in the truck with Parker, Henry’s friend, in shotgun beside him. Currently, they were headed toward Parker’s place of residence, where he had been instructed to obtain all of her belongings, and take them home, and transfer them to the room across the way from Mister Green’s room, where the freshie stayed. His objective after that was to take Parker shopping: furniture, clothing and whatever she designated as ‘essential.’

Butler brought the car to a stop at a red light, and turned his massive frame to look at Parker, his charge for the evening. “How many trips do you think we’ll need to get everything from your house? There’s plenty of room in here. However, if you feel we may need a U-Haul trailer, then I’d like to know now.”

Parker was bouncing in her seat; the fact that she was excited wasn’t because she was bouncing - she did that anyway - it was because she wasn’t looking at videos on her phone. The idea of getting bunk beds and sharing a room with a cool sister like Mincy was even more exciting than having crackers and peanut butter after a bath. But it wasn’t more exciting than grape juice. Of course that wasn’t a fair comparison. Nothing was more exciting than grape juice.

The man driving the car was someone Parker didn’t know, so naturally she assumed he was Henry’s dad. They didn’t look alike but sometimes the people in movies don’t look like their children so maybe it was like that. She didn’t ask questions. He looked like a dad so that’s what he was. Simple as that. "I DON’T HAVE A HOUSE!” The standard answer that came up whenever someone asked about her living conditions. For a dad, this guy didn’t seem too up on things, but it was okay, Parker didn’t go around telling people she lived in a tent. Not even her best friend knew until this morning.

"IT’S OKAY, YOU LOOK STRONG!” While not really answering the question about trips, Parker offered reassurance. She didn’t have much to pack. A tent. The cooler that once housed her grape juice boxes could be replaced by a mini fridge. Her clothes were in a toybox looking chest. And her handheld gaming device. "IT’S THERE!” Parker undid her seatbelt and opened the passenger door while the car was rounding the corner towards her house. She was on the sidewalk and running towards the front door as the car door was swinging freely. Parker almost tripped going out, but she moved with the grace of someone who had clearly done that before.

Did she just jump out of the car? Butler brought the vehicle to a complete stop in front of the home and opened his own door, turning to look at the girl for a brief second before he walked to the passenger’s side and slammed it shut. Then, he lumbered toward the front door, “This is a home, you realize?” He asked the little girl. Before she could respond, he added, “Don’t jump out of the car again. You could be hurt, and I don’t want that to happen on my watch. Now, lead me to your room so that I can grab everything that belongs to you and load it up.”

Idly, Butler wondered if this technically counted as kidnapping. From what he understood, they didn’t have the girl’s parents permission, nor had they even asked. They were simply extraditing her from her current home to the Green estate. While not a morality problem, Butler wasn’t interested in the potential trouble the Green children could find themselves in if this went the wrong way. On the other hand, having the loud one around on a more permanent basis may serve as a way to stop Henry from being so many random women around. That was a positive.

This was the second time in as many days that Parker had someone over and the reasons for it couldn’t have been more diametrically opposed. Shi-Shi had been really cool and even hung out with Parker for a little bit before Parker got bored and went to Henry’s house with her new friend; this older guy seemed a bit less willing to hang out on the air mattress and look at Parker’s collection of Pocket Monsters. She had an entire box in the game full of the same bird type because when the game told her to ‘catch ‘em all’ she assumed first that it meant ‘catch all of them in the first patch of grass’ and it wasn’t until she asked how many birds she had to catch that her error was corrected. No, this adult was acting very parental and while Parker still thought he was Henry’s dad, she didn’t think he had to be so...dad-like.

"WAIT HERE.” As with yesterday there wasn’t the same enthusiasm to Parker’s tone when she told Butler to wait in the front while she bounced up the front steps and entered the house, closing and locking the door behind her. Before she popped up in the backyard to open the fence, she made sure to grab the photo of a woman on stage from off the mantle. "IT’S THIS WAY.” The gate to the backyard swung open and Parker led the way, gesturing to her tent.

"YOU TAKE THAT.” Parker pointed to a chest normally reserved for lawn chairs which contained her clothing - only it was a mix of clean and dirty clothing and not exactly organized. Parker crawled into her tent to grab her handheld gaming device and the nearly finished bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows. Between the chest, the marshmallows, the gaming system, and the tent, along with the photo cradled under her arm it was safe to say that Butler was seeing everything Parker had to her name. "CAN WE GET ICE CREAM AFTER?”

Parker didn’t seem to mind that her life was essentially worth no more than a camping set.

Butler looked at the chest that Parker had gestured at, then back at the moving truck he’d brought, then shook his head. “This is it?” He asked, walking over and picking it up. He looked inside, and dug around for a second, before frowning. Did this child live alone? Did she have a parent in her life? He hefted the chest, and looked at the girl, “young lady, we are going shopping. Apparently, you need everything.”

He sighed. This was turning out to be more of a time consuming venture than he’d wanted it to be. He had to take her to get clothes, furniture, and who knows what else? He’d probably have to feed her. From the looks of things, she didn’t eat very well — was she just carrying a bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows? Yes, it appeared she was. “We can possibly go get ice cream, if you’re well behaved.” Butler said after a few moments of silence. He wasn’t sure about this plan. Was it wise for the Green family to step in here? Had the matrons even been approached about this?

Butler was a firm believer in the idea that it took a village to raise a child — after all, Miss Green had been raised by three parents, and he liked to think that she looked at him as somewhat of a role model. After all, he’d been by her side since the day she was born. As a firm believer in that rule, he felt that perhaps Parker moving in with the Greens could be a positive thing. Maybe she’d learn, and grow as a person. Maybe it’d be better for her. At the very least, she would be able to eat better meals.

“Let’s go. We’ll do furniture shopping, then clothes shopping, then we’ll get something to eat. Something real. And filling.”

"BUT I LIKE THE MARSHMALLOWS. I LIKE THE RED ONES, THEY’RE THE BIGGEST!” Parker went on the defensive at the sheer suggestion that marshmallows were somehow not a real meal. They were her only source of food since she wasn’t brave enough to use the oven and the microwave was too tall to use. Sometimes she ate burgers at the diner but only if the customer sent them back, otherwise they came out of her paycheck which sucked but if it didn’t then Parker would probably eat more burgers than she could actually handle. So a meal, a proper one at that, didn’t sound all the way bad.

"CAN I RIDE ON YOUR BACK? PLEASE?” Because Parker saw Butler as an adult figure, she was using her manners instead of just hopping on his back and hoping for the best. Her eyes were hopeful because to her, the trek from backyard back to the car was like a forty mile desert and Butler was the perfect camel.

"ARE WE GOING TO THE BIG STORE? WITH ALL THE LITTLE STORES IN IT? OH THEY LITTLE BROWN TWISTY THINGS THERE. I WANT ONE!” If nothing else, Parker remained ever enthusiastic.

Butler paused in walking, glancing over at Parker. She wanted to ride on his back? That wouldn’t be a problem. He was big, and tall, and strong. He could definitely carry her, but he’d learned long ago to never just give things away. Kids were easy, if you knew what you were doing: make a trade. So, Butler countered her request with one of his own. “I’ll give you a piggyback ride, if you’ll answer a question for me. How is your mother going to feel about this, uh, extended sleepover, Parker?” Butler had to ask, and he had to have an idea of it. He would be bad at his job if he didn’t; both Mrs. Greens were likely to ask him about it.

“Does she maybe have a number we can call to talk to her if we need to?” Butler had broached both subjects that were important to him. If Parker answered both of them now, then his work was done and he could carry on without a worry. “Churros? I guess we can get some churros. Yes, we’ll probably go to the mall. I think a lot of what we’ll need will be there.” Butler looked down at Parker expectantly, waiting for answers.

There was a singular moment of silence at the mention of Parker’s mother; Parker binked up at Butler as if he had just asked the poor girl to recite the multiplication table and Min was nowhere around to whisper the answers to her. It was the first time Parker’s goofy constant grin showed signs of going away and turning upside down. "YOU CAN ASK HER YOURSELF.”

Parker reached under her arm and pulled out what she had cradled there: a framed photo of a woman that seemed to be a promotional shot given that it was framed to ensure some kind of music award was also in the picture. Parker held the photo up in front of her face and started to lightly shake the photo back and forth. "I THINK IT’S OKAY AND YOU SHOULD GET ME...HER SOME ICE CREAM.” Parker tried her best to sound like a mother but it was just her lowering the pitch of her voice while still keeping the volume in tact.

She put the framed photo back down and under her arm again. "NOT A CHURRO WHAT’S A CHURRO I MEAN THE BREADY TWISTY THING! CAN WE GET BOTH? PIGGY BACK RIDE! IN THE MALL TOO! YEAH!” Whatever moment of hesitation Parker might have had was forgotten amidst a promise of piggybacking and snack foods.

Butler watched as Parker seemed to briefly… lose whatever it was she had. It came back, while she pretended to talk from behind a photo frame. This, to him, sealed the deal. Whatever her living situation was now, it was far from ideal, and he would have no problem taking her home and explaining to the Green matrons what the deal was. They could figure out the details if they so chose, but if this child was so far gone as to talk from behind a photo, then it could only be up from here.

He turned his body and dropped down to a knee so he was at a more manageable height. Butler shifted the package in his arms, and nodded. “Very well. Get on. Churros are fried bread covered in cinnamon sugar and served with chocolate sauce. However, I’ve since changed my mind. You will get ice cream after supper if you behave.” This… this would be an experience.

In that moment, Parker didn’t know a churro from chorizo because she was about to be given the piggy back ride of her life. When she hopped on the backs of her friends sometimes they went along with it but sometimes they had weak backs and almost dropped her. It seemed unlikely that this would happen with Butler and Parker was all too happy to climb aboard. Her laughter was a pure expression of joy as she ushered her mighty steed forward and onward.

"CAN I GET THREE SCOOPS? NO...NO FOUR! FIVE! FIVE SCOOPS! YEAH!” This was turning into one of Parker’s best days ever. Any day that involved ice cream was a great day.

Sometime later, the dynamic duo were on their way out of the mall. Butler had purchased bunk beds, several different posters, and a pile of clothes. He had also stopped at a pretzel stall in the mall and bought her a single, classic, salted pretzel. He himself had bought one as well. All of their things had been loaded into the vehicle by trained professionals, and they were nearly out of the place, when they were stopped by an employee of a nearby shop. “Why don’t you two stop by Happy Paws? Maybe you can find a new friend! I be they could fit on your shoulders — like she is,” the young man said, pointing at Parker, who was still receiving a piggyback ride.

Butler shook his head, and moved to get around the guy. “We’re not interested.” He said, giving the man a nod. It wasn’t his fault. He was paid to be annoying. “Thank you, but if you could move out of the way, it would be greatly appreciated.”

The employee, however, turned his attention to Parker. “Awww, come on. Don’t you want to come look at some kitties or puppies?”

Butler scowled. Scum.

There were few things that could get Parker willingly to come down from a piggyback ride; it was unfortunate that Butler had encountered one of those things. "LOOK AT THEM!” Parker, even from her vantage point, could see through the storefront window at the animals just on the other side. She wanted to go inside. More than that, she wanted one. Almost more than she wanted ice cream. More than she wanted a pretzel, which she found delicious and freshly baked. "I WANNA GO IN! I WANNA KITTY! HENRY HAS WATER DOGS AND MINCY GOT A STUFFED DUCKY SO I NEED A KITTY!”

Pets were all over the place at Henry’s house and if Parker was going to stay there she would need to have one. Or two. Definitely two. "KITTY KITTY KITTY KITTY KITTY!” Even if Butler said no, Parker was wiggling and worming her way free; it was quite possible that she would take a tumble off Butler’s back if it meant the chance to go inside and pet or look at the animals. "COME ON! INSIDE!”

Butler wasn’t sure about this. He hadn’t been told to buy her animals, but he supposed he had no choice at this point. He took Parker off of his shoulders and sat her down in front of him. Butler kept a firm grip on her shoulders, keeping her from running off as he took a knee in front of her, so they were… closer to eye level. Ignoring the annoying employee, Butler stared into Parker’s eyes with a heavy look. This was not a good plan. “We will go look at pets. BUT, you will get on one with some conditions. You are going to be responsible for it, young lady. That means training it, feeding it, making sure it has water, cleaning up after it, and, most importantly, playing plenty with it to make sure it has plenty of exercise. Your kitty will be your charge. If you fail your charge, then I will step in and take over for you. And the cat will be mine.”

Butler squinted at her, his eyes hard and his gaze a challenge. “Are we clear, Parker?”

If this were a cartoon, as Parker so often liked to think it was, her feet would have been going so fast they would resemble the Tazmanian Devil; such was her enthusiasm that not even Butler’s strong grip on her shoulder could keep the girl from bouncing up and down like she had just eaten a bowl of sugar. There were only a few words that Parker heard and they were the only ones she needed to hear: pets, one, kitty, cat. She was getting a kitty! And it wasn’t even her birthday. Was it? No, there was still school, so her birthday hadn’t happened yet.

"YES! I’LL BE ITS BEST FRIEND HONEST. THANK YOU! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!” If her body wasn’t being held back by Butler, she likely would’ve hugged the man.

Butler shook his head, fairly certain that this was a poorly contrived plan, that would only end in him having a kitten. Sighing, Butler released his grip on Parker’s shoulder, instead transferring to holding the tiny girl’s hand in his, before he pointed toward the pet store. “Well then, Miss Parker. Lead the way.”

Stepping into the store was like stepping headlong into a new world, one that Parker was exceptionally glad to be part of. Right away the sound was different, gone was the light music of mall shopping it was now replaced by animal noises and the chirps of birds fluttering about in their cages. There was a pit of puppies playing about and Parker had to be informed by a sign that said ‘DO NOT ENTER’ to keep herself from climbing the little gate and never coming out of the puppy pet zone. As cute as the puppies were, Parker couldn’t have one. She was once bitten by a dog when she had just tried to play fetch with the bone in its mouth and for that she swore off dogs forever. Unless they’re in movies or cartoons.

Parker led the way through the store, making a point to go down every aisle that had an animal, before finally arriving at the Kat Korner. So many cats and kittens were there for the browsing, orange Garfield ones, black ones, white ones, fluffy ones, but Parker’s eyes honed in on one almost right away. Its seagreen eyes had locked onto hers and Parker was taken in by the silvery blue of ts fur.

"THAT ONE. IT MEWED AT ME. IT’S MY FRIEND!” Parker didn’t have a name in mind yet, but she knew that was the cat she wanted. A little Russian Blue kitten.

Butler was silent while she stared at the pets. Watching Parker get caught up in the general childlike wonderment of a pet store was… interesting. Really, there were no words to describe her other than ‘cute.’ Once she’d made her choice, Butler nodded, and waved over an attendant, who got the cat out of the back. After a few more minutes of shopping, now needing various cat related items, Butler and Parker were sitting in the now very full moving truck.

“So. What are you going to name her?” Butler asked, putting the vehicle into drive, and heading back on the road. “Remember, Parker. I have high expectations for you here. You’d best take good care of this pet.”

It was a herculean task getting Parker to sit still long enough for the seatbelt to be applied as she was bouncing in the seat like a hyperactive child on a sugar high. The carrier containing her new cat was in her lap and it took every single bit of restraint the girl had not to just open the thing and let the cat out into her lap. The temptation was there, stronger than anything she’d felt thus far, but the car was cramped and at home there would be more places for the cat to enjoy herself.

"HER NAME IS JASMINE. LIKE THE PRINCESS! BECAUSE SHE HAS BLUE FUR LIKE JASMINE’S PANTS.” She was proud of the name and her gaze was locked on Jasmine. Parker’s enthusiasm was there but she was determined to show Butler - and herself - that she could do this. That she was a good pet owner.

"I love her.” That Parker had found an indoor voice was shocking, almost as much as the fact that her eyes were a bit watery while she was still looking at Jasmine. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.”

The princess with the blue pants, huh? Butler was surprised that Parker was able to speak in such a quiet voice, but once she did, Butler nodded. “Alright. Let’s go get dinner,” he said, and before long they wound up at a diner — not the one that Parker worked at, but not too different from it. It took Butler a hundred dollar bill, but ultimately the restaurant relented on their ‘no pets’ rule, and in the end, Jasmine’s carrier was sitting beside Parker in the booth they were in.

“What do you want to eat? And no, you can’t have ice cream for dinner. If you eat all of your actual food, I’ll let you get dessert.” Butler said, eyeing the girl on the other side of the table. His menu was already folded and laid face down. He knew what he wanted, and was simply waiting for Parker to decide.

Parker had barely bothered looking at the menu given that her time was better spent on peering into the carrier at her new best friend. She could tell some of the other customers were a bit put-off but let them stare. Parker was used to that. As much as she would’ve liked to sit there with Jasmine and possibly even take her out of the carrier, something told her that that would be a surefire way to not get ice cream at the end of the meal. She picked up the menu and immediately looked for the pictures. It was how she always ordered, showing the picture of the food item instead of just saying it. This of course meant her selections were limited but she was someone that lived on Lucky Charms marshmallows so anything served here was several steps above that.

"THIS. I’M GETTING THIS.” Parker showed Butler on the menu, A thick looking burger with two patties. Over a pound of meat and that was without the toppings. "AND GRAPE JUICE. BIG, COLD GLASS!” If this place didn’t have grape juice she would have demanded they go somewhere else.

Butler looked at what she had pointed at and thought about his play. Could he convince her that she probably didn’t need that much food? No, probably not. But, he could always play the system a bit. “Okay.” He said, before waving a waitress over. Once the woman was there, Butler placed their order. He took the menu away from Parker, and turned it so only the waitress could see, pointing at the much more manageable quarter pound burger. “I’d like a double bacon cheeseburger for myself, and then for my friend here, one of these.” Butler tapped the menu again, before the waitress nodded, marking on her notepad.

“To drink, I’ll have a Shirley Temple, and she wants grape juice. You might as well bring a pitcher of the stuff.” The waitress nodded, and took both menus, before heading off into the kitchen to place their order. “Don’t waste any food, Parker. You’d better eat your whole plate.” He said, before the waitress returned with his red drink and — as requested — an entire pitcher of grape juice with a glass filled with ice. She sat them down and Butler nodded his thanks, before pouring Parker a glass.

"I CAN’T EAT THE PLATE, IT’S NOT FOOD!” Whether the expression was understood or not didn’t seem to matter; Parker was making the obvious little comment all the same and she was giggling as if she had just seen a stand up routine. Her little bout of laughter lasted just long enough to be silenced by her downing half her glass of grape juice as soon as it was poured and put in front of her. At the rate she was likely to go, a second pitcher was in the cards. "DO YOU THINK JASMINE WANTS SOME? MAYBE I SHOULD GET HER A FISH SANDWICH THING. BUT NONE OF THE WHITE STUFF, CATS HATE IT.”

Parker again looked inside the carrier, sticking a finger through the opening and lightly petting Jasmine’s fur. It was taken by the little blonde as a good thing that the cat didn’t scratch or mewl angrily. "ARE YOU HENRY’S DAD? YOU’RE LIKE THE COOLEST DAD. HENRY DOESN’T TALK ABOUT YOU IF YOU ARE.” Parker took another gulp of juice, her glass now empty save for the clinking of ice.

“No, I am not Henry’s father. I am Hailey’s butler. I’m on loan for the day, to help you. Parker, have you yet considered that maybe Jasmine would prefer you talk in a lower voice? After all, cats have very sensitive ears.” Butler explained, keeping her grape juice full. He had a plan, but he wasn’t sure if it was going to work. Like any plan, though, it was worth a shot. After a few more moments, their plates were brought to them: Butler a large burger with a basket of steak fries, and Parker a smaller burger with a basket of steak fries.

Butler popped one of the fries into his mouth and frowned. “Hmmm. Maybe you should read instead of just using the pictures, Parker. That doesn’t look like the picture — but sometimes the pictures are made to look better so you’ll buy it. Oh well, I guess.”

"SHE CAN’T HEAR ME RIGHT NOW.” Parker spoke in a lower voice which still carried well across the table, like a whisper that could be heard down the hall. "SHE’S IN HER CARRYING THING.” Parker’s grasp on things was unique though she would have to keep it in mind going forward. The materials given at the pet store included a care manual but her excitement meant that she hadn’t exactly read it or even listened all that closely to the pet shop clerk as they explained some of the more important bits.

When the food arrived, Parker was visibly disappointed in her burger. Pouted lips obscured only by another sip of juice. "THAT’S NOT FAIR, IT LOOKS BIGGER ON THE MENU.” Though she was upset, a burger was still a burger and after getting over the disappointment she dug in all the same. The first bite was a bit of a messy one, as her eating style meant that some of the toppings on the burger - bits of lettuce and onion - dropped onto the plate but she didn’t much mind as she had a second bite. "BUT IT TASTES GOOD. AND I CAN READ BUT THE PICTURES ARE THERE FOR A REASON! READING TAKES TOO LONG.”

While Parker was eating with a ravenous hunger, Butler made sure to keep her glass almost constantly full. She sipped half of it, he filled it back up. If she ate enough food, and drank enough liquid, then she wouldn’t have any room for dessert. And more importantly, he wouldn’t be dealing with a sugar-high’d out Parker. Based solely on his experience so far, that would be a truly awful thing to have on his plate.

Butler drowned his fries in seasonings. First, in the black pepper on the table, then with a splash of salt. Then, he called the waitress over again, asking if they had any parmesan cheese, or chili flake shakers. Luckily for her, they had both, and a set was brought to the dynamic duo, which Butler quickly dumped onto his food.

“Maybe you could learn to speed read. You can read faster than you look at pictures, if you just practice. But, I get it. You probably couldn’t do it even if you tried — it is pretty hard, and it’s tough to read that fast, and retain the information.”

He paused, and ate one of the fries.

“You probably couldn’t do it if you tried.”

Parker looked on in horror as Butler utterly ruined his fries with the addition of all that…stuff. She wanted to just snatch his plate away to prevent the murder of those innocent potatoes but it was too late. The fries were slathered in bits and pieces of different spices and seasonings. Parker could only save her own fries from such a fate and chomped down two of them at once. What kind of monster put all that on there?

"I CAN DO IT. MY MOM SAID I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT.” Parker hadn’t realized that she had been baited so effectively but if she had she likely wouldn’t have cared anyway. "I JUST DON’T LIKE READING. IT’S BORING. I KNOW HOW. SEE?” Parker reached for the bottle of ketchup at the table and turned it over to the boring bits. "SERVING SIZE...CAR-GO-HIDE-RATES.” She set the bottle down and, for good measure, proudly puffed her chest like she had won some argument.

Butler shook his head in disbelief, throwing another fry into his mouth. “Parker, that’s not what that word says.” He took the bottle away from her and scanned the back of it, “it says ‘carbohydrates.’ I don’t think you can read, you’d better practice. If you don’t well in school, then you’ll never do well in life. And that won’t be fun for anyone.” He explained, before fully turning his focus onto his plate of food. Butler was taking huge bites of his burger, and throwing two or three fries into his mouth at a time.

“Eat your food.” He said with a mouth full of food. If eating the food was a race, at the rate he was going, Butler was going to win.

"I CAN READ! AND I’M GETTING GRADES IN CLASS! I BET I GOT BETTER GRADES THAN YOU!” Parker stuck her tongue out at Butler , a nerve seemingly being struck by the man’s comments. The little sense of accomplishment that Parker had deflated along with her puffed chest. She dealt with this massive blow to the ego by taking chomps of her burger, barely swallowing the first bite before she went back for the second. More of the condiments dropped to the plate as Parker silently consumed her burger.

"I AM EATING. AND YOU PROMISED ME ICE CREAM.” Parker was still focused on the prize of a cold, sweet treat, and her burger was being consumed rapidly, though some of it was splattered onto her face and plate as she ate the whole thing. Savoring the food was not in Parker’s vocabulary. With her hands, she picked up some of the lettuce and onions that had fallen and started eating them too, leaving only the fries and drips of condiments on the plate.

"ICE CREAM!”

Butler looked at her plate, and saw that there was still food there; actual, real food in the form of french fries, he shook his head. “No. You can’t be wasteful. Finish your meal.” Butler tossed the last french fry of his own plate into his mouth, and waved the waitress over. “Can we get the brownie ala mode, please?” He asked, pointing at the picture of the large brownies covered in vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

“Just one spoon, for now. She can’t finish her dinner, she can’t have her dessert.” He said, glancing over at Parker. The waitress nodded, and Butler looked at Parker. “No wasting food.”

"BUT THE FRIES ARE THE WORST PART!” Parker was pouting as she looked at what might as well have been a mountain of fries. While she was upset that Butler ruined his by putting a bunch of seasonings on there, Parker wasn’t much of a fan of fries in the first place unless they came in a little red carton since those were hot and salty and she could stick them in her gums and have french fry walrus teeth. "CAN YOU EAT THEM? I JUST WANT ICE CREAM! I WAS GOOD, YOU SAID IF I WAS GOOD I CAN HAVE IT!”

Parker really wanted that ice cream. And this ice cream came with a brownie attached which only made it better. The cold of the ice cream and the warmth of the brownie was like the best thing ever! Begrudgingly, Parker scooped some fries in her hand, squeezing a little too hard thus making bits of potato stick to her palm, and she chomped away, barely chewing the fried side before going for another hand and mouthful. "CAN I HAVE SOME NOW? PLEASE? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?” There were still fries on the plate, but fewer now. Parker was half tempted to just dump the fries in Jasmine’s carrier but she was almost sure that cats couldn’t eat people food. So she ate a few more, wiping the residual potato on the table mat.

"I ATE MOST OF IT. ISN’T THAT GOOD ENOUGH?”

Butler shook his head. It wasn’t good enough, not really. To help her though, he leaned across the table and took a few of the remaining fries for himself, munching on them. “You ought to let this be a lesson to you: don’t order more food than you can eat.” A few more fries in his mouth. He could relent, and he could give her the option to just eat the ice cream, but that wouldn’t prove his point. Don’t waste food.

“You can have the ice cream, but you’re taking whatever’s left on the plate back and you can’t have any snacks when we get home — except for what’s in the to-go box.” Butler said, as the waitress returned with the dessert in her hand. She put it down in front of them. “Another spoon please.” He said, and the young woman nodded and took off again.

Butler held out the spoon, scoop side out to Parker. “Deal?”

"WHEN I ORDER FOOD THEY LET ME ORDER DESSERT NO MATTER WHAT. HENRY DOESN’T CARE WHEN I ORDER STUFF!” Parker was back to pouting as Butler essentially read Parker the riot act. It seemed like a fair compromise anyway, it wasn’t like Butler was gonna be watching her all night so she could still probably find other snacks later on. Still, the ice cream and brownie was far too alluring to let it go anywhere other than her mouth. "FINE. I’LL BE CAREFUL NOW.” Parker snatched the offered spoon and dipped it into the ice cream.

She practically melted as the sweet treat slid down her throat. "IT’S THE BEST EVER!” Despite the little lecture, Parker was happy as can be, and now she was digging her spoon into the brownie beneath the ice cream without a care in the world.

Butler seemed satisfied with her reaction. He was a little strict, but not too strict in his opinion. Henry seemed like he spoiled her, and Butler would have no part of that. He took a spoonful of the ice cream, and ate it himself, nodding approvingly. “It’s good.”

Parker had almost forgotten the ice cream altogether as she started favoring the brownie, taking bites of it and dipping it in the ice cream like it was chocolate sauce. The warmth of the brownie blended well with the ice cream. The burger had been good but this was on a whole other level and it was clear with how enthusiastic Parker was as she dug into the dessert. "WE SHOULD GET ANOTHER ONE!” Parker’s suggestion came as a result of damn near half the treat being consumed at a rapid pace. Whatever misgivings she had about fries clearly didn’t apply to desserts.

Butler watched her mow down the dessert, and shook his head. This was an odd child, an incredibly odd child. He was almost one hundred and twenty six point eight nine five percent certain that the matrons of the Green family were not going to be happy that Parker was moving in full time. But, that wasn’t his place to step in and say something.

After a few more moments there, they finally made their return to the Stentorian Estate, where Parker now lived. A few hours after that, and Butler had set up her room, complete with a mounted TV close to the top bunk bed, where Parker would be sleeping. Butler had moved all of the old furniture out, and once Min-seo returned from her date, she likely wouldn’t even recognize the place. Butler, however, was satisfied.

He turned now, to look at Parker, who had been playing with Jasmine while he was putting everything together. He checked his watch, and seeing late it was, he cleared his throat. “Come on, Parker. It’s time for bed.”

Jasmine was out of her carrier as soon as they were in the house, with Parker damn near running a circle around the cat as it got acclimated to its new environment. It became quite clear that Parker had little to no intention of actually helping with the move-in process; and why would she when there was a perfectly good cat to attend to instead? When she tired herself out from running, she dropped down to pet Jasmine and to play with one of the cat toys the pet shop tossed into the mix.

It seemed like no time had passed at all when Butler called her from her cat shenanigans. The pout returned, obscured as it was behind a tuft of Jasmine’s fur from Parker’s position of laying next to the cat. "BUT IT’S EARLY! AND JASMINE ISN’T TIRED! PLUS MINCY ISN’T BACK YET! I DON’T WANT MINCY TO STEP ON JASMINE’S TAIL WHEN SHE GETS BACK!” Parker likely could come up with other excuses but she felt her point was made. A cat made for the best excuse.

Butler shook his head. He didn’t have time to argue anymore, and instead he bent down and lifted Parker up onto his shoulders and carried her over to the bed. He stood in front of it and reached out, pulling back to the bedspread, before he threw Parker onto the bed and tucked her in snugly, fixing the blankets so they were underneath her. “Here.” In one hand, he picked Jasmine up, and lifted her up to the bed, sitting her beside Parker. “There, she’ll sleep with you, and there won’t be any chance of Min-seo stepping on her tail. The remote is beside you. Sleep well, Parker. Do you want the lights on or off?”

While Parker could complain, she didn’t. This was technically still a school night whatever that meant. Back in the tent, Parker knew it was time to sleep when the battery on her gaming device ran out but she didn’t have that luxury here. It was a fair compromise, anyway, with Jasmine curling up into a ball on Parker’s chest. If she was being made to sleep now, at least she’d get to sleep with her newest and bestest friend. That made all the difference.

"YOU CAN TURN…” She remembered Jasmine and seeing the cat stir at the volume made Parker pause. "Lights off. I’ll be okay!” The night was way less scary when there was a furry, cuddly guardian there to watch her back.

"G’NIGHT.” Her whisper still on the louder side of things, though Jasmine didn’t stir. "I HAD A LOT OF FUN TODAY.”

Parker was out damn near the second the lights were.