baby you're the right kind of wrong.

Zayn was mid kiss with Lindsey when he felt a hand on his shoulder, forcibly turning him around. He wasn't surprised to be met with Chase, who was fuming, and he had to remind himself that Chase was a brother and he couldn't knock him out for touching him like that. Zayn wasn't really a fighter, but with a bit of alcohol and under the right conditions, it seemed he couldn't control himself as well lately. "Hey, mate. Something wrong?" He kept a cool look on his face and kept Lindsey a step behind him.

---

Liam was barely done speaking before Maisie saw Chase storming over to Zayn, his face so red that Maisie was sure if Chase wasn't known for being somewhat level-headed, there would have been some punches being thrown. "Well, we better make a choice fast because that," Maisie said, pointing past Liam's shoulder and towards the boys, "does not look good."

Ebony sighed and ran a hand over her face before following Chase in hopes of stopping whatever awful thing was about to happen. "Yea mate, something is wrong, you," Chase said still fuming. "You chose to come to this thing with someone who wasn't Ebony, and that's your own damn fault-" Before Chase could say anything else though Ebony was stepping up to them about to attempt to make the insanity stop. Because this wasn't how this party was supposed to go, honestly, she just wanted to make it through one party this year without something like this happening. Apparently that wasn't possible though.

---

Liam turned to see what Maisie was talking about and couldn't hold in his sigh. "Okay well do we want to hide somewhere or leave?" He asked figuring he'd ask her which one she'd rather do. Because well it did look bad, he was pretty sure everyone knew that Chase was one of the most level-headed guys in the frat. Or at least he was apparently every night but tonight. And, of course, Zayn would be involved. Lately all the drama that'd went down involved Zayn and Ebony somehow or another. He didn't know how to stop it really, which was how and why it'd come to him and Maisie needing to find a way away from the fighting when it started. Because he didn't know what to do anymore about those two. Not that Zayn or Ebony had really even listened to anything he'd tried to tell them.

Zayn just looked at Chase as he spoke until Ebony came up and interrupted him. With a cool look still on his face, he kept his eyes on Chase. "I'm not trying to steal your girlfriend. If you can't man up and deal with other guys talking to your girlfriend, maybe you're not ready for a relationship."

---

"I'm fine either way," Maisie said, shrugging her shoulders as she looked at Zayn. It seemed like Zayn was keeping it cool while Chase was about to explode. She was suddenly thankful that Liam wasn't that much of a hot head. "Do you think they'll be alright without you?"

"Right, I'm sure you have no interest in her whatsoever. Just like I'm sure you meant nothing by your little work of art on her shoulder, which was, of course, placed outside her line of sight so she wouldn't know what you put. And you know if she wanted to talk to another guy I wouldn't be worried because I trust her. However, I don't trust you,"

Ebony sighed and pushed her fingers through her hair. She almost felt like any second punches would be thrown and yet again there would be some awful fight at a party over her and Zayn. "Could you stop? This is seriously madness. I just wanted to come to one party and not have a fight break out over something stupid. Zayn and I are trying to be friends. And yea we have a history but I really wanted to be able to get past it," she said looking at Chase, before turning to Zayn. "And you," she said poking him in the chest. "You don't have to do shit that'll bait him. And if you for some unknown reason have an issue with me and Chase then just say it!"

---

Liam watched for a moment longer at the fight going on less than fifty feet from where he and Maisie were sitting. "I think we could find a way out," he said flinching a little as things got worse. Chase was exploding, Ebony was exploding, and while Zayn looked pretty calm Liam had a feeling he might just explode soon too. After all you could only push a person so far before they just couldn't take it any longer, and well at the rate things were going Lindsey just might put in her two sense to which he knew would only make things much worse. "Honestly, I don't think they'll be all right until Zayn and Ebony are both not seeing other people and actually focusing on themselves and maybe their uh friendship I guess. Until then it'll probably stay like this," he said wishing that weren't true but it seemed like it was.

Zayn ignored Chase, knowing there was nothing he could say that would piss Chase off more without causing a total scene. People were staring now, and Zayn wasn't looking to have a brand new reputation. He looked at Ebony and smiled. "I'm not the one with the issue," he said simply, "just wanted to have a little fun with the paint, but I'll just stay away from that now." Zayn knew with Chase's sudden temper that thing that would piss him off the most would be if Zayn did nothing, so he was going to remain as cool, calm and collected as he could.

---

"Let's go then," Maisie said as she took Liam's hand and pulled him towards the kitchen. "I'd rather not stay and see this whole thing explode." Maisie would be lying if she didn't admit that it was getting a bit annoying for Zayn and Ebony to be causing so much drama every place they went. She was ready to just get out of there so they could focus on other things, like the fact that she was realizing she had a new college boyfriend that she didn't know so much about.

Ebony tucked her hair behind her ear, "well with that being settled Chase and I will leave you and Lindsey to do whatever," she told Zayn before taking Chase's arm and going to walk away. As far as she was concerned at that moment that this wasn't actually over, that nothing had really been settled, and that something like this would probably happen again, she just let it be. She couldn't take another party totally being a bust because of her and Zayn and the past she wanted to move on from. The past apparently no one who knew about it could let go of. "I'm going to get some more drinks, please just stay here and I don't know get the paint you wanna use together and I'll be right back," she told him once they were away from Zayn and Lindsey before she took off to the drink table, where she'd grab drinks.

---

"Yes lets, because I'm sure it's only going to get worse as the night goes on," Liam said almost positive that even if it all calmed down for a bit everything would explode later in the night. That was apparently how things were done anyways. "You know maybe if they can't figure everything out and how to get through being around one another by the next party we just don't go at all. Then we wouldn't have to even worry about sneaking out, or finding a place to hide away from the drama. We also might actually have the chance to spend time together talking about something other than the slightly annoying drama," Liam suggested not sure if she'd go with it, but he did think it seemed like a good idea. And well it would be nice to have time with Maisie talking about things and not having to worry about Zayn and Ebony or being distracted by the scene's created based on well them basically.

Zayn said nothing else, just nodded at Ebony before she walked away with Chase. He was surprised that his frat brother hadn't completely exploded, but he guessed that Chase hadn't had quite that much to drink yet. He also assumed that Chase was a bit insecure seeing as Zayn couldn't be within 5 feet of Ebony without the kid having a panic attack. Glad that the whole thing was over, Zayn turned around to go find Lindsey, sure that she was somewhere at the party doing something or another. Probably drinking.

---

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Maisie said with a nod. "These parties are all the same and it seems like all of the bad things just repeat themselves." Maisie had always heard that college parties could be insane, but she never managed it would be insane like this. After they stepped through the kitchen and outside, Maisie looked at Liam and took a deep breath. It was so much quieter outside without all of the screaming and music. "So, what would you like to do for the rest of the night?" Now that they were away from the party, barring someone didn't end up phoning Liam for help, they'd have the rest of the night to do whatever.

Ebony walked over to the drink table to grab a couple drinks unable to just let everything go. She didn't understand why everytime she came to a party everything went to shit, they could start off great but it was like not even an hour into the damn things and they were shitty. Maybe she just needed to stop going to parties, or maybe if she did decide to go she should just go alone. Though really she wasn't entirely sure where her and Chase stood, they hadn't really talked about what was going on between them so they probably should. Either way though maybe if she came to a party alone and with no intenions to hook up with anyone, things might actually go well. Right now the just not coming to the next party sounded pretty nice really.

---

"It really does," Liam said glad they agreed on this, yea it sucked that it had to be this way but well the last few parties had just been to dramatic for him. "I'm kind of hungry really," he said trying to rack his brain for a moment to think of anywhere they might could go to grab a bite to eat. "So if you're up for it we could go grab a bite to eat. There's actually this really great diner like five minutes from here, we could go there. They have the best burgers this close to campus," he added and given he'd actually tried almost everywhere there was to eat around campus his freshman year, mostly for moments like this, he felt pretty confident about knowing where the best places to eat were.

[I am SO sorry this took so long! I was dealing with a ton of bullshit.]

After scouring the entire party for a single glimpse of Lindsey, Zayn was just about ready to forget about finding her completely and find something else to do. He headed out to the garage where he kept a secret stash of his favorite bottled beer tucked in a cooler in the corner. He opened the door and was met with probably the only empty room in the house, thankful to have a minute to himself to just breathe and be alone.

---

"That sounds really good. I'm pretty hungry too, actually," Maisie said with a nod of her head. "We'll need to stop by my room real fast so I can grab my wallet. I didn't bring anything with me." There was also the fact that they were wearing very little clothing and were covered in paint, but Maisie wasn't going to mention that part. Liam's body looked too good the way it was and she doubted that anyone was going to say anything anyway. The locals were probably used to it by now.

[ oh you're fine! I totally understand. I hope everything's better now though! ]

After standing at the drink table for a good five minutes after she'd gotten the drinks Ebony had already made her way through both drinks and was getting a third, and deciding that she'd rather not go back towards the crowd. And she'd come up with something to tell Chase later, but for now she kind of wanted to get away from the party. Not like this party had turned out much different from well the last three that she'd went to and that was what she'd been trying to avoid. Though apparently it was impossible or something for that to happen so Ebony made her way through the house looking for anywhere she could just sit and breath for a moment.

---

"You know I don't mind paying for you," Liam told her with a smile. He was far from being rich, but well he was a gentleman and totally didn't mind picking up the bill for them both. Plus it'd kind of be like a first date, not exactly a normal or planned first date but did that really matter? It'd totally be one they'd remember. Plus the place he had in mind wasn't some fancy restaurant where they had to look nice. Really it was just a diner. So burgers, fries, and, of course, pie. Though if she wanted to pay for herself Liam wouldn't be opposed to that either. He just wanted Maisie to be comfortable really.

Zayn was thankful to have a moment to himself in the crowded party to just think. He still had no idea where Lindsey was or what she was doing, but he could deal with all of that later. He suspected that there was something weird going on with her, but he didn't have the energy to deal with it at that moment. Whether it was that she was interested in some other guy, which he did suspect, or was dealing with stress from school, which was also probable, Zayn would take care of it later, preferably when they weren't both drunk.

---

"Are you sure?" Maisie asked as the two of them began walking down the street. "I could pay you back later." Maisie was lucky enough to have one of her parents credit cards for all of her expenses, but she knew most students weren't that lucky. Most of the girls in her sorority had money, simply due to the nature of being in a sorority, but there were also lots of girls there on scholarships.

[ I'm so sorry! I totally thought I'd replied to this! ::hugs: ]

Ebony not entirely sure what she might walk in on finally decided to try the garage. Though she had a pretty good feeling that it was the best option. Sure she could've just left and went back to the sorority house, but really she didn't want to walk back and have the entire house all to herself because it was a little too big to be all alone in her own opinion. All she wanted anyways was a few minutes or so to catch her breath and get back into the party groove she supposed. So she made her way into the garage biting her lip when she spotted Zayn alone. The last thing that Ebony wanted right now was more drama, or for Zayn to be upset with her, but she didn't know if she should leave or stay. Honestly, everything about Zayn in her life was still confusing. "Is it okay if I stay in here? Or do you want me to leave? Because I totally can, like if you want me to leave just say the word." She said pushing her fingers through her hair waiting for a response.

---

"It's totally fine, no need to worry," Liam said sending a smile her way. He really didn't mind paying for her at all. He didn't think that she was poor and needed him to pay for her or anything. Though he didn't know anything about her financial situation but either way he would've offered to pay. "I just think it's the gentleman thing to do," he told her hoping she'd like that about him. He knew there weren't really a ton of guys left in the world who were gentlemen or at least it seemed that way, but he was and he wanted her to know that's who he was. Yea sometimes he could be a total ass, usually he'd had a long day or week and all the stress had just piled up, but he always felt bad when he was rude or mean and would totally make up for it. Point was, Liam was a nice guy and really didn't mind paying for Maisie at all.

[That's okay!]

Zayn was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't even realize there was another person in the garage until he heard Ebony's voice speak up. He turned to look at her and, seeing that she looked even more frazzled than he did, shook his head. "No, you can stay. There's not a lot of empty space in this house." The party had been going for just over an hour, which meant that all of the space that used to be there was no occupied by people hooking up. It was just the nature of these parties. Zayn knew that he should probably go out and find Lindsay, knowing that she had a habit of hooking up with people at parties, but decided against it.

---

"Well, I really appreciate that," she said with a nod of her head, tucking her hair behind her ears as the two of them began walking towards the diner. Maisie was getting hungrier by the second, now even more thankful that they had decided to get some food. "So, are you looking forward to graduation then?" Though graduation was still a bit away, Maisie knew she probably shouldn't have brought it up as soon as she said it. Liam graduating was the whole reason he almost didn't date her in the first place, so she knew it was a sore subject when it came to their relationship.

[ so congratulations on getting engaged!!! I tried to comment on the blog you posted about it, but I was on my phone and it was acting up and I've been a busy bee this past week so I haven't been on a lot. ]

Ebony walked further into the garage and leaned against the wall letting out a sigh of relief. She was pretty sure she'd never been happier to get away from a party than she was right now. Usually, parties were her thing. She liked socializing with everyone and didn't mind having a couple drinks or dancing to music that was probably way too loud. Tonight was different though. Tonight there was so much on her mind she couldn't really enjoy anything, plus it didn't feel right being there with Chase. She was pretty sure it wouldn't feel right being there with anyone really though. "There's really not. I think this place is always pretty empty though," she said looking around the room, and she was positive her and Zayn were like the only people who ever came into the garage.

---

Liam smiled at Maisie glad she'd finally agreed that he could pay and it really wasn't a big deal. Plus the more he thought about food the hungrier he got so it'd probably be best for them to arrive at the diner asap. "Yes and no," Liam told her. "I mean I'm pretty excited to be done with school and take that next big step in my life and feel like I'm actually starting my adult life. But at the same time I'm super nervous. I'm worried that something will go wrong and I won't find a job, or that I'm not really ready to be like one hundred percent in charge of my life. I mean after all I lived on campus my Freshman year for a while, and well I've kind of lived in the frat house since I joined just staying with my parents or whatever when summer rolled around. But when I graduate I'll have to find a place to live, and hope my job pays enough, and it's just nerve wracking knowing that everything I've known for the last like 4 years is going to just change,"