Strange Terrain

The dreaded day of the Halloween party had finally arrived and with it the anxiety of what could happen tonight. I was beginning to regret my decision to go to the Ash party because I knew that I didn't belong in the crowd that would be at Henry Ash's house. It was silly of me to agree to go to the party in the first place and now, I was stuck with going to a party where something awful was going to happen. I kept having this feeling in the pit of my stomach that nothing good would come of tonight.

"Cas," I said nervously, fidgeting with my hands.

"Now Alex, let me stop you right there," she said, pausing in the application of her eyeliner. She turned around to look at me, speaking very seriously, "I already know what you're gonna say but trust me, you look amazing."

"I feel ridiculous," I admitted sheepishly.

She laughed, shaking her head as she turned back to the mirror to finish applying her makeup, "Good. That's an appropriate way to feel on Halloween."

"Seriously Cas, I don't feel good about tonight. I think I'm gonna get made fun of, especially dressed like this," I said, looking down at the costume I was wearing and feeling childish in my reasoning.

"Look Alex, you'll be fine. Zacky and I will look out for you tonight. Even Matt said that he'd look out for you tonight so you don't have to worry. Stop thinking so much about it and have fun tonight," she said reassuringly. "Now turn up the volume of the radio. I love this song," she laughed.

I complied with her request, reaching over to the nightstand to turn up the volume on her stereo as she started singing along to the music. Currently, the both of us were in Casadee's room getting dressed for the party most of the guys sat in her living room, watching television. She forced me to dress at her place; since she wanted to be sure I would go to the party tonight. I was sitting on the edge of her bed, already wearing my skin-tight uniform and feeling a little uncomfortable with revealing length of my short blue skirt which only covered the very tops of my thighs. I kept trying to pull the material of my thin, blue skirt down to cover more of my pale legs but since it was attached to the rest of the costume, it would just snap back into place. I unconsciously kept reaching my hand up to push my glasses further up my face, forgetting that I was wearing contacts at Casadee's insistence. I felt utterly exposed and vulnerable without the protection of my glasses.

Casadee looked amazing in her outfit, even though she wasn't fully finished dressing. She had a tight black corset top on as well as a leopard print mini skirt. She wore a pair of ripped up fishnet stockings with the garter belt showing and a pair of black leather, high heeled ankle-boots on her feet. She had a lot of studded bracelets on her arms as well as a black choker necklace around her neck. She also wore a black leather jacket covered in zippers and studs, making her look like a real punk. All that was left for her was her makeup, which consisted of heavy black eyeliner, mascara, and red lipstick, and her curly blonde wig.

"Yo Cas! Are you two done in there yet?! We're bored out here!" I heard Jimmy yell through the bedroom door, pounding on the wood with his fists in a rhythmic manner.

"No! Go back and watch TV! We'll be out in a bit!" she yelled back in a stern voice. "Now then, let me do your makeup and put your wig on you so you'll be ready for tonight," she said to me, walking toward me with her makeup box.

I sat completely still on the edge of the bed while Casadee opened up the box and pulled out some foundation and a triangular foam application sponge. Casadee instructed me to close my eyes so I complied, thinking about how I needed to calm myself down. I knew Casadee was right earlier but I just couldn't shake this feeling that something bad was going to happen to me. I didn't how I was supposed to go out and have fun tonight with this feeling of doubt in the pit of my stomach.

Casadee carefully worked on my makeup, chatting away about how Zacky whined about wearing his leather jacket because it was too hot and about how irritating her blonde wig was because it sort of made her itch. I just listened quietly, watching as she magically transformed me into my favorite anime heroine. She applied the foundation first, the round bristles of the application brush tickling my face before she began working on my eyes. She applied black liquid eyeliner to my eyes, making my eyes look more like a manga drawing. Once she finished with the makeup, she helped me gather my hair into the flesh-colored hair stocking and placed the long, blonde pigtails on my head, pinning it down so it wouldn't come off at any point during the evening. I just couldn't believe how different she made me look, wondering how she could highlight all my plain facial attributes and make me look pretty.

"I always knew there was a hot girl underneath the nerd exterior," she said knowingly, slightly laughing as she fastened the gold headband to my forehead.

"Casadee, you are amazing," I breathed, utterly speechless with how I looked. "How'd you know to do the meatballs with my pigtails?" I asked, referring to my hair as she put the red jewels on the front of my meatball buns.

"I referenced the picture of Sailor Moon on the costume and then practiced making them on Matt's sister during band practice yesterday," she shrugged, stepping back from me to get a better look. "Wow, I must say, you make an excellent canvas for my artwork," she said with a smile.

Unable to help myself, I also found myself smiling back as Casadee headed towards her closet. She pulled out the pair of bright red knee-high, boots she mentioned when we went costume shopping and handed them to me. I pulled them on; finding that slight heel of the boots made my balance slightly awkward but decided that I would do my best to endure it tonight. I grabbed the long, white gloves from the nightstand and pulled them on as well, smoothing out my short skirt once again as I looked in Casadee's mirror once again. Now that I was fully dressed, I really felt like Sailor Moon, which was slowly giving me the confidence I would need in order to carry on with tonight's events.

"Perfect," Casadee said approvingly, eyeing my body. "Now, give me the pose," Casadee urged.

Laughing at her silly request, I turned to face her, striking the famous pose as Casadee clapped in my compliance. Shaking my head, I dropped my arms and took a seat on her bed once again as Casadee started packing a few things into her black purse. She grabbed a disposable camera off her desk and shoved it into her purse, meaning that we would be taking pictures at some point in the evening. I was actually quite anxious to see what the guys looked like, since they arrived while Casadee and I started changing into our costumes.

"Alright, I'm sure the guys are out there making a fuckin' mess so we should head out there before they cause any permanent damage," she laughed, looking around the room for anything else she might need.

I shut off the music as she led us out of her room and down the hallway towards the living room. I could hear the guy's laughter making me feel anxious once again. I realized then that people would see me dressed like this, which made me try to pull my skirt down once again to hide my legs. I felt a little silly for overreacting to my Halloween costume but I hadn't really worn skirts before so I was a little self-conscious since this skirt was so short. With the way I was reacting to things, I had a feeling that I will have suffered some kind of panic attack by the end of the evening.

We reached the living room to see Matt, Johnny, Zacky, and Jimmy all sitting around on the couches, watching some random slasher film that was on TV. I took my time and studied each of their costumes, smiling at how incredible they looked. I first noticed Zacky, realizing that he had the Sid Vicious look down to a tee with the spiky black hair, padlock necklace, white graffiti shirt that was full of holes, skin-tight black pants torn at the knees, and black combat boots. He also had on a leather jacket with metal pyramid studs around the top of the lapels as well as studded belt fastened around his waist. Looking between him and Casadee, I felt that they really looked like the infamous punk couple, so much so that it was almost scary how uncanny they were.

Jimmy's costume seemed to match his usual sense of style, with a few exceptions. He wore a long, black trench coat, a faded black jacket with a plain black t-shirt underneath, and black leather pants. He also wore a pair of black combat boots and black leather, fingerless gloves on his hands, drawing attention to the chipped black nail polish on his fingernails. He also had smudged black eyeliner around his blue eyes as well as fake blood smeared down from his mouth to his neck, looking as if he had recently made a meal our of someone. His hair was also spiked but remained black, and short instead of being the bleach blonde mullet Kiefer Sutherland had in the movie. Though he wasn't exactly like the character from the movie, he still made the costume his own.

Though Johnny had said that he wanted to be a Lost Boy like Jimmy a few weeks ago, he wasn't dressed like one. Instead, he wore a black skeleton suit that kind of reminded me of a giant onesie. The skeleton suit was slightly baggy on him, allowing him the comfort to move around easier than Zacky or Jimmy in their tight pants. He also wore a pair of plain black fingerless gloves on his hands and a pair of black skater shoes. Since he was already so pale, he didn't really need to paint his face white so he just made his eyes really dark with black eyeliner and eye shadow rather than wear a skeleton face mask. His costume looked very simple yet also made the younger person of our group look like the child he was, which made me smile.

Matt's costume had to be my favorite of the guys' costumes because he looked so much like himself even though he was dressed as one of the characters of my father's favorite movie. Matt decided to dress like Maverick from Top Gun in thin, forest green jacket covered in military and Air Force patches, a white t-shirt underneath, and a pair of dark denim jeans. The sleeves of his jacket were rolled up to the elbows and his jacket was slightly unzipped enough to see the white t-shirt. His hair, which was usually slicked back, was parted to the side with little product in it, making him look radically different from his 50s greaser hairstyle he usually had. Though he wasn't wearing the classic Air Force jumpsuit that the pilots wore, I could tell he was dressed like Maverick, especially with the pair of dark stylish aviators he had on his face.

"Whoa," Zacky said looking back towards Casadee and me. The other guys noticed his sudden shift in focus and got up from the couch, also looking at me as I tried to hide behind Casadee. "Alex, is that you?"

"When did you get so fucking hot?" Jimmy asked, smoothly sliding next to me with a smirk on his face.

"She's always been hot but now, we can see it in that outfit," Johnny commented, eyeing me up and down with studious eyes.

"Ok, down boys," Casadee laughed, shooing the over eager boys away from me. "I know Alex is very pretty tonight but hands off! She's mine," she said seductively, wrapping her arm over my shoulders and pulling me close to her, making me laugh at her lesbianic tendencies.

"I think that just made you two even hotter than you already are," Jimmy said, practically drooling as he looked back and forth between Casadee and me. "Now make out," he said as if he were directing a scene from a dirty movie.

"Oh fuck off," Casadee said, lightly pushing Jimmy's shoulder.

"Aww, you're no fun," Jimmy pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Jeez Cas, I didn't know you were this greedy. You already have a boyfriend to spend time with and now you're trying to hog Alex all to yourself too," Johnny said, joining in with the whining.

"Yeah Cas, what about your boyfriend?" Matt asked playfully.

"Honestly, would you rather spend your time with that same boring boy," she began sarcastically, gesturing towards Zacky, "or this gorgeous, shy yet super sexy ass chick?" she continued, then gesturing to me.

"I would rather spend time with the sexy ass chick than with myself," Zacky laughed.

I just blushed like mad due to the direction this conversation was going and continued to hide myself behind Casadee to shield myself from their gazes. I knew I looked different but I didn't think I was as sensational as Casadee or the guys were making me out to be. It was interesting to see the different sorts of reactions I got to my costume, though embarrassing and uncomfortable, because I was usually invisible to everyone. Jimmy never really could remember my name and now, he seems to know exactly who I am. I had finally caught a glimpse into the kind of attention the popular girls seemed to receive on a daily basis. I just didn't know how they managed it all, especially since they gained quite more attention that I was currently receiving.

I slinked away to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and taking a moment to compose myself. I leaned against the back of the cabinets next to the fridge, worrying about what was going to happen at tonight's party. If I was receiving this much attention from people I've become more acquainted with over the last months, I wondered what the other people at the party would say. I was beginning to get a headache from all the stressing I had been doing all day long. My worst fear was getting separated from everyone else tonight. I didn't want to be left on my own.

"Are you ok Alex? You look like you're gonna throw up," Jimmy said, snapping me out of my thoughts as he sauntered into the kitchen.

He really did look like his own version of Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys but a taller, skinnier version. I was surprised that he was initiating conversation with me since he rarely talked to me. Most of the time, he talked to Zacky and Brian, or even Johnny when he felt like torturing the younger guy of the group. It made me wonder why he suddenly decided to talk to me now.

"Oh, I'm alright. Just nervous," I admitted sheepishly,

"There's no reason to be nervous. Tonight's gonna be hella fun," he said cheerfully, hopping up onto the counter next to me. "Casadee explained that we're gonna watch out for you tonight, though I don't think I'll be very usefully if I'm drunk and stoned," he said thoughtfully, scratching the back of his head with a pensive expression as if he were only voicing his thoughts to himself than to me.

"I don't want to be a burden that people need to watch out for. I don't want to take away from anyone's fun tonight," I said, hoping somehow there was still a way to get out of going to the party.

He laughed, shaking his head, "Man, you really need to chill. Everything will be fine if you just loosen yourself up. You know what you need?" he asked. I looked at him with curiosity, unsure of what he was going to suggest as he started digging through the pockets of his inner jacket. Knowing how random Jimmy was, it could be anything. "You need some candy," he said after a few seconds, pulling out two rolls of Smarties.

I laughed at his child-like remedy to help me relax, feeling a little better at his suggestion. He placed one of the rolls into my hand and then started to open the other one for himself, popping a few of the round, pastel-colored candy into his mouth with a smile. I also opened the plastic wrapping, popping some into my mouth and savoring the tart flavor of the familiar Halloween candy.

"Feel better?" he asked curiously, popping the rest of his candy into his mouth.

"Surprisingly, I am. Thanks Jimmy," I replied honestly with a small smile.

"S'ok. Just as long as you're feeling a little better," he smirked, as if he knew something I didn't. "Man! When the hell is Brian gonna get here so we can get going?!" he said frustratingly as he hopped off the counter and walked towards the living room.

I giggled at his childishness, happy I was able to discover a new side to Jimmy that I didn't know before. Finishing the rest of my candy as well as the glass of water, I wandered back into the living room, joining Matt on the couch. He looked at me through his aviators, which really seemed to suit him. All in all, he really did look quite attractive in his outfit.

"So, you ready for tonight?" Matt asked curiously.

"Surprisingly, I am yes," I nodded honestly. "After talking to Jimmy, I feel a little better."

"Jimmy?" he asked eyeing me with skepticism. "You mean the idiot that's trying to light Johnny's hair on fire?" he asked, pointing towards the two who were yelling and wrestling with one another.

Giggling, I nodded my head, "He's not taking himself too seriously."

"Yeah, that's for sure," Matt interjected sarcastically.

"He made me realize that I was over thinking everything to the point that nothing would be fun. If I just calm down, I might be able to enjoy myself tonight instead of wishing to be at home," I explained.

"Are you telling me that you gained all that philosophical insight from that jackass?" Matt asked in disbelief, pointing towards Jimmy as I giggled. "Man, you really must be a genius if you can understand more than three words from his mouth."

The knock on the door interrupted everyone's conversations. Zacky answered the door, since he was the closest to it, and greeted Brian in his usual manner. I couldn't really see him from where I was sitting in the living room but suddenly started to feel nervous about seeing him dressed this way. I sunk down a bit in the cushions, trying to cover my legs with the thin blue material of my costume.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Johnny asked loudly.

"Dude, if you wanted to be a vampire, you should've just become an awesome Lost Boy instead of lame ass Dracula," Jimmy said with a laugh.

"Shut up," Brian said through a sigh.

I turned around, curiosity getting the best of me, to look at Brian and found myself shocked at the costume he decided to wear. He had on a pair of black slacks, a white dress shirt, vest, and bowtie, as well as a well-fitted, black tuxedo blazer that came up to the top of his waistline. He also had on a black cape that was blood red underneath and a pair of white gloves over his hands. He wore the classic white mask that only covered his eyes, making his costume all the more recognizable to someone like me. Though the top hat seemed to be the missing element of his costume, I knew he was dressed as Tuxedo Mask, Sailor moon's crime fighting counterpart. I was surprised that Casadee didn't seem to notice that he was dressed as Tuxedo Mask, since she has looked at a few pictures to know how to apply my makeup and style my hair but then again, no one else was a fan of anime like I was.

Brian's masked brown eyes met mine with a knowing glance, which made me wonder why he chose that specific costume of all things to dress up in, especially since he knew I was going as Sailor Moon. Was this his way of hinting that he wanted to go to the party together or was he just acknowledging my interests? Knowing him, he would say it wasn't anything special but given his recent kind demeanor towards me, I really felt nothing but confusion with our friendship, if that's what I could even call it.

"Alright, everyone's here now! Get your bitch asses to the car so we can finally get our drink on!" Jimmy said loudly, flailing his arms in the air.

Everyone just laughed as he ran out of the apartment screaming, finding his hyperactivity interesting. We followed him out after that, heading towards Matt's SUV since he volunteered to drive everyone. I managed to slide up beside Brian, sneaking a glance at his costume. I was trying to divert the thoughts of how handsome and dashing he looked in his outfit but failing miserably. Brian seemed to notice my presence beside him, also looking at my costume with studious eyes.

"You make a nice Tuxedo Mask," I commented, looking straight ahead as I spoke so no one would suspect our conversation.

"It was the only thing I could come up with at the last minute," he replied flatly, also not making eye contact as he spoke.

I smiled, looking to him once again as the butterflies started flapping wildly in my stomach, "See? I told you that you were a procrastinator."

"Yeah well, you're the only one that would notice I'm dressed like Tuxedo Mask. Everyone else seems to think I'm Dracula for some reason," he chuckled. "But that doesn't really matter. All that matters now is the keg awaiting us at Henry's party," he said with a smirk.

"Picture time!" Casadee announced, pulling out the disposable camera from her purse. "Everyone gather around the car so we can get pictures."

I stood in front of Matt and Brian in the center of the group. Johnny and Zacky stood on either side of me, since they were a little bit shorter than Matt and Brian. Jimmy, though he was the tallest of the group, was in the very front of the group, crouching down in front of me with a cheesy smile.

"Ok all, smile!" Casadee said, gaining our attention.

She took a few pictures of the group before I offered to switch with her so she could have a few pictures with the guys as well. After that, I took a few of Casadee and Zacky and then of just the guys. Casadee stole the camera back and pushed me together with each of the guys, even Brian, which surprised me most of all. He didn't kick up a fuss about being in a picture with me; just silently wrapping an arm around my shoulders and making me blush as Casadee snapped it.

"Ok everyone, get your asses in the car so we can get this night over with," Matt said, unlocking the doors to his SUV.

Everyone piled into the car with Brian in the front seat, Casadee and Zacky in the middle seats and then me, sandwiched between Johnny and Jimmy in the very backseat. Jimmy's arm was draped over the back of the seat as he rhythmically tapped his fingers along the back of the seat. Heavy rock music flowed out of the speakers, causing Zacky to nod his head along to the drumbeat as Matt pilled out of the parking lot to Casadee's apartment complex and onto the streets of Huntington.

Casadee started complaining about the music that was playing about half-way to the house, forcing Matt to change it to the radio, which was playing popular rap music. Casadee laughed, saying that she needed to get used to the crappy music that they would be playing at the party as an explanation when the guys started complaining. I just nodded my head along to the beat, rather liking the music. Normally I wasn't a fan of rap music but I was really enjoying the thumping bass line. It really made me feel like dancing.

"Looks like someone's ready for some dancing," Johnny commented, looking at me with a grin.

"I guess the nerves are just making me restless," I shrugged, not sure why I was moving along to the music so much.

"Or it could be the excitement," Jimmy suggested, also nodding his head along to the music and smirking at me.

I could see Brian staring curiously at me through the rearview mirror though I found myself rather indifferent to the attention he was giving me. I was too distracted by the infectious beat pumping through the speakers making me nod my head. I started drumming my fingers along my thighs, enjoying the tingling sensation of my nails against my skin. I soon found myself running my nails over the bare skin of my thighs very gently, shivering at the pleasurable sensation and wondering why I seemed so interested in the sensations against my skin or the sensation that the music was giving me.

Matt finally pulled up to the house a few minutes later where the party was already in full swing. Matt found some parking not too far away from the house, which was lucky for us since the streets were already crowded with other cars, as everyone piled out. Jimmy stuck by my side, wrapping a loose arm around my shoulders as we walked towards Henry Ash's house. I could see Matt staring at the two of us suspiciously but saying nothing as we continued the short walk to the house.

"So Alex," Jimmy said, gaining my attention, "how you doing?"

I laughed a bit at his question, looking away from him briefly before answering, "I'm okay Jimmy. Thanks for asking."

"Not nervous anymore?" he questioned with interest.

"Surprisingly, I'm feeling really good," I answered with a dazed smile, enjoying his company.

"Good. I'm glad to hear it," he replied with the same smile. "That means the candy is beginning to kick in," he mumbled lowly, as if he were voicing his thoughts more to himself than to me.

"What was that?" I asked curiously, unsure of what he meant by his last comment.

"Don't you worry your cute little head about my stupid thoughts," he replied, poking my nose with his index finger.

"Jimmy! You better not be trying to cop any kind of feels back there," Casadee scolded as she turned around to glance at us.

Jimmy held his hands up in surrender, "My intentions are pure."

"Nothing about your corrupt ass is pure," Johnny laughed.

"Fuck you Short Shit," Jimmy said suddenly, running towards Johnny, who in turn, started to run away from Jimmy.

I just laughed, shaking my head at them as we all walked up to the front door of the house. Matt pulled it open, letting everyone into the crowded room filled with heavy smoke and loud music. I immediately felt a hand grab mine, noticing that Casadee was pulling me forward toward her and Zacky as we weaved through the throngs of dancing bodies. A few of the other party goers stopped Matt and Zacky to talk while the rest of us pushed through to a more open area of the house.

I noticed a lot of the girls dressed in fairly revealing costumes that practically reminded me of lingerie while the guys looked as if they put less effort into their costumes. Casadee had commented that the cheerleaders had no imagination when it came to their costumes, with most of them dressing in revealing outfits and adding animal ears and tails in order to make their outfits plausible. Most of the people were in the center of the living room, dancing with one another while few couples remained seated on the couches, making out or talking with one another. Most of the people had red cups in their hands, which was presumably filled with some kind of alcohol. It amazed me that most were looking at me with curiosity, wondering who I was. Casadee's transformation must have been really amazing if people didn't even notice who I was.

Johnny had returned a few moments later, though I had hardly noticed his disappearance to begin with, holding three red cups. He handed one of them to me and the other to Casadee, telling us that we needed to drink up. Sniffing the contents of the cup, I could tell it was beer but I had no real interest in drinking it. What I really wanted to do was join the crowd of people dancing to the catchy beat.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked, swaying my body back and forth to the beat.

"Jimmy's God knows where and Matt's talking to a few of the guys from the team," Casadee said, looking around as Zacky walked up.

"I think Brian was in the kitchen, trying to get some beer," Johnny said.

"Oh, I should go in there and get one," Zacky said.

"Here, you can have mine," I said holding it out to him. "I don't really want it."

"You sure?" he asked, hesitantly taking it from me.

"Yeah, I'm not really that thirsty," I said.

"Looks like someone's already in party mode," Matt said as he approached, directing the comment at me.

"Yeah, she's been that way since the drive over here," Casadee said suspiciously. "I thought you were nervous about being here?"

"What?" I laughed, looking at her as if she were crazy. "No, I'm not nervous. I'm feeling really really good," I said, emphasizing one of the 'reallys' I had said. "I just wanna dance! This song's so awesome," I smiled, moving my body to the beat a bit more.

"Something's not right," Casadee said with worry, looking at me with studious eyes.

"She's fine Cas. You're just worrying too much over nothing too important," Zacky said reassuringly.

"Yeah Cas. I'm totally fine. I'm here, just like you wanted, and having a good time. I feel amazing. God, I need to dance. Who's gonna dance with me? If nobody wants to, I'll just go dance by myself," I said rapidly, causing them to all look at me with concern.

"Did someone say something about dancing?" Jimmy asked, walking up to the group.

"I want to dance," I said, pouting my lip at him.

"Then let's dance cupcake," he smirked, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the crowd.

Jimmy led us through the crowds of people until we were in the middle of the group as some fast-paced techno music began blaring from the speakers. The pounding bass line seemed to vibrate against my skin, sending pulsations of warmth rushing throughout my body as Jimmy's hands found a light grip on my hips. Normally, I would've been a little uncomfortable with Jimmy's hands on my body but for some reason, I didn't really seem to mind how close we were dancing to each other. In fact, I found myself moving closer to him, enjoying the heat radiating off his body. I couldn't understand it but for some reason, I felt nothing but pleasure in the moments I spent dancing with Jimmy.

I looked back to our group of friends, finding Casadee staring with disbelief in our direction. Zacky was trying to talk to her but was being ignored while Johnny and Matt just watched with curiosity, sipping their beers. Brian had seemed to join them, also looking in our direction but not in curiosity or disbelief. He looked annoyed though I couldn't really understand why. I didn't think I was doing anything that was interrupting his life, since Jimmy was the one that offered to dance in the first place, but decided not to give it much thought. I was feeling too good to care about anyone else.

For the next few songs, Jimmy and I remained in the crowd, dancing and smiling goofily at one another. I quite enjoyed the sensation of my body brushing up against other people's in the crowd as we moved around or when Jimmy's hands moved along my hips and the sides of my upper thighs. It wasn't really all that uncomfortable, despite the fact that I hardly knew anything about Jimmy but rather exciting, making me slink my arms around his neck, caressing his stubbly cheek with my gloved hand. I could hear people whispering around us, wondering who I was and why I was here but I could care less. Jimmy and I were in our own little world.

A considerable amount of time had passed before we decided to rejoin the group, though the music still made me want to dance. By this time, I saw Madison Clarke, Brian's ex-girlfriend, standing with the group as well. She was gorgeous, dressed in a blood red and black strapless dress with a ruffled bottom that barely covered the tops of her legs. She wore a pair of devil horns with her blonde curly hair and held a small, sparkly red pitchfork in her hands. Though she was wearing something that was quite revealing, it didn't seem as bad as the other girls at the party. If anything, I would say she looked sexy yet classy.

"Wow, Madison Clarke," I said as Jimmy and I approached the group. She was looking at me with cautious eyes, especially since I walked closely to her, eyeing her with a smile. "I have to say, you look really hot tonight, especially in this dress," I continued, grabbing the bottom material of her dress. "Wow, the material feels really good against the skin, doesn't it? I bet it feels amazing to wear," I said, pulling off one of my gloves and rubbing my arm against the material.

"Um, who is this exactly?" Madison asked, seeming a little irritated with my forwardness.

"She's just a friend and she doesn't mean you harm," Jimmy said, pulling me back beside him. "Besides, shouldn't you be off fucking that history teacher for A's? Can you really afford to let your grades slip behind like that?" Jimmy asked coldly, obviously not happy with her presence in the group.

"If you're that behind in your studies, I could tutor you. I'm supposed to be super smart, though right now, I don't really know what's going on," I giggled happily, oblivious to the meaning of Jimmy's comment.

"Um, I don't think Jimmy meant that Madison needed help in her studies," Matt said, amusement evident in his voice as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Then what did he mean?" I asked dumbly, looking at him with confusion.

"I'll explain it to you when you're older kid," he laughed, patting the top of my head.

"Aw, not fair! Tell me!" I whined, grabbing his arm and swinging it. "Ha, your arm is heavy," I smiled.

Madison shot me a quick glare for some reason before looking back to Brian, smirking and running a hand down his arm, "I'll just see you later."

As she walked away, I watched the material of her dress sway back and forth rhythmically; entranced by the way it seemed to keep time with the beat as well as how the colors seemed to blur and glow vibrantly against the crowd in front of her. Unable to stop myself, I started whistling suggestively, causing her to stop walking and turn to look at me. She seemed to gain more attention from the guys closest to her when I did that while Casadee was quickly pulling me toward the kitchen to stop me.

"What the hell has gotten into you Alex?" Casadee demanded.

"What are you talking about? She may be a bitch to everyone but she's a hot bitch," I laughed.

Casadee grabbed my face with her hands, firmly holding it in place as she looked carefully into my eyes. The other guys seemed to walk in as well, looking back and forth between us with curiosity. I could feel my peripheral vision beginning to blur a bit in the bright light of the kitchen as my teeth started to chatter together a bit. Casadee let go of my face a moment later, sighing in defeat as I just looked at her with confusion towards her actions. Shaking my head, I blinked a few times, trying to clear my distorted sight.

"Jimmy, I'm gonna straight up murder your ass," Casadee seethed through gritted teeth, glaring daggers at the tall, dark-haired vampire.

"What happened babe?" Zacky asked in concern, rubbing her back to try to calm her down.

"Just look at the both of them and notice what they've got in common," she said, harshly gesturing back and forth between the two of us.

Zacky stared at me and then at Jimmy for a few moments as I noticed the texture of his spiky hair. Feeling an overwhelming need to feel it, I reached up and carefully ran the palm of my hand over the top of the spikes, laughing at the ticklish sensation his bristle-like hair sent through my arm as I felt it. Jimmy seemed to follow my actions, also giggling with me as he felt Zacky's hair.

"Shit," Zacky said, looking to Jimmy with a serious expression, "what the hell did you give her?" he asked, causing Matt, Johnny, and Brian to stare at us with wide-eyes.

"What? Gave me?" I asked in confusion.

"She was feeling nervous so I gave her some candy. What's the big deal?" Jimmy replied, shrugging indifferently and feigning an innocent tone.

"What's wrong with that?" I asked, lazily swaying back and forth on my feet with a big smile on my face. "Oh! I could be a ballerina with this kind of talent!" I said, spinning on my tip-toes.

"How many pills did she take?" Casadee asked, not amused with the situation.

"You fucking drugged her?" Brian asked, also not happy about the new information as he stopped me from spinning. "Are you nuts?"

"She only had one pill. I know better than to give a newbie more than one pill," Jimmy scoffed, seeming slightly offended in some way.

"Pills?" I asked curiously, confused with the situation. "No, he only gave me some Smarties, no pills," I laughed, shaking my head.

"Whatever the hell she's on, she's fucking smacked off her ass," Johnny commented, sipping on his beer.

"I thought a pink Aphrodite would do quite nicely for her," Jimmy said with a smile.

"Fucking A Jimmy! Why'd you have to go and do something stupid like giving her ecstasy?" Brian snapped, gesturing towards me.

"Ecstasy?" I asked, suddenly feeling slightly panicked.

"Honey," Casadee began gently, grabbing my hands comfortingly, "Jimmy gave you some ecstasy. Now, I don't want you to panic cuz you'll be fine. We're gonna take good care of you," she said calmly.

I couldn't help but laugh at the sensation of her hands running up and down over my arms, making me smile, "Aw, you're just being silly. I feel fine, amazing even. All I want to do is go back out there and dance without having to worry about anything," I said honestly.

"Well, we should get back out there and dance sweet cheeks," Jimmy said with a smirk, lacing his fingers with mine.

"You guys coming?" I asked, briefly glancing over my shoulder at the rest of the group as Jimmy started leading me out of the kitchen.

"I guess I'm down," Casadee sighed, grabbing Zacky's hand. "Let's go Zacky."

"I wanna dance with Alex too!" Johnny yelled behind us.

As we all headed back into the crowd, I looked back towards the kitchen, noticing Matt and Brian standing on the outskirts of the crowd, nursing their drinks. Brian seemed really irritated while Matt just smirked in amusement at his guitarist, shaking his head and sipping his beer. I quickly looked away, not liking they way that Brian seemed to be staring at me as Jimmy's hands found their way to my hips once again. I could feel Johnny dancing behind me, his hands also touching my waist as we danced.

"Hey Jimmy, you got anymore of those Smarties?" Casadee asked suddenly, smiling as she watched us all dance.

"Yeah, of course I do. I'm the candy man after all," he smirked devilishly.

"Give me two," she said, holding her hand out. "Zacky and I need to get up there on your level."

"You got it," Jimmy said, pausing in his dancing momentarily to pull out two rolls of Smarties. "There you go," he said, handing them off to her.

It wasn't long before I noticed that Matt had joined us, also bringing along one of the scantily clad cheerleaders to dance with. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in their own way, dancing along to the upbeat music blasting through the speakers. As the music progressed, I found myself dancing with different people. I would dance with Jimmy before moving onto Casadee and Zacky or Matt. At one point, I even grabbed the cheerleader, whose name I couldn't remember at the moment, and started dancing with her. She seemed a little stunned by my aggressive attitude but soon settled into dancing with me when she noticed Matt's encouraging attitude toward our dancing together.

I had reached a point where I felt completely amazing, like nothing could touch me or bring me down in anyway. The music just made me want to dance even more and sensations were extremely pleasurable to my body, making me crave the touch of someone's hands on my hips. At times, I started touching my own body with my hands, just to feel the cool, smooth white gloves against my hot, bare skin. All my previous anxieties seemed to be a distant memory, now replaced with this overwhelming euphoria that was coursing through my body. Compared to how I normally felt, I really like this feeling. It was nice not having to worry about anything.

I hadn't noticed how much time had passed since we first started dancing but Brian had come over at some point, making me drink some water. Though I wasn't very thirsty, I appeased him and drank the water, feeling Matt's arms snake around my waist and pull me close to him, swaying back and forth. Brian didn't seem to like that Matt was so close to me, glaring at his lead singer before stalking off to grab another beer while I just shrugged off his interest in who I danced with and how I danced with them. Though I was slightly bothered by Brian's attitude towards me, it was too much effort for me to care enough to ask why he was so irritated. Instead, I just continued my dancing with whoever was available to me, not really concerned any kind of consequences to my actions.

*Brian's Point of View*
"Dude, you look like a serial killer with the way you're glaring. What gives?" Johnny asked, approaching me with a new cup of beer in his hand.

"It's nothing," I replied dismissively, finishing off the rest of the beer left in my cup.

Johnny stood beside me, also looking in the direction of the group and laughed. I briefly glanced at him, wondering what he found so funny but not really caring enough to ask. I kept my eyes on Alex most of the time, watching her dance with Casadee and Zacky. Her cheeks were flushed and slightly red, making her look like she was hot as she moved freely without a care in the world. I had a hard time focusing my attention away from her, feeling slightly concerned for her since she had taken drugs and was already naive to begin with. I had promised her father a while back that I would look out for her and make sure she didn't get hurt and I intended to do that, especially here where there were plenty of drunken idiots who would take advantage of an easy target like her.

"I can't believe how open Alex is now," Johnny commented, shaking his head. "She seems like a cool chick when her nerves don't get the best of her."

"It just takes a while for her to get used to people is all. When she's comfortable with you, she's not so anxious," I smiled, thinking about how much easier it was to talk to her now.

"How would you know? You barely speak to her," Johnny scoffed, shaking his head.

"Oh, well," I said, trying to think of a quick explanation, "I've seen the way she is with Casadee and their friend when we went shopping a few weeks ago. I don't need to actually talk to her to know how her personality is."

"That doesn't make much sense," Johnny said as I mentally slapped myself for sounding so stupid. "But yeah, I know what you mean. She seems really at ease when she's talking to that Japanese dude. For a while there, I thought they were dating but Casadee said that Alex is completely oblivious to his feelings," Johnny said.

'That sounds just like Alex to not realize that someone's interested in her,' I thought to myself with a small smile.

"I have to say though, she's pretty sexy for a nerd," he chuckled.

"Yeah, if you're into that kind of thing," I replied, trying to sound uninterested.

"Oh come on! Look at her! She's got an amazing body and a pretty face. If she dressed more like this, I'm pretty sure that guys in school would be all over her like white on rice," Johnny said. "I know I would be if she would let me."

Something about the way he said that last statement really irritated me, making me glare at him briefly before looking back to the group. I couldn't figure it out. All night, I had been irritated with the stupidest things concerning Alex that it didn't make sense. I didn't like the way the guys were dancing with her, even though I knew I could trust them with her, nor did I like the comments I heard from the other guys about how hot she looked in her outfit. I would never admit it to her but I thought she actually looked rather cute in her outfit, almost exactly like the cartoon that she watched, but I didn't like the attention she was receiving from everyone else, especially since she seemed oblivious to the way guys would look at her. Though I normally quite enjoyed her pure innocence, this was one of those times where I wish she was more aware of her surroundings and less trusting of people, especially since she was so far gone.

Matt walked over with Alex, holding her hand as she stumbled a bit on her feet, giggling at something he had said to her. I looked away from her, trying not to show interest in what they had to say. I wished I had another beer to keep me occupied but I had finished it off too quickly and now was stuck with an empty cup.

"Alright, watch yourself," Matt laughed, catching Alex as she stumbled over her own feet.

"I'm alright," she said, smoothing her skirt out. "Hey guys. Why aren't you out there dancing?" she asked Johnny and me.

"Are you offering?" Johnny asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Whoa now, she needs to rest a bit before she goes back out there," Matt said as she pouted her bottom lip. "I just wanna make sure you don't die of heat stoke is all," he said to her.

"Fine," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm gonna get a beer. You want one Bri?" Matt asked, noticing the empty cup I was holding.

"Sure," I nodded.

"Wait, hold up," Johnny said, finishing off the contents of his cup. "I need a refill too."

Johnny and Matt wandered off to the kitchen, leaving me alone with Alex, who was currently focused on the way her skirt flared when she twirled her hips from side to side. I took a brief moment to look at her outfit, never really noticing how amazing her slender legs looked in her short costume. Though the costume didn't show off more than her legs, it sure left little to the imagination as it highlighted all the right curves on her slim body. Normally, Alex tended to wear old t-shirts and jeans that didn't really give her much of a shape so it was interesting to see how good she looked when she actually put an effort into her appearance.

"You're quiet," she commented, breaking my thoughts and forcing me to look away from her quickly. "You haven't even said one rude comment to me all night."

"I'm not always rude to you," I replied.

"No but you tend to be in public, not that I really mind. It's nothing I've never heard before," she shrugged, nodding her head along to the music. "Man, you should really get out there and dance before it's too late," she said, suddenly changing the subject.

"I don't dance," I said flatly.

"I didn't either until Naoki showed me two weeks ago and now look at me," she smiled as she started moving the rest of her body along to the beat. "You don't need to be so stiff all the time. It's ok to have fun sometimes," she added, laughing a bit as she started dancing circles around me.

I scoffed, shaking my head at her last comment. Of all people, I didn't need the nervous wreck telling me that I needed to loosen up. I just watched her dance circles around me, laughing at some of the moves she decided to throw in there for the hell of it. Now that she was more uninhibited, it seemed that she was a lot more opinionated that I originally thought she was. Most of the time, she was too intimidated to speak her mind, with the exception of a few times, but now, she had no problem saying or doing what she wanted. I had a hard time believing that this was the same mousy girl that lived in the same house as me.

I looked back to the crowd of people and noticed that Madison was making her way towards me again, making me wonder what she wanted from me. I noticed that she had started talking to me more this last week, though I wasn't sure why. Madison always liked doing things that brought attention, which was part of the reason she dated me. We were both popular so our relationship generated a lot of buzz from the rest of the school, even though most of the time we hardly spent time together. When we did spend time together, we were either having sex or walking around school so people saw that we were the 'perfect couple' like they thought we were. The sad thing was that I felt that I knew more about the weird nerd dancing around me than I did of my ex-girlfriend who I spent most of my high school life dating.

"I'm gonna go see what's taking the slowpokes so long in the kitchen," Alex said suddenly, skipping off in the direction of the kitchen before I could protest.

"I hope I didn't scare her off or anything," Madison said with a smile as she stopped in front of me.

"Like you're all that intimidating," I scoffed, rolling my eyes at her arrogance.

"You used to think so. I remember how nervous you used to get when we first started dating," she said, stepping closer to me and wrapping her arms around my neck, "especially when I would undress myself," she whispered into my ear.

I seized her arms, pulling them down from my neck and pushed her away so we were arm's length apart, slightly annoyed with her usual games. Madison always thought of everyone as a toy to her and when she got bored of that toy, she would find a new one to amuse her. She made it clear that all I was to her was a toy she enjoyed playing with and now, it seemed she wanted to pick up where she left off, like nothing changed between us. I had to admit, I was tempted, especially since she was wearing next to nothing and still looked hotter than hell but I didn't want to fall into her game again.

"We broke up, remember? You broke up with me to be with that college professor so why are you trying to act like we're still together?" I asked seriously.

"I miss you," she answered simply, running one of her hands down my arm. "Is it so wrong to miss you after all the years we were together?"

"It is if you're only doing this to get attention," I replied flatly.

"Oh come on," she said, disregarding my suggestion as she stepped closer, "you can't honestly say that you don't think about us sometimes and miss the way we used to be."

"If I do, it's only to ask why I didn't bother ditching your ass all those years ago and play the field like a normal guy," I said harshly, keeping her at arm's length.

"You don't mean that. I know that somewhere underneath your cold exterior, you still care about me," she said with a smirk.

"You're not the center of everyone's universe Madison. It is actually possible to get over you and move on with life," I said, slightly irritated with her presence.

"You wouldn't have to get over me if you were under me. As I recall, you seemed to like being under me quite a lot when we were dating," she said suggestively, running a hand down my chest.

I inhaled deeply, shutting my eyes as I tried to force myself to think of anything but the way Madison's fingers felt as she slowly touched my body. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn't slightly turned on, especially since she was practically throwing herself at me but for some reason, I was too distracted by wondering where Alex was that I just couldn't think straight. My body was reacting to Madison's advances but my mind was somewhere else.

"Sorry to interrupt your gross grope fest," Casadee said, walking up with Zacky and Jimmy in tow, "but where's everyone else at?"

"You always did know how to pick the worst time to appear, don't you Cas?" Madison said, seeming a little irritated by everyone's sudden arrival.

I, on the other hand, was thankful that I had something else to focus on rather than getting distracted by her feeling up my body.

"Oh fuck off and die, will ya? I could give two shits about you acting like the slut you are. I'm feeling too good to let you bother me with your existence," she snapped, scoffing and rolling her eyes at Madison's attitude.

"Whoa, there's no need to be hostile here. Just ride the good wave and get back into the zone," Jimmy said, making no sense with his statement as he nodded his head along with the music.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sound like an idiot most of the time?" Madison said bitterly.

"What? Oh sorry, I don't speak Skanklish. Could you please repeat that in English?" Jimmy retorted, earning laughs from Casadee and Zacky.

Madison was fuming when Matt, Johnny, and Alex returned from the kitchen with their drinks. Matt seemed to sense the weird atmosphere as he handed over a cup of beer to me while Johnny and Alex were laughing about something that had happened earlier in the kitchen. Alex was sipping on a bottle of water, standing between Jimmy and Johnny as the group seemed to fall into an awkward silence. I had no idea what to say to anyone since tonight was turning into one of the most bizarre experiences I've ever had.

"Oh! Madison's back!" Alex said, taking notice of the blonde standing across from her. "Did you know that you and Barbie have the same blonde hair?" she asked with a sense of wonder.

Matt laughed, shaking his head, "The things she's said tonight are quite amazing."

"No, I'm serious! Jimmy, doesn't she look almost exactly like Barbie, you know, if Barbie were taller and not made of plastic?" she asked.

"Oh I think there are some plastic bits of Madison's that match Barbie's," Jimmy said with a smirk, making Madison glare hatefully at him.

"Oh I know that's true," Casadee laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked with confusion, oblivious to Jimmy's meaning.

"I'll explain that to you as well when you get older," Matt said, shaking his head.

"This is no fair! I wanna know now!" Alex stomped, pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I found myself smiling at her, thinking she looked quite cute when she acted childish before catching my thoughts and mentally scolding myself for thinking something as ridiculous as that. I hated that no matter what I did, I found myself concerned with how Alex was doing or what she was doing with who at this party rather than focusing on having a good time. It had to be because she was so far out of her mind that she could barely distinguish between reality and her high. If she wasn't so messed up on the stupid pill Jimmy managed to slip her at some point this evening, I probably could care less about what she was doing. Everything would be the way it was supposed to be.

"Ah! 'California Love'!" Casadee said, referring to the hip-hop song that started blaring from the speaker system. "We need to dance to this! It's like our state anthem!"

"Our state anthem was written in the 50s and is called 'California, I Love You', not 'California Love'," Alex said with confusion, making me laugh at her ability to remember facts even when she's completely out of her skull. "But I've heard this song before in Naoki's car. It makes me wanna dance," she added, changing the subject.

"You don't need to tell me twice," Jimmy said, grabbing Alex's hand and dragging her to the crowd.

"Hey! Wait up!" Casadee called, dragging Zacky along with her.

Johnny wandered away as well, leaving Matt, Madison, and me standing there awkwardly. Matt was sipping his beer, looking away towards the group of people playing King's Cup in the kitchen while Madison was trying to gain my attention away from the group dancing in the middle of the living room. I couldn't help but notice that Alex was dancing rather closely with Jimmy, making me annoyed at how friendly he was acting with her tonight. I didn't like the way he would touch her body while they danced though I wasn't sure why.

Madison's body pressed against me snapped me out of my thoughts and brought my focus back to her as she leaned forward, whispering in my ear, "I'll find you later so we can finish the rest of this conversation."

She kissed the side of my cheek before turning around; making sure her body was still touching mine as she turned. The friction of her ass rubbing against my body was enough to make me want her, which was her ultimate goal. I watched as she sauntered off to the other side of the room, inhaling deeply to try and suppress any temptation I had of dragging her upstairs for an evening of debauchery.

"You can follow her if you want, you know," Matt said, snapping me out of my dirty thoughts. "Nothing's here to stop you. I'll make sure everyone's taken care of."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, looking at him with curiosity.

"I'm just sayin', if you wanna go off with Madison then you can. I don't see the appeal myself but then again, I have a new focus for all of my attentions," he said, looking out at the crowd.

"Are you talking about Alex?" I asked, following his gaze.

"Why not? She's the one that told me I need to suck it up and be a man instead of recycling girls left and right. After I thought about it for a while, I realized Alex is the perfect kind of girl that would make a good girlfriend. She's nice, funny, easy to get along with, and quite cute. You're the only person that seems to have a problem with her, though I don't know why," Matt explained, sipping his beer.

"It's not that I don't like her," I grumbled lowly, looking away from the singer with frustration.

"Well, whatever the hell it is, you need to get over it cuz we all really like her. Though," he said with some amusement in his voice, looking at me over the top of his aviators, "you have been paying her an awful lot of attention these days. Like right now, you seem jealous," he laughed.

"Why would I be jealous?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and glowering as I watched Jimmy dancing with Alex.

"I dunno. Why would you be jealous?" he asked, amusement still evident in his voice. "It doesn't make sense that you would be jealous about other guys spending time with Alex if you didn't like the girl."

I briefly glanced at Matt through the corner of my eye, slightly annoyed with the way he was smirking at me as if he knew something I didn't. Why would I care about her dancing with anyone? The only reason I was paying extra close attention to her tonight was because she was high and since I had promised Malcolm I'd look out for her. Other than that, I held no other obligation toward her and could resume my usual routine of ignoring her. If Jimmy hadn't been so stupid by giving her drugs in the first place, I could be spending my time getting bombed rather than babysitting.

Alex looked our direction with a tired smile on her face, yelling and waving her arms to tell us to join them. Matt waved back, as if to tell her to hold on a minute before she turned her attention back to dancing with Casadee, who had her arms wrapped around Alex's waist. Matt chuckled at their behavior, shaking his head a bit before killing the rest of his beer and tossing the cup aside.

"You should come out with us. Alex really is a great dancer," Matt said with a smile.

I watched him walk over to a group of people, asking one of the girls to dance before leading her back out to where Jimmy, Casadee, Johnny, Zacky, and Alex were. At the moment, Zacky was dancing with Alex while Casadee danced between Jimmy and Johnny, all of them laughing and singing along to the music. It was weird to see my friends dancing, mainly because they didn't really look like the type that danced. Matt looked way too serious to dance, Zacky looked as if he could care less and then Johnny and Jimmy were way too goofy to dance with anyone but for some reason tonight, they were all dancing and enjoying themselves. The only person that seemed left out of it all was me and that's because I wasn't on their intoxicated level.

Deciding to get another beer, I headed back into the crowded kitchen, pushing through the groups of people to get to the keg. I knew a lot of the people there, mainly since they were on the athletic teams, so I said hello to them when they acknowledged me. I had to play the game in order to keep my reputation up, which at the moment was difficult since I was more concerned about leaving Alex on her own than caring about how I looked to other people. Sometimes, I really hated playing the popularity game, since it was tiring to try and remember people's names or have to hold uninteresting conversations with them but most of the time, I loved it. I loved the attention I seemed to gain from everyone, especially girls. I knew it was a little egotistical but still, it was nice to be noticed every once in a while. At least I wasn't as bad as Madison, who did things just to get the attention from everyone else.

After I refilled my cup and ended a few conversations with some underclassmen, I wandered back out to the living room, trying to look for my friends in the sea of moving bodies. I eventually found them, noticing that Alex was looking a little tired now as she used Johnny as support to hold herself up while they danced. It was nearly 3AM and she had already reached the peak of her high hours ago so now she was starting her comedown. I could tell that she wasn't going to last much longer at this rate and decided that I should get her home before she passed out on one of the couches here.

Downing the rest of my beer in one shot, I pulled out my cell phone and stepped out into the backyard to call a cab to get to Casadee's apartment, where my truck was parked. I figured it would probably be better if I brought her home tonight rather than having her try and figure out a way to get home tomorrow without letting her place of residence slip. The people on the phone told me they would be there in ten minutes so I needed to get Alex and drag her out of the party without gaining too much attention. It seemed rather difficult to do, especially since everyone was enjoying her company so much.

I headed back into the party, deciding to join the group. I figured that if I was near Alex, I could somehow convince her to come with me without gaining attention from my wasted friends. I had managed to work my way to the center of the group, which is where they were happily dancing without a care in the world. Alex seemed to notice that I was standing nearby, smiling as she stumbled towards me a bit. She nearly tripped forward onto her face but luckily, I had steadied her a bit, earning even more giggling from her than before.

"I thought you didn't like to dance," she said to me with amusement.

"I'm not here to dance. I need to talk to you," I replied, pointing towards the front door.

"What do we need to talk about?" she asked with confusion.

"Come on, it's about Malcolm," I replied, hoping she would take the bait.

"Malcolm?! Did something happen?" she asked, seeming panicked all of a sudden.

"Come on," I repeated, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from the group.

As we walked, Matt was the only one that seemed to notice what I was doing, wearing that stupid arrogant smirk on his face like he knew something everyone else didn't. Shaking my head, I continued to drag Alex away from the crowd of people, looking around to see if people noticed. It seemed that by this time, everyone was off in their own little world of intoxication that they didn't seem to care what was going on around them. Once we reached the outskirts of the group, Alex pulled her hand out of my grasp, looking at me with curious eyes for an explanation.

"What happened with Malcolm?" she demanded.

"Nothing happened with Malcolm," I replied coolly.

"Then why did you drag me away from the party?" she asked in confusion.

"It's time for you to get home," I replied, removing my cape from my back.

"What?" she laughed. "I'm not ready to go home! I still wanna dance!"

"Well, it's too bad that you're not ready to leave yet cuz otherwise, that would make this much easier," I told her, wrapping the cape around her body.

"What the heck are you doing?" she asked, trying to push the cape off her.

Without any warning, I grabbed her knees and hoisted her up, flinging her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She let out a shriek in astonishment, trying to wriggle her way out of my hold before realizing it was useless. I looked back over towards Matt, noticing he was laughing at me and shaking his head. I gestured towards the door, silently telling him that we were leaving when he nodded, waving for us to leave. I nodded once back at him before walking out into the brisk night air with Alex's lifeless body draped over my shoulder, listening to her making comments about how my shoulder bone was hurting her stomach.

The cab arrived a few minutes later, pulling up to a free space near the curb as I walked us toward the cab. Alex continued to protest as I put her carefully into the back of the taxi but I paid no attention to her ramblings. She kept jumping from one subject to another as I gave the cab driver the address to Casadee's apartment. Leaning back against the seat and sighing deeply, I looked over at Alex, who was now wrapped up in my cape and rubbing the silky material against her face with pleasing sighs. Shaking my head at her, I wondered how my night managed to turn out like this. Why was I her babysitter?

After a ten minute cab ride, we finally got to the apartment complex where I paid the cab driver. I helped Alex out of the car and dragged her towards my truck so we could get back to the house. I realized that I was slightly buzzed from drinking all the beer, though I was aware enough to manage the quick five minute drive home. Alex was leaning against her door, her head resting against the window as she rubbed her arms against her body, smiling and laughing the whole time.

The car ride home was silent for the most part except for Alex's laughter as she played with my cape. I kept thinking about how I was going to sneak the two of us into the house without waking McKenna, Suzy, or Malcolm. Part of me was hoping that maybe Malcolm took the opportunity to spend the night at Anika's, since the two of them were supposed to have a date tonight. I knew that Suzy was planning to take McKenna to her parent's house early in the morning so all I had to worry about was making sure no one would wake up as we got into the house. The last thing I needed was to get yelled at for drinking and letting Alex take drugs.

I parked the truck a few houses away so Suzy wouldn't know that we were home, just in case she felt the urge to check in on us in the morning. I picked Alex up yet again, trying to shush her as we made our way back to the house. This time, she didn't try to wriggle out of my grasp but instead, just let herself hang loosely off my shoulder, her arms swinging from side to side and occasionally hitting my butt. She laughed when that happened, apologizing for accidentally touching my butt while I just told her to be quiet.

I managed to get us into the darkened house making little noise, which surprised me since Alex had been rather talkative and loud for the better part of the evening. With the effects of the alcohol taking effect, I found it slightly difficult to carry her up the stairs but kept my balance by holding onto the wall. I nearly tripped on McKenna's toys which at the top of the stairs but managed to stay on my feet, quietly walking down the hall towards Alex's room.

Once we were in her room, I flipped on the light and set her down gently on the bed, noticing that she was half-asleep already. She wrapped the cape around her body again, writhing around on top of the bed in order to get into a comfortable position. I couldn't help but feel a little turned on from watching her, especially since she seemed to emit small, soft moans as the silky material of the cape rubbed against the skin of her legs. Having already been tempted earlier this evening by Madison, I was finding it difficult to shift my thoughts out of the gutter, especially since Alex was unknowingly adding fuel to the fire.

"I don't wanna wear these boots anymore," she whined, trying to kick them off but with little success. "They won't come off," she pouted, lying on her back with a frustrated huff. "Will you help me take them off?" she asked sweetly, biting her lower lip.

Taking a deep breath, I took a seat beside her on the bed, pulling her legs into my lap. I pulled her boots off, causing her to moan quietly in pleasure as the boots rubbed against her sensitive skin. Once I had the boots off her, I moved her legs off my lap and back onto the bed, making her softly giggle. Looking down at her lying on the bed like that made it difficult for me to resist the urge to touch her so I pushed myself off the bed, wobbling a bit as I stood and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" she said, sitting up in the bed, with her long, black hair hanging messily around her face. She had discarded her wig on the floor and was wrapped in my cape like it was a blanket, looking at me with pleading eyes, "please stay. I don't wanna be alone tonight when I'm not feeling like myself," she said.

With a sigh, I turned around to face her properly, flipping off the light in her room. The light from the light posts outside allowed me to see her silhouette sitting up on the bed, with the rest of her room in darkness. I didn't want to be near her, since I was also slightly intoxicated and more likely to act on my hormones than restrict myself but for some reason, I just couldn't say no to her. She was vulnerable at the moment since she was jacked up on Ecstasy so I didn't want to leave her on her own as she started coming down.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep," I replied, walking toward her bed and taking a seat beside her once again.

She lay back on her bed, curling into the cape while I sat with my back to her, trying my best to distract my thoughts. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me tonight. All night, I couldn't seem to stop looking at Alex or thinking about her. I couldn't really understand why I was so concerned with her, especially when she was getting too friendly with some of the guys as she danced but I figured it was mainly just because I didn't like seeing her with my friends. Part of me felt almost as if she was slowly taking over my life, ever since the day she moved into the house with us. All I wanted was my old life where I never had to think about Alex Elliot.

Alex's fingers slipped in my hand, lacing together with my fingers as I glanced back at her dimly lit silhouette lying on the bed. Her eyes were shut but I could tell she was still slightly conscious by the way her thumb lightly stroked the side of my hand. The sensation of her thumb rubbing lightly against my skin was almost enough to drive me over the edge and give into my hormonal urges. Swallowing hard, I tried to think about other things, like the algebraic expression used to find the area of a triangle or mentally listing prime numbers just so I wouldn't think the way Alex scooted closer to my body or the way her skin felt against mine.

"Thanks for bringing me home tonight Brian," she whispered quietly, making me look down at the serene expression on her tired face. "You really are a good guy, even though you try your hardest not to be. I promise not to tell anybody though."

I didn't respond to her since I couldn't think of anything else to say. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't really a big deal and that she shouldn't read into the situation too much but even I was beginning to wonder if that was true. The more I got to know Alex, the more I was beginning to grow accustomed to her, especially since she was so innocent for a girl her age. I really liked her innocence, mainly because it was so different from what other girls at school were like most of the time. I hated to admit it but she really was starting to grow on me.

Sighing quietly to myself, I laid beside her, noticing that she was already peacefully asleep. Quietly studying the features of her face, I found myself gently brushing the bangs away with my free hand, lightly letting my finger trace down the side of face down to her lips. She moved slightly to the touch, a pleasurable sigh escaping her lips as she snuggled closer into the cape. I knew I was in a dangerous situation right now, especially with my uncontrollable hormones wanting to take over but I couldn't move away.

Instead, I found my eyelids growing heavy as complete darkness consumed me.