Price Check On Monogamy

"C'mon, Tiger, he's here!"

I sighed and shoved my hands in my pockets, walking outside without even looking at Caleb. He was anxious to get going; he was saying that it was because he was sick of always being late, meaning that it was because he wanted to get there early to make sure that Heather didn't show up with another guy.

That was one problem I was not going to get involved in.

I jumped over the door and settled into the front seat of Tandem's car without even looking at Tandem; sadly, I couldn't block his voice out.

"Glad to see you're getting the hang of it, babe." The smirk in his voice was evident-- but he wasn't going to get the best of me. Today had already been shitty enough; I wasn't going to push it any further. "And you're looking good, too."

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, yanking my leg away from his hand. That was just going too far. Tandem just laughed and started the car, the rev of the engine finally cutting off Caleb's complaints to get going.

"Hey, I said you looked good, what more do you want from me?"

I turned to glower at him, but he was already speeding down the street. I didn't even know whose house we were going to, but I was already starting to feel uncomfortable. The total numbness I'd felt for most of the day was starting to wear off; by the time we reached the house, which was already crowded with people filing in, I was nervously chewing on my bottom lip.

"Hurry up and get out of the car, Tiger, apparently we're late," Caleb snapped, vaulting over the door and stalking up to the house. He nodded to the guy who was apparently hosting the party and slipped inside.

"Hey, come on, are you nervous?" I turned to scowl at Tandem, who had already gotten out of the car and was leaning over the car door to smirk at me. "The great cat, nervous? At a stupid jock party? You're losing your edge, Tiger."

"Shut the fuck up," I snapped, getting out of the car and walking up to the doors of the party. The weight of people looking at me, whether real or not, added to my self-consciousness, and making me regret the sudden change of dress. On a whim, I'd decided to wear a jeans mini skirt and white tank top; even though it had made sense at the time to not wear a jacket to what was, undoubtably, going to be a crowded party, it still left me feeling... naked, almost.

"Tiger?" I turned around fast to look up, completely unprepared, at Tyler. He looked just as caught off guard as I felt. "Umm, hey. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

I smiled a little nervously and nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't have expected to see you here, either. Your cousin?"

"Yeah; he still doesn't want to go to these parties alone," Tyler's smile warmed considerably; now that he was back on his game, he seemed a little happier to have caught me at the party. "So, here as your brother's friend's date again?"

"Unfourtunately," I sighed. We wandered a little further into the house and stopped to lean against an open space of wall. Things were settling back down into deja vu way too quickly; before I got too comfortable around him, I just had to get the question out. "Why haven't I heard from you since--"

"I'm sorry," Tyler cut me off hastily. "I've been meaning to call you, honestly, I have. It's just... I don't know, things have been a little hectic, you know?"

I nodded slowly. It was a legitimate answer, but it probably wasn't the whole truth-- the way he'd cut me off before I could recall the event itself...

"Okay," I said, smiling up at him. His nervous smile turned to one of relief. There wasn't any point in trying to figure out what he was really thinking for the past few days; it was just an embarrassing event, and it's not like I would want to relive it, either. "So how have things been?"

Tyler laughed. "Hectic as ever. Suddenly, all the paperwork of moving here has actually started to weigh down on me. I guess things just aren't as laid back as Louisiana, huh?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Nope, not by a long shot, buddy."

Tyler opened his mouth to say something again before closing it and biting his bottom lip nervously. When he opened his mouth again, he rushed out, "So, would you want to--"

"Hey, babe," I turned irritatedly around to see two guys I'd never met or seen around school; they looked a bit older, like... college students. Very drunk college students holding bottles of beer.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," I mumbled coldly. A part of me felt a bit guilty; I was honestly glad that Tyler hadn't gotten a chance to finish that sentence. I just... I don't know, I just wasn't ready to go on anymore 'dates' with him.

"You're a hot little girl," one of the two slurred. He grinned disgustingly-- and reeked of beer. "How'd you like to see how college boys party?"

"Leave her alone," Tyler said stiffly, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me away from the college students. "What the hell's your damage?"

One of the two leered at him, and for the first time I realized just how much this could escalate to. "You best back off, kid. You don't know how we play."

Tyler's hand tightened compulsively on my shoulder, and I could tell that it was more out of fear than possessiveness. I closed my eyes and bit my lip; there was no way that this could end well. I never should have answered them the first time they talked to me.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"She's not going anywhere with you," Tyler snapped. It was bold, if not a good idea-- especially with the twitch in his voice.

One of the guys, it seemed, had caught on to it, too. "Hey, Paul, it looks like we scared the kid. Kid, do you know how we treat little boys who get in our way?"

"Back the fuck up!" I snapped, pushing Tyler back and staring up at the guy in front of me. "This is how you get off, picking on high school students? You two are fucking pathetic."

One of the guys grinned sloppily at me. "You won't be saying that soon, babe." He stepped closer to me, near enough to just stare down at me and remind me just how small I actually was. Except he wasn't staring down at me-- he was staring down at my shirt. Without saying anything more, he dumped the beer on my head, soaking my face and shirt.

"What the FUCK is your PROBLEM?" I shouted, shoving him back. "Don't you have anywhere ELSE to creep?"

The two guys just laughed. "You've got spunk, girl. I like that. When I get you back to my dorm, you're gonna have a lot more of it all over your--"

The guy was cut off roughly as an arm snaked around his neck and jerked him back. I gaped up at my savior-- Tandem.

"Finish that sentence, you fucking punk," Tandem hissed into the guy's ear. "Fucking. Finish. It."

The guy kept choking, clawing in vain at Tandem's arm around his neck. His friend stood back and stared at him in horror.

"You're gonna kill him, you crazy bastard!"

Tandem shoved him away into the wall, where he collapsed, coughing and staring up at him in horror. Apparently, fear can sober someone up real fast. "Get the fuck out of this house. I never want to fucking see either of your faces again. Got that?"

Neither of the college guys wasted time talking; both ran out of the house as fast as possible, shouting at people to get out of the way.

Tandem glared at the people around who were staring at him. "What?" He snapped.

Almost instantly, everyone's head turned to look anywhere but at him. Except for me-- I realized that no one actually needed to look away, because he was staring straight back at me. He grabbed my arm and I winced as an impulse; not that I needed to. He was barely touching me. I looked from his hand to his face and felt my face flush. There was so much caring intensity in his gaze that I couldn't help but feel... safe.

His grip tightened for a second as he lead me out of the room and out of the house. People parted around him like he was Moses in the Red Sea. The whole time, I looked back once--

and Tyler was gone.

Somehow, we were suddenly outside. Tandem was leading me away from the house, back to the car. He was opening the door for me and helping me sit down. He was getting into the car and raising the roof of the convertible. He was grabbing my arm again and pulling me forward.

It took me a second to realize that he wasn't kissing me, or trying to. He was holding me tight.

"Tiger," he whispered into my hair, "Are you alright?"