Clearly

The amount of people that have been forcibly pulling me every which was is starting to become completely overwhelming. I didn’t know people would be so desperate for someone to take pictures of them, someone who apparently “just hit it big.” I never thought people would consider my work to be of such a high caliber, and it’s all thanks to Pierce the Gordon family. I will honestly be forever in their debt—morally that is.

“Pierce, can we take a break?” I asked quietly, leaning up towards his ear subtly as we started walking outside. I was never one for parties, always preferring tea time as opposed to an excuse to get drunk as hell and high as a kite all in one night. I don’t even like tea all that much, it’s just more relaxing and relaxation is always preferable to me. A party with music so loud that you are completely unable to hear yourself think is simply not my scene. The party does possess rooms that don’t have strung out teenagers and loud music, but the constant transition between them is making my head swell and the “quiet” rooms are full of people that have been constantly trying to talk to me, so I have had no time to truly enjoy the quietness.

“Of course, it’s a bit loud in here anyway,” he said around a short, polite shake of his head as another young, ravishing couple headed our way with eager smiles upon their faces.

“This is too much,” I said quietly as he grabbed my shoulder firmly, leading me through the crowd to this almost secluded tent hidden behind a few trees. It was quiet and content, the stars shining above us in an almost magical manner. This is one of those moments that I would love to have my camera on me.

“This is nice,” I commented absent-mindedly as I finally entwined our fingers, knowing that someone would have to be looking for us if they really wanted to see us.

“I think Marcie put it here to sneak away if need be, but I’m claiming it as ours for the rest of the night,” he said happily, walking over to one of the benches hidden behind a set of potted plants.

“Nice, secluded, no teenagers and loud music allowed,” I mused, sitting down beside him.

“Need I remind you, you’re still a teenager,” Pierce murmured softly. “Nineteen years old.”

I turned my head towards him, puckering my lips angrily as I turned away, a blanket of redness enveloping my cheeks. I don’t know if it was out of embarrassment for my age or anger due to the fact that he was so sure of his statement. Because it is true.

“You’re an ass,” I muttered quietly, looking up at the stars.

“Now, now,” Pierce murmured quietly, tilting my head towards him with the simple action of slipping his pointer finger beneath my chin. “You know I was just kidding,” he soothed, pecking my forehead gently.

I shook my head gently, staring into his eyes, but now allowing him to get any closer.

“I understand,” he finally consented. “Age is a sore subject for you.”

I nodded my head gently, sighing as I finally cuddled my head into the crook of his neck.

“We’re not even that far apart, Dalton. Simply a year,” he continued on, nuzzling his head from the top of my temple to the bottom of my chin.

“Age has always bothered me. It’s a confining number. People automatically think lesser of me because I haven’t hit twenty yet. It’s hard to have people take you seriously,” I elaborated to him, lifting my head up as he pressed his nose against mine.

“That’s completely understandable, but look at it this way, babe,” he murmured, “it’s not constricting you anymore.”

I sighed before nodding my head, knowing that he was speaking nothing but the truth.

“Thank you,” I murmured for what seemed like the millionth time tonight. “You’ll never realize how thankful I am for this,” I finished.

“Don’t ever feel obligated to thank me for anything, Dalton,” Pierce argued gently, leaning down to connect our lips softly.

“I’ve been waiting for that all night,” I admitted quietly.

“Oh, God!” Pierce practically screamed, leaning back as he threw his hands in the air. “It’s been so hard to not even be able to sling my arm over your shoulder! I hate this damn party!”

“No worries!” I said around a laugh, “we have the rest of the night to ourselves.”

“Unfortunately we still have one more thing on the agenda,” Pierce grunted, throwing his body onto mine almost exasperatedly.

“But this night is already long enough!” I said, throwing my head back as his head rested comfortable in my back.

“We’ll just sit here. I’m not ready to get up yet,” he said lazily into my thigh, he was almost impossible to understand.

“Me either,” I admitted.

“For now!” He sang, raising his hand above his head, “we wait!”

I threw my head back laughing, loving how he’s being so calm and carefree tonight instead of his normally poised and carefully crafted seriousness. I like this new attitude; he needs to show it more often.

*

I remained in my seat, watching the new boy and Pierce interact, jealousy spilling out of my every pore. They were hitting it off perfectly, almost as if they were meant to be friends, but that wasn’t the vibe that this new boy was giving off. Everything was going so well earlier. Why do all good things have to come to an end?

Hunter, that’s his name. I’m having trouble recalling his last name, to be completely honest. It’s of no importance to me, especially since the first thing I noticed him doing was eyeing Pierce up as if he were a piece of meat and he himself was a lion preparing to pounce.

Of course Pierce wouldn’t notice anything though. He’s always oblivious to the tiniest of details and he’s much too happy to have a friend he can “relate to.” This friend obviously wants more than to “relate to him.” He excluded me from the conversation as quickly as he could, and I’ve been stuck moping in the corner since. This simply isn’t right.

I stood up as I released a deep sigh, making my way over to the chatterboxes.

“Hey, Pierce,” I greeted quietly, wrapping my arm around his as I rested my forehead against it. “Hunter,” I said as kindly as I could, acknowledging his presence politely while doing my best not to allow any venom to seep into my tone. “Do you mind if I talk to Pierce alone for a few minutes? I think I may have to leave soon.”

He looked me up and down, an almost satisfied glint in his eye as he kindly said, “Of course, no problem. I’ll be right over here.” It’s not as if he possessed the right to grant me permission to see my boyfriend, especially since he was one of the few party guests who even knew of us due to John’s need to have him and Pierce get to know each other.

Pierce followed me out of the gazebo obediently, talking a tiny walk with his hand wrapped in my own. “You okay?” He finally questioned me.

“Not really,” I admitted. “I don’t really like this guy, at all. He seems sneaky.”

I looked over Pierce’s shoulder, noticing Hunter and his light brown hair, his dark eyes and tan skin, hidden beneath a suit almost identical to the one adorning Pierce’s muscular body. They were both truly gorgeous. I looked at my own, shabby and slightly faded—nothing compared to the two of them.

“He seems nice though,” Pierce responded uncertainly.

“Possibly because you weren’t kicked out of the conversation before it even started,” I stated bitterly.

“I don’t understand why you don’t like him,” Pierce mused quietly, looking down at me questioningly.

“This doesn’t seem fucked up at all to you?” I finally asked, noticing how he stepped back a bit at my choice of words. Neither of us normally used such vulgar terminology. “Your Dad still hates my guts but welcomes this openly gay guy who you have never met before into your life with open arms. And he happens to be filthy rich?” I ranted off, ticking everything off on my fingers to stress my point. “Oh, and his father works with your father, so it’s not like he’s oblivious to my existence and what I mean to you.”

“You can’t look at everything so negatively,” Pierce soothed, trying to tug my body into his in a warm embrace.

I resisted though, tugging my hand out of his grasp as I took a step back. “I’m not taking this so negatively, Pierce. It’s like you’re oblivious to everything! Hunter isn’t a good guy. He doesn’t care about me, not at all.”

“He’s just a friend, Dalton, that’s all. I barely know him,” Pierce argued, shaking his head back and forth as he brought his hand up to rub his forehead.

“But that’s not what he wants! Step back and look at how he acts around you! I haven’t even known the guy for two hours and I already know what he wants!” I almost screamed exasperatedly.

“But I don’t want that from him, you know that,” Pierce assured me.

“I know, but I don’t trust him,” I explained.

“You don’t have to trust him, you just have to trust me.”

“No, Pierce, I do trust you, but I can’t trust him around you and I just… don’t trust anything that involves your Dad’s filthy hands anymore. Are you forgetting that this guy made you cry a week ago and now he’s suddenly trying to help you make new friends that are just like me, yet he still hates me?”

“He could have turned over a new leaf,” he argued.

“If he turned over a new leaf he would have accepted me!” I argued, throwing my hands in the air, “but he still hasn’t accepted me!”

“It’s not all about you, Dalton! You should actually be happy that I don’t have to deal with him constantly breathing down my neck!”

“But I’m not because he still is! You’re like a puppet! He’s pulling you every way he wants to pull you and you go right along with it without even realizing it because he’s your Daddy and you still want to make your Daddy proud, even if people are pointing out the obvious to you!”

“I cannot believe you’re seriously standing here talking to me like this,” Pierce said in shock, backing away from me a bit.

“You know what?” I finally consented. “Just don’t talk to me right now. I can’t believe you’re so stupid, Pierce. So, so stupid.”

And with that, I turned on my heel, quickly walking deeper into the unwanted party territory, intent on finding a hidden exit somehow. I have my own car, I could get out of here myself. I don’t need to rely on Pierce for everything.

I peeked over my shoulder as I turned the corner, noticing Pierce standing there, shock written all over his face. I can’t believe that just happened, I didn’t intend for it to happen, but I finally cracked, I suppose. I can’t be in a relationship when there’s so many people working to ruin us, just because of who I am and where I come from.

I should have never broken my rule. It’s never worth it in the end. The people in the upper class simply can’t fraternize with those that they believe to be under them. And that’s what I am, an ant compared to Pierce’s hulking giant. That’s all I’ll ever be.