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Bill, looking very intimidating, stood his ground. His eyebrow ring caught my attention as it moved during the moments of silence that had fallen between him and Joey. I struggled to break free, hoping that the moment of distraction on Joey's part would be enough for me. He held onto my waist with bruising hands, refusing to let me go, no matter how much I whined.

"Sie gehen lassen."

The unfamiliar words left Bill's mouth in a threatening tone. I couldn't help but be frightened myself. I stopped all movement and just let myself be gripped so tightly. I didn't understand what he had said, neither did Joey by the confused scoff he made, but I knew that language. It was familiar, just like Tom's face had been. I looked to Matt, seeing him talking off to the side with an unfamiliar face. Both looked serious, all the laugher from the previous moments gone with the alcohol drank.

"What'd you say?"

I could hear the anger pumping through his veins at the unfamiliar tongue. I wondered if Bill said something that would cause Joey to throw a punch if he said it in English. Probably so, otherwise he would have said it so Joey, and I, could understand.

Bill seemed confused at Joey's lack of understatement, His face contorted in a smile as he realized his advantage. It seemed as if Bill didn't even know he spoke some foreign tongue just now. Like it was just something he did subconsciously, like breathing.

The only issue with this thought: Bill didn't have a noticeable accent. He sounded any bit American as I did. But maybe that was it. Bill was American, not foreign. He just knew some language and could easily transition whenever he felt like it.

"Nothing," Bill said, his voice light and high, like he knew a secret. "Sie anders gehen lassen ich sicherstellt, dass du ein anderes Mädchen nie wieder berühren kannst."

It was if Bill had said open sesame. Joey's arms let go of me and he pushed me to the side. I stumbled slightly, spilling the remainder of my beer down my front. The cold liquid easily soaked through the dark fabric and hit my skin. I gasped at the shock of it and tried to brush myself off, as if I could brush the damp clothing back to dry.

My hips ached dully from his grip and I was sure they were going to be bruised by Tuesday. I sighed, thinking about telling that story to Laci in the morning. That'd be a grand ol' time trying to explain that without her making sexual comments, which were bound to happen. Yeah, not the sarcasm.

I looked back to see Joey and Bill trying to get at each other, but both being held back by on lookers. Surprisingly, Matt was helping the guy he was talking to seconds ago restrain Bill. I thought for sure Matt would be the one to egg Bill on. Gee, I would if I wasn't in the middle of this.

"Let me go! Let me give that Fag what he deserves!" Joey cried out as he struggled against his restrainers.

Bill wasn't struggling as much as Joey, but he was talking rapidly in that language, glaring toward Joey. I didn't know what to do. My dress stuck to my stomach with an odd dampness and I tried to suck in to escape the damp fabric.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Matt let go of Bill's right arm. He lunged at Joey, his left arm pulling back as his hand curled into a fist. The calm friend I'd known for my life rapidly changed into a offended gay. Matt swung, striking Joey hard. Joey's head fell back and he was instantly released. He stumbled backwards a step, but soon regained his stance. Bill was by Matt's side in the next instant and the two of them looked on as Joey lifted his hand to feel the damage.

I couldn't tell the extent of the strike, but knowing a drunk Joey, he was not happy. He shot a death glare toward the two, his fists clenched and he took an intimidating step foreword. I don't know what happened next, but Joey was on the ground with Matt on top of him. Bill was standing with a shocked expression, his hand raised as if he just slapped someone.

And he did. Joey's left cheek was turning a light shade of red in the shape of Bill's slender fingers. My jaw dropped. So he did have it in him! I couldn't help but smile at Bill. All my past thoughts about him disappeared for the moment and I was thankful that he actually did something to stand up for me.

Bill looked to me and his eyes widened. I was puzzled until Bill quickly moved to me and started apologizing over and over. I was too disoriented from the events that took place, all over me, to really respond. Bill had taken my hand, pulling me away from Matt and Joey, who were both still wrestling on the grass as on lookers surrounded them.

"I'm so sorry," Bill repeated. "I didn't mean for your dress to get ruined."

"Bill," I slurred, the effects of all the alcohol I'd drank taking a toll on me so suddenly. "I'm f-fine!" I stumbled over my words and feet as Bill took me back inside the house and led me out of the kitchen. I giggled at my poor attempt to walk in stride with Bill as we weaved through people. The music was loud, blaring from the living room. Bill pulled me down a small hall and quickly into a white door. Blinking quickly from the sudden light difference, I frowned. What were we doing in the bathroom?

"What-" I started but Bill cut me off with, "We're getting you cleaned."

My eye brows burrowed slightly as I tried to comprehend what he meant. I really couldn't grasp it when he pushed me against the sink and reached for the towel's on the rock. He handed me the dark softness and I looked at it blankly.

"You can try to dry your dress," he said, as if I should know what to do so he wouldn't have to go through the awkwardness of doing it for my inebriated self. His voice was kind, though. Not hard like it'd be thought of with a line like that.

"Yeah," I nodded, feeling very awkward standing in the small bathroom with Bill, a towel n hand trying to dry my beer soaked dress. I frowned as it didn't seem to be working quite like Bill had thought and gave up. "Eh, it's no big deal."

"You're just going to dance with this huge dark spot on your dress in a place that others would assume something went down?" he questioned, his eyebrow raising in the process.

"No," I shook my head in response. "I'll just go home." I shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. But it was. I wanted to at least get Tom's number before the night was over.

Bill frowned, as if he didn't want me to leave, but thought better of it and nodded, a smile replacing the turned down corners of his mouth milliseconds later. I smiled back, not really sure what do to.

Thinking of Tom made me smile more. I wondered where he was and if he was dancing with another girl. I wondered if he tried to find me after Matt pulled me away from him.

Bill broke my train of thought when he greeted someone on his cell phone. I tried to recall when he pulled it out, or if it rang, but my head started to hurt and I blinked hard, trying to make the upcoming headache disappear. Bill was talking rapidly. I couldn't understand what he was saying, so I assumed that he was speaking that tha language again.

"Who-" I began but was interrupted when Bill began again. He was looking down at the tiling of the bathroom, speaking so fast that even if he was talking in English, I wouldn't be able to understand him anyway.

"Matt kämpfte ihn, Tom!" Bill exclaimed.

I looked at him oddly. What was he talking about? And to who? I defiantly heard Matt and Tom in that. Did Bill know Tom? The Tom I danced with earlier? No, it was probably a different person. There were other people with that name, right? Yeah.

"Im Badezimmer mit-" Bill began but was cut off by whoever was on the phone. "Nein, sie verschüttete Bier auf ihrem Kleid! Du perv!"

Laughing to myself at the look that suddenly came over Bill's face, I dropped the towel. Bill looked up at me and smiled. He closed the call soon after and apologized.

"My brother. He wanted to know what was going on..."

What was up with this excuse tonight? I'd been hearing all about everyone's brothers, it seemed. Was that some excuse, now? To pick up girls at parties while guy's girlfriends were at home wondering where they were because their child missed them?

I laughed at my thoughts. Maybe I shouldn't have drank so much, then I wouldn't be having these crazy thoughts. It was contagious, like some flu bug traveling through a school. That thought made me stop my laughter and bring my hand to my mouth. The saliva seemed to build quickly in my mouth, so much it felt sickening. My throat tightened and I tried to swallow the feeling away.

Bill's laughter died away and silence, not including the annoying thumping from the bass. I swallowed hard, letting my hand drop from my mouth, hopping the feeling passed with the moment. Luckily, I could handle my alcohol, so I felt normal within the next two seconds and smiled at Bill's concerned face.

An unfamiliar ring tone echoed throughout the bathroom. Startled, I looked to the phone in Bill's hand, trying to recognize the song. Bill cut it short, though, before any lyrics could be supplied and pressed the phone to his ear. "Was?"

He paused, listening to the person on the other end, his head bowing to hear better. I stopped to pick up the beer dampened towel and find a place to put it besides the floor. Taking a look around, I noticed a hamper behind Bill. I wanted to ask him to move but he was mid-sentence in that language I couldn't figure out.

His voice seemed deeper when he spoke in this language than when he spoke in English. Maybe it was something with how words were formed in the throat that made the octave lower. I mentally shrugged it off and stood in front of the sink, towel in hand, waiting for Bill to finish the call.

Though it seemed like time was slow for me, time must have been going quicker than intended because Bill was off the phone and taking the towel from my hands. He towered over me as he did so, only to quickly retract and lift the lid to the hamper to toss the towel in. After doing so, he smiled and took my hand again, pulling me from the bathroom and back into the hall. The head throbbing music was louder here and I almost wished I could escape back into the bathroom with Bill. Almost.

I didn't know where Bill planned on taking us, but I knew that if I kept feeling like this, I'd want to be taken home soon.

"How are you getting home?" Bill asked, walking by my side as we headed down the empty hall to the front door. He glanced at me in wonder.

That's when it hit me. How the fuck was I getting home? I sure as hell wasn't crashing at Joey's and Mason and Laci were both too drunk, knowing them, to be able to drive home.

"I was supposed to go to Joey's to crash there..." I trailed off, hopping he got the point. "I don't think that's an option now. But I have no way back, because Mason and Laci are both drunk, knowing them. And I live on the other side of Chicago, so I have no where to crash, unless I risk being raped." I rambled.

"Joey's that guy, right?" he asked, his voice raising in question.

"Yup," I nodded. "I don't like him."

"Oh," Bill said, looking down as we stopped by the door, not really knowing what to do next. "I thought you two were dating." He was being honest, I could hear it in his voice and how he wouldn't look at me as if he was embarrassed at such a thought.

"No!" I exclaimed, reassuring Bill. "I would never even think of it!" Bill looked at me incredulously. "He's been trying to get into my pants since the day we met."

Bill laughed, his right hand coming up to caress the back of his neck underneath his hair. His hand dropped a second later to the doorknob. He gently pulled me out into the cool air of the early morning hours. It made my skin erupt with goose bumps.

The damp part of my dress seemed to freeze my skin and I shivered subconsciously. Bill felt that and smiled sympathetically, as if he felt bad that I was cold. I smiled back, hoping to reassure him that I was fine.

Bill and I walked aimlessly around the front yard, our hands almost touching as we laughed to ourselves while making snide comments about the things we saw. There was this couple, both of them trying to hold their own drinks as they kissed and pulled each other closer to their bodies. The guy's free hand was occupied with griping the girls ass as they kissed deeply.

I laughed, thinking about a witty comment. "Gee," I began, laughing more at my own thoughts before sharing them with Bill. "Just fucking have crazy hot sex already!"

"Oh mein Gott!" Bill exclaimed, trying to keep his laughter to himself. I smiled, laughing more at his poor attempts that at the remark.

I gasped, seeing a familiar face out of all the people in the front yard partying. He was sitting on a swing, lazily moving back and forth as he looked down at the ground below him. I had to look up slightly to see if it was actually him because the swings were up on a slight hill under a white gazebo. I pulled Bill's hand, signaling that I wanted to go up there. He smiled, looking up at the gazebo, too.

Climbing the hill was harder in Espadrilles that I thought it would be, not to mention I was just slightly drunk. For Bill, the hill seemed like nothing, probably from his long legs. Luckily, the hill was short, and I was standing at the top with Bill in no time.

"Tom?" I questioned, concerned as to why he was looking depressed with his head down on a swing so far away from the party.

His hat clad head raised at the sound of his name and his face broke into a smile as he seen me. I walked to him, bending slightly to kiss his lips lightly, smiling as I pulled away. I straightened, looking at Bill with a smile, about to introduce them. Bill's face was shocked, though he tried to hide it. He didn't do such a good job at it, though, and I looked at him questioningly.

"Are you okay, Bill?" I asked, feeling slightly awkward as Bill glared at Tom. Did they know each other and not get along? Oh God! What if they'd fight?

"Yeah, yeah," he smiled an obvious fake smile and I just couldn't figure it out. "Warum tat das Bumsen von Ihnen das?" It was that language the two of them were talking in. "Sie wussten, dass ich sie mochte." His voice was low and... sad sounding. It wasn't angry or anything like it started out as.

"Wenn gerade, Bill geschah. Ich schwöre dem Gott das-" Tom paused in his desperate response. "Wenn gerande geschah."

Bill and Tom examined each other. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I knew that it was something important. I stood watching awkwardly.

"Es tut mir leid, dass," Bill and Tom said together, laughing slightly at the timing.

"What's up?" I asked. "You know each other?"

Bill and Tom looked at me as if I should have known this all along. I looked from on face to another and something clicked in my head...

"We're brothers," Bill explained, looking at Tom.

"Twins," Tom added.

"Whoa..."