Chapter 1

I examined myself in the mirror, studying the mini dress that hugged my every curve. I was so used to seeing myself like this, every part of my body accentuated, leaving nothing to the imagination. I disgusted myself, but it was the only person I knew who to be. Besides, it's college right? I dabbed at my lipstick one last time, grabbing my buzzing phone. Eight missed calls, seven texts, all from Chloe.

Riff-off at 10!

Get ready Metzo!

Bitch you better not miss this.

OMG I'm so nervous!

Why won't you text me back?

You better be late from warming up.

Where the fuck are you?

I typed back quickly, before grabbing my jacket and disappearing out the door.

Patience is a virtue.

"Like the one in me. That's okay we'll see how you do it, put up your dukes, let's get down to it!"

I let my voice fade into the background, knowing it didn't really matter. I was a metzo for christ's sake. A fucking metzo? If I knew one thing, it's that I'm a star, a diva. And being a metzo wouldn't cut it. So why did it matter whether I sung or not?

That's when I saw him.

Standing there, dark arms crossed, cheeks sucked in, eyes narrowed. My voice faltered and I stopped dancing for a moment. Almost immediately, I started up again vigorously, my voice stronger than before, head held higher. I caught his eye for a moment and saw his body go slack, and I could feel his dark eyes searching mine. Game on.

The High Note walked up, making a fool of herself, and my moment was over. Ha, what an idiot, who would be so stupid to put herself out there like... oh. Pun not intended.

The main guy, whatshisface, put his little light trivia thingy on the wall. As soon as I saw what it landed on I grinned. Perfect. Cynthia Rose ran forward, busting out S&M.

And then my guy was right there. I sashayed forward, and began to grind against Cynthia, biting my lip as I looked straight at him from underneath my lashes. He was tall, which was good. I love heels, and always look for compatibility in height within a mate. Suddenly Cynthia Rose fell behind me, and it was just him standing there, and me, challenging him through a serenade. "I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it."

He rose to the occasion, stepping forward until he almost touched me.. "Sex, baby. Let's talk about you and me."

Immediately I felt color rise to my face, but there was no way in hell I was about to back down. "Oh really?"

"Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be." He smirked, noticing my blush, and came a little closer, tugging on his jacket. "Let's talk about sex."

I felt a hand on my arm, and I was being pulled away from him. Well that wasn't gonna work. Tugging my arm free, I rushed right back up to him. "Baby all through the night I'll make love to you." I gave him a tiny smile, and saw his eyes widen. We were standing so close, I could practically feel the heat coming off of his body in waves. "Like you want me to." I looked him straight in the eye, trying my best to let him know I was singing to him, and only him.

And then he was gone, pushed aside by some short asshole. Yeah, go ahead and fucking ruin my moment. I was on a roll.

Somewhat put off, I retreated to the back of my group, ready to lend my voice to the harmonies once again. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the dark-haired boy's face turned toward me, and when I risked a glance, his gaze was confirmed. And then Beca ran forward, rapping, and my attention was consumed by the a capella group once more. I felt a grin split my face in half and tried my best not to laugh. Aubrey must be loving this.

It took me a few moments to recognize the song, but as soon as I did I joined in. I kept trying to creep closer to the hottie, but always ended up farther away. And then we were done, cut off, and it was over.

The other Bellas left, but I stuck around for a bit, trying to find him in the crowd.

I spotted him at the edge of the mass of singers, talking to a cute, spunky looking little girl. Unbidden, jealousy flared within me. There were probably a few better ways to handle the situation, but I'm not exactly a suave woman.

He saw me coming, and I saw him excuse himself from the other girl, a cocky half-smile twisting the corner of his lips. And, dear lady lord, his cheekbones. But as the un-suave woman I am, I decided to play it hard to get. As I neared him, I veered off from my route and toward a small group of guys separated from the main crowd. They stood partway in the shadows, and upon seeing a golden-haired jock at their outermost edge, I approached him. Sports guys are really, especially not my type, but I figured a little flirting couldn't hurt, it's just for show right?

"Hi there." I placed a hand along Golden Boy's upper arm, and was slightly surprised by the absurdity of the bulge of muscle beneath his polo. I backed away a bit, attempting to draw him away from his friends so if the actually cute guy came looking, he'd see me talking to him. Ha ha.

A slow wolfish grin spread across his features and he took my bait, following me away. His unfocused eyes spent an unnecessary amount of time lingering on my body appreciatively. "Damn girl."

"I swear I know you from somewhere," I said with a short laugh, plucking his red solo cup from his palm and taking a large drink. It tasted like it could be whiskey mixed with something else, but the flavor was a little off and I couldn't quite discern what it was.

"You're too hot for me not to remember you, baby." He stepped a little too close for comfort. "But I wouldn't mind getting to know you." He reached out a hand to brush some hair away from my collarbone, "accidentally" grazing my breast.

Whoa. Not okay.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, pressing myself flush against the wall at my back. I would've slunk off to the side, but he was so near, any escape would've required shoving him. Well, that wasn't totally out of the question. "I must have been mistaken. Have a nice night," I said rather icily, ducking under the arm he had propped against the wall.

"Not so fast, baby."

I felt his hand wrap around my forearm, tight, and he dragged my resistant body back to him. His grip was one of iron, and though I strained against him, my movements felt sluggish and wrong, as if my consciousness was leaking from my body. The forms of his friends still talking wavered before me, and I realized that the view of the rest of the place was cut off by them. Then he jerked me tight against him, by back pressed against the heat of his rock-hard and terrifying body. Before I could shout for the attention of his friends (if they would even care,) he pulled us both into a shadowed crevice. Even though my sight became trippier by the moment, I registered with terror that we were completely out of sight from anyone. Before I could shout, he grabbed my face and squeezed the joints of my jaw, forcing my mouth to grant his chapped lips and exploring tongue access. I struggled weakly against him, odd blotches of darkness pooling across my sight. He pulled away, shoving his fingers into my mouth so they curled down the back of my tongue and caused any potential screams to be choked upon.

"I meant what I said. Let's get to know each other, shall we baby?" One of his hands wandered low, yanking my dress up, and I felt his calloused fingertips grab at my butt aggressively. With his other hand he began to slowly unzip his pants, a darkness the like of which I had never seen before apparent in his gaze. I began to buck at him with all of my strength, but the movements didn't translate and I ended up flopping weakly.

Suddenly, he was there. My guy. The jock didn't know what hit him. Or for better words, decked him.

With my assaulter laid out on the ground, I no longer had the support to stand. Perhaps it was the fear, or whatever the fuck the guy had been casually drinking that had impaired my senses, but I began to slide to the ground, attempting to hold my weight up with the wall.

I hadn't even noticed that my dark-haired rescuer had been sending a flurry of sharp kicks into the jock's stomach and groin before he noticed me and rushed to my aid. He gently caught my waist before i had completely sat, raising me back to standing height. I couldn't compute the sudden change in balance, and I lent all my weight to him, one of my arms around his shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. That asshole won't touch you again. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He lifted my chin gently and searched my eyes.

"His drink... Something..." I couldn't manage much, but the clumsiness of my words must have told him all he needed to know.

I finally passed out just as he scooped me into his arms, my head rolling against the crook of his neck.