Chapter One:

Like the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with will be at this thing.
Charlie thought to herself as she slipped into the white top and black skin tight jeans she had pulled out of her wardrobe. Despite the fact that who two best friends Leah and Bianca would be there with her, she wasn't really looking forward to attending this singles night. The only reason she was going was because Angelo meant a lot to her and she knew how much this night meant to him and his business.

"Charlie, Bianca's here, you ready?" Leah called from the lounge room. Before leaving her room Charlie took one last look in the mirror and pulled her long brown hair over her right shoulder.
"Let's get this over with" Charlie sighed with a weak smile. "I've got the early shift tomorrow"
Leah nodded, "Yeah me too, but hey who knows, we could actually have a good time"
Charlie raised her eyebrow at the comment, does Leah really mean that or does she just using this as an out to lead her thoughts away from her relationship problems, or lack of.

The trio pulled up out the front of the Summer Bay surf club and the number of people was minimal. Maybe tonight wont be as bad as Charlie thought, probably just more boring. As they walked up stairs to Angelo's they were approached by the owner and friend.
"Thank you so much for this, I'm really scraping through by the skin of my teeth here"

Angelo looked stressed, and it could be assumed by the number in attendance.
"It's our pleasure Angelo" Leah offered with a slightly weak smile. It was obvious that the three girls were bored. With that Angelo turned to keep roaming the restaurant making small talk with the customers.

"You would think there would be more people here" Bianca sighed "Or at least more single good-looking men"
"Why do you need single good looking men, when your hot rockstar boyfriend is standing right over there" Charlie questioned. Liam was standing by the stage talking to a young girl. The sight wasn't to the likes of Bianca obviously, as she stood up and went to talk tot he group of young men over by the bar.
"Trouble in paradise it seems" Leah spoke.
"Looks like it" laughed Charlie lightly.

Twenty minutes and 2 more glasses of wine later, Bianca returned. "This isn't gonna get any better. We came, and showed our support, now i think it's time to go"

Almost on cue Angelo walked over to the girls. "Hows it all going? Can i get you ladies another drink?" Charlie could see Angelo was desperate and it made her feel terrible.

"Ah no thanks Angelo, we were just about to head off. I've got work in the morning" Leah said.

"And I've got the morning shift" Added Charlie. "We had a good time though, thanks"
As the girls picked up their hand bags Angelo interjected "Please, just half an hour more" His eyes pleading into Charlie's. "It might sound bad but i need you girls to stay to attractive more of the guys"

"You're right, that does sound bad" Charlie retorted.
"Please I'm begging you. One more glass"
The three girls looked at each other. "Fine! But only one more"
Angelo's smile returned to his face. "Thankyou!" As he went to turn, a large group of men walked in. "Oh perfect, just what i don't need"
Bianca looked intrigued "Who are they?"
Charlie knew instantly who they were, she'd had to deal with them before due to their constant run in with the law. "The Riverboys, a surfy gang from Mangrove River."
"Yeah and they don't usually hang out in the bay" Angelo started to look agitated.
"Which means they are probably here to cause trouble" Charlie added. She knew what these boys were about, which lead her to believe that tonight could get just that little bit more interesting. Angelo sighed, knowing he had to go serve he boys. "Excuse me." and with that he left.

From the table Charlie could see Angelo talking to the two Riverboys who she had dealt with frequently, well at least the younger of the pair. The older brother just bails him out all the time, being the leader of the gang, Charlie assumed he was just smarted about how he did his business. The tall man was dressed in loose khaki cargo shorts and a paid button up shirt with a hood. His physic was strong and muscular and it attracted the eyes of the small amount of girls throughout the bar. Obviously finished ordering his drink he turned to face the restaurant, almost catching charlie looking at him. She quickly everted her eyes in another direction and started to walk to the restroom. The man watched her the whole way, her beauty making it hard for him to look away. He knew who she was too, and something about her made his stomach flip as he saw her walk towards the door. But she wasn't leaving just yet.

The boys resided in a large booth close to the bar, not taking much notice of the people around them. Causing a ruckus, the jeered and mucked around. Charlie was seated with her friends again and it was not subtle where their attention was devoted to. Not that they were the only ones in the place that had all eyes on the Riverboys. Leah and Bianca were asking Charlie all about the boys, what she knew about them, who they were, what they had done. Being senior sergeant of the town Charlie knew all about the gang. A small gap opened up and gave the girls a straight line of sight to the leader. He was chatting with on the the boys and it was obvious that he was a little different to the rest of them, more calm. Despite that Charlie had her own impression of him and shared it with her friends. "See him.." she began. It was like he heard her speak, which was impossible because of the noise in the room and them being in opposite sides of the restaurant, but he looked straight at her. Their eyes locked on each other and Charlie felt her knees weaken but she continued. "… Darryl Braxton. He's serious trouble, and his friends are no angels either."
Brax continued staring at her, she could almost feel his eyes burning into her skin. What was his problem? why was he staring at her? and why did it make her feel that way? Charlie's thoughts were interrupted by Bianca's comment.
"Why are the bad ones always so hot?"
The words resonated in Charlie's mind. It was something she questioned all the time. The bad ones are always the hottest, but no one was like Brax. She was attracted to him, and she hated it.