A/N: Okay, so I realize it's been a million years since the last update, but I'd lost interest in this story a bit. However, I think that I'm back now. Of course, you might think SM, you say that in every update and straight up abandon people! Fear not, because I made a writing schedule! Hope you enjoy!

It didn't take long to get to the party. Eleanor parked a little ways up the street, past all the other cars. Together, the four of them made their way up the house, Eleanor wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously.

The house seemed to vibrate with the music, the base thumping so loud Eleanor could feel it in her chest. Hunter winced a little, rubbing his ears a little. Rob and Rich rushed ahead, excitedly running their hands through their hair.

Inside, the music pulsed even louder. A haze of smoke drifted lazily through the living room, catching the light from the low-lit lamps. It was like a scene from a bad chick flick, red cups everywhere, drunk teens stumbling around each other.

"Eleanor! You made it! Hey, girl!" Natalie rushed up, swaying a little. Her cheeks were flushed, hair slightly mussed.

"I, yeah, we figured we'd stop by," she said. Rob and Rich peeled off, mingling. Hunter hovered close by, looking awkward. He must not have been invited to many parties, Eleanor figured.

"Awesome! Okay, well, drinks are in the kitchen, there's like pizza and chips too, so like, help yourself," she said, though it came out a slur. A couple people called out to her, so she stumbled away, leaving Eleanor and Hunter to their own devices.

"Great party," he said, sarcastic. Eleanor rolled her eyes.

"You could at least try to have a little fun," she suggested. "Maybe grab a drink?"

"I don't drink."

"No, of course not," she grumbled. "Okay, well, I'm going to have fun. Believe it or not, I've actually never been to one of these before." With that she walked off, determined to have a good time. Drunk classmates, Eleanor decided, where a lot nicer than sober classmates. For one, no one sneered at her, which was nice. Maybe it was a free pass from Natalie.

In the kitchen, some kids were mixing drinks, and as soon as she stepped in, someone pressed a cup into her hands. It's contents was a bright red, like fruit punch. She took a careful sip. It was sweet, though it burned on the way down.

Eleanor drained it, loving the way it scorched through her. Someone handed her another cup, and another when that one ran dry. People laughed around her, cheering as she threw them back.

Soon she found herself enveloped in someone's arms, laughing along with the crowd at the drinking game in front of them. She couldn't quite tell what game it was, her vision fuzzy around the edges.

Eventually, she was pulled away, out of the kitchen, and lead down to a dark hallway. She felt weightless, like the ground didn't really exist. Something solid hit her back, and heavy arms trapped her where she stood. Eleanor blinked trying to get her bearings. There was a boy in front of her, leering down with a hungry look in his eyes.

He ducked in closer, but she didn't want that. Eleanor squirmed away, but he wouldn't let her, grabbing her chin roughly with one hand.

"No, I, no, get off, wait," she slurred, slipping against the wall. The boy stepped in closer, holding her chin tightly.

Suddenly, he was gone, and Eleanor was left slumping against the wall. They boy groaned, splayed flat on his back, clutching his jaw. Hunter stood next to him, eyes literally flashing. Eleanor frowned, squinting. His eyes, were, like, golden or something.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked, rushing over to her when he noticed her looking. His eyes settled back into his usual green.

"I…" It was hard to talk, hard to get her mouth to move right. Hunter gently took her arm, guiding her carefully from the wall.

"Come on, E, let's get you home," he said. Eleanor gripped his arm, leaning heavily against him. After a few steps, Hunter gave up, and gathered her up completely in his arms. He gracefully maneuvered them out of the hallway and out the back door, setting her down on the swing.

"Hang out here for a minute, okay. I'm going to get you some water, I'll be right back," he said. Eleanor leaned her head against the back of the swing, breathing in the soothingly cool air. Nausea bubbled up through her system, clawing up through her throat.

"Hey, got you some wat—oh, shit!" Hunter grimaced, suddenly faced with a shoe full of puke. Eleanor pulled herself back up, swiping her mouth.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," she apologized, winced at the rancid taste in her mouth. Hunter shrugged, staring down at his feet.

"Nah, that's… okay. I'm just gonna clean this up, grab the guys, I guess. Be right back." With that, Hunter left again. At least the nausea had passed. It was then she noticed the bottle of water he'd left out for her. Smiling, she took a cautious sip and rinsed out her mouth. When her mouth didn't taste like a toxic waste dump, she gulped some water down.

Finally, Hunter and the boys reappeared, Rob and Rich plopping down on either side of her.

"Here, E, hand me your keys, I'll get the car. You guys wait here," Hunter offered. She obliged, fishing out the keys from her pocket.

"Cool, I'll be right back. Yo, watch her." That, he directed at the boys. Rich snickered, throwing an arm around Eleanor.

"Sure man," he said. "Christ, E, what happened?"

"Had some fruit punch," she mumbled. "Some guy tried to kiss me, wasn't great." The smile slipped off both their faces.

"What?" Rich asked.

"When? Who?" Rob demanded. Eleanor shrugged, slumping closer to Rich.

"Jeez, alright. Hunter got him?" She nodded, thinking back to the image of him, angry, fists out and eyes flashing.

"His eyes are kind of… weird right?" she asked. The boys exchanged worried looks.

"No, I mean, not really, they're just like, what are they, Rob, like blue? Green, maybe?"

"Yeah, something like that, just like a normal type of color." Rob agreed. Eleanor frowned but didn't respond. Huh.

They sat silent for a while, until Hunter came back for them.

"What's up?" he said, noticing the weird silence. Eleanor staggered up, grabbing Hunter by the shoulders.

"Let me see your eyes," she demanded, cupping his face. Heat bloomed under her fingers as Hunter went slowly red.

"Okay, you're still drunk, come on." He led her to the car, helping her into the front seat. Hunter was a pretty good driver, getting them home quickly. They parked in front of her house, sitting quietly.

"You alright? Things got… pretty ugly back there." Eleanor frowned, shrugged. Honestly, she wasn't sure how she felt. Her head was buzzing.

"Okay. Is your mom home?" Again, Eleanor shrugged.

"Do you want me to stick around? I'll sleep on the couch, if you want," he offered.

"If you want," she said. Eleanor got out of the car, teetering a little uncertainly. She felt… weird. Her skin burned where the boy touched her, and embarrassment rushed through her. Suddenly, she didn't want Hunter to stay, worried what he would think. Her cheeks burn, and worst of all, tears blur her vision.

"Hey, E, hey it's okay," Hunter said, from somewhere close by. His arms were heavy around her, and she couldn't help the way she flinched. He dropped his arms fast, taking a careful step back.

"I just need a minute," she mumbled. As hard as she tries to fight it, she can't the tears that drip down her cheeks. "I don't even know why I'm crying, nothing even happened, and I just…"

"Hey, no, it's okay. You had a really bad scare tonight," Hunter said softly. Eleanor swiped angrily at her cheeks. She was fine, everything was fine. After a moment, she and Hunter went inside.

True to his word, he stayed on the couch, and Eleanor actually felt a little bit better knowing he was there. Once she'd brushed her teeth and downed a couple glasses of water, she settled into bed, checking her phone.

There were a few incoherent texts from her mother, informing her that either she was drunk at a party or high at an art studio. There are a few from Natalie too, asking her where she went and if everything was okay.

Eleanor's fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure of what to type out.

ELEANOR: I'm fine. Things got intense, so we headed out. No big deal.

NATALIE: Oh! What happened?

Eleanor frowned, unsure of whether to tell her or not. The typing bubbles popped up on her side of the conversation, then disappeared. She guessed neither of them knew what to say.

ELEANOR: Can I talk to you Monday morning? At school?

NATALIE: Sure! Meet me by the art hallway before class starts

ELEANOR: Sure.

With that, she shut her phone off and settled into a restless sleep.

00000

The next morning, Eleanor woke to a blistering headache. Her throat was parched, and the sunlight streaming through her window made her eyes burn. Still, she stumbled through her morning routine, heading downstairs when the dizziness passed.

Hunter was still sprawled across the couch, face peaceful. His expressiveness was one of his best qualities, how his face shifted to play out every little emotion he felt.

"Hey," she said softly, touching his shoulder. Hunter stirred, blinking up at her blearily. A slow smile spreads over his face. Eleanor walked into the kitchen, pulling out ingredients. There was a little bit of pancake mix left, enough for the two of them.

"Need a hand?" he asked, pulling himself up. Eleanor gestured to the second pan she laid out, handing him a package of bacon. Together, they cooked in a peaceful silence, but the set of Hunter's jaw suggested he had something to say.

"Okay," Eleanor started, flipping a pancake. The butter hissed on the pan, mingling with the sizzle of the bacon. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Hunter answered, far too casually. "Okay, yeah, I'm just a little surprised, I guess."

"About what?"

"You're taking things really well," he admitted cautiously. "Do you want to… talk?"

"About what?" Eleanor repeated, although she knew exactly what he wanted to talk about. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she felt. She doesn't really remember much, just the feeling of being trapped.

"E…" Hunter looked at helplessly, lost for words.

"I'm fine, honestly." She was, she thought. Nothing happened, so everything was fine.

"Okay, but if you decide later that you want talk, or say anything, I'm here." There was one thing weighing on her mind.

"Do you remember who he was?" she asked, hating the way her voice seemed to shrink. Hunter sighed heavily, eyes downcast.

"No, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't recognize him. Everything happened so fast, and he got out of there kind of quick, and honestly I was more focused on you."

"Yeah, I figured." Eleanor drew her arms around herself, chewing on her bottom lip. Hunter looked at her with pity. It made her feel a little pathetic.

"I'm fine," she assured him. Anything to get that look off his face.

"Okay," he said, hands up placatingly.

"Okay," she repeated, feeling defensive suddenly. "Hey, you should probably head home, your dad's probably wondering where you are."

"Oh." Hunter looked surprised, as if he'd forgotten all about his dad. "Uh, yeah, sure. Um, call me you need anything."

"Yeah," she mumbled. A thought occurred to her. "Do you need a ride? We took my car." Hunter flushed, smiled at her sheepishly.

"That's be great."

00000

The whole incident took a backseat for the rest of the weekend, because her mother spent a rare weekend home. Eleanor spent the rest of Saturday, and most of Sunday alternating between doing her homework and minding her mom.

Monday morning, however, Eleanor was reminded in full force, standing in the art hallway, waiting for Natalie to show.

"Hey!" Natalie hurried around the corridor. She looked flawless, dark hair in full, bouncy curls around her shoulders. Eleanor felt more than a little self-conscious, and suddenly, her will to share wilted.

"Hey," Eleanor mumbled, smiling weakly.

"So, what's up? What happened Saturday night?" Eleanor took a deep breath.

"Um, did you happen to see who I was with? At the party? I was… drinking, and I don't remember," she explained. To her absolute horror, tears sprang up in her eyes.

"Oh! Oh my god, what happened? Did something bad happen?"

"No!" It came out terribly defensive. Eleanor and Natalie stared at each other, both a little taken aback.

"Eleanor," Natalie started, her voice uncertain.

"Um, you know what, I'm actually going to go, I just remembered there was homework I didn't get done," she lied.

"Wait, hang on! Whatever happened, I'll help," Natalie said, reaching out for Eleanor. She stopped, feeling strange and off-kilter. She'd wanted to say something about what happened, but the words didn't quite make it out.

"Things got… out of hand," she explained, running a hand through her short, black locks. "There was a guy, and I guess he tried to kiss me, I don't remember much, but I know I didn't want it to happen."

"Did you and Hunter fight or something? Or break up?" Natalie asked, guiding her into the girls room. Immediately, Eleanor blushed.

"What? Hunter and I aren't—no way!" Although even she had to admit that her friendship with Hunter was a bit odd. Buds didn't cuddle with each other.

"Oh! I just thought, like, you hang out a lot, I just assumed—whatever, never mind. Here, I have my yearbook, we can see if you remember whoever it was." Natalie fished through her backpack for the yearbook, flipping it open to last years sophomore class. "You were the only transfer kid this year."

The girls scanned each boy's picture until the warning bell rang, singling that students only had five minutes to get to their homerooms.

"I'll catch you at lunch or something," Natalie said, stashing her yearbook. "We'll play detective then."

"Hey, Natalie?" Eleanor stopped her on the way out. "Thanks for helping me." Natalie smiled at her, bright and beautiful.

"Girls have to stick together."

A/N: Let me know what you all thought! Also, let me know what you think about the pacing of the story.