Derek was about to turn around and go back into the kitchen when Ashley, one of the best on the track and field team, walked over to him. She was also an incredibly unpleasant person , and also his kind of ex.

"Oh hey Derek." She said with a mysterious gleam in her eyes as she stopped just shy of on top on him.

"Hi Ashley?" he said warily. They hadn't talked in over six months. They never had an actual relationship, mostly just hooking up here and there. Once Derek put a stop to things she got mad, really mad. She stopped talking to him altogether. He didn't mind much because they didn't like each other all that much. It was just a convenient situation for two lovely people. Not that he was innocent in the situation but he never expected her to approach him like she was now.

She leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, that's when he smelled the overwhelming aroma of alcohol on her breath. She was always a bit more abrasive and forward when she was drunk. "I miss you." She had him backed against the wall and she had her hands on both of his shoulders. He was beyond confused now and just as he was about to answer her she quickly and forcefully pressed her mouth onto his. He pushed her back and she looked pissed that he hadn't reciprocated. Just then he saw someone standing next to them.

"Do you know where the bathroom is?" A bewildered and slightly shocked looking Penelope asked.

"Pen, I-" Derek started, wanting to explain but Ashley cut him off.

"Down the hall on the left." She said quickly barely taking her eyes off of a still stuck Derek.

"Thanks." Penelope mumbled before quickly walking away.

Penelope found the bathroom, when she got inside and locked the door she inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly.

Okay, maybe I did make all of this up in my head. Maybe he doesn't have a thing for me. She thought as she closed the toilet and then sat on it. She didn't actually have to use the bathroom. When she was in the kitchen it she felt slightly awkward just standing there so she went to find Derek. When she walked out of the kitchen she looked across the room and didn't see him. Then she looked to her left and saw the end of a kiss between him and a very fit girl with dirty blond hair. She was slightly shocked and asking where the bathroom was had been the first thing that came to mind.

It kind of looked like he had pushed her back a bit? So? I don't really know what that means. She took another deep breath. She felt awkward and a little uncomfortable. She thought she had a handle on things, which is one of the reasons she had agreed to come to this party. I guess I can just ask? Or pretend it never happened? She settled on not mentioning it unless he did. After all they weren't dating and she had no claim on him, he could kiss whomever he wanted. She also decided that if they were staying for a while, which she was almost sure of, then she would make the best of it. Just as she finished deciding what to do someone knocked on the door. Not wanting to hog the bathroom she wasn't even actually using she quickly left.

She wasn't exactly sure what to do so she tried to see over the mass of people and look for Derek. She couldn't hide forever. As she was looking someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and there was a very tall man with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes framed in black glasses. He must have been at least six three, he also had a football jersey on. He looked a bit like a nerdy superman jock.

"Penelope?" He said shyly.

"Yes?" she knew she knew him, she just wasn't sure how he knew her.

"Sorry, I'm Toby. I know your brothers."

"Oh! Yeah! I knew I had seen you somewhere before! Hey!" she now remembered seeing him with her brothers a couple times. He was the quiet one of their group. She had only met him a few times but he was always very nice. She didn't know why but all of a sudden she said "You wanna go dance?". She don't know why she asked because she wasn't a 'let's dance at this crazy party' kind of girl but she felt like dancing.

His face lit up a bit. "Sure!" he said and she took his hand and led them into the living room where everything had been cleared aside to make a makeshift dance floor. The music was even louder where they were standing but she didn't really care. Roses by The Chainsmokers had just turned on and at first the pair was a bit awkward, Toby being the shy guy he was and Penelope being well, Penelope. But she just thought screw it I'm just gonna make the most of this. She stepped a bit closer to him and grabbed his hands, pretending that she actually had experience dancing with random guys at random parties. They couldn't really find a matching rhythm and were both a little awkward but they were having fun nonetheless.

Across the room still next to the kitchen Derek was doing his best to get as far away from Ashley as possible. He just wanted to find Penelope. As soon as she walked away towards the bathroom he tried to go after her but Ashley kept him there. It's not that she was stronger than him; he just really didn't want to create a scene.

"Ashley I need to go."

"No you don't." she smirked as she leaned against him again.

"What do you want?" he asked trying to find a way to get rid of her.

"You." She leaned in and whispered again.

"We finished a long time ago, now back off. Okay?" He realized that the only way to possibly get rid of this unwanted attention was to be kind of a jerk.

"You know you still want me." she said not moving from her current position. He tried to gently push past her but she held her ground.

Then he had an idea. "Okay, why don't you go wait for me upstairs? I'll be up in a sec, I just have to go find my friend real quick and tell them I'll meet up with them later." Any other time he would have felt bad about deceiving her like that but she was clearly drunk and unless someone came and physically moved her this was the only way to get rid of her.

She bit her bottom lip and gave him a semi sultry semi wasted look as she pushed off of him and headed upstairs. As soon as she was out of sight he went to look for Penelope. He checked the bathroom first and when she wasn't there he looked in the living room, the house wasn't that big, there were only so many places she could be. To his dismay he saw her dancing with Toby. He was a great guy and Derek had nothing against him but he definitely didn't want him, or anyone else for that matter, dancing with Penelope. He wanted to do that. Derek walked over to where they were dancing and tapped on Toby's shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" he asked Toby. Penelope's back was currently towards both of them so she didn't see the exchange. When she turned around she was extremely surprised to see Derek.

"Oh, Derek. Hey!" she smiled. "Where's Toby?" she asked as she stopped dancing and looked around a bit.

"I asked if I could step in. I also wanted to let you know that that girl you saw kissing me was my very drunk sort of ex. There is nothing going on there. I know it sounds crazy but we haven't talked in over six months and she just kind of threw herself at me." he said looking straight into her eyes. He wanted her to see how serious he was especially because he knew how ridiculous and cliché he sounded.

She stared at him over her glasses with her eyebrows raised slightly for a minute. Then she smiled and nodded. "Okay." She said, she was trying not to look too excited but she was. He extended his hand and she took it. They started to sway back and forth and he pulled her a little closer. She moved his hands to her waist and was visibly more relaxed as she moved her arms to around his neck and stepped even closer. They found their flow almost immediately and just continued to dance. There were no "slow" songs but during the slower ones Derek made sure to hold her tightly to him. After about two songs he couldn't take it anymore, having her that close and moving like she was was driving him crazy. She certainly wasn't dancing like some of the other girls there but she had a confident, sexy way about her. He decided to stop thinking and start doing. So he leaned in a little bit and when she didn't pull away he leaned in just a bit more. Their lips were centimeters from touching when a loud, shrill voice cut through the music.

"DEREK MORGAN! YOU BASTARD!"


AN: sorry for that cliffhanger (I couldn't resist)! I'm gonna finish up the next chapter and put it up ASAP!