Chapter 12: A Stolen Kiss

Disclaimer: I don't own TDI and it's characters.

"The most beautiful make-up of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy." -Yves Saint Lauren

Courtney:

They came to a stop at Trent's house. It was oddly peaceful inside, no signs of music or shadows of people through the window. The only sound was the whistling of the wind and the faint cries of the crickets.

"What?" Courtney asked, her heart falling. "Don't tell me the party's canceled."

Geoff and Bridgette laughed as they got out of the car.

"Court', let me tell you something about Trent's parties," Geoff said, swinging an arm over Courtney's shoulders as they walked up the driveway. "Cops never come to his house when he's throws a bash. You know why?"

Courtney shook her head.

"Because no one ever realizes that he's actually having a party at all!" Geoff said, eyes wide like as if he had just unraveled a cryptic code. "If the old party-poopers who live in this neighborhood even hear one hint of a party, they call the cops. Trent can't have cops coming to his crib."

"Er…" Courtney glanced at Bridgette for a clearer answer. "Come again?"

"Okay, think underground," Bridgette said, smiling.

"It's not… actually…" Courtney frowned as an idea came to her head. "… under the ground, is it?"

"Bingo, baby," Geoff said, winking at Courtney. "He holds the parties in his basement."

Courtney's eyes widened. "The basement?"

Immediately, thoughts of Courtney's own basement came to mind. Dusty, old, and spiderweb-filled.

"Is that… a good place to have a party?" Courtney asked, trying to hide the distaste in her voice.

"It's not what you think it is," Geoff assured her. "You'll be surprised."

"It's huge!" Bridgette said. "Trent's basement can fit up to eighty people, I swear! It's just like an underground rave. I mean, it's just awesome, Courtney."

Geoff leaned forward and rang the doorbell.

The elegant wooden door didn't open for a few seconds.

"Are you sure he can hear us?" Courtney asked doubtfully. "I mean, if he holds the party in his basement, how is he going to hear the doorbell ring?"

"Don't worry," Bridgette said, tossing her curled locks of blonde hair over her shoulders. "Trent has the special thing that he wears. If someone rings the doorbell, it vibrates."

Courtney didn't want to think where Trent strapped this vibrating thing.

"Might take a few minutes," Geoff said, pressing the doorbell a few more times, "But he'll open."

Sure enough, after a few more seconds of standing in the cold night, the wooden door opened.

"Guys! Come on in; the party's just begun!" Trent grinned at them, his gaze landing on Courtney. He had a red plastic cup in his hands.

"Hi, Trent," Courtney greeted, smiling.

"Hey, great to see you at a party for once," Trent said, throwing his arm around Courtney's shoulders and leading her into the house.

"Thought it was time for me to let loose," Courtney said lightly.

"That's right, sister!" Geoff cheered, wrapping his arm around Bridgette's slim waist.

"Is Gwen here?" Bridgette asked as they entered the house, taking off their shoes.

They walked down Trent's lush hallway, headed towards the basement.

"Yeah," Trent said, "She's downstairs, dancing." A glazed look came over his eyes.

Courtney understood why. When Gwen danced, she got everyone hypnotized. She was a great dancer.

Geoff nudged Trent. "Hey, dude, got any of those happy pills?"

Trent grinned. "What do you think? I got enough to make you happy for twenty-four hours straight."

"Sweet," Geoff chuckled.

"Geoff," Bridgette said, frowning. "I don't like it when you use drugs for partying."

"Aw, babe, loosen up," Geoff said, smiling down at his girlfriend. "I'll only do it once in a while, I promise."

"Courtney, you want some?" Trent asked, taking out a small foil packet. Little sunny yellow pills with hearts imprinted on them were encased in plastic.

Ecstasy.

"Trent, Courtney wouldn't do that," Bridgette said at once, her frown deepening.

Courtney stared at the offered pills.

Drugs.

She had always been against that.

But tonight, she needed to be different, to feel different. To be someone else, anyone else, other than her.

Courtney held out her hand.

Trent's face became shocked. He had not been expecting that answer.

Courtney could also sense Bridgette and Geoff's surprise.

Courtney shrugged, smiling. "Hey. It won't kill me if I just do it this once."

What harm could a few pills do? Besides, they would make her happy, something Courtney was seriously needing.

"I knew there was something bad underneath all that goodiness of yours," Trent said, grinning as he popped two small pills into Courtney's hand.

He gave Courtney his red plastic cup filled with beer so that she could down her pills.

Courtney tossed the small tablets in her mouth and took a swig of beer.

The liquid tasted bitter on her tongue, but Courtney drank it anyway.

"So what does this do?" Courtney asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I mean, I know it makes you happy, but…"

"It makes you high," Trent said, popping out two more pills and tossing it into Geoff's hands. "You'll feel like as if you're the happiest person in the world, I swear. You'll like it. I don't do drugs, but I make exceptions for these babies."

"So that you can spread the happiness?" Bridgette asked dryly, eyeing her boyfriend as he swallowed the beer to down his pills.

"Don't be so strict," Courtney said, smiling mischievously. "You're not so innocent yourself, Bridgette."

Bridgette turned a bright red.

Courtney laughed giddily. She didn't know if the pill was kicking in or that she was just happy that she was actually at a party.

The group came to a wooden door. Courtney could hear the faint beat of the music down below.

"Welcome to my party," Trent said grandly, slowly opening the door.

Courtney's breath stopped as she looked down into the darkness.

Music thumped out from the basement and she could make out the many figures of people dancing together.

It looked like a real club. Courtney no longer doubted that indeed, Trent was the master of hosting parties. This looked like those hard-core bashes that were shown on television.

"Wicked!" Geoff said, grabbing Bridgette's hand and pulling her down the basement. "Let's party, babe!"

There were cheers erupting from down below as the king of partiers, Geoff, joined the crowd.

Trent chuckled. "You can't have a party without Geoff."

Courtney didn't get to reply. Gwen had appeared in front of them, looking over her shoulders at Geoff, who was dancing with Bridgette. There was a crowd around them already.

Courtney turned back to look at Gwen.

The gothic girl had her hair silky hair teased and mussed so that she looked even more distraught than usual. Distraught in a good way. She was wearing a short strapless, black dress with white buttons. Lace fringed the edges. She had on a plain white t-shirt underneath the dress.

So what if Gwen's fashion sense leaned a little on the dark side; that didn't really matter. She still looked beautiful.

"Hey, Trent," she was saying, "Geoff and Bridgette are here, so where's Court----" Gwen's eyes fell upon Courtney. "Oh my god."

Courtney smiled at her best friend and did a little twirl for effect. "Like it?"

"What's gotten into you?" Gwen asked, amused. "You don't even look like yourself."

Courtney laughed, throwing her arms around Gwen. "That's exactly what I wanted."

Gwen gave her a questioning look.

Something in Gwen's teal eyes told Courtney that she knew something was up. Gwen always did have an uncanny knack for those sort of things.

Before Gwen could confront Courtney, however, Heather and Lindsay came up to Courtney.

Heather had her sleek hair tied up into a high ponytail, and she was wearing a pair of yellow super short shorts and a floaty purple blouse with a deep V-neck. Her whole body seemed to glitter as the light caught her skin.

Lindsay was beside her, wearing a hot pink spaghetti strap dress that clung tightly to her model-worthy body. Her hair was curled and clipped with diamond barrettes and she was teetering dangerously on seven-inch stilettos.

"Wow, you look sooo nice, Courtney," Lindsay said, her huge blue eyes looking Courtney up and down. "Like, you're almost as pretty as I am! And your legs are sooo nice, too."

Heather pushed Lindsay out of the way. "You're finally here!" the raven-haired girl exclaimed, her eyes gleaming in the light. She started pulling at Courtney's arm. "Come on, hottie, let's dance!"

Courtney could see Gwen's furious expression from the corner of her eyes, but she didn't really want to be questioned about her state of mind at the moment.

Suddenly, Courtney felt extremely light and happy.

The pill had taken its effect, no doubt.

"Sure, let's dance," Courtney said automatically, following Heather. She knew Lindsay was trailing behind. Then, something crossed her mind. "Do you know where Duncan is?" Courtney asked, shouting so that her voice could be heard over the music.

"He'll be here soon," Heather said, waving off Courtney's question. "Let's dance!"

Courtney never once danced in her life, but as Heather and Lindsay started dancing, their bodies warm against hers, the movements came easily like as if Courtney was born with it.

The music pounded against her ears and she followed with it, letting the ecstasy drug wash over her body.

This was what she needed.

Courtney had forgotten what made her so upset in the first place.

"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center." -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Player Piano

Duncan:

Duncan took off his helmet and stared at Trent's house.

Trent's house was one of those uptown ones, the really expensive nine hundred grand ones. The perfect place for hosting a party. But he lived in those suburbs where the people are snooty and proper.

Not a good location for a crazy party.

But the house certainly didn't look like it was having a party.

The house was dead quiet and only demure golden lights shown through the windows.

What the hell?

There were no cars in sight, either, except for a few. But probably because everyone parked in the guest parking lot in the back of the neighborhood. Where that was, Duncan didn't know.

One of the cars in front of Trent's house looked like Geoff's convertible, but Duncan couldn't be sure in the dark.

Duncan swung off of his motorcycle and rang the doorbell for Trent's house, wondering what the hell was going on.

Maybe the party was canceled and he wasn't told?

But that wasn't so. After a few moments of waiting, the door opened, and Trent was standing in the doorway, holding a plastic cup.

Trent's hair was tousled and his cheeks were slightly pink.

"Dude, finally here!" Trent exclaimed breathlessly, ushering Duncan in.

"What the hell?" Duncan asked, looking around. The whole entire house was empty. "Where's everyone? And where's the music?"

Trent snickered. "Come on, Duncan. Seriously. You think I'll hold the party up here where all the old people are gonna call the cops?"

"So where is the party?" Duncan asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought we were gonna have the party here since we spent all day moving furniture."

"Oh, yeah," Trent said breezily, leading Duncan through the house. "That. Well, we were moving furniture, yeah, but for different reasons. I needed space throughout the house so that my cousins could move the stereos down into the basement."

"Basement?" Duncan asked, his eyes flying up to his brow. "Are you serious?"

He was holding his party in the basement. Duncan didn't know if he liked that idea or not.

Trent looked over his shoulder and grinned.

They came to a door, and Duncan could hear the thump of the music from behind its thick wood.

Huh. Maybe it wasn't so bad.

A grin came on Duncan's face. "Nice," he said, hand on the doorknob. "May I?"

Trent made a little bow, "Pleasure's all yours."

Duncan swung open the door and music blasted out, deafening his eardrums. Bright flashing lights greeted his eyes, and the smell of perfume and bodies pressed together thickened the air.

The door led down to a staircase, and Duncan could see lights and people dancing by the steps.

"This is awesome!" Duncan shouted above the din of the music as the two went down the stairs.

"Tell me about it," Trent shouted back. "Total sound-proof walls; no one can hear anything!"

Duncan turned and touched knuckles with Trent, grinning.

"This is legit, man," Duncan said appreciatively, taking a drink that Trent offered him.

This place was like a real club. Trent's basement was huge; at least the size of half a football field!

Music played from huge, state-of-the-art speakers, and there was a DJ in the corner, spinning records. A table laden with trays of good food lined the walls, and there was even a bar set up with liquor and beer.

Was that champagne he saw?

Duncan could see Owen guzzling down a liter of soda in the corner, DJ and Cody cheering him on.

"I give you props, dude," Duncan said, noting the disco ball that swiveled from the ceiling, casting rays of light across the room.

"Say my name," Trent said, holding out a hand.

Duncan slapped it in appreciation.

"I'll say your name, bro!" Geoff said, appearing behind Trent, swinging an arm over the dark-haired teen. "This is crazy!"

Geoff looked high already. His eyes were a little unfocused and his speech was slightly slurred, but he looked incredibly hyper all the same.

He probably popped a few pills before he came. Duncan did that sometime, too.

"Hey," Duncan said, noticing something. "You were supposed to pick up Courtney, right?"

"Princess?" Geoff asked, tilting his cowboy hat. "Yeah. She's over there." Geoff pointed over to a corner of the room where there was a throng of people. The blonde chuckled. "She's a real heavy party girl, dude. You should see her."

"Party person?" Trent asked, looking concerned.

Duncan didn't stay to hear Geoff's response; he left the two and went over to the crowd, wondering what the hell was up. Where was Courtney?

Pushing his way through people, Duncan could see Heather and Lindsay dancing together, their bodies grinding against each other in a fashion that made a part of Duncan's anatomy uncomfortably hard. In the middle of them was a head covered with chocolate brown hair, the locks curled immaculately.

It looked oddly familiar.

Duncan craned his head, wondering who that pretty girl was, and his stomach gave a lurch as he realized that it was Courtney.

Oh. My. God.

Duncan's manly part strained against his jeans so much, he wouldn't have been surprised if it just ripped through his jeans.

Damn.

Courtney was dressed in this sexy white halter top and these short shorts that revealed her shapely legs.

The way her hips swayed, added to the fact that she was grinding against Heather and Lindsay, just made her all the sexier.

Duncan silently sent a prayer of thanks to God.

You just don't see things like this every day. You just don't.

But at the same time, he wasn't all that thrilled.

Courtney was doing this in front of other guys, too. The delinquent eyed the guys standing in the corner who were watching Courtney with the same eyes and expression that Duncan just had on previously.

That did not make him happy. At all. In fact, it made him want to rip them from limb to limb.

After Duncan got over the fact that Courtney was dressed up in what he will never forget, he realized that this was not how she was.

Something was not right.

Courtney wouldn't really do this at a party, would she? She wouldn't dress like that, either.

If Courtney was in her real state of mind, she would be standing in the corner, all aloof and snooty. But most definitely not this. Something was wrong with Princess.

Suddenly, Duncan felt the urge to just yank Courtney and shake her to her senses.

"Courtney!" Duncan called above the music, just itching to punch the guys who were wolf-whistling at her.

Courtney looked up, immediately caught Duncan's eye, and flashed him a smile and a wave.

Duncan frowned.

That wasn't a very Princess-y thing to do. Courtney never smiled at Duncan. Ever. And furthermore, Duncan knew how Courtney smiled. He had watched, er, "observed" her enough during class to know what her real smile looked like. And whatever the hell Courtney just gave him wasn't her real smile.

Duncan knew that something was definitely wrong right then and there.

Immediately what came to mind was Courtney's dad. She had seemed really upset when Duncan mentioned him. But what could've happened?

Duncan reached forward and pulled Courtney out from between Heather and Lindsay. He ignored the annoyed shouts from Heather.

"Hey, Princess," Duncan said, pulling Courtney away to a more secluded corner of the room. "You all right?"

"Fine," Courtney hiccupped, pushing back her hair. She smiled at Duncan, her eyes a little glazed.

"Have you been drinking?" Duncan asked suspiciously, noting the way Courtney was unable to stand still.

"Only one can," Courtney said, grinning. "I liked it."

"You can't really hold your drink, can you?" Duncan asked, amused.

Courtney's eyes crinkled. "Yes, I can. Of course, I can. I can hold anything I want."

"Right," Duncan said, waving his hand back and forth of Courtney's face.

Her eyes blearily tried to follow his movements but failed.

"Courtney," Duncan said, serious now, "Are you really okay? Everything's fine?"

Something in Courtney's eyes flashed.

"Of course I'm okay," Courtney said a little too quickly. "I'm fine, Duncan."

"Princess, I'm one of the most experienced liars you will ever meet," Duncan said, narrowing his eyes. "I know you're lying to me." He crossed his arms and looked at the brunette expectantly.

"I am not," Courtney said crossly, looking away, her eyes straying to the party. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going."

Duncan inwardly swore.

Princess clearly wasn't right in the head at the moment. She was already a little drunk even though the party had barely started!

Various scenes flashed through Duncan's head, each one setting him in various degrees of panic. Anything could happen at a party with a drunk girl and a horny guy. He saw it happen way too many times at the parties he went to.

It was up to Duncan to watch over the brunette for the rest of the night. Damn.

Duncan frowned. He wanted to really party tonight. Get drunk, high, party the night away.

He couldn't do that if he had to watch over Courtney. But, well, what could he do?

"Hey, babe," Duncan said, snatching Courtney's hand as she started to walk away. "Why don't you dance with me instead? Huh?"

He pulled her close.

Surprisingly, Courtney didn't pull away. Maybe it was because she was rather drunk.

As soon as Courtney came close to Duncan, all feelings of grudge and resentment for having to forego the drinks and drugs and girls disappeared.

Her sweet scent exhilarated Duncan's senses as her skin lingered close to him.

His hands could feel the heat from her body through the thin fabric of her shirt.

Huh.

Maybe babysitting Princess wouldn't be so bad. After all, this was what he was fantasizing about all week long, right? Dancing with Courtney, her body close to his, her breath hot on his cheeks, his hands running up and down her sleek body.

In fact, he was enjoying watching over Princess very, very much.

"After all, what is your host's purpose in having a party? Surely not for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi." -P.J. O'Rourke

Duncan looked around the dark room, looking for Courtney.

There were dozens of hot bodies pressed against each other, grinding to the beat. But Courtney was nowhere to be found.

Damn! He turned his back for one minute, and she was gone.

The two were at the party for about three and a half hours now; it was close to midnight.

Duncan couldn't force Courtney to dance with him all night; she refused to do that. Instead, she waltzed around the room, dancing from person to person. Duncan himself couldn't enjoy the party since he had to trail after Princess and look over her.

Twice, twice, some jackasses tried to give Princess some drinks laced with drugs. Duncan had kicked them in the groin when he passed by. They were too drunk by then to know who he was, but it had to hurt all the same, right?

Sure, Duncan thought bitterly. Why couldn't Courtney's friend watch over her instead of him?

Ha.

By the time Duncan managed to find Gwen, she was so high on marijuana that she didn't even recognize him. Last he saw of the gothic chick, she was dancing on a table with a crowd of guys by her feet. And Bridgette, apparently, was forced into some drinking game and was dead drunk. None of them were suitable to watch over Princess, and they were the only two people Duncan could trust Princess in.

Or, anyways, would be willing to waste a perfect party like this and watch over Princess.

Seriously. Who would want to spend an awesome party like this watching after some crazy brunette?

Some poor sucker would have to take up the job. Oh, that's right. Him.

But, damn. That chick was quick.

Duncan had turned around for just one minute to get a drink from the bar (hey, he had to enjoy himself somehow) and when he turned back, Princess was gone. He couldn't find her anywhere in the party. The lighting was dark and people just crowded up against him everywhere he went; of course it would be impossible to find Princess in this room. But he had to.

Anything could happen to a girl like Courtney in a party like this.

"Hey, Geoff, dude," Duncan said, grabbing the tousled blonde as he tumbled by, "You see Courtney anywhere?"

Geoff gave a drunken chuckle and looked at Duncan, his blue eyes unfocused.

"You mean Princess?" Geoff slurred, grabbing at Duncan's shoulders as he lost his footing. "S'nope. Didn't---hiccup--- din't shleepp… shle----shee her anywheres..."

Duncan stared at Geoff's extremely intoxicated state, envying the blonde.

Man. He could be like that right now if it wasn't for Princess.

"Well, if you do," Duncan said, patting Geoff on the shoulders, "You tell me, all right?"

"Yesshhiree," Geoff shouted, heading straught to some girls, whooping at the top of his lungs.

Where was Princess?

Duncan climbed onto a table and stood up on his tippy toes, (which was very high, considering that he was six foot two and was on a table) and looked over the partygoer's heads, searching for a familiar brunette.

He couldn't see her.

Duncan leaped off the table and ran a hand through his hair.

A familiar face came by.

"Hey," Duncan reached out and grabbed at Heather. "You see Courtney?"

Heather, though she had downed more than a couple cans, was still alert as ever. Seems like she could hold her drink like a pro. Of course, Duncan was the same thing. He could drink and drink and still be sober. At least, sober enough to talk and think coherently.

"Courtney?" Heather asked, narrowing her eyes. Apparently, the drink had gotten to her a little bit, because it took her quite a while to register who Courtney was.

The queen bee's eyes widened. "Ohh. Courtney!"

"Yeah," Duncan said, rolling his eyes. "Courtney."

Heather flipped back her ponytail, which was still silky straight even after some hard partying with a couple guys. "Yeah, I saw her like a while ago. She looked sick."

"Where was she going?" Duncan demanded, standing straight to attention.

Heather pointed at the door leading out of the basement.

It was slightly ajar.

"She was going out there," the raven-haired girl said before strutting off.

Duncan looked over his shoulder to watch Heather walk away and didn't try to stop himself from laughing when he saw her stumble, flailing her arms wildly to keep balance.

Serves her right, wearing high heels and drinking beer.

"First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you." -Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald

The delinquent jogged up the steps leading out of the basement, bypassing several guys calling him in for a round.

So Courtney went out of here? Maybe to go to the restroom? But there was already a restroom down in the basement…

Then, Duncan's ears pricked.

He heard footsteps rapidly running down the marble hall, the clicking of high heels echoing around the room.

Duncan ran downstairs and came around the corner just in time to see Princess burst out the door, one hand clamped over her mouth.

"Courtney," Duncan called as he followed her out of the house, his voice full of concern as the brunette barfed into a bush, her body convulsing. "Babe, you all right?"

The night air was cold. There was no one about the cul-de-sac.

Courtney garbled out something incomprehensible, her body slumping into the leaves, lifeless.

Duncan, alarmed, yanked Courtney up by her forearm.

"Ugh…" Courtney groaned, her eyes blurred. "Heather…? S'that you?"

"No, guess again, butthead," Duncan said, offended.

Courtney squinted. "Duncan?"

"Yeah," Duncan sighed, holding Courtney firmly by the shoulder and leading her back into Trent's house. "I'm gonna clean you up."

Duncan turned his nose away as Courtney came closer to him. His eyes watered with the rancid stench.

Man, her barf stank.

Her white shirt was stained with mucky goop and her hair was now wild and all over the place.

And Courtney looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken and her face was deathly pale.

Damn, he knew Princess wasn't a drinker.

"Augh," Courtney groaned, sounding like a person in terrible pain. "Auuuugh!"

"Princess?" Duncan quipped, raising an eyebrow as he pulled her back into the warm house.

"D'you hate liars, Duncan?" Courtney demanded, her voice low and slurred with alcohol. "D'you want to kill people who lie to you? Like---" she made vicious motions with her hands, "—just do that to them?"

"Er," Duncan said, taken aback by Courtney's sudden personality change. She looked hostile. "Do I?"

"I," Courtney tried to gesture at herself, her face straining at the concentration, "I was lied to!" She sounded close to tears.

"Lied to?" Duncan asked. "By who?"

"I was lied to," Courtney prattled, "He's horrible, horrible! Ruined everything! I thought things were going to be good, you know? But he's disgusting! Awful! Horrible!"

"Yeah, yeah," Duncan said, rolling his eyes. "Horrible."

Girls under the influence. One of the worst things in the world.

Drunk girls always cried about some ex-boyfriend who did them a personal wrong. Courtney was probably talking about some guy who dumped her or something.

"I've never felt so…" Courtney scrunched her face together to say a world. "—so stupid! He's a –hiccup- jackass!"

"Damn right he is," Duncan said, nodding his head in agreement.

Of course, Duncan had no idea who 'he' really was. But it was best to just go along with what Princess was saying.

Courtney stumbled and Duncan managed to help her just in time before she smashed her head into the wall.

"Watch it, woman!" Duncan snapped.

Courtney's eyes were half-closed and she tiredly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Her whole entire body was shivering, not from the cold, Duncan suspected, but something else.

Duncan thought seeing Courtney drunk would be funny. But it was actually pretty scary. She really didn't look too good.

Then, her body tightened underneath his grasp.

"He's such a liar!" Courtney shouted drunkenly, practically dragging her feet across the floor. "He's a liar, Duncan, s'that's what's he is. Getting married… Justin…"

"Who are you talking about?" Duncan asked, trying to pull Courtney to the nearest bathroom, his eyes watering with the stink of barf. "Justin?"

Could she be talking about that senior Justin?

"Tried to ask me out," she mumbled, "Tried to…" She jerked and then shouted again, this time, really bursting out into tears, "What a liar he is! I hate him! I hate him, Doug!"

"It's Duncan," Duncan said exasperatedly. "Babe, who are you hating on?"

Courtney gave a little hiccup and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Streaks of black mascara and eyeliner smudged along her skin.

Duncan felt shivers when he saw the tears streak down Courtney's cheeks. "Princess, you crying?" Panic ran through him. Why the hell was she crying?

Anything to get her to stop crying, Duncan pleaded. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was a crying girl. He felt so vulnerable when a chick did the waterworks in front of him.

"What kind of father is he?" Courtney cried, kicking at something invisible. "I want to kill him! I'll kick his ass!" She wrenched her arm out of Duncan's to throw a left jab at the air.

"All right, Courtney, calm down," Duncan said reassuringly, tucking Courtney's arms firmly back under his hold. "I'll kick this guy's ass for you later, okay? Just… try and walk. It'll make everything so much easier."

So it was her dad that caused all this mayhem, huh?

He felt a pang of anger and sympathy for Courtney. She might be feisty, but she certainly wasn't strong enough to hold all these problems on her shoulders.

Duncan led Courtney though the living room and into the bathroom. It was extremely hard, dragging Princess; her limp body was deadweight. She wasn't cooperating at all.

"Dunkie," Courtney bubbled, wobbling on her feet as Duncan kicked open the bathroom door, "You want to sing a song with me? Let's sing a song." She started to clap her hands together feebly, 'If you're happy and you know it…'"

"It's Duncan, Princess," the delinquent reminded her as he turned on the water faucet. "Come on. You can sing later."

"Dunkie, Doug, Duckie, Drew," Courtney sang in an off-key tone, swaying towards the sink. She gave a giggle and flipped back her messy hair.

Duncan would've preferred one of Courtney's friends to clean her up; this wasn't really his best forte. But someone had to do it. And he couldn't leave Princess here while he went down to the basement to find Bridgette or Gwen.

Besides, Duncan thought with a grimace. He doubted those two would be in any position to clean Courtney up at the moment, considering how drunk they were.

"Okay, alley-oop, Princess," Duncan said, bending Courtney over the marble sink.

The bathroom looked like those bathrooms in the swanky hotels at high-end casinos or something. Damn. Were all the people at this school rich-ass kids?

It was oddly quiet in the bathroom; Courtney seemed to stop her mumbling. The soft lighting seemed to calm Princess down a little; at least she wasn't singing anymore.

He turned the faucet on and splashed the cool water onto Courtney's face, bravely washing the barf away.

Courtney gave another groan, but she seemed to be coming back to her senses. She shook her head slightly, sprinkling Duncan with droplets of water.

"You okay, Courtney?" Duncan asked, grabbing a paper towel and gently wiping Courtney's face with it. "Got it all out?"

Courtney didn't reply.

"Here," Duncan said, taking some mouthwash from the bottle by the sink and spilling it into a cup. "Clean out the barf in your mouth."

Courtney obediently did what Duncan told her to do, swishing the green liquid through her mouth. She spat out the mouthwash into the sink.

"That's much better," Duncan said, relieved. Good thing the smell's gone now.

Courtney slumped down onto the floor and leaned against the wall, her usually vivid eyes dull. Though she looked like someone that came off the set of Night of the Living Dead, Princess looked a lot less intoxicated.

"You look terrible," Duncan said, grinning as he sat down beside her. "You don't hold your drinks too well, babe." He pulled rather hard at a couple of her unruly curls in an effort to make her look slightly decent.

"Just had a few," Courtney mumbled, massaging her forehead with her fingers. "Not that much. I'm… I'm fine."

"Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?" Duncan asked, just for the hell of it. He held up four fingers in front of the C.I.T.

Her eyes blurrily focused on Duncan's hand, her face scrunching in concentration. "Twelve. Eight. No, wait," she shook her head. "Nine," she said, nodding in finality. "Yes. Nine."

"Okay, Princess," Duncan said, rolling his eyes, "Now I know you're smashed. Let's go."

He grabbed the slim brunette and tossed her over his shoulder. Duncan inwardly grinned. This reminded him of that one time when he ran into her with his skateboard. Seemed so long ago.

"Where're you taking me…?" Courtney mumbled, not even trying to fight against him. "I wanna… wanna go back to the party."

"No more partying for you," Duncan said firmly. "You're done for the night."

The delinquent carried Courtney upstairs into what looked like one of the many guest rooms.

Trent wouldn't mind if Courtney bunked here for the rest of the night. Or until she got to her senses.

The room smelled crisp and clean. Unlived in.

Duncan carried Courtney over to the bed and laid her gently down, propping her head more comfortably on the pillows.

"Night time already?" Courtney sighed, her eyes blurry.

"Yup. For you, anyway," Duncan said, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her.

"I smell horrible," Courtney mumbled, tugging at her stained shirt. She started to pull off her shirt.

"Wait!" Duncan said hastily, pulling down Courtney's shirt. "Don't do that!"

Damn! She was really drunk.

"I wanna change!" Courtney wailed. "I feel so dirty!" She started to kick at the bed in frustration.

"All right, um, hold on," Duncan stammered, rushing out of the room and into Trent's bedroom.

He doubted Trent would mind if he took one of his t-shirts and lent it to Courtney.

Duncan went into Trent's closet and took out a t-shirt that said The Hundreds on it. He also grabbed at a sweater, just in case Courtney was cold.

Duncan hurried back to the guest room and thrust the clothing at Courtney, who was still struggling to get off her shirt.

"Okay, Princess, change into that, all right?" Duncan said, averting his eyes as Courtney finally managed to pull of her top.

Princess was quiet as she changed. All Duncan could hear were soft rustlings as she moved about. Duncan did an uncomfortable little dance as he tried to force his manhood down.

Okay, he admitted it. He was horny.

Who wouldn't? It wasn't his fault. Princess was in the same room as him, half naked. Damn.

"You done?" Duncan croaked, not thinking that he could take anymore.

Courtney didn't reply.

"Okay, I'm turning around," he said. "Don't say I didn't warn you…"

Duncan turned around, secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of her body.

Instead, he saw Courtney, fully clothed now, and sleeping. Or knocked out, more like it.

Duncan's face softened.

Man. This chick really was something.

Duncan sat down beside Courtney's sleeping body and watched her breathe slowly, her body moving up and down with each breath.

Her ruined shirt was tossed on the floor. A rather erotic scene, in Duncan's opinion.

Courtney, despite her previous state of mind, looked beautiful asleep.

She didn't look fiery or snappish or cutting. More innocent. Fragile. Delicate. Nothing like her usual self. He supposed it was because she wasn't talking. Princess had a mouth that was as sharp as a knife.

A small smile wrenched Duncan's mouth.

For once, he didn't have any dirty thoughts or notions about her as he watched her, unconscious and vulnerable. Instead, he felt something else quite different than those stupid teenage hormones.

The delinquent brushed away some stray strands of hair that fell into Courtney's face.

She shifted slightly at his touch, but didn't awaken.

Before he knew what he was doing, Duncan found himself leaning over Princess. He whispered into her ear, his hands shaking a little, "Promise me you won't get mad if I do this?"

Courtney only gave a small sigh in response. She probably didn't even hear him; she was fast asleep.

But he took that as a yes.

For some reason, he had to do this. You could call it a spur of the moment or something similar to that. But Duncan felt such a strong urge to do this that he knew he would regret it deeply later if he didn't.

Duncan gently tilted Courtney's face towards his.

He lowered his head slowly, his lips almost touching hers.

His mind was in a daze.

Why am I doing this?

He didn't like this girl. He didn't care for her.

She's not even my type.

What did he want from her?

"I'm sorry," he breathed softly, lips inches away from Courtney's.

Duncan, what the hell are you thinking? What are you trying to do?

He closed his teal eyes.

Don't. You don't want her.

Then, Duncan's lips touched Courtney's gently. Fireworks exploded in the back of Duncan's head and shivers jolted up and down his body.

Damn.

Maybe you do want her.

Another voice hissed, his voice demeaning: You idiot.

And for once, he agreed with his inner self. He was an idiot. For falling for someone like her.

"You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip." -Jonathan Carroll, "Outside the Dog Museum"

A/N: Gasp! Duncan's falling for Courtney! This chapter was long because I wanted to make up for the long time it took me to update! xD It was fun writing about Courtney being drunk(: So read & review, guys; the next chapter will come up faster. (I hope.)