"Confrontations"

Austin and I helped set up for the party.
Rude comments coming every so often (from Diablo, Mars, and Jupiter) refering to my outfit.

Each time they were rightfully smacked by either me or Austin.
Whoever was closer. . . or angrier.

Around 10:00 guests started to arrive.
We lied and said that Tora, Domingo and them were Austin and Kate's cousins, who were visiting from out of town.

Nobody seemed to notice that they looked nothing like Austin or Kate.
Or maybe they did, but didn't care enough to point it out.

Over the course of an hour, at least 100 kids had showed up.
The atmosphere was hectic and loud.

Music blared, the lights were dim.
People were dancing and running around.

Being generally insane.

Austin talked with pretty much everyone.
And I stayed glued to his side, where it was harder for people to target me.

Still, the reactions to my outfit were very strong ones. . .

For example, Austin and I were talking to Libby and Vincent when Derik walked up to us.
He was drinking something out of a red cup, most likely some form of alcohol.

"Hey Austin!" he shouted over the music "Who's that?"
He nodded at me.

"I've known you since 1rst grade, Derik" I called over the music "I'm Rebecca, remember? Rebecca Callaway"
He chocked on his drink, "Woah, seriously?"

Austin rolled his eyes, "Yea, seriously"
"Oh, well, uh you look . . . .nice" Derik said awkwardly before walking away.

Most people were afraid to say more with Austin there.
Which is why I stayed attached to his side.

But, eventually, I spotted some of my other freinds.
I wanted to go apologize for ignoring them the last few days.

Austin was talking to James and one of his ex-girlfreinds, Maria.
"I'll be right back" I said, loud enough for him to hear over the music.

He nodded, and was about to say more.
But was cut off by a series of crashing sounds.

I looked over towards the banister.
A bunch of drunk kids were throwing plates over the railing of the second floor.

"Sure" he said to me "I gotta go play angry host now anyway"
I slipped out from under his arm, and Austin went over to the stairs.

I could hear him yelling at the drunk kids.
"What the hell are you doing!? Do you want to pay for those?"

I laughed, and headed over to my other friends.
Hannah, Mandy, Rach, and Dianna were standing by the stairs talking to Matt and Billy.

"Guys!" I shouted at them.
They turned their attention to me, shooeing the guys away.

Since we were best friends they still recognized me.
Which was nice.

"Look" Mandy teased "The new Mrs. Kardigan has graced us with her prescience"
The words themselves would of been mean, but her teasing tone meant that she wasn't really offended.

"Look, I'm sorry" I shouted, trying to be heard over the music "I didn't mean to ignore you guys! But, I've just been distracted, do you forgive me?"
"Sure" Rach called "If I was dating Austin. . .I would of ignored you too"

I laughed, "Thanks"
That was the great thing about my friends. They weren't grudge holders.

"That's a nice outfit you got there!" Hannah teased loudly "You working the corners tonight?"
I laughed, "If you weren't my friend I would beat you"

"Let's go now" she teased, putting up her fists like a boxer "You could never take me in that girly getup. You would trip over those stilletos"
"Hey!" Dianna said with mock-diapproval "You can't talk to Becca like that. She'll get her pimp to come and beat the shit out of you"

I shouted "You guys are horrible"
"We've learned from the best" Rach said.

I laughed, then abrutly switched topics, "Where's Kate?"
Mandy shrugged, "Somewhere with Ryan"

"Ohhh" I said, I had almost forgotten she was still with Ryan.
I considered her more with Domingo. Then again, poor Ryan was just her blood donor. . .

"Well, I gotta ask you something" Rach said "How the hell did you get with Austin?"
"Luck" I said, and shrugged.

"Well, damn. . . " Rach muttered.
I laughed, "It also might have something to do with my super-sexiness"

She rolled her eyes, "Yea, I'm sure thats it"
Jason came up to us then unexpectedly.

"Hellllooo, Becca" he called.
"What do you want Jason?" I asked.

"I don't know" he said "I'm bored. . ."
"Well, its not my job to entertain you. . .I'm sure Lisa would love to give you a lapdance or something, go find her" I said, waving him off.

"I would" he said "But Lisa isn't here"
"She's not?" I asked, surprised.

"Yea . . . she said she had some stuff to take care of" Jason said and shrugged "She said she'd be by later. . . So, I need someone else to entertain me"
He looked at my freinds, who had been oddly quiet.

Understandably, Jason was a good looking guy. . .
They probably didn't want to say something stupid, like they usually did.

He looked at Rach, probably the prettiest of my friends.
"So, Rachel, are you seeing anybody. . ." he trailed off suggestively.

I shoved him, "Not cool, Jason. My friends are off limits. Their are plenty of sluts here for you to hit on"
He turned to me, "Fine"

"So, Rebecca . . ." he said, pretending to hit on me.
My freinds laughed, and I smacked him.

Austin showed up then, apparently done playing host.
He leaned against the wall, next to a table full of shots.

"Why are you harassing these ladies, Jason?" he asked.
"I'm bored" he said "And I'm not harassing them."

"Yea you are. You hit on Rachell" I said, and then added "And he called me a slut"
Austin glared at him, "Jackass" he muttered.

"I didn't actually call her a slut" he defended himself ". . . I implied it"
Austin rolled his eyes, "Whatever"

"Well, I have to go find someone to entertain me" Jason said as he started walking away.
"Do me a favor, and choose Cassy!" Austin called after him.

We laughed.
Austin picked up a shot from the table, and drank it.

"Hey" I said, swatting him "No more alcohol. You already got drunk last night"
"Whatever, your not my mother" he said, taking another shot.

"Do you want me to call your mother?" I threatened.
My friends let out an annoying chorus of "Ohhhh"

"I have an idea" Austin said "Let's make this a drinking game. Every time you say something annoying, I take a shot"
"Thats not funny, Austin" I said.

He took another shot.

"Don't test me Austin" I threatned.
He took another shot.

"Aussie" I rebuked, knowing that would piss him off.
My friends snickered.

"I think that counts as two shots" he said, taking a shot.
He grabbed another shot, but I knocked it out of his hand.

It spilled over the front of my shirt.
"Son of a bitch!" I cursed.

Austin laughed, "Thats what you get"
My friends laughed too.

"Damn" I muttered "Now I need a new shirt. I can't go home smelling like booze"
"Kate bought you an entire wardrobe last night" Austin told me "I'm sure you'll be able to find something else to wear"

"Yea . . . I'll be right back" I said, walking upstairs.
I headed into Kate's room.

I closed the door behind me, and turned to lock it.
I lifted the wet shirt over my head, and threw it on the floor.

Then I remembered something.
While we were getting ready for the party Kate had broken the latch on the door.

I couldn't remember what she had done.
But we weren't supposed to lock it, because it kept getting stuck after that. You couldn't open it from the inside.

"Shit" I muttered, spinning around to face the door.
I wiggled the doorknob, no luck.

I tried to unlock it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Son of a bitch" I muttered.

I pounded on the door, uselessly, for a minute.
"Hello!? Let me out! Anybody out there!? Let me out!" I shouted.

It was no use though, nobody was supposed to be up here.
And, the music was too loud.

Then an idea came to me.
I was suddenly thankful for the Blood Bound thing. I could use telepathy to contact Austin and have him get me out of here.

"Austin!" I thought loudly, reaching out to Austin's mind "Get me out! I'm locked in your sister's room"
"Oh, sure"
he thought in response "Just hold on a second, okay?"

"Okay" I thought back.

I slipped into his head for a second.
Just to make sure he was coming.

****

He was with Kyle, Bonnie, Taylor, and Nikki.
"I'll be right back, guys" he said "I gotta take care of some things"

"Okay" they said.
He weaved through the crowds towards the stairs.

****

I left his head, confident that he was coming.
I could hear his voice on the other side of the door now.

"Becca?" he called.
"Yea" I called back "Now, get me out of here!"

"Okay" he said.
The doorknob wiggled, and then opened.

"Thank you" I sighed.
He was staring at me, but not at my face.

He was staring at my chest.
Eyebrows raised, looking surprised.

"Uh, you know you don't have a shirt on, right?" he asked.
I looked down and, sure enough, I wasn't wearing a shirt.

All I had on was the lacy black bra I had put on before.
Sadly, when I was flipping out about being locked in here, I had forgotten I had taken the wet shirt off.

"Uh, I do now" I said awkwardly.
"Well, this is awkward" Austin said, stating the obvious.

"Extremely" I said, blushing deeply.
"Yea. . .maybe I should go now-" Austin was cut off by a loud booming angry voice.

"What are you doing!?!?!?!"

Austin looked over his shoulder.
And I peered around him.

To see Ken and Jake standing at the foot of the stairs.
"You have got to be kidding me" I thought.

Did they honestly have to stalk me? Did they have to crash Austin's party?
Do they have to embarrass me like I knew they were about to?

If I asked them those questions ten bucks says they would say 'yes.'

"What are you doing!?" Jake roared, running up to us.
"Seriously, Jake" I said hastily "This really isn't what it looks like! You see-"

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt!?" he demanded, ignoring me.
"I was trying to explain that to you!" I shouted in exasperation "If you would just let me finish a-"

"Enough! I don't want to hear your excuses, were leaving. Now!" he screamed in my face.
He grabbed my wrist and started pulling me towards the stairs.

I struggled against him furiously.
I was not going downstairs into the middle of a party, without a shirt on. No way in hell.

Austin caught up with us instantly. He stood in front of Jake, blocking his way.
"Hey!" he growled in Jake's face.

"Move, damnit!" Jake shouted.
"No!" Austin hissed furiously "Now, let her go!"

I looked over the banister.
Everyone downstairs was looking up at us.

But almost nobody was looking at me.
They were looking at Jake and Austin. Who were about to rip each others throats out.

"No, now fuck off" Jake shouted.
"Get the fuck out of my house" Austin growled dangerously.

"I will" Jake said evenly "First, you have to get out of our way"
"I said you have to leave. Becca can stay" Austin hissed.

"There is no way in hell she is staying here" Jake snapped.
"I believe that is up to her" Austin said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, she is clearly too stupid to make descions for herself. Or else I wouldn't of walked in on you two" Jake hissed menacingly.
"Hey!" I protested angrily.

"Do not call Becca stupid" Austin snarled dangerously.
"She'd have to be stupid to trust you" Jake retorted.

"Jake, just let me explain!" I begged.
"Shut up!" he shouted at me "You miserable little slut!"

"That's it" Austin snarled.
Then he punched Jake in the eye.

He stumbled, and let go of my wrist.
I jumped away from him quickly.

"You little fucked up bastard!" Jake shouted.
His eye was all swollen, and I'd bet 10 dollars he'd have a black eye tomorow.

Jake threw a punch at Austin, but he ducked agilely.
Frustrated, Jake just shoved Austin. Hard.

He stumbled, and fell.
He put his hands out instinctively to catch his fall.

But a peice of sharp wood was sticking out of the wood floor.
It stabbed into Austin's hand.

He growled in fury and pain as he hit the floor.
Austin looked more pissed then he had in a while.

He clutched his bleeding hand in pain.
"You hurt me!" he shouted at Jake.

Just like an animal, when he got hurt he got angry.
He was directing that anger at Jake, the one who hurt him.

He got to his feat.
Blood tinged the pale skin of his injured hand.

He was glaring at Jake with so much hate that it made me feel vaguely afraid.
He lips were parted in a horrific teeth-baring grimace.

I could see his fangs starting to grow.
Like they did when he was angry.

He began stalking towards Jake, looking utterly bloodthirsty.
No pun intended.

Just then, Domingo came running up the stairs.
Flanked by Jupiter and Mars.

Domingo rushed up to Austin, going a little too fast for a human speed.
He quickly grabbed Austin's arms, and pinned them behind his back.

While Domingo restrained Austin, Jupiter and Mars stood in front of him.
Making a second line of defense.

"Austin, Austin, calm down" Domingo hissed urgently.
Austin struggled angrily against Domingo.

He was glaring at Jake, his metallic eyes seething with anger.
Jake stood there looking terrified, a hand over his eye.

"Calm down . . ." Domingo repeated "Calm down. . ."
Jupiter and Mars stood in front of him, ready to act at a moments notice.

I looked down at the watching crowd, it was silent.
Somebody had turned off the music so everyone could hear. . . damn them.

Some people looked like they wanted the display to end so the party could continue.
Others looked like they wanted a fight to break out.

I saw Kate and Tora running up the stairs.
I noticed Ralph, and Diablo standing by the foot of the stairs. Looking like bouncers. They were trying to keep people from going upstairs now. Good idea, it wasn't safe up here right now.

Domingo began to pull Austin away.
Jupiter and Mars followed, looking wary.

Austin struggled angrily, "I'm gonna kill him!" he shouted "I'm gonna kill him!"
"Calm down" Domingo repeated "Calm down. . ."

Domingo pulled Austin into his room, Jupiter and Mars followed.
In the dead silence I could hear a loud crashing sound from the room.

I wondered what Austin broke. . .

Tora went up to Jake, she moved his hand away from his eye.
"Oh" she said, clucking her tongue in disapproval "Look at that eye. . .Well, c'mon. Let's get you some ice for that"

Unhappily, Jake followed Tora downstairs into the kitchen.
Ken shot me a icy glare before following behind Jake.

Kate rushed up to me, and put a arm over my shoulder.
"Shhhh, it's okay" she soothed.

I didn't realize I was crying.
I was surprised, I wasn't sad at all. I was angry. Really, really angry. Passionately angry.

She led me towards her room, saying random soothing things.
She closed the door behind her, not locking it.

I sat down on her bed.
Sobbing angrly.

She sat next to me, she put an arm around my shoulder.
"It's okay. C'mon, Rebecca, don't cry" she soothed.

The door opened.
Rach, Mandy, Hannah, and Dianna came in.

"Oh my God!" Hannah exclaimed "That was horrible!"
"Yea, your brothers are such asses!" Mandy added.

"Especially Jake" Dianna said.
"At least Austin gave him a nice black eye" Rach added.

They all sat down on the bed.
Trying to soothe me.

"Aw Becca" Hannah said "Don't cry. It's gonna be okay"
"I'm not crying because I'm sad" I managed between my sobs "I'm crying because I'm angry"

"And you should be" Rach added fiercely "That was uncalled for"
"Yea, they didn't even let you explain" Mandy said "That wasn't fair. . . what did happen though?"

"I came. . . in here to get changed" I said between my sobs "But. . .but I locked the door. . .and the lock was broken. . . but I didn't remember until after I took my shirt off. . .so I . . .I started banging on the door. . .Austin came up. . .to see what was taking me so long. And. . . and he opened the door for me. Then. . .then I remembered that I wasn't wearing a shirt. . .so I-I was really embarrassed. So. . . Austin was gonna leave. But-but Jake and Ken showed up. And they just started screaming at me. We-We didn't even do anything!"

I started sobbing again.
I was so mad. What they did was just plain unfair.

"That's horrible" Dianna mused.
"Yea, their jackasses" Hannah decided.

I nodded in agreement.
"Let me get you a shirt" Rach offered.

I nodded again.
Rach disappeared into Kate's closet.

She searched for a shirt while everyone comforted me.
I was starting to stop crying.

"Thank God I used water-proof makeup!" Kate rejoiced.
I laughed shakily, "Thank the lord. . ."

Rach came out with an electric blue lacy tank top.
"How about this?" she asked.

"It's perfect" I sniffed.
She threw it at me, and I pulled it over my head.

"Do you wanna go back to the party?" Kate asked softly.
"In a minute" I said, wiping the remaining tears away, "I'm gonna go check on Austin first. . .you know, make sure he didn't kill someone"

Everyone laughed a little.
"Okay" Kate said "But he's probably still mad. . ."

"I know" I sighed.
We all left the room, and all my friends went downstairs.

Where the party was back in full swing.
The lights were back off, and the music was blaring again.

I went over to Austin's door, and saw Jupiter, Mars, and Domingo standing outside.
They looked kind of annoyed, but mostly worried.

"What's going on?" I asked "Where's Austin?"
"Inside" Domingo said "He won't let us back in?"

"Is he alright?" I asked anxiously.
"I don't know, he won't let us in" Domingo said helplessly.

"Let me see something" I said, gesturing for them to move aside.
They moved out of my way.

I knocked on the door, "Austin" I called "Can I come in"
My plea was answered by a feral snarl.

"Please?" I begged "It's just me. Come on, please?"
"It's not locked" Austin snarled flatly from inside.

I gave Domingo and them a disgusted look.
How did they not know it was unlocked?

I opened the door cautiously, and stepped in.
I closed the door behind me.

The room was a mess.
Shattered glass covered the floor. An end table was knocked over. And it looked like someone had put a fist through the computer monitor. Which is probably exactly what happened.

Austin stood in the corner.
He was baring his teeth, and his fangs were full extended.

His eyes flickered all over the room.
Cataloguing everything.

He looked angry, unbelievably angry.
I understood why he was angry, but I didn't understand why he was so angry.

"Austin" I said softly, walking towards him.
"Get away from me" he hissed.

"Don't be like that" I said quietly "I just wanna help you. . . how's your hand?"
"It's fine" he hissed.

My eyes flicker to his injured hand.
There was a nasty looking wound in the center of it, and blood covered his hand.

"It doesn't look fine" I noted.
"It's fine" he repeated.

"Can I . . . can I just look at it?" I asked.
"It's fine" he repeated stubbornly.

I took another step forward, he flinched back against the wall.
He growled menacingly.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked in a small voice "Did I. . .Did I do something. . ."
His hostile expression faded, but the fangs stayed in place.

Now that the angry mask was gone, he looked. . . vulnerable.
Vulnerable and scared. . . not a common occurrence in Austin.

"No" he said softly "It-it's not you. It's him. It's Jake. . . "
"I know" I said patronizingly "Jake is an ass. . .but don't let it get to you"

"I know" he said "But, the way he talks to you . . . it just pisses me off . . ."
"I know, I know" I soothed condescendingly "Now, let me look at your hand"

He let me approach him this time.
But I still walked slowly, not wanting to set him off.

I gingerly grabbed his hand, avoiding the wound.
It looked pretty deep, and I doubted it was 'fine.'

My assumption was proved true when my fingers touched a little too close to the wound.
He winced and hissed under his breath.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I apologized hastily.
He nodded tightly.

As I was looking at his hand, I noticed that it was the same hand he had the burn on.
It was concealed underneath the black wristband.

"Maybe Domingo should take a look at it" I suggested.
He shrugged nonchalantly.

He still looked unhappy, but his fangs were slowly retracting.
They were always a good gauge of how angry he was.

I grabbed his other hand, and slowly led him outside.
Domingo, Jupiter, and Mars were still waiting.

They looked relieved to see us.
Either relieved to see Austin was (generally) alright or relieved that he hadn't killed me.

Domingo, Jupiter, and Mars took Austin somewhere to take care of his hand.
And I decided to go home.

Jake and Ken had already left, so Kate offered to drive me.
But all of their cars were in the garage, blocked by the other cars.

So, I told them I was okay to walk.
Austin probably would of protested this, but nobody felt it necessary to tell Austin.

Apparently, the wound was even worse then it looked.
Seeing as it was created with very sharp wood.

So, they didn't want to stress him out anymore.
It wouldn't be helpful.

The party was still going on.
But people were starting to clear out.

Seeing as the parents would be home soon, and the host was injured.
The party-goers were scattering.

So, I was perfectly okay walking home at 12 o'clock at night.
Since, there were tons of other kids running home around me.

Before I walked in my front door, I took my hair down.
Draping it over my shoulder.

When I walked in the front door, it was dark.
I half expected to flip on the lights and find Jake and Ken waiting for me again.

Luckily, they weren't.

So, I went upstairs.
Everyone was asleep.

Even Jake.
I peered into his room to check too. He was sound asleep, his eye definetly swollen.

I tip-toed into my room.
And Stanley was already sleeping at the foot of my bed.

Not bothering to change, I slipped into the bed.
I fell asleep quickly.

Today had been exhausting.
And tomorow was sure to be too.

My life is so complicated. . .


Took me a while to get that done, bcuz I kept re-writing it. But, it's a long one so it's worth it. It's also Christmas so that made it harder. Since, my super-crazy family is visiting. But, I made time. The good news is, I got a labtop! So, now updating will b much easier :) No more fighting over the computer! :)
Anyway, consider this my Christmas present 2 u! N a review can b ur present 2 me, lol :)
And, 2 those of u who celebrate it, Merry Christmas! :)