The remainder of the week went slowly, eventually Saturday came; the night of Brody's party. Adam and Jose were spending Friday night at Brody's so they'd be there already. Kate was going with Ryan, and Christian and I were both going with Elliot and his friends. One of Elliot's senior friends had a car apparently. I didn't know how to feel about mixing with a bunch of juniors and seniors. They were all big and intimidating.
"You'll be fine," Christian assured me as I finished curling my hair in his bedroom.
"Here, I'll do this bit," he said, taking the curling iron from me and helping with the back.
Christian, unsurprisingly, was good at everything. Even curling hair as it turned out.
We'd all told our parents that Brody's party was a low-key thing with just us and his parents. (It wasn't.) I had a midnight curfew regardless. So did Christian.
"There you go," Christian declared, running his fingers through my freshly curled hair.
I turned to face him, looking up into his eyes through my fluttery lashes. He bent and kissed me like I wanted, but pulled away far too quickly.
"Come on, they're here," he said, pulling me to my feet.
"Do I look okay?" I asked anxiously. I'd never been to a high school party before and this would be my first. I'd went with tight black skinny jeans as a safe bet, paired with a white strappy cami.
"You look gorgeous," he said, taking hold of my hand and pulling me from the room.
Christian was dressed in a hoodie and jeans. His hair was messy, and he was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. All I could think about lately was kissing him. I desperately wanted him to touch me again like he'd done in class when he apologised. Maybe I'd do something so he could apologise again…I shook my head with a laugh. He'd awoken some new feelings inside my body and I craved them again.
The car Elliot's friend drove was black, sleek and big.
"It's an SUV," Christian explained to me as we got into the back. "Apparently his dad is loaded."
The boy in question turned around from the front seat with a wicked grin.
"Like my ride?" He asked me.
He had wavy dark brown hair and big blue eyes. He was extremely good looking and definitely older. There was a gold bracelet dangling from his wrist that shook slightly as he reached his hand back to shake mine.
"I'm Michael," he said. "You must be Christian's girl, Ana."
At the mention of his name, Christian wrapped an arm protectively round me.
"Yeah," I said nervously. "Thanks for the lift."
"Anytime sweetheart," he said, turning back and talking to Elliot.
There were a few more guys in the back with us but they didn't speak much. When Michael started to drive, I thought about what my dad would say if he could see me right now. Surrounded by older guys on the way to a big house party. He'd be absolutely livid.
Brody didn't live far so we were there in no time. When we pulled up, Elliot called out to one of his friends to get the 'booze from the trunk.'
"Are you gonna drink?" I whispered to Christian as we got out and he slipped his fingers through mine.
"I might try it," he said. "Only if you do though," he grinned.
I laughed. "We'll see."
Brody hadn't been lying when he said it was going to be a big party. The front lawn was filled with stragglers. Some making out, some waiting for their friends. The front doors to his large house were open wide and a flood of light and banging music came from inside. We made our way in slowly. There were so many people that it almost looked like a blur of moving talking heads. In the living room, Brody fought his way over to us, clutching a can of beer in his right hand and swinging his left over my shoulder.
"You came," he grinned, kissing me on the cheek.
Christian pulled me away from him.
"You're drunk," he said to Brody, disapproval heavy in his tone.
"Course I am," he laughed, clapping Christian on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll get you a beer."
He turned away, back through the crowd and Christian and I walked out into the hallway. There were more people there and several lounging in the kitchen. I didn't recognise any of them. We decided to go out into the back yard. There were dozens more here, including Kate and her new boyfriend Ryan.
He was good looking, just as Kate had described. We exchanged pleasantries before he turned back around and continued smoking. He took a drag and slipped Kate it who followed suit. I'd never seen her smoke before. She coughed a few times before passing it back.
"You look beautiful," she smiled.
I went to say the same but stopped short as I took her in. Kate didn't look dressed up as usual. Her hair was a bit tangled and she was wearing baggy jeans with a frayed t-shirt. Her mascara was also smudged. What was wrong with her? Ryan left to get Kate a drink and Christian seemed to think he should do the same.
"I'll be back in a second," he said, giving my hand a squeeze.
I turned to Kate inquisitively.
"So you're a smoker now?" I asked.
"Stop being judgy Ana," she hissed.
I ignored her. "Why are you dressed like that?"
She looked affronted so I rephrased my question.
"I mean, you're usually glammed up," I added.
She sighed. "Ryan...I didn't have time to get ready. I'd been at Ryan's, I wanted to go home and change but he said I looked fine and didn't need to get dressed up like a slut for other guys."
"He said that?" I gasped.
She nodded. "It's not a big deal though is it? I think he just doesn't want other guys looking at me you know?"
I opened my mouth to tell her how terrible that sounded but she scuttled away saying she had to go and find him. I sat down on the edge of a seat and waited for Christian to come back. A few seconds later however, a tall figure loomed over me wearing a grin. I recognised it as one of guys who rode with us here in Michael's car. I didn't know his name.
"Didn't speak much in the car," he said, taking a seat next to me. He took a long swig of beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
He smelled strongly of alcohol and cigarettes. His hair, I noticed, was dark and greasy.
"What's your name again?" He asked.
"Ana," I replied, edging away from him.
"I'm Dan. You're gorgeous," he said, elongating his words and moving closer to me still.
He wrapped a finger around one of my curls and I stood up, making to walk away. I didn't expect it when he pulled me roughly by my arm back to him. A wild fear came over me and I noticed that there weren't very many people in the garden anymore. The ones that were, were huddled in corners making out, paying us no attention.
"Don't be like that," he said.
His voice wasn't so nice anymore. It was rough and gravelly.
"Riding with a group of guys in those tight jeans," he said, holding my arm tighter still. "Don't be a cock tease."
"Get off me," I shouted, wrenching my arm away. "Get off me or I'll scream."
To my surprise, he did release me. With a laugh, he downed the rest of his beer and looked me up and down.
"You aren't all that you know," he drawled. "Average. Plain. Just thought you might be easy."
Christian materialised at my side then, holding a drink. He surveyed the scene before him and stood in front of me.
"What did you do to her?" He said to Dan.
The venom in his voice was unmistakable. He spoke slow and intimidating. I couldn't see Dan's expression from behind him.
"Just asked her if she wanted a ride on my dick," Dan laughed. "But fair play if she's yours."
Christian edged closer. I stayed frozen where I was. It wasn't good when Christian got angry.
I heard the blood curdling sound of skin meeting flesh before I could register that Christian hadn't replied. This was his reply. A punch in the face that had Dan's nose trickling blood all over his face and onto his white t-shirt.
"You fucking crazy bastard," he hissed, bolting past both of us and into the house.
I looked at Christian. His fists were clenched in fury. A few blood spots stained his fingers and I reached in my pocket for a tissue, making my way over quickly to wipe it off.
"You okay?" I asked, looking up at him.
His eyes were still glazed over with anger. He didn't answer me.
"Come on, sit down," I grabbed hold of his hand gently and moved him towards an empty bench in the yard. He sat down and I moved to sit on his lap, running my fingers through his hair softly.
"It's okay," I said gently. "I don't think anybody saw."
He didn't reply, but he did rest a hand on my waist, holding me close to him.
Christian had moments like this when he'd lose control of his emotions and completely zone out. I'd only witnessed it a handful of times, but I'd noticed it happened whenever he was particularly angry or frustrated. I also knew that he was strong. He could do serious damage if he didn't keep his temper in check. He told me a few years ago he went to therapy for it, but I wondered if he needed something stronger.
I stayed with him like that until his anger ebbed away. He looked at me with a small smile.
"I'm not gonna have anyone talking about you like that," he said, unapologetically.
I sighed, half infuriated but half deeply infatuated. He loved me that much...
"I don't want you to get into trouble over me," I said firmly.
But he took hold of my hand, wrapping his fingers tightly around mine. When he looked up, his eyes were full of sincerity.
"You're the only thing worth getting in trouble for," he said, with a finality that left me a little speechless.
I rested my head on his shoulder, inhaling his clean scent.
"I love you," I whispered. So so much.
"I know," he winked, giving me my favourite cocky grin that I fell for every damn time.