Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Revenge, I Just Love It

Chapter 10: Alright

Opening her front door to find a concerned looking Daniel standing there in his Collins Prep uniform, having clearly rushed straight from school, Amanda sighed, as she reluctantly motioned for him to come in.

"What are you doing here Daniel... Grayson?", she asked with raised eyebrows, emphasizing his last name as though to consciously remind herself of who he really was.

"Grayson", Daniel repeated with a scrunched up expression on his face, "Why so formal Amanda... Clarke?", he couldn't help but banter as he whispered her full name.

Frowning slightly Amanda shrugged her shoulders, she couldn't explain it to him, she didn't even know what it even really was. "Well you are a Grayson aren't you?".

"Yes, by blood", Daniel replied confused, "I reckon it's both a blessing and a curse", he tried joking lightheartedly, receiving only a half-hearted smile in return. "So what's up with you Emily?".

"Nothing", she replied defensively, "I'm fine".

"You skipped school today and ignored my texts, even though yesterday I thought we cleared up our fight, and you told me you were actually going to start trying with school", Daniel responded slowly, trying not to sound judgemental.

"I didn't skip, I was sick", Amanda replied simply, however, observing the rather sceptical expression on his face she further elaborated. "I um, yesterday was a long day, and I woke up this morning with a really bad headache, and I just really needed this day. I wouldn't have been productive at school anyway, there was just too much on my mind, my head was really pounding".

It wasn't so much of a lie, not really. Her mind did hurt, it was more psychologically than physiologically though, although the two were probably intertwined. Nevertheless, she had hardly gotten any sleep last night, being too distracted by Nolan's cryptic words, and bittersweet memories of her father which she had tried so hard to bury. And when she had finally fallen asleep, she'd awakened some time later in a cold sweat, having had a nightmare, like the ones she had first started getting after being placed in the foster care system years ago. She had thought that at sixteen she had finally gotten over that phase but clearly her mind was still too weak and the shock of his words had sent her back there for the night.

She had truly needed this day to herself, to recover, and to stitch up that seed of doubt Nolan Ross had so cruelly and wrongly wanted to plant within her. It couldn't be true though, and she didn't want to hear it... not now when she was finally in a better place and learning how to come to terms with her father and his transgressions in a less self-destructive way than her younger self.

When Nolan had left he'd slipped a note underneath her door with his phone number written on it and the words, call me when you're ready to learn the truth about your father. She had crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage though, she was only ready to move on... she had to be. All the evidence had pointed to her father, and she couldn't put her faith in him again only to be completely broken.

However, in the deepest parts of her mind, Amanda couldn't deny the feeling that Nolan had seemed honest and earnest when he had spoken to her, and the fact remained that she had always felt uneasy around Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, who Nolan himself had implied were dangerous. But then maybe Nolan had just bought into her father's lies as she once had or maybe he was still in denial as she had once been. It was just too messy.

"I'm sorry", Daniel responded genuinely, "are you okay now though, or do you want me to run to the store and get you anything?".

"I'm fine Daniel", Amanda replied steadily, brushing off his well-intended concern. "I just needed to sleep it off, I guess. I feel better now, I actually did some painting today, I finally finished what I wanted too". Painting had been a welcome distraction from her troubled thoughts.

"You mean the picture you promised Jack?" he asked. Feeling a pang of jealousy that he forced himself to suppress.

Nodding her head, Amanda gave him an almost secretive smile, "I wasn't sure whether I wanted to paint it or draw it. But you brought me all those painting supplies, and they're such high-end quality too, and after practising I remembered that I'm just as good at painting as I am drawing".

"So you're finally admitting you're good now", Daniel said with a smirk, "in Connecticut you wouldn't even tell me that".

"In Connecticut you were a stranger" she retorted.

"So, now that I'm not a stranger, will you finally show me some of your artwork?".

" I don't know", Amanda replied with a reluctant sounding sigh "maybe".

"That sounds unconvincing. Come on, it's not like I'm asking you to draw me a picture like Jack".

"Do you really care that much?", Amanda asked him directly, her brown eyes staring into his trying her best to read him. "About seeing my art".

Shrugging his shoulders, Daniel looked away, feeling almost embarrassed as he muttered, "I just like getting to know you better, and art seems like something you value and it just makes me curious. It is important to you isn't it?"

"I don't know, I guess so, it helps me take my mind off things, and I feel at peace when I'm immersed in a drawing or painting. And also..."

"Also what?" Daniel murmured, noticing how Amanda's voice had quietly trailed off.

"It makes me feel closer to my mother." she replied slowly and softly. "The only memory I really have of her before she died, is of us painting outside. Well I say painting but I was probably only swirling random strokes against my canvas, but my mother, well she was painting, and I imagine it was probably beautiful".

"I bet she was amazing," Daniel responded kindly, "I wish you could have known more about her".

Nodding her head slowly, a bittersweet smile flashed across Amanda's lips, "Anyway", she muttered, changing the subject, "I was actually going to take my sketchbook and draw at the bench tonight after work, if you want to join?"

"Is that your indirect way of saying you'll show me something then?", Daniel couldn't help but ask, questioning her intentions.

Shaking her head, Amanda laughed at his persistence, "Nope, sorry Daniel, my drawings are private, that's just my indirect way of saying I wouldn't hate to see you later if you ever shut up about seeing my artwork".

"It's beautiful Amanda", Jack said earnestly, his ocean eyes flickering with an abundance of gratitude and warmth as he stared at the painting she had made for him. A painting he couldn't seem to take his eyes off.

She had made it as a kind of tribute to their childhood memories. She had wanted to paint something important, something he'd truly appreciate and so she had painted him the past. She'd painted the Hampton's beach from how they had seen it as kids. The warm sand with shells and beach glass embedded in it, the glistening ocean, the boundless sky, and the beaming sun.

She had drawn everything but them themselves. They were always moving as kids, always changing games, and never staying in one spot on the beach for long, and so every time Jack looked at the painting, she wanted him to imagine them doing something different. She didn't want to represent them as static, she wanted them to be dynamic; to be as real as they had been, and in a different way as real as they still were now.

The painting was clever though because although she hadn't painted them in it, she'd painted things that implied their presence. A blanket on the sand, an unfinished sandcastle, empty buckets and spades, a pile of the blue glass they had once avidly collected.

"It's perfect, so detailed, and all the textures and colours came out beautifully too... I love it. It's reminiscent of us; our days on the beach. I can vividly see us right there" Jack said with a nostalgic smile, "you're sitting in the sand working on the sandcastle, Sammy's lazing beside you in the sun and I'm..."

"You have two buckets in your hands, collecting water from the ocean so we can give our castle a moat." Amanda finished off for him.

Laughing, Jack should his head, "I was going to say, burying my body in the sand like an idiot, but that works too."

Smiling warmly, Amanda slowly began to let him in on some private thoughts of hers that she'd never voiced to him before, "You know Jack, it's these memories that kept me going all these years when I felt lost and alone, and in the dark. It was the thought of you that gave me comfort, and the hope that I would get to see you again. It sounds silly but I didn't really have many happy things to latch onto and so I latched onto thoughts of you."

"It's not silly at all, Amanda" Jack replied sincerely, as he very tentatively placed his hand on top of hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze in his desire to make contact with her, if even just a little. "I've told you before that I feel guilty, that I couldn't be there for you physically, and that you went through all that with no support. And I know you've told me that there was nothing I could have done, and I know that... but I still wish I could have protected you. I guess it makes me feel a bit easier knowing I was at least there for you in spirit though".

Her hand felt soft and warm underneath his, and he was relieved that she hadn't moved it. In fact, he was almost certain that he saw a tiny smile grace her lips when his hand had touched hers. He never knew what their physical boundaries were anymore. She didn't seem like the touchy type but sometimes he just really wanted to wrap his arms around her shoulder or pull her into a hug, and sometimes he felt like she really needed that contact too. He had hugged her the day they had first reconnected, but that was on instinct and impulse... that was different. Now he was unsure of how she'd take it.

It had been so much easier when they were kids, he had never had to consider boundaries. He would just easily grab her hand when he wanted to pull her in one direction, and put his arm around her when she seemed unusually down. They had even kissed playing house, once or twice, although as kids it had only been tentative pecks on the cheeks.

However, he had kissed her on the lips just once. He still remembered it and she probably did too. It was the day of their pretend wedding which she had adamantly wanted to act out, wanting a reason for the both of them, but especially herself to dress up in fancy attire. After they had gone through the ceremony and exchanged their blue pipe cleaner rings, and while her father had quickly left to grab the cake, she had whispered into his ear that she knew how real weddings worked and that the husband and the bride had to kiss to make the marriage final. And so wanting to make his bride happy, unsurely and very very quickly his lips had brushed across hers, leaving him red-faced and her cheeks blushing, and resulting in the both of them giggling as her father came back, his blue eyes and her brown eyes silently acknowledging that it was their top-secret of secrets.

Jack didn't know why he was thinking about that now, well I guess deep down he did know. It was because he'd begun to have thoughts about kissing her for real. About what it would be like to steal a kiss from sixteen-year-old Amanda Clarke. It was just that these thoughts and the feelings they underlined were things he was beginning to struggle with. They were best friends, and he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize that or make things awkward between them, especially after all she'd been through, and after he'd just finally gotten her back.

"You're full of surprises", Daniel said with cheerful little laugh unable to hide his amusement as he sat down beside Amanda on the hidden little bench overlooking the beach behind Grayson Manor. "You got me good".

Turning her head to look at him, trying to hide her smirk, Amanda shook her head feigning innocence, "I have no idea what you're talking about Daniel... and stop smiling so much".

"Well I'm happy", Daniel retorted staring back at her with gratitude in his warm brown eyes, "So all this time you were planning to paint me a picture as well. Why didn't you just tell me?".

"I wanted to surprise you", Amanda replied with a smile, "you seem like the kind of guy who likes surprises... and I don't know, I started painting Jack's and after all you've done for me, it just felt right to make you one too. Consider it a thank you present for everything. I mean, you're the reason I'm even here in the Hampton's and able to make something for Jack in the first place. You've done a lot for me."

"I haven't done that much, I..."

"Come on, you know you have", Amanda interrupted firmly, knowing he was trying to be modest but not needing him to try and minimize how he'd helped her. "Anyway, do you like it?".

"Like it", Daniel repeated, shaking his head, "I love it, it's beautiful Emily, it takes me back to the day we first met. I can tell you must have put so much detail into it too with all the different colours and textures, and the way you recreated that atmosphere perfectly on canvas".

For Daniel, Amanda had created a very picturesque painting of the bench in Connecticut where their friendship had truly started. The small wooden bench overlooking the lake, partly shrouded behind trees. She had painted the setting in the night time, with the little illumination of light coming from the dim lamp post standing tall beside the bench, as well as the moon and the few speckled stars which they had seen only on clear nights.

It was a beautiful painting but it was a stark contrast to Jack's. Jack's had been bright and vibrant and painted with warm colours. While Daniel's was mellow and painted with mostly cool and dark colours. But then the paintings represented different atmospheres, feelings, times and people. Day and night, sun and moon, past and fairly present, Amanda Clarke and Emily Thorne, and most obviously Jack and Daniel.

"Can I ask you why you didn't paint us in it?" Daniel asked in curiosity.

"I suck at drawing people, let alone painting them. I definitely would have messed it up." Amanda responded candidly, "And secondly, I um, I guess I like how the painting feels more ambiguous when there's no person or people represented in it. For me and you, we know we were there, and what we were doing, but for anyone else looking at the painting, I just want them to see a pretty picture of a bench overlooking the lake in the night time and to derive their own stories from that... if that makes sense".

"I think it makes perfect sense, I just never really thought of it like that. You're amazing Emily", Daniel said gushing, "and it's beautiful, your mum would be so proud at how talented you are."

"You exaggerate", Amanda replied slowly, shaking her head as a faint red flushed to her cheeks at his compliments, causing her to avert her eyes from his.

"I'm not", Daniel rebuked strongly, "And how did you even manage to get it into my room?"

"I snuck into your house while you were at school".

"Snuck in, Daniel said with a laugh, "Are you a part-time ninja in disguise too Emily?".

"I wish", Amanda responded with a smile, "I say snuck in, but I just knocked on your front door, and your maid Martha let me in".

"Thank you", Daniel murmured sincerely, sighing contently as he pulled out his poetry book, while Amanda re-opened her sketchbook and silently began to draw.

"You're welcome" she whispered back.

Two Weeks Later

So this was what a house party was like, Amanda thought to herself with a sigh as she sat on top of the marble counter in the back of the kitchen drinking her fifth plastic cup full of the clearly spiked fruit punch. She hadn't wanted to be here, but long story short, she'd lost a bet to Daniel, and as per their agreement, she'd agreed to give the party a try. Why Daniel believed she'd actually end up enjoying it was beyond her, but then Daniel was always annoyingly optimistic and simple-minded in ways. He had probably thought that in a more open and lively environment than school, she might be able to mix and mingle with her peers better... or some bullshit like that. Either way though he'd been completely wrong. Hanging around with cheerful, crazy, horny, drunken, rich high schoolers, was not her idea of a fun time.

Her head was beginning to hurt too, it was pounding; the alcohol in her system probably didn't help but she blamed the noise as the main culprit. The house music and synthetic bass were so obnoxiously loud that it was reverberating through the walls, the floor and her body, and on top of the music everybody was either screaming, shouting, laughing, or making out in random places.

Although Amanda had been with Daniel in the beginning, she had ended up losing him some time ago, which was a shame because if she had to admit it... with Daniel, she had kind of been having a nice time. They had just been sitting outside by the pool, talking casually, drinking lightly, and laughing with a couple of his friends who she supposed she didn't really hate. It had been simple and chill, instead of the buzzing giddy environment surrounding them. But then Mr. Popular had been whisked away to play beer pong, and although he had tried to decline at first, he'd been egged on so much that the only way to get everyone to shut up was to indulge them. Daniel had asked her to join him too, but she'd told him she was fine by herself. That had been a lie though, being alone at a party sucked whether you liked people or not, and though guys had tried to talk to her... well hit on her, and girls had tried to pull her into their conversations and laughter, she'd felt too uninterested to really indulge them. In a way, she was her own worst enemy.

To be honest, Amanda really just wanted to go home but Daniel was the one arranging the ride back, and she had no money on her or anything to call herself a taxi. She was essentially stuck, and she knew that if she found Daniel and told him that she wanted to leave, he'd be kind enough to leave with her. But she didn't want to be the one to bother him. From what she had seen, he looked like he was having fun.

She was kind of jealous actually, she wished she could be as carefree as everyone else here; dancing, and laughing and kissing whoever they wanted. Sure they looked stupid and reckless, but they also looked happy, wild and free. They looked unburdened, that's how she wanted to be.

"Emily Thorne".

Turning her head to the source of the obnoxious male voice calling her, Amanda found herself sighing in annoyance as a fairly buzzed Tyler Barrol approached her. "What's a pretty girl like you just sitting here alone for. It's a party, have fun, come dance with me Emily", he suggested eagerly as he grabbed her by the hands, and tried to pull her down from the counter.

Pulling her hands out of his grasp in rejection, Amanda shook her head irritatedly, "Go away Tyler, go hit on someone else".

"I'm sorry", he muttered, frowning slightly as he jumped up to sit down on the kitchen counter beside her instead. "I guess you're not in the mood, are you okay? I have some weed if you want to feel more relaxed. We can smoke around the side of the house".

"I don't smoke anymore", Amanda responded firmly.

"Why cause Daniel threw a tantrum last time you did?", Tyler ridiculed with a laugh.

Glaring at him, Amanda shook her head, the movement making her head feel heavier than it already was, "What's your problem with Daniel anyway... Jealousy? You honestly don't know anything Tyler, just go away".

"Jeez", he murmured feigning hurt, "Why are you in such a bitchy mood, is this because of Daniel?".

"I'm not in a mood", Amanda replied defensively, "and why would it be about Daniel? I just don't like parties."

"So why did you come?", Tyler couldn't help but question, "Wait... let me guess, Daniel convinced you to, even though he's left you most of the night and is spending his time with Ashley".

"Ashley", Amanda repeated, something about hearing that girl's name next to Daniel's making her stomach twist uncomfortably, "Daniel's not even into Ashley".

"Well he is tonight, he's all over her", Tyler responded, watching her reaction carefully as he showed her a picture from his phone of Ashley and Daniel sitting very closely together by the pool. I hope he's not your ride, who knows where he'll end up tonight".

"I honestly don't care", Amanda responded sourly, feeling something close to jealousy, as she jumped down from the counter, wanting to fill her cup up with whatever drink still remained on the table. She had stood up too quickly though, finding herself feeling dizzy and unsteady on her feet as though all the alcohol had quickly rushed to her head, reminding her that she needed to slow down. "I have a boyfriend remember".

"Right", Tyler muttered, jumping down too and wrapping his right arm around her waist to help steady her, "Well while, your boyfriend's hundreds of miles away, and Daniel's trying to get into Ashley's pants, at least let me entertain you for the rest of the night. Unless you want to sit bored by yourself."

"I don't even like you Tyler", Amanda muttered sharply, finding her voice was beginning to slur.

"Well I like you very much", he responded with a smile, as he poured some of his drink into her empty cup and moved his arm from her waist to grab her hand instead, guiding her into the heart of the party, "you're gorgeous Emily".

He had overdone it a bit this time Daniel thought to himself as he walked through the house trying to find Emily. He had known that parties included alcohol, and that alcohol plus himself wasn't a good mix. If last summer had taught him anything, it had taught him that, but he'd generally thought he was smarter now... at least a little more than back then, and that a few drinks wouldn't spiral into a lot of drinks, but he'd overestimated himself, and was now beginning to feel the full effects of the alcohol.

His body felt unsteady and heavy, and his mind was slightly disoriented and spinning. He consciously had to force himself to concentrate on the simplest of things. It wasn't ideal, in fact, it was reckless, especially since he'd brought Emily with him. He had thought that he'd drink less with her around though and that probably would have been the case if he hadn't unintentionally split from her. He had kept getting pulled and pushed into every which direction, and although he had tried to keep an eye out for her, the more intoxicated he became the harder that became. He would remember to apologize to her tomorrow when he was sober. Right now though he just wanted to quickly find her and leave the party, which was turning out to be no easy task. He'd looked everywhere and back again for her, although admittedly it was a huge house. He just hoped she was okay.

Stumbling into Ashely Davenport, Daniel found himself being flashed with a flirtatious smile as she latched onto his arm, "Come dance with me" she suggested with a giggle, as she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. Her smile morphing into an immediate frown as Daniel shook his head, and removed her manicured hands from his grasp.

"I can't", Daniel replied trying to sound steady, "I told you I'm leaving now I just need Emily first. Have you seen her?".

"What's with your preoccupation with Emily Thorne?", Ashley responded defensively, her face scrunching up as Emily's name flew across her lips, "You have a thing for her don't you?"

"She's my friend, that's all", Daniel replied almost naturally. Though his response ended up sounding hesitant.

Crossing her arms, Ashley shook her head, not buying it, "You're such a bad liar Danny, I don't get it with her, sure she's pretty, but she seems completely disinterested in everything and she's standoffish, is she even any fun Daniel? Does she make you happy like I did, like I still can".

"Ashley, you're drunk", Daniel muttered in frustration, shaking his head, "And you honestly don't understand anything about her".

"I know she's all over Tyler right now", Ashley retorted with narrowed eyes, knowing her words would dig into him as she watched his eyes flash with confusion, jealousy, and worry.

"You're lying, she hates Tyler".

"No you hate him", Ashley corrected, "What is it with you two...jealousy?".

"I'm not jealous of him", Daniel rebutted.

"Oh right, of course, you're Daniel Grayson, you're perfect, you're not jealous of anybody", Ashley said sarcastically with a bitter tone to her voice.

"That's not what I said", Daniel denied, feeling the aggravation within him starting to rise and trying his best to keep it at bay as he took a deep breath, "Look just please tell me where Emily is, I don't want to fight with you Ash".

Hesitating out of spite, as she gazed into Daniel's pleading eyes, she couldn't help but cave into his request, as she sorely muttered, "Brittany told me that she saw the two of them going upstairs".

She couldn't explain it, Amanda thought to herself as Tyler's body pressed against her own, his hands unashamedly roaming her body in greedy desire as his lips pressed against her lower neck. She couldn't explain it, but she knew definitively that no part of herself wanted this. Her body was burning at his touch, crying at the violation, and yet underneath the influence of the alcohol circulating throughout her bloodstream, those desperate feelings of hers were painfully separate from her ability to take decisive action.

Of course, she had tried telling Tyler to stop, to shout, to scream, to shove him away, but the alcohol had left her feeling so dizzy and disoriented that it was hard to think straight and form coherent words to push out at him, and when she had they had only fallen on his insensitive ears. That was the scary thing, she'd left herself vulnerable to him, not even fully realizing until his lips were on hers that he'd lured her upstairs and into a room. He was strong too, much stronger than her, and her limbs had felt heavy and weak when she'd tried to shove him off of her and push his hands away. It was strange... feeling this helpless again, and yet being intoxicated it was a different feeling of weakness than the one she had felt as a child. As she was now, it was like she was trapped in two different ways; trapped behind the faded fuzziness of her drunken mind and body, and trapped physically against the wall by Tyler's own bigger body. But being this drunk gave Amanda one source of comfort, for if she closed her eyes and stopped trying to fight, she could feel herself fading in and out of consciousness, slipping into the temporary haze the alcohol allowed her, and in that state she could almost convince herself that it wasn't really happening, that it wasn't really her.

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Amanda heard Daniel's voice before she saw him, a voice that shook with so much aggression and rage that she almost didn't recognize it as his own, and a voice that rung painfully through her head, shattering any notion that her mind had truly slipped away. She had seen his infuriated brown eyes next. The room was dark, and though she could make out the outline of his silhouette, it was his eyes that had struck her. Eyes she wished couldn't see her. Not how she was currently; drunk and pinned against the wall by an asshole whose hand was halfway up her shirt, and erection hard against her thighs. But he was here and she couldn't do anything but avert her eyes in the shame she felt, relieved at least by the fact that Tyler had tensed at Daniel's unexpected presence, his power balance having been disrupted, and his mind no doubt flooded with unease as he stumbled away from her body, muttering that he was sorry.

She knew he wasn't sorry though, even in her intoxicated state Amanda could tell that much. She could feel her blood still boiling from the violation he'd caused her, it wreaking havoc inside of her body. She desperately wanted to metamorphose that feeling into something that could lash out and cause him harm. To her frustration though, the rest of her body still felt too dizzy and consequently weak to act upon that impulse, so instead, she leant herself against the wall and shifted her focus to Daniel, silently begging him to take control of the situation and get her out of there.

He had stormed towards them with such fury when he had seen Tyler against her, but now that Tyler had put some distance between them, Daniel's advance abruptly halted about halfway between the door and where Amanda stood against the back wall. His body going completely tense, and his hands clenching into fists, as his eyes swept over her, before locking onto Tyler with a murderous glance.

Amanda looked so unsteady to him like she was just barely keeping it all together; both physically as she leant against the wall, and emotionally, but Daniel didn't know how best to help her. Not when all he could find himself doing was trembling in the fury he felt staring at her dishevelled appearance and back to Tyler's unapologetic face. The truth was he was unsteady himself, and trying extremely hard to hold it all together for her. But every time he stared at her and saw the pain in her eyes hidden behind her infuriation, or looked down to see the undone buttons on her shirt which her fumbling fingers had missed to do back up when Tyler had stepped away from her, he only found himself wanting to cause damage not work damage control.

"Look I'm sorry", Tyler murmured slowly, cautiously, not to Amanda herself, the victim of his behaviour but to Daniel Grayson, as though Daniel was the one who'd been hurt by him; the one disgustingly groped in the dark without having given consent. It was infuriating, even more so than Tyler not apologizing at all, not that he meant this one. "I got a little carried away that's all, you know how it goes. We were just having fun, I..."

"Shut up Tyler", Amanda spat out at him, her voice beating Daniel's, it though hoarse and unsteady having returned, it trembling in the overwhelming amount of disgust she felt for him as her resentful dark brown eyes bore holes into eyes of his that only now turned to acknowledge her. "You tried forcing yourself on me because you knew that was the only way you'd ever get me. You're disgusting, you're just some insecure jock who wishes you could be Daniel Grayson".

"And you're just some pretty girl with only one friend because you're too stuck up for everyone else." Tyler retorted unashamedly, his ego having become quickly bruised and inflamed by her words. "And you have no proof that I did anything you didn't like? Everyone saw us downstairs drinking together and stuff, and plus," Tyler added with a wink, "We were just making out, I didn't think I needed to stop, it was just a little fun Emily, relax you're...".

But before Tyler could finish his obnoxious sentence, the little ounce of tolerance Daniel had been holding onto disintegrated into his fury as his body no longer shaking to control himself stepped closer towards Tyler Barrol, a heavy fist swinging straight into Tyler's jaw with such a force that Tyler smashed backwards against the wall. "I swear to God if you so much as look at her again I'll kill you", Daniel shouted threateningly, grabbing him with two hands by the front of his Marc Jacobs polo shirt, and pushing him even harder against the wall. But Tyler being slightly less intoxicated than Daniel was steadier on his feet, and with the right amount of correctly placed force he was able to roughly shove Daniel off of himself not feeling afraid to antagonize Daniel further. "You're just jealous" Tyler spat, his battered face morphing into an antagonizing smirk as he used the back of his hand to wipe the blood coming from his mouth, "that it was me in this room with her and not you, that I ever touched her before you did. Admit it!" he challenged, strengthening his stance as Daniel's second fist flew towards him. This time Tyler was ready for it though and managed to hastily defend himself before throwing a much desired punch of his own. Their angered fists powered behind their pent up resentment towards the other, escalating the situation into a full-blown fight.

Amanda watched silently from where she stood, unalarmed by the violence. She was no stranger to it. She had learnt to be tough and had needed to prove it many times in the past, and if she could have, she would have beat the shit out of Tyler as well. She wasn't a saint; forgiveness was not her thing and neither was mercy. When someone hurt her she wanted them to feel that same pain and more. But something felt different tonight. Although there was no denying that watching Daniel's first punch smash into Tyler's face had been truly satisfying for her, as she kept on watching the fists fly, she found herself feeling only dizzier than she had already felt instead of better.

In this very moment, Amanda needed space and air even more than she needed Tyler to feel pain. She needed to breathe and get as far away from the party as she could. And although she couldn't verbalize it to Daniel now as his fists swung furiously at Tyler, she needed Daniel to take care of her, and not him. To grab her by her hand and get her out of the room, and look her in the eyes and ask her if she was truly alright. She wasn't Daniel's focus though, Tyler was, and so very unsteadily Amanda made her way out of the room and down the stairs herself. As she descended, she could hear more shouting as the fight no doubt attracted the attention of other students who filtered eagerly into the room to watch. As they all gravitated towards the source, Amanda gravitated away from it until she made it to the front entrance of the house and stepped outside.

She breathed in deeply as the cool air nipped against her skin, it being a sharp contrast to that room and the suffocating heat of his body against hers. The cool wind, however, was only a slight and brief reprieve for Amanda as an overwhelming feeling of nausea began to rush over her. Trying to hold it in as her stomach churned violently, Amanda quickly rushed to the side of the house, as a warm putrid feeling rose up inside her throat, just before she let it out all out; retching painfully as the contents in her stomach propelled aversively out of her mouth and onto the ground.

Feeling water in her eyes from the burning, astringent sensation left in the back of her throat, Amanda stood up weakly, as she wiped her mouth, and took out her phone from her back pocket. She was in need of a friend and she had only one she could think of.

Stepping out of his father's blue truck, Jack Porter, looked up towards the huge house in front of him with apprehension. It was nearly one-am now and he could still hear obnoxious music and shouting and laughter coming straight from that house and he wasn't even on the property yet. It was so obviously a house party, and so many things could go wrong at a house party, it was practically a breeding ground for trouble and stupidity, and from the sound of her call, something had clearly gone wrong for Amanda.

Briskly walking through the front gates and up towards the entrance where Amanda said she'd be waiting, Jack found himself sighing in silent relief when he spotted her sitting on the front porch. Though his relief rapidly dwindled when he stepped closer towards her and took in her appearance. She was clearly pretty drunk, but everyone had been there at one point. It was more her tousled up appearance that worried him, and the saddened vulnerable look he caught hidden behind the haziness of her dark brown eyes. She didn't look too well.

"I'm here", Jack said slowly, as Amanda's eyes fell upon him in what looked like relief. Noticing her movements were unbalanced as she tried to stand, Jack moved closer towards her to help steady her; keeping a firm but gentle hold of her arm, as they began to walk slowly away from the house and towards his truck.

"Are you alright Amanda?" he asked softly, the warm and concerned sound of his voice, bringing Amanda a silent but strong form of comfort. She didn't want to lie to Jack though. She knew she would be, but right now she didn't feel alright, she just felt sick, and so instead of answering his question she pursed her lips pretending that she hadn't heard him at all.

Once they were seated in his vehicle and strapped in, Jack turned his head towards Amanda, and tried again with another question. "What happened?".

"I just feel awful... I drunk too much", she murmured eventually, her words slurring. "I'm just drunk Jack, I want to go home".

Nodding his head, Jack started up the engine, propelling the truck into motion. "I'm going to take you back to my place, I don't want you alone right now", he responded firmly. Something had happened at that party to her, and it was much more than her just drinking too much. But as frustrating as it was being in the dark, Jack knew that it wasn't the right time to press her for details. He just wanted to get her home where she could rest and clear her head first.

It was just as Jack parked his truck outside the Stowaway, that Amanda's phone began to buzz. The loud ringing echoing throughout what been the calm silence of the night. Pulling her phone out from her back pocket, Amanda looked at her screen to see Daniel's name flashing across it but didn't feel up to speaking with him. She wasn't mad at him, not exactly, or maybe she was and just didn't know yet, but either way she was tired and didn't feel like answering, so she slid her finger over decline call. Just seconds later it rang again though, and as her hand hovered over accept call, wanting to just end the persistent sound of ringing, Jack asked if he could speak to Daniel himself.

Nodding her head slowly, Amanda handed Jack the phone, watching as he put it to his ear, and noticing how his voice instantly sharpened in anger as he began to speak. Amanda hadn't caught the conversation, Jack had walked a couple of feet away from her when he began talking, and she hadn't cared to move closer to overhear. But as Jack handed her back her phone, she couldn't help being a little curious about what Daniel had said, and so she asked.

Jack sighed at her question and shook his head clearly irritated by just the mention of Daniel, but nonetheless answered truthfully. "He wanted to know where you were and if you were alright, I told him that you were safe and with me. He also wanted to come here and get his driver to pick you up but I told him I was going to take care of you for the night, and that I wasn't letting him near you until he sobered up. He was clearly super drunk. He tried to persist about seeing you but eventually listened to me, and agreed to just talk to you tomorrow. He also kept telling me to tell you he was sorry which makes me wonder if he did something to you. Did he? Did you two get into a fight or something?".

"No", Amanda responded, shaking her head slowly, though she wouldn't meet Jack's eyes, which made him feel unconvinced, "Cause if he did something... I".

"It wasn't him, you don't need to be mad at him", Amanda muttered, as Jack opened his front door and ushered her inside the Stowaway, both of them automatically moving towards their usual booth in the back. "I do", Jack responded indignantly, "He takes you to a house party that you didn't even want to go to, and clearly doesn't even look out for you like he's supposed to. He just gets hammered himself. And I know he probably promised to be your ride home but instead, you had to call me because he was too busy being a drunken fool no doubt."

"I drank too much too". Amanda whispered, as her brown eyes gazed up into his, "I wasn't careful and, I... I nearly...".

"Nearly what?" Jack asked tentatively.

Averting her eyes to the mini menu at their booth, Amanda shook her head, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"Do you have any water Jack?"

A/N Thanks, for reading, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think. At least the first half was pleasant for both Jack and Daniel :P. Though the second half was pretty infuriating with what happened to Amanda. Do you think Jack has a right to be mad at Daniel for what happened and how do you think he'll react when Amanda tells him what went down? Things are definitely going to heat up next chapter, I'm super excited, though I won't tell you between who and whether heat up means something good or bad :P. Also Nolan will reappear again in the next chapter.

Anyway, as always thanks for being so patient with the wait time in between chapters, and for posting such lovely encouraging comments.