A/N: CW: non-consensual groping and kissing.

**if you want to skip this section, stop reading at the line that starts "Distantly, she heard shouts and laughter as the game continued without them."

Then pick back up at the next scene break.**


The faint notes of "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls wafted out to the porch from inside the house. Chloe found herself moving to the beat as she sat cross-legged on the deck near the pool, joining the circle that had formed for Truth or Dare.

The smooth wood was damp underneath her, chilly against her bare legs. She shivered, and goosebumps fanned out all over her skin. Lucifer appeared in front of her with a fresh drink, and she found herself craving the warm-bellied feeling it would give her.

He sat in an open spot across from her and next to Maze, eyeing the guy to his left with a frown. He shifted away from him and closer to Maze, who in turn, moved closer to her boyfriend while shooting Lucifer an annoyed look for encroaching on her space.

Chloe watched them with amusement, wondering briefly what the guy had done for Lucifer to dislike him. As she let her gaze flit around the rest of the group, she noticed a few more familiar faces—like Brian, and Michelle's friend Alex from the kitchen.

"Okay!" Michelle began, placing an empty bottle in the center of the circle. "We'll spin to see who goes first. If it lands on you, you'll choose truth or dare, and if you refuse to answer the question or do the dare, you have to drink."

A thrill raced up Chloe's spine.

Truth or Dare seemed like a rite of passage for every young girl, yet she had never played. Her heart thudded with nervous anticipation as she wondered what kinds of things she might be asked to reveal or do.

But as the game began, her nerves settled. Everyone seemed to want to play it safe as they warmed up and got comfortable, slowly easing into the game with innocuous truths and a few tame dares. Chloe sipped from her drink, enjoying the way the alcohol seemed to dampen her nervous energy while fueling her excitement for the game.

"If you had to choose someone in this circle to kiss, who would it be?" A girl named Hannah asked when the bottle landed on Alex.

Alex's gaze slid purposefully to Lucifer, and she sent a sultry smirk in his direction. "Lucifer."

Chloe's chest tightened. Alex was tall and slender, curvy in all the right places. She was hot, and she knew it. Chloe couldn't help but envy her confidence.

She turned to Lucifer, unable to look away for some reason, waiting with morbid curiosity to see how he would react to Alex's confession.

Her heart leapt as his eyes locked with hers. It was only for a second—so fast she couldn't read the look in them—and then he was focused on Alex again. Still, warmth spread through her chest, because surely that had to mean something.

His brow ticked upward. "Is that so?"

Humming, Alex tipped her head in affirmation. Her cheeks turned a shade darker as she bit into her lip enticingly.

Watching Lucifer flirt with someone else made Chloe feel sick to her stomach. She tore her gaze from them, looking down at her flip flops and missing the way Lucifer's eyes darted back to her again.

"Alright, we get it; you want to bone Lucifer. Who doesn't? Can we get on with it?" Maze cut in, nodding pointedly at the bottle.

The group chuckled. Alex cleared her throat and leaned forward, giving the bottle a spin. Chloe watched it twirl from the corner of her eye, only looking up when Michelle squealed her name.

"Truth or dare?" Alex asked.

"Truth," she replied quickly. She could always lie if Alex asked her something she didn't want to reveal about herself. She was an actor after all. Dare seemed much more risky.

Maze scoffed. "Predictable."

"Lots of people have chosen truth," Lucifer pointed out.

Chloe smiled at him, thankful that she could always count on him to stand up for her. Ignoring Maze, she looked at Alex, who chewed on her lip as she tried to think of something to ask.

"Ooh," Michelle blurted, a gossipy gleam in her eye. "I have one!"

Crawling across the circle, Michelle whispered the question into Alex's ear.

Shrugging, Alex asked, "What was it like to kiss Tyler Wilkins?"

Maze's eyes practically rolled into the back of her head, clearly bored by the Hollywood gossip. Lucifer watched her, though, his eyes narrowed with interest.

Chloe pursed her lips as she considered the question. Tyler was a jerk, and she'd hated kissing him, but she knew she shouldn't say anything negative about a co-star. She didn't want to burn bridges or get a reputation of being difficult to work with.

"Uh… Well, on-screen kisses are always kind of weird," she hedged.

Michelle leaned forward, her elbows planted on her knees, her eyes wide and eager. "Oh?"

And something inside of Chloe, the part of her that wanted to find a place in this piece of Lucifer's world, the part of her that wanted these people to like her, that wanted to fit in, bubbled to the surface.

"It was awful," she blurted out. "And he's an asshole, anyway."

"Oh my god! No way!" Michelle turned to Hannah and they, along with a few other kids in their group, shrieked about the new information, bemoaning the fact that Tyler was so hot and that it just wasn't fair that all actors were assholes and full of themselves.

Chloe bristled at the chatter, trying not to take offense. She didn't think they meant her, even though shewasan actor, too. But when they turned back to her, smiling happily with the new insider knowledge, a pleased tingle zipped through her. She finally seemed to make a good impression on some of Lucifer's friends, and it felt good.

The game continued. It wasn't long before the bottle landed on Lucifer.

"Dare," he declared confidently.

"Finally!" Maze breathed, a renewed interest lighting her eyes.

Misha, the girl who had spun the bottle, grinned mischievously. "I dare you to take off your shirt!"

The group erupted into raucous, enthusiastic catcalls, but worry spread through Chloe. Lucifer was self-conscious about the scars on his back; he wouldn't want anyone to see them. She wondered if he would pass on the dare and choose to drink instead.

But he chuckled and let his head fall to one side, rolling his eyes in a way that made him look so charmingly bashful. Without protest, he crossed his arms in front of himself and pulled his t-shirt up and over his head, tossing the discarded piece of clothing in Misha's direction. She blushed fiercely, but directed a smug smile at Alex as she caught it.

Chloe wanted to frown at the obvious way these girls vyed for Lucifer's attention, but just like everyone else in the circle, she lost her train of thought the moment Lucifer took off his shirt.

She had seen him shirtless countless times, swimming or tanning in the hot summer sun, but it didn't matter—she was always affected by the sight of him. A pleasant warmth flooded her belly as her gaze trailed from the sharp line of his collarbone down the center of his chest to the patchy hair that made a trail from his bellybutton to the waistband of his jeans.

He leaned back on his hands, showing off and enjoying the attention. But Chloe noticed something flash across his face. For a split second, he looked worried and uneasy. It made her wonder if his positioning hadn't been to put himself further on display, but rather, a calculated move to hide his scars. The look was gone in an instant, replaced with a coy smile, but she could tell now that it was fake.

Lucifer's dare seemed to break the ice, and more and more people followed his lead by choosing dare for themselves.

Maze was clearly enjoying herself more.

"Alright, let's go!" she exclaimed when she was dared to spin the bottle and take a body shot off of the person it landed on—a girl named Elise. Maze made a huge show of it, having Elise lay on her back in the center of the circle with her shirt pulled up so that Maze could lick salt from her stomach (as well as the tequila that had spilled from the shot glass).

Alex was dared to jump into the pool naked. Chloe frowned when she wiggled her hips as she stepped over Lucifer on her way to the pool, leaving a trail of her clothing along the way and making sure to drop her bra in Lucifer's lap.

When everyone found out that Brian's dad had a bottle of absinthe locked away—which Chloe had never heard of but everyone claimed was hallucinogenic—Shane, the guy sitting next to Lucifer, was dared to break into the liquor cabinet and take a shot of it.

It was fun. The crowd broke into shouts and cheers, triumphant dances, and shocked giggles following each dare.

If Chloe had known about some of the dares prior to playing, they would have intimidated her, but by watching them all play out, she got to see how much fun everyone was having with them. Even though some of the dares were embarrassing, no one seemed embarrassed by them. The alcohol had loosened them all up, Chloe included, and she found herself laughing harder than she had in a long time.

"Chloe! Truth or dare?"

"What's the point of asking? We already know Buzzkill's gonna choose truth again," Maze taunted, leaning into Trey, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Some people snickered. Chloe's cheeks burned.

Sitting up a little straighter, she glared challengingly at Maze. Adrenaline and something else, something rebellious, pumped through her veins. "Dare."

Maze smirked and lifted an impressed eyebrow. "Ooh. Feisty, Decker. I like this side of you."

"Okay," Alex said gleefully, water still dripping from the tips of her hair from her earlier dare. Her shirt clung to her wet skin, and her bra still lay on the deck beside Lucifer's thigh. "I dare you to spin the bottle and take whoever it lands on into that shed," she pointed to a shed in the corner of the yard a few feet from the pool, "for seven minutes in heaven!"

Chloe glanced around the circle at all of the possible faces the bottle might land on.

Okay, she thought, this isn't so bad. Definitely not as bad as having to strip in front of everyone and jump buck-ass naked into the pool.

Still, her heart pounded with nerves, because she'd only ever kissed anyone on-screen, and she didn't even count them as real kisses since they'd been staged and had happened in front of a slew of adults directing her on exactly what to do.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and placed her hand on top of the bottle, her gaze subconsciously drawn to Lucifer.

Land on him, she prayed, flicking her wrist to give the bottle a spin.

Everyone watched as the bottle made wobbly revolutions; everyone except Chloe, whose eyes were glued to Lucifer's face.

Time seemed to slow, and she was hyper aware of every small movement he made; the way his eyes widened as they focused on the bottle, the slight lift to his brow, the way he pulled the corner of his lip in between his teeth.

Did he look hopeful? Did he want it to land on him, too?

But then, his brow furrowed, and he released his lip into a subtle frown. The circle cheered, and Chloe's gaze dropped to the bottle.

It had stopped just past him, pointing at the guy sitting to his left.

"Shane!" someone in the circle shouted.

Shane sluggishly looked from the bottle to her. "Nice," he said appreciatively, his lips curving into a smile as he took her in.

Chloe blushed as he stood clumsily, coming to a stop in front of her and extending his hand.

He was good-looking—in shape with his hair buzzed short. His face was angular, but smooth. She'd guess he was an athlete based on his build, and she could tell from his style and the way he carried himself that he was popular.

She could see herself having a crush on someone like him if she had been a regular teenager. Maybe in another universe, the bottle landing on him would have been a dream come true for her.

Almost without her control, her eyes darted to Lucifer. In this universe, it would have been a dream come true for the bottle to have landed on him.

Lucifer stared at Shane. He didn't look happy, but she couldn't decipher the exact emotions flickering across his face. Simple dislike? Protectiveness? Jealousy?

Her breathing quickened at the idea that he might be jealous. He had looked hopeful as the bottle spun, hadn't he? It could have just been wishful thinking on her part, exacerbated by the alcohol, but she couldn't snuff out the hope that had sparked as she'd watched him.

She forced her attention back to Shane, putting her hand in his. He pulled her to her feet. When he smiled at her, her stomach gave a little flip, and a rush of excitement surged within her at the idea of having her first real kiss with someone who was cute and seemed to like her.

The shed was dark and tiny, barely enough space for them to squeeze in with the rows of tools and equipment lining the walls on each side.

Chloe entered first, her stomach twisting and her palms clammy. What if she did it wrong? What if she was a bad kisser? Would he laugh at her?

The worries zipped through her mind, but she didn't have long to dwell on them. As soon as the door was shut behind them, Shane's mouth was on hers, his tongue pushing past her lips to swirl inside her mouth.

It was wet and sloppy and his breath reeked of alcohol. She found herself pulling away on instinct, her back hitting the rear wall of the shed as she took a giant step backward.

"Holy shit," he whispered, following her. "I can't believe I'm kissing Audrey Davidson."

"Oh," she blurted through an awkward chuckle, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. It was dark inside the shed, and she hoped he couldn't see. "I'm not… Um, Audrey is the name of the character I play on TV. I'm Chloe."

She'd barely finished speaking when his mouth was on hers again.

His mouth was so wet, his tongue thick and insistent, his breath foul-smelling. Her mind raced with thoughts as she let him kiss her. Could she do this for seven whole minutes? Did she want to? What would people say if they came out before time was up?

Distantly, she heard shouts and laughter as the game continued without them.

Shane wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Her arms flailed at her sides for a moment as she lost balance, forced to grab his bicep to steady herself. She attempted to return the kiss, but his tongue seemed to take up all the space in her mouth.

He pushed his hips against hers with a moan, and when she felt the hardening bulge of his erection press against her, her eyes popped open, and she pulled away in surprise.

"Fuck, Audrey. You are so damn sexy." His voice was husky, the words a little slurred.

As he pulled her mouth back to his, annoyance swept through her.

"Stop," she said.

He swallowed her protest with his mouth, tightening his arms as he boxed her in. A wave of panic swelled inside her. He was much bigger than her, stronger too, and she felt slow and disoriented from the alcohol she'd drank.

One of his hands began to slide up her ribs, and she realized he was going to grab her boob.

Her head hit the wall as she broke from his kiss, her breathing heavy and ragged. "Let go of me," she said, trying to squirm out of his hold.

He didn't listen, and he moaned as his hand landed on her breast, his hips grinding against hers. Angry and frustrated, she grabbed his forearm and twisted it backwards. Hard. The way her dad had taught her.

"Oww! What the fuck?!" he exclaimed, taking a step back and cradling his arm to his chest. Confusion swirled in his glassy eyes. "Whaddya do that for?"

With space to breathe, her head felt a little clearer. She inhaled deeply, calming herself.

"I said let go of me." Her voice came out steadier than she felt, even as her lip wobbled and her hands shook at her sides. "And my name is Chloe."


Chloe pushed her way out of the shed.

Tears stung the edges of her eyes. Before any of them could fall, she blinked them back angrily.

He hadn't been an actual threat, she told herself. He was just drunk and you handled the situation. She didn't think he had actually wanted to hurt her. But she didn't know that for sure; she didn't know him, and for a moment, she'd been scared.

She'd come to this party wanting to let loose, to be a little reckless and carefree, but she had hated feeling so out of control, helpless in a way she wouldn't have been if she'd had her wits about her.

Chloe's face was flushed when she returned to the deck to a cacophony of enthusiastic cheers and wolf-whistles.

She did her best to ignore the gossipy smiles and hushed whispers as she searched for the only face in the group she cared about.

But Lucifer wasn't there.

Her stomach sank, a sea of shame and disappointment. He wasn't jealous. He hadn't even cared enough to stick around.

She shook her head. And why would he care? He could have anyone he wanted, so why would he choose her? The Buzzkill.

"Has anyone seen Lucifer?" she asked.

But her voice came out hardly above a whisper, and none of them heard her. They didn't spare her a second glance now that she was no longer entertainment for them.

Chloe slipped into the house. Lucifer wasn't in the kitchen getting another beer or in the living room dancing, either.

An ominous sort of dread began to build deep inside her gut.

Where was he?

She made her way back out onto the porch, past the group still playing Truth or Dare, and toward the corner of the house where they'd all sat near the porch swing earlier.

As she neared, she heard muffled sounds, and her steps slowed.

Surreptitiously, she peered around the corner.

It was dark, the side of the house cast in shadows, but the dangly porch lights were enough to illuminate the two people who were pressed together intimately.

A deep moan, the wet smack of lips, and then Lucifer's voice. "You got something for me?"

Chloe's heart stopped beating. The voice in her head told her to leave, that she didn't want to see this, but something kept her rooted in place.

"You know I do," a masculine voice replied. "As long as you got something for me first."

"I can't tonight. Raincheck?" Lucifer leaned in to kiss him again.

The other guy sighed as he pulled away, leaning against the wall and reaching into his back pocket. "You're lucky I like you so much. And that I know you're good on your word."

He held a baggie up in front of Lucifer's face, shaking it playfully. The plastic caught the light, revealing the contents inside. Pills.

Lucifer grabbed the baggie and shoved it into his own pocket. "My word is my bond."

"You're so weird," the other guy replied through a laugh, but it wasn't malicious. Chloe could hear the affection in his tone. It was the same affection she had when she thought about all of Lucifer's eccentricities.

A flirtatious giggle slipped past Lucifer's lips. "You love it."

Another kiss, and then, "Are you sure you can't tonight?"

"Unfortunately, no." Lucifer traced the boy's pouting lips with his thumb. "I should probably get back."

Chloe sucked in a sharp breath and took a quick step backward, not wanting to get caught spying. She didn't want to see anymore anyway. Lucifer's hand splayed intimately low on the guy's hip, the tilt of his head, the playful suggestion in his voice—it was all seared into her memory, like a brand, like a punishment.

Tears stung her eyes as she hurried to the bathroom. Her heart felt as though it were being squeezed in a vice, like soon it would pop and there'd be nothing left of it, of her.

After slamming the door behind her, she finally let the tears fall down her face.

"Fuck."

Placing her hands flat on the marble countertop near the sink, she tried to swallow down the whimpering sobs that attempted to escape.

"Stop it," she told herself, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her make-up was smeared, her cheeks pink and splotchy. "It's not that big of a deal."

But the pills were a big deal.

Drugs were fairly common in her acting circles, but she had no interest in them, and so she knew little about the different kinds. She knew ecstasy sometimes came in pill form and was a popular party drug; she'd seen her co-stars pass it around. She didn't think ecstasy was that bad, if that's what the pills were.

But her stomach felt heavy, filled with dread and anxiety, because Lucifer hadn't told her he used anything other than pot. And she couldn't help but feel like if he hadn't told her, if he didn't want her to know, then it must be something bad.

And what else wasn't he telling her?

Even though she wanted to focus on the pills, even though she knew that's what she should be most concerned about, images of Lucifer kissing someone else pushed those worries aside.

A sob crept its way up her throat as she thought about them, and she turned on the faucet, embarrassed and frustrated by the way she couldn't seem to control her emotions.

Was he dating the guy she'd caught him making out with? Or was it more casual? Did Lucifer like him? Or was he just using him to get drugs? And which was worse?

She didn't know. Lucifer was confusing.

She knew he hooked up with people, she'd heard the rumors for years, but she and Lucifer didn't talk about those things; they never had—it seemed to be an unspoken rule between them. And if she was honest with herself, she liked being left in the dark about it. It made it easier to pretend he wasn't doing any of those things, the same way she wasn't.

She shook her head and then splashed some water on her face. Well, it was impossible to deny now.

And yet, sometimes he did things, or looked at her a certain way, and she was sure he felt the same way for her that she felt for him.

But if that were true, then why did he hook up with other people? Why didn't he just tell her how he felt so that he could be with her instead?

Her sobs quieted and her tears slowed. She grabbed some toilet paper to dry her face and sighed. The night had taken a turn, and she didn't want to be there anymore.

She was always waiting for him, always hoping that he'd finally see what had been right in front him all this time, that he'd finally see her.

But after tonight, she was tired of waiting.

Why should she when he clearly wasn't waiting for her?


Chloe didn't feel ready to face Lucifer, her emotions still so fresh and conflicted after what she'd seen, but she didn't want to leave without saying goodbye; didn't want him to worry when he couldn't find her.

She found him on the porch swing, cigarette in hand.

Sliding the door to the house closed behind her, she took a moment to gear herself up, watching as Maze approached him, an urgency in her step. She said something to him and nodded her head toward a small crowd that had formed on the deck near the pool.

Lucifer's brow furrowed sharply, his face hardening in anger at whatever Maze had told him. He put out the cigarette and stood abruptly, dropping the butt to the ground as he stalked over to the group.

Curious, Chloe took a few steps in that direction too.

"She was begging for it," Shane said from deep within the crowd. There were some gasps and laughter. "Such a slut, just like her character."

She froze mid-step, her stomach sinking like an anchor as it slowly dawned on her that he was talking about her. Mortification zipped through her, stealing her breath.

Lucifer shoved his way through the small crowd and grabbed Shane by the front of his shirt. Lucifer was taller than him, and he dragged Shane's face up to his. Shane stumbled, but Lucifer somehow held him steady.

"Do not say those things about her," he ground out through gritted teeth. His jaw ticked, and his bicep twitched with the effort to control himself.

"Why? Jealous she wanted my cock and not yours?"

Chloe watched with wide eyes as Lucifer gave Shane's chest a hard shove. Shane flew backwards, landing in the pool with a loud splash.

Shocked, stilted laughter and hushed whispers erupted from the small crowd that had gathered. Shane emerged from the water, sputtering and gasping for breath in between threats directed at Lucifer.

Chloe remained frozen in place, stunned by what had just happened.

"Wait, isn't that her?" someone asked once they noticed her standing off to the side.

Lucifer turned with the rest of the crowd, and his eyes met hers for a split second. His face softened as he took a step toward her.

The weight of everyone's stares, the sounds of their whispers, their judgment was all too much. So without another word, Chloe turned and ran.