Chapter 14:

{a/n: this chapter brings an angry, sarcastic and cynical side of Gwen. At least I hope it does lol. Enjoy!}

"What?" Hank asked back. Why are Luis and Ethan glaring at me? he thought to himself.

"You son of a bitch!" Luis shouted, storming over to his ex-best friend. "How dare you insult my sister like that!"

Hank's eyebrows shot up in shock. Luis had never had the nerve (or anger) to cuss like that in front of others. Especially not to him.

Hank turned around to see Theresa looking smug.

He snorted scornfully, as he pictured a distraught Theresa telling Luis everything Hank had done to her. She probably even told him that I kissed her first, not the other way around, Hank thought, almost wanting to laugh.

"What did Theresa say, Luis?" Hank began to say, almost tauntingly. "What did she tell you that I did -" Before he could continue, Hank could feel Luis's fist connect with his jaw. It made him stumble back, almost knocking Gwen, who was right behind him, down to the floor.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" Hank was the one glaring now. He brought his finger to his mouth, which was bleeding.

"Will you stop playing these games? What are you doing kissing my sister, and then going outside and kissing her?! Luis hissed, pointing to Gwen.

"Hank is not playing games," Gwen spoke up angrily. The nerve of all of them, coming here and confronting them for something they didn't even do.

"Gwen, I want to talk to you," Ethan said, speaking for the first time. He extended his hand. "Come on."

Gwen, just as mad as Luis at this whole situation, nodded slowly. She needed to calm down. Even if that meant having to go talk with her ex-boyfriend for a few minutes.

Gwen and Ethan walked over to a dark corner of the front yard.

"Gwen, what are you doing with Hank?" he asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

"What are you talking about, Ethan?" Gwen questioned, half angry, half confused. She looked back where Luis and Hank were, still arguing with each other. She wanted to go back by them, but Ethan's next words diverted her attention:

"He's not right for you. Come on. In the end, he's only going to break your heart."

"The way you did?!" she asked, matching his tone. She narrowed her eyes at Ethan before giving a sneer.

"No... yes. Gwen!" he sighed, stammering with his words. "See that's the thing. You're only with Hank because he reminds you of me. The dirty blonde hair, the height, the handsome features. We both have it. You don't want him. You want me. You only think you want him because he seems to be like me."

Gwen's mouth opened, but no words came out. Was it true? She had to ask herself that. She looked over at Hank, and then to Ethan. Sure they shared some features that bared resemblance, but that didn't mean anything. That thought had never crossed her mind before. She loved Hank, she knew she did. But Ethan was different - he was her past. Hank was her future.

How dare Ethan come here and make these false accusations, she thought, as a storm brewed inside her being. Her eyes met Ethan's, right before her hand connected with the left side of his face.

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Gwen walked away from Ethan, leaving him nursing his red cheek. She couldn't believe she had just slapped him. But boy did he deserve it.

"Hank, let's go!" she insisted, grabbing his arm.

"None of you are going anywhere!" Luis cried out.

"Why not?" Gwen shouted. She turned to stare at her ex-best friend's boyfriend. "What is the matter with you, Luis? You are a cop after all, I would think you'd be a bit more rational."

"I'm not a cop now, Hotchkiss," he bit off her last name, as if it was something bad or evil.

Gwen had never been this angry in her life. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she asked, shaking her head in wonder and amazement, as she tried not to let her emotions get the best of her.

He laughed in her face.

"How dare you say my name as if it left a bad impression on your mouth," Gwen exclaimed. "My family, me included, have done nothing to you, or yours. And as for being a Hotchkiss, I am one in name only. I am nothing like my parents."

"I bet," Sheridan spoke up, putting her two cents into the conversation, which had turned into more of a confrontation. "You have your father's temper, Gwennie." Gwen may have been her best friend, but that ship had sailed long ago. And Sheridan could not forget the mean words Gwen had uttered about her back inside the mansion earlier that night.

Gwen laughed scornfully. "You're one to talk. Everyone thinks you're the Marilyn Munster of your family. Well guess what sweetheart. No one is buying that act anymore. Your mother may have been nice and proper, but you are still a product of Alastair Crane, the most hated man in the state."

Sheridan's face turned to stone as Gwen's words hit home. She looked away, upset. Luis wrapped his arms around her, but even he couldn't take back the nasty words Gwen had just spewed at her.

"You know what, Gwen?" Theresa, who had been quiet this whole time, said. "Maybe you shouldn't have come to this party. You came just to create this havoc, didn't you?"

"Yeah, Theresa," Gwen replied sarcastically. "I just came to make you and Ethan, as well as Luis and Sheridan upset. It's what I do in life. I think it's my calling..."

"This is not like you!" Sheridan shouted. "What happened to you, Gwen?"

Gwen looked over at Ethan, who was holding onto Theresa's hand now. "Ethan happened to me. He dumped me, and everything that I had thought to be stationary in my life changed. I no longer cared about being a socialite, or going to the country club. I met Hank," she paused, sending a grateful look his way, "and he changed my perspective on things. I finally found love. True love. What I had with Ethan wasn't true. If it was, well, I would love him, wouldn't I?" She gave a small smile one which held no contempt or bitterness. "But instead, I love Hank."

Neither Sheridan, Luis, Ethan or Theresa knew what to say to that. They just stood there, gawking at the couple.

Gwen walked over to where Hank was standing. "Can we go now?" she asked him. She wanted to be as far away from the others as possible. And she only wanted to be with Hank.

"Sure," he nodded. He took her hand, and ignoring the others, he lead her to his car.

After opening the door for her, and making sure she sat down, Hank walked over to the driver's side, and started the engine.

He hightailed it out of there, leaving dust behind.

Gwen looked up to the sky through the car's open sun roof. She saw the moon and the stars. One of them seemed to twinkle down at her. Gwen grinned to herself.

"So you love me, eh?" Hank said, breaking up Gwen's thoughts.

"I do," she brightened, sending him a seductive wink. She was hoping he felt the same way she did.

"You know that's a good thing," Hank responded. He pulled the car over to the side of the road, and put it on park.

"Why?" she flirted back, raising her eyebrows in amusement.

"Because I love you, too," he replied, leaning over and capturing her lips with his.

{a/n: what did you think? Tell me suggestions, criticism, anything and everything else!}