Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Charity walked to Tyler's car as slowly as she could, without being obvious. She truly did not want to see Lauren just then. She smiled at Derek when he held the door open for her. He really was very cute. She bit her lip nervously as she slid in the backseat of the car. Lauren turned around in her seat. Charity knew what was coming. Lauren was going to call her out in front of everyone.
"Hey! I'm glad you could come with us tonight. Tyler said you were having some issues. Nothing serious I hope." Lauren said all in one breath.
"Um, kinda, but I don't really want to talk about it." Charity said in confusion. Why was Lauren being so nice to her? Maybe Lauren really had been too drunk to remember talking to her last night. Charity relaxed into her seat.
"So do you live around here still?" Charity asked, turning to face Derek.
"I live about 15 minutes away in a little town called Bear Creek. We'll play you guys this weekend at the Classic." He explained. Charity already loved the way his eyes twinkled when he smiled.
"Good. Just look for the hottest cheerleader there, that would be me, and we can hang out." She said flirtatiously.
"Sounds like a plan." Derek agreed with a smile.
"So, where are we going?" Charity asked as they pulled up in front of a large house.
"This is Kyle's house. He invited a few of us over to hang out." Lauren told her. Charity raised her eyes at Lauren's idea of "few". She could already hear the music blaring and there were tons of cars lining the street.
Charity was thankful they were at a party. That meant that she didn't have to be with Lauren all night.
"C'mon, I want you guys to play a game with us!" Jenny said, bounding out of the kitchen. Charity tried to slip away, but Jenny grabbed her elbow and drug her into the kitchen. Charity saw a couple other girls from the squad, Brianna and Bella, along with Logan, Kyle and Jenny.
"Let's play 'I never'." Lauren said grabbing a couple bottles of tequila and some shot glasses.
"Everyone knows how to play, right?" Jenny asked as she and Lauren poured shots. Charity nodded slowly, wishing she didn't.
"I'll start. Let's see… I've never slept with my boyfriend's brother." Jenny said after pondering for a moment. Charity glanced around the table and saw Logan take his shot.
"Logan! I never realized you like boys!" Lauren laughed loudly. Charity giggled when Logan's face turned a pretty shade of purple.
"It was my girlfriend's sister! A sibling, right?" He sputtered. Finally the laughter died down.
"Alright, I've never kissed a member of the same sex." Logan said, mostly to clarify his sexual preference. Charity hated to admit it, but she took her shot.
"Charity, you have some explaining to do." Tyler said, raising his eyebrows in interest. Charity rolled her eyes.
"It was a dare. Last summer at a party I got dared to kiss my boyfriend's twin sister. It was just a quick peck." She assured everyone.
"Any chance of seeing a replay?" Derek asked with a sly smile. Charity laughed and punched him playfully.
"My turn. I've never slept with a friend's boyfriend or girlfriend." She said, to clarify for Logan. She was surprised when everyone at the table except Lauren took their shots. Apparently Lauren was surprised too. She looked back and forth between Jenny and Tyler.
"Well, not everyone can go at once, so I'll just take my turn now. I've never pretended to be my sister's friend so that I could steal her boyfriend." Lila said, walking up with a huge smirk on her face. Everyone just stared at her in silence.
"No takers? Well here Charity, why don't you take mine?" She continued, handing a shot to Charity.
"Well I would, if that were true. But here, you take it, cause I've never been so jealous of my ex's new girlfriend that I would threaten physical harm to someone because of it." Charity replied, shoving the drink back at Lila.
"Or maybe it would be simpler to say I've never been a crazy bitch." Charity added snidely. Lila came at her swinging. Charity wasn't one to back down in a fight, but she was glad that Derek and Tyler immediately jumped up and grabbed her. Before she knew what was happening, Jenny and Lauren had her cornered.
"What the hell was that about?" Jenny asked angrily. Lauren didn't look happy either.
"She's crazy! You can't honestly tell me that you believe her. Like my first day here she told me how much she couldn't stand you Lauren. And then she wanted me to take Tyler from you and when I wouldn't she threatened me! She told me that the next time we do the routine for the Classic she'd drop me if I didn't!" Charity exclaimed angrily, telling mostly the truth. Lauren narrowed her eyes, as if she were trying to decide if she believed Charity or not.
"She's telling the truth Lauren. She told me about Lila threatening her on the way to my party last night." Tyler said, vouching for her. Jenny still looked pissed, but Lauren didn't look like she wanted to punch her anymore.
"So you don't want my boyfriend?" Lauren asked her evenly. Charity glanced at Derek and saw that he looked very interested in her answer. So did Tyler, for that matter.
"No. Tyler and I are just friends." She said emphatically, smiling at Tyler. Tyler nodded in agreement.
"Fine. I'll take care of Lila on Monday." Lauren said, dismissing the whole matter. Everyone headed back to what they had been doing, except for Tyler and Derek. Tyler gave her one last long look before joining Lauren.
"Is it always so dramatic around here? Man, I shouldn't have moved. I always miss the good stuff." He joked, stepping closer to her.
"You didn't this time." Charity pointed out with a chuckle.
"True. So, this wasn't much of a first date, but you seem fun. Do you seriously want to get together this weekend?" He asked.
"Sure. I'll see if I can fit you in between dodging Lila's attempts to kick my ass and kissing Lauren's." She joked with a smile.
"Good. Maybe this will give you some extra incentive." Derek whispered as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She ran her hand up his chest and settled it behind his neck, playing with his curls. She needed Derek to stick around. He succeeded in pushing all thoughts of Tyler out of her mind.