A/N: Insert evil laugh here, because making things spicy is my fave hobby.

Also, you gotta give me point for my completely unnecessary teasing!Darren scenes. pls.

Chapter 9: Merry Christmas…Not

"I have to pack my stuff…", Lauren typed quickly with her thumb.

She hesitated a moment before sending that message, but she did it afterwards. Then she left her cellphone on the table, and put another pile of clothes inside of her bag. She knew it was out of mind to carry such a huge luggage for just one week; but she felt she needed it. Her mom's house barely felt like home for her. Her room used to hold a lot of memories and provoked a sensation of security in her; but at some point during her young years this changed and she missed that feeling.

Caroline was doing the same, at the other side of the table. They'd be leaving the campus the next day at morning, Caroline would go to Detroit and Lauren wouldn't even need to leave Ann Arbor.

Lauren walked to her dorm to bring a pair of shoes for the Christmas' party; and she already started to struggle trying to fit them in. Her cellphone rang shortly twice.

"It's the least you can do before abandoning me the entire week."

Lauren felt a little bad for a moment. When she asked Darren what he was going to do those Holidays, he just said that he'd hang out with the gang. It was already clear for her that his relationship with his parents was frail so it wasn't a surprise he wouldn't fly to Los Angeles; and she felt guilty for complaining about the odd ways her mom had to spend time with her. She should be more grateful.

Another text followed that statement.

"That sounded needy. Pretend I just said something like, see you tonight."

She didn't notice the small grin sketched on her lips, or the way her cheeks turned pink; until she looked up and saw Caroline's judgmental stare with her eyebrows up.

"What?" She snapped quickly, hiding her embarrassment from such a piddling, teenager attitude.

Her friend rolled her eyes.

"I just want to know if I should go to study to Nick's the entire night or not. Which seems impossible to figure out, since you're not telling me anything about last night!" Caroline replied, offended; while she folded her clothes.

"You definitely don't need to stay there the entire night." She said seriously. "In fact, you don't need to leave at all. That's just a mania of yours."

She wasn't being totally honest. Despite what happened last night leaved them without knowing where they stood; she knew there was a high chance Darren would come over to her house with second intentions. She wanted him to (her stomach got all rowdy with the only thought of it); but everything was so unclear and strange yet that she couldn't explain it, to Caroline nor to anyone else. So she preferred to avoid that talk as long as she could; and when she arrived into the house and Caroline jumped from the bed to ask what happened, she commented how tired she was before going to sleep.

"I'm supposed to just watch you two making out?" Caroline's voice was loud, but Lauren couldn't answer. The girl had grabbed her clothes and bag and walked to her bedroom to keep doing her bag alone.

Lauren felt strange for a moment, but she kept packing too, in the deep silence of the room.

Caroline left only ten minutes before Darren got there. Lauren didn't attempt to stop her, they didn't direct a word to each other since that morning's incident.

"After this, I only have one movie left in my must-watch list." She informed him, after putting the film Sabrina in the DVD player. "If I didn't help you to develop a fine standard by then, I let God to help you."

"That means I'll soon run out of excuses to come to visit you… Shit." He joked, while she walked to the couch.

He grinned mildly observing that she chose to sit close to him this time. He stretched his arms at the top of the couch, knowing that this way when she rested her back he could wrap her arm around her easily.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something." Lauren said playfully. "It's starting." She added, looking at the screen.

His concentration couldn't last longer than fifteen minutes. By the scene where Audrey Hepburn hid under the car, Darren was staring more at Lauren's expression than to the screen. She tried to ignore it for a while, but it freaked her out.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat, turning her head to him; but he pretended to had been watching the movie all along.

Ten seconds later, he did the same thing again.

"Darren!" Lauren called, half upset but half amused. "You're missing the movie."

"I swear I have one hundred percent of my attention in the film." He said, but the small smirk on his face gave him away. "Although… we could just miss the movie and…"

He leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on the corner of her lips; and she shook her head, grinning.

"The movie." She just said lowly.

He didn't insist. He limited himself to bite his lip and carelessly brush her shoulder with his fingertips every once in a while. He waited patiently until the credits at the end of the film.

And when that happened, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow and that image was so hilarious that Lauren couldn't help but to giggle.

"So?" His eyes were shining when he looked at her, like if he was extremely excited. "Can we not pay attention now?"

She could only grin; closing her eyes when she sensed his face was moving closer. The soft stroke of his lips against hers felt in slow motion for a while. Now they were completely sober, so they were aware of every sensation that could've gone unnoticed last night. The tip of his nose hit the side of hers as he tilted his head, and his hand moved to her neck to deepen the kiss.

Her perfume smelled like vanilla and he sensed it emerged from her neck; listing in his mind to check if the smell was stronger there. He felt her short, blonde hair falling over the fingers holding his neck. His breath got heavier as her hands ran from his abdomen to his back, running her fingers through his ribs. Darren thought for a moment if it would be okay to ask her to do that again. He wanted to feel her hands moving on him, even if the day was cold and he had a thick sweatshirt and her hands weren't really warm. He wanted to feel them under his sweatshirt, skin to skin, too. But he didn't want to go too fast and say something she wasn't ready to hear; so he tried to put that strong desire aside.

He grabbed her leg, close to her thigh, and pulled from it trying to get her attention; but she was so lost in the kiss that she didn't notice. So he cut the kiss, only enough to whisper lowly:

"Lie down."

Darren was sure for a second that she was going to punch him in the face and kick him out; but she obeyed and pulled from his back to make him kiss her again.

He held her by the waist to make sure she'd land peacefully. Her head rested on the arm of the couch, and he grinned slightly because it was the perfect height.

Daren rested his weight on his elbows, at the sides of her body, while he continued making out with her. The image and sensations that Darren on top of her provoked her were enough to write a book about. It was kinda intimidating, because from there she could admire the way his wide shoulders moved and tightened, and the curve of his Adam apple. But it was sexy, and she wanted him to lean downer and to feel his weight on her.

He felt the strong squeeze of her fingers on his hair; and that was his cue. He wasn't the only one craving so much to go further than this. She wanted him, too.

Her lips trembled a bit when he stopped kissing her, anxious and wanting more. But before she could grumble, he placed a kiss on one of the sides of her jaw, and he draw an imaginary path downer, through her neck. He sucked it slowly, like if he tried to decode the geography of the placement of the pores all over her skin. She closed her eyes again, this time tighter, pressing her head back and outlining more the curve of her neck. It was the first time she felt Darren's tongue occasionally running through her skin.

He could feel so clearly how her chest moved up and down with her breath; her loose sweater had a low cleavage and her breasts were slowly showing up as she breathed deeper. He realized she might was not wearing a bra. And he wondered if she'd let him lower his pelvis just a bit and grind against her; and the only thought of it turned him on so much that he bit her skin almost without noticing. She didn't moan, but she let out a breath so hard and impotent that it was heard in the entire room; like if she wanted to say something but her words collided against the inside of her lips.

When his mouth reached her neck bones, her cleavage had slipped down to a significant amount. Lauren's fingers were still squeezing the dark curls on the back of his head. And he wanted to take off his sweatshirt because everything had gotten suddenly so hot, but he feared to do something- anything wrong, and that he'd screw it up.

And he didn't do anything wrong, not really. It was just bad luck.

Lauren gasped loudly when a sudden ramble interrupted them. It was nothing but the door opening, but the moment had gotten very intense that the interval was unexpectedly scary, and they couldn't –neither they had time to pretend they were doing something else.

Caroline cursed something quietly, and then said as she crossed quickly (almost running) the room on the way to her bedroom.

"Please, ignore that I'm here. I'm not here. I was never here."

Darren laughed largely, without moving. It would've been useless to sit up and pretend nothing happened. Lauren, otherwise, slipped down the couch so she wouldn't have to look at her roommate; and then hid her face under his shoulder. The embarrassment was too much for her.

Caroline's door closed loudly, but Darren wouldn't stop laughing, this time at Lauren's reaction.

"That just didn't happen…" She whispered, although she had to admit it was kind of funny.

Only then he sat up, still giggling. Despite Caroline was in her room, the environment just vanished. He helped her to sit up; and she shook her head, amused. They couldn't keep doing that.

"We can go to my place, the next time." He suggested, playfully running his fingers through her leg, over her jeans, and reaching her hipbones. "The guys hang out there all the time, but I can always kick them out, so it's okay."

Lauren felt something in her chest prodding shortly. She knew what his invitation implied. And she wanted to, but she didn't want to rush things so much. It was also clear that intimacy didn't mean the same for him as it did for her. She didn't allow herself to freak out, though.

"Maybe, some other day." She cleared, but then she remembered she'd be spending the next days at her mother's house, losing contact with anyone from the university.

"And you can call me one of these days, if your mother gives you permission." He messed with her, remembering how cold she seemed that night in the hospital.

Lauren blushed a bit, "She knows I'm a big girl, if that's what you're talking about." She snapped, although it wasn't completely true. The woman would lose her mind if she knew Lauren was hanging out with someone like Darren. She could never confess that to her.

"I know." He replied seriously. "I'm just messing with you."

She wanted to say that she'd miss him, but she didn't express it. They had only spent one day together, and the fact that she would miss talking to him could be misunderstood. So they only shared one last short kiss before he took off.

Lauren and Caroline came to terms when the red-haired girl walked to the kitchen and commented a casual "Nice hickey" and Lauren went "Wait, what?"; and they laughed for a while. And she knew that after Caroline had interrupted such scene, keeping so many secrets to herself would be silly. So they had dinner in Lauren's bed, and she confessed how much she was starting to like Darren, and how his kisses were, and how his touch felt, and how nervous she felt when he invited her to his place. Caroline then made an inappropriate joke, and Lauren pretended to be scandalized at this, before she told her to go to sleep.

Jingle Bell Rock sounded in the distance, along with the sound of plates and cutlery being placed in the kitchen by the catering. There was a moderate, regular babbling everywhere. The dinner had been delicious, everyone were entertained and chatty. Grace's parents made a great job. Well, the catering mostly did.

Grace's parents' house was enormous. It was the mansion anyone would dream of when they were little. And the night was perfectly calm. She wanted to go outside, but it was cold and her coat was in the closet upstairs. The garden was huge, and there was a pool and a few tables to just sit and chat. There was a lofty Christmas tree in the center, rising in its entire majesty. She really wanted to go there. But her friends didn't want to, so she gave it up quickly.

Mary, Hilary and Grace, her high school friends, were updating her with their successful, exciting lives in college. Yale, New York University, and Brown, respectively. She wanted to share something too, since the last semester had been so interesting, educationally and for other reasons too; but it seemed that Michigan was just so old and boring to them that her stories were quickly left behind.

Then her mother interrupted the conversation and told her to follow her to the living room. Hilary continued quickly with the story of the new fraternity she joined.

"I want you to meet Michael Perkins." Kate, Lauren's mom, explained.

Lauren was struggling to keep balance while following her. Between the needle heels of her shoes, and the tightness of her red dress, it was difficult not to fall.

"Um, and he is…?" The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember.

"I'm working on his case. I've told you a million of times before." She stressed. It was true, although she probably didn't mind enough to hear what that case was about. "He's from New York, but he's spending the Holidays in here. And his father is a great man; they're from a great circle. He could introduce you to someone."

She knew what that meant. New circle meant good status, and knowing someone equaled getting a boyfriend. Lauren could never just admit that there was a wooer for that place already, so she replied something else.

"Um, I'm not sure, mom. New York…. Remember?"

"Someone else, Lauren, obviously…" Her mom snapped, upset by her poor excuses.

Their dialogue was cut quickly when Kate stopped walking and Lauren imitated her. The aforementioned was standing up near the bar; and he was holding an almost empty cup of wine in his hands. He was kind of pale, and a light blond hair fell over his forehead as a fringe. There was a subtle grimace on his thin lips, and the fact that he was wearing a suit just completed the image of a type of guy she felt familiar with.

"Hey, nice to meet you, I'm Lauren." She said as she shook his hand.

His face seemed to light up with his instant smile.

"The pleasure is mine." His voice was deep, a lot rougher than what she expected it to be.

"Lauren's a student in the University of Michigan." Her mom cut in quickly. "Although she aspires to keep studying after she graduates next year."

Lauren nodded, despite there was not a true phrase in that sentence.

"That's great. For now, we're not so far from each other." He said and then finished the wine in his cup.

"You two should meet sometime. Lauren loves New York, it wouldn't be a problem for her to travel a weekend or something." Her mom added, pushing slightly her back so she'd give a step closer to him.

Was she going to be consulted about anything, ever?

"Sure. Give her my number, and she can call me whenever she wants." The guy said nicely. Lauren forced a grin. "I'm going for more wine. Do you want some?"

"Okay, sure." Lauren shrugged. Maybe wine would make everyone seem more interesting.

Michael went for the wine, her mom leaved them with a smile that put Lauren under pressure; and she worked it into fifteen minutes more of conversation. It wasn't easy, but they later found out they had in common a peculiar taste for Albert Camus' books, and they exchanged a few entertaining opinions. When they finally started to think they could get along, noisiness impossible to ignore break forth from the next room.

"Excuse me." She said to Michael, walking away to see what the hell was happening.

She couldn't hide her surprise when she walked in the dining room and saw Mary completely wet from head to toes, sitting down at the couch and shaking. There was an obvious exaltation and uproar in the room, people were talking loudly and with commotion, and they were walking furiously from one side of the room to another. People were entering through the garden door from outside.

"What the…?"

The answer didn't make her wait.

"Can you believe it!" Grace said, close to tears because her party was falling into pieces. "A gang of culprits broke in! One of them said he was Sharon's brother, and my mom believed them, how stupid. I'm so mad!"

"What do you mean?" Lauren asked, confused. Why would they want to enter to their party?

"They just wanted to ruin our Christmas, Lauren!" Her friend cried out, whilst her feet repeatedly kicked the floor. "One of them pushed Mary to the pool! They're such a bunch of savages!"

That explained the mess that was left in the house. One of the tables was upside down, and the food sparse all over the floor.

Someone had handed Mary a towel, and despite she was still shaking, she laughed. And Lauren was even more confused.

"They seem fun, though." Mary commented lowly, but nobody heard her.

"They stole a bunch of our drinks! They're outside now, and I think they were trying to tear our Christmas tree down. But my mom called the police, so they'll pay it tonight." That was the only thing that seemed to comfort her a bit. She crossed her arms, holding her crying. "If they ruin the tree, I will be so upset…"

"Oh, not the tree." Lauren commented, mainly just so she'd have something to say. Although she had to admit it'd be a nice spectacle to observe.

So she only walked to the back door to check if she could watch the wild scene from inside of the house.

And she wouldn't have expected to see that, not even in a million years.

The shock was so unexpected that she felt she'd fall. Or throw up. Or faint. All of it at the same time.

"Lauren, what are you doing?" Grace yelled, startled, from her place, as her friend walked out of the house.

Lauren felt her state was struggling between confused and angry. The anger was growing fast inside of her; so it wouldn't be a tie for much longer. She almost didn't notice how cold it was outside and that her arms and legs were uncovered. So her steps were fast, and loud, while she walked to a figure near the garden table.

"Brian?" She almost spat, disgusted. And shocked. And angry. "What the fuck?"

"Lauren, hey! What a nice surprise." Brian replied casually, as he turned back and noted her presence. He had a pile of cellphones in his hands, and Jeff was next to him trying to grab as many bottles of wine he could from the table. "Merry Christmas!" He added joyfully.

"What the fuck are you all doing here?" She was still so astonished that her voice came up too loud and kind of hoarse. "This is my friend's house. That's my friend's liquor. That's my friend's cellphone!" She pointed at the pink device in the top of the pile.

She'd definitely faint.

"Oh, it's nothing personal." He replied casually, like if he just stepped on someone's foot and felt kinda bad about it. "Tell her it's a great party. I had fun."

"Well, I'm glad! Because the police is coming!" This time it was a shout without a doubt.

"Shit." Brian cursed, his expression turned from relaxed to concerned in a matter of seconds. He walked a few steps away. "Darren!"

Darren was there? It was just getting better and better. She looked behind, to the door a few feet away, and she couldn't handle Grace's judgmental look for a long time. What was she going to tell when they asked her how she knew those party crushers? She walked further away from the door, through that enormous garden, just so she wouldn't feel their gaze on her.

She confirmed everyone from Darren's group were there, making a mess. Even that girl Rachel; she was now trying to climb one of the walls of the garden to go outside, with Joe's help. Then Darren walked from behind the tree (Grace was right, they were trying to take it down), and the fact that he actually looked glad to see her just made her realize how different they were.

The first thing he thought when he saw her wasn't regarding the place, or even the surprise. When Jeff commented that there was a preppies party near that they could crash (It wasn't any new hobby); he had considered that Lauren could be there, and he kind of hoped it, because she could go with them afterwards. However, he just thought about how different she looked and how much it shocked him that he liked it.

When he saw her at the Halloween party and in Michigan's Hole, he thought she was a babe. She was pretty, and her body was attractive too. But seeing her there was from a completely different universe. She was wearing a burning red dress wrapping tightly around her figure; it finished a few inches above her knees, and the plunging neckline finishing under her breast was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Despite it, she just looked too different. Her hair was pulled into a neat bun with a silver barrette at the top, and the shade of her lipstick was dark Bordeaux. She seemed more mature, and older. He had thought he wouldn't like to see her dressed like that, because of his hatred towards everything that could tie her to the upper class. He confirmed that she fit so well in there, indeed; but he found impossible to not find her absolutely gorgeous. She looked like a movie star from the sixties, all set to break hearts and take pictures. It was all so magnificent that he just couldn't act clever enough to decrypt her body language.

So he walked directly to her, planting a hard kiss on her lips. He felt so ablaze that he didn't realize she had slightly pushed him to stop the kiss.

"Hey, you gotta come with us." He said with a grin. "We're going to Brian's place, and we got a shit load of drinks now. It's gonna be great. You gotta come." He insisted, pulling gently from her waist.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Lauren couldn't begin to understand how they could act so calmed. "You guys break into my friend's house, steal her stuff and ruin her party, and expect me to be okay with it?"

Darren frowned, shaking his head, like if he couldn't perceive what was so wrong with that.

"Did you see this house? These people can replace all of this, and their pockets wouldn't hurt a bit, trust me." He pulled from her waist again, that talk wasn't something he was waiting for. And least in public, and least in Christmas. "Don't be upset."

"That is not even the point…"

"Oh, God." An amused voice interrupted their fight. "This is the best surprise ever! I can't believe it."

It was Michael. He was the only one that had dared to walk outside of the house, but he had gone directly to them, and he talked loudly from his place a few feet away; it became obvious that his purpose was they heard him. He looked not only entertained but like if he was having the time of his life. Lauren was going to tell him to get the fuck out, but the way Darren had dropped her waist and the manner his expression turned strange as he saw him was very confusing. She could've sworn he turned pale within a moment.

"You're Kate's daughter's boyfriend? This is just too good!" He continued his speech, joyful.

Lauren was going to clear up that he wasn't her boyfriend, but Darren was quicker.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Perkins?"

Darren's voice had never sounded that challenging.

"Do you two know each other?" Lauren asked him, thinking she couldn't handle another surprise for that night.

"Do you two know each other?" Darren asked directly to her. He was serious. She had never seen him so serious.

"You'll be surprised, mate." Michael continued.

Darren looked utterly mad. But in the way that he seemed to be trying so hard to contain his anger. His hands had clang into a fist, his breath was heavy and loud, and his silence turned out kind of terrifying.

Joe walked from the other side of the garden as soon as he saw that scene. He seemed to know the guy as well, but he merely stayed there, standing up with his hands in his pockets, a step behind Darren; but completely aware of the situation. Lauren was so confused.

"Actually, I'm basically paying for your girl's tuition… Life's such a twist, right, bro?"

"Don't call me that." Darren said severely. "And leave her alone. She's not a part of this."

Lauren felt she needed to sit down or her legs would fail her.

The guy snorted a laugh, like if he thought Darren was an entertaining toddler who didn't represent a threat for him.

"I don't think you're in the position to give orders to me." His voice was calmer, and more staid too. "Not yet, at least." He made a pause, like if he remembered that he was playing the funny guy. "I heard about the big reopening of Michigan's Hole, though. Such a shame I couldn't be there, but I sent one of my guys. And you can be sure I'll be there the next time." The attempt of his grimace turned out as a macabre laugh while he said the last phrase.

"Stay the fuck out of my zone and my people, or I swear I'll..."

"You'll what?" Michael extended his arm at the sides of his body, like if he was waiting for him to punch him or something.

And Darren seemed certainly about to do it.

Lauren gasped when she noticed his body plunging against the blonde, who didn't even try to protect himself.

"Darren, no!" Joe's voice was harsh. It was certainly a call to earth. He had put his arm around Darren, firmly and kind of violently, forbidding him to move. His friend shook a bit at first, struggling to get Joe off. "Don't give him a reason to bring you down."

Darren stopped moving; and Joe let him go, walking to Michael. He whispered something with a harsh tone that they couldn't hear, but it was more than a truism that it was a warning. The guy shook his head and walked away.

And Lauren had so many questions in her mind; but before she could choose which one to ask first, the sound of a police siren sounded in the distance. It was true that Grace's parents had called the police. It was like if an earth quake was announced. Rachel, Rick and Jeff were the first ones to jump the wall of the garden, carrying plastic bags, probably with all the stuff they stole. Darren had already walked away from her, and was talking to Brian like if they were debating a life risking situation.

After a moment, Brian split up from him, and Darren called:

"Lauren!"

She was so upset. The rage had been building so strongly in her inside that she got there in a few seconds.

"You're insane!" She shouted shamelessly. And he even dared to call her? "After all the absurdities you've done tonight, do you really expect me to want to leave with you?"

But Darren ignored her huff.

"Where do you know him from?" His voice sounded deep, and his face was straight serious. And the siren sounded dangerously closer, but he didn't hurry.

"What?" Lauren was so fed up with her own madness that she couldn't follow him.

"Where do you know him from?" He asked again, with the same gravity.

"My mom works for him, he's her client. Why?"

Darren seemed to be so out of breath for a moment that it was disturbing. Like if his brain was a gear that was placing its pieces into place.

"Your mom what?"

"She's a lawyer, she works for him!" She explained, exasperated. Was no one going to explain that mess to her? "What is the big deal?"

Darren ran a hand through his face, taking a deep breath. Then he looked at her while he replied, and she never thought such little words could change so much.

"The deal is, Lauren, that your mom is trying to put me in jail."

Brian called his name from up the wall, and Darren couldn't keep ignoring him since his concerns were well-founded. He turned around and ran to catch his friends, and he only looked at her from the top of the wall, and he was so far away that she couldn't unravel his expression.

And she could only stand there for so long that she couldn't keep count; speechless, motionless, while his words kept fading in her head. And when a police man shook her shoulder, trying to get an answer, she could only stretch her hand and point to the horizon, to the opposite point where Darren's bike sound dissipated.

A/N: If you review and tell me what you think I am willing to do dirty things in return.