I went upstairs to get changed for this party that I was apparently just invited to. When I got to my room I felt someone behind me. I turned in the doorway to see Alex.

"Are you stalking me?" I asked with a smile.

"I don't know. Do you want me to?" I was starting to like the lopsided grin that spread across his face.

"Hmm. That depends."

"On what?" he asked

"On whether or not you're a serial killer."

He smiled. "Oh, yeah. But don't tell anyone. I haven't been caught yet," he said while putting a finger to his lips.

I just smiled wider as he walked into Rian's room. Just before I closed my door, Rian peeked in.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked

"Yeah, sure." I motioned to the bed and we both took a seat facing each other.

"First, can I say, I'm glad your staying here? I can tell your going to be fun to hang out with." I nodded slightly and he continued. "Second, I just want to warn you about Alex. I noticed him looking at you. He said he thinks your hot," this he said glancing away, "and well, should I say, he's sort of a man-whore. He's into hooking up and nothing else. I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Oh, okay. Thanks," I said. Of course the guy I thought was cute, that paid attention to me, was a player. Just my luck, then again I wasn't really looking for any kind of relationship. I had left one behind when I was forced to move here.

"'Kay, well I'll let you get ready. We're leaving at 8:00."

I shut my door behind Rian and walked over to my unpacked bags. I had an hour before we left for the party, so I figured I'd unpack a bit. Once all my clothes were placed in the dresser drawers I started picking out what I would wear tonight.

I had been to tons of parties back home, and I figured they couldn't be too different here. The guys seemed a lot like some of the kids back home, so the parties should too. I picked out a pair of gray skinny jeans, my favorite black tank, and my red sweater. I left the sweater open and pulled the chain out from under my shirt. I always wore my chain; I only took it off in the shower. It held a large, old style key that went to a box I kept hidden at home.

Once I was dressed I did my makeup in the dresser mirror. I put on my standard black eyeliner and mascara, and then added some red eye shadow and lip-gloss. I played with my hair for a few minutes before giving up. I decided to just leave it down and threw my gray beanie on.

I looked in the mirror. Unlike yesterday, when I couldn't recognize the person in front of me, today I saw more of a resemblance. My smile wasn't as forced, and there was more color in my cheeks. Maybe thirteen was still my lucky number, and coming here was going to be a good thing.

Right at seven there was a knock on my door. "You ready?" Rian asked.

"Yeah," I called while grabbing my phone and slipping it into my back pocket before opening the door.

We went downstairs to the living room, where my aunt and uncle were sitting on the couch.

"Mom, Dad, Addison and I are going over to Jack's."

His mom looked at him knowingly. "For a party?" apparently she lived up to my mother's descriptions, she knew everything.

"Uh, yeah." That's all Rian said.

"Okay, fine, but Addison? Be careful. And Rian, watch out for her."

"I think she'll be fine. It's just a party," Rian answered his mother.

"Please? Just keep an eye on her," she said looking at me the whole time.

"Don't worry, I wont drink," I said knowing exactly why she was pressuring Rian to keep an eye on me. She just nodded, excepting my statement, while Rian looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently he didn't know why I was here.

Rian, Alex, and I drove to the party together. I immediately got in back, not wanting to be rude by sitting up front. Alex slid in beside me, while Rian got in the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway. I glanced at Alex who was smiling at me. Rian looked back at us in the rearview.

"So, Addison. Why did you promise my mom that you wouldn't drink?" he asked. I was right; he must not know the details as to why I was sent here.

"What? You're not going to drink? At a party?" Alex gasped looking at me, waiting for an answer.

"Uhmm. No, I really shouldn't drink," I said hoping that would satisfy Rian.

"Well, none of us should drink," added Alex, who bumped me with his shoulder.

"No shit. But I really shouldn't."

"Why?" this from Rian.

"Well," I hesitated. If it was just Rian in the car, I would have no problem answering, but with Alex next to me, I didn't want to. "I just used to get in trouble when I drank." That was the short version, the very short version.

"You mean that's why you were sent here?" Rian asked.

"Well, that's part of the reason. I'm surprised your mom didn't tell you why I was sent here." I looked at Rian's profile as he drove.

"Oh, she just told me that your parents were having a hard time 'putting up with you,'" he said making air quotes with his right hand.

I laughed.

When we got to the party I looped my arms through both Rian's and Alex's as we made our way up the steps. Jack greeted us at the door, plastic red cup in hand.

"Addison! You came!" Jack exclaimed, pulling me in for a hug. He was obviously already drunk.

I smiled, "I said I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but I thought we scared you away." He turned his smile into a frown and gave me sad eyes.

"Well, unfortunately for me, it takes quite a lot to scare me away."

We made our way inside. People were everywhere. Either dancing, making out, or just standing around in groups. I felt awkward, seeing how I didn't know anyone. Rian put his hand on my shoulder and asked if I was sure about not drinking. I nodded and he headed to the kitchen.

I found a place to lean near the living room and watched everyone, while reminiscing to when I used to be one of them.

I felt hands slip over my eyes from behind. I felt slightly uneasy, but I wasn't scared. I knew how to fight back if I needed to. Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Guess who?"

"Oh, no! Not the serial killer again!" I exclaimed in fake horror.

Alex let me go, facing me with a smile. "The one and only, I've come to finish the job," his smile turned devious as he downed the contents of the red cup he now had in his hand. Setting the cup down, he asked me if I wanted to dance. I followed him to the dance floor, where I decided to let loose and have some fun.

After a while he needed another drink so I watched as he went into the kitchen. While I was standing against the wall waiting for either Rian or Alex to come back, someone came over to stand in front of me.

"Hey," he said.

"Uh, hi."

"I noticed you dancing earlier, what's your name?"

"Addison." I wasn't too talkative at the moment.

"Do you want to dance, Addison?"

"Umm. No thanks. I'm good."

"Addison, are you cheating on me?" Jack asked as he came up behind the guy I was talking to.

"Hey Jack." I smiled. He unknowingly saved me from having to socialize, something I've avoided pretty well for the past two months.

"How about dancing with me?" Jack asked, obviously convinced I would.

I just smiled. The other guy had disappeared, so why not. Jack and I started dancing to a fast paced song, grinding and moving to the beat. All of a sudden I had a flashback.

"Addie! Come dance with me," he said.

I smiled and sighed. There was no way to get around it. I would have to dance with Tyler at some point; he was my best friend after all.

We were dancing to an old AAR song when I heard her voice. I could never forget that voice. It was like nails on a chalkboard to me, piercing and shrill.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" she asked.

"We are just dancing, Kris. Calm down," Tyler said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes walking away. I couldn't stand her. Kristina fucking Turner.

"Addison? Are you okay?" someone was asking.

"Huh?" I couldn't focus on who was in front of me. I felt someone's hands on my arms holding me up, but I couldn't even remember where I was.

"What's going on? Is she okay?" This voice sounded really familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"I don't know, maybe we should take her home."

"Yeah, let me help you."

Suddenly I remembered where I was. I was at a party. I was with my cousin and his friends. Tyler was nowhere around, and neither was Kristina. I was safe. I blinked hard and focused on who was carrying me.

"Umm. Can you put me down?" I asked.

"Are you sure? Are you okay?" Rian asked from my right side.

"Yeah, put me down Alex." He did, but held my waste; probably not sure I would be able to stand by myself. "Really, I'm fine. You can let me go."

I started to walk back into the house towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked from behind me.

"I think I'll have that drink now," I said, not stopping.

"Do you think that's a good idea? You practically passed out back there."

Good point, but I needed to wash down the emotions and memories that had begun to flood back in.

"What happened to your promise not to drink tonight?" Rian asked, apparently he was following too.

"Fuck my promise," I said as I grabbed a plastic cup and began to pour in some alcohol. I think I stunned the guys, because they were just staring. I winked and then downed my cup before refilling it.

"Okay. Maybe you should slow down a bit," Rian said grabbing the cup from my hand.

"Hey, give that back," I said indignantly.

"You may want to through out your promise not to drink, but I promised to watch you either way, so I'm saying slow down," Rian said as he pulled me out the back door into the moonlight.

Sadly I could hold my liquor pretty well and one drink wasn't going to cut it, so there was no way to escape my thoughts. I sat down on a step just looking out at the tree line.

"So," Rian started when he sat down. Somehow we lost Alex on our way outside.

"So," I mimicked.

"Are you going to tell me what happened back there?" he asked.

I looked up into his eyes and saw that he was concerned. We may not have been extremely close growing up, but we still had a bond, and he cared. That surprised me and I had to look away to hide the tears that were forming in my eyes.

"I'll take that as a no," he sighed.

"No," I said, turning to look at him. "It's just that I didn't expect you to care. No one ever does."

"You mean your parents?"

I nodded, "and everyone else."

"Addie, that's not true."

"Please don't call me that," I whispered.

"Why does that name upset you? We've always called you Addie."

"It just does, okay."

"Okay. But tell me something." I nodded hesitantly. "Why did you come here? The real reason."

"You don't want to know the whole reason," I glanced away as he put his hand on my arm, reassuring me. "Let's just say something happened at a party that landed me in the hospital. Not to mention left me wishing I was dead." I let out a small laugh. "After that party, I drank constantly. I was suspended from school too many times to count. My parents sent me to therapy, but they couldn't help me. No one could. The damage was done. And here I am," I said gesturing with my arms.

"So this party? What happened?"

"Lets not go there, okay?"

He nodded, obviously letting it go. I stood up and walked back into the party, grabbing a drink on my way towards the living room. I found Alex talking to a few girls. I remembered Rian's warning about Alex being a player, but shoved it aside. I ran up to Alex putting my hands over his eyes like he had done before.

"What the—"

"Shh… I'm looking for the infamous Baltimore serial killer."

Alex spun around smiling. "Hey, you."

"Hi," I smiled brightly at him. If Rian wasn't going to let me get wasted to forget the thoughts swirling around in my head, then I would find another way. "So, I was hoping we could dance again," I whispered in his ear.

"Are you a mind reader?" he asked leading me to the middle of the room.

We started grinding almost immediately and Alex rested his hands on my hips. It felt good to relax into him. I put my hands up over my head to wrap around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair. I could feel his reaction against my backside and I smiled.

"Addison? What are you doing?"

"Shh…"

When the music changed to a slow song I spun around in his arms, looking into his eyes. I saw lust and a hint of something I couldn't identify. Before thinking about it I slipped my hands around his neck, pulling him down so I could kiss him. He hesitated at first, and then joined in the kiss, pulling me closer to him.

When the kiss ended I moved one hand to rest against his chest as I looked into his eyes again. This time I saw a mixture of lust, need, and that same emotion I still couldn't name.

"That was—wow."

I just smiled as I moved my hips slightly, causing him to gasp, and me to start kissing him again.

Something broke us apart. Rian was pulling me aside. He tugged on my arm, leading me outside. I looked back to see Alex following.

"Rian, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Taking you home."

"I don't want to go home yet."

He spun around and I stopped facing him. He wasn't angry. His eyes said he was concerned.

"Oh, you want to stay, and fool around with Alex, right?" he looked past me, not waiting for an answer. "Why would you make a move on my cousin?" he sounded incredulous.

"What? We were just kissing," I said, not seeing the problem. Rian wasn't paying any attention to me: he was glaring at Alex.

"Dude, she's right. We were just kissing," Alex offered, even though we both knew it would have led to something else if Rian hadn't of stepped in. We could both tell that Rian was angry with Alex for some reason.

Rian turned to look at me. "Come on, we are going home."

I didn't argue. Rian had become my one friend here. He was the only person I had offered up information to, no that the information I gave was anywhere near the whole truth. I didn't want to give up my one friend after only a day, so we left the party early.

It was only 11:00 when we got home. The lights were all off. As we made our way to our rooms, Shannon peeked her head out her bedroom door.

"Oh, your home early. How was the party?" she asked, surprising me.

"Fun, but Addison was tired, so we came home early," Rian stated. I glanced over to see him nod. He wasn't going to rat me out and tell his mom that I had been drinking when I told her I wouldn't. I thanked him silently before going into my room.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was fun to write. I haven't gotten to the really good stuff yet, so keep in tune.

Again, reviews would be lovely! I've already written ahead a bit, but input is generally accepted, so let me know what you think.

Thanks :)