Disclaimer: As much as I love Intellectual Property law, I don't think I could defend myself in court. Please don't sue.

Even over the music, Holly J's footsteps as she walked from the dance floor were the loudest thing in Eli's ears.

"Holly J, wait!" he called after her, following her out onto the balcony, "Holly J…" The girl leaned her forearms on the railing, staring out over the lake. The stars reflected in the calm water, mimicking the lights from the disco ball. She was so confused with everything. There was an attraction between them, obviously, but he and Clare just broke up. She was leaving in August. Nothing could happen between them.

"Like I told Jane, it's human nature. You're a guy, I'm a girl, and it was just a matter of time…" Eli watched as a thousand thoughts ran through her brain, making reading her difficult. He wanted this. He wanted her. To him, nothing else mattered as long as she was with him, but he also knew that Holly J was logical and practical and had a reputation to uphold.

"Let's just… forget about it," he said lightly, trying to ease her mind. It wasn't what he wanted, but he would deal. He was used to it.

"Really?" she asked as she looked up, meeting his gaze. She could see the hurt behind his eyes and it killed her inside. The new dress, coming to the party, it was all for him. Holly J wanted him so badly, but now that she was on the verge of getting him, it terrified her.

"Yeah. We just got caught up in the moment…." He didn't believe that for one minute, but he couldn't read her mind. He just wanted to know how she really felt about him.

"These things happen. It's biology. It doesn't mean…" and Eli reached out to gently move the stray few hairs from in front of her face, tucking them behind her ear. His hand lingered on her neck, his thumb lightly tracing her jawline. He couldn't help himself. Logic didn't matter right now and neither did reputations. Holly J took a breath, a little caught off guard by the intimacy but not shying away. He took a step closer, cupping her face in his hand but never breaking their gaze. He brought his lips inches from hers, being able to feel her breath.

"Holly J, do you want me to kiss you?"

After a moment, she nodded softly, "Yes." Eli smirked as he leaned down to meet her lips.

"What are you two…?" Jenna's voice broke the darkness. The two separated just as quickly as they came together, Holly J cursing under her breath and pulling a hand through her hair, "…Am I interrupting something?"

"What do you want, Jenna?" Eli snapped a little harshly for barely knowing anything about the girl. All she did was roll her eyes.

"Sav is looking for you guys. Spinner is having people over at his loft for an after-party since he couldn't make it and wants to know if you're interested. That is, unless you guys have something better to do…" she scoffed and she turned on her heel, going back into the emptying party. Holly J just leaned back against the railing, clearly unhappy that Jenna interrupted them. She sighed, shaking her head a little. It just wasn't going to happen.

"Do you want to go to Spin's party?" she asked, looking over at him. It was Eli's turn to lean his forearms against the railing, looking out over the lake and wondering what the hell was going on. He had no idea who this Spinner was, who Jane is, who this whole cast of people were that were a part of Holly J's life before they met.

"They're your friends. I don't really know them…"

"Sav's your friend too. And you and Peter seemed to get along. I think you'd like Spinner, he runs The Dot."

"Do you want to go?" he asked as he looked over to her.

"Well, I don't want the night to end…" she said slowly, smiling a little. Eli smirked to her, nodding to himself. He didn't want his time with her to end.

"Party it is."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This party was much more exclusive, only a select few from the main bash making it. KC and Jenna explained that they needed to get back to the baby and Jane just flat out refused to see Spin. Holly J talked a bit with Bianca on the couch as the boys conversed about music and things in the kitchen, Eli making every effort to fit in with Holly J's friends. He found it wasn't as hard as he thought, Spinner being a lot like Sav. Holly J was proud of him. It really meant a lot that he would do this for her.

"I could really do with another drink," Bianca excused herself as she stood from the couch, stepping over Holly J, "That is, if the boys stop hogging it all,"

"It's the dude's birthday, of course he's going to hog it all," Spin joked, nodding to Sav who was already four drinks into his bottle of vodka that Spinner got for him.

"I'm sharing, I'm sharing. Sharing is caring," Sav said, only slightly stumbling over his words, "Go. Whoever wants some. Have at it. Eli, have a drink with me."

"No, thank you. Driving, remember?" Eli explained with a bit of a laugh. Holly J just smiled at the scene; a slightly buzzed Sav in Spinner's loft trying to get Eli to drink. If you had told her at the beginning of the summer that she would be witnessing this, she would have said that you're insane. If you had said that she would become good friends with the kid with the hearse, she wouldn't have believed you. Then again, stranger things had happened, like Spin marrying Emma Nelson.

"Holly J? Do you want anything?" Eli broke though, pouring himself more soda.

"Um, yeah. I'll take some of that vodka that Sav wants to share and some orange juice, if you have it." Eli raised an eyebrow at her but let a small smirk crawl across his lips.

"Miss Sinclair, I thought I knew everything…" he said softly as he mixed her drink. Sav choked back a laugh.

"Everything? About Holly J? No, man, no way."

"What do you mean?" Eli asked as he brought her drink over to her, taking a seat on the couch.

"Eli, dude, you're so lucky you didn't know her before…" Peter said. Holly J just rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink.

"Oh, really? Why is that?" Eli mused, looking over at her and smirking.

"She was scary," Sav continued.

"I was not!" the girl defended, "I was determined. I still am."

"You were scary. I've never seen so many people just cower away in fear," Spinner joked.

"There was an 'I Hate Holly J' club for a reason," Peter pointed out. Holly J didn't like the direction the conversation had gone at all.

"Really? Where do I sign up?" Eli laughed a little. She shoved his shoulder a little harder than she intended, frowning slightly.

"It's not funny. Everyone really hated me. I got death threats," she quietly told him. Eli's smile slipped, seeing how hurt she was.

"Alli got in so much trouble for it, but not half as much trouble when my parents saw her file after Vegas Night." Sav reminisced, "That… was a fun night."

"The cops being called? My mom going ballistic? Some guy having a knife? Yeah, that's my idea of a fun night too," Drew lamented. Eli swallowed and looked down at his drink. He would rather forget that night all together. No one here knew that the knife was intended for him and he planned to keep it that way.

"Well, no, not that stuff. But Holly J and I had some fun…"

"Sav, you're drunk." She interrupted.

"I am not. I am only buzzed," he defended, "And it was fun. Stripping and making out in the theater? Bet Eli wishes he could've seen that." The loft went silent. Eli nearly choked on his drink and Holly J could only close her eyes in embarrassment. Eli wondered if they really were that obvious, if he was that transparent. This wasn't his bedroom; they weren't at the statue. They were in public, they were constantly being observed, and Holly J was right: people were assuming things.

"And Sav's cut off," Spinner said to break the tension, taking the bottle from the counter.

"…stripping?" Eli asked quietly after a moment. Holly J looked over at him, a little surprised by his indignation. He didn't know why it annoyed him that she had stripped for Sav, after all; at that point, Holly J Sinclair was just the chick that did the morning announcements. It was a side of her that he had never seen before and he had thought that he knew her best. This whole night, though, had just proved how little Eli really knew.

"It wasn't like real stripping. Fi gave me this corset and skirt to wear and, well, I turned it into a bit of a show." Eli visibly perked up, swallowing hard.

"Corset?"

"Oh, it was a show alright," Sav slurred, sitting on one of the barstools, "She put on some song and wore a feather thing…"

"It's called a boa," Holly J interrupted.

"And she whipped her hair and took off her skirt and…"

"Sav, you're drunk," Holly J started, getting a little annoyed with him. She didn't mind Eli knowing the details but Sav was just butchering it, making it sound like she pole danced or something, "If you're going to put a picture in their heads, at least make it accurate," and she took a long sip of her drink, standing up in front of Eli. He looked up at her, meeting her gaze and leaning forward to set his own drink on the table, his curiosity piqued.

"I had on a red coat over the outfit, a pair of long, black gloves, a boa, and my hair was up in a bun," she explained, turning away from him and miming taking off a coat. Holly J turned back to Eli with a small smile, untying the imaginary skirt from her waist and let the boa fall to the floor. Eli swallowed hard again, his imagination filling in, or rather taking away, anything that was missing. The loft suddenly felt much warmer and Eli couldn't help but notice how quiet it was, all eyes being glued to the woman who was sauntering towards him, her eyes never leaving his.

Holly J placed a light hand on Eli's shoulder, pulling him to the back of the couch as she stood behind him. He turned his head, trying not to lose sight of her, but she made him face forward, shaking her hair out a bit. He took a deep breath, relishing the feeling of her fingers moving through his hair, not even caring that it was being messed up. She smiled as she stepped in front of him again, giving a little smirk as she pretended to take off gloves. Holly J could tell that he was enjoying her little reenactment, even if this one didn't involve any stripping. She didn't even care that the others were watching. Eli's opinion was the only one that mattered.

Eli couldn't help but reach out, placing a hand on her hip as she maneuvered between his legs. He wanted to touch her, feel her body and make it known that she was his, at least in this moment. She reached out in kind, holding onto his forearms, moving to straddle his lap. Holly J's hands ghosted over his chest and up to his shoulders, letting herself get comfortable sitting in Eli's lap. He looked up, meeting her gaze and took a breath through parted lips, his brain buzzing but unable to think of anything to say.

"And that's the striptease," she said low enough so only he could hear, "Did you like it?" Her eyes flicked down to his lips, the intimacy of the moment starting to take her over.

"You have no idea…" Eli breathed, running his fingertips up and down her waist. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her more than either of the other two opportunities tonight, but prying eyes surrounded them and she would never forgive him if he made a move. Something switched off in Holly J's brain and she took a deep breath, smiling down at him.

"Fuck it."

She leaned down and captured his lips in her own; every neuron in her brain firing at the same time, her very soul being set alight. The outside world fell away around them and the only thing Eli could hear was the softest of moans emanating from Holly J's throat. The feel of her soft lips on his own was completely intoxicating. He held her tighter, pulling her closer to him, needing to feel her in every way possible. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth a bit, deepening the kiss. His taste, his smell, his touch was being imprinted on her memory, every tiny detail being the most important thing in the world to her. Together, they were perfect.

"And that's when the cop came in and ruined everything," Sav said loudly, shattering their shared world. Slowly, Holly J pulled away, her blue eyes crashing into Eli's green, sending a shock up her spine. Her heart was racing. Eli let a small chuckle out, a smirk playing on his lips. He had no intention of letting her go.

"Damn, I would have liked to see that too," Drew said and Bianca smacked his arm.

A/N: Reviews are the most amazing things. Thanks for reading!