Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you to the guest who suggested the song "Warrior" by Demi Lovato, I kind of fell in love with it while writing this chapter. The other songs were "Now" by Paramore and "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera. Also, I love this band Boyce Avenue, and their song "Change Your Mind" has been my anthem for Marcus for a while now.

I just wanted to send out a notice, if you want to know when the next update is coming out, you can always check my profile, I have the story that I'm currently in the process of updating posted.

Marcus

There's a strange awkwardness when you're standing at the fringe of a party, not to mention when you're (gasp) not drinking at a High School Party. It's not too awkward when you're with people but standing by yourself, waiting for a girl who hates you to get back, might just be the worst kind of hell. anticipation has me watching the crowds to distract myself.

Hannah from my gym class, and that sophomore, Jason, I think it is, slip out from among the throng, grinning as they go off alone into one of the rooms off a long hallway. One of the seniors, Paul, is with the third girl of the night, real classy, that guy. Not so surprisingly, he Zach, and I have been buddies since Zach moved to our lovely little town. Cassidy and Mia are sending me eyes from across the room, despite my not too subtle lack of interest. It's strange how the bustle of everyday life looks when you get a little perspective.

I skim my eyes through the crowd, looking for Jane's signature mop of short brown hair. It's almost an impossible feat to find her, considering how easily she blends in and how good she is at disappearing. She tries so hard to remain unnoticed, and it works disturbingly well. How can people not notice her, how can they not see the ache in those green eyes? Suddenly those very same green eyes appear in my line of vision.

Jane apprehensively makes her way across the room, her brow furrowed with confusion as she looks around for Anna. Her jaw sets when she realize Anna's gone, and something chilling comes over her as she's sees me standing where her friend was last. I swallow anxiously, and resist the urge to back away, possibly screaming. Finally, she stops her progression, and stares me down, just out of arm's reach.

I see her mouth moving but I can't hear her over the drone over the music and the shouting of the crowds. I shake my head, cupping my hand around my ear to try to show that I can't hear her, as some oh-so-coordinated- moron slams into her from behind, and sends her sprawling the extra distance to me. I try to steady her by holding her shoulders (okay maybe that wasn't my only intention), but she quickly shakes off my gentle grip, and moves to stand beside me. She repeats herself now, finally in hearing distance, and I send a silent thank you to the clumsy buffoon.

"Where's Anna?" She asks, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, and her eyes strategically avoid mine. I skim my eyes over her outfit for tonight: a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. While the tank top's looser, those jean shorts are clinging to her every little curve, not that I would even dream of complaining about that, what can I say, I can appreciate the beauty of the human body.

"She ran off with Jonathan Trenton." I explain, eyeing the cup in her hand until I remember Anna's little trick. She shrugs at me and takes a sip from her glass, and I just catch the clear liquid that I'm going to assume is water at this point. I have a feeling Jane wouldn't be so passive if I asked her about it.

"Should I know who that is?" She asks, leaning in so she's practically speaking in my ear. Her warm breath creates a tickling sensation, and chills race across my skin, hopefully, she didn't notice. I shrug back, repeating her motions, and push her hair away so I can get at her ear. She flinches as my fingers skim the sensitive skin, but I pretend not to notice.

"Probably not, but you will. He's a senior, and he's spent more time with the chief of police than the chief's wife has." I joke a little, smiling at her, and the corners of her lips lift a fraction of an inch, before she bites her lip, and all traces of amusement disappear entirely. A feeling not unlike mourning hits me at that disappearance of my miniscule shred of hope, but hidden or not, I know it's still there, somewhere.

"You're worried about her." She observes, and I almost tell her the truth, that I'm worried about the both of them, but then she breaks eye contact, and moves her hair off her neck and away from her ear, as if expecting my response, but hoping to avoid any real contact between us. The uncomfortable gesture makes me nervous; I don't want to scare her, god no; I'd never want to scare her like that. I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans, half so that she won't notice my fidgeting, and half to set her nerves at ease. She raises an eyebrow at me, and I realize she's been waiting for an answer while I've been contemplating the meaning of life.

"I am, she's always… rational… you know?" I stumble over my words, unsure exactly how to describe the unnatural phenomenon that is Anna and Jonathan Trenton, thankfully, Jane nods in understanding, and I can stop my floundering. "That all goes out the window when he's involved." I run a hand through my hair, knowing it's sticking up in a billion and three directions, but I can never quite resist. Jane looks at me again, appraising me, with one eyebrow raised as she does so.

"You really care about her, don't you?" She seems surprised by this, and though she shouldn't be all that shocked, it's not the first time someone's posed a question to the same effect. Generally, people are surprised when they realize Anna and I are as close as we are. Something about the straight A student princess and the "dangerous" guy from the wrong side of the tracks doesn't make sense to them. Hmmm, I wonder why?

"She's family, for all intents and purposes." I shrug, Jane nods, though her eyes show no real comprehension. "Didn't you ever have person that's always been there?" I ask her, and when she shakes her head, sympathy for her washes over me, I don't know what I'd do without Anna, or at least someone in my life I knew I could count on.

"Don't look at me that way!" She hisses, her eyes narrowing, as if the goal is to make me explode into a million pieces just with the power of her eyes. I have to refrain from stepping back, sensing trouble.

"What way?" I ask; I didn't even realize I had done anything wrong, for god's sakes!

"Like I'm so puppy that got hit by a car." Her voice breaks, and for a second I think I might be crazy enough to see her eyes watering. "I don't need your pity! Or anyone else's for that matter!" Her voice drops in volume rapidly, and she almost mutters to herself "I hate pity."

"Okay, okay, I didn't realize… I just thought it was sad that you didn't have anyone to rely on, okay, I didn't mean to offend you." I put my hands up on either side of my head, as if I'm surrendering. It doesn't last long before I end up running my hand through your hair.

"I have people," She crosses her arms over her chest stubbornly. "I have… sisters." She turns away from me as she says that, and I get the feeling I'm missing something, something big here.

"Okay, I didn't know, I'm sorry." I repeat and shetakes a sip from her cup before surveying the room again, and unlike Anna, there's something clearly predatory in her eyes, almost like she's looking for something, and not something pleasant either. "Why does that set you off so badly?" I ask before I can stop myself. Sure Marcus, poke the lion with a stick, finally get it to calm down and then remind it that you poked it, good plan: real good plan.

"It's a long story." She dodges the question with the subtly of a Shakira music video, but now I can't let it go. Stupid stubborn Marcus.

"We have time. " I remind her, and she doesn't seem to like it but she doesn't seem to be ready to kill me again either, so I must gaining some ground here. Her hand tightens around the drink in her hand, and she starts tugging at the bottom edge of her shirt again, so I know she doesn't want to answer, but when she looks up at me again, I think she's going to.

"Umm, after my mom…" She starts, but suddenly her eyes go wide, and she freezes, and I wonder for a split second if she's breathing before I look over my shoulder and see Zach right behind me.

"Hey, what's going on?" he says to me in greeting and then squints, trying to make out Jane in the dim lighting. "And who are you my pr-" His line is cut off as the moon peeks out from behind a cloud in the window and briefly illuminates Jane's face. "Jane?"

Anna

"Is this a good idea?" I ask, as he grins at me over his shoulder, and takes his big, rough hand in my soft delicate contrast is startling, but all the better for it.

"No." He pulls me out the back door and around the side of the house, as I start thinking bout how embarrassing it would be if we got caught back here, and what Marcus will think if I disappear from the party all together. Abruptly, he turns and wraps his arms around my waist and presses me against the white siding of the house. "But I missed you too much to care." He concludes, and I start thinking about my Dad and college and how stupid this is, and how nothing this passionate and dramatic can last and... Then his hand is in my hair, and my rapid thoughts skid to a shuttering halt . All too slowly, his mouth lowers on to mine and my brain starts up again, on an entirely new, much more pleasant train of thought.