A/N: Hi guys! How have you been these weeks? Have you missed Darren and Freckles? I sure did, but I have good news for you, guys! From this chapter on, you'll get super long chapters! Like chapters twice as long! That's a good thing, isn't it? To make up for the three weeks you have to wait till my next update! In other news, I recently watched the last episode of Glee and all I saw was Darren twerking, well, Blaine twerking, but for some reason Blaine's body reminds me of Darren's body. Weird, isn't it? Alright, I'm rambling, I know. If anything, what I wanted to say, more like ask is: Have you admired his body as much as I have? And by body, maybe, perhaps, I'm referring to certain part of his body that starts with 'a' and ends with 'ss'. I truly appreciate it. And well, I'll stop right now because I don't wanna sound like some sort of perverted who drools over his ass, which is like that but I shouldn't show it so shamelessly. Anyway, I want to thank you a lot for the reviews, all of my readers and all those who favorited this story. That is something that I truly appreciate, more than Darren's ass, so that's a big deal! Seriously, I hope you're enjoying the story and I hope you didn't get tired of it! If I'm doing something wrong, do not forget to let me know and you're allowed to kick my ass for being such a jerk! With this said, I'll start replying the reviews as usual!

eternityforklaine21: Thank you so much, Jodie! Now you can finally read the next chapter, after three weeks! By the way, I recently could catch up with you fanfic and I must say that you're doing a totally awesome job! I really love it and I really like the way you write! It's really nice to be a reader instead of a writer, so thank you for entertaining me with your great story!

alicegursk: Oh my God, Alice! Sweet merciful lord! I finally know who the guy you thought about is! You have no idea how happy I'm feeling right now, like one little kid who got her favorite candy after waiting for a long time! The guy was damn Brian! I know it, I know it, I know it! Alright, I should calm down right now, right? I don't wanna scare the crap out of you due to my current hysterical behavior. Yes, Darren! Go for Freckles! Save our girl from that guy named Brian! I wonder how he would do that! And #fuckfebruary? That seems like a tag, it should be a worldwide trend! Maybe I'm overreacting. But hell yeah, let's go for #fuckfebruary!

LivingThroughFables: Hi, Patience! (I wanna clarify that I am a stalker so I found how your name is because I like calling people by their names, I'm that creep). But, hi, Patience! If that's your real name, I love your name, okay? I don't wanna scare you with all this thing of stalking and all; I swear I'm a nice person. Well, as you can see I ramble a lot, that's so me. First of all I want to welcome you; I think this is your first review, so it's only fair if I welcome you and I thank you a lot for reading this story! I really hope you're enjoying it, despite all the drama and all the comings and goings and just everything! Now, while it's true I can't see your face, by the way you wrote your review, I pictured it, even if I don't know how you look like, I have a great imagination. Does this mean February is working with W? Hmm, maybe! You'll have to figure it out because I'm a bitch who won't give anything away! I'm sorry I couldn't update asap, but here you have the new chapter and it's super long! I hope you like it and thank you a lot for saying that you love my fic! You have me smiling like a fool right now!

MeMi83: Hi, Jenna! Brian cannot be W or can he? Is it because he's mad the real W has messed with him making his aunt pose as his mother or is he the real W? Freckles is maybe seeing the sign, or maybe she thinks she's seeing the sign considering what Darren suggested. But question is: what is gonna happen from now on between all of them? Oh yes, right! Then we have that detail of Brian and his 'feelings'. That's something still pending. And yes! It's becoming messy, even for me! Writing it sometimes is crazy! But good thing is that now you can read what happens next, right? You watched a 'A Katy or a Gaga' and 'The end of twer' already? They were silly and funny! I miss the old Glee, though, because I cannot connect with the new characters, everything is like very repetitive and it seems they no longer show meaningful topics of problems that are happening nowadays (like before the episodes could help people); but they were good episodes, even if I'm not so into Katy's or Gaga's music and even if I don't like this thing of twerking (despite I got to see Darren twerking again). Oh! Every time I watch a movie and they're eating RedVines I literally yell 'RedVines, what the hell can't they do?' and some of my friends who haven't seen AVPM look at me as though I was totally insane. But I don't care; I love and will always love AVPM! As you, I think the musicals are funny, uplifting and awesome! You should totally get more merch! Nonetheless, I'm not the right person to tell you so since I don't have merch! So sad! I can't work right now because college keeps me very busy and my parents wouldn't give me money to buy something! Ah! Someday, someday! I have a scarf that reminds me of Scarfy because it's very colorful and I love it! But I want one that looks exactly like Scarfy and then I'll live happily ever after! Thank you so much for wishing me good luck! I really needed and need it! It's like my group and I are constantly struggling with the professors (it's been a year now) because some of them agree with our project and some others don't (let's say the project is very complex and not something they're used to see), so we have a problem and we really don't know when we're gonna be able to present our final thesis! All leads that instead of vacation, I'll have to keep working on it! haha. Oh, you'll have more chapters till the very end! I have to hurry up, tho! But thank you for saying it; I really needed to hear (read in this case) something like that! Because let's say that lately I wasn't so inspired to write and I kinda got tired of writing (that's weird! maybe it's just because I'm tired in general). I was just very pessimistic, thinking that people are just tired of reading so many chapters and so many comings and goings and all the same. It's just the stress of college, maybe; but your words made me smile! So thank you very much, Jenna! Now I hope you have totally awesome weeks ahead and I wish you get lots of smiles and hugs! Sending you warm fuzzies!

Alright, amazing people! That was it all! Now, I'll let you read this long chapter and I truly hope you enjoy it! We have a party in this chapter! Huzzah! And you'll get one of my cliffhangers! Are you ready to know what will happen from now on? Go read! Warm fuzzies and until next time!

TEENAGE DREAM

Chapter 59

Frat party

"Oh, I know!" Brian exclaimed with a wicked look. Chloe was looking at him fixedly and defiantly, yet still frightened. "Since when have you been spying me?" He asked harshly. The woman didn't answer. "Answer, goddammit!" Brian exclaimed almost yelling, so you jumped. "Well, we'll leave that question for later. Tell me, where's Jim?" Brian asked rudely and you looked at him abruptly.

"I don't know who Jim is." The woman answered coldly.

"Oh yeah, you do. Tell me." Brian demanded crudely.

"Jim?" You asked while looking suspiciously at Brian. Brian looked abruptly at you and he bit his lips.

"Sunny, you asked me to let you know when it was time for you to go. Well, this is time for you to go." Brian said and you frowned and narrowed your eyes. "Please, leave."

"What? Are you kicking me out?" You asked in disbelief.

"No, I'm asking you to leave because this is a private conversation." Brian replied softly. Again, he was pretending to be nice to you. It was evident he wanted you to leave because he didn't want you to find out what his plan was about.

"Guess what? I don't wanna leave, I want to stay and hear everything you have to say." You answered back, roundly.

"Sunny, please. You have to go. This is for your own good, trust me." Brian requested gently, almost in a whisper.

"He's lying. He doesn't want you to hear about his secrets." Chloe commented and Brian shot her a withering look.

"Shut the fuck up." Brian threatened looking at his aunt. Then he looked at you and his gaze softened. "Sunny, believe me, this is for your own good."

"I don't care, I want to stay." You refused in a very determined way.

"Sunny, please, this is private." He pleaded.

"You want to hide me more things?" You asked harshly and you knew this hurt him because he frowned, bit his lips and looked down.

"No… I don't wanna hide you things and if I do hide you things; trust me, it's for a good reason and not because I want to make you feel bad. If I'm asking you to leave now is to protect you." Brian answered in a whisper, still looking down.

"Protect me from what? And in any case, I don't wanna be protected. I don't want you to protect me, I don't need that. So, I'll stay." You said kind of rudely and Brian looked up at you.

"Sunny, leave." Brian said, this time in a demanding way.

"I won't…"

"I said leave. I don't care if you wanna stay or not, you are gonna leave right now." He interrupted you.

"Who do you think you are to kick me out and to order me what I have to do?" You asked coldly, looking at Brian in a fulminant way. Brian raised his eyebrows and looked at you bewildered because of the way you treated him.

"I'm Brian and that woman over there is my aunt and she's been pretending to be my dead mother all this time. I want you to leave because I need to talk to her in private because I need to ask her why she's been doing that and I don't want you to hear certain things that can make you feel bad or concerned, not because I want to hide you things. I don't want to kick you out and I don't mean to order you what you have to do, I'm just begging you to go for now, then I can explain you. And if I sounded bossy, it's only because I don't know how to let you know that I need to do this by myself." Brian answered in a whisper, in a soft and quiet way.

"Fine, I'm going to go. But you better explain me what the hell is happening now, or I swear I won't talk to you again, Brian." You replied displeased, maybe in a furious way.

"Okay… Pinky promise." Brian said holding out his pinky finger.

"I'm not in mood for those stupid pinky promises. Bye, Brian." You answered sternly, taking your purse and standing up.

You weren't going to leave this like that, oh no, you had a plan. You took your disposable phone and left it on the chair to record their conversation, so later you'd return to the restaurant to take it. You needed to know what they were going to talk about, because you knew Brian would lie to you. Then, before really leaving, you turned your face to look at Brian. He was looking down, biting his lips and with a sad facial expression; yet, you were sure he was just pretending it. Then you glanced at his aunt; she still had a serious face, a bit terrified, but more defiant now. Maybe his aunt knew he was W and she was investigating him, that's why she pretended to be his dead mother. You huffed and you finally left the restaurant. You walked to the Waterworks Park that was seven blocks away from the restaurant. That wasn't a nice place, but you didn't know where to go. You were feeling dizzy again and you coughed blood as usual lately, but that didn't matter right now. You were edgy, scared and disturbed because of the recent event. You sat on the grass and you started dialing Darren's number. You needed to talk to him; you needed to tell him all that happened, you needed to tell him that he was right.

"Hi, Freckles!" Darren greeted cheerfully when he picked up the call.

"Darren, I need to talk to you about Brian." You said nervously and he didn't say anything. "You were right. Brian is W." You added with trembling voice. Damn, you wanted to cry, you couldn't believe this.

"Where are you right now?" Darren asked in a whisper.

"Waterworks Park." You answered with shrill voice because of your nervousness.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Wait for me and calm down, Freckles." Darren said softly and then he hung up.

As soon as I hung up with Freckles, I canceled all of my plans. I was going to meet February, but I told her that there was an emergency, she understood and said we could meet later; she didn't even ask what was that emergency perhaps because she noticed I couldn't talk in that moment. As I said, in fifteen minutes I was at Waterworks Park, looking for Freckles. Fortunately it wasn't so hard to find her. I walked straight towards her and sat on the grass next to her, so she finally noticed I arrived.

"What happened, Freckles?" I asked worried, but trying to ask it in a soft way to not make her feel more nervous. She looked at me with her big eyes, very disturbed and edgy, as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Brian is W, Darren!" She exclaimed shakily, as her lips began to quiver. "You were right all this time; I've been fooled by him… I really thought he was my friend… But no… He was just pretending as you said… I cannot believe… How did this happen? Why have I been so stupid? I don't know what to do now!" She exclaimed slurring her words in a very jittery way, finally bursting into tears.

"Hey, hey, calm down, Freckles." I said gently, leaning over to hug her and pat her back as a way to reassure her. "You're not stupid; he was just so good at pretending it. Tell me what happened. What made you change your mind?" I asked curiously because hours ago she was defending him.

"We were there and he started talking and he wasn't the same as always, he started saying some nasty things and I couldn't believe and there she was and she was looking at him... She was scared and so I was and he wouldn't say anything and..." Freckles started saying in a nonsense and hasty way.

"Whoa, whoa! Hold on, Freckles." I interrupted her. "I really didn't understand anything of what you just said. First, try to calm down because we're alone and nothing bad will happen. Then, explain me where you were, with whom and what happened." I said mildly.

"Okay." She said parting and wiping her tears away. She remained silent and looking down for a while and after she took a deep breath, she looked at me. "Today Brian and I went to the Black Pearl to have a lunch meeting with his mother. He didn't want to go, but I convinced him. At first everything was uncomfortable but normal. Brian told her how she made him feel and his mother apologized and told him why she left, she told him that nothing was his fault and she started saying some nice things to him and he forgave her. I was surprised he forgave her so quickly, but I thought he was doing it because he needed to, because it was a way to overcome his troubles." She started explaining as I was listening to her very intently. I didn't know yet why this would make her suspect of Brian, so far this was normal.

"Alright, I get it. It sounds pretty normal so far." I commented.

"Yes. But then… Then Brian and his mother began to play a game." Freckles stated while looking down and frowning, as though she was disturbed. Why, though? It was just a game, which was something harmless. "Brian was asking his mother some private things and his mother had to guess the answers; this was with the excuse to get to know each other. But, you see, I noticed something very odd. Brian was asking very private and provocative things, and I first thought he was doing it because he wanted to show his mother that she didn't know anything about him; but then… Then I saw him." She said and then remained looking blankly at nowhere in particular. She was frowning and she seemed to be thoughtful and disturbed.

"Then you saw what?" I asked impatiently because she wasn't saying anything at all.

"When his mother was looking at him, he was smiling brightly, he was cheerful and he was entertained with the game, as though he was really enjoying his time with his mother; he even called her mom and that was weird since he never considered her as a mother. But when she wasn't looking at him, he looked at her in a very furious and wicked way. That was when I realized that he was faking everything, he was pretending to be nice to her, he was pretending that he liked her; the same way he has been doing with me." Freckles said almost in a whisper with a troubled facial expression.

"But why are you so sure that he has been pretending to be nice to you too?" I asked curiously because he was maybe pretending it with his mother because he was hurt because of her fault.

"Because… You told me he was pretending to be my friend, so you asked me to notice if something weird happens. And it just happened… The way he was looking at his mother when she wasn't looking, that wasn't the Brian I knew, I never saw him that way, so the only conclusion is that he's a big liar." Freckles answered afflicted and puzzled as I looked down and bit my lips. Shit, this was what Joey warned me: I would hurt Freckles with my words about Brian. "And that's not everything… Brian's mother answered all the questions perfectly. I don't know if you heard me, but Brian asked very private things that only we knew, therefore there was no way she could have guessed all of those things. Yet she did. And Brian was asking all of those things on purpose; I knew that because of the way he was looking at his mother without taking his eyes off her. He knew something; he was suspecting something; something he never told me."

"Wait a minute, Freckles. From what you're saying, Brian doesn't seem to be the one hiding something; it seems his mother is the one hiding something. It's pretty creepy the way she guessed all of those private questions. Why are you blaming Brian, then?" I asked confused while frowning.

"Because of the way he acted, Darren. He acted in a very weird, malicious and perverse way. He acted and talked like W." She affirmed very sure and I frowned. "Here's the thing… It turns out that Brian's mother is not his mother."

"What?" I asked while laughing softly because what she just said made no sense.

"Well… Brian's mother is called Marnie and she's dead. The person we met as his mother is not really his mother. That person we met is Chloe, Brian's aunt, his mother's sister who was pretending to be his mother all the time." Freckles stated and I widened my eyes and raised my eyebrows in astonishment.

"What the hell, Freckles? Freckles… Oh shit, Freckles… Freckles, that woman might be dangerous." I said in a very nervous and frightened way. Fuck, we've been fooled. The woman was on Jim's team and she pretended to be Brian's mother to get information. "Is Brian with her right now?"

"Yes, he is. He wanted to be with her alone. He kicked me out." Freckles answered.

"Freckles, we gotta find Brian. That woman can hurt him. Freckles, let's go!" I hurried her hastily while standing up, but she remained sitting. "Freckles!"

"Darren, that woman is not dangerous. Brian is the one who is dangerous." Freckles said and I looked at her frowning. How could she be saying that? It'd be understandable if I was the one saying that, but not her, he was her best friend.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"Darren, Brian knew she wasn't his mother. He knew it since the beginning, but he pretended not to know. That's why he has asked all of those questions, that is why he has been pretending to be nice to her, pretending that he was that poor abandoned child. He pretended that to then attack her because he noticed she was investigating him. Just as W has done with us in high school. Cannot you see the similarities? The wicked game is the same, only that with different people." Freckles said and I parted my lips and frowned. "You should have seen that woman's face when Brian called her by her real name instead calling her mom. You should have seen her terrified face because she knew he was going to hurt her. You should have seen the way Brian smiled and looked at her, in a very perverse and wicked way; I've never seen him like that. He showed himself in that moment and I caught him. You should have heard the way he threatened her. He used the same words that W used with us in high school." She explained and I started feeling very confused. "Do you know what he said? 'Do what I say or I won't hesitate to ruin your fucking existence'. Those were the same things that W told us in high school, Darren." She said while shedding tears. She was in shock, I knew that. I sat again and I wrapped an arm around her to reassure her. "And then he kicked me out because he didn't want me to listen, because he didn't want me to find out his secret. He wants me to keep thinking he's my friend, so then he can carry out his plan." Freckles said and then few tears started to fall down her face. She was distressed and disturbed. "Why have I become his friend? How has that happened? He wanted to kill me in high school; you reminded me that earlier; yet I was so stupid that I fell into his trap. He made me believe he was a true friend and he cared about me for the sole purpose of carrying out his plan. I should have stuck with the people who really cared about me, and now I'm so fucked up." She said sobbing.

"Freckles, listen, you're not stupid and you're not fucked up. You found out the truth of Brian, that's something. Now that we know this, we can stop with this shit and we can bring him down. That jerk will get what he deserves and he won't mess with you, he won't hurt you again. I swear on my life that I won't let that happen." I said firmly while looking deeply into her eyes. "Together, we're gonna bring that asshole down."

"How? How are we gonna do that? What am I gonna do now? Darren, I'm scared." Freckles said with choked and trembling voice.

"Well, maybe it's gonna be a little harder than in high school, because in high school we didn't know the bullies, and now we do and he happened to be your best friend; well, at least a fake best friend." I started saying as Freckles wiped her tears away to look at me intently. "Thing is he doesn't know you found out his secret. He still thinks you consider him as your best friend. From that we can start playing this game to beat him." I proposed and she frowned.

"How?" She asked.

"Well, he'll think he's your best friend, and on one hand, that's something positive. You will have to pretend that he is still your best friend to get information about him, to know what he does, with who he relates, and what he's plotting. He should never suspect that you suspect of him because that would be bad. We need to play his same game, so he'll never suspect of us. When you find new suspicious things about him, you have to tell me and together we're gonna find out what his plan is, what his weakness is and how to bring him down. We must be careful, but I think we can get it." I explained her as she looked down and frowned. "I won't be able to pretend I'm his friend because I already screwed it too much on Monday. He knows I know he is W because I said so in his face. That's why he was so nervous that day, because I was forcing him to tell you so that day; and he ran away because he didn't want to tell you anything and he wouldn't be able to lie to you because I was there to check what he would tell you." I explained and she bit her lips. "You see, I had my reasons to tell you that Brian was the bully. But I couldn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't believe me and I wasn't so sure about it. But now that you told me all of this, I'm very sure."

"Darren… I don't think I can pretend I'm his friend. I won't be able to look at him, know that he's W and pretend I'm his friend. I won't be able to make it, Darren." Freckles said troubled and distressed. I looked at her and I held both of her hands.

"Freckles, you're the bravest person I know. So I'm pretty sure you're gonna make it. Besides, you won't be alone; I'll be there, helping you with this shit. Think about this, if we make this, W will disappear from our lives forever." I encouraged her and she remained silent and thoughtful.

"What if I fail? What if he finds out I'm pretending?" She asked scared.

"Then I'll protect you. But he's not gonna hurt you, I swear, Freckles." I answered firmly, looking deeply into her big eyes. "And if sometime you feel too scared, just keep distance and tell him you're not feeling good because you're on your period or that you have to go to do a project or something related to college. He won't suspect that way."

"Okay." She agreed in a whisper, but it didn't sound convincing. She was still frightened.

"Listen, Freckles, you're gonna be safe because if I find that he's trying to hurt you, I'll knock him down. We just should try this and if you feel like you can't keep doing this, tell me and we're gonna think about a B plan. You shouldn't be scared because we're together on this." I said surefire, still holding her hands. She looked fixedly into my eyes for a while, as if she was trying to find the confidence she needed.

"I'll do this." She said now very confidently. "We're gonna bring him down and W will disappear from our lives. We'll live in peace as we deserve, once and for all. After all, I'm no longer that scared little girl. Brian doesn't know with who he's messing and he's gonna pay for all the shit he caused." She said and I smiled at her.

"Come here, my brave and badass girl." I said giggling softly while wrapping an arm around her as she chuckled and rested her head on my shoulder. "We're gonna destroy that asshole, promise." I assured while kissing her forehead.

Truth was I didn't know if this would work and truth was I was scared that Brian could hurt her. It was very risky the fact she was living with him because I wouldn't be able to check if she was alright or not. But I couldn't think about a better plan and, after all, Freckles knew how to protect herself; and I knew she would let me know if something bad happens. And truth was I also suspected about this woman who posed as Brian's mother. I couldn't trust on either of them. Nonetheless, I was glad to know that Freckles was on my side. Brian was going to suffer for all he has done to us.

After talking to Darren and five hours later since you left the restaurant, you received a text message from Brian. By this time Darren left because he had to meet someone and you stayed at Waterworks Park because you still needed to go back to the restaurant to take the disposable phone you left there.

From Brian: Sunny, I'm really sorry for what happened earlier, I didn't mean to upset you but I needed to talk to my aunt alone. I just left the restaurant. Where are you?

Jerk. 'I'm sorry' didn't mean anything for you now, but of course you weren't going to tell him so because you had to pretend to be his friend. You knew this was going to be hard, but you had to give it a try. So now you needed to make up a sort of lie, so that way he wouldn't see you in the restaurant.

To Brian: Forget that. I'm at Meredith's place. It's a women-only meeting.

Yes, that was a good excuse. Brian would fall for it because he knew it's been a long time since the last time you saw Meredith. And you made sure that he wouldn't show up at Meredith's place.

From Brian: That sounds good! Okay, I'll return to our dorm room. Would you come back for dinner? Let me know it, so I can cook something tasty for us.

You looked at the text message, raised an eyebrow and laughed bitterly. He really knew how to pretend to be a good friend. So… It was with those little things he used to do that he found the way to make you believe he was a true friend.

To Brian: Yeah, I'll be there in an hour or less.

From Brian: Take your time, Sunny! It's been a while since the last time you saw Meredith, so I get it. Have fun! I'll be waiting for you with something delicious! ;)

Asshole. He wouldn't get you with that winky face and that stupid thing he was going to cook something tasty. You put your phone in your purse and you walked to the restaurant as fast as possible. When you arrived neither Brian nor his aunt were there and the table where you sat was empty, which was something good. You walked to the table and looked for the disposable phone, but it wasn't there. Brian couldn't have noticed it because you hid it very well. Maybe someone used the table and saw it. You walked to the bar and asked one of the waitresses if she saw the disposable phone and she said no. Then you asked if someone sat on that table after Brian and his aunt left and she said that two girls ordered a coffee and ten minutes later they were gone. Oh damn, those girls surely took the phone. Oh shit, now you wouldn't know what Brian and his aunt talked about, so this made you feel very annoyed. Now you'd have to talk to Brian because you couldn't leave it there. You checked the time: It was 8 pm; yes you could come back to your dorm room. You walked to the bus stop and finally arrived to your dorm room, feeling a terrible headache. When you entered, you could smell a delightful smell of food. You looked around and found Brian lying on the couch with Sawyer lying on his chest. You walked slowly to the couch, surprised because he didn't notice you arrived. Of course, he was asleep. You walked even closer, trying not to make any noise. He apparently took a shower recently because his hair was wet and he was wearing a U-M T-shirt and a pair of lounge pants. When you saw his face you noticed he had puffy eyes, but you didn't have time to think why he would have puffy eyes because Sawyer started whining when it saw you, so this made Brian wake up.

"Look who's here, buddy!" Brian exclaimed softly and with voice husky with sleep as he started rubbing his eyes.

"Hi, Sawyer!" You greeted, taking the puppy in your arms to pet its little head.

"Sorry, I fell asleep. I wanted to wait up for you, but well... I guess it didn't work." Brian said still with voice husky with sleep, while chuckling softly and sitting on the couch. You faked a smile.

"It's okay, Brian." You said. In other circumstances you'd make a joke about it, but now you weren't feeling like doing that.

"So... How was your time with Meredith?" Brian asked with a friendly grin and he took you by your elbow to make you sit next to him, but you stepped back. He frowned slightly.

"It was cool to catch up with her, so it was great." You responded, while smiling at Sawyer and petting its head. "What about your time with your aunt?" You asked intentionally, ignoring his gaze.

"It was a big shit. I still cannot believe she posed as my mother; I cannot believe she really made me think for a moment that she was my real mom." Brian answered and you glanced at him. He was looking down with an afflicted expression. He was really good at pretending.

"Why do you think she posed as your mother?" You asked now looking fixedly at him. "I bet you talked about it."

"Yes, I did." Brian answered in a whisper. "But Sunny... I can't tell you, for your..."

"Let me guess..." You interrupted and he looked up at you. "For my own good?" You said sarcastically and Brian frowned but nodded. "I think I'm the best at guessing things... Well, after your aunt, of course." You said bitterly. Damn, damn, damn; it was being really hard to act nice to him.

"Well, there's an explanation why she knew everything." Brian commented.

"Sure. And let me guess again... You cannot tell me that, for my own good." You said raising an eyebrow and looking at Sawyer again.

"Yes." Brian answered in a whisper and when you glanced at him, he was looking down and biting his lips, then he looked up again and you shifted your gaze. "Are you mad because of this?"

"Oh, no! Not at all!" You exclaimed ironically. "How would I be mad at this? Nobody would feel bad because their best friend doesn't want to tell them a damn shit about what happened. Don't worry, I'll get over it." You said coldly, leaving Sawyer on the couch. "Go with your owner, Sawyer." You said and started walking away. "I'll take a shower." You announced, completely ignoring him and his sad face.

"Sunny, hold on!" Brian exclaimed while standing up. He took you by your arm and you quickly let it out.

"Don't touch me again, Brian." You said rudely, clenching your teeth and looking at him furiously. He was looking at you distressed with his eyebrows downwards.

"I'm sorry." He apologized and you ignored it. "Why are you so upset?"

"Are you seriously asking me such a thing?" You asked back, frowning and narrowing your eyes. He didn't answer. "You know what? Forget everything, Brian. I know you won't tell me a damn shit. You never do. I don't even know why I'm your friend if you never trust me." You said coldly and you turned on your heel to walk to the bathroom.

"Sunny..." Brian whispered behind you, but you ignored him. He placed a hand on your waist to stop you and you quickly moved his hand away.

"Brian, I told you not to touch me." You said angry and Brian looked at you distressed again.

"I'm sorry... It's just... I don't want you to be mad at me." Brian said afflicted and you raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms above your chest.

"If you don't have anything else to tell me, would you excuse me? I want to take a shower." You said coldly.

"Sunny, you have to understand that if I don't tell you it's not because I don't trust you, it's because I can't tell you because if I tell you, I'll put you in danger; and I don't want that." Brian said while looking deeply into your eyes.

"Right." You said faking a smile. "I'll take that shower now." You announced and you finally headed to the bathroom so fast that he didn't have time to stop you again.

"Sunny!" You heard Brian yelling, but you closed the bathroom door.

You took off your clothes, turned on the tap in the shower, waited until the water was warm, and you finally got in, closing the shower curtain. You stepped under the rain showerhead and you started to feel the warm water in your body. Then you heard Brian knocking the door.

"Sunny, can I come in?" Brian asked and you didn't answer. "I swear I won't look, I just wanna talk."

Oh damn, what now? You couldn't even enjoy your shower. You didn't answer; you closed your eyes and started getting your hair wet. But it seemed that Brian decided to act like a pain in the ass, because he wouldn't stop knocking the door.

"Sunny, please? Can I come in?" He asked again and you snorted in annoyance.

"Okay, come in, Brian." You finally answered moody and you heard how he opened the door and then closed it again. "You have two minutes." You voiced in a bossy way. "And you better have a good reason to interrupt my shower time."

Brian wasn't saying anything, so you looked through the shower curtain on the sly. He was sitting on the toilet, looking down, clasping his hands together and playing with his fingers. He opened and closed his mouth several times, as though he wanted to say something but he couldn't.

"One minute." You hurried him. You were still looking at him, though; and he was still looking down. "Half a minute." You hurried again and you saw how he bit his lips and made a distressed face.

"I'm sorry, Sunny." Brian said almost in a whisper.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you; the sound of the shower water didn't let me." You lied. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm sorry." Brian repeated, this time louder. "I didn't want to make you angry and I didn't want to make you think I don't trust you." Brian said and then he started babbling, as though he was having trouble to say something. "I feel bad that you said you don't know why you're my friend and I'm aware it's my fault. And all of this because I can't tell you what happened." Brian stated and you rolled your eyes. "If I tell you…"

"I'll be in danger?" You interrupted him with a bitter laugh. You saw how he bit his lips.

"Yes." He answered.

"Then go away." You said harshly, closing your eyes again to enjoy the warm water.

"Sunny, I don't want you to be mad." He said afflicted.

"Whatever. Just go away, Brian." You said harshly again.

"Okay." Brian said and you raised your eyebrows because he wasn't insistent as always, so you looked at him on the sly again. But he didn't seem to be attempting to go; he remained sitting on the toilet. "I'll tell you." Brian said and you raised your eyebrows in surprise again. "But first you need to know that you will be in danger because I was forced not to say anything at all. They threatened me with killing you if I dared to say something. Are you sure you want to know?" Brian asked and you rolled your eyes. Sure, the bully was him. Could you really be more in danger? You were basically living with the enemy.

"I don't know why you underestimate me, Brian. I'm not a weak person like before. I don't give a damn shit if they want to kill me or not. So, tell me." You demanded firmly. You saw Brian nodding slowly while biting his lips with the same stricken facial expression.

"Okay… I… I'll tell you and… I won't let them touch you. But when you're alone, you'll have to be careful." Brian said stammering and you raised an eyebrow. Oh please, Brian! You needed to be careful of him not when you were alone.

"Well, thanks." You answered to say something. In the end, you had to keep in mind your plan of pretending to be his friend. "I'll be careful, now tell me."

"Yes… Umm…" Brian babbled and you looked at him. He was biting his lips and running his fingers through his hair. "Everything started when they broke in my room." Brian said. "I never told you, but that wasn't the last time W threatened me. They kept doing it all this time through text messages, notes, and pictures. They've also been following and spying me. They are here." Brian said and you just wanted him to tell you what happened. This was a good elaborated speech, though. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I'm sorry I told you that since that time they didn't threaten me. I just wanted to keep you out of this shit; I didn't want them to mess with you and I wouldn't forgive myself if they messed with you because of my fault. I thought that it was only fair if they only messed with me, because their problem is with me because I know things about them, things I wasn't supposed to know. And when I say them... I should just say Jim, because Jim is the only one involved; yet he is not alone, he has a team, a different team from high school. My aunt is part of his new team." Brian started explaining and you were silent, frowning. What he was saying sounded real, but you had to keep in mind he was a big liar. "I really thought she was my real mom. Maybe because I wanted to believe it, because… Somehow I needed it; I needed to see my mother one last time." Brian said and his voice cracked. So you looked at him again. He was looking down; however you could see his tears falling down his face silently. "They fooled me and I fell into their trap like an idiot, because they knew I would fall for it, because they knew that my mother is a part of my past that I could never heal and overcome; therefore they knew that was my weakness." Brian said with teary voice while still crying. Then he remained silent and wiped his tears away. Lying, he was lying; you repeated in your mind. "Thing is I started to suspect about her when she started saying things that nobody knew. Hence I started asking those private and provocative questions. When she got all the answers right, I lost my mind, I was upset, I was scared and I was feeling like a jerk for believing she was my real mom." Brian said with choked voice and he clenched his jaw. "It turns out that she posed as my mother to get information about me, to be close to me and be aware of what I do, with who I am, and what my weaknesses are. It turns out she knew all the answers because the day that Jim broke in my room; he placed hidden cameras and microphones. When I returned, I took off all of them; there were cameras and microphones in each one of the rooms. They've been spying us all this time; and I'm so sorry for that, I'm sorry I didn't realize it on time; but I promise it won't happen again, Sunny." Brian alleged with trembling voice. Oh crap, what he was saying sounded so real and true. But what if he wanted to trick you because he noticed you were suspicious of him? "The reason why I wanted you to go to talk to my aunt, yes, it was because I didn't want you to know, I admit it. I didn't want you to know because I didn't want to involve you; you don't deserve to be involved on Jim's game again because you already had to suffer too much in high school and I didn't want to see you suffering because of my fault." Brian said sadly and when you looked at him, you saw he was frowning with a sorrowful expression. "I asked her where Jim was, I asked her what she had to do, I asked her why she was doing this, I asked her who else was involved, I asked her a lot of things. She didn't give me many answers. And when the waitress appeared to give us the bill, she took advantage to run away. I tried to follow her, but the security stopped me because they thought I wanted to leave without paying. I couldn't catch her and I don't have any idea of where she could be. And I still don't know where Jim is. I'm like before, only that now; at least, the hidden cameras and microphones aren't here anymore." Brian said and then he threw his head back and sighed. "And that's what I didn't want to tell you because now you know things you shouldn't and now they're gonna start harassing you. I'll do my best not to let it happen, Sunny. I'm so sorry for everything and well… My two minutes are over." Brian said and then you saw he stood up. "I'll let you enjoy your shower." He announced and left the bathroom.

When Brian closed the door and walked away, you finally could breathe. You gasped and you started breathing heavily. You didn't know what to think. All of the things Brian said and the way he said those things sounded very honest; but you knew he was W, you knew because you saw the way he talked and acted in the restaurant. You honestly couldn't tell if this was an elaborated speech or if this was true. If you decided not to believe what he said and then you figured out that he was telling the truth, you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself for doubting of your best friend; but if you decided to believe what he said and he was really W, you'd be fucked up. How would you know if he was telling the truth or not? What should you do now? Maybe, for the time being, you should keep pretending to be his friend as if nothing weird was happening, even if it was going to be hard. But you thought this could be the best you could do, because this way you wouldn't hurt his feelings if he wasn't lying, and you'd find out the truth if he was lying. You turned off the shower; you dried yourself and put on your PJ's. Then you walked to the kitchen and you saw Brian taking out of the oven a casserole dish as Sawyer was next to him, seeing what its owner was doing. The table was already set and he even put on music, your music. Brian didn't notice you were already there, so you had time to look at his face. You noticed he had been crying again, probably when he left the bathroom, because his eyes were puffy and red. What if he wasn't lying? What if yes? You'd stick with your plan until you figure out the truth. You walked to him and when he saw you, he smiled slightly and then placed the casserole dish on the counter. After he did this, you pulled him into a hug. At first he was surprised but then he wrapped his arms around you.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, Brian." You said in a whisper. This was what you would do in any other occasion and he had to believe you didn't suspect of him.

"Please, Sunny, you have to promise me that you'd be careful, that you won't do a stupid thing like going after Jim. I'll protect you, but I can't be with you all the time, so in those moments, please, be careful." Brian whispered worried and you pursed your lips. If he only knew you thought he was W and you had to protect yourself from him.

"I promise I won't go after Jim and I promise I'll be careful." You said while looking away, yet still hugging him.

"If something bad happens to you, Sunny…" Brian said with brittle voice and you parted and held his hands to look into his distressed eyes.

"Nothing bad is gonna happen to me." You assured with a smile, a fake smile, of course. Brian grinned slightly at you, yet he was still concerned, or that was what he was pretending. "Now… There's something you haven't told me…" You said and Brian frowned, as if he was thinking about what. "What were you and Darren talking about on Monday? What is that thing you had to tell me?"

"Oh… That." Brian said and looked down. Yes, that… Was there something else? It seemed he was hiding you too many things. "I will tell you, Sunny. This Saturday afternoon, remember? We made a pinky promise and I'm aware that nobody can break a pinky promise, so I'll tell you this Saturday."

"Right." You said while nodding.

"Sunny, please… Please, don't get mad at me for this too. I promised I will tell you this Saturday and I'm gonna do so." Brian started saying troubled and you raised your eyebrows and laughed.

"Brian, I said right because you're right. We agreed we will talk this Saturday afternoon and we are gonna do so. I'm not mad." You said still giggling, well, pretending it or whatever. Brian, apparently, felt relieved.

"I really thought you were mad for it." Brian said, now chuckling softly. "So... What do you think if we have dinner now? Something tells me you're gonna love what I cooked." He said with a huge grin.

"Okay!" You exclaimed trying to sound cheerful. "But first... There's something I want to ask you."

"Yeah, what?" Brian asked curiously while still grinning.

"What things about Jim do you know that you weren't supposed to know?" You asked looking fixedly into Brian's eyes as his smile faded away. He looked down and frowned while biting his lips. This was extremely suspicious.

"Sunny... Err... That's something I really can't tell you." Brian finally answered nervously as you felt anger taking over your body; yet you controlled it.

"Why?" You asked trying to sound curious and not rabid as you were truly feeling.

"Ah!" Brian sighed and bit his lips. "Because the things I know are… They're a big deal, Sunny. And the main reason why Jim is threatening me is because I know those… compromising things about him. I found things about him that are dark and dangerous. And if I tell you, then he won't hesitate to start threatening you and this time it won't be like in high school, it's gonna be worse because this time you'd be jeopardizing his... freedom." Brian explained in a very uncomfortable way as you were looking at him fixedly, feeling upset and absolutely distrusting him. Brian noticed this because he looked at you silently for a while and then he sighed. "Listen, Sunny, when you requested me to inquire into what Darren did that night in the hotel room, I thought it'd be just that. But no. I found certain things about Jim and his past and since that moment I've been investigating him to imprison him for all the things he has done. For that I need more information and evidence to elaborate a consistent report to make the legal complaint." Brian explained and you frowned and squinted.

Was Brian really thinking about imprisoning Jim or was this another of his lies to make you shut up? And if it was true, then what things would he know to be able to make a legal complaint? Because for a legal complaint you needed factual facts and it wasn't something precisely easy to get. And this whole thing about judgments and legal complaints, about imprisonment and evidences sounded very unreal and almost crazy. Yeah, sure Brian was trying to do that. He could have told you a better and more convincing lie.

"So you can see the danger of knowing the things I know. This is about his freedom; this is about him doing whatever it takes to not be imprisoned. So, I'm not precisely dealing with trivial and ordinary things, I'm dealing with real shit caused by a spiteful man who is doing all as possible to annihilate and wipe me off the map. Therefore, there's no way I'll involve you in this, there's no way I'll put you on this risk, there's no way for me to risk having something bad happen to you. All in all, I won't tell you. I'm sorry, but no, this is something I'll unquestionably not tell you." Brian said firmly and you clenched your jaw in anger; yet you tried to control it.

"I decide to take the risk." You said almost defiantly, raising an eyebrow and looking piercingly into his eyes, with a smile, maybe a provocative smile.

"And I decide not to." Brian refused strongly. "I'm not going to put you at risk. Be mad at me if you want, do not talk to me again if you want, curse me all you want and punch me if you want; but I won't tell you because I know he is gonna go after you to kill you, and that's something I'm not willing to risk."

"Don't you think I deserve to know?" You asked coldly.

"No. I don't think you deserve to know, not at the cost of your own safety." Brian answered firmly.

"You know I'm a grown up woman, don't you? I can take care of myself and I know how to defend myself." You answered back in a harsh way, feeling how your body temperature was rising because of the fury.

"I know, but you can't deal with this; not because you're not capable, but because you've never been involved in this kind of situation with this kind of people." Brian responded in a quiet and firm way. How could he be so quiet, goddammit? "This is not about rude words, emotional and psychological bullying, this is not about threats and this is not about someone hitting you like in high school. This is about a gangster; this is about one skilled in espionage and firearms. This is about someone with a criminal mind and who acts as such." Brian explained and you couldn't help letting out a bitter and short laugh, while shaking your head. "You've never dealt with people of this ilk, so you don't know how dangerous they can be and how far they can go."

"Oh, have you dealt with that kind of people, Brian?" You asked raising an eyebrow, completely disgruntled because of those lame excuses.

"Yes, I have." Brian confessed and you raised your eyebrows.

"Oh! Really?" You exclaimed in a very nasty way while raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know that side of you, Brian. Well, all leads to the fact that I don't have a fucking idea of who you are." You said in a despicable way.

This hurt him; you knew it as soon as you saw his despondent face and his teary eyes looking at you with sorrow. However, you did not regret what you said. He looked down with his eyebrows downwards as he was pursing his lips. He remained silent for a long time and then he looked at you again.

"Do you wanna know why I've dealt with that kind of people?" He asked with cracked voice.

"No, thank you. I'm not interested in knowing your shit, Brian." You replied vilely because of your rage. Brian, once again, looked at you hurtful. He parted his lips and then looked down while nodding slowly and biting his lower lip.

"It was because of my aunt." Brian said with teary voice while avoiding your gaze.

"I said I'm not interested in..."

"I know. I heard you." Brian interrupted you and looked at you again with watery eyes. "But I want to tell you my shit."

"But I don't want to..."

"My aunt was the one who incited my mom to do drugs." He interrupted you and you huffed in annoyance, yet you stopped talking. "Chloe was a drug dealer; she was involved with an extremely dangerous, high-ranking local drug dealer who was being sought by police since years. And when I said that my mother died because of drugs... Well, it wasn't because of drug overdose." Brian said as few tears streamed down his face silently. He paused and cleared his throat. "My aunt set her up. She was being charged for distribution of narcotics. So my aunt set my mom up in a sting operation to reduce her own sentence after being caught. My mom was found with LSD, Heroin, Marijuana, Cocaine and Ecstasy and she was charged for being a high-ranking drug dealer. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison." Brian explained as you were silent, listening to him very intently. He paused again and more tears fell down his face. "She couldn't make it in prison. She was killed before she finished her prison sentence. Do you know who killed her?" Brian asked with choked voice looking at you with tears in his eyes. "Her own sister. Chloe killed her." Brian answered and you couldn't help gasping. This sounded true and if it was true, this was atrocious. "I found out the whole truth when I was 14, but I found out that it was Chloe the one who killed her earlier in the restaurant. Chloe took away my hopes and chance to see my mother again. And although my mother was never there for me, although she abandoned me and although she never cared about me, she was my mother and Chloe killed her, she killed my mom." Brian stated while weeping, placing his hands on his heart. "Since I found out Chloe set my mom up, I needed to find her. I needed to revenge somehow. I know it sounds terrible and hideous; but in that time I lost my mind because I couldn't accept the fact my aunt betrayed my mom. So I went after her and for that I had to deal with those high-ranking drug dealers. I had to get involved in that shit; with people with guns, death threats and people being shot and murdered in front of me. When my dad found out what I was doing and in what I was getting, he saved me. They were going to kill me, but my dad found me on time." He said frowning, looking down, and still crying. "I'm not proud of that part of my past, you know? It's something I wish I could forget, but I'll never do. I don't know what was on my mind, I don't know why I got too involved in that and I don't know why I let myself be part of the same shit that led my mother to her own death." He said sorrowful, shaking his head and biting strongly his lips. "That's why I know how to deal with that kind of people. That's my shit." Brian concluded while looking at you and wiping his tears away.

You examined him for a long time while he was trying to calm down. There was no way he could have made up that story, there was no way he could have pretended it. He sounded honest, his crying seemed to be honest and his shame seemed to be honest too. But at this point you couldn't trust him fully. Maybe what he recently told you was true, maybe that was his shit for real; but that didn't mean that he wasn't W. He said he was involved with people with guns and with murderers, maybe he turned into one of them and he was pretending to have a normal life, only to not be found by police. And if this was like this, you needed to be even more careful. Shit, in what were you getting into? You were scared, for sure; but you had to show yourself as a strong and brave person. Whatever he wanted to do to you, he wouldn't get it; that was what you had to prove him. So you crossed your arms above your chest, you squinted and you looked at him suspiciously. When Brian looked at you again, you shot him your provocative question.

"Who are you really?" You asked brutally and Brian frowned in confusion. "Tell me the damn truth for once and for all and save me the lies, so we can end with this stupid game." You said harshly and he parted his lips while still frowning, still playing dumb. "How long are you going to keep pretending that you're not W?" You asked bluntly.

"What?" Brian asked pretending to be puzzled and bewildered.

"You heard me, now answer." You demanded severely.

"Do you really think that I'm W? You? Sunny, you, out of all the people, think I'm W?" Brian asked in a stricken way, looking deeply into your eyes with sorrow as his eyes started to fill with tears again.

"Yes." You answered forthright, in a cold way.

Brian looked at you in shock with his lips parted and, after a while, he closed his eyes, lowered his head, pursed his lips and frowned as his lips started quivering. Such a fucking great actor. Then he opened his eyes again, yet he avoided eye contact.

"You've been talking to Darren, haven't you?" Brian asked in a whisper.

"Yes." You answered curtly, looking at him sneeringly. He nodded slowly and then sighed. "I'm still waiting for you to you admit it in my face." You demanded while looking fixedly at him, raising an eyebrow. Brian looked up at you with an empty glare.

"I'm not W." He answered and you wheezed in disbelief. "And I'm really sorry you think I am; but I won't try to convince you so because I know that's gonna be worthless considering you won't believe me. I told you all I could tell you, I've been honest with you and yet, you think I'm W, so there's nothing I can do about." Brian said in a dreary way, still with that empty glare. "The only thing I will say is be careful and don't be alone when you go out. And if you notice that something weird is happening, call your friends or call 911. Do not do anything stupid and don't try to be brave and face alone someone who has a gun or who wants to hurt you. Stay always with your friends, they'll take care of you." He said while looking away and then he bit his lips. Then, without saying anything else, he turned around and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" You asked harshly but he didn't answer.

Seconds later you heard how he opened and closed the bathroom door. He locked himself in the bathroom. Great. A dramatic ending for this play. It really made you feel upset the way he played to be the innocent one and the victim while you were the victimizer. Okay, now that you were thinking about it calmly, you realized you totally screwed it. None of what you agreed to do with Darren came out as you expected because, clearly, you never thought about feeling upset and facing Brian. You needed to pretend to act naturally as if you weren't suspecting of him and as if he was still your great best friend; instead, you treated him like shit, you said rude things, you faced him and you said in his face that you thought he was W. Now, how would you fix this? You really had to act naturally, you needed to forget your theories that he was W only to get more information about him. You promised Darren that you could do this. You took a deep breath and then you walked to the bathroom. First, you put your ear to the door to hear what he could be doing there. Everything seemed to be very quiet, maybe quieter than normal. Without even knocking the door, you opened it and entered the bathroom, but you did not find Brian there. You walked straight to the shower; he was surely there, behind the curtains. But when you opened the curtains, he wasn't there. You looked at the small window on one of the walls. No, there was no way he could have climbed out the window; that window was too small and Brian's body was very muscular. Where the fuck was he? You walked to the door again to leave the bathroom, but when you were about to cross the door, you saw his torn slippers. You closed the door of the bathroom and there he was. He was sitting against the corner, behind the door; with his legs bended to his chest, his head buried on his knees and his arms wrapped around his legs. If you weren't 98 percent sure that he was W, you'd think this was a super sad situation, you'd feel bad for him and you'd comfort him. So that was what you had to do: You had to do what you'd do if everything was normal, if he was your best friend for real. You walked to him and you kneeled next to him. He did nothing at all and he was very silent, so you placed your hands above his hands that were holding his own legs.

"Brian?" You asked very softly, almost in a whisper. He didn't answer and all you could hear was a very low sob. You began to stroke smoothly his hair. "Can you, please, look at me?" You requested gently; yet Brian didn't seem to attempt to make any kind of movement. You sighed and you sat next to him, leaning your back against the wall, and then you tilted your head to rest it on his head. "Brian, I'm really sorry for what I said. I was upset because I wanted to know more about Jim, because I wanted to help you out with all of this and you wouldn't let me. I didn't mean what I said, I was wrong." You whispered gently, trying to sound honest. Then you lifted your head only to kiss his head and enfold your arms around him. "It's true that I've talked to Darren and it's true he told me he suspects you're W. But it's not true I think you're W. Although Darren tried to convince me, I didn't believe him, I could never believe anyone who dares to state that you're a bad guy, because I know you, because I know who you are and because you're my best friend." You said sweetly while rubbing his back as he remained in the same position. "And it's not fair the way I treated you because I know all you're trying to do is to protect me and take care of me as you've always done. It's not fair that I compared you to such a terrible person because you're the most kind-hearted person I know. And it's not fair the way I acted around you; and I just wanted to tell you that I do care about what you have to tell me, I did care about what you told me of your aunt and mother and I'm sorry for making you think otherwise, I was just upset." You apologized, trying to sound sorrowful and really repentant. "But above all, I'm sorry for disappointing you and I'm sorry I doubted you for a second. I don't know what to do or say to let you know how repentant I am to have hurt my best friend." You said with teary voice and you managed to fake some tears.

Brian, at last, lifted his head to look at you. You were covering your face with your hands to pretend you were weeping, but you could see him through your fingers. Brian had been crying silently because his eyes were red, swollen and he still had tears on his eyes and face, the tip of his nose was red and his lips were puffy and were trembling. This time he was the one who leaned over to wrap his arms around you as you rested your head on his chest. Fortunately you were shedding tears, so he would felt them on his chest and he would believe you were really repentant. He began to rub your back with one hand and stroke your hair with the other. Then he kissed softly your temple.

"I get it, Sunny, and I forgive you." Brian whispered in your ear with teary voice. Wow, that was easy, thankfully, because you couldn't think about something else to say. "I'm the one who made you feel upset because, after all, I'm the asshole who doesn't want to tell you anything about Jim." Brian stated. Oh shit, this was going to be hard. You parted and looked at him straight in his eye.

"You're not an asshole, Brian." You said and you felt proud of yourself because you could make it. Brian shed two or three more tears when he heard this.

"I am." He said with cracked voice. Oh, damn! Not again. "But I swear it's not because I intend to be one, it's because I really can't tell you because..."

"Because you don't want to involve me in this because you think it's too dangerous for me and you don't want them to hurt me. I understood it, Brian, and thank you for caring this much about me. Thank you for always wanting the best for me." You said with a sweet smile while wiping your tears away. "Thank you." You repeated while kissing his cheek. Brian looked at you with that famous twinkle in his eyes; how the hell could he fake something like that? Jeez, he was so good.

"Thank you for always standing by me, for always giving me the best of you. Thanks for putting up with my nonsense, my insecurities, my sorrows and my stupid tears." Brian said while chuckling softly and wiping away his last tears that were falling down his face. You had to chuckle along with him to make this more real. "Just thanks for being my best friend. Before you, I never had a real friend; so thank you for letting me in and thank you for never walking away. My dad and you are the most important people to me." Brian said with a fond grin so you smiled back at him, feeling thrilled.

You leaned and pulled him into a hug, burying your head on his shoulder as he held you tightly in his arms, making you feel comfortable and protected with his embrace. Oh no, crap! What were you doing? You were falling into his trap, you were forgetting that he was W and he was faking everything. Why? Why wasn't this real? Why none of what you lived and shared with him wasn't real? It was unfair. You really loved him and it was unfair that he has been pretending to be your best friend. So you shed tears for real, but because you lost that best friend you actually never had. When he felt your tears on his shoulder, he caressed your hair in a smooth way, what made you shed more tears. All of these things he has ever done for you were never real.

"Don't cry, Sunny. We're okay and we will be okay, I promise." He said gently. "I love you." He whispered tenderly in your ear and then he kissed your temple.

Damn, you needed to stop crying, but you couldn't because you just realized that you lost one of the most important people to you, you lost someone who was never real. You had to stop crying and you had to say that you loved him back to make your plan work; but you couldn't utter a single word.

"I know what's gonna make you feel better." Brian suddenly said, parting to look into your eyes with a bright grin.

"What?" You asked with a sad half-smile, wiping your tears away.

He didn't answer. Brian stood up and you remained sitting on the floor, looking at him while frowning slightly. He extended his hand with the same bright smile, you took his hand and he helped you to stand up. He slipped a hand over your waist and he headed you out the bathroom. What was on his mind? Now you didn't know if you should be scared or not; you didn't know if he wanted to hurt you or not. He led you to the kitchen and he made you sit at the table. Then, still not saying anything at all, walked to the kitchen counter and took the casserole dish and placed it on the table.

"Lasagna. Your favorite, right?" He asked while smiling joyfully.

You couldn't help shedding more tears. You refused to believe he was doing all of this for the sole purpose of hurting you; but it was like that. Brian frowned when he saw you weeping silently and he walked to you and crouched next to your chair, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"What's wrong, Sunny? Is there something that is saddening you? Please, tell me." He requested sweetly, caressing your shoulder.

"No, nothing is wrong. It's just I'm feeling sensitive... I'm on my period." You lied with the suggestion that Darren gave you.

"Aww, Sunny!" Brian exclaimed while squeezing softly your shoulder. "We can fix that with chocolates and a good movie. It'll pass." He said kindly before kissing your cheek. As Darren said, he fell for it.

"You know it's amazing to wake up next to you like this?" I purred with husky voice while trailing kisses on her neck, tracing my hand from her neck down to her breasts.

"Help me to believe you." February insinuated in a naughty way, followed by a soft chuckle.

"Hmm, will do." I moaned while moving closer to her, adopting the dominant position on top of her.

We were already naked. I began to kiss her mouth fiercely, while squeezing her boobs. I took one of her legs and I lifted it as a suggestion, so she immediately wrapped her legs around my hip and placed her hands on my head to pull me closer to her. She began to run her fingers through my hair as I started to trace my hand from her boobs to her clitoris. She moaned loudly when I started teasing that part, so I smirked naughtily.

"I love the sounds you make, gorgeous." I groaned with husky voice as she pulled me to her again to nibble my lips. "Damn, that's hot." I moaned before kissing her fiercely. She rolled on the bed, so she was the one who was on top of me now, sitting on my crotch. She smirked seductively, and of course, I smirked back. "It seems that someone is in a playful mood this morning." I purred.

"You have no idea." She said naughtily, biting her lips in a very tempting way.

"I'm all yours." I said heavily.

She didn't say anything; she just looked at me lustfully and started sucking my neck. Oh hell, I fucking loved kisses on the neck; that was a big turn-on. While sucking my neck and earlobe, she began to ran her hand over my chest, going down to my stomach and then to my groin. I whimpered loudly when she started pumping my cock, first slowly, then increasing the speed. I placed both of my hands on her ass and I started squeezing it.

"Will you cut with the hot and wild sex? We're trying to have breakfast, goddammit!" Joey suddenly yelled, breaking into my bedroom. Both February and I looked at him abruptly.

"There's something called intimacy, man!" I yelled back, frowning. "Argh! You just fucking ruined it." I exclaimed annoyed as February rolled off me.

"Sorry, Joey." February apologized while chuckling softly, covering her body with the blankets. "We thought you were also locked in your bedroom." She winked while laughing as I was feeling moody with the hard-on.

"Oh, we still need to recover all the energy wasted last night." Joey joked and February laughed out loud.

"Would you just go, man? This is fucking creepy, you stalker. Cannot you see we were in middle of something?" I asked annoyed, looking at him.

"Well, I could hear that, Criss. I think all the neighbors could hear that. Didn't you have enough last night?" Joey asked, obviously referring to the noises and moans he had to stand this time. I looked at him with a suggestive glance and a mischievous smile. "Right, never is enough for the beast. Just try not to be too noisy, man! I almost choked with my pancakes and I don't wanna die yet." Joey joked and I laughed.

Then Joey turned on his heels and left the bedroom. I looked at February and I smirked mischievously at her before moving closer to kiss her neck. She giggled and pulled me softly.

"Oh no, don't tell me Joey indeed ruined the climax." I moaned frustrated.

"I'm just hungry." February answered with a soft grin while pecking my lips.

"You can always eat me." I winked suggestively and she chuckled.

"Maybe I could eat you after breakfast." She said playfully as she got off the bed, walking naked to the chair where her clothes were.

"Argh! I'll have to wait too much! What am I gonna do with this?" I complained while looking at my hard-on. She looked at me, laughed and turned her face to put on her jeans. "I'm in misery, gorgeous. Don't leave me like this!" I practically begged, desperate. She just laughed while putting on her shirt. "Oh, I see... You're a real teaser!"

"I am, hot stuff." She replied while laughing. Once dressed, she walked to the bed and pecked my lips. "See you in the kitchen? I'll make you breakfast." She said gently, while smiling kindly. I couldn't help smiling sweetly at her.

"You're the best girlfriend." I whispered distractedly in front of her lips. She parted and looked at me curiously, frowning slightly.

"Girlfriend?" She asked intrigued. I grinned widely at her, holding both of her hands.

"Oh, haven't I told you? You're mine, gorgeous." I answered, grinning. Did it sound too possessive?

"When were you planning to tell me?" She asked, still frowning. Oh crap! Was she disgusted? She didn't like the idea of being my girlfriend? I thought she'd be happy to hear this, I guess I was wrong.

"Well, I just told you, gorgeous." I answered, now I wasn't smiling so widely.

"Don't you think it's too soon to be your girlfriend?" She asked and this time it was me the one I frowned.

"Why would it be too soon?" I asked confused. I thought she wanted this.

"You... You just don't know me." She mumbled serious while looking down, letting out her hands and stepping back.

"Feb, we've been seeing each other since two weeks already. Every day, practically all day long. You spend the nights here and almost every day we have breakfast and dinner together. I thought we... I thought we could make this official." I answered while frowning. No shit, she couldn't reject me just when I found someone with who I could take the risk to have a committed relationship again. "Is that you don't like the idea of being my girlfriend?" I asked a bit scared to hear a positive answer.

"No, it's not that." February mumbled, still looking down. She was worried.

"Then, what is it, love?" I asked gently, standing up to wrap my arms around her waist.

"I...I..." She stammered nervously, avoiding my gaze. Why was she nervous? She sighed and bit her lips. "When you told me you weren't ready to start a committed relationship, to be honest, I was relieved. You're not the one who's not ready for something like that. I know I said... I know I said you had to take a chance as I did... But that wasn't completely honest." February started explaining as I was listening to her very intently. "Since my ex I couldn't be able to give myself to someone. And now we have this confusing and complicated relationship and I'm happy with this. Just with this. If we go further, I know I'll screw it up; and I don't want that." February admitted sadly. I remained silent for a while, examining her sad and frightened face.

"Are you afraid of falling in love with me?" I asked softly.

"Yes." She confessed in a whisper.

"Well, guess what? I'm afraid of falling in love with you too." I replied and when she looked at me frowning in confusion, I smiled kindly at her. "I guess we're even. We can figure out how not to be afraid of that, together."

"No, you don't understand, Darren." February said distressed, looking down again. "I suck at love."

"I suck at love too. I'm terrible at it. Figure that I only had one real girlfriend and after her I was never able to believe in love again." I commented and she looked at me. "I guess you don't believe in love either."

"That's right." She answered and I nodded.

"What if both of us are wrong? What if both of us, two people who gave up love long time ago, try to figure out how is like to be in a committed relationship? What if we find something new?" I asked looking at her while she was looking at me frowning, apparently thoughtful. "It won't be like any other normal and standard couple, because other couples believe in love and we don't. So what if we give it a try? You're the best chance for me and I'm your best chance, because, after all, we are equal. We don't believe in love, but I do have feelings for you. Tell me you have feelings for me too." I said looking deeply into her eyes.

"I do have feelings for you, Darren." She answered shyly.

"Okay... So..." I said while taking both of her hands and kneeling, with an amused smile, looking straight in her eye. February looked at me, raised her eyebrows and laughed out loud. "February Alice Lawrence, would you want to be with me and figure out together if true love does or does not exist? Would you give this frightened and insecure guy a chance of being with someone like you? Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Umm..." She hesitated but I didn't take my eyes off her. "I guess I want."

"You want what?" I asked with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, come on, you know what!" She exclaimed.

"I want to hear that." I replied.

"I want to be your girlfriend." She answered while giggling and shaking her head. I quickly stood up and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"You know? You just made my day." I whispered in front of her lips before kissing them again. "Now, I guess I should get dressed."

"Oh yeah, you should. I had to bite my tongue not to laugh when you were proposing me all naked." She said giggling softly and I laughed along with her.

"Don't tell me you accepted only because I was naked while proposing you." I said while laughing amused.

"Of course I accepted for that reason. That just proved me that we're not gonna be like any other normal and standard couple. I mean, really, who proposes someone when naked? Only you!" She answered jokingly, so I burst out laughing. "I gotta admit you're original, that's why accepted."

"Well, I'm glad I was naked, then. Do you want to have breakfast with me naked? Just to keep proving we're not gonna be a normal and standard couple." I said suggestively, waggling my eyebrows in a naughty way.

"For now, I think we should go dressed." She answered and I groaned in frustration. "We don't want Joey and May envy us for our hotness and sexiness." February added with a wink and I laughed.

"See? That's why you're my best chance." I commented with a wink before pecking her lips. "I'll get dressed, gorgeous. You can either enjoy the view or make breakfast; I won't feel offended with either option you decide to take." I said with a simper.

"I'll make you the most delicious breakfast you've ever had." She responded with a saucy smile, attempting to kiss my cheek, but fully kissing my mouth because I turned my face. "Sneaky!" She exclaimed amused before walking out the bedroom.

I was still laughing when she left the bedroom and I was putting on some clothes. Man, I never thought that a chick could make me feel this happy and lively; after Freckles I never thought I would feel like this with someone, I never considered the chance of having another girlfriend. And look at me now! February was my girlfriend and I was feeling exultant for that... Like, what the hell? After getting dressed, I pounced on the bed on my back with my arms behind my head, smiling brightly. Fuck, this was good shit. I started laughing of joy for no reasons. For the first time since Freckles, I thought that maybe, little by little, I would be able to fall in love again. That was something good, right? Like a progress. Yeah, it was a huge progress. After a while, I got up and headed to the kitchen. Joey and May have already finished their breakfast and they were now watching a movie. I saw February cooking poached eggs and sliced bacon. I stood behind her and placed my hands on her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"May I help you, gorgeous?" I asked politely with a kind grin. She turned her face to look at me with a cheerful smile.

"No, thank you. It's almost done. Why don't you sit and get ready to have the best breakfast ever?" She proposed and I kissed her cheek.

"At your command, Ms. Lawrence!" I answered as a soldier and she burst out laughing while shaking her head.

I walked to the breakfast bar and I waited for the breakfast. After few minutes, February walked to me with a dish with two poached eggs and two sliced bacon and with a coffee mug. I smiled widely when I saw that elaborated breakfast, I couldn't remember the last time I had one like this; probably since the last time I was at my home in San Francisco. Her breakfast was delicious indeed, so I complimented her and we had a quiet but pleasant breakfast together. It was weird that I didn't feel uncomfortable with her now that she was my girlfriend; it just seemed to be the right thing. After breakfast, we joined May and Joey and we played Mario Kart before going to our respective courses. I greeted February with a passionate kiss before going my own way.

"Do I see you at night?" I asked with a joyful smile.

"Sure! On the condition we order Chinese for dinner." She proposed with an amused smirk.

"Deal." I agreed immediately, pecking her lips.

When I was heading to my course, I was feeling more vitalized than ever. I was walking alone, grinning widely and whistling songs; you'd think I was crazy, but I didn't give a damn. When I was about to enter my classroom, I saw Freckles in the end of the hallway, leaning against a wall and talking to a guy, a fratstar member of the Phi Psi fraternity. What was she doing with that guy? I've never seen her socializing with any of the fraternities or sororities members. The guy was obviously flirting with her because Freckles wouldn't stop laughing. I decided not to enter my classroom and wait for that guy to go away, so I could talk to Freckles. It's been two days since the last time we talked and we still haven't talked about what happened with our plan, so I didn't know how she was. After five minutes the guy kissed her cheek... He kissed her cheek? And he left. Freckles was about to enter her classroom, but I ran to her.

"Hey, Freckles, hold on!" I yelled while running to her. Freckles looked up and smiled when she saw me.

"Darren! Hey, I have to attend a course right now and I'm already late, as usual." She said giggling softly when I finally reached her.

"Well, so do I. But what about we skip our respective courses?" I suggested and Freckles hesitated.

"I probably shouldn't." She answered.

"Same. But... What about, eh?" I insisted.

"Well, on a second thought, this course is pretty boring. So, what about?" She asked with an amused smirk.

"Cool! Let's go somewhere else, shall we?" I asked and she nodded.

We walked outside and we decided to sit on one of the benches near the School of Music, Theatre & Dance building. Freckles pulled something out from her backpack and handed it to me.

"Cereal bar?" She offered and I looked at it and shook my head.

"No, thanks. I swear I don't understand why you like that shit." I commented and Freckles chuckled.

"It's delicious when you get used." She answered while shrugging and eating the cereal bar.

"So... Who was that guy?" I asked curiously.

"What guy?" Freckles asked frowning.

"The fratstar guy." I answered.

"Oh! His name's Greg." She responded and I nodded. "He was inviting me and Brian to this Friday's fraternity party."

"Seriously?" I asked amazed, raising my eyebrows.

"Yeah, seriously. But I obviously won't go with Brian." She replied indifferently. "So, I was thinking that maybe you and February could come; after all, we were going to hang out this Friday night."

"Oh! Well, but we weren't invited, Freckles. And those parties are pretty exclusive, so we can't go." I commented.

"Well, Greg told me I could invite whoever I wanted." Freckles said while shrugging and smiling.

"Really? Did you know they never tell people they can invite whoever they want? The invitations are pretty exclusive and they don't want any random people in their totally awesome parties." I said while frowning, looking at Freckles.

"Well, I'm just telling you what Greg told me. Maybe it's not so like that, Darren. Maybe they do want random people." Freckles answered while chewing her cereal bar.

"They might be desperate for you to attend the party if the fratstar guy told you that." I said and Freckles laughed out loud.

"Come on, Darren! Why would they be desperate for me to attend their party? I'm just some random and ordinary girl." Freckles said, still giggling.

"Freckles, come on! Have you looked in the mirror? It's pretty obvious why they want you there." I replied while raising my eyebrows, referring to how hot she was. "You're like supermegafoxyawesomehot!" I exclaimed while laughing as she burst out laughing.

"Yeah, sure, Darren!" Freckles exclaimed sarcastically while laughing and shaking her head.

"I'm just being honest. I don't know if you noticed the way guys rape you with their eyes when you walk by. Having you in their party would be like winning all the prizes, the key for a party success. The party would be named like the best party of all time for having the hottest girl in college attending it, aka you." I started saying really fast as Freckles was giggling.

"Oh dear! Stop, Darren!" She exclaimed amused. "None of that is true. Maybe they just want to have a big party with lots of people, random people!" She exclaimed and I bit my lips and shook my head, thinking how stubborn she was.

"Or maybe they all want the chance to be with the hottest girl. That would be more accurate." I answered back while raising an eyebrow with an amused smirk.

"Whatever, Darren! As I see it, that's not accurate and we won't agree, so leave it there. Point is, do you guys want to go with me? I really wanna go to the party, but I don't wanna be alone. Besides, we had plans and I'd want to stick with it. So?" Freckles asked joyfully.

"Well, I wouldn't miss the chance to attend one of the fraternity parties. And I'm sure February would love the idea. Oh! And Mere is also joining us, I promised her." I commented and Freckles smiled brightly.

"I'd love if Mere joins us! And you can also tell Joey!" Freckles exclaimed excited and I laughed.

"I'll let him know, but he surely would want to go with his new... Umm... let's say lover." I said frowning slightly, unsure of what his relationship with May was.

"Joey has a lover?" Freckles asked intrigued and amused.

"Yeah, he has. Her name's May." I answered.

"That's so cool! I wanna meet her! So, let them know, Dare!" She exclaimed very excited.

"Alright, will do." I responded with a simper. "So, how's the operation Brian going so far?" I asked and Freckles' smile faded away, causing her to look down.

"Good, I guess." She answered while shrugging.

"I can tell something's not right." I stated, looking fixedly at her.

"No, actually everything is going well. I'm pretending to be his best friend and all, but it's kinda hard. I can't help being distant with him, it's hard to act naturally with him now that I know who he is. It's just that." She responded almost in a whisper.

"Is there something else? Maybe he noticed you were suspecting of him?" I asked while frowning.

"No, he hasn't noticed. He always falls for the lies I tell when I feel like I cannot be near him; those lies like I'm on my period or that I'll meet someone or that I have to study or go somewhere to do projects for college. Thing is I almost never can be near him, so he might be suspecting that something weird is happening. I might fail." Freckles admitted concerned.

"Hey, don't worry if you fail. What matters is that you're trying. If you fail, we're gonna think about something else, so don't feel discouraged." I said encouragingly with a warm smile. Freckles looked at me, smiled faintly and looked down again. "I know there's something else, tell me, Freckles." I demanded gently. Freckles remained silent for a while with her eyebrows downwards.

"Well... Brian was my best friend, despite everything. Whenever I was feeling down, I knew I could always count on him and he would do everything for me to feel better. I loved him. And now that's gone... That was always false. I lost the best friend I... never had. And that's confusing and sad. Now I have no one." Freckles answered in all honesty. Shit, I never thought about that. Once again, I remembered what Joey told me: I could hurt her.

"You have me, Freckles. And I can become your best friend if you let me." I responded friendly, with a kind grin. Freckles looked at me and smiled faintly but gratefully.

"Thanks, Dare. I'll get better, though. I guess it's just this huge change I'm suffering, but it'll pass as all things in life pass, right?" She asked sadly.

It was as though she was seeking for some kind of thing that could make her believe she was doing the right thing and she will feel better eventually. I felt bad for it and I swear I could see a hint of the old Freckles reflected in her eyes; that insecure and scared Freckles who needed to feel that someone was out there for her to protect her and feel loved.

"That's right, Freckles. You'll be fine, promise." I assured with a sweet smile, taking one of her hands and squeezing it softly. "Like in high school, we're together on this. And we're gonna beat them!" I exclaimed joyfully to cheer her up. She chuckled softly, so I was glad it worked.

"Well, we have a plan, like in high school." She added with a giggle.

"Yeah, only that this time I'm sure things will end up in a good way. It's like a second chance, don't you think?" I asked to try to encourage her.

"I hope so..." She answered with a soft grin and looked down again, yet this time her smile remained on her face. "We need Jen, though. We were the three musketeers." She added and that made me smile wistfully.

"Oh, maybe Jen will come soon with her wise advices and we're gonna be the three musketeers again." I commented with a wink and she smiled wistfully just as me. "All for one and one for all!" I exclaimed loudly while softly pushing Freckles' side with my arm, as a way to keep cheering her up. She chuckled, so I considered that as a success.

"You're a dork, Darren." She stated playfully, smiling amused, nudging me softly.

"Wrong! I'm adorkable." I corrected her while winking and she laughed again.

"Oh, right!" She said, finally looking at me. "Well, adorkable guy, it's getting late and I have to return to my dorm room. Wish me luck!" She exclaimed with eyes wide open while standing up. I stood up with her and I hugged her tightly.

"Good luck, Freckles. Remember you can call me if you need me." I said while still hugging her.

"Will do. Thank you, Dare." She whispered before kissing my cheek. "See you tomorrow night for the party."

"See you at the party, Freckles." I said with a cheesy grin. "Beware of the guys who want to rape you with their eyes!" I joked and Freckles laughed and shook her head while walking away.

I sat on the bench again and I observed how Freckles was walking away. I was feeling bad for her because I was aware of how hard this was for her. Hopefully things would get better for her and hopefully she would let me be her best friend. When Freckles disappeared from my sight, I stood up and I headed to my apartment, ready to have dinner with my girlfriend. Yeah, that was something I still had to tell Freckles... But not for now.

After your encounter with Darren, you arrived to your room six hours later because you really didn't want to see Brian. So it was 11 pm. You opened the door and the first thing that happened was Sawyer pouncing on you, wagging its tail and making a fuss to celebrate your arrival. You laughed, crouched and started petting its little head.

"Hi, little Sawyer!" You greeted the adorable puppy and it licked your hand as response.

"Sunny!" Brian exclaimed. You looked up and you saw him sitting on his desk. He took off the nerdy glasses he was wearing and looked at you worried. "Where have you been? You didn't reply my text messages! I thought something bad had happened to you!" He scolded.

Oh fuck, here we go... You didn't answer; instead, you stood up and huffed, walking to the couch to leave your backpack there, and then walking to the kitchen to get a glass of water. You noticed how Brian grabbed your backpack to place it on the hangers where it 'should be'. Argh! Those little things were starting to annoy you way too much.

"Sunny, really! Why didn't you text me back? I was worried!" Brian complained again.

"Why, I didn't know I was forced to reply to all of your text messages, dad." You sneered while taking a sip of your water. "You should learn how to chill out, Brian."

"Well, not if you don't let me know where you are and if you're okay or not! You know it's dangerous to..." Brian started complaining again and you grumbled, rolling your eyes.

"I was with friends, Brian. I have a life, you know? It's time for you to understand that." You answered moody, raising an eyebrow. You dared to glance at Brian. He was looking at you frowning in a distressed way. "What?" You asked grossly.

"Is there something I've done to you, Sunny? Because lately it seems you don't want to spend time with me and whenever we talk you act rudely as never before. If there's something that bothers you, please, let me know." Brian answered while looking deeply into your eyes, in that well-known sad way. Jackass. Always playing the victim.

"There's something all women have, it's called period. Deal with that, Brian." You answered moody, taking your eyes off him and taking another sip of water.

"Okay, I understand that; but I think there's something else you don't want to tell me. What is it?" He asked insistently. Oh dammit. Could he just stop talking to you?

"There's nothing else. I think you're being a little paranoid, Brian. Not everything revolves around you, you know?" You stated irritated.

"I know that." Brian whispered while looking down. "Is it something related to college? You can tell me, Sunny. You know I'll listen and I'll try to help you."

"I don't want help. I just wanna be alone, please?" You asked irked, looking fixedly at him, widening your eyes and raising your eyebrows. Brian nodded silently. "Good!" You exclaimed loudly, walking straight to the bedroom.

You slammed the door behind you and you jumped into bed on your stomach, burying your head on your pillow. It hurt to treat him that way, but you couldn't help it, because now every time you looked into his eyes you couldn't avoid thinking he was the one person who always bullied you and who was now pretending to be a good friend. And you were trying to treat him more nicely, but it was super hard. You started weeping silently, thinking how much things sucked right now. The terrible headache, the dizziness and cough returned; it lasted few minutes, and then stopped. Stupid sickness, stupid meds, stupid life. After minutes, you heard the door opening. Oh no, damn. The last thing you needed was Brian to continue scolding you as if he were your father; well, mother in your case.

"For fuck's sake, Brian! Don't you understand the concept of 'I want to be fucking alone'?" You yelled spleenful, still burying your head on your pillow.

"I'm sorry." Brian apologized. You glanced at him on the sly and you could see he was raising his eyebrows in astonishment and was looking at your direction with sadness. "I just wanted to ask you if you wanna have dinner with me. I made tuna salad because I know you like eating lightly at night."

"No, I don't want to have dinner with you. I want you to go the fuck out of here and leave me alone." You responded nastily.

"Fine." Brian responded in low voice. You noticed how he turned around to head to the dining room.

"Brian, wait." You requested, softening your voice while sitting on your bed, rubbing a hand over your face. Brian stopped and turned slowly to look at you.

"Yes? You need something? Maybe an extra quilt or a glass of water?" He asked politely and you sighed.

"No, I don't need anything." You responded softly. "I just wanted to say sorry. I... I don't know what's happening to me, but I don't intend to treat you this way on purpose." You apologized.

"It's okay. I understand it's because you're on your period. Don't worry." Brian said kindly. You looked at him afflicted because he really believed that lie. You were becoming a great liar and you didn't like it.

"No, Brian, it's not for that." You said distressed.

He looked at you nervously or sadly, hesitating, unsure if he should walk towards you or not because, obviously, he was afraid that you would yell at him as you've been doing lately. Was that possible? Could it be possible that now you were an expert at scaring people? You looked down and your lips began to tremble as your eyes started to fill with tears. You didn't like the kind of person you were becoming. This wasn't you. Brian walked towards you slowly and unsteadily. Then he sat on your bed next to you and, gingerly, he took one of your hands. When he was a little surer that you wouldn't yell or slap him, he dared to speak.

"What's saddening you, Sunny?" He asked so fondly that you began to shed the tears you were holding back.

How could he be W? He wasn't a hideous person. Without thinking, you buried your head on his lap and wrapped your arms around his waist. And you broke into tears, you started crying heartbreakingly, you were wailing and making weird noises as you were having difficulties to breathe. Brian started to rub your back reassuringly and he started to stroke your hair in a very smooth way to comfort you.

"Please, let me help you, Sunny." He whispered and you sniffled. "I'd do everything for you for the sole purpose of seeing you happy. So, please, let me help you."

"You shouldn't be nice to me, Brian. I do not deserve that." You sobbed.

"Who made you believe you don't deserve that, Sunny? You deserve that and much more." He whispered sweetly while running his fingers through your hair. "So, whoever told you that is a jerk. And you shouldn't listen to the haters because it's not worth it; they never have something good to say. You deserve the best of this life for the simple fact of being the most kind-hearted person I know." He added.

"I'm not a kind-hearted person, Brian. I'm not a good person." You whispered weakly, holding him tighter.

"That's the biggest bullshit I've ever heard." Brian exclaimed and his voice sounded confused. "What kind of person would be stupid enough to think you're a bad person? That's crazy, Sunny. People who truly know you know that you're kind and benevolent; they know you're a person worth keeping in their lives. So don't let anybody who doesn't know you bring you down, Sunny."

"No, why do you always see good things about me? I'm not that perfect person you're describing, Brian!" You exclaimed in sorrow.

"I know you're not perfect, no one is. But there's something you cannot understand; and that is that you cannot see that all your imperfections make you perfect in the eyes of many people, including me." Brian answered tenderly, leaning over to kiss your temple. "And that's why you're loved, Sunny."

"How can you be a bad person? A bad person never says things like the ones you're saying." You asked distressed and troubled, now turning your face to look at him.

Brian looked down to look into your eyes and you noticed a twinkle of sadness when he heard what you said. Shit, how could you have asked something like that out loud? Now he knew you thought he was a bad person. He smiled sadly at you.

"Maybe all the wrong choices I made in my life made me be considered as a bad person." Brian answered and you felt extremely guilty. He noticed you've been talking to Darren again, you knew it. "And maybe I'm still a bad person in the eyes of many, but I wanna think it's never too late to change." He added and you saw his teary eyes, yet he was smiling, sadly, but he was smiling. "I only hope you can notice my effort of trying to be a good person, I only hope someday you can stop seeing me as the asshole who punched you in high school." He said distressed as his gaze shifted to the scar on your jaw that he caused.

"I stopped seeing you as that person long time ago; when I found out that you were being forced to do that, since that very moment when you confessed me that truth when I lost my memory in high school." You admitted sincerely. Yet, you didn't comment that now maybe you were thinking he was that person.

"I was the one who caused you to lose temporarily your memory!" Brian said with teary voice, shedding some tears.

You sat on the bed and this time you pulled him to you, so he could bury his face on your shoulder. You enfolded your arms around him and you started caressing his hair as he was crying on your shoulder. If he wasn't W, you'd never forgive yourself for lying him as you were doing. But you really wished he wasn't W; you really wished this all could be real. For a moment you tried to forget all of your suspicions, only to tell him with your heart something you'd tell to one of your most valuable people in your life, at least one last time.

"I love you, Brian." You whispered honestly.

Now that you finally said your goodbye to him in an implicit way, you were going to be able to go on with your plan of getting information about him. Hopefully, you were believing in the right thing, because you didn't know what you'd do if it turned out that he was not W. If only someone could tell you what the right thing to do was. Heart ache, abdominal pain, nausea. For how long?

"Guess where we're gonna party down tonight." I questioned with an amused smirk while eating a sandwich for lunch.

"The Blind Pig?" Joey asked while chewing his own sandwich.

It was Friday noon and May and February would be with us as usual, but they left early in the morning because they both had to attend a course, an English Language and Literature course.

"Nope. Even better." I answered in a mysterious way and Joey finally looked up at me, frowning curiously. I got his attention.

"No place is better than The Blind Pig. The Blind Pig is where the action is in this town, man." Joey stated while looking fixedly at me.

"You sure?" I asked very amused, raising an eyebrow. "Imagine far-out music and dynamite drinks in a place where we can crack open a bottle and have a buzz on, where all the party animals go, fratstars and hot chicks."

"Yeah, dude. Cut to the chase and tell me already." Joey requested eagerly.

"The Phi Psi fraternity and the Tri Delt sorority united to throw a party and guess who are invited?" I asked while biting my lower lip and looking at Joey very amused.

"You gotta be shitting me!" Joey exclaimed loudly with eyes wide open, putting his sandwich aside.

"Am not." I answered amused and Joey dropped his jaw. "We're gonna have a blast tonight, bro! It's gonna be a blowout!"

"Aren't you making fun of me just for shits and giggles?" Joey asked suspiciously.

"Hell, no! Man, I am on the real, swear down." I answered, grinning widely.

"Fuck, pal! How did you even get the invitation? Those dudes don't invite weirdos like us. Tell me, Criss, what dark things have you done to get those invitations?" Joey asked squinting.

"Well, if I tell you, the dudes will get so bent out of shape and I'll be in a bind, buddy." I replied jokingly as Joey shook his head. I knew he was dying to know how the hell I got those invitations. "For real though, Freckles is the one who was invited and she invited us."

"Freckles?" Joey asked squinting. "Why doesn't it surprise me? The fratstars have been like stalking her. Those guys want to get in her pants, as if she were some kind of booty-call." Joey stated thoughtfully.

"Whatever, man." I cut him off because I didn't like to think about that, though I was aware that was the reason why they wanted her there.

"Alright... Just let's say that someone gave me an earful about Freckles and how much the Tri Delt sorority wants her to be part of it. Freckles is a knockout and they think she will increase their popularity; after all, the Tri Delt sorority is characterized by having the hottest girls; they must have Freckles." Joey commented and he was totally ruining my mood. "It surprises me they took so long to invite her to one of their parties. Maybe they think she's not interested like Brian; he wouldn't accept being part of the Phi Psi fraternity, no matter how much the fratstars insist. Whatever! Thing is those dudes finally could get Freckles; success for them."

"Man, you're blowing up the good news." I commented, getting huffy. Joey looked at me and raised his eyebrows. "Can we just stop talking about Freckles and how all the guys want to fuck her?" I asked moody, clenching my jaw and looking away.

"Hey pal, don't blow your cool. If you really wanna go to that party you have to be psyched up for seeing how all the guys try to move on her." Joey warned me and I huffed in annoyance. "So, we can either go to the best party ever or we can simply go to The Blind Pig. It's up to you." He said shrugging while eating his sandwich again.

"We're gonna go to that party." I affirmed.

"What happened with all that fuss about the dudes who want to bang Freckles?" Joey asked looking fixedly at me.

"I'll go with February, so it's no sweat to have those guys fluttering around her." I answered indifferently while shrugging.

"That's what I call a progress, bud! You're finally getting over her. This is a big deal, buddy." Joey laughed, obviously making fun of me. "So, you're going with February."

"Yeah. May will also go, they already know and they're overexcited about it." I responded. "Oh, and Meredith. She will join us."

"That's cool!" Joey exclaimed; yet he didn't mention anything about May. "Question is... What is going on between you and February?"

"Shit got serious, man." I answered amused and Joey squinted. "She's my girlfriend now." I added with a wink.

"Suck my balls, man! Listen up; Darren Everett Criss has got a girlfriend! Bust it or believe it!" Joey exclaimed loudly, standing up on his chair, pretending to be talking to an audience.

"What a sucker!" I exclaimed while laughing out loud.

"Fuck, dude!" Joey exclaimed amused, sitting on his chair. "When did it happen?"

"Oh, yesterday morning." I answered.

"Oh right, when you were humping her." Joey commented amused and I laughed.

"Exactly." I responded waggling my eyebrows.

"That's so cool, man! February is totally cool." Joey commented, now getting more serious. "Does Freckles know about this?"

"No." I answered shortly.

"Maybe she should know..." Joey remarked.

"Maybe she'll figure out this night. I just didn't have the chance to tell her." I lied, now looking away because I really didn't want to talk about it. "Besides, she's none of my business now, you got fed me with that thing you wouldn't stop reminding me. So, just as she's none of my business, I'm none of her business. We are just friends, I don't have to explain her all I do or not with my life." I remarked while shrugging. "Now, what's your thing with May?"

"We're just fuck buddies." Joey answered indifferently. "None of us want to go deep, so that's cool."

"Don't tell me you still think about your summer hook up." I said serious, raising an eyebrow.

"None of your business, Criss." Joy cut me off.

"I wonder what kind of girl she was to have you so pussy-whipped." I commented suggestively.

"The coolest girl." Joey answered curtly.

"Man, it's been like four months... And you have nothing of her. Let it go." I suggested but Joey shot me a withering look. "What? It was just a piece of advice! Take it or leave it... But May is hot and super nice. And most likely, you will not see your summer hook up again."

"I know that, thanks for reminding me, pal." Joey mentioned moody and he stood up and headed to his bedroom.

"Hey, Joey, don't get so steamed up over the issue!" I yelled but he did not listen.

Alright... That was weird. Why would he get so bent about it? I never thought that summer hook up would be such a big deal for him. Who was that girl? No girl ever has got him as interested as that girl. Maybe Joey didn't tell me everything about her and what happened; maybe something else happened between them. I added inquire about what Joey and his summer hook up had to my 'Things to do' list.

It was 10 pm and you were already getting ready for the frat party. The party started at 10:30 pm, but for some reason February was going to pick you up at 11:30 because she said that showing up early to a frat party will make you seem out of the loop and that wasn't cool. Brian, fortunately, wasn't here because he was with his work group doing something for college. The only good thing was that you haven't been feeling sick; maybe all you needed was to have fun to feel better. You just walked out of the shower and now you were choosing what to wear. You never went to one of those parties and you didn't know how they were like, so you weren't sure if you should wear something casual or something sexier. Well, it was night and it was a party, apparently a very exclusive and cool party, so you decided to wear something sexy, not too provocative and revealing, but sexy anyways. You tried on like ten dresses, you definitely wanted to wear a dress but none of them convinced you, until you saw one dress that Mandy has designed especially for you to wear on a fashion show. It was a black fitted minidress in textured jersey with beaded embroidery around front of armholes and back neckline, with a deep front V-neckline and cutout at back. You tried it on and you smiled satisfied by the way you looked; yet you noticed that it wasn't as fitted as the first time you wore it; now it was a bit loose in the part of your waist and breasts; maybe you could fix that, or not. You walked to the closet again, now to choose shoes. You had tons of shoes, damn, it was hard to choose. You chose a pair of strappy sandalettes in metallic blue imitation leather with criss-cross straps over foot with buckle. Jeez! The heel height was 5 1/2 in and it's been a while since the last time you wore heels, so it was painful and you had to practice how to walk; you definitely didn't want to be mocked for this. But you did look great with heels, like somehow they stylized your figure. After that, you chose a pair of large clip-on earrings in plastic and metal and a black bag in snakeskin-patterned suede with detachable shoulder chain. You needed a coat, but February suggested you not to bring one, because it will probably be ruined or stolen. Crap, you were going to freeze. Whatever, you stood in front of the mirror that was on the bedroom to start putting make-up on. You were almost done when you heard the front door opening and Sawyer barking and wailing.

"Hi, buddy!" You heard Brian's voice greeting cheerfully.

Oh no, damn. You were wishing to not see him before the party; now he would start asking where you were going and you weren't in mood to answer to his questions. You were excited for this party and he surely would screw it up.

"How have you been? I missed you, buddy!" You heard Brian saying. "Here, take a dog cookie!" He exclaimed, still cheerfully. "Is Sunny here, buddy?" Brian asked. Sure, as if the dog could answer, you thought while rolling your eyes.

Then you heard steps walking to the bedroom and you noticed how he stood and leaned against the bedroom door. You were looking at him through the mirror; however, you pretended not to have seen him, so you just kept applying mascara on your eyelashes. You saw how the creep looked at you from head to toe. Then he walked to you and stood right behind you, you were still ignoring him.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked with a soft smile and you pretended to be startled.

"Damn, I didn't know you were here!" You lied in an exclamation and Brian chuckled softly.

"Sorry if I scared you. Hi, Sunny." Brian greeted while kissing your cheek by behind you. Creep. "You look absolutely gorgeous." He commented with a bright smile, standing behind you and looking at you through the mirror as you were still applying mascara on your eyelashes.

"Thanks." You responded with a faint grin. Shit, he was making you feel uncomfortable by the way he was looking at you. Could he just stop staring?

"Where are you going?" He asked curiously, now sitting on his bed, right next to you, still staring at you.

"To a party I was invited." You answered curtly, now applying eyeliner.

"Sounds good." Brian said, still grinning. "What party?" He asked. Damn, you really weren't in mood to answer.

"A frat party; run by the Phi Psi fraternity and the Tri Delt sorority." You answered indifferently.

"Oh, that party!" Brian exclaimed and you frowned slightly. "I was invited but I wasn't feeling like going because I don't know anybody there, so I didn't accept it." Brian commented and you just nodded. "Maybe I could go too now that I know you are going. We never went to a party together and it could be cool. Besides, to be honest, I never attended a party; so maybe I could go. It could be fun." Brian said suggestively while smiling joyfully and you froze.

Hell to the no! No, fuck, no. There was no way in hell for you to go with him to that party. You wanted to have fun and now there he was, trying to screw your excitement. You should have known that the frat guys would invite him, just in case you didn't tell him about the party as Greg asked you to do. Damn shit, you were screwed. What would you tell him now? Dammit! Why did he have to complicate everything? Why was he all the time like stalking you, always wanting to do all the things you used to do?

"Umm… I'd really like to go alone. I want to get to know new people and I won't be able to do so if you go with me." You commented without looking at him. Yet, when you glanced at him, you saw his face: His smile faded out and he was now looking down with a pained face. "Maybe another time." You commented because you didn't want to sound so cruel.

"Yeah, maybe another time." Brian answered with a sad half-smile. "I was tired anyway..." He added. He lied, maybe because he felt ashamed of being rejected or something. Well, it wasn't time for you to regret; you knew this was the best. "If you're going to that frat party, you probably wouldn't want to wear high heels, Sunny, because the floors are always slick and there's a big chance you will get pushed, or spilled on, or slip while walking down those rickety basement stairs." Brian commented.

"I'll make it good. It's not like I'm inexperienced in wearing high heels." You responded while shrugging, ignoring his advice. You wanted to wear those heels.

"Okay, just be careful." Brian said. "And... If I were you, I wouldn't wear that dress."

"Why not, eh?" You asked kinda annoyed while applying blush.

"Because it's kinda... Provocative." Brian answered and you raised an eyebrow, evidently disgruntled by his comment. "You could be groped by random drunken college dudes and I'm sure you don't want that."

"Maybe I want that." You answered coldly, even if that wasn't true. Brian raised his eyebrows and parted his lips.

"Alright." He just voiced, looking down again, now frowning.

You ignored that last comment and you started to think what lipstick you could use. Brian, noticing that you were looking for that, stood up next to you and he took the boldness to rummage your makeup bag. You clenched your jaw because of your irritation, but you didn't say anything at all. After few seconds he pulled out a lipstick and handed it to you with a grin.

"Use this one. Red looks good on you." He voiced, still grinning.

You didn't want to take it; you knew red was the best option, but you didn't want to accept it only because he recommended it to you. However, you took the lipstick and you attempted to start putting it on, but Brian stopped you.

"Do you want me to put you lipstick on for you? You once taught me how to do it, so maybe I could do it." He asked and you frowned.

"No, I don't wanna look like a clown." You responded and Brian bit his lips and looked down.

"Right." He said with a short giggle. "I forgot that I suck at that."

"Yeah." You answered shortly, looking in the mirror to put on that red lipstick.

You looked at Brian through the mirror: He was looking at you with a sad look, unaware that you were looking at him. Then you looked in the mirror again now that you were finally ready, and you beamed satisfied with the final result.

"You look flawless, Sunny." Brian remarked with a kind smile, looking at your reflection in the mirror.

"Thank you." You responded with a half-smile and got distracted again, now looking for a perfume. You applied your favorite perfume and now you were completely ready.

"Do you want me to accompany you to the party? I mean, I'm not gonna stay, so don't worry; but I can walk you to where the party takes place. It's kinda dangerous if you go alone." Brian asked and you just walked away to grab your purse.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about it. February is gonna pick me up, so we all can arrive together." You answered lazily.

"I thought you were going to the party alone?" He questioned while frowning.

"Oh... No." You answered curtly.

"Who else is going?" He asked and you huffed in annoyance, giving your back to Brian, while putting some stuff in your purse.

"Friends." You answered indifferently.

"Friends?" Brian asked while frowning, confused and also kind of afflicted. "You said you didn't want me to go because you wanted to know new people, but you're going with friends. Then, am I not your friend or is that you don't want to be seen with me?" Brian questioned and you grouched. Stupid questions were ruining your mood.

"They're friends who have other friends besides me, so they won't be all the time around me, unlike you. That's why I don't want you to go with me to that party." You answered kind of harshly.

"I get it." Brian commented in a whisper. You glanced at him and you saw him looking down with a distressed face. Fortunately you got a text message and it saved you from the fraught situation.

"Oh, it's February. She's already here. I gotta go!" You exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring Brian's sad face.

"Okay... Just... Text me when you arrive and when you leave the party. And text me if you need me to pick you up if February can't bring you back." Brian said and you nodded.

"Sure!" You answered while hanging your purse on your shoulder. "Well, I gotta go." You stated.

"Yes. Be careful, watch your drinks at all times, pour your own if you can; if not, watch the person preparing it. Be aware of sketchy people and people wanting to handle your drink for you and just do not accept anything you don't know." Brian started saying in a fast way.

"Brian!" You interrupted him in a huffy way, frowning. Brian stopped talking and looked at you. "I'm gonna be fine, okay? It's just a party."

"Okay, right." Brian replied while nodding; then he walked to you. "See you later, Sunny." He said and he attempted to kiss your cheek, but you stepped back.

"I have to hustle or I will be late." You commented hurriedly while Brian was looking at you in a dismal way because you rejected him. You walked to the front door and Brian followed you. "Bye!" You said hurriedly, opening the door.

"Bye! Have fun!" He exclaimed before you left the room and closed the door.

Yet, you didn't go right away. You remained standing behind the door, thinking how nasty you acted around him and how hurt he seemed to be with each one of your comments. Maybe you crossed the line, but you couldn't act in any other way. Nevertheless, you were starting to doubt whether he was W or not. Maybe he wasn't; he seemed to be hurt for real. Before heading outside, you heard Brian saying something.

"Well, buddy, I guess it's only you and me. Over again." He voiced in a sorrowful way, apparently talking to Sawyer.

You headed outside as fast as possible, first off because you didn't want to hear any other thing that Brian could say or you were going to regret to have treated him so badly; second, it was freezing, you were wearing a minidress and you didn't have a coat. You saw February's car parked and you quickly sat on the back seat. She was on the driver seat, Darren was on the passenger seat and Meredith, Joey and a girl you didn't know, surely Joey's lover, were also in the back seat.

"Wow, Freckles! You look outstanding! I forgot how freaking beautiful you are!" Meredith commented with a huge smile, so you smiled back at her.

"Is that your way to say you missed me a lot just as I missed you, Mere?" You asked amused, hugging her.

"Yes, it is!" She exclaimed while giggling.

"You look so pretty, by the way." You remarked with a wink.

"Are you now into girls, Freckles?" Joey joked and you laughed out loud.

"I'm in college; I have to try new things, right?" You joked and everybody laughed. "Feb, you look super cute with that dress! I love it!" You commented with a grin, continuing the joke of being into girls, but also telling the truth. "And you must be May. Has someone ever told you that you could be a model?" You asked looking at the new girl who was sitting on Joey's lap, and she giggled. That girl was truly beautiful.

"Yes, I'm May and I'm actually a model. And you must be the famous Freckles and there's no doubt you're a model too." She said politely.

"Well, I only work as a model occasionally. My sister is a fashion designer and she needs models, so she asked me once and it became a sort of routine. But I'm not an expert model." You answered lowly.

"Your sister is a fashion designer? I didn't know that, Freckles." Joey asked while frowning.

"Well, yes she is. She already has her own clothing company in LA and it's pretty famous." You responded feeling proud of your sister.

"In LA?" Joey asked, still frowning, apparently thoughtful. "What a coincidence..." He whispered.

"What do you mean?" You asked curiously.

"Nothing, it's just I remembered something." Joey answered quickly, shaking his head. "So! Are we going to rock that party or not?" He asked very excited and everybody cheered.

On the way to the party everybody was talking non-stopping; all of you were very excited to go to your first frat party. On the way, you looked at Darren through the rearview mirror. He looked very handsome; he was very handsome. You wondered why he wouldn't talk to you directly since you got into the car and why he seemed to be a bit nervous. Maybe it was because he never went to a frat party before. After few minutes, you arrived to the Phi Psi house, where the party took place. You walked to the front door and everybody followed you, because they said you should be the one knocking the door since you were the only one officially invited. When you knocked the door, Greg was the one who opened the door. He smiled widely at you.

"Hello, beautiful!" He greeted joyfully. "I'm glad you decided to come." He added while winking at you as you giggled softly. Then his gaze shifted to all of your friends. "They must be your friends." He stated and you nodded in affirmation. "My friends, welcome to the best party ever!" He exclaimed in a hyper way. He was surely inebriated already.

"Hey, sis!" A very attractive girl with blue eyes and blond hair greeted obstreperously. She was definitely drunk.

"Amber!" You greeted with a bright grin. "I'm not a sis yet. I never said I accepted."

"Oh, sis, you'll accept sooner or later; but you'll be part of the Tri Delt sorority for sure!" She answered while winking. Then she looked behind you as though she was looking for someone. "Where's Brian Clerk?" She asked while frowning. Seriously?

"He couldn't come." You lied.

"Argh! You gotta be kidding me!" Amber exclaimed frustrated. "Greg! You promised he'll be here! We had a deal! Where is he, then?"

"You heard her, he couldn't come. It's not my fault." Greg answered while shrugging. Why was she so interested on having Brian?

"Oh, dammit!" Amber exclaimed, apparently upset. "Why is it so fucking hard to get that guy? Shit! I thought I could get into his pants tonight, it seems it won't happen as usual." She commented irritated and you raised your eyebrows in astonishment, feeling disgusted with her comment. "Look, Greg, if I can't have Clerk this night, you won't get her, clear? We had a deal." Amber said severely, looking at Greg and pointing you. What the hell? Then she looked at you. "Come on, sis; let's go rock that dance floor!" She squealed, now totally turning her irritated mood into a jolly mood, running to the dance floor.

"Yeah, get in, guys!" Greg said, stepping aside to let you in. "Come on, beautiful, I'll get you a drink." He said winking at you again.

Joey, May, Meredith and February were the ones who entered first. You remained standing there and then Darren started walking in, but he stopped when he was next to you.

"Not that the fratstar wasn't flirting with you?" He whispered while laughing and he entered before you could answer.

When Darren entered, you saw him taking February's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers as she looked at him and smiled widely. You saw him whispering something in her ear and she laughed, then they walked away, disappearing in the crowd. What the hell was that? After this, Greg intertwined his arm with yours. Oh well, what was that? He led you inside and closed the door as you started looking around. The place was crowded, the music was too loud, people were uninhibited by way of dark lighting and party atmosphere, most of them seemed to be inebriated; there were a lot of free alcoholic beverages and tons of kegs everywhere, and people were even drinking something from a plastic bottle. You saw Joey and May disappearing in the crowd too. You searched for Meredith, she was talking to some random guy and she seemed to be very entertained. Damn shit, you were stuck with this Greg guy. When you started observing more intently, you started seeing dudes dancing on tables; girls making out with other girls while dudes were filming them; people on the couches with girls with their tongue down some other guys' throats; guys and girls only in underwear; people smoking joints; people blowing lines of coke; people having sex everywhere: on the dance floor, on the tables, on the couches, on the stairs, on the corners, just everywhere. Where the hell were you? You didn't like this so much. Why the hell did you decide to come to this party? You wanted to get out of this place and more now that you were alone with this Greg guy who was leading you to somewhere. Where the hell was he taking you? While you were walking, some guys touched and pinched your ass and you turned your face to look at them very angry. It seemed Greg didn't notice that, well, until one guy crossed the line and practically slipped his hand under your dress to touch your ass.

"You touch me once more and I'm gonna cut your balls." You threatened in a very rude way. That was when Greg turned around to look at the guy who touched you.

"What's your problem, dickhead? Get the fuck out of here before I knock you down." Greg said rudely and the guy ran away, evidently scared. It wasn't a lie that Greg was a fratstar. "Sorry for that, beautiful. I think there are a lot of assholes around. But don't worry; I won't let them get close to you. You came here to have fun, so I'll make sure to make it be that way." Greg said almost yelling so you could hear him. He was smirking sensually at you. Holy shit, in what were you getting into? "Come on; let's go get some beers, shall we?" He asked and you just nodded, feeling flurried already.

He led you to a table where people were pouring beers from kegs in their respective plastic cups. He took one empty plastic cup for you and another one, and then he poured them both. He walked to you again and handed one to you.

"Here, take this." He said friendly and you grabbed the plastic cup, feeling flurried, not knowing where to look. Then he cocked his head to one side and looked at you curiously. "This is your first frat party, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Is it too obvious?" You asked with a giggle, taking a sip of beer.

"Yeah, kind of." He answered, also laughing but not in a mocking way. "You have to learn some rules; come with me, let's go somewhere we can get a broader outlook." He proposed in an exalted way, taking one of your hands and making you go upstairs.

You were not able to stop him because you barely could understand what was going on. It was as if all the things were happening too fast. He stopped in the mezzanine and he rested his elbows on the railing, looking down to the dance floor in the ground floor. Then he indicated you to look down as well.

"Alright, from here we can see practically everything." He commented in your ear, so you could hear. You just nodded and took another sip of beer. "Look at those people over there; they mixed the beer with Vodka and Ron, and those people over there are placing a capsule of GHB in the beers that produces nausea, visual disturbances, and delusions. So, first rule: Do not ever accept a drink that other person offers you." He said pointing at those people.

You looked at him abruptly with eyes wide open. He offered you a drink; you accepted it and you even drank it. What if he placed something in your drink? Damn, Brian warned you about this. Oh no, no, no… What if he placed GHB in your drink, whatever it was? He noticed your terrified face, so he laughed softly and wrapped an arm around you and squeezed your shoulder. He was too handy.

"Don't worry, beautiful. I did not place anything in your drink. I'm not one of those people and I don't want you to end up throwing up in the bathroom or lying on the floor unconscious. But do not accept a drink that another guy tries to offer you." He added and you felt relieved, nodding. "Now, look at that bucket over there… Can you see its weird color?" He asked while pointing you a huge bucket with a strange liquid in it, so you nodded. "It's an alcoholic punch that lives in a bucket. Be wary of it, it's pretty much the collegiate version of mystery meat. In other words, it's an extremely potent drink mixed by frat boys. What I mean is, if you are a lightweight drunk, do not drink it by any means. Okay?" He asked looking fixedly at you.

"Okay, I won't drink it." You responded and he grinned and nodded.

"Also, do not drink too much of that drink over there, vodka, cheap vodka that tastes more like rubbing alcohol." He said pointing you a bucket. "Do not become the person who blacks out at a party. You do not want people to remember you as 'Blackout chick'." He suggested and you nodded. "Now, take a look of that people who are in that area. It is the junkie area." He said pointing an area near the couches and tables. "People standing, smoking and laughing; they're smoking joints. People on the table with stuffy nose, they're blowing a line of cocaine. And those people over there, sitting on the couches, they're injecting heroin. You really don't wanna be near that area, those people are gonna try to convince you to do on drugs." He advised you and you nodded. Of course you weren't going to get close there. "Now, let's talk about that area." He said pointing you a corner of the room. "The area where people have sex, mostly oral sex. Do not go there by any means. With the way you're dressed and considering how gorgeous you are, the guys and some girls are gonna try to pull you against the wall and bang you. I'm pretty sure you're not one of those girls who have sex with everybody." He said and you frowned and shook your head.

"I am not. Whoa... They are really doing that." You commented when you saw a girl giving a blowjob. Gross, get a private room.

"Yeah, they're really doing that... You'll find more of them in the bathrooms and bedrooms." He said, also looking at that same girl. "Good to know you're not one of those girls." He added with a friendly smile. Well, this Greg guy was really nice. "Now, that area over there..." He pointed an area near the dance floor. "The people who play drink games, in which if they lose, they have to take off their clothes. That's why they are only in underwear. It's funny if you don't lose; yet you will never be completely naked. So, it's not too dangerous if you want to play those games." He commented and you laughed softly.

"Maybe I could play. I love games." You commented while laughing and he laughed along with you.

"Well, yeah, just try to beware of the handy guys. If someone touches you, just punch their face; they won't punch you because it was a rule I established." Greg said and you looked at him surprised, raising your eyebrows.

"You did that? Why?" You asked curiously.

"Because I want you to have fun. Besides, it would drive me nuts if someone touches you." He said while winking and you chuckled nervously. What did he mean?

"Alright, that area over there. The dance floor. The safest area. There you will have real fun; the only problem is that you're gonna burn. It's really hot right there. And also, the handy guys are also there. But it's really cool to go there and shake your body." Greg commented while laughing and winking and you laughed.

"Well, I love dancing, so I have to go there." You answered while winking. Oh no, you shouldn't have winked. Now he was looking piercingly into your eyes with that seductive smirk.

"I'll take you there; but that's gonna be after I explain the types of guys and girls at every frat party. Ready to know about them?" He asked amused and you nodded energetically.

"Ready!" You answered with a huge grin.

"Good, let's start with the guys." He said and you nodded, very eager to hear about that. Then he pointed some random guy, sexy and extremely muscular and toned. "The meathead." Greg said and your frowned. The meathead? Really? "This is the gym head that decides to attend the gym as if it were class. He consumes copious amounts of protein, wears tank tops regardless of the temperature, and is certain to be the first person to remove his shirt off during the party." He explained and you laughed when the boy started to flirt with a girl, flexing his arm muscles. "Well, there you have your free demonstration." He commented while laughing.

"What a meathead, though! Look at those arms!" You joked while giggling. "Okay, what's next?" You asked enthusiastically. This was really entertaining.

"The Guido." He said while pointing a guy with blow out haircut, wearing tight zipper shirt, designer jeans, fuzzy kangol hat, tiny hoop earrings, fake gold chains, and shades. "This is the guy everyone hates, and he never ever gets laid. He takes far too long to get dressed, being far too concerned with his clothes matching and the arch of his eyebrows. You'll find him fist pumping and duck facing like there's no tomorrow. Yeah, like that." He said laughing when the guy started fist pumping in an exaggerated way in the middle of the dance floor.

"Isn't it a little bit racist?" You asked while frowning.

"Umm... No, I don't think so. Well, they like to be called like that. It's their own way to be and they feel comfortable, so that's cool, I guess." Greg answered while shrugging.

"Alright, if you say so." You replied while shrugging, even though you knew that probably they didn't like to be called like that. "What's next?"

"The preppy kid." He answered while pointing a guy who was very well dressed but who was sweating because he was wearing a waffle cardigan in the middle of the dance floor. "The kid looks like a cheap recreation of a Ralph Lauren ad, but is instead wearing J. Crew or Banana Republic. Boat shoes and khaki pants are a part of his daily uniform in the bar or in the classroom. But there is nothing cool about being over dressed in a hot and steamy basement, trust me." He said raising an eyebrow and you agreed when the guy lifted his arm and you could see his armpit sweated.

"Oh yeah... If only he could take off that cardigan." You commented and Greg laughed softly.

"Well, he won't do it. Next... The frat star. Picture Van Wilder, but nowhere near as cool." He said pointing a dude that was surrounded by attractive women and who was giving drinks to everyone.

"Aren't you a frat star?" You asked curiously and Greg looked at you abruptly.

"Not at all." He answered while raising his eyebrows and shaking his head.

"Why not? I mean, I thought you were." You responded while frowning.

"Well, you see, the frat star is usually the most popular guy in the room and is always peer pressuring people to drink. The most aggravating part about this pompous ass is he is extremely loud and is personally offended if he can't finish his beer faster than anyone else or win at beer pong. Do you see me doing that?" He asked while looking round as trying to show you that he wasn't pressuring anyone to drink and he wasn't playing that game of seeing who finish the beer in first place; so you shook your head. "Besides, most of the women are somehow attracted to him. I don't see any other girl around besides you, do you?" He asked with an amused smirk.

"I guess not. Wow, I didn't know that was the concept of a frat star. My mistake." You replied with another amused smile.

"That's alright, beautiful." He said with a sexy smile and you smiled back at him while taking the last sip of your beer. Damn, you were thirsty. "Now, the athlete." He said pointing a tall guy wearing a gingham shirt and side-stripe gym shorts, who was making out with two girls at the same time. "He's tallest guy in the room and has absolutely no fashion sense. All the white girls love this guy, looking for the forbidden fruit daddy told them not to go after. The athlete undeniably runs through women like a certain fellow in a Colorado hotel room, so the chances of him contracting an STD or impregnating someone are high." He commented while raising an eyebrow.

"Alright! I really have to be away from this guy. Getting pregnant it's not a cool option." You said jokingly, though it wasn't a joke.

"Totally!" He exclaimed while laughing. "That one... The creepy guy." He said while pointing a guy who was trying to touch a girl's boobs. "The weirdest guy in the room and also the most annoying. He tries to hit on every girl, and you will constantly keep hearing him say, 'All these girls want to fuck, bro!' They are lurkers simply praying to get lucky." He said while shaking his head.

"Wow, so creepy." You commented when you saw the same guy licking the girl's face.

"Yeah... I wonder why he doesn't realize that's not hot for a girl." Greg commented and you nodded in agreement. "Now, the cokeheads, also applicable to women." He said pointing a group of guys and girls who were in the 'junkie area'. "They are at the party, but not really at the party since they take frequent coke breaks in the bathroom. They will usually be with an entire posse coke heads as well, as these guys and girls all stick together. They enjoy horrible sex and stuffy noses." He said and then he frowned. "I'll suggest you not to go there." He recommended.

"Yeah, I'm not the kind of girl who does drugs; so I'm not interested." You responded. "Tell me what's next."

"The reckless guy who drank too much." He said pointing a guy who was wobbling around the room, as though he was lost, pushing some people for balance. "You will hear the word 'Bro' come out of his mouth a bit too often. He will be far too drunk for everyone and will break shit, try to fight and call girls sluts. Basically, the alpha asshole. Of course, he will deny his poor behavior in the morning, refusing to own up to his idiocy." He commented serious while frowning when the guy tried to throw a bottle in someone's head.

"Whoa! The guy..." You exclaimed alarmed, widening your eyes when you saw the guy breaking the bottle, about to hit someone with it.

"Shit!" He exclaimed nervously, and then he pulled out his phone and sent a text message. He also seemed to be alarmed. "Come on!" He exclaimed edgily. Then two huge guys walked to him and took him by his arms to walk him outside. "Well, he won't cause any harm now." Greg commented.

"What was that?" You asked frowning. That was terrible.

"A drunken guy. And those guys who walked him outside are two friends. Don't worry, the drunken will be okay and people in here will be safe." Greg said and you nodded silently, biting your lips. This party wasn't as cool as everybody said. "Wanna know the last type of guy?" He asked.

"Sure." You responded, then he pointed a dude who was in a corner, apparently he was in charge of music.

"The DJ." Greg said and you nodded. Yes, it was pretty obvious. "This is the guy who thinks he's the next Avicii, but is far from it. It's a frat party, so all anyone is looking to hear is some top 40 with some throwback. But that's pretty much it. Honestly, his shitty mixing will turn you off, even if you are extremely drunk." He commented and you laughed.

"So, those are all the types of guys?" You asked amused.

"Yep, that's all." He answered, smiling at you.

"And what type of guy are you, Greg?" You asked curiously, looking deeply into his eyes while biting your lower lip. He looked at you with his lips parted and raising eyebrows. Crap, did it sound flirty?

"Well... I'm the guy who organizes the parties and who is all the time checking if everything is in control; and when things get complicated as you saw with that drunken guy, I'm the one who's in charge to do something about to keep things cool. I guess I'm not a type of interesting guy. I'm more like the party pooper." He answered while shrugging and chuckling softly.

"That's very responsible! I don't think you aren't an interesting type of guy, just so you know." You replied with a friendly smile as he smiled back.

"Why, thanks, beautiful." He answered with a cheesy grin. Then he saw your empty plastic cup of beer, so he handed you his. "Take mine, you must be thirsty. And you can trust me because I've been drinking this beer, so it has nothing weird." He commented while winking.

"Oh, thank you a lot!" You exclaimed, quickly grabbing his plastic cup of beer to drink it. It seemed it wasn't enough for you, this place was really hot and you were really thirsty.

"You're very welcome." He responded friendly. "Now, wanna know about the types of girls?" He asked and you nodded energetically while still drinking his beer. "Okay, the DTF girl." He said pointing you a girl who was making out with a guy on the couch; she was touching him and it seemed they were about to have sex. "This girl is attention hungry, extremely drunk and horny, or has just gone through a bad breakup and is looking to spite her ex-boyfriend. She is DTF and went out with the intention to have a one night stand on this fine college evening."

"Yes, that totally looks like that." You commented while seeing how the girl started to give the guy a handjob.

"Then, the weedhead girl." He said pointing a girl who was laughing while smoking a joint. "It's the same than the cokeheads, only that in this case is with marijuana. Those girls are easy to lure them back to guys' bedrooms." He commented and you nodded. Why was she laughing so hard? "Then you have the girl that got way too drunk." He pointed a girl who was completely lost, also wobbling around like the guy, but less aggressive. "She is most likely on some sort of pill and has drunk too much cheap Vodka, so she is bordering on unconsciousness. Stumbling everywhere and exposing her sloppiness. Not sexy, but anyways guys take her to their bedroom just for the pipe game." He stated and you raised your eyebrows.

"Pipe game, eh?" You commented with a giggle. It was funny he didn't say the word 'fuck' or 'sex'.

"Yeah, if you know what I mean..." He responded while winking and laughing. "Okay, then you have the dream girl." He said and you frowned in confusion. He was pointing a very pretty girl who was beaming and dancing, nothing weird. "Most likely the senior that has an older boyfriend back home that's working in finance. She stands out because she is the hottest and can hold her composure. She's not impressed by your warm beer, topic of discussion, or your backwards hat. She can be stuck up or willing to have a good time. It truly depends on your swagger when you approach her." He said and you nodded, now understanding why she had nothing weird.

"Well... That's good, I guess?" You commented.

"Yeah, it's not so good for some dudes who want her in their bedroom." He responded and you nodded. "Now you also have the friend." He said pointing a girl who was chatting with a guy; over again, nothing weird. "Now, we all know that most guys and girls can't be just friends, so there is a high probability that the guy is friends with this girl because he is waiting for her to slip up one night to sleep with her."

"Umm... I'm not sure about it. I have lots of male friends and..." You started denying, thinking about your male friends, but then you stopped. Darren was you friend, yet you had something with him; Ian was your friend, yet he ended up being your boyfriend; Brian used you be your friend, yet you kissed him several times... Maybe Greg was right. "Never mind." You finished while frowning and Greg laughed.

"I can assume you experienced that." He replied amused and you giggled and nodded. "Don't worry; we all have experienced something like that before. Okay, then, in last place, you have the one who is eager to impress the brothers." He said pointing a very young girl who was flirting with the 'frat star'. "This girl is probably drunker than she planned on being when she and her friends cracked open that bottle of raspberry vodka in their dorm-room earlier. She will drink anything you hand her at an admirable clip. She will also comply with naked-lap rules in beer pong, even if you make them up mid-game." He stated. "And... I think that's all."

"So... In your opinion, what type of girl I am?" You asked intrigued, looking fixedly into his eyes, with an amused smirk.

"Oh!" He exclaimed while looking at your lips. You surely sounded flirty again. He looked into your eyes again and he smiled widely. "You're the prettiest and hottest girl at the party, not to mention the most charming and sympathetic, interesting and captivating. All in all, you're the girl everybody wants, both guys and girls." He answered and you burst out laughing as he frowned in confusion.

"You're kidding me!" You exclaimed while still laughing loudly. "There's no way I can be that type of girl, sorry to disappoint you, Greg."

"Why do you say that?" He questioned, still frowning.

"The girl you described... That's like a dreamy girl, the kind of girl that every girl wants to be. I'm not that dreamy girl; I'm the kind of girl who wants to be that kind of girl." You answered, still giggling.

"But you are that kind of dreamy girl, beautiful. There's a reason why guys can't take their eyes off you, why all the brothers wanted you to be at this party, and why the sisters want you to be part of the sorority. It's because you're significantly considered as the most coveted girl in University of Michigan." Greg stated and you parted your lips and raised your eyebrows in amazement, then you laughed out loud again.

"Am I the most coveted girl? That must be some sort of joke! I am not! No way!" You exclaimed in between giggles.

"Yes, you are. And it's a fact; you should check out our Facebook page, you'll see I'm telling you the truth. Practically everybody has chosen you." Greg stated and you kept laughing, yet he wasn't laughing, it seemed he was being serious.

"Then you must be crazy! Who would choose me? Come on!" You chuckled and Greg tilted his head, frowned and looked at you curiously.

"Why is that you can't see how beautiful you are? It seems as though you cannot admit the fact that you're totally gorgeous; like, for you being gorgeous is not something that characterizes you. I wonder why. Either you're very modest or you have low self-esteem. What is the reason, beautiful?" He asked very intrigued and you looked down, no longer laughing.

"Listen, I'm not gorgeous. I'm very flattered by what you said and it was very nice to hear; but I know I'm not gorgeous. I've always been the loser, the geek, the fat ass girl. That's what I truly am." You answered in an inconspicuous way, still looking down and biting your lips.

"People who made you believe that are either out of their mind or they envy you. You see, sometimes people are very envious and for that they make suffer other people by calling them terrible things, only for the purpose of feeling superior to others. Whatever those envious people say are not worth it to listen, because nothing good can come out from them. You should stop seeing yourself as other people told you how you look or how you are, to start seeing yourself in the way you truly look and are. And if I were you, I'd look myself in the mirror and I'd say 'Whoa! I'm so pretty'. But that is just my opinion and I don't wanna annoy you." Greg said and you looked at him bewildered, feeling thrilled by his words.

"Thank you, Greg." You said smiling kindly at him. "Maybe I should look in the mirror in a different way now."

"That would be great. Wait, I have an idea." He said and he pulled out his phone as you frowned, not understanding what he wanted to do. "Smile!" He exclaimed in a goofy way, so you giggled. He took you a picture with his phone. Then he handed you his phone. "Look at you. Now, do you believe me when I say you're gorgeous?" He asked with a wide smirk.

"I...I..." You mumbled while looking at your picture. You really didn't think so... "I don't know."

"Let me help you... Look at your face and notice how your face lights up when you're laughing in that cheerful way, notice the way your eyes seem brighter when you laugh, notice your perfect teeth, your perfect nose, your beautiful big eyes, the way you rock the short haircut..." He started saying and you couldn't help feeling flattered. He was being really nice. "Notice your... freckles? You have freckles!" He exclaimed and you chuckled.

"I do..." You assured.

"So tell me, what are the reasons not to be gorgeous? Because I can find none." He said looking piercingly into your eyes and you chuckled nervously.

"I... I really don't like to be complimented. It makes me feel uncomfortable." You admitted.

"You should not feel uncomfortable. It's not a bad thing being complimented; you should feel uncomfortable for bad things, not for something like this. Feeling ashamed or uncomfortable when someone tells you nice things is what the envious people want you to feel." Greg said and you looked down and thought about it. Maybe he was right. "Come on, let's go downstairs and let's dance and have fun, what do you say?" He asked when he noticed you were frowning.

"Yes, that would be great." You answered right away with a cheerful grin.

Greg took your hand, he took two more plastic cups of beer for each one, and then he led you to the dance floor. You actually wanted to go downstairs to see if you could find any of your friends, but you couldn't see them. Where could they be? This party wasn't what you expected. You thought you were going to have fun with Darren, February, Joey, May and Meredith; but they went separate ways as soon as you entered the house. Why would they say they wanted to hang out together if something like this would happen? You wished you could have come with another friend who would be with you to just have fun; but, right, you had no other friends besides them. Although you were with someone, you were feeling alone; you didn't know so much this Greg guy, so you couldn't have so much fun. Anyways, you tried to put your biggest smile and your best mood. Greg started dancing with you, yet he never tried to grope you and he did not do anything inappropriate; it seemed as if he really wanted you to have fun, just that.

"You're a freaking good dancer!" He yelled in your ear so you could hear him.

"Thank you! I love dancing. And you're a good dancer yourself, Greg!" You yelled back in his ear while laughing.

It was super hot, there was almost no space to move, there was a lot of people dancing, jumping, throwing their hands up, yelling and cheering; and you felt as though you were dying. You knew you were starting to sweat and you were very thirsty. One, two, three, four beers. You were starting to feel a bit dizzy and much more ebullient and happy. Now you were more uninhibited and you couldn't stop dancing and laughing. You were having real fun, finally. Five, six, seven beers. Your shy dance moves turned into wild dance moves; maybe a bit sloppy because of the alcohol, but mostly sexy.

"You shouldn't keep drinking, beautiful!" Greg said in your ear and you threw your arms on his shoulders, stepping closer.

"This is a party! Let's just have fun!" You exclaimed enthusiastically in his ear while laughing. You stepped closer and like this you started dancing with him, as he placed his hands on your waist.

"But remember what I told you!" He said in your ear, but you did not listen.

"Hey, people, want a drink?" A guy, the frat star, offered and you beamed widely and grabbed the drink, you were thirsty. You attempted to drink it, but Greg took it away from you.

"You won't drink this. Remember what I told you about accepting drinks that others offer? This drink has a GHB capsule." Greg warned and gave the drink to the frat star. "Do not dare to give her this kind of drink, Jason."

"Whoa! The overprotected girl? Right, the rules, we cannot touch her! Such a party pooper, Greg!" The frat star commented.

"Hey, I can handle that drink!" You exclaimed defiantly and took the drink again; but Greg took it away from you again.

"Not this drink, beautiful. Get out of here, Jason!" Greg said a bit upset.

"Fine, fine!" The frat star guy responded and he went away to offer that drink to other people.

"Hey, what's your problem? I'm not a teen! And I'm really thirsty!" You complained.

"Then we'll get other drinks, safe drinks." Greg said and you nodded.

Greg took your hand again and he led you to the area where the kegs were. He approached one of them and you waited for him to come with the drinks. But when you were waiting for him, you saw Meredith with the same guy she was when you arrived at the party. Joyfully and wobbling, you walked towards her.

"Meredith!" You yelled merrily, throwing your arms around her neck.

"Freckles!" She exclaimed laughing. "What the hell? It seems you're really in a party mood!" She commented while laughing.

"I am! This is so fun! And oh, hey cute boy!" You greeted the guy and the guy laughed and nodded.

"Oh, hey, cute girl." The guy said and then looked at Meredith frowning.

"This is my friend!" Meredith said to the guy. "Freckles, this is Carson!" She said.

"Here you are!" Greg suddenly exclaimed behind you.

You quickly walked towards him and took the plastic cup of beer he had for you. You drank it all in a matter of seconds as Greg, Meredith and Carson looked at you with eyes wide open.

"Let's go for another one!" You yelled excited.

"Oh, no, no way. You have to stop drinking, beautiful." Greg warned.

"What is a party without beer? Come on, Greg!" You insisted in a hyper way.

"How many beers has she drunk?" Meredith asked to Greg.

"I think that was her tenth." Greg answered.

"Come on! It's just beer, I've drunk stronger drinks! I can handle this! Let's have fun!" You exclaimed ecstatically.

"No, I don't think you should..." Greg started saying but you didn't listen to him anymore. You saw Joey and May in one corner, so you ran towards them.

"Look at my favorite people!" You yelled jubilant when you were near them. But you noticed something was wrong because they did not seem to be happy. "Why the long faces?"

"Freckles, this is not a good time." Joey responded softly as May crossed her arms above her chest, looked away, clenched her jaw and raised an eyebrow.

"But we're at a party! You should be drinking, dancing, smoking, and just doing everything to have fun! Come on, guys, this party totally rocks! You must be having fun!" You stimulated them.

You took their hands to pull them to the dance floor. Both of them raised their eyebrows in surprise, but both of them giggled when you started to make them dance. You were feeling hyper; you were having a really good time. Joey, May and you started dancing in the middle of the dance floor and they finally seemed to be having fun, so you felt accomplished. Eleven, twelve, thirteen beers.

"Beautiful, you really know how to slip away!" Greg suddenly said in your ear, behind you.

"Greg, come on, join us!" You yelled festively, taking his hand to pull him closer to where you, Joey and May were dancing. "These are my friends!" You told him.

"Yeah, I know, you came with them." He responded while chuckling.

"Hey you, kid! Gimme that drink!" You yelled to a random guy who looked at you as though he was excited because you talked to him.

"No! Hey, no, don't do it, Riley!" Greg demanded and the boy nodded and walked away. "Guys, you're her friends, right?"

"Yes, we are." Joey answered.

"Don't let her drink anything else. She has already drunk too much." Greg said and you frowned at his comment.

"But dude, this is a party! A frat party! Let her have fun! Let's go get shot glasses of tequila and pour it down our gullets!" May exclaimed festively and you cheered.

"Hey, no, you heard Greg. Freckles shouldn't drink more, May." Joey warned.

"Shut up, Joey, only because I decided to have fun doesn't mean that our argument is over." She said fiercely, looking at Joey. Then she looked at you and grinned widely. "Let's go get those shooting tequilas, Freckles!" May exclaimed excitedly and she took your hand.

"Beautiful, don't!" Greg yelled but you didn't listen.

You walked with May to the drinks area, holding hands. You couldn't walk in straight line and you were even dizzier, but you were having fun. When you arrived, May was the one who asked for the shooting tequilas and while you were waiting for her, you shifted your gaze to the dance floor and there you saw Darren and February. Your wide smile faded away automatically when you saw them making out in a very fierce and passionate way. February was wrapping her arms around his neck and Darren had a hand on her head and other hand on her butt. Suddenly you weren't feeling as ecstatic as before and you were suddenly feeling bad. You were puzzled and disturbed. They were really making out and you were seeing them. Darren never kissed you in that way. You looked around, you were alone.

"Do not let this ruin your mood. Keep your cool, everything is cool, you're in the middle of a party. You must have fun, do not do anything stupid. Darren is single, he's free, and he can be with the girl he wants. He doesn't belong to you." You repeated in your mind as you were looking at them.

You were trying hard to hold back your tears. You couldn't cry in the middle of a party. February and Darren... You should have guessed it since the first time you saw them together. They had something. What if she was his girlfriend? Why wouldn't Darren tell you about this? Right, he didn't owe you any explanation. But still, he should have told you. You kept staring at them and in a moment, Darren and February stopped kissing and they smiled in front of each other's mouths. Then Darren, accidentally, shifted his gaze right to where you were. When he noticed you were looking at him, his smile vanished, he dropped his jaw and widened his eyes; so then, February also looked at you direction and she had the same reaction than Darren. Then they looked into each other's eyes, February frowned and asked something and Darren answered, shaking his head.

"Freckles, come on! Let's drink this!" May suddenly yelled.

You kept staring at Darren and February in shock and when they looked at you again with a disturbed face, you looked away, frowned and bit your lips. Then you faked a bright smile and pretended to be in a party mood again. You walked towards May and took one shot glass of tequila.

"Let's do this shit!" You yelled enthusiastically and when May nodded in agreement and was about to drink it, you stopped her. "Hey, wait, May. I have a better idea!" You said with a mischievous smirk.

"What's on your mind, eh?" She asked very amused, looking fixedly into your eyes.

"Body shots!" You exclaimed in an exhilarated way.

"Oh, hell yeah!" She yelled also in an exhilarated way. "Let's go over that table. I'll take off my clothes, put salt on my stomach and the lime on my mouth. You drink it. Let's go make a little show, what do you say?" She proposed in a very excited way.

"That was what I had on mind! Come, let's get this shit done!" You exclaimed.

May and you walked towards the table holding hands and she stood up on the table. People who were around, looked at you both and they frowned in confusion. Then, when May took off her shirt, everybody started cheering in a very excited way, both guys and girls. Then May lay on the table and you put salt from under her breasts to her stomach and she put the lime on her mouth. It seemed as if everybody was there to look at you both, all of them with their phones and cameras.

"Body shot! Body shot! Body shot!" People started yelling in a hyper way.

"Take a look of this, brothers and sisters! This is a real body shot!" You yelled at the sudden audience and all of them cheered in a fervent way.

You walked towards May, you leaned over and you started licking the salt from her stomach to her breasts in a very slow and sensual way, looking straight into her eye as she was looking at you with a mischievous smirk. After you licked the salt, you shot the tequila down in one gulp. Oh, holy shit! That burnt! It was clearly cheap tequila that tasted more like rubbing alcohol. Anyways, you leaned over to suck on the lime wedge that was on May's mouth. The acidity of the lime didn't taste as sharp after the alcohol. While you were sucking it, May spitted out the lime, placed a hand on the back of your head, pulled you to her, and began to kiss you. What the fuck? She sat on the table and began to kiss you wildly. Everybody was cheering as if they all were really aroused by seeing how two girls were making out on a table in front of everybody. Right! That was what May wanted! To be the center of attention. So, why not? You also wanted that, to forget what you saw minutes ago when February and Darren were making out. Besides, this was a new experience and college was for that, to acquire new experiences. You got on the table, sat on May's lap, placed a hand on the back of her head and started kissing her even in a wilder way. People started screaming in a very fervent way. Then May and you stopped kissing and you both stood up on the table and held hands. You looked into each other's eyes with wide grins and you nodded.

"Best party ever!" You screamed very loudly, throwing your hands up and everybody did exactly the same than you while cheering.

In the middle of the crowd, you saw Darren holding hands with February, looking at you serious, frowning and shaking his head as if he was disgruntled for what you recently did. Well, screw that! You didn't look at him that way when you saw him making out with February, so he should do the same. This was a whale of a party and you were going to enjoy it, more now that you were the center of attention, as though you were the life and soul of the party. You and May jumped out the table and you both went to the dance floor to start dancing in a very sexy way, as everybody started doing exactly the same than you. A lot of guys touched your boobs and pinched your ass while you were dancing, but you didn't care, you were having such a good time.

"Hey, hot ladies! Wanna drink this Jungle Juice?" The frat star asked, handing you a plastic cup of a weird drink.

"Jungle Juice? That sounds quite interesting! Gimme it!" You exclaimed euphorically and took the plastic cup.

When you drank it, it burnt your throat. That was a super potent drink, yet you took five more sips of it, then you handed it to May. Judging by May's face, the drink also burnt her throat and, unlike you, she didn't drink more of it. Alright, now you were truly feeling dizzy and your movements were very sloppy. May handed the plastic cup to you and you took another sip. Hot damn! What was this drink?

"Beautiful, what the hell are you doing with that drink?" Greg suddenly asked in a worried way. Oh no, that guy was really trying to ruin your amusement or what?

"This tastes so damn good!" You lied while taking another sip. Greg quickly grabbed the plastic cup.

"I told you not to drink this by any means! This is the alcoholic punch that lives in a bucket, remember? Damn, how much of it have you drunk?" He asked concerned, putting the plastic cup aside.

"Just... Almost all of it! But see? I'm totally fine! This is the best party ever! Congratulations on this party!" You exclaimed loudly but the guy kept looking at you worried. "Hey, people!" You yelled, looking all around as everybody stood in a round around you. "Let's all scream yay for this guy who threw this blowout party!" You yelled.

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" Everybody yelled while fist pumping.

Then you turned to look at him, he was looking at all the people frowning, as if he wasn't contented. That didn't seem good. You stepped closer to him, placed a hand on the back of his head, turned his face to make him look at you and you pulled him into a deep kiss. The guy got strained because of the surprise but you kept kissing him as everybody started cheering. Greg suddenly pushed you softly to look at you frowning.

"You're not okay, beautiful." He stated and you frowned.

"What? Don't tell me you didn't like that kiss." You flirted while winking at him in a sensual way. "We can go further than that." You suggested while biting your lips in an insinuating way.

"We won't." He answered firmly and you raised your eyebrows in amazement.

"I thought you thought I was gorgeous." You questioned while frowning.

"And you are. But you're drunk and you will regret all of this in the morning. And I want to really get to know you; I don't want you for a one night stand." He answered.

"Hey, bro! We have a problem, you must come immediately." Some dude said alarmed.

"I really can't go right now, Parker. Cannot you handle that problem?" Greg asked.

"No, really, bro! There's a brawl and if we don't fix that the cops are gonna show up, bro!" Parker exclaimed alarmed. Cops? Shit.

"Oh, fuck!" Greg exclaimed annoyed. "I can't leave her alone... Damn shit! Umm... Beautiful, please, do not accept any other drink and go find your friends, they're gonna take care of you." Greg asked looking at you and you nodded, so he went away.

Yeah, sure, your friends were going to take care of you; particularly Darren who was making out with February with no shame. You looked around to try to find May who was the one who was with you; but she was again with Joey and they seemed to be yelling at each other. You looked around, this time to try to find Meredith, but she disappeared with the guy she was with. Well, it seemed you were alone now. To avoid this awkward situation of being alone, you went for a drink. You asked a random guy to hand you a drink and when you were waiting for it, you noticed someone stood next to you. You turned your face and you saw Darren, alone.

"What are you doing, Freckles?" He questioned.

"Getting a drink. I'm thirsty." You answered curtly, looking how the random guy was preparing your drink.

"You shouldn't drink, you're drunk, Freckles." Darren stated and you let out a bitter giggle.

"This is a party, so don't be such a party pooper, Darren. Why don't you go find February?" You asked, now looking at him and raising an eyebrow. "You seemed to be having fun there."

"Freckles..." Darren sighed. "I wanted to tell you about that but I didn't have the chance..."

"You don't owe me any explanation, Darren! We're nothing." You interrupted him and he looked at you sadly, biting his lip. "I'm glad you're with February. She's a cool girl, very nice and kind." You said grinning.

"Freckles…" Darren said sighing, looking down.

"What, Darren?" You asked while looking at him, playing fool.

"I saw your face when you saw us." He stated and you looked away and bit your lips. Why your drink wasn't ready yet?

"I didn't know that you guys had something. So, naturally, I was just surprised, Darren." You answered trying to sound indifferent.

"I really don't want this to screw up our friendship, Freckles." Darren commented and you looked at him and frowned.

"And why would this screw up our friendship? Come on, Darren! It's not as if you have done something terrible! Actually, this is something good, you are with someone and you seem to be happy; so that makes me happy. Why would you think that something like this could ruin our friendship? That would be ridiculous!" You exclaimed trying to sound as cheerful as possible, with a big smirk.

"Are you telling me the truth? Do you swear this won't change anything between us?" He asked looking deeply into your eyes. You remained looking at him for a long time in silence, and then you gulped.

"I'm telling you the truth, Darren." You lied with such conviction that it sounded real. Yes, definitely you were turning into a big liar and that sucked. "I swear that this won't change anything between us. Or maybe yes… I would be able to see you happy with a girl who is worth of your love, so that's cool!" You exclaimed with a bright smirk, even if deep down your heart was breaking into thousands of pieces. This was the ultimately end of all you have ever had with Darren, your teenage dream.

"Thank you, Freckles. I knew you'd understand." Darren responded with a bright smile and you smiled back, raising your eyebrows and again trying to hold back your tears. That was hard to do. "What about if we have this dance?"

"Umm... I... I don't know." You answered nervously. "It could be fun, but we have to..."

"Darren, here you are! I've been looking for you! I want to dance this song, it's my favorite!" February suddenly interrupted you. You automatically looked down and bit your lips. Yeah, there was no way you could ever have a chance with Darren again. "Sweetie! How are you? I saw you were..." February started saying while looking at you worried.

"I'm totally great." You interrupted her with a huge and fake grin. You glanced at Darren; he was looking down while holding February's hand. "Maybe another time, Darren." You commented as February frowned in confusion and Darren nodded. "Congratulations on your new relationship, guys!" You exclaimed as joyful as you could while deep down you were like dying. February smiled widely and she kissed Darren's cheek. "I need to go to the bathroom, so if you excuse me..." You said trying to control your choked voice.

You turned around and walked away before they could say something. You had no idea where the bathroom was, but you walked away. Instead going to the bathroom, you sat on one of the couches, where people were making out and some of them having sex. You tried not to look at them and think about something else. Incredible how a little thing could change your mood. Some guys tried to approach you, but you only had to shot them a withering look to make them go away.

"When the night sucks, all you can do is to eat something sweet to cheer up." A guy suddenly said with a friendly smile. You looked at him and noticed he was holding a tray with brownies.

"Thank you, I'm starving." You said while taking one brownie. When you ate a bite, you raised your eyebrows in surprise. "This is freaking delicious!" You exclaimed and the guy beamed widely.

"I told you! There's nothing that a sweet brownie can't do. Take all you want." The guy offered and you smiled at him.

"All I want?" You asked while raising an eyebrow.

"All you want, only because you happen to be the most beautiful girl at the party." The guy responded.

"Can I take all of them?" You asked seeing the seven brownies that were left. The guy laughed.

"Sure you can! I have more." He replied while shrugging.

"Thank you, you're so nice!" You said grinning cheerfully.

Right after, the guy left and you ate six brownies in a matter of minutes. They were the most delicious brownies you've ever tasted and they were kind of addictive. Before you could eat the last brownie, you started to feel weird, super weird. You started feeling euphoria and anxiety; you started having feelings of well-being and relaxation, forgetting the bad moment you recently experienced. And you also started feeling your mouth dry, your appetite increased, you were thirsty and you began to feel a greater enjoyment of food taste and aroma. You started looking around and while you were looking at people and things, you started thinking about random and magical things, you couldn't help it. Everything seemed to be in slow motion and you could appreciate more the sound of music and laughter. After a while, you began to see altered body images and you began to have auditory and visual illusions. Then you started laughing spontaneously, without a particular reason; everything just seemed so funny and you couldn't control your laughter; and you also started feeling horny, very horny. You tried to stand up and you noticed your legs were like wobbling, you felt dizzy and for a moment you lost your balance. Whoa! What the hell was happening to you? All of this was super weird. Instead of worrying, you started laughing. Then you paid full attention to the music and the music began like penetrating your veins, as though the music got inside you and you began to imagine a series of situations inspired by the music; as if you were now in another place, even in another period; you were looking around and you were seeing how the real place where you were was transforming in another place, everything in slow motion while your mind seemed to be thinking at full speed random things that for you, in that moment, felt as if suddenly you were getting the true and real answers for every single thing of the life of human beings. You had the need of making friends and bonding with new people, so you started chattering with random people about the new discoveries you recently found out, feeling like a real and great philosopher; yet you couldn't pay attention to what they were saying because you were amazed by the uncoordinated movement of their mouths and the sound of their words; which it was funnier than normal, so you started laughing; you wondered where the laughter comes from and what causes it.

"It's so curious." You thought "How many different types of laughter exist. Why everybody has different types of laughter? It's cool... How the different sounds of laughter are like a symphony, like a concert. Each sound... all of them combined... They create music. They all are part of a symphony. We constantly live with music in our ears. Wow. This is so cool."

You couldn't stay quiet, you had to tell this discovery to everybody, they needed to know. You talked to a lot of people in a matter of seconds, yet you weren't sure if they were seconds, minutes or hours; you simply didn't know so you laughed. Everything seemed to be more interesting than normal and everything amazed you. You were feeling mesmerized and amazed by the way you were feeling, as though the music was taking you to different places, by the way your body seemed to be so light that it felt as if you were floating; this was what it was like to feel the music inside, you thought. And you were happy, truly happy and euphoric. What was this you were feeling? Just the simple fact of not knowing made you burst out laughing. When you were eating your last brownie, you saw Greg walking towards you and when he approached you, he looked at you terrified.

"What the hell are you doing with that?" He asked worried and quickly took your brownie. You looked at him and started laughing. Why, you couldn't stop laughing.

"You're so funny! I can... Whoa! I can see all your facial expressions in slow motion! This is so cool!" You giggled and you even started shedding tears because of the laughter.

"Who gave you this and why were you eating this?" He asked but you just laughed.

"I don't know! It was a random guy and they are freaking delicious! Can you give me my brownie? I'm really hungry!" You answered while chuckling.

"Damn shit! How many of these have you eaten?" He asked and you shrugged and giggled.

"Your mouth is so big and oh gosh! I think I can see tiny people living in there! You have a whole world in your mouth!" You thought randomly and laughed.

"Answer me! How many of these have you eaten?" He repeated and you started imitating the movements of his mouth while chucking.

"Six! And I want to eat my last brownie!" You answered.

"Six? What the fuck? Oh, no!" Greg exclaimed in an exaggerated way and you raised your eyebrows in amazement when he frowned. His eyebrows were moving in a weird way. "Do you have any idea of what this is?" He asked and you nodded with a huge smirk.

"Fucking delicious brownies with a super power to make you feel happy! I am the happiest girl alive!" You yelled in an exultant way, and then you stepped closer to him and started to rub your hands all over his body. You were super horny and he was super attractive. "Maybe we could share this happiness... What if we go to your bedroom, eh?" You asked in a seductive way.

"No!" He refused strongly. "Beautiful, these are weed brownies! I can't believe you ate six! Six, goddammit!" He exclaimed altered and you raised your eyebrows and widened your eyes.

"Am I high?" You asked and Greg just looked at you and huffed. "I am high! This is what it feels like to be high! I'm high! I can fly!" You screamed exuberantly while jumping and feeling dizzy. You lost your balance and you wobbled, but Greg caught you on time.

"Beautiful, this is not good!" He exclaimed in frustration but you just laughed. "It takes about 7 hours for the effect to disappear." He said and you giggled.

"That's cool! I'll be extremely happy for 7 hours! How cool is that?" You replied with a bright and goofy smile.

"No, it's not cool." He stated. "Let's go find your friends. The best will be if you return to your dorm room." He said and you just giggled and nodded.

Greg started walking with you while wrapping an arm around your waist to help you walk and maintain your balance. You couldn't stop looking all around, feeling very impressed even with the most insignificant things. The first people Greg found were Joey and May who were still yelling at each other.

"Guys, sorry to interrupt..." Greg started saying and Joey and May looked abruptly at him, both of them annoyed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why so serious?" You asked while laughing. "Is this a masquerade of serious people? You should eat the magical brownie and see everything colorful, bright and awesome! Color awesome!" You exclaimed while giggling uncontrollably; color awesome, that was hilarious. They looked at you with eyes wide open and frowning, as if you were crazy. "You'll be so high that you'll fly!" You said while jumping and Greg had to hold you not to fall.

"What's wrong with her?" May asked while frowning.

"Freckles? Your eyes are reddened. What? Why are you laughing?" Joey asked and you laughed even louder.

"I can swear I saw an alien inhabiting in your eye!" You exclaimed and gasped, stepping closer to take a better look of his eyes, while parting your lips because of your wonderment.

"What the hell, man?" Joey asked while stepping back.

When he stepped back, you almost fell because you were about to drop your whole weight on Joey's body; so he quickly held you and you wrapped your arms around him, resting your head on his chest, laughing.

"Thank you for saving me, Joey! That pink and fluffy monster wanted to haunt me! You're the best friend!" You exclaimed while closing your eyes.

When you closed your eyes, everything started spinning at full speed and you felt extremely dizzy, so you started panicking. When you started panicking, you started gasping. Joey began to caress your hair and you felt less panicked.

"Tell that pink and fluffy monster to go away!" You exclaimed, suddenly feeling super depressed.

"What?" Joey asked in confusion, yet he kept stroking your hair. "Oh! Now I get it! She's totally blown out. Man, how the hell did it happen?" Joey asked.

"I don't know. All she said is that a random guy gave her seven weed brownies. And of course she thought they were simple brownies." Greg answered and you started laughing again.

"I'm high as a kite!" You exclaimed while laughing out loud. "I want some munchies!"

"Is she really on the choongs? I didn't know she was a pot-head." May commented.

"Shut up, May! Haven't you heard what Greg said? She didn't know those were weeds brownies." Joey answered back in a rude way; yet stroking your hair in a smooth way.

"Yeah, sure! Poor little thing, she's so stoned." May voiced.

"Can I get some munchies?" You asked again.

"I think she should return to her dorm-room." Greg said.

"Yeah, that would be the best." Joey said.

"You won't leave with her, Richter! We have to finish an argument!" May voiced in anger.

"What the fuck, May? Cannot you see that this is more important than your stupid assumptions? I won't leave my friend like this alone." Joey answered back, holding you in his arms.

"Joey, don't yell at her. You're gonna break her heart and that's not nice. It's not nice for a girl when a guy breaks your heart. It feels devastating." You asked softly and feeling depressed again, resting your chin on his chest and looking into his eyes. Joey looked down to look into your eyes and he caressed your cheek.

"Alright, I won't do it." He replied and you smiled at him.

"Can I get some munchies now?" You asked.

"I'll get some." Greg said and you grinned, resting your head on Joey's chest again, closing your eyes.

"Freckles, let's go take you somewhere you can sit." Joey said and you nodded; yet you didn't move.

You felt as if you weren't in control of your body and you felt as if you have forgotten how to walk. You couldn't walk. What was wrong? You couldn't walk because you knew you were going to fall. What was happening? You started to panic and gasp again.

"Freckles, chill out!" Joey exclaimed and you shook your head and gasped again. Then he lifted you in his arms. "I'll take you to the couch."

"You must be kidding! Lifting her in your arms? You asshole." May exclaimed rudely.

"Get lost, May." Joey answered back and he took you to the couches. He forced you to sit and you started looking around, seeing how everything was spinning. Joey crouched in front of you. "Listen, I'll find the way to take you to your dorm room, okay? I want you to stay here. Can you do that?" He asked looking deeply into your eyes.

"Affirmative." You answered and you chuckled. Joey nodded and pulled out his phone.

"Hey, buddy! We have a problem... It's about Freckles. She... She's not doing well; she consumed a lot of alcohol and she... Well, she did drugs. Hey, calm down, she is safe. No, she didn't mean to do drugs, but well... Yes, she's fine. I... Can you really come? Because I can't leave, I have another problem with a chick. Bro, really, she's with me and... Oh, shit!" Joey exclaimed alarmed when he saw what you were doing. "Please, come quickly, bro!"

You didn't know why, but while Joey was talking to someone on the phone; you felt very attracted to a group of people who were inhaling some kind of white thing on a table. You wanted to see what it was and you wanted to do it as well. You asked those people if you could do it and then you asked how you were supposed to smell that white things. When they explained, they gave you a clean tube, you leaned over, placed the one end of the tube to your nose and the other to the beginning of the line and you inhaled just strongly enough to draw the powder into your nostril. When you were about to snort it again, Joey took you by your arm and looked at you terrified.

"What are you doing, Freckles? What's wrong with you?" Joey asked very worried, placing both of his hands on your shoulders.

"I just wanted to know what that was!" You answered and Joey grumbled.

"That's not good, Freckles! Look at you, this is not you! This is serious shit, Freckles!" Joey yelled alarmed as you widened your eyes.

Suddenly you started feeling an increasing sense of energy and alertness, an extremely elevated mood and a feeling of supremacy and invincibility. You started feeling euphoric again.

"I'm totally fine! Look at me, Joey! No one can beat me down!" You yelled in a very euphoric way. "Let's go dance and rock this party!" You yelled again, running to the dance floor. "Look at me, people!" You yelled and everybody looked at you as you started dancing in a wild way.

"Freckles, for fuck's sake!" Joey yelled and took you by the arm. "Let's go outside!"

"Of course not! I won't miss the party!" You refused strongly and you walked towards a random guy to dance with him.

"Freckles!" Joey yelled.

"Come here, Joey! We have to talk!" May suddenly demanded and took Joey away.

You started dancing with this guy you didn't know, you started throwing your hands up and you started jumping, feeling completely energetic. You were having the time of your life. The guy was getting closer, and then he placed his hands on your ass; yet you let him doing so. You were ecstatic.

"Girls! Look who's here!" Suddenly a girl squealed and everybody turned to see her. "It's Brian Clerk!" The girl squealed in a very excited way.

Did she say... Brian Clerk? Oh, fuck, no. You turned abruptly to look at the front door. Brian was indeed standing in the front door, looking everywhere. What the hell was he doing here? He wasn't supposed to be here, goddammit. Right! Joey called him; he was the 'bro' with whom he was talking on the phone. Shit, no! Fortunately, all the girls ran towards Brian, so he couldn't see you.

"Aren't you gonna run to the hottest guy?" The guy who was dancing with you asked.

"Not at all, the guy is an asshole. Let's keep dancing...Maybe in a more private place?" You asked and the guy looked at you lustfully.

"Hell yeah." The guy answered.

While you were walking away with that random dude, you turned your face to look at Brian. Absolutely all the girls were touching him and he seemed to be annoyed by this. He was trying to escape from all of those girls. Then you saw a girl touching his crotch.

"Don't make me angry." You heard Brian saying.

"Leave him alone, you idiots!" Amber suddenly yelled, apparently upset. Of course after this all the girls stepped away from Brian.

Now you hurried to go away from where you were because Brian was going to find you. When you finally managed to arrive to the backyard, a lot of guys surrounded you, even the guy who was with you. What was happening? Why were they surrounding you? Why were they looking at you in that creepy way? They started getting closer and you didn't know where to go; this didn't look nice. What did they want? Two of them took you by your arms, so you couldn't move.

"I've heard you're drunk and high. How interesting is that, eh?" The frat star suddenly said with a wicked smirk. "We have the hottest girl here helpless, drunk and high. What can we do, bros?"

"Leave me alone or I'm gonna kick your balls, you moron." You stated defiantly and all the guys burst out laughing.

"And how would you do that, eh? You're not in control of your body, slut." The frat star mocked.

Where was Joey? Or Greg? Or Darren? Or even Brian? None of them was around and you were scared. Some dudes walked closer and they started touching you; one of them was trying to rip your dress off. You tried to slip away, but the guys who were holding you were holding you too tightly that you couldn't move. You attempted to scream, but they covered your mouth. The frat star walked to you with a wicked smirk and he unzipped his jeans as other guy slid your underwear down to your knees. You tried to scream again but you couldn't, you were freaking out. The frat star was now in front of you and he placed both of his hands on your ass underneath your dress and he pulled you to him. He started rubbing his dick on your clitoris and you tried to wriggle out, but you couldn't move. You started crying because of the fear. You closed your eyes, resigned. The guy was going to rape you. But suddenly you felt how someone pulled the frat star away.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" You heard Brian's voice yelling rabidly.

You opened your eyes and you saw how Brian was tugging the frat star's shirt, looking at him furiously. The frat star was now scared. All the other guys surrounded Brian in a threateningly way; yet Brian kept tugging the frat star's shirt.

"If you don't wanna be hurt, you better get the fuck out of here!" Brian yelled in anger at all the guys who were surrounding him.

However, the guys didn't move. Then you noticed they had knives and broken glass bottles. Those guys were going to kill Brian. You tried to scream and warn him, but you couldn't; you tried to slip away, but you still couldn't move. The guys walked closer to Brian and Brian leered at them. He noticed what they had.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Brian yelled again, still sounding stern and severe.

"You get the fuck out of here or my bros are gonna kill you, queer." The frat star answered with a wicked laugh.

"Do you think I'm afraid of you, dickhead?" Brian asked rudely.

"You should. Bros, show him what you have!" The frat star yelled.

You closed your eyes not see because those dudes were running towards Brian with their knives and broken glass bottles. You heard yells of anger and yells of pain, yet you couldn't tell who was yelling. What if they were killing Brian? No matter what you could be thinking about Brian; he was the one who showed up to save you from that frat star. Those guys couldn't kill him. You opened your eyes and you regretted right away. You saw Brian hitting four guys at the same time, but those dudes already injured him way too much. Brian was bleeding. His nose was bleeding, he had the forehead and cheek cut, and he even had a knife stabbed on his left arm. They were going to kill him. They were now six boys against Brian. And Brian at this point was weak, so one of the guys knocked him down and Brian fell on the ground. Oh, no, crap.

"What's going on here?" You heard Greg's yell. You looked at him.

"Leave him alone, you bastards!" You heard Amber's yell, she was standing next to Greg and she was followed by all the girls.

"If you don't go right now, I'll call the cops." Greg threatened, pulling out his phone.

Slowly, all the dudes started to run away, even the guys who were holding you. As soon as they let you go, you ran towards Brian, who was laying on the ground. You kneeled next to him and you placed a hand on the back of his head to lift it. Then you hugged him tightly.

"Did they hurt you? Are you okay, Sunny?" He asked weakly and you started to cry.

"I'm fine, thank you, thank you so much." You answered with teary voice, still crying. Then you parted the hug, placed both of your hands on his cheeks and looked at him straight in his eye. "How are you, Brian? Are you okay? Tell me you're okay!" You exclaimed edgily, shedding tears.

"I'm okay, it was nothing, just a few cuts, but it is okay." Brian answered as he sat on the ground. "Come here, calm down." Brian said softly while hugging you. "Calm down, Sunny, you're fine and that's all that matters." Brian whispered fondly in your ear and you broke into tears.

"Hey, man, are you okay?" Greg suddenly asked and both of you looked at him.

"I'm fine, really." Brian said and he attempted to stand up; so you stood up before him and you took his hand to help him stand up. "I'm good, really. Just a few cuts; nothing to worry about." Brian confirmed and then he looked at you in a sad way. "Let's go back to our room, Sunny."

"Do you guys live together?" Amber suddenly asked and you both nodded. Then Amber looked at you and looked at Brian again. "Greg told me she's drunk too much and she ate weed brownies. Take her to your room and let her rest. In the morning she'll feel sick, give her orange juice for Vitamin C and also make her drink plenty of water, make her eat two bagels of bread and bananas, and give her an ibuprofen. With that she'll be okay." Amber suggested and Brian just nodded, looking down.

"Yeah, thank you. Well, I think we should go." Brian said and they nodded.

Brian and you left the fraternity house and you returned to your dorm room, silently. He didn't speak during all the way to your room and neither did you. The only moment in which Brian spoke was when he offered you his green and white striped pullover. You were feeling bad for all that happened since the beginning. You shouldn't have attended that party; it was the worst decision you could have ever made; nothing went as you expected. You were feeling more down than ever, maybe it was the depressing effect of the drugs; Greg told you it lasted like 7 hours. What have you done? Why have you done drugs? Yes, you didn't know those were weed brownies; but you did cocaine. Why? What was wrong with you? You were out of yourself and you never regretted something more than this. When you arrived to the dorm room, Brian walked straight to the bathroom, followed by Sawyer. You lay down on the couch and closed your eyes. Everything was spinning and you were feeling bad. You only wanted to forget all that happened in this terrible night. When you heard steps coming to where you were, you opened your eyes. You saw Brian with band-aids on his face sitting on the floor, right next to you. He was looking deeply into your eyes in a distressed way.

"Why have you done this, Sunny?" He asked in a whisper and you frowned. It was hard to understand what he was trying to say while your head was aching and everything was spinning.

"What?" You asked.

"I warned you about the drinks. I told you not to drink anything that a stranger hands you. And I told you not to accept anything you don't know. And you did both things. Why have you done that?" Brian asked.

"Argh, Brian! I was thirsty and I just drank the first thing I saw; and the guy told me it was Jungle Juice; he said juice; how would I imagine that the Jungle Juice drink was a potent alcoholic drink?" You answered feeling more irritated than you should. Maybe it was another effect of the drugs, feeling irritated and behaving aggressively. "And I did not accept anything I didn't know! What I saw were simple brownies and I was hungry! How would I know that the brownies had weed?" You asked moody.

"How do you explain the cocaine?" Brian asked looking fixedly into your eyes.

"By that time I was under the influence of marijuana and I didn't know what that white thing was. I just wanted to figure it out." You answered harshly.

"Cocaine is not something you can consume for the sole purpose of having fun or looking badass. Cocaine is a brutal and cunning enemy. Cocaine kills people, Sunny." Brian said in an afflicted way, frowning. "You know what happened to my mother and her drug addiction; they not only destroyed her but also all the people who loved her. You knew that, Sunny."

"I'm not a gross junkie as your mother was." You said aggressively. Damn, you couldn't control it. What was wrong with you? You looked at Brian and he was looking at you sorrowful with his lips parted.

"Right." Brian said before looking down. "I should have gone with you and none of this would have happened. But it happened and you should have called me, Sunny. I told you to call me! Those guys out there... I knew what they wanted to do to you. And if Joey hadn't called me, I'd have never arrived there to kick them out. Joey had to call me, Sunny! Do you have a freaking idea of how worried I was when I got his call telling me that you were drunk and drugged and I should hurry up to arrive at the party? And then when I arrived at the party I couldn't find you and that Greg guy that I didn't know told me that you were right there and you weren't fine but you weren't there. I didn't know where you were! And while I was trying to find you I heard a lot of people talking about all the things you've done; things that you wouldn't have done if you just had called me. Why didn't you call me? You know I'd have gone there for you; but it seems that lately you don't want me around. Is there something I'm doing wrong or something that I did or said that hurt you or made you mad?" Brian scolded you and you grumbled.

"I didn't call you because I didn't want to see you, okay? That's why! I didn't want to see your annoying face!" You yelled in a rude and aggressive way as Brian raised his eyebrows and parted his lips in astonishment. "You're like one of those excessively possessive, jealous, controlling and insufferable dad or boyfriend who is calling me every damn hour to inquire about how I am, where I am or I was, what I'm doing or not, with whom I am or I was. Your incessant and irritating check-up calls are annoying and irrational. You're like a fucking keeper; you're on high guard all the fucking time! And that makes you be a paranoid freak! What do you want? Keep me locked in a cage to make yourself feel better? And we're nothing! Nothing at all! Yet you act like those fucking controlling boyfriends! And all you do is just suffocating! You are suffocating! And yes, maybe you're a controlling freak because you're afraid to be abandoned, so you need to be possessive with someone to feel like you are their owner or shit like that. But you know? That is why people always abandon you, because you suffocate them and it's exasperating!" You yelled your lungs out in a very aggressive and nasty way.

You started to gasp and when you looked at Brian you felt terrible and awful. Brian was looking fixedly into your eyes and he was shocked and puzzled. He was pouting and his lips were quivering, he had his eyebrows pointing downwards, and his forehead skin was pouching in the middle. But the most heartbreaking thing to see was his eyes. His green eyes were teary, yet he wasn't shedding any single tear; his eyes reflected deep grief and sorrow. After a while, he looked down. His lips were still trembling, yet he didn't shed tears. A profound and abysmal silence invaded the room. He was heartbroken. You crossed the line this time. How could you have said such hideous things? How could you have brought back the abandonment topic after all he had to suffer in his life because of it? How could you have said that he was abandoned because of his entire fault? What was wrong with you? Why were you being so cruel and brutal? You were feeling bad, really bad. You looked at Brian again and you noticed how a tear was streaming down his face slowly as he was still looking down, pouting with trembling lips and silent, profoundly silent. How could you apologize now? Words wouldn't be enough this time.

"I'm so sorry, Brian; I'm sorry, I didn't want… I'm sorry!" You mumbled with trembling voice as tears began to form in the corner of your eyes.

Brian remained silent and he did not move. You didn't know what to do to show him how sorry you were, you didn't know how to take your words back. And the silence was killing you. After a while, he wiped away the tear that was falling down his face and he breathed out.

"You know what?" Brian whispered with teary voice. You held your breath. Brian cleared his throat and then looked straight in your eye. His green eyes still reflected grief but now it seemed as if they were empty. "Forget it. Forget everything." He voiced slowly, his voice sounding husky.

He was now frowning slightly, yet he still had that sorrowful facial expression. Probably those words were more hurtful than hearing him insulting you. Then his green eyes filled with tears and his lips started trembling again. He gulped and tried to speak again, but all you could hear was his mouth breathing. He cleared his throat once more.

"I just wanted to know what I'm doing wrong for you to be so mad at me; I wanted to know so that I could change that to make you feel good as before." Brian said with choked voice and teary eyes. Then he gulped and held back his tears. He looked away and bit his lips for a while, and then looked into your eyes again. "But you know? Forget it. You just told me. And thanks, because I now know not only why you've been acting weird around me, but I also know why people always walk away from me and abandon me, just as my mother and all the people I know have done." Brian articulated with teary voice, finally breaking into tears while looking into your eyes.

He began to sniffle and wail while sobbing, biting strongly his trembling lips. That hurt. It hurt you what he said but it hurt you most the way he was crying because of something cruel you said. You couldn't help feeling terrible, so you started to shed some tears while Brian was looking down again, apparently struggling to stop crying.

"Brian, please, I didn't mean that." You stammered with cracked voice; not knowing what you could say or do to relieve his emotional pain.

Brian closed his eyes and frowned; and bit his lower lip so strongly that it started to bleed. He was still weeping but he was trying to stop the tears. Still with his eyes closed, he wiped away his tears and breathed out. Then he opened his eyes, yet he avoided your gaze. He cleared his throat once again.

"I said forget it." Brian stated with throaty but firm voice, still looking away. He was no longer shedding tears, but you could tell he was heartbroken. "And don't worry; I no longer will suffocate you with those irritating check-up calls." He said in a gloomy way, still looking away, now standing up. He was about to walk away, but you stood up and took his hand to stop him.

"I just said those things because I was mad and I wasn't even aware of what I was saying." You admitted desperately.

You were trying to look into his eyes, but it was hard because he really didn't want to see you. He, for the first time since you became friends, let out your hand. It hurt you deeply. You were the one who used to let out his hand when you were upset; but he never did such a thing. However, he didn't move, he remained there, still, looking away.

"Well, it turns out that what people say when they're angry are the things that people really think, things that people accumulated and never dared to say." He stated hoarsely and you shook your head, but he wasn't seeing. "So that's what you think about me, what you've been thinking about me all this time. You think I'm that possessive, jealous, controlling and insufferable paranoid freak. That's cool, to finally know what you think about me." Brian said with choked voice in a mordant way while nodding slowly.

"Brian…" You whispered with teary voice in a distressed way, while shedding tears. Brian finally looked into your eyes. He was frowning with watery eyes.

"Forget every fucking thing!" He yelled with cracked voice.

You flinched and looked at him bewildered, raising your eyebrows and widening your eyes. Tears started to fall down your face uncontrollably. He never yelled at you this way before.

"Please…" You whispered shrilly, trying to take his hand again, but he stepped back and began to shake his head.

"Stop!" He yelled again, still shaking his head. He looked at you again and frowned. "I don't wanna hear any other thing that can make me feel more hurt than I already am." He voiced with choked voice and watery eyes. You looked down and bit your lips, feeling really bad. "And just so you know, if I ever annoyed you with my incessant check-up calls, I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention; if I ever did it, it wasn't because my intention is to be a possessive and paranoid freak, it was because I care about you and I wanted to make sure you were fine; I didn't know that it annoyed you; so, sorry for treating you as though you're worth it." Brian exclaimed loudly, still with teary voice. He began to shed tears again, yet he still seemed to be upset and sad. "But that doesn't matter, nothing of what I do matters because at the end everything will make me be a fucking keeper." He yelled while throwing his hands up, shaking his head and shedding tears; looking fixedly into your eyes. He breathed out, looked down and bit his lips while wiping his tears away.

"What I said was wrong." You muttered distressed, feeling very repentant. Brian looked abruptly at you with those sad and hurt eyes. Then he started shaking his head slowly.

"No, you were right. You were fucking right." He said slowly and hoarsely. "Everything was my damn fault. Sorry for caring too much about you. I'm gonna try to stop caring, so I'm not gonna suffocate you and you're gonna be happy ever after. And maybe if I stop caring about people, they won't abandon me." He stated in a grim way while looking down, raising an eyebrow and shrugging. You closed your eyes; bit your lips and looked down while more tears were falling down your face. "Thanks for the advice." He said with deep voice. You opened your eyes again, looked at him and you felt awful; and then he looked up at you. "Now, I'll walk Sawyer, but I won't call you to let you know what time I'm gonna return because, you know, I don't wanna suffocate you." He said coldly, widening his eyes and raising his eyebrows. "Hey, buddy, come on, let's get the fuck outta here." Brian called Sawyer and Sawyer, of course, ran to its owner, happily wagging its tail.

Brian crouched and took Sawyer in his arms. Then he stood up and walked to the front door. He opened it and closed it with a bang; not saying anything at all before leaving you there, alone and crying. You sat on the couch and curled up in a ball, bending your legs, wrapping your arms around your legs and resting your head on your knees to start weeping in the very silent room. You couldn't believe this all happened in one fucking night. You realized how wrong you've been treating Brian this whole week with no reason. Yes, there was a reason and it was because you thought he was W. But now that this happened, you realized that he could never be W because everything he has ever done, has done it for you, to make you feel happy. How could you have thought that your best friend, the one person who was there for you when things sucked, was the same person that ruined your adolescence? How could you have treated him so badly? When would this night end? You wanted this whole night to be just a nightmare. You were feeling more depressed than ever; drugs effect, you thought. You didn't know how many seconds, minutes or hours you spent crying on the couch; but what made you stop was when you heard the sound of the door opening. You looked at the door and you saw Brian entering with Sawyer. He glanced at your direction in a sad way and he left Sawyer on the floor, not uttering a single word. You looked down and buried your head on your knees again, starting to weep again, silently. Suddenly you felt Brian's embrace. You wrapped your arms around him right away, burying your head in his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Brian." You sobbed heartbreakingly.

"I know you are." Brian whispered, rubbing your back. "You hurt me, Sunny, but I know you didn't mean it; it's just the drugs effect and I'm sorry for treating you so bad."

"I deserved it. I said terrible things." You said in between tears.

"No, you didn't deserve it. I acted like an asshole because I was hurt; and I always act like a jerk when something hurts me, it's my way to push the pain away. I'm sorry for losing my temper and making a fuss. I'm sorry for yelling at you and I'm sorry for believing that you really thought I was a burden for you. I know I'm not for all the things you've ever done for me and I know you didn't mean for real all the things you said." Brian whispered kindly in your ear. No, he shouldn't be the one comforting you; you should be the one comforting him. Why did he always blame himself for all your mistakes?

"You shouldn't..."

"Sunny, just let's forget this. This was just a bad night." Brian said softly, moving away to look at you. He smiled fondly at you and he caressed your chin with his thumb. "Come on, you should rest. Tomorrow is gonna be a better day." Brian said and he stood up and handed you his hand. You took his hand and stood up.

"Thank you, Brian, for always forgiving me and for always being there for me, even when I'm wrong, even when I act as a bitch, even when I don't deserve it. Thank you." You said in all honesty and Brian nodded and grinned sweetly. "I love you." You said with choked voice.

"I love you too, Sunny." He said fondly before kissing your forehead.

"What a fucking blowout party!" I exclaimed cheerily when I woke up next day.

"Speak for yourself." Joey responded weary, raising an eyebrow while taking a sip of orange juice for breakfast.

"Whoa! What's the matter, buddy?" I asked while sitting on the breakfast bar, stealing one of Joey's toasts.

"Well, it turns out that not everybody had a fucking great time last night, man." Joey answered while sighing.

"What happened?" I asked intrigued.

"I don't even know where to start. First let me ask you something... Is February in your bedroom?" He asked in a whisper and I squinted.

"Yeah, she is. Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Then I can't tell you what happened last night." Joey answered and he kept drinking his orange juice.

"She's fast asleep. Tell me, buddy." I insisted and Joey looked in the direction of my bedroom, evidently to check if February was coming or something.

"I have two things to tell you. One is personal and the other one involves Freckles. Which do you want me to start?" Joey asked and I raised my eyebrows.

"Freckles? What's up with Freckles?" I asked in confusion.

"I'll start with Freckles, then." Joey stated and I nodded. "Freckles had a pretty shitty night. Well, I actually don't know if in that moment it was shitty for her, probably not; but she will surely regret whenever she wakes up."

"Is Freckles here?" I asked very confused.

"No, of course she's not here, man! Do you see her around? Why would you think she's here anyway?" Joey asked as if I were crazy.

"I... I don't know, you mentioned whenever she wakes up and I thought she was... here. Maybe in your bedroom, I don't know." I responded kind of ashamed while shrugging.

"How would she be in my bedroom? Don't be ridiculous, Darren." Joey said and I nodded and shrugged. "Whenever she wakes up in her own bedroom." Joey said.

"Okay, I get it, I get it! Now tell me, why do you say she had a pretty shitty night? When I talked to her she was great and she seemed to be having fun." I commented.

"Well, she was a little hyper last night; then a little depressed, then a little euphoric, then a little panicked, then happy again and then depressed again." Joey said and I frowned, feeling even more confused. "Thing is she was drunk; completely drunk." Joey said and I nodded. Well, she was a bit tipsy when I saw her, but I didn't know she was 'completely drunk'. "And she was high." Joey finished and I raised my eyebrows and widened my eyes in surprise.

"She was high? Do you mean high...?"

"She ate like six weed brownies and she snorted a line of cocaine." Joey interrupted me and I dropped my jaw in astonishment.

"Come on, buddy! That's not possible. Freckles... Freckles is completely ingenuous and innocent and so very prudent... Freckles is not that kind of girl who..." I started saying while laughing, but Joey was looking at me serious, so I stopped laughing. "Are you serious? Freckles was stoned? Like... What the hell, man?" I asked disturbed.

"Yeah, I had the same reaction. But she was totally blitzed." Joey said and I shook my head incredulous.

"Well, it wouldn't be so... bad if it just was pot. But... cocaine? Are you fucking kidding me, man?" I exclaimed bewildered.

"Do I seem like I'm kidding? I am not. I was calling Brian to come to pick her, so I was distracted and she took advantage to run away to snort a line of cocaine. Then she was super euphoric and she thought she was superior or some shit like that. She slipped away and then I lost her." Joey explained but I was too shocked to keep listening. Holy shit!

"Are you telling me that Freckles is an addict? I didn't know that side of her." I stated puzzled.

"Don't be a sucker, Darren." Joey cut me off. "Freckles is not a junkie. It was obvious it was her first time; she couldn't understand what was happening to her. Besides, some random dude gave her the weed brownies; she thought they were simple brownies. And she was too blown out when she snorted the line of cocaine; so she wasn't aware of what it was." Joey explained and I nodded, that made more sense. "All in all, where the fuck were you when all of this was happening? I had to take care of Freckles because all of you guys left her completely alone. She invited us and none of us was with her! None of this would have happened if..."

"Hey, hold on, man." I cut him off in a harsh way. "Only because she invited us to that party didn't mean we had to be stuck with her all night long like some lap-dog."

"What a fucker, pal! How can you say that? I thought that at least Freckles was your friend." Joey exclaimed disgruntled, frowning.

"And she is." I affirmed.

"You just didn't sound like a good friend there." Joey pointed out. "But right, you tell us we should hang out all together to have fun together, but all you do is to get the fuck out with your new girlfriend to bang her somewhere, forgetting about your friends."

"What is this shit? Are you jealous or something?" I asked gingerly and suspiciously.

"No, I'm not jealous, Darren. You can do the fuck you want with your girlfriend, I don't care. But at least you could show a little interest in knowing what the hell was happening to your friend when you were banging your girlfriend." Joey stated a bit annoyed.

"I am interested! Otherwise I wouldn't be asking you what the fuck happened with her!" I exclaimed loudly, now starting to lose my temper.

"Leave it there, man. Freckles needed you last night." Joey answered back, looking away and shaking his head.

"She had you." I responded indifferently while shrugging.

"Yes, fortunately I was there." Joey answered back harshly, raising an eyebrow.

"Right, fortunately." I stated feeling annoyed.

"And unlike you, I care about her." Joey commented almost in a whisper, but I heard him.

"I care about her more than you do. Please remember she is my friend, not yours. I met her first." I commented rudely.

"Please, remember that I was the one who was with her when you weren't. And just because you met her first doesn't mean she's not my friend or that she's more your friend than mine." Joey answered back, also rudely.

"Please, remember that..." I started complaining.

"Shut the fuck up, Darren." Joey interrupted me and I raised my eyebrows bewildered by the way he interrupted me. Then I narrowed my eyes and frowned.

"Oh, I see! You want her. Yes, of course you want her. I'm surprised she's not in your bedroom." I exclaimed with a bitter laugh.

"You're being a real dickhead right now." Joey voiced annoyed.

"Maybe I am, but that doesn't mean you don't want her." I said coldly.

"She's just my friend, Darren, okay?" Joey articulated loudly. "Think about what you just stated, man. It's completely absurd." Joey pointed out, this time calmly.

"Yeah, sorry, it was stupid. I admit I overreacted." I confessed while sighing. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, I think she is. I texted her when I woke up, but she didn't text me back; maybe she's sleeping. But Brian picked her up, I guess, so she's safe. Well, truth is I don't know what happened to her, because May decided to be a real bitch last night and she didn't let me go with Freckles. She kinda locked me in the bathroom to continue discussing. Shit, just shit." Joey answered moody.

"Oh, wait! So, you actually don't know if Brian went for her or not? What if...?"

"Brian was totally worried when I called him, so I'm sure he went for her and he took her to their dorm room. So, I don't think there's something to worry about." Joey answered and I nodded.

But I was worried. I had to talk to Freckles. Maybe Brian went for her, but maybe she wasn't safe because Brian was W. I was going to call her later; Joey shouldn't suspect I was suspecting of Brian.

"So... tell me, why did May lock you in the bathroom and why were you discussing?" I asked to change the topic of conversation.

"Oh, it was all that crap of my summer hook up." Joey replied and I looked at him fixedly.

"Your summer hook up, man? Again with that?" I asked and Joey shot me a withering look. "Alright, alright, sorry for that! How come May knew about your summer hook up?"

"She definitely knew, I could have mentioned it? Maybe?" Joey said as if he was aware he screwed it up. "It doesn't matter why she knows. Thing is she is convinced that Freckles was my hook up."

"Freckles? Seriously, buddy?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm totally serious. I don't know why she thought that in first place. She said some shit that I was too interested in her when we were in the car, like I was asking her too much things and I couldn't stop staring her when we were at the party. Go figure how mad she was when Freckles was stoned and ran to me to hug me and I hugged her back because she was feeling bad. Not to mention when Freckles couldn't walk and she was panicking so I took her in my arms to take her to the couch. She was in a rage, man." Joey started saying angry and I was trying to process all the new information.

May thought Joey's hook up was Freckles. Joey was watching Freckles at the party all the time. Freckles ran to Joey to hug him. Freckles couldn't walk. Joey took her in his arms. Bunch of new information.

"She was crazy, man! She was yelling me at the party! Yelling! And I don't even know why she was too jealous or why she was asking me things as if I owed her some kind of explanation. We're nothing more than fuck buddies." Joey kept saying annoyed.

"Maybe she likes you, Joey. Haven't you thought that she may have feelings for you?" I pointed out.

"Do not dare to mention that! Oh, no! I was clear since the beginning that I did not want anything serious." Joey exclaimed, evidently feeling irritated. "Whatever, she will no longer argue with me about bullshit. We're over, I made it clear, we're over." Joey assured.

"You guys are over? Oh, man, that's such a shame!" I exclaimed.

"No, man, that's such a relief. The last thing I need is a chick acting all bitchy and jelly over me." Joey stated.

"But you were in a better mood when she was around." I said and Joey shook his head. "Are you still thinking you can get your summer hook up back?"

"Yes. I know someday I'll find her." Joey shrugged.

"Joey..." I said cautiously.

"Good morning!" February suddenly exclaimed cheerfully, with voice husky with sleep. I smiled widely when I saw her.

"Good morning gorgeous." I greeted while pecking her lips when she stood next to me. I pulled her to me to make her sit on my lap, wrapping my arms around her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks." She said giggling when I started kissing her neck. "How about you?"

"Your face was the first thing I got to see when I woke up, so I'm great." I said flirty, smirking in front of her lips.

"Your sappiness this early in the morning makes me want throw up." Joey stated while looking fixedly at us as February burst out laughing.

"It's 3 pm, dude." I corrected him while laughing.

"Whatever, too much sappiness always makes me throw up. So, to avoid the disgusting event that soon will happen if I stay here, I'll proceed to get out of here." Joey said and both February and I laughed. "Have a good morning, afternoon or whatever this time of the day after a party is called."

As he said, Joey went to his bedroom and left us alone. I looked at February, I grinned brightly at her and I kissed her lips.

"So, now that we're alone... What you wanna do?" I asked with a naughty smirk.

"I think you know what I want to do, handsome." February responded with the same naughty smile and a sensual look.

"Why are we wasting our time, then?" I asked and I stood up with her in my arms.

I took February to my bedroom and we spent practically the whole afternoon in bed, cuddling after sex. Around 5 pm I got a text message. I took my phone and I unblocked it while February was snuggling naked up to me. It was Freckles. Crap! I totally forgot to call her and ask her how she was. Well, at least I knew she was okay if she texted me.

From Freckles: Darren, sorry for bothering you; but I might need an advice. Brian left me a note telling me to meet up at 6pm, so that he can tell me what happened on Monday. Thing is I don't know whether I should go or not. I'm confused, I don't know if he's W or not. Should I go?

Fuck no! She couldn't go. I knew what kind of game Brian was playing, he was going to try to brainwash her. He would lie to her and she would be convinced that he wasn't W; she was even starting to doubt. The asshole was playing the game, he knew I told Freckles that I thought he was W, so he was going to do whatever it takes to make her think the opposite. He was not going to get it.

To Freckles: Do not go there by any means, Freckles.

You woke up at 4 pm with headache. You've been dozing for hours before waking up, so you knew Brian went jogging with Sawyer in the morning, then he came back and then he left again. Now you were alone. Damn, the headache was killing you and you were feeling sick. When you opened your eyes you saw a tray on the nightstand with an orange juice, an ibuprofen, two bagels, a banana and a note. You took the note and read it.

"Drink and eat all of this, Sunny; you'll feel better and in few hours the hangover will disappear. Oh! And do not drink coffee, no matter how tempting it is for you. Love, Brian."

Okay, great, you had breakfast in bed. But where was him? It was weird he didn't mention that. Sawyer suddenly popped in the bedroom and he tried to jump into your bed, but of course he failed, he was too little. You took him and you placed him in your bed while petting his fluffy hair. Well, at least you knew that Brian went out without Sawyer, which was weird because he always took Sawyer with him; he adored the little puppy. You started having your 'breakfast' that should be more like breakfast-lunch-afternoon snack. You started remembering in a series of flashbacks all that happened last night. Damn shit, how could you have drunk too much, especially that Jungle Juice? How could you have eaten those weed brownies? How could you have snorted that line of cocaine? That wasn't you. Why have you done all of that? And you remembered you kissed a guy: Greg. What would people think about you now? Your reputation was screwed. Then you remembered how those guys harassed you and how Brian helped you out. Those dudes hurt Brian because of your entire fault. And then there was this thing of Darren and February; you saw how they were making out and then you found out they were in a relationship. And... You kissed a girl? You kissed May. What? Oh! And you were all sappy with Joey. With Joey! Your friend! You were a complete disaster last night. Damn, you regretted to have attended that frat party. Then there was this thing... You treated Brian like shit when you returned to your dorm room. Brian, the one who helped you when those guys wanted to rape you. And he was W, but there was no way he could be W. You were feeling confused. Brian! You snapped and jumped out your bed. It was Saturday afternoon and you were going to have a best friends date with him; he was going to tell you what happened on Monday. Maybe he wasn't gone; maybe he was in the living room or in his desk. You walked out your bedroom, but he wasn't there. But you saw a note on the table.

"Sunny, I arrived and you were still asleep. I didn't want to bother you because you need to rest. I hope you're feeling better and I hope you did have the breakfast I made for you; if not, go and have it! It'll make you feel better. I went to downtown to look for jobs, but don't worry, the 'best friends date' is still standing, so I'll tell you everything that happened on Monday. We made a pinky promise, right? Meet me at The Michigan Theater at 6pm. I'll be waiting for you! See you soon, Sunny. Love, Brian."

Alright... 6 pm. You had almost two hours till 6 pm. But now you weren't sure if you should go or not; you were still confused about Brian. So, you decided to text Darren and ask him for an advice, you knew he was going to help you. When Darren texted you back saying that you shouldn't go, you hesitated and you decided to stay in your room. You had the perfect excuse to tell Brian: that you weren't feeling good. You decided to spend the afternoon watching old movies with Sawyer. When it was 7 pm, you got a text message.

From Brian: Sunny, where are you? I've been waiting for you for more than an hour, the movie will soon start!

You read it, bit your lips and put your phone aside. Maybe the best would be not to answer him. You could tell him that you spent all day long sleeping because your head was aching. But few minutes later you got another text message.

From Brian: Sunny, are you ok? Are you still feeling bad? Let me know, so I'll know if I should come back or if I should wait for you.

Once again, you thought the best would be not to answer him. You kept watching one of your favorite movies next to Sawyer, until you got a third text message. You checked the time: it was 9 pm.

From Brian: I guess you won't come.

Okay, Brian would surely return right now, so you had to pretend that you were feeling sick and that you were sleeping, therefore you couldn't go to the 'best friends date'. You quickly turned off the TV, put your phone on the purse you wore last night, turned off all the lights and you ran to your bed. You were covered with the blankets and quilt by the time Brian arrived. You heard Sawyer wailing when he arrived.

"Hi there, buddy!" Brian greeted, yet not in his usual cheerful way. "Have you missed me? I sure missed you." You heard him saying. "Oh, you're being so affectionate today. Come here!" You heard him giggling softly, almost in a dull way. "Yeah, I love you too, buddy. But now, I need to check how Sunny is, okay? Have you been taking care of her? I'm sure you have. Come on, you can come with me. Good boy."

That was the last thing Brian said before you heard steps coming closer to the bedroom. The door was closed, so you heard him opening it. He turned on the light, yet you kept your eyes closed. You noticed how Brian walked to your bed and kneeled next to it. Then he started to stroke your hair very smoothly. It was time to pretend you were waking up; so, slowly, you opened your eyes and you found him looking at you. When he realized you were awake, he smiled kindly at you.

"Hey." He whispered softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Hmm... My head aches." You grumbled with husky voice, pressing your hand on your head.

"You'll soon feel better. I see you had the breakfast I made for you. That should help." He said grinning warmly. "Do you want me to bring you a glass of water? You should drink plenty of water."

"No, I'm okay, really. It's just this terrible headache." You grumbled again.

"Okay." Brian whispered while looking into your eyes. "Did you get my text messages?" He suddenly asked. Alright... Time to tell that little white lie.

"What text messages?" You asked pretending to be confused.

"I've sent you like three text messages this afternoon." Brian answered and you frowned, pretending to not know what he was talking about.

"Oh!" You exclaimed loudly, raising your eyebrows. "It's just that I didn't have the phone with me. I may have forgotten it in the purse I wore for the party, and I left the purse in the living room." You lied and Brian nodded.

"That makes sense." He answered with a faint grin. You couldn't believe he fell for it. "And have you read the note I left on the table?"

"What note? The only note I read was the one you left on the nightstand. Truth is I didn't get up from bed all day long. I haven't been feeling good to do so." You lied, sounding really convincing.

"Oh, now I understand." Brian said.

"You understand what?" You asked, playing dumb.

"Well, I left you a note on the table. I asked you to meet me at The Michigan Theater at 6 pm. We were going to have that best friends date, remember?" Brian asked and you pretended to be very ashamed.

"Oh dear! Oh, Brian, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Brian! I forgot it because I was feeling bad and... Oh damn, I'm so sorry!" You exclaimed pretending to be feeling very bad. "It was a pinky promise! I can't believe that..."

"Hey, Sunny, it's okay." Brian interrupted you softly. You looked at him and you saw the kind way he was smiling at you. You felt bad for real for being lying to him. "I understand you had a bad night and you needed to recover; so it's fine. Don't worry about it, maybe we can talk another day." He said comprehensible.

"I have an idea. What if we talk right now, right here?" You asked while sitting on the bed, making room for him to sit next to you.

"Umm..." He hesitated and then let out a short and nervous giggle. He just remained kneeling next to your bed. "Not this way... Maybe... We should plan another day to do the things we were going to do today."

"But..." You started complaining.

"Please?" He asked before you could keep complaining. You sighed and then nodded with a faint smile. "Thank you." He said grateful, taking one of your hands to kiss it. "Now, how about if we have dinner together?"

"Only if you let me cook for you to make up for my failure." You proposed with a gentle grin.

"Okay, it's a deal." Brian responded with a soft chuckle.

Brian and you walked to the kitchen, followed by Sawyer. Brian tried to help you, but you forced him to sit on the couch and relax while you were cooking dinner. So he was now reading a book while you were cooking spaghetti for dinner. You weren't a good cook, but spaghetti was your specialty. On one hand you were feeling bad because Brian always believed your lies and, on the other hand, you were feeling glad he believed you this time. While you were cooking the sauce, you heard your phone ringing.

"Sunny, your phone has rung." Brian notified you.

"Can you please read the text message for me? I'm kinda busy." You requested while looking for the sauce seasonings.

"Sure." Brian responded. "Umm... It's from Darren." He said and you gasped. Oh no! No, he could not read it. You turned around to look at Brian and you saw him frowning, serious. It was too late. "It says... Freckles, you didn't meet Brian today as he requested in the note, right?" Brian read and you dropped your jaw and widened your eyes, feeling edgy.

Brian remained looking at your phone, he bit his lips and then he looked straight in your eye, frowning, with a confused and sad look. You couldn't move. Why the fuck did you tell him to read that text message? You were so fucked up.

"What is this?" He asked and his voice echoed in the silent room.

"I don't know." You lied, stammering. This time it was obvious you were lying. Brian returned his gaze to your phone and he started reading the other text messages.

"From you: Darren, sorry for bothering you; but I might need an advice. Brian left me a note telling me to meet up at 6pm, so that he can tell me what happened on Monday. Thing is I don't know whether I should go or not. I'm confused, I don't know if he's W or not. Should I go?" He read loudly while frowning. "From Darren: Do not go there by any means, Freckles." He kept reading and you didn't know what to do.

You should stop him but for some reason you couldn't do anything because you were shocked. Brian looked at you frowning and more than upset he seemed to be distressed. You just remained silent and still; so he kept reading the other text messages out loud.

"From you: But what if he wants to meet me to tell me the truth? What if he wants to admit he is W?... From Darren: No, Freckles, he's gonna try to brainwash you. He'll lie to you as he's been doing all this time. Trust me, don't go. Just tell him one of those lies you've been telling him this week, he's gonna fall again. This is for your own good, Freckles." Brian read and his voice cracked, yet he kept reading. "From you: What if he's not W?... From Darren: Freckles, cannot you see it? He's trying to convince you he's not W but he is. We have proofs, remember? Just, please, don't go… From you: Fine, I'll stay here. But I don't wanna keep lying. If Brian really is W, I don't feel safe living in the same place than him." Brian read loudly with choked voice. You could see his teary eyes and you didn't know how to stop this.

"Brian… Stop." You said with trembling voice.

"From Darren: Just hold on, Freckles. I won't let that asshole hurt you, I swear. He's gonna pay for all the things he has done, we'll imprison him, but we need more evidence." Brian read while frowning and shaking his head.

"Stop." You demanded louder this time.

"From you: Okay, I trust you. But what am I gonna do? What am I gonna tell him?... From Darren: Just keep pretending he's your best friend. Tell him a stupid lie, he'll believe you; he always believes you…" Brian read and he breathed out. He was feeling bad.

"Leave my phone right now, Brian!" You yelled with trembling voice.

"From you: Okay, I can do this. I'll tell him that I didn't read the note and if he texts me, I'll tell him I didn't have my phone. Maybe I could tell him that I'm still feeling bad or something like that… From Darren: That's a good one. He'll believe it all… From you: Yes, I think so. Well, see you later, Darren… From Darren: See you later, Freckles. Remember, the asshole won't win us this time. We'll imprison him, I swear." Brian read out loud and he finally left your phone.

Now, the fraught situation. Brian was looking down, apparently puzzled. He didn't seem to be angry, but he seemed to be perplexed and despondent. He was biting his lips, frowning and his eyes were full of tears, yet he wasn't shedding the tears. You were speechless and motionless; you were disturbed and a little bit frightened. You couldn't believe he read those text messages. Now what would you tell him? What would you do? Brian looked at you with those sad green eyes and that hurt and shocked facial expression.

"So, you weren't feeling good; that's why you haven't read my note. You didn't have your phone, so you didn't text me back... But you were feeling good enough to text Darren and plan something against me..." Brian started saying in a fatal way as you bit your lips and looked down. "Because I'm W, so you don't feel safe and for that I have to be imprisoned. Imprisoned?" He asked while frowning and his voice echoed in the very silent room. He was looking piercingly into your eyes. "But you're still here, pretending to be my friend only because you need to get evidence. You need to prove I'm W. That's why you're still here with me." Brian said raising an eyebrow, now looking down again. "For all of that you've been lying to me. And I'm the idiot who always believes you." Brian said with trembling voice, clenching his jaw. Then he looked at you again; his eyes were teary. "Just tell me that, at least, what you told me last night saying you didn't mean all the things you said that hurt me is true. Tell me you really didn't mean it and it wasn't another of your lies." He requested in a supplicant way with teary voice.

"That wasn't a lie." You answered, feeling too cowardly to look at him.

"You can tell your real friend Darren that I'm not gonna hurt you. You can tell him that if you need evidence to imprison me, he can come over here and stir the whole room to get those evidences. I can even give you the permission to tie me on a chair while you're doing it, so you'll make sure that I won't try to kill you. You need to be cautious because I'm W; so I'm a very dangerous person. But I'll give you that advantage, because I can tell you made a fucking big effort to catch me; pretending to be my friend while knowing I'm W was surely fucking hard for you; so you have to be rewarded somehow. But hey, don't worry; after all of that, you won't have to worry because I'm gonna disappear from your life. That must be something good for you, right?" Brian said in a very deranged way while you were looking at him very frightened. "Just one thing... If when you and your friend stir the whole room and you don't find such evidence, if for some reason you happen to find information about W and you realize that I'm not W... You better forget about me. You better forget about this one-sided friendship. You better don't talk to me ever again. Because you slandered me saying I'm the same person than the person I'm trying to protect you from. Because I gave you the chance to believe me when I said I wasn't W and you decided not to trust me, and a friendship based on distrust is not a worthwhile friendship. And it hurts me deeply to be saying this, but you hurt me most." Brian said with choked voice, shedding tears, yet looking deeply into your eyes. "I gave you my best, Sunny. And it breaks me the fact that you think something like that about me. I'm just a fucking idiot. I've always been one." Brian said sobbing, now clenching his jaw and looking down.

"I'm sorry." You sobbed, feeling really bad. You were never very sure he was W, but now you knew he couldn't be. Not after all he just said. You looked up and saw Brian looking down and shaking his head.

"I won't believe you again." He stated looking into your eyes. This made you sob harder. "I no longer want to be the fucking idiot who believes all your lies."

"Brian... I could never fully believe you were W..." You started saying but he interrupted you.

"I read what you wrote. So don't dare to lie to me again and don't dare to treat me as if I were crazy, because I know what I read." Brian said coldly, looking piercingly into your eyes, frowning.

"What can I do for you to believe me?" You asked desperately in between tears.

"I don't know." Brian answered shrugging. "I really loved you, you know? I fucking loved you, Sunny. You have no idea how fucking much. And I truly believed you loved me back."

"I really do love you!" You exclaimed with choked voice.

"You don't." Brian responded while shaking his head. "But that's fine... No one loves me at the end. It's not something new for me." He said shrugging.

"That's not true! I love you, Brian... I really love you! And I'm sorry if someday I doubted about you; I was wrong, I made a mistake, I'm a human being and I'm stupid and insecure." You said desperately. "But I choose to believe you. I choose to believe in my best friend. Please, I'm telling you the truth, Brian."

"How can I believe you now? I want to... But how?" Brian asked with tears in his eyes. You walked to him and took both of his hands. "What if I choose to believe you again and you're not honest?"

"Look into my eyes and you'll see I'm telling you the truth this time." You said and Brian looked straight in your eye. "I believe you because you're my best friend and I truly love you." You said in all honesty.

Brian remained silent, looking deeply into your eyes with his distressed green eyes. A tear fell down his face and you wiped it away, then you caressed his cheek and more tears began to stream down his face. You took the boldness to embrace him and you felt surprised when he let you doing so; and more surprised when his firm arms wrapped around you and he buried his face on your shoulder. You couldn't help crying along with him while stroking reassuringly his soft hair.

"I believe you; but please, tell me this is the truth because I won't be able to take it twice." Brian cried in your shoulder.

"This is the truth, Brian." You whispered in his ear. "I'm really sorry for hurting you."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. But I swear that I'll do whatever it takes to make up for all my mistakes." You said. "Come on, why don't we just sit and watch a movie, together?" You proposed and he stepped back, shook his head and wiped his tears away.

"No... I'd really want to go for a walk, to clear my mind." Brian said and you looked at him afflicted. He just wanted to be away from you. "It's just to clear my mind. I'll return."

"Okay, fine. I understand." You said. "Will we still have dinner together?"

"Yes." Brian responded and you felt a little bit more relieved. "I'll soon come back. I just need to be alone."

"Okay." You said with a faint smile and Brian nodded.

"Hey, buddy, what do you think if we go for a walk?" Brian asked looking at Sawyer. Sawyer, of course, ran to Brian as a response. "Let's go, buddy." He said grinning softly while crouching to take him in his arms. Then he stood up and looked at you. "I'll come back."

"Yes, I know." You said simpering. Brian turned around and he was about to leave, but you stopped him. "Brian?" You called him and he turned his face to look at you. "I love you."

"I love you too, Sunny." He replied with a warm smile.

Right after, Brian and Sawyer left the dorm room and you dropped on the couch. Dammit. This was one of the worst moments you've ever been through. When would you stop making mistakes? You were not a good person and you didn't deserve being friends with someone as warm-hearted as Brian was. But you couldn't picture yourself being without Brian. You needed him. He was your real best friend.

After spending all the afternoon cuddling, touching, and kissing; I invited February to go out. I didn't know where I could take her because I never took anyone to a date, not even Freckles; but I was feeling like hanging out with her. Of course I didn't call it a date, I didn't want to rush things with her; but... It was something like that. I invited her for dinner. It was the first dinner I've ever had with a girl alone in a restaurant and it felt nice. Maybe this thing of dates weren't so bad after all. After dinner we ordered some drinks in the same restaurant. We started talking about random things. She explained me why she decided to study two very different careers and I explained her why I was studying Theater Performance and why I also studied Musicology. Then she started telling me more about her family. She didn't have brothers, her father was a civil engineer and her mother was a dentist; so she came from a wealthy family and that explained why she had such a great car. Anyway, she never boasted of her money; so that was a good thing. There was nothing more annoying that a person feeling superior than others because was rich. I told her about my dad and his job as a banker who founded East West Bank and a former director of the San Francisco Opera, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Stern Grove Festival, and San Francisco Performances; about my mom and about Chuck and his goal to be a musician. She commented something that she now understood my interest in music. Then we started talking about the places we've visited, the places we would love to visit, the things we enjoyed doing, the things we hated, the music and films we liked, and a lot of several things. In only one night I got to know a lot of things about her and every time I liked her more and more. She was kind of awesome.

"Hey, do you wanna go for a walk?" I asked with a wide smile. "Ann Arbor's downtown is pretty awesome at night."

"I sure know it." February commented with a bright grin. "What if we explore those not busy alleys?" She proposed while winking and I smirked naughtily.

"I always had like this kind of sexual fantasy of making out in a public place." I confessed mischievously.

"So did I." She responded with a sensual look.

February and I walked out the restaurant and we started walking holding hands through the busy streets in downtown, until we found a pretty dark and empty alley. We quickly walked to there and I pushed her against the wall, next to a dumpster. February wrapped her arms around my neck and I placed my hands on her hips to raise her up and then I moved my hands to her legs to hold her as she wrapped her legs around my hip. I started kissing her fiercely as she was running her fingers through my hair. Man, she really could drive me crazy. I leaned and I gave her a firm kiss on the bottom of her jaw, right where her face meets her neck, then I made a path of jawline kisses up to her ear and gave her an earlobe kiss. After a while, I started sucking her neck, while running my hands over her thighs. I teased on a particular spot on the side of her neck, leaving her a hickey. It turned me on when she started to moan, so I slowly began to thrust my hips against hers; then I started moaning along with her, already getting a hard-on. But then a noise made us jump and stop. We both looked in the direction from which the noise came. No, please, man! Not a fucking cop! It was very dark, so we couldn't see anything.

"Guys, sorry for bothering..." The person said and I recognized the voice.

"What the fuck are you doing here, you douchebag?" I asked sternly.

"Darren..." February remarked while placing her legs on the floor and unwrapping her arms around me.

"What?" I asked harshly and I saw February raising an eyebrow. "What the fuck do you want and how the fuck did you find us, friggin stalker? Have you been following us?" I asked rudely.

"Yeah, I've been following you since you left the restaurant." He answered, stepping closer, followed by the dog he had. "Hi, Feb."

"Hi, Brian." February greeted politely. "Hi, Sawyer." She greeted the dog.

"Get the fuck out of here, moron." I demanded nastily.

"Darren, stop." February voiced.

"I'm here just to talk to you." Brian said and I clenched my fist in anger. Yeah, sure, 'to talk'. "Privately?" He asked looking at February as telling her if she could go, so she nodded.

"It turns out that I'm not in mood to talk. So why don't you get your ass out of here?" I replied aggressively.

"It turns out that I really have to talk to you." Brian answered back.

"It turns out that..." I started answering back, but February took my hand.

"Darren, I'll leave so you can talk to him. It seems he has something important to tell you." February said and I was about to complain, but she interrupted me. "I have to return to my dorm room anyway. It's late and in the morrow I have to hit the books for my exams." She said and then pecked my lips. "See you soon, Darren."

She didn't give me time to complain, because she quickly walked to Brian and hugged him before leaving us alone. Fuck this asshole. I wanted to punch him straight in his face. The damn creep has been following me! The worst part was I was in a dark and empty alley, so no one would see me if the bully wanted to kill me; and I did not have anything to protect myself.

"So, we're alone now..." Brian commented and I let out a bitter laugh, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me!" I exclaimed ironically. "Just so you know, I have my phone and I'll call the cops, douche. So it's not a good idea to kill me here." I said threateningly.

"Killing you? Can you tell me where you got that idea that I want to kill you? Because it's driving me nuts." Brian responded while frowning, putting his hands on his jacket pockets.

"Put your hands in sight!" I yelled madly and Brian raised his eyebrows and immediately threw his hands up.

"I've got nothing; you can check me if you want." Brian said calmly as I was clenching my jaw in fury. "As I said, I'm here to talk, not to... kill you or whatever." He huffed.

"Then don't beat around the bush and let's get down to brass tax, here." I said harshly, still clenching my fist, just in case; even if I knew I'd never be able to beat someone as strong as Brian was.

"Why are you doing all of this?" He asked and I frowned in confusion.

"Cut to the chase and be specific, douche." I demanded sternly.

"Why are you trying to put Sunny against me?" Brian asked, looking fixedly into my eyes.

"I'm not putting her against you. I'm just making her see the kind of asshole you are." I answered coldly.

"Why do you even think I'm an asshole?" He asked, playing dumb.

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed loudly, laughing sarcastically. "Don't play dumb with me, jerk. You and I both know you're the fucking bully who uses a stupid W as a pseudonym."

"Tell me why you think I'm W. Who made you think that? Or what have I done to make you think so?" Brian asked.

"You see, I think smart. You can't fool me, idiot; but hey, you've played a good game, for a moment I thought you were a good guy, congrats!" I exclaimed contemptuously.

"You haven't answered my questions." Brian pointed out.

"And why should I do that? Who do you think you are? I'm not afraid of you, bully." I said coldly and defiantly.

"I don't know who made you think I'm W, but I am not. And now you're trying to convince Sunny that I'm W, she believed you and for that you're ruining my friendship with her; you're hurting her and you're hurting me with those lies someone made you believe." Brian said and I looked at him furiously.

"As I'm concerned, you're the fucking liar who has been hiding her lot of things, asshole. And if your friendship with her is fucked up is because you deserve it, jackass." I answered back in a very nasty way.

"Oh, I see what this is all about." Brian exclaimed while nodding and looking down, biting his lips. Then he looked at me again. "Listen, I understand if you're mad at me for being in love with her, and you can punch me in the face for that; but to tell her that I'm W only because I never told her that I was in love with her? That's very excessive." Brian said calmly and that drove me nuts. "And for the record, today I was gonna tell her my feelings, but certain someone made her stay and lie to me." He said looking fixedly at me. "Why do you want to ruin our friendship? Why? Only because I have feelings for her?"

"No, it's because I know what your intentions are, and I won't let you hurt her." I said menacingly. "Why are you so interested in hurting her? What do you get with that, eh?"

"I don't want to hurt her. She's very important to me; she means a lot to me and all I want for her is to be happy because she deserves so. She is the one person I trust, she is the one person who showed me there was hope for me to be happy, and she is the one person who showed me that sometimes people can really care about me. I'd never hurt her, at least not intentionally." Brian started saying as I was clenching my jaw, unable to believe I was enduring hear this elaborated speech and lie. "She was my first real friend and she's my only best friend; and now, with the things you're telling her and with the things you're making her think, you're taking away my only friend. And it hurts." Brian said pretending to be distressed.

"What a cock and bull story!" I exclaimed loudly and ironically, letting out a bitter laugh. Brian clenched his jaw, looked down and shook his head. "Pick up your ears, wanker." I stated coldly. "You better leave her alone or things are going to get bad for you. You can be stronger than me, you can be a fucking psycho and you can be a damn bully; but I swear on my life that I'll imprison you, bastard. You won't win this time." I stated firmly and very defiantly. Brian looked up at me and frowned.

"You can imprison me, I don't fucking care what you want to do with me. But if you care about her, then you'll stop telling her the things you've been telling; because it doesn't matter if you're hurting me or not; but you're hurting her. And guess what? I won't let you hurt her. I won't let anybody hurt her. And if you happen to be the one who's hurting her, I'm so sorry, but it won't stop me from protecting her." Brian said now also coldly.

"Do you really think she's gonna choose you instead me? Look what happened the last week! She chose me over you. There must be a reason. Haven't you wondered it?" I asked provocatively and Brian looked down and bit his lower lip. He knew the answer. "So, what makes you think that I'll do what you ask me to do? She'll always choose me over you. And I'm not afraid of you, so you can't do a damn shit to me." I said victoriously.

"You will stop with this shit, Darren. For your own good, for her own good. Don't do it for me, do it for her." Brian ordered in a demanding way.

"Over my dead body." I said harshly, clenching my teeth and looking at him challengingly. "The game is over, W."

Immediately afterwards, a lot of things happened in a short time. I got a straight punch on my face that basically made me close my eyes in pain. I felt rough arms catching me and holding me tightly, pushing me rudely against the wall, causing my face to crash into the wall. Shit, the asshole punched me! But then I heard Brian's dog barking and growling. I heard struggles and punches and then I opened my eyes. I saw two huge and robust dudes lashing Brian down, keeping him immobile and defenseless. What the hell was going on?

"Did someone say W?" A voice I haven't heard in a long time asked with a wicked laugh.