They had one particularly wild night not too long after Cress' confession. Thorne finally decided he'd had enough of his small get-togethers with his closest group of friends, especially since he wasn't currently speaking to one of those friends. After he'd heard Cress' story about her past, he'd also decided to help her accomplish some of the things on her long list of experiences she'd missed out on. The list—which by the way it was crumpled and yellowing looked as though it'd been created many years ago—had all ranges of experiences, goals and desires. Many of the things listed were quite sappy and over-the-top, but there were a few items that he could easily help her out with, among them:

- Attend a crazy college party.

He had asked her why it was practically scribbled out, and she said that since she never got the chance to go to college, she'd never be able to have that experience, so there was no point in keeping it on the list. Thorne, after contemplating, had explained to her that attending a real college party might land them in jail at his age, but wondered if she might be interested in just a regular crazy party. He had even offered to make it a college-themed party.

Cress grew excited, though she admitted that she'd never been to a large-scale party before, and whenever she managed to venture to the clubs, she usually had to go in costume to deal with the overwhelming amount of people there. One of the reasons it had been on her bucket list originally was because she had seen a lot of movies that centered around the events of a big college party, but she hadn't had enough friends or confidence to actually have that type of experience. Now she had lost her chance. Thorne assured her that she could stick with him throughout the party, and if it got a little too intense for her, she just let him know.

Thus the party planning began. Thorne called everyone he knew, save Kai and Cinder, and even took the liberty of inviting some of his old college buddies. He let Cress decorate his apartment—though he did offer a decent amount of input—and he took care of hiring a DJ and picking food and drinks. Kesley, who had always been wilder than Kai anyway, came over to reminisce with Thorne about some of the best parties they'd been to at the fraternities on their campus. Cress was just a bit too excited about some of their stories. Kesley kept chuckling at her reactions while Scarlet sighed in feigned annoyance. Thorne knew she'd put up with a lot back then, but at least she was being a good sport about it now.

Most of the people he invited showed up, not surprisingly, since he was known for showing people a good time. His bottom floor was jam-packed with people dancing, laughing, and playing all sorts of random games. It'd been far too long since he'd thrown a party like this, and he was partially glad that Kai wasn't coming, because he'd probably just tell Thorne to grow up. Well guess what, Kai, everyone else is having fun and remembering the good old days while you're probably just at home watching TV with Cinder like a boring old married couple, he said in his mind.

The party went off without a hitch, except for the fact that he'd forgotten the trick about roping off the top rooms where he didn't want couples who needed more privacy to go. After someone had accidentally spilled a drink on him, he'd gone upstairs to change, and had accidentally walked in on two friends who were just starting to get to know each other. He'd apologized profusely, then started laughing at the thought of Cress walking in on them. He almost wanted to call her up just so she could have that awkward experience as well, but the couple quickly left the room and he was left alone for a few minutes without all the chaos and blaring music that was practically shattering the walls downstairs.

It was the only part of the night that he left Cress. He wanted to make sure that she had a good time, and he hadn't forgotten about her need to not feel overwhelmed. But she continually expressed how much fun she was having, and kept showcasing her cute smile and that half-shy, half-vixen expression that he'd come to adore. She was fitting in well with the crowd, but he didn't really want her to go off and dance with some of the other guys that were chatting her up. He finally let her dance with Kesley a few times, though the height difference was even worse between the two of them, so it was rather amusing to observe. He took Scarlet in his arms during those interludes. The two of them had known each other long enough that they started to get into some rather dramatic dance moves that made both of them laugh.

Kesley appeared in front of them after the second dance. "You guys look ridiculous," he muttered.

Scarlet draped her leg around Thorne's waist. He grabbed her thigh with one hand and pulled her closer with the other, and she gave him her best wily temptress look. They burst out laughing at Kesley's disgusted face.

"Don't worry, buddy," said Thorne, "it's only for one night."

Kesley growled and pulled Scarlet off of him, but they both continued laughing. Scarlet kissed Kesley sweetly on the cheek and he put his arms around her protectively.

"Hey, what'd you do with my woman by the way?" asked Thorne teasingly, looking behind Kesley for Cress.

"She's in the bathroom."

"Your woman, huh?" said Scarlet, a big smile spreading over her face.

Thorne shrugged casually. "Ah well, you know what I mean."

Kesley finally laughed, but it was borderline evil. "Oh we all know what it means. It's obvious you're completely whipped."

"Kesley!" said Scarlet quickly.

Thorne made a face at Kesley. "Ha-ha, very funny."

"Thorne and Cress, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-" Scarlet smacked Kesley hard in the stomach, and he shut up.

"What are you, five?" said Thorne irritably.

Kesley just smirked at him.

Luckily, Cress came out of the bathroom before he could retort any further.

Thorne was feeling particularly restless. He had finally started feeling guilty about not returning Kai's calls and texts. He was starting to miss his best friend and he was getting tired of his stupid pride. Kai would really like Cress if he just gave her a chance. They would actually get along well. Maybe they'd even have lunch together sometimes at work, if they weren't too busy. The thought made him pause. Was it possible that Kai already did talk to Cress at work, and he just didn't know about it? No, Cress would definitely tell him, wouldn't she? Yeah, she would tell him, he decided. After turning on his right side and settling into a more comfortable position, he shut his eyes and didn't think about it anymore.

He was finally beginning to doze off when he heard Cress whisper next to him, "are you still awake?"

Thorne decided to stay still, because he was exhausted and didn't want his brain to stop the process of falling asleep. Whatever it was, they could talk about it tomorrow. Cress's small fingers gently brushed his cheek, and he almost sighed contentedly.

"I always dreamed that someone would rescue me," she said quietly. "And now you're finally here."

Thorne's heartbeat increased slightly.

"I love you," she whispered.

Thorne froze.

The last time she'd said that, it had been a drunken admiration of his body and dancing skills. She hadn't meant it.

This time, he couldn't brush it off with a cocky comeback.

This time, Thorne pretended to stay asleep as she lightly kissed his neck and then tucked herself in behind him.

When her breathing became regular and light, Thorne finally let the panic sweep into his every being. This was not good. She loved him? After what, two months?

You fool, said his conscience. Isn't that exactly what you started out trying to prove? That you could seduce Rapunzel and her shy alter ego? How had he let it get this far? She couldn't possibly think he felt the same, could she?

Thorne slipped out of bed and left, not bothering to leave a note.

Cress called him the next morning but he didn't respond. What was he supposed to say? Yes Cress, I heard you confess your undying love for me in the middle of the night and by the way, I don't love you back. He let it go to voicemail. It was way too late for a friend speech at this point.

After seven dreadful voicemails of Cress wondering if he was okay, he finally texted her back:

Sorry, forgot I had to take care of something. Just been busy.

She responded almost immediately:

Good, I was worried.

Then his phone rang, and he cursed. Of course it was Cress. He hadn't thought about that before texting her. He reluctantly answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, you scared me this morning."

"Sorry," he said.

There was a pause, as if she were waiting for him to say more, but then she continued. "Will I see you tonight?"

"Ah. I've got plans already."

"Oh…okay," she said. "What about tomorrow, then? I get off work early," she said.

Thorne tried to think fast. "Oh—yeah. I'm having a small thing at my house tomorrow night. You should stop by," he said coolly.

"I thought you weren't busy this week?"

He knew why she sounded confused. Just yesterday he had said that he had nothing much going on this week. Why had he given that away? "Just decided. Spur of the moment thing. You know how it is."

"Well, okay. That could be fun."

"Alright, well I'll talk to you later. You take care." He hung up before she could respond.

Then he did the only thing he could think of.

He called Darla.

"I'm bored," whined Darla. She was already getting on his nerves after only being in the same room with him for twenty minutes.

Darla and Thorne had a history, and he imagined that she was wondering where exactly this evening was going. He had learned early on in their 'relationship' of sorts that it was better not to try to make too much conversation with her. She was one of the hottest girls he'd ever known, but her brain didn't exactly match her beauty. They hadn't seen each other in at least eight months, and he was already regretting choosing her out of all the girls he could have invited over instead.

Darla, on the other hand, was probably wondering why they were sitting in the kitchen, rather than running upstairs like they used to. They both understood how their relationship worked and Thorne was in some ways breaking the rules—and he was painfully aware of it.

"I'm sure the other people will be arriving soon," he said, but he checked his phone again. Sure enough, Cress had texted him that she was almost there and that she was sorry she was running late. He texted back that he was in the kitchen with the others and the door was unlocked.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said to Darla. "Come sit with me."

Darla finally smiled and came to sit on his lap, and he put his arms around her waist. "I know you missed me," he said cockily.

"Not as much as you're gonna miss me after tonight," she said, scooting back further into his lap.

"Well," he said, "I guess we'll have to wait and see." He heard the door open in the hallway and he said something to purposely make Darla laugh, and he joined in with her even though he knew that he wasn't actually being funny at all.

"Thorne?"

Thorne stopped laughing, but kept a casual smile on his face as he turned to face Cress, who was standing at the entrance to the kitchen. She held a pan of brownies in her hand. He knew without a doubt that they were his favorite—the kind with the mint. The expression on her face was a mixture of confusion and pain as her eyes flitted from him, to Darla, to the way they were sitting, and back to Darla again. It had to be sinking in.

"Hey, Cress," he said, patting Darla on the leg. "This is Darla. Darla, Cress."

Darla gave Cress a fake smile as she stood up, and consequently so did Thorne. Cress didn't say anything. Instead she walked to the table and set down the pan. She sized up Darla one more time, who had looped her arm around Thorne's bicep.

"Thorne, can I speak to you in the other room?" she said quietly.

Thorne swallowed, but thought he did an excellent job of keeping his composure complacent. "Sure thing. Darla, will you excuse us?"

Darla huffed, but she let go of his arm. Cress turned on her heels and marched out of the room. Thorne followed, already dreading what he knew he had to do next.

Cress narrowed her eyes the second they were alone. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who is that—that woman in there?"

"Darla? Oh, she's just an old friend."

"An old friend who sits on your lap?"

Thorne shrugged. "No need to get upset, Cress."

"Thorne, you were sleeping in my bed just yesterday. You don't think I have a right to be upset that you are flirting with another woman in front of me?"

He nodded, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I see your point. Maybe I've just lost interest."

Thorne felt a horrible twist in his gut as his words began to sink in and her eyes filled with tears. How had he gotten into this horrible mess? Oh, right, he'd been cocky and horny at the Masquerade and tried to hook up with the first girl who had caught his attention. Like he always did.

But then they'd gotten stuck in an elevator together and he'd seen another side of her and gotten to know her. And stupidly thought he could have some fun without getting involved—as if he could just nonchalantly brush her into the friend zone like everyone else. Did he really think that he could continue not caring about who got hurt for the sake of his fun forever?

"We can be friends," he added.

Cress swiped at her tears. "But we're together."

"Cress," he said, teasing. "You've clearly been watching too many fairytales."

He knew he had crossed the line into complete douchery before he'd even said it—he was now that guy. Nothing in the world could have prepared him for the agony that appeared on her face, though.

When she rushed out, he didn't follow her. It was better this way. Thorne made his way back to the kitchen, completely drained. The pan of brownies that sat on the table nearly knocked the wind out of him.

"Hello?" Darla was staring at him. "What in the name of spades was that?"

"Nothing," he said, looking away from her.

"Sounded to me like you guys were together."

"You were listening?"

"Obviously. The look on her face when she saw me gave it all away."

"Well congratulations, you made her jealous."

"Is that why I'm here, Thorne?"

He didn't need to look at her to know that she was pissed. "Ding ding ding," he said sarcastically.

"Well, in that case…" Darla stalked over to him, and he finally looked up, just in time to receive a slap in the face. When she left, he wished that she had slapped him more than once. He was a terrible, terrible person.

Cress opened the door, but made to shut it immediately when she saw that it was him. He jammed his foot in the door.

"I'm sorry, Cress." He held out the flowers he'd brought her. "I got these for you," he said rather pathetically.

She crossed her arms. "Wow, thanks, a lousy bouquet of flowers after you don't contact me for two weeks."

He tossed the bouquet over his shoulder. "That's a no on the flowers, then."

"You think this is a joke?"

"No," he mumbled. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"How could you? How could you? After everything I told you!"

Thorne drew back in surprise. "Cress, this has nothing to do with what you told me. I'm actually offended you'd say that."

"Oh, you're offended now," she said sarcastically. "Well do forgive me, oh Master of Feelings."

"Look." He ran both hands through his hair. Her sarcasm was making him nervous. "I'm sorry. I got freaked out when you said you loved me. I heard you."

Cress looked at her feet. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I don't know. I didn't know what to do. You said that thing about me rescuing you, and I just panicked."

"Well isn't that just like you, panicking at the first sign of emotion."

"News flash, Cress, I'm not some hero! And you're not in love with me. You're just using me as an excuse to cover up your problems."

"You think I have problems? Me?"

"You're the one in therapy."

"At least I'm doing what I can to deal with all my issues. That's a heck of a lot more than what you've ever done."

"I don't have issues," he said lamely.

Her glare nearly knocked him over. "You keep telling yourself that. You're too blinded by whatever is going on with you to see that you're afraid of intimacy, afraid of real love."

He scoffed. "Who knows what real love is?"

"I do," she said.

"You think it's some make-believe thing that no one could ever live up to!"

She closed her eyes and took a breath. He saw that her lips were trembling, and guilt washed over him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That was out of line. I came over to apologize about that stunt I pulled with Darla. I promise we didn't do anything. She left five minutes after you did. It was a mistake—I see that now. I'm sorry and I miss you."

He thought he had done a pretty good job of explaining the situation, but Cress' sadness was replaced with anger again. "You think this is about Darla?"

"Well…yeah…"

"You're ridiculous."

"I don't—"

"You know," she continued, "I thought that for once in my life, maybe reality was better than whatever my imagination could conjure up. I started thinking that maybe you actually liked me. Because I was just Cress." Her eyes were getting that watery look again.

"Cress, I—"

"But now I see that I was just a conquest. Another notch on your belt, right? Well congratulations, Thorne. You won. You got me. Body and soul."

"It's not like—"

"You told me once that I should find something else to believe in. And maybe you're right. Fairytales are fake. Wishing for real love is pathetic. Oh, and you're an asshole and I never want to see you again."

Then she slammed the door in his face. Thorne felt two feet tall.