There were many things Hawk didn't understand.

The first one was how on Earth had that sissy dude who was half a head shorter than he was and looked like a girl, managed to kick his ass.

The second one was - why would Sky want to kiss that asshole?

Those thoughts got mixed up in his head, until they formed a cold, heavy lump, only adding to the pain and misery he was already feeling.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, leaning hard on the sink with both hands. The water was still running, cold droplets splashing to his hands and forearms, and finally, with an angry huff, he released his death grip on the sink, grabbed the small towel nearby, and soaked it in the water.

The bleeding had mostly stopped - Thanks to the ice bag someone had tossed him in the kitchen, but he still looked like crap. There was half-dried, dark lumpy blood all over his face, especially around his nose which had taken the first and the hardest punch. There were also the bruises and wounds Cody's rings had left on his cheekbones and of course, the sharp cuts right under his chin, that were still bleeding.

Not to mention the ache on his gut, where a fierce knee kick had landed. The bruise was huge, already turning from red to blue, but there was absolutely nothing Hawk could do about it, so he didn't even try.

The nose hurt like Hell too, but as Hawk carefully started to clean it with the cold, wet towel, he concluded it wasn't broken - at least there was that. But it would be a bitch for some time, and it would look like crap too—

What the Fuck am I gonna tell Mom?

That thought was passing but left behind a cold, sickening feeling. He already knew he couldn't tell her the truth. He'd just have to add one more lie to the list that was already endless.

He hated how things were between them nowadays, but he had no clue how to fix it.

Just like he had no clue how to fix this, how to make himself look presentable enough to leave this bathroom.

He gave up on his nose - it was what it was, at least he had managed to wash off the blood - and moved to clean the rest of the cuts. The ones on his cheeks were small, the bleeding had already stopped - bruises would be big and ugly, though. He found some band-aids and disinfectant in a drawer and did what he could to the wounds on his neck. They weren't deep - thank Fuck - but they were vicious like glass cuts always were and kept bleeding, even through the band-aids.

That fucking crazy Cody Bishop—-

Hawk had seriously underestimated him, and that had come with a prize tag. But he wasn't stupid - he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

Already, as he opened the tap to wash his bloodied hands, he was going through the fight in his mind, calculating the mistakes he had made and how they could have been avoided or turned to his advantage. He wasn't quite sure what Cody's fighting style was, but he had some guesses and he would find out, sooner or later—

And anyway, he wasn't going to fight anyone today. The couple of beers he had down and the adrenaline rushes of fucking Maya and then getting into a fight had worn off and left behind a mess of fatigue and frustration. His muscles ached, his cuts hurt. He just wanted to go home, fall into his bed and stop thinking about Sky.

The tears in her eyes kept haunting him.

When she had seen him with Maya, she had been devastated. But then, she had rushed to kiss Cody, had wanted nothing to do with Hawk, and finally—

It hurt even to think about it.

She had left him on the floor, bleeding and broken, to go - where? He didn't know, but apparently, she had left with Cody. And that wasn't something she would have done if she still really loved him.

So maybe he had just read too much into the way she had looked at him, maybe those hadn't been tears of love, maybe, maybe, maybe.

Angrily he closed the tap, dried his hands in a towel, and left the bathroom. He didn't understand anything. It was all such a mess in his head, it made him annoyed, hurt, tired. He wanted to go home. He wished he'd never come to this stupid party in the first place.

The hallway was empty - thank fuck, he didn't want to talk to anyone - the music echoed from downstairs but it wasn't that loud here, and as he made his way towards the stairs, he suddenly heard something—

A voice came through one of the closed doors, freezing him where he stood.

That voice, he would have known it anywhere. It was the voice that he had heard calling his name, a thousand times, the voice that went straight into his heart into his veins, into his gut, that pleasure-filled voice that was meant for him, for him only, it was meant to shout his name when he fucked her, when he pleased her, when he made her come.

And now—

"Cody, Oh, Cody, Cody Bishop—"

The loud thumping told him exactly what was happening behind that wall, he heard Sky's breathless cries, the other voice groaning Yes, yes, yes, and suddenly Hawk felt like he would throw up.

No. No, no, no, no—

His knees almost gave in. He had to lean on the wall to stay on his feet. The voice calling Cody's name, turned into a wordless moan that Hawk knew all too well, and that was it, he couldn't listen to this anymore, this was too much, if he had to endure one second more, he would burst in through that door, and—-

— and what? Have my ass handed to me the second time tonight?

He stumbled forward, wishing he could dig his ears out of his skull because he could still hear them, could still hear how Sky was being banged against that wall, and it was making him sick.

Cody Bishop. Of all the people Sky could have had - and Hell, she was so fucking hot she could have had anyone - of all the people in this world she had chosen Cody Bishop. That arrogant bastard who would only use her and ditch her, that asshole, that useless piece of shit who had almost fucking killed Hawk tonight—

And Sky had chosen him?

Hawk couldn't understand. He didn't even want to understand. He wanted to kill Cody Bishop and then himself, he wanted to see Cody's insides outside of his body, he wanted blood and revenge, he wanted to cry and smash his fist into the wall, he wanted this pain that was crushing his chest to stop because it was too much, too much, too much for him to take.

Tears blinded his vision when he rushed to the stairs, he almost lost his footing and had to grab the railing to stay on his feet.

Sky was fucking Cody Bishop.

She was moaning his name as he banged her against the wall.

She had moved on, it wasn't Hawk who she let kiss and caress and worship her gorgeous body, it was that fucking asshole Cody Bishop who got to do that, and by the sounds of it, Sky was fucking loving it.

Oh, it hurt too much. It was a dagger through his heart, a knife in his windpipe.

And the worst part was that Hawk knew he deserved this. He had fucked Maya, and this was the price he paid, and now, only now, did he truly understand how Sky had felt when she had seen them. This felt like dying, but only worse. He couldn't stop the tears, they burned in his throat and fell to his cheeks and he had to push his fingers into his eyes and press hard to make them stop, to make the excruciating pain in his chest let him even draw in a breath.

"Hawk— are you alright?" came a soft, a bit reserved voice and he had to open his eyes, even if it meant that some tears spilled down his face.

There was Moon, standing in front of him on the stairs, looking at him with her kind, worried eyes. She looked incredibly cute in her Hufflepuff costume, her hair fell around her perfect face in luscious curls and her lashes were long, her cheeks were flushed, and once again Hawk wished he could somehow be the kind of person Moon liked, but—

But it was never going to happen, not anymore, and why did he even care? Hell, he didn't need anyone's pity!

Angrily Hawk wiped his face with his hands.

"I'm fine—" he groaned, and tried to push past Moon, but she laid a hand on his arm - her kind, soft hand, and her light touch forced Hawk to stop.

"You are bleeding," she said, her pretty eyes widening. "What happened?"

"I said I'm fine—" Hawk yanked his arm free.

He didn't know where Moon had been, not to have heard about the fight, but there was a faint scent of weed in the air around her, so maybe that was the answer. But it didn't matter, Hawk wasn't going to start explaining all that had happened - what he and Maya had done in the bathroom, Sky's tears, the fight, Sky fucking Cody—-

And why did Moon even care? They weren't friends, they never would be again. And the second Moon heard what he had done to Maya and Sky, who were both her friends, she would slap Hawk across the face herself.

"Moon, you found her?"

Hawk let out a silent curse as he recognized the person who was pushing her way through the crowd and nearing the stairs.

Fucking Sam LaRusso. Hawk rolled his eyes as Sam glanced at him as if he was a cockroach she was about to step on.

"Why are you talking to him?" Sam demanded, turning her eyes to Moon, jutting her jaw out in a defiant motion.

"Sam, I was just—" Moon started to reply, her soft voice almost drowning under the music, but Sam interrupted her.

"Didn't you hear what he did? Maya is down there, crying her eyes out. And he started a fight—" Sam glared daggers at Hawk, looking like she might punch him.

Whatever. Hawk would just fucking let her. He didn't have any fight left in him, not tonight, and to be fair, he had treated Maya like shit and someone should slap him for it.

Moon's eyes widened. "Maya?"

"Nice, Eli." Sam snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "Wasn't it enough that you broke Sky's heart? Just how many girls are you going to go through like that?"

"None of your fucking business," Hawk scoffed, his anger stirring. "After what you did to Miguel—"

"Enough!" Said Moon with such a tone that it shut up both Hawk and Sam. She glanced at both of them with her chocolate brown eyes, a frown falling on her face. "Enough! Can we just not fight? Hawk, have you seen Sky? We can't find her."

Sky.

Her name was a dagger in his gut again and he couldn't help but let it show. His lips trembled, of sorrow or hate, he couldn't have said, but the heaving of his chest revealed his every emotion.

"Why don't you ask Cody Bishop?" He groaned bitterly, finally managing to rip his arm free of Moon's grip.

"Cody?" asked Sam, confused. "What—?"

"They are upstairs," Hawk muttered, and pushed past the girls, rushing down the last couple of stairs, leaving Moon and Sam staring after him as he went.

"What on Earth is going on at this party—?" He heard Sam's voice before it disappeared under the music and the noise as he pushed himself into the partying crowd in his search of the front door.

The sooner he got out of this stupid party, the better.

"You're bleeding again," Sky whispered and brought a hand to Cody's lips. Gently she wiped away the narrow stream of blood that dripped down his chin from the cut on his lower lip.

"Totally worth this," Cody replied, and the soft vulnerability she had seen in his features just moments ago, melted away to give room for a crooked smile. "So, how did you like it? You feel better now?"

"You really need to ask?"

"No, but I like hearing it," he breathed, his voice still low and a bit throaty.

"That was so good," Sky sighed, making his smile grow wider. "So, so good."

"It was."

He was still standing there between her legs and now he slowly pulled out of her, making her let out a whine. What they had just done had left her sore and sensitive, but fucking Hell, it had been amazing.

Not amazing like with Hawk, but different amazing. With Hawk… She had always felt so safe, like she belonged, like it was a match made in Heaven and it would last forever. But that had obviously been a lie, a stupid lie her stupid brain had fed to her stupid heart, and she wasn't going to think about that anymore, not now, not in this incredible post-orgasmic haze that still made her knees wobbly and her heart flutter in her chest.

Cody pressed a soft kiss on her lips, bringing a hand to cradle her face, and that kiss tasted like blood and sex and it was beautiful, it took her breath away.

When he broke the kiss, his face was serious again, sharp and full of shadows. Silently he stepped back a bit to remove the condom, and then to pull up his underwear and his black jeans, and even if Sky realized that of course, he had to do that, that obviously he needed to get dressed - and so did she - it meant that this moment outside of reality was ending and that filled her with dread. She wanted to stay in this dream, in this wonderful, sensual dream, where nothing existed but pleasure and shadows, where she wasn't Sky anymore, Sky with her stupid issues and her stupid broken heart, this dream where she could be anybody. She didn't want to return to the world which made her want nothing but death.

"Cody—" she breathed when he bent to pick up his shirt from the floor.

"Yeah?"

"I—" she hesitated. "I don't want to go home yet."

He looked up at her, his eyes suddenly serious again. Slowly he straightened, holding his black, long-sleeved T-shirt in his hands. His naked upper body was a play of shadows and light, so beautiful, the arcs of his hip bones were so sharp they could have cut glass.

"You want to go to my place?"

"What about your family?"

"They are away for the weekend," Cody shrugged. "Halloween in Disneyland, you know. For David and Leigh."

"Yes," Sky replied, a small smile playing on her lips. "I'd love to go to your place."

Because this dream could last for a little while more, it didn't have to end now, she wouldn't have to start thinking about Hawk just yet, she could leave this party with Cody, cling onto this fantasy for a couple of hours more, and push away the moment when the memories and the pain came back, crushing her in pieces.

But instead of a smile, Cody's face grew sad. He swallowed hard, glanced at the shirt he was still gripping in his hands, then looked back up again and his eyes were so deep, it was like looking into space, Sky could have sworn she saw unknown stars and galaxies in them.

He stepped closer to her again, laying a hand on her hips, the other hand still holding his shirt with a white-knuckle grip, and his voice was silent and raspy when he spoke.

"I— I really need to tell you something before we go."

"What is it?"

"I should have said it… days ago. I tried to tell you but—"

At that moment the door opened, and the bright light of the hallway entered the room cutting Cody's sentence short. Sky gasped and brought her hands to cover her still naked chest, but there wasn't much to be done. Her panties were on the floor, the room smelled of sex and the way Cody stood shirtless between her legs didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Fucking Hell—" Cody groaned and his eyes narrowed as he glared at the people who had opened the door.

Sam and Moon stood in the doorway and their jaws dropped as the sight in front of them sunk in.

Ahhhh the suspense.

Where is Sky going to spend her night? With Cody or with the girls?

And what is Hawk going to tell his Mom?