The Party

Sophia's P.O.V.

Summer before the start of Senior Year - 17 years old

Parties weren't my typical scene. I mean, I enjoyed them and would dance for a bit before retiring by the food and drink bar. I could handle a party but I always preferred the comfort of my bed, curled up with a book. The girls on the other end, loved parties and spent the entire night dancing and drinking. I, as the oldest, felt responsible for them so I never drank. I kept an eye on them and their drinks, being sure that they never got spiked and that the girls never left my sight. The three of them looked out for each other—and me—making sure to partner up if someone needed to use the restroom, and interfering if a guy was getting a little too friendly.

I was hanging out in the kitchen, sampling hors d'oeuvres. Alright, fine. Maybe sampling wasn't the technical term but I was starving and these parties had barely any food. I wrapped some up in a napkin and stuffed it into my purse for the girls later. The kitchen had large glass panels that looked out to the backyard where the heart of the party was. From here, I could see the girls singing and dancing with each other on the dance floor. Nadya spotted me in the kitchen and gave me a small wink before turning back to the girls.

A few seconds later, the kitchen became crowded as three noisy dudes walked in and stole trays of food. You could tell they were drunk—or well on their way—from how loud they were speaking and the nonsense coming out of their mouths.

Someone whistled beside me and I turned to see another guy had joined the group in the kitchen. The guy was whistling at me.

"Yes?" I glared, raising an eyebrow.

"You're one fine ass girl," he said, looking me up and down.

"Thanks but whatever you're thinking, I'm not even remotely interested," I replied and turned my cheek. I reached for another appetiser. No way was I going to let this guy scare me off. I learnt my lesson after Liam. It took me a while, and I wasn't all completely there yet, but I couldn't let guys propositioning me frighten me anymore. I had to stick it to them and so be it if it came down to me punching them; at least they might learn their lesson that way.

"Naw, don't be like that," he said, taking a step closer to me. "You don't have to play hard to get. You already have me."

"You're too close." I took a step back. He took another step forward. I gritted my teeth. "I already said I'm not interested, now leave me alone," I growled, my hands clenching into fists.

A dark look crossed the guy's features. "You dhamp whores are always playing this game. It's time you learnt your lesson."

"I don't need to be taught shit!" My hand raised to punch him but was brought down all too quickly as someone wrapped their hand around mine and snaked both our arms around my waist. My fist dissipated and the warm hand pulled me taut against him. I felt body heat and a wall of rock hard muscle. Similar to the one I bumped into the other day.

"She told you to leave her alone, so I suggest you and your mates do so and leave before I make you," his deep voice said dangerously. The guy who tried hitting on me recoiled. He looked momentarily afraid, so did his buddies.

He raised his hands up in a placating gesture. "No need to do anything hasty, D-man, we were just talking, that's all. I didn't know she was yours."

"Yes, she's mine. Now get out of here," he growled. The four boys scrambled out of the kitchen like plucked peacocks. I slightly chuckled at their reactions. The arm around me unwinded. I spun around and gave my saviour a smile.

"Thanks for that, Damon," I said, taking a step back to allow us some breathing space.

"Don't mention it," he replied. My eyes raked over his perfectly muscled chest and body. He was wearing jeans and a white shirt underneath a fitted navy blue long sleeve shirt, his biceps bulging at the sleeves. His dark hair was tousled to perfection, just like the other day, and his blue eyes was that perfect vibrant ocean colour and extra piercing under the kitchen lighting. They also seemed to pop more against his navy shirt.

Noticing neither of us had spoken in a while, I cleared my throat and ordered myself to stop checking him out. "What are you doing here?"

"I got roped into coming with my mates," he jerked his head to outside where I assumed his friends were. "They're more party-goers than I am. How about you?"

"Sort of the same as you, actually. My more-or-less cousin wanted to come but her parents wouldn't let her unless I came."

"'More-or-less cousin'?" Damon questioned with a half-grin.

I laughed at my description. "We're not actually related. Our parents have been friends for years; we're practically family."

"I see." He reached for a couple appetisers and handed me one. "So where is your so-called cousin? Shouldn't you be hanging out with her instead of holed up in here?"

"Nah. My younger sister and my actual cousin came with us too. They've got each other," I answered.

"Ah, so you're neglecting your duties," Damon joked. "That's not very good for a guardian-in-training."

I gave him a light slap to the shoulder. "Hey! I haven't neglected anything. I can see her clearly from here." I tossed my hair to one side. "I'm acting as her far guard."

Damon chuckled. "Very well, Sophia." Damon scanned the dance floor, following where my eyes rested. "Which ones are they? Your relatives, I mean."

I bit my lip before answering. Usually, when people figure out my real identity, they either run away or become more interested in me solely because of my connections. I barley knew Damon and this was only the second time I've seen him but something about him intrigued me. I wanted to get to know him but I didn't want him to turn into one of those people.

I started off easy. "The one in the red burgundy dress with dark hair is my younger sister, Nadya."

Damon looked between the two of us and raised his eyebrows. "That's your sister? How old is she?"

"Fifteen."

Damon gaped. "What the hell is a fifteen-year-old doing at one of these parties? You know the oldest person here is twenty-four." I cringed. Ignoring that fact, I continued. "Don't worry, I'll look after them. Anyway, the girl beside her in the white dress is my cousin, Aliya."

Damon gave me an amused sidelong glance. "Is she your actual cousin?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. "And that one in the blue dress with almost jet-black hair is Anastasia, my 'more-or-less' cousin."

Damon stared at Anastasia, not in a creepy way, in more of the guardian analytical way. "She kind of looks like Natasha Ozera," he whispered.

My cheeks grew warm. Yes, Anastasia did resemble her. When Anastasia first came across a photo of Natasha Ozera, she was livid that she looked even a little bit like her. Now, she simply ignores it even though some people had the nerve to quip at her about the resemblance.

"Wait," Damon said, realising something. "Is that Anastasia Dragomir?"

"Yes," I answered bluntly.

Damon didn't say anything, he was now flicking his eyes between Nadya and myself. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he pieced it all together. Nadya looked a lot like our mother with her dark hair and face structure whereas I looked more like our father with softer features: slightly lighter hair and gentler facial features.

"Ohh," Damon's eyes flashed with amusement. "You're Belikov's daughters."

I looked down, blushing. "Yeah…"

"Huh," grunted Damon. Something in his voice made me jerk my head back up at him. He remained cool and nonchalant. "Well, it's nice to officially meet you, Sophia Belikova." He enunciated every syllable of my name in a perfect Russian accent. It was kind of hot, hearing him speak in my language and made my cheeks redden some more. "I'm Damon Petrov."

I blinked. "As in Alberta Petrov?"

"That's the one…my great-aunt," Damon murmured. "You're not the only one with well-known guardians as relatives."

I shook my head. "Of course not. It's…nice."

Damon cocked his head. "What's nice?"

"Meeting someone who doesn't fangirl over my parents or the fact that I'm best friends with a Dragomir," I explained.

"I can understand that. People pin me against Alberta all the time." Damon grabbed a few more appetisers and jerked his head to the backyard. "Come on, let's go."

I rose an eyebrow. "Where?"

"Outside."

I followed him out. We passed the dance floor and the girls gave me pointed looks so to say 'OMG, Sophia who is that?'

Damon noticed the girls and gave a polite nod. "Ladies."

They giggled and I pulled out the appetisers wrapped up in a napkin from my purse. I handed it to them and ordered them to eat. Quickly, I introduced Damon to them before he led me away from the crowd. We settled in a corner that had minimal traffic but where I could still watch my sister and cousins.

We spent the rest of the night talking, sneaking in large quantities of food that we could and drinking soda. Damon told me he didn't drink and like me, he preferred to keep an eye on his mates too. He had the perfect angle to watch them as well.

The more I spoke to Damon, the more I liked him and found him interesting. He was really smart and had a good sense of humour. His good looks just topped it off. He had a natural charisma about him that pulled me right in. Since Liam, I was always extra cautious around guys. Damon was different. I felt safe around him. Him saving me earlier from that asshole proved he was a good guy but I wasn't going to let my guard down just yet even if he was the relative of a good friend of my parents.

We decided to leave once the party died down. "Thanks for spending the evening with me, you made it a lot less boring," I said to Damon as I fought to keep a drunk Anastasia upright.

Damon flashed me a fully-fledged grin. "It was my pleasure. You made it a lot less boring for me too." He winked and then quickly glanced between the four of us girls.

"Are you going back to the Palace like that?" Damon asked. I could see a glimmer of concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" I asked.

"Those two are so drunk they can barely stand up," Damon nodded his head to Anastasia and Nadya. "Besides you, they're only fifteen. I'm sure you're a fierce protector but let me escort you back."

"Oh no, Damon, that's okay. I can't ask you to do that," I said instantly. "Between Ali and myself, we can take care of each other."

Damon shook his head. "I wouldn't want something to happen to any of you. It's not an issue, I can walk you back. That way I'll know you got back safely."

"What about your friends?" I looked past him to where his friends were gathered outside.

He shrugged. "I checked on them before, they're good to go. They don't need me baby-sitting them."

A protest formed on my lips but a hard stare from him shut me up. "Alright, fine. Thank you."

The five of us left and crept across Court grounds quietly. Anastasia leaned on me for support and barely kept herself from stumbling completely. "Stasia," I hissed. "Get it together. If our Dads see you like this, we're going to be under lockdown till we're fifty!"

"I'm trying but my feet fucking hurt!" Stasia cried.

"Hold on," I called to the others as I pulled Stasia and I to a stop. I told her to take off her shoes and walk barefoot the rest of the way. She held her shoes in her hand and seemed to walk a little better.

When we arrived at the Palace, I told the girls to go straight up to Stasia's bedroom.

I turned to Damon and gave him a tired smile. "Thanks for walking us back, you really didn't have to."

"I wanted to," Damon replied quickly.

"Well, we made it back safely so you can sleep easy at night now," I teased.

He gave a soft laugh. "Yes, I can. Goodnight Sophia."

"Goodnight, Damon."

I turned and opened the door to the Palace.