When Edward's teeth dug into my flesh, I thought of the bee stings from last summer, only on a much larger scale. The dream faded out of my mind, as quickly as he had leaned in, leaving me with a rapidly beating heart, a weird feeling in my stomach, and—although I did not know it at the time—a small part of me that wished it had been real.

I sat up against the headboard, my eyes on the branches of the tree outside my window that Edward had entered through and left from the night before. Snow fluttered down from the sky, and had left a considerable amount upon the tree's branches. It looks so peaceful out there, I thought as I made my bed.

I made a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach and onions for both myself and Brianna. After that, I looked at the fireplace, and noticed that we hadn't set up the Christmas tree yet this year (we usually set it up no later than the 7th).

So I stepped outside, without a coat nor a sweater, as I expected the trip to the garage to be quick. The wind blew harshly, and I shivered. The loose snowflakes blew up into the air, and swirled around for a while before falling down as the wind died down again. I inserted the key and unlocked the door, and turned the knob. I almost retaliated from the cold.

I pushed the door open and walked inside, shaking. It wasn't as warm as I had hoped it to be, but my face and fingers definitely weren't at risk of freezing anymore. I unlocked the door on the left wall that leads into the basement. There is a door near the bathroom that leads into the basement, but it's been stuck for awhile and no one has bothered to get it fixed (and not to mention the piles of boxes that have been sitting on those stairs). The air smelled musty, so I left the door opened in hopes of getting some fresh air in.

It didn't take me long to locate the fake Christmas tree. It wasn't a tall one—perhaps about 5 feet—so I was able to carry it back into the house on my own, even if my hands emitted cold air and my nose and lips felt frozen.

I returned back into the basement, once again without a coat as I was lazy and knew it wouldn't take too long.

"Bri? Are you busy?" I asked, placing the box of decorations on the floor beside the tree and sofa.

"Give me five minutes," she said.

The sound of the fabric rubbing against my ears dissipated as the wind picked up strength and my hood fell back, exposing my ears to the wind, and blowing my loose hair into my eyes. I raised my right hand to try and brush my hair away with the back of my gloved hands, but even when I had finally tucked it behind my ears, it sprung back and the wind blew it back into my face, making it even harder to see through the veil of snow. After trying to walk with my hair in my mouth (and eyes!), I decided that even if I only had another block to go, walking in this discomfort just wasn't worth it.

I bent down to set the shopping bags on the ground, and something—someone—in the sideview mirror of a car caught my eye. My heart skipped a beat, and I had to keep myself from shouting. I quickly grabbed the bags, though in rather uncomfortable positions that put more burden on some fingers than others.

I saw my home out of the corner of my eye, and had to take extra care not to turn my head to look across the street. One thing that I've learned from social media is that you should never go to your house if you're being followed. Actually, you should head straight to the police station. But even if the station wasn't over ten blocks away, the cold air felt as if it was capable of piercing my skin exactly as Edward had in my dream. So I continued walking up the hill, towards the Cullens' house.

I kept my eyes on the ground, making sure that I wouldn't trip over a twig or something. I urged my legs to move faster, almost breaking into a run as I had already been moving hastily. Before I could get very far, I felt my legs give away beneath me. I flailed my arms like a chicken, dropping a bag or two in the process. I expected to have landed face-first onto the frozen ground, but instead, I felt someone hold me up.

Perfectly polished brown leather boots, gray pants, and…a white button-up T-shirt. A T-shirt?! In this weather? This guy must be absurd. I looked at his face. Oh. A vampire.

Edward chuckled, then cocked his head to the side. "My, had you been running from a harmless human into the grasp of a…monster?" he whispered the last word.

"You just mean that it'll take more for him to hurt me?" I asked, slipping the bags that I hadn't dropped into his hand to try to get a break from the weight. He didn't protest. In fact, he had actually taken the last one out of my hands against my protest.

"No. You know him from your childhood."

I turned around to see if I could recognize him. I am able to recognize most of my schoolmates, yet I couldn't quite place a name on the blond man that continued to walk towards us. Then I noticed a scar on his left cheek, ending at the side of his mouth.

"Ken Kent—your name sucks by the way—why didn't you just say something?"

"I asked if you wanted help, but you didn't hear me."

"Sor— Are you wearing shorts?" Inspecting his outfit had saved me from breaking the vow I had made to myself (at 6 years old) to never apologize to Ken if I were to ever see him again. "You could have just walked in front of me! No need to act like a creepy stalker."

"I didn't think of it sorry."

"Of course you didn't think. You never could."

"Don't you suppose that's a bit too harsh? He was only a kid when he broke it, you know," Edward whispered in my ear.

"How were you concerned about me following you when that guy's whispering in your ear? He almost blends in with the snow! Even if he's never left Forks for his entire life, you can't get that pale."

I let my eyes linger on Edward for a second, and realized that what Ken said was true. He did look like a hyper-realistic snowman to some extent. "Your point is? I've known him longer than I've known you." I walked over to Ken.

"No way. Melissa said that they only moved here this year." He crossed the street and started walking down the hill, and for some reason, I followed him (mostly because I wanted to get back home and start a fire).

I didn't bother to explain to him; I didn't owe him one, anyway. And so we walked in relative silence (the freshly fallen snow sounded like—and felt like—someone scooping cornstarch) until we reached my house. I looked at Ken. Even if his legs weren't cold, his face sure was.

"How are you still alive?" I shook my head as I opened the screen door. I knocked, and Brianna greeted us.

We walked inside, and the heat hit me harder than the wind. I unzipped my coat and hung it on the wall.

"Who is he?" Brianna asked after Ken had excused himself to the bathroom.

"Ken Kent. You probably don't remember him—only met him once." I spotted Alice sitting on the couch, and paper bags on the floor. "Oh! How could I be so careless? Thanks for taking them over." How did she get here so quickly? And we hadn't even seen her!

"You're welcome. I'll get going now. It was nice talking with you, Brianna!" Alice stood up and waltzed out of the living room, and spun as she grabbed her jacket off the rack.

"Bye!" Brianna said. Alice left and Brianna locked the door, then she hurried upstairs, most likely into her bedroom.

I went into the kitchen, keeping my back straight only because Alice had waltzed and twirled with the perfect posture. I opened the refrigerator door and stared at its contents. I spotted the jug of milk (well, what was left of it) and grabbed it. I rushed about the kitchen, grabbing a pot and some measuring spoons.

I heard a door open. "What are you doing, twirling 'round like that?" said Ken.

I went into the pantry and came out with a jar of sugar along with some cacao powder. "Hot chocolate," I replied. "Well, cacao if you want to be technical."

He sat on the middlemost bar stool, placed his elbows on the island and leaned forward. "Gonna make any for me?"

"I don't get why you're acting like we've been friends, but I will make some for you. Only because the milk is about to spoil." I measured out 6 tablespoons of sugar, the same amount of cacao powder, added a pinch of salt, and poured in half a cup of milk. "Bri? You do want some hot chocolate right?"

"Yes!" came her reply.

I whisked the ingredients together over low heat to form a sauce. "Alright," I said. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ken playing around with his fingers, looking at the living room. "Won't your parents expect you to be home for dinner?" I asked him as I poured the leftover two and a half cups of milk into the pot. I gave the mixture a nice stir then set the whisk aside.

I took my dirtied equipment to the sink all at once. It was a relief to my arms when I put everything down. I turned on the water, and waited for it to warm up.

"Let me do it," said Ken.

I turned my head and saw Ken standing right beside me—so close that I could hear his every breath. I screamed as if I hadn't invited him into the house.

"Is everything okay?" Bri said.

"Yeah!" I stepped aside and went to stir the hot chocolate. "Never thought you'd be the one to offer help." I looked at Ken, who had just gotten done with washing the dishes. The hot chocolate was about to start boiling, and the whisk was starting to get hot from the flames. I took the hand towel that I left on the oven's handle and threw it at him.

"Thank you."

I took three mugs and switched off the burner. A little of the drink spilled when I tried to pour it into the first cup, so I took a ladle and started scooping it instead.

The hand towel appeared back on the handle, with a hand placed on top of it. "I'd say I've changed quite a bit since we last saw each other."

"Definitely. I used to be the taller one." I took a mug and hurried—though not too quickly for fear that the drink would spill—up the stairs. I knew that Brianna would be too lazy to come down to get it herself, and even if she wasn't, she would wait too long and it would have gone cold. And then she would've complained about it being cold (although jokingly).

"Thanks," she said, then took a sip. "It's much better than last time."

I nodded. Last time, I had added some cayenne pepper just as an experiment, and it had turned out to be too much. It's much better with less (I made another batch just for myself the next day) but I don't add it anymore unless I'm the only one drinking it.

Ken leaned against the island, staring at the refrigerator. I grabbed my mug just as he placed his down. "That was great. A lot better than I remember actually—it used to be a little too sweet for me. Thanks, Maddie."

I didn't like it when he called me by my nickname, as we were barely friends. And I only call him his out of pure courtesy; he dislikes his full name. "You're welcome."

He went over to the sink and washed his cup. The version of him that I had in my mind—rowdy, irresponsible, and (I don't exactly like to say it) spoiled—fought the new one—polite and, oh, he couldn't possibly be…attractive?—that had just emerged and attempted to take over.

I set down my mug as he went to the entrance and thanked me again before putting on his coat. Just as his hand touched the knob, he paused for a second and looked at me.

"You okay?" I asked, moving my hair away from my face.

"Yeah, everything's good." He looked at the door then looked back at me. "Can I get your number?"

"Sure, let me just check what it is again." I hurried up into my room to get my phone. I went back downstairs slowly, as I looked through the settings application for my phone number. I knew that I'd seen it before. I found it once I reached Kenneth, and told him. Right as he was about to leave again, I remembered that small party we were holding on the 23rd, so I invited him and his family as his mother and Meg were pretty close. Hopefully I'd be able to get Meg to come.

I wrapped my frozen hand around the golden knocker that burned my hands with its cold surface. I couldn't knock hard, but figured it didn't matter anyway as the Cullens had good hearing. Wouldn't they have heard me already though?

Although the day had started off gloomily, the sun now shone blindingly, reflecting off the snow that glittered all around.

And Edward's always greeted me before I could knock. Suppose…

But I could not imagine the things that could have happened before the door opened. I looked up and saw Meg. Orangish eyes and pale skin, but still undoubtedly Meg. My mom.

I rushed at her and wrapped my arms around her, expecting warmth. I almost jumped back when I felt the coolness seep out of her body.

"You don't have to hug me if you're cold, sweetie," Meg said, taking my arms off of her and pushing herself back. She closed the door and looked at my hands. "Why didn't you wear your gloves?"

"I forget them. I really thought that the walk would be short. I missed you...Mom." I started walking in the direction of the living room, a small part of me hoping that they had a fire started in the fireplace.

"So did I. I'm sorry I couldn't visit you more often. They won't let me ever since the—" She cut herself off. "You're shivering."

Although the Cullens' house was warmer than outside, my body was starting to get used to being out of the cold, and now craved more warmth. But I couldn't feel myself shiver. "Are your eyes that much better than mine now?"

She giggled. "I guess so."

"At least I won't have to find your glasses for you anymore. By the way, do you know where I can find Alice?" I felt a draft, so I grabbed the loose fabric of my dress to wrap it around my legs tighter.

"She left to shop earlier," said a low voice.

I turned and saw Edward sliding the back door shut. "Hi," I said, my voice barely audible to myself.

He walked past me and went to Meg. "I thought we'd talked about this. You shouldn't be near any of them. Especially without one of us nearby."

"I-I know, it's just…"

Edward looked at me. "I'll tell Alice what you're thinking. You should go." He reached for my hand. "I'll escort you home"—he looked at my mom again—"I trust you to stay in the house." He exited the house from the back door, dragging me along with him, his hand wrapped tightly around my wrist. I kept my eyes on the ground, watching as it changed from hardwood to sparkling snow.

"Can't you loosen your grip?!" I tried to shake my arm out of his hand. "It hurts."

He let go, and I rubbed my wrist. My hands were almost as cool as his. "Sorry. May I carry you instead?"

Though I knew that he possibly couldn't mean anything with his offer—that he had only done so because he preferred to travel quickly—I couldn't help but blush a little, even in the cold. "Yes."

He bent down, and the exposed skin at the back of his neck glittered identically to the snow. So that's what happens when he steps into the sun…it's a rather beautiful thing. I climbed onto his back and loosely wrapped my arms around his neck. He supported my legs with his arms and started moving.

"Edward?" I asked, although I didn't know what I'd exactly ask next. Why should I be asking him to bring Meg over next week? She's a grown woman and should be able to make her own decision, yet…

"I'll try to get her to your party next week. Promise."

Seconds later, just as I could make out the garage doors, I suddenly felt Edward lean backward, as if he was about to perform gymnastics. I fell on my backbone and almost twisted my ankle before I was able to straighten myself back up. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Brianna said as I stood up.

"I'm fine, just tripped on myself." I smiled slightly, to show that I was indeed alright. But at the same time, I thought, Couldn't you have at least warned me? I knew that even though I could no longer see him, Edward could most likely hear my thoughts.

I scooped myself another serving of potato salad when I heard a knock on the door. My heart skipped a beat in excitement. I had been waiting thirty minutes for my mom to arrive, and couldn't help but hope it was her. But I couldn't get my hopes too high: Edward had only promised to try to come, not that they would come without a doubt.

Anyway, I hurried towards the front door as quickly as my legs would let me, hopping before I got to the door and opened it.

"I can't believe you actually came!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around my mom. I took a good look at her. Her eyes were brown again (probably from wearing contacts), and her skin wasn't as pale. As long as I didn't get too close and felt the cold air emit from her body, she could pass as her old self.

Behind her stood Edward. He too wasn't as pale, though his eyes were the color that they usually turned after not hunting for a while. I still can't believe you dropped me last time, Edward. Well at least you all took my advice.

"I can't believe I'm here either. Well let's see who's here." She walked into the living room. "Kathy, is that really you?"

Edward walked in and closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry El–Madison, I truly am"—he leaned close to me so that his face nearly touched mine—"It's just that Brianna opened the door and I couldn't risk her seeing my skin," he whispered.

"I suppose your case is fair." I followed him into the living room then left to get my food from the kitchen.

Meg, Kathy Kent, Mark Kent, Melissa Allen (with Amelia asleep on her lap), and Mr. Allen talked loudly, in two separate conversations. Most of the seats were taken up, although there was a bit of space available next to Ken that I could definitely fit into, it would be awkward if I tried. So instead, I leaned against the wall, listening to the adults' conversations. Ken and Edward were just as quiet as I was, but at least Ken had an excuse; he was also eating. Edward looks almost like a statue. Or a squirrel that had been spotted. Just as I finished my thought, Edward shifted his weight and blinked. Never mind.

Ken scooted to the right, and looked at me. "You can sit if you want."

I shook my head as I chewed my food. Once I finished the food that had once been piled high onto my plate, I went to wash it. I saw Ken stand up just after I moved from my spot, and Edward made a movement as if he rethought getting up.

"Why isn't your dad here?" Ken asked after I got done with my dishes.

"Something with work. Which is odd, especially since it's usually Meg that's home late for the holidays." I played along with the story that Dr. Cullen had told Bri. One that Edward made me swore to keep straight. "And traveling hasn't been too easy for him since the coma. But he's been gaining mobility faster than Meg had, for some reason."

"You know what?"

"What?" I asked, my heart beating in my ears. Had he noticed that something was off with Meg? Surely not. Even if she only wore contacts and no other makeup, his memory of her was old and scarce.

"You tease me for my name, yet you call your parents by their names. I can't control what my parents named me. But you can control what you call yours."

"I…I know," I said, somewhat relieved that he had changed the subject, yet I couldn't help but feel more guilty as the meaning of his words sank in. I looked down. "I've been trying, but it's not that easy for me. Anyways. Wanna see how the kids are doing with the puzzle? Hopefully Andrew didn't dare Mia to put a piece in her mouth." I hurried up the stairs, skipping a step at a time. I heard Ken's footsteps behind me.

I stopped and stood at the entrance to the spare room. Inside, Andrew, Kelly (Ken's 9-year-old sister), and Mia all put pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together, without any arguments. Yet. But I couldn't help but frown for a second as I realized someone was missing from the room.

"Everything alright?" Ken asked.

"Brianna's supposed to be supervising them. I bet she bribed them with candy." I looked down the hall at Brianna's bedroom door, which was closed.

"Woah." After another moment, he spoke again, "I just thought of something; Mike went missing after he finished his food."

"Oh goodness. Don't let me think any more." I went into the room. "Wow! You guys are almost done with this." I picked up a piece that I thought would fit, but it didn't. I tossed it back into the box.

"Andrew's barely helping," Kelly complained. She took the piece that I tossed aside and fit it perfectly into a spot on the other side of the puzzle.

"But I am!" Mia said, smiling at me to show off her missing tooth.

"Yes you are," Kelly agreed.

"This is so boring." Andrew said. He stood up and looked out the window. "Why can't we play outside?"

"You can go play outside with Edward if you want. He wouldn't mind," I told Andrew.

"Okay!" He ran out of the room. No more than 5 seconds later, he appeared back at the doorway. "Who is he?"

"The brown haired boy. He's wearing white."

"He looks almost pure white," Ken added.

On new year's eve, I heard my phone sound a couple of times. Weird. I thought Brianna was going shopping tomorrow. I checked it anyway, to find out that it was Ken. He had texted me.

Hey its Ken
There's this party I'm going to tonight. Would u like to come?

Sure! What time is it at?

I'll pick ya up at 7

That's a bit late..
But I'll see you!

Do u not have a life?
That is not late
Cya

I switched off my phone and went to my closet. After a while of looking around, I spotted a mostly cream colored dress with miniature blue forget-me-nots on it. I went to my door and closed it, looking into the mirror that was attached to the back of the door. I placed the dress in front of me. It looked stunning. Why haven't I worn this before? I looked down and saw why: if I were any shorter, I would've been sweeping the floor with it. I decided that I would wear it anyway, having already turned 17 last summer. I laid it down on my bed and went downstairs to fix up some supper.

At six-thirty, I knocked on Brianna's door. Already wearing my dress. "Wanna do my hair? I won't put it down this time."

"Wow. What's with the sudden change?" She opened the door. "Go get your hairbrush and that box of bobby pins."

"Okay. Thanks." I skipped into my room and took what she asked for.

In front of her wall mirror, she had placed a stool. I handed her the items and sat down. She started by brushing my hair, which was knot-free for the most part, as I comb it every morning. Then she portioned my hair into three parts, two smaller sections on each side of my head, and a larger one at the back, which she tied into a ponytail. She took the small portion on the right and started braiding. Once done, she untied the ponytail and started twisting it into a bun. It hurt just a tiny bit when she started, but after she had put it in place with the hairpins, it felt tight, but in a good way; I knew it would keep for the rest of the night. Then she took each braid in turn and wrapped them around the bun before finally pinning them in.

"This is only possible because your hair is so long," she said as she finished. "Do you like it?"

"It's lovely," I said, looking in the mirror at different angles. The braids weren't the most noticeable with my black hair, but it looked nice nonetheless.

"Glad you do."

"Oh. I hadn't told you. I'm…going to a party tonight."

She laughed. "You don't need an excuse if you just want to look nice for the sake of it."

"I'm serious! Though it is a bit later than I would like it to be."

"Don't tell me you plan on walking there, that's extreme even for you."

"No, actually—"

I heard a loud knock. I looked around Brianna's room for a clock, but couldn't find one. The knocking started again, just as loud, only more frequent.

"Someone's picking you up?"

"Yeah. Ken," I said as I rushed down the stairs, grabbing my dress around my thighs and keeping it up to prevent me from tripping.

When I opened the door, it was indeed Ken standing on the other side, as I had anticipated. The thing that I did not expect though, was the thick tree branch that he held in his hands. On the floor were twigs that had either fallen off or he had pulled off.

"You guys should get a doorbell. Almost broke my hand trying to knock on it without the stick."

"Sorry about that. Hopefully I didn't keep you waiting for long. I'll go get my things. Come inside please."

I took my purse out of my closet and shoved my phone into it. I checked to see if my things were still in it as I walked down the stairs.

"When will we get back?" I asked Ken.

"I don't know; definitely after 12 though."

"I don't think I like that idea, but okay. Bri—"

"I heard." Brianna's voice came from the kitchen, right behind me. I was startled for a second. "Have fun!" she said as I walked out the door.

"You'll be fine alone?"

"Of course I'll be. The question is whether you will be fine at a party," she laughed. "If you need me to pick you up, just call me."

"Okay. See you!" I hugged her.

Ken had already started the car. Once I put on my seatbelt, he started driving. "I forgot to ask where we're going?"

"Julia Smith's house. And on the subject of forgetting, have I told you how good you look?" He looked at me for a second, then turned his attention back onto the road.

"Thanks. You don't look bad yourself, for an idiot," I teased.

"Oh come on. You're still on about that?"

"The scar on your face is just proof of it. And I still have the broken book somewhere."

"Nice to know that you've remembered me so well. So, how's your life been without me?"

"Boring. But I guess it's better boring than full of Spanish influenza and war."

He gave me a questioning look. "Did you just say 'Spanish influenza'?"

"Oh right, I don't really tell people. Well here it is in short; I have memories of a past life."

And so the rest of the car ride turned into a game of 20 questions.

"So that's why you're weirded out by going to a party so late," Ken said as the Smiths' house came into view. It couldn't be anyone else's—large, modern (geometrical with many windows), and the only house in sight for a minute.

"Yes."

As Ken pulled into the driveway, another noise became audible. The driveway already had many cars on it, reminding me of the entrance of the school parking lot. Once the engine died down, the noise turned out to be music. A very fast, and loud song. For me, at least—Ken seemed unbothered. It sounded familiar; I had probably heard it on the radio in Bri's car.

"Let me just say that my hopes aren't the highest," I muttered before we reached the front door. The music was getting a little too loud for my liking.

The entryway was well lit, and, as far as I could tell, the rest of the rooms were, too. A brown haired girl who wore a tight black dress with golden sparks, her long, off-shoulder sleeves almost hid her entire hand, and draped past her knees when she had her arms down. I could immediately tell that she was Julia Smith by her different eye colors (left eye brown and right eye blue), even though I've never really known her. She had graduated after my first year of high school.

"I didn't believe Ken when he said you'd come." Smith smiled at me. "But it's good that you did."

I certainly couldn't hear anything over the loud music, but apparently Smith did, since she listened for a second, then said, "Coming!" She looked back at us, then said, "You can go anywhere you want. Except the bedrooms. And don't try to unlock them either, please. Have fun!" And with that, she hopped away.

"Well, what shall we do now?" I said and looked at Ken.

"Let's see, what things do you expect from a party?" We walked straight down the hall, the music getting louder with every step.

"Taffy-pull? I don't feel like dancing just yet."

"'Taffy-pull'? What?"

"Okay. I kind of expected that. But please tell me that you know what taffy is."

"Of course I know what it is; there was a bowl of them on the kitchen counter when we used to go to your house."

"Well then, taffy is made by being pulled." We approached large glass doors, and I almost couldn't hear the words that left my mouth.

Through the crystal-clear doors, I could see the orange blaze of a fire. Some people sat around it, and the steam that escaped from their mouths revealed them to be speaking. Some wore jackets with the hoods on, one even had a very fluffy faux fur hood, and others had merely a sweatshirt on, if anything at all (Besides a T-shirt. No matter how crazy the boys from my school are, most of them wouldn't go around shirtless in the middle of the winter.)

"Wanna join them?"

"I am not going outside unless I absolutely need to. And I don't think the fire does much when you're surrounded by snow."

"Let's explore this place then." He grabbed my hand and started moving towards the stairs swiftly, though his pace wasn't exactly a run.

I sat at the island on an adjustable bar stool, supervising a mug of orange juice and a glass of sparkling water. If I were a few years younger, I would've been adjusting the stool until it broke. I kept my eyes on a mug half-filled with orange juice, even though all I wanted to do at that moment was lie down somewhere and close my eyes. Or just close my eyes in my current seat.

All around me, my schoolmates discussed various subjects concurrently, laughter filling the air, along with the occasional clinks of glass. One subject often came up—especially among the girls—was the Cullens. Or, more specifically, my relationship with the Cullens.

"Did you know that Mel said she saw Edward whisper into Madison's ear on the first day?" said a girl who I had most definitely seen before, yet I couldn't quite remember her name. She wore a red miniskirt and stood with one hand on the counter, not very far from me, but I still had to strain my ears at times because of the music.

The music, although still loud, had quieted down over the last 4 hours that I've spent in the Smiths' house. Or I've just gotten used to it.

"Really? I still wonder what happened between them… Wasn't Madison known for rejecting guys?"—I had to really strain my ears for the next part—"To be honest, I don't know what Edward saw in her—I really think he liked her—she's really not all that. And she's socially awkward. This is the first party anyone has seen her at." I could recognize this girl. She was known for always wearing gray cardigans (even in the summer!), and having her hair dyed unnatural colors. MacDonald was her surname…I couldn't remember her first.

I knew that I shouldn't be eavesdropping, but I couldn't stop. Firstly, because the only thing separating us was a single seat (that Ken had recently gotten up from to use the restroom), and secondly, hearing my name in their conversation piqued my interest.

MacDonald continued speaking. "Yet he rejected Lexi—there can't be a prettier girl in school—he straight up said, 'No, thanks.' Not even a second to think." Then she sighed. "I wished I had the guts to ask any boy to date me. Maybe not Kyle though."

Edward had rejected Lexi? Since when did she ask to be his girlfriend? No, since when was she single? Lexi Lonner had probably dated the most people in the decade. Every month she would date a new boy, and her parents have never batted an eye. Not even when she was 13, when she dated her first boyfriend. Last I knew though, she had been dating some boy from Seattle.

They continued talking as I did the mental math to see when Lexi had started dating that boy.

"He might be hot, but he's also a total nerd. His response to Mr. P in history was so detailed that—"

"Hey Kenneth!" said the girl that had first brought up the conversation.

"Huh? Oh. Hi, Kate."

"How's your night been? I can't believe it's going to be 2020 in just thirty minutes!"

"Yeah," Ken said. "So, what do you want?"

That's a little rude of him. She was only being nice, I thought, letting my eyes close now that I didn't have to keep constant watch of our drinks.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. By the way, I thought I was 'stupid for believing that loner.'"

"Okay, fine. Can you drive me home?"

That's how I figured out who she was. Kate Sinniger: the first one in my class to ever get a driver's license, only for it to get revoked due to a few minor accidents.

"I think I'm good. Thanks." Ken walked over and got back on the barstool beside me. He took the glass of orange juice that I had been keeping an eye on for him. In a hushed tone, he said, "Did those two give you any trouble?"

Before I could respond or even shake my head, I felt warm air at the back of my neck. I looked up, half-expecting to see an air vent. Instead, I saw the bottom of a man's chin, his stubble like specks of black pepper in a chowder. I also felt his neck against the top of my head.

I wanted to sit back up and get out of my seat—though I don't know how I would've managed that—but instead, I stood there, frozen. I smelled something similar to an alcohol marker. Who is this? I can't tell by just looking at the botto—

He placed his lips on mine. After a few seconds, I slapped him. "Yuck!" I said, as if a ginormous fly had just performed his actions. I spun around in my chair and kicked him in the shin. At that moment, I couldn't tell if what I had done was intentional or not, but it seemed to work.

"Dude, what were you thinking?!" I heard Ken say. Even though I couldn't see it, I heard his chair make a noise as he stood up. The next moment, I saw Ken's arms push the man down.

He screamed as he fell onto his back, grumbling. "Come on. You would've kissed her if you had the chance." His brown hair would've gone past his shoulders had he been standing up, but now it spread across the floor, away from his head. His eyes were blue. Louis Kryz. No wonder I smelled alcohol; that guy's been drinking since…forever.

I raised my arm to wipe my lips, stopping just before I did as I realized that my dress had no sleeves. So I hopped out of my seat and ran around to the kitchen sink, intentionally brushing past Sinniger in the process. I turned the water on, and started drenching my face with it. I thought about using dish soap to further cleanse my face, but decided against it. Because of the running water, I couldn't exactly make out what Ken was saying, but he sounded enraged.

I shut the faucet off and looked around me. To my left, I saw Julia Smith holding a mint green towel. "Don't worry, it's clean." She handed it to me with a small smile.

"Thank you." I dried my face off with it, not caring if I ruined my hairstyle.

At the other side of the island, Kryz was still on the floor, though he was sitting, and Kate Sinniger sat beside him. Looking at them from the side revealed that he had placed his right hand over his nose, which bled like Hell's Niagara falls.

Sinniger looked at the couch. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM?!"

I followed her gaze. On the couch in the corner, I saw a boy (most likely a senior) holding Ken back. Ken's hands were balled into fists, and I could almost feel him biting down on his teeth as I looked at his face.

"Your boyfriend kissed another girl and that's what you're concerned about? A fucking nose bleed?! I got them all the time as a kid!"

I quickly walked over to the couch, my eyes threatening to close on me if I took too long. "That's your masterpiece?" I pointed at Kryz.

"Yup."

The boy at his left let go of him and scooted over. I sat down beside Ken.

"Ken, can you take some deep breaths?"

He did as I told him to.

"Can we please leave now?" I asked when I felt his body relax a little. "I know it's still—" I yawned.

Ken stood up. "Let's go." He walked across the room towards the front door, not looking at nor uttering a word to Kryz nor his girlfriend.

I followed quickly, making my footsteps as quiet as possible, just because I could. I grabbed my coat and Ken's jacket off the hooks on the wall. Before I walked out of the door, I thanked Julia and said goodbye. She quickly came over to the entrance and hugged me, then handed me my purse.

"Goodnight. Get home safely, make sure Ken doesn't grind his teeth to sand."

I laughed, thanked her for giving me my purse, and then ran to catch up with him.

"Will your mom be mad at you?" I asked as I got into the passenger seat of Ken's car, throwing his jacket at him. "I know she doesn't exactly like fights, being a kindergarten teacher."

"If she doesn't understand why I did that, I'll drop out, move out, and get a job." He placed his coat on the back seat without looking, inserted the car-key, started the engine, and turned the heat up pretty high.

I rubbed my hands together then placed them under my thighs. I noticed the coolness on my shoulders, so I took my coat off my lap and tried to put it on without unbuckling my seatbelt. When that proved to be too hard, I unbuckled myself and slid into my coat faster than you can say 'unbuckle, idiot!'

I closed my eyes and listened and we drove away.

"You're home," Ken said as I felt the car come to a stop. I heard him switch the gear to park, then felt him shake my left arm. My head leaned against the window, and even though it was cold, I didn't move.

Of course I wanted to sleep in my bed, but to get out of the car into the cold, walk up the stairs, ask Brianna to unlock the door, brush my teeth, undress, shower, change into my sleepwear, and then climb into bed seemed too hard for my lazy mind.

"Wake up, Madison."

I opened my eyes and blinked. I still didn't want to get out of the car, but I did so reluctantly.

"Goodnight, Ken." I closed the car door.

"Goodnight."

I heard him drive away as I locked the door.