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Dedication: Fmlpablo for being a great supporter of the story. Thank you!

Recap:

"You're going to have to end me, then," he spits, swivelling his eyes to Miles. "Because she is the best way to get to you." He flickers his eyes to Finn, before looking back at Miles. "To both of you."

I gulp, taking a step back.

This doesn't look good.

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"Finn, get out of here," the Coach quickly mutters as Principal Harrison began striding over, a look of fury on his face.

Finn darts off to the side, before disappearing behind the grandstand. He has been warned that he is at risk of being suspended and losing his Captain position of the football team, if he gets into any more fights.

"Who started it?" Harrison barks immediately. "And who was involved?"

Eli let out a humourless laugh as the paramedics began working on him, as he watched the football team begin to scramble.

"Alec, come here," Harrison said and Alec sighs, walking over to him. "Where's Finn?"

Alec shrugs, unable to wipe the cocky grin off his face. "Haven't seen him since the game finished."

Principal Harrison narrowed his eyes at him. "Get over to the bench. Now."

Alec rolls his eyes, doing as he's told.

Harrison looks at Jai. "You didn't throw any punches, did you?"

"Nah." Jai replies honestly.

"Didn't think so."

Jai walks over to us, as Harrison began picking off the students he thought he saw involved. The Coach followed him, trying to persuade him that the other team started it, not wanting any of his players to be suspended.

"What did the paramedic say about your shoulder?" I ask, planning to avoid talking about the fight.

"Muscle tear. It should be alright in a couple of days." he explains, rubbing it absently.

I nod in response, before glancing towards the grandstand. I see mum speaking to Finn, her hands on her hips.

"Uh oh," I say, sharing a sigh with Samara, before jogging towards them.

"Mum, are you serious?" Finn groans, looking frustrated. "I won the game, I have to go to my own victory party."

"No. I told you not to get in anymore fights," she says sternly, her hands on her hips, her curly hair messily cascading down her shoulders, being wind-blown from the cool, night breeze. "You're grounded."

"Mum, don't do this. We can start the grounding tomorrow. I need to be at the party, in case Eli and his crew show up."

"So you can get in more fights? No." she barks, her voice firm. "You're staying in and that's final."

I half-want to step in and defend Finn, but I also know that when mum is in this mood, she isn't one to argue with.

"If you do this mum, don't expect it to go unforgotten," he warns, looking pissed off.

"Is that a threat?" she huffs incredulously, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes," he says through gritted teeth, his cheeks reddening.

Finn is a real Mumma's boy, unless she stops him going to a party. Then, things turn ugly, really quick.

"Well then, I might just-"

"Break it up," I sigh, stepping in between the two.

"Mum, back off." I say bluntly, before turning my back to her. "Finn, you can miss out on one party, it won't kill you. Eli won't show up because if you didn't notice, he will be stuck with the paramedics. His parents are here, they won't let him go with his tooth like that. His friends wouldn't come to a party of ours without him."

"But-" he protests.

"End of discussion."

Mum purses her lips together and Finn glares at the ground, looking uncharacteristically childish.

"Yeah, Mumma Collins, no more fighting," Alec grins, coming up from behind, planting his hands on her shoulders.

She smiles bashfully. "Sorry you had to witness that, Alec."

"Nothing I haven't been in myself before," he assures her.

"Did you get in trouble?" Finn asks Alec.

"He threatened to bench me for the next two games but Coach talked him down to a three-day detention after school," he grins, looking satisfied with the outcome.

"Okay, good. Thanks for having my back." Finn shakes his hand, before turning back to mum. Alec's lightly tanned skin still had sweat across it. I'm glad to see he suffered no injuries throughout the fight. "I need to go tonight, someone needs to look out for Is."

"It'll be all good Finn, I'll look out for this little darling." he points to me and I roll my eyes.

Jai joins us, a grouchy look on his face as he holds his shoulder. Finn ignores Alec.

"You'll watch over her, yeah?" he asks him, acting as if I'm not standing right there.

"Yes Finn," Jai shakes his head with a laugh.

"Let the girl live, Finn." Mum scowls, still annoyed from his attitude from before.

"I'm not talking to you right now," he mutters, turning away.

Mum frowns and I shake my head at the both of them.

She walks over to me, planting a kiss on my cheek. "Have fun tonight, be safe."

"Thanks Ma."

She turns to Finn, who is talking to The Boys.

"Finn, come on."

He grumbles something under his breath, before he stomps away from us, following mum.

"Well then," Alec says, a grin lighting up his face. "Let's go get drunk."

***

Considering my mother and Finn will be fighting at home, Samara and I opted going to her house instead, to get dressed.

"Do you have anything I can wear?" I ask her, the outfit I planned to wear, sitting at home on my bed.

I run my fingers over her elegant dresses, trying to find something that I will feel comfortable in.

"I have just the dress for you," she informs me, popping her hip into mine, effectively moving me out of the way.

"Oh Lord," I mutter, going towards her dressing table and taking a sip of my Vodka and raspberry drink, already having had a few cups of it.

While Samara is looking, I take a moment to ponder Eli's words. I wonder what he has planned. I'm not too afraid of him, he really doesn't seem like a bad guy. Sure, he's an ass, but so is my brother at times. I think the rivalry is child-play. Surely, he wouldn't do anything too drastic to me.

"Here it is," she says, drawing me from my thoughts, tossing a grey dress onto the bed. "And these." She rummages through her unhealthily large shoe collection, withdrawing a pair of knee-high boots.

I pick the dress up, the material feeling soft and light in my hands. Knowing that it is going to be skimpy, I shed the jersey and jeans from my body and wiggle into the extremely-tight-fitting dress.

The top is low cut, which is meant to show off Samara's well-endowed chest. It does show mine off, but I know it would look better on her. I wander over to the mirror and roll my eyes as the dress clings to my body like second-skin, showing off every single curve I have to offer.

"I can't wear this."

"Why not?"

"Finn would..." I trail off, realising that Finn won't be there. My eyes widen. Samara smirks, nodding. "Can I...?"

"Yeah, it looks hot. Why wouldn't you wear it?"

I shrug, before tugging the boots up my legs. They stretch over my knees, resting at the bottom of my thighs. They complement the dress well, showing off my legs in a flattering manner.

Not the exact dress, but this look is close to what Isobel is wearing:

"Is this too much?" I ask her nervously. "I don't know if I should wear this..."

Ignoring me, Samara grabs one of her necklaces. She silently places it around my neck, doing up the clasp, the necklace feeling cold against my skin.

"Beautiful," she smiles, stepping back, marvelling her work.

I drain the rest of my drink, hoping it will give me some liquid courage. Finn will be furious if he saw me wearing something like this. He often forgets that he's my brother and acts like my dad. Maybe he feels it's his duty to, being the only male in our immediate family.

After getting several photos, we decide it's time to go.

I smile at the photos as I walk down the stairs. My long hair is curled neatly, contrasting my dark red lipstick. I shrug one of Samara's coats over my shoulders as I stroll down the steps, not wanting her parents to see me in a dress like this, even though it belongs to their daughter.

"You girls look lovely!" Samara's mother, Angela, beams. "Ready?"

"Yep!" Samara and I chorus.

Samara is wearing a black, lace-playsuit that gathers tightly at the waist and stops shorter than mid-thigh, well and truly showing off her long legs. Her vibrant, red hair is straightened, falling down past her elbows. She's wearing striking red lipstick, making her seem very exotic and much older than 18.

I sneak my drink into the car and down the cup on the way, beginning to feel light-headed.

"Thanks for the lift!" I thank Samara's mum, before quickly tossing my jacket into the backseat and making my way out of the car.

"What trouble are you going to get yourself into, now that your brother isn't here?" she smirks at me as we walk up the driveway.

"Me? I never get myself into trouble," I reply back teasingly, following her lead as she strides confidently into the party.

As expected, eyes magnetically turn to Samara.

What I didn't expect, was to have eyes on me, as well. I guess I am dressed more daring than usual, adopting some of Samara's fierce look. As she is used to the stares, she continues striding forward without a care in the world. I attempt to catch up to her long strides, flicking my dark hair over my shoulder, trying to seem as unfazed as she does.

As we get to the kitchen, Samara swings the cooler bag off her shoulder, withdrawing two plastic bottles, filled with our alcohol. She hides the bag under one of the kitchen counters, before passing the raspberry-flavoured bottle to me.

"Gracias," I smile.

"De Nada," she smirks back.

We took Spanish as our cultural language subject in year nine, sometimes slipping into the language when speaking to each other. For the basic words we remember, anyway.

"Holy shit," I hear Alec say.

I draw my eyes to his and he is openly gaping at me. I smile at him and notice immediately that he is drunk. He grips the bench slightly as his eyes openly rake my body. I'm a little surprised at how obviously he is checking me out, considering there are a number of people in the kitchen.

"Hey, you lot," I greet, going over to the counter and unscrewing my lid in the process. A few of the football boys, including Bentley off in the corner, are in here, all talking loudly, encouraging others to finish their cans as fast as possible.

"Ladies," Jai replies, taking a swig of his beer. "Looking good."

"How's the shoulder? Feeling any better?" I question, attempting to get the attention off me.

"I took some painkillers, it's feeling better now."

"You shouldn't be drinking," I say to him cautiously, eyeing the almost-empty bottle of beer in his hand.

He offers me a lope-sided smile. "That's exactly what the paramedic said."

I let out a laugh, as I feel two warm hands rest on my hips. Alec drags me to him as he continues to stare at me.

"Isobel," he murmurs. "You look incredible."

I swallow uneasily, nervously taking a step back. There are many people around here and even though Finn might not be one of them, it only takes one pair of eyes to notice.

"Thank you," I reply quietly.

"Come for a walk with me," he smirks, reaching for my hand.

"Alec!" I exclaim in a whisper, stepping back. "There's people around."

"So?" he grins with a shrug. "Is that so bad?"

"Do you want to die?" I ask flatly, masking how emotional I feel at how forward he is being.

He would openly show his feelings for me? Or, is it because he is drunk?

"Might be worth it." he whispers, taking his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"Alright, break it up," Jai intervenes, literally stepping in between us, looking at Alec. "This can't happen. You're drunk and I know you might think you won't regret it, but you will. At least talk to Finn first if you're going to go public with this, yeah?"

"But Jai, look at her," Alec whines, pouting.

I snort with laughter at the sight of him. He is definitely drunk.

"Take a lap," Jai says, pointing to the door, sounding much like their Coach.

Alec sighs, grabbing another drink, before leaving the kitchen. A number of eyes are watching me but I ignore them.

"Good thinking there, Jai," I tell him.

"Listen, Is," Jai said in a low voice, squeezing my arm. "Don't get your hopes up from what Alec was just saying, okay?"

"Okay," I reply quietly. "Why do you say that?"

"I don't want you to get hurt, that's all," he smiles, squeezing my arm one more time, before he steps back.

I bite my lip, staring down into my drink as I ponder his words. I have been hesitant about my involvement with Alec, fearing it will turn out exactly like it did with Miles. Jai only made my fear more real.

With my grip tightening around the bottle, I scull the remainder of it.

I blink a few times as I grip the bench, the loud music pulsing in my ears. I can feel my alcohol consumption beginning to take effect on my body. My head feels light as I stare into Samara's dark, perfectly lined eyes.

She gives me a wide smile, grabbing my hand, pulling me after her.

Someone slaps my butt as I walk past them but I don't acknowledge it. As we're walking, Jai leans in, whispering something into Samara's ear.

"Go dance with Jai," I slur with a nod. "I can take care of myself."

"I want to dance with you," she replies a little suddenly, pulling me after her again.

This is the song playing in the background (Havana Brown - Big Banana in case it doesn't load):

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

She pulls me close to her, looping her arms around my neck.

I close my eyes, leaning back, letting my body move to the music. I suddenly feel a little careless, planning to ignore my unwanted, mixed feelings in regard to Alec and Miles right now.

Her black-tipped fingers slide through mine as she rolls her body, dropping to the floor a few times, swiftly bouncing back up, somehow making the promiscuous move look classy and elegant.

A warm hand on my arm brings me back to reality, as I blink into focus. Miles' face materialises before me.

He looks good. Miles is wearing a plain black, V-neck t-shirt, with ripped jeans and his leather jacket. The sleeves are pushed to his elbows, showing off his lightly tanned arms. I lean into him momentarily, wanting to get closer to him.

"Isobel," he says softly, looking devastatingly handsome with his jaw slightly swollen, the music drowning his voice. "You okay?"

"She's fine." Samara snaps, wrenching my arm from his hold.

She drags me after her and I pout, wanting to know what Miles was going to say. I stumble to keep up with her as she leads to me to the large, dining table where a couple of people are seated.

She pulls a chair out, climbing up onto it.

"Samara!" I gasp, my head feeling dangerously light, my body swaying. "What are you doing?"

"Come on!" she urges, reaching for me.

I find myself climbing onto the table as a number of people begin cheering and whistling, encouraging us to dance on the table, Bentley's voice seemingly the loudest.

She saunters to me, rolling her shoulders, shimmying up and down me, as she laughs. I begin dancing, more to myself though, loving how drunk and carefree I am feeling.

I love Finn, but it's somewhat comforting knowing he isn't here and I have that bit more freedom than I usually would.

"I'll give you $10 if you dirty dance on her," Bentley smirks, holding up a ten dollar note between his index and middle finger, looking like he is enjoying the show much more than he should be.

His dark eyes aren't on either of our faces as he waves the note around, almost impatiently.

It is then, I realise, a crowd has gathered around the table.

Cheekily, Samara leans across, yanking the $10 from Bentley's hand and slips it down the front of her dress. I know I will regret this tomorrow but I'm drunk and don't honestly care right now.

I let out a laugh as Samara begins to grind on me. I close my eyes and dance, not really going along with what she is doing.

"$20 to kiss her," Alec smirks, holding up two ten dollar notes - one for me, one for Samara.

"Alec!" I exclaim, feeling my cheeks turn red.

She leans forward, yanking the notes from his hand, shoving one down her top and one down mine. I let out a laugh as she does, not fazed by her intrusiveness - I'm used to it by now.

Samara has done this for free before, so it doesn't surprise me when she grips my face and plants her lips to mine.

I squirm in her grip, feeling more than uncomfortable with doing this and also having everyone watching us. Suddenly, an arm wraps around my waist, hoisting me backwards. I don't have time to scream as my mind tries to figure out why my legs are suddenly off the table.

I am hauled over someone's shoulder as I hear a series of "boo's" emit from behind me. My eyes roll back into my head as I will myself not to pass out. I let the person carry me outside the house, the loud music pulsing against my eardrums.

The brisk, night air blasts against my skin, making my flaming cheeks feel like they're cooling down.

I gently get placed on my feet. I meet the ice-cold stare of Miles, who is watching me, a furious look on his face.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he shouts at me, throwing a hand through his ashy, blond hair, agitatedly.

"I was having fun," I slur, leaning back onto a car, folding my arms across my chest, my eyes not-so-subtly dipping over his appearance. "You had no right to grab me like that. I don't belong to you - I'm not your property."

"Did you see how they were looking at you?" he explodes, pulling a cigarette out from behind his ear, his hands trembling.

"Not really," I reply honestly, reaching out and snatching the cigarette from him, before snapping it in half.

"I don't ever want someone to look at you like that." he growls, balling his fists, as if not having noticed I did it.

"Why?" I ask him, my head spinning.

"Because I should be the only one who looks at you like that," he murmurs, his voice dropping low as he steps closer, his aftershave washing over me.

He cups my face in the palms of his hands, securely.

Before I have time to react, he roughly presses his lips to mine. My eyes widen in surprise as he pushes me gently against the car, his hard chest up against mine. My eyes flutter shut as his warm tongue brushes my own, his lips moving expertly against mine.

An entrenched sense of longing burns through me as the kiss deepens, his taste over powering all my senses. I have desperately wished his lips on mine, many times, since he moved. I never thought I would get the chance to have him, again.

His fingers rake through my curled hair, before his warm hand slides down my neck. He slips my bottom lip between his, sucking softly. I let out a light moan as he does. He steps back breathlessly, his eyes boring into mine. My head is swimming, my mind blurring the lines between reality and the memories of how things used to be.

"Don't fight this," he whispers, his hot breath fanning across my lips. "Don't fight me."

He presses his forehead to mine as his brilliant-blue eyes stare intently into mine, making my knees knock together.

"I am so God damn sorry for how I treated you. I want to spend every day, making it up to you." his voice barely above a whisper as he tentatively strokes my hair.

I feel my eyes grow wet at his words. His warm breath is on me and all I can think about is him kissing me, again.

"Isobel!" A loud shout shocks me and I jerk away from Miles, too stunned to act functionally.

Alec appears in sight, looking worried. His face transforms from concerned, to anger, immediately.

"What the hell?" he demands.

"Fuck off," Miles snaps, switching back to his angry self within seconds, looking annoyed. "You're not needed here."

Alec strides over to us. He rips Miles from me, before shoving him back aggressively. I gasp in horror at the roughness. Miles stumbles back, looking momentarily shocked, before he lunges towards a very-drunk Alec, successfully tackling him to the ground.

I hold onto the car for support as the two boys begin fighting each other aggressively and rather sloppily. I groan, annoyed that they can never handle situations maturely.

Jai appears out the door next, looking grumpy, holding his shoulder as he walks over to the two. With a sigh, he pulls Miles off him. Miles shoves Jai back and completely uncharacteristically, Jai swings at him, punching Miles swiftly in the side of his face. Miles falls back to the ground, groaning, clearly not having expected Jai to react that way.

"If one more punch is thrown, I will lose my shit," Jai warns, his eyes blazing, glowering down at the pair, trying not to wince.

The two boys don't reply as they both lay in a heap. Jai turns, holding his shoulder, looking in pain.

"Jai," I whisper, my mind reeling with everything that has happened in the last few moments. "You used your sore shoulder."

"I know," he winces, looking pale.

"Come here," I say gently, leading him to the car, pressing my hand to his chest so that he half-sits on the car bonnet.

Miles staggers to his feet, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"I've got it from here. Go." Jai says to him.

Miles looks like he would rather do anything else than leave me here with Alec, but he doesn't argue. His eyes burn into mine as he walks away, flexing his fingers.

"That asshole can throw a good punch, I'll give him that," Alec groans, blood trickling from his nose.

"You guys fight way too much," I say to them. "It's really bad."

"It is," Jai agrees, looking paler by the second.

"Jai, are you okay?" I ask him with concern.

He blinks furiously, his head falling to one side, before he passes out on the ground, in a painful looking sprawl.

"Oh shit," I curse, dropping to my knees. "Jai!"

I jostle him, trying to get him to rouse. I hear Alec move to sitting position.

"Damn." he sighs, meeting my eye. "You know what we have to do, right?"

"What?" I ask nervously.

"We need to call Finn."

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3 updates in a week? I'm on a roll ;)

Action packed chapter! Thoughts?

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