«If you wanna break these walls down, you're gonna get bruised
And now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it
Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it »
-Halsey

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Having strict parents can either encourage a child to live honestly, compelling them to please their parents and conform to society or become obstinate from the pressure and restrictions. The latter occurred in this case, as many years of rebellion and hiding certain truths from her parents made it easy for Elizabeth to sneak out to Ryan Martínez's party.

She pressed her feet down on the floor as lightly as possible as she gripped the scarf around her shoulders tightly and reached out to grab the brass door handle.

The chilly wind outside was carrying colourful leaves in the chilly air, a perfect autumn night. Elizabeth could almost taste the freedom as she put one foot out, but she suddenly stopped as someone called her name from behind her. Elizabeth silently prayed it wasn't her mother.

"Miss Elizabeth! Where do you think you're going?"

Elizabeth let out a breath of relief and turned around slowly to see their housekeeper Mariana before her with a confused expression. Elizabeth gave Mariana the most innocent smile she could, even though she knew it wouldn't work, not with the dress she was wearing.

"I'm just going out and about, the question is what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be at home by now?"

Mariana furrowed her eyebrows, worry taking over her round face. "Oh, Miss Elizabeth, the Madame needs delights ready and the house absolutely perfect. Some guests will come for tea. I must have everything prepared."

"First off, don't call me miss. And you know what, I'm sure Eleanor and her guests can wait a while longer for their tea. You need rest first," Elizabeth said in a demanding tone, but only out of concern for the old woman.

"Miss-"

"Mariana. Go home, don't be silly. And- shhh!" Elizabeth pointed up at her mother's bedroom with wide eyes. Mariana spun around in a fright and Elizabeth saw her chance as she slipped out, closing the door behind her. She could hear Mariana trying to call her back inside. Elizabeth felt a little guilty about tricking Mariana like that, but she'd get over it.

About a block away, stood a taxi, discreetly waiting for her. She informed the driver of her destination as Elizabeth settled in. The driver started the engine and took off with a nod. They travelled through the roads of a small and reserved town near London, yet quite the opposite to the city in all aspects.

Considered an elite town, Westshire is a home to successful businessmen and chief executives who lived in the town with their families. Most of Westshire was fast asleep at the moment, a perfect time for the deviant teenagers to crawl out and defame their parents' names.

As they approached the club, the energy changed drastically, the feeling of an empty quiet night was no more. There were groups of people laughing loudly, singles just hanging around the shady entrance, couples snogging, girls arguing in their drunken state, and an unbelievably long line feeding the club's popular reputation.

Elizabeth cut through the line and went straight up to the tall bouncer guarding the opening of the club.

"Get in line," he replied in a tired voice.

"I'm not-"

"Get in line," he repeated, this time angrily. He'd been standing here too long to have the patience to deal with bratty teenagers.

Elizabeth didn't appreciate his tone,
she grit her teeth in anger, and pulled out her ID then waved it in front of the bulky man. "Hey buddy, how about you avoid getting your arse fired, and look at my damn ID?"

The guard's expression immediately softened in concern as he read the name. He cleared his throat and handed the card back to Elizabeth. "Sorry Miss Castle, you can go right ahead."

Elizabeth murmured under her breath, and snatched the ID back from the guard, pushing past him.

The club lights flashed colourfully and the techno music pumped in her ears as she made her way through the partying public. Elizabeth walked to the back where the area was reserved for the elite of Westshire High, the only school in town.

As she approached, a fiery redhead could be seen sitting in one of the lounges and talking to a thin blonde girl. The ginger being Elizabeth's boyfriend.

Robbert Shaw, who had been in a relationship with Elizabeth for two years now, was sliding his hands across Lisa Reid's thighs. He then smirked, said something to Lisa and she giggled in turn. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, she considered dumping him right now, make a scene.

'Could be fun.' A voice in Elizabeth's head said.

Elizabeth pushed her long black hair behind her ear, straightened up, fixed a fierce glare on her face and strutted across the floor to Robbie. A few people had noticed her arrival and they waved to her excitedly, but right now Robbie had her undivided attention.

"You know sweetheart, I would dump you right here, right now but Mr Shaw and my parents have an important meeting next week and I'd rather we not be the topic of discussion at their meeting," Elizabeth said with a sweet smile to her boyfriend, who looked startled to see her.

Robbie's hands dropped out of Lisa's lap instantly, "Oh babe! You didn't tell me you'd be coming. I would've picked you up."

"Aw Robbie, if you had any concern for me, you would've picked me up either way- but you're too busy picking up trash like this..." Elizabeth eyed Lisa sitting beside Robbie who gasped loudly. Robbie pretended like he didn't hear Elizabeth's comment.

"Excuse me?" Lisa shrieked.

"Excused." She turned away from a sputtering Lisa and put her hand on Robbie's shoulder. "How about you buy me a drink," Elizabeth ordered. "Meanwhile, I'll go with our friend. We can both play games, Robbie."
She smiled at him and turned around, leaving him confused. Elizabeth made her way to the bar with Robbie.

The bar had a loud crowd surrounding it, friends hooted on the birthday boy as he took another shot. "That's eight shots, bitches!" Ryan's face had a wide drunk smile on his face, his plain white t-shirt and black hair drenched from the drinks his friends had thrown on him. Ryan had money to waste, time to kill and nothing to lose tonight.

"One more and you'll get your birthday gift from me," Elizabeth shouted out to him. Ryan found Elizabeth's face and laughed.

"Ellie, glad you made it," Tyler yelled, passing her a shot from the counter behind him. "Together," he smirked and they both downed their drinks.

"Your gift has been sent to your place, but I bought one I could carry easily." She brought her lips to his cheeks, placing a hard kiss on it. "Happy Birthday Ry." She heard people hoot in the back.

"Thanks, Ellie, now you enjoy the party and get smashed." Ryan grinned, his face red as he handed her another glass.

"As always," she replied. Elizabeth looked back at Robbie who was holding a drink and frowning at Elizabeth. But he wasn't the only one watching her, as she found herself being glared down by Valma Lee, Ryan's girlfriend. She started making her way towards Elizabeth with an angry look on her face.

'Oh fuck, this will be fun.' Elizabeth thought.

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