Reign's POV.

Luke didn't show up for school on Thursday and Friday.

Mason, Garrett and Ariana were at Shake 'n Sip on Saturday and I was waiting for his car to pull up and join them but it never did.

I keep expecting a call or text from him but nothing, I even stalked his Instagram but he hasn't posted anything since Tuesday.

He just disappeared.

It's Sunday night and I've decided to hangout with Garrett and Mason, just in case Luke shows up.

It's not that I want to take him back or anything, I just want to know if he's okay.

These guys say his phone has been off since Thursday night so even they don't know if he's okay.

My phone buzzes in my hoodie pocket, I quickly pull it out thinking it's Luke.

It's a text from Ariana.

I sigh.

"SOS!!"

I roll my eyes, she does this every time she's tired of partying, like girl, call an Uber or something.

"Where's Ariana?" I ask Garrett and Mason from the backseat.

"At a party." Mason responds.

"She's crying out for help." I stare at the screen.

"What kind of help?" Asks Garrett.

"SOS? Yeah, she sent it to everyone but we're not responding," Says Mason, I nod my head in agreement, slipping my phone back in my pocket.

I look out the window, staring at the unfamiliar neighborhood.

I don't even know where we're going, I'm a little afraid to ask but I have high hopes that I'm gonna see Luke tonight, I have to see him.

I face the front again, narrowing my eyes at Garrett who's driving and texting.

"Dude, don't text and drive." I slouch forward to snatch his phone.

"Sorry, Mom." His sarcastic tone remarks, Mason chuckles.

I lean back in the seat, peeping on his phone.

Luke.

He was texting Luke.

My heart picks up as I scroll through the conversation without really reading anything.

"Where is he?" I ask before I can stop myself, he looks at me through the rearview with a smirk.

"At the same party."

"Why was he being a ghost for the past three days?" I question.

"He didn't say." He sighs, my insides flip and I feel uneasy.

"We're going to the party, right?" I put his phone on the console, he and Mason exchange a look.

"No." They say in union.

"What about Ariana? Her call for help might be legit." I say, sounding all serious.

"Ariana? Really?" Garrett calls bullshit.

"If anything bad happens to her, it's on you guys." I point out, hoping they change their minds.

And also cause Ariana might actually be in real bad shit this time.

"Okay, fine, let's go to the stupid party." Mason gives in, I plaster a successful smile as Garrett does a quick U-turn.

We drive to the party, listening to Garrett's awful music but I spend the entire ride thinking about Luke and the last conversation we had and then I think about all the conversations we've had since the day we met.

I remember why I hated him in the first place, he questioned why my parents gave me such a name, he said it didn't make sense.

That upset me cause my Dad always preached about how unique my name was, and to have someone say it didn't make sense upset the shit out of me.

Looking back, he was right, who names their kid Reign in the twenty first century?

We arrive at the party and I jump out of the car, taking it all in.

High school parties are stupid, I can't wait for college parties.

Garrett tells us to split up so we can find her sooner and then meet back here in twenty.

Yeah, I'm not here to look for Ariana but okay.

I stare at the beast of a mansion, knowing pretty well that this party is gonna be broken up by the cops.

I enter the house, shoving myself through, tiptoeing and turning my head in all directions in search for him but he's nowhere to be seen.

I notice some kids going out back to the pool, I start heading there but then I cease.

I spot him on the stairs with Damien and a girl that looks a lot like Luke's sister, he's standing up, leaning against the railing while Damien and the blonde are sitting down on a step. They all have their eyes on a group of girls, Damien is saying something while Luke is listening attentively and his sister holds an annoyed expression.

Damien must have said something funny cause Luke and his sister laughed, I watch him laugh, his dimples showing and his eyes gleaming.

And then suddenly, his eyes shoot to where I'm standing.

I freeze, holding his stare, my chest heaves, somehow feeling guilty but for what?

"Reign?" Someone calls my name, I break eye contact to look at the person.

"Shane, hey." I force a smile, feeling his gaze on me.

"You good?" He places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I try to breathe.

"You don't look fine." He shakes his head, my eyes dart to the bottle he's holding.

"Can I have some of that?"

"I grabbed this one from the kitchen counter, it might be roofied but I can get you a new one." He suggests, I nod and he grabs my hand.

I look at him again as Shane walks me to the kitchen, he walks down the steps and disappears elsewhere without sparing me a glance.

Well, shit, I'm making this worse.

We reach the kitchen, he fishes out an unopened bottle of whiskey, he tries to twist it open but his hands are shaking for some reason.

"Sorry, I get nervous around pretty girls." He says, I raise my brows.

"You think I'm pretty?"

"Everyone thinks you're pretty," he opens the bottle, "And you are." He passes me the bottle.

"I have pink hair." I breathe out a laugh, receiving the bottle.

"Which makes you look prettier, yes." He smiles at me.

I find myself wondering if Luke thinks I'm pretty, I mean he did call me beautiful on many occasions but most of those occasions were when I was naked and he was buried deep inside me.

I gotta stop thinking about him.

I sip, scrunching my face and groaning at the burn.

I extend the bottle back to Shane and he chugs, throwing his back, his Adam's apple bobbling as he swallows. He sits the bottle on the counter and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

He would be the perfect guy to help me forget about Luke.

"What?" He notices my look.

"Do you think people get over other people by hooking up with other people?" I ask.

"It depends on how strong the relationship was." He grabs the bottle and swings another sip.

"How do I even know if it was strong?" I say more to myself, sighing.

"By making out with someone else, if the kiss doesn't make you feel what you felt with that person then you'll know," he answers my question, "And by someone else I mean me because I'm the only one available right now." He jokes, looking around us, I snort a laugh.

Without wasting time, he places his hand on the side of my face and bends over. Our lips meet and we kiss, his kiss is slow and lazy and gentle, even so, I can tell that he's a good kisser but it doesn't make me feel the gooey feeling in my stomach or the fast heartbeat or the electricity in my body or the need to rip his clothes off.

It's just a kiss that makes me feel like I'm betraying him.

"Well well well, if isn't Luke's little wildcat." Damien's voice pulls us apart. "And there he was, sulking over you like a little bitch." He smirks at me.

"Luke? As in Luke Richardson?" Shane asks in a shocked tone, I ignore him.

"It's not what you.. I mean it is but I was just... It's just that..." I stutter.

"Whatever the fuck it was, I don't give a shit." He walks off.

Shane and I face each other.

"He's definitely gonna tell Luke." He bites his teeth.

"Fuck, Damien!" I run after him.

I spot him heading to the living room where all the cheering is coming from.

I catch up to him in the doorway, he's watching whatever they're cheering on to while I'm looking at him.

"Well, looks like you're even now." He says to me.

I face the chaos, directly to what's causing the noise.

He has a girl on his lap, his hands on her hips, her fingers in his hair and they're kissing each other fast and passionately.

My heart drops in my stomach.

Something savage strangles my neck, making it hard for me to breathe, I draw in a breath or two, my heart crawls from my stomach, back to my chest, it begs and begs for me to rip it out and I see red everywhere.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" I can practically hear Damien's smile.

Luke suddenly pauses, breaking the kiss and turning his head to me like he could feel my eyes on him.

Our eyes meet for the second time tonight and I feel nothing but rage, my legs start walking backwards on their own, I bump into someone and that's when I turn to head to the door.

Everything's spinning and my head is whirling and my blood is boiling. Everything feels so overwhelming.

I open the front door, marching out of the house. Cool air whips my face but I still can't breathe.

I bring my hand to my hair, containing my scream by tugging on the roots.

I don't know where I'm going but all I know is that I have to get out of here.

I slide my hand down my face and I notice that it's shaking, and my heart is aching.

Why am I overreacting?

He kissed someone else but so did I.

Stop overreating.

I hear someone's footsteps following behind me, I don't look because I know it's him.

"So Damien claims to have seen you kissing Shane Dawson, ironic, isn't it?" He leads with that.

Seriously?

I'm not answering that.

"Why are you mad at me for doing something that you were doing?" He asks.

"I'm not mad." My tone is barely audible as I rub my chest.

"Then why are you leaving the party?"

"Cause I want to."

"Home's the other way, sweetheart." He points out, I turn around to head the other way but he blocks my way.

"Out of my way." I demand, keeping my gaze down.

"I'm waiting." He tells me, I lift my gaze to his face, he's putting on that serious expression.

"For what?" I fold my arms over my chest.

"An explanation." He says, I roll my eyes.

"I'm not doing this with you." I try to walk around him but he steps in front of me.

"You owe me that." He almost sounds angry.

Seriously, he's the angry one?

"Fine, Luke, I got tired of fucking you!" I snap, my words sounding rude.

He shuts his eyes, shaking his head like he's trying to erase my words, he opens his eyes to look at me and I see hurt in them.

"Right." He turns to walk back to the party.

"No, lie." I take it back quickly, "That was a lie." I admit.

"Then why?" He faces me again.

"Because you fell for me, Luke, I told you not to but then you did." I complain.

"And you didn't?" He steps closer, his eyes searching mine.

"No." I clench my teeth.

"Then why are you angry that I kissed that girl? No, wait, why did you come here in the first place?"

"It's a goddamn party, Luke, I came here to party!" I grit out.

"Reign? The fact that you're lying to me and to yourself answers my question." He says.

I sigh defeatedly.

"I'm scared, okay? I'm scared that this might turn into something serious, I might get attached and then... And then you would leave." I say honestly, breathing heavily.

That shut him up, a minute passes by and no word from him, he just stares.

Great, now I feel like a fucking cliche.

His hands cup my face.

Feeling his hands on me again calms something inside me, it makes me feel safe.

"I'm scared too, baby, and I can't promise you that I'll always be here, anyone that comes into your life must leave one way or another but sometimes, we're not required to think about the future, we're still young, Rei, we're good at living in the moment and you have no idea how much I want to live through all these moments with you." He tells me.

I like the truth in his words and I like that he wants to live through this shitty phase of our lives with me.

He brings his hand to the back of my neck, leaning his forehead against mine, I close my eyes and clutch his t-shirt on his sides.

We breathe each other in and I can feel his lips ghosting over mine.

I swear I've never wanted something so bad.

I tiptoe, desperate to feel his lips on mine again but he pushes his head back.

"No." He shakes his head.

"No?" I stare at his face in confusion.

"If I'm ever gonna kiss you again, I wanna kiss you knowing that you're mine." He says.

"What?" I'm still confused.

"Dating. I'm talking about us dating." He clarifies.

"Why would you...."

"Because I want to kiss you in front of our friends, take you out to all kinds of restaurants, show you off to all the assholes at school, bring you to every football game, re-introduce you to my mom and my sister, I want it all, Reign, I want to do it the right way this time." He explains.

I retrieve my hands from his shirt, rubbing my forehead and looking elsewhere.

"Luke, I don't- I can't, you know that." I look at him.

"Yeah, I know that. So maybe you were right to break it off, I was killing myself by not accepting that what I needed from you was a relationship and not just sex." He tells me, I feel my heart beating in my throat.

"So where does that leave us?" My voice breaks.

"Nowhere, I refuse to call you my friend and you don't want me to be your boyfriend, we're just two strangers that used to know each other." He shrugs.

"Luke, we hang out with the same people." I laugh through the pain.

"Not anymore, I hangout with Damien from now on." He declares, "And I'm not sorry I fell for you, Reign, I'd do it over and over again." He turns around and starts walking back to the party.

"Luke?" I call after him, he looks at me over his shoulder, "I hope you find what you're looking for." I say, tears blurring my vision.

He nods.

"You too, Reign." He mutters then he continues walking.

My chin hurts from clenching it too hard and my lips quiver, I shut my eyes and tears fall down my face.

All this time I thought I was fighting a battle with the world when in reality, I was fighting a battle with myself.

Honestly? I don't know how to win.