- Blondie, Call me -

- February 8th -

Friday after lectures I entered the band room with Simon in dire need for some light entertainment after a hard working week.
I entered and stopped in surprise.
A tall, bulky, guy with brown hair to his waist, had Odd and Ethan in stitches over some story he was telling.
He turned and spotted us.
His eyes flicked between us as a sly grin crossed his face.

"The bassist breaks his own no-girls rule. That's a first," he smirked.

Simon laughed.

"No. This is Izzy," he grinned back.

I studied the guy in front of me. He looked very familiar and he gave me the creeps.
Well.. his eyes measuring me and estimating my cup-size was giving me the creeps.
But there was something about him that made me think I had seen him before.

"Izzy? As in the new guy doing vocals?" Billy asked measuring me with a mirthful smirk.

Simon nodded proudly and wrapped an arm around my neck. I immediately felt safer from the guy's predatory grin.

"You hired a girl?" Billy asked.

"And she is pretty awsome!" Oddball exclaimed.

"Aww. I think you're pretty awesome too, Odd," I replied and received a blown kiss in my direction.

I giggled and sent one back.

"Yeah. But she can't do any of our best tunes!" Billy stated looking sceptical.

"She can! And she does them all!" Simon defended.

Billy shook his head and flicked his tounge across his bottom teeth, making his bottom lip jut out.
And that's when I recognised him.
Billy was Ellen's William.

I stared at him for a moment.
He stared back.

"Hey. I know you from somewhere," he said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. I'm Ellen's friend," I said.

A sly grin spread across his face. I saw Simon go pale as he connected the dots.

"How is that little minx? I should look her up. See if she's ready for another go," Billy said.

"I don't think so!" I said in a dry tone.

Simon stared at Billy.

"You're William? That William?" He asked.

I nodded. Billy's grin widened as he obviously made the connection.

"Picking up my leftovers, Simon?" Billy laughed.

Simon's eyes narrowed for a second before he turned to me.

"Fuck! Errm. Izzy... Is Ellen still in the library?" He asked.

There was a bright flash in my brain. Simon still had Ellen's routines internalised. I wanted to smile.

"Quite possibly," I said uncertainly.

Simon let go of me and turned on his heel towards the door. He stopped for a second, turned and walked up to Billy with clenched jaw and a scowl.

"I'm gonna go and fix what you fucked up!" He hissed.

"Not my faut that the girl couldn't handle my needs," Billy smirked with a suggestive rocking of the hips.

Without warning Simon's fist connected with Billy's face and before I could stop him, Simon was out the door.

Oddball stood up and Ethan was staring at Billy who was bent over with his hands over his face emitting a series of injured animal noises while blood dripped from his top lip.

"What was that all about?" Oddball asked.

I shrugged.

"I'm guessing that he fucked Ellen over..." Ethan suggested calmly, thumbing at Billy as if this was a common phenomenon.

I nodded with a distaseful glare at Billy.

He stood up and pinched his nose.

"What the hell is Simon's problem!" He asked.

"You kinda indirectly cockblocked him," Oddball grinned.

"And you fucked up Ellen's reputation," I said evenly.

He stared at me.

"She came to me! I'm not gonna turn down free booty," he muttered.

"Still a cocky asshole. I never did get why she liked you," I said with a squint.

"Because I'm sexy!" He smirked with a trace of blood still running from his nose. He gave a pouty, supposedly seductive smile in my direction and looked decidedly confused when I didn't respond.

I shook my head.

"Nope... No... You're not. Toilet is out in the hallway. Go clean up," I said pointing at the door.

He frowned at me and headed for the door.
The moment the door closed behind him, Oddball and Ethan both burst out laughing.

"That's the first time I've ever seen a girl talk back to him like that," Oddball grinned.

"He's such a turn off!" I grumbled.

Ethan was trying not to laugh.
The humor in his eyes and badly hidden grin was doing all sorts of weird things to me. Without even trying, he achieved the results Billy had expected and not got. I felt my face pull into a smile to match his but had to look away before my knees buckled.

A few minutes later, Billy returned, blood free, with a fat lip and bruised nose and his confidence more or less restored.

"So. Who's up for a party?" He asked, pointedly ignoring me now that he knew I wasn't going to fall for his dubious charm.

"Sure," Oddball said.

"Yeah, but I am in desperate need of something not Mozart... so..." Ethan requested.

Oddball and I nodded.

"Yeah. I wanna see what this chick can do that I can't," Billy smirked in a patronising voice.

"Let's show him your jalapeño flavoured coconuts," Oddball laughed.

There was a look of confusion on Billy's face as I chuckled and nodded.

"D'you want some 'Love'?" Ethan asked with a wink that had my heart pounding and my gut in knots.

"Always!" I winked back.

Ethan's smile was directed at the floor as he began the opening riff of the Led Zeppelin song.

I channelled my inner Robert Plant and gave Billy proof of my capabilities. It was a bit anaemic without Simon's rough bass, but we made it work.

"That was... pretty damned... sexy!" He said with surprise when we were finished.

I hadn't given max, but my throat still burned. Seeing my hand at my throat, Ethan tossed me his water bottle from his bag.
I caught it with a grateful smile and took a swig, before I threw it back at him. He took a drink before chucking the bottle back into the bag.

"And since when do you share your drinks?" Billy asked with a suspicious look at Ethan.

Ethan shrugged lightly.

A few hours later, we were at a party in someone's house. It seemed everybody was there.
Simon had come back in time for a few tunes.
I hadn't gotten out of him what he and Ellen had talked about apart from an "It's good".
We had driven to Simon's house and walked a couple of miles over to this party full of people from the Valley area.

Billy had disappeared after explaining to some girl that his busted lip was a result of him rescuing a poor old lady from at least five ugly muggers.

"You sure it was only five?" Oddball smirked.

"Yeah well... the sixth ran for it," Billy grinned back.

A couple of hours later, I thought my worst nightmare was happening.

"Oh God..." I exclaimed hurrying to hide behind Oddball.

"Hey. What's up?" Oddball asked with a laugh.

"Just... nothing... just hide me!" I muttered.

Simon's eyes roamed the room. With horror I briefly considered walking home. Or asking Ethan to drive me home from Simon's but he was allready deep into the beer and was wearing an amused look on his face aimed at me.

"Who are we hiding from?" Simon asked leaning back to see me behind Oddball's broad shape.

"Oh.. just my entire life," I said casually peeking out from under Oddball's arm.

Ethan leaned forward to study my embarrassed self sideways.
He was, by the look on his face, well and truly drunk.

Simon scanned the crowd.

"None that I recognise..." he mused.

I sighed.

Simon lifted an eyebrow at me.

"Ben!" I hissed.

He chuckled.

"And the guy we do not mention by name..." I mumbled.

Simon lit up like a mischievous christmas tree.

"So... basically your entire sexual history... all in one spot?" Simon asked with a badly hidden smirk.

I nodded.

"Aww, great!" Simon laughed.

Oddball turned with a bright grin.

"Do you need a scary, six-foot-three, beefy, metalhead boyfriend all of a sudden?" He asked.

I nodded in panic.
Odd chuckled and put an arm around me nuzzling my hair.

"Or would you prefer a skinny little guitar-player?" He whispered with a laugh.

I pushed him away knowing I had a blush spreading across my face.
Oddball drew me in again with a smirk.

"I knew it!" He whispered with another laugh.

I slapped his chest just as the dreaded brown haired boy walked past.
He stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted me and Odd.

"Whoa, Izzy!" He said.

"Hiya, Ben," I said.

Ben took in Oddball's tight hold of me, his black rock appearance, the long black hair, for the occasion free from its pony tail, hanging like a curain of doom down his back, and the studded belt.
He looked unusually fierce.

"Erm.. Ben... this is Oddball, Simon and Ethan," I said trying to sound casual.

"Hey... I'm Ben!" He said and shook hands with Odd who by the look of it didn't hold back on the grip.

An awkward silence followed. Oddball hid a laugh in my hair making it look like he was licking my neck. He was enjoying this a little too much.

"So.. how long have you been going out?" Ben asked.

"Since November," Oddball said at the same time as I said "not that long".
I sharply nudged Odd in the ribs.

"Well.. You know... Mad fucking since November. She couldn't get enough of me so kinda had to make it official. Y'know," Oddball sniffed sounding like he really couldn't care less but accompanied by a telling cat-claw motion with his hand.

I looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey... Best fuck ever, babe," Oddball grinned happily.

"It's why I love you so much!" I said through clenched teeth.

"Exactly. I still have the bitemarks on my ass from last night," Oddball grinned towards me.

I shook my head at him, trying not to laugh.
Oddball chuckled.
Simon and Ethan were both hiding laughs when Ben moved on.

"Worst boyfriend ever!" I said slapping Oddball's arm.

"Hey... if the sex is that good, everything else becomes unimportant!" He grinned and ruffled my hair.

"Bitemarks on your ass?" Simon giggled.

I could see his brain working on scenarios.

"Yeah. I landed me fierce, kinky creature," Odd laughed.

I whacked him again.

"See?" He replied, making Simon crack into laughter.

"He's cute. What did you dump him for?" Oddball asked as he looked over at Ben with a slight tilt of the head.

"It just wasn't right," I shrugged.

"Oh shit!" Ethan suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Simon asked trying to stop laughing.

"Lauren!" Ethan muttered.

I followed their line of sight.

"Blonde in pink. Ethan's ex," Oddball whispered in my ear.

I almost laughed. How many exes could we cram into one house?

My self esteem dropped several floors when I saw her. I was stod here in doc Martins, jeans and a button down shirt over a black t-shirt.
She was in a mini skirt, heels and a bright pink backless top.
I threw a look at Ethan and realised that those two probably looked amazing together.
Ethan tilted his head at me with a questioning smile.

"You were with her?" I asked hearing my voice betray the hopelessness I felt.
I had no chance if that was his standard.

She looked over.
As if she suddenly noticed Ethan's presence in the room.
He nodded that he'd seen her and she responded with an overly pointed throwing of her hair over her shoulder.
I knew the move.
I had used a similar move.
Several times.
With varying degrees of success.
If done right it drew attention to shoulders, necks and hands without looking needy.
Teamed with the look Lauren threw our way, it had every intention of drawing Ethan to her.
He didn't shift a muscle.

Instead he shrugged and leaned in towards me.

"High maintenance. No patience with how a band needs to practice to become any good," he said.

I frowned.

"She wanted him to sing 'Beth' by Kizz..." Simon nodded with more than a trace of mirth.

"That was Ethan?!?!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah," Simon grinned.

I looked back at her.
She was still sending little glances at Ethan.
I was furniture.
One demeaning smirk told me as much.

"She's not got shit on you!" Odd whispered into my ear.

And then I noticed who she was with. The urge to laugh out loud was overwhelming.

"And she's with Eric. How suitable," Simon muttered.

Oddball leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"Simon's greatest rival. Hated eachother. Simon was always stealing Eric's girls," he explained quietly into my ear.

"I know." I muttered back just as Eric noticed Simon and walked towards us with a shit eating grin.

"Simon! Long time no see," he said and punched Simon's arm a bit harder than what could be considered friendly.

"Yeah... It's not been too long," Simon bit back.

He turned to look at me with a charming smile.
And predictably, I was struck by the sheer masculine beauty of him.
Eric was sexy as sin and he knew it.
I recognised the cocky, confident look of him, but I knew exactly what that bright white smile was capable of doing to me. His skin was the same colour as Captain Morgan dark rum, which incidentally was what we had been drinking the last time I saw him.
I knew.
I remembered, shamefully, what that skin tasted like and what the curls felt like between my fingers.
Fighting down a mix of embarassment and heat of a memory I had tried to repress, I reluctantly acknowledged that he still made my hormones jump around.
Like monkeys on a trampoline.
Nothing romantic about it.
Just plain primal lust.
I tensed up as he lifted an eyebrow and licked his full top lip as if there was a trace of something there.

"Izzy!" He exclaimed on a sigh and came up to me laying his hands on my hips and pulling our bodies suggestively closer.

"Hey Eric. Didn't expect to see you here," I said, trying to find a way to get some distance from his crotch rubbing on me.

"Well. You know me. I am where the action is," he said, grinding himself on me as he said the word 'action'.

I cringed.

"It's been a while, but you still look ridiculously tasty," he smirked as he lay a finger under my chin and brought my face closer to his.

I stared straight into his brown eyes, remembering how they had taken on a red hue the last time I had seen them this close.
I blushed as I involuntarily responded to the memory and his sudden proximity. I swallowed heavily and found myself having to actively, conciously, remind my knees to remain steady.

I took a step back into Simon's chest.

"Still hanging out with that loser?" Eric asked.

"Yeah," I replied feeling slightly stupid.

"And you've added another two to your collection," Eric grinned, eyeing Oddball and Ethan.

"Gotta mix it up," I replied, trying to sound confident and casual.

"Well... If you feel like reconnecting, you know where to find me. We had fun last time," Eric grinned suggestively and left us with a wink.

I felt my face scrunch up and I groaned as I caught the look of distaste on Simon's face.
Oddball had a hand in front of his mouth and a look of amused shock in his eyes.
Suddenly, Simon grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me out, into a room with less people in it where he pushed me up against the wall.

"Eric?!?" He exclaimed.

I nodded.

"When I picked you up. At dirt o'clock... You came from Eric's house?" He asked.

I nodded.

"What the fuck, Izzy?" He asked.

And that's when Ethan burst into hysterical fits of giggles. I looked at him feeling mystified. There was nothing funny about this.

"You've fucked Eric?!?" Ethan laughed.

I wasn't sure if I was more surprised by his use of the word fuck or the very amused look on his face.

"I was beginning to wonder if you have ever made a stupid decision in your life..." he laughed.

"What?" I asked.

"I mean... Here I was thinking I was a lowlife for ever getting into bed with Lauren. But you're no better. You fucked Eric!" He continued, still laughing hysterically.

Oddball and Simon were looking as confused as me.

"Drunk Ethan is random Ethan," Oddball grinned.

"No... Drunk Ethan is extremely happy that we found out that Izzy... Perfect, flawless, Izzy... Is in fact human!" Ethan giggled pointing drunkenly at me with a huge grin on his face.

"I still wanna know how the fuck you got yourself messed up with Eric!" Simon said seriously.

"You remember that party you took me to? When Eric punched you over.... what's-her-face.... Alicia? Alyson?" I asked.

"Alexia? Yeah," Simon said calmly.

"Well... I happened to see him again at another party and he thought I was your girlfriend. Let's just say we cleared up that misunderstanding," I replied feeling completely embarrassed.

"What? How? Izzy?" Simon asked looking like I had punched him.

"See... Simon... When two people fancy each other. They sometimes decide to act on it... Certain parts of anatomy kinda mash up..." I explained making unconcious snowball gestures with my hands.

Ethan was supporting himself on a nearby chair still laughing like a loonie.

"But... it's Eric!" Simon whinged.

"Yeah... it's Eric!" I replied.

"What Simon is trying to ask is: where the fuck is your loyalty, woman?" Oddball supplied with a laugh.

I gave Simon my best puppy face.

"Just... Izzy... please tell me you at least... protected yourself," Simon said awkwardly with a pleading, hurt and betrayed look in his eyes.

"Don't worry. I might have been impulsive. But I'm not stupid," I said and patted his cheek.

He whispered a quiet "thank fuck!" as he lay his forehead on mine.

"Simon... Would you have picked me up if I had said I was at Eric's house?" I asked looking into the blue eyes in front of mine.

"I would have beaten him faceless," Simon said through tightly clenched teeth.

It struck me at that moment that Simon would make a kick ass Thor. All blonde long hair and blazing blue eyes. I was just very happy that there was no hammer within his reach. There would have been one hell of a thunderstorm.

We were stood like that for a minute. Me appologising with my eyes, him deciding if he wanted to strangle me.

Part of my Eric-hangover-shame had been the thought that it was Simon's sworn rival. I knew Simon hated him. But the main part was that I had shamefully fallen into the Eric-trap. After meeting him with Simon, I had deliberately shown up at the other party, hoping Eric would be there and dressing to impress.
I had aimed.
And I had scored.

And now I was stood with Simon, seeing the pained expression in his eyes.
And I regretted my wanton impulsive behaviour all over again.

"Damn. You do go through them!" I heard behind Simon.

Ben.
I realised the position I was in. My forehead touching with Simon's. We looked far from innocent with his six foot, broad shouldered, frame pinning my five foot four, skinny self, to the wall.

"Oh, will you look at that. My beloved girlfriend. With Simon. I am truly in shock," Oddball delivered in his most theatrical dry voice with a small shrug as he picked something from under a fingernail.

Simon released me, still holding me in a suspicious look.
I started laughing.

"Yeah... sorry Oddball," I grinned at him.

Ben looked between me and the three boys in my company.

"Whatever, Izzy!" He said and shook his head as he walked on.

I exchanged a look with Odd and burst out laughing.

"I need a drink!" Simon muttered and headed for the kitchen closely followed by Odd.

Ethan was still occasionally giggling but he took a couple of steps to me and lay both his hands at the back my neck.

"I'm looking forward to my turn," he grinned drunkenly.

"Yeah?" I grinned back, feeling some monster butterflies spring to life at the look in his eyes.

If Eric made my knees weak, Ethan made my whole body shake and tingle.

"Yeah. I might keep you for longer than five minutes too," he chuckled and for some reason he kissed my forehead, just at the hairline.

I shuddered at the unexpected touch.

He laughed again and with an arm slung around my shoulders he led me into the kitchen after the other two.

We entered to the sound of Billy's loud laughter.

"You mean to tell me that that little, innocent looking, creature has beaten two of Valley's biggest players at their own game?" He asked.

"Looks that way!" Oddball laughed as he handed me a beer.

Billy grinned at me.

"I like you. You've got balls!" He chuckled.