RIDE OR DIE TRAILER IS OUT NOW ^ (Made by my amazing boyfriend who took the time to put this together for me)

"Don't forget that you do have a physics paper due after Christmas break, please do not wait till the last minute to complete it." Mr. Peters; my physics teacher announced to the class. It was last block and I anxiously awaited for the bell to ring, not wanting to spend another minute in this class. Out of the only two classes I had with Pierce, they had both been after lunch. And for a bonus, I had physics with him and Mercury.

I hadn't said a word to either of them, but Mercury made it her goal to hang all over Pierce just to get underneath my skin. I anxiously shook my leg up and down as I glanced over at the clock repeatedly. Mr. Peters continued to remind us about everything we needed for our paper and I tuned him out after a while. I looked over to see Mercury hugging Pierce's bicep as she laid her head on his shoulder. Rolling my eyes in response, I wanted nothing but to slap her.

The bell rang and I spent no time hesitating in grabbing my stuff. I bid my goodbyes to Mr. Peter before exiting the classroom only to be grabbed to be pulled to the side. "Hey," Juniper linked her arm with mine while we headed down the hallway "What you said to Mercury in the cafeteria..absolutely priceless, the look on her face- just glad someone can put that bitch in her place."

Juniper and I walked through the crowded halls of all the students who were still uneasy after the whole shooting, you could tell there was tension in everyone's steps. I felt even worse, knowing Knox was after me but not knowing exactly why. "Why don't you?" I asked curiously knowing Juniper could put anyone in their place if she wanted to, but she was too nice.

"I've tried...Mercury is the queen of manipulation. I just wish she'd leave my poor brother alone. Pierce looks for love in all the wrong places and is just as bad as her." Juniper sighed "It's a lost cause. They continue to go behind everyone's backs even after Archer and Xander put in the no dating rule because of them."

"Yeah well, Pierce seems to be the king of manipulation.." I added "I just don't get it, all the mix signals he sends me. The guy is the hardest person to read that I've ever met. One minute he's being possessive and making flirty comments, next he wants nothing to do with me and we're back to square one."

"Don't even try to read him." She shook her head at me "You'll never be able to. It's Pierce's world and we're all just living in it..you just have to go with it."

"Ambrosia! Gunner!" A voice shouted after Juniper and me, making us stop at the side of the hallway only to see Triston jog up to us and link my other arm. "Can I just say that I absolutely love you?" Triston chuckled at me "So glad someone said something to miss Princess Mercury Sullivan."

We entered outside of the school where buses surrounded the school and made our way over to where we were normally all parked. Pierce was already on the driver's side but I stopped when I saw Mercury get into the passenger seat. I sent a look over to Triston and Juniper and they both mouthed 'Good luck.'

I knocked on the passenger side door as I earned a look from Mercury. I pointed to the backseat and she opened the door and pushed her chair up so I could get in the back of the car. I climbed into the back and made sure to smack the side of Mercury's with my backpack.

"Watch it you fucking bitch!" She snapped at me as she rubbed the side of her face. "Oops," I said sarcastically as I buckled up and Mercury slammed the door shut. Pierce reversed out of the parking lot and I had already known this was about to feel like the longest car ride ever. I stared ahead as I watched Mercury slowly reach her handover to Pierce's leg and slowly walked her fingers upward.

Kill me, please...

I averted my eyes and I saw Pierce glance back at me in the rearview mirror but I gave him no attention. I stared at the small back window for the rest of the ride and just waited to finally be home. I looked down at my phone to check the time and scrolled through my text messages and clicked on Tucker's. I twiddled my thumbs over the keyboard as I debated whether to send anything. He hadn't come to school today and no one has heard from him, but everyone didn't think much of it. I decided against it, and put my phone down, and waited for us to get to my house.

We soon came to Mercury's house and she had got out of the car while Pierce followed behind her. She walked up to the doorstep before turning back around to face Pierce while they exchanged a few words between each other as I watched through the windshield. I made my way up to the front passenger seat and saw Mercury throw her arms around Pierce. Pierce didn't react right away though as she hugged him.

She pulled herself away from him before pressing his lips to his and I watched Pierce respond back to her kiss. I clutched my fist at my side and let out a sigh as I watched them kiss right in front of me. It was hard to watch knowing how bad things were going to get if they kept at it. After hearing about the last time it was a lose-lose situation. Pierce cheated because Mercury was so controlling and Mercury wanted to die after how Pierce treated her. I didn't know why they always went back to each other but knew that's what happened with toxicity and unless you broke the chain completely, it would never stop.

They bid their goodbyes and Mercury entered the house while Pierce walked back to the car. He got in the driver's side and I looked over at him with an Are-You-Serious look. "What?" He snapped at me and I rolled my eyes at him in response.

"I can't believe you. Have a so-called girlfriend yet you're going to kiss me and say all these flirty comments. You're so infuriating and if I was your girlfriend, I'd leave you immediately after knowing that."

"Well, it's a good thing you're not my girlfriend." Pierce ignored everything else I said and started to drive to my house. It wasn't even worth arguing with him over it, Juniper was right; it was a lost cause. The rest of the ride was silent, as I had nothing to say to Pierce.

We arrived at the house as Pierce pulled up at the side of the curb and placed the car in park. I looked over at him while Pierce stared down at the steering wheel with no emotion on his face, waiting for him to say anything to me. He failed to say anything to me but I couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Were you really not going to tell me about you and Mercury?" I broke the silence, making Pierce's eyes snap over ward towards me. "Why did I have to?" He asked with annoyance in his voice.

"Maybe because you have a girlfriend and keep going after me like you're catching feelings or something."

"Going after you?" Pierce scoffed a laugh "You can't be serious. I am not catching feelings for you Aspen and I never will. Why would I go for a girl like you? At least Mercury isn't a fucking prude."

"A girl like me?" I repeated his words, frustration taking over me "What the hell is that even supposed to mean. Because it sure doesn't seem like anything negative when you're the one trying to get Tucker to not even look at me and calling me your girl."

"It means that you're so stuck up. You're a fucking prude and you're so self-centered. I mean did you even think once when you went to meet Knox in the courtyard that you shouldn't of, I mean for the sake of the entire fucking school. But instead, you were more worried about some photo of you going around and endangered everybody else." Pierce snapped at me, his eyes turning dark as he stared at me "Maybe if you got your head out of your ass for one minute you'd be a little less than helpless."

I stared at him in shock at the words that exited his mouth "Fuck you!" I yelled at him before grabbing my bag and slamming the passenger door shut. I started to approach the house and didn't turn back till I heard the car door slam shut again.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" Pierce yelled after me, walking up to me as we both stood in the middle of the yard. "Why?" I tested "So I can sit there for you to take all your little fucking issues out on me? Maybe if YOU would get your head out of your ass for a minute you wouldn't be such a dick."

"You know what Aspen? You're right, you will never be the next Ashlynn. At least your mom thought about other people than herself and could actually do something for herself instead of constantly relying on other people to save her." Pierce stared down at me, his body radiated off anger. His words stung, there was no denying that but I couldn't let them get to me.

"Do not talk about my mom." I warned that was the one topic I would draw the line to be held against me "I don't need you! I don't need anyone! You think you're so great, Pierce? You have this superiority complex and you think you're better than everyone else when you're not. You're some fucked up kid with daddy issues who drinks his nights away and numbs his pain with sex from his ex-girlfriend that he almost made kill herself from how bad you treated her!"

Pierce breathed in heavily as his chest rose and fell with anger. His eyes bored into mine with a glare and I could tell he was restraining himself from just about killing me right now. I felt bad for saying what I did, but I didn't regret it. Pierce was pushing at me and deserved to be put in his place. Pierce may walk all over everybody else, but I was not letting him do it to me.

"Your mom really lucked out when she died so she didn't have to deal with you. No wonder your dad left you here." He gritted at me and I clutched my fist at my side as I stared up to Pierce. We both held each other's glares and I waited for him to say anything else but he was silent after that.

"Go fuck yourself," I stated, raising my fist and sending it right into the center of Pierce's face. His face turned from the impact of the contact and I shook my hand as I could feel my knuckles sting. "Fuck!" Pierce yelled as he grabbed his nose that had started to bleed heavily.

The door of the house swung open to reveal Aster and Xander came running out. They both glanced between Pierce and me, while I didn't keep my gaze off of Pierce. "What the hell happened?" Xander asked as he looked between the both of us. Pierce and I both said nothing, not wanting to answer about what was happening.

I broke away from his glare before turning around and walking inside, letting the screen door slam behind me. "Hey." Evangeline offered me a small smile but quickly disappeared as she took a look at me "What's wrong?"

I dropped my backpack on the ground and put my face in my hands, running them through my hair "I can't fucking stand him!"

Evangeline immediately pulled me into a hug, not asking any questions. She rubbed her hand on my back and I was grateful for just this, her comfort without bombarding me with how many questions. I was so frustrated and felt like I was at a dead-end with no way to turn. Pierce was playing with mind games with me and I didn't just want to be another girl to fall for his manipulation tactics.

Every girl always dreams about falling in love with the bad boy and then being the one to change them for the better, but with Pierce it was like mission impossible. Pierce was so stuck in his own ways that there was no getting through to him and he was willing to hurt anyone as long he stayed at the top.

I pulled back from Evangeline when I heard Pierce's engine start-up and take off. I looked at the window to Aster and Xander exchanged a few words before Xander had decided to leave. Not wanting to deal with Aster's interrogation, I started to head up the stairs but froze when Aster walked into the house and called after me.

I sighed as I slowly walked back down the few steps I had made it up. "What the hell was that about?!" Aster yelled, "Do you understand how pissed Xander was to see two of his members fight each other?"

I could careless of whatever Xander truly thought at this point with how angry I still had been. I looked down at my shoes to avoid eye contact with Aster, not knowing what to say. No matter what I said, I was going to be wrong because I was the one who made it physical.

"We got into a fight.."

"A fight?! Are you kidding me Aspen- You're supposed to be taking on a leadership role and this is what you do-" Aster started but Evangeline sent him a look immediately. Aster turned his back to me, resting his palms on the counter without saying anything. Evangeline looked over to me and waved me off to tell me to go upstairs.

I made my way upstairs to my room, slamming my door shut and plopping down onto my bed. I stared up to my ceiling and let out a deep exhale. Nothing felt like it was any use at this point, no matter what I did I always ended up pissing someone off.

What next...

* * * *

After hours of being stuck in my room from not wanting to face Aster, I finally decided to meet Juniper and Triston. They had both been working at the Lily tonight and told me to stop by, the only problem was I didn't have a ride as Pierce typically was mine so I asked Cypress if he could pick me up.

Cypress: Here

I looked at myself in my full body mirror and buttoned up jeans. I grabbed my stuff before slowly walking down the steps in order to make it outside. I glanced over to the living room where Evangeline and Aster were watching some movie. I tip-toed my way to the front door before shutting it slowly behind me and running to Cypress's car.

"Thanks for picking me up." I took a seat in the passenger seat, pulling the seatbelt over my body before Cypress took off. Cypress didn't say anything but instead kept one hand on the steering wheel while his eyes were locked on the road. The thing about Cypress was, he was even less friendly than Pierce was. There was no question as to why they were best friends, the two bad boys that ruled Northeast...

Just as cliche as it sounds.

"You and fuckface need to work whatever you guys have going on, out. I'm not taking over his job because he's too caught up with Mercury and now that Tucker just is nowhere to be found." Cypress spoke out of the silence.

"Yeah well maybe if he would just drop Mercury completely we wouldn't have any so-called problems," I added in annoyance, it was a fact that Mercury was the center of so many issues when it had come to Pierce. For the sake of him, her, and everybody else; they were not meant to be together.

"He would if you did something about it." Cypress's eyes glanced over, making me cock an eyebrow in confusion "He would drop her in a second for you Ambrosia, you just have to be the one to do something about it."

"What? What do you mean?" I was confused, to say the least. Why would Pierce leave Mercury for me if Pierce hated me as much as he made it out to be. Not to mention they already have gone through the process of everything with each other, making it easier to go back to one another.

"Oh come on Ambrosia. I know you're not dumb." Cypress scoffed a laugh "Maybe oblivious, but not dumb...All I'm saying is, if they bother you that much, you need to make a move tonight."

I took in what Cypress has said, although it could be given with many interpretations. I was supposed to make a move that was suddenly going to change Pierce's mind about Mercury? I was almost certain Pierce could have a new brain and still not change his mind about Mercury. I watched the road ahead as we sped past the buildings.

We soon arrived at The Lily, and I followed Cypress inside. It was super busy, especially for a weeknight. The lights flashed everywhere, with bright spotlights above the poles that were set on the stage. The music blasted through the club, making the walls shake to the beat of it. Cypress had head into the back and I slowly made my way up to the stage. There were men seated everywhere around the stage with money in their hands.

I crossed my arms as I watched Juniper swing around the pole before slowly sliding down it. I glanced over to the other side where I saw Mercury walk out of the back hallway in a lingerie set with Pierce shortly behind. I watched them make their way to the club doors but stopped before them. Mercury started to yell about something but nothing I could make out from such a far distance.

I squinted my eyes as I watched from a distance. Pierce stood there emotionless as Mercury continued to go off. His face was a little busted from early but nothing serious, it would heal within a day or two. Mercury placed her arms on Pierce's shoulders before shoving him back. Pierce didn't react to her, making her even more that she wasn't getting a rise out of him.

Pierce said a few words, making Mercury's expression change from angry to shock. She stared at him for a second with her jaw dropped before taking her hand and slapping him across the face. The slap was so hard I had been able to hear it from where I was standing. Pierce clenched his jaw as he rubbed the side of his face while Mercury stormed off.

Mercury headed through the club and began to closely come near me. I stepped out in front of her, making her freeze in her place. Anger was radiating off her, making my curiosity spike as to what the argument had been about. "What do you want?" She gritted at me, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So you hit your boyfriend?" I narrowed my eyes at her "I know I punched him earlier but at least I don't inflict pain on someone that I claim to love."

Mercury pressed her lips in a thin line, letting out a huff in response to my comment. She continued to walk towards the back but I stepped in front of her, stopping her once again. I watched Mercury become even more irritated, and I enjoyed watching her get so mad at me. I understood why she enjoyed getting a rise out of me so much now.

"What? Now you suddenly have nothing to say to me?" I tested, letting my arms fall to my side "You need to leave Pierce alone, you're nothing but a manipulation bitch. For the sake of everybody, just drop it."

"Why?" Her lips tugged up into a smirk "Is someone jealous?"

"Jealous?" I scoffed a laugh as I shook my head at her "Oh please, I could take him from you any day of the week." I was trying to remember everything that Cypress had told me in the car, trying to put everything together. Was it true that I could convince Pierce to leave Mercury? Out of everybody in his life I had really doubted I was the voice of reason.

"Oh really? Try it." Mercury snapped at me, her face inching closer to mine "This isn't a game you're going to want to play with me, Ambrosia."

"Oh, I will Sullivan." My lips tugged up into a smirk as our eyes bored into each other. I was confident on the outside but was I about to get myself into something I was about to truly regret? The song that had been playing soon came to an end, making me glance over to Juniper who had hopped off the stage. Juniper walked up to where Mercury and I had been standing and glanced between the both of us in confusion.

"Pierce!" Mercury shouted after, waving her hand over at him. Pierce made his way over to us and Mercury's eyes looked Pierce up and down before looking over at me. "Sit down. Aspen and I are going to try something." Mercury instructed, leading Pierce over to a chair that had been nearby.

"What's going on?" Juniper whispered to me and I shrugged in response. I didn't know what Mercury was up to and instantly began to regret my words. Pierce began to argue with her but she pressed her finger up to his lips, making him shut up.

The new song began playing through the speakers and Mercury walked up to Pierce seductively before sitting down on his laps, her legs straddling him. Her chest was pressed against his and Pierce's eyes weren't their normal grey. They were dark and serious, he looked miserable.

Mercury pushed her hair behind her shoulder as she ran her hands down Pierce's chest. "She is not seriously giving my brother a lap dance right now-" Juniper began as she covered her eyes in horror. I averted my eyes as well, not wanting to watch Mercury throw herself at Pierce. I bit my lip in nervousness, was she really going to make me do this?

This was Mercury's great idea to see who Pierce would go for? Fantastic...

I watched her grind her body on him, looking away at any second I could. It felt like it was taking hours as I hoped for it to come to an end. Mercury began to grab the crotch of his jeans before she pressed her lips to his. His lingerie set began to slide down as she grinded her hips on him before pulling away.

Mercury walked over to me with a smirk plastered across her face "Your turn."

"So you're telling me your great idea is to have me give YOUR boyfriend a lap dance?" I blinked slowly at her in the realization of the reality of this situation. What girl in their right mind would want to compete with another girl for her boyfriend by doing a lap dance? How do you even say who wins that?

"If you weren't scared, you'd do it." She snapped at me "But look at that, you know your words are just a bunch of bullshit."

I sighed as I looked over to Juniper for a second before looking back at Mercury. I pulled off my jacket before walking up to Pierce while the song had been halfway done already. His eyes flicked up to mine, still dull and dark.

"I'm only doing this to prove a point to your girlfriend." I made why very clear, not wanting any remarks or questions after it was done. I sat down on Pierce's lap, my legs straddling each side of him. Our eyes met for a moment while the lights flashed throughout the club. I walked my fingers up his chest, before sliding my hand down to the top of his waistband.

I threw my head back, making my hair fall behind my ears. I moved my hips slowly as I grinded on top of him. Pierce's hands snuck around to the sides of my waist and I pushed my body closer to his, grabbing the back of my neck as I pressed my forehead to his.

My knees went further into the chair, my hips swaying with the beat. I could feel Pierce's thigh beneath me as his muscle pressed into my skin. I traced my fingers in circles on his abs, looking up from his lap into his eyes. The eye contact was intense and Pierce's hands grabbed my butt. I moved my hand down further before stopping in place. "You're hard." I could feel Pierce had a hard-on from underneath my hand.

"All nine inches Ambrosia." Pierce sent me a wink that had been followed by a smirk. "You're disgusting." I pushed myself off of Pierce, disgusted at how he could say that when he apparently had already had a girlfriend. I walked back up to Mercury and threw my jacket on over, pulling my hair out from underneath of it.

"I made him hard with clothes on. You're half-naked and couldn't do it. We are not the same honey." I sent her a wink, her face falling at the defeat. I pushed past her and walked to the back of the club to try to find Triston.

Aspen - 2

Mercury - 0

* * * * *

A://N Happy Monday! If you guys have not checked out the trailer please do!

Dedicated to @dragonsandbobcats's

What did you guys think of this chapter?

Do you think Mercury is about to start getting in the way between Pierce and Aspen?

Do you think Pierce is serious about Mercury?

What did you think about Pierce and Aspen's fight? Do you think one of them is in the wrong?

What did you think about Mercury's "great" idea at the strip club?

~ Ash