I grab Ryan's skateboard. Luckily, I know how to ride it.

I know I'm at Shane's house when I hear the pumped music. Swallowing my ever present fear, I hide the board in nearby bushes and walk to the doorstep. I keep my hood up from my sweatshirt. After taking one last deep breath, I head in.

No one notices me, but the house is trashed and people are everywhere and making out and dancing and laughing. Great. Now... to find Alex.

I look for the stairs, dodging everyone and everything. Yes! There they are. I walk steadily up them and I get to the second floor. Open one door...

"Hey!"Whoops. Not Alex.

Another door... nothing.

A third... "Hey, babe." Definitely not Alex.

Fourth door, and by now, I'm ready to give up. I go to open it and sure enough, who do I see on the bed making out with some pretty little red head? Alex.

"Alex." He doesn't look up. "Alex. Alex."

I roll my eyes and yell, "Alex!"

The girl squeals, and Alex looks up, his face beet red.

"What the ----?" He screams at me.

"We have to go. Like, now. Chop chop," I snap.

"Screw you," he says and turns toward the girl again, and she takes his hands and places them--

"NOW."

The girl and Alex recoil. "Ok, alright," he grumbles. He kisses the girl who I now recognize as: Ina Theriault, the slut of the junior class. Hitting on a freshman because she can't get anyone desperate enough and willing to ruin their reputations. So she's using Alex.

Alex gets up and bumps me on his way out. "Call me!" Alana shouts after him. I roll my eyes, and follow Alex out.

Alex's face is red when we are walking down the hallway to the stairs. He doesn't look at me at all. By the time we reach the stairs, he turns to face me, his eyes steaming with anger.

"What the hell? I was having fun. You just had to ruin it, didn't you? You're impossible!" He hisses at me. I barely even flinch.

"Keep going," I say through gritted teeth. "People are beginning to stare." And I'm not lying; people are literally staring at us from below the stairs.

"I don't care!" Alex suddenly bursts and I actually didn't expect that. This party did something to him, and I don't know what."You're always ruining my life ever since my stupid dad fell in love with your STUPID mom!"

Hearing him call my mom stupid, I can feel myself tighten every single thing in my body. No one, and I mean no one calls my mom anything.

"Say that again, you useless wad of scum." I can't even think straight. Through my blurry vision, I can see Alex recoil a bit, but not far enough.

"I will, once you leave me ALONE!"

By now, most people have stopped what they were doing and just stare up at use. Someone even turned off the music. I can feel my face grow red and my only instinct is to leave. I take a small breath, trying not to make it noticeable, as if that would help.

"Alex," I say in a softer, calmer voice. "Let's go."

"You know what? No. I'm not leaving. I was having the time of my life up there! And then you come in and ruined it. I hate you so, so much and I wish our parents were never together. I never  want to be your brother because you suck!" Alex screams. I've never seen him so mad.

"I agree," I say, and I see Shane coming up behind Alex. Darn it. "But what can we do? They're together if we want them to be or not. And it took me a while to realize this, but it's not our choice to determine what they do."

Alex hesitates, but then screams, "Shut up! Just go away!"

"Fight, fight, fight!" Shane chants. Alex immediately throws a punch at me. My nose. Darn it, that really hurt.

I take a huge kick at him, but football practice was paying his dues for him, and he dodges it with grace. I feel myself go airborne. Somehow, I'm on the floor. Alex starts kicking me now, and it hurts. I want to cry. But I'm not going to.

I grab his ankle, and for a second he loses his balance, and then regains it. We both suddenly stop, and I'm trying to make eye contact because I just want to leave. But what I see is not Alex anymore. There's a veil over his eyes, and he's starving for blood.