One step through the door and we were bombarded with the booming music and the body heat that consumed the Galbraith house. Drake's "Controlla" rang through the house.

        "Yessss!" Mi Yun snapped her fingers as she moved along to the beat of the music while Sadaf and I slowly took everything in.

Most people moved in pairs inside of the dimly-lit living room and the unappealing smell of sweat and bodies filled my nostrils. I wrinkled my nose.

"My mom would kill me if she knew I was here," Sadaf said while I nodded in agreement.

Daddy would kill me, too.

        We all told our parents we were going bowling for a girl's night out. Daddy and Sadaf's parents weren't too fond of the idea of three girls going out late at night, but they budged last minute. However, instead of chitchatting, bowling and eating overpriced food, we were at Oliver Galbraith's "shindig," as he liked to call it.

"Come on, girls." Mi Yun reached for our arms, and she spun us around and continued to move to the music. "Don't be so stiff." She shook out her limbs to emphasis her point. "It's a party. We're supposed to be having fun. Sadaf, if your mom is going to kill you, might as well make your last night alive worth it."

"You know what?" Sadaf titled her head to the side with a thoughtful look. "You're right, Mimi. Screw it." She moved over to Mi Yun and the two girls started dancing along to the music while I stood back. The music shifted to Rihanna's "Needed Me," and Sadaf squealed. "Ooh, this is my song!"

        I crossed my arms. "I honestly don't know why we're here. I don't know Oliver like that."

Crashing this party was all Mi Yun's idea.

        "Me neither," Mi Yun said. "I bet half these people don't, to be honest."

        I couldn't argue with that. Most of the people who showed up only did so because Brice invited them. He made some flyers and handed them out at school and word went around.

He didn't invite me, even though I was only there because he was.

I doubted I would talk to him though.

A girl could wish, right?

        I moved closer to my girls. "He and I have U.S. History together," Sadaf said. "He seems pretty cool."

I dismissed her statement with a wave of my hand. "There's only one guy from Brice's crew I'm interested in, and it isn't that curly-headed boy."

Mi Yun rolled her eyes.

"Can we get some drinks?" Sadaf fanned herself. "I'm burning up, and we haven't been here for ten minutes."

Mi Yun did a once-over of our friend. Sadaf had on jeans with a loose, long-sleeved blouse and her colorful hijab that she wore for special occasions. She was also surrounded by a sea of mini-skirts and shorts with booty cheeks hanging out.

"I wonder why?" Mi Yun's eyes went wide to allude innocence, but her sarcastic tone gave her away. Sadaf playfully glared at her, and she laughed. "I'm messing with you. I'm wearing a crop top, but it's still hot as hell. You could be butt naked, and that still won't help."

"It's actually buck naked," I corrected, and Mi Yun sent me a blank look.

"Who cares? It's still naked," Mi Yun said, and the three of us busted into laughter.

        I bet the A.C. was cranked, but the heat still accumulated. Even my loose romper couldn't save me.

        "Come on. Let's go." I grabbed one of each girl's arm. "I could use some refreshments."

        I led the way, and the three of us maneuvered through the crowd in search of something to drink.

        The party was loaded with upperclassmen, and I couldn't help but draw a little within myself in fear of them sensing my lowerclassman status. We didn't belong here, and I was either being paranoid or it showed. Maybe even both.

        When we found our way into the kitchen, we spotted the cooler beside the vintage island. Mi Yun grabbed a beer while Sadaf and I stuck with soda. Which soda? I didn't know. My throat was so dry that I just needed something to drink.

        I gulped it down, finishing one-third of the soda in my first try.

        "Damn," an all-too-familiar voice said. "Someone's thirsty."

        I brought the drink down from my lips to come face-to-face with none other than Jax Velasco. He leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, and a brow perked.

        "Now, you understand why I took your juice," he said.

        Oh yeah. I frowned at the memory of him jacking my apple juice. "Iago," I said, and his expression went blank. "Why are you here?"

        Mi Yun and Sadaf stood back while Jax straightened up and took a step towards me. "I should be the one asking you that. I actually know Oliver. You don't."

        "You don't know that."

        "Oh really?" He took another step forward. "You're friends?"

        "We could be." I laced my voice with as much sass as possible.

        "What's his middle name then?" he asked.

        "Why would that be the go-to question?" I moved closer to him, too. "I know you, but I don't know your middle name."

        "Oliver loves to say his name," he said. "His first name. Last name. You name it. If you're friends with him, you'll know the answer to my question. So what's his middle name?"

        I scratched my head and glanced back at my girls for help. They averted their gazes and hid their faces with their drinks.

        What loyal friends I had.

        I leered at them before facing Jax. "Ummm..." He cupped a hand around his ear while I wracked my brain for something to say. What did Oliver look like? "Jeffrey," I answered.

        I always imagined Jeffreys to be blonde, and Oliver was blonde, so why not?

        "Wrong." Jax leaned in. "He doesn't have a middle name."

        "You've got to be kidding me," I said, and Sadaf snickered. "You just want to mess with me, don't you?" I narrowed my eyes at the brown-eyed boy in front of me.

        He shrugged. "Pretty much."

        "Well," Mi Yun started while grabbing Sadaf's arm, "you two have fun." I turned around to stare at the two in disbelief as they began to distance themselves from us. "Sadaf and I are going to dance our asses off while you guys continue whatever this is."

        "Wait a minute..." I took one step towards them.

        "Bye, Es!" Sadaf waved before Mi Yun pulled her away, and they scurried off.

        "Wait! Where are you—?" I took the wrong step, and my wedges twisted to the side, making me lose my balance. I yelped.

        Before I could fall, however, Jax grabbed a hold of me. "Whoa!" He helped me stand upright, and I adjusted my romper. "Take it easy."

        "Thanks." We pulled away from each other, and I took a sip of my drink. My face heated up.

        That was so embarrassing. Thank goodness Jax was the only one who saw that fiasco. If that would have happened in front of someone like Brice, I would have died.

        "Hey!" I yelled when Jax grabbed my drink to examine it.

        "This is Fanta," he said as he handed it back to me. "It's non-alcoholic, so you can't blame that near-mishap on the alcohol." He chuckled.

        I wasn't even going to counter what he said. Guys like Jax fed off of getting a reaction out of people like me, so I wasn't going to give it to him.

        "Why are you hiding out in this kitchen?" I changed the subject.

        "I'm not hiding." He leaned back against the counter, and I stood beside him as we watched the crowd. The crowd we were detached from.

        "Your friends are hosting this party," I elaborated. "Why aren't you with them? Normal people mingle and interact with others at parties. They don't lurk in kitchens to harass girls."

        "Who said I'm normal?" he challenged with a crooked smile.

        "True." I drank more of my drink and noticed his empty hands. "Aren't you gonna get something to drink?"

        "Thanks for reminding me." He reached for my Fanta and took a swig from it. I wasn't even mad this time. I let him drink it until he returned it to me. "That's better." He grinned.

        I shook my head as I watched him. "Is this what you do? Take other people's things that don't belong to you?"

        "Why not?" he said. "My friend bought those drinks, so if you think about it, I'm entitled to every drink here—including yours."

"That makes no sense."

"It makes perfect sense," he said. "Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it doesn't make sense."

        "I can't even with you." I moved my gaze forward.

        He chuckled. "Why are you here, anyway?"

        "I thought we already established this." I glanced at him. "I'm here to crash your friend's party."

        And to see Brice.

        Where was he?

        I craned my neck to examine the crowd, hoping for a glimpse of him.

         "No, not that," Jax said. He rested an elbow on the counter to face me, being eye-level with me for the first time. "Why are you here? With me?"

        "I'm wondering the same thing."

        I wouldn't have been here with this obnoxious boy if Mi Yun and Sadaf wouldn't have left me. Parties were scary places. I didn't feel like venturing off alone in search for those two.

        What if someone started talking to me? Or they wanted to dance with me, and I didn't want to dance with them? What if they drugged me?

Daddy would have been so mad if he knew I was here.

        "I'm in this kitchen for a reason," Jax said. "I don't want to be around people. You being here kind of ruins the whole purpose of this." He motioned around himself as he fought back a smile.

        I faced him, too, stunned. "Who comes to a party to be alone?"

        Now, that made no sense.

        "Hey." He raised his hands. "I was forced to come to this place. I would much rather spend my Saturday doing anything but this."

        "What would you do on a regular Saturday then?"

        I was genuinely curious. Out of Brice's posse, Jax was the most withdrawn. No one really knew much about him, except for the fact that his name was Jax, he was on Villa Ridge's hip-hop company and he hung out with Brice.

        I didn't even know his real name was Iago until French.

        "That's easy," he said. "I'll probably jam out to some tunes and maybe practice some routines for company."

        "That's fair."

He bobbed his head my way. "What about you?" Before I could speak, he cut in. "Oh, I know. You'll probably play your instrument all day and then watch marching band performances the rest of the night. Am I right?"

"Ha ha. Very funny." I wasn't amused. "You know, I'm not just a band kid. I'm many things that go beyond band. Yes, I practice my instrument, but I also do a lot of other stuff. I actually listen to a lot of music, just like you."

        "What do you listen to? Katy Perry?" he mocked.

"There you go again making assumptions about me," I pointed out. "I actually hate Katy Perry's songs. They annoy me."

He nodded, looking impress. "What do you listen to then?"

I smirked. "You'll have to find that out another day." I turned to the front, not saying another word.

"Wow." I resumed drinking my Fanta while he stared at me. "I'll give that one to you," he said.

He couldn't be the only mysterious one here. Two could play at his game.

Jax faced the front as well, and we watched the party unfold before our eyes. We silently enjoyed each other's company at this obnoxious party we both didn't want to be at. It was oddly comforting and surprisingly not awkward.

Then I caught a glimpse of a light-skinned boy approaching us. His chiseled jaw and jean jacket gave him away.

Brice.

My breath caught in my throat when he stopped in front of us, eyes on Jax.

"Ay, Velasco." He pounded Jax's fist. "What're you up to?"

"Nothing much."

"That's the problem," Brice said. "It's our boy's party. You should be kicking it with us."

"I'm good, Abrams," Jax replied. "I think I'll just chill here for now."

Brice raised his hands in surrender. "If you say so, man." His gaze shifted to me, and I momentarily stopped breathing. "Who's your friend?"

        Jax frowned at the word "friend."

        I couldn't even be offended by that because I was too mesmerized by Brice's beauty as he continued to watch me. I had to remind myself to blink and breath.

        Jax remained quiet, so I found my voice and spoke up. "Estella," I said. "My name is Estella."

        "Nice to meet you, Estella." He smiled, flashing those dimples, and my heart melted. "I'm Brice."

        "I know." I mentally kicked myself right after.

        I know?

        I sounded like a creep.

        But a lot of people knew who Brice was.

        But he didn't have to know that I knew who he was.

        Ugh!

        "We're in the same psych class," Brice said, and I saw my opportunity.

        "We are," I confirmed. "That's why you're familiar."

        Even when I made it to class early enough to snatch a seat around him, I still sat a couple seats behind him. His allure was too intimidating; I wasn't ready to make my move yet.

        "I'll be seeing you around then," he said.

        I squealed in my mind and curled my lips into my mouth to prevent myself from squealing out loud. I nodded instead.

        He'll be seeing me around.

        Brice's attention returned to Jax while I continued to stare at the handsome boy before me, trying to not be too obvious. "Hey, Velasco, look—" His sentence was cut off by a tap on his shoulder, and he peeked back at the person.

        Behind him was a skinny blonde in a halter dress. Her blue eyes focused on Brice, and I rolled mine.

        "Sabrina." Brice appeared just as surprised as I was to see her. Jax stood upright with his full attention on her. "What are you doing here?" Brice's voice came out flat, and his expression went blank.

        "Can we talk?" She fumbled with her dress as her body seemed to almost sway with the music. "We haven't talked since—"

        "Since we broke up," he finished for her. "That was intentional."

        Jax frowned at his friend, but Sabrina's expression remained numb. Even I was taken aback, and I wasn't a big Sabrina Fraser fan.

        "Brice, come on." She tapped his arm. "I just want to talk to you."

        "Well, I don't want to talk to you." He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged one shoulder. "Hence, why you weren't invited here."

        Behind Sabrina, Mi Yun and Sadaf were approaching us but stopped at the sight before them.

        Oh... Now, they wanted to show up.

        "Abrams." Jax reached for Brice's arm. "Come on. No need to be a—"

       He silenced Jax with his hand. "Stay out of this, Velasco."

        Jax tilted his head, stunned, and I stood back as far as I could while Brice's attention remained on the frail girl in front of us.

"Whatever you have to say, Sabrina, save it," Brice said. "I couldn't care less. This is exactly why I dumped you. You don't understand a thing called personal space, so how about you stop embarrassing yourself and leave me alone? Capisce?"

Sabrina watched him with a gentle shake of her head until her lips began to quiver. Suddenly, she turned on her heels and squeezed her way through Sadaf and Mi Yun before running off into the crowd. Brice refocused on me and Jax as if nothing happened.

"Sorry about that. Where were we?" He glanced between us, but Jax continued to glare at him before moving past his friend with a bump to his shoulder. "Velasco." Brice grabbed his arm, and Jax turned around, shooting daggers at him.

        "What the hell was that?!" Jax barked. "You didn't have to be a total asshole to her. She's a person, Brice, not just your ex-girlfriend."

Brice's expression dropped, and his jaw tensed. "What I say to Sabrina isn't any of your business. Now"—He smiled—"why don't you continue talking to this pretty girl over here?" He pointed his thumb my way.

That statement rubbed me the wrong way. Even the sexiness of his side profile and the fact that he called me "pretty" couldn't erase that feeling.

"Whatever, man." Jax freed himself of Brice's grasp. "I'm out. Screw this party." His eyes found mine. "Talk to you later, Estella."

"Jax!"

"Velasco!"

Brice and I called out to him simultaneously, but he was already walking off.

        Mi Yun watched Brice while Sadaf busied herself with her drink to diverge the awkwardness. I didn't know how long we stayed that way, but I wanted to dive into my Fanta. A couple seconds passed before Brice turned to me. "It really was nice officially meeting you, Estella. Sorry you had to see that."

        "It's okay," I said.

        It wasn't.

        "See you in class on Monday." He smiled, gracing me with one more glimpse of those adorable dimples, before walking out of the kitchen, and I watched him the whole time.

        He had a nice back.

        And that walk.

        Mi Yun and Sadaf made their way over to me. "That was something," Sadaf pointed out the obvious. "What just happened?"

Mi Yun sighed as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Congratulations, Estella. Your crush is a class-A douchebag."

I frowned with a pout. I wasn't too fond of what I had seen either, but I didn't appreciate her calling him a "douchebag."

        Maybe it was a bad day.

        I didn't know him, and I wanted to change that, so I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. There had to be more to Brice than what I had just witnessed.

Douchebag or not, he was still Brice Abrams.