"Earth to Crystal! Hello?!" Bridget's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see my best friend's curly brown hair and green eyes shine at me. She was waving a hand in front of my face to get my attention.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" I asked and then returned to my lunch. We were eating in the Rockford University campus cafeteria like we did everyday. We didn't have any classes with each other so we all ate lunch together to catch up.

"I was saying that you need to come with me to the MMA match this Saturday. Bailey, over here, says she has a date so she can't go and I have two tickets! Please?!" She begged. Ignoring Bridget's pleading, I looked over at Bailey, her red hair was hiding her face as she avoided my gaze.

"Bailey, you have a date?" I asked in an irritated tone. She finally made eye contact with her golden brown eyes. I gave her a disapproving look as she squirmed. Ever since I was little, I had to be somewhat of a mother to my sister, Nikki. I guess that motherly instinct never really went away even though Nikki was off on her own now at a different college.

"Just because you hate men, doesn't mean we have to." Bridget said as I kept staring at Bailey.

Yeah, but you don't know why. It's all because of HIM. He destroyed my trust for men and no one will ever be able to change that. You would never trust men either if you did know, Bridge.

"You're just going to get hurt." I told Bailey and then turned back to Bridget. "And yeah, I guess I can go with you." I said and then returned to my lunch.

"Good! Oh, and tomorrow night we should go to the club! I heard there's an awesome DJ playing and it would be fun to have a girls' night. We haven't had one in a while." Bridget explained as I took a bite of my pizza. Tomorrow was Friday and I knew I didn't have to work at the restaurant so I didn't see why I couldn't go. Not to mention, I really needed a night of drinking. I had been overwhelmed with school and work lately and one night of relaxation was exactly what I needed.

"Sure, sounds good." I said as Bailey nodded that she would go. I looked back over at the red head, feeling protective again.

"You know, as much as I don't approve of you going on a date, I will be here for you when he breaks your heart." I informed her. She furrowed her eyebrows in a weird look.

"Jeez, Crystal, just chill. She will be fine." Bridget said, bringing my attention back to her. Bailey was quiet and shy, she hardly ever talked.

So how did she get a date anyways?

"I'm just looking out for her." I said and took another bite of my pizza. I knew how men really were; they used you and then dumped you to the curb when they were done.

"I know but sometimes you can be more harsh than you mean to be." She scolded and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well, I have to go. My sociology class is in half an hour and I still have to go run back to the dorm and grab my books." I explained and then took my plate and walked off.

Friday night I started getting ready to go to the club. I just finished curling my long blonde hair and putting my make up on. I liked dressing up, not to impress guys but for myself. It made me feel confident and bold, like I was putting my best self forward. I looked into the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. My royal blue dress clung to my body and brought out my eyes that matched the dress. My black high heels made my legs look longer, which I needed considering my 5'2" height.

"You ready to go, sexy lady?!" Bridget barged into the bathroom, yelling at me. Her red dress looked amazing on her with red heels to match. I gave her a big smile.

"Yuppers." I said as we made our way into my dorm room. My roommate, Isabel, was laying on her bed, reading a fashion magazine.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" I asked her. She looked up from her magazine, her silky brown hair dropping from her shoulder and her sky blue eyes looked into mine.

"Yeah, I'm too tired to go out tonight. I have a lot of homework that I really need to get done too." She replied. I stared at her magazine for a moment before replying.

"Then maybe you should dig into the books instead of your magazines." I said, raising an eyebrow. Just then, the door to our room opened, revealing Bailey in her light purple dress and white heels.

"Oh, we are so ready to make some boys drool tonight!" Bridget screeched. I gave her a disapproving look.

"We are having a girls night. No boys." I told her. She tossed her hand in the air at me.

"Whatever. My point is, we look hot!" She replied as I gave her a half smile.

"Alright, I should be back around midnight." I told Isabel as I grabbed my keys, phone, ID and some cash from the nightstand and stuffed it all in my bra. She waved good bye as I shut the door. We walked out to the sidewalk and took a taxi to the club, Best Kept Secret. We could already hear the music pumping as we slipped out of the taxi and paid the driver.

"Let's do this!" Bridget yelled as she did a hand pump into the air. I laughed lightly at her as all three of us linked arms and walked into the club. The loud music filled my ears as we opened the doors. It was packed with people dancing and drinking. Many of the dancers were grinding on each other, making me want to hand out condoms.

We walked to the bar and ordered our drinks. As usual, I got Dr. Pepper and Fireball. I loved how the sharp cinnamon flavor burned my throat. I chugged my first glass, excited for the buzz that would soon follow. Bridget quickly found a guy to dance with, leaving Bailey and I at the bar. I felt annoyance grow in me as I watched them.

This is supposed to be a girls night, not a grind on the idiotic species night.

I turned to Bailey as we got our second set of drinks.

"Cheers!" I said as we clinked glasses and chugged. We both slammed our glasses down when we finished, her slightly before me. She giggled and I was excited to see Bailey open up. She always became silly and fun when she got drunk. I pulled her onto the dance floor with me and we started dancing.

I bumped my hip against hers and she giggled at me. The alcohol was starting to seep into our bloodstream and I couldn't help but feel excited. This night was exactly what the doctor had ordered and boy, did it feel good.

Suddenly, I felt two large hands on my waist. I quickly turned on my heel and stared at the burly man in front of me. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as his hooded eyes stared at me with lust. I glared at him, making sure I was giving off an angry aura.

"Don't touch me." I ground out as I pulled on his hands to take them off my waist. He leaned his head down next to my ear.

"Oh come on, I just want to have a little fun." He slurred, slightly spitting. I shuddered at the grossness.

"There are plenty of girls here who would love to have fun with you but I am not one of them." I explained loudly. He brought his face back to look at me.

"I don't want them. I want you." He slurred, a couple drops of spit landing on my face. I cringed and slowly wiped the saliva off my face.

Stay calm, Crystal. This is not the place to start a fight.

"I don't care if you want me. I don't want you." I snipped, feeling my anger rise.

"Who wouldn't want me? You're lying." His voice was so confident, it made me want to vomit. I pushed him away from me with some force, making him stumble away from me. He caught himself before he fell and then I saw the annoyance on his face.

So much for not starting a fight.

He started walking towards me with heavy steps and his hands in fists. I readied myself, bringing my feet further apart and getting into a stronger stance. Despite the alcohol in my bloodstream,I was ready to defend myself. It was like breathing, I just did it. I watched as he brought a fist back as I got ready to block his blow.

The next moment he was on the floor, sprawled and unconscious. A man was standing above him in dark jeans and a leather jacket; his light brown hair ruffled from the force that he had blown to the man on the ground. His back was to me as I stared at the scene along with everyone else around us.

Finally, he turned around and I caught a look at the most magnificent eyes I had ever seen in my life. One was a deep blue, like I was looking into the sea, while the other was golden brown with a fleck of blue like his other eye. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I stared into his eyes. His stoic face gave away no emotion as he walked up to me.

"You ok?" His strong deep voice brought me out of my trance with my emotions flying.

"What the hell?! I was handling that guy just fine on my own!" I yelled at him. I looked past the man with the mismatched eyes to see a couple of the bouncers pick up the man from the floor and drag him out of the club.

"That dude was three times your size." His voice brought my attention back to him, he was still giving away no emotion.

"His size doesn't matter. I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. I don't need help from anyone, especially not a man." I spit out, feeling the venom dripping from my voice. He stared at me for a moment before turning and walking away from me.

What the hell?! He's just going to walk away from me?!

...just like HIM...

Just as I was about to go after him and give him a piece of my mind, I felt a small hand on my shoulder. I whipped around to see a shocked Bailey. Her big doe eyes were wide with fear so I gave her a comforting look.

"It's ok. I'm fine." I reassured her.

"I'm not worried about you. Why did you attack that guy for saving you?" Her voice was stern and condescending, which was very unusual for her. I gave her a confused look.

"I didn't need him to save me. You know that I am strong enough to stand up to any guy, even if he is a lot bigger than me." I told her. She shook her head at me.

"I know that but he didn't. He was just trying to help and he doesn't know you. How was he supposed to know that you can stand up for yourself? All he saw was a girl about to get hit by this huge guy." She explained. My anger became suppressed by her words and an overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over me.

She's right.

I shook my head firmly, erasing that thought from my mind.

No, she's wrong. No guy is worth apologizing to. He was probably just hoping after he saved me that he could get laid. That's all guys care about.

I walked past her to the bar and ordered another drink to distract myself from my thoughts.