(Warning: This chapter references drug use, peer pressure, LGBTQIA+ characters, and a brief mention of ignoring a lack of consent. If these are triggering topic, please read until my second warning and then skip to the end of the chapter where I will summarize.)

Jake and Ariana were happy together for months to come. He was going to community college, but they still managed to meet up often. It was difficult for Ariana to adjust to life while Jake was in college. They only saw each other every couple of months, but she was grateful for each visit. She would have loved to text or call him, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to afford a phone.

Every time they saw each other, she'd be swept up on a passionate kiss, and told that of she ever needed anything, that he was willing to help. She was too nervous and proud to ask for anything, but she was glad that he was willing, even if she'd never accept. Today marked one year together, and Ariana was excited to see Jake. She wasn't able to see him while he was at school because his college was too far for her to walk. Coming home after grocery shopping, she was met by a smiling Jake on her doorstep.

"Jake!" she exclaimed upon seeing him. "I missed you!"

"Me too, Ari," he told her sincerely. He swept her into a welcoming kiss.

"So, what have you being doing for the past few months?" she asked him.

"Just tests, you know," he told her, rolling his eyes. "Nothing much. But I want to hear about you."

She blushed. "Oh. I um," she said, flustered by the attention. "Just looking after my father. Nothing special."

"Everything you do is special," he told her. "And in going to show you just how special you are. C'mon."

He grabbed her hand and led her towards his car. The nineteen year old boy did nothing to disguise the fact that his family was rich. His silver Tesla was parked beside the nearby sidewalk. His gestured for her to get into the car. Ariana got into the passenger side, and he got into the drivers side. He turned the key, and the engine hummed to life.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"You'll see," he told her. "I think you'll like it." (Place your guesses now! Where/what do you think it is?)

They drove for about fifteen minutes before they reached a mansion up in the rich part of town. He pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. The engine purred to a halt, and he got out of the car. Before she had a chance to open the door, he was opening it for her.

"After you," he said, offering his hand. She took it, and he helped her get out of the car.

The mansion that stood beside her was crafted with white marble pillars, and a large front patio. Manicured gardens surrounded it, and pristine grass covered the large yard.

"Aren't you going to go in?" Jake asked beside her.

She shook her head, but he grabbed her hand and brought her in anyways. The front hall was two gorgeous flights of stairs curving around a running fountain. The floors were crisp black and white tile, and the walls were brilliant white. The entire room nearly blew Ariana away. Jake then led her up the stairs to another large room. This had a king size bed and a spruce bedroom set. The walls were a pale orange; a lighter shade of her eyes, and there were white lace curtains hanging in front of the large bay window that overlooked the city.

"This is beautiful," Ariana finally managed.

"We're not done yet," Jake told her.

He led her down the hall to another bedroom that was similar to the first, simply without lace and green walls. Next, he led her back down the stairs, and into a room to the left of the entrance. It was a very large room with even more marble pillars, and floors that matched the entryway. Three large chandeliers hung along the roof, and when she looked up, Ariana saw murals of ancient dancers painted along the ceiling. The room was truly breathtaking.

Next, he led her to the right of the entrance, into a large sitting area. A sectional couch lay in front of a stunning fireplace and mantel, with a large plasma screen above it. A faux fur rug lay in front of the couch, and a matching ottoman sat on top of it. Jake then led her to a kitchen, which was connected to the sitting room. All of the cupboards were white, but Ariana didn't see any handles. Jake walked over to one and pushed the bottom of it and it sprung open, settling above the shelves. A stove and fridge sat in the kitchen as well, and a large island was in the center.

"C'mon!" he told her. "There's still more to see."

She followed him eagerly towards the patio door at the end of the kitchen, and into a large backyard. They stepped out on to a large deck, crafted of wood. Following Jake as he walked to the left, she saw a large pool and hot tub surrounded in a ring of concrete.

"This place is beautiful," Ariana told Jake, looking out into the large grassy area behind the pool. "Whoever owns this place?"

"Well, you," he told her.

"Me?" she asked him. "I can't afford this place, much less own it!"

"You don't need to afford it," he told her. "My parents bought it for me, and I'm saying that you can live here with me."

"Oh Jake," she said. "You're too kind, but I could never live here. Who will look after my father?"

"Don't worry about him," he told her. "We both know that he needs to go into rehab. I'll pay for him to go, no worries."

"But Jake,"

"Ari, it'll be fine. He'll be fine. Just stay here with me."

"I guess..." she told him. "But my father—"

"—Will be well taken care of," he said again. He kissed her gently. "Just stay here with me."

"Okay, Jake," she told him. "I trust you."

"And I love you," he told her, sweeping her into another kiss.

Ariana eventually got used to living in the mansion with Jake. She was assured that her father was doing well with his rehab, and that he was scheduled for therapy afterwards to deal with his emotional trauma regarding his wife's death. Jake seemed to be overjoyed that Ariana was living with him now. Every day she was greeted with a good morning kiss, and she was treated like royalty. Jake looked after her, and made sure that she felt welcome in her new home. He'd helped her move her things from her old apartment, and had even bought her new clothing that fit her better than her old things.

She was given the room with the orange walls, which she found out, was already stocked with beautiful dresses for her to wear. Jake told her that they all brought out the fire in her eyes, to which she would always blush profusely. Some days however, Jake would come home later than usual, sometimes reeking of skunk. She was unsure of why this was the case, often deciding that there must be one living nearby, and he'd had a run-in with it. There could be no other explanation.

Now, a year and a half into their relationship, Ariana waited for Jake to come home. It was 5:55 PM, and he was usually home at 6 PM sharp. She sat on the steps on the grand staircase and waited. After a few minutes, she heard the jingle of his keys in the lock. The door opened, revealing Jake, dressed in a crisp suit, as usual. Setting down his bag, he hugged her tightly, and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Welcome home," she said.

He smiled, and followed her through to the kitchen. Having already eaten dinner, she set out a plate of steaming vegetables and steak in front of Jake, to which he ate gratefully.

"So, how was your day?" she asked him.

"Boring, as usual," he told her, finishing up his meal. "But, what can I expect when you're not there with me?"

She blushed at the remark, and he stood up from his seat, placing his dishes in the dishwasher. Then, he walked over and took her hands.

"Ari," he said. "Some friends of mine are throwing a party tonight. I would love it if you'd come with me this time. They all want to meet you."

"If it'll make you happy," she said. "Then yes, I'll come."

"Excellent," he said. "Wear that red dress. You know, the one that you've been reserving for a special occasion?" She nodded in agreement. "Why don't you go get ready now? I'm sure you'll want to look your best in front of them."

She nodded and hurried up the stairs to her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, she walked into her large walk-in closet, and sifted through the dresses that he'd bought for her. She eventually found the dress that Jake had recommended, and she slipped it on. Checking to make sure that there were no tears, she observed the dress.

It fit her form perfectly, and had a deep V-neck and slit running up her thigh. She then brushed her hair and styled it up in a bun, leaving a bit down to frame her face. Reaching into her jewelry box, her pulled out a set of long silver earrings, and a matching necklace that sat at the base of her throat. After, she slipped on some silver heels, which she learned how to walk in when she first moved in.

(The dress is like this one, and she put her hair up like this as well. Obviously, this isn't what she looks like, but it had the idea that I was looking for.)

Leaving her room, she walked down the stairs to meet up with Jake again to leave for the party. He was dressed in black pants and a button down shirt, nothing extremely fancy compared to what he wore to work every day. They walked out to the car, and both got in. Jake backed out of the driveway, and drove down the street. While he was driving, Ariana found herself pondering which friends they were getting together with. She'd never met any of his friends, but he'd told her about several different groups of them.

After a few minutes, Jake pulled into the driveway of a two-storey house, smaller than her current home, but larger than her previous home. There were four other cars in the driveway, which she assumed belonged to his friends. Jake opened the door of the car and walked up to the front door. Ariana followed suit, arriving just as the door opened. A boy the same age as Jake opened the door to greet them. He had short black hair and soft brown eyes.

"Jake!" the boy exclaimed upon answering the door. He and Jake did what the kids at Ariana's old school called a bro hug. "Nice to see you bro, glad you could make it. And this must be Ariana?"

"Sure is," Jake replied, putting his arm around her waist. "Care to bring us to the rest of the gang?"

The boy stepped aside, and Jake walked into the house. Ariana followed him in, the boy closing the door behind him. Jake led her down the hall and into the living room, where three other boys, and one girl sat on couches. Jake sat down on on of the empty couches, and Ariana took a seat beside him. The boy from earlier sat down on another couch, beside the girl. Looking around the room, Ariana now felt very overdressed. Everyone was in shirts and T-shirts of tanks, while she was in a prom dress. But, Jake told her to wear it, so he must have good reason.

"Care to introduce us?" said the girl.

"Of course," Jake said. "This here is Harley," he gestured to the boy that had greeted then at the door. "That's Lorenzo, but we call him Renzo," he gestured to a Latino boy with dark brown hair and green eyes. "He's Kyle," he gestured to the last boy. He had pale brown, almost blonde, hair in a Bieber-mop kind of style, and blue eyes. "Boys, this is Ariana."

"Nice to meet you," Ariana murmured.

"And since you won't introduce me," said the girl. "I'll do it myself. I'm Iesha." (Because it's hard to tell, that is Iesha with an "i")

"Pleased to meet you, Iesha," Ariana said softly.

To start of the night, everyone walked outside as music began to play from the speakers that were attached to the house. Melodies floated though the air, and Jake wrapped his arms around her waist. He began to say back and forth to the music, so she put her arms around his neck. Around them, Harley danced with Iesha, and Renzo with Kyle.

(Warning: here is where our triggering topics begin.)

Ariana turned to look over at the two boys slow dancing to the music, but Jake answered her unspoken question. "They're gay. Don't think too much about it."

She nodded, and the group kept dancing the night away. Song after song, they danced together as night began to fall. After a few hours of this, the music stopped, and everyone went back inside, as it was starting to get cold outside. Whence inside, Harley reached into his pocket and pulled out some things that looked like rolled up pieces of paper.

"Want one?" he asked the group. Everyone else in the group grabbed a roll, leaving none in his hand. "Sorry Ariana," he said afterwards. "I would've made you one too, but I didn't know you were coming."

He pulled a lighter out of his other pocket and out the end of it. He passed it around the room, and the others followed suit. The room began to fill with foul smelling smoke. Ariana couldn't help but cough as the room filled. She realized that it smelled just like the skunk smell that Jake often bore when he returned home later than usual.

Jake then turned to her. "Here," he said, passing her the joint. "Take a puff," she shook her head. "Aww, c'mon, it'll be fun." He told her. She shook her head again, and he gave up.

Everyone in the room seemed to be loosening up the more they smoked. A few of them let out some contented sighs, while others spoke, almost slurred. Then, Jake got up, and dragged Ariana off the couch as well.

"We should be going now," he said to her. "Same place, same time next week?" he asked the group.

"Yeah," Harley replied.

They walked out of the house and Jake drove them home. Upon getting home, she went to go upstairs to change for bed.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked her. "The party has just gotten started."

"Jake," she said kindly. "We're home now. The party's over."

"That doesn't mean the fun has to end," he said, lifting one eyebrow. "C'mon back down."

She hesitantly walked back down the stairs. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. He still reeked of smoke, but she stayed with him. He broke away, and let a smile creep into his face.

"Now that wasn't so bad, right?" he asked her.

"No," she replied. "But I best be getting to b—"

Jake leaned forward and slapped her. "No, the party's just getting fun, stay down here with me."

Ariana hand flew to her face and she touched her now red cheek. He didn't mean it. she thought. It's just the smoke.

She pushed a smile, and he led her back to the sitting room. They sat down together and he wrapped and arm around her shoulders.

"I love you, Ari," he told her.

He leaned in for another kiss. She hesitated, but eventually gave in when he pulled her closer. He kissed her with passion, his hands running up and down her body, which was barely covered by the dress. He kissed her again, hands creeping towards the zipper of the dress...

She pushed back on him, breaking then apart.

"What are you doing!" she exclaimed.

"Babe, there's no need to scream," he told her. "Nothing's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong?" she exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Baby," he said again. "Just listen to m—"

"I won't listen to you, that was uncalled for!"

"Baby, calm down—"

"Don't 'baby calm down' me!"

He slapped her again. "Stop! There's nothing wrong. I'm just trying to show the girl I love how much I love her. Or are you not willing to love me?"

"Jake, I love you but—"

"—you won't let me show it!"

"There are other ways to show love than—"

"Baby!" he exclaimed. "Just let me show yo—" he crept forward.

Ariana jumped up, running away from him.

"Ariana!" Jake yelled after her. "Get back here!"

She kept running, out of the house, tripping in the long dress and heels. She kicked off the shoes and took off down the street.

"Ariana!"

She ran off into the night, leaving Jake behind her.

Summary for those who skipped:

Jake wants Ariana to smoke some weed. She says no. They go home. He wants to sleep with her. She says no. He tries to convince her otherwise. She runs out of the house.

So that's part three! Here are this chapters questions.

- Where do you think Ariana will run?

- Do you think she'll go back to Jake?

- Do you think we'll see more of Harley, Renzo, Kyle, and Iesha?

- Is this the trouble, or is it something else?

Let me know! I love seeing your guesses, and at this point, I would even consider your predictions for the writing. I have an idea for the end, but nothing really in between. Who knows, maybe your idea will become canon!

Thanks for reading guys!

~Alley