I couldn't hear what Ryan was yelling at Ian as Tyler had pulled us away from them. His arms were still around me, as he hugged me from behind and I found myself leaning into him.

Just when Ryan raised his fist to throw a punch, Ash ran over to him and stopped him. Ian had the audacity to smirk at Ryan when he realized Ash came to his rescue. What the hell?

I untangled myself from Tyler and started walking towards them, but he caught me by my waist and pulled me back to him.

"Whoa, wild child! Where are you going?" He spoke close to my ear, his breath fanning over my skin and I could feel goosebumps erupt over my skin.

This guy had a ridiculous effect on me.

"I wanna know what's happening," I said, trying hard to wriggle away.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere near him."

"He won't hurt me."

"I know, I'm more worried about you trying to hurt him...more like permanently injure him," he chuckled.

Would it be that bad though?

"C'mon! Let me go, " I whined.

After a few seconds, he let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly let go of me, but caught my hand in his, as we made our way towards the rest of them.

" – this is ridiculous, " I heard Neil say in response to something Ash had said, while Ryan had stepped back and was glaring at Ian. "I saw him trying to grab V."

"Yes, because that crazy friend of yours kicked me in the groin, " Ian spat.

Tyler froze in his tracks, turning to look at me wide-eyed and I just shrugged in response. I didn't regret it one bit.

We walked over to the group and I glared at Ian. "Why do you think I did that?"

"V, please let it go," Ash intervened, her voice pleading.

"Why are you covering for him?" I turned to look at her, bewildered.

"Because he didn't hurt me, nor was he going to, " she said, looking me in the eye.

"I saw him dragging you out here. I don't know what he was thinking to do–"

"He wasn't going to do anything, " Ash interrupted me. "He got me out here so that he could make a call to his ex-girlfriend, in front of me. To prove it to me that it's really over."

"So you came here willingly?" I asked.

"Well...no. He dragged me out here, even though I didn't want to, but that's it." She sighed. "It didn't have to turn into such a big issue."

"I just wanted to talk to her in some silence and she was refusing to give me any chance to explain," Ian said. "I didn't mean any harm."

I stared at Ash for a few seconds, before turning to Ian. I could feel everyone around me staring at us, waiting to hear what I'd say. 

"Well, I'm still not going to apologize for what I did." I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Ashley might be okay with you manhandling her, but I'm not. I don't like being touched by anyone against my will. You grabbed me first, then refused to let go even after I warned you. So I think you deserved that kick."

Ian clenched his jaw and glared at me. "I don't care what you think. You're just being a bitch for no fucking reason."

"Hey!" I heard Neil's pissed off voice from behind me.

"Now, you watch your tongue when you speak to her, " Tyler snapped, stepping beside me. He took a step closer to Ian, easily towering over him by a few inches.

"You know what, this is not worth it. I came here to clear things out with Ashley." He looked at her. "And I just want to know what you think, without anyone else trying to control you," Ian said, giving me a quick glance.

"Just leave, Ian." She sighed and his face fell before he masked it away and nodded.

As I watched Ian leave, Ash came up beside me. "V, are you mad?"

Honestly, I had no clue how I felt. She kinda sided up with the guy and made me feel like I overreacted and it didn't sit well with me. Although, a part of me thought that if I had been a little calmer, I could have handled this situation in a much better way.

"V? Are you mad at me or something?" Ash prompted, softly.

"I don't know, I haven't made up my mind yet, " I mumbled.

"When will you know?" She asked and I shrugged.

I had a lot of questions in my mind and I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear the answers to those. Did she think I was controlling her? Was I too irrational?

"Look I know that looked bad, and I love you for trying to protect me but not every guy is like Max," she said.

Ouch.

"Maybe not, but he was no saint either. I'm pretty happy with what she did," Neil chimed in and I gave him a small smile. 

"I know that, I'm just saying that it could have been handled in a better way. It didn't have to go that far." Ash sighed.

"That's not fair. You know this is a sensitive issue for her." Neil stepped forward to stand beside me and backed me up like I knew he would.

"Guys, c'mon. Let's not turn this into a fight." Avi intervened, sensing where this conversation would eventually lead to.  

"Yeah. Let's just get in, what's done is done. I don't want to argue, " I said, and Ash looked like she wanted to say something so I added, "Please."

She nodded and all of us turned around to walk back into the party.

"Hey," Tyler murmured and pulled us aside. "You okay?"

The others turned to look at us and gave us some cheeky grins, before getting inside the house to give us some privacy.

"Yeah." I gave him a small smile. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you think I overreacted back there? Was Ash right?"

"No," he said without any hesitation.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't know the guy well but from what I saw, I could tell that he was an arrogant asshole. And he put his hands on you first, you were only defending yourself."

"Okay..." I trailed off.

"But there was one thing Ashley was right about."

"What's that?"

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. My arms went around his neck on their own accord and I had to tilt my head up a little to look into his eyes.

"You do have a tendency to get easily pissed off and jump right into a fight. I'd rather you try to avoid it where you can, you never know when things might get out of hand, " he said, then grinned. "And I don't like having to pull you out of a fight, only to get beat up by you in return."

"I'm sorry for stepping on your feet." I chuckled.

"I think I just have to get used to your feisty attitude." He grinned and rested his forehead against mine.

"Good. Because it's not going anywhere."

"Neither am I."

I was distinctly aware of the stares from a few people around us, but it all melted away into nothing when Tyler softly pressed his lips against mine.

With his one hand still wrapped around my waist, he brought up the other to cup my cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb as he kissed me.

He slowly pulled away after a few seconds, and I found myself holding back a whimper at the loss of contact.

"I've been waiting to do that again for a long time now, " he murmured against my temple.

His brown irises held so much heat in them that I had to grip him tighter to steady my suddenly weak knees. I blew out an unsteady breath and tried to calm my racing heart. Was it normal to feel like this?

I felt my cheeks go warm under his piercing gaze and he chuckled.  "Overheating again?"

"Shut up." I hit him across his chest and he chuckled. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Julian told me."

Oh, damn! Julian.

"Are you... mad?" I asked, searching his face for any clues on how he felt about Julian being here.

"Honestly, I was not exactly happy when Jace told me about it... but then it was so strange to see Julian out and having fun. He hardly ever gets out of the house, so I think he needed it."

I nodded, relieved that he was okay with it. "I thought so too. I didn't know that students from Edgewood high would be here. I wouldn't have risked it, otherwise."

"I know that. In fact, I should be thanking you for being there for him and trying to get him out of his shell."

"There's no need for that. He's my friend. That's what friends do." I smiled. "Where is he by the way?"

"He is upstairs. We dealt with a few guys who had shown up uninvited, but there was no sign of Max. He probably isn't here." 

"Heather and a few of her friends are here, " I said. It was odd to think she would crash someone else's party.

"Heather?"

"Max's girlfriend."

"Oh, yeah. I think Court invited her."

Wow. I didn't know they were friends.

"Don't worry about it, we'll get all our friends to the rooftop and have our own little party. That way, Julian will be able to have fun too." He grabbed my hand in his and started leading me towards the house. "This place gets pretty crowded after some time. Court invites every person she knows in this town, so we always reserve the upper floor, including the rooftop, only for close friends."

"She's really loaded, huh? This place has the liquor supply of the entire town." I marveled and he chuckled.

We made our way towards where our friends were, and I immediately spotted Courtney standing with them.

Her hair was pulled back, with a few loose strands framing her face. Her makeup was perfectly done; from her crimson red lips to her smoky eyes.

She was wearing a low cut sparkling red top– with so many sequins it almost counted as her own light source– and shorts set.

"Happy Birthday, Courtney." I smiled and extended my hand to wish her, but she had other plans.

She batted my hand away and pulled me into a hug. "Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're here."

"Of course." I awkwardly patted her back before pulling away.

She then turned to Tyler and said, "Hey! Thank you for dealing with those party crashers, Ty."

"Of course, we can't have them ruining your birthday now, can we?" He smiled and she gave him a side hug.

After a few minutes, I got myself a bottle of beer. The growing crowd and loud music was already starting to make me feel claustrophobic.

"Hey." Ashley came up to stand beside me. "Don't look now, but Heather is walking over towards us."

"Fucking hell!" I muttered.

"Be nice."

"Nice? To her?" I looked at her, incredulous.

"Okay, not nice, " she amended. "Be normal. Don't let her get to you."

"Well, don't expect me to give her anything more than a fake smile and dead eyes, " I muttered, just as she approached our little group and stood right in front of me.

***

A/n:-   A quick note to jog up your memory as Heather was introduced at the beginning of this story.

-In chapter 7, we meet her for the first time and learn that she was Veronica's ex-best friend. Who now goes to Edgewood high, and is Max's girlfriend.

- In chapter 14 (flashback scene) - She is the girl Paul is caught making out with at the party, last year.