~

I rub my arms, absent-mindedly trying to warm them up, as I stare out the window at the blur of colours and bright street lights that is the town of Thornhill.

"Are you cold, Anatolia?"

I turn my attention to River. "A little, but it's alright. I mean, it's expected. It's October and I'm wearing next to nothing."

I hear the nerves in my voice. I guess that's the consequence of being this close to River when he's looking that good. Not to mention I'm lying to my parents and friends by doing this...Mum and Dad think I'm sleeping over at Liv's house and Liv and Lucy think I'm on my way home right now. I guess I'm breaking all the rules tonight.

He glances at me, his eyes fleeting down my body, before turning his attention back to the road. "There should be a black hoodie in the glove compartment. You should put it on."

I raise my eyebrows somewhat at his assertiveness, before tugging open the glove compartment and pulling out a bundle of soft, black material.

"Yes, Sir."

River smirks a little. "Say that with a little more respect and it'll sound perfect."

"Respect has to be earned, Kavinsky."

River lets out a low whistle. "It's a good thing you look so fucking cute tonight, Anatolia."

I tug the hoodie over my head and try not to focus too much on how I'm now enveloped in his scent. I look down at it and see that Heathen is embroidered across it in small, white writing.

I bask in its warmth and softly sing, "Thank you, River."

"Don't mention it." He responds in a gentle tone- one I've never heard from him before.

We're close to Dallas' home now. I stare out at the abundance of pearly gates and six figure cars we're passing.

I turn to River, hesitate, and then ask, "Will your friends be okay with me being at this thing?"

"It's Dallas' home, and he thinks you're sweet. If anyone else there has a problem, they can take it up with me when you're not around."

I find this rather reassuring, especially since we've just pulled into Dallas' driveway.

"I'm guessing the probability of that happening is next to none."

"Your maths is perfect, as always." River drawls, turning to me and sending me a smile; it's kind of a gorgeous sight. "Well, almost. Your calculation for that six-mark question on the latest bio test...Ouch."

River turns the engine off, and climbs out of his Ferrari into the dark.

I scramble out after him. "What? What do you mean by 'Ouch'? What did I do wrong? And why are you spying on my answers anyway you little cheat?!"

River's laugh lights up the night.

~

Upon spending a few minutes inside Dallas' home, I'm quite relieved to find the 'small afterparty' is just that- a little get-together consisting of the guys River and Dallas hang out with the most and some girls I've never seen before.

A part of me was terrified at the idea of Charlotte, or god forbid Liv and Lucy, being here too. I'm not too sure how I'd handle the shocked and appalled reactions that would surely come as a consequence of River turning up with me at his side. I don't even know what to do with my own feelings concerning River.

River leads me into the kitchen, past the curious glances of his friends and the hateful glare of Talon Black.

Dalla is sitting atop a white marble kitchen bench chatting to some girl as we walk in. He immediately drops down and begins walking towards us upon seeing his best friend.

"There you are."

River and Dallas give each other a short embrace, before Dallas steps back, eyeing the blood on River's shirt.

"I take it things didn't go smoothly. Is that his blood?"

Whose blood? I find myself frowning.

River raises his eyebrows in an affronted fashion. "I find it insulting that you think he could draw mine."

"Just checking you're not losing your touch." He grins and that's when his eyes finally land on me, half-hidden behind River.

They widen in brief surprise. "Ana..." Dallas' gaze flicks over to River and a smirk dawns on his face. "Not here to investigate the spiking of the punch, are you? Because I promise you, we had absolutely everything to do with it."

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that." I tell him, trying and failing to suppress a smile.

"Looks like your good girl's gone bad, River."

I scowl at this.

River takes one look at me and starts smirking. "Looks like she'll cut your sweet life short if you ever call her 'good girl' again. And if she doesn't, I might."

To this, Dallas starts grinning. "My apologies, Ana." He says. "That's River's job only, right?"

I feel my face blush furiously, understanding the innuendo.

"Dallas," River warns in a voice that sends shivers down my spine, even though it's obvious there's no real threat there. "Watch it."

It's just then that a somewhat-familiar male enters the kitchen and approaches us. Like all of River's gang, he's dangerously attractive.

"River, Dallas, can I have a word?"

It's clear from his tone that whatever is concerning him cannot wait, and no one else besides them can be involved in the conversation.

River looks at me. I happen to be nervously biting my lip when he does.

"Make it quick, Cal." He replies in an exasperated tone after some hesitation.

As Cal and Dallas leave the room, River says to me, "Go make yourself comfortable. I'll come find you in a second."

"Is this you making it up to me?" I dare to ask as he goes to leave. "If it is, then consider me disappointed."

River stops still. I feel the electricity buzzing between us. He raises a single eyebrow. "Oh, yeah?"

"Uh huh. I didn't expect River Kavinsky to be all business, no fun."

River's lips part ever so slightly. There's a moment of silence, before he says, "Keep pushing it, Anatolia. I can promise you we'll both enjoy what happens after."

I swallow hard and stay silent. The butterflies in my stomach are in a frenzy.

"Alright, then." River smirks, taking care to brush against me as he slides past and exits the room.

~

I'm gathered around a fire pit outside, chatting to some girls that go to Lockwood High. I've taken off River's hoodie and folded it into my lap, revealing my angelic outfit. A shadow suddenly falls over us and we all look behind us. I expect to see River standing there for he's been gone a while now. 

But looking down at me is Talon Black.

"Hey, Talon." A redhead named Katherine greets. "Want to join us?"

"I don't know. Is Blondie staying?" He responds.

There's that hate-filled look again.

The girls look between him and I, appearing confused.

"What's your problem?" I voice finally. "Okay, sure, I snitched on you and your friends for graffitiing. Maybe that wasn't cool, and maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut. But even before that, you had something against me."

"Had that speech prepared for a while?" He sneers, to which I narrow my eyes. "I just don't like you. And I liked you even less when I saw River taking an interest in you. Girls like you, you don't fit in around here."

"You have a thing with River Kavinsky?" Katherine asks, both shocked and intrigued.

I don't reply to her. Instead, I stand up and face Talon. "Who I interact with and where I go, has fucking nothing to do with you, Talon Black."

He opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, he's knocked forward into me by an unknown force. The two of us hit the ground. I let out a small cry of pain as my bare skin scrapes across concrete.

I look up to see two guys going at each other. People dash out of their way, eager to avoid the same fate as Talon and I.

"Fuck." Talon exhales beside me on the floor, his face also etched in pain.

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Yeah." He says through gritted teeth. He hesitates before meeting my eyes. "You?"

I nod.

"OI!" A deep voice abruptly sounds from the direction of the house. "The fuck is going on?"

Both of our heads snap up to see Dallas Jackson strolling across the garden, his attention on the two guys that are still grappling. I look behind him and see River slowly making his way through the crowd of onlookers. My tear-filled blue eyes meet his cool green ones. He starts to frown.

I get up and walk towards him. I'm almost at River when one of the guys comes flying in my direction again.

River reaches out and grabs my arm, tugging me out of harm's way.

My hands instinctively land on his solid chest. River watches the guy for a second, before his gaze drops to me. "You hurt?"

His voice is dangerously calm.

I step back and turn my arms over; the undersides are scraped and bleeding. Parts of my legs look the same. And my costume is ripped and covered in dirt. "I've had worse," I laugh.

But River's not one bit amused. He starts walking me back towards the house. Only once we're inside does he stop.

"Go upstairs. My bedroom. You'll find a first-aid kit in my ensuite. I'll be with you in a second."

"Okay?"

Before I can say anything else, he's gone.

I find my way upstairs, remembering the route to his bedroom.

As I enter his room, I note that it smells like black coffee and the woody aftershave that I love so much.

I close the door behind me, surveying the vaguely familiar sight.

Unlike most seventeen-year-old boys, River apparently keeps his room immaculate. Either that, or a maid has just paid it a visit.

I find the first-aid kit and start cleaning my cuts in the opulent comfort of his ensuite.

I'm almost done when I hear the bedroom door open and close.

River strolls into view. As he rakes a hand through his tousled hair, I notice his knuckles are red and inflamed. And if I'm not mistaken, there's more blood on his shirt than there was before.

He notices me staring at the fresh droplets of blood, and wordlessly begins removing his shirt. I try not to look. Emphasis on try.

I take a peek at him as I perch myself on the edge of his bathtub, and my breath actually hitches in my throat. He's standing shamelessly in front of his wardrobe in nothing but tight, black, dress pants secured with a black belt, flicking through shirts.

River grabs a black muscle tee and pulls it on. He looks over at me. I quickly busy myself with cleaning the last cut on my leg. My nerves are on fire as he enters the bathroom and crouches down in front of me, holding what looks like a white tee and some basketball shorts.

"Need any help, Angel?" He asks softly.

I shake my head. "All done."

I stretch over River and drop the last cotton pad into the nearby bin.

I draw back and look at River.

"You can put these on if you like," He tells me, handing me the tee and shorts. "They'll be too big on you, but I think they beat a ripped and muddy dress."

I grip the fabric in my hands. "Did you go back to beat those guys up?"

"I went back to end the fight."

"It was an accident, you know. Them hurting me."

"I went back to end the fight." River repeats.

"Right." I reply.

"I'll let you get changed." River pushes himself up and starts to turn away.

"Wait, uh, River...I needed quite a bit of help getting into this thing. The dress is a bit too small for me and the zipper's a bit of a pain and the wings are-"

"I get it. Turn around," River orders softly, interrupting my blabbering. 

I stand up and turn my back to him, chewing my bottom lip. A shiver rattles through my body as I feel his hands touch my bare skin. I feel my heart thumping wildly in my chest as he pulls down the zipper of my dress and helps me out of it.

"Thank you," I say very quietly, turning to face him in nothing but my baby pink underwear.

I think I see a tinge of pink appear on River's cheeks as his eyes trail down me.

"Fuck, Ana," he whispers.

I softly clear my throat, take a deep breath, and say, "Do you think you could earn my forgiveness now?"

River's green eyes snap up to meet mine, the fire in them screaming yes, Anatolia.