[A/N: Songs for the chapter:
- Rihanna // Birthday Cake
- Katy Perry // Birthday
- Calvin Harris // Feel So Close
- Zedd // Find You
- Ellie Goulding // Goodness Gracious <3
- Arctic Monkeys // I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor]

"Miss Martin, will you please wake up and pay attention to my class!"

Not that I was sleeping in the first place, but I picked my head off my desk and bit back an eye roll at Mr Davies' rude tone. Jesus, did his wife kick him out or something? His knickers had been in twist since class started ten minutes ago. I held his accusatory stare and pushed my shoulders back.

"Since you've done nothing but sleep since the start of class, can you explain to your fellow classmates what the photoelectric effect is?" He snapped and my mouth dried as a few heads turned around.

I gulped nervously and cursed under my breath. "Umm, if I can recall correctly...It's, uh, when a photon is emitted...no, when it's absorbed by a metal surface and that energy is transferred to a single electron. If that energy is greater than the work function then a photoelectron will be released."

I pursed my lips, squinting at the notes I hastily wrote last night before meeting my teacher's gaze.

"Wonderfully phrased!" Mr Davies smiled and I drew back at the sight of his coffee stained incisors. Was he bipolar? I was pretty sure he was planning to make a voodoo doll out of me a few seconds ago and now he was flashing me a toothy smile. Weird. "But the next time I catch you asleep in my class I'll give you a detention. Understand?"

Before I could reply, there was an abrupt knock on the door before it swung open and a guy with black hair sloped in with pink cheeks and a giddy grin.

"Mr Sinclair! Class started ten minutes ago!"

The latecomer's head shot up and he mumbled a series of apologies and excuses before he trudged towards our table near the back. Blake tossed his backpack onto the floor and flopped down, sparing me a brief glance.

"Nice shirt," He grinned before turning his head to the front.

I narrowed my eyes a fraction before glancing down at my chest. I was wearing my favourite red plaid shirt. I probably wore it at least once every week and it was beyond worn out and frayed about the sleeves. It was most definitely not worthy of a compliment.

"Why are you so happy?" I raised an eyebrow as he began to hum a pop punk song under his breath: 'Weightless' by All Time Low.

My question barely got through to the birthday boy. It seemed like his head was submerged in water and the dazed grin that bunched up his cheeks made me certain that it had something to do with Mona. A slow grin worked its way onto my face as I clapped my hands together.

"Oh my god! Did Mona give them to you already? She told me she'd wait until tonight!" I breathed.

Blake's head snapped in my direction.

"Did Mona give me what? And what's happening tonight?"

His second question made me freeze and I clamped a hand over my mouth. He seemed confused by my reaction and I tried to laugh it off, terrified that I had given away the surprise Tyler and I had in store for his birthday tonight.

"Ash? You're scaring me...Why can I see all of your teeth? Stop smiling at me like that!"

Suddenly, my cheeks began to ache but I couldn't suppress my jaw breaking grin. My excitement peaked.

"Mona gave you the concert tickets, didn't she?" I sang, poking his cheek with pen to snap him out of his terrified facial expression.

He nodded slowly as if he couldn't quite comprehend the fact that Mona bought them both tickets to see Fall Out Boy. I was with her the night she sat in front of her laptop, refreshing the page every second to make sure she didn't miss out on them before they sold out in seconds. Miraculously, she landed two front row tickets for the concert, and even if it wasn't for another five months, Mona had hands down given Blake the best birthday gift out of all of us.

Tyler and I had something less large scale planned for tonight - well that is if large scale doesn't involve hoarding the entire senior class into Tyler's mansion for a surprise party. Considering the excited whispers that had been running back and forth in every class, I was surprised Blake didn't know what we had planned.

Last night, Mona had kept Blake preoccupied at her house as we rolled kegs of beer into the mansion and raided Walmart for enough food to quench any case of munchies for tonight. Every detail was planned with precision and now all we had left to do was wait until the final bell. Mona agreed to keep her boyfriend occupied until seven o'clock and was going to trick him into thinking they were going on a dinner date. Then Tyler and I were going quickly drive to his house, push all the furniture to the walls and layer the floors with disposable carpets. Not even excitement could begin cover the jittery nerves that sparked through my body.

"So, what did I miss?" Blake asked in a hushed whisper, opening his textbook and flicking through the pages.

"Just the Photoelectric Effect," I shrugged my shoulders.

"The Photo-what?" He echoed, jaw slack as his lips parted with confusion. "The fuck is that?"

With a wicked smirk, I leaned back in my chair and shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.

"Well...I'd explain it to you but I don't have any crayons with me right now."

Blake's doe-eyed confusion dropped, annoyance flickering across his features before he smacked me upside the head. He snatched my notebook and began to whistle his chirpy, pop punk tune again.

"Dude!" I hissed and viciously rubbed my stinging scalp.

He chuckled at my expense and bit the end of his pen as he tried to make sense of my notes. Even if he looked adorable beyond belief in his green polo shirt and stonewashed skinny jeans, there was no way I was giving Blake special treatment today. He was taking advantage of being the birthday boy and even forced Mona to carry his books for him from class to class.

"What does that say there?" He asked, pointing at my illegible scribbles.

"What makes you think I'm gonna tell you that after your blatant act of abuse?" I snapped, propping my head up on my elbow and turning my entire body away from him.

"But it's my birthday," He whined, poking his pencil into my ribs.

I jolted forwards and bit back a squeal, smacking his hand away as I feigned exasperation.

"And it was my birthday five months ago. What's your point?"

"That you're a Class A bitch sometimes," He rolled his eyes although the amusement in those pale green orbs increased.

"Bitch or no bitch, you need me to pass this class," I flashed him a million dollar, fake smile.

"Sadly," He groaned as he picked up my notes and squinted at them. "Would you stop smiling at me like that? It's weird."

To creep him out even further, I propped my head up using my palms and scooted closer to him, keeping my grin intact.

"Do you know what's weird?"

"What?"

"The fact that you have two toothbrushes," I chimed in randomly and Blake arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, one for the morning and one for the night. I'm not the only person who does that."

"Umm, yes you are. It's really weird."

"No, sleeping with a bra is weird," He shot back and my cheeks flushed with colour.

"Who told you that?" I snapped quickly, narrowing my eyes a fraction.

"Mona," Blake flashed me a smug smile.

"Urgh, of course she did," I groaned and buried my face into my hands.

"She also told me about your massive leak at one of Taylor's sleepovers in seventh grade," He mirrored my stance and I instantly backed away from him with wide eyes. "That's so hilarious! Why didn't you tell me that you and Tay switched the sheets with Tyler's in the morning while he was showering and embarrassed him in front of all the other girls?"

Suddenly all the blood in my body rushed to my cheeks as I remembered waking up, experiencing my second ever period. Nothing could be more horrific than being thirteen and waking up in a pool of blood. Alarmed, I tried to change my sheets before the other girls like Michelle, Ali and Karolina woke up but tripped over Taylor. She woke up, stuffed a fist into her mouth and laughed hysterically when she noticed my beetroot face. Unsurprisingly, she used my misfortune to her advantage and pranked her brother, shaming him in front of the eight other girls by tricking him into believing that he started his period. Needless to say, he believed her for a split second before picking her up and tossing her into the pool.

I flipped Blake off when he laughed at my mortification.

"Shut up. Nobody was supposed to find out about that. Mona found out by accident when I was drunk at your birthday party last year," I hissed quickly.

He motioned zipping his lips and held out the key for me to take. Irritated, I snatched the imaginary key and gestured for him to shove it up his ass.

"Just hurry up with my notes and stop laughing at me!" I grumbled.

"I'll stop when you tell me if this word begins with a 't' or 'f'. Jesus, are you left handed or something? A drunk person with a pen in their mouth can write better than this awful nonsense. I feel like I'm trying to decipher damn Egyptian hieroglyphs!"

"What's wrong with left handers? Tyler's left handed." I retorted.

"And have you seen his handwriting?" Blake bit back with both eyebrows raised in a patronising manner.

"Yeah it's worse than a second grader."

"Exactly," He laughed and I rolled my eyes. I fell right into his trap.

"Oh just shut up. Where's that damn imaginary key I gave back to you?" I complained as he laughed even harder.

"That key, I'm afraid, is up my ass so if you desperately wanna get it for me, I'm not stopping you," Blake waggled his eyebrows and I groaned.

This was why I told Mona to give him the tickets during tonight's party. Not beforehand. I wasn't prepared to deal with his childish behaviour when I was stressed out about perfecting all the final details for his surprise party. I didn't care if she was too excited and wanted to make him happy. All I asked her was to wait a few more hours before dropping the Fall Out Boy bomb.

A happy Blake was an annoying Blake and the only worse version was when he was drunk or stoned because then he was sickeningly happy. And that brought us back to the beginning of the cycle: a happy Blake was an annoying Blake.

"Seriously though," He lifted my notes and held it right before my eyes, smothering my face with the papers. "What the heck does that say? I'm pretty sure you're studying French this year, not Chinese."

"Piss off."

"Oh come on Ash," Blake begged. "Just tell me what this word is! Does it start with a 't' or an 'f'?"

"You really wanna know?" I snatched his pen out of his hand and scrawled the word for him. "There you go."

"That says 'piss off'."

"Oh would you look at that..." I clapped my hands enthusiastically before flashing him a flat look. "You can actually read. Congrats. Maybe I don't need crayons to explain this topic to you after all."

"Oh for Christ's sake," He muttered under his breath as he began to scrawl down whatever he could make out - which wasn't very much. "The struggle is real...you know, sometimes I hate sitting next to you. Actually, scratch that thought. I hate sitting next to you all the damn time."

"Tell that to somebody who cares," I smiled, picking up my own pen and showering his paper with smile faces.

"You suck."

"Boo hoo," I replied sarcastically, pretending to lift up a cup and empty it. "Oh what a shame. My care cup in empty. Look Blake, it's empty. Which means I give zero flying fucks."

"I hate you."

"And I love you too bro," I chuckled, drawing a heart over this entire length of his notes.

"Ash! Why did you just do that?" Blake gawked at his ruined notes, smacking my hand away. "There is no way I'm copying this out again. Took me years to decode your mumbo jumbo Arabic handwriting."

I rolled my eyes at how appalled he sounded.

"Relax, I'll photocopy it for you."

He shot me sour look. "If I can't read this shit now, what makes you think I'll be able to read a photocopied version?"

"Fine, I'll copy it down for you by hand. Neatly."

Blake placed a hand on his chest, green eyes perking up as a smug smile stretched across his lips.

"You'd do that? For me?"

"Duh! Of course, it's your birthday present. Happy eighteenth birthday!" I returned his smug smile as his dropped.

"You're a shit friend you know that?"

I placed my hand over my chest, mirroring his previous melodrama.

"I try my best."

When the final bell rang, I shot up and tried to sprint for the door when Blake slammed a hand down onto my shoulder.

"Where are you running off to? No goodbye? No hug?" He paused, frowning slightly. "No birthday gift?"

I shook my head and a flicker of sadness dulled his bright eyes before he plastered on a smile.

"Don't give me that puppy dog look. I wrote five pages worth of notes with beautiful diagrams just for you," I rolled my eyes and grabbed a fistful of the hem of his shirt before dragging him out of the classroom.

"I don't care about that," He drawled halfheartedly as I huffed in protest, feigning annoyance. "Where's my damn present? My real one? I don't see a Ferrari wrapped up in a bow."

"Where's your what?" I arched an eyebrow, infuriating him with my dumbfounded act before I broke out into a face splitting grin.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" He asked when I linked an arm through his.

"Oh no reason," I sang, laying my head onto his large biceps and sighing happily as I imagined his surprised face tonight at his party. "No reason at all."

"Really?" Blake poked my cheek before resting his chin on my head. "Seems like you got the D last night."

I stiffened as he muffled his laugh by burying his face into my hair.

"Don't worry, you know how pro Tashley babies I am."

"Tashley?" I frowned as he gave me a sweeping hug before we pulled apart. "That sounds like a vaginal rash."

Blake backed away from me, pausing to control his deafening laughter.

"See you tomorrow Ash. You better bring in my Ferrari or I'll tell your man you helped Taylor change his bed sheets for your blood stained ones."

I cringed at the memory of Tyler tickling me on his sister's bed when he found out I helped her with all her pranks. Imagine if he found out about this. I shuddered.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Ferrari. Tomorrow. Or else..." Blake threatened me before breaking out into a wide grin. "In fact, make it a blood red one to mark the occasion."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Have fun nailing Mona tonight!" I yelled, earning the curious stares of a few jealous freshmen girls who obviously had a crush on Riverdale's soccer captain. They frowned and I thrust my hips to annoy them even more.

Blake turned around, walking backwards as he grabbed his crotch and flashed me a suggestive wink.

"She want that cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake!" He sang as he gyrated his hips.

"It's not even my birthday but he wanna lick the icing off," I sang back, laughing hysterically until I spun around and found myself face to face with amused sea green eyes.

"Is that so?" Tyler arched an eyebrow, looking over my shoulder where Blake was doubling over with laughter at my mortification.

I turned around, desperate for the birthday boy to save me from the impending embarrassment but he was already gone. Gulping nervously, I turned back to my boyfriend and fought back the urge to dig a hole in the ground and throw myself into the pits of hell.

"I know you want it in the worst way," Tyler sang loudly and I lifted my hands to smack his chest but he caught my wrists and pulled me forward. "Why are you acting all shy all of a sudden munchkin? Don't you want me to blow your candles out?"

"I-I...uh...I don't know...I mean no!" I quickly corrected myself when he shot me a mocking wounded expression. "Yes! No! I don't know...Tyler stop putting me on the spot."

He threw his head back and laughed at my pathetic whine.

"The ironic moment when you're the one who taught me how to bake a cake last semester for our assignment," He winked. "And it wasn't even my birthday."

"You're crazy," I giggled when he snatched a curl from my ponytail and twirled it around his finger.

"Only for you," Tyler leaned in and pressed his lips to mine before pulling away.

Liquid heat pooled inside my stomach at the intensity of his hauntingly beautiful eyes.

"Come on, let's get out of here," He draped an arm around my waist and led me towards the parking lot. "We've got a party to set up and a birthday cake to bake. And if you're lucky, I might just let you lick the icing off."

**

It was nearing half past eight and Tyler's mansion was filling up fast. Girls I had never seen before staggered into the kitchen, swaying on heels the height of skyscrapers whilst I waddled around in my sparkly silver platform ones. Clad in a skin tight, royal blue dress, I held my red solo cup to my lips and downed the vodka and coke in three long gulps, earning a raised eyebrow from my weary boyfriend.

"What?" I rolled my eyes and he held his hands up in a defensive manner.

"Nothing," He chuckled, discreetly checking me out like he had been the moment he first laid eyes on my dress.

Considering the modesty of all my other party dresses, this backless number did raise a few eyebrows - mainly Tyler's - since I never enjoyed showing off so much skin but Mona convinced that I could pull it off, and stupidly enough, I succumbed to her charms and paid fifty bucks for it. It was inches shy of my ass and the only comfort it gave me was that no cleavage was on show. But then again, the back dipped so low that there was no way I could wear it with a bra.

Tyler's eyes bulged out of their sockets when I sauntered out of his room after we finished setting his house up, ready to get trashed by hundreds of teenagers. His eyes hungrily raked over my outfit and I had to push his chin up to close his gaping mouth. After that he threw me onto his bed and we ended up making out until we were interrupted by the chime of the doorbell. I forced my reluctant boyfriend to be a good host and open the front door as I went to his bathroom to freshen up. The curls I spent so long pinning up were now hanging around my waist in messy, beach waves. There was no time to fix it, so I simply reapplied my chapstick and layered it with scarlet red lipstick.

Now that we had a full house, I pulled my phone out from Tyler's back pocket and he flashed me a cocky grin for accidentally cupping his ass.

"Pervert," I muttered up my breath as I dialled Mona's number. She picked up on the third ring. "Where the heck are you? People have been trying to use the cake we spent hours slaving away on as a freaking ash tray!"

She laughed. "Relax girl and get some alcohol in your system. Blake's blindfolded right next to me, aren't you babe?"

I heard his muffled voice. "Where are you taking me Mona? How much longer do we have to drive? My legs are beginning to cramp."

The sickening sound of her distracting him with a kiss made me gag. How reckless was she to kiss him while driving? My friends lived in the moment too much and needed to start caring about consequences. Or maybe it was their spontaneous, fiery passion that fueled their relationship.

"Look," I hissed. "You're over an hour late so whatever you were doing better have been worth it."

"Oh, it was well worth it," Mona purred before and bile rose up my throat. "We're two minutes away. You know the plan girl, get everything ready."

The sound of Blake bombarding her with thousands of questions filled the line before she hung up.

"They're gonna be here in two minutes!" I exclaimed at Tyler and he jumped up and instantly unplugged the speakers.

People stopped dancing and started groaning, but they were aware of the plan so they dispersed into the garden fairly quickly, leaving the living room and kitchen deserted. The doorbell rang and I snatched Tyler's hand. When I flung the front door open, I couldn't bite back a laugh at how ridiculous Blake looked with a red bandana strewn over half his face.

"Mona, you could've had the decency to tie his blindfold properly. He looks like he can't breathe," Tyler mused beside me as she helped Blake take it off.

"Tyler? Ashley?" He looked dazed as he blinked at us like a blind man seeing for the first time ever. "Babe, why are we here? I thought we were going to that new fancy restaurant downtown."

She gnawed on her bottom lip as they both stepped inside the house. Blake looked confused as he followed her lead. His gaze landed on the towering birthday cake that we made for him before his face lit up with realisation.

"Come on out everyone!" Tyler barked.

Half our school poured out from the garden, screaming at the top of their lungs. "SURPRISE!"

Pale green eyes drew back in shock and Blake seemed stunned for an entire minute until I wrapped him into a tight hug and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Happy birthday asshole," I clapped my hands together with excitement when I pulled away.

"This..." He grinned at me, clamping his hands onto my shoulders and shaking me really hard. "...is fucking dope! Better than your hieroglyphic notes."

"Oh shut up," I laughed and lightly punched his shoulder. "I got you a real gift anyway."

"Really?" His grin stretched wider. "Not period stained bed sheets?"

Mona cackled hysterically as Tyler's knitted his eyebrows together with confusion. I smacked Blake upside the head and growled with frustration.

"Blake," I hissed before quickly composing myself. "I got you two tickets to see Los Angeles Galaxy play a soccer match with Asshole Number Two over here."

I patted Tyler's forearm and he snaked an arm around my waist and started to tickle me. I jerked away, squealing loudly and slipped my hands into his pockets to grip his balls. Tyler froze, suddenly paling when I flashed him a sly grin and turned back to our amused friends. Mona slapped a hand over her mouth and Blake sniggered when Tyler wrenched my hands out of his pockets.

"Tyler offered to pay for the flight. It's in the summer so you still have over two months of waiting to do," I added, ignoring the way Tyler tried to deliberately annoy me by resting his elbow on my shoulder and leaving me to hold up all his weight.

Blake wrapped me up in a bone crushing hug, saving me from the two hundred pounds, muscled jerk who smirked at me when I shot him a death glare.

"You're the best Ash!" He turned to Tyler. "And you too bro. Someone get me a damn drink! Come on... I'm ready to get shitfaced!"

Laughter filled the room and some of his soccer teammates came forward, swarming around Blake and Tyler. I chuckled when Mona grabbed my hand and made a beeline for the kitchen. Someone turned the speakers back on and pumping rap music filled the entire house, deafening my poor ears as the shaking bass vibrated through the mansion like an earthquake.

"Let's party!" Mona squealed happily, snatching a red solo cup from a random guy and downing it in seconds.

***

"Dance with me!" I slurred, latching onto Tyler's wrist as he manned the speakers, making sure that nobody stole his iPod.

He shook his head and scanned the dance floor, alert for any potential brawls that could break out between two guys who were currently arguing over Ali Reynolds.

"Come on Tyler!" I pouted, burying my face into his neck.

He sighed heavily and snaked his arms around my waist, although his eyes remained glued to the hallway where the two guys had stopped arguing. Standing on the tip of my toes, I pressed my lips against his and to my surprise Tyler actually kissed me back. I guess I should have tried kissing him much earlier if I knew that it could pose as a distraction. This was the third time I had come over to ask him to dance with me.

"You're wasted Ash," He murmured into my mouth and I flashed him a goofy smile.

"Am not!"

"I can taste beer and whiskey and I saw you drinking three cups of vodka-coke earlier."

"Mmm, aren't you quite the observer," I slipped my hand under his shirt and he shivered when my fingertips skimmed his abs.

When he peeled my arms off his waist. I reached over to the nearest table and picked up a discarded cup. The murky brown liquid inside looked like beer mixed with something else I couldn't quite pinpoint. Either way, I knocked back the cup.

"Just one dance?"

I snaked my arms around his neck.

"Nope."

I pressed my forehead against his.

"One song?"

I brushed the tip of my nose against his.

"Nope."

I played with the curling hair above his nape.

"For me?"

Tyler sighed with defeat and pecked my lips.

"Get Mona to man the speakers," He commanded in a defeated tone and I let out a triumphant squeal. "One dance. One song. Got it?"

"Aye aye captain."

Giving him a crushing hug, I waddled to Mona where she sat on the couch and gazed at her boyfriend while he was talking to his soccer teammates.

"Moonnnaaaaaaa!" I called out before I threw myself between her and the couple making out beside her.

She gave me a once over and scoffed.

"And you have the nerve to say I'm a bad drunk!"

I rolled my eyes dramatically before laying out Tyler's proposition for her and whipping out the puppy dog face.

"Please, please, please, please-"

She clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Please shut up Ash," Mona shook her head with disbelief. "How has Tyler put up with you all night? It's only eleven o'clock and you're already pissed out of your mind."

I ignored her and beamed brighter than the brightest light bulb in our bright world. Isn't the world a bright place? I love bright things. Tyler's smile for instance; it's brighter than the sun. I giggled uncontrollably, earning myself a raised eyebrow from Mona.

"But you'll do it, right?" I asked excitedly. "Right? Right?"

A long pause followed before she stood up and pulled her ridiculously short, black dress down so that nobody had a view of her crotch. It hugged her curves like a second skin and I could already spot a few guys leering at her when she tousled her deep red hair.

"So you and Tyler can get down and dirty in front of the whole school? Heck yeah!"

With a triumphant scream, I jumped up and wrapped my arms around her neck. Her face started to lose its colour as I strangled her but she let me lead her back to the dining room. When we reached Tyler, he set out a list of instructions for Mona to follow, pleading her not to break his expensive speakers. Well, he didn't exactly plead her if he was threatening to pillow her in her sleep if she let anyone near his speakers.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," She rolled her eyes and pushed him towards me. "You two go and have dry sex with everyone else over there."

When she pointed at the mound of dancers heavily populating the centre of the living room, I bit back a laugh at the disgust that graced Tyler's features. A pumping dubstep remix shook the walls of the house, forcing everyone to jump up and down as if they were at a rave. That was until Mona broke the list of instructions Tyler gave her and changed the song to a racy pop song: 'Birthday' by Katy Perry.

At that moment, Blake walked into the room and she left the speakers unmanned, racing to join us on the dance floor. My friends instantly began to grind all over each like the rest of the world around us. With my back to Tyler, he loped his arms around my waist and began to grind in time to the pulsating music. Shivers rippled down my spine when his fingers brushed the bare skin on my back as I swayed my hips. I lifted my arms over my shoulders and wrapped them around his neck, bringing his head down so that he could rain kisses along my neck. I wondered how he could multi-task when I was struggling to dance and remain immune to his kisses. My mind ran off on a tangent about what else he could do to me and I turned red, a deep shade of red.

"You're blushing," Tyler murmured into my ear and I bit my lip at how deep and seductive he sounded.

Twisting my body around, I peered at him from beneath my lashes, relishing the way his hands slipped over my ass. He cocked his head to side and shot me a questioning look, looking adorable and unbelievably sexy at the same time. I ran my hands down his chest and looped my fingers around his belt loops.

"Kiss me," I demanded, forcefully yanking him until his groin smacked into mine.

Tyler's eyes darkened with desire. He inched his head closer to mine, stopping still when the heat from my mouth showered his.

"How about you kiss me for once?" He trailed off, blinking at me with amusement as I huffed with impatience.

Suddenly the music changed and an electronic dance tune blasted through the mansion. Tyler glanced up at the ceiling and groaned whereas I grinned. I caught a glimpse of Mona and Blake hovering over the speakers, skimming through Tyler's iPod with devilish grins.

"I'm going to kill Mona," He grunted as people around us began to fist pump to #Selfie by The Chainsmokers.

I glanced over my shoulder and locked eyes with Mona who flashed us an face-splitting grin. Her brown eyes lingered on Tyler and they had a stare off, though she was smirking and he was glowering at her. As the chorus of the song played, I remembered the time Tyler changed my ringtone to this.

"I didn't know you could dance," I laughed as he spun me around like we were performing the tango before he began to grind again.

"You don't know a lot," He winked, turning me around so that my chest slammed into his chest.

As his hands coasted up and down my sides, scorching heat filled my body and I couldn't deal with the wait any longer. Catching Tyler off guard, my lips crashed into his, moving fast as he responded eagerly. He pried my mouth open by swiping his tongue across my bottom lip and I willingly let him deepen the kiss, pulling him closer to me until there wasn't a sliver of air left between us.

"Have a drink," I murmured when we pulled apart, breathless and panting heavily.

"I can't...These dumb kids will trash my house," Tyler groaned and rained kisses along my jawline.

"They'll trash everything whether you're sober or not. You may as well have fun while they do it," I replied, peeling his hands off my waist and dragging him towards the kitchen. "Just one drink."

Conflicted sea green eyes eyed the beer bottle I snatched out of a random sophomore's hand. I held it out to him and Tyler sighed with defeat and took it from me, holding it to his lips and taking a swig. Soon enough, that swig became a long gulp and before I knew it we were in the kitchen and Tyler was on his second beer. After that it was easier to slip him more drinks, and when we got hold of tequila we both descended into the dark abyss of what is termed as absolutely wasted.

With our arms around one another, we staggered out of the house and into the garden where a dozen kids were doing a keg stand. I recognised the redhead they were currently holding up and joined the crowd, elbowing my way to the front as people cheered Mona on. Blake was nowhere to be seen and when I glanced over my shoulders, I was surprised to find Tyler gone too. I shrugged my shoulders and edged away from the crowd towards the pool.

Suddenly, a genius idea cropped into my slow mind and I squealed at the top of my lungs before kicking off my heels and fumbling around for the zip of my dress. A group of juniors circled me when they caught onto my antics and began to cheer me on. The burn of alcohol lingered at the back of my throat and my movements became slower, more clumsy. I heard Tyler's voice calling my name from the glass doors leading back to the house but my fingers continued to peel my dress off.

The breeze nipped my bare skin as the hoots got louder and louder. Taking a step forward, I took off my final garment of clothing and blew Tyler a kiss over my shoulder before I tossed my panties at him. He caught it and stared at it in shock, dropping the two unopened beer bottles in his hand when I took a deep breath.

"Fuck yeah!" I screamed.

And then I jumped, descending into the glittering, dark water in nothing more than my birthday suit.

**

My eyelids were tightly shut yet everything was glowing a tawny orange colour. I cracked them open and rolled over so that I was on top of the body beneath me. A tuft of golden hair tickled my nose and I grunted softly, reaching up to rub my pounding temples before freezing still with realisation. Warmth prickled every region of my bare skin, lingering on my core when a certain something grazed my thigh.

I almost screamed when I peeked under the bed sheets, astonished to find that I was stark naked, laying on top of a very naked Tyler. The cogs in my mind turned, trying to make sense of last night but I came up with nothing. I didn't feel sore between the legs but that didn't mean we did it. Did we?

Pulling back to gaze at his serene features, I narrowed my eyes at him and felt the urge to shake him awake but couldn't bring myself to disturb his deep slumber. His full lips were parted, wide open to let out the soft snore that came from him every few seconds, tickling my neck as I hovered over him.

I should have bolted out of the bed the moment I discovered that we were both naked but I couldn't bring myself to roll off his body. Every dip and curve of his body was pressed against my skin, lighting every cell on fire and I found myself pushing his hair out of his eyes. A smile made it's way onto my lips when the golden curtain flopped back, messily concealing his unblemished forehead. Tyler left out a soft grunt and smacked his lips before he let out a monstrous yawn.

"Morning sunshine," I caressed his cheek.

He opened his eyes a fraction, groaning as he lifted a hand to clutch his pounding head.

"Morning munchkin," He whispered in a hoarse voice. "I feel like shit."

"Me too," I chuckled when he pointed his chin at my evident smile. "Watching you sleep helped a little."

"Creep."

"How many time do I have to tell you that I'm not a creep?" I rolled my eyes, fighting back a smile when he snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

"You're not a creep. You're my creep," Tyler murmured in his sleepy voice, closing his eyes again when I buried my face into his bare chest.

I traced patterns on his soft skin, ignoring the sharp intake of breath that came from him when my fingertips grazed his defined abs.

"You should, uh, stop that soon," He groaned when I used my fingernails to rake his skin.

I lifted my head off his chest and peered at him before smirking, giggling at his evident embarrassment. Tyler covered his face with his hands but I gripped his wrists and pulled them down.

"You're so cute," I giggled even more when he scrunched his eyes shut and blushed even deeper.

"Shut up," He growled, still keeping his eyes shut even though his hands slid down my naked back and gripped my waist. "Stop laughing at me Ash."

I buried my face into his chest and laughed harder before my stomach churned. I stiffened and Tyler noticed the green tinge that coloured my face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, rubbing soothing circles on my back as I swallowed the bile that burned my throat.

"I think I'm going to puke," I groaned and rolled off him, keeping the bed sheets tucked under my chin.

"Oh no, not anymore puking. You did enough of that last night," He scooted away from me and flashed me a mocking disgusted look.

"I did?" I asked, turning to my side to look at him. "What else happened last night?"

Suddenly Tyler's face paled and I began to panic.

"Did we, uh...you know?" I prompted him, waving a hand at our obvious nakedness.

"Yeah," Tyler watched my entire face morph with horror. "Just kidding munchkin."

I smacked his arm and snatched a pillow to smother his face. He caught my wrists and pulled me to back on top of his chest. A bushfire raged through every point of contact between our bodies and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"So why am I naked? And why are you naked? And why are we together in your bed?"

Tyler's eyes flickered with worry before he frowned.

"I'm not quite sure," He mumbled under his breath.

"Really?" I frowned before joking, "I better not wake up in a few months with a baby bump."

"We didn't have sex for goodness sake. Don't you think I'd have more self control than taking advantage of you when you're wasted?" Tyler snapped, wounded that I was accusing him of such a thing.

"I was just joking," I snapped back. "You know that I would rip you apart, limb from limb, for trying to get past second base when I've had a lot to drink so turn around, idiot."

"Why?" He whined, jutting out his bottom lip and I snatched the nearest pillow to throw at his face.

"Don't question me. Just turn around," I grumbled at Tyler as I slipped out of his bed and darted to his closet faster than the speed of light. The dumbass kept his eyes glued to my naked body and grinned like a child on Christmas Day until I tossed one of his soccer jersey's over my head and slipped on one of his designer boxer shorts.

"Do you have to be so rude and inconsiderate? I was enjoying the view munchkin," He grunted when I grabbed sweatpants and tossed them at him.

"Shut up and put those on. Pervert." I rolled my eyes. "I'm too young to become permanently blinded by your festered, diseased genitals."

Tyler flipped me off and sat up, raking both hands through his hair before wiping the sleep away from his eyes.

"Turn around," He mimicked my voice and I folded my arms over my chest and glared at him. He shrugged his shoulders when I challenged him by raising my eyebrows. "Fine, suit yourself then."

I squealed when he stood up and stalked towards me, stark naked, with the sweatpants hanging off his left arm. I kept my gaze locked onto his, struggling to keep it from lowering to his crotch, especially when he was wearing such a cocky, confident smirk.

"What's wrong Ash?" Tyler mused quietly and clipped my hanging jaw shut.

"N-Nothing," I stammered as my cheeks caught on fire.

He chuckled and slid the sweatpants on right in front of me, keeping his eyes glued to mine the whole time, even as he bent over to guide his foot through the trouser legs. Finally he stood up to his full height and tightened the drawstrings so that the sweatpants hung low enough to reveal his pocket-watch tattoo. My hand instantly reached forward to touch it and Tyler's smirk widened.

He leaned forward to kiss my cheek before moving his mouth to my ear.

"I'm gonna take a shower, but as always, you're welcome to join."

"I think I'll pass, as always." I flashed him a fake grin, striding out of the room before he could catch sight of my flushed cheeks, hammering heart and clammy palms.

I raced down the stairs, grateful that Rosemary was on vacation so there was no way I'd run into her. She probably would have taken one look at my outfit and come to the conclusion that I'd hooked up with Tyler.

Empty beer bottles and red solo cups littered the carpet in every room and there were a few kids who were passed out on the floor, waiting to be kicked out of the house as they drooled the ocean out of their mouths. I did them a favour by shaking them awake and booting out of the mansion before Tyler comes downstairs and beats the shit out of them.

With a relatively mild hangover, I padded into the kitchen and cursed at the sight of Blake's naked back.

"You stayed the night too?" I asked, searching the cabinets and drawers for some aspirin.

He poured me a glass of water and leaned beside me against the counter.

"Yeah, Tyler and I had a wild night," Blake winked and I elbowed him in the ribs.

He shuffled around the kitchen, pulling out a pan and some eggs just as Mona strode in wearing the very same shirt he wore to the party last night. It was down to her knees and rolled up around the elbows. I waggled my eyebrows at her curvy, tanned legs and she smacked my head on her way to kiss her boyfriend.

"Ouch! What the hell!"

She ignored me, standing on her tiptoes to peck Blake's cheek as she slid an arm around his waist and stole another one on his mouth. The two conferred for a few minutes as I shuffled around the kitchen to make myself a mug of hot chocolate.

"How do you like your eggs in the morning?" He asked, craning his head over his shoulder to deepen their kiss as I gagged.

"Fertilised, by the looks of it." I scoffed as I sat down at the table.

A deep booming laughter came from the door and I glanced up. Tyler pushed himself off the door frame and staggered towards me. He doubled over with laughter as my friends sprung apart and shot daggers at me.

"Why the surprise? You know I'm right," I arched my brow at them and my shirtless boyfriend took the seat across from me, wheezing and on the verge of dying from the looks of it. "The whole neighbourhood heard the headboard breaking last night. I'm surprised Mona's not purple and blue like Bella Swann."

Blake turned pink but Mona's beetroot face flared to match the flash in her eyes.

"You're one to talk Ashley," She snapped, flicking her gaze to Tyler as she sauntered towards him with a sly smirk. "Did your wonderful boyfriend jog your memory about your little strip tease last night?"

Alarmed, I snapped my head to the pale guy in front of me and squeaked, "I did what?"

Brown eyes appeared over my boyfriend's shoulder, wild with vengeance and glittering with amusement.

"Didn't Tyler tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

My eyes flickered between the two until they slid to Blake's pale green ones. He flashed me a knowing smirk.

"How drunk were you last night?" He chuckled. "Even I remember the shit you did."

I snapped my head to face Tyler and he looked away, twiddling his thumbs in a way that made my mouth hang open.

"What did I do?" I demanded, leaning forward as Mona threw her head back and cackled like a deranged witch.

"Oh, nothing too eye-popping," She sang, "Except strip naked and belly flop into the pool. Then you told Tyler you weren't going to get out until he stripped down too."

"And did he?" I asked, glaring at him.

"Well, uh, you got me drunk after we danced," He stuttered, scanning the kitchen as if he was looking for a fast escape. "You got me drunk pretty fast and uh..."

"And what?" I snapped, standing up and clamping a hand over my mouth in shock. "You didn't jump in after me did you?"

"Oh heck yeah he did!" Mona doubled over as Blake whipped out his phone and clicked open a video.

"If your memory is shit, I recorded it for both of you," He grinned.

"You did what?" Tyler growled, stunned as Blake clicked play.

The deafening music from last night filled the kitchen as a hazy video of me stripping off my clothes began to play. My mouth dropped open as a large group of people circled me, cheering me on as I unzipped my dress and kicked off my heels. Tyler staggered out into the garden just as I slipped off my panties. His eyes rolled out of their sockets but by then I had already thrown myself into the pool. Several other drunk girls followed suit, jumping in fully clothed and three guys were shoved in. I giggled as others began to strip too and turned to Tyler, beckoning him to join me. He feebly asked me to get out but within seconds, he was naked too and throwing himself at me as we both sunk to the bottom of the pool together.

Then we pretty much made out on camera...stark naked...surrounded by at least twenty other naked teenagers.

"Delete that!" Tyler growled venomously and Blake laughed.

"Are you dumb? I'm keeping this goldmine forever."

Tyler darted forward to snatch the phone but Blake held it up and sprinted out of the room. The two guys chased each other around the house as I struggled to comprehend last night's events. Slowly, I registered Mona clutching her own phone tightly and narrowed my eyes.

"Hand it over," I hissed, holding out my hand.

"Hand what over?" She asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"Do you really think I don't know how your asshole boyfriend's mind works? He sent you the damn video so hand it over."

"No way!" She backed away from me, edging closer to the door.

"Hand it over. Now!" I growled, lunging forward as she spun around and raced out of the room.

Her red hair disappeared into the living room, bobbing in and out of view as she darted around the furniture and bolted out of the glass doors leading to the garden. I glimpsed Tyler and Blake chasing each other around the kidney-shaped pool, screaming profanities at one another and a sly grin formed as I ditched chasing Mona and sprinted over to the black-haired guy. Tyler's eyes widened as I hurtled towards Blake and I gestured at him to take on Mona. Without slowing down, I lunged for Blake and tackled him into the pool.

A strangled cry left his throat as we both sank to the bottom and I regretted the decision when cold water rushed up my nostrils and burned my brain. It was strangely uncomfortable and I began to choke as water shot down my open mouth. I untangled my arms from Blake's waist and kicked upwards. When we resurfaced, he squealed like a girl, splashing about as he tried to find his phone. I laughed when I discovered a black blob right at the bottom of the pool and he let out a shriek.

"No, no, no, no! My poor iPhone!" He cried, taking a deep breath before diving down to retrieve it.

I wiped my eyes with the heels of my hand and sought out a blond and redhead chasing each other around the angel fountain before Tyler grabbed Mona by the waist, flipped her upside down and let out a vicious laugh.

"Let go of me asshole!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as he strode towards the pool.

"Shut up!" He hissed, loosening his hold on her so that she almost slipped out of his arms.

Mona let out a shriek and clung onto Tyler, digging her claws into his skin in an attempt to keep herself from falling. When she realised that he was approaching the pool, her shrieks morphed into one long curse and I laughed when she thrashed about like she was possessed.

The moment Blake resurfaced with his drowned phone in one hand and the other rubbing his eyes, Tyler grinned at the redhead, flashing her a glimpse of his pearly whites which sent Mona over the edge.

"Please, Tyler don't! Please! I'll do anything just-"

"Take a deep breath and on the count of three I want you to shout 'Geronimo'. Got it?" He instructed, striding forward as she continued to beg for mercy.

Tyler stood at the edge of the pool and slid his arms to Mona's ankles so that he was effortlessly holding her upside down. Her red locks grazed the surface of the water and she continued to scream at the top of her lungs.

"Three...Two..." He began the countdown and flashed her a cocky grin.

And then Tyler did the unthinkable. He let her go without bothering to finish the countdown. She didn't even have time to hold her breath. A sharp intake of breath came from Blake and snapped me out of my state of shock as I glanced at the bubbles that surfaced from where Mona had been hanging upside down from just moments ago.

"Oh shit," Blake's eyes widened when a blob of red grew bigger. "She's coming back up."

"So?" Tyler shrugged but even I was biting my bottom lip with unease.

"Umm, Ty?" I scratched the back of my neck nervously. "You might wanna, erm, take cover."

"I'm not scared of her," He laughed, though his face paled when red hair finally broke the surface of the water.

She hacked up litres of water, spinning around to find her attacker before letting out a frustrated, terrifying shriek that made Blake and I shrink back.

"Tyler...go to your room and lock the door. Do not come out until I tell you that it's safe to. Close your windows, draw your curtains and hide under your bed. Do not look at anyone. Do not call anyone. Do not do anything. Go, okay? Just go," Blake said slowly as his girlfriend began to crack her knuckles, edging closer to Tyler with a ominous scowl.

Tyler glanced at me and I nodded slowly but sadly Mona had already reached him. She curled a hand around both his ankles and yanked so hard that he lost his balance and belly flopped into the pool. And then she dove after him to keep his head underwater, literally drowning him as he thrashed about in an attempt to free himself. I widened my eyes and punched Blake's shoulder.

"You're separating them," I hissed and he shook his head with fear. "You caused this problem, now fix it!"

"No way, they'll both kill me!"

"That's your best friend and your girlfriend bro, now break them up before you lose one!"

Blake groaned loudly and smacked his palms together and held his hands to the sky, mumbling a silent prayer before he drew a cross from his forehead to his chest.

"I hate you Ash," He grunted and waded towards Tyler's loud gurgles and Mona's demented cackle.

"You'll have plenty of time to remind me when you're six feet under, now hurry!"

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[A/N: Longest. Chapter. I've. Ever. Written. My head is on the verge of imploding right now. Please tell me you enjoyed this chapter because when I die from exhaustion I want you all to speak at my funeral, just kidding.

I couldn't think of any good songs for this chapter because I don't really listen to mainstream pop. I might go back and change them in the near future when I go back to edit this story.

Chapter 61: This Is It, A Life For A Life

Show me some love and vote. I'll see you guys tomorrow <3
- Kaddy]