The ride back to my house was filled with Tristan constantly cracking jokes about college and bakery puns that had me laughing a little more then I should of.

"How about that for a great Friday night!" He said, parking the car in front of my house. I smiled, grabbing my stuff from the floor with a nod.

"I had a great time tonight, Tristan. It turned out a lot better than I thought." He snickered at my response.

"At least someone had fun tonight." He looked over at me, a smirk on his face, "I mean, at the party. I had fun too, once I was able to get out of that hellhole." I nearly tripped on the curb when I climbed out, sending warmth through my cheeks immediately.

"Nice." Tristan commented, trying to hold back his laugh. I almost laughed myself, but it dried up in my throat when I saw a familiar black limo pull up behind Tristan's beat up Ford Fusion.

"You okay, Syd? You look like you're about to pass out." He reached for the handle on his door, ready to get out. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, waving my hand slightly.

"I'm fine, Tristan. Thanks for tonight." I started to back away, but he had started to climb out of his car anyway, his eyes narrowed.

"Sydney, are you sure you're okay?" He looked about ready to go on, but finally caught sight of the limo behind his car, his eyes widening.

"Syd!" I winced at the voice, my arms crossing over my chest. Tristan shook his head in confusion as the sharp dressed man walked over to us, a man looking like he was related to Arnold Schwarzenegger a few feet behind him.

"Daddy." I said, not moving from where I stood beside Tristan.

"What are you doing out here at this hour? Is your mot-"

"She's out on a date." I lied, knowing very well she was probably watching us through the blinds.

"And you? What are you doing out so late?" He asked, then let his eyes drift from me to Tristan who looked just as curious and confused as my dad did.

"Am I interrupting something?" He questioned, glancing back and forth between Tristan and me. I started nodding, wanting my dad to just turn around and leave. I mean, he was really good at it.

I barely remember him being around when I was really young, I only had faint memories of him pushing me on a swing or playing a carnival game with me at the fair. He had been around quite a bit during my early teen years, but it had always been to try and convince me to come live with him.

Sometime when my mom was pregnant, my dad had gotten my grandfather's law firm. Not only had he inherited millions of dollars, but he had bought out several other smaller companies that built up his empire. He had cheated on her more than once, and eventually Mom had gotten tired of his shit and kicked him out, shunning out his family as well as all of the money he offered for child support.

"I better go." Tristan said, but I grabbed his arm before he could completely duck out of the conversation.

"Don't." I whispered, ignoring the strange look I was getting from my dad, "You said you'd help me send in applications, remember?" I gave Tristan a pointed look, earning a nod out of him once he realize what I was saying.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" I mumbled, turning my attention back to him.

"Sweetie, my secretary just quit. I wanted to know if you wanted to fill the spot and possibly move u-"

"I don't want to work for you, Dad." I cut him off, tugging at my hair nervously, "I thought we already went through this." I watched him rub his hand together as if it were freezing outside instead of it being abnormally hot.

"Baby girl, just think about it. Imagine what it would be like to become the CEO's of the company some day. You don't want to turn out lie your Mom who-" I lashed out before he could finish what he was saying.

"Excuse me? I'd actually love to turn out like mom, Dad! She's strong and newsflash, she actually stayed to raise her daughter! If you're just going to sit here and talk crap about Mom than I can gladly escort you back to your limo." I could see Tristan's surprised look out of the corner of my eye, nodding his head as if he agreed with everything I said.

"I don't think we've officially met." My dad outstretched his had to Tristan, the anger wiped clean from his face and replaced with a fake smile.

"I'm Rodger Hale, Sydney's father. It's nice to see that my daughter has finally met someone worth a crap." I whirled around and gaped at my father, shaking my head.

Is he seriously trying to get Tristan into the business right now? Was he that desperate?

"Tristan Fisher." Tristan stared at my dad's hand skeptically for a second before shaking it. "And I'm sure Sydney has had her fair share of assholes, you included."

Before I could completely wrap my head around what Tristan said, he had taken my hand and dragged me up the driveway and away from my stunned father.

"Tristan. . ." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. What was I supposed to say? He had literally just called one of the most powerful people America an asshole. Did he not realize how much that could effect him when he was looking for a job?

"Don't worry about it, Syd. I know what having a douchey father is like." He muttered, shrugging everything that had happened off. I nodded, clearing my throat as I reached for the door knob.

"Thanks again, for everything tonight." I gestured toward where my Dad was leaning against his limo, talking on the phone as he glared at the two of us.

"No problem, Syd. Just make sure not to lose your spunky spark." Then he kissed my cheek and jogged back down the steps and to his car without a second glance toward my dad or me. It wasn't until he was gone that a smile finally crawled across my face, and didn't leave for the rest of the night.

**

"Syd. Syd. Syd." I groaned at my best friends familiar voice, ready to throw my pillow at her.

"Sydney Rose Hale!" She screeched, ripping my blankets off of me, "I need to borrow some of your clothes." I waved my hand, groaning again.

"Syd, I'm serious. I think I slept with someone at the party, and it wasn't Greg." This finally stirred me out of my sleepiness.

"What?" I grumbled, sitting up so I was face to face with my best friend.

She looked as if she had been crying all night, her mascara stained her usual pale cheeks, her lips quivering as she stared at me.

I let my eyes fall on the man's shirt she was wearing, my heart clenching a little.

"Do you know who I was with last night? Maybe. . . maybe it was Greg and. . and. . .Syd, did you see who I was with?" She was shaking her head, grabbing on to the shirt around her.

"I left." I answered after a second, "I left with Tristan after the power went out." She dropped her face into her hands, her whole body trembling.

"Shit shit, this is horrible. What if I didn't he didn't use protection and. . . wait, did you say you left with Tristan? As in Tristan Fisher?" I yawned, hugging my pillow against my chest as I nodded. She seemed to be momentarily distracted, her bloodshot eyes wide.

"Did you two do anything? Oh my God, did you two have sex? I mean, I thought you liked Bennett, but Tristan is ten times better." My head snapped up at her words, and for the first time in the whole ten years I'd known her, I felt as if we were on different planets.

"Bennett's not that bad, Jess. He's an ass, sure, but he isn't as bad as some people." She rolled her eyes.

"Don't defend him, Syd. I'm glad you finally gave up on him, it was just going to result in you getting hurt." I opened my mouth to tell her I hadn't given up on him and didn't plan too, when I saw my phone flash on. I picked it up and stared down at it, a small smile tugging at my face when I saw that Tristan had sent me a text.

Dear Ms. Optimist, you free tonight?

***AN***

So sorry for the filler chapter, guys! 

I promise the next will be better!

~ChasingMadness24