Chapter 8: Darkness

I finally came to the conclusion that the drink Shane gave me earlier was drugged. That’s the only possible conclusion! The thought had to be forcefully shoved out of my mind; I realized that the thought itself was inane! How could I, Audrey Peters, like Grayson Carter? I laughed at the mere thought.

I was awkwardly pushing and shoving my way through the crowd, trying to get people to move but it was proved to be harder than it seemed. Once I reached the kitchen, I grabbed a can of soda that I stored in the back of the fridge, away from drunken people’s sloppy hands. I seated myself on the counter while people wandered around the house, some dancing in the living room while others wander about upstairs.

“What are you doing in here, Audrey?” I looked up to see Carson standing there with a bag of chips attached to his hand.

I shrugged. “I’m not much of a dancer.” I motioned in the direction of the living room, where everyone was dancing.

Carson nodded slowly, looking at me. “You’re not a good liar either.”

I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at him. “What?”

“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” he suggested.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Of what?”

He grabbed my arm and yanked me off of the counter. He leaned out of the kitchen, taking me with him. He nodded his head towards Grayson who was dancing with the girl from earlier. I snorted. “No, not really.”

“So you wouldn’t be jealous if he started intensely making out with her right there?” Carson questioned.

“Jealous? No. Mentally disturbed? Yes,” I replied as I got back onto the counter.

Carson laughed. “So…is he a good kisser?”

I glared at him. He and his brother have been harassing me about my kiss with Grayson all night. “I don’t know, why don’t you go find out yourself?”

He laughed. “I would but…I’m not into guys.”

“You had me fooled,” I muttered.

Carson laughed again. “You know, you’re really funny.”

“I’m not sure if that was sarcastic or not…so I’ll just say thanks anyway,” I replied as I rested my back against the orange walls of the kitchen. He smiled in response.

“I don’t know…am I being sarcastic?” he inquired, wiggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t know what Sandra-paper, sandpaper towels,” I quickly attempted to cover up my mistake. I didn’t say it was a good cover up.

“Come again?” he asked me. “Did you say something about…Sandra?”

I shook my head. “Psh, no… I said sandpaper.”

Carson nodded. “Nice save.”

“I’d like to think so,” I muttered.

“Why don’t you come out there?” he asked. His voice was cheerful as he smiled at me convincingly.

I frowned and shrugged. “I don’t think I should.”

“Why not?” he questioned before smirking. “You’ll burn with jealousy?”

I groaned. “I’m not jealous!”

He nodded his head. “Yelling about not being jealous is totally helping your case.”

I quickly got off of the counter and walked out of the kitchen, Carson slowly following after me. I reached Sandra, who was casually seated on the couch, watching Kyle and Lola dance. I slumped down beside her, a smile on my face. “How are things?”

She frowned. “Bad, Carson didn’t ask me to dance.”

“Why don’t you ask him to dance?” I asked her and she shrugged.

“He’ll say no," she frowned.

I snorted. “I doubt it, just try.”

I yanked her up and pushed her in his direction. She stumbled slightly causing him to turn to look at her due to the sudden movement. I didn’t hear what she was saying; all I saw was her motion towards the dance floor with her head. Carson stood up and grabbed her by her shoulders and walked behind her towards the dance floor. I laughed at that before I realized that I was alone in a crowded room.

I stared at the dancing people, my eyes drifting from couple to couple, finally landing on Grayson and the random girl. I have yet to learn her name. It’s probably Brittany or Hilary. Maybe even Beth. I tried not to make it obvious that I was staring at her but I probably failed so I eventually decided to just look away altogether.

I was staring at my phone and playing a game when I felt the couch sink in due to a sudden weight. I turned to see Lola sitting next to me, watching me with an excited look on her face. I blinked a few times and looked around. “What?”

She squealed, making me wince. “Let’s go dance!”

Instead of waiting for my reply, she grabbed my hand, nearly causing me to drop my phone if I hadn’t tucked it into my pocket. When we reached the dance floor, I realized how awkward I was. I don’t like to dance. I didn’t lie when I told Carson I wasn’t much of a dancer. Lola didn’t care and she was nodding her head to the Drake song playing loudly.

“You’re not dancing!” Lola stated once the song changed. I shrugged.

“I don’t like to dance,” I replied with another shrug.

She frowned. “Dancing is easy! Just…well, dance!”

I smiled at her instructions. “Very informative and clear instructions.”

She rolled her eyes but continued dancing. I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned around to see Grayson standing there, the girl was nowhere in sight, thankfully. That thought surprised me. Why was I thankful? “Yes?”

“You’re not dancing,” he repeated Lola’s previous statement. I shrugged.

“I can’t dance.” I replied, resisting the urge to reply with a sarcastic quip. Like I expected, he smirked.

“I assumed as much. It’s easy,” he explained.

I nodded. “So I’ve heard.”

I heard a familiar song come on and I nearly squealed in excitement. “I’m guessing you like this song.”

I nodded my head as OneRepublic played loudly. Counting Stars had been one of my obsessions since it came out. I listened to it day and night. Grayson stared at me. “Well, aren’t you going to dance?”

I frowned. “What point of not being able to dance don’t you understand? The only dance moves that I know are the ‘I’m a little teapot’ and the chicken dance.”

Grayson snorted. “I’d pay to see that.”

The song continued playing as I nodded along to it awkwardly. “You know, you can always dance like them.”

I looked at the people Grayson was pointing to. The girl was dancing on the guy as she sang along to the song and I wrinkled my nose. “No thank you.”

Grayson laughed. I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him a quick once over. “Wait…I don’t see you dancing.”

He shrugged. “You’re not ready for these dance moves.”

I laughed loudly. “I’m not; I’m really not.”

He smirked at me and was about to say something when ‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘em Up)’ by Fall Out Boy started playing. His smirk turned into a genuine grin and he looked as if he wanted to clap. The intro played loudly.

“I’m guessing you like this song,” I muttered as I stifled a laugh.

He nodded before raising a challenging eyebrow. “Do you want to dance?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I can’t dance.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know; I’ll teach you. I just really want to dance with someone.”

I rolled my eyes before shrugging. What I really wanted to do was ask where that stupid brown haired girl went. “Anything to ruin your favorite song.”

He took a step forward quickly and placed his hands on my waist. I awkwardly raised my hands and placed them on his chest. We swayed sideways quickly and moved around and soon enough, it wasn’t so awkward. Dancing came natural to him and I guess, in that moment, it came naturally to me. Eventually, the song ended but we didn’t stop dancing. At least for another five songs, we didn’t stop.

We danced through Paramore, Panic! At the Disco, Florida Georgia Line, and Gym Class Heroes. When we stopped dancing, we were both breathing heavily. His hands were still on my waist until I took a step back. “See? You’re not that bad of a dancer.”

I rolled my eyes before pointing behind me. I had a craving for Coca Cola and nothing will stop me from getting it. “I’m going to go get something to drink.”

“Want to get me something, too?” he asked.

I smirked as I backed away. “Nope.”

I quickly exited the large mass of people who were still dancing and walked towards the kitchen. “I thought you weren’t much of a dancer.”

Instead of looking at him to reply, I just kept walking. “Shut up, Carson.”

I heard his laughter as I entered the kitchen and dipped my hand into the fridge to grab a soda. I felt a presence behind me and I whipped around to see Grayson standing there. I went to hit him for being an idiot but he just took the soda out of my hands. I was too shocked to do anything, not at the fact that he took my soda, but at the fact that we’d actually danced together. That was the first time I danced with someone…other than my dog, but does he count?

“Any reason why you’re smiling at me?” Grayson asked as he brought my soda can up to his lips and gulped down about one fourth of the can.

I automatically scowled at him as I reached into the fridge and grabbed another can. “I wasn’t smiling at you.”

I opened the can as he snorted. “Yeah, you were just staring into my eyes as you grinned at me, totally not smiling at me though.”

I glared at him, the urge to soak him with my soda was strong and he took a step back. “What? Are you scared of a little soda?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “No, I’m not.”

I giggled, I actually giggled as I swished the more than halfway filled can. The brown liquid sloshed over the sides slightly, dripping down the side of the can. I groaned as I turned on the sink, Grayson’s laughter filled my ears while I washed my hand off.

I reached for my can but I found that it was empty. I turned to see Grayson’s mouth full of soda as he struggled to swallow it. The soda was leaking out of the corner of his mouths as his cheeks puffed out like a blow-fish. I moved to the side of him and roughly poked his cheek, causing the soda to spew out of his mouth and all over his shirt. The red shirt quickly absorbed the soda while I let out wild fits of laughter.

He glared at me as he swallowed the remaining Coca Cola in his mouth. “Come with me to get a new shirt.”

I stopped laughing and looked at him. “What?”

He gave me a flat look as he spoke slowly. “Come with me upstairs so I can go into the bathroom and you can go into Shane’s room and grab me a shirt.”

I narrowed me eyes at him. “Why can’t you do both yourself?”

“The longer I sit with this shirt on, the longer it’ll take me to rinse off, the longer I’ll be away from you, my love," he reached out and gently touched my face; I smacked his hand away.

“Just go upstairs yourself,” I snapped and he frowned.

“Please,” I shook my head and reached into the fridge for another soda, only to come up empty.

“Where are all of the sodas?” I asked curiously, to nobody in specific.

“I know where the sodas are,” Grayson admitted as he leaned against the counter, the red shirt sticking to his body. I avoided looking at him.

I casually searched the fridge. “Then why don’t you go get them?”

“Why don’t you go? They’re only in the basement…of this big, dark, loud house…where no one will hear your screams,” he told me and I instantly froze. Basements are scary, no matter how tough you are. Anyone who goes into a basement alone is asking to be killed. Plus, it’s dark. I’m not a big fan of the dark. Of course I would never let Grayson know about my fear of the dark but I’m not going to go all superhero and dive into the darkness and save people from dehydration. I don’t plan on facing my fears today.

"There's water," I shrugged, looking towards the cabinets. 

"Shane packed all of the cups and plates away. Last time, he had to buy his parents all new dishes and glasses," Grayson snorted. I closed to the cabinets and my shoulders slumped. “You know, we could always go and get my shirt first and then take a trip down to the basement to get the sodas.” He stated as he played with the hem of his shirt. I watched him out of the corner of my eye.

“Okay, deal.”

~~~

We walked upstairs, Grayson leading the way towards the bathroom nearest to Shane’s room. “His room is right there; just open his dresser and you’ll see the shirts.”

I nodded as I walked towards the room Grayson was pointing at. The moment I opened the door, I quickly shut it, my face warming rapidly. “What happened?”

Grayson sounded amused as he stared at me. I shook my head. “His room is…occupied.”

Grayson groaned and yanked the t-shirt away from his body before letting it go again, only to have it fall back onto his skin. He quickly walked to Shane’s room and entered without hesitation. I noticed that Shane and the girl didn’t stop kissing each other. They ignored Grayson’s presence altogether. I stared at him in shock once he exited with a shirt in his hand. He just winked at me before entering the bathroom. 

I waited outside of the bathroom, growing impatient as I heard the water running. I should’ve just left when I opened the door on Shane instead of sticking around. I would’ve but I need something to drink, a soda would be amazing. I only had two sips of the soda before Grayson gulped down the entire can. I gave the bathroom door a flat look as I stood outside of it. I went to pound on the door before it swung open to reveal Grayson standing there.

He raised an eyebrow at my fist that I forgot to retract. I awkwardly placed it beside me before I stood up straighter. “Can we go get the soda?”

“There’s a slight problem,” he told me and I glared at him.

“Which is?”

“Well, the door in the basement is faulty, so one of us has to hold it open,” he explained.

“I can hold it open,” I offered. That would be great! I wouldn’t have to go into the dark and my enemy would!

He shook his head. “The door is really, really heavy.”

“Well, I don’t know where the soda is,” I excused and he shook his head.

“I can tell you where it is, you just have to listen to me,” he told me as he led me down the stairs. I felt a sense of fear creep up my spine; my breathing became heavier and rapid. It's for the soda.

~~~

Once we reached the basement, he opened the door and I looked at him. I felt my hands start to shake. The dark is scary, especially when it’s a darkness you’re not used to. I’m used to my bedroom’s darkness and even Sandra and Lola’s home’s darkness…but I’m definitely not used to Shane’s basement’s darkness. And I don't want to be. 

“You promise you’re not going to lead me into a sink hole or something?” I asked him, trying to lighten the mood as I nervously looked at the set of stairs that led down to the basement. It was pitch black and I could only see the first four stairs.

“I promise," he replied as he placed his hand on my back and shoved me in the direction of the stairs.

“Is there a light, at least?” I asked him and he shook his head. I frowned before stepping onto the first step.

“Go all the way down the steps," he told me.

I stopped and turned slightly, still in his line of vision. I gave him a sardonic smile. “Oh no, I was going to dive off of the railing, thank you for the instructions.”

“Do you want to get the soda or not?” he snapped and I glared at him before continuing down the steps. I was too nervous to tell him that I was scared of the dark; I knew he’d make fun of me. I reached the bottom and I’m guessing he heard my shoes hit the concrete. “Now turn slightly to your left.”

I did as I was told while I took my phone out of my pocket and lit the way. I noticed the cement floor was dark and dusty. Pillars surrounded me and I winced at the idea of ghosts, demons, and any other things that could be lurking in the darkness. “Now what?”

“Walk about thirty steps forward," he replied and I did so, counting the steps I took.

“I’m here," I stood there for a minute, my voice shaky, expecting for further instructions from Grayson but none came. I was relying on his voice for some sense of comfort to know that I’m not completely alone down here. My phone was shaking because of my hands. I was worried I’d drop my phone, too, my hands were sweating so much. “Grayson?” I was silent, listening hard. I turned around, using my phone for light.

“Grayson?” I asked, panicky. I felt my heart start to beat even faster. I didn’t even know it was possible for my heart to beat faster than it was before. Here I am, in complete darkness, in an unknown area, my hands shaking and sweating and my tears threatening to spill over. I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Grayson, this isn’t funny!”

I felt someone grab my shoulders as I dropped my phone. I let out a blood curdling scream but it was muffled by a hand covering my mouth. I tried to move away, anything to gain distance from whatever it was that was holding me but I realized that they had their arm wrapped around my torso, not allowing me to move any further.

I tried to scream again but it was muffled by the person’s hand. I quickly bit down onto the person’s fingers and they swore quietly, quickly releasing me. I turned and tried to run but their hand found my wrist. I screamed and this time, it wasn’t muffled, but it was shaky. “Shut up!”

“Don’t tell me what to do! Let me go or I’ll kill you!” I shouted, my voice shakier than I’d want it to be while threatening someone that could easily take my life. I snatched my wrist from their grip, which loosened surprisingly.

“It’s me, Grayson,” Grayson’s familiar voice muttered. I felt my anger rising and I reached out and swung my fist, feeling it connect with skin. I heard him groan and he swore again. “What are you doing!? It’s me, Grayson!”

“I know, you idiot. You scared the life out of me, why would you do that?!” I snapped, squeezing my eyes shut to avoid tears that were threatening to escape. I quickly reached up and wiped my eyes, only to feel the tears were already streaming down my face.

“I think you broke the skin on my finger," Grayson muttered. He must’ve been struggling to inspect his finger in the pitch black. I struggled to hold down a sob. It finally escaped my throat when I placed my fist into my mouth. It was silent for a moment and I prayed that Grayson didn’t hear it or he’d let it slide but that’s not how Grayson is. “Are y-... are you crying?”

I sniffled and quickly wiped my eyes again. “No.”

Before he could reply, the sound of a door slamming caused me to jump and squeal. “What was that?”

“The door closed,” Grayson stated casually.

“Open it!” I demanded, struggling to locate him. It was too dark to even see figures, even if I could- the amount of tears pouring out of my eyes were blinding me.

I heard footsteps leading away from me and I struggled to walk, holding my hands out in front of me. “Grayson, wait!”

I heard the footsteps stop and I quickly felt around, trying to avoid walking into anything. I walked into a pillar, my hands slamming against it as I tried to run. “Where are you?”

Grayson was silent and I frowned even deeper, my panicking starting to pick up again. Did he leave? Am I alone down here? The thought itself sent shivers racing down my spine and I increased my speed. My hands landed on something that wasn’t exactly a pillar. Before I could even scream, Grayson spoke. “Don’t scream, it’s only me.”

“Why didn’t you reply before?” I snapped angrily. I think he ignored my voice cracking because he didn’t say anything.

Grayson shrugged and I quickly took my hands off of his chest, awkwardly wiping them on my jeans. “The door is locked.”

“How do you know? You didn’t even try!” I replied hastily, creating a sense of false hope. I wiped my eyes again, trying to focus my mind on something else. He quickly ripped apart whatever shreds of hope I had left, though.

“I know the door locks from the outside automatically," he replied in a ‘matter-o-fact’ tone.

I instantly began to hyperventilate. “What are we going to do? They can’t hear us. They didn’t hear my screaming; they won’t hear us, Grayson.”

“We might be able to break the door down," he explained as I stood there in the dark, my mind racing. Although I was only about 6 inches away from Grayson, I couldn’t see him. I could hear his voice and I could feel his breath hit my face.

I was already panicking. “What if we can’t?” He clicked a button on his phone and I immediately looked down, trying to avoid him seeing my red face from the tears that recently stopped falling but were probably going to start again. 

“Then we wait. I’m not getting a signal down here, what about you?” He asked me and I prayed that I was. I reached towards my pocket only to find that it was empty. “Hello? Audrey?”

“I must’ve dropped my phone over there,” I stated to myself.

“I’ll go get it," he stated as he stepped forward, bumping into me. He quickly caught me and walked around me before I could even protest. I didn’t want to be alone. Even though I know that if we were in a situation where it was me or him, he’d quickly sacrifice me to whatever was lurking. Heck, if his life wasn’t even on the line- he would do it just to do it.

A moment later he returned with his arms outstretched. His hand touched my hair and he patted my head casually, as if I was a dog. “Your hair is soft.”

I awkwardly fidgeted; glad he couldn’t see my blushing face. “Uh…my phone?”

“Oh yeah, here,” I reached out and waved my hand in search of the phone. When my hand touched it, I gripped it tightly and pressed the button that brought me to the home screen. I frowned when I realized that I had no signal either. The panic that was building up finally decided to burst.

“What are we going to do, Grayson?” I asked, my voice raising a few octaves.

“First, we have to make it to the stairs," he stated.

I frowned. “And where are they?” I asked.

He must’ve shrugged because it took him a minute to reply. “I don’t know; let’s use the light on our phones to find them.”

I fidgeted again. “Is it a good idea to waste the battery of two phones?”

“How are you going to get over there then?” He asked and I felt my face warm up. Hey, if we ever get cold, we can just compliment me and feel my face. In some ways, I was glad that it was dark.

“I’ll just hold onto you,” I muttered and I heard Grayson snort as his hand found my own.

“I just have a feeling you just want to hold my hand," he muttered as he lit the way to the stairs. I just rolled my eyes at his accusations, not even bothering to reply. It was the only sense of comfort. Normally, my mom would hug me when I would cry but she’s not here right now and I guess Grayson is the next best thing. You could always hug a pillar. I guess that would work, too.

When we reached the stairs, I cautiously lifted my leg and followed Grayson up the steps. His thumb was rubbing circles on the back of my hand and I knew my face was still bright red. Like we were arriving at someone’s house, Grayson casually knocked on the door. “Really?”

“Sorry, I forgot the situation,” Grayson muttered as he used his free hand to pound on the door. I did the same thing, keeping my other hand locked in his. We shouted and pounded on the door, but only to realize that our screaming and knocking was drowned out by the music. I quit five minutes before Grayson did. “They can’t hear us.”

“No, I thought that they could,” I replied sarcastically.

“Even when you’re crying and panicking, you’re still sarcastic,” he muttered under his breath.

I glared at the area where he was a moment ago but stopped shortly after, realizing that he couldn’t see me. “I wasn’t crying.”

~~~

We were waiting for five minutes in silence. “Were you crying because of what you saw Shane doing?”

I snorted. “No.”

“Eureka! So you were crying,” he stated and I shrugged, his hand moving upwards and back down with mine. We still hadn’t stopped holding hands and I was grateful. “Why then?”

“You scared me. I thought I was going to be killed,” I lied by omission, big deal. He’d hold it over my head if I tell him that I'm scared of the dark.  

Grayson was silent. “Do you still like Shane, after…you know?”

I was quiet before I shrugged again. “I don’t know.” And that was completely truthful.

“No offense to Shane, but you’re too good for him. And honestly, it’d be a bit weird to have one of my best friends dating my enemy," he replied.

I felt my face warm up at the…somewhat compliment. I suddenly became fully aware of how his hand felt in mine. His hand was larger than mine, of course, and they were warm. I wonder if my hands are cold.

“Arch nemesis, Grayson, get it right next time," he laughed in response.

"Yet you're holding my hand," he muttered.

"Hey, you're holding my hand, too," I responded. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he sighed.

I kept replaying the compliment in my head, questioning my feelings for Shane. Suddenly, I was yanked upwards as Grayson began pounding on the door again. Maybe I was right earlier; he had gone over the deep end. He’s absolutely bonkers. That would explain a lot of things that had happened during these last few hours.

“Did you hear that? I heard footsteps!” he exclaimed before shouting. “Hey!”

Carson’s voice sounded from the other side. Maybe he wasn’t bonkers after all. “Who is that?”

“It’s Grayson and Audrey!” Grayson shouted. It was weird when he said my name. I was used to him not addressing me or, since tonight, calling me ‘darling’, which I hated with a passion.

“How do I know it’s not demons?” Carson questioned in a childlike voice.  

Grayson rattled the doorknob. “Open the door you idiot!”

Carson opened the door and I quickly ripped my hand out of Grayson’s. He didn’t even seem to notice but Carson did. He sent me a suspicious look before stepping aside and allowing us to exit the basement. I wanted to kiss the carpeted ground and I’m pretty sure Grayson did, too. 

~~~

“I want to go home,” I told Lola once I reached her. Grayson was walking towards the kitchen. I’d realized we didn’t have the soda that we planned to get.

“Where were you?” she snapped. “I texted you a bazillion times!”

I looked at my phone and noticed the signal was coming back and text messages from my two friends were flowing in. “I was locked in the basement with Grayson.”

She gave me a confused look. “Just don’t ask, where’s Sandra?”

“She went home! That’s why I was texting you! We assumed you left with Grayson again!”

I frowned and shook my head. “I was only gone for 30 minutes!” I snapped before frowning deeper. “How am I getting home? How are you getting home?”

She gave me a nervous giggle. “Kyle said he’d drop me off at home.”

I gave her a flat look. “Is Kyle even sober?”

She nodded. “He doesn’t drink.”

I rolled my eyes, finding that hard to believe. I’ll have to test it to see if he is drunk before he brings my best friend home. I crossed my arms as I scanned the crowd. There isn’t anybody that I know here. “How am I going to get home?”

“You can always ask Grayson," she winked at me and I scowled at her.

“I’d rather walk…during a blizzard…when rabid wolves are outside…at night," I stated.

She snorted. “I doubt that; you’re scared of the dark, silly.”

Okay, so maybe I was bluffing. But I am not asking Grayson for a ride home, not after the events of tonight. I'm not starting my day off with him and then ending it with him. There is no way that he’d actually give me a ride anyway! And if he did, it’d be with the thought that I like him in his mind- I already planted the seed there with my stupid kiss, which I now regret. Holding hands didn't help, either. “No, I’m not doing it.”

“Well, you guys live down the street from each other; he has to be going that way, anyway. I doubt he’d mind giving you a ride,” Lola explained as she swayed to the music. "If not, just dive into the backseat when he isn't looking." Because that's physically possible, Lola. 

“And what if he’s staying overnight here?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I doubt he’d want to stay and sleep in this loud place, I mean, would you?” she asked and I shook my head. “Anyway, it’d give you guys some alone time.”

I glared at her as she winked. I wanted to rip her eyeballs out of their sockets and eat them like meatballs. She laughed while I stared at her. She stopped giggling and furrowed her eyebrows. “Have you been crying?”

I quickly ducked my head. I thought I washed away the tear steaks in the bathroom. “No.”

“Yeah, you have, what happened?” her voice grew concerned.

I frowned. “I was trapped in a basement, in the dark, with Grayson. He scared the wits out of me.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Did he make fun of you for crying?”

I thought for a moment before I pursed my lips. “Not exactly, no.”

She narrowed her eyes. “If he does, I won’t hesitate to cut him.”

I cowered slightly. “Okay.”

“You have to tell me if he does, alright?” she asked threateningly. I nodded and she backed up before smiling at me. “So you and Grayson, huh?" 

I went to say something before I was rudely interrupted. “What about me and her?”

I froze when I heard Grayson’s voice. If his theory that I liked him wasn’t confirmed earlier, it sure is now. I turned around slowly and forced an innocent look on my face. It probably looked like a grimace. “I was only telling her that we were locked in the basement.”

“Oh really?” Grayson sounded amused as he looked at me.

I just nodded. “Yeah, that’s what we were talking about.”

“Can you give Audrey a ride home?” I turned and glowered at Lola. She gave me an innocent smile before turning to look at Grayson, who was now behind me due to my constant turning to glower at one of them. “Huh, will ya?”

I was turned away from Grayson and I was hoping he’d say no and walk away…or smack Lola, either one would satisfy me. “Sure, as long as she doesn’t try to kiss me again.”

I felt my face heat up and I can imagine how red I was. I turned around and punched him. “Or hold my hand again.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “So when do you want to go home, darling?”

I was shaking with anger when I looked at him. “Now.”

He nodded. “Okay, I’ll go tell Carson that I’m leaving.”

The moment he was out of hearing range, Lola gripped my forearm and held up my hands. “Holding hands?”

I gave her a sheepish grin. “I was scared.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Sure you were.”

~~~

I sat on the back of the bike, placing my hands on Grayson’s shoulders. He placed them around his waist and I felt my face heat up. “Are you blushing again?”

I head-butted his back with the helmet and he laughed. The helmet kept me from getting hurt, though. “Try not to fall off of the bike; I'm going to try to do a wheelie for the first time.”

Before I could hit him again, we were speeding down the road, the wind whipping against the helmet. We reached my house in about half an hour. I was surprised because it had taken Sandra an hour to get here. Maybe it was because she didn’t know the area as well as Grayson does, or maybe it was because he was speeding. When I got off of the bike, I struggled slightly because Grayson was still on the bike. One of my legs was touching the ground while the other was still on the seat. I picked a bad day to wear skinny jeans. I finally managed to sling my leg over the seat, kicking Grayson pretty hard in the back in the process. I fell backwards but Grayson caught the arm of my sweater.

“You sure are clumsier than I remember, Audrey,” Grayson muttered once I ripped my sweater sleeve from his grip.

“Listen here Grayson, everything that happened tonight, didn’t happen,” I explained.

“Technically, it did happen,” he started to speak but I cut him off with a wag of my finger.

“It didn’t. I didn’t cry; I didn’t hold your hand; and most of all- I didn’t kiss you,” I snapped.

“But our friends watched you kiss me,” he replied. “Plus that creepy guy.”

“I’ll tell them not to tell anybody, but if you say anything about it- in front of anybody, or when we’re alone, I’ll cut you open and use your intestines as a jump rope,” I glared at him.

“Okay, fine,” Grayson rolled his eyes.

“You have to promise,” I replied while I stood there shivering. I wouldn’t go inside until he promised.

“Okay, fine, I promise. Want to pinky promise just in case?” he asked, holding out his pinky. I raised my eyebrows at it. “It’ll give you a chance to touch me,” he wiggled his pinky and I glared at him.

“Don’t make comments like that either,” I snapped.

“You’re just taking away my whole entire personality!” he frowned. “Might as well take away my good looks, too.”

“You can’t take away something you never had,” I glared at him.

He scowled at me. “Like your chances with me?”

I let out a dry laugh. “I don’t like you, Grayson; in fact, I hate you.”

He smirked. “The feeling is mutual.”

Instead of allowing me to reply, he quickly sped off on his motorcycle. I glared at the black bike until it disappeared into the darkness. I ran towards my door, unlocking it and quickly entering the house. I locked it immediately before running upstairs towards my room, hoping I wasn’t making too much noise.

Three questions were floating around in my mind.

- Do I like Shane or do I like the idea of Shane?

- Do I really hate Grayson or do I want to hate Grayson?

- How am I going to get my car from Sandra’s house?