All I could do was stare on in horror as whistles and cheers broke out from all around me. This had to be a nightmare or some kind of sick joke. There's no way Ben was about to kiss Mia.

But despite all my racing thoughts, Ben only moved closer, and the space between them only grew smaller.

The cheers all around us grew louder the closer they became, and all I could seem to do was watch, frozen in time. I vaguely caught a few eyes from the circle nudge each other and smirk my way as though waiting for a reaction. 

Soon enough, I felt Lucas lean closer and tug lightly at my elbow in indication for us to get up. "Come on man, let's go upstairs. We don't have to watch this, okay," he whispered gently.

Ignoring him, I shrugged his arm off and kept my eyes fixated on Mia's. She was sat as rigid as a board and watched on with widened eyes as Ben drew closer.

It was only as he came to a kneeling stop in front of her that I felt the most painful stab twist throughout my stomach. It was a sickening mixture of fear, hurt, and above all anger.

I felt a more firm grip on my elbow. "Ethan, come on, let's go," Lucas said, slightly louder this time.

His words seemed to echo off into the distance into nothing. Soon, all I could hear was my pounding heart as frustration ate me alive. I felt my hands curl inward, and my nails pinched into the skin of my palm almost painfully.

Ben gave her one of his soft fuck-boy smiles, and that sickening feeling of anger ripped through me with ten times more force. How dare he waltz up to her without a word to check she was alright. How dare he think he was even worthy of her.

 In what felt like slow-motion, he reached out and cupped her cheek, and the hurt of that action solidified to me one thing: Lucas was absolutely right. 

There was no fucking way in hell I could watch this.

"Ethan, come on," I heard Lucas whisper again. 

In defeat, I nodded my head, but just as I was about to get up, I noticed Mia close her eyes, and Ben lean in for the kill. 

And that horrifying sight was all it took for something dark in me to turn.

 I don't remember standing up or taking my first step or my second, but then suddenly, I was halfway across the circle. All I saw was red-as I locked eyes on Ben. Without even second-guessing myself, I ripped him back by the hood of his jacket and shoved him roughly to the floor.

 He groaned upon impacting the ground, his body thumping against the ground like a sack of bricks. The whole room went deathly silent, and I didn't even need to look to know all eyes were digging into me. 

With a tightened jaw, I watched as Ben scrambled hastily to his elbows to look up at me in shock. A brief flash of guilt clenched at my heart as I saw how defenseless he looked. 

How strangely similar he looked to that red-haired bully I'd beaten up in the playground all those years ago.

Then, sharply an image of Ben gently cupping Mia's face washed through my mind, and like that, all softened feelings vanished.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" I hissed, the words leaving my mouth in a bitter laugh. "Don't you ever touch her!"

Barbie-boy has the cheek to furrow his eyebrows. "Jesus Christ, it's just a dare. You need to chill the fuck out dude."

This seemed to make me ten times angrier, and before I could stop myself, I let out a rude scoff.

 "I don't give a shit if it was a dare. You don't touch her like that. Ever," I spat out in between gritted teeth. 

I vaguely felt the heat of Mia's gaze, along with everyone else's, against the side of my face. In a mash-up of embarrassment mixed with frustration, I felt my anger rise in me even more. The feeling was becoming almost uncontrollable like I couldn't so much as breathe or even think straight. As though all that mattered was leveling the ground between Ben and my own.

And no matter how much I fought it; or desperately tried to claw it away, my father's words scorched through like an ugly scar.

If someone ever makes you feel insecure or weak; or doubting, you use it: you use that anger.

I met Ben's eyes once more and found him pathetically spluttering open and closed his mouth as though searching for the right thing to say.

 "Look man, I didn't do anything wrong. Mia was cool with it. She didn't exactly push me away, did she?" He argued.

His words hit me like a jab to a sensitive wound, and tipped, no sorry, catapulted me over the edge. It was one thing him attempting to kiss her, but it was another motherfucking thing entirely to imply her lack of action was a permission slip. 

He was dead.

Without a second thought, I lunged forward and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt before roughly slamming him back down to the ground. Again, he groaned upon making an impact before looking up at me through startled eyes.

Brushing away any last remaining feelings of guilt, I swung my fist back in preparation for a punch. 

Before I got a chance to hit him, I was suddenly snagged back by my shirt, and a restraining arm was swung around my shoulder. The familiar weight of the arm, along with the soft curses instantly clued me on to the fact it was Lucas. 

His restraint only made me more annoyed, and I tossed and elbowed him with spite to free myself. I just needed to punch him once; just once, and then I'd feel better.

"Ethan, calm down. You're making a scene. He's not going to kiss her anymore, okay?" Lucas explained at my ear in between heavy breaths. 

Seconds away from elbowing him in the stomach, I suddenly paused and realized he was right.

Slowly, I felt myself relax, and Lucas let out a heavy breath of relief and released his hold on me. The minute he did, Ben scrambled to his feet and practically ran back to his space in the circle. Far, far away from me.

Silenced continued to deafen the air as I fought my breath back, and it was only at that point, did I remember Mia was still here.

Snapping my head to where she sat, I found her staring up at me in the kind of way you'd look at someone who you thought was bat-shit crazy. Then, I realized to my horror that she'd witnessed my whole, let's face it, embarrassing meltdown. 

Continuing to keep my eyes guarded my jaw clenched as I remembered her lie about not liking Ben. A lie that had ultimately given me false hope. 

As more jealousy pangs rippled through me, I finally decided I had enough and marched my way towards her. Once I was before her, her eyes widened a fraction more. 

"Get up, we're leaving," I snapped, the words escaping me before I could second-guess them.

 Ignoring the extreme look of confusion on her face, I grabbed her by the wrist and hurled her to her feet.

 Was I aware I was acting like a crazy caveman on crack? Why yes, yes, I was. And was I aware that I had just exposed my crush in the worst way imaginable? Depressingly, so.

 But knowledge of these facts did little to halt my desperation to get Mia as far as way from Ben's lips as I possibly could.

Without a second glance in anybody's direction, I towed Mia towards the basement stairs with the sole aim of escape. I hadn't a clue where the fuck I was going to take her, but all I knew was that it was away from this disgusting, peer-pressurizing game.

Just as I was about to take a step up onto the stairs, an aggressive pull moved me backward, and Mia's wrist ripped free from my grasp.

I turned back to face her in confusion and found those big brown eyes of hers flaring away at me in anger. She looked like she wanted to kill me, or worse.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? How dare you drag me around like that," she hissed out in spite. And despite, the inappropriate timing, I couldn't help but feel the teeny-tiniest bit turned on at her display of dominance.

The feeling soon diminished as I remembered my mission. Letting out an exhausted sigh, I threw my head back. "Look, Mia, I haven't got the patience for your difficulty today. I'm in a bad mood."

The instance her eyes narrowed; I knew I had made a colossal mistake with my wording.

She let out the most bitter of scoffs. "I don't care what kind of mood you're in. I'm not going anywhere with you," she spat out angrily. 

A little stab struck through my heart as I realized how truly mad she was at me. In a sudden moment of stubbornness, or more accurately stupidity, I found myself taking a step closer to her. Her chest brushed up against mine, and I swallowed, feeling the heat of those angry eyes staring right back up at me.

"You can either walk up the stairs on your own free will Mia," I said, my eyes lightly flickering back and forth between hers. "Or, we can go with my favorite option where I haul your ass over my shoulder. Your choice," I whispered. I tried desperately to maintain steady eye contact with her in the hopes of silently convincing her that I'd follow through on my threat.

 But as excited, and turned on I was by the idea of flipping her over my shoulder, I had zero intention of following through with it. Call me a wuss, but pissing Mia off to that level, was an avenue I'd rather not go down.

Mia's eyes danced carefully back and forth between mine as though trying to read me. Then seeming to come to a conclusion, her eyes flashed with anger, and she pushed me back aggressively. 

"Fuck you," she spat as she pushed her way past me.

 I stared after her in shock as she stormed her way up the stairs without looking back once. Once she'd made it as far as the basement stairs, I finally drove myself to action and scrambled up the stairs after her.

I sped-walked through the basement doors and kept sight of her as she weaved in and out between the crowds of people to get to the living room. Finally, she seemed to slow down upon spotting a fast asleep Chloe on the sofas. Before she could take another step, I captured her wrist and swung her around to face me. 

I must have done it with a tad too much swing as she almost crashed headfirst into me. As she briefly touched my chest to steady herself, I knew it was a mistake I wasn't entirely regretful of.

Remembering what I wanted to talk to her about, I scowled. "You were just going to let him kiss you? What happened to you not liking him, huh?" I said, the words leaving my mouth with a little bit too much hurt.

She ran a hand through her hair while letting out a disbelieving scoff. "This is ridiculous. I can't believe you're mad at me. I'm not the one who's been ignoring you all fucking week," she fired back angrily.

Her words robbed me of my next sentence, and the familiar feelings of guilt returned at full force. It was only then that I realized how cruel randomly ignoring her must have looked from her end. If she had done that to me, I would have been beyond hurt. 

My gaze softened, and I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. I searched and searched for the right thing to say, but I found nothing.

My silence seemed to piss her off further, and her eyes narrowed once more. "Why do you even care so much anyway?" she asked. 

I paused.

Hmm, let me think, because I've been in love with you for the past six years, and the idea of you kissing another guy and liking it makes me feel like someone threw a seven-inch blade through my head.

Knowing I couldn't exactly say that I broke eye contact and shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot while staring fixedly at the ground. "Because...," my eyes darted around as I tried to think of a lie. "Because...I just don't like that you lied to me," I mumbled as I shyly returned her gaze. "You said, you didn't like him, and I was stupid enough to believe you."

She rolled her eyes. "I was telling the truth, Ethan. I don't like Ben!"

My eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Then why didn't you push him away?" I asked slowly.

"Only because I didn't want to ruin the game," she cried. "Besides it's just a stupid kiss. It's not a big deal," she said, with a dismissive shrug.

I let out a loud scoff. "It is a big deal. It's your first kiss, for goodness sake," I argued, feeling oddly offended that she thought so little of it. 

Did she not realize how special she was? Or how lucky someone should have to be to ever have a shot with her.

"Don't you want it with someone special?" I asked softly, the words slipping through my lips before I could stop them. My words seemed to make her paused, and she stared at me for a handful of seconds, her eyes rocking softly back and forth between mine.

Because I'd want it with you...

Abruptly, the lost look in her eyes vanished, and she shook her head as though trying to refocus her mind. "I told you, I don't care, Ethan, so just drop this and leave me alone."

Then before I got a chance to get another word in, she pivoted in her spot and rushed across the room to Chloe.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I sunk back against the wall and watched in defeat as she made her way over to Chloe's sleeping body to shake her awake. I was tempted to go over and offer my help, but I knew she would flat-out refuse me. 

Soon enough, May dipped out from behind me to join them. At this point, I vaguely tuned in, okay, fine, eavesdropped into their conversation as Mia dragged them to the door.

My interest was piqued as I saw May shoot Mia a nervous look. "Are you sure, you're okay to drive, Mia? I know you're worried because you don't have a license."

This instantly alerted my attention, and my heart started racing away in panic. What the fuck were they thinking? Why was Mia driving? If she drove she could get arrested, or worse, get into an accident.

"Yeah, of course, it's only five minutes away," Mia said, waving away the concern with a dismissive hand.

That was all she had to say for me to march my way over to them in three long steps.

 "What the fuck? You're not seriously going to drive without a license, Chubs," I snapped out, feeling beyond angry. 

Mia immediately turned around, and the second her eyes landed on mine, her eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I am going to drive Mr goody-two-shoes," she scoffed.

I let out a harsh chuckle as though she'd told a funny joke. The only reality that existed where I'd let her drive herself to her potential death was a reality where I seized to exist.

"Sorry, but there's no fucking way I'm going to let this happen," I said. Then before she had a chance to protest, I snatched the car keys from her hand.

"I'm driving you home," I stated confidently before turning around and marching my way to the door. 

Was I aware I was currently being a bossy piece of shit? Why, yes, I was. But I'd rather be a bossy piece of shit that kept her alive than a coward who sat by and let her die. 

I smiled a little in victory as I saw Mia let out a heavy sigh from the corner of my eyes before following along behind me.

Spotting Chloe's familiar car by the end of the driveway, I clicked the car door open and climbed into the driver's side. As Mia and May helped a drunkenly babbling Chloe into the car, I got the car started up.

 Once they had her all buckled in, I watched with raised brows as May bumped Mia out of the way with her hip before stealing the last remaining seat in the back. I was tempted to laugh as I saw Mia's extremely pissed expression through the rear-view mirror. 

As Mia clicked open the door to the passenger seat, I immediately sat up straighter and glanced her way, feeling oddly nervous to sit beside her. Mia didn't even so much as spare me a glance and kept her gaze forward as though I was just some shitty-uber driver. 

Though it hurt, I couldn't exactly blame her. If I were in her shoes, I would have done the same.

"Just drive us to my house," she said simply.

With a sigh, I nodded my head and slowly pulled out of the driveway. 

As we drove, Mia kept her gaze strictly facing out the window, which only fuelled my rising nerves. Like a weirdo, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her and kept glancing at her every five seconds as I searched for the right thing to say. 

Now we were out of the hustle, and bustle of the party, the weight of what I had done finally landed on me. In the span of a few minutes, I had pushed her friend to the floor, tried to punch him, and to top it all off, went complete caveman on her by dragging her out of the basement. 

I wasn't exactly an expert in apologies, but even I knew there would never be a perfect one to cover all of that.

Out of nowhere, she glanced my way and scanned over me analytically, causing my heart to jolt up in a panic.

 Shit, she knew I liked her. I mean, she had to. I literally couldn't be any more obvious without straight-up growling and shouting out in werewolf style that she was mine.

Finally, we reached her house, and I pulled up to the curb. Without even looking at me, she unbuckled her seat and made a move to leave.

"Wait," I said suddenly.

Mia turned back to face me and quirked up a brow.

Feeling oddly nervous, I fidgeted with my hands, feeling a bit intimidated under her gaze.

 "Please, can I talk to you alone for a second?" I asked softly.

She opened her mouth as though about to speak, but she then paused, those beautiful eyes of hers seeming to watch me carefully. Then slowly, her eyes softened, and to my relief, she nodded her head.

Digging her hands into her pockets, she threw her house keys over to May to indicate for her to go on without her.

Once May and Chloe were gone, I nervously cleared my throat and turned to face her. "Look, Mia. I fucked up today, and I'm sorry," I sighed.

Mia's eyes widened by a considerable fraction, and she looked at me like I was some rare form of alien. And to my embarrassment, I realized it was because she'd likely never heard me apologize to her before.

Taking her silence as a cue for me to continue, I spoke on. "I'm also sorry for ignoring you, Mia. You did nothing wrong, okay. It was just all me and my stupid issues," I explained honestly.

Swallowing, I rocked my eyes softly back and forth between hers. "Can we just forget all of this happened and go back to being friends or acquaintances or enemies or whatever the hell we were before?" I said with a loose chuckle.

 Staring at her anxiously, I waited for her response, feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. After so many years of putting up a guard around her, it felt very scary to stand before her entirely as myself.

 Mia stared at me in silence for a handful of seconds, those soft brown eyes of hers blinking back at me softly. Then shocking me altogether, she smiled at me. "We're cool, Ethan, and I'll happily go back to being your number one sworn enemy," she teased with an amused chuckle.

 The words were such a relief to my ears that there was nothing I could do to stop the full-blown smile that escaped from between my lips. 

And though it went against everything I'd promised over the past six years, something felt awfully fucking good about being on track to be Mia Collin's friend. 

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Author's note:

And that's chapter fourteen done; the chapter where Ethan went nuts XD

I'm not going to lie, I really dreaded writing this chapter because I knew I was going to have to make sense of Ethan's melodramatic behavior lol. And it was just as much as a mess as I thought it was going to be.

But nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed xx

I promise in chapters to come we'll head back more towards the usual light hearted perverted junk I very much enjoy writing.