You know the kind of anger that makes a huge bubble of hatred make its way inside of you? The kind where you wanted hit someone repeatedly until they finally get it in their head to stop being totally predictable in their arrogant ways. This was one of those times and Austin Griffin wasn't going to get away with this.

No sir.

"Hey Austin, you and Sabrina haven't even been dating for a full week and you've already found someone else to lock lips with?" My voice carried enough for a few wandering ears to catch my words - they looked over almost immediately.

When Austin pulled away, confusion consumed me as the girl who he was cheating on Sabrina with was Sabrina herself.

"What the hell is your problem, Reid?" There was a snarl in Austin's voice, but it was slightly held back due to the presence of my best friend. He glared at me, his eyes showing more severity than his voice was letting on. If you looked hard enough you could see his eye twitch. Holding in his rage did not come easy for him. The smile that could fool anyone into thinking he was the perfect kid with the perfect life wasn't there, his lips were pulled into a fine line.

I wanted to smack myself repeatedly in the forehead, but what was Sabrina even doing here? In my rush to accuse I didn't even consider that possibility that the girl he was kissing was his girlfriend.

"I didn't mean-" I stopped myself mid sentence. "Ugh, I'm sorry, I thought maybe-"

Austin interrupts me before I can continue. "You thought maybe I'd cheat on my girlfriend while I thought she wasn't here?" He raised an eyebrow as he hid his smirk from Sabrina. "What kind of a guy do you think I am?"

Flashes of skin, heat, and sorrow coursed through my mind and I got shivers of a week ago. The way he made me feel so wanted that night made me feel so good about myself - like how Rodney used to make me feel. I actually enjoyed his company and then at the end of the night, after I felt nothing could make me soar any higher, all my hopes of any kind of relationship blew up in my face.

'Don't tell anyone.' Is what he said to me before sending me home, not even having the decency of dropping me off at home himself.

I never thought being driven home in a limo could make me feel so lonely and worthless. That's how I felt the whole way back to my house: worthless.

I knew now exactly what kind of guy Austin was and he wasn't the nice kind. He was a heartless player and I was going to prove it.

"Will you stop with your accusations against my boyfriend?" Sabrina's voice brought me back to reality and I quickly shook off the sad memories of tear stained cheeks and regret.

"When I decide he doesn't deserve them." I smirked, but neither Sabrina or Austin found it amusing.

A tight grip suddenly wrapped around my wrist and I was turned around abruptly. Green eyes forced their gaze onto mine for less than a second and I was already mesmerized. These eyes would have been considered beautiful if a darkness didn't lie behind them. Whittney Rhodes was a good looking guy, but his personality turned girls away fast. I was surprised anyone could still hang around him. He always had an uneasiness about him, but it almost seemed as if he was getting worse.

"Maybe you can take a break from trying to start drama and go for a swim," Whittney said, now pulling even harder on my wrist making me fall in closer to him. "I can make you wet."

I roll my eyes. "You boys and your sexual innuendos. Why am I not surprised that you of all people would come up with something as low and degrading as that?" I ignored the pain in my wrist as I raised an eyebrow, challenging him further. Clearly I wasn't as phased as Sabrina who was obviously on edge about my situation. I probably should be too, it is Whittney after all.

Before a word of protest could escape me, I was lifted over Whittney's shoulder as I saw the pool getting closer and my odds of escape lessen. I wanted to scream at him that I couldn't swim, but words just weren't forming in my brain at the moment.

Right once I was flipped into bridal style, Rodney's voice came out from the crowd. "Drop her!"

Whittney shrugged and before I could plug my nose or ready myself in any way, cold fluid rushed into my mouth and nose. A sharp uncomfortable burning entered the uppermost part of my nose and the back of my throat. My brain then started to make sense of what was happening and I breathed out quickly through my nose. Water pushed up through my nostrils, relieving the pain in my throat, but not completely.

My hands started thinking for me as they grasped towards the light, trying to claw my way to the surface. I was sinking fast, and I'm pretty sure that this was the deep end - twelve feet of water for me to drown in.

Looking around, eyes burning from pool cleaner, I could only see a blur coming toward me after the suppressed sounds of a splash. Not having much air left in me, I let the mysterious figure being me to the surface, my body limp against them.

When we reached the surface, I wasted no time and gasped for air. My rescuer dragged me out of the water with them and sat up, hitting my back as I coughed up water from my lungs.

I heard shouting in the background, Rodney and Whittney's voices were going back and forth. That counted those two out as my savior from choking on water.

Once I wiped all the water I could from my eyes, I looked upon the person who saved me. He was wearing jeans instead of swim trunks, but he came in to save me anyways. Crystal blue eyes pierce mine as he looked over me to make sure I was okay. I looked away sheepishly, wishing no one had seen that. People weren't supposed to know that I couldn't swim, it was embarrassing.

The guy who saved me didn't look too much older, but he didn't look my age either.

Water dripped from his body and he slicked his dark hair back. He sighed as he heard Whittney's excuses on how I should be able to swim by now and it wasn't his fault for me not telling him when I had the chance.

"Are you okay?" The mysterious boy asked me.

"I-I think s-s-so." My words were stuttered from both me shivering and the fact that a cute guy just rescued the damsel in distress. Trust me, I'm usually not the kind of person who would want to be the damsel situation, but if this guy was saving me, I'd be okay with being the damsel maybe just a couple more times.

Sabrina was now at my side wondering if I was okay, I nodded. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry for trying to be a good friend." She gave me a hug, but she was already damp for the hot tub, so she didn't mind. "Chicks before-" Sabrina stopped herself before the cuss word. "You know the rest."

I let out a small laugh then looked back to the guy who saved me. "So does my rescuer have a name?"

He chuckled and looked down for a moment. "Harry Whittemore."

"Thank you for saving me, Harry Whittemore." I returned with a smile.

"When you see someone with a pretty face in trouble, you have to do something. It's pretty much the heroism code."

I blushed, and a laugh escaped soon afterwards. "I bet you still save the ugly ones."

"Yeah," he grinned. "but of course there are less benefits to that."

"I'm Amber," I said, stretching out my hand.

Harry's expression changed when Rodney's arm came across my shoulders. "W-well I'd better go."

"No, it's fine," I assure him, thinking maybe he thought Rodney was my boyfriend of something. Ew. "This is my step brother, Rodney."

Harry was now a little less tense, but Rodney was the opposite, his muscles tightened against my, finally relaxed, ones. "Thanks for saving Amber, Harry." There was clearly some held back anger, maybe jealousy behind his words.

"Oh, you know, it was no problem." Harry let out a nervous laugh and smiled at me. "See you around?"

I couldn't help the grin that takes over my features and nod. "Definitely."

Rodney gripped my shoulder tightly as he walked me over to Austin. He wasn't that happy to see me, and I didn't blame him since he was actually kissing the girl he was dating, for once.

"Do you mind getting Amber some clothes? I doubt she wants to walk around wet all night, and judging by the performance we saw earlier, she's not going to want to swim again." Rodney pushed me towards Austin.

I turned around to face Rodney before he left. "Wow, you just have me pinned, don't you?" I didn't hide the sarcasm in my voice. In a way it was my only defense against him.

"I'm sure my mom has some stuff she doesn't wear anymore," said Austin. "She buys new stuff almost every week, so it shouldn't be hard to find something you'd like."

I nodded and followed Austin into his house. It looked almost like the average house on the first floor, if you didn't pay attention to the high ceilings and pillars holding them up. Walking up the stairs to his parents room made me nervous, we would be completely alone up there, but I just had to stay calm.

When we reach his parents closet, I'm shocked at how big it was.

"I can do this part myself." I eyed Austin carefully while he exited the room.

"Whatever you say, your highness."

My glare only made him grin as I shut the closet door. I rummaged through all the designer dresses and finally found jeans, but they weren't exactly my size. When I stumbled on yoga pants I knew I hit the jackpot. Of course, knowing his mom, she would try to get a small enough size to show off her curves. They should fit me enough, if not perfectly. Finding a T-shirt, I threw that on too before exiting.

Right once I left the closet that should be a room itself, I found myself in a familiar situation. My back hit the wall hard as an angry-faced Austin stood before me. "Well isn't this romantic?" I cracked another sarcastic remark.

"Shut up!" he yelled, and silence followed. He grinned at the stilling effect he had on me as he pushed me into the wall again, this time harder. "What are you trying to do, Amber?"

I scoffed. "What am I trying to do? I'm trying to find a way to keep you away from Sabrina. I thought I had my chance tonight, but I guess things didn't work out because you were actually dating the person you were with."

I could feel bruises forming when my back hit the wall once more. "You are going to stop this little game before you do something you'll regret. Understand?"

I pretended to think it over for a moment. "Hmm, no. I think I'll just keep watching and when you slip up, I'll be there to catch you in the act. You won't hurt her like you've hurt me."

"Awe, did I hurt your feelings?" he chuckled. "Grow up, Amber. It was a one night stand, get over it."

"Ugh! You are such a two-timing and stupid, egocentric jerk!" I lifted my hand with intention to slap, but my hand was caught in a tight grip. I let out a little cry in pain as I looked at my wrist, the circulation getting cut off, then to Austin. "Let go of me, you asshole!"

Without letting me go, he grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and then lit it with the same hand. This just proved my theory that he would never change. Before speaking he let a puff of smoke travel to my face, choking me. "You know, I don't like your tone. You were a lot more attractive when you were screaming for me." Another puff of smoke taunted my nostrils. Why people could stand the smell or taste of nicotine was beyond me.

"What the hell?" A familiar voice came through the room and suddenly Austin was pried off of me. Rodney stood in front of me, holding my face in his hands. "You slept with him?" A hint of disappointment was hidden within his eyes, silently wishing I'd say no.

I nodded, confused as to why I was upset with myself. "I-"

"When?" Was all he asked. Hurt was all over his face, making me feel terrible.

"Six days ago." My voice was almost a whisper as I told him. "I wanted someone other than you to want me."

"And what's wrong with me wanting you?" Rodney asked.

Running my hand through my hair, I let out an annoyed breath. "You know exactly what's wrong with that."

A heavy sigh left his lips as he answered, "I know, Am. I know."

Austin, probably tired of being ignore, spoke up. "Fucker, you made me drop my cigarette on the carpet." He runs his hands through his hair, his face turning red with anger.

I tried to leave the room, but before I could exit, Austin stood in front of both Rodney and I. "No one leaves unless you guys promise not to tell Sabrina, unless you want people to find out about your little brother-sister relationship issues."

"We have no issues," Rod snapped.

"Sleeping with each other would be a problem when you're step siblings." Austin pointed out.

"Okay, okay." I gave in. No one could know, but Austin would obviously mess up all by himself anyways. Who cares that he knows that Rodney and I were a little closer than siblings should be? He did worse things on a daily basis anyways.

"Sabrina will never know."