Kissing Felix usually puts me in a good mood. Tonight, it's made me feel prickly and unsettled. Which is... unsettling.

Bickering is not what Felix is supposed to be. He's not meant to make you feel like maybe you've been insensitive or hurt his feelings in some way. Felix is not supposed to be feelings, full stop. Just lips and sleepy eyes and knowing hands. Did he not read the unwritten job description?

Flicking my hair out of my face and the uncomfortable, prickly feelings to the back of my mind, I wander back into the house with a slight stomp to my step. In the ten minutes I've been outside, the noise level in the living area has risen. This is thanks partly to the arrival of Robbo's annoying mates from footy, and partly to the fact that Cecily has started her set. She's in the corner of the room, surrounded by speakers, lights and expensive-looking equipment. Her mix is fast and bouncy with heavy base beats. The crowd is loving it.

Cec is clearly in her element, one hand holding large headphones to her left ear, the other flying across the buttons, knobs and levers in front of her. Her dark red hair has been straightened and pulled back from her face in a dramatic, high ponytail. Simple, black, high-waisted shorts and a cropped singlet contrast starkly with her pale skin and metallic eyeshadow. She looks uber cool and beautiful, something that has not gone unnoticed by Robbo's football cronies.

One of them leans across the trestle table, trying to catch Cec's attention. He's either a bit clumsy or a bit drunk (or both) and he knocks against the table, shaking Cec's setup. Anyone with eyes can see that Cec is doing her best to blank him. He, of course, fails to acknowledge the tense set of her shoulders or her refusal to make eye contact. Instead, he makes an ill-advised and clearly unwanted grab for her.

Oh goody. Someone I can take my grumpy out on.

"Excuse me buddy." I tap him on the shoulder. "You need to back up a bit."

"Sorry baby," he slurs at me, knocking the table again as he half turns towards me. "You'll have to wait your turn. I'm busy talking to the hot DJ right now. Don't worry, there's plenty of Stu to go around."

Great. He's one of those guys who refers to himself in the third person. No doubt he also refers to his penis as 'Little Stu'.

Kill me now.

"The hot DJ isn't interested and neither am I. Run along Stu." I wave my hands dismissively. Cec shoots me a grateful look.

Stu raises himself to his full height and looks at me properly for the first time. He's not much taller than me but his eyes are bloodshot and his pupils oddly dilated in a way that makes me think that alcohol isn't the only chemical substance he's consumed tonight. Challenging this guy head-on may not have been my smartest move ever.

"Bitch, stop sticking your nose in where it isn't wanted." He's right in my face now – close enough that I can smell the beer and garlic on his breath. Cec's music is loud but so is this guy, and people around us are starting to stare.

"Everything okay here, Francesca?" I glance over my shoulder to find Chomper standing behind me, Cassie by his side. Cass' face is creased with worry, her eyes large behind her glasses.

"This your chick, mate? You might want to put her on a leash." Stu sneers at Chomper, eyes flashing with challenge. On the face of it, his taunt seems pretty stupid. Chomper's almost a foot taller and a whole lot bulkier than he is. But I know Stu's type. Not only is he unlikely to back down from confrontation, he probably came to the party looking for it.

"You, my man, might want to think very carefully about the next words that come out of your mouth." Chomper's tone is casual and friendly, his body language is not.

"Yeah, or what? You gonna throw a punch to try and impress these chicks? Mate, you private school wankers are all the same."

"It's not my fist you have to worry about," Chomper says cheerfully, placing an arm around my shoulders. "These girls will eat you alive if you make them angry enough. I'm just here to enjoy the show."

"Is Frankie going to beat someone up again?" Trav asks loudly, moving quickly through the crowd towards us. He positions himself firmly between Stu and Cecily's trestle table.

"Seems like it," Chomper confirms.

"I haven't missed anything, have I?" Felix approaches with two of his friends. They spread out in a way that seems casual but which I suspect is not. Between the five boys, they now have Stu surrounded and effectively cut off from Cec and me.

"Nah, mate, Francesca hasn't even thrown her first punch yet."

"Thank God," Felix says. "Are you running the betting pool, Chomp? I'll put $50 on Frankie for the knock-out."

"You guys are full of it. No way this chick can take me out."

"I dare you to test that theory," Cec pipes up. "Francesca's a national Krav Maga champion." Cec's voice is steady but her hands are shaking slightly as she turns the music off.

In the sudden silence, the party turns towards us.

Stu looks at me warily, clearly unsure now whether the others are having him on, but also aware that the whole room is focused on whatever happens next. I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Stu, c'mon, maybe we should just head?" One of Stu's friends gestures towards the front door, eyes darting around our group like he's worried we might lash out without warning.

"Yeah, alright," Stu eventually mutters. "This party's full of wankers anyway." He throws up his middle finger in farewell.

As Stu and Co make their exit, united in noise and messiness, I release the breath I hadn't realised I was holding.

"Holy crap," Cass says, the first one of us to find her voice. "You guys were brilliant. Are you okay Franks? I'm so sorry I didn't do anything, I just froze."

"I'm okay," I confirm, giving her a shaky smile. I look up at the boy whose arm is still draped protectively across my shoulder. A boy I dismissed two days ago as an artless moron. "Thanks Chomper."

"Any time," he replies, pulling me in for a quick hug before releasing me. "Tonight's not the first time that dude's tried to have a crack at Cec. When I heard Robbo say the boys from his club had arrived, I told Cassie that we had to make sure that Cec was okay."

"I'm fine," Cec says with a grimace. "Thanks to you guys. Thank you, Francesca, you were awesome. That boy gives me the creeps. And he's always high on something."

"Yeah, Stu's a complete dick," Felix says, looking everywhere but at me. "Always has been. We went to the same primary school."

"Thank you," I whisper quietly to Felix. His only response is a slight nod before he and his friends disappear back into the crowd. It would appear that I'm not forgiven. I push that thought to the back of my head with the other Felix-related, uncomfortable feelings.

"What's Krav Maga, anyway?" I ask Cec.

"No idea, it was the first thing that popped into my head." She laughs.

"It's an Israeli military thing – very hardcore," Trav tells us. "I totally buy you as a Krav Maga champion, Burton." He looks me up and down with a grin. "With those long limbs and your love of broody scowling and using laser pointers as deadly weapons, you'd make an awesome government assassin."

"I'm taking that as a compliment, Riordan."

"Good."

"Hey guys," Cec says, with a strange little smile. "This one's for you."

The opening bars of 'Low' by Flo Rida blast out over the speakers. Cass squeals; I laugh; Chomper and Trav start jumping up and down like they're in a mosh pit. It's the same song that Chomper and I battled to on repeat this afternoon. We now know all the choreography.

"Shawty had them Apple Bottom Jeans (jeans)
Boots with the fur (with the fur)
The whole club was lookin' at her.
She hit the floor (she hit the floor)
Next thing you know
Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low."

Chomper launches into the opening sequence, over-emphasising every move. The crowd – which minutes ago had been waiting for a fight to break out – makes room for him, cheering like he's the lead in a teen dance movie.

Chomper throws his arms out wide and waggles his eyebrows at me. Usually, I'd run for the hills. Dancing for a crowd doesn't really fit with my whole 'fly under the radar' life philosophy. But it's been an unusual few days and a full-on night and, for once, I really don't care that everyone is looking at me.

With a dramatic flourish, I put my hands on my hips and toss my hair over my shoulder, before matching Chomper move for move.

It. Is. So. Much. Fun.

When the song finishes, the room goes wild and I laugh so hard I get the hiccups. Cass spins me around in circles before launching herself at Chomper.

Oh God.

They aren't...

Yes, they totally are...

My best friend and Matt Chomsky are kissing on the dancefloor. I catch Trav's eye and the two of us crack up. Trav puts both his hands over my eyes so I don't have to watch, leaning down to yell in my ear.

"You won't be able to unsee that."

He's right, I won't. But I find that I mind less than I thought I would. Tonight, Chomper has proven that he's a pretty decent guy. If Cass is going to insist on getting all lovey-dovey with someone, then maybe he's not the world's worst candidate.

When the lovebirds finally come up for air, the four of us dance until I can feel the sweat running unattractively between my boobs. We start off silly and descend into ludicrous – high on the adrenaline of our near miss with Stu. Cec indulges us with non-stop, daggy, party tunes, while we try to outdo each other with increasingly ridiculous dance sequences.

Eventually, I go in search of a drink and the bathroom. In the queue for the toilet, I run into Bethany. I'm ashamed to say that I'd sort of forgotten about her.

I wonder why Trav has spent the past hour and a half with us rather than his girlfriend?

Bethany is clearly wondering the same thing.

"I didn't realise that you and Cass were friends with Travvy and his friends," she says, frowning.

"We're not really," I tell her. Even as I say it, I wonder if that's strictly true.

"Good," she says, her tone uncharacteristically chilly. "Travers is mine Francesca. Back off."

I stare at her retreating back in surprise.

Seriously, this week could not get any weirder.