My night went from one to one hundred in seconds.

After a very much planned seating arrangement, I was sat between Marcus and King. It didn't take long for Marcus' hand to move passed the arm rest and touch at my thigh. I brushed it off the first time gently, hoping it would get the message across loud and clear. Unfortunately, the guy must not have more than half a brain cell, because his hand was back a few minutes later, this time resting on my inner thigh, far too close to my underwear for comfort. Just as I was about to shove his hand away, a jump scene scared the hell out of both of us and the soda in the cup holder beside his arm was knocked out by his elbow as I pushed his hand back and spilt across my lap. With that quick movement was his entire tub of popcorn being thrusted into my face.

King started laughing rather than offer me a hand, so I shot to my feet and climbed over the back of my chair and stalked out of the theater. The minute I was in the bathroom, tears were falling out of frustration. I kicked at one of the doors to a stall repeatedly until my foot started to ache.

"Ophelia." Oliver said softly, his quiet voice filling the empty bathroom.

I shoved passed him in front of the faucet and grabbed a wad of paper towels.

"It was an accident." he defended, perching himself on the granite counter between sinks. "I doubt he meant to do that."

"If his hand hadn't been on my thigh in the first place, he wouldn't have knocked anything over!" I snapped through my teeth.

Oliver dropped his gaze to my hands under the running water. "I'm sorry."

"I knew I shouldn't have come."

Oliver heaved out an exasperation sigh and nudged my leg with his shoe. "I think it's good you came, Ophelia. I know what happened was shitty, but it's good for you to hang out with friends."

"You think, if given the chance, that Marcus would want to be my friend?"

Oliver remained silent for a while before he eventually said, "I wish I could go out there and punch the asshole, alright? I don't know what you expect me to do, Ophelia. He'd be laid out on the floor of that theater if I had it my way. But I'm fucking dead! I can't do anything but stand and watch."

I slapped a hand down against the counter. "I never asked for your help!"

"Any real man wouldn't have let him just sit there and do that!" Oliver jumped from the sink so he was brooding over me. "I thought about trying to do something the first time he touched you, Ophelia. But I couldn't."

"I don't need anyone to fight my battles."

His eyes, for a fraction of a second, changed back to the same blue I'd found myself lost in more times than I'd admit aloud. "There's a difference between standing up for you and fighting your battles. I have no doubt you can fight your own battles, Ophelia."

I threw the wet wad into the trash and slipped down the wall, burying my face in my hands. "I hate this! I don't know why I can't just be normal."

"Ophelia, what he did, he would have done to you regardless."

"It's not just him!" I snapped. "You don't and won't ever understand. It's sad, Oliver. Because I like having you around. I enjoy your company. I am such a fucking freak that my only real friend is a ghost!"

His eyes returned to the muddy brown color as he lowered himself to the ground beside me. "That's bullshit. My brother has been circling the area for the last hour. He's been waiting for you to call."

"Because we need to figure out all this crap with you."

"Because he cares." Oliver said through his teeth. "You don't know Axel the way I do, Ophelia. He cares about you."

I wiped at my cheek. "He doesn't even know me."

"He knows you enough to know you're like him." he said, throwing his head back and shutting his eyes. "That you both were outcasted in high school, kept your distance from people out of choice. I know you can't see it because you look yourself in the mirror every day, but it's easy to see the war you fight with yourself every day looking into your eyes, Ophelia. You just have to look hard enough."

I shrugged, averting my eyes to the bare wall straight ahead.

"He stopped by the frat house a couple hours ago, then looked at his phone and drove back this way." Oliver went on, as if this new piece of information would make me feel better. "He knew this date or whatever the hell this is was going to be a bust the second he came to the conclusion Marcus was going to be here."

Before I could respond a light knock came from the door and I rose shakily, casting a quick look in Oliver's direction. He nodded encouragingly and I headed for the door, throwing it open to find King. My relief was short lived as the second I was completely outside the bathroom I found Marcus not far behind.

"Do you just follow him around like a puppy?"

I was far past the point of no return anyway. King laughing in my face had felt as if he'd shoved a knife right into my chest and twisted it.

King blinked in surprise hearing the outburst, but it's Marcus who responded, "What did you say?"

Oliver caught my arm with a shake of his head, echoing his older brother as he said, "Be careful, Ophelia."

"I said you follow King around like a dog." I said it slower, as if talking to a small child, then took a step closer and spat, "You need to listen because I'm only saying it once. There is and will never be nothing between us. You had your chance with me and you blew it. So stay the hell away from me."

There's a slight aggression in his step, and I caught Oliver stepping forward in my peripheral, but rather than lash out physically, he does something worse. "Does this have to do with you all over St. James at Ella's party?"

I immediately shifted my body in King's direction, "King—"

"Wow, back up." Kingston's lip curled up in disgust. "What is he talking about?"

Of course, Marcus didn't know how to keep his big mouth shut and made it a hell of a lot worse. "I'm talking about her feeling up Oli's older brother at Ella's party a couple weeks ago, man."

King, not even giving me a chance to tell my side, whirled around and glared down at me, "What?"

"It was not like that!" I defended, holding my hands out toward him, he took a step back. "I can explain. When we're alone. Take me home and—"

"I thought we were friends, Fai." King said with a shake of his head. "This is why you've been blowing me off? Because you've been out blowing St. James?"

I gasped, "No, what? It's not even like that!"

He thrusted my jacket and purse into my arms and shook his head, "Whatever."

He stalked back toward the theater without as much as a glance back in my direction. Marcus was left in his wake, smirking.

"Screw you, Marcus."

He didn't respond verbally, but winked and followed in my best friend's footsteps. Oliver waited until he was gone to extend his arms and he pulled me into his embrace. It took me a couple minutes longer than it should have to realize what was going on and I staggered back, eyes wide. "Oliver, did you just. . ."

He nodded, no need for finishing my sentence. He looked toward my purse and in the faintest whisper, said, "Call my brother. Now."

*

I could see the anger in Axel's tense shoulders as he stepped out of the driver's seat, resting on arm across the top of the car and the other on the door. The second his eyes fell on the mess of makeup, grease, and soda I was, the anger shifted into confusion.

"What the hell happened to you?"

I ignored him and threw his door open and threw myself down in the passenger seat, waiting until he'd ducked his head in to look at me to say, "I think I just lost my only friend and I smell like a fountain drink and covered in grease."

"Please don't start crying."

I sniffled, a half-smile pulling at the right side of my mouth. "Too late."

Oliver leaned between the seats, eyes jumping back and forth between us.

Axel groaned, looking as if forcing the words out physically pained him, "What happened?"

"Marcus kept sliding his hand under my dress and touching my thighs, he—"

"Wow, hold up," Axel, his interest fully peaked now, crouched so he was eye level with me, "that little shit was touching you without consent?"

I nodded and continued before he could interrupt again, "He kept trying to slide them further up. I kept pushing it off. Eventually, during a jump scene, I smacked it and when he retracted it, he knocked his soda all over me and the popcorn on his lap flew off and went all over me. And when my friend came to try and comfort me, Marcus ran his mouth and told him I'd been with you. Now my friend hates me because he hates you and Oliver, and thinks I've been making up excuses to not hang with him so I could be with you."

Axel slapped a hand against the top of his car as a maniacal grin stretched across Oliver's face.

"What are you doing?" I asked, throwing myself out of the car, "Axel, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Oliver reappeared beside me, smiling in amusement. "Let him go, Ophelia."

I flipped him off, jogging to catch Axel's arm. "What are you doing?"

"Just stay here." he said through a laugh, shaking me off like I was no more than a fly annoying him. "I'll be right back."

I crossed my arms and watched in silence as he entered the same doors I'd just stepped out of. Oliver took a few steps forward to join me and nudged me with a laugh. "I'll put ten on him coming back out here with bruises knuckles."

"He better not. I don't need anyone, especially him, fighting my battles."

I straightened the minute Axel stepped back through the doors, my eyes going straight for his knuckles. If Oliver were living, he'd been ten dollars richer.

"You didn't!" I gasped, slapping my palms against his chest once he was within reach. "What the hell did you do to him, Axel?"

He shrugged a shoulder carelessly and pried my fingers off him with a sigh, "You won't have to worry about the kid messing with you again."

"Axel." I snapped, climbing back into the car.

He raised a brow as he shut his door, "Ophelia."

We stared at one another for a long time before he finally retreated and started the car, fixing the rearview mirror so he could see into the empty back seat, and said, "Now tell me what's going on with my brother."