I bring back some songs to include in the chapter and set the mood, I know you guys like it! ;)

So for this chapter, we have 'DJ got us fallin' in love' by Usher

and 'Problem' by Ariana Grande, go listen to them while reading! :)

"Moose is here." My Mom enters my room, her tone clearly not overjoyed, but I don't raise.

I focus on putting the finishing touches on my red lips and checking my appearance in the mirror as my eyes automatically fall on the scar along my jaw. It's like my gaze is always drawn to this detail, the same way it is attracted to Alex, almost as if it was part of him. It's healing nicely though, and soon, there will only be a discreet red mark left. Too bad that I can't say the same for my heart; the deep cut is still there, painfully open, and I don't know if it will ever heal.

My Mom sighs as I turn to her. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah." I try to offer her an assured smile to reassure her, yet the worry dripping from her clear eyes lets me know she doesn't buy it.

"Don't you think it's a little too soon?" she asks carefully, almost tiptoeing, like afraid of twisting the knife in the wound and reopen it, though the wound is still raw and open. "I mean, it's been what–"

"Two weeks," I reply quickly. The memories of that day are still vivid as if it has happened today, yet the time since then is ticking like an eternity.

She comes closer, looking at me gently. "I don't know exactly what has happened." Her gaze slides down to my scar, reviving a light burn there.

I haven't explained to her what has happened exactly that day – actually, I haven't told anyone. I've only sworn to her that it hasn't been Alex who has done that to me, but unfortunately, the cut he's done in my heart is so much worse.

"I see you're heartbroken and you're trying to move on. But come on, I know you don't like Moose, and I don't think this is a good idea... I'm worried–"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt little Moose's heart!" I try playfully.

"It's not about Moose that I'm worried! He is a selfish moron," she states as if she was saying the sky is blue – well maybe it's kinda as obvious.

"I'm worried about you." She strokes my cheek gently. "I know what you had with... Alex," she pronounces his name quietly and carefully, as she must see the hurt on my face every time I hear his name. "... was special, and you can't forget it like that."

"Not as 'special' as I thought," I whisper bitterly.

"Once again, I don't know what has happened."

I avoid her inquisitive look. No matter how many times I replay every second of this awful day, the words can never get out of the distressing flames inside my chest.

"But I saw how you looked at each other." she adds in her 'Mom that knows it all' tone.

I hate that my heart skips a beat in hope that my Mom, who indeed always knows it all, is right, and the broken pieces of my heart crack a little bit more as the memories of when I've introduced him to my Mom come flooding me.

*FLASHBACK*

"Just be yourself!"

"I don't know if it's a good idea..." Alex gives me a lopsided grin.

"Is 'the baddest bad boy' scared?" I smirk, throwing a sideways glance and watching 'the baddest bad boy' with his usual confident gait, his leather jacket, and his dark aura. Though today, there is an unusual crease between his eyebrows.

"Me?! Scared?! Never," he replies cockily.

"Good! Because my Mom really wants to meet you, otherwise she won't continue covering us to my Dad when we go out."

I bite my lip. Stating it out loud maybe isn't the best idea because now I am getting scared. My Mom's approval really matters to me, and Alex is really important for me. I really want this encounter to go well because they are the two most important people in my life. My chest swells and shrivels in what-ifs with every loud beat of my heart.

"I guess I have no choice then," Alex smirks, bringing me closer in his arms.

I smile, my nervousness and all my worries turning into butterflies flying away when I'm enveloped in his strong arms.

"You know this is a first for me," he murmurs near my ear.

My heart flutters, and I try to keep my voice steady. "Yeah, I guessed... But, you know, for me too, it was a first when I met your Mom, and I think it went quite well?"

I look up at him as he chuckles.

"Of course! You're the perfect little daughter in law! But, me... Parents and adults, in general, don't really like me." His tone is playful, yet I can glimpse the insecurity behind his unfazed mask.

"My Mom is not any adult! She doesn't judge a book by its cover. We may not look alike a lot physically, but she's a lot like me. So just be yourself! I'm sure she's gonna like you... a lot," I confess, my cheeks warming up with more than just nervousness.

*END OF FLASHBACK*

And indeed I've been right: he's charmed her instantly.

An immense emptiness overwhelms me as the memories fly away and I come back to reality. I wish I could be in those arms again, even just for one second. I've felt so safe and warm there, and now I'm just restlessly empty and cold.

"I should get going," I say, trying to dispel the tears welling up my eyes.

"Just be careful." My Mom offers me a small smile, and a big, warm hug.

***

The warm atmosphere engulfs me as soon as we enter the wide house. I take off my jacket and my sweater, revealing the outfit they've hidden: an off-shoulder crop top and some short shorts.

My parents would never have let me go out like this, so I've covered my black outfit with a sweater dress. Actually, they don't even know we're at this wild party of some college students on the nearest campus. I don't like to lie to my Mom, but she's been worried enough.

I catch Moose's eyes grow bigger and travel down my body. I guess the outfit has the desired effect, though it's clearly not for him that I've chosen it.

"Let's go!" I urge him, grabbing his hand, not liking the uneasy shivers growing on my exposed skin under his stare.

A different sensation run over my bare skin when we arrive in the main room: tinglings flying freely all over. He is here; I know he is here. The electricity in the air and the pressure constricting my chest leave me no doubt, even if the room is full of people. My heart starts to pick up a well-known uneven pace as my gaze scans the surroundings.

I've known from Cameron that he's been supposed to be here to prospect for new businesses; that's one of the main reasons – okay, maybe the only reason – why I've highly suggested to Moose that we go to this party, but I haven't been sure until now.

Quickly, my eyes find him, his dark gaze already on me. Time slows down. I forget everything and everyone around us. I only feel that pull that seems to tighten between us, my heart pounding painfully in my chest as if echoing his name: Alex.

He is standing there, on the other side of the room, more handsome than ever. His hair is slightly shorter than usual. He's probably just had a new cut; the sides are trimmed shortly, accentuating the sharp edges of his tensed jaw, and his curls – that I've loved so much to pass my fingers in – are still perfectly untamed. His tenebrous eyes are fixing me with a dangerous intensity, and his dark aura is emanating powerfully from him, drawing me, and almost enveloping me from afar. The only touch lighter is his blue washed-out denim jacket, the jacket. I swallow, the painful reality coming back sourly in my throat, and when my gaze slides a little to his side, I see the group surrounding him and the bitches throwing themselves at him.

I immediately avert my gaze. I don't want to let him see me aching. I want to make him regret. So I turn back my attention to Moose who is already talking to one of his team-mates. I lean closer and his arm wraps around my waist. Yet the sensation is nothing like Alex's touch; it doesn't feel warm or right, and it's the dark gaze I still feel on my back that warms up my skin.

As soon as Moose ends his 'fascinating' discussion about the last match and we're left alone, I kiss him eagerly. Well, my eagerness is not for the kiss or for Moose's lips; it's for revenge. I don't feel anything at all in this kiss, and it's almost unsettling. It's only lips on lips, flesh on flesh, nothing else, and once again the piercing stare I feel on us makes me feel more.

Moose seems taken aback by my outburst of affection, but he is wearing a big smirk, so he must be satisfied, even more than I am when I glance back and meet briefly the same dangerously dark eyes.

That's how we spend most of the night: Moose talking to whoever wants to listen to him, and me, getting closer and kissing him whenever I sense these tenebrous eyes on us.

Even though I know I'm kinda using him, I feel like Moose is displaying me like the new trendy toy, not asking me questions, and not really interested in what I think. I shouldn't be surprised, yet I feel like a window dressing more than anything else, standing here, bored as I hear him talk about himself, his team, and him.

My little revenge plan isn't fulfilling me like I've thought. The displeased dark stares are not enough to fill the hole in my heart, which widens every time I glimpse a 'chick' near Alex.

The first chords of 'DJ got us fallin in love' by Usher brings me out of the spiral of thoughts invading me. Music is the key to everything, and right now with the bit of alcohol in my veins, it seems like the only thing that could fill an inch of the emptiness inside my chest.

"Let's go dancing!" I exclaim to Moose.

"No, I don't dance." He shakes his head.

"Oh! Come on! I love this song!" I tug at his hand, yet he doesn't move.

I try the puppy eyes, but it doesn't work either.

"Please," I whisper near his ear, trying to be seductive, and it feels weird how with Alex it would come naturally, and there, it's pulling on all my muscles.

"No, we're fine here." He offers me one of his golden smiles, drinking his cup.

I don't know if it's alcohol or hope or strength, but something definitely leaves all my body. I can't help but think that Alex would have given in to my pleading, that he would never have let me go alone. I can almost hear his low rumble from his chest when I would whisper in his ear.

I shake my head. I shouldn't think about him. It has just been 'sugarcoat'. The frustration of this whole night grows inside my chest, lighting the bitter flames inside my chest, and I decide to go anyway. 

This is a bold and unusual move for me, and I question my choice with each step I take to the dancefloor, but once I'm there, the music takes over, and I start to dance carelessly.

The alcohol is probably helping me a little to loosen up, although I'm not even tipsy. I've only had one cup a while ago now, yet I'm drunk on pain and anger. When I find back Alex's piercing eyes settled on me, it brings me another shot, the aching in my heart intoxicating my brain cells and numbing my mind. I want him to feel what I feel. I want to make him regret. I want him to miss me, or at least be jealous, anything, and if the only thing that has ever interested him has been my body, then I'm gonna use it. So I sway my hips a little bit more, and I 'rock my body from side to side' with the music, the beat, and the lyrics echoing in my broken heart.

'I think I remember those eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes', mine only see a tenebrous pair in a corner.

I'm barely aware of the guys getting closer and closer. Some hands are dawdling a little too much on my body, yet that's only Alex's gaze that I feel on my skin, and when I lose sight of him, I'm almost disoriented. So I cling to the music, dancing like I'm alone, and I'm indeed alone in this sea of strangers.

After a while, I get tired and thirsty. The music hasn't filled the hole in my heart, and now my body is even more empty. I look around for Moose, searching for the blue and red of his football jacket in the mass of people. But I only notice now the colorful and dizzying lighting flashing everywhere, and the more I walk around the wide room, the more it seems full of unknown faces.

I spot various drinks on a few tables here and there on my way, but none of them inspire me trust, seeing some people really drunk and even high.

So I choose for the safer with my dazed brain; I go to the bathroom. As I walk through the crowd, my eyes automatically wander around, searching for Alex's darkness in the multicolor lights. Yet I haven't seen him in a while either, and the lyrics of 'Problem' by Ariana Grande blasting in the room remind me that maybe 'I should be wiser'. Maybe I should 'wake up' and 'give up', but it's him... 

The music keeps following me, less and less loudly, as I make my way upstairs. The hallway there is empty and dark; it allows my brain to think more clearly, but maybe also too much. A shiver runs down my spine with the weird sensation that someone is following me. Knowing what has happened the last time I've had this impression, it only draws more chills all over my exposed skin. Though when I turn around, there's no one. I quicken my pace anyway, and I try to listen to the music coming from downstairs to not pay attention to the 'weird' noises coming from behind some closed doors.

The bathroom door finally comes into my view, and I rush there without daring to throw a glance behind.

'Breathe' I try to reason myself once I'm safely locked inside. I must be imagining things. It's probably the tiredness, the oppressive atmosphere, and the heartache making me a little paranoid. It isn't because something bad as happened once, that it will happen again, and now, I have no reason to be threatened since I'm no one's weakness. So I drink some water, and then, I inhale deeply and get out of the bathroom with a fresh mind.

But I don't even get to exhale before someone appears from behind me and grabs my arm.

Who do you think it is?! ;)

And what do you think of this new couple: Moose and Elena? Someone seems to not really like it... ;)

Tell me what you think of this chapter, and what you think of Elena getting more and more bold?

I hope you like it, and don't hesitate to vote :)

I've been pretty down lately, and writing this story and sharing it with you guys, reading your feedbacks and all is my ray of light! :)

PS: I added Elena's outfit in the header ;)