DAISY

"Have you ever been to one of these beach parties before?" I asked Jason as we climbed into his wonderful and sleek black Audi.

"Yeah, it's a bit boring. The only reason I go is that my friends are persistent, and I love the booze and the scenery." He replied.

"You love the scenery?" I asked, a goofy smile on my lips.

"Yes, yes I do, Daisy. Doesn't mean that because I'm a gang leader I can't like nature." He answered bluntly, focusing his attention on the road.

"True." I nodded then suddenly something dawned on me.

"Wait. . . you're the leader of the gang that you're in?" I asked in surprise, glancing to my side to look at him.

I couldn't help but stare at the side of his face and analyze him in curiosity. He acted like a normal person. If it weren't for the tattoos, body rings, leather jackets, I would have been completely fooled. I mean, I got that he had some controlling and temper issues, but that could be some bad traits or habits of a normal person. Everyone had flaws. Mine would have been being clumsy, occasionally oblivious, and sometimes shy. I was very curious about him, he didn't seem to be your typical gangster.

"I don't like being stared at." He suddenly said, causing me to look away quickly. His hands were clenching the steering wheel tightly and instead, I focused on the rose pattern on his hand, a blush rising to my cheeks.

"And yes, I am the leader."

"But you're only twenty. Shouldn't someone older handle a gang?" I wondered.

"What? No." He scoffed. "Besides, I'm twenty-one in a few months. And we don't look at age. The strongest, the wisest, the smartest, the bravest, the most responsible man should be the leader. I've proven myself."

I nodded but slightly frowned. How had he proven himself? By killing someone? Like he almost did a year back when I have almost witnessed it? I ignored my thoughts and changed the topic. He seemed to be answering my questions as if he trusted me which was surprising. I could try my luck and ask him questions about all of my curiosities, but I didn't take my chance, or I might have gotten carried away and knowing Jason he would have snapped at me any minute.

"You're old." I joked.

"No, you're young." He smirked, glancing at me. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"It's better being young. Now you'll die before me." I said jokingly.

"Life doesn't work that way, Angel."

Angel? I nearly melted.

"Hmm, considering you're in a gang. . ." Crap! I didn't mean to say that. I waited for his reaction to see him glaring at me and not paying attention to the road. I would have freaked out, but we were on a deserted road, with greenery surrounding either side of the long road. Was this the part where he killed me and hid my body?

"Shut the hell up, Daisy." He snapped.

"I'm sorry!" I blurted and immediately kept quiet. My mouth had no filter.

"Just, don't bring the gang up again, okay?"

"Okay." I promised.

We arrived at the beach in the next one minute. Jason parked near a shady tree in the parking lot and we got out. I scanned my surroundings and Jason was right, it was beautiful. Long, dark and light green trees traveled down the huge sandy beach and ended halfway to the other side of the sea. The sand was clear white and without the music and loud boisterous laughter I would have fallen deeper in love with the place. The air chilled a bit and became slightly windy, yet it still smelled extremely fresh and lovely.

I glanced at Jason. "Aw, this place is amazing!" I gushed.

"Yeah," he agreed. "By the way, your loser friends are here too." I ignored the loser comment.

"What? Really? I thought they would have still been sleeping." I checked my phone for the time, and it read 2:34. Where did all the time go?

"Well, they are. Now grab your bag and let's go." I quickly grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and placed my hand in Jason's extended one after that. Why was he acting so - dare I say it - gentlemanly?

We walked down the sandy path and was met with about a crowd of people all lounging around on the beach and talking amongst one another. There was some drinking going on, referring to the kegs of beer and blue solo cups littering the sand. The girls were laughing obnoxiously loudly clad in their skimpy bikinis. I wanted to yell at them to dress more appropriately, but it wasn't my place to say.

"Well, that'll be fun, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, but don't look at any random guys, don't breathe in the same air as them and do not speak to them. Am I clear?" He asked, raising a brow almost strictly. I almost rolled my eyes but didnt. Instead, I nodded my head. He seriously had to stop thinking that it was okay to order people around to his liking.

"Speak with words, Daisy." He demanded.

"Yes, Jason. I would not speak to random guys. Happy?"

"Yes, now go find your friends." He ordered, brushing past me. I narrowed my eyes at him. Sometimes he was so nice, and the next so rude. He confused me. As I watched him walk away, weirdly wearing jeans on the beach, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I enjoyed my friend's company, but I thought he and I were going to hang out. Guess I was wrong.

I sighed. Well, here goes.

"Penny!" I called over the loud music. She spun around and her eyes widened. She grinned at me and bounced over excitedly.

"You made it!" She gushed, flinging her skinny arms around my neck. I chuckled and nodded, returning her bear hug.

"Yeah, but how would you know I was even coming?"

"I was at your dorm this morning to invite you along, but Jason said that he'll bring you. He didn't tell you?" She asked, frowning.

"Nope." I said, popping the 'p'. I figured enough. Knowing Jason for the past two weeks I have come to know one very important thing, it being that he hated taking orders from people. Referring to earlier today he ignored the fact that Penny wanted me here and offered me himself. Such an unusual guy. Good unusual. He however, had to learn to stop being so commanding. I guess it was in his nature to order people around, given that he led the gang he was in. I still thought that he was too young, and it was absolutely dangerous. I would rather not get too close to him and end up heartbroken if he ever got badly hurt.

"Oh well, just know that I didn't forget to invite you, my best friend." She said, pointedly. I chuckled and nodded.

"Don't worry, I know." I smiled.

"Anyway," she slung an arm around my shoulder as we began walking. "The rest of the guys are over there. C'mon."

I spotted Jaxon, Grayson and Mavis lazily sprawled onto the beach and laughing with each other. It was very weird seeing Jaxon and Mavis having a civil conversation, I nearly sighed. No need to wonder off again while they argued over pointless things.

"Hey, guys!" I greeted enthusiastically as we reached them.

"Oh hey, Daisy. I didn't know Penny functioned properly to actually invite you along." Jaxon remarked with a smile.

I chuckled while Penny glared at him. "Whose party is this anyway?" I asked.

"No clue. But a friend of ours or classmate if you want to call it, threw this party as a welcome back to our friend Michael." He said, nodding towards a big group of boys goofing around and some drinking as if it were their last day on earth. I stared curiously at them. I haven't seen any of those people before. I guess it was because I haven't lived around.

"Which one's your friend?" I questioned curiously, staring at the boys.

"That one right over there," Mavis pointed. I squinted my eyes and it landed on a shirtless guy wearing swim shorts. I was looking at his side view, but I swear this guy looked so familiar. Really familiar.

"Michael, you said?" It couldn't actually be my Michael.

"Yeah. We'll introduce him to you later on but for now lets go swim! You can just put your bag there, Daisy." Penny said excitedly.

"Cool." I shrugged and dropped my beach bag next to what looked like Penny's and Mavis'. The air suddenly got really cold, humid, but I didn't expect anything less since I knew that coastal areas or lake areas here could never stay warm for long.

"It's cold." I shivered, rubbing my hands together to create some sort of frictional heat.

"Yeah, but no worries the water is really good." Mavis assured.

I nodded. "You guys go, I'm going to put some sun lotion on so long." Despite being cold the sun was still shining brightly, and I didn't want sun burn.

Jaxon and Grayson didn't seem to mind, instead they rushed towards the sea while pushing each other as if their lives depended on it. I giggled suddenly but stopped immediately when Penny and Mavis shared a look. Did I sound like a fish? I looked away, blushing.

"What's wrong?" I muttered, shoveling through my bag.

"Oh nothing. . . we just think that your laugh is really adorable!" Mavis gushed in her slight accent.

"Yeah! Oh my god, you're like this cute little lamb. No wonder Jason likes you!" Penny nudged me and I scowled, shoving her away in shyness.

"Lambs are not cute." I deadpanned.

"They could be."

"Whatever." I muttered, then suddenly I realized something. It wasn't Penny or Mavis who said that.

I spun around to see the guy that Mavis had pointed to a few minutes ago. My eyes widened and I stared at him in shock, not believing my eyes.

"Michael?" I asked, disbelieving my own eyes.

He stood their smiling widely at the three of us, but the moment his eyes laid of my face it vanished.

"Daisy?"

I was hit with so many memories that I wanted to forget. When I was younger I was abandoned by my parents at only the age of twelve. They've sent me to an orphanage so blatantly without even saying goodbye. The devastation was absolutely painful and at the time I was only twelve years old, yet I managed to know exactly what would be happening from then onwards

I inhaled sharply and held my breath not knowing what to say. It was safe to say I did not think I would run into him again.

Michael McKenway- also known as my long-lost brother.

"What are you doing here?" I asked quietly. I felt a big weight being lifted off of my shoulders knowing that he was okay. But that didn't mean that I was happy to see him. I was more shocked than anything else.

Seeing your brother was supposed to make to feel at home, feel safe and familiar. But all I felt was nothing, an

Michael kept staring at me, a really shocked look on his face. I couldn't blame him, because he had last seen me when I was just a little girl, having barely hit puberty. After a short moment of silence, he finally answered.

"Uh. . . I go to college with these guys. I live on campus."

"Wow, since when?"

"I'm in my second last year so. . ." He trailed off, awkwardly scratchy the back of his neck.

"That's good for you." I mumbled quietly, shifting on my feet awkwardly. It was completely saddening that my brother was a stranger.

"You guys know each other?" Penny asked loudly.

"Yeah, he's a... A friend." I replied.

"Well, that's odd how could you guys possibly be friends? I've known Michael for a long time and he never mentioned you." Mavis frowned.

Of course, he didn't.

"It was a long time ago." I said in excuse. I was erased from him completely and so was he to me, but that didn't mean I forgot about him. You don't forget about family that quickly.

"This is great. This is awesome. At least we don't have to do the whole intro thing, right?"

"Nope."

"Okayy. . . Let's go for a swim, shall we?" Penny asked excitedly.

"Hmm." I hummed in response. It was going to be one long day.

I walked towards the shore besides Penny and Mavis but stopped right before the wave hit my feet. The water felt really good- for some reason it wasn't cold but slightly low. It was a pretty light blue color and the salt caused white bubbles to surface every time the wave hit the shore and pulled back. Minus the rowdy people, music and loud conversations it was quite soothing. I sighed- a sigh of comfort and inhaled the salty air.

"C'mon, Daisy. Get in the water." I glanced over at Jaxon and smiled slightly. A lot of people were in the water - swimming, playing, and laughing. It was a nice atmosphere.

"Daaaisy. . . Are you okay?"

"What?" I asked, suddenly realizing that Jaxon was talking to me. Oops.

"Are you okay?" He rose a brow.

"Me? Yeah, why not?"

"You seem lost."

"Nope, I just love the water."

He chuckled. "You're barely in it. Let's go a bit deeper."

"You're right."

He outstretched his hand and I placed mine in it. I couldn't help but notice how Mavis was eyeing our hands. I mentally laughed. They were so in love, but too stubborn to admit it.

We walked a little deeper into the water until it reached my middle stomach. I shivered in anticipation.

"You seem to know Michael. Why?" Jaxon asked.

I weaved my hands through the cool water as a distraction. I didn't like talking about this topic.

"Yeah, he's an old friend. Or better yet, he's someone who I knew. Once upon a time."

"How did you guys meet?"

A coffees shop? No that sounds romantic and in this case gross.

The groceries store? Nah, it was not often people met at a grocery store and suddenly knew each other and became friends. Weird, right?

Maybe at Street Fever for sports gear? No, Daisy, no! You don't even go to the gym.

It was as if God sent me an early Christmas gift because suddenly the rest of the crew came swimming along and Grayson actually jumped on Jaxon and dunked his head underwater. Thank God, I would have probably fed Jaxon some stupid lie and said that we met at a baptize or something. I couldn't lie very well in the heat of the moment.

"Let's play a game?" Mavis suggested.

"Yeah, that would be awesome." Penny squealed, splashing water suddenly. I laughed at her behavior.

"What do you suggest?"

I contemplated. I hated water games because I always lost, and it wasn't a nice feeling to lose all the time.

"Hey!" Jaxon scolded and shoved Grayson away. "Daisy and I were speaking if you don't mind-"

"Actually, a game would be awesome!" I laughed trying to avoid the topic.

"Maybe 'Tag you're it' since we don't have a ball or something."

"Perfect." We nodded in unison.

"I'll ask some people to join while you guys decide who will be the 'it'." Jaxon said.

It sounded fun even though I couldn't run to save myself. It should be fun though, right?

Ten minutes later almost quarter of the whole population agreed to playing with. All together we amounted about twenty-five people. Surprisingly, I spotted Jason in the mix, being himself and glaring at anything in his way. I couldn't help but laugh at his moody expression as he glared at a random person. He always seemed angry at the world, and I wondered why.

"Okay," Jaxon began. "This is a simple game of 'tag you're it' but instead of having one person be it, we'll have-"

"Woah, woah, woah, how can we play that with so many people? We should do something else. A kissing orgy maybe." A blonde girl - wearing too little material on her body - suggested.

I scrunched my nose up in disgust. The idea of that was completely unsettling.

"Yeah, we're not fucking five years old. Maybe a game of truth or dare?" A dark-haired boy said.

I frowned. I hated truth or dare, because if you chose truth people called you a wussy - even though the games rule was clearly truth or dare - and if you chose dare you landed yourself in something gross or sexual. This was how I interpreted it from watching the uncultured hooligans back home engage in such games.

"Yeah, truth or dare." Someone else added.

Well, I guess truth or dare it was. I might have to sit this one out.

"Fine." Jaxon said while sulking.

"Alright, let's gather in a circle."

Everyone sat down on the sand and gathered in a circle. I tried to make myself unnoticed and wonder away but just to my misery I felt a hand yank me down.

"I don't want to play." I told a grinning Jaxon.

"Oh, trust me you have to. And look who's here, your roommate is staring at you." He whispered the last part.

I glanced at Jason confused to see his intense eyes glaring at me. I faltered a bit and quickly looked away. His stare was unnerving. Although I still wondered why he looked so. . . angry. Was I not supposed to play? I didn't know why but all I knew was that I was in for one of his stupid scoldings when we were alone again. And I did not look forward to that.

"We'll start with me." The same dark-haired boy from before said with a grin. He was sitting right next to Jason.

"Okay, I choose Eden. Truth or dare, babe?" He asked a tanned girl with pink streaks in her blonde hair.

"Hmm...Truth." She picked.

"How many lays have you had so far?"

I scrunched up my nose.

"Me.... I think Ive about twelve so far since high school. Only one person was done twice. For the rest, all different guys." She smirked.

I internally shuddered. I didnt want to judge her, but I also could never imagine myself doing the same. I had a more romantic view on sexual relationships. I didnt believe in sex after marriage, but I also would only ever let someone I trusted and loved to lay a hand on me. I was a bit more. . . guarded than most. Sadly, I havent trusted anyone for five years now. It was my minds defense mechanism over my feelings for all the abandonment of before. I never wanted to feel disappointed ever again over someone leaving me behind when I trusted them with everything.

"That's not much."

"Whatever, it's my turn." Eden said. "I choose. . ."

It went like this for about twenty more minutes, everyone doing disgusting dares, when suddenly some Blondie chose me. My eyes widened in fear. Shit. I thought I was invisible.

"Truth or dare, girlie?"

Truth. "Dare." I blurted on instinct.

The girl smirked suddenly. "I dare you to choose a random guy to take with you behind that tree and kiss him. Get all handsy and kiss with tongue. Ten minutes max." She said.

What?

"Actually, I'm not playing." I lied.

"You chose dare, don't be a pussy and back out now." She warned.

I rubbed my hands together nervously and scanned the area. It should've been about four pm. Maybe I could have pretended that I was sick and left. However, how believable would that be? Every guy was a stranger so spare my fear of being alone with them. If I backed out now though they might possibly laugh at me, making me everyones center of attention. I was already embarrassed just by her dare, and I could imagine my cheeks to be so red.

I did the one thing I could think of in the next second- I stood up and chose someone.

After scanning about thirteen guys my eyes landed on the most decent looking one. Wait! I know him! His name was Finn and I had bumped into him the other night. God, this was embarrassing. However, he looked the least intimidating and instead of smirking sexually at me like everyone else - minus Jason, Jaxon and Grayson - he was playfully smiling at me instead.

With one final glance at my friends worried expressions I slowly walked towards him ignoring everyone's expectant stare. I met Jason's eye for a moments but quickly looked away. Out of every guy besides my friends, I trusted Jason the most, but his name hasnt even crossed my head. As if he would actually be interested in kissing me. His attitude was enough to send me in the other direction.

I was halfway to Finn's smiling face when suddenly someone yanked my arm roughly and pulled me to their side. I gasped and glanced at Jason.

Jason?

"What are you doing?" I hissed quietly. I mean, this was embarrassing enough.

"Did you really think I would let you kiss some random fucking guy?" He growled in my ear. I shivered feeling tingles run down my spine. He was far too possessive for someone I barely knew. I wanted to smack him upside the head.

"So what? Why do you care?"

Before he could answer, the same blonde girl spoke.

"Are you guys going to stand here like damn ducks or actually have sex behind a tree?"

I internally cringed. Stupid Neanderthal. Why couldn't she go and have tree sex?

"Shut the fuck up, Sam." Jason glared at her, still keeping me tightly against him.

"Whatever, just go." She rolled her eyes.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying this, snickering with each other. I breathed nervously and glanced at everyone on the beach. Some were drinking crazily and others kissing like mad while the majority swam. I then looked to my friends. Penny and Grayson's eyes were wide like saucers. Mavis was smirking and Jaxon had his eyes narrowed.

And Michael- my beloved brother was glaring at us. Ha, he couldnt act all brotherly all of a sudden. He lost that chance years ago.

"Come on," Jason said snapping me from my thoughts. He placed a hand on my waist and guided me away from everyone. I looked at him shocked, surprised he was doing this. I also felt immense relief that he wasn't some stranger. I didn't exactly know him but I kind of did know him. He was my roommate after all.

We ended up behind the giant, branchy tree and some bushes. My eyes were wide as we came to a stop, my heart racing. He wouldnt actually kiss me, right?

"I told you not to speak or look at random guys, and what did you do?" He asked, facing me with a death stare. I faltered but felt a surge of anger suddenly. He had no right to tell me what to do.

"Okay, dad." I said sarcastically. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I've disobeyed you." I rolled my eyes, feeling annoyed.

"Don't get all fucking sarcastic, Daisy. Remember who you're messing with." Jason warned still glaring with me.

"I thought we've established that we're not enemies, so don't keep using that stupid line on me." I huffed impatiently. It seemed as if the further he annoyed and spoke to me the more I grew less uncomfortable around him.

"But we're not friends either, babe." He suddenly raised his hand and softly placed it on the hollow of my neck. I inhaled deeply, my breathing suddenly uncontrolled and irregular. Jason kept stroking the pulse on my neck, ever so gently and lightly causing me to shiver in what I thought was delight. I was really sensitive by the neck, any slight movement there would either have me shivering or laughing because I was ticklish too. I placed my hand on Jason's, trying to pull it away but failed.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly. "And if we're not friends that what are we?"

"Two minutes had passed. There's still eight remaining." Jason muttered, still feeling my neck. His hand slowly trailed up to my jawline where he simply rested it there.

"So what?" I asked confused.

"It means that we have eight minutes left."

I shot him a suspicious look.

"And to answer your question, we're not friends. We're roommates."

Immediately after his words, his lips came down onto mine taking me by complete surprise.