Closing the front door behind me, I rubbed my hands together in an attempt to warm them up. I dropped my bag on the floor, feeling relieved that I no longer had weight on my shoulders. Smiling, I ran into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

Holiday break!

It feels like just yesterday the first day of my last year of high school started... Wait. Who am I kidding? Those were the longest months of my life! I can finally get some well deserved rest...and finish up the college applications that I've kind of been putting off.

What? Sue me, I'm lazy.

I turned on the tv and channel surfed for a little bit, looking for the perfect thing to waste my time on. I got to some random channel and saw that Law and Order: Svu was on, and I put the remote down on the floor. Snuggling into a pillow, I got comfortable and focused on the show.

A few minutes in, somebody rang the doorbell and knocked three times. I laid there for a few moments, groaning. Then I got up, threw the pillow back on the couch, and stalked to the front door.

I flung the door open, an impatient look on my face. And then I saw it was Aiden. The impatient look quickly turned into a smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't just drop by and spend time with my girlfriend?" he asked innocently.

I smiled even wider. "Of course you can." I stepped out of the way to let him in and closed the door behind him.

"Want anything to eat?"

"Got any Doritos?" he called, already on his way to the living room.

I walked to the kitchen. "You should know that I can't live in a house that doesn't have Doritos!" I called back.

I grabbed a bag of my favorite flavor and went back into the living room, sitting down next to Aiden. He put one arm around me and pulled me in close, while he used the other hand to take the bag of chips.

"Ooh, the purple one. I love this flavor!"

I chuckled. "Do you actually know the names of any of the flavors?"

He shook his head. "Kind of like how you don't know the names of any of the Gatorade flavors." He gave me a knowing smirk.

I put my hand over my heart in mock hurt. "Ouch."

"You know I'm right." Aiden opened the bag of chips swiftly with his one free hand. I looked at him in awe. Seeing the way I looked at him, he smiled and shrugged.

"What? I have practice."

"I'm sure you do, tubby," I rubbed his stomach. Well, I don't really think you could consider it a stomach. More like a washboard.

He stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth. "Hey, I'ff gotta eath," he said as he chewed.

I wrinkled my nose. "That's disgusting dude." Then I proceeded to dig my hand in the bag, pull out a handful, and do the same exact thing.

-

I blinked my eyes open, taking in my surroundings. I was still in the living room, the tv softly playing. Yawning, I put my arms in the air and stretched out my body. I felt my hand hit something hard and was startled, looking up to see what I hit.

Oh yeah. Aiden's here.

He quickly opened his eyes and started rubbing his jaw. "What the..."

Looking down, he saw that I was laying down on his lap and he smiled.

"Oh, hey babe."

"Hey yourself," I said with a smile on my face. "Sorry about that." I pointed at his jaw.

He waved me off. "It's okay, it didn't even hurt."

I chuckled and sat up, kissing him on the cheek. As I pulled away, Aiden turned his head and pulled me back in, kissing me tenderly on the lips. When he let go, I sighed in content and snuggled into him.

I think I could honestly spend my entire break like this. We're not even doing anything, but I'm completely content being in his arms and in his presence. Plus, I wouldn't mind getting to spend more time with Aiden's sister and her beyond adorable son.

After sitting in a comfortable silence for a while, Aiden nudged me.

"Hmm?" I inquired, looking up at him.

"Hey, what do you say we go out and do something fun tonight?" he suggested with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He smiled widely and looked down at me expectantly.

I thought about it, then nodded. "Sure, what did you have in mind?"

He was so excited that he clapped once. "Great! I know about this kickass party happening tonight."

I raised my eyebrows. I wonder why Aiden wants to go to a party so badly tonight? Ever since I've known him, the only two parties he's been to were my surprise birthday party and the party I dragged him to. Understandably, he's not too big on parties.

"You down for it?"

"Yeah, let's go!" I jumped up and ran upstairs to get ready.

-

I walked out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my body and walked towards the closet to see what I was going to wear.

As I was laying out my final choices on my bed, the door flung open.

"Baby, what's taking so lo-"

I swung around to see Aiden standing at the doorway, and I felt my ears get hot. Aiden took in a loud, sharp breath, never taking his eyes off of me. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but the shock left me silent so I just stared back at him. The air between us felt like it was electrically charged, and the way he was looking at me sent tingles throughout my body.

"I, uh..." Aiden rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

I cleared my throat shakily. "You want to help pick my outfit?"

Well? What else does one say in this kind of situation? This has never really happened to me before.

His eyes widened, and he didn't say anything for a moment. "S-sure." He walked over to my bed, making sure to leave some distance between us. There was an awkward silence.

"Uhh, so it's between these two outfits." I pointed out the outfits, one a sparkling white top with black jeans, and the other was a peach crop top with black leather leggings.

He stared at the outfits for a while, not saying anything. Finally, he said "I like the crop top," without looking at me.

"Thanks."

I didn't make any movements to get dressed or to kick Aiden out of my room. I just stood there looking at him, willing him to meet my gaze. Instead, he started to walk out of my room. I looked down, a little disappointed. I don't know exactly what I expected.

He got to the door before he stopped and turned around. Next thing I knew, his arms were around my waist and he was kissing me deeply. I kissed him back hungrily, wrapping my arms around his neck. Aiden broke the kiss and planted soft kisses along my jawline, down my neck, and on my collarbone. One of his hands slid down and cupped my butt gently. I involuntarily let out a soft moan, his touch sending a plethora of sensations coursing through my body. He let out a groan and pulled himself away from me.

He took in a long, deep breath, his eyes dark with desire. Seeing him like that just heightened everything that my body was feeling, and I ached to have his hands and lips on me again. "Get ready babe," he said. "I'll be downstairs waiting." He walked out briskly and closed the door behind him.

I stood in place for a bit, trembling from all the sensations still swirling around. My mind was spinning, trying to comprehend everything that just happened. After a while, I reluctantly dropped my towel and started to get dressed.

-

I walked downstairs after changing slowly, not really wanting to face Aiden after what just happened in my room. How does one act after going through something like that?

When I walked into the living room, Aiden quickly glanced at me and looks down at the floor.

"Great, you're ready. Let's go." He picked his keys up and walked out of the house.

Oh, so you act like nothing happened apparently, I noted to myself. If the rest of the night goes like this, it'll be one awkward party.

I grabbed my jacket, followed him out of the door and locked it behind me. Sighing, I walked to his car and sat in the passenger seat. I put on my seat belt as he started the engine and backed out of the driveway, all in silence.

Aiden made sure that he kept his eyes on the road every moment, never glancing at me. His side profile didn't offer any hints at his emotion, but I continued to stare at him in hopes of figuring out what was going on in that beautiful head of his.

A good way into our trip, I finally broke down. "Are we just going to ignore what happened in my room earlier?" I demanded.

I watched as his hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "What is there to talk about?" he choked out.

"Well, for one, I would love to know why you stopped."

He glanced at me, a surprised look on his face. Then he cleared his throat. "I don't you're ready to do anything like that."

"How do you know what I'm ready for?" I crossed my arms.

Aiden rolled his eyes with a smirk on his face. "Well then I'm not ready, okay?"

My arms still crossed, I slumped back into the seat. "Hmph."

We pulled up to the block of the party, and cars packed the street. Aiden turned around and found a parking spot on another block. We then walked to the party, the music getting louder and louder as we approached.

When we walked inside,  it felt like the music punched me in the face. The bass was so deep that it felt like it was my own heartbeat. I could see that the house had central air, but the house was so packed with bodies that it was still very hot and sweaty. We found a spot where we could stand comfortably, and I sighed in relief.

"I'm going to go get a drink, you want anything?"

I shook my head. "No thanks." I've never been too fond of drinking.

He nodded. "I'll be right back, okay? Stay right here."

I gave him a thumbs up as he found his way to the drinks. I slightly moved my body to the infectious beat as I took in the scene around me. Even though it was cold as ever outside, people were still in shorts and crop tops. Most of the guys were even shirtless.

Can't say I blame them, I thought as I played with the fabric of my crop top. I found myself wishing I left my jacket in the car. The air condition had nothing on the amount of body heat in here.

I felt my phone buzzing, and I fished it out of my pocket. I frowned at the name on the screen.

Dad?

Something compelled me to answer the phone, so I quickly ran outside and pressed answer.

"Look, I'm not going to keep arguing with you about this," I heard my dad say. His voice sounded a little far away. Did he butt dial me?

"I'm not going to fight for custody and that's final!" he was using the angry voice he employed when he didn't want to yell.

My jaw dropped in shock. Who the hell is he talking to?

There was a pause, the person he was talking to was obviously responding.

"You want me to take them from the only home they've ever known to bring them here with a person they've never met?"

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. He has to be talking to the coworker he was cheating on mom with! They live together now?

"I think it's best that they stay with their mother, and that's the last thing I'm going to say-"

I hung up the phone, my hand trembling. I felt tears burning the back of my eyes, but I pushed them back.

My dad doesn't want me?

Saying that to myself quickly changed my sadness into anger. I bet he couldn't wait to leave us and get on with his own life. He didn't even have a good reason! If he really didn't want to turn our lives upside down he never would've cheated on mom and broke her heart. He tore our family apart, and now he doesn't even want his children? Screw him.

Suddenly remembering that Aiden must be looking for me, I made my way back to the house. As I walked through the front door, I crashed into him, sending some of the liquid inside of his cup sloshing out.

"My bad," I mumbled.

"It's cool babe. Where'd you go?"

"Oh my mom just called asking where I was," I lied.

"Cool. You ready to have a great night?" he asked, excited.

I thought back to the conversation I just overheard, and I felt the tears threatening to come back. On an impulse,  I grabbed Aiden's drink and downed it in one shot. I shuddered as the alcohol made a burning path down my throat and into my stomach. This is exactly why I hate drinking.

"I thought you didn't drink?" he asked, puzzled.

I shrugged. "I do now. Let's go get white girl wasted!" I yelled in the best excited voice I could muster.

He smirked, raising an eyebrow in question. "Whatever you say babe."

We made our way back to the drinks, and I picked up two beers and tossed one to him. I opened the can and chugged the amber liquid until  there was none left, and then reached for another one.

I felt a hand on my wrist, and I turned to see Aiden looking at me like I had two heads.

"I think you should slow down babe," he said, concerned laced in his voice.

I waved him off. "Thanks dad, but I think I can handle my liquor."

He sighed and put his hands on my shoulders. "I'm just looking out for you sweetheart, I don't want you to get hurt." The sincerity in his voice and his eyes sent a shiver through my body, but I quickly shook it off.

Giving him a smile, I took one of his hands and started leading him out of the kitchen. "Let's go dance!"

-

I spent the next hour or so throwing back beers like it was water and grinding on Aiden. After a few beers, I started to feel light and bubbly, and all my troubles were washed away. I felt great! I don't know why I was so against drinking.

At one point, while I was dancing I saw a table and got the sudden urge to get on it. Breaking away from Aiden, I ran to the table and jumped on top of it, stumbling a little.

When I got a steady position again, I put my arms in the air and let out a yell. Everyone in the room turned their attention to me, a lot of them letting out a yell of their own in response. I started to dance, moving my hips to the beat. I got cheers from the guys and even some of the girls in the room, and it motivated me to throw myself into the music even more.

All of the attention I was getting paired with how hard I was dancing made the temperature seemingly rise 20 degrees. Placing my hands on the end of my top, I started to pull it over my head. Next thing I knew, I was being thrown over someone's shoulder. Shocked, I hit the person's back.

"Hey, let me down!" I yelled.

"Hell no." Aiden growled. Ooh, he's mad.

I giggled and slapped his butt. Damn this boy had a nice butt. Probably all that tackling football players do. Does tackling people give you a nice butt? I might have to start tackling people.

Aiden put me down on the lawn, and I stumbled and fell on the grass. I giggled again. Why can't I stop giggling?

Aiden was pacing in front of me. "I told you to take it slow babe, but you're just so damn stubborn." he paused and took a good look at me. "I can't take you home like this."

I got up and threw my arms around him. "Then let's go back to your place and finish what we started back in my room," I said seductively. I kissed his jaw softly.

He put his arms on my waist firmly and pushed me away lightly. "You're not in the right state of mind. Let's revisit the topic another time."

I frowned. "Why don't you want me? Why does no one want me?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and gently cupped my cheeks. "What do you mean sweetheart? I love you, you know that."

I pulled away from him. "That's what everyone says, and then they just leave me! Why would they tell me they love me when they don't really want me?" I let my hands drop to my side.

Aiden reached out and wiped away the tears I didn't know spilled. He pulled me into a tight hug, and I relaxed, wrapping my arms around him.

"I don't know who's crazy enough to leave such an amazing girl, but I want you to know that I love you. I'm not going anywhere Tracey, you can't get rid of me," he cooed sweetly in my ear.

I looked up at him, and he was giving me a warm smile. His eyes were soft and full of worry. The way he looked at me warmed my heart. Damn, I really love this boy, and I can tell that he really loves me.

I buried my head in his shoulder and started crying again. This time I wasn't crying because I was sad, but because I knew that no matter what happened, I had people in my life that would be there for me.

____________________

Woo! A LOT happened in this chapter.

What did you guys think?

Before you rip my head off, let me just tell you that I've been beyond busy since school started. I'm taking three AP classes, starting college applications, all on top of going to practice 6 days a week. The only reason I'm uploading right now is because I've put off doing homework for a few hours. No worries though, I enjoyed writing this chapter :)

So leave comments, vote, share, do everything you can!

Until next time!

- Thea :)

*Song for this chapter is Feeling Myself by Nicki Minaj featuring Beyonce. Tracey lets loose this chapter! & I bet she was feeling herself when she got on that table ;)