Alex knew he was in trouble as soon as he ran into Via.

Olivia Prince was the kind of girl that blended into the crowd so well that you wouldn't even know she was there. The only thing that was stopping her from disappearing completely is the fact that she had managed to become the teacher's pet in all of her classes and she looked kinda cute in Alex's opinion. Other than that, she was super ordinary. He didn't give Via a whole lot of attention until their teacher assigned him into her group for a project. He figured he would be nice and try to seem more like her to make working together easier. Instead, as soon as he opened his mouth and started talking to her in his best I'm-gonna-handle-you-with-kid-gloves voice, she looked like she wanted to punch him.

Alex and the rest of the basketball team were walking through the school parking lot after basketball practice. Jason, their captain, said he was staying behind to practice longer and would meet them at the party later. If Alex had given half as much dedication to basketball as Jason did, he would've been the captain by now. But he didn't and so he was stuck being a good player and nothing more.

Alex was joking around and laughing as they walked when Via appeared out of nowhere. She was so close that he barely had time to stop himself and ended up leaning forward as he tried to stop his momentum. He would've toppled on top of her if she didn't slide to side as fast as a cat.

Alex straightened himself up and tried to look as cool as possible like there was nothing embarrassing about a star basketball player nearly falling when the un-athletic girl had more balance and speed. He could still hear some of the guys snicker as his neck heated up and turned red. He tore his eyes away from the ground and was met by Via glaring at him as she blew her long brown hair out of her hazel eyes.

"So you're not only ignorant but blind," Via observed. The other guys were completely silent as they watched the exchange with keen interest.

"It takes two blind people to run into each other," he snapped back. Via's annoyed look grew and he felt himself go into panic mode. She could easily outwit him and that would've increased his embarrassment even if the other guys couldn't do any better. But Via seemed to have noticed his change in expression because her thin lips slowly turned into a small smile.

He thought that they were safe when Josh, who was always a drama queen for unexplainable reasons, jumped in.

"Don't you have something better to do like sitting in the library all day? Or do you just spend your Thursday nights trying to run into guys like us?" Josh sneered. Behind us, the guys snickered. Via, however, turned her smile into a sweet one, the kind that could convince a grandpa to give a hundred bucks, and Alex knew Josh was toast.

Via, still with a sweet smile and swaying her hips a little, said, "Don't you have something better to do like failing at trying to become the team captain? Or do you just spend your Thursday nights sending drunk calls to girls like me?"

Josh looked like a deer in headlights. All the other guys looked shocked at first but then some of them looked annoyed at Via for insulting one of their own. Others started smirking, although Alex wasn't sure if it was because Josh actually thought he could be the captain or because he sent a drunk call to Via. He didn't know which one was worse.

Josh was struggling to find his words, "How did... I would never... I never... I..."

"You...?" Via asked, teasingly with a smile. As Alex looked at Via he was overwhelmed with fear and admiration.

Josh was finally able to form a complete sentence.

"I never sent you a drunk call," he said with a very doubtful, confused look in his eyes.

"Is that what you want to focus on? Fine. We'll focus on that. You very much did send me a drunk voicemail," Via started looking through her phone. "In fact, I have it somewhere in here..."

"No!" he bursted.

"No?" Via asked back. Josh immediately straightened himself, realizing just how panicked he sounded.

"We have better things to do than stand here all day," he said coolly.

"That's what I was saying before," Via smiled.

Josh gave her one last angry look before marching off. Alex stayed in place, the other guys waiting for him.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later," he said and they shuffled behind Josh, still throwing Via a variety of looks. One even high-fived her as he walked by. She accepted it, now beaming.

"You know," he started, "I'm usually the soberest one at those parties and I can't seem to remember Josh sending you any drunk calls or messages."

"Well, he can't remember not sending me a drunk call," Via said. Alex couldn't help but smile.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Alex asked.

"Brooke couldn't start her car and she called me," Via said, waving her car keys.

"What's Brooke doing so late? There wasn't any track practice today."

Via shrugged, "I have no idea. She's in like five thousand different clubs."

"Aren't you?"

She let out a laugh and said, "I'm only in two thousand."

Alex was also starting to smile. "I finished my part of the project."

"I noticed," Via replied, nodding. "It was pretty good but I still tweaked a couple of parts."

"Of course you did," Alex mumbled jokingly. "Maybe Josh was right. You do spend all day in the library."

Via punched his arm lightly and said, "What happened to your captain? Did he not come to the practice?"

"Who, Jason? No way! He's still practicing by himself inside. Said he would come to the party later," Alex replied.

"Party, huh?"

Alex sheepishly scratched his neck and said, "Yeah."

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I gotta go find Brooke, wherever the hell she is," she said as she backed up towards the school.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Alex said.

"You better make sure you aren't hungover during the presentation," Via commanded.

"I won't. I've gotta make sure Josh doesn't send you any drunk texts," Alex called back and winked. He didn't wait to see her expression, but he knew Via was smiling.

As he walked to his car he saw a silver Honda zoom past him. Wasn't that Jason's car? Jason could afford much better than a Honda but he never seemed to want to advertise who his parents even though the entire school knew. But that wasn't what made Alex stop in his tracks. Jason was supposed to still be inside and practicing for another hour. What was he doing in the parking lot? Did he lie to them?

Then Alex shook his head shrugged. It could've been someone else's car. Many people owned Hondas. Besides, even if it was Jason, it didn't matter. Whatever Jason did was his business, not Alex's. He continued to walk through the parking lot, thinking of the wild night ahead of him.

"Done!!!" Alex shouted as he slammed the last shot glass back on the table. There were cheers all around the dining room filled with drunk teenagers. Josh was still on the third to last glass, looking very, very drunk. Alex, however, barely felt anything. He seemed to have a high alcohol tolerance, though he wasn't sure why.

They were in Liam Underwood's penthouse for his 18th birthday party. His parents seemed to let him do whatever he wanted to make up for the fact that they were never home. Of course, they didn't like his partying habits since that could reflect poorly on them, but they were never around to know or reinforce it. Of course, they were also absent during his 18th birthday and, as much as he claims it's because he was a party guy, he invited pretty much the entire grade to a party to fill their absence. So they were all at his house and were partying, although they seemed to be enjoying it better than Liam who was running around, trying to make sure people didn't puke in the middle of the carpet or chuck bottles at the expensive paintings.

Josh finished up his shots and shakily straightened himself back up. He was about to say something, but before he could, the door flew open.

As if by an invisible force, everyone in the house went silent in an instant. Even the DJ reduced the volume in the living room allowing for some faint background noise as everyone was staring at who stepped into the door. Even though it was Liam's birthday, he was still the man of the hour. He was always the man of the hour. In the doorway was Jason Kane.

Jason stood there with his light brown eyes and neat blond hair. He was as tall as a freaking skyscraper and the strong athletic build did not help with his big appearance. But he still didn't look scary. Alex wasn't sure if it was the way he parties or acts or if it was just because Alex knew him for so long, but he still looked like a small teenager.

Jason stepped into the penthouse, closing the French doors behind him. He looked calm since he was used to the attention. Jason looked around as everyone stared at him. Not in a mean way. Not like they were judging him. Like they were looking up to him. They would do anything he said, no questions asked. Finally, a familiar devilish smile spread across his face.

"Where's the party? Come on. Turn up the music."

The entire house cheered. The party finally actually started. Liam is gonna be a lot busier.

The DJ turned the music up so loud that they could feel the marble flooring starting to shake. Everyone was dancing, jumping up and down to the beat, occasionally spraying champagne. Alcohol and cigarette smoke filled the air, but no one cared. They were all living in the moment, of course, they would still be facing the consequences, but they can deal with that in the morning. The only thing that mattered was right then and there, nothing else. Jason was in some corner, very much drunk, kissing some random girl that looked really pretty. Josh passed out on the floor and they moved him to the wall, sitting him upright so he didn't choke too much on his own puke. Alex kept dancing and doing more challenges, winning every time of course. He acted drunk, although he wasn't. For him, the acting was part of the fun. Eventually, they would all get tired and collapse or pass out while others snuck back home. But for now, it was time to party.

Alex stayed and enjoyed his night, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by not one person, but two. The shadow of a boy watched him for a moment before jumping onto the next roof, unaware of the second shadow behind him. She stood there and smirked to herself as her eyes raked the skyline. She pulled out a phone, the screen illuminating her face. She quickly snapped a picture of the receding shadow of the boy and one of Alex still partying in a nearby window. She sent them before texting: Potential Threats.

The girl paused for a moment before continuing to type: Elimination required.