*SEXUAL ASSAULT T/W*

"So is the blindfold entirely necessary?" Alexa laughed, really loving it.

"Absolutely," Carley declared, looking at her phone for direction.

They turned down a long driveway that had a few handfuls of cars in front of a rather large brick house. "Holy shit," Carley muttered.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she assured her. Nothing was wrong, but she wasn't expecting a house so big.

The car came to a halt and Carley walked around the car to help Alexis out and guide her towards the house.

Carley twisted the door knob and simultaneously removed the blindfold from Alexis' eyes. They were immediately greeted by Austin, Danny and Nate.

"Surprise!" Danny greeted, wrapping Alexis, whose jaw hung wide open, in a hug.

"Oh my God," she managed to choke out.

Once Danny released her hold, Austin wrapped her in an embrace. "Happy birthday, babe."

Carley took that chance to scan her surroundings. There were several unfamiliar people that filled the entryway of the house, most all of them with a solo cup in their hands.

There were a few couples that were cornered off chatting, or making out, as well as a couple of loners that were littered throughout, watching the group interact.

Much to her surprise, Tyler was nowhere to be seen. To say that she was disappointed would be a bit presumptuous, but she wouldn't deny that she enjoyed their conversation earlier.

"I can't believe you knew about this!" Alexis had to raise her voice to be heard over the music. "How?!"

"Tyler had a good idea, for once, to clue her in," Austin answered her question.

"Speaking of my shithead of a brother, where's he off too," Nate chimed in, rubbing the back of his neck. There was a crease between his brows that formed, as his eyes scaled the groups of people.

"Probably on the start of his next bender," Danny commented, shaking her head. She noticed Carley's confused expression, and changed the subject before she could press for clarification. "You want something to drink? Come on," she nodded her head towards the kitchen. She grabbed Carley's hand, dragging her along with her.

Carley obliged, but kept her curiosity in the back of her mind. The volume of the music lessened as they passed through the entrance to the kitchen, but they were met with a cloud of smoke with a scent that resembled that of a skunk.

"Punch?" Danny placed a cup in her hands and grabbed one for herself. She tapped her cup against Carley's with a grin.

Carley grinned and raised her cup to her lips. It had a bitter aftertaste, but Carley had enough manners not to comment on it. "This house is great," Carley complimented.

"You should see it when it's not filled with stoners and  groupies," Danny laughed. "Though, now that I think about it, it's almost always filled with stoners and groupies, thanks to Tyler and Nate."

Carley nodded, forcing back the rest of the drink in her cup. Before she could object, Danny reflexively replaced the cup with another. "So, what you said about Tyler—,"

"What about me?" Tyler's voice boomed from behind Carley, making her flinch. She turned to face him, backing up slightly to stand beside Danny. His hair wasn't it's usual uniformed mess, but flat to his head. His eyes flitted back and forth between them, almost as if he couldn't manage to focus on just one of them.

"Your brother was asking where you were," Danny commented flatly.

"If you really want to piss him off, tell him I was in your bed," he chuckled dryly. "You actually came." He focused his eyes on Carley. "Color me surprised."

"I figured it was the least I could do after your search and rescue mission for my shoe," she joked.

Tyler shrugged, tearing his gaze from her. "It wasn't a big deal."

Carley's eyebrows furrowed at his demeanor. It was a complete switch from how he seemed earlier that day. However, it was possible she'd read too much into it, influenced by Amber's image of him. "Yeah, you're right," she decided, speaking half to herself and half to his comment.

His eyes rested on hers, laced with a bit of confusion at her compliance. Nothing more seemed to piss him off. He stalked off, disappearing into a sea of people. "You'll have to forgive him," Danny pulled her out of her thoughts. "He's a little hit or miss. But anyway, I'm glad you came. You're pretty badass."

A shocked laugh fell from Carley's lips. "I read for fun, that's hardly badass."

"Yeah, and you still put that asshat in his place last night," she countered. "Badass."

Carley swirled her empty glass around. "Well, this badass is out of drink," she laughed, looking around for the punch bowl. She was definitely starting to relax a bit more.

A taller blonde she hadn't yet met, placed a cup in her hand. "Cup looks empty, let me fix that for you," he grinned.

"Ty, this is Carley," Danny introduced the pair. "Carley, this is Ty Davis."

Carley's eyes flicked down to the drink, curiously. Nothing like a stranger placing a cup in your hand. She wasn't entirely confrontational, but she wasn't stupid. "Nice to meet you," she greeted. The guy was attractive, without a doubt.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing slumming it with the likes of VOID?" He asked, raising his own cup to his lips, glancing down at hers.

She shrugged her shoulders, raising the cup to her lips, as though to take a sip. "They're pretty alright," she grinned, watching the way his green eyes lit up when he laughed. Oh, he was bound to be dangerous.

Not the kind of dangerous that you fear, like an avalanche, but the kind of dangerous that was tempting, even to Carley.

"Hey, Danny, come check this out!" Nate's voice came from around the corner, close to where the chorus of  'chug, chug, chug,' was coming from.

"Don't have too much fun while I'm gone," she chuckled, smirking. "I'll be back."

Ty watched out of the corner of his eye, for Danny to disappear. "So, what do you do, besides coming to house parties?" He leaned against the island in the kitchen, eyeing her curiously.

Carley shifted on her feet, feeling a little self conscious. "I-uh, well, this is the first real 'house party' I've been to," she admitted. "I'm actually a fitness trainer."

"No shit?" He seemed impressed. "That's cool as hell." A guy bumped into Carley and Ty shoved him over a few steps. "Watch your fucking step, bro," he spat. The guy put his hands up, continuing to walk by. "It's super crowded in here. You feel like stepping outside? I could go for a smoke."

Carley looked around, unsure, but nobody she recognized was in sight. "S-sure," she nodded. Her heart was thudding and her brain was screaming about what a terrible idea this was, but she opted to ignore it.

He grabbed her hand and lead her towards the front door. She met Tyler's gaze as she walked outside, but she couldn't read his expression—nothing new, there.

The front yard was free from any people, as far as Carley could see. He led her towards a barely lit patio area, where a couple of guys were sitting there, but when they saw them walk up, they were quick to leave. "What was that about?" Carley looked behind her, to where they'd disappeared.

"Who knows," Ty shrugged. He tucked a hand into his pocket and pulled out what Carley knew to be a joint. He placed the object between his lips and lit the end, taking a big hit. He offered it over to Carley, who shook her head no. "Come on, don't tell me you're a good girl or something," he scoffed.

"I don't smoke," she countered.

Ty's eyebrow peaked in interest. "Ooh, so you are a good girl," he grinned viciously, taking a step towards her. "I've never fucked a good girl before."

Carley's throat ran dry, but she wasn't about to let him see that she was intimidated. "Yeah, well you won't be starting tonight," she retorted.

Like a flash of lightening, he gripped her throat and shoved her against the wall, knocking the breath out of her. "Watch your fucking mouth," he growled into her ear. "Or I'll watch it for you." She tried to push him off of her, but the tighter he gripped her throat, the less she could struggle. "It'll only hurt when you wake up."

Pulling against his grip was useless, Carley knew that. Unfortunately for him, she was smarter than he thought. She brought her knee up with so much force into his groin, his grip loosened and he crumbled into the ground.

She was typically quick on her feet, but she was still dizzy from the restriction of air flow. She spit on his face, before racing back to the house. She swung the door open and nobody seemed to take a second look at her, as she ran through the corridor. She crashed right into someone's back, making her head spin even harder.

Tyler turned on his heels, prepared to curse at whoever couldn't watch where the were going, but his eyes softened only slightly, when his gaze met Carley's. "What—,"

He was cut off by Danny rounding the corner. "I was just looking for you," she grinned at Carley, but her face fell when she saw her expression. She reached for the hand that was covering her reddened neck. "What the fuck? Did Ty do that shit?" Carley's chest was still heaving, but she managed a nod. Tyler didn't speak, as he brushed past her and walked outside. "Holy shit," she breathed. "Are you okay?"

Carley nodded again. "I kneed him in his nuts," she breathed out, wincing at the stinging in her throat.

"See, badass," Danny grinned.

Tyler walked back in the house, looking more enraged than usual. "The prick left," he muttered. His eyes scanned Carley, frowning at the mark around her neck. "You never should've left with the fuckhead. What were you thinking?" Though his tone was hostile, his touch was gentle when lifted her chin, looking at what damage was done.

Carley pulled away from his grasp, frowning at his words. "I was thinking I'm a grown woman," she choked out, wincing again. She attempted to clear her throat to no avail.

Tyler fought off a laugh, glowering down at her. "Be more careful, okay?"

There go the mixed signals, again. She cut her eyes up at Tyler, before shifting her gaze to Danny to speak to her. "Will you let Lex know I'm going to head home?" Her throat felt like it was on fire.

Before Danny could open her mouth to respond, Tyler cut in. "You've been drinking," he scoffed. "Like hell you're driving home."

"Then I'll go sleep in my car," she countered, pulling her keys out of her back pocket.

"For fuck's sake," Tyler threw his head back. "Then I'm coming with you."

"No you're not," she objected, forcing her voice out. Tyler rolled his eyes, snatching the keys from her hand. Carley wanted to scream in protest, but that very clearly wasn't happening. Danny watched the amusing interaction between the two, with crossed arms.

Frustration boiled up in the form of flushed cheeks, as Carley followed behind Tyler, outside. She couldn't stop her eyes from trailing back to where she had her encounter with Ty, fully expecting him to reappear.

Tyler knowingly cut off her line of sight. "You okay?" He seemed genuine, just as he had when he brought her missing shoe to the gym. She nodded, dropping her eyes down to the ground. Admittedly, she should be a lot more shook up than she was. Regardless, Tyler didn't seem entirely convinced, but he wasn't going to push her.

Carley started for the driver's seat, but Tyler beat her to it, sneakily waving her keys in the air. Frustrated and tired, Carley didn't have it in her to argue. She rolled her eyes, trudging around to the other side of the car and got in.

They reached for the radio at the same time, bumping hands. Carley frowned, swatting his hand away. "Driver picks the music," Tyler insisted, pushing her hand.

"You're not driving," Carley countered, shoving his hand back.

A fain smile toyed at his lips. "Driver's seat." He gripped her hand, reaching for the radio with his free hand. "I win," he grinned cheekily.

"Asshole," she croaked, fighting off a smile of her own. She pulled her hand from his grip, making him frown.

"Oh, c'mon, I thought we were having a grand time," he teased, prodding her in her side.

She managed out a squeak when his finger met her ribs. "Ow," she whined, gripping her throat. "Why are you so different around your friends?"

Tyler pulled back, his eyebrows tightened into a firm line. "What do you mean?"

"No offense, but you're kind of a dick."

His lip curved into a smirk. "Just because you say no offense, doesn't mean there's no offense." Her shoulders rose and fell. "Because I don't want to like you." His words felt like a punch in the gut. "Unfortunately, I do."

Carley sat back in her seat, with a huff. "You sure know how to make a girl feel special," she muttered.

"Trust me, I'm the last person you want to get involved with," he mumbled under his breath.

"You don't know what I want," she countered, still fighting to find her voice. "Or who I want to get involved with, for that matter."

Tyler looked her direction, smirking at her frustration. "You should probably stop talking."

The way he managed to piss her off, make her laugh, then piss her off all over again was infuriating. "Stop trying to tell me what to do," she demanded. Her voice was a whisper though, so it wasn't as intimidating as she'd hoped.

He leaned over the center console, not even a foot away from her face, and smirked. "Make me," he muttered lowly.

She pushed his face away, gently, not being able to help but laugh. "I hate you."

"Good." His tone was genuine, as he sat back in his seat, focusing on something she couldn't see.

Carley frowned, watching him for a moment, until her eyes got heavy enough to send her off to sleep.