I walked with confidence for perhaps the first time in my life. I had always heard that after having sex, you felt a lot more confident. It was very true, as it turned out.

I walked past Gavin's locker before turning around and slamming it shut, making him jump at the movement. He turned to me, ready to yell at whoever did it before he realized it was me. He immediately began blushing and looking everywhere but me.

"Hey, Mi-cool. What's going on?" Gavin asked, finally making brief eye contact with me. I smirked, loving the affect I had on him now.

"Nothing. Are you busy tonight?" I asked, silently hinting at what I wanted to do.

"Well, as much as I'd love to do what you are so obviously implying, I can't. I was invited to a party tonight," Gavin told me, swinging his backpack over his shoulder.

I pretended to not be disappointed. But, inside, I was devastated. It wasn't even like I wanted to do anything sexual, I just liked being around Gavin now. The sex was just an added perk.

"You should come with. A lot of people are going, you'll probably blend in," Gavin said. I shook my head immediately, shivering as I remembered the incident in Aaron's pool.

"I think I'll pass," I told him, seeing his face fall slightly.

"Ok. I guess I can't really push you seeing as what happened last time," Gavin said. I nodded in agreement.

Once we were a few blocks from the school, Gavin reached over and grabbed my hand, swinging them forward and back. I forced myself not to pull away. Things like that still made me uneasy, and just the thought that Aaron and his crew could round the corner at any time and see us was yet another terrifying thought.

But, they wouldn't hurt me that bad if they knew Gavin was involved, right?

I quickly pushed the thought away. I wasn't going to use Gavin like that. He didn't deserve that.

God, I sound like his boyfriend.

When we reached our street, Gavin held my hand tighter, seemingly not wanting to let go. He acted as though he wanted to say something, but he didn't say it. Instead, he gave his home a once over before turning to me and immediately hugging me. It was so sudden that I didn't have enough time to prepare but I tried to enjoy it otherwise. Gavin clung tightly, breathing in deeply and exhaling just as deeply.

When he pulled away, his gaze traveled to my lips and my heart began doing somersaults as I realized his intentions. He leaned forward, locking his lips with mine. I tried to relax into it, but I simply couldn't. My mind was going a million miles per hour.

Gavin eventually pulled away and gave me a large smile before saying goodbye. He finally released my hand and walked to his house, throwing one last glance towards me.

Once he was inside, I turned and walked back down the street.

Gavin's POV

"Gavin, I think you've had enough," Ryan told me, taking the beer I had away.

"No way, Ryan! I'm completely sober," I argued, disproving myself by stumbling and leaning against a wall.

"Yeah. Ok. Wait here while I find the guys, ok? No wandering off. Stay right here," Ryan told me, talking to me like a child.

I rolled my eyes and waved him off, watching him take off in the direction that he thought the guys went in. Once he was gone, I ignored everything he told me and wandered around the dying party.

Most people had passed out in various places. A couple people were standing around and talking over the music, being noticeably drunk like me. I smiled for no particular reason.

"Gavin? I didn't know you came to this party," A feminine voice sounded behind me. I turned around, seeing Meg standing there, wearing very little and showing too much.

"Um, yeah. I was sort of dragged here," I said, trying my hardest to not appear drunk. It didn't work as Meg immediately noticed.

"Oh my god, you're drunk! Come on, let's get you home," Meg insisted, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the door.

"But, my friends. They'll be looking for m-," I started before being cut off.

"Well, I'm doing them a favor. Now they don't have to worry about you," She told me. I tried to protest again but her grip was iron tight.

We wandered through the darkness, Meg seemingly having an idea of where she was going. It was a good thing, seeing as I'd get lost immediately.

A couple times, I thought I saw glimpses of red. Or an extra shadow in the night. I brushed it off the times it happened, believing I was seeing things.

"Here we are. Your house. Why don't I walk you in," Meg offered. Before I could answer she dragged me inside.

She quickly figured out her way around, going up the stairs and eventually finding my room. I stumbled after her, trying to find the words to tell her to leave my home. I didn't invite her in. She invited herself in.

"Wow, so this is Gavin Free's bedroom. Never thought I'd be sitting here," Meg said.

I plopped on my bed, laying down and covering my eyes from the bright light overhead. Meg took this as an opportunity to sit on my bed opposite me. Still trying to find the words to tell her to leave, I laid there, contemplating where Michael was right now and if he would be my saving grace again.

"You know, Gavin. I've always had a crush on you. Everyone thinks you and I would be such a cute couple," Meg told me. I sat up to look at her. I stumbled over my words, trying to figure out how to let her down and get her out of my house.

"Maybe tonight can change things between us," Meg said. Suddenly, I felt a bitterly cold hand on my arm, pulling me to look at her.

"I'm not hearing a no either," Meg said, bringing her hand down to mine.

"Meg- I," I started before being silenced by her lips.

In my drunken state, I couldn't push her away. I grabbed her arms, immediately giving her the wrong idea. She pushed me down, sitting on top of me and kissing down my neck.

I wanted to tell her to stop. I wanted to tell her about my love for Michael. How I only wanted him doing this with me. But I couldn't. The words wouldn't come out or formulate in my mind. So all I could do was lay there and let things happen.

Like I did with my father.

Michael's POV

I saw them together. Holding hands and walking to his house. I watched them go into his house to do god knows what together.

Rage. That's all I felt. I knew I shouldn't have gotten close to anyone, especially not someone like Gavin. He'd leave me in a moments notice, like he did today.

Words couldn't explain how much I hated him. And Meg. I wanted to kill that bitch. She'd been chasing Gavin ever since he moved here. However, I never thought he'd buckle down and be with her.

My heart ached in a way it hadn't for a long time. Last time it hurt this much was when Brandon was killed. Who knew Gavin could hurt me like that.

Hands clutched into tight fists, I stormed away, abandoning Gavin's home in the dim flicker of the streetlights. My knuckles turned white as I marched onto a new street. I needed to punch something. Or someone.

I knew better than to look for trouble, but my mind screamed at me to do the opposite. I had to calm down. And the only way I could was if I let that anger out on someone.

My first choice would of course be Gavin. Or even Meg. But I wasn't about to interrupt their relations. Gritting my teeth, I stumbled to the park, knowing there'd be plenty of people there at this time looking for the same trouble I was looking for.

When I arrived, I scanned the darkness, tensing up in case someone tried to surprise me. Before long, I heard the patter of footsteps and I turned around in time to catch the arm of an older man. I pushed back, getting into a more powerful and sturdy stance as the man launched a fist at me.

Gavin's POV

I was disgusted with myself.

If I hadn't been so damn drunk I would've stopped her. I would've gotten her out and went to Michael for comfort. But because of my stupidity and my drunken stupor, I was forced into sex.

It wasn't as bad as I made it sound. I wouldn't be scarred like I was with my father. But just the thought that I had sex with a girl I had pushed away and had no interest in, it was revolting. That's what was truly disgusting.

She's going to think I like her.

I walked to my locker, seeing many eyes drawn towards me. When I returned the glances, they immediately looked away. Confused, I opened my locker, seeing a certain cheerleader skip towards me. Standing on her tiptoes, she planted a wet kiss on my cheek.

"Hey!" I said, immediately wiping the saliva off my cheek. Her eyes shined happily and she crowded even closer to me.

"Hey! How's my boyfriend doing?" Meg asked me, her eyes searching mine.

"Boyfriend? I'm not your boyfriend," I told her sternly. Meg rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, swinging it back and forth.

"I think Friday night says differently. You don't just do that stuff with anyone, you know," Meg said.

I slammed my locker shut and dragged her into another hall, one that was deserted of watchful eyes. I pushed her against the wall, watching her eyes turn dark with pleasure.

"Wow, I never expected this out of you, Gavin Free," Meg said. I gritted my teeth at the comment.

"Look, Meg. I was drunk Friday. You knew I was. I-Friday was a mistake," I told her.

"A great mistake if you ask me," Meg said, looping her arms around my neck and pulling me closer. I removed her hands and took a step back.

"Meg, you and I... we aren't anything. Okay? I don't like you in that way. In fact, I care about someone else... a lot. And I think he cares a lot about me," I told her. Instantly, her eyes became confused.

"He? You're gay?" Meg asked.

"Not gay. Bisexual maybe. I'm not really sure myself but I know I do have feelings for a boy," I told her.

As if on cue, red hair walked down an adjacent hallway. My eyes lit up, seeing the one person I wanted to be with more than anything. Meg took notice and glared at him, then at me.

"You want to be with Michael Jones? He's such a nobody though!" She whisper yelled at me.

"And why should that define someone? I think he's amazing. I'd give anything to be able to call him mine," I told her, watching the corridor Michael disappeared down.

With a huff, Meg turned around and stormed down the hallway. I watched her go, feeling some sort of relief. I finally got her to understand.

Now all I had to do was make Michael mine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That dramatic irony gets me every time, even if I'm the one writing it (Are you proud of me yet Mr. Warren?). Also most of you wanted smut in this chapter and there was two potential sex scenes, both of which I didn't elaborate on. Why do you like me again? 😂

(P.S. The reason I didn't do smut was because I wrote most of this chapter in school and I wasn't about to get questioned as to why I was writing book porn.)

(P.P.S.S. Sorry for all the POV swaps. I typically try to keep each chapter in one POV but this one was difficult to do that with so, I again apologize for that.)