"What's wrong, princess?"

"She's being over dramatic porque she wants more toys," Mom tells Dad and I cry harder.

He scowls at Mom and i'm happy that he takes my side, but I don't want them to argue. I hate it when they do that.

My small legs dash up the stairs and into my bedroom where I curl up in my My Little Pony blanket.

As I expected, Daddy comes to my room. "Princess? May I come in?" He knocks lightly. It's a game we play – I make him and my brothers ask to enter my palace before opening the door. Dad and Santiago are the only ones who play along.

"Yes," I whimper.

He comes over and sits beside where i'm lying with my face underneath my blanket. "What happened?"

"Rebecca was mean to me again."

"Again? I'll talk to her parents-"

"No! You can't, Daddy. She'll be even more nasty!"

"Hey, no one makes my Yasy cry and gets away with it." He pulls the blanket from my face gently and wipes a falling tear from my face.

"She said that no one will be my friend – because i'm different. She said our family doesn't belong here."

Dad tenses, looking away with an angry expression. "Listen, princesa," he pulls me up into a sitting position and I wrap my arms around him. "You are Yasmin Fuentes. You don't let anyone talk to you like that, understand?"

I nod.

"Now stop crying. Remember, if it won't matter in five years-"

"-Don't spend more than five minutes being upset about it," I finish and he smiles.

"Good girl. Now, why don't you clean up and we'll go get some ice cream?"

"With a chocolate cone? And sprinkles?"

"Anything you want, Princesa."

I look up at him lovingly and he smiles down. Life would be so bad without Daddy.

Sliding off of my bed, I jump onto the floor then sprint out of the room to wash my face. Everything around me begins to disappear and go dark. I'm confused, then my mind understands what's going on. I'm dreaming.

My eyes open and I lay there for a few minutes, just wishing I could go back to sleep and continue the dream. It's weird, because that happened before. A few things were different, but it still happened. 

It makes me wish I could just go downstairs and see Dad working on his laptop like I did most mornings when he wasn't away. Or sometimes he'd be sleeping after being out late and I'd climb into his bed and tell him about my dramatic life.

I end up staying in bed, thinking, for the full day. Mom comes in and checks on me before going to work, and some of the guys go out places. I hear Alex and Amelia arguing from the other room and I try to block it out but it's hard because they start full on screaming at each other until Amelia leaves and Alex soon goes out too, slamming about fifty doors on the way.

Santiago comes into my room after that and climbs into my bed. He smells like cologne and cigarettes and it better not leave a stench in my bed.

"You know that it's six o'clock, right?"

"I don't ever wanna move again."

"You not hungry?"

"I'm too sad to be hungry."

Santi wraps his arms around me and pulls me into him. "I'm sorry, Yas," he mumbles.

"Don't do that. You'll make me cry. I haven't cried yet and i'm not gonna."

"Isn't it supposed to be better to get it all out?"

"You should really do a psychology course. You'd be the best shrink."

He laughs, "Maybe I will."

"Who wants to get drunk?" Val says when he comes in.

"You couldn't be alone for five minutes?" Santi says.

Val jumps onto my bed and lies on his stomach. "I got bored having no one to annoy."

"Pass my phone," I tell Santiago and he grabs it from the table beside him. I haven't looked at it all day and as I expected I have loads of texts.

Brooke Hey... I heard what happened. I didn't think Wes was like that. Let's hangout?

I text her back and tell her we can hangout another time cause I'm tired, then go on snapchat where a few girls from school have messaged me calling Wes a jerk. There are also some unsettling texts from boys.

"Why do guys think i'm automatically gonna sleep with them as soon as I'm not in a relationship?"

"Who said somethin'?" Val asks and I show him something a guy said. He gasps and takes my phone from my hand.

"Listen, headass," he says, holding down the record button. Here we go. "I know you're just a horny fucker who sent this while you were beatin' your three-incher, but let's take it down a notch, kay? Now, go tell Jesus 'bout your sins and wash your hands."

I burst out laughing.

He stays on my phone, scrolling and typing some things to other people. "You still got Wes on snapchat?"

"Yes, I need to block him."

"Wait, look happy." He moves closer to me and holds the phone up to take a picture. It's a good idea, to show Wes that i'm a happy ray of sunshine without him. "Try and look prettier," he says and I scowl. He fixes my hair then does a huge crazy-eyed smile, which makes me laugh and he takes a photo of us.

"Awww," he says, "I look so cute in that."

"Awww, so do I," I say and we both make the same smile. Santiago shakes his head at us.

+++

Jace Now that Wes is gone. Are we allowed to be friends? Or will your conscience not let us? :0

Me fuck off.

Jace Too soon?

Me fuck off

Jace What u doin rn?

Me making dinner yet all I wanna do is drink.

Jace Can be arranged. Get ready.

Me no? I can't drink remember

Jace Gonna teach u how to drink RESPONSIBLY.

Me  and you know how to do that?

Jace Shut up and get ready. Look old.

Oh lordy.

Once i've made dinner and we've all ate, I go to my room and start getting ready, only applying a little bit of makeup. Why is getting ready a million times harder when you're sad?

Why am I even agreeing to go out with Jace? I was planning on spending the night in bed watching high school musical.

I decide on wearing a rolled up tied black top with ripped jeans and fishnet tights. After curling my hair, I shove my phone into my bra because who can be bothered with bringing a bag?

"Shut up, Montana," I hear Carlos say when I go downstairs.

"You fuckin' shut up. Naomi was a bitch anyway; you can't hold a grudge forever."

Carlos rolls his eyes then notices me. "Where are you going?"

"Damn, hot date?" Montana asks.

"No, just goin' out with Jace."

"Moving on that fast, huh?"

"Shut up. Where's Val?" I say, changing the subject, and I sit down beside her.

"Showering."

"Like anyone cares," Carlos mumbles.

Montana gives him a pissed off look. I don't react because honestly, if I were in Carlos's position, i'd still be making comments like that fifty years later. I could take a grudge to the grave with me.

The front door swings open and Jace stands at the doorway with his hands in his pockets. "Let's go, loser."

"I was waiting on you."

"Probably for like one and a half minutes."

I walk over to him and observe what he's wearing: jeans and a white t-shirt. It's basic, yet he makes it look like something a Louis Vuitton model would be wearing.

"Do I look old enough?"

His eyes slowly trail down my body, a small smirk forming on his lips. "No, you look thirteen. But that's okay, cause you basically are thirteen."

It's a joke but my sensitive ass takes it serious. "Screw you. I'm a year younger than you." I walk past him, hitting his shoulder on the way and head to his car.

"A year is a long time."

"You're making me want to go back inside and get into bed."

"We can do that, if you want," he smirks.

"Sure, but you'd be arrested, getting with a thirteen year old and all." I get into his car and sit with my arms folded across my chest.

He gets in and starts the car. "Seatbelt," he reminds me.

"Oh yeah, I better be safe since i'm such a little girl."

He sighs "Jesus, Yasmin. Give it a rest; I was joking."

"It was such a funny joke."

"Can we just have one night where we're not fighting?"

"Too late. You ruined my already shitty mood."

"I was trying to get you out of your shitty mood." He looks at me, his voice softening. "You look really hot, and yeah, you look old enough."

I smile. "Thanks. You look okay too."

"Just okay?" He laughs. "Wow, i'll pretend that didn't hurt my self esteem."

"Just drive, will you? Where are we going anyway?"

"A nightclub."

"What? I'm not twenty-one in case you didn't know that."

"That's why I got you this," he reaches into a holder section in his car and pulls out an ID, passing it to me. I gasp when I see my face on it.

"Where did you get this picture of me?"

"Alex's wall. My buddy edited it to make it look professional and made the ID for a cheap price."

"Maria González?" I question after reading my fake name.

He gives me a quick look and shrugs.

"Wow... I feel like a new person now that i'm twenty-one and don't have to live with the Fuentes name. Oh my god, girls won't ask me for my brothers' numbers all the time! Is this what it's like to feel free?" I tease.

"Don't get used to it, Maria. After tonight i'm taking away your identity."

"Boring. So what's your name?"

"Lee Hughes. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, that's hot. So, when you pick up girls, do they know your real name?"

"Nope. They just moan 'ugh, Lee, faster'. It's kind of a mood killer cause I start thinking about the Lee Hughes's of the world."

I laugh. "Eww."

He looks at me, smiling. "It's nice to hear you laugh."

My cheeks heat up and I hope he doesn't notice in the dim car. I shove his shoulder, "Eyes on the road."

The club is a dark building attached to other buildings in the town. There is a line of people waiting to get in while others are puking over at the trash cans. It's a pretty sketchy area, but I feel safe with Jace.

By the time we reach the door, my hearts racing with nerves as the guy checks ID's of those who look young.

"Try not to look so fuckin' nervous, kiddo," Jace whispers in my ear and I hit his chest lightly.

"ID," the guy says to us when we reach him. Jace and I both show ours. After scanning his eyes over it then looking at us, he nods his head in the direction of the door.

I almost squeal when I get inside from the excitement. My first club experience. I feel so old.

Colourful lights flash around the dark room and a DJ stands with a bunch of cool equipment, playing bouncy tunes and all the drunk young adults dance with drinks in their hands, spilling everywhere.

"Want a drink?" Jace says into my ear so I can hear him over the loud music.

I'm hesitant to answer. I want to drink, but i'm scared the night will end bad and I'll end up crying with my pain hitting me a million times harder than it does when I'm sober. I'm scared if I get a taste of the feeling I'll crave it so much more than I already do.

"C'mon," he says and slips his hand into mine, intertwining his fingers with mine. He leads me towards the bar and I can't help the bubbly feeling inside of me as I look down at our hands. "You're not getting drunk," he turns and calls for the bartender like he's done it a million times. "Two g&t's" he orders and the guy starts making the drinks.

"You come here a lot?"

"Sometimes." The man slides the two glasses towards us and Jace takes money from his back pocket and hands him it.

"I have cash, I'll pay-" I reach my hand under my shirt but Jace cuts me off.

"Shut up. I can pay for a couple of drinks." He looks at my hand as I move it from my t-shirt to the drink and take a sip. "Why did you just put your hand under your shirt?"

"I have money in my bra. And my phone – it's always in there."

He looks down and smiles while biting his bottom lip, then doesn't say anything else as he downs half of his drink in one.

"So, how much am I allowed to drink?"

"Few more."

I empty the contents of the glass down my throat, enjoying the sweet burn that i've missed. "Shots?"

Jace shakes his head. "You take shots with the intention of getting drunk. We're gonna drink slowly from drinks without a high percentage."

I hold back on saying boring and convincing him to let me drink straight vodka. If I did that he'd probably drag me out of this place and become my shrink.

"You like beer, right?"

"Yes." But I gotta have lots to get drunk so I don't drink it.

While drinking from a beer, knowing i'm not gonna get drunk, I manage to enjoy it more, feeling excited and slightly buzzed. I feel good.

"Let's go dance," I demand and pull Jace into a space amongst all the people.

I let my head fall back, looking up at the lights as I spin in a circle, lifting my arms up and swaying them to the music. As I get dizzy, I stumble and fall into someone.

"Woah, you good, pretty girl?" A guy says, holding me up. He looks like he's in his early twenties, with tattoos running up his arms, and he is hot. Maybe it's fate that I bumped into him. Maybe he'll be my future hubby!

"I'm very good," I flash him a flirtatious smile.

"You got a number?"

"Yeah, it's-"

"Yasmin, come on," Jace says, putting his arm around my waist.

"Sorry, man. Didn't realise she had a boyfriend," the guy says as Jace glares at him. He turns and walks away into a swarm of people as if he's used to this. 

"Thanks, cock-blocker," I say to Jace.

"That dudes way too old for you," he shakes his head. "If Alex ever finds out I took you to a club where you were flirting with older men, he'd have my fuckin' head."

"Alex isn't here, Jacey-boo, so stop thinking about him. Think about me." I put my arms up around his neck and press my body up against his.

His breath hitches and he looks down, then slowly places his hands on my back, sliding them down to my lower back. I shiver from the feeling of his hands against my bare skin.

"Jace, thanks – for taking me here. I needed this."

"Anything for you, kiddo."

I bite my lip and suddenly feel the urge to pull away as things get more intense and the feelings I have for him start falling down on me like hailstones. However, I ignore the voice in my head telling me to stop this right now. I want to enjoy this.

"I stayed away from you for Wes, and when he was doing that behind my back. Why couldn't I see through that? Why couldn't I realise that you were more important?"

"You didn't know." He uses one of his hands to push my hair back from my face. "Let's not talk about that asshole. Forget him."

"Easier said than done. But hey, no crying in the club, right?" I giggle and take a small step back from him and begin to dance, swaying my hips and flipping my hair, feeling like a diva queen even though I probably look like a fifty year old alcoholic trying to dance.

People push into me and I end up with my body against Jace again. He looks behind me, annoyed, but I quickly take his attention away from them by moving against him with the music.

The feeling of his crotch against me turns me on slightly – or a lot – but I pretend i'm not even noticing it and only focusing on dancing.

It's silly to be doing something so confidently, but in my mind feeling insecure, but that's how I am. I can't help but wonder if he's enjoying this, or if he thinks it's weird that his friend's sister is grinding against him. Or maybe he's annoyed, after what I used to do – giving him erections that keep him up all night.

Ah, i've missed being single.

"You're really sexy, Yas," he says into my ear and my body slows down. I look up into his eyes, drowning out everything else that's going on around us.

I'd really like to fucking kiss him right now.

Jesus, Yasmin, you just got out of a relationship yesterday, pull yourself together!

But maybe just one kiss won't hurt.

Nope.

But i'll be good after that.

Nope.

His hands slide up my sides, slipping under my top, only making my craving for him stronger. My hands move to his hair, running through the strands while my face moves closer to his. His breath is heavy, making me realise that mine is too. This place just got a hundred times hotter.

His hands move back down my body and he surprises me by groping my ass. I take a sharp breath in and my hands ball into fists in his hair. Fuck my life.

"We should get out of here," he says breathlessly, "Before I completely lose all self control."

I try not to look disappointed as I nod. We stay like this for another few seconds, my face inching closer and closer to his until my lips are scraping the surface of his. Every nerve in my body tells me to kiss him and my mind runs in circles over how it would feel, but Jace pulls away before anything can happen.

He takes my hand and pulls me towards the door without another word, and all I can think about is pulling his clothes off of his body and kissing him the way that no girl has ever kissed him before.

+++

teaser: an unwanted bitch RUINS the night... for about ten minutes. also, Jace's pov.

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