Chapter Eighteen - Pick Me

"Rebekah!" My head turned at the voice and I found Kimberly dancing wildly in her girl gang, waving me over to join them.

"Kimberly? What are you doing here?" I blinked in surprise, then immediately regretted the question. What? Nerds can't party, Rebekah?

She didn't seem to mind or care as she made space for me in the group. I wasn't in the mood to dance but when she literally dragged me into their circle and nudged my shoulder to dance along while shouting the lyrics, I forgot all about the swimming pool incident and looked around, amused. Everyone was having a great time.

Snap out of it, Becks. Everything is okay. You were just confused because of the alcohol and falling in the pool like that.

"Are you gonna dance or what?" Kimberly hollered over the music, swaying her hips. I blinked out of my thoughts and with a little chuckle, I nodded.

"Of course, I am." I winked, throwing my arms up as I started moving with the music, dancing with her and her friends.

I was a good dancer, especially on occasions like these when I couldn't tell day from night. I didn't even realize when I'd thrown myself right in the middle and people had parted for space around me, cheering.

"Go, Becks!" Kimberly shouted as one of the girls brought me a drink. As I downed it in a go, the guys around us started hooting wolf whistles.

Ever since all those rumours about me, I'd absolutely started to hate that sound and the looks that came with it. So, realizing I'd been the centre of attention for too long, I blended in the crowd with a blush and the space cleared for me was filled.

"Holy shit! You're full of surprises," someone said in my ear and I spun around to find Chad smiling at me.

"Chad, hey!"

"Hey, Becks. You wanna dance?"

"I am dancing," I replied.

"I-I mean with...can I dance with you?"

"I know what you meant." I laughed. "I was just messing with you. Come on, let's dance."

With a grin, he started dancing to the beats, showing off his amazing moves. We'd been classmates since we were kids and I had no clue he could dance like that. Even pulled a robotic move once. It was funny, kind of.

"You're good." I nodded, impressed.

"Thank you. What happened to your clothes and hair?"

"Just took a dip in the pool." I shrugged, feeling unwanted images coming back and I quickly pushed them to the back of my head.

"You should've invited me." He chuckled, throwing his head back to finish the rest of his drink before he aimed the cup towards a nearby table. I don't know if it landed. I was too lost in the music to notice anything until he suddenly picked me up and spun me around, making me gasp in surprise.

When he put me down just as unexpectedly as he'd picked me, I wobbled out of balance. So, he quickly slid his arms around me to steady me.

"I've got you. Are you okay?"

I stared at his face, a little disoriented, then nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry. I should've given you a warning." He smiled apologetically.

"Oh, it's fine. I'm just tipsy."

"Thank God! I thought I'd creeped you out." He sighed in relief, then a soft look reached his eyes as he pushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"Not at all." I smiled uneasily, all of a sudden feeling like something was off when his eyes fell down to my lips and he slowly started to lean forward. No, Chad. I would've pulled away if he didn't have his arms around me so rigidly.

Out of nowhere, a hand shot out from the crowd, pushed at his chest, grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from him. What the fuck?

And before I knew it, I was being pulled across the dance floor. All I could see was my outstretched arm and a hand wrapped around it firmly as I was weaved past the sweaty dancing bodies. I brought my other hand up to shield myself from some wild dancers but when my intruder tugged me close enough so I was right behind him, it was rendered pointless.

It didn't take a lot after that to recognize that back or that well fitted t-shirt for that matter.

"Matt?" I yanked my hand free a bit too harshly once we were away from the dance floor. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He snapped around, eyes blazing with anger. "With me? What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting like a fucking child. If you can't hold your liquor, don't drink."

"Excuse me? I can hold my liquor...just fine," I tried my best to not slur as my eyes almost rolled to the back of my head.

"Yeah, I saw that when I pulled you out of the water," he spoke through gritted teeth.

Okay! Valid point. But I still crossed my arms defensively. "I never asked you to babysit me."

"You mean save you." His eyes narrowed. "If I didn't do that, you'd be lying face down in that pool until somebody finally dragged your body out in the morning since every single person around you was too drunk to notice you were drowning."

I opened my mouth to argue but I had nothing to say. Again, he had a point.

"And a minute ago," he started, catching my attention again. "...if I hadn't shown up to babysit you, what was next? A make out session with Chad right in the middle of the dance floor?"

My cheeks heated upon hearing it out loud. Technically, that one wasn't my fault but I probably could've handled it better if I were in my senses. But it wasn't any of his business to shame me for it. I didn't remember the last time I got scolded like that by anyone. Not by my parents, let alone my favourite person Mrs. Brooke.

"Even if it was, what is it with you?" I demanded.

He took one giant step towards me and angled his face down to look me square in the eyes. And I immediately realized this wasn't the time to be a smart ass. "I thought I was stopping you from doing something you'll regret when you're sober. But if that's not the case, go back and let him finish that."

I took a step back when he took another forward, suddenly making me forget I could breathe.

"And I won't interrupt this time." His eyes were full of anticipation when they met mine and it felt like they were silently coaxing me to say no. And for a moment, I didn't see my enemy anymore. I saw the guy who'd taken care of me at the carnival, driven me home, carried me up to my room and put me in my bed.

And I didn't know how to deal with that version of him. A version I couldn't bring myself to hate. A version that had no business existing.

I swallowed, and trying to appear casual, I shrugged. "You know what? I will."

I let out a breath and spun on my heels, eyeing the dance floor dubiously. Chad seemed to have forgotten all about it as he was now grooving with the guys and some of the girls from Kimberly's group. I definitely wasn't going back there.

So where was I going?

I'd just taken an undecided step forward when I heard my enemy hiss behind me.

"Like hell you will."

And that's when I felt him grip my wrist. In one swift move, he flipped me around and pulled me right back to him. A gasp escaped my mouth as I stared up at him, stunned.

His eyes darkened with a livid intensity and I watched as he fixed his jaw. What the hell was he so mad about?

"Matt, let go of—"

"For once," he snapped. "...just use your fucking brain and do what you wanna do instead of doing it just because I'm asking you to not. Do you really want to kiss Chad?"

I bit down on my lip.

No. The answer was clear but I didn't need to tell him. It wasn't like I was actually going back to kiss Chad. But the savage curiosity in my enemy's eyes told me he really needed to hear that no.

"It's none of your business. Besides, what difference will a kiss make when you've already declared in a busy corridor at school that I've slept with the entire football team?" I jibed.

A confrontation was the last thing he was expecting, I could tell. But he wasn't the kind who felt remorse or showed it even if he did. His face remained stone hard and devoid of any emotion.

I stepped up to him, forcing him to look into my eyes as I snapped, "that was so unfair. I didn't deserve that. I've never even..."

I licked my lips, looking away. I hated that I was drunk enough to tell him about stuff he didn't care about.

I heaved a deep sigh, eyes shifting down to our hands or more specifically, to his hand curled around my wrist. Watching it, something in my stomach shifted but I ignored the feeling.

"What I do with Chad or anyone else doesn't concern you."

His eyes scrutinized my face in an unnerving silence. Then he swallowed, still not letting go of my hand. Instead, I could've sworn his grip had just tightened.

"Of course, it doesn't," he said. "Don't, for a moment, assume that I care about you."

I don't know why an obvious statement like that made me angry. Absolutely furious.

"Then what the fuck are you still doing here? Can't you find someone else to torment? I'm surprised you have the time to mess with me at a party when you could've been banging my namesake or some cheerleader in this very moment."

His eyes narrowed and we went into a stare down, my hand still a prisoner of his.

"Where are your friends?" he asked after a beat.

"Why? You wanna babysit them, too?" I perked a brow.

"Rebekah, don't test me right now."

"Or what?" I lifted my chin, holding a fight in my eyes. "Let go of my hand before I scream bloody murder, or worse, start throwing punches. You have no right to stop me even if I make out with Chad until dawn."

His eye twitched at my words and if he had any plans to release my hand before, they were shoved and locked in the boot now.

This was just a challenge for him now. He didn't care about me, obviously. He'd made it clear. I knew that every action of his thenceforth, was going to be taken for the sake of his ego and stubbornness.

He leaned forward with a dangerous spark of challenge in his eyes. "You wanna scream? Fine! Scream all you want. Throw hands. I'd really like to see who's gonna try and stop me from dragging you out of here."

"You wouldn't dare," I warned.

His lips curled into a devilish smirk as he turned around and started dragging me God knows where.

"Matt," I screamed and a few heavily drunk people turned to us with blank stares. For some reason, they annoyed me more so I just ignored them. It wasn't like they could be of much help. It wasn't like I needed any help going up against my enemy.

"Let go of me, you asshole," I screeched. "You're just being such a jerk, meddling in my business like this. You don't see me popping up whenever you're about to do some nasty deed. I have just as much of a right to get railed as you do."

"Of course," he sneered over his shoulder. "Just not today."

"Excuse me? Who the hell are you to decide that for me? What if I came prepared to lose my v-card tonight?"

He froze for a moment, then resumed walking like he hadn't just halted like lightning had struck him.

"Screw it," I cursed, then without thinking twice, I wrapped my free arm around his neck, heaved myself up and bit down at the nape of his neck.

"Fuck!" he yelped with pain and I took that opportunity to yank my hand free and take two steps back. He spun around immediately, eyes flashing murder.

"Now you listen to me, you hypocrite." I pointed a finger at him. "You just slept with someone after pretending you wanted to get her off your back. Not to mention, you even used me for the ploy. I'm not letting you drag me across this party like you're my fucking guardian or something, okay? Especially when I know you don't actually give a shit about me."

While I went on with my rant, he just watched me in silence. And when I was done, I turned around to stomp away but I felt like I wasn't done yet so I came back.

"And cut the crap about not liking her, okay?"

His eyes narrowed.

"I know she's the reason why you're not training me. You'll be damned if you even let the possibility of her not being with you at the music event get any more real."

His brows pulled together.

A part of me wanted him to deny that. That he wasn't screwing Rebecca. That 'our scores won't tie' was actually the only reason why he wouldn't train me and she had nothing to do with me not getting what I wanted.

But he never spoke up.

So, feeling a little bummed about losing to Rebecca, I took a step back.

"For the last time, I'm not your fucking responsibility. Leave me alone."

With that, I finally staggered away on wobbly feet. Instead of making my way to the dance floor or the backyard, I walked right out of the front door and stood in the front lawn, just breathing.

Then I pulled my phone out to call Mack and ask him when we could leave but the moment I unlocked it, I stopped breathing at all the missed calls from Mrs. Brooke. I couldn't believe I'd actually forgotten about my curfew.

I called her back.

"Rebekah!" she answered at the second ring, voice full of panic. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Yes yes! I'm okay. The music was loud and I couldn't hear the phone. I'm fine I promise."

"Thank God!" She sighed in relief. "But it's past your curfew."

"I-I lost track of time. I'll be home soon."

"You're slurring. Are you drunk?"

I shut my eyes. I thought I was doing good.

"Um a little? I'm sorry!"

"God, Rebekah! Your mom's gonna kill me if she finds out I allowed this."

"I'm sorry. I'll be home before them."

"Do you need me to come and pick you up?"

"No no it's fine. I'll see you at home. Gotta go. Bye."

"Okay. Bye."

I put the phone against my forehead and sighed. Should've stayed at home.

"You know, I don't agree with Mack," came a slurred voice from behind me.

I flipped around in surprise, clumsily dropping my phone in the process somewhere near my feet. On one of the plastic chairs, sat Steve with a bottle of beer in his hands, flashing me a drunken smile.

Jeez! The thing was awake. I thought he was just another wasted person in the front lawn when I had walked out of the house.

"Creepy Steve." I laughed nervously. Needless to say, alcohol had messed up my mouth filter.

"Come on." He pouted. "Just Steve for you, sweetheart."

I chuckled with half a mind, looking around. What was I doing out here again?

Home! Right. I was supposed to call Mack and ask him when we could leave. Now where was my phone?

"Fancy a drink?" He tipped his beer bottle towards me and when I shook my head, he lifted it to his lips with a shrug and threw his head back to chug it. Once it was finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned at me.

"As I was saying, I don't agree with Mack."

"About what?"

"That you're out of my league."

"OH!" My eyes widened for a moment and I stopped looking for my phone, giving him my full attention to make sure he was serious. He was doing the Flynn Rider smolder and he looked ridiculous. So, I burst out laughing. Watching me, he burst out laughing too.

But my laughter slowly died down when he got up and started advancing towards me, his eyes moving across my brazenly.

"Wh... what are you are doing? You don't need to walk up to me." I pointed a finger at him awkwardly.

"I can't help it. You're so beautiful." He smirked and I had a feeling I was going to slap a creep tonight.

"Thanks. Stop walking."

"I really think we can hit it, though." His fingers undid the first button of his shirt, revealing a golden blade pendant.

"I really don't."

Another step forward and I started stepping back.

"Come on, Cheryl."

"My name's—you know what? Never mind." I held up a hand, moving back a tad faster since he had increased his pace too. "I think I'll just head back inside for—"

My back met something hard and I tensed up at the dead end. I hadn't been expecting the wall to be so close. But when I felt the wall move and put its hand on my waist to steady me, I realized it wasn't so inanimate after all.

I looked over my shoulder to find a pissed off Matt glaring at Steve, his jaw clenching in a silent rage like he was seconds away from punching him if he so much as made a move in my direction.

"Like I said, I'm gonna hit the dance floor," I heard Steve say and watched him head inside the house out of my peripheral vision, my eyes set on my enemy who was busy holding him in a death glare until he was inside the house and out of his sight. And then, his eyes fell on me.

I blinked, looked away and stared into space with bafflement for five seconds.

Then I looked back at him and he was still glaring down at me.

"Good job, soldier." I patted his shoulder and walked two steps ahead to fetch my phone from the ground.

"Are you done?" He sounded absolutely miffed.

"What?"

"You're leaving."

There was no reason to argue. But I didn't want to agree and give him the satisfaction either so I shrugged indifferently. "Whatever."

"God, Rebekah," he scoffed lowly. "You're really making me wish I had some tape so I could seal your mouth shut and throw you in the boot of my car."

"I always knew you had psychopathic tendencies. You know what, Matt..." I paused to steady myself as I swayed from one side to another. "You can stop following me now. It's getting creepy."

"I'm creepy?" One of his brows shot up at my audacity. "Why don't you go find Steve again? I'm sure he'd love to pick up where he left off. I bet you liked having all that attention for once in your life."

My jaw dropped. How dare he? Feeling my face becoming hot, I swallowed to stifle my rising anger.

"Screw you," I snapped at him and stepped to the side to storm inside the house to get away from him but lately, he'd vowed to make things difficult for me so naturally, he grabbed my arm, making me stop abruptly.

"I don't think so," he said with a straight face. "You're gonna stand right in front of me, call your friends here and leave with them while I watch."

"And who the fuck do you think—"

"Don't," he warned and I realized I was probably doing a bit much.

I did want to go home. There was no point putting it off just because he wanted the same for me.

With a frown, I dialled Mack's number and the sound of his phone ringing made me look up at Chris and another guy I didn't know dragging him and Cheryl out.

"Whoa!" Chris looked between us with a grin. "Maybe I should've told you both to refrain from pushing each other in the pool as well."

I looked down at myself in confusion, trying so hard to recall the past few minutes. "Are my clothes wet? What happen—"

"Not right now, Chris." Matt shook his head, then gave my friends a once-over. "What's going on?"

"I found them nearly passed out in my parent's room. I would've let them sleep it off but Cheryl wants to go home," Chris explained.

"That's right. But I can't drive!" Mack said, his eyes bloodshot.

"I'll drop you two off," the other guy said.

"What about me?" I pouted.

"Um okay I'll drop you as well—"

"I got her," Matt cut in.

"Thanks, buddy."

I watched the three of them walking away, Cheryl's head on Mack's shoulder as he guided her across the street. I looked down at my hands, a little sad. Why were they leaving me behind?

"Just follow me to my car and don't talk on the way home," my enemy said.

"Ha! You think I'm stupid?"

He exhaled. "Yes."

"Wrong!" I imitated a buzzer. "I'm drunk, not stupid enough to get in your car so you can just..." I trailed off pensively.

"Drive you home?"

I blinked again. I was very, very confused.

"You've done that before."

He rolled his eyes, looking a little done with my shit and ready to leave as he turned towards the road to walk up to his car.

"Why do you wanna do it again?"

"How else are you planning to get home?"

I scratched my forehead, then shrugged. "In Mack's car."

He threw me a look over his shoulder, carefully studying my face before his eyes narrowed. "Cut it out."

"Cut...what?" I looked down at my clothes in confusion, then my sandals, then the grass. "I don't have any scissors."

I heard a little groan come out of him while I rubbed my eyes to keep them open, then blinked furiously to stare up at his face. "But I need to know. Why do you care...about getting me home? Or if I regret something like making out with Chad or creepy Steve? Don't you live to watch me suffer?"

I stared down at my sling purse, fiddling with its strap while I waited for his reply, which never came. So, I gazed up at him.

His eyes displayed an inner battle but he was quick to dismiss it as he set his jaw.

"Look," he started, annoyed. "I don't care who you sleep—"

"Whoops!" That's when I finally lost what little balance was holding me up as my legs gave way and I fell forward. My face hit his chest. His very hard chest that was surprisingly very comfortable to put my head against.

I was too exhausted to compose myself so I stayed at his complete mercy, arms hanging beside me lifelessly.

Shutting my eyes, I took in a deep breath.

Oh boy! Is my enemy supposed to smell so great?

"Rebekah?" I felt him shake my shoulder. "Hey? Are you—"

"Mm what cologne?"

I only got his silence in response and wondered if I'd said that in my mind for the next ten seconds until he blurted in a peculiar voice, "what?"

"I love it."

"You love...the way I smell?"

He did not sound like himself anymore. What was wrong with him?

"Mm hmm. I haven't mentioned it before?"

"I don't think so," he replied slowly and I could sense a little pride towards the end.

I pulled back to look up at him. Up close, I noticed his eyes were a very warm shade of brown and his nose was so perfect as if it were sculpted by an expert. And his lips. What about them? They were just looking nice and... inviting.

"Pick me," I whispered.

"What?"

"This is the part where you pick me up and carry me to your car."

Silence fell between us and I watched through my slowly obscuring vision as his head tilted to the side. "I thought I wasn't your fucking guardian."

"Well, you sure have been acting like you are. So, if you're at it, you might as well play the part fully. You know what?"

I poked a finger in his chest, looking around. When I located a higher surface, that is, Steve's chair, I stopped leaning against Matt and staggered towards it. I set one foot on it, wobbled in my daze, steadied myself and finally pushed myself up. When I turned around, I was surprised to find my enemy had followed me cautiously as if prepared to catch me in case I'd fallen.

"I want a piggyback ride," I declared.

He deadpanned. "Yeah right."

"Or else I'm not going anywhere with you." I crossed my arms over my chest with a fierce nod.

"You know I can just throw you into my car, right?"

"You'd still have to pick me up for that. Might as well give me what I want."

His eyes narrowed. Then he scoffed dismissively. "Get down and walk to the car with me."

"No," I replied stubbornly.

He glared at me in silence as if waiting for me to crack. But he must've realized I was adamant when I kept my chin up with resolve, and he finally exhaled, cursing something under his breath.

"Come on. What is the point of all these muscles if you don't even give someone a piggyback ride in your life?" I poked a finger into his hard bicep with a grin. "Unless it's all puffed up for show and you can't lift jack shit."

He cocked his head to the side and while I'd expected to see some offense or anger, all I saw was challenge and if I wasn't mistaken, there was also a lot of arrogance as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know, tomorrow you're gonna wish for the ground to open up and swallow you whole."

I stared down at my feet, then at the grass below the chair. "Can it really do that?"

Ignoring my question, he turned his back to me. "Make this quick. I have a reputation. And you better not throw up on me."

"I think you meant 'hop on. Let me take you for a ride'. But it's okay. I got the message." I put my arms around his shoulders and wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling him stiffen for a moment before he started walking.

"You know what can make this even better? Sing me a song." I patted at his chest.

"Shut up."

I chuckled.

"Clearly, there's perks to being so tall. I don't think I've ever seen the world from so up above before. Is this your regular view?"

"Considering my eyes are up here, yes."

"Wow. Do you ever find your head in the clouds when it's cloudy? What's the weather like up here, usually?"

I could've sworn he'd let out another sigh and I burst out laughing, observing something behind his neck that instantly made my laugh subside. A red mark. It looked like a bite mark, judging by the fading teeth imprints around it.

I froze. Was that from me? I hadn't realized I'd bitten him so hard earlier.

And suddenly I felt really bad about it.

"Does it hurt?"

"What?"

I brought my right hand from around his shoulders to the mark and brushed my fingers over it softly, not wanting to hurt him anymore. Then I blew on it out of the stupid belief that it helped whenever it hurt, while lightly tapping at it.

"I shouldn't have done this. I'm sorry."

I realized he'd stopped walking.

He turned his head to watch me over his shoulder and swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, before he gave a light tap on my knee. "You can get off now."

I looked up and found his car two feet away. So, I untangled myself from him and hopped off, making my way to the car until he grabbed a hold of my shoulder and veered me towards right. "This one."

"Right." I chuckled. Why was I walking towards the parked red truck when I knew he owned a black car?

"Wait." I put my hand on top of his as he pulled the door open for me.

His eyes averted to it for a fleeting moment before falling back on my face.

"What is it?" His voice didn't come out as solid as it always was.

"I need to tell you that..." Licking my lips, I stared up into his curious eyes. "I'm sorry I called you a moral less fuckboy."

His brows that had furrowed in anticipation, eased up and we just looked at each other.

"I mean, even if I think you are one, it's not something I should say out loud, right? Especially to your face."

He looked away before I could make sure it was a smile on his lips that I'd just witnessed.

"But you'd also implied to the entire school that I'm a slut. So, we're even? Or not?" I tilted my head in confusion.

I never thought seeing an emotion on my enemy's face would give me butterflies but it wasn't like he wore guilt every day so I was entitled.

"Rebekah, I didn't know that—"

"Oh my God!" I gasped. "I just remembered I have to go home."

He exhaled sharply, stared up at the sky for a brief moment, then shut the door after me once I'd settled in the passenger seat.

I was ecstatic for some reason, maybe alcohol, until a sight across the street made my heart sink. It was Sean talking to some girl. I'd seen that a lot but it just hit differently in my drunken state.

Matt started the engine.

"I don't like you one bit."

His hands froze over the steering and he turned to me with a little frown.

"And you're not exactly fond of me either," I continued. "We're both better off away. So, you can imagine how desperate I must be if, despite all that, I'm asking for your help."

He turned his eyes to the road ahead and started driving. I could tell his mind was still in the conversation even though he acted like it was over.

I sighed, throwing my head back and looking out of the window. "You have no idea what this challenge means to me."