Chapter Nine continued...

James runs up behind him and wraps his arms around his brother's neck and shoulders. Dechlan elbows his brother in the gut and stomps on his foot. James may be taller than Dechlan, but not stronger.

He gets free of his brother's holder and then swings a fist. James ducks. Dechlan throws another but halts mid-swing, only an inch from his brother's face. He puts his fist down. Then grimaces at the frat guy on the floor.

"We're done."

Everyone is staring at him in horror and disapproval.

His shoulders sink, "Don't worry everybody. I'm leaving."

He starts walking towards the front door. When he gets close, I shrink away. I'm freaked out by his show of violence. Dechlan stops and turns to look at me. He has the same blank face again. It reminds me of the face Ari makes. He starts to speak but he only rolls his eyes and walks out the door.

Then the tension steadily fades. A few people go help the guy Dechlan had beaten. I turn to where Kris and Katie were standing but they're long gone. I'd been completely caught up in the scene. I didn't see if they left before or after Dechlan. I sigh and scan the room for Ari. I wanted to see how she's handling Dechlan's outburst.

She's handling it just fine.

She's in the hallway with the tool.  I don't think she even noticed the skirmish. They're pressed against the wall and heavily making out. I hate John, I hate that he's touching her. The tool takes her by the hand and they head towards the bedrooms.

I avert my eyes. My throat goes dry and thick, and my belly feels like it's full of lead.

The alcohol in my stomach has turned for the worse. I feel miserable. I feel like lying on the floor and crying. I close my eyes and breath in through my nose. Then I exhale and attempt to expel the negative emotions creeping up on me. When I've got myself under control and don't feel like I'm going burst into an alcohol-induced cry, I open my eyes again.

I survey the mess Dechlan has created. Derek has already started cleaning up and I go over to help. The cheerleader...Ashley is kind enough to help straighten up. The whole time we're cleaning she keeps glancing at me.

Derek finishes mopping up while Ashley and I carry the trash to the garage. It'd been her suggestion to take the bags out, I would've been down to leave them inside.

The garage is dimly lit but I know she's staring at me.

"Was that fight over Ari?" She asks.

"No." I say then I head back towards the house.

She scoffs. "Don't know why I bothered asking you?"

I turn around. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ashley crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. "You worship her like everyone else. Ari can't do no wrong."

The bitterness is thick and evident in her voice. She's drunk and her southern drawl is heavier than usual. It only makes her words more venomous. I'd thought Ashley was one of Ari's real friends.

"I don't worship her. She's my friend."

"Could you be any thicker? You think she's your friend." Ashley gets in my personal space. She is much smaller than me and it's not as intimidating as she thinks.

"Ari ain't your friend. She don't have friends. She has obsessed zealots she uses, then throws away." She walks past me towards the door.

I reach out and grab her arm. She looks down at my hand in distaste.

"You're wrong," I say and I let go of her arm, a little embarrassed by my outburst.

She smiles. "Oh, you poor thing. You'll see. I thought she was my friend too until she stole my boyfriend. Now, look at him."

Ashley shakes her head in pity. "James loves her and she's friend zoned him. Not even that. She has him in her backpocket for later, while she does his brother behind his back."

I'm shocked. I hadn't known James was her ex-boyfriend.

She walks into the house, leaving me in the dark to contemplate what she has said. Ashley had never said so many words to me all at once. It's probably because she is drunk.

At lunch, she acknowledged my presence but mostly ignored me. Now she was warning me about Ari. It was now the fourth time I'd been warned. The seeds of doubt are planted, and the roots are digging in.

Three people on three separate occasion had warned me about her. I couldn't brush it off. Maybe it was time to be more cautious. I would feel like a complete idiot if I'd been wrong about Ari all along.

I feel like a weirdo standing alone in the dark garage, with a party going on a few 100 feet away. I exit the garage and into the hallway. Someone bumps me from behind. It's Ashley again.

She doesn't apologize but waves her phone in the air. "Told ya."

The screen is facing her. I can only guess what she has on it. She shoves the phone in her pocket then heads toward the front door. A few people in a carpool are standing by the door waiting for her. I look around at the party. Quite a few people have left. Apparently, the fight had signified a good time for the party to end.

I walk over to the kitchen and continue to straighten up. Derek is no longer in the kitchen and I'm the only one cleaning. It's kind of a lame thing to do with my time, but it's what I do when I'm upset. I can't stop thinking about Ari and John together. It's breaking my heart. She could do better.

I'm collecting empty cans and cups scattered around the room when James comes up to me. He's frantic.

"Have you seen, Ari?"

His eyes dart around the room. It's not a large room and there aren't that many people. I'm not sure what his deal is.

"I've checked the backyard and she is not there either," James says distractedly.

I consider not telling him, it would be for the best. Yet, he looked worried and had the lost puppy dog face on.

"Yes, I have," I say.

He finally turns his full attention to me. "You have? Where?"

Should I hold the information back? It'll break his heart, but maybe this is what he needs. If Ashley is right, and he is in Ari's back pocket, this bit of information could set him free. I like James, he's a good guy.

"Look..." I set the trash bag down and say carefully. "I don't think you should find her. I saw her and John go off to one of the bedrooms."

James's eyes bug out of his skull, then he takes off for the bedrooms down the hall. I've made a huge mistake. But then again...maybe Ari and John needed a little interrupting. Shame and guilt wash over me. Had I done this on purpose?

If you're curious to know what happens when James opens one of those doors to find Ari with another guy, I apologize ahead of time. I absolutely, positively, indiscriminately hate drama. Once I was driving on the freeway and a car had exploded on the other side of the freeway. The car was completely engulfed in flames. I took one glance at the flames and didn't look back.

In fact, I got to school in record time. While traffic had slowed to watch I drove as fast I could around the rubberneckers and got the H-E-double-hockey-stick out of dodge.

After seeing James's reaction I know there is soon going to be a flaming car down the hall. I grab my trash bag and I run towards the kitchen. The opposite side of the house.

I'm in full-blown panic mode. I've sabotaged Ari. I've unleashed all heck on her. What was wrong with me? I wash the dishes. Any dishes I can find. When I run out of those, I start organizing the leftover alcohol in neat rows along the counter. I'm adamant each bottle label is turned in the correct direction for easy reading. You wouldn't want to grab the wrong one, that'd be a disaster.

I ignore all the sounds. I don't see or hear anything.

A set of arms wrap around my waist and I jump in terror. There's a familiar laugh behind me. It's Cameron. I look up from my alcohol project and scan the house. It's quiet. The lights are on, the music is low, and people are sitting around and talking. Some have even pulled out blankets and are watching tv.

I sigh, I'd missed the drama. Or maybe nothing had happened, and I'd been overreacting. Crises averted. If anything of crazy proportion had happened and I'd missed it, I'm sure Ari would tell me in a quieter and less public setting.

Cameron's arms are still wrapped around me. I hadn't seen him for practically the entire party. And when I had seen him it, it was with his creepy frat brothers. They gave me the wrong kind of vibes and he had blended right in with them.

I shove his arm from around my waist. Then pick up the trash bag I'd been cleaning with before the Armageddon I'd unleashed. Or hadn't? Who knew? He steps in front of me. I look up at his tall frame and try not to scowl. I'm irritated, but I don't want to tell him, I'd rather let it sizzle and burn me up inside. I know it's irrational.

His expression is screaming what's wrong? I try to walk around him but he just steps in my path again. This time I do scowl. He doesn't say anything but looks at me again with the same question in his eyes.

I roll my eyes. I can't hold the heat in any longer. "Now you want to hang? After your friends have left?"

He looks confused. Then I swear he looks relieved.

He has the nerve to smile at me even though I'm angry with him. I cross my arms defensively. The trash bag I'm holding knocks against my sides. It's uncomfortable but I'm too annoyed to uncross them or drop the bag.

"Are you jealous I spent more time with my friends than you?" He says with a chuckle.

He's making fun of me. I use the bag in my hand as a weapon and hit him with it. It's not full. He barely notices but does grabs it from my grasp. I head back to the kitchen and return to arranging the bottles.

His arms wrap around the back of my waist again. He leans down and rests his chin on my shoulder. If I were to turn towards him, his lips would be right next to mine. I can't help but feel the familiar rush of heat that floods through me whenever he's this close. I relax and I lean back into the warmth of his body.

"I'm sorry, babe," Cameron whispers into my ear. His breath on my cheek reeks of alcohol.

"I've been with you these last couple weeks. We were catching up. I'm sorry, if I wasn't as attentive as I should've been."

I'm a clingy jerk. Cameron was right. He'd been spending a lot of time with me. He was there for me every day after school and in mornings when he sometimes dropped me off. We'd almost spent the last three days straight together. Of course, he missed his friends.

He was leaving tomorrow but then turning right back around that same week just to go to prom with me. Any irritation or anger I might've felt is gone. I can never seem to be angry at him for too long.

He always says the right things.

I give him a quick peck on the lips. No need to give him more of a victory. He lets go of me and backs away. We're both still in our swimming suits. At some point, I'd lost my cover-up. My eyes linger on his perfectly sculptured chest. He really is like a bronze statue. Half-naked, hard, and flawless. He catches me staring.

Once upon a time, I would've blushed, instead, I stare back and bite my lip suggestively. I don't know where this new confidence has come from. Perhaps it's true what they say. Maybe losing your v-card truly was a loss of innocence, but the gaining of something new.

"Meet by the pool." He says slyly.

I watch him walk outside to the backyard. He is up to something or he would've waited for me. I look down at my organized alcohol collection, which now looks beyond dumb. I leave it behind.

I step outside, he's nowhere to be seen. The night is warm with a slight breeze. A couple of people are sitting by the pool and a few are passed out on the lounge chairs. The full moon is hanging in the sky surrounded by infinite tiny bright lights. I don't recall ever seeing a sky so full of stars before. The sky is unpolluted by city lights and I stare up at it in awe. I feel like I'm in outer space.

"Psst!"

I pull my eyes away from the stars and towards the sound. Cameron's head is sticking out behind the side of the house and he is waving at me. Then he disappears again. Curious I walk over. I round the corner. He is standing next to an outdoor sofa. He's covered it with blankets and pillows. He lays down, pressing his back against the back of the sofa, and waves me over.

"Cuddles?" He asks.

"You sure we'll fit. Looks uncomfortable."

I look down at the space he has left me. He's a tall guy, the sofa is a good size, but it doesn't look large enough for anyone to be his spoon.

"Ever the cautious pessimist." He pats the space in front of him. "I promise, there won't be any discomfort." He wiggles his eyebrows.

I give in. I'm no good at resisting him. Why would I want to? I fit, sort of, and he pulls the blanket over us. We lay in each other arms and gaze up at the depthless night.

I could've easily gotten lost in it and have fallen asleep. Or I could've if Cameron's wasn't caressing my skin in all the right places. I pull my eyes from the sky. He whispers he loves me. It's the second time he has said it.

He leans in and kisses me. It's not like the kiss he'd given me in front of his friends. It's passionate but somehow kinder.

Our mouths dance together and intertwine. He tastes bitter and sweet. A mix of beer and whiskey. I'm entirely caught up in the kiss and don't I feel him shift us. When I break away from his mouth, I find he has maneuvered me on top of him.

He gives me a mischievous smile. Instead of rolling off, I grab the edge of our blanket. I toss it over the both of us and conceal us from any curious eyes.

End of Chapter Nine...Ten on Friday.

Thanks for reading everyone...and I know I know...there's cringe in the chat.

Anyone pick up on any clues, this chapter? Maybe you know for sure who is posting on the Dirty now?