Two weeks later.

Luke's POV.

Damien usually disappears on me whenever we're hanging out at his place, I don't complain though, I've actually been doing alright hanging out by myself.

Weed, Netflix, video games, booze, food. Repeat.

I'm living my best life.

I didn't even know how much I needed this, I'll admit that ignoring people that I've been friends with for so long has been hard, I didn't even give them an explanation, I just stopped sitting with them at lunch, and I made sure to be a total asshole to Garrett and Mason during football practice.

Reign and I share a lot of classes but I put a distance between us by sitting at the back of every class but then the shittiest thing happened last Friday, I bumped into her in the hallway and she dropped her books, how cliche of the universe, I helped her pick them up from the floor and we looked into each other's eyes.

I was internally praying for her not to say anything but then she did.

She said, "Hi."

I responded with a low, "Hey," then I stood and I awkwardly walked away, leaving her to it.

Yeah, so, I lied, my life sucks right now but not to worry, I can smell graduation and college.

I look around the quiet and dark theater based movie room, I look to my front, at the screen, watching a comedy action movie.

I hear Damien's voice somewhere in the house followed by a girl's laughter.

He brought a girl... Again.

He's really having his fun, unlike me.

After Reign, I haven't really felt like mingling with girls.

The door opens behind me, I sigh before turning to look.

Ariana stands at the door, she looks at me and smiles, I smile back.

"What are you doing here?"

She literally runs to where I'm sitting, she sits on my lap and engulfs me into her embrace.

I close my eyes and I breathe her in.

I didn't know I needed a hug.

"I missed you." She whispers.

"Really? What did you miss about me?" I breathe out a laugh.

"Everything." She pulls away.

"I see." I nod.

She sighs, scratching her cheek and looking hesitant.

"Reign explained why you don't want to hang out with us anymore." She informs.

"Yeah?" My heart hammers.

"Yep, I can't believe I didn't notice, you guys disappeared together all the time." She laughs, I force a smile, remembering all the times we disappeared together and how she insisted on driving my car every time.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I say.

"It's okay, what matters right now is you, how have you been?" She sounds concerned.

"Good, I miss you but I'll live."

"This sucks." She whines, "Reign should have left, not you." She says frustratedly, I decide to ignore her comment.

"And you? Did you get back with Garrett?" I change the subject.

"We broke up again, he cheated on me while we were broken up, can you believe that?" She exclaims.

"You cheated on him too, crazy." I tap her nose.

"Yeah, cause it's okay when I do it." She says in a duh tone, I laugh, shaking my head at her.

I sigh, she sighs. We stare at each other.

She brings her hands to my face and she slams her lips on mine, the action catches me so off guard I freeze and when I don't kiss her back, she pulls away and studies my face with furrowed brows.

I wait for her to explain or apologize but she doesn't do either.

"What was that?"

"A kiss?" She questions.

"Why the hell would you kiss me?"

"Oh c'mon, Luke, I know you've wanted this for a long time." She chuckles, I blink at her.

The fuck?

"What makes you think that?" I ask.

"Remember sophomore year? We kissed at that party and then we promised not to tell Garrett about it?" She reminds me.

"Dude, we were drunk, and you kissed me." I point out, raising my tone.

"You kissed me back." She responds in the same tone.

"I was a child, Ariana, I didn't want to be rude." I say.

Her eyes turn black, her lips curl in a straight line and her face turns cold.

"She's not going to love you the way you want her to." She grits out, her eyes going wild on my face.

Oh, so that's what that was.

I release a sarcastic laugh, "Is that why you just killed our friendship? Because you're jealous of Reign?"

"I'm not-"

"Oh give me a break, Ariana, you've been jealous of that girl since day one, you've wanted everything that she had and she still called you her friend."

"I'm not jealous of Reign, she's a fucking nobody." She seethes.

I shut my eyes, curling my hands into fists as rage fuels in my muscles.

If she were a dude, she would've been getting punched in the face right now.

"Get off me and get out of my fucking sight." I demand.

She doesn't move.

"I said off, fool, get the fuck off me." I push her off, she stumbles on her feet and glares down at me.

"You know I'm right, Rei is fucked up, more fucked up than any of us, if she can't love herself, she can't love you."

"Oh fuck off, Ariana, at least she has some self respect." I say rudely, a tear rolls down her cheek and she storms out of the place.

I wipe my lips with my hand, still feeling the aftermath of the unexpected kiss.

"What'd you say to the girl." Damien settles on the seat beside me with a laptop.

"I think I need to get out of this town," I wipe my lips again.

"I agree," he pulls up some kind of video severance on his laptop.

"What's that?" I ask.

"I hacked into the severance in my father's office and I think I finally got something big." He answers, fast forwarding the video.

"How'd you pull that off?" I scoff.

"Maybe I'm secretly a mad genius." He grins.

"Or maybe you used to fuck an I.T girl." I mumble.

"How did you know?" He narrows his eyes at me, I roll my eyes.

I can't believe I'm right.

"What did you get and why are you telling me about it?" I stare at the screen.

"It happened earlier this afternoon when we weren't here and your father was part of it." He says, still not making sense.

"Well, play it."

He plays it.

I watch as my father, Damien's father and another man in a suit enter the office. My Dad pours himself a glass of scotch on the office table while the other two men take their seats on the white sofa, my Dad walks over and sits opposite from them.

Their conversation is all business related which is noise to my ears.

"I'm not interested in this discussion." I tell Damien.

"Wait for it." He says.

I sigh, throwing my head back against the headrest and thinking about what just happened with Ariana.

I can't believe she did that.

No no, don't think about it.

I look at the computer screen again in order to distract myself.

"Gentlemen? Why am I really here?" The guy in a black suit asks in his Italian accent.

There's a pause, I think my Dad and Damien's father just exchanged a look.

"Den Of Sharks," My father responds, "I want in." He tells the man.

The Italian guy laughs, like he finds my father's words quite amusing.

"No way, you have to earn your spot."

"I'll pay you any amount."

"No offense, Mr Richardson but I'm richer than you, you can't buy me with money."

"C'mon, Diablo, we're all friends here, I've seen the skeletons in your closet and you're still not in jail."

"I've seen your skeletons too, Mr Richardson, I know you helped frame Daniel Miller for a crime he didn't commit and I know you tend on keeping your son's inheritance and making him CEO of your small company in order to distract him." The man chuckles at his own words.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He lies, I know that because he interlocked his fingers, he does that when he lies.

"So you did tell your son... what's his name again? Lucas? Did you tell him that your father, the great Mr Richardson left him sixty-five million dollars and the mansions worth other millions and the two hotels in Miami.... Am I leaving anything out?" The Italian mocks my father, he intimidates him.

"You lucky motherfucker." Damien faces me, I ignore him.

I once overhead this conversation when my parents were arguing one night but I thought they were talking about Wesley, not me.

"He looks a little young to be scaring my father like this." Is what I take from all this.

"Enough, what do I have to do to get in?" My father accepts defeat.

"Mmm.." The Man stares at the ceiling in thought, "I hear you have a daughter, I've seen her in those magazines and she looked-"

"Sixteen years old, she's off limits." My father cuts in.

"Beggers are not choosers, Mr Richardson, she might be sixteen today but she won't always be sixteen." He makes his point.

"Fine, what do you suggest?"

"I get you into the Den Of Sharks today, you give me your daughter the second she turns twenty-one years old, that way, she'll be able to drink at her own wedding." The man smirks, patting Mr Demarco's shoulder.

Please say no, Dad, please, for once in your life.

"Deal." He says after a beat.

Damien slams the laptop shut and a muscle in his jaw ticks.

"The fuck is Den Of Sharks?" I ask him.

"It's like a club where all the rich and powerful sit down and run illegal businesses, Diablo is one of the biggest sharks." He educates me.

"How do you know about it?" I question.

"I'm Italian, Luke, my father is a shark, and I'm pretty sure I'm destined to be a shark."

"And my sister? What did he mean by that?"

"Your father just sold your sister to one of the most powerful men in Italy so she's fucked," his tone sips with venom.

"God, what is happening." I mutter, ruffling my hair.

"You're a millionaire and you didn't know, your sister is doomed and your father framed your girlfriend's father." He laughs, "No offense but I wouldn't wanna be you right now." He shakes his head.

I sigh, looking at the screen ahead.

"Things with Reign were always gonna end badly, if it weren't for me falling for her, it could have been over our parents." I flex my jaw.

"You can still fix this, you dumb fuck." He nudges my shoulder with his, "Maybe not your relationship with her but you can change the way she sees her father, she probably thinks he's a criminal but he clearly isn't." He gets up and heads out.

He's right.

Maybe I can't fix my relationship with her but I can help fix her relationship with her father.