Rule 14 (Not proofread, please ignore any mistakes, I'll fix them later).

            The guy, Mark, that we'd been trying to get hold of had finally picked up his phone. Unfortunately, he wasn't very helpful and Ash ended up nearly punching him in the face. The 'Asher Toms' that Mark had seen to didn't look like Ash but had his bike and his address, so naturally, we couldn't think of any logical explanation for it. Well, we thought of a logical explanation but nobody that could've been behind it.

            "Alex, I swear to God," Ash growled and I folded my arms over my chest, giving him an innocent smile.

            "That you'll what? Let's face it, you've got to take them off, there's no way around it," I countered and Dev let out a wry chuckle.

            Ash grunted, glaring down at the two waxing strips on both of his thighs. He'd fallen asleep on the couch in his khaki shorts and as I seemed to share split personalities with James Bond, I'd managed to roll them up and place some of my strips on his legs.

            "I could always soak them off, rendering your prank pointless," he argued and I offered a small shrug in return.

            "You can kiss goodbye to your masculinity if you do that." He grumbled at my words and directed his next question at my cousin, who was observing the scene unfold with great amusement.

            "If I soak them off, will the hair go with it?" he asked.

            "I don't know, man, do I look like a beauty therapist?" my cousin responded, dropping onto the armchair with a smirk.

            "Just pull the strips off, Toms, grow a pair of balls," I exclaimed and Ash rolled his eyes.

            "I saw this waxing shit go down on friends, these things aren't going anywhere," he remarked and I chuckled, perching on the arm of the sofa.

            "Those little buggers stick well, they'll be there forever and eventually disintegrate your skin," I told him, knowing full well that it was a load of cods wallop. In all honesty, I didn't know what would happen if the strips stayed on for a few hours, I was man enough to rip them off immediately.

            "You'll be paying for this one, love," he said and I smiled.

            "At the moment, I really don't care. Watching you take those off is going to be hilarious," I replied. Ash, after hearing my words, slumped back against the sofa and gave me a challenging look.

            He didn't soak them, he did end up ripping them off with multiple swear words and death threats. I rather enjoyed the show, until he stood up and chased me pretty much all the way down the corridor towards the lift.

            "That's going to look attractive when you wear khakis in the summer," Dev commented when Ash walked back into the living room in his boxers. I turned around, blushing and my cousin raised an eyebrow at me.

            "I'm going to murder your cousin," Ash grumbled and I heard him retreat back into his bedroom. Dev let out a bark of laughter and twisted me around by my shoulder.

            "You are dead," he deadpanned and I nodded with a wry smile.

            "Oh, I know, trust me. But that was so worth it," I responded.

            Ash and Dev went out not long after that, leaving me sprawled across the sofa with my sketchpad. I would've asked Sid over if she hadn't gone home with a sick bug earlier at work. Being alone for once didn't really bother me, if anything, it was nice. With the drama surrounding Ash's bike and Dev's constant reminders about my family finding out about my college skipping, silence with my pencils was what I really wanted.

            Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I just didn't think it was going to come to an end within two hours because of a phone call from a very drunk, very lost Ash.

            "Al," he slurred when I picked up the phone. I grimaced and put my sketchbook down next to me.

            "You sound nice and sober," I commented and he let out a laugh that was far too enthusiastic.

            "Actually, I'm quite the opposite," he replied. With a grumble, I got to my feet.

            "I gathered as much. Why are you calling me?" I asked. There was a pause on the end of the line and the sound of someone shouting before the background noise of music got quieter.

            "I lost Dev," he said and I could almost hear the pout in his voice.

            "And?"

            "I lost Dev," he repeated and I sighed, dropping back onto the arm of the sofa.

            "What do you want me to do about it?" I pushed and he sighed, sounding exasperated.

            "Help me un lost Dev," he informed me with a stern tone and I let out a wry chuckle.

            "You want me to walk all the way to the club you're at, only to not be allowed inside to help you find Dev?" I clarified. There was another pause and the phone sounded as though it was running through his hair, so I guessed he was nodding.

            "Just ring Dev?" I offered.

            "Alex!" Ash suddenly exclaimed and I jumped. He continued to slur and ramble on about being lost and I made a silent promise that there was no way I was leaving the flat.

            I left the flat. Turns out, the club that they had visited wasn't far from where we lived. It didn't mean I was happy about it, though.

            I recognised Ash's sandy hair leaning against a wall outside next to the door and I made my way over. He shifted when I got there and threw his arm around me in a hug.

            "You're here!" he said excitedly and I stiffened, suddenly feeling self conscious in my jogger bottoms when everyone else was in clubbing clothes. I didn't take me long to work out that Ash had taken about ten too many vodka shots and was a 'way too friendly' drunk. Because I was only seventeen and had no fake ID on me, there wasn't any way for me to get into the club to help Ash find Dev. In all honesty, letting him go back in that club probably wouldn't have been the best idea.

            Ash slung his arm over my shoulder and I tried to keep him from staggering as we walked back along the road. The lamp posts weren't providing loads of light but it was enough for me to see that my companion was looking around in part awe and part just plain confusion.

            "You seriously need to start eating before you go out," I told him, grimacing when his alcohol breath hit my senses.

            "I ate lots," he said with a proud tone to his voice and I rolled my eyes, letting him lean against the wall while I let us in to the block of flats.

            Instead of taking on the task of the stairs, I dragged Ash into the lift and ignored his constant singing.

            "Rule fourteen," I seethed as I dropped Ash on the sofa and wiped my hands together to signify a job well done. "Don't ring me drunk ever again." Ash shrugged and rested his head back against the cushion.

            I went to the kitchen and grabbed him a glass of water, along with some biscuits to line his stomach. He drank the water down immediately and looked me up and down.

            "You should wear less clothes," he stated and I scoffed.

            "Yeah, and you should leave me alone when you're out but you don't," I countered, sitting on the sofa next to him.

            It wasn't long before he was rushing out to the toilet and puking his guts up. Being the saint that I was, I followed him out with a packet of tic tacs and sat on the bath with my nose turned up.

            "You're disgusting," I stated when it was his third time heaving.

            "And you're not sympathetic," he replied, clearly sobering up a little bit.

            After an hour of not leaving the bathroom, I'd settled inside the bath with an air freshener and my sketchbook. Ash wasn't too tired, but his eyes were droopy when he rested his chin on the toilet seat. I wasn't sure whether it was watching Ash all asleep, or if I was just shattered from all my late shifts, but I soon fell asleep.

            "Alex." I woke up to someone flicking my forehead and my arm hitting a material that echoed. It didn't take me long to realise that I was still in the bath and Ash was still leaning against the toilet.

            "Mornin', sunshine," Ash chided and groaned when he leaned back against the cabinets. I rubbed my eyes and leaned forwards, manoeuvring myself out of the bath and onto the floor opposite him.

            "You seem chirpy for someone who should be feeling on the verge of death," I retorted and Ash smirked, shaking his head.

            "Death, not on the verge, Al, just death." I let out a chuckle and stretched my legs out in front of me.

            "Serves you right, you were a pain in the arse."

            Just as Ash was about to reply, we heard the front door open slowly. Ash narrowed his eyes and got to his feet. I could see him grimace, probably because of his swimming head. His next move was so fast that I almost missed it.

            He moved swiftly past the door and grabbed me. Within a few seconds, Ash had his hand over my mouth and had me pressed against his chest. I could feel every inch of his front against my back, making my heart race. I felt his hot breath on my neck when he whispered.

            "That's not Dev." I froze at the words and tensed in his hold. He had my arms pinned up against my chest and was holding me by my wrists, attempting to make us as small as possible behind the door. He rubbed his thumbs on my skin in a form of comfort, but he didn't realise that he was setting my skin alight.

            I didn't know how many strenuous minutes we were standing there, Ash's breath dancing on my neck and moving my hair. The mystery intruder was moving around in the living room but Ash being there settled me a little.

            "Stay here," he whispered and moved out from behind me. His warmth was missing, making me shudder when my back hit the cold tiles.

            Ash was gone a mere few seconds before I hurt the wind behind punched out of someone. I hoped to hell that it wasn't our lodger. Despite what Ash told me, I moved from the bathroom and treaded curiously into the end of the passage.

            "Ry?!" I exclaimed and he grimaced, looking up from his bend double position. Ash was shaking his hand out and holding his head.

            "Still think the dickhead is innocent in all this?" Ash growled, looking back at Ryder, who was attempting to straighten. I let out a deep breath and Ry held his hand up, obviously gesturing at Ash not to hit him again.

            "What're you doing here?" I asked after a few moments of silence, when it was clear that Ash wasn't in the talking mood.

            "Looking for any clues as to who sent this," he muttered, handing me a note.

            'Drop out of the race or meet Asher's fate.'

            I read the note and grimaced, giving it to Ash. He ran his eyes over the words and swore under his breath.

            "This is bullshit," Ash growled and Ry sneered.

            "Yeah, I'm sure your broken ribs were bullshit, too." I dropped onto the armchair and let out a deep breath, attempting to keep out of the drama.

            "Bruised ribs," Ash corrected and turned to the side board. He said nothing else as he pulled out a tablet and swallowed it dry.

            "Whatever they were, they didn't look fun," Ry countered. The boys were going to and fro with comebacks until Dev came home from his 'night in paradise' and split the pair up.

            Within the short time that Ryder and Ash were argued, I'd managed to piece together that someone was now sending notes to the two people that were favourites to win the championships. Ry had suggested that it might be someone who wants to win while Ash said that it might be someone who has a bet on a winner and was doing this to get rid of the competition.

            Regardless of the notes, both of the boys had insisted on racing in the next race, mainly because they were both stubborn buggers and had too big an ego to let the note man win.

            The only conclusion that Dev and I came to was that if Ash's bike was to crash again, we weren't sure how serious the injuries could get.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed and thank you all for being so patient with the exams, most of you on the last chapter were really nice about it, so thank you. :)

However, the next update will be at a mystery date because I'm two weeks away from my exam season and I need to get revising.  Hope this chapter was good enough for now and please leave me a comment and a vote to let me know you're enjoying it and want me to continue. :)

Till next time, wattpadians!