Bree's party was quite the occasion.

As Kayley and I walked through the front door, hundreds of people had already filled up the Richardson's contemporary mansion. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree, glitter and trodden rose petals strewn across the sleek floors. I spotted Bree herself standing by the elevator, bouquets of flowers at her feet as she welcomed people in. She was dressed in a skin-tight silver sequin dress and the monster six-inch Christian Louboutin heels showed off her toned legs. Upon seeing us, Bree waved.

"Thanks for coming," she shouted over the noise. "Enjoy the party, girls!"

I just waved back, suddenly losing Kayley in the crowd as a stream of partygoers filtered in. I thought I heard her shout my name but in my panic, was propelled into the house and soon greeted with a horde of dancing teenagers.

"Here you are!" One of Bree's groupies shoved a red solo cup into my hands, her arms full. "Drink your feelings away, sweetie."

She disappeared before I could respond and after a tentative sniff of the contents, I took a tiny sip from the cup. Grimacing at the taste, I pulled back quickly. It was supposed to be vodka and pink lemonade but it was more vodka than anything else.

"Whoa –"

I staggered as someone crashed right into me but his hand shot out to steady my drink before it could spill over my dress and his white polo shirt. When I opened my mouth to say something, the boy dodged behind me, hiding from a girl who was strutting past in bright-pink lingerie.

When she was safely out of sight, I laughed. "One-night stand?"

He straightened and scratched his head sheepishly, suddenly becoming very familiar. Even so, it took me a moment to put a name to his boyish good looks and light brown eyes.

"You're Chase Anderson," I blurted out and then backtracked. "Sorry. I'm Lex."

He quirked an eyebrow as his gaze surreptitiously swept over my dress with the semi-scandalous neckline. Our eyes met awkwardly as I caught him checking me out and I shook my head in what I hoped was a not-gonna-happen gesture. He seemed to get the message nonetheless and looked embarrassed, cringing.

"Please don't take that the wrong way." Chase moved aside for a girl with long braids to squeeze past us. "Sorry - I'm just... not very smooth. But it's nice to meet you, Lex."

Chase Anderson and I had never been properly introduced before so I didn't know what I wanted to believe about him just yet. From what I could gather in two minutes, he was likeable - if not a little sleazy.

"You too," I replied, straining to be heard over the music. "Do you know Bree or are you a plus one?" Or a party-crasher, I thought inwardly.

He waved his hand vaguely. "Oh, we've met a few times. You?"

"We go to the same school."

"Marshall Grammar," said Chase with new understanding. He looked around grimly. "That's how you know me, then?"

"I don't know you. I've only just met you."

"What the hell is this?"

Oh no.

Tyler's gaze met mine first, before moving onto Chase and I realised he was a little tipsy. Since he was also an open book, I saw the shock pass before the fury took over.

"Alexa Patterson." He glared at me and suddenly, I felt like a toddler being told off. "Look, I told you I was sorry but you don't have to fraternize with the enemy to get even!"

Words could not express how completely moronic he sounded right now.

"You better distract Reid while I deal with this." Tyler pointed behind me, in the general direction to where Reid was. "And get creative - maybe give him a lap dance."

I gaped at him. "Are you fucking serious -"

He ignored me, slamming his drink onto the kitchen counter and rounding onto Chase who looked amused. "I should kill you, Anderson. First, you fuck with my boys and now you're crashing my girlfriend's eighteenth. Give me one reason to spare your life."

Chase sighed dejectedly. "I would crush you to a pulp?"

Tyler made the first move then, shoving Chase back a step. Having seen plenty of movies, I knew this was how a full-blown brawl started but I found myself in place frozen like an idiot. Chase retaliated, punching Tyler in the gut and was met with a strike into his jaw. He reeled from the contact but was distracted by his phone lighting up in the pocket of his jeans.

"Come on, you son of a bitch." Tyler brandished his fists, half-grinning and half-grimacing as he waited for Chase's full attention. He had obviously been drinking.

He massaged his jaw. "We'll settle this, Kypriano. Wednesday, 6 PM at Carlson."

"You got it, dickhead."

-

Hours later, I felt lightheaded. Breaking away from the dance floor, I grabbed a drink from someone walking past, ignoring their protests and downed it all in one shot.

"Lex! How's it going?"

I turned to see Bree wearing a golden sash around her body. She was obviously tipsy and three of her girlfriends were supporting her weight. Instead of answering, I shoved my drink into someone's hands and headed outside. I almost made it back to the entrance hall before someone barricaded into me and we went crashing down onto the foot of the stairs.

"Lex?" Kayley's voice asked. "Wait - Lex!"

I yawned, not quite following but letting her tug me back onto my feet.

"How many drinks have you had?" Kayley grabbed my face and examined it. "Shit."

I frowned as I tried to remember. "I've had two... maybe sixteen?"

She sighed. "I'll call my mom's chauffeur."

"It's three in the morning," I protested.

"I know - dammit, where's my purse?"

I ran my hands over my hair, sloppy fingers trying to ease out the tangles. "You should go look for it. I'll wait here."

"You better not move." She grimaced and called over her shoulder as she left. "It's probably by the hot tub - I'll be back!"

I leaned against the railing as I pulled off my stilettos that had seemed like a good choice at the beginning of the night. Now, one of the heels was about to fall off and my head felt like it was going explode, adding to my misery.

"You're a lightweight," a wry voice remarked.

I straightened and blinked at the figure standing in the darkness of the entrance hall. When he stepped into the light, I groaned.

"Reid," I sighed. "What do you want?"

He rolled his eyes and checked the time, shiny gold Rolex catching the light. When he didn't reply, I stepped closer and tried not to feel to offended when he immediately put some distance back between us. His expression was guarded, eyes trained on me.

"Waiting for somebody?" I inquired.

Annoyance briefly flashed across his face. "I'm not a fan of small talk, Lex. How about you go back to waiting by the staircase for Kayley like you were told?"

"So condescending!" I leaned against the wall beside him, adjusting the hem of my dress so that everything was covered. "Ugh, you're a lurker. That's annoying."

"Pardon?"

"Pardon?" I mocked and then smiled brightly to show that I was only kidding. "Go get a drink, Reid. Maybe you'll be less high and mighty then."

"Am I the condescending one, now?"

"Friendly advice, is all."

"Save it for someone who cares."

I moved to stand right in front of him, in such close proximity that I could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes. My intention was to level out the power imbalance between us - a small victory, for me. But instead, I could feel his hand hovering at the small of my back, dark lashes lowered and his wary look shifting into something else entirely. His cologne was intoxicating, clean and spicy and citrusy and that was the point where I knew the alcohol was talking. His throat bobbed, hand grazing the exposed skin of my lower back. Even in heels, I had to tilt my head up to look at him properly

"What are you doing?" Somehow, Reid still maintained the derision in his gravelly tone.

I found myself leaning into his touch, just barely. "I don't know," I admitted.

"Hey, moron!" Kayley's voice shouted from behind us. "Stop right there!"

I was both relieved and disappointed to see Kayley running towards us. Relieved to see her unscathed and swinging her purse, but disappointed to not have enough willpower to break down Reid Castellan's walls. I could feel the beginnings of a hangover kicking in.

"Hey." Reid blinked, checking the time once more and the spell was broken. "She's really-"

"- drunk?" Kayley finished for him, hands on her hips. "Yeah. I can see that, genius."

Reid rolled his eyes but let Kayley pull me upright. When I almost slipped on the shiny hardwood floorings, his hand shot out to grab my arm. His skin was cool to touch and his grip firm, but he pulled away very quickly.

"You're not planning on driving, are you?" Reid asked Kayley flatly. "You've both been drinking. Where's your car?"

"A few blocks away. I'm calling my chauffeur."

"No way - there's no parking around here. Not to mention the assholes hanging out front."

Kayley didn't respond immediately, obviously worried now and the silence dragged on. My head felt a little clearer, the awkwardness making me bristle as Reid still obsessively checked the time, eyes following every single person who passed by. Kayley grew impatient.

"Are you offering to drive us, Reid? Sorry - I can't read your mind."

"I'll drive," said a new voice.

The three of us turned around to see Dennis at the foot of the stairs, a girl hanging off his arm. He whispered something in her ear and with a kiss on his cheek, she sashayed off.

"Dennis," said Kayley in relief. "Would you really? That would be amazing."

"I'm parked out front." Dennis smiled wanly, slinging my arm over his shoulder and against my better judgement, I buried my face into his neck. "And don't worry - stone cold sober. You could say that I'm babysitting, actually."

Reid's eyes narrowed, knowing that Dennis' comment was directed at him but said nothing.

"Is everything okay?" Kayley asked hesitantly, looking between the boys. "You know what? Maybe I'll just call - "

"It's alright," said Dennis but his blue eyes were still trained on Reid. Tension simmered in the air between them, close enough to touch. "Let's get you girls home."